Chapter 64: Arc 5: Black Blasphemy (4)

Hunter expected to fight Elizabeth La Louve, the flower of Curtis. Truthfully, he couldn’t be more wrong.

Red Mana swelled, as Betty activated her Magic.

Red Magic Rank 1: Haste

Red Magic Rank 5: Mana Burst

Hunter picked that moment the spell was cast to strike, but Betty’s body broke apart like a mist. He blinked. Illusion? Yes, Elizabeth could cast this magic, but she never used it like this. The princess he knew preferred valiant assault and overwhelming her opponent with the raw versatility of her Tricolor status. Deceptive uses of Illusion weren’t something she preferred.

Hunter felt the creeping hand of fear. How did Elizabeth cast a Blue Magic while flooding the area with Red Mana? The control she needed was unheard of. The monstrous air of danger raked down Hunter’s spine like a knife.

‘Surprises, Hunter?’ Betty’s voice echoed behind him. ‘I never really try to use Illusion this way. My naïve self really loved the spotlight a little too much.’

Hunter swung his blades to strike at the woman who must surely be behind him. Instead, it was one of his men — a Montgomery’s soldier — who met his blade with a clang. The man slashed his sword frantically with a glint of madness in his pupils. The former Commissioner could see the trace of Black Mana, and the corrupting influence it wrought.

“Mental Pollution?” Hunter cut his opponent down. It was then he fully witnessed the disaster the Sorceress of the Athenaeum set upon him.

The raiding party had turned against itself. Comrades and men attempted to bury their blades and spears into each other in a fit of madness and paranoia. Blood spilled. Scream rang. It was the scene of insanity.

“Stop!” one man said from the crowd. “We are on the same side!”

“She is here,” replied the maddened friend. “She is here. She is here. She is here. She is here. She is here.”

“I am sorry!” A mage was on his knee, apologizing to a bleeding companion. “W-Why is this happening? I am supposed to be attacking her.”

One Green mage fell on his behind, watching the tigers he summoned lunging at his comrade in horror.

Those were only a sip of the chaos that unfolded

Hunter watched a bloody mage fall by his feet. He couldn’t believe it. Whatever he was fighting wasn’t Elizabeth La Louve. The girl he knew throughout his life never used this kind of tactic. Using Illusion to hide herself and sewn chaos with such ruthless variants of Mental Pollution? Those were dirty and underhanded mean, unbefitting of the graceful princess of Curtis and the betrayal of the very image Betty spent her life cultivating.

How could she inspire this madness through Mental Pollution or even communicate with it? What about the Rank 2 Blue Magic deployed under the cover of Red Mana? Just how did she do it? 

An explanation hit Hunter like a bolt of lightning. It would explain Betty’s newfound proficiency, but if this was true, Hunter was in a world of pain.

“Color Transcendence?” Hunter tensed as his raiding part descended into chaos. “A Tricolor Color Transcendence!”

Mist and Blue Mana rose from the ground as Betty performed her next trick.

Blue Magic Rank 4: Ocean

The watery mist thickened, surrounding everyone into the haze of thick fog. No one could see more than a few meters in front of them. The sound was muffled as the smell of morning mist clouded everything in sight.

Hunter raised his sword defensively. He knew he must issue orders, but the Sorceress’ method must be applauded. The Mental Pollution broke them down, and the mist obscured their ability to regroup. Hunter must admit the tactic was supurb.

“She is messing with your head!” Hunter screamed to gather the party. “G-”

Blue Magic Rank 1: Lethargy

A wave of Blue Mana engulfed them, slowing everyone down. However, Betty wasn’t done.

Red Magic Rank 4: Earth Strike

Spikes of Earth erupted, akin to flowers of granite exploding from the ground. It expanded at the center of the chaotic party of warriors and mages. Some were stabbed. Some immediately died. However, this geological structure wasn’t to be an attack. The flower of earth enlarged, dividing the group of raiders into two. Those on Hunter’s side regrouped and faced the enormous spiked domes of stones, separating them from their comrade.

Hunter watched his surrounding men shake their heads in dazes, and realized the impeccable play the bride of the Unity Lord made.

Betty knew Mental Pollution wouldn’t last forever, so she dropped Lethargy to delay their regrouping, then separated them using the earthen construct.

A chill went down Hunter’s spine. He quickly strengthened his Aura and resisted the Lethargy.

“Regroup!” Hunter yelled at his recovering men. “She is attacking the other side. We must regather before she kills every one of them.”

…

At the other side of the earthen flower, the mist parted, revealing Betty. She made a frame with her fingers, capturing the image of the helpless men trying to break the effect of her Blue Magic.

Her [Witch Heart] beat and supplied the power to make things more difficult.

Black Magic Rank 1: Drain

A pool of Black Mana expanded from her body and engulfed the men, draining away their vitality. Some had collapsed from the speed their life-force was stolen. All attempts to break the Lethargy were permanently stopped with that single maneuver. The Sorceress of Athenaeum couldn’t believe how far a simple step into Color Transcendence elevated her powers. If this was what Xia was capable of, it was no wonder her elder sister held such confidence.

Betty licked her lips, feeling the life from her prisoner filling her.

Good, it was time for Betty’s main course. Originally, this spell was too difficult to cast in combat. Betty frowned. To be fair, She never truly tried to use it in the past despite being perfectly capable too. The tabloid would never let her live it down, and such a bloodthirsty magic struck her wrong as the people’s favorite idol.

Betty smirked. This Magic was a perfect display for a lover to the closest things to a god.

Black Magic Rank 6: Offering

Black Mana absorbed the life-force Betty had extracted, converting it into a swelling tsunami of Mana, as she sacrifice the price in blood for the might of Black.

Betty knew just this swell of power would be enough, but she wanted more. Freed from her chain of doubt, fully accepting her identity and bitchiness, the Sorceress wanted to push herself beyond what Elizabeth had reached. It was time to show the world what she — the spouse of the Unity Lord and the sister to Princess of White — could truly accomplish.

Red Magic Rank 5: Mana Burst.

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Power and scarlet tower of light exploded forth, and Betty laughed like a little girl watching candies rained from the cloud. The raw Mana unleashed by these two combos flooded the street and the town. It would be nigh-impossible to create or sustain without the abilities and tolerance of Betty’s [Witch Heart].

It was then the automatic Scry Betty had cast gave her the hint of the future. Hunter got his merry band together earlier than she thought.

Oh well, it would be shameful if they had to witness her glorious attack anywhere else but in the front-row.

…

Hunter knew he was too late.

The Mana flying around him was enormous. It was more than what he experienced in his entire career. How could anyone wield such an ocean of power it would blanket the entirety of Janus? Was he even fighting a human anymore?

Strangely, the heavenly pillar of Red Mana did nothing to him as Betty threw it at the clouds.

Just what spell was Elizabeth using?

Hunter soon got his answer.

Red Magic Rank 6: Thunderstorm.

Hunter used everything he had to shield his body with what had to be the strongest Aura defense his mind could gather.

…

That night, the entire country felt a blinding flash and the rumbling of the heavens.

Citizens nearby Janus witnessed the pillar of lightning fall. It was the biggest bolt they ever recorded in the history of the Eastern Continent. With no rain nor forewarning, the peal of heavenly smiting that brightened the skies was skin to the act of a god.

Outside of Curtis, the few survivors from the raid of Janus witnessed the deafening lighting, fell to their knees, and prayed.

…

Betty gazed at the surrounding devastation.

It was a good thing a mage couldn’t be harmed by their magic because everything around her was gone. Her attack had reduced the entire portion of Janus into a blackened surface, glowing metal, and charred wood. The same goes for the raiders. Sure, some traces of them, like bones and pieces of pelvis remained, but most of them had been vaporized by her grand attack.

Twenty men came to face her, and this was all that remained after the rumble.

Suddenly, Betty saw her decapitation through Scry, and responded accordingly.

Red Magic Rank 3: Flare.

Flames exploded from her, forcing her attacker back from completing his sneak attack. Betty must admit that the execution was praiseworthy. Had she never achieved the Color Transcendence and got the ability to use Scry so effectively, that slash might have killed her.

“Wow, I am impressed you actually survive, Hunter,” Betty mused. “Is that the advanced Aura technique where you project it outward and spin? I think it is called the Aura Spiral, isn’t it?” She looked at Hunter up and down. “But even with that technique, you don’t escape unscathed. I guess you probably pull that one off instinctively to survive.”

Survive, Hunter did. However, he didn’t come out of Betty’s humongous bolt intact. His gray robes, and most of his hair were gone. The right-side of his face and most of his honed body was burnt black from the heat. The stump that was his left arm was bleeding from the reopened injury. His trouser hung from the shaking leg. Hunter was barely standing. It was clear he had a little time to live.

Still, the old warrior lifted his sword, and squeezed some words through his partially paralyzed mouth, “T-this isn’t,” he heaved. “Y-you are not El—”

“Yeah,” Betty confessed to the dying man. “Thanks to your stupidity, that me is dead. Thanks buddy. You help make this possible.”

Hunter raised his sword with his remaining burnt arm, “Y-you must be stopped.” His footstep strengthened as his dying body dredged up the last of its strength. “A threat. Like your sister…”

“A threat to Curtis, again?” Betty couldn’t believe Hunter’s stubbornness. She shook her head. “I guess only death can change your nature.”

Hunter rushed forward, swinging his sword, but Black Magic strung his body to a halt.

Black Magic Rank 4: Puppetry

To his credit, the dying man didn’t give in. Hunter gathered the last burst of power he shouldn’t have and broke the Magic binding his body. He twirled his broadsword with a single arm and delivered a perfectly trained over-head slash.

Betty flicked her finger.

Blue Magic Rank 1: Lethargy.

The perfect slashed fell into a slow motion, failing to harm its target. Hunter watched powerlessly as Betty jabbed a finger at him.

“I need to test something new,” the Sorceress frowned. “Hah, let’s start with a simple combination.”

Hunter watched the Red and Black Mana combined. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Combining two different colors was unheard of. It was like trying to reconcile two separate ideologies and expected them to blend. In his long career, Hunter had never seen or heard of this impossible power.

Red/Black Compound Magic Rank 2: Destroy

A dark crimson bolt of energy — the hell flames — fired at point-blank, burning a hole cleanly through Hunter’s chest, killing him instantly. Bloods splattered on Betty as the blast hollowed out Hunter’s respiratory system during its trip. Aside from the initial discharge of blood, no more fluid flowed from the cauterized hole. 

It was the end of Hunter’s story. 

“Sorry, Hunter,” Betty closed her eyes as the dead man dropped to the ground with a thud. “To be fair, you had so many opportunities to avoid this.” She sighed. “But you waste all of it.”

Betty walked away from the dead-man. She had jobs to do.

Jobs which included hammering reality into Ciel’s noggin.

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