The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 467: Fate is inevitable

Millions of Fate strings filled Althea’s vision. She ignored the gold ones leading up to Heavens. Those belonged to others.

She sensed three different attacks aimed at her, each capable of hurting her flesh. Golden strings after golden strings flashed by. Her speed in discarding them increased.

The attacks closed in. Blisters appeared on the left side of her face. At the same time, the air flow diverted from her, going over a blockade as she felt it flow over her head.

A chill crept up the back of her neck. A cold metal seemed to inch closer, intent on meeting the heat on the other side.

There.

Thin and easy to miss, threads burning brightly, concealed in open between the many gold strings.

She didn’t have much control over these burning threads as they were stolen by Orosol. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything about it.

With a thought she controlled the remaining power of Fate contained within those burning strings. She couldn’t increase or decrease it, however, she could disturb it, which was enough.

"Wh-"

Starshe’s shout was cut short. Her incoming sword missed her by a width of a string and clashed against the smouldering, black and red fist on the other side, severing it.

"Damn–"

Elron cursed and dispersed his wood and fire power but the sudden change of trajectory of the burning hand touched the air above, filled with breath. The smouldering fire exploded.

Elron and Starshe got caught in the shockwave. They were thrown away.

The shield meant to isolate Althea shattered and air rushed inside to fill the void.

"Argh."

Hans groaned. Having his ability disrupted came with a backlash.

Althea didn’t celebrate yet. Her opponents suffered a little, they hadn’t lost yet.

"As expected, Fate is your domain," Elron exclaimed. "Even the Divine Lord in all his wisdom and power has to bow in this field before you."

Althea detested the broad smile on his face. He embodied everything she hated about the Divine Lord’s path.

Elron didn’t care about winning or losing. Nor about the prestige or honor of the lord he served, going as far as criticizing him, openly and loudly.

He enjoyed every aspect of life, even at the cost of destruction. A person like him would hack against any and every structure she, the Divine Lord, or any other being erected.

Imagining a world where such a person could cause chaos without suffering from Fate, would end the world.

She couldn’t allow it. She would rather destroy him than see him destroy everything else.

The strings she could detect easily had been burnt off. Finding new ones proved harder than she had imagined. It didn’t stop her from trying, though.

’This battle is a good warm up in preparation of what’s coming. I can go all out without risking a genocide.’

Her three opponents acted in tandem. Their failure helped them improve.

Althea felt the air thin. Again. Only, this time, she felt the space constrict too. Hans’ handiwork, she knew.

The man surpassed the traditional defense-focused shield Knights. His mastery over his craft and ability to think outside of the norm was worthy of respect.

At the same time, she felt the constricted space heat up. The pressure and heat together made her blood boil. Literally.

She gritted her teeth and maintained focus. The burning strings could be perceived but not seen. Not the remaining ones. She would need to deduce and estimate their location and power to use it against these three.

This, while suffering from breath depravity, feeling her skin and blood sear, and the chilling approach of cold steel, cutting through space.

Althea disliked the Star Sword but confessed, not out loud, never out loud, that she possessed true skill.

’She has mastered a skill that bypasses Time and Space. I wonder which Sword God’s inheritance she found.’

Althea never mastered the sword but knew enough to make an accurate judgement.

"Go all out."

"What do you think we are doing? If it was so easy to burn Heaven and Fate, you think I would have joined the Divine Lord?"

"Quiet! Focus. We need to injure her and force a retreat. If she is around when the Cracks fall, all the Divine crystals will float to her!"

"I want to do so much more to her than merely injuring her. I wonder how she will look once cut and cleaved."

"Me too. Give me those cut off and cleaved off pieces please. Never have I seen a skin so resistant to my fire."

Their provocation faded to the back of her mind. Althea’s attention was drawn to something she had observed.

The attack aimed at her weakened as it inched toward her, despite their opponents’ struggle to increase the impact.

Everything blurred. All the attacks reached her, and...

Nothing happened.

Silence hung in the air. She watched her opponents. Each stood agape. Even the playful Elron appeared too stunned to brush it off lightly.

She didn’t mean to but a smile tugged at her lips. Thousands of golden threads coiled around her, acting as her armor. Their attacks had disappeared when it landed on it.

"Fate is fickle, isn’t it?" She explained, despite herself.

"I can’t touch you with my golden strings because you guys have severed and reattached your strings. But neither can your attacks reach me, as every action of yours are marred with the vile power hidden in those threads connected to your so-called divine lord."

This was it. She finally felt the connection with origin. The difference between her strings and the others were the same as the difference between an original unique piece and a cheap, imitated fake.

"So...," Elron spoke, gulping empty air. "It’s a draw?"

Althea’s faint smile turned brighter.

"No?" Elron chuckled, not fooling even himself. His pale face enhanced the fear in his eyes.

Hans closed his eyes. He had accepted his end. Starshe teared, too afraid to scream. The emotions weighed so heavy on her, her knees buckled.

Althea raised her arms. A single string formed, glowing with a radiance of ten thousands of golden strings.

She wielded it like a whip. This time, she didn’t hit her opponents. No. Instead, she struck the strings connected to each of them.

Sensing the incoming attack, the strings flared and strung tight, but alas...it wasn’t enough.

They snapped like a dried twig crushed by the storms.

Starshe fell apart in millions of pieces before fading away. Elron laughed as he burnt to wood and ash. Hans turned to stone before falling to dust.

Althea watched with calmness she never felt before. There was no point of wasting feelings on Fate. Fate, she realized, remained inevitable.