Chapter 199: Chapter 197 ~ Using Beasts

I am a canon. An artillery piece.

It’s what I’ve forged myself into, and the aspect of my strength that I’ve polished more with each passing day. To this end, I’ve become a weapon of great power that can unleash a terrible cost on even the most mighty of enemies, but when pressed into close combat I’m no better than the soldiers arming a howitzer. I’m not totally incompetent, but my greatest armaments are made useless.

Red has been rather eager to retrain me, or since she’s more of a practical teacher, to beat into me the cruel lessons that she’s learned from the battlefields. All to help me adapt to a more precise, and powerful hand-to-hand combat style.

I have a number of abilities and magics that could make for a cruel and powerful martial arts style, but I’m terribly far from achieving it. It’s not that I’ve never practiced close quarters combat, I’ve invested time and effort and I’ve been able to apply the lessons, just not to the point where Red is satisfied with my work.

I can thread annihilation magic through my punches and kicks, my boots and gloves not quite enough to interfere, but I still can’t thread my magic through swords or daggers, not yet. I could push my mana through as I’ve done with my armour, but I haven’t found a weapon that I quite like yet.

My movements are rather fluid, but I can’t keep up with Eshya when she really wants to dance, and Red still has me at a complete disadvantage. Though I’m certainly still better than any average warrior from my class, that’s not saying very much.

My sight Skill can let me observe an entire battlefield at once, but the chaos isn’t a simple thing to see through. Most of my energy is spent focusing on the handful of enemies facing me and trying to understand what’s a feint and what’s not. Mages and Archers can still get the better of me, if I don’t know to look out for them.

My mana drain ability can be useful in defeating enemies in a grapple, but it’s not common for grapples to last long in a desperate battle. Instead, it’s greatest value is in renewing my spent mana by drawing from the corpses of my enemies.

This is where I stand in terms of battle ability when I can’t just blast my enemies away. Red has been at me to get more practice in against threats like this swarm, so I suppose I can’t complain about the timing.

“They’re coming.” Grier says, as I walk to the walls. He’s not alone, but the guards and slayers here to support him seem rather sparse considering the forces that we’re going up against. Chaotic and mindless they may be, but beasts in their numbers and variety do pose a threat quite unlike that of conventional armies.

“I’ll blunt their approach.” I say, stepping forwards to pass through the gates made by Grier’s reaching, grassy limbs. He parts way for me, but I sense some hesitation. Perhaps he’s concerned for me.

“Kyra, you have to be careful.” Nel says, pulling me to a stop. “We can’t be sure that the dungeons will actually protect you. Think this through, we can afford to be careful.”

“I have to train.” I reply, my voice cold even to my own ears. She hardens her grip on hearing it.

I pause and take breath, steadying myself and calming the emotional currents running through my heart. This entire situation is so far out of my control, so far in contradiction to my own demands, that my annihilation talent is burning bright in my heart.

It gets riled whenever I’m treated like something less than an all commanding, all controlling empress. Perhaps this should tell me something about myself, but I’m not really of a mood to consider it so deeply.

“The beasts aren’t overly dangerous.” I say, thinking back to the glimpse I had of the tide coming for us. “I’ll retreat if it gets too bad. Besides, if Frey can’t protect us now, then how can I trust her with all of you when I’m out fighting her wars?”

To think, I ran away from the Unified States, partly because they were recruiting me for their army. Yet, I’m still being dragged into someone else’s war.

“Just… don’t die. Okay?” Nel says, clutching my hand tightly. I’m not the only one who’s dangerously possessive, and in her eyes I can see the same desperate need as is writhing in my own heart. The need to control this situation, to prevent my lover from ever feeling despair.

“I won’t die.” I answer her, leaning down to press a kiss on her lips. The spark of warmth I feel from her, is enough to push aside the cold rage that had been sweeping me up. “This is just a chance to practice my martial arts. I can’t afford to be just a magic canon forever.”

I turn from her towards the little swarm of kids that we’ve collected.

“You can all stay here with Nel, where it’s safe, okay?” I say. “I’ll be back in a moment. Once I’ve done a little cleaning up.”

“It’s going to be a difficult fight.” Grier says. “This isn’t your cavern, so why are you helping us?”

“Partly because I’m here, and… I suppose it doesn’t hurt to tell you. The dungeons say that they’re going to protect me and what’s mine.” I say, rotating my shoulders and taking in the walls and the land around us with my Skill. Unfortunately, I can’t take much from Grier’s senses, since his eyes don’t perceive light in such a way as I can incorporate easily. One day perhaps, when I have time to expand the Skill further.

“So long as I fight their little battle for them, those two lovely goddesses will support me. So, that makes me Empress of all that exists down here as far as I see it.”

“I don’t see how that makes sense…” Grier says, tensely watching the distant grasses for the movement of the beasts. Already the tall grass and shrubs are washing our way in a wave, shining in the pale light that I can see from above.

“Well, to put it simply. They can’t attack me, not without severe repercussions, but I’m free to attack them, or make demands of them. So long as Frey and Arduelle don’t think I’m overstepping, then I’m untouchable. This ultimately puts me in a position of power here, no?

“I can demand of them whatever I please, and they can choose between obeying or suffering whatever consequences I deem reasonable. Of course, this is mostly borrowed power, so the dungeons ultimately get to choose how far this goes, but they’re asking much of me, and if they can’t give me this much in return, then I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to come to any agreement.”

I can see a few larger beasts pushing through the grass on their way towards us. Tall, large, and powerful. Nothing I haven’t defeated before. With the dungeons’ protection, I doubt that it’s anything I need to be concerned about.

“Then what will you do?” Grier asks.

“First of all, I’ll stop all this stupid fighting.” I spit. “Get everyone talking at the same table and pull the weapons out of their hands. Then when they’re forced to talk, I’ll push them to compromise, and we can find a happy medium where everyone can live. I will be making some changes with how everything is run, but it shouldn’t cause too many troubles.

“I’m only particularly interested in ensuring that everyone gets a chance at life. Food, water, shelter, and an education, but in the end I guess I’ll also want the destruction of artificial class structures. If an insectoid kid from the slums is most well suited to being king, then let him be king.”

“You’d give up your position as Empress?” Grier asks.

“Nope. My position isn’t like others. I’m Empress only because I’m strong enough to say so, and I have the power to stand above those that would try to silence me.”

The beasts and monsters are charging out from the edge of the brush, barking, growling, screaming, and roaring. They’re maddened, affected by something more than just simple fear.

“If someone more suited to my role comes along, the simple truth is that I won’t have a choice about whether or not I get to remain in power.” I say, stepping towards the line of beasts that run towards us. I’m not sure if he can even hear me anymore, but I finish the thought regardless.

“Nature is a bitch like that, and it seems that I can’t find a way to overcome her rules after all. Not that I’m going to give up looking.”

Like a wave of flesh and bark, they climb the hill towards us. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this sort of sight, and I doubt that it’ll be the last.

The first to cross my path is a tall reptile, muscular and bipedal like a dinosaur of some kind. I throw myself under it, land a kick on its shin and let my magic do its worst.

The beast is not yet dead, tumbling to the ground it’s trod upon by others of it’s kind, while it kicks wildly in every direction. While I turn to the next threat, I feel the pad of its foot land and claws scrape along my side.

I fly for but a brief moment, and when I open my eyes again, I’m surrounded by monsters that don’t hesitate to go for the throat.

I feel numb, as I let out the annihilation spell that’s been burning inside of me, the limits of what magic I can control while still remaining mobile. Black threads blast out in every which direction.

Those enemies closest to me fall into a thousand pieces, while the creeping veins of ash tear through everything around me. I can’t see clearly with my sight Skill, I’ve stolen none of the beasts eyes, and those in reach are far too dead to be of use to me.

Without a clear target, the lesser version of my Black-tree annihilation cuts through more air than flesh, but even so it’s spread out over a good two dozen meters and slaughters everything in that reach.

The beasts at the edge of the range try to avoid me, to run around, but the momentum of the tide behind them gives them no choice, and they lash out at me in their terror.

I punch the first thing to get close, my annihilation easily cutting through the flesh of a beast with far weaker mana than mine.

It’s unfair for them, and practically just practice to me.

I gather my mana for another blast, while working my way through the horde, killing everything that I can reach and draining the mana from the mulch staining my feet. Yet, I’m not untouched, or untouchable. Even with my shielding spells, a few attacks manage to take me by surprise like that first kick from the dinosaur.

This shouldn’t be so. In theory my defences should be practically impenetrable so long as I have mana, but focusing on my offensive abilities, I let my defences slip. Cuts and wounds are scattered liberally on my arms and legs, with one particularly nasty gash disfiguring my chest.

I don’t feel much pain, and what I do feel is easily set aside. What these wounds do inspire from me, however, is a deep and unsettling disgust. My body should not be like this. It should not be shaped like this. I shouldn’t be torn and disfigured like this.

I punch a large plant, but I underestimated the speed of its roots, which tear up the ground beneath me and throw me up into the air.

I kick at the bird that swoops for me, tearing it apart from the inside, but it uses the last of its life to cast a wind spell that slams me into the dirt.

Another wave of annihilation blasts away everything around me, but some slime-like creature competes with me to consume all the bloody slush that puddles at my feet.

I try to absorb its mana too, but it quickly gathers up around me and tries to consume me in the same way. Blasts of annihilation tear out chunks of its flesh, freeing me from the bloody mass.

My mana drain kills the chunks that try to recover.

At some point the light fades out, something covers the glowing lamps on the ceiling, and all that remains is what light comes from the town behind me.

Grier and the others fight to keep back the tide, but their struggles do seem to be succeeding.

I use fire again. I’ve been lax and reliant upon annihilation alone, but I’ve not forgotten what it feels like to burn.

The flickering flames spread out from me, guzzling through my mana, but not as fast as I can gather more from the corpses of those who I slay.

As I tear down a giant monster, which looks like a tree but bleeds like a red-blooded animal, I finally catch my breath. The tide slows to the point where the beasts remaining can choose between rushing past or running away.

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I’ve taken wounds. So many that I have to wonder how it is that I’m still standing. Some are definitely lethal if left alone, and the bones that I can see in my arms are chipped in places. Though the bleeding does do a little to hide it.

The healing potions I had with me are gone, lost in the fight.

Something is seriously wrong with me that I can look at wounds like this and feel only disgust, but it seems I won’t really have much of a chance to explore that.

With a resigned sigh, I return towards the city, and towards Nel. I’ve done my share in this battle and I’ve even recorded the fight to learn from it later. At some point, someone else has dealt with the lights and returned us to the usual brightness, but I couldn’t really care.

These monsters should’ve been unable to touch me, but I’m not as good a fighter as I should be.

Grier makes way for me, as he forces dying beasts into the earth where I’m sure he’ll feed upon them. Thanks to our efforts, the inside of the town is rather unharmed, which is nice, I suppose.

Nel is standing with a few other defenders, ready to face down whatever comes at us from through the barrier. She looks at me with an angry expression, as she pulls at the potions on her hip.

Well, I can’t really blame her. I was being reckless.

If I saw her injured like this because she was being reckless, then I’d be angry too.

I reach for her as a shape forms out of the darkness behind her. It’s eyes are smart, it’s fangs sharp, and it’s scaled skin formidable.

I already have mana ready for the casting and my hand reaches out with annihilation threading its way towards the creature, who’s pale white fangs are already reaching for Nel’s back.

I’m not the first to act, however.

“Protect!”

“For our family!”

“Die assassin!”

Three tiny shapes leap out from their own hiding spots, their sharpened little limbs assuredly filled with condensed mana. They fly at the assassin, but with simple swipes of it’s sharp claws, the monster tears them apart.

Their blade-like limbs are scattered, their blood raining down.

They’re dead before they hit the ground, and before my annihilation can kill their murderer.

Annihilation weaves ash through every bone and muscle that holds the beastly assassin together, and as a slurry, it falls to the ground. It’s blood and flesh washes away the frail little body parts, and the small splatters of blood, of those brave, little insects that tried to protect us.

My heart beat pounds loud in my ears, but I feel numb, tired.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Skills & Stats

 

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 12862 units

~Mana distribution:

Defence: 20/100%

Offense: 60/100%

Mana sense: 20/100%

Recovery: 0/100%

Gluttony: 0/100%

Misc.: 0/100%

Efficiency: 100/100%

 

~Favourited Skills:

-Tag and Film

-Trapping

-Stealth

-Mana surge movement

-Annihilation defence

-Annihilation flame burst

-Annihilation net

-Eyes of an Empire

 

Adaptions:

-Quick perception mind

-Annihilation Heart

-Clean bowels

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

//Author Note

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