Meanwhile, Bernar and Berut clashed at the back of the hall, shaking the foundations of the Palace itself. The towering pillars they used to push into their attacks held numerous cracks and divots from where their feet landed. Wordlessly, the two began to move around the hall, trapped in a blade dance that few could ever hope to match.
Berut aimed a swing at Bernar's head and forced him to duck, but Bernar used that opportunity to immobilize his opponent's sword hand and knee him in the stomach. "Ack," Berut coughed a mouthful of blood, pushing away from Bernar in hopes of getting away from him. Planning his next attack, Berut dashed behind a pillar near the throne, summoning a torrent of ice spikes and sharp blades of wind aimed at Bernar.
Bernar responded with a handful of his own spears of fire and shields of stone, locking them in a stalemate as the four elements clashed, the resulting boom shredding the air between them. "Not bad, pup," Berut sneered, sending another wave of elemental spells towards his enemy.
Bernar deftly countered each one, using the opportunity to reposition himself between Leona and Zari's duel, which was still going on behind him. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, noticing that the two were momentarily blade locked and glaring at each other.
She's holding her own, but I can tell she's getting tired, he thought in the time it took to blink, but that was all Berut needed to launch a pillar of stone that pinned him to the wall above the throne.
"Shit," Bernar grunted. "You shouldn't have underestimated me. Now, you're going to watch her die," Berut sneered, before dashing away towards the battling queens.
He's going to kill her, he thought as he mentally gathered his options.
Bernar's eyes flared with rage as his connection to the Ethereal strengthened, filling him with mana. Berut looked like he was frozen in time as Bernar's anger peaked. Unleashing his speed and control over mana, he both dismantled the pillar in front of him and pushed nearly all of his mana into the wall behind him.
It fled his body and seeped into the palace walls and pillars behind him, transforming the entire palace into glass from the heat of his spell. A cone of what little humidity was left in the air formed around him as he dashed towards Leona. Berut was nearing her with his blade ready to strike as Bernar flew through the air towards them, but he was too late.
"Leona!" he shouted desperately, seeing the blood leaving her body from the wound in her back as the one who delivered it sneered. "Too slow, pup," Berut said before dashing away. Blood fountained from her mouth as Zari grinned wickedly, knowing she'd won.
Bernar, however, gritted his teeth and swung.
The resulting spell that spawned from his blade was every weaponized wind spell he could think of in the heartbeat it took for him to decide what to do, making sure he left just enough space in his spell to allow Leona and Zari to pass through safely. Berut's eyes widened as he saw the shattered glass of the Palace racing towards him before he, too, was little more than pink mist.
Zari shook with fear, seeing only the remains of her hashishin's ankles grotesquely left behind before feeling a warm sensation in her gut. She glanced down to find Nizaam's blade buried in her chest up to the guard.
"My turn," Leona grinned weakly, her once blue eyes now coated in black as she pushed mana into her blade to cut through Zari's armor. She twisted the knife clockwise, then stumbled backwards into Bernar's arms. Zari gurgled blood mixed with charred bits of her esophagus and bile as she looked out over the roaring crowd of people at the foot of the stairs.
Unable to speak, a tear streaked down her face before she collapsed at the top of the stairs, her blood mixing in with that of her dead hashishin that coated the once-white steps.
"Breathe, focus on the mana," Bernar urged, pumping as much mana as he dared into the wound at the small of her back. Leona's eyes returned to their pale blue as she turned to look at him weakly. "It's okay, my love. I did what I came here to do," she wheezed before another spurt of blood flecked his face.
"We set this country free; maybe even more if she'd gotten her way, and you kept your promise of turning this place into glass, I see," she blinked slowly, slipping in and out of consciousness. "Don't talk like that, but of course, I did. I'm not going to let you die to something like this," Bernar propped her head up on his leg, continuing to pour mana into her torso where the other side of the wound was.
She chuckled weakly through her nose and shook her head. "It's alright if I do. I think I've done enough in this life. I got you as a bonus, remember?" she said, recalling the last conversation she'd had with Thoma. "Shh, stop talking. Conserve your strength," Bernar whispered, hiding the emotion in his voice as he saw the wound was nearly shut.
"I'm almost done closing the wound, but you've lost a lot of blood," he wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "This is the second time you've saved me, you realize that, right? How am I supposed to repay that?" she managed a weak snort. Bernar scoffed and shook his head. "You act like I'm a debt collector," he said lightly. "Well…" she raised an eyebrow and slowly gestured in the direction of Berut's ankles, getting a light chuckle out of Bernar.
When he was done shutting the wound, he allowed some extra mana to flow into her muscles to help stabilize her as she tried to sit up. "That's going to leave a nasty scar," she sighed as she pulled apart the fabric to glance at the wound.
"I think it's a beautiful scar," he replied warmly. "You think scars are beautiful?" she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Heh, you think this is bad? You should see the one across Thoma's back," he chuckled. "Don't compare me to him. That's not fair," she weakly smacked his wrist.
"Fair enough," he snorted. "There is one last thing I need to do, here," she looked at Zari's corpse. "Help me up," she grunted with exertion as she tried to stand. Bernar helped her up, and walked her over to Zari's lifeless corpse.
"Did you infuse your blade with mana?" he asked as she kicked it over tiredly, noticing the charred leather around her blade. "Recia," she muttered as proudly as she could. "Gwili?" Bernar sighed. "He said it might be useful," she shrugged, getting a chuckle out of him. "Because of course, he did," he nodded.
She reached down and pulled the blade from Zari's sternum, struggling against it for a moment before clotted blood followed the blade. "What do you plan on doing with that?" he raised an eyebrow, still supporting her weakened body with an arm. "I need to set an example," she gripped the blade tightly before beginning to hack away at Zari's neck.
"Ooh, that's, uh…" Bernar winced as the dull and squelching thwacks rhythmically flecked blood on Leona's face. "Here, let me…" he cut himself off, feeling her back muscles flex as she tore the remaining skin and muscles off Zari's shoulders with a grunt of exertion. "There," she breathed heavily, gripping the curly blood-soaked hair as tightly as she could. "Help me out to the front, will you? The people need to know," she said tiredly.
Bernar swung her arm over his shoulder as Zari's head hung loosely at her side. As their faces crested the edge of the bloodied stairway, the crowd beneath roared excitedly. The entire Palace vibrated with their cheers as their voices and stomping feet resonated through the floor.
"Hail, Queen Leona! Hail, Queen Leona!" the crowd roared in unison. Bernar raised a hand to calm them down. Go ahead. I'm too weak to shout right now, Leona sent with a strained wink. Are you sure? It's your moment, Bernar replied. Perhaps, but it's his country, she nodded in Jashad's direction. As you wish, he shrugged.
"Jashad. Where is Jashad?" he called out. "I'm here, Bernar!" Jashad waved with a blood-soaked hand, getting a nod from Bernar in response. "This man has fought for this country since his birth in the Underbelly. He knows the pain and suffering your leaders have caused you, and after such a display of bravery and loyalty to his country, we hereby declare him the new ruler of Harut," Bernar shouted in Leona's stead.
The crowd looked at him in surprise as he pulled down the cloth around his face, revealing a cleanly shaven face and strong jaw that paled in surprise. "Wh-What?" he asked breathlessly. "It's your country, and these are your people. You've earned it," Bernar shrugged.
The crowd's scattered cheers quickly turned into a full on chant of his name as tears streaked down his face. He glanced at the others who helped him through blurred vision, as they all bowed in respect. "I-I can't believe it…" he muttered breathlessly, quickly wiping the tears away from his smooth cheeks. "Better get up there. Bernar's not very patient, if you haven't noticed," Thorsen gestured to the bloody stairs.
He quickly ran up the stairs as the crowd below chanted his name. Just as he turned to speak to the crowd, Wyrran rushed to the foot of the stairs. "Bernar!" he skidded to a halt, sweat pouring down his face.
That must have been the dust cloud from earlier, Jashad regarded Wyrran carefully.
"He's at the top of the stairs," Jashad gestured behind him with widened eyes, knowing that whatever it was that could make an elf sweat must be important.
"I can hear you, Wyrran. What is it?" Bernar shouted. "He's back!" Wyrran shouted desperately. Bernar's stomach sank as the words reached his ears.
Nexis?No, there's no way he's back, he thought, glancing at Leona momentarily.
"Sorry, love," he said, picking Leona up and using his speed to reach the foot of the stairs. The Palace shook beneath his feet, as the glass remembered the force he'd used earlier. When he reached the bottom, he gingerly helped her back onto her feet, as Jashad helped him support her while he went towards Wyrran.
"What the fuck do you mean he's back?" Bernar glared, already feeling his gut twist into a knot.