Chapter 251 - A Field Of Shattered Dreams

The mind residing in Jiran’s soul-space directed a flow of mana from his tap. The energy washed over his sigil which glowed in response. Empowered by the additional mana, Enthralling Touch created instantaneous connections with the beasts around him. He pulled on their corrupted energies, his demand overriding their stubborn resistance.

Like twisting serpents, green rivulets of mana flowed into Jiran’s new filter. It thrummed to life, the venom within eagerly devouring the corruption. He pushed his skill harder, reaching more distant undead until even his sigil-boosted call became insufficient. 

The beasts tried to fight back but were helpless against his aura. The few strong enough to stand within his presence were quickly cut down by two mana-efficient chakrams of elemental ice. The steady inflow of mana through the filter was easily a hundred times greater than his expenditure. Satisfied, he took to the air, hovering just above the horde.

Upon seeing him, the monsters broke into a frenzy. They rushed forward into the rotten meat grinder that were his aura and chakrams. He remained stationary, glad they were rushing forth at a pace his filter could handle. The excess gunk it released was flung aside by his aura before it could touch his suit.

Few more minutes and I’ll have enough mana for Lenton.

Jiran watched their battle, frowning. The old legend was doing well at avoiding being hit, but wasn’t making any progress chipping away the burgheist’s health. Jiran had no qualms about staying completely out of the encounter. The lightning exuding from the creature's massive skull covered the sky, each bolt moving dozens of kilometers before he could tell it fired. With attributes roughly double a tier ten human, it was unlikely his strongest attack would even hurt the thing.

I can use Armament to extend the range of my mana, but even that would put me way too close. He’ll have to make an opening.

When he was ready, Jiran launched a small ball of trapped gases that exploded brightly. Without waiting to see if Lenton understood the signal, he Teleported. The flames had yet to recede when he appeared but they were only meant as a fancy lightshow, having no chance of breaching his armor.

In the short time Jiran was inside the framework, Lenton’s hands had come together. His Channels flared as the last twenty percent of his mana raced down his arms. What looked like a steel rod the length of a city shot from his palms. The metal construct smashed into the burgheist, proving it wasn’t solid at all as it splashed like water, quickly enveloping its entire mass in sticky darkness.

Lenton Teleported, appearing halfway to Jiran and ripping through the air to close the distance. The moment he was close enough, Jiran signaled for him to stop with a raised palm, then opened a hole with Armament. Pure energy poured out. Mana Confluence worked through Armament’s storage space, matching it with Lenton's mana.

Lenton’s grin revealed his canines. He turned back to the tier ten beast, flames gushing from his hands. They hit the black goo still clinging to its bones. The stuff ignited in a gargantuan conflagration that released waves of fire. The skyline was drenched in dazzling hues of vermillion. 

Even the beasts far below were melted into puddles from the overbearing heat. With just two simultaneous attacks, forty percent of the horde was annihilated. Jiran dove toward the remainder, picking up speed to get away from Lenton's attack that was pressuring his aspect's ability to protect him.

The burgheist erupted from the cloud of flames. Its jaw clacked, releasing a shockwave of force that dispelled the last traces of tar and fire clinging to it. The scorches along its bones vanished at a visible pace, prompting Lenton to action.

He Teleported to it but the beast copied him, retreating closer to the ground. Its mouth stretched wide and a tornado swept tens of thousands of corpses into its maw. They vanished after passing its teeth as though its mouth were the entrance to another dimension. Jiran clicked his tongue, Mana Omnis revealing its reserves ticking up too quickly for comfort.

Jiran changed strategies. Rather than leaving behind cut-up bodies of lower-tier beasts after draining them, he burned them to nothing. Mana Venom was sprayed across the ground in his wake, eating the corruption to sustain itself as it wiped away their last remnants.

Between one blink and the next, all the colors were drained from the sky. They were sucked into its hollow eye sockets and condensed into radiantly glowing pinpoints of light. They exploded into beams of unimaginable power that sliced toward Lenton. He dodged the first with a Teleportation.

He surrounded himself in a bubble of aspect but the second ignored it, slicing him clean in half despite. Before Jiran could open his mouth the scream, the old man was back in one piece, a large chunk of his mana gone. More lightning covered the sky, returning color to the world in a flash. Reminded that he had no direct part to play in their struggle, Jiran refocused on what he could do.

The battle dragged on for what felt like hours. Jiran hid his form, mana, and aura as he went about his cleansing work. Three times he topped off Lenton's mana as the burgheist’s slowly drained. Lenton didn't allow it to consume the dead again. His attacks were excessively wasteful, but they reduced its food to ash before it could be sucked up.

Once it realized there would be no more free lunches, it gave up on healing and tanked Lenton's repeated attacks with its durable bones. They were cracked and chipped, but held strong. 

The last of the beasts had died some time ago. After draining the nearby ambient density and clouds, Jiran retreated to the wall. Soldiers from the church who hadn't joined the battle in the city stood nearby, unaware of his presence. They held the stones with white-knuckled grips, everything they spent their lives protecting hinging upon the strength of a legendary old man they were supposed to hate.

Lenton's reserves were close to a quarter so Jiran headed out again. He had enough mana to refill Lenton six times over. By this point, they both had a perfect grasp of the distance and timing needed to get the job done. Unfortunately, so did the burgheist. 

The moment Jiran appeared, he found the city-sized beast hovering over him. Somehow, he could tell its empty sockets were staring right at him. In the next instant, color was drained from the savaged battlefield, condensing into eyes. Jiran didn't try to protect himself, dedicating everything he had to expelling as much Lenton-flavored mana as he could. He couldn't see the old man but it hardly mattered since he couldn't keep track of their movements anyways.

Bolts of lightning devoid of color seeped from within its bones, turning everything around Jiran white. His armor cracked from the thunder alone and his head felt like it had ruptured an eon ago and he was still experiencing the pain. Thought vanished, taking his consciousness with it.

Ardon Le’Cruex 

Ardon bit his lip, drawing blood and a tiny pinch of pain. He knew his expression wasn't pretty and couldn't have cared less. His aura kept him aloft, hovering near the southern wall. Far in the distance, Master Filibree waged a tiresome battle against a foe that should have snuffed him out in an instant.

How he did it, Ardon could only speculate. He'd heard from his father, Dominus, that there were new methods being brought to the empire but he'd yet to experience them himself. It irked him greatly that he'd been sent away from the battle against the king before it even began but he understood why the choice was made.

Except, he'd failed spectacularly in his duty. The few trusted by the emperors to escape the empire followed him to their doom, including his lovely little sister, Malaniea. Ambushed and outnumbered by the Templari, they had no choice but to surrender. 

The torture they subjected him to nearly broke him, and it did break two of his party members—friends that had stood beside him for a hundred years. They, along with Malaniea, were yet to awaken, and may never again. Opening his eyes to see light for the first time in what felt like months had been a paltry surprise compared to seeing his youngest sibling doing the rescuing.

Bereft of mana and heavily injured, they limped out of the ruined city. Along the way, they were joined by the surviving rankers, some in even worse shape than them. Their combined retreat was stopped cold when they found an army on the city's doorstep. The situation grew tense until Olive recognized some of her commanders from the battle of Morothin.

A joyous reunion turned into a briefing that escalated into Olive furiously berating the female commander of the 5th Corps for disobeying their orders from the prince consort—A piece of news that shocked his poor little sister to her boot soles. Her face was bright red the entire time, and the wholesome scene had done wonders for Ardon's shock and melancholy.

That was when the world turned gray and lifeless for the first time. They had no mana to spare, and like Ardon, most of their auras were dwindling rapidly just to keep them afloat. Yet none who rushed to the southern wall chose to leave. For what true Imperial would turn their back on a battle whose outcome would decide if they all lived or died?

On and on master and beast raged against one another. The sheer quantity of mana thrown back and forth was mind-boggling. While they watched, one of the rankers filled him in on Jiran’s teaching from their time at Morothin and Ardon’s jaw ached from the missed opportunity. Still, a few meager lessons taught in an hour couldn’t explain how Lenton was able to fight for so long.

It was Olive who noticed it first. With a gasp, she pointed out a small invisible bubble, nearly indistinguishable on the huge battlefield. Whenever beasts entered the moving bubble, they vanished. Mana Sight revealed nothing from the anomaly. When it neared enough his aura could penetrate it, all he detected were beasts being incinerated and left to blow away in the wind as dust.

She didn’t speak a word after the first exclamation. Her teary eyes never left the bubble. Her back and shoulders were straight, every centimeter of her bearing oozing pride that Ardon couldn’t understand. Even when asked, he was met with silence. The next sound she made was hours later. Her scream quivered within his broken heart.

The beast Teleported releasing waves of lightning as it sucked color from their world again. From beneath the creature, a human-shaped figure—scorched to a black husk—hurtled toward the ground. Lenton was between the corpse and the beast, his elements pushing it back, breaking off large chunks of bone that evaporated into nothing.

Ardon’s eyes flew wide when Olive blasted forward. Lightning still filled the battlefield, making her approach impossible but he could tell from her scream that she wasn’t going to stop. He dove forward, easily outpacing her. His hand landed on her arm and she dislocated her own shoulder with how fiercely she resisted his overwhelming tier nine strength.

“No! Let go! I have to help him!” She drew a sword borrowed from the commander, clearly intending to cut off her own arm.

Ardon caught her wrist, speaking softly as she collapsed against him in sobs, “Precious little sister, haven't you done enough this day? Why don’t you let your useless elder brother have a chance? How will I live with myself if I don’t even attempt to match your brilliance?”

“W-what?”

“That can only be your prince to make you react so strongly. If he lives, I’ll return him to your side,” he pushed her away, his aura carrying him into the lightning.