CHAPTER 108: A GODDESS’S HEARTBEAT

’That’s a lot of blood to lose in the middle of nowhere...’ Stahl was scared, not even noticing the ankle yet. Aster needed to be off that battlefield in that condition, not dragged into the middle of it.

The she-wolf held the line beside the bull regardless, praying they could somehow wrap this up shortly. Mollis was speaking with the prince immediately as Aster dismounted from the tiger’s back. The boy stumbled, but the tiger caught him swiftly, forcing the human to lean on him for support. The rabbit swiftly addressed the human after.

"Aster... It’s time to use what the Captain told you about... Do you think you are able?" Aster nodded despite being uncertain if he was up to the task at all. He had never used it before, and he wasn’t in the best of shape, but he would try, always up for a challenge. The rabbit smiled and turned back to shout towards their line of defense.

"We are using it. Try to fall back some, but don’t worry about being caught up in it... I’ll be doing the aiming for the actual deadly parts." Mollis turned back to the prince and bowed slightly before she spoke to him again.

"My prince, just as we planned... All of it."

The lion nodded, steeling his resolve. He walked up to the rabbit and placed a firm grip on her shoulder in wait. The rabbit chanted briefly, and Aster, Oust, the prince, and Mollis herself were raised up on a smaller pillar, only around ten feet high this time.

The rabbit nodded at the human, and Aster paced forward to stand at the edge, overlooking the battlefield, waiting for his moment while the tiger gently supported his weight on his bad leg with a burly arm over his midsection.

The human let himself rest ever so slightly against the beast until he felt a rumble beneath the earth. It was time to see if he was worth the effort it took to get him there.

The Earthwyrm was charging the new pillar, much as they had expected it to. Aster saw the creature rise to the surface, leaving an upheaved trail behind it as it sped towards them. If this didn’t work, they may all be dead.

The human focused and raised an arm, making one very large shield inches before him. It was as big as he could manage with a single arm, but he could only hope it was enough. Aster reared back his other fist, waiting for the greater demon to pop above the surface before striking.

As the monster burst through the earth, lunging straight towards those atop the shorter pillar, Aster slammed his shielded fist forward into the back of his larger shield as hard as he could. A sharp, quick sound resonated from the initial contact, and a throaty, deep burst of sound rocked forth into the battlefield with a pulse of golden light immediately after.

The light carried with it the smallest, swirling specks of golden dust that danced across everything the pulse enmated over, coating everything in a layer of fading, glittering light. The Earthwyrm slowed to a near halt immediately, and Aster reared back, and struck his own shield once more, repeating the effect all over again.

As the human quickly beat on one shield with the other, the sound of the strikes carried across the land from his high point, enveloping everything between the walls and beyond in wave after wave of the pulse. Every creature caught in its path felt the true power of the Peacekeeper’s Shield that day, as one by one, friend, foe, and fiend alike all fell to a knee, powerless to keep fighting, or to even run away if they wanted to as the goddess’s heartbeat flooded over the battlefield in a steady rhythm. It demanded all to kneel before its bearer.

Oust felt how much kickback the attack was having on the runt, with powerful vibrations shaking up his arm. The human was wincing painfully as such vibrations rattled his already pounding head and throbbing ankle, but he kept striking that shield regardless, determined to hold after seeing the heartbeat was working. The Earthwyrm had been stopped, unable to move, same as anything else before him.

Oust shuddered at such determination and shifted more behind the human, placing both arms around the boy, one over his chest, one over his waist. The tiger squeezed a bit tightly, offering support and absorbing as much of the rattling impact as he could for the runt.

The beast could smell the human exerting himself, sweating profusely after just a few strikes. It was taking much from Aster simply to hold that line, but it was a marvelous and humbling sight for the tiger.

Every knee... From the imposing Captain Rixator, To the ashen wolf of the Aschefell line, To every single orc, fiend, and even demon before him... Every single one kneeled before a simple human radiating his light through the darkness, burning like the sun itself with warm and golden power.

It was in that moment that Oust Candori realized which king he truly wanted to serve without ever even knowing the boy was one. He had just witnessed all the proof he needed. The human should sit on that throne, the birthright of that bloodskill demanded such authority. This power to bring entire armies to their knees could change everything.

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Mollis watched in awe for just a moment, the dazzling waves of light more beautiful than she had imagined they would be. She was happy to have seen it, the thing always shining within the human finally coming out for the world to see, commanding all attention...

’Aster Venatus... A fitting name. You truly are a star, indeed.’

The rabbit took a deep breath in, safely behind the boy’s attack with the prince, and started chanting. It was long, and it constantly drained her of her power, but the prince felt the tug and was steadily feeding the spell more energy.

Prince Tyfin had exhausted about thirty percent of the power he had borrowed from the orcs, but he felt it drop to less than half almost immediately. Whatever Mollis was doing, it was huge... It was too much. The lion’s eyes went wide, as he felt even more power demanded for the attack, the rabbit still chanting on in determination. But, the prince cried out to his subject.

"MOLLIS! You can’t handle it! Even I don’t have enough for something of this scale! It’ll drain us both before we ever fire!"

The rabbit kept on chanting, already deciding she would end this then and there, while they still had the chance to pull it off... she knew what the price would be from the start... she would use what she could from the prince, and she WOULD handle the rest.

Mollis cast her arms forward, holding her focus as she build the spell larger and larger, felling it growth to cover half of the battlefield, pinpointing every single fiend with her energy, and passing over every ally.

Mollis felt prince Tyfin struggling behind her and knew the lion had nearly depleted the reserves he had left. The mage took in a slow breath and stepped forward, letting the prince collapse where he stood, drained of all that power which overflowed from within him just moments before.

Mollis felt an immediate draw on herself, becoming the sole source for such a major spell. She felt the magic waver, and threaten to die before it ever finished forming, wasting everything they had fought for up to that point. She picked back up, accepting her role as she spoke the next word in her incantation.

For the first time in Aster’s life, between the thrums of the pulsing heartbeat he was causing, he heard something spoken in the language of the gods that he understood, the final word from the rabbit before he witnessed the magic itself start to take effect, ensnaring every enemy simultaneously.

"Sacrifice." Mollis ended her spell, and dropped her hands, feeling the magic do as was commanded. It had been enough. It stretched over the entire battlefield, every single fiend, all six-hundred and eighteen left... she had a special role for the Earthwyrm... Now she just had one thing left to do... The rabbit called out behind her, speaking to the panting prince first.

"You have a long way to go, your majesty, but you will be a fine king if you stop doubting yourself. Relying on the talents of your people effectively is not a weakness, it is strength. Your power saved a lot of lives, my king. You were the foundation we built upon for our victory... It was my honor to wield such power befitting a king."

The young lion looked up to the mage with tears in his eyes. He knew what the rabbit had done... He hated himself for not seeing it sooner. Prince Tyfin could only lower his head and nod, never wanting any of his people to make a choice like the rabbit had.

Mollis smiled softly, pacing towards the front of the pillar beside Aster. She held out a hand and caught a hold of Aster’s arm mid-swing, stopping him from continuing his exhausting assault. They were held still long enough. It was done. Aster looked to Mollis, bloodied, panting, and sweating from his efforts. Mollis chuckled at him, ever so determined to stand strong, and leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on his forehead before she spoke.

"That’s enough, Aster. You’ve done wonderfully as always... I hope all of your battles won’t be this hard on you." The hare looked to the tiger, and Oust was simply giving her an understanding stare.

Mollis winked at the burly beast and turned back to Aster.

"Remember to try the fruit, Aster... You never know when it might be your last taste of something sweet."

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