I could barely keep the scowl from forming in my lips and myself from breaking out in violence. "Let me talk to them. I must see if you didn't damage or twist their minds."
Kel'Caldor walked to the side and extended an open hand. "Please. I treated them as Royal guests."
"I read what you did to your own family, abomination," I growled.
He tutted me. "No need to be rude, my Queen."
I touched Sariandi's head and searched for traces of mind magic. I found nothing.
She shook her head. I couldn't read minds.
I got a nod in response. Then I repeated the same conversation with Spring and Enantinos. My rage was spilling over when I rose back on my hooves. I gave one order to Pandora. The wisp went forward to float between us.
"My family for yours, snowdrop. Give me my clones back," still polite but threatening, Kel'Caldor demanded.
"I come from another world. One without magic, monsters, or fantastic races, populated only by humans and ordinary animals and plants. I lived in the most advanced city in the strongest country," I declared with pride. "The nation I lived in had a motto, a very important one. One I still uphold."
The red flames staring at me waved with curiosity. "And what is this motto?"
I inhaled. "Never negotiate with terrorists."
> Last Stand
>
> Self Sacrifice
>
> Eye of the Manastorm
>
> Light Elemental
>
> Champion's Challenge
>
> Champion's Vendetta
>
> Death Contract
>
> Berserker Rage VII
>
> Eldritch Presence
>
> Center Stage
>
> Attract Projectiles
>
> Bear Burden (Sariandi)
>
> Pseudopod
>
> Dire Animal shapes
>
> Phagocytosis
In one second, I transformed into a dire blue whale. Dire versions of a normal animal were around thirty percent larger than their normal counterparts. My pseudopods grabbed every creature in the room, lich, elf, and centaur, dragging them to my body. All my lifeforce and unallocated Exp were spent in this single protracted action. Secure and devour the liches inside me. Pandora clung to Kel'Caldor and went in with him.
Their means of dimensional travel involved portals. Portals they had to open next to them and walk across it. They didn't have teleportation spells. Without room next to them, they were trapped.
I broke through the walls of the complex, hungrily sending every single item and piece of debris to my item box. Using Chimeric Transformation, I gained elephantine legs. The liches bombarded me from inside but I could shrug their magic all day. We both knew that.
I kept the digestive secretions away from my prisoners. It wouldn't help me to send them to respawn. Dragging my massive cetacean form across Kel'Caldor's complex, I used Force blades to cleave through the walls and open up more space.
Each room that opened up was looted by me. Removing the walls caused a cave-in. Into the item box went the rocks pounding on my gray-blue skin went. More fell and were promptly stored once they touched me. Eventually, the bedrock held and the debris stopped falling down. A triangular cavern, a chasm a hundred meters tall formed above me.
Sensing the magic of the wards, I searched the complex for the phylacteries.
Pandora floated around Kel'Caldor, seeking to block his disintegration spell. I knew he needed time to cast it and my hope was that the [Wisp of Creation] could block it for me. Kel'Caldor, however, wasn't casting spells. He was biding his time, waiting for something. That worried me. I hastened my search, slicing through walls and transforming his underground fortress into a wide-open cavern room filled with dust, sand, and gravel too fine to get in the item box on its own.
I finished carving the complex and found no phylacteries. I had fifty-six liches inside me so they must be somewhere. I crushed the weakest one among them and watched the soul go while tugging at it with {Soul Shepherd} to slow it down. I crossed into the Ethereal and followed. I spread my pegasus wings out of the whale's back. They were hundreds of meters long. I swam through the Ethereal.
A shining, giant, primitive-looking blue whale with ten-meter elephant legs for fins and two white wings, soaring through the underground. Chasing an escaped lich.
Our trek through the underground stopped in another sanctum. The soul entered another urn and I could see the magic seeping out of it and forming a new body. Unfortunately for the lich, that wasn't an instantaneous process.
I opened a rift in the phylactery room as the wards assaulted me, dealing grievous bodily harm. I had two billion HP to play with while I used this shape. As my whale form crossed the rift, physics dictated that there wasn't enough room for me inside the nursery room. Physics also determined that fragile objects should be crushed to make room. The urns shattered one by one and my item box collected the alchemically preserved organs as loot.
Then the walls. Once I started to push through, the Ethereal ejected me. The rift forced me, Skin, bone, flesh, and whale blubber out, vomiting me into reality like a stomach rejected week-old Chinese food left on the counter. A true story of a dare. I was a fool in college.
The walls shattered, the entire sanctum crushed and caved in. Once again, the item box saved me from being crushed. I couldn't use {Rockwalker} because the hostages were still inside me.
All the liches but Kel'Caldor crumbled and released their souls. He no longer had any clones. I shepherded these souls and put them in cloth dolls.
Finally, I undid my transformation. The three Royal hostages were ejected to one side while Kel'Caldor was on the other. Between them, I stood with my wings open as a shield, hoping to protect my friends.
----------------------------------------
"So this is the end. Only you and me. Thousands of years of work undone. Even my title was stolen," Kel'Caldor lamented. "I didn't expect you to be able to bring the dead back to life like that. I knew what you did in Windemere but I thought you could do that only with silk."
His sadness was real.
"Tell me. What does Kel'Caldor, the man, the person wants? Or has the madness of undeath destroyed what was left of your humanity?"
The flames condensed into Terminator-style red dots of light. "I want my title back," he said. "I worked hard for it."
"Okay," I grinned. "I'll duel you for the title. You and me, a duel of spells only, to the death. My magic against yours. Should you win, you take the title if you take an oath to never again brainwash babies."
"What is in it for you? Why offer this duel? I know you are powerful enough to rip out my soul and destroy my phylactery remotely."
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"If I win, you agree to serve me for a thousand years. You and all your clones. You won't be a lich, though. I won't let you escape your punishment by dying, Kel'Caldor."
He took his time thinking. I got a dreaded message from the System.
> WARNING. Bygone Hero is active.
That was it. I couldn't cheat death anymore. Snowdrop had 360 months to live. {Last Stand} was still active as my conflict against Kel'Caldor wasn't yet over.
"What happens after those thousand years of servitude?" He asked, somewhat resigned.
"I'll reincarnate you as a human. A commoner, level zero. You'll keep your knowledge and memories but you'll be burdened with a geas to never again harm children, use necromancy, and/or soul magic."
The flames flickered. "As you wish. I'll duel you. Magic only." He looked up and broke one of many of his gemmed rings. A deluge of divinity and anointed souls came out of it and quickly disappeared, absorbed by someone. "Vukdon, god of Magic! I call upon your favor now in my moment of truth. Come and mediate this duel."
> Vukdon has offered you a Quest.
>
> Duel Kel'Caldor using only magic of any kind. Physical attacks are forbidden. Attacking other creatures is forbidden. The duel is to the death.
>
> If you lose, your [Master of Magic] title will be inherited by Kel'Caldor.
>
> If you win, Kel'Caldor promises to serve you, body and soul, faithfully and to the best of his ability, for a thousand years in whatever capacity you see fit. After a thousand years, he'll be reincarnated by Vukdon into a human with his knowledge and memories intact, but at level zero. He'll be geased to never harm children, use necromancy, and use soul magic. Treachery during his service will obliterate his soul.
>
> Do you accept?
So that's why Wyxnos and the gods couldn't act against the Lich. The damned undead had leverage over Vukdon. This might be the reason why the God of Magic wasn't actively participating in the world. I also thought it was funny how the quest didn't mention the clones.
A timer set out while I thought. I quickly activated a Perk I hadn't used yet.
> Anthem
>
> Etheric Counterspelling
>
> Eat Magic
>
> Sorcery
I could combine up to three Perks from disparate magical traditions with my [Spellcasting] capstone. I selected a sorcerous Counterspell as my {Anthem} and added Etheric Counterspelling and Eat Magic to the mix. The final spell would break my enemy's magic in less time than the blink of an eye and feed the MP used back to me. Anthem enhanced the effect and lowered the costs even further.
Finally, I fused my Paths. Goodbye, barbarian Strenght and Endurance.
Attributes Withheld. 243/100 points.
You gained the Perk: Surpasser XLVI: Increase the cap of all attributes by 460%. You get 46 Attribute Points every 40 levels.
> You gained the Perks:
>
> * Pinnacle of Strength: Increase the physical damage bonus per point of Strength to 3%. Knockback moves you half the distance. You can lift 100% more weight. You are immune to involuntary effects that reduce your Strength score.
> * Pinnacle of Luck (ultra-rare) Whenever faced with a completely random choice, you have twice the odds of choosing the best outcome. The odds of receiving a critical hit are halved unless you are immobile. When you find a treasure or harvest a resource, there's a small chance it will be better than what it should be.
>
>
>
> Level 140
>
> Strength*: 89+37 (126) - Dexterity*: 89+45 (134) - Endurance*: 89+38 (127)
>
> Mind*: 89+34 (123) - Willpower*: 89+43 (132) - Charisma*: 89+12 (101)
>
> Magic*: 89+43 (132)
>
> Ego*: 89+32 (121) - Luck*: 89+36 (125) - Soul*: 89+36 (125)
>
> HP 225.457.190 (1.796.790 HP/s)
>
> Energy 82.670.306 (113.530 E/min)
Finally, I accepted the duel.
> Champion's Challenge.
>
> Light Elemental
>
> Center Stage
>
> Diva's Presence
>
> Standing Ovation
>
> Allegro
>
> Sonata (Force Javelin / Anthem Counterspell)
>
> Mana Wellspring
I grinned and started to sing. The massive cavern dug out by my whale form and the cave-ins became a perfect stage for me. Regarding the challenge, Kel'Caldor won the Charisma test so he could attack others (but would forfeit the duel) but lost the Ego test so he couldn't escape.
Meanwhile, I earned 150% of the excess MP regeneration from Sariandi and Spring along with 10% of the resource regeneration from the three hostages. I excluded the lich from the Wellspring because I wanted to starve him of MP.
He started to create magic circles. and I sniped them with {Anthem Counterspell}, taking the MP from those spells to me.
"That's a quick counterspell," he congratulated me. "Let's ramp up the difficulty."
He fired bolts of disintegration magic at me. Dozens at once, each one formed with their own little magic circle that was written simultaneously. I could counter some of them but not all. I could dodge most of them but a few of these spells hit me. I was appalled they blocked regeneration for a while. {Acclimation} kicked in after a few more dozen hits and reduced the damage from those spells by 37%. Each disintegrating beam was answered by an automated bolt of arcane lightning from {Eldritch Retribution}. Each bolt forced him to defend himself and pushed him a bit backward even when blocked.
I wasn't just dodging. I fired my {Force Javelins} at him. Semi-spherical panels appeared in front of him and deflected my projectiles. My Spell-song reached its climax and I activated another Perk. {Stacatto} came and as fast as my four lungs and throat could sing the notes, the spears of Force magic flew at him. I cast faster than him and he couldn't dodge shit.
The sound of the Force spears hitting the Force barriers rang as the air at the point of impact was compressed and released. It sounded like a thousand fireworks detonating. It was a law of magic that between an attack and a defense, the former was cheaper than the latter. Defenses were wasteful because you had to cover more than just the pinpoint spot where the attack hit. You had to focus more on positioning the shield.
With the borrowed MP from the two spellcasters elven Queens, I maintained my insane barrage, forcing Kel'Caldor to stop attacking to focus on defense only. His MP was draining faster than mine. The light from my elemental form crossed the barriers of Force and diffracted, painting the cavern with all the colors of the rainbow.
"You are insufferable! I refuse to be defeated by a barbarian!" He shouted.
"That's because you aren't," I sang. One of the biggest advantages of the [Spell-Singer] was to communicate and interact without interrupting my magic. "You are being defeated by a barbarian, a fairy, two elves, a siren, a sorceress, a [Hero], a [Hero Queen], and all my previous incarnations."
It clicked. I knew the song to defeat this guy. Fueled by my desire, empowered by magic, the lyrics I never realized I knew came to me.
> "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen!" (Hell's vengeance boils in my heart!)
>
> "Tod und verzweiflung, tod und Verzweiflung flammet um mich her!" (Death and despair, death and despair flames around me!)
>
> "Fühlt nicht durch dich Kel'Caldor todesschmerzen," (If Kel'Caldor does not feel the pain of death through you,)
>
> "So bist du meine Zauber nimmermehr." (Then you will be my magic nevermore.)
Magic might be a science for the bookish [Wizard], but to the [Sorcerer] and the [Spell-singer] it was unbridled imagination and emotion. I overflowed with both as Mozart's aria made its presence known in Yznarian through the lips of a mortal for the first time.
The Force Javelins became empowered by my desire for vengeance. Eric III was Lorna's grandnephew. He didn't deserve to die in some stupid [Necromancer] retribution. They struck harder. Faster. More. More. As the song went on, I felt the lyrics changing to reflect my intent.
> "Verstossen sei auf ewig," (Disowned may you be forever,)
>
> "Verlassen sei auf ewig," (Abandoned may you be forever,)
>
> "Zertrümmert sei'n auf ewig" (Destroyed be forever)
>
> "Alle Bande der Natur" (All the bonds of nature,)
>
> "Wenn nicht durch dich!" (If not through you)
>
> "Kel'Caldor geht ungeschehen!" (Kel'Caldor go undone!)
>
> "Hört, Rachegötter," (Hear, Gods of Revenge,)
>
> "Hört der Sänger Schwur!" (Hear a singer's oath!)
Such fury. Such rage. I saw before me, underneath us, the skulls of thousands of babies. Above them, in a throne of warped bone, sat the grinning lich. A world consumed by undeath. All my struggles, all the struggles of the common man, elf, dwarf, orc, goblin, centaur to live for another day undone by the hubris of a cowardly prince.
Kel'Caldor changed strategies. Each offensive magic he threw at me returned doubled. He tried instead to disrupt my spell-song of vengeance. {Undying Music} triggered and combined with {Eldritch Retribution}. The backlash launched the lich away from the imaginary pile of baby skulls and bones. He slammed against the stone and his {Inscribed Bones} flickered with glowing runes.
"Nenandil!" I shouted between verses.
The fairy flew out of my soul, her own ice magic blazing, dropping the temperature of the cavern by ten degrees. She joined her magic with mine, Globes of ice-chill water splattering violently against the lich's shields along with my spells. The water then, as if it had a life of its own, oozed upward and underneath him, seizing his legs and threatening to pin him down in a quagmire. The tendrils of water froze, sealing his doom.
At the apogee of the aria, I mixed {Falsetto} and {Fortissimo} and my javelins broke through his barriers, impaling his pelvis bone, sternum, and shattering some ribs. His MP plunged as the rune-inscribed bones put themselves back together. He shattered the ice pinning his feet by sacrificing yet another of his ensorcelled rings. My own Energy was low, kept on fumes by the power fueled by my daughter and granddaughter through the Wellspring. I didn't fight alone.
"I will not be undone, Siren!" He furiously bellowed. "Disintegrate Whole!"
The purplish-brown bolt of utter doom, his most powerful spell came my way. Unavoidable as it veered like it could predict my intention to dodge. Moments before it struck me, Pandora appeared between us.
And so cried the Litcher, "NO! Not again!"
The [Wisp of Creation] absorbed the spell. I felt Pandora, maybe Rosalinda's soul resonating with my outrage and my desire to avenge the faceless children desecrated by this monster. It became pitch black, an orb my {Searing Light} couldn't escape, projecting a circular shadow in the cavern wall. The vacuum pushed dust and debris into the Wisp, vanishing exactly as if it were a black hole.
> Your Wisp of Creation gained another aspect:
>
> * Aspect of the Void: Abyss nothing can escape. Unbridled vengeance, doom for the iniquitous.
Nenandil recast the ice bindings. The lich stared at the result of his ultimate spell. Pandora darted into the undead [Necromancer]'s skull. The rune-etched bones shattered into a cloud of dust and were all sucked into the void along with the ice and water.
Then, it was over.
Not even the soul escaped the Void.
Kel'Caldor was no longer. His clones, undone.
I couldn't avoid the thought. The magic of friendship won.