Chapter 156 (2/2)

Taking several deep breaths, Randidly reached inside of him and felt the pulsing Aether, that frigid lava, that strange source of life. Almost instinctively, he began to move in those strange leg movements given to him by that old turtle, evoking the image of powerful, ancient roots. The Aether stirred, almost as if it were growing excited.

He still remembered some of the things that Mrs. Hamilton had told to Lyra, as they had raised Lyra’s ability to manipulate her birds of mana. It was not about controlling each individually, but in fact the opposite. All you had to do was set up certain patterns, to lessen the load on yourself, and concentrate on what was important.

So while most roots began to move forward in zigzag patterns, one root did the same, but with all of Randidly’s will and strength within it. In a barely discernable way, a dense green energy formed around that root, proof of his time spent being repeatedly assaulted by Battle Intents.

It seemed the disks did not notice the energy, which, Randidly realized, would have been a dead giveaway. They did, however, seem to remember his previous trick, because two started at the outsides of the roots, instead of cutting right in as they had previously, as if checking for any sneaking roots. Meanwhile, the rest charged forward, heading for the area with the thickest density of roots.

As Randidly planned, all of the roots split off diagonally but one, which straightened and rushed forward. The disks swerved towards the larger groups, all but one, and Randidly’s gaze grew heavy. But he had planned for this, and prepared for it, he just wished he wouldn’t have to take this risk.

So as the thin root and the spinning disk of metal rushed towards each other, Randidly concentrated his will in the tip, which began to glow a deep emerald as all his intent moved to that one area. He felt that even this small root was connected the larger tree of life, Yggdrasil, as his legs trembled and he moved through the motions.

As the two items crossed paths, Randidly twisted the edge of the root with his will, avoiding the initial slice of the disk, and smashed it on the flat side with as much strength as the thin root could muster. It did send the disk skittering, but it wasn’t that far.

It was just enough.

That root burst forward in a surge of speed, rushing towards the key. The other disks seemed to notice this streaker and angle themselves downward to intercept it, but the other roots cut across, blocking their path. The disks finally arrived, ripping through everything, but it was too late. The root settled on the key and turned it.

Randidly could hear shouts of surprised very near, as guards were likely waylaid by his Roots Spiders; he did not have much time remaining. The strain of using Root Control so much and so fast was wearing at him, but the cooling drops of the Weeping Cloud did a lot to control the fraying edges of his consciousness.

Shal stood and the chains fell to the ground. He walked calmly to the door and opened it, apparently freely leaving from the inside. Then he held his hand out to Randidly. “My spear.”

Randidly blinked, then remembered the strange spear that he had seen inside his ring. He had been curious about how it had gotten there, but he had been so distracted by surviving in this place that he hadn’t really put any thoughts to finding out the answer.

He removed it from his ring and marveled at it for a second. It was the blue of ice, a long slender spear made of sort of strangely flexible crystal, almost like a plastic. Both ends had spear heads, which were a dark indigo. The spear was strangely long, springy, and light; based on what Randidly knew from Shal, he sorta would have expected exactly the opposite sort of spear as his weapon of choice. Probably something like the heavy spear of obsidian that Shal had given him to use, that almost seemed famous, based on some people’s queer reaction to it.

Shal took the spear and spun it. It hummed strangely in the air, then settled into his hands naturally, like a hug from an old friend.

There was a gleam in Shal’s eye that Randidly had never seen before, he had always been slightly morose, sardonic, and even dismissive in the way he had spoken to Randidly. But what was in Shal’s eyes now… was joy. And hunger.

The guards rushed forward, 20 men who looked just as talented as the man that Randidly had killed to earn their place in here, and Shal was silently laughing, raising his spear.

Then it began to blur, and Shal simply walked forward, Randidly following with an awed expression in his wake.

Whereas the original Spear Phantom focused on death as the source of his image, and Randidly had chosen the inevitability of time, Shal was… something different. Shal emphasized pursuit and adaptability. His was a Phantom that could float through walls and under doors, chasing you to the ends of the earth in order to finish the attack. His spear bent and twisted, almost like the wind, working around spears to slash off arms and slice off feet.

In their wake, they only left a trail of moaning bodies. Randidly did notice that Shal was very careful to not kill any of the guards, and that probably made sense. This prison was meant as a punishment, but the jailers did not pursue anyone who escaped from their individual cages. After all, they would be forced to return to use the portal, or else be stuck here forever.

That might change, however, if a spear user went on a murder spree while they were leaving their cell. Prisoners killing each other was unfortunate, and against the stated goal of protecting talent, but ultimately acceptable. It was just proof those prisoners weren’t strong enough to be worth protecting. Killing guards was another slight on the First Spear of Tomkat, which would be met with equivalent force.

So they left without any fatalities, and were curiously undisturbed after meeting the first group of guards. Together, they once more descended into the badlands, which would be Randidly’s home for a long while.