A battle on two fronts continued in the Academy realm. On the periphery, the gold colossus along with thousands of books kept on unleashing attacks on the archduchess’ army. In the center—separated from them by a circle of constantly renewing mountains, Dallion and Priscord were engaged in a fierce fight, while his companions were holding the perimeter, keeping the remaining nobles, and the occasional soldier, from coming to her aid.
Dallion remained convinced that in a one-on-one he’d easily win, but the woman wasn’t making it easy for him, relying on more than the average number of tricks. The harpsiswords and other weapons belonging to her nobles turned out to be just as efficient on their own. If anything, the people were only there to carry the items in the real world. The rules of the awakening realms allowed the guardians within to do so on their own. It didn’t matter that Dallion had rendered the people effectively unconscious. Even if he sealed their powers and ejected them out of the realm, the weapons would remain unaffected.
The glowing dagger was also a matter of concern. Glowing in magical light, it seemed to have the ability to negate any attack. For the moment it didn’t seem like the weapon was good for offense, but it was always possible that Priscord was keeping that as her trump card.
For the moment, what he was most fearful of remained the horse. Far too big to be normal, far too full of magic to be natural, it remained floating in place, ignoring everything around it. On two occasions Dallion had sent a few point attacks its way, trying to get it to do something—anything. And yet, the creature hadn’t, stoically taking on the damage, then immediately healing the afflicted wounds.
“I heard you got married,” Priscord said as she performed a multi kick. The heels of her shoes had transformed into stilettos that came with effects of their own.
MINOR WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 5%
PERMANENT EFFECT - BLEEDING
You have been scarred by the attack. The scar will continue bleeding in the real world until the status is removed.
The status continues to be in effect in the real world.
Another pair of red rectangles emerged. This was the seventh wound Dallion received. Health wasn’t an issue. Even without Lux’s help, he knew enough healing spells to deal with the issue. The annoyance was the bleeding. It was going to cause problems in the real world at a time that Dallion could do without distractions.
“You’re very talkative for someone who doesn’t use music,” Dallion replied, as he pulled back and counterattacked with a series of point attacks. A large part missed their target. Those that hit didn’t cause any damage whatsoever. That was rather interesting.
Harp, is that normal? Dallion asked.
No, but I don’t know how she’s doing it, the nymph guardian replied.
Veil, get Pan! Dalllion ordered within his personal realm. Get him to figure out what’s going on.
There was no time to get a response, for the countess reacted, twisting her body in a series of spin kicks. Catching the pattern, Dallion attempted to complete a guard skill series. Once more before he could, one of the enemy harpsiswords darted right at him, ruining the sequence.
“Close,” Priscord said with a smug expression.
The weapon’s action, however, had created an invisible opening in the mesh of sound shields protecting the archduchess. Instantly, Dallion took advantage, slashing through the air with his own harpsisword.
The attack was blocked by the weapon, but enough sound threads managed to pass through. Uncertain what exactly to target, Dallion went straight for Priscord’s left ear.
PERMANENT EFFECT – PARTIAL DEAFNESS
The LEFT EAR of ARCHDUCHESS PRISCORD has permanently gone deaf. She will not be able to make use of that ear until the status is removed.
The status continues to be in effect in the real world.
There was a barely audible snap, followed by a scream, as the woman grabbed hold of her bleeding ear. With a body trait such as hers, the pain was hardly significant; more specifically, it wouldn’t be considered significant if the countess had ever experienced pain in her life. Despite the many battles she had gone through, in many of which she had participated personally, the woman had never put her own self at risk.
This was more than a pinprick, granting Dallion several seconds to take advantage of.
“Guess I won’t be able to use music anymore,” he said, targeting her other ear with his attack music skills.
Realizing their mistake, the harpsisword flew away, playing a new set of chords to restore the sound protection around its owner. In doing so, it allowed for a direct physical attack. Unlike before, Priscord was in no condition to display the same effectiveness as before.
Got you! Dallion thought, performing a dual multi attack with both blades. Sound and magic flew everywhere, falling upon his enemy like rockets.
Proceeding with the attack, Dallion split into instances. He knew better than to become self-confident at this stage.
Elsewhere in the realm, the diminishing forces of the archduchess were breaking through the encirclement of mountains, destroying them faster than Dallion could erect new ones. No longer concerned with their own safety, they let the aether quills reduce their health, ejecting layer after layer into the real world. All that seemed to be important was the countess' survival.
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TERMINAL HIT
Dealt damage is increased by 1000%
A red rectangle popped up, as Lux pierced one of the three remaining nobles through the chest with a crossbow bolt. There was a momentary pause of stillness, after which the man was ejected from the realm. Unlike the lower level awakened, he wouldn’t just have his powers sealed.
Let her surrender, part of Dallion’s consciousness whispered to him. There was no way she could win at this point. A quick surrender would be better for everyone, himself included. At the very least, he wouldn’t have to face whatever the horse really was.
Yet, Dallion’s memories of the past refused to let him voice the offer. There were very few people he had difficulty forgiving, and Priscord was one of them.
Didn’t you use to say the same about the Luors? his better self asked within his mind. You hated them with a passion for what they had done to your family. Now, Aspion is long forgiven and two of his grandchildren are your friends and overseers.
That much was true. He had forgiven them… all of them. But there was one major difference. Aspion had lost his powers, ensuring he could never harm Dallion or anyone again. The former countess was still very much in a combat ready state. The moment she adjusted to the novelty of pain, she was going to strike back with everything he had or, at best, run to return later on.
“Surrender.” Dallion spat out the world as he twisted in the air, combining half a dozen skills as he weaved his way to the woman.
If there was a moment for the horse to spring into action, it was now. And still, it didn’t.
Refusing to let such an opportunity pass, Dallion swung at Priscord’s arm with both blades. The aura sword was easily blocked by the glowing dagger. The harpsisword wasn’t.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 200%
ARM SEVERED
Enemy will no longer be able to make use of its RIGHT ARM
It wasn’t a permanent effect, but still rendered the woman incapable of fighting, not to mention that it introduced her to a whole new level of pain. The shock was so great that while she didn’t voice it, Dallion could see it bubble within her. Fear, anger, and pain sprouted like clusters of large grapes, filling up her entire body.
“You’ve lost,” Dallion said, pressing both blades against her throat.
Deep inside, he knew that even with fifty instances around, this was a mistake. The proper thing was to kill her here and now, yet for some reason he found that he couldn’t yet.
“You’ll tell me everything you know about the emperor’s plans,” Dallion said, using his music skills to convince her.
From this distance, her harpsiswords were no longer capable of providing protection. The threads of music attached to the woman, issuing suggestions like a limiting echo.
“He knew you’d do this,” Priscord said, fighting the music’s effects. “He told me that in the end you’d fail.”
“Seems like he was wrong,” Dallion pressed on. “You’re done. You’ve got no allies, no army, and your trinkets won’t save you anymore.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen the best part.” A forced smile emerged on her face.
A moment later, the horse, which had remained still all this time, exploded. Thousands of magic strands flew in all directions, spreading like lines of bright purple. Dozens of them bounced off the magic thread mesh that Dallion had covered his body with. The rest just kept on going along a straight line, moving through matter as if it were air.
YOU HAVE BEEN EJECTED FROM THE REALM
A green rectangle flashed, throwing Dallion into the real world.
Forced ejection? Dallion fought to regain his bearings.
Once again, he was in the air, facing the archduchess and her armies. He was without feet again, covered in a series of bleeding wounds.
On her side, Priscord’s left ear was also bleeding. Four of her nobles collapsed lifelessly on the ground. The single one that remained rushed in front of the archduchess, still holding his large origami ax.
“You should have finished me off,” Priscord said as her soldiers got into formation. “They might be sealed, but they still have their previous strength and skills. Also, they’re still mine.”
Curiously, the horse was also there, completely unharmed. Concentrating, Dallion saw that the magic threads had largely diminished. Could the emperor have put a spell within the creature? It seemed that way. Despite several attempts, Dallion found that he was incapable of entering the awakened realms again. Each time he tried, a red rectangle would appear with a countdown timer.
Twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes. That was how long he’d be denied access; very similar to the limit imposed after failing awakening trials. This was the first time he was prevented from venturing into any awakened realm, even his personal one.
Veil? Adzorg? Dallion asked within his realm.
What? Veil shouted back. I’m working on it!
We hear you, dear boy, Adzorg said. I was able to recognize some of the symbols within the magic threads, but not enough to figure out what was going on. Like it or not, the emperor was considered the greatest mage for a reason.
“Figured it out?” Priscord asked with glee.
“I still own you.” Dallion responded by using his music skills. “Even with your broken army, you don’t have anyone to stop—”
A green cone flashed for a second, surrounding Dallion. It wasn’t something he was expecting, yet instincts developed during his first days of awakening kicked in. Green cones were guard markers, and there could be only one reason for them to appear.
Splitting into instances, Dallion scattered in all directions. Barely had he done so when a massive ray of destruction burned through Priscord’s army, vaporizing her along with hundreds of others as it targeted Dallion. Out of a hundred instances, only three had managed to survive intact.
Splitting again, Dallion repeated the process. Another ray of destruction flew past. Then another.
More golems? Dallion thought as he summoned all his weapons to him.
These spells were a lot more focused than the previous ones he’d experienced. Rather than relying purely on surprise, someone was targeting him specifically, constantly adapting to his tactics. Dallion slashed the air with his aura sword in an attempt to cast a few protective spells. The spell circles were consumed by another magic blast as soon as they appeared.
“Pesky thing, aren’t you?” A familiar voice asked.
In the distance another figure had risen into the air—a very brightly glowing figure that was over seven feet high.
“You?” Dallion asked, as he kept on combat splitting.
“Who did you expect?” The emperor’s aether echo kept on casting ray after ray, seemingly without any delay or limitation whatsoever. “Jeremy? He’s got more important things right now. Besides, I’m pretty sure I’ll do to you exactly what he has in mind.”
Using his domain ruler powers, Dallion filled the area with mountains. The only thing that did was briefly block the other’s line of sight, before several more rays punctured any obstacle Dallion had created.
“You killed Priscord!” Dallion shouted, attempting to use his music skills on the aether echo. To no surprise the strands bounced off.
“She was getting a bit too ambitious for her own good. If I had let her go on, she might have made a deal with Simon. Besides it’s not like she would be missed. I doubt there’s anyone in the world who gave a damn about her.”
Another mountain rose up, only to be hollowed out with one spell.
“She did her part, though, which was to make sure you couldn’t use the realms to escape.”
Even from this distance, Dallion could see the echo of the emperor grin.
“How did the saying go?” the other went on. “I could defeat anything, but I can’t be everywhere at once? Well—” he rubbed his hands “—as long as you’re here, I don’t have to be.”
Just as he was about to cast a double ray of destruction, a thin vertical line sliced the air and terrain beneath him, forcing the echo to pull back.
A line strike? Dallion wondered. And it wasn’t a standard one, either. It had to be one of the strongest ones Dallion had ever seen.
“I knew you’d get into trouble if I left you alone,” a female voice said.
In the south sky, a dot emerged in the sky. It wasn’t any dot, however; it was a green dot and a gorgon was standing on the top of its head.