Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 314 The Sun shines upon the Mountain

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"Huff… Arg..."

The cold hard ground against his skin, Dale slowly lost his senses as his body broke down.

He wasn't healing, he was dying, and very painfully at that.

His skin split apart and his bones cracked with every movement, as if he was the most fragile person in the world...

Moving his head around, he could see it, his goal, just a few meters away.

Being this close to his goal yet at the same time so far… If only his legs could still move.

/Push…/

But he wasn't going to give up like that.

He raised his right hand and pushed the ground, getting on his knees.

Even if he had to crawl, he would reach it… If his legs wouldn't move, then his arms would.

Albeit that wouldn't be necessary.

"Huff..."

Because as the seconds passed and as he reached the throne, he felt his body energize, giving him the boost he needed to get up and walk to the center of the Ancient Hall.

He felt as if the ancient statues that still hung around were looking at him, following him with their stony gazes.

But maybe that was just him hallucinating from overworking his body.

/Step…/

Each step was heavy as if he was carrying his body weight as extra luggage, causing his tired legs to tremble whenever he moved.

His muscles screamed and in a sense, so did his mind.

/Fwoosh…/

"Huff..."

Maybe feeling his determination and desires, his sword flew from above the gate, floating next to him, giving him support so he could walk somewhat better.

He also saw how his spear and bow were strapped around the sword's handle, and with a pensive gaze, he fetched the spear, using it as a cane as he walked forward.

Feeling much lighter, his steps became quicker and the pain in his body lessened even if very so slightly.

/Step…/

He felt as if he could see it, the throne, waiting for him behind the shadows…

"!"

But would it be so easy?

/Step…/

/Stop…/

To his far right, standing next to a pillar, was a man.

He didn't have any particularly interesting features.

His clothes were like those an explorer would have, but they didn't look exquisite in any way shape, or form.

His blonde hair was messy and disorderly, it even seemed a bit dark, not having the glister it should've had.

In his right hand, the man held a thick book just as messy as his hair, and he kept flipping through its pages as he walked, reading on and on as the book itself seemed infinite.

There was a simple sword tied to his waist, but... That was about it.

Still… If there was one thing one could say about him was that… His eyes were immeasurably clear.

Even in the mist surrounding the mountains, a mist that covered the entire world in a faint haze, his eyes shone brightly like polished gems in the sand.

As if the mist itself could not contain his gaze.

""...""

/Poof…/

Upon seeing Dale, he stopped reading his book, changing his attention to him as he closed it with one hand.

/Silence.../

A looming silence formed between the two of them as they gazed at each other... And for a moment, the blond man seemed to smile.

But in the next one…

/FUOM!/

"?!!!"

Out of nowhere, Dale was trapped within a cubicle of greenish energy, and he felt his entire body be squished as the shadow of a horned beast manifested in the air, pressing him down with its claws.

"U-URRRG!"

He felt his entire being be compressed, organ by organ, even his eyes slowly caved in under the creature's… The man's powers.

He tried to struggle but he was too tired, way too tired.

Even if he wanted to continue, his body could not follow through with his desires.

He bit his lips, his nails dug into his flesh, but he couldn't even stand, much less break through the barrier…

/Shine!…/

"ARRRRRRG!!!"

But in his moment of desperation, one of the statues lit up, shining a beam of light onto his body, causing his skin to light up in flames and his eyes began to emit faint light as he let out a bloody scream.

The golden light traveled across his body, from his feet to his hair, from the tip of a finger to the other, delivering pain like none other.

"..."

But amidst this desperate situation, Dale was reminded of why he had started to climb.

And when his doubts cleared away, the only thing left in his mind was his goal.

It was not an empty obsession anymore, it had become pure and hard determination.

Even if just for a moment, he had purpose again.

And when that happened, his body began to protest, not against him, but against those who were delivering it pain.

And the gears of his flesh began spinning once more.

/Grab…/

"HUPP!"

/BOOOOOOOOM!/

Dale grabbed his spear and smacked it against the ground, the impact so violent it shattered the Hall's flooring while also breaking apart the image of the green beast, scattering it around the place.

/Shine.../

The mist around him was also blown away, and the clouds parted as golden light momentarily descended onto the Hall.

Meanwhile, in the sky behind Dale, even if for a moment, the image of a golden knight manifested, its eyes gazing intently at the blond man standing in the shadows as it conveyed its desire to never give up.

"HAAAA!"

Dale screamed like a barbarian, rushing ahead from the golden flames with his spear in hand.

Smoke was released from his skin as he dashed, leaving trails in the mist and holes on the ground with each step he took.

"..."

/Smile…/

The blond man momentarily smiled, but as he did so, his body began to shine in green light as bizarre and mysterious tattoos manifested all over his right arm.

His skin disintegrated wherever the tattoo appeared scattering the air like torn paper in the wind... Leaving behind wisps of green light that slowly danced as he moved his arm.

/Swipe!/

He swiped his right arm diagonally, and a wave of green runes gathered together in the shape of a half moon, cutting the mist as it made its way to Dale instantly!

"?!"

/CLANG!/

/CUT!/

But he didn't cower at the strike.

Floating by his side, his greatsword tilted under his control, blocking the green energy and allowing Dale to approach the man even more without losing his momentum.

This cost him greatly, however, as the strange runes cut deep into the sword's frame.

It wouldn't resist another strike like that, but neither would his body.

But blocking a single strike was all he needed!

/FLASH!/

This was only the start, as even with his attack blocked, the man's expression was nonchalant as if nothing of this even mattered to him.

He was playing around, at least, it felt like he was.

/Raise.../

The man raised his right arm to the air, pulling a dozen green strings with it, as if he were trying to pull something from the ground below...

"!"

Suddenly, the entire ground of the Hall cracked open, and from those cracks, green energy was released, coming from deep within the Mountain's peak.

If one were to look from up above they would realize those cracks were orderly, like one gigantic magic circle, but not at the same time.

Like an imprint, an ancient ritual that had already long lost its meaning.

/PIERCE!/

From the cracks in the ground, warm vapor slowly rose from the depths of the mountain, gathering into whisps of energy that began dancing in the air like fireflies in the night.

But despite looking inoffensive, each wisp contained a deadly truth.

The moment he entered within a palm's distance of one, it immediately flattened itself, becoming a sharp beam of energy that sprung in his direction like a bullet!

/CLANG!/

He barely had the time to deflect it with his spear, and from the impact, he knew the wisp had enough strength to puncture a hole in his chest.

And there were thousands around him.

"!!!"

The moment he deflected one, a dozen more sprung forward, and with each movement he made, another dozen more moved in his direction.

In a second, no less than a hundred wisps were flying in the air, aiming at different parts of his body…

"HAAAAAA!"

/BOOOOOOM!/

"?!"

But very much like the man, Dale was only starting.

This situation was an easy one to solve because if he couldn't evade or block them all individually, he just needed to destroy everything around him at once!

With a mighty cry, Dale exploded his energy around him, causing a wave of Vitality to brush through all wisps, causing them all to blast together at once, plunging the entire Hall into one massive mushroom cloud.

"URG…"

The blond man was sent flying back due to not being prepared for this situation, hitting the back of his head against a pillar in the distance

He touched the back of his head, feeling the warm blood flowing from his wound.

He felt dizzy, angry, lost, and most importantly...

/DASH!/

But before he had the time to process the situation, Dale appeared in front of him, his eyes shining red as his expression was distorted in a mix of anger, wrath, and something else.

"!"

/PIERCE!/

/CLANG!/

"HUFF!"

The Blond man pulled his sword from his waist, deflecting Dale's spear upward as he slashed forward...

/PUNCH!/

But Dale was a monster, a barbaric machine...

Even when his spear was deflected, he immediately proceeded to punch the man in the face, slamming his head against the Pillar as he kicked his stomach knee before pulling his spear back and swinging it sideways.

/FLASH!/

Dale's spear went through the blond man's neck, decapitating him, but that was only an afterimage.

/BLAST!/

His strike struck against the Pillar, cracking it in half as it tilted to the side.

"..."

But Dale's gaze was already elsewhere...

/Pull…/

…

/Gasp!/

"Huff…"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, the blond man reappeared, having teleported himself out of harm's way.

His eyes darted around as he tried to make sense of the situation, but it was too late.

/Flash!/

"?!"

If he thought he would be safe by creating distance, then he was very much wrong.

Using his bow for the first time, Dale pulled the string and an arrow materialized in his hand.

/BLAST!/

/FIRE!/

A fiery arrow was released, flying across the air like a comet in the sky, it hit precisely against the blond man's chest, sending him flying back to the edge of the Hall.

/Flash!/

/Flash!/

Following one arrow were two more arrows, and behind those were a few more.

A complete barrage, very much like the situation before…

Their roles had been switched.

/SHIELD!/

/SPLAT!/

"?!"

The blonde man raised a shield but it quickly shattered under the elemental arrows, giving the chance for Dale's sword to plunge itself on the blond man's back, causing him to spit out blood as he looked back in disbelief.

/Flash!/

Once again, he teleported away, this time, closer to Dale, right in front of the center of the Hall where the Throne's Shadow stood.

/Gasp…/

Gasping for air, he took a step back, but Dale would not give it to him.

Within a second of his teleportation, Dale was already in front of the man, piercing with his spear as he went through the man's heart!

/CLANG!/

"HAAAAA!"

The man screamed in wrath, bringing forth a wave of power as he deflected Dale's spear, swinging sideways as he cut at his arm.

/CLANG!/

Dale pulled his spear back, blocking with the end of his spear, and like this, a bout of blows began.

/CLANG!/

/SWIPE!/

/KICK!/

/PUNCH!/

/SLASH!/

/PIERCE!!!/

Two desperate men exchanged blows atop the highest mountain of the world, but with each exchange, one's momentum grew stronger while the other's grew weaker...

/SLASH!/

/CLANG!/

/PIERCE/

/PLUNGE!/

"!"

/Drip…/

Finally, with one last act of violence, Dale blocked the man's weak sword strike with his palm, letting it cut through his flesh but giving him the chance to shove his spear deep into his heart, pinning him against a pillar.

/G-Gasp.../

This time, the man did not teleport, instead, he only looked at Dale in a mix of disbelief and… Amusement?

"..."

But in the end, Dale wouldn't have the chance to ask that of him because immediately after, the blond man gasped one last time as he died with that expression on his face.

His head dropped and his body went completely limp, and not long after, it turned into dust, leaving behind only the aftermath of their clash as proof of his existence.

His sword soon fell onto the ground as well, shattering into pieces while his book, which had fallen during their clash broke apart, its pages flying to the wind and down the mountain like snowflakes in winter.

/Shine…/

As the man died, the mist surrounding the mountain peak cleared up and sunlight began to shine upon the ancient Hall…

/Throw… Thud…/

"Huff… Huff…"

Tired beyond belief, Dale moved past the man, using the pillar as support as he left a bloody handprint in it.

He left everything behind, his bow, his sword, and his spear, taking silent and lonely steps towards his destination.

A Throne cast in shadow…

/Shine…/

But the moment sunlight shone upon it… Revealing its appearance…

/Din… Din… Din…/

Dale heard bells echo in the sky around him…

/Thud!/

And as his vision grew turbid, he fell on the ground, his entire world spinning as it went dark.

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Notes