Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 28

There was a part of me, a very human part, that wished there was a way around this. I wished for there to be peace, but if her offer wouldn’t protect the others—if it wouldn’t protect Aeris—then there could be no peace. The idea was ridiculous really. Even if her offer gave me everything I wanted, how could I possibly trust a creature that looked upon all the men in Sanctuary as food… 

I crushed that part of me with an internal vice grip as I called forth the largest variety of magic than I ever had at once. Dozens of Ice Orbs appeared overhead and flew at her chest and throat. A razor-sharp rock in the shape of an arrowhead and the size of a bolder flew in from beneath. Pain rushed forward. Wail of the Banshee sounded. There wasn’t a single angle of attack I left unchecked. It wasn’t just the literal angle of attack, but her possible magical weaknesses as well. Ice, Water, and Earth screamed toward her with bolstered force. Sonic power devoured the space between us and bathed her in its vibrating force. I watched each element land and tried calculating their effects.

My missiles of ice reached her first. Each shard was more than five pounds of solid ice. They shattered against her deceptive child-like figure as if she were a wall of folded steel. What should have severed her in two at the waist crumbled into a mound of rock. Its sharpened point did nothing to pierce and harm her. Pain and Sound reached her as one. What should have sent her muscles into a fit of uncontrollable tension and shook her insides apart were nothing but a light wind against an ancient cliff. Water surrounded her from head to chest, making it impossible for her to breathe. She didn’t panic or even make a move to remove herself from its bubble. As impossible as it should have seemed, none of it surprised me. She was a beast that threatened all I held dear, so I systematically tested her to know how best to put her down.

These were the schools that opposed her natural Dark and Fire Magics. I would have regretted not trying them even though I already was pretty sure of the outcome. I channeled extra mana into each, but even then the amount was a fraction of the power needed to really bring her to her knees. What I was looking for was her response and her lack of one told me all I needed to know. 

Anyone looking at us from the outside would see a bone covered hulk attacking a small child-sized girl. But, just as looks could be deceiving in gaming, what I saw was more like a skin than her true self. It was an illusion—a fake. What should have been standing before me was a dragon of black and red that was the size of a small mountain. Just as I’d changed, she wasn’t what she seemed. I no longer had to eat, breath, or sleep and neither did she. Her flesh looked as delicate as a porcelain doll, but it was more scratch-resistant than the hardest element.

Ten thousand Alpha Bullets formed in front of me. She twisted her head like a curious cat, seeing clearly despite the couple feet of water that was clouding her vision. She was also a Blue Mage, so her Mana Sight was likely as powerful as mine—if not more so.

My Neutral Magic flew. There was an uprising of mana inside her that met my attack, for not a single one of the bullets missed. Like ten thousand firecrackers, the sound of the forceful magic filled the air. This time, she stepped back.

Such a display of magic would have crippled my mana supply just a month ago, but now, the 40,000 MP I’d just spend over a few seconds through multiple spells was nothing for my 368,299 base mana.

After the attack was finished, I watched Mistress Nava appear from the onslaught unscathed. The Water spell covering her was canceled because of my Alpha Bullets, so I clearly saw her face. She wasn’t looking at me but examining her gown. Brushing it off with both hands, she looked up at me with displeasure. “If you damage this dress…” She said.

“You’ll what, kill me?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

As she looked over at me I saw her squint at the light from my Artificial Sun. “Maybe I should go find your girlfriend first and kill her in front of you.”

I felt a geyser of defensive rage building up inside of me, but quickly pushed it down. Years of competitive gaming had left me with some good, or perhaps not so good, habits. It was natural to talk trash. Not that this was the same but allowing her words to affect me wouldn’t help. “Maybe I should go find a nice dress first and damage it before your eyes.” I said as if my words were actually offensive.

With less self-control than twelve-year-old troll having his obscenity turned back on him, her face scrunched up in a goofy looking scowl. She didn’t even bother to lift her arm, but simply twisted her wrist so her palm faced me. Dense shadow sprang from her hand like smoke caught in a mighty wind.

A wall of bone appeared before me as I manipulated my skeletal shield. As I lowered myself to brace against the attack, I watched through the mana realm as the darkness wasn’t aimed at me but my Artificial Sun.

Like a moon of the void, her Dark Magic swallowed my sun, leaving nothing back a black cloud hanging over me.

Standing so that she could see me as she realized what I’d been hiding. My mouth was the only part visible under my helmet, which was turned up in a large grin.

Her eyes went wide as she felt through the mana realm what was waiting for her behind the cloud of darkness.

A Health Bullet, even an advanced one, cost me no more than 1 MP after Mastering Light Magic. When I’d cast Artificial Sun, I hadn’t cast it alone. 100,000 Health Bullets were formed closely behind it so that she would consider it the same spell. Now that my Artificial Sun was put out, now she saw the truth, but it was already too late.

I released my hold on the thousands of Health Bullets before her eyes had even widened to their full extent. It was as if the sun rebelled against being put out and rained down its own fury. Alpha Bullets were one thing, but these were made of Light Magic—the very magic whose nature warred against her own. 

I hid behind my shield of bone, but never took my eyes off of her through the mana realm. She was pummeled with life itself and 100,000 MP from a Master Light Mage.

Before my Ascension it would have cost me twice as much MP to cast the same number of Health Bullets and before reaching 1,000 in Intelligence and Wisdom, twice that. That didn’t even take into consideration that all of my Light Magic was four times as powerful as it originally was thanks to Mind Synergy and Light Magic Mastery. There was also the 50% power increase from my scepter that had been encased in my bone armor.

The mana realm exploded with Light. Layers of bullets—thousands upon thousands—struck her before a second had ended. Never had I attacked something, or someone, with such power. The only reason I wasn’t thrown back and possibly killed by the impact of my own spell while standing so close was because of one of the benefits I received when mastering.

Master Level Light Channeling

Your body is now more in touch with Light Mana. Extreme channeling will be more effective, and you won’t be in danger of its sometimes explosive effects. 

Though the description was talking more about the context of channeling, the last part about not being in danger of its explosive effects no doubt helped me survive the storm. 

It had gone as well as I could have hoped. She was acting in anger and I’d caught her by surprise. I didn’t know if the spell had the power to kill her, but I couldn’t imagine a better test.

As the Light Mana dispersed, what was left of her came into view. The scowl had been wiped off her face—her eyes were clenched shut. A sphere of ethereal red light covered her in a giant bubble. Sadly, it had blocked much of my attack, but seeing how her purple gown was left in tatters, thousands of Health Bullets must have snuck through.

The Fire-based Mana Shield disappeared. I saw her clench her jaw, and red flames leaped from her form and burned up what was left of her dress. Instead of fabric, thick red mana covered her in its place. Her red hair seemed to borrow the energy from her new dress and floated up to surround her face in a veil of fire.

She opened her eyes to look at me with a new intensity. “Did you know that to lesser Dark Magic creatures, if they were to eat you, your meat would kill them from the inside out. It would be quick and painful. But for those that know how to prepare the meat, and have the power to stomach it, Light Mage flesh is one of the few substances that have intoxicating effects for one such as I. To bring you home would be a great gift to my sisters. Even Lilith would soon forget what she’s given up in bringing you here after a few mouthfuls. You don’t realize that I was willing to give all that up when offering to make you my pet. But instead you play the fool and have driven me to act. It is something you will soon regret, and I will have my feast.” 

I watched the depraved chick in front of me actually licked her lips.

Not giving me a chance to respond, her hand shot out directing her thin whip of Dark Mana. It was the same ability she’d used to cut Quake in two.

I didn’t wait to see what it would do. Bursting through my own shield of bone, I caught her whip with a crimson fist. Stopping her attack dead in its tracks, I stood before her transformed. My armor readjusted from the quick transformation. Fire Incubus was a form the Mistresses had never seen, and from the droop of her mouth, I could see she was surprised. So even if she had been able to listen in on us through the Head Mistress’s siphoning spell, there were some things that she still didn’t know.

Mana Points: 211,010/368,299 (+3,683)

I’d used quite a bit of mana already and Fire Incubus Form would only use more. Thankfully, it had become a very slow drain without any channeling of extra mana. Currently it was costing me 3,172 Mana Per Minute and would last over an hour.

She huffed, widening her nostrils and looked at me with a sick longing. “Now you’re teasing me.”

Stepping back, I half expected something perverted to come out of her mouth. I was wrong, but it wasn’t much better.

“Incubus meat is even harder to prepare, but it’s so good…” Opening her mouth, she breathed in as if she was trying to taste my aroma with her tongue. “Too bad you’re a Blue Mage and will revert back to your human form when I kill you. I’ll morn for my loss as I become drunk on your flesh.”

Giving her a mock frown, I cast Succubi’s Caress and began leeching mana from her mana whip.

Her nostrils flared once again. “Oh you want mana?” She screamed through grit teeth. The moment I noticed a surge of power well up in her core, I let go of her whip and launched myself into the air with a flap of my wings.

What had been a thin strand of thin Dark Mana burst with power until it was the size of one of the Underwater Water Serpents. The density of the mana this serpent possess was as rich as her own. Her whip before had been dense with the stuff, but so was my Fire Incubus’s Impenetrable Skin. This was on a whole other level and was something that would likely tear me apart.

Not one, but four additional Dark Magic Tentacles reached out from her. One from her other hand and the others from beneath her like additional legs. Like the striking of vipers they came for me all at once.

I dived below them propelled by my mighty wings and headed right for her.

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This one was updated after some additional editing.