Free Web NovelChapter 76: Goodbye
After the Gravisk demon’s presence had completely disappeared, Victor stood in the center of the chamber breathing heavily.
Victor’s sword pommel had stopped glowing and his hair had grown a little longer, plus more wrinkles had appeared on his forehead thanks to the use of black magic.
"THAT’S IT! WE DID IT!!!" Pyaxu roared loudly, raising both arms in celebration.
For his part, Riggilo, the cleric, finally let his fatigue take over and the sacred barrier fell.
However, Orie was there to help Riggilo, preventing him from falling to the ground. He offered support on his shoulders, and the cleric gladly accepted with a smile of conquest.
Elban was the first to get close to Victor. The expression on his face was one of pure pride and satisfaction.
"You’ve done what seemed impossible, Victor. You defeated Gravisk. This demon has terrorized these lands for so long."
Victor looked up at Elban. "It wasn’t just my merit. We all contributed to this victory, without you I couldn’t have defeated it even if I’d tried a thousand times."
"Are you kidding? You just finished him off at the end and..."
Suddenly, an intense tremor shook the floor and walls of the cave and everyone present looked at each other with concern.
"What was that?" asked Pyaxu, looking around after the brief tremor had passed.
Riggilo, despite his fatigue, muttered:
"I don’t think... the cave will hold out much longer... not after all the damage caused by the battle."
Orie frowned. "Then we need to get out of here as soon as possible."
Elban agreed seriously. "Let’s go back the way we came. The entrance shouldn’t be too far away."
Again the shaking began and, this time, more stones began to fall from the ceiling than during the battle.
"We have to run!" Victor said and immediately put Riggilo on one shoulder and Orie on the other. "I’m sorry, but we don’t have much time to waste!"
"Hey, you can let me go! I’m fast!" Orie shouted at Victor, his face rapidly turning red with embarrassment.
Despite this, Victor ignored it and just started running after Pyaxu and Elban, who were following the path of the cave they had come from.
The tremors were getting more and more intense, cracks were spreading alarmingly throughout the cave and the sound of stones coming loose from the ceiling and the occasional crash warned of the cave’s imminent collapse.
"We’re almost there!" murmured Elban, encouraging the group to keep up the pace.
Suddenly, a deafening crash resounded through the cave, accompanied by an even more intense tremor that threw everyone off balance.
"Run! Quickly!" shouted Pyaxu and increased his pace.
Victor was exhausted by the battle, but held on steadily with the two boys on his back being held like maidens.
Finally, they emerged into the sunlight, dazzled by its intensity after the dark atmosphere of the cave.
Surprisingly, the air in the Evergreen Forest was fresh and, although it was winter, the sky was blue with only a few white clouds, which brought relief to everyone.
Gasping, Pyaxu looked back, seeing the cave collapse in a cloud of dust and debris. The entrance to the cave was completely blocked by several giant boulders.
"Phhew! Lucky we managed to get out in time, I guess Riggilo’s barrier was serving as a pillar too." said Pyaxu with a sigh of relief. freewёbnoνel.com
Riggilo leaned on his staff to keep from falling to his knees after Victor put him and Orie on the ground, but there was a little smile on the cleric’s face. "Does that mean I could take the weight of an entire cave, Pyaxu? I guess you can’t brag about beating me at arm wrestling from now on."
Pyaxu crossed his arms, turned his back and proudly denied it. "Hmm! That’s totally different!"
Orie and Riggilo laughed at their groupmate’s reaction, but then Pyaxu said quietly:
"Hey, guys, look."
The cleric and the archer looked where Pyaxu pointed and saw the sunlight being reflected on something, or rather someone. The Elban Hero was slowly becoming incorporeal again, taking on his spirit form.
"Victor, my friend, it seems my time to rest has come."
The golden glow that enveloped Elban wasn’t because the sun was being reflected on him, it was different, something supernatural.
Victor approached the spirit, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat, even though he knew he needed to say something before Elban left forever.
"Elban... I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. You were... one of the few people I could call a companion and a friend."
Elban smiled, a serene, almost relieved smile. He was finally free of his burden, free to move on.
"It was an honor to fight by your side one last time and to witness the man you have become, my friend. But you’re quite old, aren’t you? What happened? Did you get married?"
Victor denied it with a smile at the corner of his mouth. "No, I didn’t. You know, I never wanted anyone to be attached to me for the rest of my life, but, ironically, I became the father of a little girl, can you believe it? Maybe that’s made a few gray hairs grow on me."
"What? You’re a father? Congratulations! How many years behind am I?"
"Twenty."
"Oops... So I guess I don’t have many excuses for not going to the baby shower, because twenty years ago I was still very much alive, right? HAHAHA!" Elban put his right hand to the back of his head nervously and laughed out loud. "But go on, tell me: does she have your eyes or her mother’s?"
"Actually, she was entrusted to me by a certain person I met on the road. An elf."
"An elf?!" Elban’s eyes widened.
"What is it?"
"No, it’s nothing. I just think I heard about some trouble in the Elven Forest many, many years ago. Anyway, I’m sure your daughter has become an incredible warrior, am I right?"
The smile remained on Victor’s face, especially when he remembered Wanda. "Yes, she’s truly special."
Victor then lowered his eyes for a moment, remembering all the battles he had fought alongside Elban.
"Man, I thank you for being worthy of your trust. I’ve often questioned my choices, my decisions and my actions... You know, it wasn’t rational what I did and now, after the end of our heroic mission in this world, I can’t help but wonder if I did everything right."
Elban’s spirit placed a comforting hand on Victor’s shoulder, with what remnants of matter he still had. "My friend, I may not have lived as long as you and I’m at my wit’s end, but what I do know is that the path of life is full of uncertainties and challenges, there’s hardly any room for guilt. Accept your choices, learn from them and use that wisdom to light the way ahead. In the past, you faced your fears, your doubts and even the miserable fate that was imposed on you, but after all that you became very strong and apparently a wise man."
Elban took Victor’s hand and then put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and took it out of its scabbard.
"For that reason, even though you’re not as good as me, I’ll trust you with my sword." He joked.
Victor raised his head in surprise. "What?"
"You talk about me, but, Victor, you always had faith in me, even when I doubted it myself. I wasn’t the most reliable of our class, nor the most powerful hero, but you still respected me as if I were an older brother."
Elban then laughed softly, a sound that echoed like the rustling of leaves in the wind.
"I’m sure I won’t regret entrusting this sword to you. It’s a good silver sword and you only have a steel sword, so it’s not very effective against some monsters. It has a good balance and a good weight, I hope it will help you on the rest of your journey in this world."
A comfortable silence hung between the two of them, and Elban stopped touching the sword, taking on the incorporeal form of a spirit once and for all, and turned his back to face the sun that was slowly moving towards the west.
Victor looked at the handle of the sword, but didn’t touch it.
"It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" Elban spoke to Victor, referring to the serenity of the forest now that all that massive demon mana had been dissipated. "Enjoy this world as much as you can, my friend. Not everything is as beautiful as this forest, but surely every situation is worth living for the good times."
Victor looked in the same direction with a gleam of nostalgia in his eyes. A gentle wind blew through the trees, carrying with it the scent of wild flowers.
"Thank you, Hero Elban Morley for your service and friendship," said Victor, looking at the spirit with sincere gratitude and finally touching the hilt of his sword.
Elban smiled once again with an expression of contentment on his translucent face. "Thank you, Victor Shieldman, for giving me the chance to take revenge on Gravisk, for being a great friend, a true hero and for showing that even in the darkest circumstances, the light of courage never goes out. I’m glad to have shared this life with you and the others. I was really lucky to have you in this strange world. Please explore what I have never explored for myself."
"I will." Victor promised.
With a final glance at Victor, the golden glow that enveloped Elban intensified for a moment and, after that intense glow, the hero’s spirit disappeared before Victor’s eyes, leaving behind only memories.
