The Elf Queen's eyes narrowed, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear, anger, and determination.
This stranger, this Lewis, had dared to challenge her, to disrupt her plans, to stand in her way.
He was powerful, she realized now, far more powerful than she had initially thought. But that would not deter her. She had come too far, done too much, sacrificed too many to let one man stand in her way.
She thought back to her rise to power, to the ruthlessness and cunning that had brought her to the head of the Triumvirate.
She had eliminated anyone who had stood in her way, had used every tool at her disposal to ascend to her position of power.
She had done whatever it took, without hesitation, without remorse.
And she would do it again.
She could feel the power of the Grand Blood Stone pulsing within her, a dark, consuming energy that promised destruction and victory.
She had used it to control others, to bend them to her will, but she knew that it might be too much to control this Lewis.
No matter. If she couldn't control him, she would eliminate him.
"RAAAHHHHHH!!!"
With a cry of rage, she unleashed the full power of the Grand Blood Stone, the energy output so immense that the entire area trembled, the ground shaking as if in fear of her wrath.
The air crackled with dark magic, the sky turning black as a torrent of energy surged forth, a tidal wave of destruction aimed directly at Lewis.
"I will not be thwarted!" she screamed, her voice echoing across the battlefield. "You will not stand in my way! I will crush you, and this war will be mine!"
Lewis faced the onslaught, his face calm, his eyes determined.
But the Elf Queen could see a flicker of concern in his eyes, a realization of the magnitude of the power she wielded.
Yes, she thought, let him see. Let him know that he is facing a force he cannot defeat. Let him know that he is facing his doom.
The energy surged forward, a relentless, unstoppable force, a manifestation of her will, her desire, her unbreakable resolve.
She would win. She would triumph. She would do whatever it took.
The war was hers to win, and she would not be stopped.
Not by Lewis, not by anyone.
The world would tremble before her might, and all who dared to oppose her would fall.
Her time had come, and nothing would stand in her way.
*********
"Not bad…"
I stood there, looking at the growing power of the Elf Queen, the dark energy of the Grand Blood Stone swirling around her, a maelstrom of destruction.
I could see her determination, her rage, her unyielding desire to win.
She thought she had me cornered, thought she could defeat me with her newfound power.
I couldn't help but smirk.
Did she really think she could best me?
Did she truly believe that she could stand against me and win?
She had no idea what I was capable of, no idea what I had learned within the Root.
I had had a lot of time to think about many things, many Magic, when I was within the Root. And in that time, I had finally solved the code to using the Arcanas of the Nether Realm.
'By inversing all the constants and variables, arriving at an opposite conclusion that remained consistent with the laws of this reality, I finally found the key to controlling the Arcanas of this world.'
That was how I had resurrected Aria and her friends.
That was also how I had gained the power to easily kill the Beast King and Dwarven Chief..
The combined might of the Arcanas was at my disposal, a power beyond imagining, a power that I could use to wipe out the Elf Queen and her forces if I so chose.
But that wouldn't solve anything, would it?
'Killing them will only perpetuate the cycle of violence, only lead to more suffering, more pain. There had to be another way, a way to end this war without more death, without more destruction.'
Besides, most of these people here just came to war because they were either forced to, or blindly followed their leaders.
'Many of them have families too. It'll be too harsh if I decide to end the cycle of violence by killing their families as well. If I go down that route, how many survivors will be left?'
That's right. In the end, I had to seek out an alternate means to end the conflict.
'I had hoped Larry and his team would be able to since they have more charisma and influence here, and they almost did it too…'
But who would have thought this crazy woman had another trick up her sleeve?
'In any case… let's see…'
"RAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
As the Elf Queen's energy surged towards me, her screams of rage echoing in my ears, I thought back to all that I had learned, all that I had seen, all that I had done.
I had the power to change everything. I had the power to make a difference.
And I would use it.
Not to destroy, not to kill, but to heal, to mend, to bring peace.
I looked at the Elf Queen, her face twisted with fury, her eyes filled with hatred, and I could see what it was I needed to do.
'This should take an ample amount of energy, but that shouldn't matter as long as I use Spellcraft and the Arcanas to complement the Spell.'
I personally couldn't wait to see the results!
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
