The smile disappeared from my face and a shiver ran through my body. It may have been fear or excitement, I could not tell, but what I was certain of was that even in my best conditions I wouldn’t be able to fend off those beings.
I looked around me, to gauge the reactions of the crowd. There were some people here and there who seemed to be nervous, but most of them seemed completely disinterested in what was going on, even though the earth was shaking and an army of enormous ants was running toward them. I understood that this meant I was about to witness an unprecedented show.
"My dear, could you please lend me your weapon," I heard Tobias ask his daughter.
"Sure dad, here you go. Is it fine even if it's broken," Lily answered, handing her old man the stump of a greatsword that was left from our fight.
"It’s fine, do not worry my dear"
Tobias took the weapon from his daughter's hands and gave her a caress on the cheek, before walking in the direction of the approaching stampede. The rhythmic gnashing of jaws and stomping of feet was now audible. Now that they were nearer I could see these ant replicas were running at high speeds and would soon reach our position.
Suddenly, Tobias’ steps became so heavy the ground became unable to support them. Every time his feet met the ground, a crater formed and low rumbling filled the air. Waves of deep blue aura emerged from his body and the mana surrounding him was swept away and dissipated.
A cocoon of pure aura, the colour of the ocean, a few metres in diameter, was centred on him. He swiftly distanced himself from us, but for a moment I found myself immersed in his aura and felt like I was swimming through water, so high was the density of his aura.
In mere instants, the cocoon collapsed inwards towards the broken greatsword. The features of the metal became unrecognisable once it was completely wrapped in bluish energy.
Suddenly, a strong pulling force could be felt. I immediately turned and ran away from where I was, followed closely by Lily. She looked at me with a broad smile.
"Watch this. My dad is awesome," she yelled proudly.
Only once I had stepped beyond the outer border of the Perimeter and reached relative safety, I turned around to watch what was going to happen. Tobias stretched his arm backwards and rubbles and pieces of soil detached from the ground and started to flow in mid-air towards the weapon. Ambient mana started to converge towards it too, creating a misty mass so dense and extensive it reminded me of the mana storm.
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Then, Tobias slowly swung the weapon. I could see his muscles tighten under his skin, while the greatsword drew an ascending crescent moon in the air.
The atmosphere tore apart and the earth broke and rose towards the sky. A tsunami of mana, air and stones ripped from the ground surged towards the approaching army of ants. A deafening roar split apart the air and the shockwave reached even inside of the Perimeter, where mana could not enter. The enlarging wavefront caused an earthquake. It dug the earth, leaving behind a deep trench, and finally made contact with the enemy.
The beasts were unable to put up even the slightest resistance. The thundering blue and grey flow ran them over, annihilating those it impacted and killing many more due to the debris raining from the sky and the ever-expanding mana and aura front which slashed those it washed over like a tempest of blades. Pieces of ant bodies flew into the air and swiftly returned to nature, dissolving in a whitish mist and changing back into pure mana.
Not even a carpet bombing would have been that destructive. Less than a few minutes before the landscape had completely been covered in black, but now a massive hole had opened in the insect front and the earth itself had been deeply scarred.
The massacre didn’t stop there and Tobias continued to swing the weapon around. His motions appeared lazy, but great strength was hidden behind his every move. A single man was imitating the strength of the moon, a celestial body capable of moving the oceans.
At every swing, a tidal wave followed and made hundreds of victims. The continuous shaking of the earth even caused some of the less resilient houses to fall apart, with great disgruntlement of the owners.
What I was witnessing now was a feat of strength and power that could be considered almost unrivalled by any and all who lived on this planet. Even the great enemy of this world would find difficulties in reproducing something comparable to a destructive force of this scale. Had he not fled somewhere far away, he would have most likely been felled by the Miller Household under the guidance of his Head Tobias.
And yet, he was a person I intended to surpass. The realm I was looking towards was so far beyond, even Tobias would not dare look in that direction. In this world, there existed beings that were beyond everyone and everything else. They were to archs what archs were to humans and to humans they were gods among men.
But at this moment I wasn’t able to fathom Tobias' might, even if he was showing it right in front of me. Seeing it live, I couldn’t imagine myself ever reaching him. My intention of going beyond his power couldn’t even be called a fantasy now, they were just mere sounds without meaning when expressed in words.
A smile crept on my face and I started to tremble in excitement. My eyes were probably shining as I watched my future reveal itself in front of me. All of my old resolutions disappeared and a single new stronger one emerged. It wasn’t a plan or an aim anymore: it was a choice. I would become the most powerful being to walk this earth. This was the promise I made to myself.