Chapter 984 (2/2)

Roland slapped his hands together. A beam twice the width as the previous attacks ripped forward toward Vye. After the previous arcing, almost lazy attacks, Vye scrambled to track this one with her eyes.

Goddamnit, why can’t that fucking crystal block his vision?!? Struggling to control her breathing, she raised a single piece of paper: Mirror.

Yellow eyes glowing, Vye carefully watched the beam roaring toward her chest. Even now, she could picture vividly the blood mess it would make of her torso if she didn’t act. From seeing the refractions hitting the ground, Vye knew it cut like a blade. She would be split open like a rotten melon, her organs mashed and reduced to pulp.

This was not an attack meant to test. It was thrown out with deadly intent. Yet even as Vye’s heart rate climbed ever higher, her gaze did not waver.

Right before it was about to strike her, she activated the Mirror ritual. Of her rituals, Mirror was the only one that would require additional Attributes to fuel it. Therefore, it was the one she had the least experience using. With a small thought, Vye activated the ritual. As the beam continued to blast toward her, Vye’s Mana began to drop precipitously.

But immediately in front of Vye, the beam of light disappeared. Thin ripples of energy spread out, like a casual goodbye wave from the domineering attack.

Luckily, the light beams moved quickly. Vye’s Mana held out through the entire attack. She had survived and now held an ace in the hole, should the situation spiral out of control.

Before Roland could realize she was unhurt, Vye threw out another dozen Ignite rituals into the surrounding area. They exploded and careened toward Roland. However, he now understood their power and was able to smoothly side step the frequent energy bombardment. With his attention completely focused, it was child’s play to avoid attacks like this.

Which was more than enough time for Vye to press four Donate rituals against each hand and foot. Power flowed smoothly into her limbs, giving her the capability of someone who put most of their Stat points into Agility and Strength.

Pressing her foot down with all of her strength, Vye cracked the ground and charged toward Roland. Although this completely depleted the one Donate, it was worth it to see Roland’s expression. His eyes widened like a dead fish as he looked up at her blurred figure.

But he wasn’t completely without a response. With a sharp gesture, a brilliant aura surrounded his arm and he cut out with the back of his hand as if it was a butcher’s knife toward Vye’s neck.

Using the energy in her other leg, Vye side stepped smartly. Now, both of the Donates on her feet were consumed. Her neck tingled slightly at the highly charged attack that zipped past her exposed skin. Then she slammed one of her empowered hands into Roland’s chest. The Donates would not last long, so she needed to take advantage of each limb while she could.

A brilliant armor of interlocking plates of light sprung into being around Roland’s chest. Her hand had the weird sensation of punching a trampoline: it was all elastic nylon and strangely unsatisfying. But Vye had another hand that hammered in from a different direction. Under the pressure from the two separate attacks, the plates of light buckled and split.

While his Skill had bought him a few seconds, Roland flicked his hands out and sent out ten beams of light that looped up in the air and shot downward like an artillery shelling on the location where she was standing.

Quick as a flash, Vye felt the grim satisfaction of his bones shuddering from her punch and then pulled backward. She slapped a Donate on her right leg, threw six Ignites around Roland, and then tossed two Rejects up into the air to buy her some time. While the Rejects flared gallantly to life a split second against the rain of light beams, Vye stopped her foot and retreated rapidly backward.

The brilliant light beams cracked and smashed the arena between them, sending up a cloud of thick dust. Vye’s heart pounded in her ears, but she took this chance to relax and steady herself. She looked downward at the papers she had pulled out earlier: there were only two remaining. Although she had some emergency sheets in her interspatial ring, she likely had demonstrated her talent well enough.

When the smoke cleared, she would-

“Luminous Bombardment,” A cruel voice slithered out through the dirt and debris between her and Roland. “Ion Bolt.”

The dust exploded like a grenade designed to maim with molten shrapnel. But the beams of light that pierced through bent and twisted a dozen times a second. It seemed less like Vye was being attacked and more like someone was creating a labyrinth toward her. But the terrible humming in the air revealed just how dangerous those light beams were. The ambient static in the arena made the hair on the back of Vye’s neck stand straight up.

And in the middle of those sharply twisting beams of light there was a silvery sphere sliding silently toward Vye’s chest.

Almost numb, Vye marked her last few papers with Reject and tossed them out to slow the assault. Her initial instinct was to make two more Donates in order to dodge out of the way, but the more she watched those wild bending light beams, the more horror bubbled up in her heart. It was clear that this was a technique designed to surround and hem in mobile targets.

With no other option, Vye also released the Mirror she had made, blasting a thick light beam out toward the silvery Ion Bolt that was coming toward her. While she struck out with the light beam, her few Rejects were overwhelmed in a cascade of twisting beams. Worst of all, the blast of light she unleashed didn’t slow the Ion Bolt in the least.

The attacks are going to land, Vye thought. Her skin seemed to crawl in abject terror. For a split second, she froze. For that second, the attacks surged closer without her responding at all. By the time Vye snapped back to herself, the attacks were so close that she wouldn’t have time to remove the emergency papers from her interspatial ring and then perform the rituals.

Feeling profoundly afraid, Vye looked down at her hands. One empty, one holding a pen. Without paper…

Vye’s gaze sharpened. If I want my freedom… I can’t keep running. These hands… these hands need to be enough.