The abomination had noticed him, and its disgusting white eyes seemed to look down at him, which only furthered the anger Leonhardt was feeling. Or maybe it was the abomination forcing him to get mad? He couldn't tell.
Fury turned Leonhardt's gauntlets red, like ice made from blood.
The animals looked at them, or at least he thought they did. Their eyes were devoid of pupils, so it was difficult to tell much.
Leonhardt's brows furrowed, his lips pursing in a deep breath.
'Calm. Calm… I can't be losing myself to rage in a fight like this. Let it empower me, not control me.'
Leonhardt established a mana link with Althea, who linked it up.
Leonhardt's eyes never left the abomination. So did Althea, never letting the monster lose her focus.
The land in front of Leonhardt turned to ice, and as he used a rock Althea pulled up to lunge forward and slide on the ice. Moving with a tremendous amount of speed and force, he collapsed his figure to maintain it, before getting up and leaping at the abyssal weapon.
Its tentacles trashed in front of Leonhardt, sending waves of ghastly void mana his way, which he easily got through, much to his surprise, though he chalked it up to his last encounter.
Althea sent a barrage of spells at the creature, overwhelming it, and paving the way for Leonhardt to send an attack in.
Yet that wasn't the extent of its abilities. The creature sent an opening salvo of void missiles, followed by the barrage of its corrupted army. Leonhardt had a difficult time deflecting them, losing a bit of speed before Althea summoned a barrier around him.
Finally, he was in striking range. He raised his sword, chanting a mantra, before slicing down.
The world split, as if a mirror had cracked and the pieces slid away. The ground crumbled under the strength of the strike, being cut through as if it weren't there.
Yet the target of it all wasn't as affected. The weapon split into two, almost falling, before its servants pushed it together, as the abhorrent flesh mended itself.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Abyssal Weapons had several types, though the one they were facing was among the most troublesome.
Hiveminds were able to regain their original form from any minion at their disposal, meaning that an entire area would have to be wiped off the map, just to kill one on the caliber of a calamity-grade.
The creature and Leonhardt sent several hits toward each other, with their strategy going to the defensive, while Althea whittled down the smaller creatures; And preparing for an attack that would wipe an entire area off the map.
After hours and hours of work, they had moved the abomination into the center of its path of rampage.
The ground was blackened, not with ash, but with rot. The land looked as if hell had come up. So what could one do when faced with an invasive hive? They could exterminate it.
Magic circles gradually formed around Althea, as she chanted a spell, one to be used in tandem with Leonhardt.
Althea and Leonhardt had found that, despite the separation, magic and swordsmanship were oddly connected, to the point Althea had an easy time devising a spell to be used by both her and Leonhardt.
Althea chanted this, her hand signs causing a dance of ice and fire.
Leonhardt timed his swings with the tempo of the chant, making sure to circulate mana in the right way. He also made sure to amplify the mana and aether, in a loop, making it grow stronger.
He stood next to Althea, protecting her until the spell was finished, and only a small bubble of peace was left around them, though the rest of the world?
Destruction.
A searing heat, a biting cold. Swapping, swapping again. The two sides clashed, each side growing stronger as the battle went on. A searing heat, into a burning flame. A biting cold, into a freezing ice.
As the land endured the rapid switches, all the trees became ash, burnt to a crisp, then frozen in ice. The horde of creatures quickly shattered into pieces, dissolving as the void mana returned to where it belonged.
As for the leading abomination, it had a futile attempt of trying to leave the world of destruction, though it toppled before that.
As the spell dissipated, Leonhardt and Althea collapsed, Leonhardt was wounded, while Althea suffered from a lack of mana.
The world was reborn, as ashes, and shards.
Yet they had survived. Leonhardt kissed Althea, swooping her into his arms—despite the unromantic location.
"We… made it. That spell really was a lifesaver, you were right." Leonhardt said this with a smile on his face, his traumas lessened, though he did remember something else. "How do we get back?"
In a turn of events, the tracker on Max would save them, not the other way around.
Althea told Leonhardt this, and they both laughed. And stopped, because it hurt.
"I'm sorry for getting you into this Althea."
Leonhardt was truly feeling guilty, if it were up to him, he would gladly do the entire thing himself, but he had to put his wife in danger.
"Sorry for what? Surviving? If I could smack some sense into that brain I would."
Althea truly had no words for her idiot husband.
"Sorr— Damn it!"