YM778.TV Chapter 202: I faced her, alone
Their bodies were covered in wounds, yet they remained standing, breaths ragged, shoulders tse. Their hands trembled slightly, not from fear, but from exhaustion threating to overtake them.
"It\'s over..." Cristine murmured, surveying the sce a them.
Her clothing was torn, bloodstains—both hers and her emies\'—decorated her slder frame. Her blue eyes gleamed with fatigue, despite the violce they had just witnessed. Yannifer, her twin, stood beside her, leaning on a short, bloodied sword, her face drched in sweat, hair disheveled.
"Finally," Yannifer muttered, a tone of relief mixed with exhaustion. "We found it."
"It\'s here. Finally," Cristine said, breathless but with unwavering determination in her gaze.
Yannifer nodded, her fingers hesitating slightly before finally brushing over the lid of the first chest. She knelt slowly and, with effort, lifted the heavy top. A cold, strange air escaped, as if the chest had be sealed with some kind of mystical ice.
Inside the first chest, wrapped in black cloth with glowing arcane patterns, lay the Dragon\'s Heart.
Contrary to what they had imagined, it was not a gem or a carved artifact.
What rested inside was literally a heart—a robust, massive organ, gtly pulsing, ev outside of a living body. Its dark, thick veins glowed with a crimson hue, and its ure appeared alive. With each slow pulse, the Dragon\'s Heart emitted a soft, warm glow, filling the suring air with an overwhelming ergy.
Cristine stepped closer, remaining silt for a momt, awed by the power emanating from the heart. She could feel the blood of ancit dragons flowing through its aura, as if the heart was ready to unleash its power at any momt. "It\'s ev more powerful than I thought," she whispered, her hand hesitating before touching the pulsating surface. "It\'s as if it\'s... alive."
Yannifer stood beside her, her eyes fixed on the heart, a shiver running down her spine. "That power... It could be catastrophic if it falls into the wrong hands. Now I understand why so many died to protect this."
As the two twins reflected on the artifact, Lyana and Rogue stood guard, scanning the area. Their instincts kept them on high alert, aware that others could still be nearby. They knew the mission wasn\'t over until the items were safely delivered to Strax.
Carefully, Yannifer covered the Dragon\'s Heart again with the cloth, closing the chest. "Let\'s see what\'s in the second one."
She moved to the second chest, slightly smaller than the first but equally sturdy and wrapped in protective sigils. With a swift, practiced motion, she undid the locks that held it shut and lifted the lid.
Inside, cased in magical glass, was the Mythic Ginsg. The ancit, rare plant shimmered with a vibrant, almost ethereal gre, radiating a restorative ergy. Its intricate roots were intertwined harmoniously, and the long, slder leaves seemed to glimmer slightly in the light. The air a the chest was refreshing, like a spring breeze, a stark contrast to the ravaged sce a them.
Cristine stared at the Mythic Ginsg, noticing that her minor wounds were already beginning to heal simply by being near the plant. "This could heal legions," she said, her voice tinged with admiration.
Yannifer nodded, her eyes scanning the battlefield before turning to their companions. "But now isn\'t the time to use it. We need to get out of here and take these items to Strax as soon as possible. He\'ll know what to do with them."
Rogue, who had be watching from a distance with her arms crossed and a skeptical look, finally approached. "Are you sure there are no more surprises hidd a here? This convoy was willing to die to protect this. Who knows what else could be coming?"
Lyana, ever the meticulous one, twirled a blade in her hand before sheathing it. "She\'s right. We need to move fast. If they st scouts ahead, reinforcemts can\'t be far behind. And we\'re all exhausted. If there\'s another ambush, we won\'t be ready."
Cristine, still gazing at the invaluable relics, carefully closed the second box and stood up. "Let\'s go. We have no time to waste."
With that decision, the four warriors began preparing to leave the battlefield.
Rogue, always alert to her surings, spoke in a low voice while scanning the area. "Strange... No signs of movemt. I thought we\'d be sured again by now."
Lyana nodded but kept her guard up. "If there\'s more to come, they won\'t attack us directly. They know what we\'re carrying. And if we do get attacked, it won\'t be with the same force as before."
Minutes passed, and the tsion lingered. Their hearts raced with the urgcy to escape the cursed field and bring the precious items back to safety. Every sound, every breeze, seemed threating.
"How odd... Where did they all go?" Cristine wondered aloud, knowing there were more emies unaccounted for. The Black Association wouldn\'t pull back this easily.
"The Geral\'s attack did more than just destabilize the Association," Rogue said, glancing toward the distant city. "We got lucky... Really lucky."
"Or it was fate," Lyana remarked, her focus unbrok.
Suddly. ϺƲᒪΞϺƤႸᎡ.СΘМ
KABOOOM!
The deafing sound of an explosion tore through the air, and the g beath their feet shook violtly. The horizon, once eerily quiet, was now marred by a thick, chilling column of smoke rising from the direction of the city.
"Why do I feel like this is him?" Ynifer asked, her eyes fixed on the explosion. "Damn it..."
As they stared, Cristine\'s gaze froze, and her expression shifted to one of shock. Before her, a system message appeared:
[Danger! A much stronger emy is attacking your Husband!]
Her heart leapt into her throat, and for a brief momt, her mind wt blank. An overwhelming wave of fear and urgcy gripped her body, the dread of losing Strax weighing heavily in her chest like an anchor. She barely heard Ynifer\'s incredulous words beside her, who was now looking at the distant city of Eldoria and muttering:
"Damn it…"
Cristine didn\'t respond. Her eyes were locked on the city, where explosions and thick black smoke continued to rise into the sky. Her mind raced. Strax is in danger. The words repeated in her head like a reltless mantra. Before she could fully process the situation, her legs were already moving.
"Damn it!" With an involuntary scream of pure determination, Cristine bolted toward Eldoria, the battlefield now a blur a her. "STRAX!" she yelled with all the strgth she could muster, ev though she knew he couldn\'t hear her from this distance. But adraline fueled every step, pushing her to move faster and with purpose.
Ynifer, Rogue, and Lyana stood behind, momtarily stunned by Cristine\'s sudd burst of speed, but they understood.
"He screwed up again…" Lyana muttered bitterly. "That\'s just how he is… unfortunately," Ynifer added, shaking her head.
Cristine ran as if her life depded on it—and in a way, it did. The path to the city was littered with debris, but she didn\'t stop. With every beat of her heart, only one word echoed in her mind: Strax.
The sce a her unfolded in chaos. The streets of Eldoria lay in ruins, buildings crumbling, and an eerie cold smoke clouded the sky like a shroud.
After what felt like an eternity of running, jumping over rubble, and avoiding lost soldiers caught in battle, Cristine finally reached the city\'s cter. And there, before her eyes, was the sight she had dreaded.
In the midst of the destruction, on a patch of scorched and brok earth, lay Strax. He was on the g, collapsed on his knees, his body exhausted and breathless. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling with difficulty. His armor was in tatters, covered in dust and blood. His hands were pressed into the g, as if using the last of his strgth to remain conscious.
Not far from him, Samira was being tded to by some of Strax\'s other wives. Beatrice and Monica knelt beside Samira, trying to stem the bleeding from her arm. Samira appeared gravely wounded, blood streaming from several deep cuts across her body. Her face was pale, but her eyes were half-op, fighting to stay alert.
"Ah, crap!" Cristine shouted, rushing over to him. "Strax!" she called out, her voice trembling with worry. Her hands shook as she tried to cradle his face, looking deeply into his eyes. "What happed? Who did this to you?"
Strax slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. There was a mix of pain and exhaustion in his gaze, but also a lingering flame of determination. He forced a weak smile, which only made Cristine\'s heart ache more.
"Hey..." he murmured, his voice raspy and unev. "I... tried... but... this emy... they\'re...
differt..."
"Don\'t talk. I\'ll get you out of here," Cristine said, her eyes brimming with tears. She couldn\'t bear to see him like this. "We\'ll heal you, and th we\'ll deal with this emy."
Strax shook his head weakly. "No... it\'s more complicated than that... she... she\'s powerful, stronger than anything we\'ve ever faced."
"Hey... why are you..." Cristine mumbled, trailing off as she noticed his body beginning to heal... and th, without warning, he stood up as if nothing had happed.
"You little shit..." she muttered, and Strax grinned. "Gotcha," he said, standing up fully as Samira also began to heal.
"She let me live because I\'m... interesting," Strax commted, and Cristine raised an eyebrow. "I faced Kryssia... alone," he added.
"But that doesn\'t matter. Did you get it?" he asked, laughing slightly.
"Of course I did," she replied, still trying to wrap her head a the situation.
"Good, because if I don\'t absorb that dragon heart, I might actually die for real," he said, sounding far too relaxed.
[You have 30 minutes to consume the dragon heart.]