Thunder boomed in the heavens, with Davis weaving and dodging amongst the trees, the constant barrage of snake strikes caused splinters to fly from each impact behind him.
Pumping more mana into his legs and core, he purposefully stood between a small gap between 2 of the trees. The snake predictably struck forward, which Davis dodged. Seeing that it had missed, it tried to retreat, but Davis was already on it.
Bringing Masamune down, the blade passed effortlessly through the flesh of the snake, crimson blood spewing out from its decapitated body. The Chimera roared, seeing how it had lost another one of its heads, and shot several energy arcs toward Davis.
They exploded harmlessly against the tough tree bark.
Davis quickly ran again, using the crowded Jungle floor to his advantage, slowly gaining ground on the Chimera. However, being a Lord-ranked creature, its intelligence wasn’t poor, so it knew that it was disadvantaged on land.
Flapping its massive eagle wings, it promptly took off and started circling around Davis. The lion’s head opened its maw, and let out a mighty roar.
A bolt of lightning crashed down from the heavens, nearly hitting Davis, and turning the ground into a blackened heap.
‘Shit’
More bolts came crashing down, filling the Jungle with the smell of burning organic matter. Of course, Davis stuck close to one of the giant trees, letting it take the full brunt of the lightning. Charred wood and plant matter singed his nose, and Davis kept an eye out for the Chimera somewhere in the air.
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the Earth, the tree in which he had taken refuge in was now little more than a pile of splinters and charred wood. Davis quickly turned around and found himself staring at a flying Chimera, a sphere of electricity condensed around it’s mouth.
It seemed to get bigger, and bigger, until…
‘Dodge!’ He sprung from his original spot underneath the tree, the ball of electricity smashing into the ground seconds later. Arcs of purple lightning sprung from the impact site, searing anything that was nearby.
“This is the power of a Lord-ranked monster…” Davis murmured, the rain from the thunderstorms now becoming entire sheets of water, rather than single droplets.
The Chimera became harder and harder to keep track of, the rain obscuring his vision and getting into his eyes. He ran, the wet ground making weird noises with every step.
Once Davis was sure that the Chimera floated for another attack, Davis got into position. He anchored his feet firmly against the wet mulch, mana surging across his entire body.
Against the pale gray rain, his body glowed a faint blue color. Masamune let off a faint blue aura, and recondensed itself into crimson, writhing tentacles of blood. They moved as if they were alive, itching to be released.
Davis raised both of his arms and…
Release.
A thick blade of writhing crimson shot forward at the sky, aiming directly at the Chimera. It left a trail of red mist behind it, leaving a faint scent of iron in the air.
The Chimera sensed danger and hurriedly attempted to cancel its attack, but it was too late. The blade of blood clipped it, taking out one of its legs and one of its wings. It shrieked in pain, as the ball of electricity it had condensed spiraled out of its control.
The purple sphere blew up, sending the now grounded Chimera hurtling toward the ground. Branches slowed its fall to less than-lethal speeds, but could not fully support its massive weight.
Davis hurriedly made his way over to the landing spot, sending more mana into his legs and arms. His mana pool was now at less than half, and had he not advanced into Silver Core, he would have long run out of mana.
With a loud, wet crash, the Chimera slammed against the watery mud.
It looked miserable, its beautiful golden and glossy fur was now charred black, revealing patches of uncovered skin, covered from head to toe in wet mud. Most of the Lion’s head was seared and scarred by its own electricity, and it was surviving on nothing more than pure hatred and willpower.
It whimpered, its claws useless against the watery mud.
Unfortunately, Davis was not one to let go of his prey.
“Sorry, bud.”
Angling his sword so that the blade would travel the least distance before it turned off its brain, he thrust it forward.
Davis frowned. The Chimera wasn’t dead. It squirmed under the blade, trying to escape. He extracted the blade and tried again. It seems that the [Rule] ability was still active, and working at full force.
Still, it struggled even as it bled out on the floor. He tried again, this time, he aimed it at where he believed it was the heart. He pulled out again, and again, trying to kill the Chimera.
After nearly 30 minutes of trying all different vital points, his blade finally hit the joint bone of its second wing, and in an instant, the Chimera shuddered and fell over, lifeless.
“Finally…” He sighed, as he gutted the Chimera down. He reached into its innards and felt around for its cores. With a lot of dismemberment, blood, and guts, he finally laid down 8 pristine, shining Aetherite Crystals.
Consuming 4 and giving the rest to Masamune, he forged forward west, ignoring the rain pouring down in sheets.
The harsh weather was nothing compared to the possible death he faced in a few days.
…
“My lady.” From the deepest shadows, a swarming pillar of blobs coalesced into a humanoid figure, who promptly knelt.
“Shadow. What's the news?” A woman with fiery red sighed, with the table in front of her littered with hundreds of papers and half-eaten breakfast.
“Lord Julius has successfully reconvened with Charlotte. They are now safe in the city of Windrip.” With those words, the woman sighed in relief.
“Good. Charlotte’s 10th birthday is arriving soon-” She turned around to face the Shadow, a purple bag filled with gold coins in her hands. “Enroll Charlotte in the Ascanian military academy, under the private tutelage of their best mages.” With a flick of her wrist, Mana carried the heavy purple bag in the hands of the Shadow. “432 gold coins. This should be more than enough for 4 years.”
The Shadow hesitated. “May I ask?”
The lady nodded, returning to her messy desk. “Why her 10th birthday?”
“Isn’t the Curse ceremony at the age of 14?”
“...”
She sighed. “Not for her Curse.” She turned around again, her eyes now ablaze with crimson flames, which hid a deep sorrow. “A descendant of a Witch, if female, almost always will be blessed by Hestia. Teaching her magic control now will… hopefully lessen the effects of her awakening.”
The Witch of Crimson Flames' tone turned serious. “When Charlotte turns 10, bring her to a deserted area far away from civilization. Do not interfere, but watch over her without her knowledge.”
“Yes, My Lady.” The Shadow nodded. “You are dismissed.”
With those words, the Shadow dissolved back into the darkness, the shadows dissipating back to their original forms.
The Witch sighed, putting down her quill pen. She still remembered the day she awakened. Her signature was present on the very last document, effectively liquidating a third of the assets held by the Rayne family. Total worth was roughly 917 Imperial Platinum, the total cost rivaling even smaller kingdoms' net income per year.
This was to be transferred to her husband, the Lord of the Rayne family. Though she was the wife in name, it was her that controlled the Rayne family. He was more than content to let her manage the family, being the carefree man he was. All 917 Imperial Platinum was to be spent on physical riches, like gold bars, jewelry, or deeds to new lands.
She was preparing for the worst, ensuring that if the Rayne family falls, they would still have the resources to fuel Charlotte’s growth. Raising a mage, not to mention a Witch, was extremely expensive.
Everything else was things that couldn’t be sold, things like Land granted by the King, the net value of cities, etc. She groaned, a wave of fire cleansing her body, rejuvenating her.
It was time again to meet the Second Prince. The cheeky bastard hid when she stormed into the Imperial palace, no doubt in search of Witch hunters or powerful figures to defend himself. The question now was not whether or not her powers would prevail, no.
She already knew that she would die soon. If not by the Second Prince’s hands, then by the threatened powerhouses residing in the nearby kingdoms. She just needed to go down in a blaze of glory, preferably nuking the entirety of Arden off the face of the map.
“Gods damned cowards… All of them!” She growled, several pieces of flame condensing into tangible clothing that covered her body. More flame spewed from the nearby candles, condensing in front of her feet, forming a humanoid figure.
A life-like replica of Charlotte appeared in front of her. It tilted its head at her, before walking off. “Now…” She glanced out the nearby window, the first rays of daylight peeking through the clouds, illuminating the emerald green fields beneath.
“...What a beautiful day to die.”
...
Are we sure Davis's name isn't Seymour? Because he sure has quite a few horrors with him.
I wonder how Amaterasu will play into things this time around.
It seems that all soulcrafts have both a hunger and a consequence for not feeding the hunger. Hades eats souls with an unknown penalty, Masamune absorbs blood/life force with the penalty of pain, and Amaterasu has an unknown hunger with the penalty of burning lifespans.
Worst/Best birthday gift ever, give someone Amaterasu.
Celebrate all 70 years of their life, in a single day!
@Shyberu ouf