The explosion of Anti-Element Vortex wipes out the second squad of spirits, turning them into a layer of blue particle on the surface of a spherical area. This time the nymphs don't have chance to gather those particles because Atrament is dragging them backward.
"That... How is that possible?" "He had just enough MP to cast it twice?"
The remaining five spirits on Cruris's side are flabbergasted. But Cruris himself is more than angered. He just lost nearly fifty servant in two spells cast by a spirit that hasn't reached Lv20 yet.
The Kraken spirit swing his tentacles like mad as he charges forward, ignoring the five spirits in front of him. Those spirits try to avoid their crazed master, but one of them was unlucky, being swung at by a huge tentacles. It would be hard for a Lv45 to instant kill someone around Lv30 by accident, but nonetheless, the unlucky spirit has a huge chunk of its body disappeared. Blue particles leave its body like rain from a cloud.
["Kill them for me!!!"] The Kraken's roar echo in the remaining spirits' mind.
They give their dying comrade a look of pity before turning away to follow the kraken. Without any order, they started casting support spell on themselves, becoming four streaks of blue light, getting in front of their master again.
The nymphs, seeing the enemies' advancing, immediately cast another group of purple shield. However, the high level Water spirits charge right through the explosion without much problem. Their levels are higher than the nymphs, along with their Water Armor, it's natural that these Dark shields can't do a thing on them.
Cruris also charges into the shields. However his size are too big for it to encompass his way, and with an idly swing of his glowing tentacles, the shields are shattered into violet particles.
"Fall back!" As the enemies approach close, Atrament hisses then throw everyone in his tendrils behind and again forms a solid barrier with the tendrils.
The nymphs swiftly grab the unconscious Glutton and try to carry it back to the domain, ignoring the shaking Selachian floating in the air.
The Water spirits start hitting the tendril-barrier with their short-range spells. One of them tries to sneak through but is immediately hit by a lone tendril.
"You ssshall not passss!" Atrament's voice accidentally trails over as he shrieks.
Cruris doesn't take Atrament's barrier in his eyes, simply swing a tentacle at it. However, upon contact, a ringing sound of metal hitting metal echoes across the area, surprising the kraken spirit.
"I've been saving up my power only for the day I defeat you! And it's today!"
Without letting the enemy to reply, the snake spirit sinks himself halfway into the Abysmal Sphere. The tiny tendrils on its surface grow and start covering the snake's white body. The tendrils inside the barrier suddenly grow in size, now shooting a jungle of smaller barb-like tendrils from their side.
Normally, an attack like this won't be able to deal much damage because the quality of each barb was divided into quantity. However, at close range, the rate for each barb to hit is tremendously increased.
The water spirits can't reach in time and get themselves impaled on the barrier. They frantically pull back, leaving countless hole on their body, leaking blue particles. One of them, the one who was hurt before by a tendril, now can't even survive to pull back, dissipating into a chunk of blue particle on the barrier.
The kraken, unfazed by the death of another subordinate, starts drawing large blue runes after ordering the wounded spirits to continue attacking by waving his tentacle. The spirits start using longer range attacks this time, destroying many of the barbs.
["Deluged..."]
Suddenly, water element gathers in front of Cruris, dyeing the entire area blue. Even the nymphs who have ran far away feel like they're underwater. A liquid-like restriction are placed on their body, slowing them down. However, it's not the main effect of the Cruris's spell. The sheer amount of water element energy he gathered for this spell has rinsed the space itself.
Glutton gags, opens theirs eyes and looks around. It should take a while for someone with Mana Depletion to wake up on their own, but due to the watery air, the two-headed wolf was forced to wake up with a single digit of MP left. The two heads turn to look at Cruris's direction just as the kraken finishes his spell.
["...Vortex..."]
A large blue magic circle explodes, carrying dozens more smaller circle, scattering them across the space. All of these circles are connected by strings of tiny circles. A clanking sound reverberates in the air as a circle at the center starts spinning. The motion is carried over to other circle. Soon, the entire area around the barrier is surrounded by a blue funnel made of magic circles.
"Such high DEX..." Atrament, upon seeing the complexity of the spell, understand that it's impossible to break it given his ability. However, he has to intercept this spell.. to protect the one behind him!
The nymphs are just disposable pawns; however, Glutton is currently his only ticket to meet with the Mana Dragon. He knows how hard it is to sneak back into the Temple, he tried. But this wolf is like a secret tunnel that no one can remove. He has to protect it at all cost!
["...of..."]
A torrent of water is shot out from the innermost circle, followed by the surrounding circles. Looking from sideway, a giant needle is formed from smaller needle of water, spiraling around its center, coming out from mid air.
["...Frozen Spears!"]
Before the water needle hit the darkness barrier made of tendrils, the outermost circles shine. The temperature is dropped drastically and suddenly, turning the spears of water into spears of ice.
The barrier couldn't hold a single spears. The torrent of ice rains onto the barrier and easily skewers the white snake at the center.
Glutton stares at the scene. Brown doesn't know if it should feel sorry for the snake, but Red has a complicated feeling... but soon, it is overjoyed!
Like a bubble being pierced by needle, the barrier collapses onto itself, becoming a sphere of tendrils that Atrament was coiling on. The sphere shrinks further than that until the white snake is bared completely. For outside observer, his body is tinted blue from the frozen world surrounding him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Atrament is a snake. While coiling on the Abysmal Sphere, he looked big. But in reality, most of the volume he occupy is the sphere itself. Now that the sphere disappeared, the "skewered snake" is revealed to be coiling around the converged ice spear. He might be stuck there, but none of the spears manages to cut more than a third of his body's diameter. Still, the rain of purple particles shows that he is hurt pretty badly.
["You managed to stop all of it? But now that you can't use the Sphere anymore, what can you do?"]
'I regret relying on the sphere too much...' Atrament thinks to himself while trying to slither out of the giant floating iceberg.. but he can't move far. Some part of his long body is tied into a knot or frozen stiff.
["I guess I will just crush you to take the sphere..."] The kraken says as it floats closer to the ice sculpture.
"In your dream!" Atrament hisses then hits his head against the ice. Surprisingly, the ice where he hits breaks like glass, scattering blue and purple particles in the air. Not waiting for the kraken to respond, he splits something from his mouth toward the nymphs.
However, the nymphs frantically avoid the purple bullet without a second thought, leaving Glutton looking directly at it. The nymphs have never had much trust in their master, knowing that they could be used as food at any second. Meanwhile, the Selachian has escaped far away and Glutton is too tired to move.
"Gul.." The 'bullet' directly enters Brown's maw.
"What was that?" Red turns to ask.
"Fools! Take the sphere and fly away!" Atrament scream from afar.
"Eh?.. Ah..." While Glutton is still dumbfounded, the nymphs realize what happen and grab Glutton, dragging it down.. only to be stopped by Cruris himself.
DEX increases Speed...
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Meanwhile, Soul Realm.
Vitae, who was floating beside the wormhole to Origin Realm, suddenly find herself bathed in Mana. Her creator is casting some ridiculously strong spell again. Looking at it, she could see if this is a Primal Magic.. and it isn't.
Seeing it's just a Holy element spell being accompanied by 6 other elements, Vitae decides to let it go. Normally, it's nearly impossible for two clashing element to be in the same chant like that, not to mention three pairs of clash; but Origo is hardly count as a-single-being.
"Sacrament?" Noticing the raise in her Holy element aptitude, Vitae snickers to herself. "And you said you didn't like being worshiped... Huh?"
The Life Goddess who can sense all the Life around her, suddenly feel something strange nearby.. It's Glutton's two colored soul. The Toothpick is technically part of Glutton and is in the area of Sacrament's effect. The spell is trying to raise Glutton's Holy element. However, at the same time, a source of Dark element is invading its soul.
"Again? How did you keep getting two clashing elements at the same time?"
Vitae wouldn't have to do anything to Glutton this time. A Cerberus can carry multiple different elements, even clashing ones. By her calculation, the wolf would grow two more heads at most... or so she thought.
She didn't know each head's personality.
When Glutton became a two headed wolf, it didn't grow another head. The original head split to two, forming two different personalities. It's normal for each head of a Cerberus to think differently; but during Sacrament, the difference becomes more contrasting than ever.
Red, who worships its master, gets a huge boost in Holy that rivals its own Fire element. Meanwhile Brown, who is an impudent servant, doesn't get much boost. The Abysmal Sphere had the power to turn the Holy element Atrament into Dark element. If not for the small raise in Holy, Brown would have turned into Dark element too.
Instead of growing two another head, Glutton's two head absorb each element separately.. and that isn't how a Cerberus work.
"Oh no!" Vitae exclaims. There is no race in this world could suit Glutton's soul right now. If the wolf dies, her creator is going mad again!
Suddenly...
A crack is formed in space. The Soul Realm is not a normal linear space, but somehow the crack treats it like so. A powerful will is in control of the world. The will is directed at Glutton soul.. transforming it...
"Α®χ√℮?" Seeing the strange symbol invading the world, Vitae prepare to intercept it.
From Origo's memory, she knew that there are countless forces out there who would want to bend the worlds to their will. Some call it Corruption, some call it Blight... But all of them are being who doesn't want to follow the rules of the world they enter. If the world is too weak, the immediately assimilate it. If the world is strong, they will slowly bend it.
Suddenly, the alien will transforms itself.. to something she is familiar with: Her Creator. The crack disappears like it has never existed.. or more correctly, it actually never existed.
"Archive?" Before she knew it, the strange force has become something natural to this world. Looking at Glutton's race again, she saw something that has never existed in the race-pool she created.
The word "Deity Wolf" flashes for a moment before turning into a strange (to this world) but also familiar (to those who read Origo's memory):
Fenrir.
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Return to Ethereal Realm...
As Cruris coils his tentacles around the wolf, dragging it slowly toward its maw; Glutton's Red head suddenly shines brightly in white light while the Brown's head is covered in purple tendrils.
A pressuring torrent of Mana surges out from the wolf. Cruris is scared and quickly releases his coil and withdraw.
["Another Strategic Tier spell?"]
Instead of exploding out, the Mana swirls around the wolf, carrying the will of its master. The status tab above Glutton's head flashes a few time. At first some incomprehensible symbol were shown..
When it becomes readable, it's "Deity Wolf". A few flashes later, above Glutton's head, a simple status floats there.
[Lv20 Fenrir]