NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37: Triune Oath: The Final Forge
Smoke still danced in the air as Rena pressed the blade to Elrodan's nape. The moon runes around him dimmed, Rena's [CHAOS DOMAIN] dome suppressing the light until only a remnant remained.
I approached slowly. Noa Genesis pulsed, its seven gems reflecting cold light.
"Rena, open the space three fingers," I said.
Rena shifted the blade, enough for Elrodan's face to lift. Those eyes—the eyes of the archer who had once stood beside me—were now filled with fire and despair.
"Those two choices," I said softly. "You chose the second."
I stared at the gauntlet. "Noa."
"Orders?" his deep voice answered.
"Start with the web."
I pressed Noa's palm to Elrodan's chest.
[SOUL CLAMP]
The gauntlet's magical jaws closed—not on flesh, but on the web of runes that surrounded his soul. Jerking, Elrodan gritted his teeth. The moon magic circles around him trembled, trying to re-lock their formation.
"Remove… your hand… from—"
I pressed.
CRACK.
A rune circle broke. A wave of pain rippled through his spiritual nerves—not physically, but igniting the shattering of every strand of consciousness. Elrodan groaned, his voice trembling as if he were holding back a scream.
"Don't worry," I whispered. "You still have plenty."
I raised two more fingers.
[GRAVITY NAILS]
The pressure of gravity fell on his knees and back. Joints locked into the ground without crushing bones—intentionally—to prolong the tension. Rena held Elrodan's head facing me.
Noa resonated. "Located Moon Tether. Core bond to the light source."
"Cut."
[SEVERANCE: MOONLIT TETHER]
An invisible cord ripped from Elrodan's chest. The light in his eyes flickered, the sacred aura on his skin flickered, dimmed, and then flickered like a candle about to burn out. His breath caught; he spat out a curse—silently.
"This is how it feels when the light rejects you," I said softly. "You were the one who proposed the betrayal—don't you deserve your retribution?"
Noa broadcast feedback to his spiritual nervous system.
[RESONANT FEEDBACK]
The pain of the broken rune returned tenfold, traversing the depths of his soul. Elrodan trembled violently, the veins in his neck tensing, but he couldn't scream—the abyss of Chaos Rena quelled the tremors of his voice.
I raised the gauntlet to his face.
"Your eyes have always been arrogant," I said, cupping Noa's eye half an inch from his temple.
"Extinguish it."
[BLACK MOON BRAND]
A blazing black moon brand was etched above his brow—not burning flesh, but etching the memory of betrayal into the very core of his vision. From that day on, every time he opened his eyes, all he saw was failure. It was a punishment longer than death.
Elrodan nearly collapsed. Rena held his shoulders to keep him on his knees.
Noa whispered, "The main tether is severed. The remaining runes can be removed one by one. It's a long process."
"I have time," I said. "But he doesn't."
I lowered my palm to his sternum, preparing a final thrust—enough to sever the magic core without killing his body. Let him live, witnessing the ruins of hope—as they did to me.
"Farewell, bowless archer."
The palm moved—
BOOM—!
The ground exploded at the edge of the field. Basalt cracked; lava veins blazed brightly. A heavy aura loomed like a mountain rising from beneath the earth.
Garruk.
He stood from the rubble, his body covered in basalt plates growing from his skin, interlocking like a giant's armor. His lava axe melted, then was reforged by an unseen hand—a hammer and a cracked moon appeared on the blade. A distant sound like a hammer striking iron echoed from the bowels of the earth.
Elrodan looked up faintly. "Garruk, don't—"
Garruk stared skyward, raising the axe, which now glowed red and white.
"By the Oath of the Three Companions. By the blood that fell. By the name that remains unfinished."
Cracks blazed beneath his feet. The aura of the blacksmith god—or his shadow—caressed the blade.
[WARD OF THE FALLEN ANVIL]
[BERSERKER AEGIS: TITAN FORGE]
The pressure on the battlefield multiplied. Rena gasped, her Chaos dome creaking, Elrodan escaped with a single breath. I flipped my palm off Elrodan's chest, deflecting Garruk's first wave that came like a broken dam.
The axe fell—
I lifted Noa.
CRASH!
The impact knocked me back a valley's distance. Noa's gems ignited—lava, iron, and prayers—all shimmering between blade and gauntlet.
Garruk roared, his red eyes wet—not with fear, but rage. "YOU DON'T TOUCH IT AGAIN!"
Rena grabbed Elrodan, dragging him back to stay within the Chaos Domain, but Garruk's Aegis struck the dome like a hammer on steel—the walls cracked.
Noa reported, quickly and coldly. "Sudden ascension. Source: collective oath—Triune Oath. While one is on the verge of death, the other receives the forging of the Titan."
I grinned faintly. "Plot armor, huh? Good. We hammer it until it breaks."
I pressed forward—[BLACK MOON DRIVE]—Garruk countered with [SEISMIC SUNDER]. The earth split, the sky trembled. Behind, Rena thrust [HELL GATE—LOCK] again to hold Elrodan back, but Garruk's Aegis struck Chaos from the other side, creating tremors that shook the seal.
The battle became two axes: axe and gauntlet at the center, darkness and moon behind.
Each impact rewrote the map of the lost village—carving new craters, erecting pillars of stone that were born and then crumbled.
Garruk spun the axe, striking down. "FOR DARRIUS! FOR BOW HERO!"
"For your turn," I replied. "You're next."
I slipped my foot, forcing the line up. "Noa—"
[BOOST ×2]
Right fist rises from below—
Axe descends from above—
Our clash still shook the earth as Rena held Elrodan beneath the dome of [CHAOS DOMAIN]. The [HELL GATE—LOCK] seal pressed against his neck, the moon runes around him nearly extinguished.
I kept the pressure on Garruk—I supported his axe with Noa Genesis, then forced his knees to the ground with [GRAVITY KNEEL].
"His turn is over," I said flatly. "Now the archer without a bow—"
Elrodan opened his eyes. In his irises, the last crescent moon burned.
"My… last breath… for you, Garruk," he whispered.
Rena pressed harder. "Don't—"
Too late.