Dungeon of Niflheim

488 Chapter 488: Bastion in crisis

All eyes on top of the northern wall shifted towards Bastion upon hearing Frost’s roar. Many of whom had their hearts lurch in fear the moment they caught sight of the guild master’s heavily wounded state.

Adventurers who grew up under his care and owed their current strength to him froze in place, their blood running cold as their indomitable leader half kneeled before his enemy. From their view all they could see was the second rindar towering over Bastion with his great sword punching through his gut. A gruesome sight filled with blood and horror.

Frost could see a little better from his angle, so he was able to see that even though Bastion was in dire straights the rindar wasn’t doing so well either. One of his arms had been lobbed off in the battle and his body was littered with deep gruesome cuts that exposed the bone. Bastion’s mighty axe was also lodged in his shoulder, threatening to sever another arm. It was a state of what looked like an equal trade off however Bastion’s body was older and far less tenacious in regards to life force. Such a wound wasn’t only debilitating but highly fatal. The situation was very, very dangerous.

Unfortunately there was no one in the vicinity and with enough strength to quickly lend him aid. Bastion’s team that consisted of 5 C-rank adventurers had already fallen, their bodies lying still and in pieces across the battlefield.

The second rindar was wise with his battle tactics, not only did he fight calmly, making use of all his innate skills he roped in a couple C-rank monsters to ambush the adventurers during their battle. Once they were wounded and became slow they were easy pickings.

Utilizing the confusion of new assailants and his ability to camouflage he’d slip away from Bastion to take out these annoying helpers one by one, eventually leaving Bastion stranded and alone.

“Hu hu hu hu hu” Bastion painfully wheezed, his vision growing blurry from the intense blood loss and pain.

“Arrhrrrhhhhhh!” He suddenly screamed out as the rindar slowly pushed his great sword deeper, making sure to cause as much damage and pain as possible. An evil smile adorned the monster’s lips as he relished in Bastion’s screams and partook in the sweet scent of his blood.

Out of the three brothers the second was by far the most ruthless and sadistic, and now he was in his element. With no more interloping distractions he could enjoy this hard won pleasure.

.....

Squelch! His great sword continuing to edge its way through Bastion’s intestines, releasing more and more screams from the old dwarf.

Bastion’s vision started to grow dark, and his legs struggled to support his weight but even, so he refused to give up. Fighting against the immense pain he grabbed hold of the great sword’s blade with both hands, cutting them open in the process.

The rindar who was easily pushing his great sword deeper and deeper suddenly found that he couldn’t move it another inch. Bastion summoned deathly strength in his final moments, pinning the rindar’s great sword in place, not allowing it move forwards or backwards.

“Tsk stubborn bastard!” The rindar grunted in annoyance before reeling back one his arms and started punching Bastion’s face without mercy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blow after blow came down upon Bastion, causing his head to be knocked backwards and blood to spurt from his nose but despite such punishment his grip remained solid, that sword wasn’t going anywhere.

The second rindar though sporting quite severe injuries still boasted a mean punch, Bastion’s face quickly became a mangled mess making him almost unrecognisable. Regardless the guild master continued to endure blow after blow, refusing to give even an inch, but determination could only take one so far, the body had limits after all.

Don! Don! Don!

‘How many does that make? I can’t even feel my face anymore. It’s….cold and .... So tired.’ Bastion’s thoughts were growing weak, and his mind started to shut down. He wanted to sleep, and the image of his dearly departed wife flashed before him, beckoning him into the light….. The iron grip that refused to budge loosened at that moment.

Caught by surprise at the sudden lack of resistance the rindar slipped backwards, dragging his great sword with him. A massive and gnarly looking hole was left in its wake and not even one of Maya’s high heals would be able do anything about such a wound let alone a mid-level health potion. Hell even the low quality high level potion Frost partook after fighting shadow wouldn’t be enough. Bastion was truly at death’s door.

Bastion in his final moments regained a brief moment of clarity, his eyes focused up and he could take in the sight before him. His gut that was opened up and spilling blood, the corpses of his allies around him, the chaotic sounds erupting behind him and last but not least the evil smile of the rindar as he enjoyed his current state with rapt attention.

“...Sorry Jaina looks like dad’s not going to make it.” With a solemn tone Bastion spoke what felt like his final words. The memories of his daughter when she was young and gradually growing flashed by bringing a gentle smile to his face, he would embrace death with a smile.

Time seemed to stop for his friends. Douglas and Ryuu fought desperately against Hamon and Jessie respectively as they madly attempted to rush to his aid.

Meanwhile Frost, the only one on the ground and unrestricted by allies pushed himself forward, forcing his wounded body to run as fast as it could. However the short distance of 100 metres between them never felt so far, what would normally take him a few seconds to cross now felt as though even hours wouldn’t be enough as a veritable quagmire of monsters obstructed his path forcing him to stagnate in place, forever out of reach.

This of course was the machinations of the frost monarch who found a good opportunity to enact some revenge and also help rid his enemy of a powerful B-rank fighter at the same time. His gloating smile was absolutely insufferable.

As the light was about to fade from Bastion’s eyes forever the second rindar who’d been his opponent for the last hour rose to his full 5 metre height with his great sword in hand.

“A fine trophy” He said in a dominant manner before reeling back his sword, aiming to decapitate Bastion and preserve his current look forever.

“BASTION!!!!!!” Frost roared out once again, putting his newly found royal aura in full swing and charging ahead without fear of injury. He successfully barged passed a great deal of monsters, but it still wasn’t enough, there was no way he could make it there in time.

Schwing!

The second rindar’s great sword started its swing, swiftly gaining enough momentum to sever Bastion’s head from his shoulders in a single motion.

Bastion simply continued to smile gently, his body no longer able to move in defence, powerless.

Douglas and Ryuu looked on with horror filled expressions, their jaws tightly clenched and their eyes bloodshot from their overwhelming desperation.

‘Someone please….do something.’ In their minds they begged and prayed for someone to act, to save their sworn brother before the monster’s sword landed.

Behind the northern wall at the emergency relief station a young dwarf who was helping to hold down a heavily wounded solider as the medics treated him suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her eyes became unfocused, and the image of her father flashed across her mind causing a tear to drip down her cheek.

She turned around to look at the northern wall, completely abandoning her current task, something was wrong, very wrong.

“…Dad.” Jaina whispered under her breath as her heart lurched to a stop.

Time proceeded very slowly for all those watching and what was in reality a single second felt like hours. The path of the great sword moving ever closer to Bastion’s neck and the widening of the rindar’s evil looking smile was burned into their eyes, so as to haunt them forever.

“Not while I still draw breath you bastard!” Suddenly when all hope was lost a loud voice bellowed and the figure of a large muscular man could be seen descending from the sky.

Before the rindar could even react the man’s left foot kicked away his great sword and a moment later the right foot smashed against his face, sending him spiralling backwards. Many of the bones in face and his nose cracked, he was instantly disoriented, and blood rushed out from his nostrils.

The large man who descended from the sky and knocked back the rindar with a couple of kicks landed softly on the ground, standing before Bastion, protecting him from any danger. A viscous look could be seen on the man’s face revealing the intensity of his anger. However a moment later his expression became one of panic, he quickly removed a potion from his storage ring, ripped out the cork with his teeth and force fed Bastion the bright red and somewhat silver solution.

The moment the liquid from the potion entered Bastion’s throat, the man who had accepted his inevitable death wrenched his eyes open as a vast amount of healing energy invaded his body, quickly moving to repair the devasting damage.

“I guess that finally makes us even, Eh Bastion?” The large man who was viciously glaring down the rindar a moment ago gazed down at Bastion with soft expression, relief clear in his eyes for arriving in the nick of time.

“…..Uuu…..g…gg….guess so Vaccos.”