Chapter 121: Lullaby of the Soul (1/2)
Two spears clashed and produced a metallic sound that reverberated in the training room. Rakna took a step back from the force and whirled the weapon in his hand with a relaxed stance while Evelyn grunted and was forced several meters back. She flapped her wings and pounced at him with her spear ready to be thrust in the way he had taught her.
Rakna calmly waited for her and with a spin, his spear, forged by himself and then made with Star Make, directly hit the succubus' polearm at the shaft. The impetus carried by his move deflected the incoming attack.
”Eh?!” Evelyn instantly lost her cool as she dangerously got close to collide with Rakna after being unable to rebalance herself. Then, as their faces were nearly touching, she could have sworn she saw the ghost of a smile on his face before he kicked her away. She roughly landed on a distanced spot of the room with both a pained and disappointed groan.
”{A bit harsh on the lady,}” Higure commented as she sat next to Rakna in her ghost form, her tail wagging from side to side.
”I held back,” he responded. ”And the art of the spear is never truly complete without a good dose of kicking blows.”
”That doesn't make me feel better,” Evelyn grumbled from her position on the floor.
”Well, the best way to learn will always be to gather experience upfront and build a foundation to grasp the rest,” Rakna stated as the spear in his hand crumbled down into small tendrils of energy.
He looked at where he had left Flavia to practice and saw the dozens of split logs that she had been using as practice dummies. It had been around three hours since they had started and both of the girls had reached a level of proficiency close to level 3 or 4 in their sought mastery.
”That should be enough for today. From now on, you just need to practice regularly and you will steadily improve with time,” he said as he walked closer to Flavia with Evelyn wobbling behind in exhaustion.
The two women ultimately sat down against the wall of the room, drenched in sweat and their skin flushed. Had it been anyone other than Rakna, they probably would have spent more time admiring the sight but he casually pulled out two water bottles from his storage and tossed them.
”Thank you,” Flavia said with a smile and Evelyn unceremoniously chugged down everything. She technically didn't require food but she could still eat and drink.
Though, her sweat, for example, was the same and at the same time different from living beings. Its purpose was to mend strained portions of her soul a bit like how living beings would need it to regulate their body temperature.
Regardless, as a Phantom, her entire body was made of soul power given consistency and she had internal organs, flesh, and blood. The only difference to an actual living being was that she didn't actually need them. She could rip her organs out and the injuries would simply disappear for as long as she held either enough mana, demonic energy, or soul power within her.
She had told Rakna that she possessed what one would call third-degree immortality. In other words, she couldn't be killed as long as she had the energy to heal herself, whether it was by damage through magic or physical means. However, she was highly susceptible to soul attacks performed by someone with a stronger soul than hers. Something that was showcased by Rakna himself when he incapacitated her.
Speaking of him, after giving the bottles, he started walking back to the center of the room and the two girls looked at him in curiosity.
”What are you doing?” Evelyn inquired as they watched him perform a few breathing cycles.
”Until now, all my spells have been adaptable ones. And my strongest attack is a sub-spell. I want to fix that,” Rakna responded.
”So, you want to create a spell specifically made to be your strongest attack?” Flavia concluded.
”Something along those lines,” he said and with one last intake of air, his aura flared and his slit pupils glowed before welcoming the faint depiction of a cold star around it. He channeled his mana through his circuits and his hair, tails, and ears began to blanch even without Reinforcement.
Evelyn and Flavia looked rapt at the sudden wave of coldness they were feeling as well as how strong his aura looked compared to when they had their spar two days prior. It was twice; no, at least thrice as big as it was then.
”If you two want to stay and watch, I don't mind but just in case; Tyran, protect them,” he said and the small T. Rex nodded from his place next to the girls. He jumped in front of them and let out a growl. His bones made snapping noises and his scales screeched as he grew bigger and bigger in front of them. When he was at full height, he let out a small roar, standing protectively.
”Wow, now I get it why that muscle-head was so freaked out,” Evelyn commented.
”Indeed…” Flavia nodded and Pronos hissed proudly, as if Tyran's prowess was his own, from his place on her lap.
Rakna nodded at the Dreorin and transformed as well, switching to his werewolf form. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the flow of his internal energies. What he wanted was something other than his constructs or his constellations. A single spell purely meant to attack.
Once again, if he kept the mindset of energy, the best way to provoke the most damage possible will always be the same; compression. He roused the 500+ units of mana he possessed while in his werewolf form and made them manifest outside of his body as pure coldness. Some parts of it gathered in several spots all around him and formed cold energy spheres.
These spheres then began to shrink very slowly, seemingly dropping the temperature even more inside the room. Evelyn and Flavia shivered at the cold and Tyran used his aura imbued with fire element to counteract it.
Along the way, Rakna started frowning and the spheres stopped moving and the flow of mana in his circuits was halted. 'I'm lacking something… but what?'
”{How about a lexis?}” Higure suggested from behind the reassuring cover of the T. Rex. Even as a soul, she could still be hurt by powerful magical blows and she didn't want to test her luck.
Rakna opened one of his black-hole-like eyes and glanced at the lioness. 'A lexis?'
”{Official appellation for a mantra,}” she clarified.
'A mantra? You want me to make an incantation on the fly? Right now? Would that even work?'
”{Yes. Lexis are also called Words of Power. In magical theory, they are meant to be catalysts to bend the world and its rules to the caster's wishes. They are not just for show. Some magics are considerably weaker without a lexis compared to with. I know that you have already noticed that naming skills before using them makes them more responsive. It's the same principle.}”
'That… sounds awkward,' he retorted and closed his eyes.
”{It's embarrassing only if you allow it.}”
'…I never said embarrassing.'
”{Yes. But we both know you thought it.}”
Rakna didn't respond and spent a minute thinking. He was still pouring mana into those spheres and he wouldn't be able to maintain it forever. Ultimately, he reluctantly opened his mouth.
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”[Crystals of Frost… Abide the Star's Wrath.]”
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