From where Elenora stood, the destruction of the south gate could be seen. An empty crater stretching as wide from the gate to the fourth checkpoint. Immediately, monsters near the vicinity rushed through the opening. Fortunately, the Oracle’s flames pulsed from the base of the tower and eradicated many of them as she managed to relocate what numbers were left to bolster manpower southside.
Elenora spotted Kaeth’s soul was safe under the barrier she casted around it. To get to him was its own problem as he sank under the sea of Shadowed Creatures. The enemy was slowly getting accustomed to the Oracle’s flames, and some became resilient to it.
As for the Shadowed Knight, the Hero, she verified it was forced to retreat after unleashing the Sacred Blade’s power. This gave what little window to complete her objective before it stepped into the city again.
“Saintess, where are you going?”
“Where is the Oracle? I need him with me.”
“Saintess, you can’t! We cannot risk you and the Oracle!”
“And we cannot lose Kaeth. He’s the only one who can hold off the Hero when he returns.”
“We could, we can muster a small unit to go in your stead. We’ll work on it now-.”
“Every gate is vulnerable. Reducing manpower from other sides would crumble our defences. I shall be on my way.”
Elenora tightened her gauntlets while inspecting their wear. She loosely let out a flurry of punches while her advisors were bewildered by such speed and control generated from her lean body.
“Any complaints?”
“T-this is absurd! You are putting your life in danger!”
“Then would you like to tag along? You’re able bodies, aren’t you?”
Her advisers grew pale. Elenora had recruited them solely for governing the city and tasked to create battle plans utilizing their knowledge of the city layout. None of them had long combat experience. Nonetheless, they continued to pester her to not venture into battle.
She plugged her ears and rushed down the corridor, ignoring their remarks. She was quick and soon, the noisemakers were left several corridors behind. Using this chance, she carefully snuck through hallways making sure she garnered no attention to where the Oracle was kept.
“Yo, Oracle! How’s your training?”
The chamber was riddled with craters and holes. A large scar ran down from the ceiling down to the floor.
Noticing he had not registered her presence, Elenora playfully skipped behind and examined the contents of the book in secret.
She spotted him with his nose deep in books with his weapon at his side. He concentrated to understand the materials of the martial arts manuals Shibata had lent him. Kihet studied the fourth book, [Full Moon, High Tide].
“Wah!” Elenora suddenly screamed. “Wait, it’s me! Elenora!”
A blade stopped at her neck faster than she could react. The wielder of the sword gave her along unfriendly glare and moved away after recognizing her face.
“You know better than to scare me.”
“I just couldn’t resist. So, how’s progress?”
“I’ve understood most techniques from verse one of Lunar Blade Forms. But I’ve got down all the basics of base forms. As for spells, I’ve memorized three.” He answered. “So? Let me guess. It’s terrible out there.”
“Kaeth’s down. I need you to help me retrieve his soul. We’ll set off tomorrow when there’s light.”
----------------------------------------
Two days before the defense:
“I can cast spells?”
“I’ve done some research for the races of your world.” Elenora ran her finger across the library of countless magic tomes. “The seven races are all able to establish a connection with the Elemental Spirits. However, the potential of casters depended on the strength of the initial connection. The Enuis are an exception to have strong connections with Elementals no matter what because [Ribbons] your kind uses.”
“And because I can use it, that means I should be able to use at least one attribute.”
“The question is which among the fourteen types.” Kaeth chimed in. The Elf briefly skimmed through some pages of a spellbook then shut it.
“Hang on! There’s fourteen?!” Kihet exclaimed. “I was taught there were only eleven!”
Although Kihet’s knowledge was limited, he did learn the basics of how magic was casted. One must use Alchemia words to establish a connection with the Elemental Spirits and speak the magic words in a sequence that would determine the spell’s effects.
Many spells were derived from the four primary attributes: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind. ‘Primary attributes’ could be combined to form ‘Compound Elements’ such as Ice, Thunder, Mineral, Mist magic and such.
Ank, Light magic was in its own subcategory and classified as spirit attribute. Kihet was lucky to have learned its properties through one his friend, Lemi, who specialized in it. Unlike Primary Attributes, the perquisites of using Ank-Light magic require the caster having never established a connection with Elemental Spirits governing the four primary attributes.
Kihet was baffled there were now two more attributes than the fourteen Kaeth knew.
“Kaeth, I can use the fourteenth and •••••• could use the fifteenth. Could the fifteenth be considered as an attribute?” Elenora asked herself as she plucked a book out of its shelf. “Oracle, may I ask which ones you were taught?”
“The primary attributes, compound ones and Gurd for earth, Sei for fire, Sep for Water, Furl for wind, Kan for Ice, Doram for thunder, Zor for Mineral, Hist for Nature, Mystr for Steam, Stolv for Dust and Ank for light. What are the ones I’m missing?”
“That would be Kerse, Yol and Aima. Dark, Void and Soul respectively.”
“And the fifteenth?”
“Well, I can’t really say much about it because I’ve never seen it. •••••• was researching it. Even I don’t know its Alchemia counterpart.”
“All this talk is boring.” Kaeth yawned. “Can we rule out the Oracle can’t use the primary and compound attributes? If so, I’d add Ank to the exception as well. Which boils down to two. Kerse or Yol.”
“What about the flames I got as the Oracle?”
“I don’t know. The feeling I get from the Oracle’s powers is not of an Elemental.” Elenora answered. “Anyways, it’s concluded from the test results you can use Kerse attribute.”
“Yikes.”
“Is it bad?” Kihet asked Kaeth. “Your expression doesn’t help but make me think I’ve drawn a dud since birth.”
“Kerse isn’t bad per say.” Kaeth shrugged. “It’s just that, no one understands the concept of it unlike other Elementals. The only other person I know who could use are the Acolyte of Wisdom and Defiance, but neither use it regularly. I heard some people died trying to find out.”
“So, it’s properties are unknown as opposed to other attributes.”
“Dark magic was deemed heresy and dangerous from my time but that didn’t stop people from using and researching it.”
There was now a small pile of books on the table. From research notes and spell tomes, it was there for Kihet to learn the fundamentals of the Kerse attribute.
“Well, I’ve also got good news.” Elenora interrupted. “The Oracle powers you’ve been using has stockpiled a reserve of magic you’ve been absorbing from spells you dispelled.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you don’t need any catalysts to cast spells back in the material world.”
“Seriously?! What about here?”
“You’ll have to craft your talismans or use magic crystals. I can teach you.”
“That’s fine. I can make my own. A friend taught me long ago.”
“Is that so? Then we’ll start with something simple.” Elenora slid a tome across the table. “You’ll recite the beginning of the passage to make a connection to the Elemental Spirit of Kerse. Kaeth and I will stop you if something goes wrong.”
“Like, there’s a chance I can die?”
“It’s all rumors. I don’t think it’s that serious.”
Kihet eyed Elenora suspiciously before diligently opened the cover. He flipped through numerous pages until he found an example he could recite. “Kerse, O’Dark Elemental-.”
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His voice suddenly went silent then a splitting headache stabbed his brain like knifes sprouted out of his head. He wanted to scream, but he felt his throat being crushed. Suddenly, his vision blurred as slowly light faded and a low tone echoed in his ears. It was awfully similar of a curse being casted.
The Elemental left him seeing the dark and an invisible force bend his joints into the wrong direction. It felt like he was possessed. Kihet tried to fight it, but it was gradually overpowering him.
Kaeth was the first to notice. “He’s acting up, Elenora!”
“On it!”
Before Kihet could lash out, he felt something his stomach warped inward as the torturous pain subsided and found himself flying into the bookshelves. He crashed headfirst into the shelves as pile of books cushioned and buried him.
“Oracle, are you still there?” Kaeth asked.
Kihet exploded out of the pile of books. “Why was I punched in the stomach?!”
“It’s called concussive therapy?”
“Bullshit! I wasn’t hit in the head!”
“Calm down for a second. I used Aima magic to dispel Kerse Elemental’s hostile takeover of your mind. I have to touch you for it to work, but I ended up punching you in a hurry.” Elenora bowed. “Sorry! Are you hurt?”
Kihet felt for injuries and gave himself a quick pat down. Surprisingly, he wasn’t wounded anywhere.
“I think I’m fine. Is this… normal?”
“Kerse is the only attribute that does this. Others usually only feel nauseous after their first connection with other elementals.” Kaeth answered. “So, you think you understand why it’s dangerous now?”
“Yeah, but it’s something I’d like to master. Now that I had a feel for it, I think I know what I should expect. I’m going to try again.”
Elenora and Kaeth exchanged expressions then braced themselves for a second round.
----------------------------------------
Present time:
Soldiers thought it to be magic distorting a line in the sky. Images seen through that space swayed as if looking at wavy lines from heated air.
Two figures suddenly leapt over fortifications and rushed at the enemy. They recognized the Saint in dazzling white battle dress with oversized gauntlets to pummel her foes. The other was the Oracle whose body was engulfed in silver flames.
The man in silver launched something identical to [Ribbons] Enuis used.
[Ribbons] were very fragile and would normally dispel if it encountered any physical trauma. However, Kihet’s [Chain] was sturdy. The end held a stiletto dagger to penetrate foes and anchor onto buildings enabling it to also be utilized as a grappling hook.
“Just a reminder, don’t rely on your spells too much if you’re not around me.” Elenora punched her gauntlets together.
“I’ll let you know if it starts to.”
“Then let’s bust through them after I buff us.”
Alchemia words glowed from the surface of her arm guards and a white magic circle formed under them. The characters faded before Kihet could get a good read at the engraving, but he noticed the effects of Elenora’s magic immediately.
Much like the spurt of strength the Oracle’s seal gave him, his body felt incredibly light after a faint light washed over him.
“Buffing complete! Time to… start!”
Elenora threw a fist in the air and hit an invisible surface. Seconds later, a powerful shockwave thundered across the city as a shockwave blasted the charging enemies.
“When is a Saint this strong?!”
“There is a title of a Sword Saint in my time. You could say I’m the Saint of punching and kicking.” She grinned. “I’m leaving the support to you! Watch my back!”
She did a running leap, twisting her body to bring her leg high and upon landing, delivered a devastating axe kick at the enemy. The ground ruptured, spit and a plume of dust scattered everywhere.
She then spearheaded towards a group of Behemoths and Greater Shadows, defeating them one by one with precise strikes. She gracefully moved as she was dancing through the crowd. Her flurry of attacks produced consecutive sonic booms and had the force rivalling a cannon rapidly firing where her foes were riddled with large holes in their chest.
A serpent headed monster suddenly dove at her. Before its claws could swipe down, it felt something harpooned its side. Shortly, a strong impact slammed the beast into the side of a building.
“You’re getting too ahead of yourself! Didn’t your advisors tell you to play it safe?!”
Kihet used his [Chain] to reel himself to the creature. He dropped kicked the beast with enough force to break its ribs and before it regenerated hard scales, Kihet’s blade tore into its wound with [Single Flash]. A quick draw attack. Putrid black muck sprayed all over him as he opened a wound deep enough to expose the giant eye located in its stomach.
His blade rose up and quickly cut the Immortal it with a powerful slash named [Tree Feller]. His blade cut through its core and defeated it.
Kihet looked down and saw monsters moving around to flank the Saint. “Oi, they’re flanking you! Jump!” And sent out a helping hand.
Elenora reached for the [Chain] and swung herself higher into the air. Her gauntlets illuminated silver light as she punched the floor, sending shockwaves to annihilate hundreds of Shadowed Creatures.
“Oracle, Seekers at bay casting magic!”
“I see them!”
Kihet leap down and sprinted towards the swarm of Seekers preparing a spell. Though talismans were often used as catalysts because of their lightweight, magic crystals had a unique interaction with the Kerse attribute.
“Kerse, Ulos, Pik, Exlas, Larv, Val!”
The crystal’s core darkened as magic was siphoned from it. The air surrounding him felt stagnant as he lobbed it towards the barrage of spells. Dozens of fireballs, icicle lances and lightning bolt were instantly caught by its gravitational pull, orbiting the magic crystal.
This was [Repulsion].
Once the talisman burned away, a firework of magic erupted within the group of Shadowed Creatures.
“I wish I could’ve casted spells back then.”
He took a hard look at a new talisman in his hand. Honestly, he gave up at some point in his life trying to use magic, but it was because of the Oracle seal’s fault. He was able to prove himself wrong as a fuzzy feeling welled up in his chest but that was quickly overwritten by sharp headaches.
Every time he casted the Kerse attribute, the dizziness grew stronger. He thought the world of his perspective would turn upside down or the sky would fall on him. Though he lifted the magic field surrounding him, the aftereffects lingered for a bit. As he recovered, his ears heard a soft lullaby of magic and warned him of more incoming spells.
He casted another [Repulsion] to shield himself.
“Watch out!”
A Demon soared past Kihet and plowed opened a path next to him. He saw Elenora zoomed by, elbowing a Greater Shadow’s stomach and performed a flurry of attacks using martial arts techniques. Ending with a palm strike, her opponent burst as if its organs ruptured from within.
“How many catalysts do you have left?”
“Enough to get us back.”
“I’ll be counting on you to defend me while I bring Kaeth back. He’s just beyond this crowd.” Elenora’s gauntlets produced a soft glow, and she used it to tap on Kihet’s shoulders. “The side effects should be taken care of.”
Kihet shook his head and raised his weapon as he led the charge.
The two of them never looked back as they mowed down the creatures opposing them. Though the monsters flooded in to reoccupy the empty spaces, they made progress faster than the enemy could catch up.
“I’ll beat the tougher ones!” Elenora declared.
“Then I’ll sweep up the small frys.”
Kihet casted [Kerse Armament] on his weapon, imbuing [Repulsion]. The shape of his blade became distorted from the spell enveloping it. The Enchantment increased the range of his slashes hurling an invisible force to throw his enemies back.
He dove at the enemies with [Crescent Moon Dance] and [Single Flash], unleashing a powerful stroke carving into multiple enemies. He learned of the proper technique to enable attacking while moving with [Crescent Moon Dance] from Shibata’s martial arts manual. It was the second form, Verse 1 of the Moon Blade form, [Waning Moon, Falling Petals].
Unfortunately, his [Waning Moon, Falling Petals] had less travel distance than [Crescent Moon Dance]. However, the ability to attack while evading brought new possibilities for approaching dangerous foes.
“We’re almost there!”
Shortly after, Shadowed Monsters were met with a lightning quick impact. Elenora vaulted off Kihet’s back and punched the ground, crushing flagstones underneath her. White spears erupted between the cracks and skewered enemies all around them.
Kihet then overtook her, and they repeated their pattern until they spotted a white glow of Kaeth’s soul.
“He’s next to that building! What do you want me to do?”
“Hold them off for ten seconds!”
“On it.”
Elenora slid underneath the barrier sheltering Kaeth from the wave of monsters while Kihet called upon his [Chain] for aid. The stiletto twisted like a drill and skewered a line of monsters to buy time to charge up for a strong attack.
His blade circled vertically, drawing an imaginary circle. The third form, Verse 1, [Full Moon, High Tide] empowered by [Kerse Armament: Repulsion] cut the first wall of enemies charging at him. Enemies within proximity were cut down in a single flash and those outside Kihet’s reach were repelled.
The enemy quickly flooded the vacant spaces left by their fallen kind and continued to fall by Kihet’s attacks.
Kihet consecutively to weave in and out of attacks with [Waning Moon, Falling Petals] while lowering enemy numbers. His perimeter gradually shrank. One person holding off against this many was an impossible feat. It was like scooping water out of a sinking boat with only your hands.
He scattered several talismans and casted [Repulsion] to hold enemy’s spells as mines to limit the number of enemies closing on him. Whispers start to cloud his mind as a ring of magic distorted his vision for every he casted without Elenora’s support. He inflicted a bit of pain to himself to combat the dizziness by stabbing his hand which allowed him to remain aware of his own actions.
[Chain] whipped around and slashed the oncoming foes, but Kihet couldn’t do anything about the Behemoth about to unleash a crushing blow with its club.
“Get down!”
He immediately dropped to the floor as a stroke of white line crossed everything at chest height. The space around them fractured as glass shattering noise echoed throughout the district only for all monsters hit to have cut down in an instant.
While the towering Behemoth lost its feet and tilted forward, an Elf flew up to its eye filled body and slashed it with his flaming swords. A firestorm brewed in his wake and burned the remaining enemies away.
“That won’t hold them off for long! Run!” Kaeth shouted.
Elenora snatched Kihet’s wrist and dragged him down the road. After nullifying Kerse magic side effects, she created a throwing knife from thin air and hurled it at an approaching Winged Demon.
“Good job for holding off. Are you okay?” Elenora asked.
“I was going to bite my tongue to keep my sanity if you two were a second later.” Kihet tucked away the rest of his talismans earning a questionable look from her.
“You should know that’s not guaranteed to work. Do you like hurting yourself that much?”
“If it’s necessary. I’m not a masochist. How did we get on this topic?”
“I don’t know.” Kaeth chimed in. “I wouldn’t want to get hurt even if it’s an option.”
“Not even a word of thanks?” Elenora asked.
“Shouldn’t it be after we’re safe?”
More enemies burst through the fiery wall, interrupting their friendly banter. Flames latched onto the monsters as they chased after the trio.
It was a straight path from here to friendly grounds. They were four checkpoints away which was quite the distance. As long as the three did not slow down, they would soon enter the zone where their allies could provide covering fire.
“Heads up! They sent Immortals to hunt us!” Kaeth pointed up at the roof. “It’s bringing up its eye!”
“I got that one!”
Kihet flung his [Chain] and pulled himself up the building where a group of Wicked Basilisks defended the one preparing its petrification spell. The moment his feet landed on tiles, he performed [Waning Moon, Falling Petals], nimbly avoiding claws and fangs. His blade severed an immortal’s neck as he passed by, observing which portion containing its core regenerated.
While the body fell limp and tumbled off the building, the bottom of the creature’s neck bubbled and sprouted a new torso. Having to identify where the eye was hidden, Kihet quickly spiked his sword into it, shattering its core before the petrification beam shot out.
Following his lead, Kaeth and Elenora flanked the other beasts and the three escaped pursuing enemies from atop the buildings. With the main road cleared, dozens of fiery rocks struck the creatures lingering in the open.
“Elin,” Kaeth hollered. “How many days are left?”
“The last day is tomorrow, but the Tower’s blessing will wear off at midnight.”
“I managed to hold off the Hero for half a day with the Tower’s blessing. I can’t imagine doing more without it.”
“What about the other gates?” Kihet asked.
“The north is low on manpower while the west and east are steadily following the schedule. Though it would be risky to move around large numbers, I’ve decided to swap a handful of strong individuals to compensate.”