Tracking incoming targets. 100 different signatures designated as hostile.
Phantoms, all of them, manifestations of fear turned into tangible forms. Shadowy forms with crimson red eyes. From humanoid almost corpse-like Husks carrying various weapons, elephant sized Ogres, and Cloaked Riders upon their horses akin to the grim reaper in form. All of them were the same, as they possessed that universal nature.
Wyvern Detected.
A massive beast, towering over all of them, landed at their rear, booming with a gruesome roar. It possessed an impressive wingspan twice as large as its entire body, comparable to the dragon her father faced all those years ago, just with two legs instead of four. She was determined to face them all.
Her emerald eye, hidden behind a black eye-patch, left her reliant on her silver eye. Though lacking the necessary depth perception, she would fight on undeterred.
She was at the Sanctioned Veil yet again, specifically the final floor. It had reshuffled its contents every now and then, but that shall not be the focus of this endeavour.
She was not here to explore. She was here to conquer it, all alone.
All in order to distract herself from the grief that she experienced. The pain that she felt over losing someone that only she could remember the face of, forgotten by the world.
“Lux Impetus!”
She fought to get stronger, so that she won't lose anyone she cared for. She would not let it. Even if she was wallowing in grief, even if fate would lead her to a darker path, she won't lose anyone else, those that she loved and cherished.
Glyphs of light manifested from above as she charged forward, bombarding the small army of Phantoms with searing light. Dozens of them were vaporised in an instant, and as they were distracted—
“Hrah!”
She charged and leapt into the fray, her staff—now repaired—slamming into the centre of her enemies. The impact alone sent them staggering, a gust of wind disorienting those nearby and knocking them back.
Her Battle Aura awakened the moment that initial clash occurred, a silver-coloured intangible flame exuding from her form. The ground was shaking beneath her feet because of it, her skin felt like it was on fire, and even the Phantoms hesitated upon perceiving her.
It was something that she had learned to manifest after watching Adrian fight multiple times. Essence flowed through her body as a result, enhancing her physical capabilities to something far higher than before.
And from her hips, she unsheathed her sword. Reminiscent of her forgotten sister's own, and a weapon she had practised with day and night in order to use in conjunction with her own fighting style.
She wasn't as skilled as Helena, in fact she would be far from it. But using some generalist magic she could somewhat mend that skill gap through raw potency.
With haste she began her onslaught, pouncing forth and decimating around half a dozen Husks in quick succession with that blade, all happening with blinding speed. It could in fact be mistaken as light, for that was how fast it was.
“Fulmen Catena!”
And in the middle of such combat, from her sides and above three orbs of lightning manifested, sending forth chained thunderbolts that decimated anything weak enough, while heavily injuring those that could resist it.
The battlefield that was this Veil’s floor, taking the form of a barren wasteland under a setting sun, would be littered with the disintegrating corpses of these manifestations of fear in those few moments. It was a show of power that only a talented battle mage such as her could manifest.
Each strike was fueled by anger, a desperate attempt to overcome the emptiness gnawing at her heart. Every wound she suffered was a reminder of the loss she couldn't bear to repeat. Whether they be melee weaponry or arrows, she would push onwards.
No defensive strategy mattered to her. Her regenerating body was a weapon in itself, her pain serving only to fuel her resolve. She refused to lose anyone else. A bad habit was nothing to her compared to failing to keep them safe and sound.
“Luminis Arma!”
Weapons of light manifested all around her, taking the form of swords, before they were then fired off against the Phantom horde. Some of those armaments pierced through the cloaked riders, wielding scythes that would’ve cut her in half if it weren't for those weapons forcing them off.
Further and further she thinned the horde, with magic cast through incantation or sheer instinct, and with her fashioned blade cleaving through their forms.
“Tch-!”
A spear was thrown and lunged deep into her left shoulder, pain receptors flaring, but she was not deterred. Quickly her body pushed it out, breaking the spear in two, and regenerated. She turned to the Husk that had thrown it, and proceeded to decapitate it in turn with a cut of space from her sword.
Lightning crackled, chaining between her enemies, while more weapons of pure light materialised in the air. The ground split apart as spikes erupted from beneath, gusts of cold wind freezing and shattering any enemy nearby, and flames would disintegrate anything nearby into ashes.
Driven by her need to grow stronger—to protect those she cared for—she pressed on. With each strike, with each spell cast, she pushed onwards to finish them all off.
The horde thinned with every strike, until only about a dozen remained.
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And those dozen few—a small formation of Husks and Ogres, all wielding their weapons—charged forward. Marilyn turned her focus toward them, and without hesitation, she leapt forward.
She began to warp space to boost her speed, fusing Essence into her sword until its blade glowed with an intense and blinding light.
“Haahhh!!!”
She crashed into them, her strike landing squarely on the chest of an Ogre. Her sword then burst into a radiant explosion, engulfing the entire small formation in one go, vaporising their forms in an instant.
Marilyn knelt down, breathing heavily. She felt a slight amount of satisfaction, but it was just something temporary. She knew that it wasn't done.
As the only one that remained was the Wyvern itself.
It has been wounded somewhat by the spells that she had cast, signs of burn scars from either strikes of lightning or searing light present upon its massive form. She stood up and turned towards it, blade pointed towards it.
That beast had been supporting the entire army with searing flame from its gaping maw, and if it weren't for the fact that her clothes would also regenerate if her form was significantly injured, she would've wasted some more Essence to repair it mid-battle.
“Gotta thank Cecilia at least…” She commented within her own mind. Even with her currently rather saddened mood, she was glad.
At least her clothes couldn't be easily burnt off now, as it were before. It was given an enchantment to protect it from hazardous environments, which also covered her body, not just the garments that she wore.
Her new outfit was also something much more fitting for close quarters combat. Gone were the days of having rather standard mage clothing, she was now wearing something easier to move in when doing solo fights like this.
Specifically, she adorned herself in a black cloak, paired with a white top with black trimming, secured with a set of belts upon her midriff. She also wore a white miniskirt, and thigh-high black boots. Could be said that she took a bit of inspiration from some comics she had seen, though most of the details were recommended by Cecilia herself.
In any case…
Notice: Wyvern health is now at 95%
“Thank you…for that.”
With another roar and then a blast of fire, the Wyvern unleashed its fury upon Marilyn. The scorching flame surged toward her, but Marilyn swiftly moved. But—
“Hah!!”
With a motion from her staff, the blazing heat shifted, transforming into a biting gust of cold wind that swirled around her, the air freezing in response to her magic as she attempted to move away from the flame. As the last ember faded, she shot upward, her eyes set on gaining the high ground over the wyvern.
From her elevated position, Marilyn caught sight of the Wyvern's wings beating fiercely, as it chased after her into the skies. It bared its fangs, its long neck arching to track her movements as it pursued her.
Marilyn raised her sword, and with a single, precise slash, she tore through the space before her. Invisible to the naked eye, a spatial rift formed, a sharp cut through reality itself, aimed directly at the wyvern.
She expected that it would've cut cleanly through the flying monster, but that did not happen. The beast only recoiled, injured, but it wasn't dead.
“Tch-!”
Unrelenting, the wyvern spewed another torrent of flame. This time, Marilyn spun through the air, avoiding the flames and sending wind to disperse it harmlessly. She countered with a barrage of icy bolts and arcs of lightning, each shot aimed to weaken the Wyvern’s defences.
The battle raged on in the skies. They clashed in a deadly dance, Marilyn’s staff glowing with every spell she unleashed, while the wyvern’s breath scorched the very air. She slashed with her sword again and again, sending more spatial cuts toward the beast, scoring deep gashes along its shadowy hide, but it fought back with savage persistence.
Notice: Wyvern health is now at 50%
Seeing an opportunity, Marilyn surged forward, attempting to close the gap. However—
“Argk-!”
Just as she neared the wyvern, its powerful and barbed tail whipped through the air. The impact sent her spinning, disoriented, as the force knocked her off course and towards the earth. She barely managed to recover, using a burst of wind to steady herself midair.
Determined to finish this she gathered her strength, channelling every ounce of magic into her next attack.
“Haaaahhhh!!!”
With a fierce war-cry, she charged at the wyvern once more, her staff glowing with a brilliant light of warped space, using its intangible material, malleable, turning it into a blade.
The wyvern lunged in response, jaws wide, but Marilyn was faster. She sidestepped the creature’s attack, and with a final sweeping motion, she brought her staff against it with her decisive strike.
The spatial energy rippled through the air as the attack connected. It wouldn't have cut cleanly so easily, but through added momentum of her ascent, the wyvern’s head separated from its body, falling lifeless toward the barren wasteland below. Marilyn hovered for a moment, panting but victorious, as the creature’s body followed, crashing into the ground before disintegrating into nothingness.
New milestone achieved. Perception paused.
- Strength is now level 32
- Essence Aptitude is now level 32
- Willpower is now level 22
“The Willpower level-up…”
It was an obvious thing that would happen. Not focusing on defence whatsoever, it was clear that any level ups would mostly be concentrated on Strength and Aptitude.
“...Hm.”
She knew however that somehow, she was nearing her achievement of the Expert Mage title. But in any case—
Perception speed normalised.
She landed upon the earth below, and looked at her surroundings. There were no other things that interested her, so the only thing that she would be doing was contemplating her own thoughts.
It had been one year since the loss of her older sister, to the point that no one remembered her barring Marilyn herself. And ever since then she had been distracting herself, becoming more and more reckless. She became more distant towards her friends, unfortunately, but she viewed it as a necessity.
She wouldn't want to endanger them, she wouldn't want to cause them to worry. She already lost someone close to her, and she feared that they could be gone abruptly too in her life, because of her weakness and attachment.
It didn't make any major sense, but her mind had thought so. She couldn't find any other reason for her disappearance other than those weak excuses.
“...I should leave this place.”
And having nothing else to do, Marilyn Althorn chose to leave the Sanctioned Veil. She didn't focus on gaining any rewards, but the ones that were stored could be sold to further improve her strength.
She must get stronger, she mustn't give up. All in order to not just stand beside her friends, who would in no doubt be growing with her in strength, but also to protect them all the same.