Chapter 800 (2/2)

Ophelia nodded placidly and then looked at Shal. “Good. Everything has been cleared.”

“Of course,” Shal said. But then he stepped forward toward Aylwind. “Is now really the correct time to attack? These are fellow spear users. And with the city still burning-”

“Others will handle it, Shal,” Ophelia said soothingly. “Remember, our goal is to prepare for your transcendence. No matter what actions we take, the life energy of Tellus will slowly stiffen and die if you are not prepared for your destiny.”

“Yet is the energy not shifting as we speak?” Shal argued. “New images and Styles are appearing at a rate that is incomparable to the past few decades. There is a breath of fresh air among the Styles. We have time. When that strength grows to fruition-”

“Shal,” Aylwind interrupted with a glare. “Have you wondered why so many have been sacrificed these past months? I have no doubt you have. Your heart is soft. Do you truly think it is a coincidence that suddenly, the possibility of creating new images exists? That the death and the new growth are happening independently of each other.”

Shal opened his mouth. But there was no reasonable answer that he could give to Aylwind’s pointed stare.

“All things have costs,” Aylwind said coldly. Then he turned away and began to strap on his armor.

“. Our Images were… stuck. Built upon the belief of millions. In order to shake those images… some of the bases had to be eroded. It was inevitable.” Ophelia said quietly. But her eyes were bright when she pulled Shal’s gaze to her own. “We have paid the cost. Now it is time to reap the reward. But to accomplish that, we cannot allow these Northern fools to stand with a spear pointed at our back.”

*****

“What are you doing?!?” Helen hissed. Silo just began to giggle.

Helen had been performing a sweep through the Western Districts to rid the area of Wights. To her surprise, it was far easier than she had expected. Although the fires and destruction would seem to indicate that the city was being invaded, upon investigation, Helen discovered that the destruction was largely aesthetic.

It was like someone had designed the attack to look bigger than it was. There were still Wights wandering around, but Helen hadn’t even seen a Witch King. And at this point, the Hellfin Reaper would shred anything less.

But as Helen was shifting rubble to free a trapped family, she felt a sharp killing intent at her back. Growling, the Tides of Blood Domain condensed around her in a split second. With its buff, she managed to finish cutting through the block of stone and spin out of the way of the attack.

To her fury, it was not a Wight claw that had struck at her exposed back. It was a spear.

Or something like a spear. Silo was… different. Not himself. It looked like he had cut off his own hands and stuck sharpened stakes of bone into his arms. His eyes were sunken and his teeth were yellowed to the point of looking rotten. The strange protrusions of bone continued up his arms like thick sleeves; he had spiky shoulder guards that also looked to be made entirely of bone.

But despite that, there was no doubt that these bones were sharpened to deadly points.

Silo continued to giggle. The family, the parents and two small girls, slowly emerged from the collapsed wreckage of their house. When they did, Silo raised his arm and slashed.

Roaring, Helen interposed herself between the groups. “Silo!”

“Our match is today…” Silo mumbled. His voice was high pitched and quiet. “I figured… why wait? We can just fight now. We can revel in this… ambiance. We can show our true selves. You know why I like you Helen?”

Helen gestured for the family to flee, which they did gladly. “Fuck you. What the hell happened to you? You look like… like you are slowly transforming into a Wight.”

For a second, a genuine look of shock crossed Silo’s face. Just as quickly his expression crumpled into raw fear. Perhaps the enormity of what was happening to his body finally struck home. But just as quickly, those genuine emotions were replaced by madness in his eyes.

His giggles persisted. “You are the only one that gets it. I saw your match. I felt it. The hatred, the violence… you just get it! Spears are made to kill. To pretend otherwise… that’s why I was gonna ask to be… close. But when I saw you saving those people with the spear… I was so confused. I thought you understood. Maybe you only understand while fighting. So let me remind you-”

“I’ll gladly kick your ass, you sick dog. Don’t bitch if I devour you in the process.” Helen's spear blurred as she activated Feeding Frenzy. In her mind, the best chance to finish this quickly and then continue to assist others was to overwhelm his defenses now. For all that the strange protrusions from the stumps of his arms looked like spears, it was not an easy thing for someone who had used a spear with two hands his whole life to learn how to utilize weapons that extending straight from the arm.

But Helen had underestimated Silo.

For all that he was slowed by her Domain, his arms swept upward to knock away her attack. Then he favored her with a cocky grin.

Helen’s eyes flashed.

Fuck. This. Guy.