"Lightning god!"

The sky screamed. Dark gray clouds lit up like a purple sun. Lightning wriggled around the clouds like hundreds of devilish purple snakes moving at a speed difficult to perceive with the naked eye.

Hundreds of shields appeared directly in front of Darien as defending mages had prepared in advance releasing their spells the moment the Emperor started to chant.

Earth, ice, fire, and wind: shields of every form were made in a desperate attempt to block the enormous bolt of lightning. Undeterred by the myriad of defensive spells in place, the 6th Circle purple bolt pierced through them all like a sword through paper, aiming directly for a waiting Darien.

"Oh spirit of living fire, hear my call! Open your maw and fill your belly! Let the Salamander feast on all magic! Maw of the Salamander!"

A small white Salamander head manifested in front of Darien. Immediately after opening its tiny mouth, the bolt was drawn dead center in the Salamander's mouth. The terrifying lightning vanished as though the force of nature had never existed at all.

When the Salamander absorbed the spell, its pin-sized head grew explosively, inflating rapidly to the size of a person. It exploded, and the tail end of the lightning bolt continued toward Darien, nothing impeding it further.

"Flame Whip!"

Joseph met the lightning bolt with a spell of his own. The flame whip exploded in contact with the bolt doing little to stop its advance. A ring on Joseph's right thumb turned to dust, and an earth dome covered the both of them. Shards of dense small rocks were scattered in every direction by the resulting explosion, one of which sliced into Darien's face.

The Emperor began to chant something else, "Oh spirit of old, one who reigns in the clouds above! Hand me your Scepter. Lend me your spear!"

Darien's chest felt congested under the consumption of the potion. Pain pulsed from his throat to his chest and belly; pain, he used to focus. Gripping his pendant, he chanted, "I call upon the Great Spirit of fire! Manifest the Salamander, breathe into him your life and breathe out the spirit's flames! Let his wrath be known!"

"Spear of Zef!"

"Salamander!"

The Emperor finished his incantation first. The cloud was glowing gold as the lightning formed and then descended. Unlike the dense purple used previously, this lightning was as thin as a needle, and the sky hummed as though in pain from the spell's force.

Decisively, the pendant in Darien's hand was crushed, and his beam of iridescent flames grew hotter and faster. Blood leaked out of Darien's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as the stress of the spell hurt his soul.

The two spells collided recklessly, causing a deafening shockwave. Mages tried to take advantage, sending a swarm of fireballs at the Emperor, but random bolts of electricity shot out of the cloud cover, protecting him.

Fire and electricity pushed against each other unnaturally with enough force and heat to imitate the sun. The struggle didn't last long, and one spell broke through...

Watching from a rooftop, Darius looked in horror as the sky cracked open with a brilliant purple light. Hundreds of spells tried to defend against that light, but all of them crumbled and burned away, unable to slow it down. Darius recalled a cultivator he had fought once long ago. That cultivator had an annoying sword that spewed lightning every time he swung it. At the time, Darius ignored the lightning, letting it hit his skin. All it did was numb his skin. It was about as dangerous as a fly.

What he saw now was different. Darius gripped his chest. Memories forced their way into his mind.

Ba-bump.

Before he cultivated, he had a family. A mother, a father, a sister, and a farm.

Ba-bump.

A wandering acolyte asked to use their home to rest. They said they had just come from a long journey. It was impossible to say no to cultivators.

Ba-bump.

He watched as the acolyte took an interest in his mother. His father tried to stop it.

Ba-bump.

"_____ RUN!" He didn't remember his old name. He never really questioned why, but he could remember his house burning to the ground while the acolyte was covered in blood. His expression was as though he just dealt with an annoying mosquito rather than another human being.

The blood covering his white robes was more important to deal with than the insect he perceived Darius to be. He left Darius and went to clean himself rather than stay in such a dirty place any longer.

Ba-bump.

He was three when it happened.

He was three now.

An old grizzled voice spoke within his mind saying one word.

"NO."

It shook him to his core. He repeated that word in his head again and again like a broken parrot. An image formed in his mind, and his magic followed his will. A grizzly scarred man stood atop a mountaintop shirtless. He gazed at some abysmal creature looking straight into its eyes; the horrible monstrosity seemed even greater than the golden monster before him.

The grizzled man lowered his body, and Darius did the same. His calves inflated as Qi and blood powered his muscles with tremendous strength. All of the muscles in Darius' body activated: from his facial muscles to the tips of his toes.

The wind naturally gathered around his feet like an elastic spring ready to shoot forward, and the rooftop he stood on sank as it shifted to earth and did the same. Fire gathered at the tip of the wind and ignited. The man on the mountaintop leaped; the tip of the mountain broke off from the force of his jump. Darius jumped.

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He traveled at a speed that would shred his body to ribbons if he made a single mistake in his execution. His father quickly came into view as he drew closer. His father barely managed to block the first bolt that fell, and the blond man was already chanting again. Gold shimmered and flashed in the clouds.

The sky fell.

Jamie made it to the outskirts of Alicia before it was razed by whatever threat was approaching. Storm clouds were drawing so close that they were practically right over the city. The clouds would constantly spark with purple electricity. Jamie looked toward the center of the storm and the lowering figure that followed. He knew the reason the compass shone red now.

"The Emperor... guess... guess that makes sense, shit." Jamie wasn't ready to give up. He wasn't the target of the battle. It meant he still had a chance. Jamie was just an observer, a vulture of sorts in this kind of engagement, but vultures always found their chance.

He went the long way around the city walls looking for a good spot behind the Emperor. Jamie decided there was no issue watching the battle. If he watched the battle there could be an opportunity to get rid of the Emperor, but even if there were no opportunity, he'd gather important information before anyone else. It was a win-win as long as he didn't get too close to the battlefield.

Jamie stared at the Emperor pompously floating up in the sky. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Emperor and then at his compass, looking for any change in color.

Darien had been making strides toward 6th Circle magic. He had never attempted the spell matrix for a 6th Circle spell nor the incantation, as he was still lacking a little bit of mana. Darien could feel the barrier. He was close. Recently he'd grown a lot after going through a few dangerous battles. His stagnant magic grew beautifully under pressure, but... it mattered little right now as he barely had enough mana to cast a 5th Circle spell.

Darien used the pendant to bridge the gap. It was the most valuable item in his possession. It could increase the rank of a spell, any spell, by one rank. James had given it to him decades ago, before a monster wave, but he had never needed it. The red jewel placed square in the middle of the pendant turned to dust as his already overloaded spell increased in rank.

At first, his flames kept up with the Emperor's spell, but the Emperor hadn't used an ordinary 6th Circle spell either. He had casually cast a 6th Circle spell with but two words, and this spell required from him an entire incantation, the power was evident.

The iridescent flames lost the struggle as they were pierced through like a ship wading through a wave in the ocean. Jamie desperately tried to protect him, as did Tobias, Vince, and countless others. Darien thought, "This is the end." He had no mana or enchantments left.

The bolt of lightning seemed slow. "Impossible." He thought.

From the corner of his eye was a red blur. It stood in front of him with animal-like ferocity.

...

"Darius? How did he get here? Why... When did..." He was on all fours glaring up at the lightning, using his body to protect his father.

Darien moved.

He cast magic instinctively, using the only form of energy left in his body, his soul. Seeing his child about to die in front of him allowed him to feel his soul for the first time. There was no time for a chant. A picture of a Salamander went through his mind once more.

Small, insignificant, and all but invisible, the spell manifested. Golden lightning struck the Salamander's head which popped like a bubble floating above a bathtub. He redirected the resulting explosion onto himself and above as the energy needed someplace to go. Seeing his son standing there, he felt no fear or anger not even regret. Just a desire to protect him, to love him. He couldn't say it. But he was proud of his son. The world went black, and he could see no more.

Joseph looked in horror as Darius suddenly appeared in front of them. There wasn't enough time to process it, nor was it even worth the brainpower.

Gold lightning broke through.

It was over.

There was no way Joseph would get out of this unscathed he was too close to the impact. This was the end. Then the unbelievable happened. A spell matrix formed in front of Darien and caught the rest of the lightning. His spell burst and Darien went flying off the wall and towards the city. Joseph used every ounce of will he had to cast a spell on time. A wind wall formed at the greatest extent of his spell-casting range. Blood seeped out of his mouth at the stress.

Darien slammed into the wind ball before sliding off and falling toward the earth. He tried to cast another spell, but pain shot through his chest, halting him. Luckily he wasn't alone; Tobias leaped off the wall, water wrapping around his body before extending toward Darien catching him gently. Slowly he was placed on the ground.

Joseph didn't dare look more than that. He returned his attention to the Emperor, rage filling his heart. The Emperor hadn't cast anything else after that last spell. His hands were shaking, and his breathing was heavy. The Emperor must've thought his last spell would have ended everything cleanly. Joseph smelled weakness.

Joseph narrowed his eyes and screamed, "ATTACK!". A red-haired brat jumped off the city walls, but Joseph ignored him. He had to deal with something far more consequential. His hand pointed toward the Emperor, and a fireball screamed through the air with hundreds of others. He had overburdened himself, and this was all he could cast.

Hundreds of spells: fireballs, spears of ice, wind blades, boulders, and even arrows flew at the Emperor filling the sky. Joseph watched the Emperor as part of the storm cloud came down to protect him. Not a single spell broke through the wriggling electricity, but Joseph knew he had smelled weakness. "PRESSURE HIM!" As though a fire was lit underneath the defender's asses all of Elion's mages and knights and even some of Aye's cast spells without pause.

The Emperor bellowed, "ENOUGH!" Lightning exploded in every direction catching hundreds in its path on the ground, but with a singular focus, the mages kept attacking.

"Lightning chain!"

Dozens were turned to ash and killed, but the intensity of the Emperor's magic had dropped significantly. His gaze immediately rested on Joseph as a lightning bolt formed in his hand. He pulled back his hand as far as it would go and threw. Something flashed from the forest the same instant as a massive blade of wind struck the Emperor. Joseph barely managed to dodge the lightning, but was blown off the city wall and fell toward the earth losing consciousness. His battle had ended.

Jamie saw his chance. Even after he saw the unbelievable exchange between the Salamander and the Emperor's spell, he refused to move. His compass still showed red. Glancing back and forth between his compass and the nightmare floating in the sky, Jamie prepared a spell, Wind Guillotine. A 4th Circle spell with considerable speed and power. When the Emperor pulled back his arm and threw a lightning bolt at the city wall, the compass finally changed colors. Red became orange, and Jamie took his chance. There wouldn't be a better chance than that.

"Guillotine."

He dashed forward under the effects of several spells while he finished activating his 4th Circle spell. His speed was extraordinary, but the Emperor wasn't that easy to ambush.

He turned around with a shocked expression casting a bolt of lightning directly at Jamie with an inhuman reaction time. His chest was pierced by the bolt thankfully missing his heart.

Jamie couldn't move his muscles, but his course had already been set. His spell missed the Emperor's head, but as the Emperor pulled backward he managed to cut through the Emperor's right hand severing it. It flew through the air covering Jamie in warm blood before cutting deeply into his chest. The Emperor's robes were stained red, and Jamie fell to the ground while encasing himself in an earth dome. The Emperor was about to retaliate but saw more flags coming out of the forest. More reinforcements had come.

The Emperor clicked his tongue before diving toward his falling hand and catching it. He had to leave. Despite his throbbing wrist and chest, he couldn't help but smile. while looking at the city of Alicia one last time, "I got what I came here for. If I want any more, I'm only being greedy." He looked at his severed hand with a slightly annoyed look before flying away; at a speed impossible to keep track of.

He was gone.

Cheers broke out. The Emperor was routed, and the battle was won.

Darius rushed to his father. Tears had already begun to soak his face causing his vision to blur. His chest hurt not just from a strained soul, but something more. He arrived at his father's side. Tobias wept as he held his father's body in his arms. His father's hair was white, and his chest was burned black. There was no sign of his glasses, and blood was dripping from every orifice Darius could see. He just lay there still as the earth he rested on.

Darius couldn't move as his thoughts grew chaotic, "This isn't possible! I made a vow! I made a promise!"

A voice echoed from deep within, "Move." It was grizzled, old, and commanding. His tears stopped as though a dam had closed his tear ducts for him. If Tobias weren't in the middle of grief-driven wails, he might have caught Darius' face change. It warped, turning cold and uncaring as he walked toward his father.

He wasn't sure what came over him, but a memory briefly flashed in his mind.

"Why must I learn medicine? What good will it do when I fight beasts more often than man?"

"Beast King, you can't be serious? Cultivators spend an eternity learning about every aspect of the human body. It's practically intrinsic that we learn to fix it."

"Useless. Bahhh! Waste of my time. Thousand Roses, next time you ask me to talk about something important don't bring up any ridiculous nonsense. I know my own body well enough, I need not know any more than that."

"If you learn medicine, it will improve your martial prowess. I know you've been stuck lately, and I guarantee this will open your eyes a bit." The shirtless lump of meat that Darius used to be said, "Fine, but if I feel like I'm wasting my time. I'll leave."

Darius placed his hand on his father's chest. Tobias barely noticed him. There was no heartbeat.

"Beast King acupuncture with just a little bit of Qi can heal almost any ailment or disease. With training, there are even some who can restore limbs alone with Qi if you can believe it."

Qi flowed through my hand and into my father's chest. It was normally impossible to extend Qi outside of one's body until after the Foundation Establishment stage, but for reasons, I couldn't understand, I was able to do so now. My Qi gently wrapped around my father's heart, and I stimulated it.

I forced his heart to beat, and then I did the same for his lungs. The Damage was severe. His organs were badly damaged.

Maybe in Beast King's prime, he could have done something more, but Darius couldn't do more. All he could do was restart his father's heart and lungs. Everything else would be up to his father.

Cough!

His father began breathing on his own, making Tobias look down at him. Tobias shouted at the top of his lungs, "He's alive! Healer! Qu-Quickly! Bring a healer!"

Darius fell on top of his father's chest, his soul badly mangled, and his mind full of fog. His emotions returned, and he cried while falling asleep on top of his father. His soul and body returned to balance once more.

"Thousand Roses... This is boring..."

"Trust me, Beast King. One day you will thank me for teaching you this. Seriously how can you call yourself a cultivator if you can't even save a life? At least learn the basics!"