Combined Efforts

"You see I, too, desire the Tome of Hematomancy," Aerion stated. "Which means that we have similar interests."

"Are you proposing that we share the Tome?"

Aerion nodded. "Together, we can complete the trials ahead with greater ease. Such an arrangement would certainly benefit both of us. More so you than myself, in truth."

"How so?"

"Because I am stronger than you." Aerion smiled as he looked down on Helia. "If you do agree to this temporary alliance, I will be one to own the Tome of Hematomancy. But you will, of course, be able to observe the tome whenever I am not using it."

"No, I want full ownership over the Tome of Hematomancy. Though, I wouldn't mind giving it to you once in a while. How about that?"

Aerion frowned. "It is natural for the one who contributes most to have the best spoils. Is this simple concept foreign to you, Helia Malitheos? Or are you still stubborn regarding that deal Viserys made before?"

"My effort to protect you should be considered, at the very least. I can help you defeat the Soul King and you can take everything he has for yourself. But the Tome of Hematomancy? It is mine."

This woman...

"You can continue dreaming of it."

Aerion turned to Viserys. "Do you know where my weapons are?"

"Of course... but we've attained finer weapons during your rest. Weapons made of valyrian steel, to be precise. I've trained with a few and it was an experience unlike any other. They cut through plate armour like a piece of cloth and still manage to be light as a feather."

"Show me."

Viserys nodded and walked past Aerion, leading the way to an armoury in the palace where the weapons of the dragonlords were kept.

"Are you going to ignore me?" Helia grit her teeth as Aerion walked further and further away. "Unbelievable..."

Viserys opened the door to the armour and began to showcase all of the valyrian steel weapons that they had looted. Aerion tried a few of them for himself and was impressed by the craftsmanship concerning valyrian steel itself. Of course, the aesthetic of the weapons was praise-worthy but the steel itself was something entirely different. It was magical, in fact.

"It is a shame that the Valyrian Freehold was ruined by the Doom, resulting in a limited supply of this magnificent material. But... that shame can work to our favour. If I can learn how to produce valyrian steel from the high valyrians present, I will most certainly have the key to ruling the world."

Aerion made a jest while he swung a one-handed valyrian steel sword as if it were a small knife.

"Is it that valuable?"

"To a degree, yes." Aerion nodded. "Unfortunately, none of the swords are my own. I believe that a greater weapon awaits me in that cellar... one that suits me more."

Aerion returned his sword and sheath to his belt along with the dagger. Despite being nameless, he had grown quite attached to the two blades after so many battles. They had granted him many victories and slain many more men along the way. Meanwhile, those valyrian steel swords... well, they looked pretty but he didn't care for them. Still, just in case something were to happen, he took one of the valyrian steel longswords.

Instead of throwing away his trusty blades, Aerion planned to have them reforged with valyrian steel.

"Wait, you're going back to the cellar already?" Viserys inquired as he observed Aerion walking towards the cellar. "What for?"

"There lies a greater foe and an even greater reward..." Aerion explained. However, while doing so, a thought came to mind.

An even greater reward... what did I gain from the first encounter anyway?

As Aerion turned to the cellar, he saw Helia standing against the nearest wall with an intriguing book in hand. It emanated an aura of mystery and magic while Helia read through it. Beforehand, it seemed no more than an insignificant book on the outside but now... it had drawn his attention.

"May I have a look at that book you have there?" Aerion inquired rather courteously.

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" Aerion walked forward and took it out of her hands. "How about..."

As he looked upon the page, it was empty.

"Hahahaha... the expression on your face is truly priceless!" Helia laughed as she looked upon Aerion's confused expression.

"Were you... reading an empty book just to spite me?"

"Maybe you should try looking more closely before coming to conclusions."

Aerion looked more closely but it turned out to be another trick. In the end, he shrugged off the embarrassment and burned away the book. "Hmph, you remind me of someone else who causes issues for no reason at all."

To think that I expected it to be the Tome of Electromancy...

"But, unlike that person, I'm worth the effort. As a matter of fact, I could teach you Electromancy if you so wished... in exchange for the Tome of Hematomancy, of course."

"Why do you want it so badly?" Aerion wondered.

"Because it is unlike most tomes. Instead of merely providing knowledge over spells, it also provides the owner with greater strength and potential. With it, ascending past grandmaster will be possible. Hematomancy is far more formidable than most other types of magic on top of that." Helia explained. "Wait... telling you this makes you want it even more, doesn't it?"

Far more formidable? Interesting...

Aerion laughed. "Ascending past grandmaster? I have far greater ambitions which I can accomplish on my own without a tome guiding the way."

"So... you don't need it?"

"I only need it to awaken Hematomancy... other than that, these tomes don't have much of a use for me. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to give it to you, either."

She let out a disappointed sigh. "I know that you might still bare some grudge because I killed your three guards but... it isn't quite so bad. They were made of weak flesh and lacked magic on top of that... what use were they to you like that? If you want, I can spare you the effort and resurrect them myself."

"In the end, they will serve you better as undead. You should know that to be true."

Aerion would've liked to refute that statement but she was not entirely wrong. In truth, she was quite right. Not only that, but his Kingsguard had all requested to be rebirthed prior to the trial.

"They will never be truly alive again." Aerion shook his head. "You-"

"I wonder if they ever asked to die and be raised as undead?"

...

"If they did and you rejected them... oh my, wouldn't that make me a good person for fulfilling their wish?"

"How would you know anything about that?" Aerion inquired, frowning slightly.

"It was an educated guess. Having the duty to guard such a powerful mage while being so weak... it must have made them believe that their efforts were trivial at times. It would result in a sense of inferiority."

"Did that ever happen?" Viserys looked at Aerion.

"Once..." Aerion reluctantly nodded. "Once, they did."

"So you shouldn't have a reason to hate me, in the end."

Aerion decided not to linger on the matter for much longer as he descended the steps towards the entrance. Before entering, he glanced at Helia.

"Prove your worth and then I will reconsider the terms of our alliance."

"That sounds so one-sided..." Helia leaned against the wall. "What if you're just too prideful and stubborn to give it away, no matter what I do?"

"It's all you're going to get, unfortunately." Aerion chuckled. "Although I can be quite prideful, my pride does not blind me from the truth."

"How about another blood contract to ensure that's the case?"

Gods, no... one is enough as it is.

"You will have to trust my word this time."

Aerion placed his palm on the entrance, opening it for a brief while for himself to enter. Left with very little choice, Helia decided to join him. Viserys had wished luck upon Aerion which he gladly accepted before the entrance closed.

"Do you happen to have the Tome of Electromancy?"

"It is my most important belonging," Helia replied as they descended down the stairs to the lower floor. "Don't you have a tome of your own?"

"Well, not one that I keep around," Aerion replied honestly.

"So you reached grandmaster without relying on one?"

"Yeah... is that difficult?"

"It should be impossible,"

As the matter of mages came to mind, Aerion began to ponder. "How do you know that to be the case? The Valyrian Freehold doesn't have any true mages like us... not publicly, at least."

"I did not come from here."

"A different world?" Aerion wondered.

"Yes, where mages lingered in every corner. From the insignificant novices to the almighty Kings and heavenly Emperors."

"That sounds like an intriguing place," Aerion remarked as he began to imagine such a world.

"Not until you have a greater mage humiliate you. It is a chaotic world where the only law is strength. There are plenty of mages who believe themselves to be 'righteous saints'... hmph, they are the very worst of them all."

"How did you descend from such a world to this dungeon?"

"Eventually, my practices of Necromancy were exposed and I was forced in a corner by those very people. However, the moment before I took my life... a celestial being appeared before me. Then... everything was so blurry."

"You found yourself chained to this dungeon afterwards?"

"Unfortunately, I did."

Aerion opened the second entrance and proceeded to the tomb of the Soul King.

"Are you sure you want to face him so soon after becoming a grandmaster? A few months spent training would-"

"I don't have that much time to waste." Aerion replied with some ferocity as he directed his wind towards the tomb.

"Wait-"

Mighty Roar!

BOOM.

The tomb burst open, shattering into a thousand pieces and revealing the terrifying Soul King. His gloves were enchanted with glowing emerald runes and a magnificent yet dark crown laid atop his head. The Soul King's entire body was covered in armour except for his soul-piercing and ghastly green eyes. His sword was large enough to be a greatsword yet he held it in one hand, while the other channelled absurd amounts of magic. The pure magic in his hand was so dense that it became visible, much like when Aerion had attempted healing magic (although to a greater degree).

"WHO DARES TO BREAK MY FUCKING TOMB!?"

"He's even stronger than I estimated..."

Viler than I expected.

"SUFFER MY WILL, YOU MORTALS!"

As he raised his left hand, countless souls covered the entire dungeon. Helia, in turn, covered the entire dungeon in lightning except for the space around Aerion and herself. Clearly, the tight space within the dungeon wasn't to the advantage of the Soul King.

"Impressive..."

BOOM.

The Soul King slashed towards Aerion, a strike which he blocked.

"Are you mocking me!?" Suddenly, the Soul King increased the pressure on Aerion's sword and it cracked within a brief moment. Before the Soul King's blade could land, Aerion released a tornado to send him flying backwards.

However, he did not send him far. The Soul King tanked Aerion's tornado and had only a few scratches to show for it.

Seven Hells...

Aerion cursed as he watched the monstrous Soul King charge him once more. This time, he dodged the attack but the Soul King struck just as swiftly. Despite being so massive, he was also absurdly dexterous which was a frightening combination.

As Aerion wanted to cast a Collapsing Dragon, his entire body froze due to Helia being within range.

If only she wasn't here...

That brief moment was all the Soul King needed to cut Aerion in half... but he was saved as a stream of red lightning struck the Soul King from behind. It was lightning that even he, the Soul King could be damaged by.

"Quickly... finish him!" Helia shouted.

Aerion drew his valyrian steel longsword and struck the Soul King in his heart... well, where his heart would be.

Unfortunately, the valyrian steel sword broke the moment it attempted to pierce his body.

What is he made out of!?

Aerion stepped back further away while the Soul King was stuck in place because of the lightning. He closed his eyes and attempted to cast a Collapsing Dragon in another way.

I am a Grandmaster... surely, I can manage something so simple.

Instead of covering a wide radius, he willed it to affect a smaller area while maintaining its strength... no, he was increasing its strength! It took a few seconds but for him to condense the Collapsing Dragon.

Now... don't explode immediately.

Aerion swiftly attached the Collapsing Dragon to the Soul King's chest and dragged Helia towards the exit. The Soul King, after recovering from his shock had another surprise coming... two surprises, to be exact.

"What is that little fireball going to do?"

"Incinerate that bastard."

"Then let me add towards your attack... wouldn't want him to survive, after all." Helia grabbed his hand and intertwined her red lightning with his fireball.

Moments later...

The Soul King felt joy as he was no longer being shocked by a constant barrage of lightning. He looked up to see Aerion and Helia retreating from the dungeon. Then he looked down to see a small scarlet fireball cloaked in red lightning.

"What's this? Something so small... oh-"

BOOOOOOOOM.