CHAPTER 50 - CERTAINLY
Flames.
That's all to it.
The scenery that covered this whole dungeon from going to the void was the blue heatness that came from the flames I conjured without much care of me wanting it back.
On the other hand, the guardians came in groups, all doing the same thing to get me. Using their heads and intelligence in having the numbers, they still couldn't land a solid hit on me.
Throwing vines to even their own lances like spears.
"It's all useless."
My voice had gone cold along with my thoughts and emotions. Yet, I didn't hesitate in using all of my firepower available. At some point down the line, I had already been using my power but I just didn't realize it.
Not that it mattered at all.
My objective was still all the same: Killing them all until they were extinct from this dungeon.
The crackle and the heat all surrounded the cavern until the point where the aftermath of my ice magic had already melted. The cold that was here before when Sylvie and I were looking for Samantha Tempest was gone. All that remained was the sole memory of when I read the novel.
I gritted my teeth until the taste of metal covered my taste buds completely. Using Ghost Step, I was behind them all and without their knowledge.
[Inferno Cage]
Traces of fire, building itself like pillars of a museum, all flying upwards while more flame lines went horizontal until they all connected to each other, causing a fiery cage.
A roar came from the Elderwood guardian that wore the vine crown. He was inches away from my spell but now I could fight it without caring for the others. Not that the others even had a chance of landing a hit on me without being outside the cage.
"Killing the king means the rest will follow."
I let go of my power or form. I didn't need this power to kill it. Hell I could do it with just lightning if I wanted to, but something deep down told me to kill it slowly. I agreed with it.
Mana raced from my core and my hands into the two dimension rings I held on both middle fingers which unleashed two opposite colored swords. Varicolored and void. Light and darkness. In the palm of my hands.
Salvation… and… Destruction…
It all had a meaning, time, power. Time was the biggest thing I raced against and power was something I thrive to hold to win against time.
A humming sound came along with the swords as I swung them, disposing of the still fresh blood of the mana beasts I killed earlier. I found it weird that everything that went into my dimension rings were still fresh like time had stopped inside them. Maybe some do and some don't.
The Elderwood Guardian stood its ground as it understood what I had in mind. Raising its lance like a knight awaiting coronation or a promotion. Then it took its stance. Its red eyes had turned into a different color, they were blue.
Careless by its sudden color change in the eyes, I took my stance as well. Letting my left sword take the frontline while my sword on my right hand took the defense behind me. My eyelids relaxed upon facing such a beast that perhaps exceeded the S rank it was given.
There was no referee to tell us when to start or no indication that it was going to be a fair fight or not, all I had to do though was to bring the core to the guild for evidence. To prove that it died by my hands, no one else's.
Being one thing clear here is that this was my fight.
Killing them all was going to be my doing.
If it meant for Samantha Tempest to rest in peace in the afterlife or in her next life then I would be all into it.
A tense atmospheric electrifying pain surged through my lower torso and up my spine. It perhaps was my over use of my power but I didn't give in, instead I ignored the plea my bones and muscles gave me for this fight.
In the corner of my eye, I could see how a crystal–that was barely holding on to the ceiling–fell down and crashed making the dust rise up. The flames that were the aftermath were covered by the same dust and some were even put out because of it.
That was our signal to fight to the death.
Evidently, both the elderwood guardian and I let out our battle cry before rushing in to kill each other.
The ground trembled as the S class beast moved towards me with ego to demolish me while I stood there for a moment, letting all of my abilities and spells resurface my mind. It had clearly meant that I wasn't up for the task of killing the leader that Agrona or Cadell had chosen to kill Arthur or me. Yet, after all that I wasn't going to back down.
With that in mind, I let the blue fire take over the many-hued sword. Simultaneously, the reflectionless black sword was engulfed with ice to the point where it had formed another layer above the blade.
I spun around, holding the black and bluish-white sword with strength, pouring the water attribute into it for a crescent attack towards the legs of the elderwood guardian. Landing perfectly and creating a sort of parasite-like ice to spread all over the wounded limb. Concurrently, the fiery blade was boosted by the wind affinity I had conjured around it, giving me the effect of a crescent flame spell.
Like the ice and water combination, this one was a little more destructive in the loud section. Leaving more damage into the elderwood guardian compared to the ice-crescent spell.
Seeing as the spells were effective, I stepped hard on the ground, commanding the earthen specs to move according to my will. A large pillar of stone rose up from below the mana beast making it lose balance. I took the opportunity to act, using [Ghost Step] to get closer, I held the fiery blade above my head and swung it down directly on the guardian's arm.
Not deep enough!
I had taken a step back before pushing more mana into the ice-blade and striking once more the spot I did with fire.
[Thousand Cuts]
Erasing the ice coat with another boost of purplish fire, I began to strike all over its body as I continued to use [Ghost Step] continuously.
"Dammit!"
Desperate, seeing as there was no advance in my attacks, I hurriedly pulled the fire that was spread around us into the body of the vine beast. Roaring with anger, the S class mana beast tried taking off the fire that started to eat its body slowly, it felt pain.
The smoke that was there before the fight had gotten into my lungs, it was bad. I was seconds from fainting, I inhaled too much smoke. My vision became unpaired, my hands felt clammy, not only that it was difficult to breathe.
I felt irritated, not only at the fact that fighting this vine tree was taking too much time but also at my incompetence in achieving a better way of mana learning. Mana Rotation was something I should feel easy to use, like it was a natural thing.
Nevertheless, it felt different. Like I wasn't supposed to use it like the main character or the asura, or even… Sylvia.
Maybe there was another way of me using this technique but in reality was there really a way or a solution to me using this?
The question that I had since I met Sylvia in the cave, how she taught us how to use Mana Rotation. Even now the question felt unnatural to bring into the surface. Was there still a little hope for me? Maybe, maybe not.
Will I ever get a chance to fight in the war?
Who knows?
I was hopeful, or it was my hopeful thinking that kept this thought alive in the first place.
Another roar from the green crowned mana beast brought me back to reality, I was lost in thoughts that were going to be the reason why I would lose this fight. My handle over this fight was slipping from my hands if I continued to drag it.
I lifted my sword and held it with the blade pointing towards the chest of the S class mana beast. "Ignite." I said, letting the mana of every elemental affinity be placed on the blade. As the mana settled on the blade, the elderwood guardian sensed it and tried to get up.
My irritation turned to annoyance as I summoned three giant stone pillars as restraints for the giant tree. One for each arm and the thickest and denser one for his waist. "You are not leaving until I've seen the life in your eyes vanish."
The elderwood guardian's expression and aura changed, it was like it understood what I meant. And I hope it did. After all, the crowned elderwood guardian knew it was its last minute in this world.
"Die."
With the struggle it gave me upon seeing my sword turn from black void to multi-colored like the other one–which was stabbed in its neck–it finally started to show emotion. Fear.
I struck the chest, where his core was, and injected all of the mana I had left into it. A series of colored aura flowed from the sword, creating sound waves and crackles from the lighting leaving my arm and into the sword, paralyzing the leader of the elderwood guardians.
Just a little more…
Seconds passed and the vine green monster struggled to its last breath that was covered by my frost that overlapped its whole body, using all of my mana. Its movements became sluggish and eventually stopped, but I could still hear the frost that turned instantly into ice begin to break.
I let out a couple of breaths before catching my own. The scenery was a different feeling to me. I had felt this before, or something similar in video games where I would beat the strongest player in a pvp game.
Just that this time, it wasn't a game but rather real life… a reality where I was either reincarnated or transported into a novel. Everything here might be a dream or just an illusion…
I turned my attention to the being beneath me. Its expression of death was something I figure was going to happen. The crazy facial expression of its mouth open and jagged teeth showing like some sort of jumpscare. The glowless eyes that stared at me with intentions of a plea but I was going to give it that.
"I told you, your death was going to be today."
My right hand was stapled on the sword, feeling the frost and ice forming around my hand and handle. It was stuck there, lodged in like a nail in wood. However, I sent a little mana to reinforce my hand in strength, twisting the sword and breaking the ice statue.
The other elderwood guardians had vanished by the moment I searched for them, only [Inferno Cage] was still there, flickering from the absence of mana going to it.
My viewpoint changed from trying to search for the remaining elderwood guardians to where I had found Samantha Tempest. I knew that even killing the crowned elderwood wasn't going to soothe my guilt, but I had hopes that maybe, even though it wasn't that one that killed her, that she would find peace now. "Rest now Samantha Tempest, you can leave the rest to me."
Before I took a step forward towards the exit. A voice came from behind, saying, "She certainly can."