Chapter『64』: Deja vu.

A huge sword whistled past me, grazing my cheek as I backflipped and created some distance between us. As soon as my feet touched the ground, a long whip, made of the vertebrae of some ancient animal whipped at me at a flashing speed. With only one foot touching the ground, I couldn't dodge it completely.

Using the toes of my foot that had landed on the smooth marble, I side-stepped using mana. I was able to dodge the whip as a whole but the jagged bones that jutted out from it like spikes in a rose, stuck into my arm. It pierced my flesh and bone alike, spraying blood all around me. Like a hook, it lodged itself inside as the monster---a chimera made of multiple skeletons and no flesh, pulled me towards him.

The whip threw me into the air, making me lose my balance in the air. Twisting my body, I severed the bone with Dawn. It produced a screeching sound, making me almost lose my auditory faculties. As soon as I got free of the whip, I flied back---once again---trying to put some distance between us. While midair, an arrow made of extremely dense bone shot at me with a speed that I was barely able to keep up with shot towards me.

I let out a deep breath, "Give me a break, will you." I muttered as I conjured a wall of earth in front of me and casted 3 other layers of ice barriers behind it. Just like before, the bone bypassed mana barriers and got extremely close to me. Using Dawn as a shield and augmenting it in a high amount of mana, I braced for impact.

A huge boom resounded, followed by a halo of smoke, mana and aether as I was blasted into a wall, amidst a huge crater.

"FATALITY!" Regis mused, hovering upside down as his face came closer to mine while he made his voice deeper. I reached out for the acclorite in my hand, putting pressure on it with the mana inside me. He let out a yelp of pain and clutched his head, "Ok, ok, sorry."

"If you won't be of use, then at the very least, shut up." I ordered. Looking at my arm, I saw the bone still stuck inside it. I didn't take it out because the bleeding could be mind-numbing, so I waited for Sylvia's enhanced healing capabilities to kick in. Once its out of danger, it will kick the piece of bone automatically from it.

"Ok. I am quiet, but do you have a plan for beating these things?" Regis asked.

"Not really. In her message, Sylvia said we are in Alacrya's relictombs---built by djinns and this place contain their knowledge. I am not a 100% sure but I think this place is adapting to us." I spoke while my arm fully generated, ejecting the projectile from my arm. I curled and uncurled my fingers while watching at the chimeras.

After getting up and doing some exercises in the place where I first woke up, I spotted a door. Behind that door was this place. At first the statues sitting on the pillars that jumped at us were weak and I dispatched them quickly. But that is where things got weird. They started regenerating and no matter how much mana I use, it doesn't have any effect. In addition to that, this place is adjusting the monster's strength in a way that it matches my own.

Really troublesome if you ask me.

"You did mention something about aether." Regis interrupted my train of thoughts as I jumped in the air, dodging a fatal sword strike. These skeletal chimeras wielded different weapons. Sword, axe, spear, whip, bow and arrow and a... glock!

"Don't forget the crazy Jack the ripper!" Regis interjected once again as he ran around for a chimera with a huge dagger. "Bloody hell, this fucking moron won't stop chasing my ass. I admit I have a nice cake but geez. Someone get this pedo off of me." Regis screamed as he flew around, distracting the knife and spear chimera.

While Regis refused to use his powers because of his losing his form, I didn't want him to use it right now anyways.

However, I was in a grim situation. Mana attacks won't affect them and while I had a huge amount of it now, there was not much ambient mana here. If I run out of mana, I won't be able to replenish it. I crouched, dodging an unrefined sword swing and used that moment to box in. His technique was unrefined due to which the side of skeleton was always wide open when he used a diagonal slash. Imbuing Dawn with fire mana, I swung her at it but the sword just stopped a centimeter away from it.

Scintillating sparks frizzanated everywhere as I felt my eyes widen. The chimeras were using Aether, in a way neither me nor dragons could use. They were augmenting themselves in it, like a sheen of mana.

Interesting.

My fascination was cut short as I was hit by a bone bullet, blowing my left arm off. I fell on my knees, placing my hand on the stub that had replaced my arm and instantly used fire magic to sterilise it and stopped the bleeding. There was a pattern to everything. The sword chimera had two attack patterns;

First started with a forward dash followed by 2 diagonal slashes and one tornado with a follow-up kick and downward slash. While the other was a super-fast downward curve. It went for the tornado attack in which it spun on its heal and swung its sword in a rotatory motion. Luring it in the vicinity, I ducked and hid behind the axe chimera as the sword chimera's sword cleanly cleaved it into half, its upper portion falling on the floor with a thud so loud and strong that it made me jump involuntarily.

'Now!'

I jumped up and dodged an arrow but whilst in air, I was not able to defend myself---not in this case at least. My mana skills were not enough. No...

Its not about being enough.

Aether is significantly more potent than mana.

You can't brute force through something if you don't have the strength to do so. I had noticed it during this fight. Unless I use huge amount of mana from my reserves, it is impossible to put even a dent into the infrastructure of this place. And even if I am able to, it mends itself back into place.

"Use aether, maybe?" Regis shouted from the other corner of the huge hall as he ducked lower and punched the dagger chimera into its jaw. The jaw snapped and it dangled lower, unable to heal itself.

"I won't be able to replenish it if I use it." I replied as I used a gust of wind coupled with flames as I was barely able to disintegrate half of the bone bullet that had made its way to me and dodged to the side. My hand that was severed burned with a scalding intensity, making me wince. It was a pain I hadn't experienced before. Looking back at Regis I saw him grip the chimera's jaw and rip it off as it let out a guttural roar. Pulling the dislodged jaw, he planted his teeth into it, "ITTADAKIMASU!"

Ignoring the pain in my arm, I focused on Regis and Realmheart flared to life. This time, I didn't had to go through the process of imagining or visualising it. It just happened, just as naturally as using mana---like breathing.

Regis' entire form was composed of Aether. And by biting into the bones that were augmented by a very thin layer of Aether, he was able to ingest it, hence being able to use more Aether.

Can I eat it too?

'No harm in trying. I, for one, am really enjoying it.' His voice ringed in my mind as I blocked a sword strike from one of the chimeras.

My body hurts all over.

The bones in my arm rattled as I parried one attack after another. The chimera skeletons had emotions---they were getting frustrated by now. I was able to survive against them, but there was no telling how much I have to sacrifice to just stay alive. Losing an arm already is a very big loss for me.

"Well, never mind." I spoke to myself as purple aura enveloped me. The space in front of me bent as I teleported behind the sword chimera. Before it could even move a single bone, I leapt at it, swinging Dawn down at her. I could feel Aether getting absorbed into Dawn as I swung with my full strength at it. Dawn's hilt thrummed with a renewed strength and for the first time I felt it... the sensation of sword actually hitting its body.

However, the whip acted faster, its erratic nature making it hard to predict. It swung down at me, crashing me into the ground. Blood spilled out of my mouth as I felt a rib shatter in my chest. Using mana internally, I formed a dome of mana around my heart---just in case if the jagged shard of bone moves towards my heart.

The sword chimera kicked my back and then pressed it down, trying to crush me. I saw Regis struggling as he was held by his neck by the dagger chimera. "Oof, don't choke me, you son of a fucking bitch!"

I couldn't help but think, if he has my mana in majority, how come he acts like this?

Realmheart flared brighter, the runes glowing in a golden as well as purple shade.

"I think I've had enough." I whispered to myself, the pain in my body now spreading everywhere.

The space warped around my whole body. Manipulating space enough around my body, I deleted a specific point in space that ate up the chimera's head. I could influence aether better now. Healers were supposed to be descendants of the Djinns. Due to my blood's inclination towards aether and the djinn's prophecy of me being the aether's legacy, I felt the ambient aether tremble ever-so-slightly.

The whip chimera's expressions were undiscernible---of course it was a huge skeleton---but I could tell what it felt.

Horror.

Pressing my palm on the ground, I willed all of my strength and collected the aether. Then, I slowly materialized it.

"Regis!" I called out for my weapon.

"Didn't knew you could scream like that, tehe~" Regis said with a lecherous wink and grin as he understood my plan through our bond. Bolting towards the farther corner of the room he shot a string of aether towards the whip chimera and pulled it with him. "I am gonna run out of aether, good sir, please do it as quickly as you can."

I closed my eyes.

Aether continued to condense, taking the shape of one huge maw.

I looked up as the whole hall trembled. A sheen of pure purple permeated from within me.

Through my pores!

I do not understand what it was, but it was something like materialistic bloodlust.

Ignoring the strange phenomenon, I poured more and more aether into the spell I was weaving.

"Anytime, chief." Regis spoke with a whimper as he was surrounded by all 3 chimeras.

My eyes opened as I pressed the ground. The ground broke and multiple spiderweb splinters formed.

[Guillotine]

I muttered as a huge dragon's maw blasted from beneath the ground. It had pincers for teeth. The titanic frames of the chimeras fell into its maw. With a loud crunch it closed its jaw and a sickening cry echoed before dying down as the aether dispersed into tiny purple motes. The chimera's bones had completely disintegrated, turned into fine powder as it fell on the ground.

Regis landed beside me as he looked at their remains, "Didn't knew you watched pokemon."

"I watched Ike play the game in the starting of year 1."

"Who could've guessed your peeking abilities would be this beneficial." Regis said with a snicker. His expressions hardened as he looked at me, "Oi, wanna try something?"

He knew what I was thinking. After all, the walls between our bond were still half-baked.

"Yeah."

"Well then, let's sort your primary out first."

I nodded, however, I felt something.

A sword of ice formed in my hand as I felt someone... a woman with golden blonde hair lying in the farther corner of the hall, an inky black blob hovering over its head.

I was about to throw a spell at it but I didn't since I detected that it was just a projection.

The next moment, before I could even blink, it disappeared.

"I am getting some deja vu, right now." Regis added while faking a shiver.

Its not like I could relate to him.

No...

It was this body...

'What's happening?' I wondered as blood dripped from my arm.