Chapter 87: Arc 5: Black Blasphemy (27)

The aerial battle between Montgomery’s aerial units, the anti-air defense of the flying fortress and the Sorceress of Athenaeum was quickly becoming a mess.

With two Archangels occupied by Unity Lord’s assault squad. The platoon of Pegasus knights was left without direction, but they weren’t incompetent. Rigid as Montgomery could be, they still possessed the ability to improvise. To best deal with the three ways battle, the Pegasus split into two groups. One group rained destruction down on the flying city. The second group pursued the Sorceress traversing the air.

The second group wasn’t having an easy time. Betty didn’t plan to make things convenient for them. The Sorceress had scattered a pocket of Lethargy everywhere she brushed past like invisible air-mines. It was a trick only available to a Color Transcendence. Several riders had already fallen afoul of this trick, and found themselves suddenly slowing down to a crawl. The sudden deceleration pocket was technically harmless, but the raining fires from Hecate did wonder to bump up its lethality.

Betty’s Scry rang several alarms, warning of the beam of Smite snipping from behind her. After evading that close-call with Haste, Betty added more protection.

It would be quite a shame not to show off her newest compound magic.

Blue/Black Compound Magic Rank 2: Specters

Blue Magic took control as an art-form, while Black Magic was used for subterfuge and killing. The Rank 2 of this combination was deadly in its simplicity. It took Blue’s Illusion and added the mass of Slaughter. This created a ghostly tangible clone of any target — such as Betty — whose detail varied with the amount of attention she gave it.

Here, the clone was akin to a savage shimmering ghost the color of haunted water. Betty didn’t create this ‘help’ as a decoy, she molded them into a soldier.

The flying Specters swept over the pursuing Pegasi and their riders, crashing and crawling like a hoard of Banshee. They were agents of chaos. A clattering of discord, opening the men up to the death in the dogfight in the sky. 

The Sorceress Athenaeum would love to exploit even more chaos with more exotic magic, but that wasn’t what to be. Compound was incredibly difficult to master and the six she possessed in her arsenal didn’t lend itself much to this situation.

This meant Betty went with the old faithful.

Red Magic Rank 3: Flare.

Supported by her artifact and the Self-Explosion of her accessory, Betty cast the illuminating current of enhanced fire toward the unit of Pegasi entangled in the battle against her specter. The horse panicked at the flame, but it was useless. The attack hit true, immolating the flying horses in an inferno of Hellfire.

Feeling the bias in her devastation, Betty spun the Blasting Wand in her hand up to the fortress raining down firepower to the ground below. She ignited the Fusion Care, loaded the ammunition bead, and tuned her attack to its maximum might.

Red/Black Compound Magic Rank 2: Destroy

The humongous dark red cannon of devastation sheared through the flying fortress from the city’s underbelly and emerged out of its street, shooting toward the sky and leaving behind a second wound the city suffered. Hecate listed to the side from the damage Betty’s attack had piled on top of what the Tear of Immortals caused.

The Sorceress of Athenaeum then conjured another volley to Bolt to greet the swarm of flying horses coming at him.

Things looked easy so far, maybe the rest was having as smooth of a time as she did.

…

Hikari believed her situation was complete bullshit.

With the Battle-suit technology, Hikari had every momentum she needed to finish Micheal and went home with the accolade, but that didn't happen.

What happened was the opposite of that scenario.

The ground flew. The earth creaked, and air trembled as from the swing of the Archangel's blade. It was a feat of insanity. A deed akin to an eye-shaking mythology of old. His movement was quick and titanic, leaving no gap to exploit and no crack to pierce. It was the form of a mountain behemoth bearing down on the mass.

Archangel Micheal kept up with Hikari in the way it put every other Archangel to shame. With only Strengthen lifting his extraordinary physical might, the strongest Archangel pushed Hikari back by his lonesome. He overcame everything Hikari threw with only one forged iron and totality of skill. The strength of his sword arm was unquestioned, and his speed left no gap for Hikari to employ her Magic Eyes.

Five swords flew around the Reaper of the Unity Lord as she engaged this beast of the combat mountain.

She raised a pointless flat blade to block the strike.

…

Guardian

Rank: ****

Option [1]: Defense +5

Option [2]: Force Dissipation 

Option [3]: Guardian Defense

Awakening: Unbreakable

…

The blade dubbed Guardian was a weapon designed specifically to act as a shield. It had a top-grade defense, Force Dissipation to soften blows, and special moves to erect a barrier against a wide-area attack. The Guardian even came with an Unbreakable function, rendering the sword virtually indestructible.

It was telling that Micheal still knocked Hikari off-balance even after blocking with that sword.

Hikari gritted her teeth. Just was the deal with his physical strength?

Still, she didn’t let the setback get to her. Failing to block the attack, Hikari let go of Guardian and grabbed two swords floating beside her.

…

Lightning

Rank: ***

Option [1]: Speed +10

Option [2]: Electrical Charge

Awakening: Synchronization (Thunder)

Thunder

Rank: ***

Option [1]: Power +10

Option [2]: Hemorrhaging

Awakening: Synchronization (Lightning)

…

The two were sister swords created by Ciel himself. Compared to most of Ciel’s recent iteration of artifact the dual-blade was a much lower in terms of rarity. Instead, the blade was designed to hyper-specialize in one parameter each and exploded in effectiveness by cooperating in tandem. By using the Synchronization the twin swords could share its properties as one piece as a weapon. Symbolizing the thunder and lightning of the violent storm, the swords were electrified, and the wound caused by the blade would hemorrhage in a fountain of gore.

Hikari rearranged the properties in her gauntlet to focus on speed and power before pressing the relentless assault with her sword. The series of slashes she delivered were ferocious and fast. Each strike honed with merciless accuracy and agility.

Micheal met the blades with his unflinching stances. The shock from the collision with the electrified weapon didn’t register as much as a flinch from the towering Archangel.

Swords clashed in a furious exchange that lasted in a few breaths.

Hikari was swift in her strike, but Micheal compensated for numbers with quality. Stepping forward with a sense of purpose, he brought his sword down. The two-handed cleave powered through the dual blades, sending dust flying from a simple falling strike that established a beauty in its simplicity.

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It was an attack that shattered Hikari’s guard, but the Reaper wasn’t an amateur. Hikari recovered instantly and riposted with Thunder.

Micheal deflected the blow and thrust his sword into the enemy in a move that was powerful but direct. The blade penetrated Hikari’s chest. In exchange, the swipe of Hikari’s sword, Lighting, cut him squarely at the shoulder.

By the power of the twin swords, Micheal’s shoulder exploded in blood, but he was disappointed at the result.

“This must be the phasing ability that took out Geneva,” Micheal withdrew his sword and leaped back after realizing the lack of damage getting impaled caused to Hikari.

Hikari was breathing hard, but the sight of blood on Micheal’s clothing made the effort worth it. The telegraphed thrust was the opening the Magic Eyes of Phase was waiting for.

That train of thought survived to the moment Micheal cast the White Magic.

White Magic Rank 1: Heal

Under the light of White Mana, the injury Hikari put her all into making closed without leaving a single scar.

She groaned, “Of course, you have to do that.”

Micheal wasn’t breaking the stoicism, “Your ability was too dangerous to prolong close quarter engagement.” He felt the explosion of darkness behind him. “And it appeared Deluge is having his hand full. Let’s end this quickly.”

White Magic Rank 4: Smite 

Hikari braced herself for the familiar ray of White Magic, but it was Micheal’s sword that glowed. The blade was absorbing the light ray.

“What is that?” Hikari grabbed another blade fit for the situation.

“Do you think I am the type who explained my action to an enemy?” The unamused Micheal swung his sword, unleashing the crescent beam of white light with his slash and the speed and size Hikari could barely react to.

She reflexively grabbed another sword.

…

Sword of Sealing

Rank: ****

Option [1]: Anti-Debuff

Option [2]: Mystic Dissipation

Option [3]: Magic Nullification

Awakening: Mystic Sealing

…

The Sword of Sealing possessed no additional physical enhancement properties. Instead, it soles power laid in the ability to absorb and dissipate the mystical base attack. It was a counter magic sword by design.

That very premise spoke hugely for Micheal when the sword failed to block the crescent slash, resulting in Hikari being blasted away by the Archangel's terrible power.

…

Contrary to Micheal, his colleague put up less of a fight.

Deluge was a strategist, preferring to sit back and make plans as others did the heavy lifting. He had a good reason for this behavior, which would be cowardice in all interpretations. Blue Magic was highly inoffensive, with most of its power being based on the ability to misdirect and control. Any Blue mage worth his salt must learn the art of studying his opponent and preparing for the confrontation.

This meant Deluge was a total failure for an impromptu battle against an opponent he knew nothing about.

Opponent he believed was already dead, like Carolina.

The Archangel poured his Aura into a scepter to defend himself, but several strings wrapped around his hand stopping his movement.

“Sorry, can’t have you use that,” Carolina said.

Deluge searched for the ways out of the pit with the best weapon she had.

Blue Magic Rank 6: Scry

It was hopeless. No matter what he did, his defeat was set into stone. No future allowed me to get out of such a situation. Wait. There was one. His only shot was buying time for Micheal to help him.

Thus, Deluge went all out.

Blue Magic Rank 4: Ocean

Before the water gathered and flushed toward Carolina, the Blue Mana was cut out in a flash of darkness. Suddenly, Deluge felt a haze of darkness covering the path to his power.

“How?”

“Just a little plundering,” Carolina said. “Relax. This ability has drawbacks, but you won’t live long to understand it.”

Black Magic Rank 2: Slaughter.

The ball of darkness punched through Deluge, taking away the right side of his body. His death was short, abrupt, and instantaneous.

…

Carolina Westerna

LV: 33

Ability: Agent of Black

Skill: [Black Blessing], [Plunder], [Necronomicon], *LOCK*, *LOCK*

…

Carolina believed she was lucky. Deluge was a pretty poor improviser. Her newest skill — [Plunder] — had plenty of drawbacks that might spell a different ending against a more able opponent.

[Plunder] worked in a two-stage process. First, it sealed one of the target skills. Second, the skill was analyzed and put into a special black medallion that can grant anyone the abilities copied by the skill. Simple and powerful as these methods were, it produced several weaknesses.

Contrary to its name, the abilities affected by [Plunder] weren’t taken away. It was simply sealed for an instant. That instant was critical in combat, but once it recovered, the abilities would return to normal. Second, [Plunder] only worked once per individual. It was a one and done deal. Each Medallion could only be produced from one person. Third, Carolina couldn’t use the Medallion on herself or on any living individual. Worst of all, the abilities copied weren’t as effective as the original.

Here, this ability was akin to a mixture of power-copying combined with skill seal instead of outright power-stealing. Semantic aside, it worked as intended. The Agent of Black ceased the moment to rob Deluge’s control over Blue Mana and landed a killing blow before he could regather himself.

Carolina flipped the Medallion, rejoicing for her recent gain as Deluge fell dead behind her.

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