Forbidden Spell

Mothers scurried away with their children in their arms, while the fathers guarded them from behind, making sure no fiends could get to their family. Screams of terror filled the town as they saw the mass of flesh idle in the sky, squirming its multiple legs and arms, with the blinking of its countless eyes.

Brunhilda was the only one not disgusted by its unsightly appearance. Her eye was fierce, and stern, indicating her experience, and countless battles performed through the course of her life.

The magical barrier, Tolretna, remained around Jiordel, protecting the weak and innocent, however, for Brunhilda to perform her spell, it must be removed, or the townspeople would be caught inside of it.

"I have to remove the barrier… otherwise this spell will kill everyone."

The Witch of Mutiny was hesitant. Her hands were shaking, and rattling the staff in her grip. She was grinding her teeth, realizing the dire situation they were in.

"If I use teleportation Magic to appear in the sky, that'll cost too much mana. Even taking flight with the spell, Flina, would drain the mana required to annihilate Vinshumada."

She looked around her, scanning the town.

"Everyone ran back into their houses, but it's still too risky. If I perform this spell while the barrier is still active, one mistake could cost countless lives."

Lowering her head, Brunhilda closed her eyes and muttered to herself. "It looks like I have no choice in the matter." She wasn't talking about the spell, but something else entirely. Placing her hand against her eyepatch, the magical symbol engraved into it began to glow.

"…I promised to never use this again, but I have no choice. Sometimes a promise is meant to be broken for a greater cause."

Remembering her past life, Brunhilda was hesitant at first, but she cared for the innocent people in this town, knowing they had a life to live.

She didn't wanna take that away from them.

No matter what, she would save everyone, and make sure they would live to see another day.

Removing the eyepatch, Brunhilda would chant a spell unforeseen in this day and age.

It was ancient, dating back 950 years ago, during the Great War of the Seven Realms.

Project Witchcraft was indeed powerful, but that wasn't the spell that had Brunhilda survive the war, and become feared.

It was something else, far more otherworldly.

She chanted—

"Enma Vultera Geizan!"

The eyepatch was removed, revealing Brunhilda's glowing blue eye.

An endless spiral swirled within her left eye, brimming with infinite mana. There was no bounds to her energy, it was constantly expanding, and after a few seconds, there was enough mana to fill the Pacific Ocean, three times over.

Brunhilda's basic spells could shatter, split, and vaporize entire mountains, but now she had the power to wipe away islands, or even countries.

And it would only continue to get worse.

"The seal has been removed."

She looked into the sky with her swirling left eye, clutching onto her eyepatch that fluttered in the wind.

Brunhilda had always sealed her power, afraid of what damage it may cause.

"I created this spell out of revenge to annihilate those who killed my clan. I wanted to avenge everyone… so I found a way to convert infinite mana into a spell, and that is Enma Vultera Geizan." She frowned at the chaotic entity above her. "With the seal removed, I absorb all mana in the atmosphere. The plants, animals, people, and even the mana across the Realm of Gaia, until it reaches infinity." She teleported into the sky, pointing her staff at the entity. "It may prevent the guards from using their spells, but this is for a great cause."

A vibrant glow of energy poured into her staff, accelerating the wind around her.

Brunhilda's cape flapped from the gust of air, as did her clothing.

Her mana constantly increased from within, until she focused all of it into her most powerful attack yet.

"Vienta Nazienthros!"

A magic circle formed at the tip of her staff as jet-black light shot towards Vinshumada.

Naturally, light being black would seem illogical, but this spell alone defied logic.

It moved at light speeds, engulfing the creature whole, acting as fire, via latching to its fleshy body, and burning it alive.

"Grrruuuuuuuuooooooaaahhhhhhhh!!!"

The chaotic entity squirmed in the dark flames, moving its countless limbs, and closing its innumerable eyes.

"Creatures of Chaos are immune to all magic except for holy, and that's one skill I lack; so I decided to create a spell using Project Witchcraft. It defies logic." Brunhilda watched as the mass of flesh slowly fell apart into clumps of meat. "If you're immune to all magic, then I'll simply have to destroy that logic. It's quite unfair, but it's the only choice I was left with." She smirked at its scream of pain.

Vinshumada was slowly crumbling to fleshy pieces until all that remained was its Fountain of Life. It was dark, yet had patches of light.

It was a metaphysical construct beyond the mind, body, and soul.

It was a dualistic energy that all creatures have, representing the world's connection with chaos.

If one's Fountain of Life were to perish, then they would cease to exist on a level that transcends the soul itself.

"Your entire being has been reduced to ashes, now all that remains is your Fountain of Life." Brunhilda glanced at the metaphysical construct, stretching out her hand. "Even if I were to destroy it, you would continue to reconstruct yourself on a metaphysical level. Creatures of Chaos are hard to put down, but I had my fair share of your kind." Activating another spell, Brunhilda muttered, "Flez Dona!" A high-tier fire spell was released, launching a miniature sun at the swirling energy.

The flames overpowered the wickedness, burning away the dualistic construct into nothingness. With the logic of being immune to all magic destroyed, Brunhilda's basic magic could now annihilate the creatures whole.

"It's finally over…." Brunhilda glanced down at the eyepatch in her palm with a look of discouragement. "I broke my promise to keep these people safe… there is no regret in my actions." A single tear streamed down her face. "Even though I made a promise to never use this spell again… I don't want any more blood on my hands."

***

Thirty minutes went by, and Fumiko was still resting against a tree until she woke up from her minor nap. The helmet made it hard to breathe, but she adapted to it.

With her katana in hand, she slowly stood up from the tree, yawning slightly.

"It seems I passed out, my apologies, Thomas."

Her voice sounded groggy, but it was to be expected.

"Oh… it's no problem, I understand, considering you were the one doing all the fighting, you deserved the rest." Thomas rubbed the back of his head, giving his lighthearted laughter.

"I suppose that is true, but from where I come from, it would be dishonorable to fall asleep when protecting someone you swore your sword to, even if temporary."

"R-Really?"

"I would've lost three fingers just from that act alone."

Thomas contorted his expression into one of concern, saying, "Isn't that a little barbaric?"

"Barbaric…?"

The bandit sighed.

"Never mind."

"I see. Well, onto more important matters, I believe we should find our way to the town you speak of. Dalvan, yes?"

"Oh, right… yeah." Thomas straightened out his back, lifting his brows a little. It was obvious that he was worried. "Though… do you think it's a good idea to go there with a possible Elder Fiend nearby?"

His question made Fumiko stare at him for a few seconds until she glanced to the side into the dark forest. "I believe we can make it in time before an Elder Fiend notices us." Lifting her katana, she stared at it with a silent nod of her head. "I will protect you until the end, there is no need to worry."

"…Ah!" Her words made Thomas blush… he felt like a woman being protected by a man.

He was even starting to feel a little submissive to her.

"I-I can't thank you enough!"

"My Goddess, Amaterasu, has given me signs of her presence. She is watching over me, making sure I survive until I complete my objective, and that is bringing you to safety. There will be nothing that I cannot cut with my blade."

"You must have a lot of faith in your God then… huh…?"

"I devote my life to her. I give her loyalty, and she gives me the protection of divinity." Fumiko lowered her katana in hand before saying, "Let us make haste. The geyser will not last long, and once it depletes, the fiends will get a whiff of our scents and come running back to us."

"A-Alright, let's go while we still have time!"

Fumiko nodded and they both ran off, leaving the impact crater from the meteor and the magical geyser.