Chapter 81

Wil watched, helpless, as the spell struck Amora. Her eyes turned pure white, and he saw her stumble, before regaining her balance.

Although she was blind, she was unruffled, continuing to pick up boulders and other debris, flinging them forward at Desire. She couldn’t see her, but she could still feel the source of corruption, the oily feeling on her skin leading her in the right direction.

“Tch, Nuisances!” Desire cursed, as another large stone section of debris landed besides her. The ‘Circle of Death’ was still effectively stopping them from harming her, but the dust created was staining her crimson dress. Wiping the silk with her hand, futilely trying to clean the garment, she gave up, giving a snort of disgust.

“I thought it would be fun to toy with you, little pests, but look what you have done! This is my Wilhelm’s favorite dress, and you’ve ruined it!” Desire screamed, her grey skin showing hints of red on her cheeks as her shrill voice echoed across the ruins.

Amora, not being able to see, ignored the outburst, simply tossing another pile of rubble at the screeching woman.

“Enough!” Desire commanded, and her black mana created a gale force wind around her, sweeping the rubble aside, the corruption turning the hard stone to dust in an instant. By now, Desire’s red hair had darkened to black, and her eyes glowed a brilliant red in the darkness.

The infection had a strong hold on her, and as it progressed, so did her power. By now, she was nearly Rank 19, and the remaining Guild members were struggling to remain upright against her.

“Die!” Desire yelled, the black mana around her forming another large spell matrix. A Tie 7 spell, Wil recognized it immediately as it spread through the air above her head.

‘Finger of Death’ Wil thought, and he was taken back to Aachen, where the Lich was fighting Markus and his companions. The undead had used the exact same spell against them, with horrifying results. By now, Desire was nearly as strong at the Lich had been, and he knew that Amora would die.

“No!” Wil screamed, and again, the golden mana within him swept through his body. Gritting his teeth, he focused his willpower on the directing the Patriarch’s power. Surprisingly, he felt it respond.

“Prismatic Wall!” Wil shouted, picturing the spell matrix that he had seen in the Patriarch’s past. The golden mana leapt to obey him, and to his vision, an image of the Patriarch could be seen standing next to him, smiling gently as the shimmering wall of multicolored light split the ground between Desire and the Guild members.

The ‘Finger of Death’ slammed against the barrier, but the black mana and negative energy didn’t affect it in any way. The barriers light drove the darkness back, reflecting it back on its caster. Desire staggered backwards, coughing blood as the negative energy crashed against her.

“Wilhelm? Why?” Desire asked, turning in shock as she stared in disbelief at Wil.

Suddenly, Wil was taken back to the vision of the Patriarch, standing over the broken body of the young woman. He recalled the feelings, the hopelessness and loss, the grief and guilt. He remembered the words the Patriarch had spoken.

“I swear, I will never fail again.” Wil spoke, and the ghostly image of the Patriarch mouthed the words with him. The golden mana within him raged, eager to follow his commands.

“Fail? Wilhelm, my love. We’re doing this in order to succeed in our quest for immortality! What does helping these whores get you? Or has your love for me faded? Am I nothing to you now!?” Desire screamed, her rationality finally snapping, the black mana around her turning turbulent and violent. Her eyes glowed an eerie red, and whatever sanity she possessed faded.

Wil didn’t know who she had been, before choosing to serve this ‘master’ of hers, or succumbing to the infection, but that person was clearly gone now. Desire was nothing more than another infected monster, like the Fat Man of the Azure Lord’s inner realm, or the poor souls he had seen at Aachen.

“You’re just confused, my love! That’s all… I’ll take you away and everything will be fine.” Desire said, pleading with herself, before her face became almost feral with anger.

“Give me the Shard!” She snarled, launching herself at him with supernatural speed.

Wil watched her approach with an almost detached sense, when the image of the Patriarch beside him stepped forward. Wil felt the control of the Golden Mana slip from his grasp, as the Patriarch lifted his hand, guiding the mana to form a large, golden Spell Matrix in the air in front of him. It was impossibly complicated, a Tier 9 spell that Wil had no hope or experience of replicating.

Made of millions of runes and symbols, swirls, and lines, it even contained words in languages that Wil had never seen before. Staring at the Matrix, he felt a pain building in his skull as his mind was unable to comprehend the knowledge he was seeing. It was esoteric, arcane, and impenetrable.

“The incantation, Wil. You know it.” The Patriarch whispered into his mind, and Wil instantly knew the words.

“Imprisonment.” Wil whispered, and the incantation caused the Spell Matrix to burn with a blinding light. The matrix formed golden chains that shot forward, wrapping tightly around Desire, halting her charge. One chain snaked its way across her torso, while four more bound her limbs tightly.

Desire screamed as she was forced to kneel on the ground, the golden chains burning the black mana away from her body. Her crimson eyes stared at Wil with hatred, as another chain wrapped around her neck and mouth, preventing her from speaking.

Wil stood, watching impassively as the Rank 19 Desire was subdued with a single spell from the Patriarch. Although he was only present in a small Shard of Divinity, it contained enough strength that she was unable to fight back.

The guild members, still protected by the ‘Prismatic Barrier’, watched in awe as the magic restrained her. Few had every witnessed magic at the Demigod rank.

Staring into her mad eyes, Wil recalled the intense sorrow felt by the Patriarch at his failure. Holding a hand over his heart, the mana still raging within him, he looked away from Desire, locking eyes with the ghostly figure of the Patriarch standing before him.

“Can she be saved?” Wil asked, thinking of the poor young woman from the Patriarch’s vision. It may be foolish of him, but he couldn’t help but want to save the infected woman before him, if he could.

“She can. You’ve seen the spell in my past.” The Patriarch responded, nodding his head.

“And it will only cost my life and soul?” Wil frowned at the thought. He wanted to save her but sacrificing himself for Desire was more than he was willing to give.

“No, you are unable to perform ‘Wish’, not as you are now. But with my Shard, you can use a lesser version of it, although it will sacrifice the Shard. With it, you can become a demigod, Wil. You can truly become my successor. All my knowledge would be yours.” The Patriarch advised.

“I’ve always sought power through my own efforts. No shortcuts, deals or offers. Tell me how to perform the spell.” Wil stated.

The Patriarch was silent for a moment, appraising the young man in front of him, before breaking into a wide smile.

“Excellent. Very good! As expected of my successor. I am very proud of you, Wil. You’re destined for great and wonderful things! We’ve never taken the easy way forward, it’s overcoming adversity that makes us strong, Wil. Remember that.” The Patriarch whispered, resting a hand on Wil’s shoulder.

In a flash of light, the other man was gone, and the partial Spell Matrix for ‘Wish’ appeared in his mind. The golden mana within him swirled, eager to be released. Raising his hands, Wil guided the mana into the air in front of him.

Trapped, Desire was bathed in a golden glow, while the Guild observers watched as a massive Spell Matrix appeared in the air above them. This new Matrix made the previous one small and simple in comparison.

The Shard within Wil continued to pour out mana, before starting to shake and move. With a mind of its own, the Shard exited Wil’s body, floating gently in the air, and taking its place at the very center of a complicated web of magic.

Inside his body, Wil felt the Core within him reform, larger and stronger than it had been. Its diamond shape remained, but it was now filled with golden mana.

Seeing the spell matrix complete in the air before him, Wil paused for a moment, thinking of the oath the Patriarch had spoken, one that he shared as well. With a deep breath, Wil stared at the trapped, infected woman in front of him, and made his wish.