Lola did her best to protect Noah while simultaneously trying to advance toward the shop’s protective boundary.
Her fire wings created barriers that deflected so attacks while her free arm generated defensive flas around Noah’s body.
But fighting while maintaining the intimate connection and protecting an unconscious burden severely limited her options.
The dark elf grandmasters closed in from multiple directions, their assault designed to overwhelm her defenses.
Lola tried her hardest to break through the encirclent, her fire wings blazing as she attempted to reach the shop’s safety with Noah still cradled protectively in her arms. The energy she had drawn from their connection provided temporary relief from her exhaustion, but the overwhelming numbers arrayed against her made victory impossible.
The dark elf grandmasters attacked from every direction with coordinated precision. Earth constructs erupted from below to restrict her movent. Dark elent attacks converged from multiple angles to overwhelm her defenses. Shadow bindings attempted to snare her wings and limbs.
She deflected what she could, her fire creating barriers that bought precious seconds. But for every attack she stopped, two more penetrated through gaps in her defense. The accumulated damage began taking its toll despite her vitality.
A particularly powerful strike from Darian himself finally broke through her defenses completely. The dark king’s attack caught her across the side with devastating force, sending shockwaves through her already exhausted body.
Lola’s grip on Noah loosened involuntarily as the impact threw her backward. She tried desperately to maintain her hold, her arms straining to keep him secure, but the force was too great. Noah’s unconscious body slipped from her grasp and tumbled through the air.
She crashed into the ground several ters away, pain exploding through her system as injuries she had been suppressing through sheer willpower finally overwheld her body. Her fire wings flickered and began to fade as her mana reserves reached critical depletion.
Noah’s body hit the earth with a sickening thud directly in front of where Darian stood, the peaceful expression on his face unchanged despite the violent fall. The teardrop fruit was no longer in his hand, it has long been absorbed by his body.
A triumphant smirk spread across Darian’s face as he looked down at the prize that had literally fallen at his feet. "How convenient. The shopkeeper delivers himself to without further effort required."
Lola’s eyes dilated with horror as she processed what had just occurred. She forced her battered body to move, trying to stand and reach Noah despite the overwhelming pain and exhaustion screaming through every nerve.
Her muscles refused to obey properly, her legs collapsing under her weight as she attempted to rise.
"No! No!" Lola shouted desperately, her voice breaking with emotion that transcended her nature. She clawed at the ground, trying to drag herself forward even though her body had reached its absolute limits.
Darian didn’t even glance at her pathetic attempts. He could tell that she had no power left in her body.
His attention remained fixed on Noah’s unconscious form as he began channeling his dark elent magic. A spear of absolute darkness materialized in his hand, the weapon constructed from concentrated shadow that seed to absorb all light around it.
"The artifact is mine now," Darian declared with cold satisfaction, raising the dark spear above Noah’s chest. "And without its master, I will claim everything that mysterious shop contains."
He plunged the spear downward with decisive force, the shadow construct driving toward Noah’s heart with lethal intent.
Ptui!
The sound of flesh being torn apart erupted sickeningly across the clearing. Blood began flowing imdiately, the crimson liquid stark against the dark spear’s lightless surface.
Lola watched the entire scene unfold from where she lay broken on the ground, unable to move or intervene despite every fiber of her being screaming to save Noah. Her vision blurred as her mind struggled to process what had just occurred.
Tears began flowing down her face, cutting clean tracks through the ash and blood covering her face. The demonic pride that typically prevented such emotional displays shattered completely in the face of absolute failure.
She had promised to protect him. She had sworn she wouldn’t let him down. And now she could only watch as the person who had saved her life, given her purpose, and treated her with genuine care rather than as a tool or servant, was murdered before her eyes while she lay helpless and broken.
Darian stood over Noah’s impaled body, but his expression showed frustration rather than satisfaction. He could still feel the faint heartbeat beneath his spear, the stubborn persistence of life clinging despite the mortal wound.
"Pathetic human that refuses to die properly," Darian snarled with contempt, raising his dark spear for another strike. "Let help you pass along."
He plunged the shadow weapon downward once more, this ti angling directly for Noah’s heart. The spear pierced through flesh and bone, penetrating deep into the vital organ that sustained his life.
The faint heartbeat that had persisted through the first strike finally stopped. The flow of blood slowed and then ceased as Noah’s body could no longer maintain circulation. His chest stopped rising with breath.
Noah Carter was officially dead.
Darian began laughing with maniacal triumph, the sound echoing across the devastated clearing. "Finally! The shopkeeper is dead and his treasures are mine! Everything that mysterious establishnt contains now belongs to—"
A familiar and terrifying aura suddenly entered his perception, cutting his celebration short. Queen Seraphina had arrived within eyesight, her single remaining arm blazing with light magic while her face twisted with fury at seeing the dark elf king standing over the shopkeeper’s corpse.
Darian’s laughter died imdiately. He had to get inside the shop and claim its contents before Seraphina could interfere. Once he controlled whatever ancient artifact powered that establishnt, he could defend it against even her wounded rage.
He imdiately turned and walked toward the shop’s entrance with purposeful strides. His hand closed around the door handle and pulled, expecting the chanism to open now that its master was dead.
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