Becoming A God In Another World With My Crush
Chapter 45: A Knight In Bloody Armour

Chapter 45: A Knight In Bloody Armour

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Alyhana stumbled backward, her breath shallow and fast, a thin film of sweat clinging to her forehead as she raised another shield of pale golden light just in time to block a blast of shadowy magic that slammed into it.

But...the shield shattered instantly.

She cried out, thrown off balance again. Her back slammed against a broken pillar, and she winced barely keeping her knees from buckling.

She wasn’t trained for battle, the only thing she was truly skilled at was healing magic.

The creature across from her snarled. It was Maia...at least, it used to be. Now she was barely human anymore. Her limbs had stretched unnaturally, her eyes a sickly, glowing red and her voice came out low and distorted, almost like several people speaking at once.

"Just look at you...pathetic."

Alyhana tried to lift her hand again, forcing another shield into existence, but it was unstable.

"I’m not... going to run," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

’gods, please give me strength.’

She reached deep into herself, summoning a pulse of light that shot forward like a spear which struck the creature’s chest... and fizzled out uselessly.

The monster laughed and charged at her in full speed, Alyhana barely managed to throw up another barrier before it shattered again like glass. The impact sent her skidding across the floor, her hip slamming into a chunk of debris and her lungs were practically begging for air this point.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she tried to stand, but her legs gave out beneath her.

"You’re not even worth living," the monster hissed, slowly advancing. "Your parents should have saved themselves instead of you."

Alyhana grit her teeth, forcing herself to crawl backward, one hand pressing against her side where her ribs throbbed with every breath.

"No," she gasped, then raised her hand one last time. Alyhana whimpered softly, covering her head with one arm even though she knew it wouldn’t help.

"You couldn’t save me," the creature hissed. "It’s only right that you die too."

Alyhana shut her eyes as a memory of Maia smiling at her and ruffling her hair flashed through her mind.

"I’m sorry..."

She meant it, for everything, for being too weak to be of real help to anyone, for not being able to live long enough to give Maia’s sacrifice meaning.

She braced herself for the final blow as she squeezed her eyes shut, heart caught in her throat. She didn’t want to see it happen. Didn’t want to see that thing’s face one last time.

But then—

Clang!

A loud, metallic sound tore through the silence, followed by a sharp hiss of pain. Something rushed past her face...a blur of blue and black and in the next breath, the monster was knocked back with a furious roar.

A gust of air blew past her as the wind shifted.

She opened her eyes in a daze. "...huh?"

Someone stood in front of her now, shoulders heaving slightly. The Aurex Blade glowing in his hand, trembling from the force of his last swing. His clothes were torn, one side soaked in blood that ran in slow, sticky drips down his arm and his back was to her, shielding her completely.

"...Xander?" she breathed.

He didn’t look back, his stance was wide and steady, even if his body was clearly tired. His shoulder twitched, he was obviously in pain...but he didn’t show it on his face. His voice was low when he finally spoke.

"You did enough, Alyhana" he said through gritted teeth. "Let me finish it."

The monster snarled from across the room, swaying a little. A long gash now split across its chest, thick black smoke spilling from the wound.

’He hurt it...?’ Alyhana’s eyes widened. ’This this...the power of a god?’

Xander adjusted his grip on the sword as he just took a step forward and she stared at him, her heart pounding.

He was hurt. Badly. She could see it in the way he moved—too tight, too fast—but he kept going.

"You..." the monster hissed, recovering its balance. "I thought I took care of you."

Xander tilted his head, one corner of his mouth twitching. "Yeah...You thought wrong."

He lunged forward, and the monster met him with a roar, the flesh of a beast crashing against steel once again. "Bad move pitting up my dead dad against me, by the way."

Alyhana could only watch from the floor, eyes wide as Xander darted forward, sword raised, feet dragging slightly across the stone floor as he forced his body to respond. His grip wasn’t at all perfect...his stance was too wide, shoulders way too tense, but there was something wild in the way he moved. Not trained, not elegant, just raw, messy instinct.

Xander was definitely not a swordsman.

The monster hissed and slashed out with its claws, aiming for his throat and Xander ducked just in time before the monster ripped out his oesophagus.

His shoulder throbbed like fire. Every movement sent new pain lancing down his side, but he grit his teeth and pushed through it. He circled the monster, breath coming in short bursts. His sword hand trembled, but he raised it again as the creature lunged at him again claws first.

He jumped to the side, the movement not clean but fast enough to avoid the strike, the tip of his sword grazed the monster’s side as he passed it. Black mist sprayed out like smoke, and the monster shrieked.

"You’re fast," it growled. "But you’re clumsy, I’ll finish you off eventually."

Xander swallowed hard.

"Yeah?" he muttered, panting. "Well... you’re really ugly."

He charged again, slashing downwards with shaky precision. The blade connected with the monster’s with another hit, not deep enough to do real damage but it kept the creature on edge.

It roared and spun, aiming a vicious swipe at his side and Xander raised his sword in time to block but the impact sent him flying backward. He hit the floor hard, skidding across the stone and nearly dropping the weapon from his hand.

Alyhana screamed, reaching toward him instinctively. "Xander!"

He groaned, rolling onto his side, coughing hard as blood spilled from his lips and yet he forced himself up slowly.

"I’m not done yet..." he muttered while watching its movements closely, blinking through the blood dripping into his eyes. The creature was powerful, but it wasn’t mindless, he just needed that one second to think.

He took a shaky step forward, lifting his sword again, pretending to go in for another wild attack. But his swing was off-balance clumsy on purpose, the blade missed by a mile. The monster sneered, easily dodging and retaliating with a brutal backhand that sent him sprawling.

He let himself fall and hit the ground hard the sword slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the stone.

The monster approached slowly, cautious but sure of its victory. It didn’t rush as it wanted to savor this.

Xander lay on the floor, heart thudding against his ribs with blood running into his mouth. He stayed limp, half-curled on his side with his breathing shallow and his eyes just barely open.

’Just a little closer.’

The creature reared back, shadows curling along its claws. It raised both arms, preparing the final strike.

Xander’s fingers tightened.

In one quick movement, he reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a dagger hidden underneath it and transferred the small energy of the Veylith Crystal remnants into it.

He moved fast, too fast for the monster to react and the dagger drove upward with all the force he had left, burying itself deep into the side of the creature’s skull...just beneath the eye, where the skin was thinnest. There was a burst of sickening heat, a ripple of corrupted magic pushing back, but Xander didn’t stop and he pushed harder.

The monster screamed.

It staggered back, flailing, smoke pouring from the wound as cracks split across its face. The darkness within it unraveled in violent bursts, twisting, fighting and collapsing in on itself.

The creature let out one last shuddering cry before it crumbled into ash while Xander dropped the dagger.

And all was left was to find Iris.