Weapons of Mass Destruction

Lily and the twins scrunch their faces, twisting them into expressions of pain. Their posture breaks, and their control over their mana wavers, caused by a combination of the effects of the disruptive field and something else.

My domain encompasses them, smaller and more powerful than usual, declaring the mana within to be under my control.

Lily’s the first to recover, groaning “It’s trying to communicate with me. It sounds just like my dad…”

The twins regain their composure a moment later, working together to shake off the foreign influence. Watching them do it, I figure it really must have been an attempt at communication rather than an attack, something they probably could have handled even without my assistance. Probably. But I'm not going to risk it. I reinforce my [Mana Domain] in response and tailor it to counter skills like the twins' [Connection].

“To me, it sounded like our mom when I was really young… it’s disgusting.” Dennis spits out these words. “It speaks with her voice, begging, and crying.”

I nod. “It’s been down here for centuries. Judging by the state of this… prison, its mind probably isn’t in the best shape either.”

“Prison…” Lily repeats, adjusting the ax on her back as she studies the skeleton. “I don’t think it’s sane anymore.”

The green acid rain from the ceiling keeps falling and splashing against the bone, sizzling and melting away the creature’s flesh, even as it regenerates.

That’s when the Witch decides to appear, forming a tunnel in one of the walls, as she enters the cave just opposite us, placing the bound skeleton between us. The only remaining member of her crew is Babyface who’s holding a crystal dagger covered in blood. The erratic, and desperate behavior she showed us before is still present, in fact, it may even be worse now—pain writ across her face, underscored by the dried blood under her nose, and crusted in the corners of her eyes.

Her crown rotates wildly, the mana inside feeling chaotic, the cell's field attempting to disrupt the skill and making any attempt to use that immense mana more difficult. She spots us in the same moment we spot her, and starts walking around the edge of the room in a great half-circle, trailed by the man who followed her here, heading for our position.

I take a step, mirroring her movements, striding over to meet her, with the members of group 4 close behind. It’s quiet here, other than the sound of the molten rivers roaring through the walls, the sound of dripping acid, and our steps echoing off the walls.

A minute later, she stops, and I follow suit, leaving just a few steps between us. Standing up close like this only makes it easier to see the hint of craziness in her eyes, her forearms covered in bloody wounds where she’s been gouging her own flesh with her nails.

“Give me your sword,” she demands, opening the conversation.

“It will kill you if you try to use it.”

“I… just give me the sword.”

“You didn’t come here unprepared. Why do you need the sword?”

Instead of an answer, more confusion appears on her face, and I can see her struggling to put together a coherent thought.

I push, “Did you break the other two chains? Do you even remember doing it? Just how long has this thing been messing with your mind.”

Her mouth opens and closes, and in that fraction of a moment, my domain encompasses her as well, as I take another step closer, “Just how much longer can you endure like this before your mind breaks under its influence? Are you really ready to die here?”

The same pressure that connected to Lily and the twins before tries to connect to me, but it can’t. It can’t because I’ve put too much effort into ensuring that I wouldn’t allow myself to be controlled, and it can’t because my arcane passive insulates my mind from outside influence.

I continue, “It knew you wouldn’t be able to keep returning every ten years to break another chain. So, when it saw this sword, it wanted you to use it to release it in one go, even if it were to cost you your life.”

She neither confirms nor denies my theory, but a sudden pulse of mana bursts forth from her crown, tearing through the portion of my domain that had reached her. I intensify my efforts to keep it contained around the four of us.

The Witch moves her six arms, spreading them, four opening their palms, mana seeping out of the crown and floating in the air around her. Stone rises up from the ground, forming two long spears which she grabs in the other two hands. Mana swirls around her, dangerously, threateningly, yet even now serving as an amazing demonstration of her level of control. Even with her mind confused, and the pressure of the field around us.

Her eyes clear, and her posture straightens.

She declares, “I am Melel, a Champion candidate, and I challenge you, my equal in title. The wager I propose is…”

The challenge fails. So she tries again.

And it fails again.

And then she tries once more.

She is unable to issue a challenge, likely because the system does not deem her in control of herself enough to do so.

Melel laughs desperately, as if finally confirming something, her connection with the being intensifying as the look of pain deepens across her face. I can see her straining to break the connection with everything she has, even if it means dying in the process. ℞

Babyface forms a dagger in his free hand, and armor made of crystal encloses his body, as a ring of similar material forms around one of his fingers. He moves in very quickly, dagger thrusting at her head. His face is blank, save for the same expression of pain she wore on hers.

Even in this situation, Melel takes notice—stone arms emerging from the ground to grab him. He dodges a few, but then a stone dome forms around him, trapping him inside.

When the dome finally shatters, the only thing remaining inside is a body torn to pieces.

Melel, still partially under foreign control, attacks me. Huge stone arms move toward us, but I freeze them mid-air, absorbing their kinetic energy. The pressure from her crown squeezes down, only to be countered by my domain, and yet she keeps pushing relentlessly.

Well, that should be enough.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

With my left hand, I grab the sheath of the sword, and with my right, I grab the hilt and pull the blade free in one smooth movement.

Lily and the twins immediately put distance between us as the blade shows itself to the world.

[Resonance] activates at full strength even before the sword is out, focused on keeping all the distinct forces working together. Without it, the sword would break almost instantly.

The blade itself is made out of a hollow shell of molten white sand and bone. Enclosing a combination of gray and black swirls, seemingly alive.

Immediately, the palm of my hand starts disintegrating, and my mana gets sucked into the sword and there’s nothing I can do about it.

In an instant, nearly all my mana drains and I use Wraith Dance, dodging the stone arms, projectiles, and slashes tearing through the air, and swing, severing the Witch’s connection to the skeleton.

Then the backlash hits her, making her groan in pain as she staggers back. Another step, and I reach her, the sword’s tip piercing her crown and breaking the surface with ease.

I feel the pressure alleviate for a moment as the sword focuses on the crown, but it immediately comes back even stronger with all the mana it absorbs.

[Resonance - lvl 58 > Resonance - lvl 59]

The entirety of my right arm disappears in a blink, along with a piece of my shoulder, leaving behind the skeletal remains. Bones endure longer thanks to [Bone Knitting], and the dense mana threads woven through them for added strength.

My arm immediately heals, Lily’s mana flowing through my body, and I increase my efforts to keep [Resonance] running at full power.

I can’t even use mana, as all my focus is bent on keeping myself alive, even as the sword becomes stronger and stronger, gray and black swirling inside the blade wildly, adding more and more cracks to the glass holding it in check.

When Melel tries to stand up, I kick her, the blow slamming into the side of her head, making her stagger to the side, and I try to pull Fracture away from her crown, figuring that I’ve done enough.

The sword refuses to move.

More cracks appear on the surface, and a wave washes over me, disintegrating all of my arm, half of my chest, part of my leg, and face, leaving the bones in place before Lily’s healing restores them in a blink.

And once again, more mana from my reservoir gets sucked in along with the rest of her crown, the hungry weapon refusing to let go.

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 59 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 60]

Finally, Wraith Dance pulls me away from the others, bringing me over to the skeleton. Lily and the twins immediately find themselves locked in battle with the confused, absentminded Melel, who attacks them the moment I’m gone—but I trust them to handle it.

Kinetic energy rushes into the area above me, encompassing me, stopping the acid rain from falling, and leaving it floating in space. A shockwave throws the acid away from me, and the monster, without the constant downpour of acid, quickly starts to regenerate.

Tendons, veins, flesh—all rush to cover the skeleton. Now that there are muscles covering the bones, the monster moves for the first time, golden chains ringing as it rises, scattering its blood throughout the room in the process.

Fracture smashes against one of the four remaining chains, disintegrating the material, severing its connections as the mana within unwinds connections.

The monster moves again, its body now covered in flesh.

Another step, another chain destroyed—along with more parts of my own body—the only thing allowing me to wield the weapon with as much mana as it’s absorbed is Lily’s healing. But cutting the chains requires an immense amount of power, and Fracture starts to weaken, leaving the third chain only partially damaged as I slash against it.

My crown appears over my head, and its mana gets absorbed as well. Allowing me to destroy the third chain.

Brown fur covers the flesh, and the monster finally stands on all four legs, releasing a loud roar filled with hate and madness that makes my eardrums burst and heal moments later and then burst again.

Its attempts to connect with my mind grow more determined, and I feel the pressure increase as antlers start growing from the monster's head. The longer they are, the stronger the feeling is. But they stop growing—before the beast can be fully healed or regain its original power, the thickest golden chain still managing to hold it back.

(Free! Free me, human. It hurts. I’m scared. Please. Help me, child, brother.) Its words finally sound in my head, taking on a voice that sounds like a combination of my mother and Victoria.

Words repeated without any real understanding of their true meaning.

(Help me, my child. I’m dying. It hurts so much.) Over and over again the beast cries, blending the voices of my mother as it begs.

Clearly, the mind of this being has broken under the torture it’s suffered over the centuries and millennia. What was once a majestic beast, has now been reduced to a mere shadow of itself—frantically repeating words with the briefest flashes of clarity, focused entirely on the manipulation of others.

This being won’t help us. It can’t be bargained with, and it mustn’t be set free.

The sword in my hand pulses for the last time, and I slash toward the monster's neck, all the remaining force I’m capable of containing breaks free, ravaging my body, and the monster with it.

Connections are severed, mana is unwound, and flesh and bones disintegrate, without healing.

With great effort, I push Fracture back into its scabbard, feeling the pressure ease, even as it leaves me with a strong reminder of its presence. My entire right arm, though healed and restored by Lily, continues to bleed, left horribly torn and scarred, the healing coming much slower than before.

And the monster still lives.

(Hurt! Save! Victoria, please…Nathaniel, my beloved.)

It keeps pulling at my mind, but it staggers back, its legs burrowing into the floor as it pulls on the chain with great force. I can feel its attempts to access its mana, even as they continue to fail.

Then it stops moving, its eyes expanding, as the barrage of words ramps up as purple tentacles reach from the ground and grab its leg, slowly climbing higher and higher.

(Die for me! Protect me! Heal me, Lily, my child! I always hated you, Aaron. You will never amount to anything, Dennis. Melel, my beloved.)

Over and over again it screams as a dark shadow surrounds it. A flickering mass of something huge covering it in darkness until the entirety of the monster disappears. From the darkness, comes a dark growl, as two huge glowing purple eyes open wide, just at the height of the trapped monster’s neck.

The golden chain stretches into the darkness ringing out as the tentacles drag the monster deeper into the darkness, followed by the screeching of the tied monster and a crunching bite. The entire cave starts shaking, as all the rivers of molten metals and acid are redirected, rushing to bury the monster held by one last chain.

Again and again, the monster screeches, trying to escape, its mind attacking everything around it. Until finally, the psychic messages end.

Then there is silence, filled by the sounds of the cave breaking apart.

[You have defeated Nightwraith Stag - lvl 471]

[Lvl 293 > Lvl 294]

[Lvl 294 > Lvl 295]

[Lvl 295 > Lvl 296]

[Lvl 296 > Lvl 297]

I´m unable to hold it anymore, and the acid starts falling again as I take a step toward the shadows that have already begun to fade. Pulling Biscuit from within, who seems to have passed out or fallen asleep. I use Wraith Dance and move over to Lily and the twins, who are already ready to leave.

“Nat, please, bring her with us!” Lily shouts, pointing to the unconscious thylarin woman they defeated.

Meeting Lily´s eyes, I disrupt the natural barrier around Melel, and with the last dregs of my mana pulled from the surrounding area, I use my [Ley Line] and teleport us away.