The devastation left by Hans’s attack had not yet settled when another explosion of force rolled through the underground passage.
The ground shook violently beneath the impact, fractured walls splitting apart as sections of the ceiling collapsed into the tunnel.
Dust and broken stone were hurled in every direction, and the shockwave travelled far beyond the battlefield, surging upward through layers of earth until it reached the streets of Srivi above.
Buildings trembled.
Windows rattled violently in their frames, and people rushed from their homes as the ground beneath their feet continued to shake.
“What was that?!”
“An earthquake?!”
“No! That sound came from underground!”
Deep beneath the city, Hans collapsed onto the shattered stone.
His breathing came in ragged gasps, and almost every trace of mana had been drained from his body.
He struggled to keep his eyes open as dust rolled through the ruined passage, slowly revealing the enormous crater left behind by the God Sword.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then Hans’s eyes widened.
No way…
A monstrous roar erupted from within the dust.
“GRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Framon was still alive.
His Devil body had nearly been torn apart by Hans’s attack.
One side of his torso hung open, while enormous wounds stretched across the dark crimson flesh covering what remained of his body.
Yet the creature refused to die.
Twisted mana poured into the wounds as torn muscle began knitting itself together.
Broken bones shifted back into place with sickening cracks, flesh crawling across the gaps as his body desperately reconstructed itself.
Hans stared in disbelief.
He can still regenerate…?
His remaining strength finally abandoned him.
Hans dropped to one knee, one hand pressing against the ground to keep himself upright as his vision began to blur.
Through the thinning dust, he could just make out Javier standing farther down the ruined passage.
Javier turned his face toward him.
“Thank you, Hans.” His voice was quiet, almost gentle.
“You can rest now.”
Hans managed a weak smile before his strength faded further.
Javier turned back toward Framon.
For a moment, an old memory surfaced in his mind.
Years ago, a much younger Javier had stood beside his master with one hand extended before him.
A small flame flickered above his palm, barely larger than the light of a candle, its warmth brushing gently against his fingers.
“Master, can I really kill monsters with a mana skill like this?”
His teacher chuckled.
“Ha! A Fireball is only a basic mana skill. Every level of mana has its own variations.”
Javier frowned as he felt the tiny flame hovering above his hand.
“Hmm… but…”
“Javier, come with me.”
The memory shifted.
Javier followed the sound of his master’s footsteps until the two of them stood beneath the open sky, far from the walls of the palace.
His master stopped several steps ahead of him.
“Remember this, Javier. Pay attention.”
The surrounding mana began to change.
Even as a child, Javier could feel it.
Mana gathered around his master from every direction, growing denser with each passing second until the air itself seemed to tremble beneath the pressure.
“There is one deadly mana skill capable of destroying almost any creature in this world.”
Young Javier’s expression immediately changed.
“Even a Devil?”
His master turned toward him.
“Even a Devil.”
The memory disappeared.
Javier returned to the ruined tunnel.
Above him, the enormous magic circle he had been preparing throughout the battle was still suspended in the air.
Flames appeared within it.
They began as streaks of red, spreading along the intricate structure of the magic circle before growing brighter and denser.
Hundreds of ancient symbols illuminated one after another as the formation slowly rotated above Javier.
Heat poured into the passage, rapidly consuming the cold left behind by the shattered stone.
KRAK!
The ground beneath Javier’s feet began to fracture.
Loose pieces of rubble trembled before slowly rising into the air, suspended beneath the immense pressure of the mana gathering around him.
Javier raised both hands toward the magic circle as more power flowed from his Mana Heart.
His fingers began to tremble.
A thin stream of blood ran from his nose.
He ignored it.
The flames deepened from red into crimson before gradually transforming into a brilliant crimson-gold.
Heat distorted the air around him, turning the ruined tunnel into a wavering haze.
Then, at the very center of the enormous formation, a small black core appeared.
The surrounding mana immediately began flowing toward it.
BOOOOOOM…
Another tremor passed through the tunnel.
Javier’s face tightened in pain as he forced more mana into the formation.
His breathing became heavy, and every muscle in his body screamed beneath the strain, but his hands remained raised.
“Mana Divine…”
The magic circle accelerated.
VROOOOOOM!
Crimson-gold fire condensed above him, becoming brighter with every rotation until the entire underground ruin was illuminated by its radiance.
At the center of the flames, the black core continued absorbing mana, compressing the enormous mass of power surrounding it.
“Flame of Destruction…”
Framon’s regeneration slowed.
His black eyes lifted.
For the first time since his transformation, the creature stopped moving.
Fear appeared in those empty eyes.
Javier clenched his teeth as blood continued running from his nose.
His arms trembled violently beneath the pressure, but he forced them forward and directed the enormous formation toward the Devil.
“IGNIS BLAST!”
The magic circle descended.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Crimson-gold light swallowed the tunnel.
The explosion tore through the underground passage with devastating force, obliterating fractured walls and consuming everything within its path.
Stone vanished beneath the flames as another shockwave surged upward through the earth, shaking the streets of Srivi for a second time.
Buildings trembled above ground while terrified citizens struggled to remain standing.
The blast continued beneath them until the night itself seemed to tremble.
Then the sky changed.
Dark clouds gathered over Srivi, rolling across the city as lightning flashed between them.
KRAAAAK!
Rain began to fall.
At first, only scattered drops struck the streets.
Within moments, they became a downpour.
Some time later, little remained of the underground passage.
Entire sections had collapsed beneath the combined destruction of Hans’s God Sword and Javier’s Ignis Blast, leaving behind broken stone, deep craters and smouldering earth.
Smoke and steam rose from the ruins as rainwater poured through the openings above, washing dust and blood between the rubble.
Javier walked through it alone.
His white-golden hair clung wetly to his forehead, while his clothes had been torn in several places during the battle.
Blood stained his arms and chest, and shallow wounds covered his body.
His sword hung loosely from one hand as he moved carefully across the shattered ground, listening through the rain for any sign that the battle was not yet over.
Then he heard it.
“Argh…”
Javier stopped.
“Help me…”
His face slowly turned toward the voice.
Something was moving beneath the rubble.
Framon was still alive.
The Devil form had disappeared.
What remained had returned to something resembling a human body, though barely enough of it survived to call it one.
His flesh was horribly burned, and much of his body had been destroyed by the blast.
Faint traces of dark crimson mana still crawled through what remained of him, desperately attempting to regenerate wounds that were now far beyond repair.
Framon dragged himself across the wet stone.
Rainwater mixed with the blood behind him.
“Please… help me…”
Javier began walking toward him.
Framon lifted his head weakly as the sound of Javier’s footsteps approached through the rain.
“Your Highness… Ha… I’m going to die…” His voice cracked with every breath.
The arrogance he had shown only moments earlier had completely disappeared.
“Please…”
Javier stopped before him.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
The rain struck Javier’s blindfold and ran down his face.
He remembered Srivi.
The starving children.
The stolen medicine.
The Elves forced to produce Vilon.
Alaric buried beneath the rubble.
And Alice.
Javier’s fingers tightened around his sword.
Framon heard the blade move.
“Your Highness…?”
Javier raised it.
SLASH!
The sword cut through Framon.
A cry escaped him, but Javier’s blade rose again.
SLASH!
Another strike followed.
Then another.
Javier continued attacking long after Framon had lost the strength to beg.
Every swing carried the anger he had suppressed since entering Srivi, anger at the suffering he had encountered in its streets, at the corruption hidden beneath its administration, and at the people who had treated human lives as commodities.
Framon’s cries gradually disappeared beneath the heavy rain until only the repeated movement of Javier’s sword remained.
Eventually, Javier stopped.
His chest rose and fell heavily as the sword hung beside him.
The last traces of Devil mana faded from what remained of Framon.
His burned flesh gradually crumbled into dark ash, mixing with blood and rainwater before being carried between the broken stones.
Javier stood motionless.
He said nothing.
Rain continued falling around him.
Some distance away, Hans lay among the ruins with his eyes barely open.
He could no longer feel enough strength in his body to move, yet his thoughts returned to the person who was no longer there.
Alice.
Her final smile remained painfully clear in his memory.
Alice…
Tears slipped silently down Hans’s cheeks, disappearing almost immediately beneath the rain.
Are you at peace now…?
His eyelids slowly began to close.
I’m sorry, Alice…
His breathing softened.
And…
thank you.
Hans finally closed his eyes as the rain continued to wash over the ruins of the battlefield.
A little spoiler…
Remember the elf Javier saved from the underground auction?
She is not just a random elf.
Her existence will become much more important as the story continues.
That’s all I’m saying for now.
And I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Blinded Prince (TBP) so far!
What do you think about the story, characters, and world?
Is there anything you love or think could be improved?
I’d really appreciate your feedback.
See you in the next chapter!