CRONE’S FORMS

Although she had shouted for the crone to die, the spell she cast was [Paralyse]. Attack spells were used with the intention to kill, which was far from what she desired. Her intention was to capture the hag and keep her alive for a while… long enough to make her regret ever cooking that fucking soup!

Unfortunately, the instant she began her casting, the crone started hers as well. Hers too was not an attack spell. It was similar to the spells of the transmutation branch, like [Transmute] and [Stone Flesh]; the hideous hag's spell shared more in common with the latter. Whatever the crone's intention with the spell, Sage focused on finishing hers; eyes momentarily wandering about to make sure nothing was amiss. Less than an instant later, the completed spell flew out her outstretched palm and struck the crone. 

However, the old bitch had released hers as well.

Paralyse was a spell that targeted an individual's motor system and disabling it, rendering them unable to move. Of course, this 6th Order spell only worked on the living. It was with this notion in mind that Sage chose the spell to restrain the crone.

However, although [Paralyse] hit its target, the result of the hag's spell rendered its effect null.

When the crone completed her casting, her spell's intent became immediately obvious as her form lost its features while her body gained size. What was once dry greyish pale skin turned even drier and got a new brown coating. The increase in size made the clothes no longer able to accommodate her form, causing them to rip very audibly. The ground trembled slightly as the crone's new appearance was revealed; a more than two metres tall rock giant.

After taking a peek with {Index}, only then did Sage completely understand the nature of the spell that had been cast.

Race: Elemental (Elemental- Earth)

Physique: None

Mana: B (Blue)

Having studied magic for a while, she was of course familiar with transfiguration magic, a sub-branch of transmutation magic. In fact, a 5th Order spell she had learned, [Polymorph], was of this nature. If Sage wanted to, she could have learned other spells of the sub-branch as well. The problem with that though, was that transfiguration did not work on undead unless it was the result of their own ability; meaning, even if she learned a spell to turn into another creature, she would be unable to use it on herself. It was the reason why she forewent learning spells of that kind.

When Sage began casting another spell, The elemental did not just stand there and wait for the next attack. The rock monster plunged its massive fist- about the size of Sage's torso- into the ground, dug out a rock the size of her upper body and tossed it at her. Under normal circumstances, Sage would have had to cancel his channelling to avoid the boulder; however, the usual circumstances only applied when she was alone. 

The armoured form of Isaac got between her and the stone. The knight's left hand moved faster than she could follow as it shot up to backhand the boulder, sending it crashing to the side. Then, without waiting, he charged the elemental and- with his other hand- brought down his blackened blade. The dull ring of metal on stone echoed the basement. The sword recoiled off the elemental's tough hide, although soon after a crack formed on the rock monster's surface. Unfortunately, it sealed up shortly after.

Elementals by nature were sentient forms of the elements. Because of this, they were able to regenerate when in contact with their element. Thus, an earth elemental in a basement with no floor had plenty of material to reinforce itself with. Within a second, the crack had not only vanished, but the primordial had gained a several decimetres in height and width. The only saving grace was that this elemental was the result of a transformation spell as opposed to a summoned one. The difference between the two was that the latter was a true primordial; within the presence of its element, not only did its body regenerated but its mana refilled as well, making it nigh-impossible to defeat unless hit with enough force to crush the entirety of its being instantly. Sage was fortunate that both times she had fought Saana's light elemental, it was night. If it had been during the day, she would have been utterly fucked.

The increase in size did not deter Isaac as he swung again at the elemental. This time, Sage noticed the frosty air that chased his swing; the bastard was using {Chill}. Good for him, she thought as she released her spell.

This time it was an attack spell, [Bone Lance]. With Isaac basically dancing around the primordial while he swung his weapon, she had to aim higher to make sure to avoid hitting him. Fortunately, the crone increasing her elemental form's height made things easier for her. The white spear caught the elemental in the face, which did not really mean much since their kind had no real form. To one of them, the attack was similar to a blow it would take anywhere else on the body; it was not hindered in anyway. Or maybe, a blow to the head was even less of a hinderance since it was not part of its support structure.

While Isaac continued to keep the elemental crone occupied, Sage cast another spell. This time, it was [Dispel]. This was a 6th Order spell, while the one used by the crone was definitely of a higher Order. The probability of successfully [Dispel]ling a spell of a higher Order was very little. Ordinarily, Sage would not use a spell with a high failure rate in combat; however, with her standing in the back, there was opportunity to take the gamble. A small chance of success was not akin to no chance of success; a lesson she had infuriatingly learned from the bastard knight during their last fight.

Unlike his though, her gamble failed to bear fruit. Her spell hit the elemental to not effect.

Dammit, she pursed her lips.

If only she had stronger attack spells within the senior Orders. Destructive spells above the 6th Order often tended to be area-of-effect than single-target. It seemed at that stage, the focus was mostly on dealing damage to the environment than an individual foe. That was probably why the most destructive spell under Ultra Order, single target or otherwise, was in the 8th Order. Sadly, Sage did not have this spell. The only one in her arsenal was the 7th Order [Harm]; which was useless in the current situation. 

Since the elemental was dealing with Isaac, she prepared another spell with the intention of shifting things in her favour. [Polymorph] was of a lower Order than [Dispel], so the chance of it working was even less; however, she cast the spell anyway. If it did succeed, the payoff would be worth it.

Sadly, it did not.

Motherfucker! She cursed internally.

A look at the fight happening in front of her and it was clear that Isaac was in the disadvantageous position. His armour had a deep dent in the chest, so deep that his ribcage had probably caved. If he were still alive, he would have been unable to fight because of the immense pain and the consistent blood-puking. 

Seeing this, Sage made to use [Heal Undead III] on the knight. However, the sudden shaking of the ground threw her off balance before a stone spike came from out of the ground and caught her in the abdomen. Unable to use {Ghostwalk} in the midst of spellcasting, she could only accept her fate as the sharp spike punched though her. The result had her coughing and hurling at the same time, spilling black blood from her mouth onto the floor. The accompanying pain was excruciating to the point where she wanted to grab her impaled gut and scream. However, doing so would make her a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered. What she did was try to push the pain to the back of her mind as much as she could while she passed through the spike with {Ghostwalk}. The hole in her abdomen- which was the size of her fist- remained, causing dark blood to pool out of it onto the ground.

"The two o' ye really aint normal."

 She looked up to see the crone had regained her original form, which had become the stuff of nightmares considering her the clothes that previously concealed her grotesque form were missing. If Sage was not attached to her eyes and desperately needed them to handle her current predicament, the sight of the crone's naked body would have been enough to compel her to claw them out. As for Isaac, he was lying on the other side of the room with more dents in his armour. Although the crone's eyes did fly to him from time to time, the bulk of her attention remained on Sage, more specifically her open wound. 

"To still stand after such a hit; if ye aint Transcended, then ye can't be human. Yer blood confirms it for me. But what are ye, undead? Let's see."

The hag cast the same spell as before, giving Sage an opening to heal herself with [Heal Undead III]. This time the crone did not turn into an earth elemental, but a fire one. When Sage saw this, she immediately cast the strongest spell in her arsenal capable of offsetting what she suspected the crone planned to do. A moment later, [Blizzard] erupted from her, engulfing the entirety of the basement. However, its reign was short-lived as her suspicion was proven right when a heatwave washed over her. The collision between the two powers of opposing elements generated a gust of no simple magnitude, the conclusion of which saw the basement ceiling unable to withstand the struggle of the rival elements. The strong gust resulted in the ceiling being blown upwards with everything in the basement being flung to the side. Sage herself managed to avoid the effect of the wind by {Ghostwalk}ing. 

The moment the wind simmered down, her eyes darted to Isaac's location. The knight had been flung to the basement wall and was being held down by one of the cages that held dead victims. Sage hurriedly flung [Repair Mortis] in his direction.

"Fucking get up," she yelled. "The crone's still alive!"

However, she could not find her after looking around for a while. The collision between her [Blizzard] and the [Firestorm]-like ability the crone used in her fire elemental form had not only blown through the basement ceiling, but the inn's roof as well. A dark sky with little twinkles was what met her when she looked up. They were out in the open, meaning the crone could be anywhere.

Fuck no! she thought, casting [Soar] on herself and rising above the inn. The effect radius of [Space Lock] was great enough that it would be impossible for the crone to flee out of it within the few moments that had passed. She looked around and, sure enough, she spotted the hag flying away, probably having deemed the fight unwinnable or not worth it. Although Sage hoped it was the latter, either way she was not letting her get away.

"FUCK YOU!" she yelled and cast [Greater Chain Lightning].

The spell reached the hag in an instant; however, she must have felt Sage's channelling because she cast another transformation spell of her own. What the 7th Order lightning struck was an air elemental. Not only did the spell prove ineffective, but this particular elemental managed to grab the bolt and send it back to her. Although the act was surprising, Sage managed to avoid it by {Ghostwalk}ing again.

She prepared to attack with another spell, but she stopped when she saw the crone return to her original form and descend. She grunted and followed, landing in the open field. The hunchback bitch waited for her without making a move. In the distance, she heard heavy footsteps approaching. 

"Ye've cornered me," the crone said, exhaustion trickling into her voice. "I don' have enough mana to [Teleport] away even if I leave yer spell's area. I cannot escape from ye. Maybe we can work out something, a way to convince ye to leave me alone."

The heavy footsteps Sage heard earlier stopped next to her, revealing themselves as obviously belonging to Isaac. He was in better condition than before and his corrupted armour was visibly healing. Last but not least, he was sneering at the crone.

"After what you've done- been doing- you expect us to let you go?" he growled. "No way!"

For once, Sage agreed with the bastard. No fucking way in hell she was going to let her go. Even if the crone somehow produced an Elixir of Rejuvenation as a bargaining chip; she would simply pretend to accept the deal, drink the potion and then attack her. For forcing her gross cannibalistic tendencies on Sage, the crone deserved nothing but death in the most horrible way!

"Fuck you!" that was her answer.

Hearing this, the exhaustion vanished from the crone's expression. A fire creeped into her eyes as she began a new spell. This one was different from her previous spells; not a transformation spell but a reinforcement type with elemental characteristics built into its pattern. It looked intriguing and Sage would have loved to take a closer look at it. Unfortunately, she did not have time to cast [Mystic Eyes] and observe in the midst of combat. Instead, she charged up another [Bone Lance] and attacked. On the other hand, Isaac charged the crone and slashed at her. However, surprisingly, she managed to dodge their attacks and retaliated with a kick to the knight's chest; sending him skittering a couple metres away. The crone's spell was completed, giving her repulsive form a metallic lustre.

"I don' have enough mana to [Teleport], but I still have enough to cast [Elemental Kin], a spell of me own making," the crone stated viciously. "Let's see how easy it is for ye to kill me now!"