RAIN

In her dinky room, Saana opened her eyes as her body was seized by violent coughs. It took a dozen or so seconds for them to subside. However, her heart continued to pound excruciatingly, as if it desired to break out of her chest. Taking control of the elemental after [Glorious Descend] was already a stressful task; with how she had gone out of control whilst steering it, it was a miracle it still functioned.

Choosing to maintain the meditative pose she had gotten into before casting the spell, she once more initiated her mana to simulate its pattern. Isaac had been captured and she would use whatever means at her disposal to free him from the hands of the detestable undead.

How come the creature was still in the Main Plane? Could she have been wrong about it? Was it perhaps born in the Main Plane? But that should not be possible. As far as she was aware, Netherkin could not be born in the Main Plane. Could it be that it had found a new master? She would have to look into it after saving Isaac.

The boy's bullheadedness might have gotten him excluded from the Paladins, but he was a good child. He had made a real difference in the lives of the people of Tiih and they were much better off with him as Guard Captain. Also, she held a deep fondness for the boy. After all, he was her protégé.

Using [Glorious Descend] a second time and trying to control the elemental again was more than she was capable of in her current state. The burden of once again putting herself in such a stressful state after almost no interval might possibly result in her death. But that was not cause for hesitation. If an old priestess like her gave up her life to save a seedling with as much potential as Isaac, she would die with a smile on her face. And, who knew? Maybe one day he might reconcile with the Church and become a Paladin again. As long as he lived there was hope such a day would come.

Unfortunately, before she could complete the casting of [Glorious Descend] she felt the activation of a spell overhead. In her small room she felt the air turn stale as the space itself seemed to tighten.

[Space Lock]!

When this spell was used the only dimensional spell that could be successfully activated was the 9th Order [Gate]. All other spells and abilities that utilised space became useless; meaning one could not use [Teleport] to get away. This spell was often used to block off a mage's avenues of escape. For someone to cast the spell meant that they were fully dedicated to slaying their target, and they had enough confidence in their strength to trap themselves with said target.

Alarmed, she hurriedly ceased her casting and looked up at the dark ceiling. Although she could not see beyond it she could feel the mana far above her head. The feeling alone gave her a terrible hunch.

The undead was above the church… and it was preparing an attack spell of great magnitude.

***

Upon [Teleport]ing above the city the first thing Sage did was look around.

There was no way the fight between her and the bastard Guard Captain had gone undetected. Anyone who was sensitive to magic would have noticed the 7th and 8th Order spells being hurled around. There was no way they could have missed that considering the battle had occurred right outside the city. Even if no one in Tiih was adapt at sensing magic, there was no way they would have missed the radiant pillar; it had practically lit up the night.

Apart from the old hag, there was no one in the city who had reached the 8th Order and the although there was a Grade 2 Warrior associated with the Guild, his aptitude was H and therefore could not be a bother in the next few minutes. Only those 7th Oder sorcerers could hinder her plan right now and she was on the lookout for them.

However, after a dozen seconds passed with no one appearing she deemed it safe to {Blink} above the church, deciding to give her full attention to the place; or at least that was how she hoped to come off in the eyes of would-be ambushers. As far as she was concerned, this city was enemy territory; she would not let down her guard as long as she was here.

The street below on which the Church was located had people traipsing about; some going and coming out of the Church building while others were just passing by. It did not surprise her, after all it was still the early hours of the night. When she appeared some of them even noticed her and pointed. She only gave them a moment's consideration before deploying her first spell.

[Space Lock], she had learned this spell precisely for this moment. If the hag wanted to flee, she could only do so in a manner Sage could spot and subsequently obstruct.

Assured the hag had no other means of escape, she began to channelling her second spell. As she directed her mana into the desired pattern, she noted the sky's darkening, thick moving to obscure it. Before she even finished casting they covered the heavens entirely, blocking out the stars. During the final moments of her channelling, she raised her hand a swiftly brought it down on her target.

In that moment, an obsidian bolt came from the sky. It was thick, several metres in width, with bright edges. As was usually the case with lightning, its touchdown was instantaneous and its flash blinding, turning her vision white. Being undead, she recovered the next instant and was treated to the sight of the lightning still assaulting the Church building. This was one giant bolt that did not branch into smaller bolts, concentrating all its destructive for in one spot; its named was [Lightning Tower].

"BOOM!" came the sound of thunder a second later. The noise this spell made was magnitudes louder than [Thunderbolt] and [Chain Lightning].

As intimidating a sight it presented, unfortunate it failed to destroy the Church building. While she was casting she had noticed the hag preparing a spell of her own, manifesting a translucent golden dome around the building before she finished her channelling. This dome managed to block the lightning, incurring nasty web-like cracks on its surface.

On the street below people had begun screaming in panic; she hardly paid them any mind. Since the hag had blocked the attack she cast the spell again. She was curious to see how long the old crone could hold on.

Again the [Lightning Tower] descended and again the dome managed to hold, though this time the cracks spread to most of its surface and deepened; it would not be surviving another attack.

The third [Lightning Tower] was utterly merciless in its destruction of the golden dome, ripped through it like a boulder through a glass pane. This bolt was not done yet however, as it continued on to the Church's rooftop, setting it ablaze. Unfortunately much of its energy had been spent destroying the barrier, so that was the extent of the damage it caused. It worked just fine for Sage though, she had enough mana to cast the spell a few more times.

The fourth attack was the straw that broke the camel's back, or- in this case- the bolt that crumbled the church. Unhindered like the previous three, it landed squarely on the burning roof, ripping through it and continuing its downward stream. When the next thunderous boom came, the building walls- already littered with cracks from the previous assault- could no longer hold out and caved inwards. She watched the spectacle with a fixed expression, purposely ignoring the screams on the ground.

Activating [Mystic Eyes], she looked at the place. From under the rubble she spied multiple signatures; some white, others orange and so forth. Off the top of her head she counted nine such individuals. She also noticed others crushed by the collapsed walls, unmoving.

Before she came to get her revenge she had already expected her spells to create unintended victims. Even so, there had been hesitation in her actions. Being one of the undead, she had no confidence in walking on hallowed grounds of the Goddess of Life without suffering a massive backlash. There was a high probability nothing would happen, but she was not willing to stake her unlife on it.

Of course, she could have tried calling the hag out, but that would have probably been a waste of breath. If their roles were reversed, she would obviously not do it. Besides, her opponent was a crone, a really old hag. Even if she agreed, by the time she made it outside the chapel, dawn would have arrived. Sage did not have that patience, especially when an ambush could happen anytime.

For those caught up in her actions; bad luck for them. Even if she could go back in time she would carry out her attack the same way. Anyone or anything that stood in her way was an obstacle she would not hesitate to blow away.

Within the rubble the hag still lived, though her blue mana seemed to be almost completely used up. Several metres from her was the severely injured body a woman with burgundy mana, probably the acting head priestess of this chapter of the Shean Church. Sage only gave her a passing glance before casting [Lightning Tower] once more.

This time, when it struck down there were no survivors. In the aftermath even the rubble was reduced to powder.

Looking down at the scene, she released a sigh.

It was over. Saana Light-Speaker, a priestess who had served the Shean faith for over five hundred years, was dead.

Sage had killed the hag responsible for the geezer's death, the one who had almost caused her to be cast back into the barren Deadlands. She had annihilated the old bitch who almost made her grovel in front of that fucking half-elf for a contract.

The gathering of the clouds from the casting of [Lightning Tower] was not without consequence as a downpour descended upon the city. The sudden showers merciless fell over her head, causing her hair and clothes to cling to her skin. She closed her eyes and faced upwards, lips curling to a smile as she felt cold drops running along her nose and down the crack of her spine.

This was the first rain she experienced since coming to Aran.

It was refreshing.