Chapter 271: The Return

  Freya stared at the unfamiliar red sigils floating in a dome of light all around them. She swallowed, “Um, Stryg…? What’s going on?”

  “He’s a chromatic red,” Sylvie muttered.

  “I knew it,” Callum smiled weakly.

  Stryg glanced back at his friends, “You knew?”

  Callum tried to stand, but he winced from the stinging pain in his back. He settled with a nod instead, “...The way you spoke when you used to help me with my ward spell studies, it sounded so natural, as if you had cast them yourself.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?” Stryg asked.

  “I know a thing or two about hiding magic,” Callum grinned.

  Stryg smiled, “Thanks for keeping my secret.”

  “Meh, what are friends for?” Callum chuckled softly.

  “Anything else you want to share with us?” Freya glanced at the two pillars between them, “You know, before the Frost Rimmers and Undergrowthers try to kill us again?”

  “Actually, yes,” Stryg crouched and stretched one leg at a time.

  “Are you seriously stretching at a time like this?” Freya furrowed her brow.

  “We’re not surrendering, not today,” Stryg said. “But you’re right, the enemy will try to attack again. So, when I drop the ward shield, I want you all to run to the finish line.”

  “It’s too far, we’ll never make it,” Freya said. “Callum can’t even stand, let alone run and jump across the pillars.”

  “He won’t have to,” Stryg turned to the dire hybrid. “Sylvie will carry him. She’s more than strong enough, even with an injured shoulder.”

Sylvie glanced at her limp right arm and chuckled to herself, “I’ve always liked a challenge.”

  “Sylvie, are you sure? You were hit by a lightning bolt, I don’t know how you’re even standing,” Freya said skeptically.

  “I hate losing,” Sylvie grinned. “We’re getting to the finish line, even if I have to drag all of you with me.”

  “Good, I’ll cover your backs,” Stryg nodded.

  “Wait, you’re not coming with us?” Freya frowned.

  “Someone has to deal with the enemy,” Stryg said.

  “...You’re staying behind?” Freya’s eyes widened in horror. “No… No! We’re not leaving you to protect us, not again. We abandoned you once, I’m not making that same mistake again.”

  “This isn’t Widow’s Crag,” Callum agreed. “We stay and fight.”

  “Not today,” Stryg smiled half-heartedly. “This time I am the Shield.”

  “Stryg…” Callum’s face paled.

  “There’s no time,” Stryg said. “Our enemies are already recovering from their last bout of spells. You need to run now.”

  “You heard him,” Sylvie grabbed Callum by the scruff of his neck and tossed him over her good shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  “Ow ow ow ow,” Callum grimaced in pain.

  “This is gonna hurt for you, but just bear with it until we cross the finish line. Should be easy for you,” Sylvie smirked. “You’re so good at keeping quiet about things after all.”

  “Gods help me,” Callum sighed.

  “I’m sorry, Stryg,” Freya bit her trembling lip. “For everything.”

  “I’m not,” Stryg stood up. “If I had another chance, I would have fought by Clypeus on that cliffside all over again.”

  Freya hid her tears behind her golden hair and bowed, “...Thank you.”

  Stryg looked up, “That drow is still flying above us. She may still have more explosive potions left, I’ll deal with her first… On my signal, get ready to run.”

  Freya and Sylvie nodded, Callum simply clenched his eyes shut.

  Stryg took a deep breath and channeled orange mana into his muscles and bones, but instead of enhancing his speed, he focused the agility spell on reducing his weight.

  Stryg raised his head to the sky, “3, 2, 1… Now!”

  He released the ward spell and the red dome faded away. Freya and Sylvie dashed away, Callum on the latter’s back.

  Stryg quickly called forth yellow mana and casted a wind spell beneath his feet. He jumped up with all the force he could muster, the air wrapped around him in a whirling gale and hurled him into the sky like an arrow in flight towards Heather.

  Heather’s calm composure broke at the sight. Her eyes widened in shock, “No fucking way…!?”

  She hastily changed the current of the swirling winds around her and shoved herself away from the goblin’s trajectory.

  Stryg shot high above the stadium, but Heather had already flown two dozen paces away.

  Stryg didn’t hesitate. He released his spells and channeled black and brown. Shadow tendrils whipped out from his silhouette and latched onto Heather. She screamed in shock as he yanked her towards him. Stryg pulled his arm back, a bronze sheen of vigor magic over his muscles.

  “Wait, stop!” Heather yelled. She panicked and threw her arms in front of her face, yellow scales flaring to life around her skin.

  Stryg stared down at her, his pupils were as sharp as blades. “Not anymore.”

  His fist slammed down on her arms and shattered the yellow scales. The powerful strike blasted her away and sent her careening straight down into the arena’s artificial lake in a giant splash.

  Stryg released the spells as his body began to fall. He turned his gaze towards the pillar where the other two Undergrowth mages stood. Damian was casting another fireball, his arms aimed towards the sky.

  Yellow mana rushed into Stryg’s veins, scales of durability wrapped around his body. He channeled orange mana into his palm and summoned a fireball of his own. He flung the fireball down at Damian as he crashed down into their pillar. The two flame spells burst in an explosion of smoke and fire.

  Veronica’s lungs burned from the thick smoke. She ran out of the smoke and looked around. “Damian…?”

  “I’m alright, I’m over here,” he called out between coughs. Damian stumbled out of the smoke, his right arm was covered in blood.

  “Are you okay?” Veronica asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine,” he winced. “Don’t worry, I managed to blast that damn Sylvan goblin off the pillar,” he said proudly.

  Veronica visibly relaxed and sighed, “That’s good… Wait.” She frowned, “Sylvan…? I never told you he was a Syl-”

  A sharp pain struck the back of her head. Veronica’s eyes rolled up and she collapsed on the floor. Stryg stood behind her, his lilac eyes cold. Damian smiled, his form shimmered and faded away in the purple dust of illusion magic.

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  The smoke cleared around the pillar. The crowds gasped in shock. Veronica lay on the ground, motionlessly. Damian was only a dozen paces away, bloody claw marks across his limbs. He cried weakly, but he couldn’t move, let alone cast the simplest of spells.

  Shards of ice zipped through the air at Stryg. He ducked low, the razor-sharp ice flew right over his head. The frost giant hybrid, Lynn, leaped from a nearby pillar and landed a few paces away.

  “Nice dodging. Let’s see how you fare at close range,” Lynn said. Water formed around her hands and froze into shards of ice.

  Stryg narrowed his eyes, “Elemental magic? That won’t be enough.”

  “Then how about her?” Lynn smirked.

  Stryg felt a faint breeze tickle at the back of his neck. His ear twitched. Stryg threw himself forward and barely managed to dodge the strike to his neck. The silent drow, Nalla, stood behind him. Her veins were dark with agility magic.

  “Two can play that game,” Stryg sneered. Orange mana flowed into his body, his veins grew dark.

  Nalla didn’t hesitate, she dashed at Stryg and struck with a flurry of punches. He blocked the strikes and tried to follow up with his own, but she dodged with ease and followed up with a low sweeping kick. Stryg jumped away and winced as a shard of empowered ice grazed his arm.

  “Not so easy to dodge now, huh?” Lynn summoned another ten shards of ice.

  Before Stryg could even fling a spell at the frost giant, Nalla was on him, raining down another flurry of strikes.

  Stryg scowled and tried to block the best he could. She was fast, but not as fast as him. His body’s natural strength and agility gave him an edge over everyone, especially when using body enhancement magic, so why was he struggling to keep up?

  Nalla danced around his attack and followed up with several of her own. The air shimmered faintly around her fist as she struck his arms.

  Stryg’s eyes widened. This isn’t just magic. This is life force manipulation. She’s using life force techniques!

  Nalla abruptly dropped low and struck his knee. He grimaced and stumbled back.

  “Now!” Cordelia screamed from behind them. Shadow tendrils flew out from her hand and coiled themselves around Stryg’s limbs.

  Stryg snapped his head back at the surprise attack and pulled his arms forward with a shout of anger. The tendrils began to fray apart.

  Nalla leaped forward and kicked Stryg in the gut. He gasped and staggered to a halt.

  Lynn ran up from behind and wrapped her arms around him. A bronze sheen covered her blue skin. She grinned, “You’re not going anywhere!”

  “Get off me!” Stryg squirmed in her arms, but her vigor spell and natural strength were too great, he couldn’t move.

  “This ends now,” Cordelia pulled out a black orb. Dark wisps of smoke slipped out from the orb and pooled above the dwarf. The wisps of smoke darkened and formed into a shade, its mouth hanging abhorrently wide open with hunger. The shade grimaced and moaned in irritation.

  Stryg stiffened, “Soul magic?”

  “Ari hates the sunlight, but for you, she’ll make an exception,” Cordelia smiled ruthlessly. “Devour him, Ari.”

  The shade wailed and flew at Stryg.

  He released the agility spell and moved the orange mana into his mouth. He inhaled deeply and breathed out flames. The shade screeched and flew backward as the flames scorched its ethereal body.

  “He casted from his mouth!?” Cordelia cried out in shock.

  Lynn groaned weakly, the bronze sheen over her skin faded away and her blue skin turned icy pale. Her arms went limp and she tumbled backward. Stryg landed on his feet and stretched his back with an air of calm.

  “W-what did you do?” Cordelia stepped back.

  “Drain magic,” Nalla said grimly. “He’s been multicasting the whole time Lynn held him.”

  “Why try and break from the giant’s grip when I can simply drain her dry?” Stryg smirked.

  Nalla laughed to herself and looked at Stryg, resolve clear in her blue eyes, “Damn the Challenge. I won’t let you set a foot off this pillar, not while I stand.”

  Stryg cocked his head to the side, “Who said anything about getting off this pillar?”

  Nalla wrinkled her brow, glanced around, and did a double-take. “...What happened to his shoes?”

  Cordelia stared at Stryg’s bare feet and shook her head, “Who cares?”

  “It can’t be, it's too many colors…” Nalla whispered. “The amount of mana that sort of spell would require… no… you can’t do it…”

  Stryg slowly smiled.

  Nalla stiffened and turned to Cordelia, “Run!”

  Black tendrils sprouted from Stryg’s shadow and hooked onto Cordelia and Nalla. Stryg roared in defiance. The green mana he had channeled into the stone beneath his feet flared to life. The pillar shook and crumbled apart, sending everyone on it tumbling down into the cold waters.

~~~

  Calex Thorn heard the rumbling and shattering of stone echo through the coliseum. Gilgard Morrigan and his fellow Murkton mages turned at the sound of the pillar falling into the water across the arena.

  “Holy shit…” Gilgard whispered.

  Kalliste’s face went pale, “My teammates!”

  “Stay focused, we’re close to the finish line! Your team will be fine,” Calex said.

  “There are white eels in those waters! You’d just let them all die!? Your own team!?” Kalliste yelled.

  “I can’t fight these Murktonians by myself. If you leave now, we'll both lose,” Calex warned. “We’ll go help our teams after we deal with Murkton, it's the only way to win.”

  Kalliste glared at him, “Fuck you.” She turned around and ran back towards the fallen pillar.

  “It seems your little alliance wasn’t as strong as you thought,” Gilgard taunted.

  Calex sighed, “Unfortunately so.” A faint blur caught the corner of his eye. Calex looked up in surprise. Freya and Sylvie were running across the pillars and they were already almost at the finish line.

  There’s no time to deal with these orcs, Calex thought. He channeled agility magic into his body and dashed away.

  “He’s trying to run! Stop him!” Gilgard shouted.

~~~

  The crowds stared at the freezing waters of the arena. Chunks of rock were toppling over into the artificial lake from the remnants of the shattered pillar. Dozens of white eels swam towards the area, eager from the scent of blood wafting from the wreckage.

  A funnel of water abruptly whirled out from the lake, carrying Stryg at its peak. He channeled the torrential blue magic upwards and sent the funnel spiraling towards a nearby pillar.

  He landed on the pillar with a crash of water and quickly rolled to his feet, but he stumbled and fell to his knees. He was soaked to the bone, but his body burned from within from the overheating of his excessive spell-casting. His breath came out in cold wisps. His vision was beginning to blur and his fingers trembled incessantly.

  He wiped his wet hair back and glanced around the arena. Freya and Sylvie were close to the finish line at the other end of the coliseum, but so was Calex, with the Murkton team chasing a few pillars behind.

  A shiver of panic ran down Stryg’s spine.

  Calex wasn’t going straight to the finish line. He was heading to Freya and Sylvie.

  He’s not going to let them cross!

  Stryg lifted his right hand, his open palm pointing far out into the distance. His left hand gripped his right forearm and tried to steady his trembling.

  It’s a long shot… they’re too far… It’s getting harder to breathe… If I miss, then…

  Stryg swallowed hard.

  He remembered Mina the fairy and her tribe… He remembered that feeling… The feeling of desperation at the odds of death, at the odds of loss…

  “Who are you?” Clypeus’ voice echoed in his ears, “Because that person will have to do what no one else thinks they can. Win.”

  He took a deep breath, steadied his hand, and focused his gaze, “I am Stryg!”

  White mana surged into his palm and exploded in a flash of light. A white beam soared through the arena and struck Calex in the back as he jumped across a pillar. He yelled in pain and surprise, and fell down into the waters below.

  The crowds went wild and screamed hysterically.

  Stryg smiled to himself and fell over. He closed his eyes and let exhaustion take him.

~~~

  Stryg felt movement. He was moving.

  How?

  He slowly opened his eyes with a groan.

  “You’re awake? Good, just hold on a little longer,” a familiar voice said.

  Stryg’s eyes opened wide, “Sylvie?”

  She looked back at him and grinned, “Who else could carry you? You know you’re super heavy, right?”

  Stryg looked down at himself in confusion. Sylvie was carrying him on her back?

  Why?

  “W-what’s going on?” he mumbled.

  “I’m carrying you to victory, that’s what! The Challenge isn’t over yet!”

  “But what about Freya and Callum?”

  “I dropped Callum right at the finish line, but I didn’t cross it myself. Both of them finished the race first, thanks to you. The Murktonians and Calex finished right after. The others have just gotten out of the water, which is why we gotta hurry so we don’t come in last!”

  “...You came back for me?” Stryg whispered.

  “Obviously,” Sylvie said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t that what friends do?”

  Stryg closed his eyes and sighed, his lips curled in a small smile, “...Yeah, I guess they do.”

~~~

  Ophelia Thorn stood at the finish line. She stared numbly at Stryg and Sylvie as they crossed the finish line… Thousands of cheers echoed across the coliseum… Calex said something to her… But she heard none of it.

  All Ophelia could see was the blue drow hybrid that Sylvie carried on her back.

  It didn’t make sense… None of it made sense…

  Yet there the boy was, sitting next to his friends, smiling as if he hadn’t just changed everything.

  Ophelia couldn’t help but stand listlessly at the absurdity, the improbability of it all. She stared at Stryg, baffled. What boundless implications did the boy’s existence entail for the future?

  …The ebon lords have returned.