A Glimpse of the Peak

"Move," said Will, his reverberating tone causing Allyson's body to tense before she looked up at him and weakly questioned, "Can you save him?" with a mix of pain and hope in her eyes.

"I can try," responded Will, motioning for Allyson to move aside before he took a knee beside Angil's body and pulled out a long, thin test tube filled with a faintly shimmering golden liquid.

After carefully emptying the vial's contents into Angil's mouth, Will placed his hand against the man's chest. The cold energy that permeated Angil's body began invading his own, but instead of resisting it, Will increased its flow, absorbing every remnant of the Saighba'an's icy Mana before giving the mental command, 'Beat...' as he released a burst of Aura infused with a faint electrical pulse.

Though most people would give up the moment a person's heart stopped, Will knew it was more than possible to resuscitate someone up to several minutes later so long as the neurons in their brain were still firing and their blood was still oxygenated. The Elixir he poured into Angil's throat healed even his wounded heart, so all he needed was a jumpstart before his eyes opened to their limits, and he shot to a seated position with such intensity his head nearly collided with Will's.

"What...how...how is this possible...?" asked Angil, his breathing heavy as he clutched his rapidly and powerfully beating heart.

Turning to Allyson, Will's expression remained largely neutral as he said, "This is where you slap him to assure him he's alive. Afterward, you both need to pull yourselves together."

As if to reinforce Will's statement, an icy projectile exploded against the barrier he had erected to prevent any attacks of opportunity during the quick but delicate procedure. Kris seemed to be keeping the immaterial Saighba'an at bay, but as they had increasingly appeared in groups of two or more, Will was right to take precautions.

Turning to face the newly arrived Saighba'an, Will ignored the sound of a crisp slap behind him as he unsheathed the sword at his hip and declared, "Ohta...protect them..." in a faint, Aura-infused tone that allowed his voice to carry much further.

'Wouldn't it be better if we just left...?' asked Ohta, his voice seeming to emanate from the interior of Will's clothing as he added, 'I can't move them long distances like I could on the surface, but moving them to the entrance should be possible...'

"Please try," said Will, a faint smile developing across his face as he cut down a projectile aimed for the side of his head. "As for me, I'm going to enjoy myself a while longer..."

'You realize I can take you away by force, right...?' asked Ohta, his voice low and disapproving.

"Then I'll trust you to pull me out when things get dangerous," responded Will, grinning as he pulled out a throwing knife from beneath his cloak and flung it into the chest of a Saighba'an that appeared from a wall to his left flank. It stared at where the knife had pierced with a look of curiosity, but that intrigue quickly morphed into mild wonder as Will closed the distance in an instant, closing his gauntleted right hand around its throat.

Though he had other plans for the Saighba'an, Will first demonstrated that he didn't require Ohta's protection as he used Leshien's Dragonskin Gauntlet to crush the Saighba'an's throat, causing its body to burst into a peculiar, branching ice formation that disseminated across the wall, floor, and ceiling like a work of art.

Exhaling a sigh in Will's ear, Ohta muttered, 'Fine...but if your stupidity ends up getting you killed, I reserve the right to tea-bag your corpse...'

'What the fuck?' Will asked himself, outwardly responding, "Something tells me I wouldn't care, even if you do."

Feeling Ohta's presence disappear, followed by Allyson yelping as she and Angil promptly fell into their shadow, Will looked to where Kris was but stopped short when he noticed Aelius observing him with a hard-to-read expression.

"I don't know who you are or if you're related to this incident...but thank you for saving my friend's life..." said Aelius, closing his eyes and bowing respectfully. He found the ease with which Will was able to deal with the Saighba'an exceptionally suspicious, but since he had seemingly returned Angil from death, Aelius had no intention of questioning him.

"I'll see you back on the surface," responded Will, his voice level and calm as he made his way past the bowing Aelius before the cat boy was drawn rather unceremoniously into Ohta's shadow dimension. Kris had suffered the same fate moments prior, so for a fleeting moment, an eerie calmness descended upon the increasingly frigid corridor as Will slowly approached the immaterial, rapier-wielding Saighba'an.

Tilting its head curiously, the Saighba'an first focused on Will before its ghostly blue eyes shifted to his gauntlet, an emotion similar to recognition adorning its humanoid ovine face as it uttered, "Cursed one..." in its husky, thickly accented tone.

"You can speak," stated Will, his body leaving behind a bluish-white trail as he covered the distance between him and the Saighba'an in the blink of an eye. Its bout with Kris had apparently made it complacent, as it only made a middling attempt to dodge, allowing Will to close his hand around its right wrist, squeezing it like a vice as he swept the surprised creature's feet out from under it.

Using the hold he had on its wrist, Will pressed his left palm between the Saighba'an's shoulders, pulled its arm behind its back, and pinned it to the ground before promptly dropping his weight on top of it. He couldn't help noticing how springy its butt was when he sat down, and how its nub of a tail moved from side to side as if it were excited, but he maintained a cold, resolute glower as he asserted, "You will answer my questions..." in a tone that caused the surrounding air to shudder and the Saighba'an to become completely still.

Infusing his voice with the power of his Authority, Will asked, "How many are you, and for what purpose were you made...?"

Adopting what Will could swear was a rhapsodic smile, the Saighba'an replied, "We are legion. We are his vengeance."

"Who is he...?" asked Will, his expression and tone hardening as he put more pressure on the Saighba'an's arm.

Looking genuinely confused, the Saighba'an paused before narrowing its eyes in a playful, overtly seductive manner as it remarked, "He is father to all...but not to thee...interloper..."

'She can't possibly be referring to the Creator, right...?' Will asked himself, a sense of dread permeating his body along with the chill stemming from his contact with the Saighba'an.

"He sees you..." remarked the Saighba'an, its body abruptly inverting so that Will was seated on its stomach, hands cupping its modest but well-shaped breasts as it contended, "This is not your world to fight for..." in a sultry whisper. Then, as it lowered its hands, pale blue nipples came into view where none had been moments prior.

Feeling an external will trying to encroach on his mind as the Saighba'an narrowed its eyes and whispered, "Join us...and you shall be a King of the new world..." Will didn't hesitate to cover its face with his gauntleted right hand and crush it before its eyes could fully widen.

'This just got a lot more troublesome...' thought Will, breaking free of the ice attempting to envelop him and brushing it off with the ease of freshly powdered snow. The moment he asked the Saighba'an about the identity of the he it was referring to, he received a Main Quest called Ashes of the Old World, Dawn of a New. Its difficulty was SSS with no range, so even if he were tempted by the Saighba'an's peculiar form and beauty, he wasn't going to turn his dick into a popsicle or allow his mind to be controlled by who he assumed to be the Creator God of Andora, Plænner.

Unfortunately for Will, his existence and power were now known to the entity that had modified the Saighba'an. As a result, the temperature in the corridor he was in began to plummet, ice forming across each of its surfaces as a Saighba'an distinctly different from its kin appeared. It had the same basic structure, but instead of being naked, it sported the scant outfit of a Deisceartian Sword Dancer and wielded a pair of thin crescent blades that emitted a faint golden glow similar to moonlight. There were also two curved horns protruding from its scalp and, most notably, a third eye in the center of its forehead.

"Our father sends forth an ultimatum..." stated the Saighba'an, a powerful Aura gradually surging from its body as it got in a battle-ready stance and declared, "You will join us, or you will die here..."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll give it your all..." responded Will, a broad, contempt-filled smile blossoming across his face. It might be somewhat hypocritical of him, considering his nature and the fruit he had consumed, but one of the things he detested more than anything was people issuing ultimatums to compel obedience.

"Perish," said the Saighba'an, his voice sultry but full of murderous intent as it swept the crescent blade in its right hand far faster than Will's eyes could trace. He instinctively got his guard up and prepared a barrier, but the sword beam produced by the Saighba'an's ostensibly casual slash not only cut through his barrier but also left a tiny gash on his gauntlet before that Talisman of Cicada Skin Shed attached to his body activated, leaving behind all his clothes and equipment as it teleported him to safety...

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'What the fuck was that...?' Will asked himself, eyes wide as he stared down at his naked body, transported to what appeared to be the middle of a grassy plain, complete with rolling hills. The effect of the Talisman of Cicade Skin Shed was to teleport him away from the immediate danger, so while Will wasn't too surprised that it had transported him outside of the Dungeon, a cold sweat covered his body at the realization he had lost Leshien's gauntlet...

Shaking away the thought of how Leshien might react to learning one of her prized possessions had been swallowed up by a Dungeon, Will, this time aloud, asked himself, "But, seriously...what the fuck was that attack? It was like it hit me before she moved..."

As he was far from the pinnacle of martial arts and swordsmanship, Will couldn't make sense of what he had just experienced. But as his body had reacted accordingly with his automatic defense suggestion, he must have sensed something before the attack reached him.

"An attack that slices through everything before the inciting movement can be perceived...could it really have been a faster-than-light attack...?" Will asked himself, an excited faint smile developing across his face at the realization that such a was actually possible. There were plenty of stories claiming that Braves could deflect and even redirect beams of light, but it was one thing to hear about faster-than-light reaction speeds and seeing someone genuinely move faster than light. Reason told him that the air in the corridor should have ignited and that everything in the vicinity should have been atomized, including the Saighba'an, but that didn't prevent the peculiar creature from completely disregarding conventional laws to strike with such speed her action appeared to occur after her attack, almost like it had traveled back in time...

'How much Agility and Dexterity do I need to possess power like that?' Will wondered, the smile on his face broadening as he stared down at his open palms and formed them into trembling fists. He didn't regard himself as someone who was obsessed with gaining power, but after witnessing a power beyond his comprehension, he experienced an overwhelming urge to want to know more...

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