Chapter 128: Everything to ash
Third person's POV:
"We have to escape...!" Aeravat muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes darting from the grotesque tree monsters on one side to the menacing demons on the other.
In his mind, echoed one single thought: 'Do I have to use the second phase?!'
Second phase of harmony, that is.
Aeravat was well aware that activating the second phase of his propensity would likely lead to his death.
But.
Given the dire circumstances they were facing, it seemed like death was a 'regardless'.
On the other hand Noah, was grossed out by the bizarre looking trees for monsters. He felt sick to his core.
Visceral disgust—the kind to eject an instinctive lash out.
"Cringe in blood and bones"...if that made any sense or was even possible—but that's what Noah felt.
And the arrival of the demons just made everything worse.
He fired a barrage of plasma bullets at his nearest target—the demons.
It was a visceral response to the disgust he felt, rather than a calculated defensive maneuver.
Light bent around the revolver's barrel as plasma bullets shot forth, illuminating everything in a monochromatic pink hue.
The demon, the older of the two—
extended his right hand, conjuring a sphere of dark shadow that enveloped both himself and his companion—a beautiful demoness.
The impact of the collision was immense, causing the ground and rock beneath the demon's to burn, melt even.
The shadowy barrier surrounding them faltered, and from within, the demons cried out in unison, "We are not your enemies, humans!"
Meanwhile, Riley was in mid-air, his sword poised for the tree monster that was near Aeravat.
Flames danced around Aeravat, while ice formed and shot as bullets of sharp shards towards a particular direction—the direction where Sylvie was engaged with a monster. But with her knife, she skillfully blocked the tree monster's assault.
Sylvie turned her attention to Noah, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Don't fully engage! We need to prepare an escape!"
Noah's attention was split between the ongoing battle and the demons. He spared only a quick glance at Sylvie before addressing the demons, his voice laced with caution. "You...demons, you claim not to be enemies. How did you get here? And how do I trust...your kind?"
As he spoke, three browny vines shot at him like rockets.
Noah's quick reflexes allowed him to fire plasma bullets that instantly incinerated the vines.
However.
The intense heat caused the dried vines to pressurize and explode, sending a powerful shockwave that forced Noah to retreat.
His eyes shielded behind his hand, but felt a constricting grip around his torso. Brownish vines that wrapped tightly around him, squeezing a painful exhale from him—"Kkaaaaaghhh...ughh!"
Aeravat witnessed the scene and immediately attempted to rush to Noah's aid.
However.
He was obstructed by another woody giant.
Its petal-shaped maw, adorned with spines, 'human fingers' for a tongue, and barrage of seeds unleashed like bullets from it's 'maw'.
With quick thinking, Aeravat conjured a protective barrier of mana around himself—scutum magic, something he learned not too long ago.
Meanwhile, Riley was engaged in a battle against a group of tree monsters.
No matter how many times he cut them down or slashed at them, they seemed to regenerate instantaneously.
Frustration began to cloud his mind as he continued his assault.
But suddenly, he felt something whiz past his head and fall beside him before skidding for a few meters.
A human body...when he focused his gaze met Noah lying on the ground, ensnared in vines.
His instincts kicked in, and he was about to rush to the boys aid...
However.
Before he could do anything, Noah simply stood up—still wrapped in the brownish vines.
And with casual extension of his arms, the vines burst apart, disintegrating into hundreds of tiny pieces that scattered like shrapnel.
That display of raw strength...too much, too much for a human, far beyond one should expect from someone of Grey's level.
But, his attention was drawn to the demons, who seemed to be engaged in a battle of their own—against the tree monsters—not them.
Good.
But there seemed no escape in sight. They were surrounded.
Tree monsters sprouted from the ground relentlessly, and no amount of damage seemed to be effective against them. They regenerated with alarming speed, rendering all efforts futile.
'Wait, didn't...revolver...oblitarated...vines...no regenerate?' An unclear thought crossed Noah's mind as for the first time he observed the battlefield with a newfound clarity—away from the chaos.
Disgust gave way to calculative analysis.
And one thing quickly became evident—elemental attacks of any kind were proving ineffective against these monstrosities.
The only damage that seemed to count were the ones inflicted by Aeravat.
A puzzling realization.
Aeravat was weaker than Sylvie and Riley, both in terms of physical strength and magical prowess.
So, why was he the only one causing any damage to these creatures- fire...?
It appeared that the tree monsters were vulnerable to fire damage, Aeravat's fire magic seemed to be effective against them.
Riley had earth affinity, while Sylvie didn't seem to have any specific affinity, which could explain why they were unable to kill any of these cursed woods of hell.
Noah's analytical mind quickly grasped the situation.
It wasn't a matter of dealing more damage, but rather finding a way to counter their regenerative abilities.
And the answer was clear—fire.
With newfound insight, Noah scanned the battlefield and locked onto a specific tree monster.
Trigger was pulled, a barrage of superheated plasma bullets—unleashed.
First contact—everything in the area was engulfed in a monochromatic pink hue. As darkness receded, the result was evident—the left half of the monster's body, including its shoulder and hand, had been reduced to charred remains.
The tree monster stared at its severed body part, its petal-shaped maw agape, eyes nowhere to be found. But, after a brief pause, a cry of pain echoed through the air: "Kraaaaattata!"
The cry sounded like a desperate plea for help, and indeed, it was.
A few of the tree monsters responded to the call, morphing through the air like fluid fabric of a cloth, before landing and forming a protective formation around the wounded...beast? Animal? Plant? Well, who knew, who cared?
Before long, they circled around their companion as their fibers began to warp and morph around their injured friend.
They slowly mixed with each other, merging into a single viney monster which was green instead of brown.
Its body now scaled with jagged thorns, an added feature. But everything else remained the same.
But Noah only smirked as he aimed his revolver in true American fashion.
But.
?????????????????!
The revolver's barrel melted, blasting itself.
***
Noah's POV:
As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw my palm...burnt, darkened. Even bloodied. Stinging. Paining.
And my head throbbed to a continuous beep, drowning out the cacophony of battle surrounding me.
It was only when my gaze fell upon the glowing, gooey metal dripping to the ground like lava from the remnants of the runic revolver on my right hand that realization dawned.
Indeed, this was merely a beta iteration of the original runic revolver I was developing—still in the throes of creation out there.
A mere test model, unfit for practical use. No wonder it crumbled under the pressure of plasma bullets.
Yet, a testament to failure nonetheless.
Each time I fired this revolver, the searing heat would scorch my skin. My entire body throbbed from days of wielding this wretched excuse for a weapon, even though I couldn't have fired it more than twenty times or so.
But it didn't matter.
Before I could further curse my own creation, I felt the familiar sensation of something coiling around my waist and stomach.
My hand instinctively reached out into the air, clutching onto the vines and scooping up some of the green flesh, which promptly regenerated.
The world blurred around me as I was once again flung into the air like a ragdoll.
Mid-toss, I caught sight of Aeravat killing another of those infernal monsters—the sole member of our team who seemed capable of inflicting any damage on the creatures. Then, a sharp pang shot through my right elbow, a vine-like tendril coiled around my torso, and my head throbbed like a drumbeat before I was propelled like a meteorite. World blurred and my face met a gray surface, my tounge tasting dirt—rock, perhaps?
My bones cracked, and sensation fled from my body.
Speech and hearing eluded me as agony surged through every inch of my being, tears mingling with blood on my cheeks. Only the scent of iron told me it was blood, as my paralyzed form refused to obey, and the dust of the rock obscured my vision, leaving me blind to my surroundings...
[Initiating healing sequence...]
Nano's voice was accompanied by a flash of white and in my vision I saw a glimpse...memories of my childhood—albeit fleetingly—as reality reclaimed me. The pain subsided, my hearing returned, and my ears registered the resounding cries—
-"Hey kid! Hang on!"
-"Noah! Raahhh!"
Their voices were drowned out by the chaos of spells and monsters.
With effort, I pressed my hands against the solid surface my face had been pressed into, slowly peeling myself away as light flooded my vision, revealing my visage imprinted upon the...surface...?
"Not rock... it's too malleable," I mused, while my augmented reality scanned the structure, providing an answer.
(Fe). Iron.
It was a massive chunk of iron obscured by dust, the target of my collision.
Iron naturally never occurred in this pure state, but this place was hardly natural—magic...and all nonsense.
It was only when I stood up that I realized the size of the rock... iron chunk. It was huge.
And there were several more, scattered everywhere—things I had presumed to be rocks earlier.
But, it didn't fucking matter, as I felt a familiar sensation of vines wrapping around my waist from behind.
My machete materialized out of thin air as I instinctively slashed down on the vine, only for the blade to shatter like glass.
"Fuu-aggh!" My curse turned into a cry as I felt the familiar sensation of being pulled up again.
But.
My legs braced as my hand stuck itself to the iron chunk.
[Simulating electromagnetic field]
The message flashed in my augmented field of vision.
"Haha! Hah..ha..h!...hah!" the laughter morphed into ragged gasps as I realized the true extent of my exhaustion. Not just from being tossed around like a rag doll, but from days of relentless battle, sleepless nights, and all the rest.
The vines constricted around my waist, enough to snap bones.
But
This pain felt unnecessary, as I finally had a moment to examine myself, not hurtled through the air like some doll.
Then, I cast my gaze around me, the ongoing battle seeming unnecessary
This double dungeon...unnecessary.
Hadn't I come here for blood beads? To make Aeravat stronger than his fictional counterpart before that demon invasion.
My right hand clenched the vines as bindrunes ignited, twisting my hand until the vines crumbled to ashes instantly.
It had been weeks since I was hurled into this place, with no understanding of its purpose.
But in this world, it had been months—a world I couldn't even confirm if I created or not. A world of novel...
Unnecessary.
Aurelius's ring—I hoped it might open by some stroke of luck, offering some glimmer of insight to escape this place. A random thought, devoid of logic or connection to reality, but better than nothing.
I was tired of thinking, double dungeon, the academy, myself, this world, the cataclysms, this paradox.
And honestly, I'm too tired to care at this point.
What's the point? At this rate, death seems inevitable.
Nano's energy will deplete if I continue to require regeneration and healing.
First things first, I needed to find a way out of this place, I reminded myself.
And if the quest's time limit expires, who knows what happens.
There's honestly no need for me to hide Nano's abilities or even my own anymore—I mean...
My eyes swept across the battlefield, registering the figures of Sylvie, Riley, and finally Aeravat, as a distant thought crossed my mind. One I had burried months ago.
'I mean... one day... can't I just kill...'
'I am tired.'
'???????? ?????? ????....' the words entered me like a sweet wishper from ancient times.
For a brief moment, the battle paused as everyone turned their gazes in my direction, confusion hit me but.
It wasn't until I noticed the white hues of runic inscription glowing in my hand that I realized why.
My mana circuits had been activated.
"Hah... What a waste." My legs, my hands...my back was paining...
"Nano..."
[Affirmative. Activating battle mode...]
The green monster jumped, once again targeting me, its body morphed and hurtling towards me like fabric, but...
My hands stretched to the sides simulating an electromagnetic field so powerful, Nano was ready.
And so was I.
And before I knew it, two huge rocks—iron chunks—started levitating in the air, and with a forceful clap of my hands, the four-ton iron chunks smashed the monster in between them, a resounding hum that echoed the battlefield.
"Everyone, staaand dooown..." my voice echoed, runes materializing atop my palms, two fiery bindrunes appearing in each hand.
Assuming a stance, I widened my feet shoulder-width apart, body tilting to the side, face turned left and I intoned, "Bindrunes of fire..."
The runes glowed fiercely as flames erupted, searing my skin and clothes, but Nano was indifferent and my focus waned, struggling to control the pyromantic ability I had faltered with, in the past.
"Inferno..." palms facing each other, I prepared myself, pulling my hands to my right side, body tilting, flames dancing wildly like water, scorching my face and decaying the ground. But, between my palms, a ball of purest flames condensed as I wrestled control of the bindrunes.
Everything converged as my mana drained to nothingness, refilled by the mana circuits threefold, unleashing the most devastating blow I'd ever attempted.
This was death.
"Buuuursst!"
The ball surged forward, halting inches from my palm, before erupting into a torrent of violent red plasma, flames engulfing all as I was thrust back by the raw power, shoes digging into the ground, the world bathed in a yellow hue.
But something just didn't feel right.
In that moment, it felt like time had slowed down, the world returning to vibrant colors—everything seemed to move at a crawl when-
Cold sweat trickled down my neck as the world trembled and turned into monochromatic gray.
Everything halted like an old black and white DVD pausing—time itself had frozen.
Riley, Sylvie, the monsters, the demons, Aeravat, the jet of plasma, everything hung suspended in time.
My skin burned as if branded, and a presence—a consciousness not my own, shrouded in power—sank into the space just behind my eyes.
I attempted to survey my surroundings, to see if it was only me, only to realize that time had indeed come to a standstill.
Unsure if it was a relief or not, I couldn't focus and everything blurred.
I couldn't understand what was happening, unable to discern reality.
It was then that the figure of a woman appeared in my peripheral vision, standing beside the jet of fire.
Her skin, so pale—it felt as though death itself clung to her existence, her very presence exuding an aura of unparalleled power.
Death in cemetery, cold, grey clouds, stars burning, chaos of the universe, decaying of the dead, sequence of logic, the dance of death, the relentless passage of time and the eternal cycle of destruction—that's where she came from...
Unaware, I gulped, fear seizing my heart. It was like my skeleton wanted to rip its way out of me and run away.
She smiled, and instinctively, I lowered my gaze, not wanting to meet her eyes.
'...why was she here?!'
Had she come to claim my life for using her power?
I knew her, I knew who she was... h-how could I not?
How could I not.
And in that moment, I realized that the mana circuits were not the only thing I acquired that day. She resided within me.
The entity of chaos.
Yet, she vanished, and the world resumed, bathed in light as my fiery jet reduced everything to ash.
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