Chapter 248 - The End Of An Era

Jiran couldn't match the speed of the tier nine's foul mana. Thankfully, he didn't need to match it, he only needed to beat it. When he first acquired Armament, the storage space was no larger than his fist. With each bit of mana added, its internal volume expanded to compensate. As that mana was used, the space remained the same size.

Since it directly overlapped reality, any point Armament could reach, so could all his skills. Elemental Castigation created a flickering bolt of current that appeared right at Lenton’s back. The living legend easily detected the minor annoyance and assumed it was the prelude to a more powerful blast. He Teleported away, now flying sideways in the air far above.

With furiously knit brows, he gazed at the putrid mana that nearly swallowed him, then to Jiran who was only beginning to release a relieved breath. Jiran caught the telltale flare of an activating talisman in the old man's breast and he Teleported again.

Lenton appeared behind the Templari who was attempting to collect his expelled mana. A flash of razor-thin fire leapt from his casually slashed hand. The Templari was cut in half, along with most of the sky. The two parts of him remained held together by a chain of pure-white bones buried in his torso.

Jiran recognized them as the same bones Three chained him with before they were both dragged into the tier four arena. The bones released a pulse of mana much thicker than a tier nines and the man's injury reversed as though it never happened. He threw his head back and laughed, pointing at Lenton and saying something Jiran couldn't follow.

Lenton flew back, creating distance as elemental energy swam through his Channels. The sickly green mana returned to the Templari and they faced off, speaking a few more unintelligibly quick words.

Jiran backed off as well, his concern rising to new heights with the revelation of the morkork bones. To make matters worse, the Templari were clearly using less of their total mana with each action than Lenton, and Jiran had a sinking suspicion it was because of the strange green mana.

How is that mana not hurting him? Instead, it's actively empowering him while raising his efficiency. The thickness of it in his manapool is much higher than any of the guards, too. What is it? it almost seemed alive when I was chasing it in my soul-space.

Now isn’t the time. Lenton’s almost dry. Where can I get more mana for him? Takes too long to absorb the ambient density. I'll have to risk going into a cloud. Hang on, Lenton. I'll be back as soon as I can.

The sky roiled from repeated tier nine abuse. Jiran swallowed heavily as he threw himself toward the only intact densoon cloud. Two flares of mana caught his attention and his blood ran cold seeing Lenton surrounded by four tier nines. Jiran immediately recognized the ranker Pharish. The man standing beside him had the most rank mana Jiran had seen yet. He knew in his gut it could be none other than the Cardinal of the Voice, Andross Ruwhen.

The green taint in his manapool was thick and pulsed rhythmically as if alive. Jiran's stomach roiled at the sight. He tore his gaze to the side, focusing on Pharish whose mana was as clean as he remembered from Morothin. Back then, Pharish had been slimy, rude, and even threatened Mayalyn in an attempt to coerce Jiran into revealing more of his secrets. Luckily, Lostrifar had intervened.

In a split-second decision, Jiran changed his plans. Andross said something to Lenton, then vanished in another Teleportation. Jiran tracked his progress through the synapses as he appeared behind the tier nine woman who killed him earlier.

The cardinal pulled a long, glowing dagger from his robes and stabbed it toward the woman. She hadn’t finished turning around when a million arcs of lightning shot from the blade in a cone that completely enveloped her. For a brief moment, she was stunned as currents forced her muscles to convulse. Then, the arcs came to life, wrapping around her. She was dragged through the air, struggling mightily but to no avail. With complete apathy, Andross plunged the dagger into her heart.

Pitch black elemental energy swarmed from the blade like an army of insects. It flowed into her chest and began eating away at her wound. Andross withdrew the dagger. He kicked her away, the blow powerful enough to send her cratering into the ground. He left, flying toward another distant tier nine. 

Jiran closed in on the woman. Even from a distance, he could see the hole in her chest growing steadily larger. Her remaining mana swarmed in an attempt to heal it, but it was obviously a losing battle. Jiran recognized both the light and dark glow released by the dagger from his brief meeting with Palo and Loro. That weapon was not something a tier nine could counter.

Pharish Teleported to the woman before Jiran arrived. He hovered over her dying body, gloating sadistically. With Oneness active, he could barely follow the man’s words, “Truly, the apostles create the most spectacular tools. Wouldn’t you agree, Mareesh?” She tried to respond, but only coughed blood stained black from the sickness coursing through her veins. “You should be proud! It is a great honor for your overripe legacy to end on this most hushed of days. You’re fulfilling your destiny, becoming an unforgettable part of our great liberation from tyranny,” Pharish spread his arms wide, his voice quivering with passion.

Of course he's a monologuing psychopath. 

Jiran was right behind him now. Between his aura resistant suit, and obfuscating light, Pharish was oblivious, right up until a fist loaded with Mana Venom burrowed into his back. Enthralling Touch flowed right along with it, draining his full manapool dry. Pharish moved to smash a fist against his chest, but Jiran was wise to the trick and took a note from the dagger. Black lightning coursed into his body, shredding muscles and synapses alike, keeping him locked in position even as the higher-tier talisman imploded and released its energy uselessly.

The released mana was too potent for Jiran to grab and it vanished into the torn space. Pharish fell, crashing into the compacted ground next to the woman Jiran now knew as Mareesh the Bringer of Life. She was the most renowned healer in all the empire, and Niya’s childhood idol. She never spoke to Jiran when he trained the rankers at Morothin, and now she was dying at his feet, and there was nothing he could do about it.

She coughed again, more weakly than before. She raised a hand to him and he took it, her skin cold and hard.

“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do against the emperors’ combined energies. If I try, it might kill me too.”

Mareesh tried to smile but it morphed into a pained grimace. She nodded imperceptibly, the little mana left in her body flooding into her hand. The darkness flooding through her rampaged out of control now that she was no longer resisting. Her words were so soft, Jiran had to capture them in his aura to hear, “Don't sorry. Give last. Save him. Enough.”

Jiran nodded firmly, his jaw aching from how hard he clenched it, “I’ll try. That dagger is too strong for him, too. Where are Lostrifar, Sagrinar, and Pierro? I don't know how we can stop Andross without them.”

“Dist…act Pal,” and then she was gone. The last of her pristine and clear mana freely flowed into him as her eyes glazed over. The dark hole in her torso expanded to consume the rest of her until all that was left was a pile of ash. Jiran let go of her and backed up before it touched him. His fists clenched and his nostrils flared with a sharp inhalation.

Pal? Lostrifar is distracting Palo and Loro. Of course. Which means we're on our own. But so is Andross. Damn this bastard for teaching the Templari everything. That’s the only reason they’re able to contend with Lenton!

Jiran kicked Pharish, hard. The man skittered across the ground, as limp as he would ever be, now that Mana Venom was nestled into his manapool. In the end, it may very well be Pharish who saved them. Jiran’s mana was full to the brim, even Armament was nearly as topped off as it had been after absorbing the mana from the meersvant airship.

Jiran couldn’t bring himself to look directly at the repeated cones of lightning being released in the distance. Andorss’s next target hadn’t been caught unaware. Even though he evaded many times, he eventually met the same fate as Mareesh. The faltering manapool of another legend, dying in Jiran’s periphery, sent loathing hatred shooting through his limbs.

Mana Confluence coursed outward, surrounding Jiran in a rapidly forming suit of armor. He bent his knees, bracing, then detonated a compressed bubble of cooled gases beneath his feet. He exploded through the air on a direct intercept course with Lenton. His old mentor and the two Templari he was facing took notice immediately. Armament opened three holes behind both of them and black lightning shot out from each. His attacks were easily intercepted with a wave of mana-imbued hands.

The attacks were never meant to hurt. The minimal mana he used guided toward flashiness rather than potency. The distraction gave Lenton more than enough time to Teleport to Jiran’s side. A powerful aspect wrapped tightly around them, and the world outside it crawled to a stop.

Lenton’s hands were on Jiran’s shoulders and he shook him enough to rattle his brain, “Why are you still here?! Get the prince and princesses out, now!”

Jiran threw his arms to the sides, breaking Lenton’s powerful grip, “No!”

Lenton’s features were cast in rage unlike anything Jiran had ever seen on the unflappable old man, “Mother’s shadow upon you, Jiran. For once can you be a good disciple and do as you're told?”

Jiran straightened his back and lifted his chin, “I won’t. I promised to give you her mana. And you can’t win without me.”

“Her…” Lenton paused, a tremor sweeping through his body, “A little mana won't help us against that weapon. To think those two would be foolish enough to make such a thing.”

“This isn’t the time!” Jiran snapped, “Since your aspect is giving us valuable seconds, we should use them to win, don't you think?”

Lenton’s features twisted, “Any attack started inside will return to normal speed once they exit my aspect, and I can't choose who is affected by the warped time. If they enter, it will be the same as if I fought them out there. You’ve seen how well that’s progressed.”

Mana Confluence pulled free three-quarters of what was stored in Armament. Jiran matched its colors to Lenton’s signature blue and auburn before pushing it into the man. The Templari had vanished into Teleportations, and Jiran could see their mana crawling through the synapses at a visual pace. 

Elemental Castigation roared to life and black lightning snarled inches away, cost effectively cutting them off from prying eyes and ears, “I’ve seen those bones inside them before, when they came for me at Morothin. They were able to fully heal seconds after the top half of their body was destroyed. They put those bones in me too, and I learned how to counter them. If you can disable one, I can stop the bones from bringing them back.”

Lenton didn’t waste time with interruptions, instead further reinforcing his aspect to buy them precious seconds. Nodding thankfully, Jiran continued in a rush with a bombshell that would forever shatter what Lenton knew to be true, “Also, your aura is a hardened layer around your soul, composed of soul. When combined with mana, it becomes malleable and controllable. Your soul itself is like an entire galaxy that exists somewhere outside the physical universe and we access it through our taps. Our unique abilities, and their curses, are the result of a weakness in that layer, or soulwall.”

Lenton’s mouth opened and closed, words failing him. Jiran was all too keen to jump into the deepening silence, “That’s all we have time for. I hope it's enough. Can we go kick their asses now?”

“Gladly,” Lenton’s voice was tight and his lips were a hard line as though he were in pain. His hand twitched toward his elbow, then changed direction and landed on Jiran’s shoulder. He gave it a light squeeze before releasing him, “I take back what I said. You're a fine disciple exactly as you are.”

“Damn right,” Jiran nodded and crouched against his aura, ready to blast away the moment Lenton began, “Uhh, don’t let me die, okay?”

Lenton was halfway through a nod when his aspect flared. A hand sheathed in vile mana ripped its way through Jiran's layer of black lightning. Then, the world went white when Lenton snapped a finger. A clap of thunder stole the breath from Jiran’s lungs and he was launched toward the distant ground. Thankfully, his helmet’s visor darkened automatically, protecting his eyes from the fully powered lightning Lenton released.

The bolt took the Templari in the chest, the range too close to dodge or block. A gaping hole was blasted in his chest. He looked down in shock, the only thing visible inside were the morkork bones in the shape of a semi-human ribcage. They were already beginning to glow. 

Jiran spread his aura wide, ripping into the synapses and detonating a ball of gases at his back. He was thrown at the Templari, blacking out for a split second from the forces. When he came to, a geyser of flame was receding from the Templari who was now only legs and creepy writhing bones. Quick as thought, Jiran’s aura shaped into a ball that wrapped around the remains. 

Elemental Castigation filled the ball with blistering flames packed with every ounce of his knowledge. He held nothing back, and it was barely enough to stem the flesh that entered a cycle of near-instant regeneration and incineration.

He blocked out the world around him, trusting in Lenton. Mana Confluence navigated the bonfire, rushing toward the tip of one of the bones. Just like last time, he found a miniscule hole there and his consciousness swarmed down it. Unlike last time, the inside of the bones were crammed full of the green mana and it fought him with a vengeance, battling him back and beginning to infect his energies.

Jiran caught up, his body and armor sheathed in layers of ice that melted as quick as he could form them. His mana was bottoming out far too quickly. He grabbed the largest bone with both hands, roaring as Mana Venom crushed the green mana and forced its way inside. The venom shot through the hollow interior of the bones, annihilating the corruption in its way. 

There were dozens of branching paths through the bones, and since there was no attached belt, he wasn’t sure where the drop of blood was stored. Still needing to focus on the fire, and ice protecting him, Jiran had no other options. Taking the gamble, he withdrew the mind watching the inactive heart in his soul. With the additional brainpower, he easily split his venom down every path at once. He was immediately relieved he did, as there was not one drop of blood, but ten; one at the end of each rib.

With a snarl, Jiran boiled them away into nothing, and just like that, the once-invincible Templari ceased to be. Strobing notifications appeared behind his eyes, and since they were already closed, he snuck a peak before opening them.

Mana Venom: + 6

EXP: + 1

STRENGTH: +.5

AGILITY: +.5

ENDURANCE: +.5

DURABILITY: +.5

WISDOM: +.5

INTELLIGENCE: +.5

Further upgrades delayed due to lack of density

About time.