Ch. 46 The Price Of Pride

Back in the boss room...

Q'ill grimaces as she watched the Knights aura restored, her efforts for not. Looking at the (Pyrovine Orb), it was dimming fast, it would only last another minute.

Quickly scanning her body revealed that her internal organs were damaged after forcefully using (Blood Ignition). Out of habit, she tried to suppress her injuries with her fire element mana, only to realize she had none. With little left to offer, she started to flap her wings getting as far away from the boss as she could.

She gathered the remaining mana in her body, preparing to activate the blood ignition skill as many times as her body could take it. Reaching the entrance of the boss room, she put as much distance as Malpetios life aura would allow. Just as Q'ill had prepared herself the river of fire petals diminished rapidly, revealing a cocoon of golden feathers.

Avanlo came out of the cocoon as it reformed into his sword, his free hand holding an ornate glass bottle to his lips. The bottle had a red rope around its opening with a large pearl in the middle, the glass body covered in golden vines. Seeing this Q'ill was appalled, even though she did not know what that bottle was she could still feel the enormous amount of element mana inside of it.

Tossing the now empty bottle to the floor, Avanlo turned towards the fairy, fury radiating from his eyes. "You dare to trick and waste one of my Holy Elixers, I'm going to tear you apart!!" The moment the glass bottle shattered onto the floor he attacked with his weapon aiming to kill, any consequences in killing a fairy were ignored.

Q'ill ignore the pain and flew around in circles buying as much time as she could, using (Blood Ignition) in short bursts only when absolutely necessary. The Pyrovine Orb had attempted to return to her but was quickly captured and kept by the knight, leaving her with no weapon.

This went on for another minute until her body was nearly destroyed. Feeling she would die the next time she used the skill, resolve glinted in her eyes, she took a look at the boss doors her goal to brush against the limit of Malpetios life aura having her corpse act as bait.

Using the connection left behind to order the boss, she sends one last command, to attack anyone that reenters the boss room. All this time she has been blocking the boss from attacking in the hopes Malpetios would have better odds with an undamaged body to control.

She dodges the latest attack and rushes towards the boss doors while turning to mock the knight to follow her, however. Where she thought a face of fury that would chase her to her death would be, was a cold calm one. At this moment she finally noticed that she was surrounded.

Desperate, she ignores everything and attempts to use(Blood Ignition), however, be it from her compounding wounds or her shock, the wings wrap around her faster than she could. The knight's mana quickly flooded her body, canceling the skill. "Hahaha, finally got you in my hands you annoying fly!" The delighted knight pulled Q'ill Towards him as a maniacal smile grew on his face.

The moment he could reach his hands on her, he grabbed her wings and Violently rip them off, laughing while at it. Q'ill screamed in pain as two bloody pits were open in her back. Feeling her life slipping away from her, she forces her muscles to constrict, preventing what little blood she had left from escaping.

Her eyes were now foggy and her mind sluggish, her body at its limits. After a few minutes the knight stop laughing, the humiliation in his heart finally appeased. No longer feeling like this bug was worth his time he planned to kill her. Even though there was a powerful fairy outside, from what little he could gather, this one was abandoned for some reason and shouldn't bring any trouble.

Sending a command to his weapon it slowly constricted the fairy, while he stared at her bloody face wanting to see her suffer.

Q'ill was already numb to pain, but as her bones began to give out cracking sounds, she could not but scream. Just as Avanlo was enjoying himself he felt incoming danger from his back. He had forgotten about the boss!

A beam of prismatic light was aiming at his head, he quickly tossed the fairy swinging his sword upwards and creating a defensive wall of silk. The falling Q'ill was cradle in a soft bundle of vines, collecting their payload they quickly retracted into a hidden passage, delivering her back to Malpetios.

While the boss repeatedly shot beams at the knight, Malpetios was desperately trying to help Q'ill. Not knowing what to do, Malpetios tried to send mana into her wounds but her body was like a bag full of holes. He tried to think of the ways mana was used to heal in the games of his past, however, he did not know how to do it.

Afraid that if he tried to do it forcefully it would have the opposite effect, he went thru the memories he had just collected.

To his joy, he found a large number of memories regarding healing. Water spells can heal all wounds while the power of faith can not only do so but regrow missing body part's as well.

Malpetios tried to stitch together the memories on water magic, as faith power requires a god's blessing. Soon he was able to recreate the first circle water magic used for healing. Following the steps, he aimed at Q'ill as his magic finished casting. A blue aura covered Q'ill, returning some color to her face. Seeing it was effective he continued on casting the spell

"M-mal-malpetios?" Q'ill's groggy voice was soon heard sounding like music to his nonexistent ears. "You're ok!! I thought you'd die on me, never ever do that again!!" He sounded a lot angrier than he wanted to but could not help but vent.

Q'ill's eyes dilated before giving a small smile, saying sorry a few times then stopping. Noticing she was covered in a cold sweat, Malpetios cast water heal a few more times seemingly to no effect. Confused, he looked more carefully at the memories finding no problems. Since the spell was fine he focused on Q'ill's body, her life aura ignoring his probing, giving him X-ray vision.

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This was the first time he could look inside a living creature, not of his making. Before he could get excited about the research opportunity this entail he found the problem. A large portion of Q'ills bones are shattered and cutting into her nerves and muscles, the slightest twitch causing great pain.

Shocked, Malpetios tried the spell again now with a full view of the process. The water mana healed the damaged tissue as well as the nerves that were not completely severed. This however didn't heal the bones and they reopen the wounds. Seeing this the previous memories flashed in his mind, he would need third circle water spells to fix this.

Malpetios tried to find it in the same way as the first spell but found it incomplete. Only Faith power could fully heal someone right out of the box if only more mana consuming. Then it hit him! "Wait! I have my new sidekick, he should be able to heal you!" Q'ill remained still, confusion in her unwavering eyes.

While she tried to gather her strength and talk thru the pain, Malpetios asked the System.

[Host Supporting Core, code-named Sidekick, can not act independently at this time. Would Host like to give temporary control of its body to it?]

[Yes/No]

Malpetios had an involuntary reaction at the thought of giving control of his body to his sidekick. Even though he removed the Jewel's control over him the Systems nonchalance to it all had really brought his guard up. In the end, its goal was to purify mana, whether or not I am the one doing it seems like details to it.

Taking a look at the boss room, his Lily was running out of mana, the beam increasingly draining it faster than it can suck it out of me due to the short intervals between shots. He stopped caring and clicked yes! It was made out of his soul, if he did not trust it no one can be trusted!

The moment he clicked yes he felt a torrent of golden mana surround him, it was as if he was dragged into the bottom of a golden sea.

The 'sea' morphed into a giant, featureless, and smiling face looking at me with warm eyes. Feeling afraid, Malpetios shook himself out of it; "Y-yo! Big guy, I need you to heal Q'ill!"

Meanwhile, Q'ill was trying to move as little as possible as she took the pain. Feeling she was finally getting used to it she remembered what Malpetios said and turned to his Core. With her own eyes, she saw as a repeat of what happened before came to be. Malpetios core turns mostly into a golden color, the middle the only thing remaining prismatic.

Q'ill's face turned pale, was a High Bishop or the Pope himself trying to take control of him?! Hatred color her eyes, she would not allow this to happen! She tried to force her body to move, sadly it was paralyzed. She did not give up however, "Malpetios! Talk to me please, don't let them take control of you! Be strong!"

It is then that she felt eyes on her, warm yet indifferent eyes. She knew it was from Malpetios Core, it was the same feeling of observation she got from him. Feeling this her heart nearly broke, tears forming in her eyes, "I've lost him..." Before she could taste the loss fully the golden Core glowed blindingly covering her in similarly colored feathers, raising her to the air.

After a few seconds, the light vanishes, leaving behind an intact Q'ill in bloody armor. As she wondered what just happened the core quickly returns to its prismatic self.

Regaining control of his body, Malpetios looked at the healthy Q'ill in glee. Before he had the time to examine or explain to her clearly confused face, he heard a howl of pain followed by the core room shaking.

He immediately activated boss fusion while leaving a few words for Q'ill. "I'll explain later! My boss can't handle him alone!" The room turned quiet after, seeing this Q'ill brought back the hand she had hidden behind her back.

Un clenching her fist reveal a small, but condensed, fireball. "The aura and matter of speech is identical... he should be fine?" Q'ill did not know for sure but had to hope for the best.

The spell in her hand dissipated, all her mana now spent. She fell from the air as her body could no longer stand the compounding fatigue of both the battle and the church healing arts. As she passed out with worries in her heart, Malpetios was having a hard time with the Knight.

Just before Malpetios healed Q'ill...

Avanlo slowly calmed down after the fourth or so beam, the interval between them growing larger. Just as the Boss prepared to attack again, he overdrafts his weapon its wings coiling into a golden sword. With a flourish, a net of gold blade waves whose speed surpasses his previous ones charges towards the flower.

Sensing danger, the Lily repeats the scene of when they met, attempting to intercept them with its vines. Fairing no better than before they are cut into pieces with no suspends. The Lily's mind does not have the capacity to understand its mistake and simply counter it by instinct. Luckily for it, Malpetios' last order saved it at the last moment.

Just as seventy percent of its vines were cut to pieces, it finished gathering the mana needed for another beam. The beam was shot at the center of the blade net, breaking its formation and scattering them around the boss room.

Many of the blades found their way into the main vines, as well as the Lily's petals, making it howl in pain. In the air, Avanlo evaded the refracted beams nimbly as a bird. Turning to the boss he saw it covered in shallow or deep blade marks which were visibly closing fast.

"Tsk... Dam plants and your endless vitality, one or two more attacks to send you on your way." Avanlo raise the golden feather blade and swiped at the flower's corona. Before his attack took form he saw the boss freeze for a split second, the mass of severed vines that looked like a snake pit stopping all movement.

A feeling of being watched suddenly dawn on him. At that same moment, the Lily's dismembered vines all collectively dug into the ground, disappearing in the next moment.

The boss suddenly closes its flower while spinning, this forces the intact vines to twist unto themselves. The whole picture looked like a spring made out of vines.

As the blade net closed in, the coiled vines burst forward squeezing into one of the larger holes in the crisp-cross waves. Dumbfounded, Avanlo did not continue attacking. The Boss had jumped in his direction, now right above him.

As he aimed for another attack, the Boss opened its flower, a large bucket thick beam coming right for him. With a smirk, he flys backward as he points his blade towards it. "Is that all? I thought for a second there was more to your fancy moves"

"Sadly for you little Dungeon, even if you're in control now, your just a rank one garba..." Before Avanlo could finish his words the earth under his previous location burst open, revealing the mass of severed vines.

Having dodged the beam, he was more than happy to see it heading to them. With a blade twist, a much more compact blade net headed towards the Boss. Seeing no way for it to escape this time he smiles.

In the next second, he felt a mass of mana appear below him as he was sent flying, his angel's veil breaking apart, blood splattering everywhere.

"ARRRGGGHHHH......."

Meanwhile, the boss had coiled into a spring again, bouncing off the ceiling upon reaching its highest altitude. The Knights attack was dodged completely in this manner.

Malpetios cursed to himself in frustration, he had MISSED!