50 Arcane Invigoration (1/2)

[Shared Experience Gained: 14%, 75%]

[Voidwalker has leveled up to lvl 19/25. Standard Attributes have been distributed. 1 Attribute and skill point have been rewarded]

Rainer looked toward his messages for a moment, not sparing even a glance toward the deceased Elijah.

Silence reigned throughout the snow covered clearing. All but the gentle crunching of snow beneath Rainer's boots, and the hum of his [Arcane Blade] as he walked forward.

An undetectable pressure emanated out from him. Even Yarik, who was skilled in such a thing, mistook it for entirely his own fear.

Yarik found that every interaction with this Foreign Lord Magus left him in deep regret. And today was no different. His body tensed as he prepared at any moment for what was to come. But centuries of life allowed him to shake away his initial apprehension almost immediately.

The two mages behind him were sweating beneath their masks. Blocking such a strike from a powerful Aura user that was also enhanced by Magic was already unreasonable. And yet killing him as if he were only an annoyance left them mindless.

Their prior experience in battle told every inch of their body to flee as fast as they could. Were it not for their unwavering faith in the strength of their Guildmaster, they would have fled immediately. Were they to know he shared their fear, they would fare far worse.

Their bodies flowed with Mana as they attempted to remove the fear and oppression that took them. All the mages acted in this matter as they came to terms with the situation. But the uneasiness in their hearts did not leave.

The grin on Raspard's face had yet to disappear as he stared in disbelief. Different from anyone else, his ability in [Soul Detection] and Soul Magic allowed him to see the true age of the man slowly walking toward him.

19…Is he a dragon taken human form?!

Raspard thought to himself in disbelief. His mind entered such shambles he ignored the very fact that his abilities allowed him to determine one's race from their soul. Seeing such a display where a powerful Aura user was nothing more than cannon fodder. Raspard immediately thought for his final preparation to instead be used right away.

In part, he hoped Yulia wanted to know when they were a day away so that she could arrive. Even with her help Raspard no longer had full confidence. His thoughts focused on the two guild members he brought with him.

The remaining group of 7 all focused on Rainer as he drew ever closer. Theodore's and Rainer's plan had succeeded far beyond his original intention. They couldn't have known Elijah would rush out in such a manner. Yet for the plan, it served perfectly.

The hypnotic rhythm of his boots on snow combined with his [Arcane Presence] and the previous act of powerful violence kept the focus strongly glued on him. His allies were all but ignored.

From the start, they thought over several plans. Rainer's first thought was to bombard them from afar but Theodore immediately shot down this idea. Any forewarning to a Mage was time for them to spread out and use powerful magic. Theodore's original idea was for himself to act as bait but Rainer saw himself instead as a better alternative.

He was a mage, and to everyone else the primary target.

And so, he chose the route to protect his party the most; He became the bait and the trap.

But he could have never predicted the effect all his actions and Magic had in combination.

Rainer continued forward as his party spread out. Elru covered Gunthar in a Glamour and went around to the left. Theodore and Kara went together to the right. Furtak and Delilah followed Elru as they intended to circle as well.

Their positions and actions were hidden in the smell of freshly spilled blood and the presence of the Arcane in the air.

Rainer watched as they spread out and the group at the center stood unmoving. After several seconds they had spread far enough away from him. And so he acted.

8 armed [Arcane Bolt]s seemingly flared into existence as Arcane Power flowed into them. They roared as they launched forward, bringing the enemy mages out of their stupor.

Maya desperately covered herself in a Glamour as she tried to take flight, yet she had been the true target all along. Her cry rang out as two [Arcane Bolt]s destroyed her wings and legs, sending her crashing back down.

Her mind filled with pain as she hoped to live to see her Queen tear this [Archon] apart.

Raspard reacted. His wrinkled hand grabbed one of his subordinates, and following a terrified scream, drained the blood, Mana, and the Soul, from his body. As a tier 2 mage, he was a powerful sacrifice.

3 [Arcane Bolt]s slammed into a red [Mana Shield], destroying it, but leaving Raspard unharmed. The final 3 collided with a [Lightning Domain] produced by Yarik. His two Guild Mages stood still, eyes closed, and chanted as they channeled more power into the Domain.

The bolts clashed with the Lightning Magic and dissipated. Their massive power exploded outwards, covering the group of mages in a flurry of snow.

Rainer sent two [Arcane Lances] into the snow obscured group before vanishing through the Void.

I must kill him now.

He thought as he rushed to put his blade through Raspard. The man gave him an ill feeling, and his classes only furthered it. Above all else, such an existence needed to die as soon as possible.

Appearing a few feet away from the Soul and Blood Devourer, Rainer was only left with the sight of two drained corpses. And an all too familiar feeling of danger.

Tears in the fabric of space erupted. Portals started dotting the landscape as carefully drawn circles of blood lit with magic. In the sky right above Rainer a Devil-like man, no longer appearing the corpse he was, orchestrated the event.

He stood two heads taller than before, his skin grayish-black and two large black horns grew from his forehead. His eyes were entirely black.

Small Devils leaped out of the portals, Gunthar rushed first to them.

[Devil, Male, Deviling lvl 14]

A small man-like creature that ran on all fours nonetheless. Three-clawed hands and the same grayish-black skin as their transformed summoner.

One appeared near Rainer as he slashed it in two with his [Arcane Blade], before disappearing in a Void-walk toward its master.

Seeing Rainer disappear, Raspard with a flap of his wings and a surge of magic, soared away from his original spot. The image of a violet magic blade cleaving him in two flashed in Raspard's mind. Even in his enhanced form, fear overtook him as he desperately poured more power into the portals.

The moment he reappeared Rainer attacked with an [Arcane Lance] toward Raspard.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Yarik was just about to strike, lightning forming from his hands before a ball of fire forced him to defend with his lightning domain once more. The powerful lightning magic tore apart the ball of fire, before striking back at its source.

Theodore rushed in from the back, entering the lightning domain as he clad himself in Aura.

He attacked one of the channeling mages, his massive Aura pool and lack of flesh allowing him to ignore the lightning that attacked him. His blade cleaved off a channeling mage's head before a flash of lightning from Yarik sent Theodore flying back. The sheer force of the magic, blowing him away.

Sweat dripped down Yarik's head. His mind filled with confusion as for the moment he had forgotten that the Foreign Lord Magus was hardly the only threat. His body tensed as he felt the power of his [Lightning Domain] weaken.

Kara went with Gunthar focusing on the incoming [Deviling]s. Elru, as planned, rose to the sky prepared to take advantage of any weaknesses and be on the lookout for any reinforcements. Her enchantments allowed for her to make a quick and powerful groundward charge and arrive nearly anywhere. Delilah spent part of her attention on the incoming Devils, but her primary focus was on keeping Furtak and secondly, the [Archon], alive.

Raspard let out a guttural roar as Miasma poured out of him. To his shock, a serpent immediately escaped Rainer's shoulder and consumed his Miasma as it appeared.

How is such a thing…

Raspard thought in disbelief. Using Miasma in such a manner cost a significant amount of his Mana. His true trump card against the teleporting Rainer, but a small serpent undid his hope.

The devil-like man quickly flew away, far surpassing the serpent's speed. He instead focused on channeling his portals and trying to bring about stronger Devils. His formerly refreshed skin as a Devil began to wrinkle once more as the borrowed power surged out of him and toward his portals.

His ring flashed as a stored Soul assisted his strength.

As if afraid of something the serpent returned to Rainer right after consuming the Miasma.

”Elru, help deal with the [Deviling]s,” Rainer called out. He'd like her to chase after Raspard but, as a Fae, the Miasma was too dangerous for her.

He turned his attention to Yarik after feeling a surge of Magic. Two Mana packets flew out of Rainer as he prepared to bury the man in a pillar of fire, before quickly chasing after Raspard once more.

Yarik reached out and instantly disrupted the spell. The Mana instead flowed to Yarik's hand as a crackling of Lightning could be heard. At the final second Rainer managed to Void-walk as a bolt of Lightning arced through the sky where he was.

Yarik's Mana talent reached such a level where he was nearly the same age as Raspard and yet, compared to the corpse-like man, he remained at a healthy middle age.

How fast one built a tolerance to Magicite was, as far as Mage Guilds knew, entirely based on their Mana Talent. Raspard only made it this far through other means of life-preservation and still couldn't compare to Yarik.

Taking the Mana packets of Rainer's spell was child's play to Yarik.

The moment Rainer left his Void-walk he cast a [Spear of Arcane Holy Judgement]. With both Luna's gift of Lightning and his own [Arcane Awakening: Surge] now activated, the Spear cast in nearly an instant before it soared into the sky.

The vibrant spear of violet light descended toward Yarik. His eyes opened wide in shock as his head turned upward. He channeled a massive amount of Mana and nearly all the power of his assisting mage as he focused the [Lightning Domain] above his head. The spear collided with the power of Lightning.

And yet Yarik's focused face twisted as the spear proved far stronger than he could ever imagine. An explosion of Arcane erupted as the spear exploded with the Lightning.

The snow cleared to reveal Yarik's enchanted robe shredded and his face nearly entirely burnt. His mask all but destroyed. Not that his face was recognizable any longer. [Lightning Domain] flared out once more as Delilah's Ice spikes attack him.

His muffled scream could not be heard as he sought to flee. He felt the powerful magic once more and knew he could not even stand up to another attack.

Theodore rushed forward to assist Gunthar as stronger Devils poured out of the portals.

Rainer, a distance away and preparing another spear, soon felt a feeling he had not for a long time.

[Crisis Perception]

Feeling as if death truly descended upon him, Rainer activated [Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode]. And not a moment too soon as following a flurry of wind a deadly spike of the green-laden air stabbed into his chest.

His Shield Mode held all but firmly as a tiny dot of blood dripped down his chest from where the spike had penetrated both his shielding and his overcoat.

But the spike erupted outwards in a torrent of wind. It expanded, sending Rainer flying back and tumbling through the forest. A hole appeared in his shield from where the wind exploded. A hole that would have contained his entire heart and stayed just inside of the range where Luna was.

She had arrived. Her appearance far too fast and hidden for even Elru completely on guard to see.

”Kara! Shift!” Rainer cried out in a panic. His [Arcane Sight] told him Yulia flew straight towards the rest of his party. Any pretense of keeping her Demon-half hidden always mattered less to Rainer than her life. He'd rather the whole world discover her existence than for her to risk death.

Without a moment to lose, a Demonic howl roared. Gunthar's skeletal body soon became covered in scales as an illusionary Demon appeared behind him, just like the lizard-like demon killed in the past.

Before Yulia could entangle with the rest of the party, Furtak acted. A ball of fire sought to intercept the Fae of the wind. A resounding clash echoed out as the two beings of magical power collided. Furtak reformed as whips of fire tore through the air. Fire and wind clashed in the air. The powerful wave of Magic sensed by all around.

Elru looked on in shock at Kara's changing form but focused instead toward Yarik, intent on finishing him off before dealing with the Fae Queen. She descended as if an avenging angel and stabbed Yarik's second and last mage providing him power. The spear entered straight into his skull.

She turned toward the stunned and crippled Yarik. An enchanted shield brushed off the power of the Lightning Domain activated by him alone. Her spear thrust toward him.

Intent on fleeing he flashed in a streak of lightning. It carried him upwards toward the clouds.

Elru turned her attention toward Raspard after seeing the speed of Yarik's retreat far surpassed her own. The Devil-like man's black demonic eyes flashed toward Elru as he stopped channeling his power toward the portals.

He charged forward with his clawed hands as a strange bloody power surrounded him. The Miasma that had been consumed by the small serpent had cost a significant amount of his power. He would not use it again.

Elru's Spear slashed down before being blocked by his vicious claws as the two tangled in mid-air. Elru knew she was far more useless against Yulia than she originally thought and instead focused on this Devil-like man.

Theodore paused as he looked at the fight. He prepared to use the skill that burned his soul at a moment's notice, to soar into the sky.

Yulia's laugh could be heard as a tornado of wind started encircling Furtak. His whips of fire all but ignored. Furtak eyes opened wide in shock as he felt the Mana pool of the Fae Queen. One that doubled his own of 500.

To those who were Magic-Touched their Mana pools were equivalent to their life. Only Rainer's [Arcane Blade], as far as Furtak knew, could ignore this fact. Yulia easily avoided or absorbed Furtak's attacks as the air drained out from around him.

He desperately attacked out with Fire Magic, yet Yulia was but a small part of the tornado that surrounded him. Unable to locate her he charged at the wind around him, only to be rebuked. Delilah attacked with several powerful spikes of Ice, but unable to detect Yulia's exact position, she couldn't hit her.

Amidst this roaring of the wind, another sound tore through the air. And an [Arcane Blade] sliced through all of existence as it descended upon the being of wind. Rainer's downward speed enhanced by gravity, she found herself unable to dodge.

A desperate cry rang out as Yulia returned to her form as a Fae. A large gash streaked across her torso. She flew away to recover. Rainer stared in hatred as he slowed his own descent with gravity. With Yulia flying so low, [Void-walking] could lead to a deadly crash unless he slowed himself first.

Apart from her Emerald Hair and eyes, and her several additional years in appearance, she looked no different than Luna. Or rather, it should be said, Luna looked no different than her.

She quickly fled even Rainer's new massive [Void Detection] range of 600 feet. Conserving Mana, Rainer instead assisted Furtak's descent as the goblin recovered.

Lightning surged from the formerly retreating Yarik as he sought to gain revenge in this situation. His face was a mess of burns and blood. Parts of his body lacked skin and a chunk of his shoulder no longer existed. With Elijah's body left behind, hiding his identity was pointless.

His anger surpassed his reason.

Furtak roared in flames as he directly took on the bolt, that shredded through his shield of flames. He then launched himself at the mage.

Delilah clawed at another [Deviling] before rushing forward as well. A spike of ice soared through the sky toward Yarik. A bolt of lightning collided mid-air with the spike, yet only slowed it slightly. Yarik's harsh voice could be heard as the ice spike bisected one of his legs.

No longer intent on staying he fled as fast as he could. As Lightning surged around him, he nearly teleported forward, bolts of lightning, carrying him with it, streaked the clouded sky into the distance.

In Rainer's mind Yarik was all but dead. It was only a matter of time. And so, he focused on Yulia, who became wind once more. With [Arcane Sight], no matter the skill of her Glamour and her form of wind, Rainer saw every movement.

The shifted Kara tore through even the stronger Devils with ease. Her enchantment of speed still usable in her Demonic Werewolf form. As Raspard became distracted with his fighting with Elru, the portals seemed to wave out of control.

Still watching Elru's and Raspard's duel in the air, Theodore slew Devil after Devil with Gunthar. Gunthar's stored soul empower his body as he cut down Devils far exceeding his original power.

Raspard panicked as he knew they would soon close and everyone's focus would shift to him, but contrary to his expectations they instead opened wider. He felt the Mana, the power of his Soul, and the Life drain from his body uncontrollably as he was forced to fuel these portals by some unknown power.

His formerly strong Devil-like body soon was stabbed by Elru.

But not resigned to death he gripped the Fae and pulled at her soul. A ring lit on his finger as he absorbed all the souls he had from the past as well. And yet every Soul only fueled the portals further.

What's going on!?

Raspard thought in shock. Even with his largest sacrifice, he had never felt a presence as powerful as this from the other side. It clawed at his very being and stole from him. But such thoughts soon ended.

In Raspard's distraction, he knew not even the cause of his death. An Aura Blade sliced off his head, as a Holy-wing Theodore finished him off. Yet his clawed hand still stayed in Elru as she struggled to defend against the suction force. Theodore fell back to the ground as he canceled his Soul-burning skill.

Rainer teleported over soon after, seeing even Raspard's death left the situation unresolved. He did not wish to chase down Yulia as his companion members were unsafe. In the end, Yulia needed to come to him, so he thought.

Rainer used [Appraisal] and then tore the ring off the hand before throwing it into his Spatial Ring. The thread of magic adding more power to the portal, severed.

Elru cut off her own arm before it disappeared while being sucked into the corpse of Raspard. The headless Devil-like corpse quickly shriveled and turned to dust as the portals around them surged in power.

Rainer recently refilled her [Mana Storage Ring], and with her experience in healing Fae, Elru quickly regenerated her lost arm at a large Mana cost.

Rainer had not even a moment to spare as his [Arcane Sight] saw Yulia flying once more toward him as nothing more than a magic wind.

”Hold the portals, I'll deal with Yulia as fast as I can,” Rainer called out as he landed. Intent on having solid ground to fight against Yulia, not wishing to constantly distract himself with flying. With Void-walking maintaining flight served less of a purpose.

[Arcane Bolt]s flew out of him as he attacked toward Yulia. When it came to simple and cheap spells, none could likely match Rainer's Arcane Bonus nor his [Sleep Learning] leveled spells.

A [Devil Lord] tore through a portal only to be met by Kara. They both slammed down into the snow, and before he could even use his Miasma her powerful teeth already tore out the Devil's throat and her claws cleaved off the dangling head.

In her Demonic form and with the enhanced speed of her enchantments he had not even a chance. Even his strike was absent-mindedly blocked by her shield enchantment allowing her full power to kill him.

Her red and golden eyes lit with power, as she slaughtered the Devils. Long had it been since she last transformed.

The portals surged wider. They drew upon the very energy of the world itself after being firmly established by the unwilling Raspard.

Rainer ran forward toward Yulia; Furtak flew by his side to provide aid. The rest focused on the entering Devils that all seemed poised on attacking Rainer, were it not for their intervention.

Rainer's mind filled with Rage as he moved forward toward the Fae Queen.

Rainer shut a portal he passed by with [Void Manipulation] just as Yulia sent out a blade of wind. Now, needing to conserve his Mana, Rainer used his [Arcane-Spatial Domain] to track the blade before dodging with a small amount of movement.

A feat made possible by both Luna's Gift of Lightning and his own [Arcane Awakening: Surge].

Furtak, however, quickly fled the scene as he noticed some of the Devils headed in the direction of the city. Rainer only spared him a glance before nodding his head.

Yulia flew around Rainer as he waited with his [Arcane-Spatial Domain]. Were she to spare even a moment of attention toward anyone else, Rainer planned to Void-walk and kill her. His thoughts filled with her death, and yet his focus was unperturbed as he readied his blade.

Suddenly, she flew straight at Rainer, powerful spikes of wind aiming at him. He dodged them with ease before she appeared in front of him. Taking advantage of his moment of dodging she charged a powerful blast of wind. At such a close range, he would be unable to dodge.

Yet a gout of Faerie Fire, erupted from his coat as Luna attacked the Fae Queen.

”Damned experiment,” Yulia cried as the flames burned her endlessly, eating away at her magical form.

Rainer appeared right in front of the damaged Yulia and slashed down with his [Arcane Blade].

Yet before he could finish her off, his world changed. Yulia's burnt face grimaced not only from the pain but from more of her life being drained.

Roots gripped at his body and his attributes flashed up and down. The effects of a constantly increasing and decreasing intelligence left him disoriented. He flared [Arcane Revival] as he tried to resist the familiar Divine effects of the roots.

A separate root instantly grabbed Luna, who had left his coat to attack Yulia. Rainer looked on in pain as he tried to summon Luna yet the roots only flashed with power denying his attempts. His eyes turned bloodshot as he focused on reaching Luna.

Feeling his power surging up and down from constantly losing the effects of his class and yet returning them with [Divine Resistance], Rainer managed perfectly time a Void-walk and escape even the Divine Power of the roots.

As if expecting this, Yulia cast a wind spike at that exact moment.

And so, his vision went dark.

Yulia flowed her Mana into Luna, still grasped by the roots, and knocked her unconscious. The roots released her as Yulia carried her away.

She looked back at where the [Archon] had disappeared. The moment the roots took hold of him, she attacked with a [Wind Expanding Spike] but he vanished. Nothing should be able to escape the grip of the World Tree, she thought.

She panicked for a moment, recalling his title, but seeing him no longer return she flew off.

She activated her personal [Fairy Ring] and flew as fast as she could. Carrying Luna in a sphere of wind, she melded with the air and went faster than she ever had. Whether it be [Archon], his companions, or the Devils that went out of Raspard's control, she left it all behind.

Her mind reeled as she felt a small tug on the experiment in her grasp. But she covered her in a special Spirit Magic, preventing any form of summoning. Something created since ages ago to combat any Fairy's made familiar against their will.

Time ticked on and the sounds of battle behind her faded. She vanished in a fluctuation of space and returned to the safety of her Palace.

She was certain that here nothing could harm her.

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A small fist slammed down onto a table.