While the fight continued to be somewhat balanced, due primarily to numbers on Carrian’s part, and inexperience with his powers on Meryn’s, that did not mean that there weren’t any obvious losses.
There were now only two Wild Spirits that were still fighting alongside Carrian. Luckily, these seemed to be a matched pair, as they were much more capable of fighting together than any of the others were. They even managed to stay out of Carrian’s way and take the few opportunities to attack that were opened up for them.
Meryn’s presence continued to wane at an increasing pace, and his actions became more and more frantic as time went on. To conserve his diminishing mana, he was now engaging in melee combat with hard-light weapons, rather than shooting off beams of light. This allowed him to hold out without losing the mana he felt he would need to finish off Ezekiel. Though there was still a substantial loss as he no longer repressed the might of his Mythic Tier mana.
Carrian, on the other hand, didn’t bother holding back his mana. He had already known that the chances of him getting out of this alive were slim to none. The moment he made that initial dash out from the campsite after waking up had already opened the wounds in his brain. The bleeding was no longer something that he could hold off.
If not for the fact that he was controlling his body purely through the will of his soul, there was no doubt that he would have long since collapsed into a dead heap on the ground. As it was, the moment his soul was used up, or he stopped using it to move, he was dead, no matter what.
“What’s wrong, young monster? Where’s the self-assurance in your master’s power?” Carrian taunted, coughing a glob of blood as he did.
“KILL YOU!!! I KILL YOU!!!” Meryn was nearly incoherent. His soul well over halfway burned to nothingness.
Carrian smirked, he knew at this point it would be unlikely that Meryn would even have the awareness to chase after Ezekiel. Even if he died in the next few seconds, he figured that Ezekiel would be safe. Not that he had any intention of just rolling over and accepting defeat. His long-lost pride as a Hunter had been reawakened, and the thrill of the battle was making his blood boil.
“I almost wonder if I should be thanking you. I never thought that, as a Scholar, I’d lose my life in battle.” Carrian muttered.
A rain of icy spears poured down on Meryn, who nearly effortlessly battered them away. The remaining Legendary Wild Spirits took the chance to throw their own attacks from the side. Dashing out of the way as Meryn turned his attention once more. His large minotaur body was bellowing wordlessly in a blinding rage.
“I still can’t believe it.” Carrian said wistfully. "You remind me of the Cruors I used to face when I fought in the Desolate Lands. It’s a shame that you and your fellow cultists can’t seem to understand that.”
Though he barely understood what Carrian was saying by now, too far gone to comprehend languages, Meryn seemed to instinctively know what Carrian was trying to say. He began ignoring the Wild Spirit’s attacks, focusing solely on attacking Carrian.
“Oh, it seems I’ve hit a nerve--” Carrian was launched backwards as Meryn’s fist flashed at the speed of light. His one remaining arm now fading away as it was pushed so far past its limits that it disintegrated.
Carrian, for his part, found that he could no longer speak, even with the energy from his extinguishing soul temporarily fueling his vigor. His torso was crushed by that last attack, his organs were mulch, and he found himself unable to move, as more of his soul was exchanged for the energy to stay conscious, rather than simply die.
Considering the damage that he had suffered, Carrian was in little to no pain, but since his spine was powder, he realized the lack of pain made sense. Failing to move once again, he instead focused all of his attention on manipulating his mana for his spells.
Walls of ice, multiple feet thick, formed around Meryn’s approaching figure. It slowed him down somewhat, but he simply used his horns to headbutt through them. As his arms were no longer there to swing his now dispelling weapons.
The two Wild Spirits continued their assault as well, but it seemed like Meryn was no longer capable of feeling pain. He was entirely focused on Carrian, who had dared to compare him to the Cruor. The beings that the Cult of Light despised as much as the Anathema that he hunted.
‘It’s a shame. I had hoped that I’d be able to see what sort of world that boy would bring about.’ Carrian thought to himself.
His walls of ice had faded away. Meryn’s body was punctured with denizens of spears that were melting from the heat emanating from his light. Carrian refused to close his eyes, however, even as Meryn stood above his failing body. He raised his hoof over Carrian’s head.
‘Good luck, Ezekiel. You will need it in the days to come.’
KABOOM!!!
Meryn’s hoof slammed into the ground, crushing Carrian’s body into a fine paste. But he didn’t stop when Carrian’s body was splattered across the landscape. Meryn was so lost in his rage, that he continued slamming his hooves into the ground. Over and over, again and again, he continued to do this. Not even noticing when the last two Wild Spirits had vacated the area.
“RRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!” Meryn bellowed out a triumphant roar as he stood over his nonexistent foe.
Looking around in confusion, he sought out the next enemy he needed to fight. For a moment, he didn’t do anything but stand still as he looked around. His body was on the verge of collapsing. He was hunched over the crater he had made in the ground. Panting breaths were the only noise he made as he swayed from side to side. It didn’t seem like he would be able to hold in much longer.
Suddenly, his ears perked up. As if he was hearing a voice that didn’t exist. Turning his head to the direction of the island’s center, he let out a ragged whisper.
“Anathema...”
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Ezekiel didn’t know how much time had passed since he and Kari had fled from the battle. However, he knew that the fact that Meryn hadn’t caught up to them could only mean that forces were holding him back.
Shine had also remained silent, knowing that there was nothing they could do to make this situation better. Instead, they and Ezekiel just made themselves as comfortable as possible as Kari carried the two of them through the forest.
He couldn’t help but feel a tightness in his chest at the thought of the people he’d grown to care for during his time at Sanafalls sacrificing themselves to make sure he could escape. While he knew the Grand Scholars were powerful, he also knew that there was no way they could have lasted this long without casualties.
Scarlet had only been at the lower end of Tier four when she lost her Spirit. So she wouldn’t have been able to last long in the fight. Similarly, Carrian and Marwyl, whilst older and more experienced, didn’t have Spirits either. Even though they were at a higher Step than Scarlet, the lack of Spirit meant they wouldn’t last half as long as the Hunters.
Yet, Ezekiel knew that the Hunters would’ve likely had to retreat by now. The increased expenditure of mana needed to defend against Mythic Tier spells would mean they would be channeling their mana like crazy.
“Do not think about it.” Kari’s gentle voice drifted into Ezekiel’s ears. “Focus purely on the here and now. Focus on staying alive. Nothing else. That’s what they would’ve wanted for you.”
“But the Cult is after me. Marwyl and his expedition must know this. All I’ve done is cause you all problems.” Ezekiel said in a subdued tone. “All of these problems could’ve been avoided if I’d just stayed away from the expedition.”
“That’s not true. For all we know, they would’ve come after us purely for the Temple of the Void. In which case, our expeditions would’ve been attacked anyway.” Kari stated. “You are special, there is no doubt, but it is arrogant of you to assume that you are the only reason they might have attacked us.”
“... Why are you doing this? We barely know each other. You and the others didn’t need to help us.” Ezekiel said. A sense of guilt and frustration emanated from Shine. They felt the same as Ezekiel, but fully believed that Ezekiel needed to be saved. Not themself.
“The others were bribed by the Forest Spirit. Their expeditions will gain access to the Temple of the Void. As a reward for stalling as long as they could.” Kari explained to him. “I am helping because the old man asked me to.”
Ezekiel was only somewhat shocked that the Forest Spirit had made such a promise. He was significantly less surprised that the Hunters agreed to such terms. Although Kari's reason piqued his curiosity.
“What did Carrian do to get such loyalty?” Ezekiel couldn’t help but ask. “I don’t think you’ve once disputed his orders. Given your own opinions, and asked for confirmation, but you’ve never questioned them.”
“He saved my life from pirates. Then he acted as my patron when I tried to get into a Guild. None would take me in, due to my history as a cabin girl.” Kari told him. “Since then, I’ve kept in touch, and whenever there’s a situation that needs additional support that necessitates a stronger Guild than what the nearest locals can provide, I step in.”
“So, we’re both strays picked up by Sanafalls.” Ezekiel said. “Carrian... how was he when you all set out after us?”
Kari didn’t reply right away. She wasn’t medically trained. Her element didn’t support such endeavors. But she knew how to read people better than most. While the healer had been behind Carrian at the time, checking him over, their expression wasn’t that good.
She didn’t know much about head injuries, but apparently, they were difficult to heal, since if they healed wrong there would be long term changes. Possibly even permanent damage that couldn’t be fixed. But Carrian had gotten up, even when the healers looked panicked. Worse yet, the only healers they had on hand were Adepts. While most were quite skilled, only Legendary healers were expected to be proficient at fixing brain damage.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“He was certainly spry when we left. But I didn’t like the look on the healer's face when he gave the order for us to set out.” Kari said. Her tone was neutral, and she tried to keep the worry out of her voice. But Ezekiel could clearly hear her concern.
“I see. Thank you for being honest with me.” Ezekiel said. He knew better than to keep his hopes up if that was the case.
Throughout all of the conversation, Shine remained silent. They had fallen into a meditative trance, attempting to regain whatever mana they could. Just in case. While also ignoring the biting pain they were feeling at the thought of Carrian not making it out alive.
Suddenly, a glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye caught Ezekiel’s attention. Enhancing his senses and turning his head from his position in Kari’s arms, he felt a chill go down his spine as he saw a golden dot in the distance.
“MOVE TO THE SIDE!” Ezekiel’s voice caught Kari off guard, but her focus didn’t waver as she dodged to the side. A ball of light blasted through the area as she stepped out of the way of Meryn’s massive form. The crash of the enormous body nearly sent Kari and Ezekiel flying.
“ANATHEMA!!!” Meryn’s cry echoed through the area.
Recovering from the shock of the blast wave, Kari managed to regain her footing. Holding Ezekiel tighter to her body, she braced herself to run as fast as possible.
“Hold on. This will feel weird.” She said in a frantic hurry. She then dashed away, with Ezekiel and Shine, hoping to avoid whatever Meryn intended to do.
But Ezekiel wasn’t listening. With his eyes enhanced by his mana, he could clearly see Meryn’s condition. It was as if his faintly glowing form was now reflecting the state of his soul. His movements were, relative to before, sluggish and twitchy. As if he couldn’t control himself.
A ball of light formed between Meryn’s horns, but to Ezekiel and Shine’s surprise, it didn’t shoot a beam of light at them. Instead, it seemed to flicker and fade away. Meryn tried to take a step towards them but stumbled onto the ground. His body was spent, and his mana was nearly empty. If Ezekiel had to guess, he didn’t think that Meryn had any more mana than himself right now.
“He’s already dead...” Ezekiel muttered as they moved further and further away from them.
Suddenly, Meryn glared directly at them. Pointing his horns towards their direction, Meryn seemed to glow more brightly for a moment, his form taking on a more solid golden luminescence in the process. But it was erratic, as if the spell couldn’t hold.
“Shine.”
“On it.”
Mage and Spirit were of one mind as they witnessed the figure that was charging toward them. Meryn’s body had turned into a beam of light. One that was clearly intending to ram into them. This was a spell that Ezekiel was well aware of. One that his father had once told him about during their training session when he was preparing for his first expedition back in Harkem.
Pulling Shine from their sheath, Ezekiel and his Spirit channeled their mana into a series of barriers, knowing that, at this point, Meryn had no chance of breaking through all of them. Even with his denser mana, they guessed that Meryn just didn’t have enough.
The sound of shattering glass echoed half a dozen times as Meryn broke through several of the barriers that Ezekiel and Shine had erected. But the sound of a loud gong reverberated through the forest as the cultist failed to break through the seventh.
“It’s okay. We can stop now.” Ezekiel said to Kari. Who had slowed down and braced herself in a defensive position.
Taking a chance to look behind her, Kari saw that Meryn had collapsed on the ground. It seemed like he was no longer able to keep himself upright. He no longer glowed with the light of his mana. He seemed like he couldn’t even breathe as his chest heaved with a wet gurgling hiss. Ezekiel found himself put back on the ground but stayed behind Kari as they cautiously looked on.
“I know that we should probably keep running. But I don’t want to give him a chance to get away.” Ezekiel said.
Seeing Meryn on his knees, barely a few dozen feet away, made a hateful anger boil within him. But he kept himself controlled. He knew that trying anything now might risk something going wrong. He couldn't do anything stupid that would endanger his life. He wouldn’t spit on his allies’ sacrifice like that.
“You don’t need to lie to me. I want to see him die as well.” Kari said. She knew just as well as Ezekiel, that it was likely that at least one of their companions was dead. Even if they received reinforcements from the Wild Spirits, there was no chance that they would have remained to fight if Meryn was winning the battle. Only Carian or Scarlet would have remained to fight until the bitter end.
Holding her hand outward, Kari sent out a maelstrom of cutting winds towards Meryn’s barely moving body. The crack of thunder broke through the air as her Tempest broke the sound barrier. It continued for several seconds as Kari channeled her mana to continue dice and pummel Meryn for as long as possible.
Finally, letting out a gasping breath, Kari released her spell. She remained upright, but it was clear that she had channeled a lot of her mana. But it seemed to do the trick, as Meryn fell over onto his side. No longer breathing, and it seemed like motes of light were drifting away from his body. Just like what happened to a Spirit when they died.
But as his form faded away, flesh and blood remained, and Meryn’s broken, and mangled corpse was all that remained. It was a twisted and mutated form. No longer looking like a minotaur, Meryn was once again a relatively human-like being.
However, he still had his horns, jutting from his forehead, cracked and splintered. Similarly, his legs were a cross between a hoof and a human foot, with hair growing from his body in uneven patches.
Approaching with care, Ezekiel and Kari moved to see what remained of Meryn’s form. Just as they reached him, Meryn’s figure twitched. A faint golden light appeared in his eyes.
“Anathema...” A quiet whisper drifted from Meryn’s mouth, but there was no movement from his mouth. Nor were there any significant movements coming from his body. After a brief moment of concern, the light faded from Meryn’s eyes. His body went limp, and the Hunters watching him partially relaxed.
“Are we sure that he’s dead?” Shine asked in a cautious tone.
“Hit him again. Just in case.” Ezekiel muttered aloud.
“Gladly.” Kari replied.
Once again, the area filled with the sound of a maelstrom as sharpened winds cut through Meryn’s body. Ezekiel tried to watch, but even as angry as he was, he couldn’t stomach the scene. It seemed like Kari couldn’t either, as she had also turned away after a few seconds. Simply holding her hand to the side as she channeled her mana.
Turning back after Kari finished her spell, Ezekiel saw that there was barely anything left of Meryn in the area. Just a bloody splatter and a broken husk.
“Let’s get out of here. I know we were headed to the Temple of the Void, for protection and help from the Forest Spirit. But I really just want to see our friends right now.” Ezekiel said in a quiet voice.
Kari remained silent, but after picking Ezekiel up, she began running away from the center of the island. Back towards the direction that they came from. She clearly agreed with Ezekiel’s sentiments. The unspoken concern regarding who had likely died for them to have survived this long was ignored.
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While it took some time to return to the area they had first split off from, it was simple enough to find the signs of battle that had taken place. Following the traces, Kari and Ezekiel managed to not only get an idea of the level of the fight that had occurred, but also managed to find the end of the conflict.
A large crater in the ground was all that they found. Noticing where they were, they realized that they had actually backtracked towards the center of the island a little bit. Carrian and Meryn had a somewhat moving battle as former did his best to distract the latter.
They could tell that this was where the battle ended, however, as it was clear that the signs of battle had ended. Ezekiel figured that this must’ve been where Meryn had turned into a beam of light to catch up and ram into them. Though how he knew where they were from this far away was something he couldn’t figure out.
“I don’t see any remains.” Ezekiel said. “But it looks like something crashed into the ground here. Several times at that.”
“You don’t think that there’s anything underneath that, do you?” Shine asked, bringing Ezekiel’s attention to the center of the crater. A large amount of rubble had accumulated. Enough that the hole at the center was basically filled.
“Let’s find out.” Ezekiel replied.
The pair began moving the rubble out of the way. Kari came over after checking out the surrounding area to see if it was relatively safe. They had no way of knowing whether or not any of the Wild Spirits nearby were waiting to attack them after all.
It took them nearly an hour, but they managed to remove all the debris from the crater. Ezekiel nearly lost his lunch, but managed to hold it down as he witnessed the past that was once Carrian’s body. Seeing that the only somewhat intact part of him was his robes, he grabbed whatever scraps he could.
Off to the side, Kari was silently crying, knowing that it was Carrian, not Scarlet, that had died here. He would never have let the, relatively, younger woman remain in the fight after she had run out of mana. She had been somewhat expecting it, but that didn’t mean that she had any desire for it to be true.
“Let’s go. There’s... there’s not enough to recover.” Ezekiel muttered softly. Tears of his own were streaming down his face. In the back of his mind, he could hear Shine bawling noisily as they had no way to cry as Ezekiel and Kari did.
“Agreed. We should go and spread the word to the rest. The danger has passed. For now.” Kari stated. Picking up Ezekiel once again, she gave one last look at the spot where Carrian had died. Turning her head, she dashed off without a second glance.
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It was several minutes later that they managed to find the remaining Legendaries. They had gathered around the remains of the collapsed Ruins of Trigat. It was clear from the fact that most of them were meditating, that they intended to move out again as soon as possible. But for Kari and Ezekiel, they knew it was too late.
Seeing Ezekiel and Kari approach, they all let their guard down. Knowing that the two Mages wouldn’t have been able to circle back this quickly if Meryn was still alive to block their path.
Before anyone could ask them, what had happened, however, Scarlet ran forward first. Marwyl, knowing what Carrian had intended, held back the Hunters from approaching for now.
“Where’s Carrian?” Was all that Scarlet asked as she got up close to Ezekiel.
No words were said. Instead, Ezekiel just passed on the torn and bloody fabric that was once Carrian’s robes. Her eyes went wide. She knew that, if they had found his robes, then they must’ve expended as much time as possible looking for a body. She clearly understood what it meant, as there was nothing else that they were carrying.
“I know it’s no consolation.” Ezekiel said as Scarlet began to cry. “But we ensured that the Cultist didn’t leave a corpse either.”
Allowing the woman to grieve, Ezekiel moved past her while Kari bent down to hold her. They had both lost a mentor and a friend today. As had Ezekiel, but it seemed like he would be breaking down later, as he allowed his emotions to be suppressed in full at the moment.
“Grand Scholar Marwyl.” Ezekiel said as he approached. His voice only barely choked up. “I understand that you would know more of the battle that occurred than me. But it was ultimately Guild Leader Kari that dealt the final blow. We can confirm that the threat of the... altered Cultist is dead. As the next most senior Mage here... what should we do?”
Looks of shock spread across the faces of the Legendary Hunters that were surprised at Ezekiel’s eloquence, given the situation. A part of them was surprised at his maturity. Another was concerned at the seeming lack of emotional response to the death of such an important figure.
Marwyl knew better, however, and called Ezekiel out on it.
“You’re suppressing your emotions. Stop it.” Marwyl ordered. “That will be step one. Step two can be handled, after we get you and your expedition leaders back to your people.”
A look of confusion spread through the Hunters watching. Though Kylie and Yorn seemed to understand what Marwyl was implying.
For a second, Ezekiel refused. He didn’t allow his emotions to affect him. He knew that he’d be disabled if he did that. But, Marwyl held his gaze, and Shine decided that enough was enough.
“Please. Do what he says. I’ve never seen you this dead inside before. Even in the Cruor’s territory.” Shine said. “You’re scaring me.”
With those words said. Ezekiel relented. Suppressing his mana, he felt a warmth flow through him. Followed by a shock as he threw up in front of the gathered Hunters. Bawling his eyes out, Ezekiel wept for the man who’d supported him since the day he’d set foot in Sanafalls.
Behind the scenes, or directly addressing him, Ezekiel only ever knew support from the old man who’d died so that he could run away. It wasn’t until several minutes had passed that they finally set out.