Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

351. Severance



Milena stumbled backward, her boots digging into the black sand and her robotic arms moving in a panic. She glanced at Liara, finding her similarly taken aback. Their opponent, the Snake-Mask lady, was also confused. One moment ago, Milena and Liara were losing the fight, succumbing to Snake's potent poison and powerful body blows. The lady had turned into a gigantic Corrupted snake, hissing and slithering in the dunes.

But something happened on Lucian's side. The world shivered, and they were back to square one, relatively unharmed and cured of the poison. The Mana they had expended had been replenished, as if they had never cast all those spells.

'A second chance,' realized Mana. Whatever Lucian had done, it had given them another chance at turning the fight in their favor and defeating Snake-Mask.

"We can't waste this chance!" Milena shouted as she prepared another mind control spell. Snake-Mask froze every time she used one for a short second, which was an incredible window of opportunity against a damned Newborn Ruler. She wasn't even an Archmagi, just an Expert Magi! Being able to slow down the movements of a Newborn Ruler was a miracle, and she was more than fine repeating that miracle as many times as she could. Even if that was the only thing she could do.

Liara nodded at Milena and ordered Whitey to charge forward, the griffin covered in the same white armor as his master's. They looked like the knights of fairy tales, off to defeat the evil snake monster. Milena felt the toll on her brain as she pushed Snake-Mask into an illusion again. The monstrous lady had been so surprised by what Lucian had pulled off that she hadn't even returned an attack yet, letting Liara's blades, covered in black flames, crash against her scales.

Black blood flowed, finally waking up Snake from her stupor. She hissed and released a massive cloud of poison around her, forcing Liara back. The wounds the Black Heiress had inflicted on her healed in an instant.

"This is going nowhere!" Liara shouted. "We need to deal her a mortal blow or get rid of her healing factor, one way or another!"

Milena grimaced. "Easier said than done!"

But even as she spoke those words, she felt a refreshing wave of coldness surge up her spine. The world slowed around her as Exan's Arcane Spinal System began to do its work, helping her process information as fast as possible. Everything felt enhanced, easier to see and read, simpler to understand. Her eyes shot to one side, taking in Liara and Lucian's situation at the same time. Her concentration almost broke when she realized that the Prince had broken through to the Seventh Circle, and was now fighting evenly—no, winning against Owl-Mask.

On the other side, Glenn was also pushing back Rabbit Mask with a manic grin, a purple smoke hissing out of his left hand constantly. He wasn't winning, but he wasn't losing anytime soon either. Milena looked back at her opponent, concluding.

The dynamic of the fight had changed.

It wasn't a desperate fight for survival anymore. It was a fight for time.

Milena, and she was sure everyone else had realized, these three Newborn Rulers were strong, but not as strong as Exan, Duke Noir, or even the King's Blade. Whatever way they had reached the level of Newborn Ruler, it felt wrong, like they were missing something. Lucian was not missing that something, and that's why he was pushing Owl despite just ranking up.

That's why they all had a chance, in reality. And Milena had a chance to do something better than just stall for time for Lucian to come help her and Liara.

'I know something is giving Snake-Mask this strength. What is it?' Milena's thoughts raced as she dismissed her mind control spells.

'First, I need to put Liara back in the fight.' With one thought and as much Mana, she willed for Snake's poison to gather in her hand in a small ball. Snake watched in awe as her magic broke down, vacuumed by an ant Expert Magi. Her poison, potent enough to kill a horse in seconds, was burned away emotionlessly.

Liara wordlessly thanked Milena by charging back into the fight, her sword carving large gaps in the scales. Her spear pierced through Snake's chest but failed to go deeper. Overraged, the monster sent its tail against Whitey, sending him and his rider flying through the air, poison melting off their armors.

In that short instant, Milena had managed to come closer to the Newborn Ruler, her eyes shining with a pale moonlight glow.

"Dela Luna's Repository: Reveal thy truth!" Milena whispered, her Mana splashing out to detect everything out of the ordinary. Immediately, she realized the source of Snake's power.

Corruption.

It felt evident, yet it wasn't. Corruption wasn't something that could be weaponized; it was a death sentence. But after glancing at the other two Newborn Rulers and verifying that they were both connected intrinsically to Corruption, she was sure of it.

'These insane bastards have found a way to pull strength from Corruption!' She gritted her teeth and pushed through, willing for her Mana to dive deeper, to uncover more secrets. Snake-Mask discovered her and conjured down acid rains that forced Milena back, breaking her connection with the spell.

But it was too late. She could see something now, something that she had never noticed before. Something that she had never taken the time to look for.

A thread. Dark green, oozing with Corruption, connected to Snake and the other Celestial Gods' hearts. Its other end lost itself in the sky, its end invisible.

Milena gasped. 'That's it!' She disregarded Liara's warning and dove in, moonlight-clad daggers in each of her four hands. If she could cut the thread, it would-

Hiss!

Snake spat a literal boatload of poison in her face, soaking her from head to toe. Milena could feel the effect instantly, her throat burning madly while hellish itches grew from every corner of her skin. Blood trickled out of her nose and ears, and her eyes turned foggy with red.

'No. No, I refuse!' Milena roared and stumbled to her up, her veins turning black. She pushed through the pain and conjured her Mana, bending reality to her will. She felt a click, as if a piece of a puzzle had just snapped into its rightful place. She was never meant to use mind control magic. Her power was entirely different, of a whole different kind.

The power to make the unreal reality.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Dela Luna's Repository," she coughed, glaring at Snake through a blurry, bloody veil on her eyes, "Moon Severance!"

A string of pale, cold moonlight lashed out at Snake, missing her entirely. It flew into the sky and shot through the dark clouds, allowing a single ray of moonlight to break past the blockade. Snake-Mask watched the spell skip past her and sneered.

"Thisss isss uselesssss, idiotssss! You should have learned to dodge my poison—!"

Snap.

Snake-Mask stumbled back, her entire body shivering. "What- What is this?! What have you done?!"

Her scales peeled off, the flesh rotting and the bones turning to dust, revealing a curled-up woman staring up in awe as her shell faded away. Milena coughed, pointing a victorious finger at her.

"I've severed it, cough, that thread of yours..." She collapsed on her knees, the Arcane Spinal System working full force to purge out the poison. Liara heaved with difficulty, holding her waist painfully. She martialed through the broken ribs and ordered Whitey to do the same.

The two threw themself at the defenseless Newborn Ruler sitting in the sand. Snake-Mask hastily conjured acid walls to defend herself, but without her beastly form, she was too weak, way too weak. Liara's blade cleaved through the acid and made its way to Snake's throat. When they had killed their first Newborn Ruler, she had felt like she had defiled nature or broken the natural order of things.

"Please!" Snake-Mask pleaded, tears in her eyes. Dark green eyes, filled with Corrupted energy. Yet, Liara could only see fear in these Corrupted eyes. Black flames ran down her blade, mercilessly licking the air in expectation.

Slice.

This time, Liara couldn't feel a thing.

***

Rabbit and Owl both froze at the same time, staring at their comrade's beheaded corpse. Black flames swallowed the body, burning it to ashes. Not even bones were spared. Soon enough, there wasn't anything left of their Newborn Ruler friend, Snake-Mask. Lora.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Rabbit raged, slamming his sword against Glenn's again and again. He lost precision, compensation with pure, unbridled violence. Glenn breathed calmly, parrying each blow by pushing them to the side, looking for a good opportunity.

And with Rabbit's condition, the opportunity he needed came rather quickly.

Rabbit threw away his sword and tried to grab Glenn to rip him apart, but the latter simply pulled himself out of the way with Gravity Manipulation and slashed down with his longsword. Nelg bit into Rabbit's flesh, cutting his left arm up to the elbow. Black flames burned at the wounds, stopping them from healing straight away.

Rabbit jumped back with an annoyed scream to grab the dark flames and stuff them out. His missing limb began growing back, though slower than Glenn would have expected. He glanced at Milena to the side and mentally cursed.

'Whatever she did, couldn't they have shared the secret? And how the hell did Lucian become a Newborn Ruler?'

'This is a mess. A winning mess, sure, but a mess nonetheless.' Diamanes commented plainly. 'We already won, it's just a matter of time now. Just keep whittling him down, you're doing- oh.'

"Glenn, dodge this!" Nelg yelled right as Rabbit's claws dug into his chest. His black Imoogi suit, supposedly resistant to knives, offered him no protection.

Glenn roared in pain and swung his sword on instinct, forcing Rabbit back.

"Not so damned funny, is it?" Rabbit hissed. He stretched out his hand and called back his sword. Glenn took a knee in the dark sand, his Regeneration struggling to pull through. Blood flowed down his chest, bits of flesh hanging off loosely.

"You bastard," Glenn coughed, leaning on his sword. With a thought, he turned it back into a double-handed hammer, grabbing it tightly. Blood colored his teeth red, yet a tenacious glint shone in his purple eyes. "Come. Tonight, I'm having rabbit stew!"

Rabbit raised his sword, his eyes full of hatred, but a voice boomed over the battlefield, stopping him.

"Fourth Seat, change of plans. They can cut our connection to Him. Activate the breach now!" Owl shouted over his duel with Lucian, who was taking a vicious pleasure in appearing and disappearing, taking blows and healing them by rewinding time. The Prince seemed unbeatable, and almost looked like he was studying his opponent like a hunter studied his prey, curious to learn which part was the tastiest.

Rabbit cursed through his teeth and swung his longsword in a large motion, forcing Glenn to retreat. "You better be right, Third Seat, or I swear I'll pull the guts out of your stomach!"

The Newborn Ruler's powerful legs exploded with Corrupted Aura as he shot himself at the Mana-swallowing black pearl. Glenn clenched his teeth and chased after him, a little too slow for his opponent.

"As if I was going to let you have it your way!" He glanced at Liara and Milena for support, but the latter was busy being treated by the former. He couldn't on them for now. Owl-Mask was stalling Lucian way too efficiently, carefully goading the Prince away from the inverted pyramid.

Rabbit landed right beneath the black pearl, on top of a prominent dune of black sand. He roared painfully as he raised his hand in the direction of the pearl, a beau of dark-green light showering him. Glenn saw the opportunity and took it; this was now or never.

Black flames came alive to empower his most powerful spell. A singularity, built upon the most destructive phenomena in the universe. Something which he could only try imitating - for now.

"Horizon Event - Deicide."

The little light in the desert disappeared, all of the area's Mana sucked in as well. The black pearl stuttered in its process, failing to find more energy to feed on. The dark-green beam Rabbit was conjuring even weakened slightly.

A wave of black flames, burning with a will to destroy even the gods, washed over the Ink Dunes and Rabbit. It avoided the inverted pyramid and his comrades, only targeting his enemies. Rabbit screamed in pain as his pelt was consumed by the voracious flames, and even his soul burned to nothingness.

Glenn coughed, blood trickling out of his lips. He had felt something breaking when his opponent received the spell, but he couldn't tell what. Like a string snapping off.

'Well, Liara can forget about rebuilding her kingdom in the Ink Dunes,' remarked Diamanes.

"Seriously, what the fuck are those black flames?! I'll need you to let me study them, it might help me." Nelg commented, shocked yet curious.

Everywhere his spell had touched was being vaporized, the black flames consuming everything in sight. The black sand melted and melted, until nothing remained.

"Phew," Glenn exhaled, "Now time to finish the job, Nelg."

The weapon grunted in compliance and turned into a menacing, double-bladed battle axe. The dust cleared out, and a humanoid figure was still standing beneath the inverted pyramid despite the black flames consuming him. Rabbit, more bones than flesh, grinned a toothy, insane smile even as he melted under the heat.

"Too... Late, bastard."

Slice!

Glenn licked his lips as he watched the Newborn Ruler's head fall in the sand, Nelg gasping in awe at the power of the soul he had just reaped. "I'll have to take a sabbatical just to chew on this thing, damn!"

The young man looked up at the black pearl and froze. It had stopped producing that beam of Corrupted green light.

'No... Impossible!' Diamanes muttered in disbelief.

Instead, there was now a hole right beneath it, the size of a standard door. A hole in the fabric of reality, something that shouldn't be and yet was. Glenn's eyes widened, his chest racing madly, and his weapon slipping out of his hands.

To the unaware, it appeared just as a wall of milky white, wet, and strange. But Glenn knew better.

It was a part of an eye.

The eye of the dead thing Diamanes had seen during his cosmic travel. Glenn finally understood what it was.

A Dead God. The Dead God.

And it was staring straight at him.


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