I spotted a group of ten Black Wolf Gang wizards, all in the First Circle, accompanied by a few Inferno Wolves. They looked like they were trying to circle around and hit some of our people from the side. With a grin, I rushed towards them. Leroy and Lorelei followed my lead. Corie remained at the back, sniping enemies with her bow.

[Lightning Arts: Lightning Flash]

I appeared in the middle of the Black Wolf Gang group. Surprised by my sudden appearance, they were slow to react. This sealed their doom.

[Mist Arts: Beguiling Mist]

I breathed out a cloud of mist that blanketed the area around me. The Black Wolf Gang wizards, who had just been about to attack me, let out yells of confusion. A few of them attacked the area where I had been, but I was already moving.

[Sword Arts: Lotus Sword Dance]

An illusory closed lotus materialized around me, before blossoming. The petals condensed into three blades composed of sword mana that floated in the air. I also coated Crimson Fang with my sword mana.

All this occurred within the span of a few seconds.

Wielding Crimson Fang, and surrounded by the three blades of sword mana, I cut my way through the Black Wolf Gang wizards. Thanks to the Beguiling Mist, they could do nothing as I struck them down, moving between them like a phantom. Lorelei and Leroy joined in to help.

The Black Wolf Gang wizards tried to fight back, but I either dodged their attacks or tanked them with my Protection Talisman. I impaled one man in the heart, and used the floating blades to cut down three others. One of the Inferno Wolves managed to locate me, but I cut off its head before it could do anything. My disciples were just as lethal.

In seconds, the three of us dispatched the group of Black Wolf Gang wizards and their Inferno Wolves.

A part of me was disappointed that I hadn’t used either of Crimson Fang’s two Fire enchantments. Well, I could have, but they would have burned away my Beguiling Mist. That was the greatest weakness of that particular technique; fire or a strong enough breeze, could disperse it.

As I dispelled the mist, I took a second to take in the battlefield all around me. It was chaotic. People yelled and screamed as they fought, Inferno Wolves howled, and the smell of blood and carnage was thick in the air. Smoke rose into the sky. The earth shook as Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair fought the Great Horned Wolf. It looked like they were holding their own, but I didn’t know how long that would last.

The part of me that was Immortal Celestial Thunder reveled in it all. It had been a long time since I had been a part of a proper battle. All the other fights so far had been too small to count. As shameful as it was for me to admit, that part of me enjoyed the violence and death. My path had not been a peaceful one, and I hadn’t wanted it to be.

After that second passed, I searched for another group of Black Wolf Gang wizards and went after them. My disciples continued to follow my lead. We dispatched two more groups in total before the Black Wolf Gang decided to do something about us.

My martial skills, plus the Protection Talismans I had on hand, meant that no one in the First Circle could do anything about me. I would kill them too fast. Even if they managed to get an attack off, I would either dodge it or use a Protection Talisman to tank the hit. It was similar with Lorelei, though to a lesser degree. As for Leroy, he was a Second Circle wizard. He cut through the Black Wolf Gang the way a farmer scythed through wheat.

The Black Wolf Gang must have realized this, because we were attacked by a pair of constructs. One was familiar to me: a lion-shaped Metal construct built from countless interconnected parts. The other was a Wood construct: a writhing mass of green vines with bright red thorns. A familiar pair of wizards followed behind them: the Second Circle Metal wizard and the Second Circle Wood wizard who attacked us during the trip to Rosewood City.

They didn’t waste any time with words, and neither did we.

The lion-shaped construct went after Leroy and Lorelei, as if it wanted a rematch from last time. The Metal wizard attacked them as well, throwing out metal darts and using his magic to control them.

Unfortunately, the Wood construct went after me, so I didn’t have the attention to spare for their fight. I was too focused on avoiding its thorny vines. It was like being attacked by a whirlwind of green and red. Some vines slashed at me, while others tried to impale me. The construct’s attacks were so fast, and came from different angles, that I was forced to use a movement technique to evade them all.

[Mist Arts: Dancing Mist]

Like an elusive mist, I danced among the thorny vines as they tried to shred my flesh. Unfortunately, it grazed me a few times, and my Protection Talismans did nothing against its attacks. The thorns injected minute amounts of poison into my body with each hit. At the moment I could handle it, but if this kept happening, the poison would eventually disable me.

I attacked back, but to no avail. The Wood construct’s vines were too tough for Crimson Fang, even with my sword mana. The floating blades of sword mana were just as useless. At best, I could only deflect some of the thorny vines and dodge the others.

The Wood wizard wasn’t idle either. He kept summoning wooden spikes and throwing them at me. I managed to avoid all of them, since even a single hit would prove fatal, but every time I did so, the Wood construct grazed me with one of its thorny vines.

The sooner I dealt with the Wood wizard, the better. Beguiling Mist wasn’t as useful against Second Circle wizards, due to their stronger spirit sense, so I didn’t bother with it for now.

I drew my last Ghostfire Sealing Talisman and used Lightning Flash to rush the Wood wizard, appearing right in front of him. The man’s eyes widened for a brief moment, before a smile stretched across his face.

A feeling of crisis overcame me. Acting on intuition, I leapt away from the Wood wizard. Almost at the same time, more thorny vines exploded out of the ground all around the Wood wizard. They all whipped towards me. I dodged them, but I soon learned that I wasn’t their target. One of the vines hit the Ghostfire Sealing Talisman in my hand, shredding it to pieces.

Since it was a magic item, the talisman was tougher than most pieces of paper. However, it was still a piece of paper.

“You think I didn’t notice how you dealt with Alyssa, little lordling?” the Wood wizard sneered.

I was too busy dodging the Wood construct to reply back.

Fuck! I hated it when my enemies did the smart thing.

Without the Ghostfire Sealing Talisman, my options for dealing with the Wood wizard were limited. He was also protected by the barrier of thorny vines that he had summoned. If I got close to him, those vines would tear me to shreds; assuming that the Wood construct didn’t kill me first.

I hoped Leroy and Lorelei were having a better time. I would’ve looked, but a moment’s inattention would get me killed.

Okay then. If I couldn’t kill the Wood wizard, I would deal with his construct first. But how?

An idea popped into my head. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn’t. I wouldn’t know until I tried.

[Water Spray]

With my free hand, I used Water Spray to soak the Wood construct. The Wood wizard let out a laugh.

“Is that the best you can do, little lordling?” he asked. “You must be a greater fool than I realized. Water nourishes Wood.”

So it did. However, I wasn’t done yet. Ever since I formed my dantian, I focused more on my martial techniques rather than my spells. Since I was stuck at the first thread of the First Circle, it was better to use my martial arts rather than my magic. And cultivation spells were weaker than wizard spells.

Weaker, but not useless.

[Ice Arts: Frost Breath]

I performed a series of hand signs and breathed out a bone-chilling wind that froze everything it touched, including the Wood construct covered in water. A layer of ice coated its body. While it didn’t freeze solid, the ice did slow the construct down. Before it could break free, I stopped coating Crimson Fang with my sword mana and I rushed forward. I pointed Crimson Fang right at the construct, and activated one of its Fire enchantments, pouring a lot of my mana into it.

A cone of Fire exploded from the tip of Crimson Fang, bathing the ice-covered Wood construct with white hot flames. The ice melted in a flash, turning into scalding hot steam. At the same time, the flames from Crimson Fang burned the Wood construct. It let out an inhuman shriek, the first sound it had made this entire time.

I hadn’t been sure if the fire from Crimson Fang alone would have been enough to damage the Wood construct. That was why I froze it first. I hoped that the sudden change in temperature would make a difference.

I backed away from the Wood construct, avoiding an attack from the Wood wizard at the same time. When the steam dispersed, revealing the construct, I saw that my gambit had worked. It was severely damaged, both from the steam and the flames. It was weakened, and didn’t move as fast.

With a grin, I coated Crimson Fang with my sword mana and attacked. While the vines were still pretty tough, they gave way underneath my blows. It took several hits in the same spot, but eventually I cut off one of the vines. The Wood construct let out another inhuman shriek.

Maybe it wasn’t a construct after all. Was it an elemental? It didn’t matter. I would kill it all the same.

Wielding Crimson Fang and directing the floating blades of sword mana, I chopped and sliced at the Wood construct (elemental?). It fought back, but due to the damage it sustained, I could easily dodge its attacks now. The Wood wizard tried to support the Wood construct to no avail.

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When it realized that its life was in danger, the construct retreated towards the Wood wizard and the barrier of thorny vines.

Oh, hell no.

[Sword Arts: Rain of Blows]

Sinking most of my remaining mana into this attack, in the blink of an eye, I sent a hundred arcs of sword mana towards it. I concentrated my attack, aiming several arcs towards a small number of locations. Just before the Wood construct reached the barrier of thorny vines, the arcs tore into it. Soon, it was nothing more than a chopped up piece of vegetation.

Amazingly, the Wood construct survived. However, it was so small that it posed no threat to me now. It rolled towards the Wood wizard, who gave me a hateful look. I grinned back at him and directed the three floating blades of sword mana…towards the Metal wizard.

Now that I dealt with the Wood construct, I was free to observe my disciples while avoiding the Wood wizard’s attacks. Leroy and Lorelei were holding their own against the Second Circle Metal wizard.

Leroy had lost his sword, probably due to his opponent's magic, and was now using his fists. He seemed fine, despite lacking a weapon. Lorelei on the other hand was covered in a number of cuts and claw marks. She probably would’ve been worse off without Leroy’s presence, and the barrage of arrows that peppered the lion-shaped construct.

Leroy charged the Metal wizard. I used the floating blades to distract his opponent, giving him an opening. His fist slammed into the Metal wizard’s shield spell. The spell cracked, but held.

See, I didn’t need to defeat the Wood wizard on my own. I was too low on mana to do that. I just needed to help out my disciples deal with their opponent, and the four of us could take down the Wood wizard together. The Wood wizard must have realized this as well, because he redoubled his attacks.

I dodged them, splitting my attention between keeping him at bay and helping out my disciples. Soon, my entire world shrank until there was nothing else. That was the limit of my focus for now. When I could split my mind without damaging my being, that would change. For now, I would work within my limits.

My defense wasn’t perfect, however, and several of the Wood wizard’s attacks landed. It didn’t matter. As long as we killed off his companion, he would die soon after. I just needed to distract him long enough to make that happen.

This went on for several moments, before the Metal wizard made a fatal mistake. He let Lorelei get too close to him. Since she was a First Circle wizard, he probably thought she wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. However, he was wrong. She had her Kinetic Gauntlets.

Lorelei roared and hit him, releasing the energy stored within her gauntlets all at once. The Metal wizard’s damaged shield spell cracked further, before shattering. My three floating blades all stabbed him at the same time. An arrow also pierced his temple. His body dropped to the ground.

With the Metal wizard dealt with, that just left the lion-shaped construct and the Wood wizard. The wizard’s eyes widened with fear, and I gave him a savage smile. It was just a matter of time before we killed him, and turned our attention to the rest of the battlefield.

“Master, look out!” Leroy yelled.

Gabe! Aurora shouted at the same time.

What?

I looked around with my divine sense, just in time to see a giant paw heading in my direction. It moved so fast that I didn’t have time to react. The paw hit me and sent me flying through the air. Pain wracked my body as the world turned white.

Before I hit the ground, I realized that I had been so focused on helping my disciples and dodging the Wood wizard’s attacks, that I hadn’t paid attention to the rest of the battlefield. The battle between Lord Icefall, Guildmaster Sinclair, and the Great Horned Wolf had moved in our direction, and I ended up getting caught up in it.

That was all I could think of before I landed. Something inside me cracked as I hit the ground. However, I barely felt it through the ocean of pain I swam through. It was so bad that I had difficulty thinking. I could barely breathe, let alone move.

With an effort of will, I used my divine sense to take stock of my condition. It was bad. My skull was fine, by some miracle, so I didn’t have a concussion. However, almost every other bone in my body was broken. It would be easier to list what was still intact, including my spine. The parts of my body that the paw hit were pulped and pulverized. I also suffered from severe internal damage and internal bleeding.

My body was broken in all the ways that mattered. I couldn’t see or smell or hear anything. It was as if I had gone blind, deaf, and dumb. I could still taste, however. Blood coated my tongue, coppery and salty. I felt nothing but pain.

And this was all caused by a single hit from the Great Horned Wolf. I wasn’t even sure if I had been the primary target of the attack, or just an unfortunate bystander hit by a stray blow.

I supposed I was lucky that I hadn’t died right away. My cultivation was the only reason why I was still alive. Not that it made much difference. My body was too damaged to keep going for long. I could feel my vitality fading away.

No, no, no, Aurora said, panic in her voice. You can’t die, Gabe. I won’t let you. The two of us were supposed to become divine beings again. You can’t leave me like this.

Through our connection, I felt her fear and panic.

‘I’m sorry, little one,’ I said through our bond. ‘This is the end of our journey together.’

If there had been a chance for me to live, I would have taken it. Even if my body was broken and crippled, I would have fought to hold on for as long as possible. As long as I lived, I could recover from anything. It would take time and resources, but I could come back.

However, my injuries were too severe. There was no surviving this. Healing potions couldn’t help me, not in my current condition. It would just be a waste to try. Even Holy magic couldn’t heal my injuries. Maybe a grand priest of the Church of the Sun could, but we were far from the closest grand priest.

Using my divine energy wouldn’t help either. My body couldn’t handle it. I would just end up speeding up my demise.

No. It was just a matter of time before I died. At least my soul was intact, so I could enter the cycle of reincarnation again. Since I had an Immortal soul, there was a chance that I would keep my memories of this life and my previous ones. However, I was just as likely to forget everything and start all over again.

There was also the chance that my soul would leave this world and journey to a new one. It had happened before, it could happen again. Even if my soul stayed on Lumina, there was no guarantee that I would remember my life as Gabriel Sturm.

For me, the fear of death wasn’t the fear of the unknown. It was the fear and pain of being separated from my loved ones and never seeing them again. The cruelest fate would be if I kept my memories, but ended up on another world altogether.

Aurora. Father. Mother. Kaylee. My disciples. I didn’t want to lose them. I didn’t want to leave them behind.

No, Aurora snarled. I will not let you die, you fucker. You don’t get to give up that easily. Fight. Fight to live.

She started to pour her own vitality into me, sacrificing herself to try and keep me alive. It was a losing battle. It was like pouring water into a cracked bowl. All she was doing was delaying the inevitable. Even as I watched, she started to fade away.

‘Stop!’ I said in a firm tone. ‘You’ll just kill yourself trying to save me. Don’t. You’ll be sacrificing yourself for nothing.’

As a spirit, if Aurora died, she wouldn’t enter the cycle of reincarnation. It was similar to what would happen if a being had their soul destroyed. She would just stop existing.

So be it, Aurora said. It’s better than just giving up. At least I’ll die trying to save you. That’s how this works. We forged a pact. You and I are one. You die, I die.

‘That’s not how that works at all! My death will just break the familiar bond. You’ll still live! I’m going to die. Don’t kill yourself trying to stop it.’

I gripped Aurora with my divine energy and stopped her from pouring her life force into me.

Take me with you then, Aurora pleaded, her voice filled with desperation. Don’t leave me behind. Please!

That…was feasible actually. When my soul left my body, it was entirely possible that Aurora could come along. She was a spirit after all, not a corporeal being.

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘Hold on tight.’

With my divine energy, I pulled Aurora towards my soul. As a former divine being herself, she could withstand it. Aurora wrapped herself around my soul and held on tight. This hurt me far more than the damage to my body did, but I endured it.

A part of me thought that I was being selfish by taking Aurora along instead of letting her go, but I didn’t care. I didn’t know where I would end up after this, and having a familiar face around would help. Even if I forgot myself, maybe she would remember. Either way, we would be together.

As I waited to die, my mind turned towards Annabelle. Fuck. I was dying on her again. She was going to be pissed about that. I would have laughed, except I found that I couldn’t breathe anymore.

It wouldn’t be long now, before I died and my soul left my body.

Regret and sorrow filled me.

I regretted leaving Annabelle behind instead of sticking with her like I wanted to. I let my issues fog my mind, keeping me from seeing what was really important. I could have found a way to be with her and fulfill my duties and responsibilities at the same time. Instead, I made excuses and fled. Again.

It was just like Annabelle said. When it came to the matters of the heart, I was a coward. I was too scared to try and be with her, thinking that it was too early. And now I didn’t know if I would ever see her again after this.

Ancestors, could I get more pathetic?

Gabe, Aurora said, interrupting my thoughts. Do you see this?

‘See what?’

Look out.

Most of my mundane senses no longer functioned, but at least my divine sense still worked. I cast it outward. My body lay some distance from the battlefield. The Great Horned Wolf blow had tossed me a fair distance away. The battle continued to rage in my absence. Lorelei and Leroy were trying to reach me, but they were beset by several members of the Black Wolf Gang.

Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair continued to battle with the Great Horned Wolf. From what I could tell, they were losing. Lord Icefall bled from several injuries, and Guildmaster Sinclair had a broken arm. It hung at her side, limp and useless.

Meanwhile, the Great Horned Wolf barely had a scratch on him. As a whole, our side was winning, but if Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair couldn’t take down the Great Horned Wolf, it didn’t matter. If he killed them, he would slaughter everyone else afterward.

Look up, Aurora said.

I looked up. Storm clouds gathered in the sky above the battlefield, even though it had been clear and cloudless earlier. Lightning flashed, wind howled, and thunder rumbled as the sky grew darker and darker. Mana gathered in those clouds, as if moved by some great force. The sky darkened, as if it were night rather than late afternoon.

This wasn’t a natural storm. It was a spell. I searched around for the wizard responsible. It took me a second to find them. I noticed three presences flying through the air, riding on some kind of magical item. They were some distance away from the battle, but rapidly approaching; two shone like bright lights while the third was a dimmer. I recognized the auras of all three.

If I could still breathe, I would have sucked in a breath in surprise.

Father? Mother? Annabelle? What were they doing here?

When they arrived in the air above the battlefield, Mother and Annabelle jumped off the flying magical item and fell towards the ground. The two of them held onto each, looking like a pair of avenging angels descending from the heavens. My mother in particular looked striking, with her fiery red hair streaming out behind her.

Father remained in the sky, continuing to summon the storm around him. It grew stronger and stronger. I felt a growing pressure coming from him. Most of my attention, however, was on Mother and Annabelle.

I watched as Mother gathered a massive amount of mana towards her. It coalesced into a giant translucent lioness made of Fire that encased both her and Annabelle. They were barely visible from within the lioness’ body.

The Blazing Lion spell, a signature spell of House Leone, Mother’s original House.

After forming, the lioness landed on the ground and let out a roar that shook the world. Everyone stopped fighting to stare at it in awe.

The Great Horned Wolf was big. It was about the same size as Sturm Hill Hall. The lioness dwarfed it by a considerable degree. It pounced on the Great Horned Wolf and tore into it. The Great Horned Wolf tried to fight back, letting out desperate yelps, but to no avail. It wasn’t even close to a fair fight. The lioness tore into it with fiery claws that cut and burned its flesh. The ground quaked as the two of them fought.

Even as this was going on, Father finished summoning the storm and unleashed its wrath. Countless lightning bolts rained down from the heavens all at once. There were so many that they lit up the world in a blinding flash. Deafening thunder followed right after, shaking the world once more.

Roaring Tempest, a signature spell of House Sturm.

Except for the Great Horned Wolf, the lightning bolts hit every Inferno Wolf and every wizard of the Black Wolf Gang, turning them all to ash. One moment they were standing there, alive and whole. The next, they were gone. No one on our side got hit either. The lightning bolts only targeted the Black Wolf Gang.

A part of me that had remained tense and worried relaxed. It was over. My disciples were going to be all right. They had survived. I would die, but at least they would live. I wouldn’t call it a fair trade, but it was one I was all right with.

A bittersweet sorrow filled me. My parents had come. They had arrived to save the day. Unfortunately for me, they had come too late. My life was fading away. I had seconds left. At least I got to see them again, one last time.

And Annabelle. Oh, Annabelle.

Since I was going to die anyway, I did something stupid and sent her a message through my divine sense. It further damaged my already broken body, but that didn’t matter anymore.

‘I love you,’ I said.

Annabelle whipped her head towards me. She was just a silhouette within the fiery lioness, but I noticed her look in my direction anyway.

That was the last thing I saw before I died and the world faded away.