Mana materialization was a simple concept but a drastic change from mana reinforcement, as it allowed the user to manipulate mana externally almost like an extension of their body. It was a technique that well matched the large output of mana from a high tier creature's soul and allowed for extreme flexibility, as long as the mana supply lasted and as long as its user's knowledge and intellect was up to par. Watching the aberrant knight slowly float up wobbling as it got used to its ability, I knew I was in a race against time and needed every edge and obstacle I could get my hands on.

I immediately propelled my self towards one of the large, realm stones even as I continued casting [Antimagic Blast] and called on all my summons that were able to fly to rendezvous with me. Reaching one of the thick black tendrils extending to a large realm stone, I caught sight of the aberrant knight finally shooting up into the air. Linking to all three of my Wraith Spores, I immediately coordinated their spells to strike at the knight mid flight.

Booom! The following rolling explosions caused the aberrant knight to tumble, losing control of itself for a bit, before a swirl of red mana surrounded it, steadying it. Almost immediately, spells and a spell from my summons struck the knight again, doing no damage as its crimson mantle shrugged them off like they were gnats.

However, the attacks did their job of drawing the aberrant knight's attention, and it turned its rage onto my summons. Even as I sent them maneuvering for all they were worth, streaks of red ripped through the air barely missing them. Boom! Boom! Boom! When the attacks did impact, they left bus sized craters in the core area's walls, causing debris to scatter everywhere.

Trying to keep my summons' terror out of my mind was difficult, but I persistently stifled their complaints as I finished my spell. “!” The spell flew parallel to a nearby dark tendril and straight into a large, realm stone embedded in the dome wall. A bubble of death mana formed over the stone as anything red and blue was momentarily cleared. Craaccck! The following explosion immediately destroyed the realm stone, causing causing fluctuations in mana around me. 

Moreover, the stone's destruction caused the red pillar connecting the realm stone to the Mana Pool above to begin crumbling. Almost immediately, I saw distortions forming in the Mana Pool above, as the massive whirlpool began to boil in places, almost like it had depth charges going off inside it. That wasn't all, as the black tendril that had been restraining the now destroyed realm stone also began to dissipate.

I would have felt like celebrating if not for the squeal of pain from one of my Wraith Spores, as a blast of crimson from the knight shredded half of its body. The mortally wounded wraith began collapsing downwards as its incoherent thoughts filled my mind. Even as I began casting [Antimagic Blast] again, I ruthlessly forced the crippled Wraith Spore to kamikaze the aberrant knight that was flying towards it. The Wraith Spore's last thoughts were one of horror and despair as the aberrant knight rammed it. Boooooom! The explosion that resulted created a large cloud of red and black, out which the aberrant knight went spiraling downwards.

The knight's crimson mantle seemed to have been shredded in places, but as the creature stabilized itself with a swirl of red, it was obvious it was barely hurt. “Gawwwwrrr!” With an echoing roar, it quickly healed any damage it had suffered. My mind felt like a wall of steel as I shrugged off the protests and terror coming from my summons, as I put them in motion to coordinate another bait tactic.

By my estimates, I needed to destroy at least two more of the large, realm stones to destabilize the spell array enough to create a full collapse of the Mana Pool. That was one less than the number of flying summons I had left. As shitty and almost wrong as it felt to think that way, there was a cold part inside me that told me to do what I had to. I felt anger at myself for thinking that way, but I refused to dwell on it in the middle of a battle. Whatever happened and whatever I did, I resolved that I would live with the choices I made.

So, as the aberrant knight raged against another one of my Wraith Spores, I cast [Antimagic Blast] again at another large, realm stone. Another explosion followed, causing large mana flares from the Mana Pool to lash out downwards and sideways, striking the remaining red pillars and the walls. Solid chunks of read and blue mana began to fall all over the core area, but my attention was drawn to something else. For the first time, I heard a change in the voice of the Soul Focus.

“Traitor! Defend! Guard! End! Loyalty!” The stuttering was gone, and the female voice boomed strongly, fury filling her tone. The badly damaged Soul Focus also seemed to glow darkly, as I made out an overflow of death mana spilling out of her. It was obvious that some part of her was still cognizant of what was happening, and while I didn't know how much, it gave me hope in finishing this fight.

I felt another mind link become severed and heard another large explosion below. Turning in that direction, I found the aberrant knight floating at a distance as it continued to send crimson blasts into the expanding cloud of darkness that had once been a Wraith Spore. “It's learning too fast...”

Clenching my fists in frustration, I forced my now desperate summons back into action, as I began prepping to cast again. However, whether because it had learned or maybe because of its instincts, the aberrant knight looked right at me, ignoring the incoming spells. Floating almost calmly where it was, its eyes burned brightly, and I felt an intelligence in them that was completely different from the bestial rage from before. It raised it right hand, and I quickly dodged sideways as a blast of crimson ripped past me.

Not hesitating, I fled towards the Soul Core desperately even as more blasts of crimson surrounded my flight path. I could sense the massive soul pressure closing in on me from behind, and from images that my summons were sending me, I could see the knight's fixation on me, no matter what my summons did to get its attention. Ahead, I saw the crimson blasts impact the darkness surrounding the Soul Focus, only to cause a small disturbance that did nothing to her.

As I neared the Soul Focus, the knight finally got lucky. I dodged too late, and a blast of red clipped me, vaporizing my right arm and a portion of my right leg and sending me tumbling midair. As I desperately tried to keep my focus, I felt the massive mana fluctuations and pressure as the knight finally reached me. “Damn it!”

Then, I was swatted away almost like a ball. Saying I was confused was an understatement, as I crashed on the ground below and skidded to a stop, but the images and thoughts from Slith showed me what was happening. I felt the Wraith Slime's desperation and pain as it grappled with the aberrant knight, and even as his body was literally burned away by the knight's mantle, the wraith slime refused to let go. In all the thoughts filling his mind link to me, “duty” echoed loudly.

After everything I had forced him to do and had planned for his fate, I had no logical explanation for what Slith was doing, but watching the aberrant knight literally tear off him off and toss him aside like trash, I finally felt hate for the aberrant knight. It was irrational, but I couldn't help but feel that way. The damn Wraith Slime had actually spoken another word, and now he was going to die.

As the aberrant knight rushed down towards me, I spat out, “[Antimagic Blast]!” The spell blasted away towards the final realm stone, even as the aberrant knight was blocked, surprisingly by Bas jumping out of nowhere. As I watched almost numbly, the undead basilisk's skeletal frame was shattered, sending my first summoned creature rolling away while breaking into pieces. “Dieeee....”

Another large explosion from above rocked the core area, and from the suddenly increasing chaotic mana fluctuations, I knew that I had succeeded. I struggled to stand up on one foot, as the entire area began to shake and massive chunks of stone and metal began to fall all around. A decent distance away, I saw the aberrant knight land and roar. “Gaawwrrrr!” A massive tendril of red was now visible extending from him to above, and even as I watched, the knight's body began to bulge and twist in places, almost like it wasn't stable. However, the creature just glared at me in hate and hunched over, as though he was about to charge me.

“Fuck You!” As the knight shot forward, I ordered the last Wraith Spore that had finally reached me to ram the creature, while readying my final option. I had been dreading reaching this point, but I had nothing to lose now. More than that, I was truly pissed off! Even as the aberrant knight plowed into my last Wraith Spore, causing an explosion, I lifted the limiter of my soul core/black box.

Almost immediately, death mana flooded out of my soul as it went into overdrive, becoming a small mana pool. I too was a high tier existence, even if there was only a small portion of my own soul in my mid tier body. However, it wasn't without cost. Lifting my limiter on my split soul put greater pressure on its already overburdened state, threatening its stability. It left me in agony, as I felt like something was trying to claw itself out of me while tearing me in half. That wasn't all, as I could feel the soul I was parasitizing wailing in pain as it began suffering mana poisoning.

As the aberrant knight dashed out of the explosion, I forcefully created temporary limbs for myself out of my death mana and allowed a dark mantle to also form around me. Even as parts of my body began to flake off and crumble from mana poisoning, I charged the knight head on. “Booommm!” Both of us met in a rumbling crash, creating a storm of black and red centered around us. Even as we rebounded from each other in a raging whirlwind, my other arm and a portion of my torso also shattered, leaving me no choice but use mana replacements. The knight was not any better, as its right arm and chest was partially mangled, but I growled inside as it quickly reformed to its original self.

Not waiting, I rushed the creature again, dodging its wild lunge, as I slipped behind it. I felt the weakening of my parasitized soul, and my own pain was clouding my thoughts. Whatever time I had left, I knew it wasn't going to be enough. So, I did the last thing I could think of. “Aida! If you can hear me, help me!”

It was shameless, after what I had planned to do and after all the destruction I had already caused. I knew she would most likely not survive because of me, but some deep part of me forced me to request her help. Even her name came from that hidden part in me, and I knew what was left of Neduzar was helping me for some reason. I didn't trust his remnant memories and emotions, but knowing what Aida had endured in this place so far, I was instead willing to trust her.

Even as I grappled the aberrant knight from behind, a loud yell filled the core area. “Loyalty!” Then, almost immediately, both I and the knight was enclosed in a massive column of death mana from above. I saw and felt the crimson mantle of the death knight be stripped off, leaving me with a desperately created opening. Not hesitating, I plunged my arms into the back of the aberrant knight. I felt its malignant soul, now isolated from the crimson mana stream from above, and I didn't hesitate. Death mana poured into its soul, as I used the most primitive and extreme way to destroy its soul. Around me, I felt Aida help, as she too joined her stream of death mana to mine. I felt anger, hate, despair, and finally hope in that connection, until the black column slowly dissipated.

Feeling my body literally breaking down and the aberrant knight's soul breaking apart, I looked up, knowing that I had won. My final sight of the battlefield before I ended the parasitization spell and the aberrant knight's soul blew was the Mana Pool tearing itself apart and Aida beginning to fall, as what was left of her array shattered to pieces.

When my soul finally recombined in my throne room, I bent forward on my throne in pain. I clawed at my armrests, struggling against the searing feeling that twisted inside me. However, as a tremor shook the throne room and a muffled rumbling came through the walls, I steeled myself against the pain, knowing that I had succeeded... though it had cost me.