Chapter 408: We Die?
What followed was extreme violence.
Yara moved between Ashley and Admond like a demon, her healing expertise turned into intimate knowledge of exactly where to strike to cause maximum damage.
Her fists found pressure points that paralyzed limbs.
Her strikes targeted joints that couldn’t be protected by Aura reinforcement.
Her movements were efficient, brutal and calculated to exploit every injury Vermont’s sacrifice had inflicted.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Sonic booms rolled across the battlefield as S rank combat reshaped the landscape, buildings crumbling, ground cratering, the air itself screaming from the violence.
Yara was holding them both off, her triple-magnified power and enhanced speed letting her match two injured S- ranks simultaneously.
But blood was already running from cuts on her arms and legs where their skills had gotten through.
****
Crack
The spheres protecting the children were starting to show cracks, hairline fractures spreading across the translucent surfaces, the barriers struggling under the pressure battle happening in the distance.
Damian’s bubble popped as he forced his way out, his hands moving immediately to form an Aura barrier between them and where Yara fought.
The barrier shimmered into existence, his power flooding into it, trying to create one more layer of protection for the children who couldn’t protect themselves.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Ashley and Admond kept trying to break past Yara, kept trying to reach the floating spheres containing their real targets.
Then Castor’s voice emerged directly in Damian’s mind, the telepathy skill cutting through the chaos.
’Kid... I’m broken beyond repair... if I push myself again, I might die... So here’s some advice.’
His mental voice was weak but steady.
’I know this might sound cruel, but we’ve tried enough. The logical thing to do would be to leave the kids here... Thousands have already died in the city tonight. More won’t matter in the grand scheme.’
Damian’s hands clenched on his Aura barrier, his breathing becoming harder.
’Let me try to convince Yara to abandon them... We can escape with just you, Elizabeth, and myself. Save the people who actually matter instead of–’
Damian forced himself to listen and to think past the rage building in his chest due to Ashley and Admond.
His eyes scanned the destruction surrounding them.
Every collapsed building meant families crushed beneath rubble, every crater meant homes erased from existence and every block of ash meant dozens, maybe hundreds dead.
Thousands were dying tonight.
What were a few hundreds orphans compared to that?
’By all means... he’s right. That’s the only logical choice.’
The tactical part of his brain recognized the truth in Castor’s words.
’Save who we can save... Abandon the rest... Survival over sentiment.’
His eyes found the children, their small faces pressed against the translucent barriers, tears streaming, mouths open in screams he could barely hear over the sounds of battle.
Then a little girl near the front looked directly at him, her voice somehow cutting through everything else.
"G-Godfather... we die?"
Every child’s eyes turned toward him as soon as her words rang out.
Hundreds of faces, all looking at him with the kind of absolute trust that children shouldn’t have to place in anyone.
’Godfather.’
The term echoed in his mind, bringing with it memories he’d tried to compartmentalize.
The day he’d adopted them all. Standing in that orphanage courtyard, looking at eight thousand children who had nobody else, who’d been abandoned and forgotten by society.
He’d made a promise that day.
’What does it mean to be a Godfather?’
The question surfaced unbidden, demanding an answer.
’In the old world, it was a title of respect and of family beyond blood... Of someone who takes responsibility...’
His hands were shaking now, his entire body trembling with something that went beyond fear or exhaustion.
’A Godfather doesn’t abandon his children when things get hard...’
The little girl’s scared face swam in his vision.
’A Godfather protects! Even when it’s illogical! Even when it costs everything!’
His mind was screaming at him that Castor was right, that logic demanded sacrifice, that saving everyone was impossible.
But something deeper inside him refused to accept it.
’I made a promise... Told them they’d have a home! Told them they’d have protection! Told them they’d have someone who’d never abandon them the way everyone else had!’
His jaw clenched, blood running from where his teeth cut into his cheek.
’And a Godfather... honors his promise!’
The refusal solidified in his chest like steel, absolute and immovable.
’I’m not leaving them! I don’t care if it’s illogical! Don’t care if it gets me killed! Don’t care if the smart choice is to run!’
Damian looked at the little girl again and met her terrified eyes through the cracking barrier.
"Not one of you dies today."
The children’s crying quieted slightly, their attention fixing on him completely.
"I’m getting all of you to safety. Every single one of you." His crimson eyes blazed. "And anyone who tries to stop me can go to hell."
’Don’t know if I have it in me... haven’t tried it since my willpower broke through the limits... but there is no other option.’
As the thoughts passed through his mind, Damian’s Telekinesis flared.
****
The first sphere lifted easily, his mental control wrapping around it like invisible hands.
Then the tenth... twenty... thirty... fifty.
His Telekinesis was powerful for his rank, enhanced by his impossible Willpower, but this was different.
This was more than two thousand protective spheres, each one containing a living person and their weights, requiring individual control to prevent injury.
’Heavier than I thought...’
The five hundredth sphere rose, and blood began running from Damian’s nose.
The thousandth, and his ears started bleeding.
"Godfather’s nose is bleeding!"
"He’s crying red!"
"Make it stop!"
Damian’s teeth ground together hard enough to crack, his entire body trembling with effort.
Granny Helena’s voice emerged from one of the spheres, gentle and resigned.
"Child... I’m already old. You can leave me. Save your strength for the young ones who have their whole lives–"
"NO!"
Damian’s roar cut through everything, his voice raw with refusal.
Blood ran from his eyes now, mixing with the streams from his nose and ears, painting his face red.
The two thousandth sphere rose, and his vision started going white at the edges.
His hands were shaking so hard he could barely keep them extended, his legs threatening to give out, his consciousness flickering like a candle in a hurricane.
’Just a little more... Just the last ones... Just–’
Then the final sphere got lifted.
Gasp...gasp...
Damian’s breathing came ragged, blood covering his face from his eyes, nose, and ears.
He said nothing, his crimson eyes tracking each bubble, making sure they were stable.
Then he started running.
’Now, you can fight without any worries Yara...’
****
Castor’s eyes looked towards Damian in his protective sphere, his mind processing what he was seeing with disbelief.
’T-This kid... his Willpower...’
The thought came fractured, his consciousness barely holding together.
’Did he break past the limit?! Impossible! He already has Extremely high willpower! How is he–’
Then Castor’s awareness faded completely, his body finally giving in to the damage, shutting down to preserve what little life remained.
****
"The boy’s lifting them all!"
Admond’s voice carried across the distance, frustration bleeding through every word.
"Stop him!"
Ashley broke off from Yara, her gauntlets blazing as she tried to circle around toward Damian’s position.
BAM
Yara’s fist caught her in the ribs before she made it three steps, the impact driving her backward.
"You’re not getting past me!"
BOOM
Ashley’s weapon art activated and her gauntlet cracked Yara’s jaw, bone splintering.
Yara’s healing flared, her Aura fusing the damage back together.
Her counterattack broke Ashley’s nose, as her wild laugh rang out, despite the blood running down her arms.
"Good job, kid! Take them away! I’ll handle these cunts!"