Mutated Elder

The now monstrous creature, its form twisted and grotesque, began to gather a colossal sphere of radiant, yellow-golden light at the core of its gaping maw. The surrounding area was bathed in its intense luminescence, casting long, dancing shadows that flickered and twisted with the growing intensity of the light.

As the energy sphere swelled to its critical mass, the creature snapped its jaws shut, only to release a thin, yet devastatingly potent beam of light that sliced through the air with an all-cutting force.

In response, Leylin, with a calm and composed demeanor, simply brought his hands together in a slow, deliberate clap. No incantation was needed as several Umbra's Hands, shadowy appendages with menacing claws, sprang forth from the shadows cast by the incoming beam of light.

These hands, now appearing far more formidable than when Leylin first mastered this spell, overlapped one another, swiftly forming a massive dome of deep purple shadows. They converged around Leylin, creating a protective barrier that intercepted the incoming beam, diverting its trajectory towards a nearby building.

The beam, imbued with such immense power, not only sliced through several structures with ease but also rapidly expanded upon impact, triggering a series of massive explosions. The resulting devastation was akin to a carpet bombing, reducing the surrounding buildings to rubble and filling the air with a thick cloud of dust and debris. Had Leylin been directly hit by this attack, he would have undoubtedly suffered severe injuries, if not worse. His quick thinking and mastery over the Umbra's Hands spell had saved him from a potentially fatal blow.

The scene unfolded in a chaotic swirl of magic and raw power. Leylin, a seasoned Magus, quickly deduced the cause of the dramatic surge in the elder's power. 'This devastation,' he mused, 'it bears the unmistakable mark of a body mutation spell.' His voice was calm, his eyes sharp as he surveyed the battlefield.

In the heart of the town's center stood a formidable adversary, a figure of immense stature and power. This was no ordinary foe, but a semi-converted elemental Magus, a being of great magical prowess. His form was a grotesque blend of metal, flesh, and bone, a testament to the terrifying power of forbidden magic.

"I WILL DESTROY… YOU!" The words echoed through the air, a chilling promise of impending doom. The voice belonged to the elder, or rather, the monstrous form he had assumed. His once wise and gentle voice was now a distorted growl, resonating with a depth that seemed to shake the very earth beneath them.

It was clear that his Spiritual Force, the source of a Magus's power, had undergone a drastic transformation. It was as if it had been tainted, corrupted by the potent spell he had invoked. This was no ordinary incantation, but a trump-card spell, a last resort known only to the most powerful of Magi. It was a spell of immense power, but it came at a great cost. The elder's transformation was a testament to its dangerous nature, a grim reminder of the price one pays for tampering with forces beyond mortal comprehension.

The air around them crackled with raw energy, the atmosphere heavy with the weight of the impending clash. The elder, in his mutated form, stood ready for battle, his eyes burning with a fierce determination. The confrontation was about to reach its climax, a battle of wills between the semi-converted elemental Magus and his brave opponent.

"You think you can defeat me using such barbaric tricks, old man? Only a true Magus can defeat me. This creature in front of me is no Magus, but a glorified homunculus." Leylin's voice dripped with disdain, but his actions betrayed his caution. His right hand slipped into his belt pouch, fingers closing around a handful of potion vials.

With a swift, practiced motion, Leylin hurled the potions at the giant. They burst upon impact, releasing a cloud of purple flame that clung to the giant, searing its flesh. "Negative Energy Flames?" the giant scoffed, "Child's play!" With a mighty inhale, it sucked the flames into its abdomen, extinguishing them instantly.

"Now, it's my turn!" The giant's voice boomed across the battlefield, a satisfied grin spreading across its face. In a blink, it was upon Leylin, its massive form a silver blur. His speed was even greater than Leylin's Grand Knight capabilities, and he managed to catch him by surprise. The giant's metallic skin gleamed under the harsh sunlight, its mace-like arms swinging towards Leylin with deadly intent. Leylin raised his arms in defense, but the force of the blow sent him crashing into a nearby building, reducing it to rubble.

Leylin emerged from the debris, his body battered but unbroken. His internal AI, Aralis, quickly assessed his injuries. [Multiple fractures and internal bleeding detected. Your heart has been crushed, but it is already 56% healed. Your Mitotic Regeneration is already at work fixing you up, but it won't hold out forever if this continues.]

Coughing up a mouthful of blood and wiping it with his hand, Leylin's eyes flashed red with determination. 'I don't care how many times he breaks my bones or crushes my organs. I won't be destroyed by the likes of him. Aralis, activate the prediction system of the ESP Matrix!' he commanded. The A.I. responded instantly, simulating the giant's movements and calculating the most likely trajectory of its next attack.

For good measure, Leylin also activated his Grand Master Secret Skill which would grant him the necessary physical boost to counter the elder's sudden increase in speed. After all, what good was predicting an opponent's movements if you couldn't react to them in time?

With a roar of fury, the giant lunged forward once more, its rage fueling its reckless charge. Leylin, however, was ready. With a swift and almost uncanny twist of his body, he sprang back, deftly evading a sudden onslaught of metal spikes that burst forth from the ground.

But Leylin was far from done. In the blink of an eye, he launched a counterattack. His hand moved to his lightning ring, a symbol of his conquest of a Magi House. As he activated it, instead of releasing the customary arcs of lightning, he enveloped himself in a dangerous aura of electricity. This, he paired with his own Negative Energy Flames, creating a deadly combination of elements that worked together in perfect harmony.

With his powers at the ready, Leylin struck. His attacks were aimed at the creature's weak points - the kidneys, the heart, the head. Each strike was delivered with surgical precision, carrying the full might of an evolved Grand Knight. But this was not just any Grand Knight. This was Leylin, a warrior imbued with the power of the ancient Kemoyin Serpent.

His attacks were relentless, each one more powerful than the last. The creature had no chance against Leylin's deadly combination of electricity and Negative Energy Flames. It was a testament to Leylin's skill and power, a display of the true potential of an evolved Grand Knight with the power of the ancient Kemoyin Serpent. The battlefield was his stage, and this was his performance - a dance of destruction and power. And Leylin was the master of this dance.

To any onlooker, Leylin's movements would be like a dark blur that circled around the creature, his evasive maneuvers almost supernatural in their precision.

The giant roared in pain and frustration, its human-like face contorting in anger. "Damnit! You're nothing more than a pest! I won't tolerate this any longer!" In a gruesome display of power, it tore open its own stomach, revealing a golden hoop. "Hoop of Imprisonment!" it bellowed, hurling the hoop towards Leylin.

A blinding white light erupted from the hoop, pinning Leylin in place before he could dodge. He felt as though a mountain had settled upon him, his body immobilized by the hoop's formidable power. 'Even a semi-converted elemental Magus would be shackled for at least a minute by its imprisonment powers!' Leylin thought, his mind racing as the giant advanced, blood and entrails trailing behind it.

With a cruel smile, the giant reached out and began to choke Leylin. "Go ahead, try to run from me, little shit!" it taunted. Leylin could only grit his teeth, his mind working furiously. He was a budding Magus, yes, but he was not without his own tricks. And he would need every one of them to survive this encounter. The battle was far from over. It was just beginning.

"Anticipation has been my constant companion, and now the moment is upon us… I yearn to hear the sweet symphony of your pleas for mercy," the silver giant declared, a chilling smile creeping across his metallic visage.

"Your arrogance is laughable, you fossil. I am Leylin Farlier, not some insignificant pebble you stumbled upon in your travels. I stand unchallenged, a force to be reckoned with, seizing whatever my heart desires. Brace yourself for annihilation at the hands of a superior Magus!" Leylin retorted, a wide, sinister grin spreading across his face.

"Fallen Star Pendant, awaken!"

A dark crimson beam burst forth from Leylin's chest, coursing through his body and extending to the tips of his limbs with lightning speed. In an instant, Leylin ensnared the giant's massive hands with a multitude of demonic tendrils, their color matching the ominous red of the beam. His fingers, covered in scales, sprouted menacing, dagger-like claws from his fingers as his body swelled in size and strength, to the point where he outright burst out of the Imprisonment Hoop.

He now towered over the giant, his stature reaching an impressive 6 meters. His aura pulsed with a deep, blood-red glow, and his eyes shone with an enigmatic light. The transformation was complete, and Leylin stood ready for the impending clash.

"What sorcery is this? Never in my years have I witnessed a spell capable of such profound alterations to a Magus' Arcane Core! Even my own trump card pales in comparison to this defiance of the natural order!" The mutated elder exclaimed, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and awe.

He struggled against the crimson tendrils that held him captive, his every muscle straining against the supernatural force. With a final, desperate heave, he managed to free himself from the tendrils. He leapt back several meters, landing with a thud that echoed ominously in the silence that followed.

His eyes, wide with shock, never left Leylin as he began to strategize his next move. The elder knew he was up against a formidable opponent, and he would need to muster all his cunning and strength to survive this encounter. The air was thick with tension as the two adversaries faced off, each waiting for the other to make the next move.

The elder, his heart pounding in his chest, took a deep breath and steeled himself. He knew he had to act fast. With a swift motion, he drew a rune in the air, summoning a protective barrier around himself. The air shimmered as the barrier took form, its ethereal glow contrasting sharply with the ominous red of Leylin's aura.

Leylin, undeterred by the elder's defensive maneuver, charged forward, his claws slashing through the air with a deadly precision. The barrier held strong, but the force of Leylin's attack sent the elder skidding back.

The elder, realizing the futility of his defense, decided to go on the offensive. He chanted an incantation under his breath, his hands moving in a complex pattern. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning erupted from his fingertips, streaking towards Leylin with a deafening crack.

Leylin, anticipating the attack, deftly sidestepped the bolt. His eyes, glowing with an intense light, locked onto the elder. He knew this was his moment. With a roar that echoed through the battlefield, Leylin lunged at the elder, his claws aimed straight for his heart.

The elder, reacting with a speed that belied his age, managed to deflect Leylin's attack at the last moment. His hands, glowing with arcane energy, met Leylin's claws with a resounding clash. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, stirring up clouds of dust and debris.

But Leylin was relentless. He pressed on, his attacks growing fiercer with each passing second. His claws, now wreathed in a fiery aura, slashed through the air, leaving trails of searing heat in their wake.

The elder, despite his best efforts, was gradually being pushed back. He could feel his strength waning, his protective barrier flickering under the onslaught. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet. With a determined look in his eyes, he began to chant another incantation, his voice rising above the din of battle.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Leylin began to tremble. Cracks appeared, spreading outwards like a spider's web. Then, with a deafening roar, a massive stone golem erupted from the ground, towering over Leylin. He was forced to waste a few valuable seconds using a Plant element spell to bind the stone golem with thousands of ancient brown vines filled with steel-sharp thorns, similar to the ones the Tree Demon had used against him years ago.

The elder, seizing this opportunity, launched another attack. A barrage of arcane missiles shot forth from his fingertips, each one homing in on Leylin. The battlefield was soon filled with the light of their explosions, casting long, dancing shadows across the landscape.

In the midst of the chaos, Leylin found himself unexpectedly thrust into a defensive position. The sudden shift in the tide of battle caught him off guard, forcing him to weave through a relentless barrage of attacks. His movements were a mesmerizing dance of speed and agility, a blur against the backdrop of the unfolding chaos.

He even found himself resorting to punching away a few of the energy bolts that came too close for comfort, relying on his nearly impervious scales to shield him from harm. But he was acutely aware that this was a battle of attrition he could not afford to prolong. He needed to seize control, to end this fight, and to lay the old man to rest.

With a newfound determination, Leylin charged towards the towering giant. His speed was a sight to behold, a blur so swift it concealed his conjuration of several Negative Energy Fireballs and Acidic Aqua Shots. He launched these deadly projectiles with his demonic tendrils, their trajectory hidden by his blinding speed. In a daring move, he propelled himself skyward, soaring above the battlefield before descending upon the mutated elder with a wrathful fury.

His onslaught was relentless, a storm of lethal attacks that obliterated the remnants of their battleground. The air was filled with the sizzling hiss of acid reacting with the scorched earth, punctuated by the crackling roar of fire. Amidst the devastation, the giant emerged, its form nearly untouched save for several superficial burns marring its skin. While these injuries were not fatal, they served as a testament to Leylin's efforts, a sign that he was slowly but surely chipping away at the elder's formidable defenses. 

In the aftermath of their fierce exchange of spells, the battlefield was shrouded in a thick veil of smoke, ashes, and fire. Emerging from this haze, Leylin stood like a titan, his aura pulsating with raw, untamed power. His eyes, burning with determination, were fixed on his adversary. The elder, in stark contrast, appeared visibly weakened. His once vibrant aura now flickered erratically, akin to a dying flame struggling against the harsh winter wind.

Seizing this moment of vulnerability, Leylin began to chant yet another incantation. His voice, resonating with an otherworldly timbre, echoed across the desolate battlefield. As the incantation grew in complexity, a swirling vortex of pure Negative Energy began to form around him. With each passing second, the vortex grew in intensity, its pulsating energy threatening to consume everything in its vicinity.

The elder, despite his weakened state, recognized the imminent danger. With a desperate resolve, he attempted to counter Leylin's spell. His hands moved with practiced precision, drawing a series of intricate runes in the air. Each rune glowed with an ethereal Corrupted light, their combined radiance rivaling the brilliance of the midday sun. A barrier of pure light materialized around him, a last line of defense against Leylin's impending onslaught.

However, it was a race against time, and time was not on the elder's side. Leylin's vortex of energy had reached its zenith. With a final, resounding roar, he unleashed the vortex towards the elder, as it consumed anything in its path. The collision between the vortex and the elder's barrier resulted in a cataclysmic explosion of energy that illuminated the night sky.

The shockwave from the collision rippled across the battlefield, uprooting ancient trees and shaking the very foundations of the earth. Every remaining building in Andre Town crumbled to the ground as if it was never there. The place had been completely razed.

When the blinding light finally receded, a new landscape was revealed. At the epicenter stood Leylin, his figure etched against the backdrop of a massive crater. His aura, now more potent than ever, radiated with an intensity that dwarfed the elder's barrier, reducing it to the semblance of a mere candle flickering against the overwhelming darkness.

The elder, once a formidable albeit deformed silver giant, was now a mere shadow of his former self. His strength had been sapped, leaving him feeble and frail, but still mutated and horrific. He could do nothing but watch as Leylin, his grandson's murderer, advanced towards him unimpeded and calm.

Yet, even in his weakened state, the elder's spirit remained unbroken. His eyes, though dimmed by fatigue and pain, still held a spark of defiance, a testament to his indomitable will.

"Look at you," Leylin taunted, his voice a low, distorted growl that echoed ominously in the silence. "Such defiance. You still cling to the hope of victory? How pathetic. Allow me to enlighten you to the harsh reality. I have already won, you decrepit old fool."

With a cruel smile, Leylin invoked his innate spell, Eye of Petrification. His eyes glowed with a fierce, unnatural red light, casting an eerie glow on his surroundings that made it seem like an eclipse had originated from him.

The silver giant, under Leylin's gaze, froze. Its expression blanked, and then, starting from its eyes, an ash-grey color began to spread. It spread rapidly, covering the giant's face in an instant and creeping towards its chest and limbs.

"Petrifying magic? Damn it all!" The elder, whose consciousness resided in the giant's chest, cried out in alarm. He ground his teeth in frustration and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the giant's body. The blood sparked with a metallic sheen, and the spread of the petrifying spell slowed.

"Be gone, you worthless creature," Leylin sneered. He extended his right hand, and the glow from the Fallen Star Pendant morphed into a longsword. With a swift, decisive motion, he swung it down.

On the first swing, the giant's body was severed in half, sending each piece flying down onto the floor.

On the second swing, Leylin ruthlessly extracted the elder's face from the giant's chest.

The face fell to the ground with a thud. "I will never forgive you for what you did to my Bosain, and this humiliation... This isn't over, you hear me? I am not done! This is only one of my clones, after all!" it screamed in a voice filled with hatred and despair.

"I don't give a fuck. Now, shut up and die," Leylin retorted coldly. He stepped on the face without a hint of remorse.

A high-pitched scream of pain echoed through the air, followed by the sudden spread of a puddle of green blood under Leylin's foot. The elder's defiance, along with his clone's head, had finally been crushed, leaving only the sweet taste of victory.

A subtle breeze wafted through, accentuating the uncanny calm that had descended. Leylin, who usually reveled in the defeat of his adversaries with scornful laughter and taunts, displayed an uncharacteristic change in his behavior. He let out a sigh of relief, a content smile adorning his face as he allowed his rigid muscles to unwind and his clenched jaw to relax. This encounter had been the most grueling since his journey in the Magus World began, and the strain was palpable.

Leylin's figure swiftly reverted to his original form as the pendant had been entirely depleted of energy. With the last vestiges of his mana, he transformed back into a more inconspicuous form.

He hastily gathered any spoils he could salvage from his triumph and promptly vacated the scene. It seemed as though the dust and lingering mana particles in the vicinity naturally parted, forging a path for his departure, a testament to his formidable Spiritual Energy brimming with ruthless intent to kill.

Regardless of their status, even if they were the leader of a faction, unless they were Rank 2 Magi or higher, none would dare to meet Leylin's gaze in his current state.

"I need to make a swift exit from here," Leylin murmured to himself, his gaze lingering on the rapidly receding silhouette of what was once Andre Town.

The diminutive figure he had encountered earlier was evidently one among many clones of the elder of the Lilytell family.

This revelation was consistent with Leylin's prior intelligence. Based on the information he had extracted from the Lilytell enforcer Clayde, the power of the elders of the Lilytell family was believed to have achieved an elemental essence conversion rate of at least 80%. This was the minimum threshold for embarking on the path to becoming a Rank 2 Magus.

By Leylin's estimation, the diminutive figure he had encountered earlier had managed to achieve, at best, a 50% elemental essence conversion rate. This rate was not particularly stable, and the gap between his power and the true strength of an elder was substantial.

Leylin had come across this type of Magus before. The creation of a clone was no easy task for them, requiring a significant investment of time and valuable resources. Moreover, if their clone was destroyed, the Magus would suffer severe repercussions.

Up until this point, only the elder's clone had pursued him.

Leylin speculated that either the adversary was unable to be go after him in person, or the clone had been deliberately positioned on the other side of the Grand Canyon to facilitate communication and carry out his commands.

Regardless, Leylin anticipated that the next onslaught from the Lilytell family was imminent. 

[As for territorial boundaries, you're still within the sphere of influence of the Dark Magi factions. Once you cross over into the territory of the Light Magi, even the Lilytell family would hesitate to infringe upon it,] Aralis interjected.

With a final glance over his shoulder, Leylin disappeared into the enveloping darkness.