Chapter 451: Displacing Circumstances (1/2)
“Do you think it would even be beneficial? Compared to expensive steel? I have plenty of that as well,” she said.
“You shouldn’t underestimate bone. Especially procured from a monster like yourself. It might additionally be able to hold more powerful enchantments. Naturally, bone is better suited against many schools of magic, mana intrusion being one of them,” he explained.
“Great… we can test both I suppose,” she said with a smile.
Ilea continued to explain the need for a lesser blood manipulation agent as well as blood magic resistance training for herself.
The man agreed on both and followed her down to Iana’s stronghold.
Ilea decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and to trust him this far. He had seemed sincere in all their talks and his loyalty to Trian and his family was unquestionable.
The gates opened after she had knocked hard enough on the steel gates to send a pulse of mana through one of the enchantments.
The enchanters waited on the other side.
“Oh no,” Ilea said with a sigh.
“Stop it with the pity,” Iana said. “The runes you brought are fascinating… as are the machines… a marvel. It’s like a whole new world has been opened to us… truly. We fail to understand most of it quite yet but I am sure your discovery will lead to advancements in technology that will revolutionize the settled world,” she said, babbling out the words in quick succession with what seemed like a single breath.
Lost a rapper in you, Ilea thought and sent healing mana into the both of them. “It’s good to hear you can use the information,” she said. “Ready for the testing? We can do it tomorrow as well if you need to sleep a little before.”
Iana shook her head. “We’ve been planning for hours… no. Now is perfect. We can sleep later. I promise that we will, later today.”
Ilea looked at her with suspicion but nodded nonetheless. “Lead the way then. Also, Orthan will be experimenting with the blood manipulation agent I encountered in the north. Can you provide a secure environment within the Core?”
“Of course. Christopher, can you start with the first gate tests?” Iana said.
The man nodded as they entered the Core, both of them immediately activating a variety of enchantments.
Ilea dripped some of the corruption into a small glass container placed within a variety of enchantments she didn’t understand.
Orthan began his work immediately, occasionally asking for tools or resources, all of which Iana could provide.
“Now, just relax and tell me what you see and feel, both with your eyes and magic perception. Signal me verbally or with a lifted hand if the strain is too much,” Christopher explained carefully.
Ilea nodded and relaxed, her ashen armor covering her bone set. She was ready for whatever came.
The whole core sprung to life, magic lighting up in the sphere around her as it rushed through the enchantments and finally into the two platforms in the center.
A light thrumming noise was audible and even Orthan looked up from his work for a moment before he focused back onto the corruption.
Ilea felt the space around her fill with power, the area distorting. A heavy pressure started to form, pushing into her from all directions. Not enough to be a concern. The mana density kept increasing, focused on the center of the platform where she stood.
Something pulled on her left side, her arm lifting slightly without her intention. And then the magic faded.
“Are you ok!?” Iana shouted.
“You don’t have to be so loud,” Ilea said and quickly told them what she had seen and felt.
They gave it another shot with Ilea’s resistances deactivated, both arcane and space.
This time her arm was ripped out entirely.
Iana screamed and Christopher looked away.
“It’s fine, calm down,” Ilea said as she regenerated her arm and spit out some blood. The arcane pressure was rather powerful without her resistance. Her ripped out arm spoke itself for the space magic that happened. Might be a way to train those resistances, she thought.
Enchantments might not be sentient but neither was the blight or poison for that matter.
“Do it again and watch,” she said and once more retold what she herself had experienced.
The two modified a bunch of enchantments after five more tests.
“How’s it going?” Ilea asked Orthan as she joined him while the others worked.
The man looked up with slightly shaking hands. “Do you have any idea what this is?” he asked in a carefully controlled voice.
“An incredibly deadly agent that could wipe out all of humanity if it infects someone?” she asked casually.
He nodded. “Exactly… why did you bring it here?!”
“To get a weaker version… so that if something similarly powerful ever spreads, at least the Sentinels will be immune,” she explained.
“I see. I see. Yes… it makes sense. Still… this is outrageous… I have never seen or heard of anything this potent,” he murmured.
“It’s from a dungeon in the north, made by a being more powerful and ancient than I dared imagine. Even more important to prepare ourselves. Just in case,” she said.
Orthan just nodded in silence, continuing his examination as he took notes. “I will need blood… potent blood… and a variety of ingredients that I doubt you have available,” he murmured.
“Would my own blood be potent enough?” she asked and held out a severed arm.
The man blinked before he hesitantly grabbed the limb, examining the blood. “It is,” he said, as if he admitted something he regretted.
“Talk to Trian for the ingredients. I’m sure we can procure whatever you need,” she added.
The man nodded and thanked her.
“Ready?” she asked and looked at Iana.
The girl swallowed hard and nodded weakly, her face a mask of uncertainty.
“I’m alright, don’t worry,” Ilea said and appeared on the platform again.
“Number six… enchantments version two point six, sequence start,” Christopher said before the pressure resumed.
Ilea felt a pulling again, this time more central. As if she had issues with digesting. It was a little difficult to breathe as well. Nothing major.
She reported the findings and they resumed the test, once again with her resistances deactivated.
I wonder if someone with a third tier space resistance can even use teleportation like this, if it prevents me from being moved, she wondered before her innards vanished.
“Oh?” she exclaimed with the air that was left.
Her body recovered near instantly before she smiled. “Eh… my whole rib cage and stomach as well as nearly all my organs just straight up vanished. I’m not sure if that’s the intention.”
The enchanters both paled and looked at each other.
An hour passed, the enchantments modified several times in that span.
Ilea’s suggestion to weaponize the space gun was dismissed by Iana, her explanation as to why that wouldn’t work going above Ilea’s understanding.
Dismemberment guns… or maybe… Portal? she thought with a smirk. Johnson could do it with a box of scraps, in a cave. Or how did that go? Surely Iana could live up to the task.
Christopher once again read out the next test sequence, by now looking visibly aged.
The magic activated and Ilea instantly felt the pressure built.
It climaxed and ripped out a section of her chest.
She reformed it and immediately looked over to the other platform where an unidentifiable sludge of red appeared and slapped to the ground, splashing blood and bone over the surface with a wet sound.
“YES!!” Iana exclaimed before she covered her mouth in shame, looking at the ground.
Ilea laughed out loud and waved at her. “It’s fine. A marvelous success. The disembowelment gun will be quite the shocker!”
“I told you it’s not possible to make it portable! Nor do we understand why this happens! Stop with the horrific suggestions!” Iana exclaimed, her shame immediately forgotten before she smiled. “Come on, we have a lot to do. The connection was established successfully this time, let’s work on the next version,” she said to her companion.
“I have a class to attend soon but I’ll be back again tomorrow,” Ilea said.
“Of course… thank you for the assistance. It would be impossible for us to do all this without you, I hope that is clear,” Iana said.
Christopher nodded next to her, a hand moving through his disheveled hair.