Back to Yonder for Publication, page 35
I frowned. Whatever darkness was influencing her was clearly back in control. It helped to know that this wasn’t the sweet Sema that I had gotten to know, but an odd effect that even she didn’t understand.
“We already discussed this, Sema.”
“Yes. But what are you going to do when her potion runs out? Without that boost to her Agility, she won’t be fast enough to stay ahead of him—or be able to react in time to avoid being skewered. Is that it? You want to see your woman being skewered by another man?”
I growled as her both her comment and her tone cause the fire in my belly to ignite. “Stop talking,” I growled. “Now.”
“Or what? Will you make me? The strong give orders and they’re obeyed because they can back it up. All the power in the world doesn’t matter, though, if you won’t enforce your will. Who better than you to rule?”
“Her?”
The small fairy buzzed up out of my pouch. People around us started to gasp as she stopped hiding.
Her grinned at me wickedly from Sema’s body, but then pointed out to the arena, “Oops.”
I had looked away from the match and was so worked up that I hadn’t even felt the brief stab of pain which went through Josie. Now as I tried to understand what had happened, I saw Josie’s headless body fall to the ground.
My core spun up and I stood. Ki surged out of me and everyone around me was pushed back.
Rava and Nimeera called out to me.
The other fans in the stand screamed in terror as they were pressed down by the sheer aura of my power.
Killing intent oozed from me. I’d been struggling to come to understand how to make that work for me, but in this moment, it was purely a reaction. The effect spread quickly. And while Rava was immune to it because of our soul bond and Nimeera’s connection with Korkanis probably afforded her some sense of protection, everyone else within a hundred feet of me was either crying out in panic as they were transfixed by my expanding aura, or they stumbled over one another, trying to flee in terror.
That fear spread, and soon no one was watching the arena. They were either dealing with those who were fleeing, or watching in horror from the other side of the arena.
Sema’s body began to expand, but she was laughing with a dark and hideous cackle. All sense of her being a fairy was gone, and she oozed the demonic power of Her.
I didn’t know how the demon had survived being cut into thousands of pieces, but then a dire realization came to me. A tiny piece of her must have landed on Sema’s unconscious form. Maybe the fairy had even swallowed some. That would explain the difficulty with her throat following that event.
I screamed at Her, while my Parallel Mind sent a connection of ki to Josie. Her body was an extension of mine. That was when I saw a somewhat familiar notification pop up for her. It wasn’t the same as what I had received, but then again, her power was different from mine.
Phoenix’s Rebirth activated. Spontaneous regeneration occurring… Once you were born of water and womb, now you shall be reborn in fire. Fire is a purifying force, and you shall be reborn as your best possible self.
Regeneration upgraded to exceptional for affinity with Fire Mana.
Regeneration upgraded to legendary due to your status as mana cultivator with a fire core.
Secondary power present within your body is incompatible and not native to Olimero.
Adjustments being made.
Net results:
Mana Core is strengthened by 1.2 stages to C10.
Fire Mana density is increased by 25%
Stat gains due to cultivation increases:
21 to lowest stat: Durability
1 to every other stat
Your body is reformed. Due to exceptional upgrade, stat gains are doubled. Due to legendary upgrades, a new skill is created, and current skills are upgraded.
Agility: +20
Magic: +20
Melee Combat: +5
Dual Wield: +5
Critical Strike: +5
Precision Strike: +5
New skill created: Wisp of Flame—your body can temporarily take on the nature of fire. In this state, you and all of the items on your body will become fire. You will not be able to move physical objects ,as you will have no mass, but your very touch will consume that which is around you. Maximum Duration: 1 second per Magic Stat plus level of this skill.
Wisp of Flame: +1
Part my mind was focused on Her still, but the part which was focused on Josie watched as her body became ash and then a plume of fire shot up from the ground. In that moment I knew the heart ache she must have felt when I’d pushed myself to the point of death or even near it.
A part of me resolved to do better in that regard, but for now, I was focused on the task at hand.
Josie’s new body was every bit as gorgeous as she had always been, and to the naked eye she wasn’t any different—but through my connection with her, I could tell she was positively bristling with energy. Her compatibility with the Phoenix Potion had definitely made her improvements far more potent than mine. I was thrilled for her.
Now, though, I had a bigger threat to deal with than a time shifting elf, and I trusted that Josie’s new ability would be a perfect counter to his power.
Chapter 42 - The Real Fight
Josie and Narkossa launched themselves back at each other. The foxkin’s Agility was lower than before, though, since the potion was no longer boosting her. Her gains from the rebirth weren’t quite enough to make up for the loss of speed—but they did make her significantly more durable.
I grinned as I saw her body shift into a cloud of wispy flame. She was going to be fine—which was good, because I’d need all my attention to defeat Her.
The illusion around me shattered and everyone saw me for my true human self. Some stared, but most continued to run.
I almost didn’t bother, but it felt like a prerequisite, so I shouted, “Let Sema go.”
Her, in Sema’s body, just laughed. “We just went through this. Your commands don’t mean a thing, unless you are prepared to back them up.”
She raised her hand and bolts of prismatic light fired off. I realized just a second too late that I wasn’t her target, when one of the bolts struck Rava and the other hit Nimeera. They both were scorched, but I felt a burning pain hit me in exactly the same spots they’d been attacked.
Trait: Den Mother is activated. Because you are within 100 feet of a wife, all your stats are increased by 10%, and you will automatically absorb 10% of the damage any of your wives, deputies, or clerks take.
I was able to shrug the damage off, then pushed off and launched myself at Her. My killing intent drove in front of me like a wedge. The boost to my stats from the trait was insignificant compared to the storm of ki which surged from my core into my limbs. The carved stone benches where we had been seated crumbled as I pushed off of them.
The wave of my desire to destroy my enemy hit Her and she rocked back. “Oh, my… where was this loveliness before? Give it all to me. Show me your true self!”
I fired off a punch with the equivalent of over four hundred Agility for speed and six hundred for Strength. Her was able to keep up, but she wasn’t as fast as she had been when she had possessed Rose’s body. The arm she used to block my punch immediately purpled with a brilliant black bruise.
“Ouch. Such a meanie. This body isn’t quite as strong as what I’m used to.” She shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to destroy it to get rid of me.”
I was too incensed that she was back again to think straight for a moment. I infused my punches with more ki, and each blow caused Sema’s body to crumple in on itself a little more. Our fight took place at a speed that even Josie wouldn’t have been able to keep up with, as we blasted around the arena, ripping through the stone seats and blowing apart the private boxes.
A part of my mind helped me do the best I could to direct Her towards the unoccupied areas of the stadium. I was trying to give people as long as possible to escape, but Her seemed to take delight in bring our fight right into the midst of groups of fleeing civilians.
“You’re going to have to up your game if you want to take me out,” Her taunted. “You have the means. Just show me. Show me your power.”
I was growing more and more frustrated. There had to be a way to save Sema while still defeating Her. I knew what it was, but I was desperately trying not to let myself go down that path. Soul Eater was a dark power which came with a price.
My ki gathered and I forged it into a spinning ball which I launched at the demon. She dodged closer to me, as I had intended, and laughed, “Can’t even hit me.”
The sphere of concentrated ki was a ki slice which I’d instinctively modified on the fly. As it struck the stadium, it exploded—turning a fifty-foot-wide area of the stands to rubble. I heard the cries of people struck by debris or fleeing from the crumbling structure, but I couldn’t afford to pay them any notice.
Ki Slice +3
Her had already killed one fairy for the crime of saving my wife. I wasn’t going to let a second one die. My attack had shifted Her closer to me on purpose. It enabled me to push my body to its max, and to grab hold of Her. My arms were bands of iron and even her demonic power could only push her possessed fairy body so far.
She struggled and kicked and shrieked, but couldn’t break my grasp. Then she flung her head back and moaned. “Oh, yes, I like it rough. You can have me—all of me—either in this body or I’ll form a new flesh body, if you but give me a chance. Just promise you’ll hurt me.”
I knew every word that came out of Her’s mouth was a lie. She’d promise me heaven and deliver me to hell. With this enemy, I couldn’t give a single inch.
I shook her, “Release Sema, and fight me with your own flesh.”
She shook her head. “No. You have to show you can do what needs doing. You’ll have to destroy this form to win your battle. If you can’t even do that, how will you ever rise to be what my Master hopes you can become?”
I felt my cores wobble inside of me. I was beginning to doubt there was a way to save Sema. Power was swelling into me, and my body was growing stronger as I pushed it to its limits. Notifications continued to pop up.
Body Cultivation Progress +2%
Strength +2
Agility: +1
I tried to send my senses into her body, seeking Sema’s soul. It was there; I could feel it. It was rough around the edges, more than a little battered, but it was there.
Perched on it—like a black leech—was what I took to be Her’s soul. It was unlike any other soul I’d ever seen.
As I did that, she parted her legs and started to grind herself against my thigh. “Oh, she likes that. This fairy wants this. She doesn’t even want to share you with… hmm? Oh, how perfectly delicious… she doesn’t want to share you with her mother. My, my… you are more wicked than I’d given you credit for.”
“Shut up.” I shouted and flung Her from me.
As soon as she was thirty feet from me, winds swirled up and caught her, and then a sphere of prismatic light sprang into existence around her. She started flying around the arena.
“I’m going to kill them. I’ll kill them all,” the demon hissed, “if you don’t show me your true self. I’ll kill the strangers. I’ll kill the mothers and the children. Then, I’ll kill the catgirl, the cowkin, and finally, if you still can’t be bothered to show up, I’ll kill your wives. If you force me to, I’ll peal the skin from their flesh and shred their souls as they plead for mercy, wondering why Rob isn’t saving them.”
I experienced another surge of power. Automatically, I was sucking in all the ambient mana around me. “You’ll touch no one.”
I summoned one, two, three, and then more of the condensed spheres of ki. Each time, I either just barely missed Her—or, if I hit Her, the prismatic sphere managed to keep her safe. Each blast of my ki ripped wide breaches in the stadium exposing it to the streets outside.
Her laughed. “Maybe, I won’t have to kill all the people. You’re doing such a good job of bringing the town down around everyone’s ears that the lamentations of the pitiful are music to my ears. That’s what the weak always do—they shackle the strong and then cry when things get broken. Own up to who you are, Sheriff. My Master won’t let you go—you belong to him. But you might as well enjoy the perks… I know I will.”
I glanced down into the arena. Josie was standing over a burned-out husk that I took to be the remains of Narkossa. Rava was clinging onto Josie and the redhead was trying to help her stand. Both of them seemed spent.
In another section of the arena, I saw Betsy helping groups of civilians to get out. She used her superior Strength to move piles of debris. I tried to find Nimeera, but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
There was no way around it. I launched myself forward and snapped, “Fine. You want to see destruction? Let’s see how you like it when I eat your soul.”
Her dropped to her knees on the ground—stolen fairy wings no longer beating as she took looked eagerly up at me. “Yes, show me what you can do.”
The ground ripped up around me as I came to a sudden stop right before her kneeling form. My hands shot forward and, placing them on her shoulders, I activated Soul Eater.
Soul Eater +2
Her body trembled and I felt myself pour into her as I sought to rip out the black leach on Sema’s soul. Her shrieked and I felt power starting to fill me. This was beyond any mortal soul I’d consumed. This kind of power would push me into A rank and quite possibly beyond. With this much power, I’d become immortal.
It was all the power I’d need.
Soul Eater +3
A dark song full of whispers sang in my ears as I pulled and pulled at Her’s soul. It was vast beyond anything I’d imagined. I was consuming it and yet there seemed to be a never-ending amount of it.
Her laughed. “Give me your all.”
Soul Eater +5
The skill was growing at an astounding rate. I felt my core fill to overflowing with raw power and I spun it, converting it to ki. I wanted more, and yet a voice in the back of my head said, this isn’t the way. This is giving in to what my enemy wants, the voice calmly said. This is not INDOMITABLE.
Being INDOMITABLE meant not just winning, but staying true to myself. Yet in this moment, I had trouble remembering my own name. All I knew was the thirst for power. It was like every drug every made all together, and I had such a need for it that addiction didn’t begin to describe my desire.
My core trembled. I released my hold on Her’s sou—slowly, agonizingly. It hurt not to take more, but I could bear that pain. What I couldn’t bear was not being me.
I was INDOMITABLE.
Satisfactory progress made. You have identified with the universal concept - INDOMITABLE.
Path to A rank is now open. Transition necessary. Begin?
I couldn’t start that now; I still had to pull back. Touching Sema was like an alcoholic trying to sip and then spit it back out with top shelf whiskey. As one of my hands broke contact with Her, she cried out, “No! What are you doing? You were so close.”
In response, I ripped my other hand free.
“No, no man can escape me.” Her’s hands shot out and she grabbed onto my wrists.
Her strength was staggering. It wasn’t physical strength, so much as the weight of her soul. It felt endless, like the size of a mountain compared to the small pebble that was my soul.
“Did you really think you could control souls better than a demon? I’ve been alive as long as these so-called gods. I’ve eaten more souls than you can imagine, and my soul possesses the depth of an immortal.”
She cackled. “You could never hurt me. But I can hurt you.”
I screamed as I felt the enormity of her soul try to smother me. All light was gone. Hope was gone. All I could cling to was that sliver of my identity wrapped securely around INDOMITABLE.
Then, a black spear of shadow punched through Her’s chest from behind. Sema’s body coughed up glittering blood and, for just a moment, I felt a weakness in Her. A tiny gap appeared between Her’s soul and Sema’s.
I needed to widen that gap. It was the only way to save Sema and to rid myself of Her, but destruction was not the path forward. I needed to build something. I felt my core spin and a pain blossomed in my lower abdomen.
Soul +10
Soul Eater Skill has evolved to Soul Builder Skill: 30
Soul Builder—rather than tearing down, you build up. You can create instead of destroying. You bind together that which is broken and wall out the hordes at the gate. You are a builder of walls and castles, providing safety and security for all who depend upon you.
