[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 279 – Duties, Honor, and Deeds

True to Zahif’s instructions, Sam was met with a “ladder” almost immediately. What the old man left out was that the thing was carved into a wall of stone. Each sharp-edged groove was cut deeply into the dense rock with ample space between. Most people would have to leap between the gaps to proceed up. Being larger than normal, Sam figured he would have an easier time of it.

“This is not built for Machi size,” Komachi said, peering up at the darkness. There was no end in sight.

Sam stepped closer, raising his gauntlets to the first handhold. The glint of metal running along the edge warned him that people were not meant to access this way to the Lumanot.

It was designed to be dangerous.

“Watch out for any traps, alright?” Sam said while testing his grip. He could feel the sharpened blade-like edge scrape against the inside of his gauntlet, but it didn’t cut through. The durability of his [Imperial Gulan Deep Gearset] held.

Sam began climbing faster, and yet the bladed trap reminded him that he needed to be more careful than usual. Everything was on the line now.

The whole Worldshard would stay dark if he slipped and cracked his head on the distant floor.

The progress became rhythmic. Sam pulled himself up, raised his legs and boots onto the next shelf, then rose to his full height to begin the process all over again.

The rungs were growing increasingly sharp. Still, his fortified armor held. His hands would have been a bloody mess if not for the strength of his E-Class gauntlets.

He was about to make a jab at Komachi for lazily hitching a ride when the blinding flare of a magical trap went off. Angry red runes spun in a frame. The frame folded in on itself like some messed up origami, letting loose an arrow of concentrated flame.

Komachi batted it aside with the whip-like spark of [Spellbreaker]. The arrow’s mana broke down, fizzling out of existence.

She blew on her smoking paw. “Is not very stronk. Haven’t used it much, so don’t think it’ll work on bigger stuff.”

“That’s from Cleric, isn’t it?” he asked, barely able to remember. He looked around for any sign of more magical traps, but he couldn’t find any. He hadn’t noticed that one to begin with. It seemed no different from any other part of the wall.

Guess my Awareness still isn’t high enough.

“Yis. First Order rarity and all that.”

“Would you mind keeping a lookout for more traps, then?” Sam asked. “I’d rather keep my mana in reserve for the upcoming fight. I’ve never fought somebody wielding a Lumanot before, and I don’t imagine they’ll just give it up without any fuss.”

“I gotchu,” Komachi said.

The climb would have been boring if not for the various traps, both magical and mundane, that met him along the way. Zahif’s pendant granted him access, but it was not enough to disable the myriad traps that lined the way.

Needle-like teeth shattered on his gauntleted hands, bear-trap clamps bent out of place as they failed to crunch his armored boots. If not for his E-Class gearset, and his Tin aura lining his body, Sam would have been in for a rough time.

After several more magical traps were bested by Komachi, Sam finally made it to the top. He rushed across the catwalks, knowing time wasn’t on his side.

Despite the distance from the bottom, Sam swore he could hear fighting. He hoped that Zahif would be able to talk himself out of any trouble. For some reason, Sam hadn’t thought that Zahif might actually put his life on the line to hold back the Immortals.

They were highly trained warriors that wielded magic stolen from monsters and were often considered little more than caged beasts themselves.

After seeing what Zarishna turned into, Sam wasn’t keen on facing an Immortal in battle. He’d seen their devastating combat prowess first-hand during the various monster incursions.

The catwalk creaked and swayed abruptly, chains rattled, and dust drifted down from the unseen roof somewhere high above.

“That can’t be good,” Sam said to the darkness.

It was fortunate that Komachi stole the green-burning torch, because it ended up being the only light source they would have for a long time.

The sound of distant battle grew louder as they rose higher and higher through the catwalks until they could see a light that was not tinged green.

“Snuff the torch,” Sam whispered, slowing his climb.

Once the light winked out, Sam inched up the rest of the way. He couldn’t say why he did it, other than a hunch that something was wrong.

The sound of battle was even louder here, but so too was the calming sensation of the Lumanot. A gentle wind blew through Sam’s hair as he slowly lifted himself up onto the platform ahead.

To his immediate left was the Lumanot’s plinth, suspended by chains attached to a quick-release system that would plunge it into the depths he had just climbed through.

The thought of somebody releasing the plinth and crushing him as he moved about below was unsettling, but it wasn’t the feeling of wrongness that had kept him quiet.

Komachi must have felt it too because she had done exactly as he asked without any complaint or sass. In fact, she was as quiet as she was back in Hawai’i when she was hunting a tiger centipede in his apartment.

Looking around the room, Sam almost missed the figure standing in the shadows to the side. Unfortunately for Sam, the figure had noticed him.

Without a word, the man stepped out of the shadows to reveal the blue folded garments of an Immortal. He wove his hands through the air in what a foreigner would have taken for a strange greeting.

Sam knew better. That was the telltale gesture of bestial magic.

He immediately spun up [Void: Surge], erecting a spherical barrier around himself that just barely deflected the blob of blinding acid that splashed harmlessly against the barrier.

[Blinding Spit]

It was the Immortal’s turn to be surprised as Sam rushed forward, drawing one [Imperial Baldr] from his newly remade [Gnashing Sheath].

Sam swept the blade in a two-handed arc toward the Immortal’s middle. There was no negotiating with Immortals. No convincing or bartering. They were like machines. What little will they possessed was used to suppress the unending hunger of the monstrous essences raging inside them.

At least, that’s what Sam had come to learn. He had assumed only Empress Zarishna was different.

However, seeing the surprise and fury twisted on the man’s pale features told Sam a different story. The Immortals were people with great power, but they were still just people.

This man was surprised at Sam’s appearance, though something was wrong. At the last moment, Sam pulled back on the blade that would have cleaved the man in two.

Instead, it cut through his cloth armor with a shower of sparks. The magical enchantment that would have turned his blade aside was shredded thanks to Sam’s infusion of Void mana.

“What are you doing here?” Sam asked, leveling his odd-looking greatsword at the Immortal. Though it looked strange, Sam was well-versed in its use. It had been hard to move from oversized greatswords that crushed with their weight as much as cut, but he was beginning to see that there was more to greatswords than grossly oversized weapons.

The Immortal hissed and put a hand to his middle. “I should ask you the same thing, foreigner! In the name of the Emperor, I–” his voice choked on the next words.

That was all the warning Sam got.

The surprise on the Immortal’s face turned to rage as he thrust out a hand. A cloud of blue smoke conjured in front of his outstretched limb, and from it, a series of twisted branches burst out.

[Drill Branch]

Sam turned his greatsword, putting it in line with the spiraling branches. Sparks flew as if the wood was as hard as metal. Despite the E-Class strength of his [Imperial Baldr], the surface was quickly damaged from the attack.

The baldr type of greatsword was not meant to be used as a shield, its strength came in deflecting and disarming. With its lightweight design courtesy of the gap in its middle, Sam could wedge most weapons or limbs and twist them out of an opponent’s hand easily.

How the hell do you disarm a spell? Sam thought.

The Immortal grunted, putting more force into the spell.

Komachi swept [Spellbreaker] into the beast magic. Unfortunately, it only blunted the power slightly. It couldn’t stop the might of beast magic.

Seeing his impending victory, the Immortal grinned.

The slight reduction in the attack’s strength gave Sam enough of a window to twist his blade, so the spinning drill-like branches were funneled into its gap.

Infusing the weapon with Void, Sam wrenched the blade sharply, hoping it would have a similar effect on the branches as when Sam disarmed a spear-wielder.

The spell unraveled where Sam sheared through the magical branches, letting him close the gap with the Immortal.

Normally, he would have needed to spend more time pulling out another weapon or bringing his greatsword to bear as he got close.

Thanks to Zahif, Sam didn’t need to rely on weapons anymore. Though it wouldn’t be as powerful as a properly charged attack, Sam quickly infused his free fist with mana.

He slammed [Meteor Fist] into the Immortal’s chin just as the man threw up another spell. A blinding, actinic flash forced Sam to stumble to the side.

[Golem Barrier Field]

His knuckles ached, telling him that he had made full contact with the attack, but when his vision cleared, the Immortal was on his feet and drawing the trademark curved blades of his order.

“By the Emp–” the Immortal tried to speak, but again his voice clamped shut. His face turned a deep shade of puce. Whatever he was trying to do, it wasn’t working.

Komachi’s musical spellcasting picked up. Prancing on his pauldron with [Dancing Tempo], the notes of [Haste Mazurka] flowed over Sam with the full force of a single target spell.

His speed skyrocketed.

Sam didn’t wait for another attack. He used [Heavy Blade] and swung with all his might, extending the blade as fast as he could until he felt it hit the Immortal.

Unfortunately, the man had gotten his blades up in time and in a proper guard. Sam’s attack wasn’t meant to be used to force a stalemate like this. The Immortal deftly twisted his blades and sidestepped away from the attack.

Leaving Sam wide open.

A plume of blue smoke appeared just as Sam was reeling from the parry. A phantom bird dove from the cerulean smoke and crashed into Sam, throwing him to the floor.

[Divebomb]

It felt like he was hit by a wrecking ball. He couldn’t pull air into his lungs, his whole body seized up.

Komachi waved a paw and cast a healing spell over him, bringing a rush of air back into his lungs. Enough for him to roll to the side to avoid another of the Immortal’s beast magic spells.

A stomping foot the size of a golem’s crashed down where he was just a moment before, cracking the stone tiles embossed with the sigil of the Empire. Sam thought it fitting as he rose to his feet.

The ferocity with which the Immortal was attacking him, the inability for the Immortal to invoke the name of the Emperor. It was all coming together.

“You’re a traitor,” Sam said breathlessly.

He had learned a great deal of the Empire from Zarishna, both past and future versions. Though the Immortals had been granted obscene powers, there was a safeguard in place.

An Immortal with the full weight of the Empire behind them was a one-man army. A walking nightmare from the depths of Tartarus itself. Bereft of that backing, the man that stood before him was just a highly trained, incredibly competent mage.

And Sam knew just how to deal with those.

Another layer of music wove into the undercurrent of conversation. [Heroic Rock] lifted his might. Harps, guitars and various instruments played in harmony. It increased his Strength and Vigor so much his armor had to expand in size.

The Immortal smiled broadly, showing bloodied teeth. “Not that anybody will ever know. I only need my beast magic to destroy you, foreigner. You know nothing of our struggle. The Empire is a stain. A virus desperately attempting to replicate itself. There is only one solution. The sickness must be purged.” He paused and cocked his head to the side.

A rhythmic pounding filled the room as if a mountain was knocking on the gargantuan gate to the Lumanot’s cloister.

The Immortal spread his arms wide. “You see? My allies have come. Your cold body will provide an interesting little puzzle for my brothers and sisters to ponder while the Lumanot gets farther and farther away!”

Enshrouded in a haze of red lightning, swords held low and ready to strike, the Immortal rushed Sam in a blur of speed.