CHAPTER 84.

After so long their chase had finally come to an end. Even though tracking the woman shouldn’t have been that hard, it turned out to be. While getting her mana signal had been hard enough, given they had to find the remains of Ranir to do so, there was also finding her⁠— they had chased her all the way to the Great Desert, and when they finally reached her, she ran.

All while they had to fight a necromancer and a troublesome accursed monster, one that had injured Zodos and forced him to rest for an entire day due to the plague it carried. Then, after they set off again, turns out the woman had ended up inside the Grand Dungeon of Torl. Whether she had ran there for shelter or went there to train, Zodos didn’t know nor did he care.

All he knew was that, even after they ventured a few floors into the dungeon there was still no sign of her. So instead, they decided to await for her to return to the city, and now, finally she was back. Finally, they would end this once in for all. As curious as he was, Zodos just wanted to get this mission over with.

He shivered remembering how angry Master Dargon had been at him, even though he was collected usually, that time he felt like he was going to truly die. And he didn’t blame the higher ups for punishing him in such a way for his failure⁠— after all, they had lost a pivotal artifact to their plans. But he had been given a chance at redemption, and he wasn’t going to waste it. He didn’t dare to be cocky, not when it could compromise his mission.

While he wondered about whether she was affiliated with the red Primordial Spirit of the tower near the capital, or the purple primordial of the desert, he didn’t consider it important or a factor right now. He did not plan on capturing her either. In fact, he didn’t even think about killing or taking the elf if she complied⁠— even if said elf knew about the Arcane Council for some reason. All because the

“So, will you do this nicely this time around?” Zodos asked. “We will spare your friend and disappear upon obtaining what we want.”

Amber frowned. “And you are telling the truth?”

Zodos laughed at that. “We are in the brink of a city invasion, in fact⁠— in just a few minutes the army will storm this plaza. The last thing we want is to face an army even if we are strong enough to take a good amount of them. So, what do you say?”

The elf was gritting his teeth. “Amber, it’s better if I get killed⁠— you do not understand what is at stake here.”

Zodos however ignored the comment and turned towards Amber, the woman they had been hunting down all this time just to obtain a single object from her.

“So?”

In response, she extended her hand as a cube appeared, except it looked deformed⁠— almost as if it had parts that slid out of its shape, other than that it looked just as unassuming as he remembered it.

“This is what you want right?” she asked. “It’s kind of broken, but here—”

And she tossed it at incredible speeds towards Ner, Zodos grinned at that as Ner reached to take it and at that moment, Amber appeared inbetween Ner and the elf. She kicked the elf away causing him to grunt and then she punched Ner with an uppercut, hitting his barrier and instantly cracking it.

The mage reeled back and Zodos instantly snapped, raising his staff as Amber caught the cube.

“⁠—you can have it if you kill me.”

“You bitch!” Zodos screamed as his mana flared. He had to kill her, which is why he used one of his strongest spells from the get go⁠—

Black Lightning!

And he swung his staff, blasting her with a flash of darkness as a thunderous sound echoed.

The woman took it head on, having wasted her movement skill. Zodos grinned, that was a clear hit that would most certainly get her in a bad state. The last time they faced her she was struggling so much against the both of them, even if she had managed to injure Ner, it was clear to him that she lacked vitality.

Even if she was now level 160 somehow, his attack would still hurt her considerably. He grinned and the smoke dissipated as Amber stood there, her armor charred and some of her skin superficially burned, but aside from that she was wholly unscathed.

She is way too unexpectedly durable. Zodos frowned at that. So it won’t be easy and with this impending army…

“Ner, protect me.”

“Tsk.”

Zodos summoned a blue bead, a mana stone, causing Amber to raise a brow and immediately dash towards him, but Ner was faster. He hit the butt of his staff against the ground as an array of barriers appeared, blocking Amber as she swung, breaking through two at once. All while Zodos charged the marble in his grip.

Amber used⁠— magic.

Zodos froze as he saw a flash of white accompanied by blue, all of the barriers shattering as the marble on his hand exploded. And then, the blast reached him, breaking through his personal barrier and sending him back with a small grunt of pain.

But it was done.

Thankfully, the injuries were minor⁠— as terrifying as it had been. Zodos smiled as a blue dome was erected around the plaza, keeping everyone entrapped. The sight of that made Amber pause.

“Now, you most certainly can’t run. And unless you are level 250 you are most certainly not getting out of this barrier.” He grinned. “You are trapped here with us.”

“Is that so? Kind of annoying that I can’t exactly leave as soon as possible, but will the barrier end when you die?”

Zodos grinned. “Maybe it will, or maybe it has a time limit. Either way, we have ways of leaving, and you on the other hand don’t.”

“I see. So with the necromancer were you the one to deal the finishing blow or was the other guy?”

Zodos blinked. Was she seriously so concerned her dead friend over her life? Still, he laughed.

“I was the one that tortured him to get to know where you went off to. And even as he died he refused to say anything.”

She frowned. “Guess I'll kill you first then.”

And before he could react, Amber appeared in front of him and reached a blue flaming hand, one that broke through his barrier immediately⁠— magic…? Zodos blocked with his staff. No⁠— that’s something else… a warrior skill?

He didn’t understand the nature of the blue fire, but he knew that whatever it was, he didn’t want to be touched by it. Thankfully, he had a whole Legacy Branch and class to help him. First was his class, he was a Lightning Touched Seeker, a class specializing in lightning spells with some tools to scout for people.

And because of that he could⁠—

Blink.

Zodos appeared across the barrier and then reached his palm out into the air, his mana wildly gathered as it didn’t have a staff to conduct it. Normally for mages this was a big nono, it would cause your magic to backfire on you, but for Zodos.

He brought his flickering hand and electrocuted himself⁠—

It’s just what he wanted.

His entire body convulsed for a fraction of a second, and already Amber was on him, but he⁠— jolted. His staff easily blocked, and even though he easily lost the battle of strength, in terms of speed he was⁠—

He headbutted the woman causing her to⁠— not move as a sharp pain banged through Zodos’ head.

Why the fuck is it so hard? His physical attributes weren’t even bad! He reeled with a headache as he barely dodged Amber which if wasn’t from his Legacy Branch, Momentum Dynamo ⁠— which increased all of his attributes when receiving electric charges and also healed him ⁠— he’d be fucking dead. He estimated a lot of her stats post enhancements were in the four digits⁠, and more than at just one-thousand.

Ridiculous. He had the perfect class and the perfect Legacy Branch and yet some no name girl was stronger than him at a lower level? No, she had to have a flaw. He glanced over at Ner, who had healed himself. Right now, it was a losing battle, but realistically speaking they were both much higher level than this girl. So, he shared a glance as he raised one of his brows fractionally at him⁠— a signal which made his companion pause but immediately nod.

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“You know, you are much stronger than any mage I’ve fought, your companion was weak in comparison,” she said.

Zodos clicked his tongue. Ranir would’ve been just as strong as him at this point in time if he hadn’t died, but he didn’t bother to correct the warrior. Instead, he focused on dodging her stupidly fast swings before he hissed.

“Shock⁠—”

A blast of blue engulfed the woman, momentarily stunning⁠— and she cut through the smoke, slashing his chest shallowly. Zodos paused as he saw purple embers and felt his blood thin. A curse. She bore curses. Were the blue flames a curse…? He didn’t know but he didn’t want to find out.

Zodos frowned and decided to coat his staff in electricity, constantly shocking the woman, but aside from very small slow downs that gradually came to nothing. His attacks didn’t seem to be doing anything, really which aggravated him. Other than having connections with Primordial Spirits he couldn’t see how she would attain such rare and sophisticated advancements.

But, that didn’t matter, because he would win.

He glanced over at his companion, who was preparing a spell. Except, it wasn’t exactly aimed at Amber, but at him, and Amber stomped.

Zodos flinched and she stabbed him through the stomach as he paused⁠— seeing a burst of blood. What… He clicked his tongue, as he held onto the sword. The woman had a vicious grin, and she whispered.

“Flamethrower.”

“NOW!” Zodos screamed.

And Ner blasted him with electricity as purple fire consumed him. In an instant, the forces threatening to kill him were extinguished and he flared his magic towards Amber⁠— White Breaker⁠— and a blast of white engulfed the woman. One that engulfed everything in a cone and caused the barrier in the distance to crack.

It was an attack that reached well into level 200.

He grinned, as the white dissipated. Panting. Thankfully, his Legacy Branch had completely wiped off the curses of his body, otherwise he would be in quite a bad shape otherwise. Still, he was happy. Even if the woman had survived she was very injured.

Zodos grinned as he saw the smoke clear and he saw her shoulder, it was bright red and her armor was missing.

Still alive but greviously injured⁠—

And she swung, her armor visibly began to regenerate and reconnect as her skin visibly healed before her very eyes.

“That was stronger than the beam of the Abyssal Briroar, or just as strong⁠— good job.”

Zodos and Ner blinked.

The woman was back to peak form a few mere moments later. For a moment, Zodos felt panic, but he quickly gathered himself, his companion however seemed to be shaking. And he didn’t blame him. Even if Zodos wanted to underestimate her more. She was truly a monster. Even though he couldn’t wrap his head around her power increase⁠— in fact, it was nothing short of bullshit⁠— he still accepted it.

She was a monster to be taken down, and he’d bring her body along for investigation. Perhaps they’d be able to glean quite a lot of things.

“Ner, we are using everything.”

His companion blinked. “Everything, but she is⁠—”

“Treat her as a level 200 plus,” Zodos said sharply, which caused his companion to tense up and nod.

He was a logical fighter, that’s why he was the leader of his group⁠— even if only Ner remained now⁠— so he didn’t dare underestimate this woman any longer. Instead, he decided that he was going to end her. No underestimation, no anything⁠— perhaps she might not be actually stronger than him, perhaps she was just using a temporary enhancement of some king, but none of that mattered⁠, because at this moment she was a monster.

Zodos immediately summoned a cursed tincture, one that carried the Curse of Continous Volts⁠— something that essentially constantly electrocuted whomever was affected by it. Amber of course rushed to stop him, but Zodos braced himself and took the stomp, then chugged it as he barely dodged being beheaded.

But it didn’t stop there, he used his increased speed to chug a potion of Regeneration, an elixir of Swiftness, an elixir of Conductivity⁠— he enhanced his body with the alchemy that was specifically made for him. His attributes hit a new high as he easily dodged Amber and he pointed his staff.

“Blue⁠—”

And Amber looked at him as he tensed, and with her glance the Curse of Continuous Volts completely shut down⁠— what. And she slashed, but an explosion hit him⁠— narrowly saving his life as he hit the wall in pain. But for a moment Zodos was shocked⁠— she had taken control of the curses in his body.

Still, he didn’t understand why she was targeting him and only him, but soon enough it clicked⁠— perhaps she remembered⁠— that Ner had a lot of curses at his disposal, and considering she was very obviously a Cursebearer—

No, it wasn't that. It was the fact that she said she would kill him first as an act of revenge.

Does that mean she thinks she can easily defeat us? The mere thought humiliated him, and angered him, causing him to get up as he raised his hand and electrocuted himself again.

His stats spiked, and Amber swung upon him but this time when he defended, her eyes flickered.

“On second thought, I’m sure you’ll feel a lot more despair if I kill your companion first,” she said and then appeared right next to Ner.

She reached for him, breaking through his barrier in a single moment, and Zodos panicked. This wasn’t part of the plan. Considering all their strategies hinged on him to kill Amber, this was bad.

Zodos screamed swinging his staff.

“Extinguish!”

Then a blast of lightning hit Amber, but she still basically ignored it as she grabbed onto Ner, causing the man to shiver.

“I’ve got you,” she whispered.

And the flames began to consume his companion.

Shit⁠— in response Zodos took out another tincture with the Curse of Continous Volts and⁠— threw it. It zipped through the air, hitting Ner and splashing onto him, but Zodos didn’t stop there as he threw other things that manifested curses, all of them aimed at his companion, all while also triggering his Legacy Branch.

The woman immediately frowned and called out, manifesting a skill that Zodos had never seen before⁠—

“Battery.”

An explosion engulfed the both of them, one that most certainly terrified him, but one that wasn’t going to work this time around.

Zodos grinned, and just when the woman was about to use her following attack, she paused sensing something amiss⁠—

“You are a Cursebearer⁠—”

And Ner, in response, grinned teleporting away and landing next to Zodos. Amber dashed to stop it, but it was too late.

Ner tapped his shoulder and whispered.

“Unleash⁠—”

An explosion of electricity exploded, hitting Amber and Zodos’ stats skyrocketed. He was a mage in nature but his classes allowed him to⁠— surpass warriors. He used blink, landing behind Amber as he balled his fist, and then⁠— punched. His Strength stat went well over three-thousand as it broke through her spine.

Then, he pushed⁠— he had to do more. In order to truly kill her he had to do even more. Overload⁠— the electricity coursing his body doubled, making him grunt in pain. He became just as bright as a Primordial Spirit and Amber tried to escape via her dash ability, but Zodos already appeared in front of her and and knee⁠’d.

At that moment, he had over 1500% bonus attribute points in all stats. That was what it meant to be a member of the Arcane Council, the perfect classes and Legacy Branches for each individual⁠— it meant that they could fight dozens of levels above their class, and in his case⁠—

He could fight a whole advancement above him.

Amber hit the dome with an ear-shattering bang, causing it to crack like a massive spiderweb, but he didn’t stop there. Zodos prepared his fist, and began to chant. He had to do more, he had to go all in in order to kill this woman.

He didn’t care if the attack hurt him, or if it shortened his life-span, or even if it had a ten percent chance to stop his heart⁠— he didn’t care about anything as his mission became merely killing the woman.

“[System, grant me thy strength⁠—]”

While to him it his chant was at normal speed, to the outside world it was at lightning speed.

“[The strength to end this monster, the strength to—]”

And this time, it would kill this woman, now that she had no ways to escape. She put her sword and Zodos⁠—

“[Become Justice]!”

Punched.

Her high tier sword immediately snapped in half and his fist dug into her stomach with a loud explosion, the barrier that was supposed to contain level 250 attacks exploded and Amber went flying into a building with a loud rumble.

Zodos held the pose as his body cooled down, and a moment later he wobbled in his spot. He was level 195, and even then he had to try that hard…

It was ridiculous.

He let out a deep breath as his partner, Ner appeared next to him to support him from falling. All while the elf was staring in shock in the sidelines. His eyes completely wide at what he had just witnessed.

Zodos grinned. “Now it’s time to recover that cube⁠—”

And a crack came from the rubble. He blinked as he saw a blue light, and from within he saw the woman, she was badly burned, her bones were showing and yet⁠— the flesh was visibly regenerating before their eyes. It was as if she was unkillable. And a blue bow of flames was aimed at them.

The two paled and she loosed it.

“Blink⁠—”

“Step⁠—”

The two used their movement abilities and the arrow hit their spot, causing a rippling blue explosion⁠— one they couldn’t quite run away from.

Zodos and Ner went flying hitting a wall, bleeding heavily with burns all over their body. The monster that was Amber stepped out and at that moment, Overload ended as his attributes halved, and he threw up a mouthful of blood. Zodos looked up at the woman with quaking eyes.

How is she even alive…?

And then, he saw her blue flaming bow with another arrow, ready to fire.

Zodos’ eyes went wide. “You can’t be serious.”