I keep my eyes closed tightly, bracing for impact.... and then I feel pressure on my leg?

My stomach does a flip and I feel the wind blowing on my face instead of my back in an instant and my ears pop. I open my eyes in surprise to see a bright yellow and green tail above my upside-down form along with a large muscular claw holding my ankle tightly. A male featherfallen's yellow and green face peers down at me, smiling and saying, "That was a close one! Glad I could make it in time!"

I shout to him as we rise above the city, "Who are you?!!"

He shouts back, "You gave my daughter some money that cured my illness and saved my life, I've been following you ever since!" with a smile that make me think he doesn't realize how strange and creepy that sounds. His avian face seems sincere though and I rationalize that as long as I'm alive I suppose it doesn't matter. I'll have to thank him and his daughter properly after this.

But I can't think about that now, I'm still alive and this fight isn't over. I look back down towards the ground and see that the guardsmen are taking care of the remaining summons pretty easily, tracing them back to the city graveyard. Then movement catches my eye in the distance as a large flock of Avias suddenly rises from a group of trees not far from the capital wall. Everyone should be back in the Capital right now because of the attack and the festivities, and those avian creatures don't usually flee from other animals so the occurrence seem abnormal especially with everything that is happening. Could it be another attack? But then why so far from the capital?

Quickly my brain recalls what I know of the Spectral Sorcerer. From what I've heard and learned so far, the Spectral Sorcerer is strong but has quite a few rules on his powers. For example, while he can summon anything in it's prime, he can only summon creatures within a certain distance of himself. He also can only summon creatures that have been buried within the last few months, and summons take significant magic power. The guardsmen located the source of the summons to be the capital cemetery, so they had to have been summoned recently, just now even. That means the Spectral Sorcerer must be nearby, and he must be fleeing after most of his summons all died, so the birds must have been frightened by his dark magic power!

I'm exhausted, injured, and my magic is long past overused, but as far as I know I'm the only one who can kill the Spectral Sorcerer as normal magic doesn't work on them and they have strong defensive spells. Not to mention they are supposedly running low on magic power and just used a bunch for these summons. If I don't take advantage of this opportunity now, I may not get another chance. I look back up at the male featherfallen and point towards just outside the city walls. He seems to understand and we dive towards the ground, his large powerful wings blowing up a huge gust of wind as he halts the dive just above the ground and drops me. I roll as I hit the ground and although my body protests, I apply a speed buff to my legs and hear a "Wait Hero!" as I leave the featherfallen behind in an instant. Before I am out of earshot I yell, "Get Vraxen!!"

I race through the trees in absolute focus as I attempt to avoid every obstacle, scraping and tearing bits of my armor and clothes as I don't manage to miss them all.

A warm green cloak covered in a hazy shroud of purple mana with legs appears between the trees just a few dozen feet front of me. The Spectral Sorcerer!

He is running away, but my buffs make me faster. I extend my halberd with pure mana adorning its blade and swing it in a horizontal arc towards them as they slowly turn around at hearing my heavy footsteps approach. Something flashes in the sunlight as they turn around and a loud pure sound rings out as my halberd is stopped just short of it's target. I pause in shock for a second to focus on the small object the Spectral Sorcerer is holding up that has somehow blocked my halberd wreathed in pure magic. A somewhat golden... bell?... on a medium sized handle shines as it's intricately carved surface pushes back against my halberd. I can't see the Spectral Sorcerer's face as it is covered by a simple metal mask under his hood. It bears the shape of an owling's beak and eyes that stare at me coldly and emotionlessly. He is a little... smaller... than I expected, and also wears some layered armor over his green robe.

The Spectral Sorcerer seems to be just as stunned as I am as he looks at my halberd bearing down on the bell. I realize that my attack didn't quite fail entirely, but I can see purple and white magic swirling and consuming each other as they battle at the point of contact, making sparks almost. Mine seems to be winning too. He realizes this as well and deftly shakes his hand, causing the bell to emit a single pure tone from the curiously-colored metal surface. At the moment of the chime, a massive wave of sound and flash of light accompanying it both blinds and deafens me and I recoil from it, falling to my knees as I cover my visor instinctively and blink away the sunspots. I swing my Halberd wildly as I engage my vision augment and look up at where the Spectral Sorcerer used to be, but he has disappeared. As I swing my head wildly to the left and right to try and find where he went, dread sweeps through my body as I feel something touch my helmet from behind. Before I can react, a massive surge of mana floods my body.

Instantly my body erupts in pain and I fall forwards as I writhe on the ground. The dark mana feels uncomfortable, painful, gross, and somewhat familiar all at the same time. I can feel my mana core swirling wildly as it pushes against the foreign substance and races along my pathways. I roll to one side and barely manage to raise my hand up to my face to see my armor corroding and sizzling with purple mana. I dimly see the green cloak beginning to disappear among the trees ahead.

NO!!! I can't fail here, not after everything!! I must do something!!

Still in immense pain, I force myself to climb to my knees and use my halberd as a crutch. Not sure what I plan to do and going purely on instinct, I raise my hand and face my palm towards the back of the retreating figure. Wildly unprepared, I pour all of my magic power into my arm. My mana pathways and muscles burn even more intensely as I do so, the corrosive mana degrading my body even faster as my multicolored mana swirls in a spiral around my arm and forms a spinning disk in front of my palm with two branches next to it like the ends of a crossbow. I release the attack with a guttural roar and the disk shoots between the branches at lightning speed. It spins in an abnormal spiral flight path as it tears through trees and rocks with ease behind the fleeing Sorcerer. Within mere moments it reaches him.

The Spectral Sorcerer appears not to have expected my potential to counterattack and barely begins turning around at hearing the crashing trees as the multicolored swirling disk reaches him. My aim is a little off though and it only slices through his armor and abdomen on his side, beginning to corrode the edges immediately with white mana, before nosediving into the ground with a thundering boom that sends the Sorcerer sideways into a tree.

I cannot relish in the success of this attack or consider how I pulled it off though. The backlash of forcing my mana out while being corrupted by the Sorcerer's mana hits me immediately after I see the disk hit and I collapse backwards. I scream and writhe in agony on the ground as my body feels as if it is engulfed in flames. My mana is swirling wildly and I can feel it being released around me in little strikes of energy that scorch the ground.

I hear a loud thud over my thrashing as a heavy and dull sound of something hard lands on the ground next to me, accompanied by a second softer thud. Clawing the ground around me in useless attempts to ease the pain, I can feel the corrosion taking more than just my armor now. Faintly I make out frantic shuffling and talking over the sound of my own cries and the blood rushing in my ears. I feel something touch my armor, recoil, and then proceed again slower this time, shaking as it does so. I am too consumed with pain to really notice or comprehend what is happening around me though. My mind view that was overwhelmed with wild colors quickly but steadily fills with the color blue. At the same time I can feel the pain dull and my exhausted body takes this as an opportunity to release me from my agony as I finally pass out.

____________________________________________________

Vraxen's POV

I remove my sword from the disintegrating corpse of a summon when a gust of air hits me and I turn to see a larger-than normal green and yellow featherfallen land quickly in front of me, his face twisted in panic. I open my mouth to ask him what he wants but he cuts me off before I begin with a flurry of words, "Thegreatheroleft-spectralsorcerer-heneedsourhelp-"

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I put my hands up and say, "Woah, woah, woah, just a little slower now, what about the Spectral Sorcerer and the Hero?"

His large but kind-looking face is wrought with worry and fear as he stops mid-sentence and says, "I'll explain later, we need you now!! Sorry about this!"

I am confused and am about to ask why he is apologizing when I'm blinding by a sudden large gust of air, quickly followed by claws around my waist, and I am instantly lifted high off the ground. I shout upwards at the featherfallen, "You do realize you have just grabbed the Commander of the knightage? I suggest you provide a good excuse before I see fit to permanently ground you." I say, pointing the tip of my sword I've managed to hold on to at his neck.

He leans his head away from my sword tip as he shouts over the wind, "The Great Hero went after someone in the woods, he told me to grab you. It seemed important!" His massive wings carried us over the trees at a speed most featherfallen would be jealous of and I looked back down at the blur of trees below us. Logically thinking, Levi was already exhausted from taking out most of the summons so he wouldn't do anything as crazy as to chase after a few rogue summons into the forest. The only person worth chasing after would be... the Spectral Sorcerer.

I look back up and shout, "Understood, find him as fast as possible, we may already be too late!"

He nods and I look back down, searching the trees for any hint of the two. Suddenly there is a large explosion just a bit ahead of us and the featherfallen immediately dives down towards the area. We pass by a small clearing and I spot the familiar gold and blue shine of Levi's armor as we pass. I quickly yank the featherfallen's arms to my right and point downwards. The area of the explosion is a little farther ahead still but in the brief glimpse I saw, Levi appeared to be in pain and lying on the ground. The featherfallen appears a bit confused but he dives towards where I pointed at.

We land heavily in the clearing and I can immediately see Levi isn't doing very well. The featherfallen gasps and exclaims, "Great Hero, are you alright?!" as he kneels on the other side of him unsure of what to do. The Hero is covered in a purple haze that appears to be eating his armor and bits of his underclothing, probably his skin as well. He is writhing and clawing at the ground as he groans and cries out in pain, unaware of our presence. I call out to him anyway, "Levi... Levi! Can you hear me?!" but there is no response.

This isn't good. I've never seen this particular situation before but the purple mana matches the Spectral Sorcerer's mana signature. Little sparks of mana, probably Levi's, spark outwards from his body and as I reach to touch him they scorch my hand. I recoil and inhale sharply as I shake the pain away, but I realize I don't have time to figure out how to deal with it as his condition is actively worsening the longer I wait to assist him.

I force my hand through the arcs of mana and touch his arm. My mana is a blue color and has a few different properties, one of which is the ability to mildly heal and lessen the pain of others which has come in handy several times since I was promoted to my current position. I wince as I cover and force my mana into his body, adorning him in a blue haze and fighting some of the dark magic swirling inside of him. The external corrosion slows to a stop as my healing magic combats it, but it is all I can do to keep it from progressing and I can't fix the damage that has been done.

Levi's movements slowly stop and his body relaxes slightly as his helmet tips to one side, passing out. I sigh softly in relief and look at his battered body for a moment with pity and regret. Quickly I look up around us, past the featherfallen to a line of trees that has been damaged by magic of some kind. I can't leave Levi or the mana will continue to degrade him but I have a feeling that the damage is from Levi, likely aimed at the Spectral Sorcerer.

I look up at the featherfallen who is watching us intently and say quietly as I nod my head in that direction, "Search that area, quickly, but carefully. Please."

He nods without answering and begins walking in a crouched manner through the destroyed path in the trees. His wings flap lightly as he hops over obstacles and he reaches an area where I almost lose sight of him as he walks down into a crater that I can see the edge of. He looks around carefully and then stands up straight, looking back at me and shaking his head, "Whatever was here, it's not here anymore." He shouts back.

I curse under my breath and look back down at Levi, his body stiffening periodically from the mana still circulating his body wildly as it attempts to fight the Sorcerer's dark mana. Little bits of mana lightning still scorch my hand and the ground periodically. The featherfallen has flown back and I realize I need to get help fast from someone other than myself if I want to save the Hero. My mana pool isn't limitless and I can't hold back the corruption forever. I look back up at the featherfallen and ask tentatively, "I don't know who you are, and I appreciate your help so far despite the situation, but unfortunately I need another favor. Are you able to carry both of us back to the capital?"

The featherfallen contemplates for a moment, a serious but nervous expression on his face as he opens his wings and inspects them. "I can try. I've never carried two adults before, much less of your size, though. I'll need you to hold him while we fly which won't be easy either." He says sternly, brows furrowed in concern as he awaits my response.

I look back at Levi and shake my head, "We will have to try, I don't have much mana left and who knows what that bastard's mana is doing to his mana core and pathways even as we speak." I growl, frustrated, before grabbing the Hero by the waist and looking back at the feathered man as I lock my fingers together. I wince as his wild mana scorches more of my body but maintain my grip. I nod at the man and brace myself.

He grabs me under the arms, locking them by crossing his arms across my chest, and begins flapping. I can hear him strain and grunt as we start rising off the ground and into the sky. His wings are beating much faster than before and I can tell he is working them hard but we are still managing to fly at a pretty rapid pace. Levi hangs limply from my own arms. I look down towards the fast-approaching capital gates when a particularly strong mana surge scorches my arm and I nearly drop him. I gasp and lurch to get a better grip, causing the featherfallen to also miss a beat and we descend a bit as he struggles to regain his flight level. We are nearly at the gates but I can tell the man is getting tired and we start descending quickly.

He shouts in a strained voice, "Prepare for a crash landing!!"

Alarmed, I tense my body as the ground in front of the gates gets closer and closer and the featherfallen drops us as we crash to the ground. I tuck and roll as best I can with a passenger, kicking up a large cloud of dirt in the process. I see the featherfallen hit the ground after us, fortunately able to tuck his wings but landing even harder than we did. I cough and see my men approach as the dust begins to clear. I roll the Hero onto his back on the ground next to me and order them, "Wib, notify the Divine menders right now! The rest of you, help me carry him to the Sanctuary and get that featherfallen treatment."

They move quickly and four men grab Levi by his shoulders and legs. One shouts as he is burned by the wild mana, but they are good men and hurriedly rush him towards the Sanctuary near the Magistrate's residence. I keep my hand on him, still maintaining my mana flow, but I'm exhausted at this point. I've rarely had to do this kind of healing for this long, and it's draining my mana pool. The armor and material on my gloves has burned away in several spots at this point, but this pain is nothing compared to what I've endured fighting Spectral summons.

Divine menders rush out to meet us as we arrive at the Sanctuary and guide us inside. They set him on a bed and one asks, "What has happened to the Great Hero that you brought him here instead of the Recovery Hall?"

I am panting at this point and say, "Watch." as I remove my hand from him.

Immediately the haze of the purple mana returns and begins corroding his body once more. Levi cries out and writhes on the bed, his gloves carving grooves into the oken sides. I quickly put my hand back and stumble as I resume pouring mana into him, nearly too tired to continue. The Divine menders have stumbled back a bit at the sight and all have expressions of horror on their faces.

I manage to say between breaths, "The Spectral Sorcerer did something to him, I think his entire body is tainted with dark mana and it's causing his mana core to go out of control....(cough)... It's also eating him alive. Your pure mana should be able to help him. Hurry please. Neither of us can last much longer." I say, dropping to my knees. The menders seem to understand and 8 of them make a diamond formation around the two of us, putting their hands out as one says, "Begin."

A hazy white mist forms between their hands, filling the space around me and the Hero. It seems to start adhering to our bodies, making a blanket of sorts. Immediately I feel better as I feel my exhaustion melt away. Hesitantly I remove my hand from Levi's arm. The corrosion does not return, and as I watch I can actually see his injuries and even his armor repairing. He has been passed out for a while but for the first time I can see his body visibly relax as the white haze rests thicker on his body. The wild mana lightning has gotten less as well and is continuously getting smaller as I watch. I slowly exit the diamond so he can receive the entirety of the treatment, but as soon as I leave it I collapse to my knees again. One of the other menders and Wib quickly grab me and help me to another bed, "It takes a while for the healing to take full effect, feel free to rest here for as long as you'd like. As for the Great Hero, his recovery is going to take a while, if you wish to leave we can notify you when its done." The mender tells us.

I'm still breathing hard and just nod in response as I lay back on the bed to catch my breath. I look back over at Levi for a minute, intrigued by the Divine mender's abilities. I get back up, a little better than before, motioning for Wib to follow. I need to report this to the Magistrate as soon as possible and I take one last look at his motionless armored form before leaving for the Magistrate's residence.