The King's Beloved

[Music Recommendation: "Dreamy Shards" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

Large droplets of tears fell from the royal family's eyes one after another.

Nothing could begin to describe the deep yearning they had for each other.

For it was deeper than the deepest ocean, and more vast than the endless sky.

But with each falling tear drop was a healing to their hearts.

Slowly, it filled up the emptiness—the void brought by the years of longing.

And slowly, it returned that precious smile to their faces

Yes, that smile that comes from the heart and soul.

Just as the people we loved could be the cause of our greatest suffering,

They, too, could be the source of our greatest joy.

And what greater joy was there than finding what you have lost?

Than reuniting those that had been separated?

Truly, there was no greater joy for them.

Sniff… sniff… sniff…

A few moments passed as the royal family basked in each other's embrace. Though as much as they would love to stay that way for a while longer, there was a battle they needed to face… and there was justice they needed to bring.

Soon enough, Elliot, Queen Alice, and King Eli recovered from their tears. They all stood up, ready to face the one who started all this mess—the root of evil himself! Avarus! 

Together with Rania, their eyes burned with holy anger. With their eyes, they pierced through the remaining confidence Avarus had. For without the spiritual cores of the king and queen, the strongest undead he had was powerless. Thus, what remained of his army were just the normal ones he had all along.

Great fear continued to crept within Avarus' heart. He had no more cards to play, and no more pawns to use. He was so confident about the undead Queen Alice—so confident he could bring the end of Elliot from her hands and therefore take his spiritual core for himself. Yes, that was the plan he made up as soon as he saw Elliot in the Coliseum. If only he had his spiritual core—the core that contained the most vast of all spiritual energy that ever existed—surely, no one would be able to oppose him! He would be the most powerful of all!

But unfortunately for him, Rania intervened. 

Indeed, he never knew and could never have predicted that the woman he looked down on would be the one ruining his plans! 

And surely, soon enough… lead him to his very own demise!

"You have spread your darkness long enough," Rania's voice echoed through the whole cave, sending shivers to Avarus' entire being. "You have done your evil long enough. You have coveted, and greed, and killed, and destroyed a lot of things… a lot of people… To achieve your endless desires, you sacrificed thousands of lives… But now, all of that must come to an end."

"Y-You can't defeat me," Avarus replied, trying to hide his lost confidence. "I will not be defeated this way… No, NEVER!"

At the flick of his fingers, his hooded knights began to attack. But this time, Elliot was back to his usual self. With the burst of his aura, every single one of them was pushed back. With the king and queen's magic, numerous elemental weapons were created in a snap and flew towards them. And with another batch of Elliot's perfect clones, they outnumbered them.

CLAAAANK!!! SLAAASSSH!!! SMAAASSSSH!!! 

The battle raged on but it didn't take long for Rania, Elliot, Queen Alice, and King Eli to completely subdue the enemies until all that's left was Avarus.

Avarus tried to escape once again but Rania saw him and locked him inside her barrier—this time, a holy barrier made from all the holy energy she could manifest in one go. It took her a couple of minutes to conjure it but she succeeded. And because of that, no matter how much Avarus tried to break it, he was unable to lay even a single scratch on it.

Accepting the fact that he could no longer escape, Avarus turned around to face Rania, Elliot, and the king and queen. He tried to appear brave by smiling arrogantly and scoffing at them but his trembling hands betrayed him.

"You may have cornered me now, but I assure you, this is not the end," Avarus warned them. "I-I will not be defeated this easily. I will not go down just like this. NEVER!" His jaw tightened in his anger and his body trembled in his indignation and resentment.

Rania and Elliot stared at the shaking Avarus. Then, Elliot pointed his forefinger towards his ring—the ring that controlled all the other Exsorbeos. A concentrated but small light beam shot itself towards Avarus, swiftly creating a small hole in the barrier, and went straight towards the ring, pulverizing it into inexistence. Once broken, all the Exsorbeos all around the Floating Kingdom dropped dead to the ground.

"H-How did you—" Avarus was appalled. For indeed, how did Elliot find out about the ring when he never told a single soul about it? But then again, he didn't really know the extent of Elliot's capabilities. If he did, maybe, he would have hesitated to pick a fight with him.

"My dear son, what do you want to do with this sinful man?" Queen Alice asked Elliot. Her gentle face furrowed in anger."I'm afraid that even death wouldn't suffice as payment for all the sins he committed."

Deep in his heart, Elliot agreed with his mother. Though, despite the temptation of vengeance…

"I… I will leave the judgement to the Supreme."

As soon as he said that, a great wind suddenly blew inside the whole cave.

WHOOOSHHH!!!

But instead of a chilly gale, it carried a gentle and pleasant breeze.

And along with it, was whisper… to Rania's and Elliot's ears.

Their eyes widened in surprise. Then, they looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.

"Avarus," Elliot called him sternly. "The Supreme has spoken."