Chapter 245 - Body Of Mana

Mayalyn Aloyhee

Mayalyn burst into the dimly lit room amidst a shower of splinters. Despite her speed and Obfustication, she was plucked from the air, helpless as a cub swaddled in blankets. She immediately regretted her hasty choice. Olive’s scream had contained so much pain that it overwhelmed her reason. It was too late now, she was caught, and at the mercy of someone far more powerful than her.

The first thing Mayalyn noticed about the room was Olive, strung up in chains and unconscious after her heart-rending cry. A man as aged as the Ahmra faced away from Olive. He wore brightly colored robes and his face was a mask of sorrow. 

Little else in the room had time to register before a powerful aspect swallowed her and the old man. Time stood still for only the two of them. Her breaths came as quickly as before, but all movement beyond the oscillating bubble of energy had ceased completely. Mayalyn recognized the old man. He had spoken to Jiran several times near Morothin, though she had never been introduced.

His stark white eyes didn’t look directly at her, but he was clearly speaking to her, “Most intriguing, there's only one person I can imagine capable of creating such a suit. You're lucky it's me who chose to find Oliviala, and not one of the others.” 

Mayalyn opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed on, “Hush now, stranger. They're here, and if they find you, Oliviala will truly be lost. You're the only one who can save them now.”

The bubble popped and Mayalyn was flung to the wall behind Olive. Tucked inside a fraction of an instant, two men appeared. The overwhelming sense of danger emanating from them had sweat sticking her skin to the inside of her suit. If not for their physical form, she would have sworn they were the most foul of beasts, come to claim her soul. It was all she could do to reinforce her Obfuscation with additional mana and pray they failed to notice her.

Deep hoods were drawn, covering their faces. Their hands lifted slowly to draw them back, almost casually revealing skin branded with the numbers two and four. The old man chuckled, speaking so quickly she could barely follow his words, “Done hiding? Not that it would save you, now that your ties have been revealed. I never imagined the cardinal would use beasts to do his dirty work.”

Are they truly beasts? They look human though…

“These ties you speak of will die with you, Filibree. History will remember it was the Rankers controlling beasts, invading Sanctum and unleashing their vile pets on the innocent. Fear not, the cardinal will save the city before all is lost.”

“Counting your mana before formation cast? The foolishness of youth. You’ll not succeed.”

“Plan to stop us yourself? With what mana? We know you're dry. With Palo and Loro entertaining Lostrifar and the other high Rankers, your ilk are doomed. And with them, the empire will be ours. You've lost. Surrender, and we'll make your end painless. It's the least we can do for the mana you'll save us in chasing you about.”

The old man, now revealed to Mayalyn as Jiran’s first master, shook his head, “You've made a significant miscalculation. It's true we Rankers were dry when we arrived. Before she left, Lostrifar returned to us what she had taken. I believe you'll find that we aren't such easy prey.”

Words were no longer necessary. All three figures Teleported away in such rapid succession that to Mayalyn, it appeared simultaneous. Their auras were no longer around her and she didn’t take the time to sigh in relief before jumping to free her friend.

Jiran of Madra

Just before Elemental Castigation and Armament resealed the barrier trapping the Templari, Mana Omnis noticed thousands of signatures in the skies above Sanctum Santorum. The occasional pinpoints of green manapools were enough to recognize the city's guards amassing. Several of the Rankers he knew from Morothin arrived as well, Teleporting between the guards and Jiran.

Even if the Rankers had chosen to stay out of the battle, Jiran would not have been concerned. The guards were too low tier to quickly break through his barrier and assist the Templari. If they insisted on standing in his way once he was done, they would change their minds once Enthralling Touch was done with them.

Refocusing on his fight, he cast aside the armless woman who fell to the ground, her impressive weight collapsing an empty building and releasing a reverberating shockwave of dust. Jiran’s gaze swept across the remaining sycophants. There were twelve, of those, three had enough mana to mount a decent resistance. Not one of them dared approach him. They scrambled away in their panic to create distance.

Cracking thuds sounded as a group of five made it to the dome wall, striking it with bare fists. Realizing the futility of their current disorganization, one of the three with mana turned to Jiran, but shouted loud enough for all to hear, “We are the Templari Inviticus! Do not forget yourselves, brothers and sisters. The skills this creature uses proves it is no human. It is a beast! And it is our duty to destroy it-Agh!”

Armament slid open behind him and Jiran’s lance of ice slammed into his back. He shot through the air, directly into Jiran’s waiting hand. A sigil-boosted Enthralling Touch combined with Mana Venom, and he as well was cast aside.

“Eleven,” Jiran’s calm mana-imbued voice echoed from within his helmet.

Several of the Templari turned to him with mounting horror splashed across their features. “H-hold him off! I’ll get us out of here. I only need a moment!” The last remnants of mana within the oh-so-brave man flooded into his arms. He directed his hands toward the wall where the others had been attacking. Seven mana-less Templari raced toward Jiran.

Even dry, their pure attributes and auras posed a threat that he wasn’t about to underestimate. Small walls of ice sprung into existence around him, narrowing their angles of attack. The first reached him as two more attempted to punch and kick through the barriers at his sides. As Samris taught him so long ago, Jiran watched the man’s shoulder flex as his right leg shifted back to push off his aura.

Seeing the straight punch coming, Jiran leaned forward and tilted his head to the side. Raging winds blasted into his helmet as the fist narrowly missed. With his aura for stabilization, the sonic boom failed to deter his counter. Jiran’s extended finger gently tapped the man’s sternum and his eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious.

“Ten.”

“Monster!” The next Templari in line roared before meeting a similar fate.

“Nine,” Jiran reformed the wall to his right into a sheet of water. He took the Templari pounding on it by surprise as his hand suddenly burst through to grab her wrist. “Eight.”

The last one with mana Teleported behind him, two fists tightly grasped mid-descent. They slammed into Jiran’s back the moment he appeared. With Foresight still blaring, and his aura in tight to activate Oneness, he hadn’t sensed the surprise attack coming in the slightest. The force crumpled his armor and blasted him deep into the ground. His aura stretched from his skin and tore at the air, rending space in an effort to slow his fall.

Elemental Castigation detonated a huge ball of black lightning into the area he had just been and the screams of several Templari caught in its effect was music to his ears. By the time Mana Confluence restored his ruptured organs and he jumped out of the hole, a condensed geyser of flames tore into the dome. Waves of deadly fire washed to the sides, burning the nearest Templari. They threw themselves back, shielding their faces with raised arms.

Jiran rocketed forward, gases ignited and shaped within his aura propelling him at break-neck speed. He crossed his arms above his head and crashed into the man releasing the flames. They flew together. Jiran felt and heard the cracking of bones when they barreled into the dome. The construct remained intact despite the powerful blow, and Jiran’s armor more than protected him. The Templari was not so fortunate. Intoxicating tier nine mana entered Jiran’s body from his newest victim.

“Seven,” his snarl was drowned out by the cracking of the dome as five Templari struck it at the weakened spot. The last with mana was among them, his final energies more than enough to shatter a large section of the wall.

Beyond, the Rankers battled in the skies above a city on fire. They held back a tidal wave of guards, but it was not their battle that stole Jiran’s breath. Below, awaited a sight so disturbing it would forever be etched in his memory. In the streets that only moments ago had been peacefully asleep, a war raged.

Swarming through the city was an army of beasts. The roads and rooftops were crammed with people, and squat, four legged monsters that slaughtered with wild abandon. The weakest beast was tier five, leaving the average citizen completely helpless. Screams filled the air that was already choked with billowing smoke. Entire blocks had been reduced to rubble. The worst of it was, the guards were ignoring the beasts to attack the Rankers, while the Rankers were splitting their attention between the guards and protecting the few citizens nearby enough to save. 

Jiran knew in his bones there was no way so many powerful beasts could naturally appear across the entire city in so short a time. With that certainty firmly planted in his minds, the pieces fell into place.

The underground chambers used by the clergy were the perfect spot for hidden teleportation formations. Their design, obviously to summon the beasts during the parade when most of the people were gathered. The cardinal would be there, giving his speech, conveniently placed to protect a chosen few while securing an alibi. Meanwhile, the Templari would utilize the confusion to assassinate members of Silence and the Rankers.

It was all so obvious, and the only piece of the puzzle he'd been missing were the beasts. Now that he saw them spread throughout the city in mere moments, there could be no other conclusion. This had been their plan all along, and Niya’s actions merely forced them to enact it early.

Jiran’s heart ached. He couldn’t fathom how the church could consign their own people to such brutality. He remembered his parents being led somewhere in the night. They had been gathering them in advance, preparing for this moment. Foresight tried to warn him, guide him toward preventing the greatest slaughter in the history of the empire. He hadn't listened, and now his people were dying by the thousands right before his eyes.

His parents were down there; thousands of children, mothers, and fathers. All sentenced to death. It was happening again. First, Mayalyn's people, and now his own.

Something snapped deep within Jiran. His mana, aura, and aspect went berserk before suddenly stabilizing. The combined energies pulsed, exploding from his skin in a wave that instantly reached the interior of the dome. The entire structure collapsed as it was absorbed and dragged into the wave of mana which promptly sucked itself back into Jiran’s body. 

His skin froze first, turning blue and black as his being became the ice that flowed through his veins. The pulse of mana fell deeper into him, consuming his heart until it became like brittle frost before shattering entirely. As quickly as it was destroyed, it was made anew of the purest glacial mana. His eyes shone a bright blue, crackling with barely restrained power.

Not fully understanding what he was doing, Jiran flexed his new body. A radiating chill was released. It seeped out to consume his armor, converting it to pure mana. The cold kept right on spreading, reaching the Templari. Their screams were cut short as they froze solid. 

At that moment, Jiran stopped caring about merely disabling the monsters in human form. Challenger density? How could something so insignificant hold any meaning before the power racing through his being? The overwhelming fury and vengeance from moments ago were a thing of the past, emotions long since converted into mana to fuel his transformation, just like everything else within reach.

Heat was eradicated, the movement of molecules stilled until the air turned black to match the night sky. Jiran's eyes glowed as he squeezed a fist tight. The black ice trapping the Templari crushed their bodies, easily overpowering tier nine Durability.

“Zero,” his own alien voice shocked him. It was so similar to the Remalon as it murdered Ravenna that his trance was shattered.

Coming to his senses, Jiran used Armament and Mana Confluence, combining them to heal those on the verge of death. Luckily, tier nine attributes and Concentration were for more than show. None were dead, though for several it was a near thing. He banished the huge orb of black ice, his aura drawing the unconscious victims close enough that Mana Venom could do its work.

https://imgur.com/dA71sjA (link to image until Patreon decides to work.)

It didn’t take a genius to understand he was pushing himself too far already. The widening cracks in his skin and the precipitous dip in his mana were warning enough. The mana he took from the Templari was nearly spent and each passing moment more vanished into the black hole that was his reformed body.

The power was intoxicating. Yet he knew there was more. If only Armament were full, he would be complete. He realized this was what Armament was always meant to be. Just like the Remalon at Mortan; he now controlled a body made of pure mana, a true Mana Body. 

Despite his rapidly draining reserves, he couldn’t give up his new form yet. He needed to stop the massacre first. The screams of the dying no longer pulled at his heart. Even so, he was determined to save them.

A wave of his hand released a frigid wind that swept through the streets. It flowed around the people, clinging to the beasts and freezing them solid. Connected to his ice in a way he’d never experienced before, Jiran pulled and the bestial corpses shattered into dust. The ice clung to their rotten mana, and it raced back to him. He welcomed it, his reforged body easily filtering the impurities.

On and on the wind roared, filling every avenue and block with the howls of a million banshees. Jiran’s eyes closed. He saw through his mana, his ice, and together, they consumed every monster they met.

“Die beast!” A woman’s scream roused him from the slaughter. He felt her coming, but she was far too fast for his thoughts still stretched across an entire city. He recognized her as one of the Rankers. Clearly, she failed to recognize him in turn. He tried to warn her, his mouth opening as a Teleportation deposited her right in his face.

This was no Templari new to their powers and early in their advancement through the ninth tier. This woman was ancient as Lenton, and had the skills, experience, and power to match. A glowing palm lashed out, connecting with his already crumbling chest and Jiran’s body exploded into shards of ice.