The moment Yugo saw Percedal fall, he felt a wave of despair fall over him.
That brave knight who almost seen invincible had been defeated in mere seconds.
He felt his heart beat like a drum as he saw his motionless body.
But then, a powerful conviction returned to his heart.
He couldn’t let his friend die.
His shaking hands quickly conjured a portal beneath his feet, teleporting him to a nearby street.
Suddenly, a blue flash caught his eye.
Eva had just been defeated.
Now, two were down.
There was no time for doubt.
As the images of his fallen friends flashed before him, a single thought echoed relentlessly through his mind.
If you don’t act, they will die.
He closed his eyes for a second as he focused his magical energy.
Despite the fear, despite the chaos, Yugo’s heart was full of unbreakable conviction.
He quickly opened a portal at Amalia’s feet and another beneath Eva, teleporting them close to where Percedal lay.
Now that his friends were free, he scanned the area and saw that Nox was watching the tavern, far away from Yugo.
The boy tried to slip through the crowd to find a way out, taking advantage of the screams and panicked villagers to have cover.
Suddenly, something cold and metallic closed around his neck.
The world stopped around him.
The air was crushed out of his lungs as his body rose, suspended in midair like a ragdoll.
He had been caught.
“Good afternoon, little one,” a cold and almost mocking voice echoed through his mind.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
Yugo struggled as he tried to breathe, but pressure on his throat grew to the point he felt as if he was drowning.
“Who…
are you…?” he choked out between gasps.
“I… can’t… breathe…”
“My name is Nox,” the man calmly replied.
“And you must be Yugo, right?”
The boy froze in fear, unable to even cough out an answer.
“I’ll take that silence as a yes,” he continued, his tone almost amused as if he was playing a game.
“Tell me, Yugo.
Where is the dragon who was protecting you?”
Suddenly, something small and fast burst from Yugo’s hat.
Az.
The little tofu hurled himself at Nox, pecking furiously to save his master.
Yugo, though terrified, couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Az!” he shouted, finding a ray of hope in his little friend’s fight.
“Teach that bad man a lesson!”
He tried to struggle, but his strength was fading fast.
Nox, for his part, kept smiling behind his mask.
He just seemed mildly inconvenienced.
“Hold on a moment,” he said, almost bored.
“That little pest is getting on my nerves.”
With a sharp flick of his free hand, he fired a bolt of magical energy at Az, who scrambled away in a panic.
Yugo felt fear surge through him again for an instant, but when he saw his companion escape he felt a deep relief.
“Now, where were we?” Nox said, tightening his grip on the boy’s neck.
“Where is the dragon who was protecting you?”
“Dragon…
what dragon?” Yugo coughed, fighting for every word.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…
Please, you’re hurting me…”
The pressure on his neck kept increasing, as if Nox were enjoying his suffering.
“I came here for answers, and I do not expect to leave empty-handed, boy,” Nox said with his ice-cold voice.
“There is nothing I dislike more than wasting my time.”
In that very instant, a flash of light streaked through the air.
It was Ruel’s magic shovel.
Before the wizard could react, the blade struck Nox and hurled him through the air.
Yugo seized the moment to summon a portal with what little power he had left, teleporting himself to Ruel’s side.
The old man caught the shovel as it returned to his hand and got ready to attack again.
Ruel cast a quick glance across the devastated square.
Just by looking at that wizard, he could sense his enormous magical power.
He knew beyond the shadow of doubt this was a fight he couldn’t win.
He turned to Yugo and spoke full of determination. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Glad you’re okay, little devil,” he said.
“You can tell me later on what’s going on.
Right now, the only thing that matters is getting out of this hell alive.”
Yugo, relieved by the presence of the old man, took a deep breath and his face changed to a relieved smile.
“Thanks, Ruel,” he replied.
“Can you help me protect Dally and Eva?
They’re badly hurt and we need to get them out of here.”
Ruel scoffed, though a glimmer of affection still shined through.
“You should worry more about yourself than about everyone else,” he shot back, but when Yugo looked at him with those pleading eyes, he couldn’t help but smile with resignation.
“What can I say.
You’re just like your father.”
The pair rushed to where Amalia, Percedal, and Eva lay among the rubble.
Yugo knelt beside his friends, his eyes fixed on Amalia, who was doing everything she could to help.
“Do you think you can heal them, Amalia?” The boy asked.
“They look badly hurt.”
Amalia, who could barely stay on her feet, managed a faint smile.
“Thank you…
for saving us,” she replied, her cheeks flushing slightly at the intensity of Yugo’s gaze.
“Of course I will!”
The Sadida extended her hands and channeled life energy through them.
A warm, green light radiated from her palms, slowly enveloping Eva and Percedal and healing their wounds.
But before she could do more, a cold voice shattered this moment of relief.
“Well, well, well.
What do we have here?” Nox’s voice rang across the square.
“Today is my lucky day.
So much precious Wakfu gathered in the same place.
All we need is the dragon to show up, and this will be the happiest day of my life.”
Ruel raised his magic shovel in defiance.
“I don’t know or care about you’re on babbling on about, but I’m just sick of freaks and monsters like you attacking my village.
Can’t you all just go bother someone else and leave us alone?
For once I just want to take a break.”
Nox tilted his head slightly, as if considering that proposal.
“Very well.
Your wish is my command.
Soon you will have the chance to rest for a very long time” he said with voice full of menace.
“Desyne Tempus!”
As those words of power left his lips, an invisible bubble formed around the group which froze everything in its grasp.
Time stood completely still.
With a flick of his wrist, two enormous mechanical arms emerged from Nox’s flying fortress and encircled the adventurers, both glowing with arcane energy.
As they pulsed, they felt their souls themselves weaken and fade as their life-force was being drained.
“This would be a good time to come forwards, dragon,” Nox continued with a mocking smile.
“Wouldn’t you want to save the boy you were protecting?
Tick-tock.
Time’s running out.”
Suddenly, the slam a door shattered the silence.
Alibert stormed out of the tavern, spear in hand, his face hardened with determination.
“I won’t let you hurt my son!” he shouted as he hurled his spear at Nox.
The wizard, surprised at such an unexpected attack, got distracted for one crucial second.
This moment second was enough for Yugo.
With a desperate cry, the boy channeled every last trace of energy he head.
A surge of blue energy erupted around him as a giant a portal that enveloped his companions.
Nox spun around only to see that the entire group had vanished before his eyes, escaping right before his machine could fully drain their souls.
“Impossible!” he snarled.
“Only those with nearly divine Wakfu could resist a spell of this level.
It doesn’t matter.
They must not be too far away.”
Alibert just smiled with pride when he saw the sorcerer’s anger.
“Well done, Yugo!” he called out in celebration.
“I knew you could do it!”
“I’m going to wipe that smile clean off your face,” he said as he advanced toward him.
In an instant, he seized Alibert by the neck with inhuman strength.
Alibert’s face contorted in pain, and in seconds, the skin on his face began aging rapidly as if time itself passed with inhuman speed.
“I’ll ask you again.
Where is your son?
Where is the dragon who gave him to you?”
With a ragged laugh, Alibert stared the mage straight in the eyes, defying even death itself.
“A good father will never abandon his family,” he said in a whisper, spitting blood at Nox’s feet.
“Kill me if you wish.
You won’t get a single word out of me.
That’s something a monster like you would never understand!”
Nox clenched his teeth with fury as Alibert’s body continued to age.
But, there was no fear in the innkeeper’s eyes.
He had already made his choice.
His words echoed in Nox’s mind, touching something deep within his heart.
For a moment, the Xelor seemed to hesitate.
“A good father…” he murmured, his words carrying a melancholy he’d never shown before.
Nox looked down at the old man, now frail and weak, and in a voice barely audible, added, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.
But, it doesn’t matter.
When I win, none of this would have ever happened.”
With a final look, he extended his hand and drained the last of Alibert’s life energy.
The tavern keeper’s body aged centuries in an instant, his skin withering and his flesh disintegrating until nothing remained but a lifeless skeleton.
But, even then, he had a smile on his face.
Without pausing to contemplate his work, the mage raised his hand once more, activating his machine.
In barely an instant, every last drop of life energy in the region flowed toward it like a river.
What followed wasn’t measured in seconds.
It was measured in lives.
Men and women fell where they stood.
Children who’d been playing in the streets collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
The elderly who had only just awakened from petrification, some still smiling in relief, withered before they could take a single step.
Families who minutes before had been celebrating the return of their loved ones faded together, in silence, unable to undestand what was happening.
Not a single soul in the entire village was spared.
Where once there had been life and light, now there was only death and desolation.
But Nox couldn’t have cared less.
With a snap of his fingers, he teleported back to his fortress.
His work here was done.
The Xelor reappeared in the central chamber of his fortress.
There, a strange cube awaited him, glowing with a bluish light and emitting pulses of energy that beat like an anxious heart.
At his arrival, the artifact stirred, and a powerful voice sounded from within which echoed throughout the chamber.
“More Wakfu.
More…” Its tone resonated with raw hunger as if every word were being dragged up from the abyss.
“…Wakfu”
Nox smiled beneath his mask.
He placed a hand on the cold surface of the artifact and caressed it with an almost paternal gesture.
“Soon… you’ll have everything you need,” he said softly.
“Time is on our side.”
“Noxines,” he commanded, “spread out.
Track every drop of Wakfu.
Don’t stop until we find them.”
The mechanical creatures buzzed obediently and scattered in every direction.
Nox scanned every image in search of his prey, but for now there was no sign of their whereabouts.
It didn’t matter.
He knew that sooner or later, he’d find them.
His ultimate goal drew ever closer.
“Grougaloragran…” he whispered.
“Get ready.
Nox is coming.”
Here it is.
The moment I’ve been waiting to translate for a while.
This is the point where my story has its first main divergence from Wakfu canon and one that not only shows this story’s tone but will affect the character growth and plot all the way to the very end.
It wasn’t an easy choice, and as an author it’s easy to like your characters so much it feels hard to get rid of them, but in this case it’s necessary for the story I want to tell.
Don’t forget to like and comment, and see you next chapter (I promise I won’t leave you with this cliffhanger)!