Jay jumped over a whipping root, sending back a Thoughtcleave which the Mage sidestepped, the strike appearing in midair to hit nothing. He cut through a root he couldn't avoid, revealing three others. Jay rapidly weaved and dodged, managing to just barely avoid all the roots. Occasional water bullets shot from his fingers, all impacting harmlessly on the man. As Jay saw the man again, between two lashing roots, he used eyes of the collector, information appearing in front of him.

Level: ???

Class: ???

Abilities: Summon Root(?), Control Root(?), ???

Items: Emblem of the Metallic Council–Mercury(hidden to normal senses)/ Memory Stones(38x)/ Petrified Wood Armor/ Glenspear, the Defender of the Grove(spear)

Chances of victory: None

  Jay's eyes flicked over the information, and his mastermind immediately thought of why he wasn't dead yet. He was currently being played with, because the member found him interesting enough to not kill on the spot. He stepped around more roots his brain had already expected to be there and flicked his eyes to the bored-looking mage. The only way to win was to stall until Diamond arrived.

  He pretended to continue to attack, this time moving down paths he knew would be easily blocked, his slow movement forward entirely stopping. He continued to occasionally shoot water bullets, watching them splash against the man, who appeared to be wearing red robes. He now knew there was armor underneath. Millie stayed unconscious in her cage as he continued to stall.

  Jay didn't know how long he dodged, his mind starting to get fatigued from planning so far ahead. He watched the mage's face, making sure any facial tick that happened would be seen. Mastermind suddenly detected a change as the mage moved a hand. Jay stepped aside, letting a root draw a thin line of blood on his face as a root shot up from underground. He moved around more, avoiding the tight formation of roots' attacks. Suddenly, the barrage stopped as the roots descended back into the ground. The mage glanced at him. "I'm tired of you, boy. Time to die."

  Roots started flying out of the ground at insane speeds, no longer leaving gaps for him to dodge through. Jay minimized the damage, getting a root straight through the left side of his hip and the left side of his shoulder. He reabsorbed his soulblade, no longer putting on a pretense of attacking. He dodged, getting beat up as many of the roots still hit, unable to dodge everything. The mage finally shrugged, moving his hands once more. A thick forest of roots sprung up, creating a cage.

  Which started to fill with roots.

  One quickly grabbed him, and then another, and they started to pull in opposite directions after latching onto his hands. More grabbed on, pulling. Jay released Summon the Ocean, doing something he'd never tried before.

  Jay summoned a leviathan. The massive beast bottomed out his mana, staying in existence even after his ocean disappeared. It was larger than his root prison, breaking it by sheer virtue of existing. It roared at the mage, whose hair was slightly blown back. Rising into the air, it channeled a ball of lightning energy in its mouth, ready to launch it at the mage, who simply rolled his eyes. "It seems I will have to use more power."

  A massive tree spiked out of the ground, impaling the leviathan as branches forked out of it, cutting through the massive beast's body. It whimpered, breaking into motes of Mana. The mage turned to Jay, staring at him in the destroyed eating room. "Goodbye. You entertained me for a while."

  Roots grabbed onto Jay once again, as another one hovered directly in front of him, ready to pierce into his body. Jay used Flowering Domain, extending it as far as he could go before barely managing to summon a carnivorous flower beneath the mage's feet. The mage didn't fall in, simply floating over the ineffective flower. "Oh, this is fun," the Metallic Councilor said before stabbing the root through Jay's heart.

  Jay felt his heart slowly break, the root piercing directly through it. Blood flowed out through the pouring hole as the roots dropped him on the floor. The Metallic Councilor patted Millie's back, exiting the door. Jay saw them walking away, in slow motion. Why wasn't he dead yet?

  He suddenly heard a voice. Do you wish for help?, a female voice asked in his head.

  Do you have any malice, or is there anything I wouldn't want that can happen if I say yes?, Jay replied, taking no chances.

  I hold no malice, but you'll be channeling power that is currently beyond you. I don't expect you to be able to hold the power for very long without suffering damage.

  Jay nodded. Then, yes. Please help.

  A silver liquid poured into his chest cavity, condensing into a silver heart. It connected itself to his blood vessels, starting to fill with blood.

  Thump-thump.

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  It started beating and Jay gasped as his blood started flowing again. The mage turned around with a surprised look as silver flowed out of every pore on Jay's body, coating him with the liquid. It formed a thin sheet, covering him as if it was armor. The liquid covering his face turned transparent, allowing him to see. Tendrils of silver liquid shot out of him. Jay stepped towards the mage, raising a hand. A silver spike shot at him, breaking through a hastily created root barrier before hitting the man, smacking him backwards. Pain hit Jay, but he ignored his body's insistence that he was going beyond what he should be.

  The mage got up. "How-"

  He was smacked aside once again, another tendril hitting him. The mage pulled out a stone in midair, crushing it before he crashed into the ground. The mage got up. "You have the honor of seeing my actual skills, instead of skills I stole from a random person. Fool, you may die."

  A stone identical to the last one appeared in the Mage's hand and he stuffed it into his pocket. The mage seemed to teleport in front of Jay, moving at ridiculous speeds that he could somehow follow and keep up with. Tentacles launched out of him, blocking and attacking as one, pushing the man back. He punched a tendril with all of his might, but it barely shuddered before striking again, like a viper.

  Instinctively, Jay started varying the liquid's elements, forcing the man to punch acid and fire, with a backing of the silver liquid. He started condensing some in his left palm, a small framework forming for his creation.

  The man continued being harried until he let out a shout filled with desperation, his body getting even stronger as he started knocking tentacles aside. Jay's creation finished and he swung it at his opponent, the pain suddenly increasing. A sword created of the silver liquid flew in an arc, a rainbow set of colors appearing to be reflected by the blade at all times. The man attempted to knock the blade aside with his hand, but Jay cut through. He tried to block with a root, but Jay cut through. He pulled up his other fist, power condensing, before he punched the sword Jay was swinging. The strikes collided, one with a flash of rainbow light, the other a red light that was reminiscent of blood.

  Sheer power emanated from the collision, neither Jay nor the Councilor backing down. More pain struck Jay, his body telling him that the end was nigh. If he continued, death would be certain after he stopped using the power. He spat out blood, words appearing in his mind. You hear your body. Will you stop?

  "No. Never," Jay said. "I will not let atrocities happen. I will stop them at any cost, even my life."

  Just the answer I expected, returned the voice, full of mirth. Very well then. Continue.

  Jay continued his attack, pushing harder. In response, the mage kept pushing. Jay's arm started to break, the power passing through it too much for his body to hold. His arteries started to rupture in the arm, as both of his legs started feeling much of the same effects. His silver heart felt no strain, but the rest of his torso tried to tear itself apart. Jay braced himself and continued his swing.

  Suddenly, one of his legs stopped working. Jay looked down, seeing a destroyed lump of flesh. He attempted to dig it into the ground, to get it to work, but it did not. It was truly destroyed.

  Next was his other leg. Only the tendrils were holding him up now.

  Afterwards was his other arm.

  Then came his hips.

  Then his stomach.

  Then his ribs.

  Then his silver heart threatened to explode. He tried to hold it together, but his body refused to hold any longer.

  The heart exploded.

  His arm lost its strength, breaking apart as well, as the rainbow light his strike carried faded away. The mage's attack suddenly stopped and he looked down at Jay. "You could've had a real good future in the Metallic Council," the mage said, with a trace of pity, before walking away with Millie. Jay's vision darkened, and then finally turned to black.

  Jay floated in nothingness. He found several people looking at him, all of them with his own face and appearance, though it didn't seem like they had the same personality. One of the versions stepped up. "You're not allowed to die yet," he said. "Leave, and return. Accept the light."

  "Who are you?," Jay asked.

  "We are... remnants. You will understand more later."

  "Did one of you help me?," he asked.

  "No. Someone else did. I will not tell you who," his reflection said, utterly calm. "Return. There is no time for more questions."

  Jay grasped himself, finding the final embers of life fading. With a surge, he rekindled them, exiting the dreamland he had found himself in.

  Diamond stared at the boy's face. He was already dead, without any trace of the attacker. He sat down on the snow, covering his face. Another one lost. And so young, too.

  He turned to step away, leaving the child. Just to be sure, he checked again. There was no lifefo- Actually, there was.

  Diamond turned to the healers. "He's alive. Keep him that way. I expect him to be at full health as soon as possible."

  The lead healer stepped forward, a professional man. "Yes sir."

  He touched Jay's chest, a light glowing on its end. A massive shock of Mana was sent through Jay's body, the injuries reversing themselves until he looked normal, albeit covered in blood and sitting next to his own body parts.

  The healer scooped him up. "We're taking him to the hospital. Teleport us, please."

  Diamond quickly created a portal, watching the healers step through. He heaved a sigh of relief. Jay wasn't dead because of him, unlike so many others. He opened his status for a brief moment, checking his age. Many thousands. Age did not come without a price.

  Mercury stepped into the Council room, Millie following behind him. The currently attending councilors turned to him. Gold spoke, his seniority meaning he led the meeting. "Everyone shut it."

  The entire room quieted, knowing what Gold could do if they didn't. "Report, Mercury."

  Mercury started speaking. "I drugged the princess. Then I came to get her, and someone had apparently noticed. One of the students, the one with multiple paths. I gave them a job offer, and when they refused, toyed with them and stabbed them through the heart. Somehow, they got a heart made of silver liquid, and started fighting with that same liquid, overpowering me until I switched to my real class. Then he swung a sword made of that liquid, covered with rainbows, at me, and I had to counter with a Conqueror's Calamity. He actually held up, until his body started exploding. I watched him die. If he'd kept it up for a few more seconds, I would've lost."

  Gold nodded. "Concise, and to the point as usual, Mercury. Dismissed."

  Mercury nodded to Gold, walking away. He left Millie behind for the rest of the Council to examine. As he left the room, he couldn't shake a feeling of... not having killed the kid. Mercury shook the feeling off. He'd seen the body explode. He'd seen the life leave the kid's eyes. The kid was dead.

  Definitely.

  Very dead.