COI C57
The sphere ended as they are reaching closer to the end, setting the total time they set up is under an hour. Almost 24 hours from the sphere, then these people out from the landmark feeling out of place and more importantly in disbelief. Mainly on Coral and at the same time being surrounded by jealous friends that she wore an epic costume.
“You bitch!”
“Please stop, I just recently got out from the sphere”
“You took some pictures of yourself while posing, didn’t you?”
Coral never stops smiling after hearing Iggy crying out those nice pictures she took. Iggy shakes her around to confess about what she had done.
The team talks about the progress they have done.
“Did anyone of you managed to take control of the landmark?”
“I don’t think it’s a victory when using among ourselves as baits”
“At first I have faith that we could make it, then those two appearing from the red portal”
“Two!?”
“Right, U’ecin and Rusic never met the second one. I’m just glad we made it”
Haw gripped his own throat “That second one wouldn’t even give me a chance to fight. It enhanced my poisoned body to pass me out”
“Still, we made it. But what will happen next for the next landmark?”
“Eheh, I guess we did out part, right U’ecin?”
“Honestly, the remaining two landmarks won’t be good with our help. These are from the Demons and the Elves”
The teachers check them as they felt like they already been dead once they fight those mysterious opponents. Haw pulled his recording while the others pulled theirs as well, they have given to them the recorders from what they have seen after the fight with the hordes.
“Here! This is our recordings what happened inside, never would have guessed U’ecin made magic scrolls to record it”
“U’ecin made that? Since when?”
First didn’t believe that U’ecin actually made a recording through the magic scroll, he must have learned it from Isekai City.
Rusic grunted on his learned craftsmanship
“If you work with him for a time, I guess this is his evidence for his self . . . defense”
Haw understood what he meant and let the others to let them wonder why, they might not know how that man kept his weapons washed in blood purposely.
“Nice, thanks! Our scouting probes are gone but we have what we need to watch the videos through our computer”
They tried to convert the magic recording to their computer, as soon as they are excitedly setting up the video. The recording made by U’ecin had security grade that is sealed by the Isekai City police department. Skipping the warning, they finally have to see the rest of their final moments.
Rusic is already near his end, there is no point for him to stay in this sphere nearly blind and his armor is destroyed. Facing a Soulfate man will always never end according to legends, all of them are concern but Coral who is curious of the strange wooden man. Where the landmark being taken away, he must accept his fate.
“I’ll hold this stranger off, leave at least one of you behind to stall it when it chases you”
“Is that thing dangerous, Rusic?”
“There’s no need to worry, lass. They will never come back, except for the others we saw”
The wooden mask man kept transforming itself into the power of soulfate, within itself, and begins bringing out the mana they never knew existed. It wasn’t the time to watch it do anything as everyone starts chasing the obelisk, leaving the dwarf behind where he can’t see it from a far now. Raising his heavy weapons where he needs to find it closely, with every step means the opportunity of the enemy to attack. He moves on the remaining strength he had and the disappointed of his weaken self. His past remembering this legend where even the dwarves won’t try to challenge them. Through his monologue,
“I heard you people are the prime evil’s summons, hearing about you that your souls are fated to become mana. The mana that those demons thrive to control to the almighty, but history told otherwise that you managed to escape the eternal summoning. I want to see it clearly for myself, but I have no reason to risk my life to fight something that feeds mana to live and never dies. Do you hear me!? Say something!? I am wondering myself why my ancestors won’t dare to face a monster like you”
The wooden mask didn’t hear or even notice him, it’s channeling itself through its surroundings. The shamanistic mana is being consumed and analyzed by it, thoroughly seeking deeper for any mana source. The things it needed the most for this soulfate creatures are obviously . . . souls. Blurry to Rusic’s naked eyes, he quickly raised his weapon and smashes the wood in front of him. The splinters scattered and the wooden chips shred or breaks to pieces. Hardly to feel the magic it has, and he couldn’t see if it was a hit or not.
The wooden mask raised its bow and arrow aiming at Rusic, arrows grow and formed on itself disturbingly using its own body as its ammunition. Again, it raises its bow and take aim, it fires at him with his heavy weapon to deflect the projectile. The arrow is bigger than any bolts and arrow put together where it uses its arm as the arrow and kept it growing through its own magic. Rusic got hit where the wooden arrow starts growing on him, the bleeding is being absorb by the grown piece of wood. Rusic can’t believe what he barely sees and forced him to lay down where he felt he was hanged.
The growing wooden arrow starts to flourish through his own blood, thoroughly fades him out from the sphere any seconds. The limits of the dwarves are tremendous, even bleeding wasn’t much of a pain for him to endure. The wood turns into crimson tree where it looks like a crabapple tree. The wooden mask tries to take his soul, but he is already gone leaving the residue of his existence. The crimson tree lost its color returned to its original look, dark grey as dead of any trees, and quickly withers into ashes back to it. It’s done for its first target and continue to hunt the others.
The team is rushing towards their goals, U’ecin looks back where the haste of roots growing to chase them. It wasn’t that long where they left Rusic behind, it is certain that the legend it true. Nothing will make it stop and neither will it satisfy when it is being controlled. U’ecin slows down and left his team, trying to stall it without them noticing. Coral’s shadow spots him leaving them and signals Coral, she stops and sees U’ecin already being surrounded by roots.
“U’ecin!”
“Go! There is nothing you could do to stop it”
Leaving him behind made her grew wary, it is something she was traumatized seeing them left behind. Makes her remember her guilt, Haw pulled her as they don’t have much time if anything like that will come at them.
“It’s alright, we are inside the sphere. He’ll be back”
She tries to listen to him and kept it in her mind, the way they are acting now feels like this is no game and her heart starts to hype up from Haw’s looks starting to see his body poisoned through his very veins. It was too surreal to see his expression in pain where his face starts showing symptoms. Finally, they move on.
U’ecin raises his polearm in an attacking stance, never receiving any backlashes from the goblin’s curses and rituals. He sees the arrow coming at him, dodging the size of an arm and arms’ length, raising counter curses within his polearm he disperses the woods coming closer to his team. A counter ritualistic wall appeared the wooden mask appeared with only its mask attached among the roots, where its body hiding from the distance taking aim. It doesn’t matter for U’ecin to win this with stolen rituals, it would be enough for that Soulfate man busily consumes the mana.
Wooden arrow fired at him where he dodges, the wooden pieces start growing wicked hands out from the stolen rituals. It will never stop, and it will never end where this world is fully existed with mana. Either one of them are trapped or U’ecin tries to commit in this artificial world. This fight with the Soulfate man is pointless, only he had to do it to feed it and survive or else his polearm will release the mana of the goblin spirits. Keeps him wondering that it would eat this kind of souls, if he could see it before it kills him.
Within the roots grown wicked limbs from the rituals, U’ecin uses his weapon to cut it down. One by one, it is meaningless for him to stall these counterproductive results. He is skillful enough to dodge all things attacking him, even the far distance of arrows aiming at him. His weapon is nothing, but stolen rituals consumed into his polearm, it cycles back and forth while drains much more than the wooden mask can also cycling all the mana, from existing to dispersing, through his own abilities he had to drain it with this specific weapon.
The dead wood kept growing closer to him where the mana it feasted, the wooden mask keeps him at watch as it stares for any opportunity to take him down. U’ecin swings strongly to every space and tight spots for him to move around. Cutting through the weak wood where the mana is depleted, showing no rest where scatters of splinters won’t stop to be thrown everywhere. He thinks to burn it yet doubting it would have no effect from this living magic. Not even Alga’s light eternalizes the flame when it is out, this monster uses any mana to eternalize instead.
The ceiling is dangling down with its roots where he still can cut it through. The mask appears where he quickly cuts it off out of suspense. An arrow grazes him by the chest where he grabs it in mid-air, the arrow quickly comes alive where he uses to hit the mask. Out of pure malice without him notice, he somehow hits the mask, and something breaks within itself. That hit courses the area around him to wither too fast to nothing, leaving the stolen mana it took released and disappears.
He discovers the weakness of the Soulfate man, using their powers against them, it would take it down. Far away from his team, he can’t tell them about it where the wooden mask recovers like it was stunned for a bit. The pierced mask with its only one eye stares at his eyes, a magic cast on him with fear. Trying to resist the fear, but U’ecin the magic directly harms his mind instead of illusion. He fades away where he reached his limits where the sphere detects him and kicks him out from this world.
The wooden mask not knowing what’s going on where the man vanished, it stops for a bit trying to recover leaving no mana to consume. The roots it brought are coming from above, once again it collects them up again to the surface gathering what mana lies from above. Its patience is artificial, and the search will go on as it reaches itself. The withered roots appeared with more rituals bringing on to it, collecting as much as it has to have the energy to go on. It’s mask stares toward the dark space with its one eye, already know what it is staring at.
The team sees the obelisk in front of them, an obvious space around them that they know already going to happened. A dome sized open space; Coral thought it too why it is so generic, but she imagined what goblins do. Yet, it felt like it was meant for her to do it here and her shadow starts to darken in all of its surrounding. Haw took a first step by running at it, he is weighing out from the poison. Nothing else for this man to continue on and he can only use his bracers to fight. Nothing, his potions are nothing, empty, everything he had in his magic bag is nothing but his clothes, clean, a metaphor for demons to call him as easy prey.
Haw accidentally trips down where the glows of his veins already ruptured the poison and the curses. The lit itself with a green light attracts nobody around in this opened room, Coral runs to him seeing him reaching his limits. First stops Seconds as they have to move closely to the walls, reluctant for the support to see this plan to be taken out one by one. They have no other weapons against that Soulfate man, and even their magic would be too reckless after they heard the legend. Who would be this serious enough to be inside the sphere to a phenomenon that no longer exist?
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“Haw! Hey! Wake up, damn it! I don’t like this plan at all”
Coral sees her companions separated where the obelisk already on the move, the Agatheans already left them behind seeing the only two are here. Haw’s stubbornness kept him existing, the poison he reacted to is nothing but an ailment for him. The sphere is closing in to him to leave. Then the room starts to rain down, weird fluids dropping. Haw looks up and Coral followed.
“Rain? It rains . . . blood!?”
Another red portal appears, and another one is coming for them.
Or maybe, it prepares itself. The sphere took control of it, trying to protect itself from what they are trying to get. Light rain drops kept falling where the portal didn’t make the sound like the wooden mask appeared, but they didn’t know the portal is shredding something like the wooden mask. If it’s blood raining, it must be a living thing going through with their bodies torn to shreds. Coral readies herself and pulled Haw to her as they are going to fight it, win or lose, the Agatheans must succeed, or they have to face it again.
“Get ready Haw, I don’t think I could help you after this”
“It’s alright, if anything happens. I'll find a way to help you”
She smiles “Then show it”
The dome starts to change lighting where the magic shines through the rituals but now consumed by the Soulfate man. The air starts to have colors, purplish or blackish or even violet all together, their breathes show the color where the fog is formed. A different form of Soulfate man comes to them, they see a woman figure with itself having long hair. Its feminine eyes are violet but the clothes it wears hid her gender with layers of robes.
Its left arm is crystalized and contained large amount of mana. A weapon appeared next to it replicating the weapon what Coral has.
“That’s sword, but . . .”
It wasn’t the same long sword, longer, longer than she could ever remember who can use it. Haw looks at it that is beyond the realism of what Horsin's weapon existed. It didn’t even give them the chance to witness it where it is already in use in a familiar stance. Setting the blade, ko gasumi, the Soulfate woman quickly charges at them. Coral was shocked but saved from her shadow and blocks it.
The technique follows along the magic with violet trails. The same magic Coral did to the spirits, no doubt in her mind that woman mimics everything what she had in mind. Haw feels the violet silhouette purging him, that short feeling after her shadow saves them. It is no doubt it copies her own moves.
“Coral . . .”
“I know, it is copying me”
“Ok, you know. Let's see how you can face it”
“It’s alright, you can leave the sphere. This is too intense facing my identical twin”
Covered by her helmet only showing her happy eyes, then turned back to the enemy with her shadow. She isn’t please how her favorite iconic weapon is used instead of her.
Doing the same stance against the Soulfate woman, the appearance of it deciphered as violet widen long robe and the iconic signature is its crystalized left arm. Telling that she is no normal human like the wooden mask, the image of a hybrid mage is enough for her to understand what it is. Her shadow leaves the combat as Coral strikes forward leaving her own trails of magic. The mage defends itself, blocking every hidden strike from her. Flashes of strikes are all over the mage where the two pose a bit as they sheathed their weapons. Shattering all around them like glass, the two see how much potential they are gotten.
Coral turns as it is and both stare at each other, all gathered their powers again menacingly appeared their magical auras. Both sides easy define and shines tremendously out of the ordinary, both quickly clashes violet and black outlines versus black and white outlines, though both magic seem to be equal. Hardly, the mage is consuming her mana. Limiting to the magic it released showing itself as no threat, the armor was made against them, and nothing will destroy them. Every swing forever misses as they dodge chaotically, and no signs of stopping.
Coral side stepping all the way then counters, and it repeats the same as her. Her shadow comes in and inflict damage to its crystallized arm, she gained an advantage as its arm gone. The shattered arm stays in mid air where she passed through it. Only with one arm the mage calls its fragment back. Coral gets hit from the back with shrapnel of crystals, her armor endured it and keep piercing through her torso. Swiftly coming back standing, the mage’s magic floats its remaining shattered arm then quickly regain it back.
She checks her armor after that trick while her shadow joins her then continue their attack. Faster and more ferocious than ever before, Coral unleashed her secret weapon, becoming a demonic being and slashing her way to her target. The appearance of her black silhouette and white linings tears apart the violet images of her opponent. The mage's body shred from her abilities as it disappeared and leaving its crystallize remains to restore it back to normal. Coral suddenly stops and already in ready stance with her blade, alongside with her shadow opened its eyes with excitement and ready to show its demonic expression.
The violet mist is around the inner purge of the black fire, replicating the magic of Coral. The mage collects its shrapnel of crystals back to it, the two deflect the fragments around them as it is in complete control where the shrapnel released. Waiting for an opening as it shoots her, the shadow comes to her rescue to deflect every shooting projectile come through them then reaches the mage’s position. Coral timely moved where the projectile starts circling her, feint shooting, deceptive projectiles, and the images of the mage pointing its blade to strike.
Her shadow comes to her back circling around every strike and magic projectiles, the mage comes in and got parried by the shadow. Carol sees the mage and she swings a fast cut. The mage blocks it with its crystallized arm cutting off its limb. The explosion erupts so close, where the shadow pushes Carol out of the way. The blasts hit the shadow, blown away and consumed by the violet mist. Coral escapes the explosion with her armor being dented with cuts showing her metal threads robe torn like normal clothe.
The mage breaks off the flames or mist inside the aura they both created, dispersed most of the black fire and shows violet instead. The long sword lay down with its only one arm holding it and the other guiding shrapnel waiting for it to shoot her. It restores so quickly where its crystallized arm returns again. Coral only words on her thoughts as the sword she remembers “Masamune” The mage pointed its sword to her head, with the helmet helps her protect from its atrocious attacks. Coral is getting attacked with no chance of protecting where the attacks are feint and others riposte.
Both swordsmanship shown their experience, Coral mostly attacks with every hit, the shadow is her defensive measure to hide her mistake, and now the mage is having difficulty to pass through her armor. Through slashes to pierces, the armor hid an impressive protection against magic and the Soulfate’s secrets. It doesn’t matter for the mage to stop, as Coral had left too much mana used around it. The black fire and powers she released without hesitating to waste, it freely opens up anything it replicated for her to be enticed to use it all. Feasting through the mana she gives away, and it’s craving for souls begin.
Coral needs to react where she starts to tremble, so many surprises happened to her. The mage wields an iconic weapon, it’s copying her magic with its own different variation of color in violet. Agitated and foolish for how she reacts after all the fight she been through. Her shadow kept helping her not to get hit, she smiles ironically how those two made that shadow for her. Releasing as much magic she possessed, following the plan to stall it.
She unleashed all fury on it with her demonic aura, the demonic smile appeared. Hellish appearance coming from her magic and armor, even her blade stretches and look like the same weapon as the mage. If she is going down, then at least to explore how much left what her gears have to offer. Mass flurry of dark aura rushing through the mage’s aura, easily purge it without any chance to resist her dark flames. Endlessly giving it her all, it will be her last moment in this sphere. Charging everything in one swoop. The mage glows its eyes and absorb the violet mist around it.
The finale of the attack, Coral sees it clearly how much she sees the prowess of the Soulfate woman. Parry after parry, matching her speed and containing the power it can do. Its body purging off the robe it wears just to block off every slash from her sword, choosing between from the fire or the sword, it is already given what she had saw. No chances to land a hit, the mage’s body exposed the flesh in front of her. Losing is what Coral wants now, as she saw the bare body of a Soulfate woman, this thing exposed of its dead carcass grown crystallization from its body.
It finally retaliates after she got distracted, passed through her strikes, it hits her from the back. This is time with only using its crystallized limb alone, the sword imbued with unnatural source of power scarring the presence of magic around them. She kneels down as she felt the blade infused by the strange crystallization coursing through her. The mage didn’t cease as it must finished it, that last moment of attack where Coral can’t stop being surprised and only said to it in mind.
“Undead persistent bitch!”
It swings down to her neck but bounces off, repeatedly doing so that Coral kept her surprised face wide open. The helmet finally falls off after multiple times striking down on her neck. One last blow and its finally over. Coral sees the sword fell off in front of her, slowly turning to see what happened. Haw disarms it but quickly grabbed by it. The mage grabs him to the air.
“Stall a bit more, Coral!”
He is almost reaching to give in to the poison, with the last moment to see the both of them eye to eye, he disappears. Coral thought it was over, and it must be her chance to do one last thing.
“Like hell, I could . . . FUCK!”
She picks up the mage’s sword, masamune, one last time as she slashes it. A strange reaction erupting when cutting it in half again, the difference what she saw that both the sword and the Soulfate woman shatters at the same time. Releasing something she can’t recognized. The explosion of the crystallize body hits her exposed head, quickly kicks her out as lethal. The black fire and white lining disappear where the destroyed body solidifies itself into stone. The wooden mask comes into the last moment after their defeat. Where the obelisk appears and stops.
First and Second the only two left running at the obelisk, not knowing how the people who are stalling it will help them enough time to make it. The unlucky turn of event where the obelisk burst through a cavern, a recognizable place where they thought to be in the dome. A shattered body remains near the obelisk, they recognized it by its storm form. Then First hits his head and remember what he is sensing.
“Where’s the other one?”
Remnants of fighting where Coral’s presence were gone that only left is the replica in violet mist, then the wooden mask appeared.
The two had no choice to decide of which of them will die to reach the obelisk, while channeling the magic tricks they have. There is no certainty for the two will be taken out quickly. They see the shattered remains of another Soulfate man, it is too obvious for them through the legends they are not even dead after that. Not giving in to fight them where they know it will consume their mana, but for them not feasting a soul they will be direct at chasing them in a straight line. Both of them removes all their magical buffs, releasing the natural limits they have gained.
One blank shot from the arrow, the two dodges it and tumbling a bit as they both show how long they are doing inside the sphere. How many hours it has been for them to endure this landmark and many times did they run around the obelisk. Their breaths are heavy and sweating revealed through their foreheads. It is certain, they are exhausted. Among the two, it is decided. They run toward the obelisk, with Second’s familiar siding with him. The hungry wooden mask quickly cast something on the ground as it burrowed to their direction. Reaching closely to their feet, the roots stop where it lacks mana.
The wooden mask sees that their magic didn’t used, and this place had already used up what mana existed here then it quickly chased Second's familiar and regain a bit of mana. Coral’s last appearance of using her aura to burn off all the mana all around her. Second rushes towards the remains of the Soulfate woman where he pushes something that is nothing there. The Soulfate woman’s remains hide within the fragments of its body. The shrapnel raised and quickly attacks him, rained down to them where Second is blocking their target to First. Exhausted and bearing the pain, it was the last stall he could think off.
First is the only one left running towards it, the wooden mask chases him from the other side, both closely into the obelisk. It was an amazement those two focus on Second and even protects him from the shards aiming him. Broken through from Second’s body blocking, the stray magic crystal hits First from the back of his leg. Second disappears as he can't endure it any longer. First starts to limp to reach the obelisk. He watches the wooden mask already reaching him.
The wooden mask passed through the obelisk and turned its body into a treant, anthropomorphic tree, reached down its branches into roots and pierces down on his skin. First keeps going finally touches the obelisk. The controls appeared before him through his mind, scourging all together through the pain and the abysmal roots crawling inside his skin. Continue on to the point of reaching the roots to his head, the obelisk starts to change where the wooden mask turned red, sucking off the blood within him.
First reaching closer to switch the controls to the computer, neither the pain nor the nightmarish thoughts imbued from the accursed wooden man haunting him. It was certain it is done, and they are useless without their mana. Yet their other world phenomenon made so much strange how it can do, thankfully for First thought, he barely carrying the wooden scarecrow on his back. Now reaching to his neck, the roots keep crawling up and reaches to the brain. He can’t move as his body getting rooted in the inside and continue to feel nothing. Leaving only with his expression moving as he grins nastily for his final moment, then once it reaches his brain, he's finally gone.
The entire teachers even Thean himself took a long jarring surprised how First managed to last that long. Seeing after the entire footage coming from them, First gives a show to all of them. He looks rather psychotic to the very end, but for the others who are with him are only happy he did it and took control the sphere’s data.
“. . .”
Continue to remain silent and they don’t want to ask why, Alche sees First placing something on the table
“A pill box?”
Everyone tries to see what he placed on the table, and everyone speaks out.
“PAINKILLERS!”
Feeling the side effects kicking in, he leaves the room and find the infirmary to ease the experience.
“Woni’es has some crazy ideas”
“I have to admit, but how much money did he buy for it?”
“Those drugs are coming from our city, it’s safe”
“I didn’t mention about how safe it is, like how much”
“. . . From Y to coins . . . Ok, don’t act cheap where that place is worth an entire day instead of two or more days, Thean”
“Fine, fine, you’ll have your three days in the sphere. Remember to study it carefully”
“But why not now?”
“Eh, I have to explain it to you more?”
Siren sees everything what is happening, getting more riled up after Coral’s incident. It gives her ideas she wanted to do. Gathering around with the other teachers, they have so much to study first.
“So, Siren. Do you want to join?”
“Sorry, but I like watching more. I have admitted that Coral has some spice on the match”
“Eh!? But I barely fight on my own, my shadow did its best for me to hide my weak points”
“It doesn’t matter anymore; you’re facing an undead people. We see them nearly eaten that Dwarf and that crazy man getting the 'rooted'”
The teachers had found another update for their computers, the information has been added and only allow the selected few to be downloaded. It was an impressive feat to see those Enders to go through that trouble inside the sphere, they look back at them who are already left. Makes them wonder if their manufacturing companies will replicate that same kind of product making. Scrolling through the info tabs, they finally found what they are looking for. By pointing at the icons, they found the infamous other worlders called their world, Soulfate.