Fun Fact: Aside from arcani, pyrite and sulphur are almost equally as valuable due to their impressive ability to store enough arcani to power an apartment within a mere two cubic centimetres. However, wands made of these materials are relatively uncommon due to the high cost of manipulating such a magically sensitive material.

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“Die, monster! Die-”

A Guardian choked, blood spilling from his mouth as a large claw gouged through his chest. His head was snapped off with a sickening crunch, and the rifle slipped from his lifeless fingers. The ground shook as the abomination lumbered towards the cowering herd of people.

It staggered to the side, crashing into the wall as something huge slammed into it from nowhere. The elephant bellowed once more before shrinking back into a man.

“Get out of here, my homies!” Nero shouted desperately. The people quickly obeyed, except for a girl who was still frozen in fear.

“Parthena, move!” He gestured wildly towards her, but a flash of movement caught his attention a moment too late. A giant arm caught his torso, flinging him away.

Brown fur sprouted all over the meta’s body in mid-air, and a large bear landed in his place. It released a paralysing roar, and charged towards the abomination. The animal mauled its foe relentlessly, but it had little effect on the monster’s tough hide. The bear got on all fours again.

With nothing more than a small woosh, a rhinoceros sprung forth and gored the abomination. It trumpeted with effort, trying to push its opponent back. The monster seized the three-tonne animal in response and tossed it at the girl cowering in the corner.

A sparrow slammed into her, chirping weakly as it dropped onto her palms. Parthena screamed as she narrowly avoided a claw flung in her direction. The bird leapt out of her hands and transformed into a gorilla this time. It picked her up and hopped away frantically-

The abomination sent both of them flying.

Nero tumbled onto the floor, dazed by the hit. He crawled forward as he desperately tried to bring himself back to his feet. His breaths got more desperate; the abomination was closing in on him.

A blue beam of light flew dangerously close to the man, grazing the monster’s side. It turned around and shrieked at the shooter instead.

“I’m not afraid… I’m not afraid…” Parthena muttered to herself as she fumbled with the rifle and fired off another blast. It struck the ceiling this time, and the abomination began to charge towards her.

“I’m gonna be a hero like him… I will be!” the girl yelled aggressively, missing yet another shot at the approaching monster.

She gritted her teeth in determination, struggling to control the weapon’s powerful recoil as she fired more blasts. “C’mon… Hit that thing, you stupid gun…”

An energy blast finally struck the abomination squarely in the chest, causing it to stumble. The girl yelped in delight and fired again at the writhing monster. A familiar figure caught her attention from the side, and her eyes brightened with hope. Her hero had arrived just in the nick of time too. Parthena giggled in giddy delight. This couldn’t get any better-

She gasped, dropping the rifle onto the floor.

“NOOO!” The cry seemed distant as blood rushed towards her ears.

Parthena’s body flopped limply as the abomination swung its tail, tossing the girl away carelessly. She wheezed, clutching the gaping hole in her chest where the monster had impaled her.

Through blurred vision, Parthena watched the boy leap towards the abomination, punching holes in its slimy body. His screams were primal, almost beastly sounding. But she knew he was no monster. He was her hero.

“Parthena! Parthena… Oh gods…” The boy fell to his knees beside her as the ground trembled slightly under the weight of the abomination finally toppling over. “No, please…”

She held his hand weakly.

“Thank you, Gaius…” the girl struggled to speak. “I’m glad… I met you.”

“No, no… please. Please don’t say that,” Gaius sobbed, his hands trembling as he pulled out the flower again. “You still have a promise to keep, remember?”

Parthena choked violently as blood spilled from her mouth, but she smiled nevertheless.

“I’m sorry… Keep this flower safe, will you?” she whispered.

Her lifeless hand dropped.

“Parthena, I’m so sorry…” Gaius choked in sorrow. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you on time-”

There was a resounding crash as another abomination broke through a nearby wall. The sorcerer’s laboured breaths turned into heavy breathing as he stood up slowly, glaring at the monster.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Energy flushed through his body more violently than ever, and his skin flaked away under the strain of the turbulent power. His mind faded to black as the energy within finally took over his sanity.

Gaius screamed.

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Pink blasts pelted against the abomination. They were not strong enough to hurt it, but annoying enough to distract it. The monster turned from the terrified group of people and roared at the smirking boy.

Yes, that’s right… Charge at me, you ugly brute…

Felix pirouetted out of the way right before the abomination could swat him aside. It crashed into two other monsters, effectively knocking all of them away from the medical bay. Tentacles intertwined them together in a writhing mass of flesh as they collapsed in an entangled heap in front of a blast-proof door.

“Kleo, now!” the boy called out.

“Bombs away!”

The grenade clanged on the ground comically, choosing to remain silent for a few seconds before exploding violently. Flesh splattered against Felix’s psionic shield as the blast shuddered through the building.

“Ugh, nasty.” The psychic released his power, and the pieces of meat splattered on the ground. Kleopatra stood up quickly from her cowering position behind him and straightened her clothes.

“Is that all of them?” she asked.

A grating roar followed.

“Just one left,” Felix said, scurrying in its direction.

It did not take long for the duo to find the last abomination, as well as a rampaging Gaius along with it.

Felix’s face darkened. His friend was hardly recognisable now, with barely any skin left on his energised form. The screams he was making were also more akin to a wounded beast rather than a human. The boy watched on grimly as Gaius vaporised the abomination with a huge beam of energy bursting out from his chest. The mass of corrupted arcani had already consumed his friend.

“Oh Gaius…” Kleopatra whimpered.

Gaius swung around as if in response to his name being called and charged towards them. Felix hissed, putting a barrier up while Kleopatra only widened her eyes in shock.

“Stop, Gaius! It’s me!” she yelled at the sorcerer throwing a barrage of punches at the shield. “Why are you attacking us?”

He only roared further in response, before turning his attention to a nearby supply tent. The boy burst towards it instead.

A pink hand slapped him away.

“Your mental pain is immense; I can sense it even from here. But I know you’re still in there, Gaius!” Felix shouted, standing in front of the refugee camp. Gaius growled as the energy intensified, making him seemingly grow larger in stature.

Pink covered the psychic’s outstretched hand in response. “Fight it, my friend! I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Des…TROY!” Gaius covered the distance at an alarming speed. Felix flicked his wrist and sent the boy soaring into the sky.

He burst off the ground as well, reaching Gaius’ position in less than a second. Psionic energy pooled in his fist, and Felix punched him away once more. The psychic chased the tumbling body, fully intent on restraining it. But Gaius was done being tossed around like a ragdoll.

He bellowed in anger as beams of light burst from his body. Felix darted around to avoid them, but one of them still managed to strike him in the abdomen.

The psychic grunted, allowing himself to drift back. That energy blast had packed more of a punch than he expected. He looked up again, and narrowly dodged a follow up kick. Gaius flew around him in a blur, launching a barrage of explosions at the psychic.

Damn it… he won’t let me breathe…

“Enough!” Psionic energy rippled through the air, pushing the sorcerer back. Felix raised his hands again, emitting a pink beam against another incoming orange blast. Gaius yelled in effort, increasing the output of his attack.

A small shockwave crashed into Gaius as Felix overwhelmed the energy attack with one determined push.

“Stop this right now, Gaius! You’re not a match for me,” the meta yelled. He tensed his body, fully expecting his friend to burst out from the smoke and hit him again. But Gaius’ body was curled up now, and his energy was flashing intermittently like a faulty ceiling light.

Felix caught a glimpse of humanity returning to his friend’s eyes. The lump of corrupted magic in Gaius’ body had also seemed to have shrunk down a little. He furrowed his eyebrows in realisation.

Abaddon’s magic had taken over Gaius’ psyche in response to his strong emotions, but it was still possible to drain it all out of him. He just needed a punching bag. Felix breathed deeply, steeling himself for what he was about to do.

“Hey! What’s the matter, too weak to fight back?” the boy taunted him. “Come on, let’s go for round two!”

“Felix, please… I… I-” Orange covered Gaius’ eyes as his voice distorted itself once more. “-Will destroy everything! GROOAH!”

The concussive blast collided with his shield once more. Gaius was hitting a lot harder this time, but Felix only smirked slightly behind the shuddering barrier. It was working. More power surged through his veins as he matched the power of the blast, negating the sorcerer’s attack again.

“Argh…” Gaius clutched his head in pain, magic sputtering out of his body weakly this time. “Ugh… Give me back my body, you… NO!”

Just a little bit more.

“You’re not alone, Gaius.” Felix punched him squarely in the jaw. “Share your burden with us. Hit me with all you’ve got!”

There was a blinding flash of light.

He crossed his arms, emitting a powerful shield as Gaius released all the energy in his body. Felix closed his eyes in concentration, stopping his psychic bubble from being pushed away by the shockwave. The searing air found its way to the ground, and trees vaporised under the sudden intense heat, leaving only charred stains on the soil.

Felix opened his eyes again. The resulting smoke cloud from that huge explosion looked spectacular, but this was no time to admire it. Wind gushed against his face as he flew downwards, catching the unconscious boy before he hit the ground.

“You’re quite a handful, you know that?” Felix chuckled as he landed gently on the now barren land.

He lay down beside his friend and closed his eyes for a moment.