Transcendence, page 12
part #6 of The Beginning After The End Series
I leaped to the base of my bond’s neck and grabbed onto a ridged spike. Looking over my shoulder once more, I saw the awestruck expression plastered on Madam Astera’s delicate face as Sylvie’s large wings beat down to produce a powerful gale.
Sylvie kicked off the ground and swung her wings once more to lift off. The powerful winds produced by this startled the marching units, led by their heads with Captains Glory and Auddyr in the front, but I was already too far up to make out any of their expressions.
I had planned on flying directly over where Captain Auddyr’s division should be, but instead Sylvie soared up into the layer of clouds overhead. ‘Arthur, before we engage in battle you should know that I’m limited in what I can do to help.’
Are you talking about the asura’s treaty? I asked, afraid that I would not be able to fight alongside my bond.
‘That’s an area of concern Aldir has warned me about, but it’s not just that. With the awakening process that Grandfather Indrath made me undergo for my aether powers, it’ll still take a while before I’m able to assist you with any magic. Until my powers are fully awakened and under control, I’ll be limited to what I can do physically in this form. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.’
I stroked the side of my bond’s large neck, berating myself for not taking her condition into account. I knew I had cut her training short, but I’d never realized what a crucial time it had been for her. No, don’t be. At least I know now.
It didn’t take us long to reach our destination. We could hear the sounds of an ensuing battle but it wasn’t until we dropped below the layer of clouds blocking our view that we realized the severity of the situation at hand.
‘This can’t be possible.’ Sylvie’s thoughts were laced with disbelief at the sight below, but as someone who’d seen the surprises war brought, I could only see this as a miscalculation—a rather severe one.
Down below, in a field of grass stained red and black with blood and smoke, was what could only be the Alacryan army.
Their forces, about five thousand strong, were currently engaged with Captain Auddyr’s division. The soldiers were no larger than insects from here, but it was easy to distinguish them. Unlike the Dicathen army, the Alacryan soldiers seemed to have a standardized color of deep red emblazoned on their dark gray armor.
Sylvie’s back lurched as she prepared to dive down, but I stopped her. No. Let’s stay hidden here for now.
‘Stay hidden? Allies are dying down there and you wish to stay hidden?’ Her anger was evident in her words, but I knew she already knew my intentions.
We can’t get involved in every battle. Right now, our priority is knowing what we’re up against. I kept my gaze firmly locked on the scene below, regretting not having any transmission scrolls to communicate with Virion as I gritted my teeth against the knowledge that I couldn’t act.
‘How were they able to make it all the way here without us knowing? They may not have come across a major city yet, but the dwarves should’ve known that an army was marching through their land.’
“Maybe they did know,” I muttered, taking note of the faint path they’d created during their march. Change of plans. Sylv, can you stay hidden and follow the trail the Alacryans made on their way here? I’ll join the fight while blending in as a regular soldier.
‘What if you get into trouble? I’ll be too far away to help.’ I could hear the disapproval in her voice.
Vanesy’s division is going to arrive soon and I have a bad feeling that, even though we outnumber them, it’ll be a losing battle unless I help.
‘All the more reason for me to stay and help you,’ Sylvie argued.
Please. If my suspicions are correct, this war might not be as simple as us versus them. You’re the only one here who can make the journey there and back fast enough. I’ll stay safe, Sylv.
‘Fine. But the moment I sense you’re in danger, I’m coming back and taking you away whether you’re conscious or not,’ Sylvie said with a grunt.
Thanks. I patted my bond before I let myself fall off her back. The crisp winter air felt like sharp whips lashing at me as I hurtled toward the ground. I intentionally veered away from the battle as to not attract attention.
Just before landing into a cluster of trees, I enveloped my body in mana, erasing my presence before casting a wind spell. Despite crashing through a few dry branches, I was able, with the help of magic to soften my impact, to reach the ground quietly enough.
“The things I do to blend in,” I muttered, picking broken twigs and leaves out of my hair. I remained hidden within the thick cluster of trees until I heard Vanesy’s division arrive.
“Tred! Vester! Take your units around for a left flank. Dirk, Sasha, to the right!” Vanesy’s voice resounded with confident precision. “Everyone else, we group with Captain Auddyr’s forces and hit those Alacryan bastards from the front!”
Dashing out, I headed for Captain Glory. On instinct, Vanesy whirled both her swords at me before realizing who I was.
“Damn it, Arthur. Don’t scare me like that!” she snapped. “What are you doing here? I saw you and your bond fly off.”
“And leave my precious subordinate behind?” I smirked. “No. I sent Sylvie on an equally important side mission.”
“Well, it’s damn reassuring to have you with us. If we survive, we’re going to have to find out how an Alacryan force of this size was able to get around us.”
I nodded my head. “How about we leave a few alive to try and get the answer out of them?”
Vanesy’s lips curved into a wicked grin as she raised her longswords. “Sounds like a plan.”
Vanesy’s soldiers roared, men and women alike, as they reached the Alacryan army. I stood behind for a minute, watching as steel cut into flesh. Indecipherable mutters sounded from the conjurers as they prepared their spells, while archers released volleys of arrows from behind the protection of the augmenters and foot soldiers.
But my focus was on the Alacryan soldiers. The uneasy feeling I’d had since watching them from the sky had only become worse as they began to retaliate.
For some absurd reason, I’d expected our enemies to be something like the Vritra—monsters of evil. However, looking at them, they were no different from our soldiers, except that they were adorned in dark gray and red. This fact only dawned on me as I locked eyes with an enemy soldier.
The soldier’s eyes narrowed as he readied to strike. I picked up a bloodstained sword from the ground as he dashed toward me. I tried to sense what level his core was, and was surprised to find that I was unable to read it. The soldier spread his arms while his fingers curled like claws. Suddenly, without even the influx of mana to warn me, gigantic claws manifested around his hands. He lashed out with his mana claws at a ferocious speed.
I ducked, only to see a row of trees behind me topple at the strength of my opponent’s attack. With the speed of his spell-casting and the power behind it, I could only assume he was at least a yellow core augmenter—maybe even a silver core.
I augmented my sword and countered with an upward swing, but a translucent barrier shimmered just below the mage, protecting the area underneath his chest where I’d been aiming.
What the hell. I whipped my head over my shoulder, sensing that the spell hadn’t come from him. About thirty feet away from me was another soldier, his hands outstretched and brows knitted in concentration. Although I only had a moment, as most of my attention remained focused on my current opponent, it was clear that this second soldier realized that I was aware of him.
The translucent panel that had protected my opponent an instant earlier moved and enlarged, forming as a wall between me and the conjurer. I’d never seen someone manipulate a barrier with such efficiency, so it was obvious who my priority should be. However, the clawed soldier was already moving again, slashing at my neck, forcing me to lose sight of his companion and defend myself.
Dropping the scavenged sword, I grabbed the attacker’s forearm, avoiding the claw, and stomped down with my right foot. A pillar of earth punched up from the ground like a battering ram.
This time, whether because the conjurer behind me hadn’t expected the spell or was too worried about shielding himself, no barrier formed. The clawed augmenter attempted to sidestep, ripping his arm free from my grasp, but the pillar still struck his ribs. I was surprised by the sound my spell produced on impact—the sound of bones cracking underneath his now-dented armor. Did this idiot not augment his body?
Gnashing his teeth with a pained expression, the augmenter ignored his obvious injury and lunged toward me, his mana claws extended. With my fists wrapped in electricity, I met his strike head-on. I expected him to counter or use another spell, but he didn’t. My lightning-clad fist shattered his mana claws and broke his wrist on impact.
I held off on finishing him, my curiosity getting the better of me. He didn’t pose a real threat to me, but something about how he fought—how they fought—didn’t make any sense. I’d thought the opponent in front of me was an experienced augmenter, but his body wasn’t even protected by mana. If not for the mana claw absorbing some of the impact, his arm would’ve been torn off completely.
The augmenter soldier was down on one knee, his left arm dangling at his side. A flicker of disbelief and awe crossed his face, then he clicked his tongue, turning his gaze toward the barrier-casting soldier. “Oi, Shield!” he barked. “Total body enhancement, now!”
Chapter 15
A Normal Soldier
The chaos of combat was all around me, the sound of metal clashing and spells firing resonant in the air. The musty stench of burning wood overwhelmed all other smells as a thin cloud of smoke enveloped the battlefield.
However, despite the chaos, my battle with the augmenter seemed confined—almost isolated—as if the soldiers around us deliberately left us alone. Perhaps the people fighting nearby were too focused on their own battles, but I was suspicious that there was some sort of illusion put in place. I couldn’t quite tell, but it left me with more questions. How was their attack force structured? Why did their soldier’s seem to manifest their mana in such singular ways? Clearly their fighting tactics were fundamentally different than ours. I knew I’d need to discover more—much more—about their forces if we were to win this war.
The conjurer manifested a thin veil of mana around the augmenter’s body. While my opponent’s injuries remained, he no longer looked fatigued as he rose from his knee with renewed vigor.
With a click of his tongue, he peeled his eyes from me and focused his gaze on a point in the distance. It was obvious he was signaling to someone besides the conjurer who had protected him thus far.
With a stern nod, his gaze fell back to me. Mana enveloped his hands into the same claw-shaped form as before and he readied himself to attack. As he did, a faint hiss from behind warned me of an incoming spell.
Remembering my mana interpretation training with Myre back in Epheotus, I was tempted to activate Realmheart to finish this off quickly, but I decided against doing anything that would draw too much attention to myself.
I whipped around in time to see a blast of fire hurtling toward me. Condensing a gale of wind to spiral around my hand like a drill, I dispersed the fire spell while simultaneously pivoting away from the augmenter’s strike, stepping into a defensive posture. The moss-covered roots nearby caught on fire from the scattered embers of the conjurer’s spell. The once peaceful clearing within the forest was turning into a pit of blood and fire as more and more soldiers from both sides emptied their life onto the ground.
The augmenter’s movements were rather concise and well-coordinated despite the uneven terrain, but years of sparring against Kordri made his attacks seem sluggish. The augmenter lashed out with a combination of strikes, but his mana claws hit only air.
Was he only capable of using those mana claws?
“He was right. You’re not just some foot soldier,” he spat as he whirled back around in preparation to pounce on me once more.
“He?” I asked, bewildered as to who could’ve possibly given him this information.
He remained silent and dashed toward me, using a tree stump as a foothold to leap off of with his mana claws poised to strike.
I positioned myself to meet the assault head on, and when his claws were just inches away from my face, I withdrew my own fist and swayed to the left. I drove my fist toward the augmenter’s open ribs, but the veil of mana surrounding his body condensed where I struck.
The mana barrier protecting my opponent’s ribs cracked, and the force of my punch sent the augmenter tumbling to the ground. When he got back up, his face was contorted with frustration and anger, but he seemed unhurt.
I looked around quickly to find the conjurer again. His brows were knitted in concentration, his hands trembling. I could tell that he had used his power to block my attack again. Why was it that the soldiers around the conjurer—enemies and allies alike—seemed to ignore him entirely?
Is there really something like an illusion around us?
Just then, another fireball shot toward me. Before I dispersed it—such things were little more than an annoyance—I tracked the fiery trail back to the enemy mage’s location. Now I knew where the fire-thrower was hiding: fifty feet away, directly ahead, positioned somewhere on top of a cluster of large, moss-covered rocks, and largely obscured by the trees between us.
“She’s over there, right?” I asked with a smirk, pointing in her direction.
The augmenter remained silent, apparently not in the mood to exchange witty remarks. He pulled himself up to his feet with the help of a nearby tree, desperation evident on his rugged face. Keeping his deep set eyes locked on mine, he clapped his hands together. As he did, multiple images of himself appeared around me, resolving my suspicion—there was certainly illusion or deceptive magic involved.
Soon, there were at least a dozen figures of the augmenter all in different—very life-like—poses, all ready to attack.
I looked at the illusions manifested around me, making sure that both Dicathen and Alacryan soldiers were unaware of what was happening, and let out a stifled laugh.
“This is funny?” the augmenter growled, his voice echoing from twelve individual mouths.
“I’m sorry,” I answered, still smiling. Around me, the dozen or so identical augmenters, all with glowing mana claws, snarled in response. “Thanks to this illusion, I can let loose a little.”
Pushing my consciousness deep into my mana core, I activated Realmheart. A burst of mana exploded out of me, and my vision faded into an achromatic state. There was a warm, comfortable sensation as power washed over me; glowing runes flowed down my arms and my back, and my long, auburn hair blazed into bright, silver-white light.
The clones that had moments ago seemed identical in my normal state were now no more than clusters of white mana particles shaped into the form of a man. Only one figure stood solid and real before me. I noted that the illusion wasn’t invoked by the hidden mage but rather the ‘Shield.’
Locking my gaze on the augmenter, it was obvious from his expression that he knew there was something dreadfully overwhelming about me. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he regarded me with fearful perplexity. Despite his wariness, the augmenter—along with all of his clones—dashed toward me, clawed mana gauntlets ready to strike.
At the same time, the mage conjured another blast of fire—larger, this time—in sync with the augmenter’s assault. Raising my output of mana, I ignored the illusions and aimed a lightning punch at the real augmenter’s mana claws, shattering his spell. Grabbing a tight hold of his exposed hand, I used his momentum to redirect him toward the fire blast.
I caught a glimpse of my opponent’s eyes widening in horror before being struck by the full brunt of his ally’s spell. Several layers of barriers attempted to protect the augmenter, and even though they all shattered from the force of the blast, the augmenter survived.
The illusory clones flickered before disappearing as I turned my attention toward the mage, who was preparing yet another spell.
Wordlessly, I raised my left arm and coalesced mana into the tips of my fingers.
“Shiel—Cayfer! Protect Maylin!” the augmenter roared, still struggling to get up from the ground.
The conjurer named Cayfer, who the augmenter had previously referred to as ‘Shield,’ nodded furiously as I finished preparing my spell. Jagged vines of electricity coiled down my arm like a serpent, gathering at the tips of my index and middle finger.
Using my right arm to help stabilize my aim, I concentrated on the hidden mage, who was clearly visible to me, thanks to Realmheart.
“Release,” I muttered.
The thin bullet of lightning shot out from the tips of my two fingers, piercing directly through the trees that stood between us.
The layers of translucent barriers that formed in the bullet’s path were instantly shattered, unable to prevent my spell from hitting the cluster of rocks I had been aiming at.
There was no dramatic scream or howl of pain in the distance, only the soft thud of the mage’s limp body falling off the boulder.
“No! Maylin!” the barrier caster cried out as he ran toward his fallen comrade, abandoning his post.
As the mage fell and Cayfer’s concentration broke, the illusion separating us from the larger battle disappeared. As if a window had been opened, the world became clearer around me and the near-muted volume of the battle going on resumed in full blast. It wasn’t long before I got swept up in the chaos.
I released Realmheart but brought out Dawn’s Ballad from my dimension ring. I turned to the mana clawed augmenter, but he was gone. There were plenty of other enemies around, however, and they could all see me now. As I was pulled into the battle proper, the translucent teal blade of my sword arched around me, drawing blood wherever it struck.
The battle between the two sides had gone on for less than an hour, yet the ground was littered with corpses and body parts—severed legs, lopped off heads, and chopped arms still spewing blood.
