234 Chapter 234: Resonance (1/2)
”Huh?” Shun Yin gaped at Angelica, confused for a moment. He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. ”What the hell is resonance?”
”What, you never watched Sousei no Onmyouji or something?”
”I did, but I didn't know you were a fan of anime. Besides, this is reality, not a manga. Or the anime adaptation.”
Angelica rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on his hand. ”Just keep quiet and cooperate with me already. Synchronize your mana with mine. This is pretty easy to screw up on.”
The Cerberus wasn't going to wait patiently for them, however. Even as its sonic assault faltered against Angelica's white firewall, it continued to lunge forward. Shun Yin was aware that it was perfectly capable of smashing through the firewall with brute force and its sheer bulk.
He didn't have a choice. He had to trust in Angelica and hope she knew what she was doing. Taking a deep breath, he circulated the mana in his body and adjusted it to flow in tandem with hers. Their mana coalesced in their linked hands, glowing hotly as crimson and white merged into a flaring sun that illuminated the dim corridor with blinding fire.
The Cerberus howled as it tried to skid to a stop, instinctively recognizing the danger, but the two human mages swung their swords in unison. The crimson and white flames from their blades merged into a ferocious torrent that engulfed the Cerberus and instantly incinerated it. The creature howled in agony as its form rapidly disintegrated under the intense heat.
”Amazing…”
Shun Yin watched the incredible spectacle in disbelief, not daring to trust his eyes. The combined spells wasn't just the sum of his and Angelica's attacks. Her Resonance method had amplified their merged spells by several times, more than quadrupling its power. No wonder the Cerberus wasn't able to withstand it.
The remnants of its corpse drifted away, the massive monster reduced to nothing more than ash. Other than the scorched patch that covered the cratered floor, there was no sign that it ever existed. Not even the presence of a spirit leaving its destroyed host and fleeing back to its dimension. Then again, Shun Yin didn't know why he should expect such a thing to begin with.
”We did it.”
He let go of Angelica's hand. Or was she the first to let go of his? He wasn't sure. Nonetheless, he felt reluctant to release her hand, his fingers still feeling the comfortable warmth of hers. It had been a while since they had such intimate contact.
Had it really been nine years? It felt like an eternity.
Then Shun Yin realized something.
”If you do this, then aren't you blowing your cover?”
”It can't be helped.” Angelica shook her head somewhat bitterly. ”I had to stop them, or Vermillion City will be doomed.”
”You were a double agent from the start.” It was a statement, not a question. Shun Yin was slowly piecing everything from what he had heard from Michael. ”You joined this…Dark Church in order to foil their plans.”
”That was the eventual goal, yes. Though…” Angelica smiled. ”I did have my own personal reasons for using them. Unfortunately, the deception is up. In order to prevent the Emergence event, I made my move, but I underestimated them. The Assassins aren't the only ones capable of fighting. The Dark Church priests contain a lot of power too.”
She glanced at the ash laid out over the blackened crater, her expression wistful. Sighing heavily, she turned toward the door that the Cerberus was guarding.
”I didn't think the Dark Church would make use of the spirit summoning technology as well. The whole reason they hired the Assassins Guild was because they didn't have many combat-capable mages to begin with.”
Shun Yin raised an eyebrow at that, but he had to admit that it made some sense. The Assassins' services couldn't possibly come cheap. To justify that kind of extravagant expenses and tremendous amount of resources, the Dark Church must have seen no other alternatives. Or they could afford to throw away tons of money.
Somehow he doubted the latter. Anyone that rich wouldn't want to destroy the world. Then again, what did he know? Some men just want to watch the world burn.
The surge in mana behind the door drew his attention back to his objective. Shun Yin gritted his teeth.
”We have to hurry! It seems like they are beginning the process!”
”I concur.” Angelica nodded. ”But be careful. There should be a few Dark Church priests protecting the machine.”
The both of them sprinted across the remaining length of the corridor and reached the door. Whirling around, Shun Yin kicked the door down after augmenting his physical strength with a physical reinforcement spell. He then barged into the room with his sword outstretched, the blade once again igniting fiercely.
In the center of the room was a massive contraption that resembled some kind of gate or portal. Huge amounts of mana were coiling around the center, turning into some sort of translucent dimensional doorway. Shun Yin caught a glimpse of things writhing and moving on the other side of the screen, monstrous limbs and hellish fires burning atop a barren landscape.
”Surtr's realm, Muspelheim,” Angelica whispered when she also caught sight of what existed on the other side of the doorway.
”You…!”
A robed figure glided forward, jabbing an accusatory finger at her. He was a bit on the short and chubby side, wearing thick, heavy clothing appropriate for his office as a priest, except that the fabric was dyed an ominous black instead of a pure white. Dark rings with portentously gleaming gems decorated his stubby fingers.
”Traitor!” the dark priest spat. ”We welcomed you to our ranks, even aided you in eliminating the majority of the Porter clan, and this is how you repay us?!”
Angelica inclined her head slightly. ”I am very grateful to you for allowing me access to the summoning technology you used me to steal, as well as lending me troops from the Assassins Guild.”
The dark priest's face turned purple, but he continued to rant furiously, his eyes shifting from Angelica to Shun Yin.