– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 216, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 19 –

In front of the dome’s entrance, the people on Willow’s side were cursing with pale faces.

“At this rate, our defensive lines will collapse and then we’ll be completely outnumbered here,” said one of the Guildheads. “Let us take out the rich brat before they get any further, we’ll—”

“If we move any more forces away from the entrance, then the Spellcrusher and Magebane might swoop in from behind,” objected another Guildhead. She turned to a channeler of the Bright Lady. “Didn’t you say that the area was supposed to be sealed against spatial transfers? Why is the Spellcrusher still jumping around freely, then?”

“I don’t know either,” barked the channeler with frustration in her eyes.

“This job stinks,” grumbled another Guildhead.

“She’s back!” shouted a silver-clad woman.

Everyone’s eyes moved towards the place where Amelia had appeared. They instantly began assaulting and charging towards her.

Amelia clicked her tongue and unleashed her own spells before taking her distance with several short-range teleportations.

“Forget the brat,” growled an older Guildhead. “As long as that spatial barrier protecting the entrance stands, we’ll be fine. That barrier is beyond the capabilities of these Guardians. Heck, it’s even beyond mine. I’d wager that the Spellcrusher and the Magebane are the only people present that have a chance of breaking through.”

“If you say so,” the woman among the Guildheads shrugged. “Block the Spellcrusher and the Magebane, what could be simpler?” She groaned. “Don’t know about you, but if all these Guardians eventually make it to this location, I’m out of here regardless.” She looked at the channeler of the Bright Lady. “If you trust your spatial barrier that much, that shouldn’t be a problem, right? Or will this be as trustworthy as your spatial seal?”

The channeler furrowed her brows. “I guess so. Focus on chasing the Spellcrusher and Magebane away. Everyone else is secondary.”

“Well, then…” After a nod from the older Guildhead, several of their group retrieved a number of items from their storage bracelets. “Let’s tie down some ranked rookies.”

The older Guildhead turned to the stronger channelers that were still lingering around the entrance. “If you want this done, then you need to lend a hand.”

The channelers nodded with begrudging expressions.

“Also, these items are single-use and expensive.” The Guildhead pointed out. “We’ll be sending you a separate bill for that. Given that you were the ones that failed to seal the space here yourselves, that should be fair, right?”

The channeler from the Bright Lady scowled but nodded again.

“Splendid,” said the Guildhead and smashed a ball onto the floor. “That seals the area around the entrance. This should limit the Spellcrusher’s movements sufficiently for us to react in time when she plans something. From here on, we just need to tie her down further.”

Not long afterwards, Amelia was besieged by space sealing items and ganged up on by the Guildheads and channelers.

“No, Dargo, it’s still fine.” Amelia’s eyes grew cold. “I’ll make them pay for it. It’s just…” She glanced worriedly at the spatial barrier. “I don’t know how much time this will take.”

Amelia shook her head and channeled mana into one of the purple mana crystals on her staff. “I’ll make them pay for it.” Countless fire spears appeared in the sky and charged down towards her opponents.

Further to the right, Terry was advancing speedily. The enemy experts in front were all focusing on Amelia while the reinvigorated Guardians behind him were keeping his back free from pursuers.

Terry was feeling both more powerful and more exhausted than ever before.

Only two channelers were still standing in his path.

Terry burst his mana and stared at the entrance. He heard a shattering sound but took no notice of it.

The two channelers realized that Terry was accelerating instead of slowing down. They glanced at each other. From what they could tell, Terry was unaware of the spatial barrier and intent on smashing his head against a wall.

Their eyes were full of ridicule as they stepped to the sides while unleashing a quick succession of attacks.

Terry evaded what he could without losing momentum. Since the attacks were half-hearted, he did not have much trouble accepting a few injuries as long as he was under the effects of his potions, pills, and scrolls.

The two channelers were sneering while Terry stared at the entrance with hardened resolve…

Here goes something!

Terry burst through the entrance while hearing a succession of shattering sounds.

Another breath later, Terry was storming into the reception hall. As soon as he sensed Matteo’s mana signature, Terry ripped another healing scroll.

Willow was staring with mouth agape while Anand examined Terry inquisitively.

Outside, the two channelers were stunned with horrified expressions.

Further away, Amelia was grinning from ear to ear. “Fancy that. Full of nice surprises. Dargo, come here and free me up. Then I’ll take us to Matteo immediately.”

***

Terry inwardly heaved a sigh of relief when he felt the scroll’s effect activate on Matteo and himself.

Outwardly, Terry was panting heavily. A glowing layer of mana was enveloping him and the color was shifting constantly from all the stacked effects. The cloud badger leather had been pierced and slashed apart in many places. Dried blood clung to Terry from head to toe.

Terry looked over the mass of channelers that were engaging Matteo in combat. Each and everyone emitted a terrifying mana signature. Many of their gazes were now resting on Terry.

Terry’s mind went blank while his instincts were telling him to run. Instead, he retrieved his two barrier spears and controlled his breathing.

Further in the back, Anand frowned.

“How?” muttered Willow. She unleashed a group-healing ability to support the channelers on her side. Afterwards, she turned to Anand. “What about the spatial lock?”

“Broken,” replied Anand in a dull voice. “I’m working on it.”

“You better,” snapped Willow. “If the Spellcrusher and the Magebane get here, the situation will go out of control.”

“How did he do it?” Anand muttered to himself while looking at Terry. He ignored Willow’s outburst.

At the entrance, a man that was wearing leather armor including a full-helmet and neck-protector was the first to lunge at Terry. The man’s mana signature matched a channeler of the Bodhi Tree.

Terry tensed his right arm and subtly channeled mana into his barrier spear while making a large gesture with his left spear.

Now!

Terry summoned a small but intense barrier in front of his right spear that caused the twin-pupiled man to trip.

While the man was off-balance, Terry rotated leftwards on his heel while casting a ranged Immovable Object spell.

While the man’s attention was drawn to his immovable armor buckle, Terry suddenly burst to finish his rotation faster than appeared possible before. He slashed with his left spear at the man’s neck that was still stretched forward from his run.

The spear’s blade slashed through the leather neck protector and blood spurted out of the wound.

A moment later, Terry was assaulted from another direction.

Damn it!

Terry already sensed the first assailant being enveloped by a healing ability from a channeler of the Bright Lady.

Why didn’t I prepare the mana sublimator before charging in here?!

Terry was scowling at his own lack of foresight.

“This armor ain’t cheap,” growled the healed enemy. “Where did a brat like you get a spear like this?” He charged at Terry.

Further back, Anand was frowning again.

“Something is causing the space to be extremely unstable,” said Anand. He tilted his head and glanced at Terry. “In a very peculiar manner.”

“What do you mean ‘peculiar’?!” demanded Willow.

“As if there are times when it is pricked by countless tiny needles,” said Anand. “I’ve never heard of something like this. Neither in spellwork nor in any natural phenomenon.”

“And? What is that supposed to mean?” Willow showed an exasperated expression. “This is serious! What—?”

“This turns any attempt to lock down the space into a futile effort,” interjected Anand. “Spatial seals are a waste of mana like this.”

“We’re not talking about someone pounding on metal, where the metal can bend.” Anand carefully sensed the space in the area with closed eyes. “If you want an analogy from the physical realm, this kind of space magic is more like a diamond. Hard but brittle.”

Anand opened his eyes again and then glanced at Willow with indifference. “Effects from space magic generally have no way of absorbing energy, not even a little. We’re talking about a binary situation. A single prick is enough to break a spatial seal.”

“That makes no sense!” objected Willow. Suspicion flickered in her eyes. “If it was that easy to break spatial seals and barriers, wouldn’t— Are you trying to sabotage our—?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” scoffed Anand. “It is far from ‘easy’. It requires an extraordinary amount of power to destabilize a spatial seal. Unless you can spare such power, you have to probe for the best location and then find the proper counter structure from space magic or a corresponding anti-magic.”

“In space magic, there is an asymmetric relationship between attack and defense.” Anand glowered over the battlefield. “It is much easier to set up a trap or a barrier than it is to break it. Otherwise, how could I suffer the indignity of having my own teleportation limited by the magic item of that meddling woman? I had some respect for the Divine Hammer, but I certainly did volunteer for such an experience.”

“But at this rate—” objected Willow.

“Too late,” interrupted Anand. “Isolating Matteo is no longer an option.” He secretly began preparing some well-cloaked spellwork.

Willow moved her eyes to follow Anand’s gaze and then scowled.

Amelia had appeared in the air above Terry and bombarded the surrounding channelers with an astonishing number of Fire Spears and Wind Blades that combined with each other and created a small inferno inside the dome.

A moment later, Dargones also appeared in the room and hurled himself into the fray.

While Matteo’s side still remained vastly outnumbered inside the dome and reception hall, the other side was beginning to feel the increasing pressure.

***

My insides don’t feel right.

Terry coughed up another mouth full of blood.

That high temperature can’t be good.

Terry suppressed the urge to hold his own stomach. He crossed his spears in front of him and blocked the incoming sword strike of his opponent.

Terry transfixed the center pearls in his bracers and then kicked his opponent with both legs.

Ugh… Like kicking a boulder.

Terry wearily observed the enemies in front of him. He panted while taking account of himself.

The potions were still showing their various effects. He still had a few scrolls, but right now, he could not justify using any even if he had the time.

Not injured enough, not enough allies…

Terry sighed and hurriedly downed another mana potion.

Even with his exceptional mana foundation, even with all the buffs, and even with Terry making efficient use of all available mana by relying on burst techniques to control and break the battle’s rhythm, Terry was already feeling the intense drain on his mana again.

Even with the external help of consumables, Terry was barely able to stand against those he had to face in the reception hall. He was constantly reaching the bottom of his mana pool.

A golden lightning bolt shot at Terry while his attention was on the mana potion.

Terry hurriedly collected his mana for a discharge – and he was already bemoaning the large mana expenditure required – when he sensed the lightning bolt being erased in mid-air.

Thanks, Amelia…

Suddenly, a shape jumped out of the floor next to Terry. A glowing red hand grabbed Terry’s left arm.

“ARGH!” Terry howled in pain as the lava-like hand burned him to the bone.

Terry reflexively channeled mana into his bracer while stabbing forward with the spear in his other hand.

Unfortunately for Terry, the metal on his bracer had already started to melt and the imprint had collapsed.

His opponent made no attempt to dodge the spear, nor did it appear to do any damage when the spear entered the glowing hot figure.

Terry gritted his teeth and pulled back his spear in order not to have it damaged for nothing.

Terry detected the face of a woman inside the red glow. The woman opened her mouth wide and inhaled.

Not good!

Terry transfixed his foot in front of him and tried to use the foothold to pull his arm and himself away from the woman.

Cut off my arm? I still have some high-level healing scrolls…

Terry’s eyes hardened, but before he could follow through with his self-mutilating idea, a wave of mana enveloped both Terry and his opponent.

Before Terry could blink, he saw a regular woman staring at him. The red glow had disappeared. Same for whatever attack she had been preparing.

Nullification mana. Thanks, Dargones…

Terry used the chance and stabbed his spear forward with his undamaged arm.

Unfortunately, the woman managed to react at the last moment, which caused Terry’s attack to miss her head.

While blood was gushing out of her shoulder, Terry did not follow up on the attack. Instead, he created some distance between them.

There it is. The Bright Lady is a wasted pain.

Terry scowled as soon as he sensed the woman being healed. He considered using another scroll when he sensed that some more Guardians had managed to make it inside the dome.

This lifted Terry’s mood considerably and eased his worries.

Without further reservations, Terry locked onto all allies except Dargones – nullification mana had its downsides – and guided mana into another healing scroll.

Most scrolls could be activated even without mana by disturbing the mana inside the scroll. However, Terry’s left arm had not been usable for ripping the scroll, which is why he had to invest a bit of his own mana for the activation.

Afterwards, Terry gritted his teeth and extracted the melted bracer from his left arm.

Crap. The bracer is one thing, but even the inscribed glove has been damaged.

Terry hoped that the self-mending and error-correcting inscriptions were able to get the damage fixed eventually, but he did not believe that it would be quick enough for the current battle.

If I had some time— Maybe this way.

Terry summoned a tertium cube, hid inside, and transfixed it. Then, he hurriedly exchanged his broken bracer and glove with some of his old equipment.

Wait, while I’m at it…

Terry was paying close attention to the surrounding mana movement while retrieving the mana sublimator. He made up his mind about which mana core to use and loaded the sublimator with it.

***

“Do something!” Willow yelled at Anand. “Don’t you see that we are losing more and more ground?”

Anand watched her coldly and then returned his gaze to the battlefield. “I can see that you and your fellow realm traitors are failing to put up much of a fight, yes.”

“You…” Willow glared at him. “Why aren’t you helping, then? Aside from the spatial barrier and spatial seal, you haven’t done anything. And a big help those turned out to be.” She sneered. “You fought with us against the Divine Hammer, why are you so passive now?!”

Anand slightly curled his lips. “In contrast to when we offed that meddling woman, my aim is not to get rid of Matteo. Even killing the Hammer was merely a means to an end, nothing personal. In fact, I consider her death a tremendous loss for the realm. I did not want to kill her, but it was necessary for Matteo. I definitely don’t want him dead. I want him to evolve.”

“That…” Anand glanced at the battlefield where Matteo and the purple lightning dragon were rampaging through the strongest among the present channelers. “That requires pressure. He needs to be overwhelmed with his elemental mana. He needs to drown in it. Then…”

Anand stared at Matteo’s mana signature. “With this environment, the elementals inside Matteo’s mind will become more and more agitated. He needs to push through it.”

“Then add to that pressure, waste it!” Willow pointed at the battlefield. “Kill his friends! Kill that new cousin of his! Injure him! Help our side! Do something! How do you expect the pressure to rise when— What are you doing?”

The dome was trembling. A moment later, the upper floors and the roof were gone. Dark clouds were visible in the sky above.

Thunder was rumbling every time that Matteo slashed with Soul Fury.

“Something,” replied Anand with a smile on his lips.

“WHY?!” yelled Willow. “The dome was our fortification—”

“And it stopped being useful,” retorted Anand. “You can’t use the defense system. The entrance has been breached. Besides, we would have required a clear path to the sky sooner or later. It is necessary.”

“Still, that—” Willow was about to object when she noticed another spatial shift. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Dimensional gates appeared in several places. Hordes of spirits and elementals were pouring through them.

“What is necessary,” replied Anand coldly.

The aspect beings immediately attacked everyone. They did not make a difference between Willow’s or Matteo’s side. The different elemental factions even started attacking each other since there was no demon around to keep them in line.

The battlefield became chaotic at once. Elemental attacks were flying in all directions.

Anand looked towards the clouds in the sky and examined their movement. A smile found its way onto his lips again.

The smile was washed away when Willow grabbed his arm and shouted at him. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

Anand looked at her coldly and pointed with his chin to the battlefield. “This is pressure. If your friends had been less useless, this might not have been necessary, but it is now.” He glanced at his hand on his arm. “Remove your hand.”

“They are attacking our side!” Willow did not let go. She pointed with her free hand. “They are attacking my followers!”

“Naturally,” retorted Anand. “I have not summoned them myself. I don’t dominate their minds. Ergo, I don’t control them. They are acting according to their instincts. To them, all mana users are the enemy. Our sides don’t matter to the aspect beings.” He glared at Willow. “Remove your hand.”

Willow did not let go. Her mouth opened repeatedly without saying anything.

“Right now, your fellow realm traitors are merely collateral damage,” said Anand with a contemptuous sneer. “Unless you want to see what happens when I am really aiming for their lives, you will remove your hand.”

Willow let go.

“Thank you.” Anand’s disdainful voice sent a shiver down Willow’s spine.

“We’ve set the stage, let’s see what happens.” Anand glanced at Willow. “Don’t you want to join and help your followers?”

Willow looked at the chaotic battlefield and paled.

“From what I understand, you have a pretty high rank in your cult, surely that is somewhat related to combat ability.” Anand spoke with pointed amusement. “Or is it that you have opened your mind further to that otherrealm creature without much to show for it?”

“I…” Willow glanced at Anand. “As a Bright, it is still my foremost responsibility to keep the big picture in mind. We still require your services and cannot afford to have you injured or killed. I will remain close to you.”

“Right…” Anand chuckled. “Without you here, I would really be troubled to protect myself.” He rolled his eyes while the spatial barrier he had created around himself and Willow was blocking all the attacks that came their way.

***