Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 918: Death of Valend

Thump!

With blood still vigorously rushing out of his severed jugular and carotid arteries darkness fell upon Valend, his life snuffed out in just a couple of seconds. His last words incomprehensible to the ear but their inclination clear as day....anguish, rage and hatred. With those emotions being the last expression of his soul Valend died, his body falling backwards and crashing against the rock floor with a loud sound.

His killer, Frost returned to the ground after unleashing his skill [Flight of the Luan], his legs shaking from strain and exhaustion. His already dwindling reserves of energy nearly sucked dry by his aggressive play yet despite the strong urge to collapse and splay himself across the rock floor he stubbornly remained standing, his eyes never leaving Valend’s body, determined to make damn sure the giant would never wake again.

Only after his senses failed to pick up any signs of life several times over did he release that repressed breath held in the depths of his chest and allow himself to collapse onto the floor.

"Huuuuu finally." His breath quickened to take in as much air as possible as the ramifications of his indulgence came in relentless waves the instant his adrenaline started to disappear. Pain soon followed the worst being in his eyes and brain. He was used to having his limbs wounded and or exhausted to the point of collapse, but this was the first time he’d really felt such agony in his eyes.....it was very, very uncomfortable.

Frost wasted no time in pulling out a second health potion, he cared not a single iota about the law of diminishing returns as he poured the liquid on his eyes, desperate to be free of this growing pain and discomfort. He felt his eyes swelling, threatening to burst and shred apart at the same time. Another use or two of the [Lunar eyes] and they may very well have but fortunately -or unfortunately given the degree of discomfort he was feeling, sometimes the body breaking is less painful than enduring- he stopped just shy of the mark and thus avoided losing his sense of sight.

Within moments he felt a tingling itch, as though ants were crawling across every millimetre of his eyeballs. He rolled on the ground, punching, kicking and tensing his body over and over in an attempt to endure the gruelling sensation. His mind ultimately returning to when Khione warned him of the side effects of overusing the [Lunar eyes].

While training she kept a keen watch on his limits, forcing him to take breaks and often imbibe high quality health potions so as to avoid even the slightest bit of damage. The [Lunar eyes] were an impressive art that granted immense benefits in battle but training to use them effectively was a harsh and demanding practise....a reality he was just now properly realising.

"Fuck! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to something like this." Eventually however the discomfort faded and the redness in his eyes receded, their size returning to normal and his vision no longer as impacted.

"Asshole!" To make himself feel better about his situation Frost delivered a swift kick to Valend’s ribs. A foolish choice as he had forgotten how sturdy he was. "Ow, really what are you made of diamond?" Even dead Valend’s corpse was akin to an iron plate, without chakra in place all he ended up with was a sore foot.

"Ahhhhh!"

"NOOO!!"

Frost’s attempt to emotionally recover from his drawn out engagement with his annoyingly resilient foe was unfortunately interrupted by the sound of screams echoing through the rocks, the battle between the Lunar maidens and Valend’s elites had reached a dire point. That scream was one of final resistance, someone had died.

"Shit, guess I can’t even get a single minute to rest." Clicking his tongue Frost carried himself over to Valend’s corpse and started to hack away at his damaged neck, far easier to do now that he wasn’t capable of putting up any resistance.

It took three strikes -he held back too much with the first- to sever his head from his shoulders, Valend was tenacious even in death.

"Crush their morale, then their bodies." With Valend’s severed head as proof it’d be hard for those seven elites to keep their nerve, and a frightened enemy was much easier to kill.

He lugged the head over his shoulder, sucked the massive two handed hammer into his storage ring -his spoils of war-, momentarily lamented the waste of materials he was leaving behind and started dashing towards the other battlefield. He pulled out a mana potion as he ran, chugging down its contents so he wouldn’t be lacking in chakra during the next engagement.

Several seconds prior to his departure the first casualty of the battle between the seven evil men and the Lunar maidens had occurred. One of the early stage C-rank warriors missed a step, her movements fell short causing her to receive a significant wound to her left leg, a situation that was quickly taken advantage of by another enemy who was nearby. Allowing himself to endure a rather minor cut across his abdomen the man charged straight for the maiden, one handaxe severed her left arm while the other decapitated her, killing her mid scream.

What followed was a cacophony of despairing wails, moments of stunned shock that nearly led to a second casualty and an outburst of anger from both Shalla and Yana. The woman who died wasn’t an elder, she was barely even an adult, yet she died before either of them....fate was cruel.

"Hehehehe one down but so much more to go." The man who killed her licked the blood from his axes, relishing in the taste as he hungrily looked at several other maidens who bore similar levels of strength. The tide was turning, with just one death the battle would shift, a sign that these inexperienced women had reached their limit. Now their feast could begin in earnest.

"I’LL KILL YOU!!!!" Neve the young Matriarch released a brutal roar, tears of blood flowing down her cheek as she launched herself at the nearest enemy, determined to take down one of theirs in recompense.

She knew that girl well, they had grown up together, her family being incredibly loyal to hers for generations. She was kind, gentle but at the same time stubborn and willing to help her fellow maidens in their endeavours. Like her she believed that their race needed to change, to depart from some of their stifling traditions. Neve was able to envision a bright future for her species as long as she had capable suppor....no friends like her by her side....but such a thing was no longer possible. The head of that bright young woman rolled across the rock floor, her eyes revealing a mixture of pain and fear that shook the remaining Lunar maidens to their core.

The four children in the centre of the caravan had been shielded from the most gruesome sights but even they could feel the terror and despair in the atmosphere, their guardians who vehemently surrounded them, obscuring them from the darkness were trembling and crying. A couple screamed, one fell to her knees while another with her fan in hand charged into battle overcome by rage.

"Hahahahaha such beautiful music isn’t it boys." One of the peak C-ranks who had been dealing with Kiba smiled with a cruel pervasion, his words causing his companions to laugh evilly in response as they moved to begin the glorious slaughter. Their strengths seemed jump several levels, proving that until now they had merely been playing the long game.

Kiba who knew of this couldn’t help but frown, he felt a tightness developing in his chest, his body already exhausted from dashing across the battlefield couldn’t handle an even more aggressive assault. He turned his head towards the secondary battlefield but unfortunately because of the chaos happening nearby he couldn’t hear the battle between Valend and his master, he also didn’t have an opportunity to communicate through their soul bond as he was suddenly forced to engage the enemy. Keen to deal a devasting blow to their morale the seven evil men targeted Neve who after witnessing the death of her friend charged into the frontlines without any regard for her own safety.

"Matriarch!" Yana called out as she tried to wrestle free from the control of one of the men but ultimately failed. If Neve fell here their morale would plummet completely, Frost may be their saviour, but she was their rock, their leader.

"NOOO!!" Several maidens bellowed as they tried to reach Neve’s position before the enemy could deliver their attacks but like Yana they failed to make it in time.

Neve who had delved deep into enemy lines found herself isolated with a combination of three enemies attacking her from three different angles, one of them being at the peak of C-rank. Her mind whirred into action, time seemingly slowing to a crawl as the danger loomed in, a thick stench of death assailed her nostrils and the cold grasp of the grim reaper wrapped around her heart, ready to pull her soul into the afterlife.

’Dammit!’ There was no escape, her best outcome being stabbed through her left lung and losing her right hand, a delayed death but death all the same.

’Fine if that’s the case then I’ll take one of you with me!’ Neve didn’t falter when met with her upcoming death instead she was determined to make sure that it wouldn’t be in vain.