Darkness Falls (2)

'Black?' Lith was flabbergasted. According to their light spectrum theory, a black mana core would indicate the complete absence of any form of mana. In a world were even rocks possessed a mana flow of their own, how could a living being have none?

He immediately activated his Life Vision. (Lith's original spell. See chapter 13 for more details)

"F*ck me sideways." Despite the small build and the thin limbs, the Wither was emitting an energy signature stronger than the four of them put together. To his eyes, it was like staring into a black sun.

The three kings and Lith surrounded the Wither with a square formation, alternating attacks with paralyzing spells. If the Wither moved in a direction, the whole formation moved along with it, trying to prevent it from getting closer or running away.

Lifebringer was capable of using earth and water magic, using the former to slow it down, and the latter to attack with a torrent of razor-sharp ice blades.

Reaper used both air and earth magic, using mainly air to restrict the Wither's movements and lightning to attack. Speed was crucial in inflicting damage because the black fog surrounding the Abomination was capable of eating away everything, even sunlight.

Protector's fire magic was useless, he could only use air magic, following Reaper's lead.

Despite Lith's help, the situation wasn't getting any better. As the Wither weakened, it always started ignoring the attackers and forcibly move toward a new area to replenish its vitality.

Lith's and Solus's brains were spinning at top gear, trying to find a way to end the struggle.

'If it's alive, why can't we kill it? What are we doing wrong?' After another two acres of woods were lost, Lith's Life Vision could see the three kings' mana and stamina dwindling.

It was only a matter of time before the Wither had all of them for dinner.

'Damn! Is this the level of strength that an Emperor Beast has? If it wasn't for the formation and their impeccable teamwork, I would have died within the first minute! Also, how the heck do they have so much energy after three days of this?

'I'm here for barely an hour and I had to use Invigoration thrice to replenish my energies. I don't even remember when the last time I actually slept was, my timer is ticking even faster than theirs. Magical beasts are damn overpowered.'

"Protector!" Lith called for him, being the closest to his position.

"I'm going to get close, there's something I have to try. If I am right, you should notice immediately, so leave me there. If I'm wrong, pull me out as fast as you can!"

The Ry was too busy conjuring one lightning storm after another, so he just nodded.

Lith broke the formation, entering the black mist. He immediately felt his body becoming heavier and heavier. His life and mana were slipping away with every breath, allowing the monster to get stronger again.

'If that thing has a black mana core, maybe it's like a darkness elemental. That should mean that light magic is its weak point. I need to get closer to hit it with my most powerful healing spell.'

Light and darkness magic had a shorter range than the other elements by nature. They also moved slower compared to other spells when cast against a target. Lith needed to get close enough for his next spell to hit, not giving the Wither enough space to dodge the sudden attack.

As soon as Lith started merging his mana with the world's light element, he felt a strong pull at the level of his mana core. The spell was getting drained even before it could fully manifest. The Wither suddenly looked stronger and his body less ethereal.

His low-pitched scream of agony was now a moan of pure joy.

Suddenly Lith remembered the words of Lochra Silverwing (see chap 27). Hers was the only book he had ever copied from the first to the last word, reading it over and over while mulling over new spells.

Lochra Silvering was a Magus, and most likely another true magic user. Her wisdom was something Lith treasured deeply.

'Dammit, how can I always be this stupid? This is not a video game, there is no such thing as elemental vulnerability. Magus Lochra repeated it over and over: light and darkness are not opposites, but two matching pieces of the same puzzle.

'Darkness greatest bane is not light, but darkness itself!'

Lith canceled the healing spell, spreading out a dark aura of his own. The two forces collided, emitting black sparks every time they came into contact and tried to cannibalize each other.

Lith's aura was weaker, but he was free to manipulate it whenever the two dark fields clashed, condensing it where the enemy's defense was weaker.

The Wither, instead, was constantly harassed by the three kings' attacks that disrupted its focus and weakened its life force.

The Wither's body was getting incorporeal again, but this time it could not turn its back and run, otherwise Lith's dark aura would consume it mercilessly.

Lith was full of joy, intoxicated by bloodlust and the pride of having finally solved the mystery. 

'That creature is not burning with power. Rather it's bleeding mana from every pore or whatever it has! That's why it needs to relentlessly feed on so much energy. Its metabolism is akin to a shark, if it stops, it dies!'

The Wither was getting weaker and weaker, its high-pitched scream filled with fear and pain.

Thanks to their coordinated efforts, Lith's aura managed to consume a whole chunk of the Abomination, giving Lith a sudden, unwanted epiphany.

It was very similar to what happened with Solus when they first met each other.

Lith was once again inside a memory.

He could see himself as a young bear, striving to become strong enough to surpass Irtu's strength and become the new king in the east.

Somehow the young bear knew about mana cores and was able to refine its own in a way disturbingly similar to Lith's.

But unlike Lith, the young bear was a natural at both earth and darkness magic, so it continued to relentlessly refine its mana core, even when it got painful. Its hunger for power grew along with its mana core strength.

Tired of waiting for its body to develop naturally, the young bear decided to try to evolve the mana core from green to cyan at all costs, so he could become strong enough to claim the title of king.

It fought against the pain, bravely and recklessly at the same time, until it made it!

But its happiness lasted less than a day. The mana core was too big and strong for its young body, and soon started to fall apart and the energy it contained started to leak out.

Darkness magic went out of control, the bear's survival instinct kicked in. It tried everything just to survive a second longer. The young bear let the dark energy overflow until it became the Wither.

Lith's bloodlust dissolved like a bubble.

'That poor b*stard it's not a monster, he is me. A me who failed promoting his mana core, too eager to do things his way to care for the consequences. A me that just wants to live, fighting against an unfair life.'

Becoming aware of his opponent's story, Lith no longer wanted to play with his enemy. Its screams of agony were torture to his heart.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you." He said. "I'll do my best to give you a peaceful death."

Lith's compassion didn't make him lose his cool, on the contrary, it gave him a renewed focus. He knew that to achieve his goal he needed killing intent, not mercy, so he looked inside himself in search of hatred.

He recalled his first life, his father's abuses, his mother's indifference, until the day Carl died. He remembered the burning anger and desperation, how it peaked before Carl's murderer got his joke of a sentence.

His angriest day happened when he was planning Carl's funeral. Out of the blue, after ignoring their lives for years, his mother had the gall to come to his door.

Crying, she asked for Lith's forgiveness, offering to pay for Carl's memorial service. Lith could still remember his eyes seeing red, his right hand holding her throat, trying to squeeze the life out of her.

That woman, that seemed so strong and cruel when he was little, was now a frail little thing.

She begged him to kill her, to let her atone for her mistakes, and join her little boy in the afterlife. It was then that Lith's anger burned brighter than ever. He threw her out of his house, alive and well.

"Too little and too late, you b*tch! I hope you live a long and miserable life, knowing that for both your sons you were nothing but an embarrassment. A sh*t that they flushed out of their lives as soon as they could." Those were their parting words.

In a corner of his mind, Solus was crying for him. Yet she couldn't avoid noticing that despite all he had done, Orpal amounted to nothing in Lith's mind. His existence was merely an annoyance.

Focusing all that rage and anger into his fist, Lith released a stream of dark energy that struck the Wither's mana core, forcing it to crumble. It was unable to withstand the conflicting forces from within and outside itself.

After that, the young bear's agony finally ended.

Its purified spirit finally able to return to mother earth's embrace, in search of a new life.