HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 38 (Patreon)

Chapter 38 - Alduin

Paarthurnax found the strength to push Alduin away from Agnar, who lay on the ground, and me. He even managed to flip the World Eater onto his back, his Claws tearing into the slightly larger Dragon's body.

“Resistance is futile, Paarthurnax!” Alduin growled, his voice echoing ominously around the Mountain.

My Power warned me just how lethal the World Eater was. His Danger Level was approaching the point where death would be all but certain.

But I didn't have time to think about that. An Incantation was already forming on my lips. I had never actually used this Spell in a real-life Situation before, only practiced it. But there was no better time to try it than now.

I held my Hand above the gaping hole in Agnar's Stomach.

“O sovereign light that predates the dawn, primordial breath from which all life was first bestowed, heed my decree and descend upon this shattered vessel. Let flesh remember its perfection, let bone reclaim its rightful form, let blood flow untainted, and let every wound be undone as though suffering itself had never been born. O sacred force that defies the boundary between life and death, gather the scattered essence of this soul and restore it to its fullest glory. By the authority vested in my words, let no ailment remain, let no injury endure, and let vitality return in its most absolute form. Holy Healing!”

As soon as the final words of my Incantation passed my lips, an intense golden light enveloped Agnar's Body as the King-Class Healing Spell activated.

I could feel the Spell consuming a considerable portion of my Magic Reserves just to cast it. It was also one of the Spells I hadn't managed to cast silently during practice.

The holy light lasted for several seconds before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Along with it, the gaping hole vanished, leaving only fresh flesh behind. The only sign that there had ever been a wound was the newly healed Skin visible through the hole in Agnar's Nord Armor.

“Huuugh, that hurt!” Agnar exclaimed as he regained consciousness. “What happened?”

“No time to rest. We have a World Eater to fight!”

I immediately pulled him to his feet and turned him toward the spot where Paarthurnax was keeping Alduin busy. Like a true Nord, Agnar instinctively reached for his Waraxe, ready to return to battle.

Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed off to help Paarthurnax face the World Eater. Alduin shot me an angry glare in the middle of the fight, but I wasn't about to let him intimidate me.

With Paarthurnax and Agnar keeping him occupied and creating some Space for me to act freely, I cast another Spell. Thanks to my newly acquired Master-Level knowledge of Conjuration, I summoned two Dragon Priests from Oblivion, giving us some much-needed ranged firepower.

Of course, Alduin wasn't going to sit around and let us do as we pleased.

Finally overpowering Paarthurnax, who had been pinning him to the ground, Alduin took to the Air.

“Bahloki nahkip sillesejoor. My belly is full of the souls of your fellow mortals, Dovahkiin. Die now and await your fate in Sovngarde!”

Using the Power of his Thu'um, Alduin began summoning meteors from the Sky, forcing me to keep a close eye on them. Unlike in the Games, I didn't have a Health Bar to protect me. Even a single direct hit could prove fatal.

“Dovahkiin, you call yourself? Arrogant mortals!” the Dragon mocked.

Before this could turn into an Aerial Battle, with Alduin picking us off from the Sky, I let the Power within me swell and shouted, “JOOR ZAH FRUL!”

I wasn't the only one with that idea. Agnar's Thu'um joined mine, striking Alduin with Dragonrend and forcing him back into mortality, down to the Ground.

As soon as the World Eater crashed onto the Throat of the World, Agnar was already upon him, bringing his mighty Waraxe down on the Dragon's head. The blade clashed against Alduin's sharp, Sword-like Teeth.

“You may have picked up the weapons of my ancient foes, but you are not their equal!” Alduin snarled, his voice filled with rage.

My summoned Dragon Priests immediately began raining Fireballs and Lightning Strikes down on Alduin. They had also summoned their own Frost, Fire, and Storm Atronachs for support, and those began attacking the Dragon at close range.

Of course, I followed up immediately. Without wasting any time, I began manipulating the very Stone of the Throat of the World, shaping it into sharp spears that thrust up from beneath Alduin, piercing his belly and wings.

The World Eater roared in anger. “You dare, Mortals? I have feasted on many greater than you!”

But our onslaught didn't stop. Every time the effect of Dragonrend wore off and he attempted to take flight, we hit him with the Shout again. Bindings of Stone and Earth also held him firmly in place.

From above, Paarthurnax crashed onto Alduin's back, his Claws tearing into the World Eater's flesh. Agnar's mighty Axe clashed against the Dragon's Teeth. My Summons continued their assault across Alduin's Body, while my own Magic relentlessly battered the Dragon.

Yet no matter what we threw at him, the apocalyptic Dragon simply refused to die.

That guy had even tanked a fully formed Rotation Stone Cannon, a Spell that could usually pierce straight through a Giant or Dragon, regardless of where I hit them.

That was what you got when fighting a God.

Still, we must have inflicted some damage on Alduin. Our combined assault had to have some effect.

Otherwise, why would he be roaring at us like that?

“Meyz mul, Dovahkiin. As cowardly as you are, you have become strong. But I am Al-du-in, Firstborn of Akatosh! Mulaagi zok lot! I cannot be slain here, by you or anyone else! You cannot prevail against me. I will outlast you... mortal!”

With a tremendous blast of his Thu'um, he hurled all of us backward, freeing himself by shattering the Earth Spikes I had driven into his Body and breaking every binding I had created to hold him down.

After giving us one final glare, he took off into the Air and flew away without looking back.

Once the World Eater had disappeared over the Horizon, Paarthurnax finally spoke.

“Lot krongrah. The two of you truly have the Voice of a dovah. Alduin's allies will think twice after this victory.”

“Not exactly a victory...” I said dryly, allowing myself to recover from the exhausting fight. “One of us nearly died, and Alduin still escaped.”

Agnar nodded in agreement.

“Ni liivrah hin mere. True, this is not the final krongah—victory. But not even the heroes of old were able to defeat Alduin in open battle. Alduin has always been pahlok—arrogant in his power. Uznahgar paar. He took domination as his birthright. This should shake the loyalty of the dov who serve him,” Paarthurnax replied.

His true intentions were finally beginning to shine through.

He wasn't trying to defeat Alduin simply because the Dragon was supposed to destroy the World. No, he wanted to defeat him because he wished to turn the Dragons away from ruling over Humanity and guide them back to the proper Path, one that would ultimately lead to the prophesied End of the World at Alduin's hands.

“As it may be, the loyalty of the Dragons isn't our concern,” Agnar added, holding a hand against the spot where his Armor now had a gaping hole. “We need to recover from this Battle and figure out where Alduin has fled.”

“Yes... one of his allies could tell us. Motmahus... But it will not be easy to... convince one of them to betray him. Perhaps the hofkahsejun—the palace in Whiterun... Dragonsreach. It was originally built to house a captive dovah. A fine place to trap one of Alduin's allies, hmm?”

“That's a fucking great idea!” I laughed gleefully. “I'm sure Jarl Balgruuf will love nothing more than letting you use his home to trap a Dragon inside.”

Agnar shot me a dirty look.

“I know the Jarl, but I'll have to talk to him first.”

“Do that. Seems like you've found your path to slaying Alduin and saving this World,” I mused.

This wasn't even my World. I had just fought a God, blindly pursuing Power and Knowledge, because I had forgotten that Alduin would show up while we were trying to learn Dragonrend.

“You're not joining me?” Agnar asked.

“I still have my own Path to pursue, and my time in Skyrim is limited. Besides, I need to see how my Family is doing,” I explained reasonably, trying not to make it sound too much like an excuse to piss him off.

But I was a Wizard Devil, a Devil Wizard, or a devilishly handsome Wizard! Yeah, that was it.

My true pursuit was the Path of Magic. That was what I had always dreamed of in this reincarnated Life of mine, along with all the Knowledge and Power that came with it. A little Wealth wouldn't hurt either.

Fighting a God hadn't exactly been part of the Job description.

While I had fought smartly and kept my distance, a single hit from Alduin would have killed me. If he had ambushed us immediately after our little trip through Time, I would have been dead. Nobody could have saved me.

Agnar's Magic, despite his best efforts, simply wasn't that advanced, especially when it came to Restoration.

And the Thu'um wasn't exactly known for its healing abilities, either.

Forgetting that this fight was coming had been incredibly stupid of me.

No, risking my Life against Alduin was a stupid endeavor in general, especially since I had already obtained most of what I could gain from the Main Quest. All I had really wanted were Clear Skies and Dragonrend.

There was still that Meditation Room to check out, but the rest of the Quest had little to offer me.

Hmm, that attitude sounded awfully familiar.

Wasn't that pretty much how the Wizard Lords of House Telvanni from Morrowind behaved?

“You know what? Let's stay in contact. If anything goes wrong, I'll do my best to assist you!” I offered placatingly, without actually committing to fighting Alduin again.

— College of Winterhold —

— A few days later —

“Alistair!”

A dark-haired blur crashed into me the moment I stepped onto the floor of the Hall of Attainment where our Dorm Rooms were located. We practically had the entire floor to ourselves.

“Hey, Astoria,” I greeted the happy young girl, who was practically another little sister to me. “How was your journey through Skyrim?”

“It was amazing! Well, apart from the weather.” Astoria grinned, still holding onto my arm. “Honestly, I don't think I've ever been rained on and snowed on so much in my entire life. There were days when I was fairly certain we'd never be dry again. Even the winters at Hogwarts are mild in comparison. But the scenery more than made up for it. You should have seen the mountains, Al! And the forests! There were these enormous waterfalls near one of the roads, and we had to stop the carriage because I wanted to get a better look.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And Daphne let you?”

“Eventually.” She gave me a knowing smile. “You know me well enough to know that I'll wear her down sooner or later. Not before she reminded me three times that we were on a trading journey, not a sightseeing holiday, of course. But this is another World! Honestly, how can she be so calm and lady-like about it?”

“Sounds like Daphne.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Astoria laughed and finally released my arm, though she stayed close beside me. “But she enjoyed it, too. She just refuses to admit that she can appreciate something without first finding a practical reason for it.”

“I'm sure she'd disagree with that assessment.”

“Of course she would. She'd probably give me a whole speech about spreading rumors about her and the importance of proper conduct.”

I chuckled, and Astoria flashed me a triumphant grin before continuing.

“But honestly, Al, Skyrim is incredible! Every Hold feels different, and there are so many different Races. All those different Elves! Nothing like the ones we have back home, more like their ancient counterparts, the ones we only know from legends! Though I heard there are still some like that hidden away somewhere in the Nordic countries in our World. But those are just Rumors. No Wizard has seen them in a very long time.”

Well, I wouldn't say those were just Rumors. If I remembered correctly, that was part of the DxD lore. Still, it seemed Wizardkind had really screwed over the Elves of our World. Not only had they enslaved the entire Race, but they had also bred them into Slavery.

That was so fucked up.

“And we met the Catpeople of this World! They're so different from Ghislaine! They look like actual human-shaped Cats, not Humans with Cat Ears and a Tail. There's even one studying at the College. He joined recently.” Astoria continued rambling. “The Khajiit we met on our Journey were Traders traveling in a Caravan through Skyrim. I think they sold us drugs, but your Mom wouldn't admit it. She wouldn't let me try any, either. Something called Moon Sugar.”

“Well, you're not wrong. While it's used as a Spice in some parts of the Continent, it's Illegal in the parts controlled by the Empire. It's refined into Drugs, but it's also an Alchemical Ingredient. I guess they can sell it in Skyrim now because of the Civil War?” I chuckled.

“See! Your Mom bought drugs!”

“Let's call them Alchemical Ingredients.”

“And they have actual Lizard People here! Not those ones you told me about who pretend to be the Government in the Human World, but real Lizard People walking around. They can breathe underwater!” She continued telling me about all the strange things she'd encountered.

“You met some Argonians? They're quite rare,” I mused idly as we continued walking toward my Mother's Room, where the others usually gathered.

“Obviously! They look like Lizard People. The Nords aren't the most open-minded bunch, and they discriminate against them. But there's quite a large Community working at the docks in Solitude. I guess being able to breathe underwater comes in handy when you're taking care of Ships.”

Astoria paused to think for a moment before continuing to tell me about everything else she'd witnessed in Skyrim.

From what I could gather from her stories, their Journey had been quite fruitful as well. While I had been busy completing the eastern part of Skyrim on my own, they had continued with their trading Journey.

They had added several more Alchemical Ingredients to their Collection, including various unique Ingredients that didn't exist in our World. On top of that, they seemed to have gotten their hands on a vast selection of Enchanted Equipment.

“How long have you been back at the College?” I asked as I realized she'd started talking quite a bit about recent events there.

“About three days?” she replied thoughtfully before shrugging. “It's not that interesting. We mostly attended the Lectures here. The new Students are interesting, I guess. Onmund is boring. He keeps blabbing on about Nords this, Nords that, and how much they dislike Magic. J'zargo is the Khajiit who joined the College. He's pretty funny because he's so arrogant! Well, Brelyna Maryon is quite interesting. She's a Dark Elf who befriended Daphne and Tracey, probably because she's a lot like Daphne. She's very interested in our Magic.”

Of course she would be interested in our Magic.

Wasn't she from House Telvanni?

[-- End of Chapter --]