Beginning

|Arthur|

We climbed the stone stairs that followed the steep incline of the terrain just east of Etistin Bay.

This was another strategic advantage that our side held. The ascending elevation gave our archers and conjurers, that were able to cast at longer ranges, a field advantage without having to waste time and resources building platforms for them to shoot from. Walls for defence had been made by earth mages, and many of the archers were stringing their bows.

We reached the top of the hill just in time for me to feel the first raindrop on my cheek. It only took a few seconds before a heavy downpour ensued. Sylvie was about to lift up a wing to shield us from the rain, but I stopped her.

We're all soldiers here. We'll all fight under the rain together anyway, I said, my eyes focusing on the field of ice. Rain and fog impeded our vision, and the sound of our soldiers still marching towards the shore could be heard amidst heavy thrumming of rain.

"We will stay behind for the first wave. Scryers will have eyes on the field and General Bairon will relay information on the enemy forces for us soon after," General Varay said beside me. "There are additional forces that are on their way, some of whom are silver-core mages."

And so, we waited. I could feel the tension building and more than once I could hear a captain peptalking their troops.

'The wait is more agonizing than I imagined,' my bond sent, her bright hazel eyes trying to catch a glimpse of anything within the fog above the icefield.

I nodded, barely restraining myself from flying over and breaking hell by myself. During this time, more and more troops arrived. Some were sent to either side of the bay in order to flank, while others remained back as reserve forces.

It felt like hours had passed, all of us standing in the rain with white knuckles gripping our weapons.

Finally the horn rang.

I could see our men stiffen as the deep brassy note told them the enemies had landed.

The second horn rang, and it was then that tense air dissipated followed by the mana-enforced roar of General Varay.

"Charge!"

Sylvie and I split up, assessing the battlefield for potential threats. As I navigated through the sea of soldiers, my instincts flared and I instinctively dodged an invisible attack. The force chipped away at my armor, leaving me vulnerable to further ambushes.

I activated Realmheart, but it detected nothing. Another attack materialized to my right, but I barely avoided it by lunging forward, sacrificing some of my metallic protection in the process. Despite my years of combat experience and Sylvie's instinct, I couldn't pinpoint the attack's origin or see any mana particles.

More attacks followed, surrounding me with deadly invisible spikes. I charged up my sword, Dawn's Ballad, with lightning and ice mana and swung it in a circular motion, shattering the spikes. However, a few managed to graze my skin and one hit me squarely in the chest. Thanks to my quick thinking, I concentrated aether on the impact point, avoiding more severe injuries.

The assailant's spell was similar to Uto's, but stronger. The spikes could manifest anywhere, including mid-air, and their mana particles were invisible. My mana and aetheric defenses were faltering, and my injuries were accumulating, but I still hadn't seen the enemy.

I released pure aetheric pulses, hoping to sense my opponent's location. After a few attempts, I detected him and gathered ice and lightning mana in my palm, launching an attack. It exploded in front of the retainer, blasting away troops in the vicinity, but he emerged unscathed. He must have used the spikes to block my attack.

The retainer, towering and muscular, approached me with a heavy tread. Despite my training and experience, I couldn't help but gulp at his imposing presence.

With a flick of his hand, the retainer unleashed a devastating attack that instantly killed all the soldiers around us, including his own. I reacted quickly, using my [Static Void] ability to freeze his attacks and quickly moved behind him, aiming for his mana core with a strike from my blade.

Unfreezing time as I attacked, I was surprised to see the retainer able to keep up with my time pause as he dodged my strike with ease. I cursed and pulled my blade back, blocking his punch just in time before being sent flying.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered both aether and mana, surrounding my sword with black lightning and a frost lining infused with aether. With renewed determination, I charged straight at the retainer, cutting through his defences. He had an amused smile as he dodged my attacks easily, showcasing his surprising agility despite his huge size.

Not one to be outdone, I used the feint step and footwork techniques I learned from Kordri, increasing the speed of my attacks and striking from all sides. However, the retainer was able to block my attacks with his hands, leaving me frustrated and exhausted.

With a grin on his face, he concentrated mana to his left fist, and before I could react, his fist blurred and zipped through the air, connecting straight with my liver. Consciousness began to escape my body as I desperately tried to use [Static Void] to save myself.

"ARTHUR!" I heard Sylvie scream in my mind, jolting me back to reality. The retainer was ready to finish me off, and I realized I had no way to dodge his next attack.

As time paused, I activated the first stage of my beast will and distanced myself from the retainer, clutching my throbbing mana core burdened by the continuous use of aevum. Unpausing time, I turned around to see General Varay engaged in a furious battle against another retainer while Kathlyn was fighting another one. Tessia was also engaged in a heated battle against yet another powerful retainer. These enemies were much stronger than the others we had faced before, as they were able to fight evenly against the strongest lances.

As I readied myself for another attack, I heard a voice interrupt my focus. I turned to face my opponent, who introduced himself as Klypso, Uto's older brother and a strong retainer.

My irritation vanished as I suddenly sprang into action, utilizing [Burst Step] to close the distance between us in a flash. My lightning-clad body raced towards him, and my blade aimed at his throat. His mana defences crumbled under the sharp edge of my sword, causing blood to trickle down his neck. I could have taken his head, but I noticed a spike hurtling towards my heart, forcing me to retreat.

I twisted my body in mid-air, employing wind magic to dodge the incoming spikes, and then quickly turned to attack Klypso once more. He caught my blade with ease, the invisible spikes covering his hand preventing me from slicing through his flesh.

In a battle of strength, Klypso proved to be the stronger opponent as he twisted my hand and disarmed me. I punched him with my free hand, infused with [Lightning Punch], aimed squarely at his jaw. But he caught my fist too, stopping it in its tracks.

My frustration grew as I poured more mana and aether into my limbs, trying to overpower him. But his smile only widened as he easily matched my increased strength. The teal blade in my hand began to crack under the pressure.

Just as I was about to be defeated, two spheres of plant and ice mana came from either side, aiming at Klypso. Tess and Kathyln had beaten their opponents and come to my aid. Kathyln quickly joined General Varay, who was struggling against her enemy.

Klypso's face darkened as he blocked the attack, and I took the opportunity to step back and regain my composure. But before I could attack again, he launched a massive amount of invisible mana straight at me. I hastily created a barrier of aether and mana to defend myself, but to my surprise, the mana morphed into a sledgehammer instead of a spike, sending me flying through the air.

"Sylvie!" I shouted out mentally to my bond, who was fighting the regalia magicians. "I'm alright, help Tess and Kathyln!" I sent her a quick message, knowing she would be relieved to hear that I was still alive.

I landed hard on the ground in the middle of a group of Alacaryan soldiers. I quickly disposed of them and noticed a powerful existence, as powerful as the retainer I fought.

I used Static Void to close the distance between us and give him a surprise attack before the battle began.

But as I got close enough to make out who my opponent was, my concentration wavered and Static Void shattered out of existence.

There was a look of surprise at my sudden appearance just a few yards away from him, but his lips curved into a smirk.

His arms lowered but the umbral energy still swirled around his hands as Nico greeted me. "Long time no see, my dear old friend...Grey."

"Nico," I muttered.

With a sneer, Nico leaped back, his arms swirling with a black aura.

I responded in turn, reigniting Realmheart Physique to its fullest extent.

I faced Nico, a whirlwind of ash-like mana converging around his hands, ready to be unleashed.

I dashed forward, closing the gap between us in three steps. I aimed for his midsection but a black spike erupted from the ground between us, parrying my swing.

I didn't let him rest. The physical training I had done with Kordri kicked in. My feet blurred in a series of complicated footwork manoeuvres designed for sharp directional changes.

His eyes couldn't keep up but the spikes that could be conjured from thin air and even faster from the ground seemed more like an automatic defence system rather than a willful conjuring.

Meanwhile Nico continued to try and back away, his face tense but controlled as he continued preparing his spell.

I could see through Realmheart the form that this massive spell would take, pressuring me to move faster and hit harder. My initial plan was to confront him in close combat in order to conserve my mana and to exploit his weakness, but as our clash went on, I had the feeling more and more that it wouldn't be as easy as it had been in my head.

Even while integrating elemental magic and aether into my blade, the black flames swirling around his hands ate away and even got larger after consuming my attacks. I was able to slice through the black spikes that seemed to endlessly conjure and protect their master, but not without my teal blade sustaining damage as well.

The cracks that appeared from the retainer had weakened the durability of the blade by too much.

With a blast of black fire, Nico propelled himself back, putting distance between the two of us as I quickly discarded my outer robe, which caught on fire.

I imbued more mana and swung the sword at Nico.

Not a sound was made as the blade sliced through the air, but the effects were shown immediately. Dozens of thin paths carved themselves like intertwining snakes on the ground as a flurry of crescents honed in on my old friend.

Nico finished his attack prematurely. His spell was three-part—the first part made the ground crack and crumble, the second part raised chunks of the ground into the air, and the third part...

Thrusting his palms forward, Nico unleashed a score of obsidian spikes from the ground and from the large chunks of stone floating in the air. Like the inside of a large tunnelworm's mouth, rows and rows of sharp fangs shot out, tearing apart my spell.

Realmheart allowed me to see the locations where the spikes would shoot out from and even how large they were before the spikes even manifested.

I took a sharp breath, as electricity filled my body, stimulating and forcibly enhancing my reflexes. I tuned everything out and focused solely on the path leading me to my opponent.

Now.

Blood pumped through my limbs and the muscles in my legs and core tensed. I pushed off with my feet, feeling the paved ground beneath crumbling from the force.

I shot forward, trusting my body and instincts to take me to the exact location I wished.

Like a well-orchestrated performance, a black spike shot out from the ground just where my feet were, giving me another foothold to push off from.

Despite the seemingly random pattern that the black spears exploded out from the ground like deadly pistons, I was always at the right place at the right time.

I weaved through the jungle of black fangs as more and more spikes shot out in all directions before nearing Nico.

Stabbing my golden blade forward, I released an arc of lightning that glowed black under the influence of Realmheart Physique.

Three black horns jutted in front of Nico, conducting and redirecting the blast of lightning. The black tendrils of electricity spiraled down the thick black spikes that Nico had conjured, destroying the ground.

Nico's lips quivered in a snarl as mana gathered around his lower face. A black fire similar to Jude's but inferior roared to life from his mouth as he bellowed like a dragon.

The soulfire grew stronger as it approached, consuming the black spikes as fuel.

Under the influence of Realmheart, I stayed calm, calculating the best possible scenario out of this.

I held my ground and released Thunderclap Impulse. The tinge of electricity around my body faded and I devoted my mana and aether into my next attack.

I held my sword close to my body with its tip pointed at the approaching fire. A white fire ignited on the blade, shining brightly like liquid pearl as I imbued more and more of my internal mana as well as manipulated the mana around me to fuel my attack.

During this time, a concentrated blast of pure mana shot out from behind me, enveloping Nico completely and creating another crater.

With the spell interrupted, the size of the hellblaze stayed constant, but continued its fast approach.

Gathering more and more power into my spell, I waited until the last moment before thrusting my sword forward, releasing the white flame that had covered my clothes in a layer of frost and had frozen the ground around me.

A swirling cone of white frostfire ripped out of my sword and clashed against the raging black inferno.

A shockwave of force as my spell continued to drill through the black fire pushed me back on my feet even as I used wind magic to keep me steady. The blade of my sword shattered from the stress of conjuring the spell, but the two spells managed to cancel each other out.

Suddenly, a blast of black fire exploded into view from the crater where Nico was.

With a hand clad in frostfire, I parried the sphere of hellfire, only for it to hit and bring down an entire building nearby. The fire ate away at the structure, growing bigger until everything was consumed.

Nico walked out of the crater, unharmed.

Nico lifted his hands, but before his spell could manifest, I was already within arm's length of his face.

Weaponless, I swung my fist down, wind spiralling from the speed of my punch. Another black spike jutted out to protect Nico's face from my blow but I didn't stop.

With wind speeding my swing and pure mana strengthening the force of my blow, I crushed through the damned spike and landed the punch right on Nico's jaw.

The sound of crashing thunder resounded from the impact of my blow and Nico's body was buried into the ground.

Nico stood back up from the hole his body had created in the ground. His jaw had been shattered and most of his teeth were gone but as a smoky black ember burned through his face, the injuries he had sustained were recovering.

Of course he has regenerative abilities, I thought, grimacing at the radiating pain stemming from the knuckles I had fractured from punching through the black spike.

My frustration grew as I saw scores of Alacryan soldiers rushing towards us from both sides. If things progressed like this, I'd have to fight hundreds of soldiers as well as Nico.

I released an arc of lightning at Nico before he could fully recover, trying to keep him from coming out.

Nico and I were roughly equal in terms of power. I was faster and stronger physically, but he was more than able to make up for it using the same unique magic that Uto was able to use, alongside an even more powerful black fire—the same as Cadell.

I dashed towards Nico. I needed to stop him.

Seeing me approach, Nico conjured another rally of obsidian spears and fired them at me.

With mana pumping through my veins and coalesced around my body, I easily dodged the spears with minimal movement before a wave of black fire shot out from Nico's palms.

Not willing to waste mana on confronting the hellfire head on, I leapt over it.

Rather than going for raw power like him, I used my mana efficiently. With the control I had gained from reaching white core, I molded mana, coalescing different attributes together to form several condensed bullets of varying colours. With a burst of blue fire, aided by wind magic, the five bullets pierced through the air in streaks of light like multicoloured lasers.

Three were blocked by the black spikes but one grazed his leg and another hit him squarely in his arm, burning a hole through his limb.

Following up, I dashed toward Nico, frost accumulating around my arm.

"You're not a match for me in this world, Grey," Nico stated as he jumped backwards and conjured a thin layer of smoke.

With Realmheart active, I could tell that this spell was similar to the second retainer I had fought, who was able to conjure and manipulate deadly toxins and poisons.

The gas wove together and shot forth like a serpent striking at its prey.

Skidding to a stop, I used the ice-attuned mana surrounding my arms and slashed at the air. A shimmering crescent-shaped blade of white fire tore free from my swing, cresting through the air while leaving a trail of frost in its path.

The spell sliced through the snake-like spell, freezing it. The icy crescent nicked Nico in the shoulder. Even as the effects spread, freezing his left arm, Nico thrust out a palm at me.

Four black spikes erupted from the ground around me, only two of which I managed to avoid. One had pierced through my ankle and the other grazed my side.

I buckled as I felt a throbbing burn radiating from my wounds.

Meanwhile, Nico's arms, one frozen and another with a charred hole through it, were both healing.

Damn it. He's just sacrificing his limbs to give me injuries.

My injuries were healing as well but the spikes that had pierced through me were coated in poison and it was interfering with my own regenerative abilities.

I looked for an opening to use Static Void once more—I needed to end this quick—but Nico seemed to be conscious of my abilities. He had positioned spikes around himself at all times to keep me from getting into direct range without him being able to react. His black fire directly countered a lot of my spells while his spikes were able to conduct and redirect my lightning.

His weakness was confrontational combat, but he was smart and shrewd. Nico was playing a game of tactics, keeping me in range while slowly whittling me down despite my superior speed and strength.

I have to assume that our mana pool is around the same, mine maybe even lower. If I want to win this fight soon, I need more power.

As I gritted my teeth, my mind raced to form a plan, but a comforting sensation resonated from my core—Sylvia's dragon will was reaching out to me.

It told me to let it take control— Sylvia was telling me to let her take control.

No. I shook my head and got rid of my thoughts. Not now.

I took a deep breath, focusing my mind, and allowed aether and mana to flow through my body. The wounds I had sustained wouldn't heal easily, and my mid-range attacks were weaker. But I still had my swordplay.

Drawing inspiration from Jude's movements when he was younger, I acted swiftly. Bending my body low, I shot straight towards Nico, who conjured black spikes to block my path.

In mid-air, I swirled and hit the ground with my sword, propelling myself above him. Thunder and infernal flames erupted from my attacks, but Nico adeptly defended with his spikes and flames.

Yet, I was one step ahead, swiftly maneuvering behind him and launching a barrage of strikes and slashes. Each move was a calculated improvement based on Jude's teachings, honing my swordsmanship even in the heat of battle.

Nico tried to create distance with his black spikes, but I evaded them effortlessly, refusing to give him a chance to recover.

'Hit the sword there. Hold it like that. Move it this fast,' I mentally noted each mistake, analysing and improving my technique on the fly.

As I gained the upper hand, Nico roared my name in frustration, unleashing a torrent of hellfire upon me. I countered with frost fire, extinguishing the black flames, and found myself face-to-face with Nico, who was now clad in black metal armour infused with hellfire.