39 Blood for blood
Slowly, as to not provoke the archer, Cael reached for the collar of his tunic and pulled out his Mage's Mark. He rubbed on it to wash at least some of the grime.
"I'm Cael Oliveira. It's… a long story. But it's written on my Mark." He raised the engraved side towards the man.
System declared about two more upgrades it purchased on Cael's previous command. He ignored her, since they were of the less important kind, anyway—just stat boosts.
The archer squinted and made two steps forward. His eyesight must've been amazing to read the tiny letters from that distance.
He lowered his bow and straightened.
"Ohoo, what a meeting! It's a pity this isn't the time or place for long stories, because I've never heard about magic like yours. I'm Ignazio Vespertino, an ally of your father. And I have to get back to him, but," Ignazio lifted a hand to the gash on his shoulder and cringed. "I need a moment first. And find more arrows."
He reached for a bag on his belt and pulled out a flask. After taking a few big gulps, Ignazio offered it to Cael.
"Want some? Family's recipe. Restoration potion, mana potion and strong alcohol, all in one. Wakes up dead men in minutes."
Cael shook his head. "Thank you, signore Vespertino, I'm fine. Just… Where IS my father?"
The man grinned. "Come on, we fought together. Even if only for a while. Forget formalities, just call me Ignazio. As for your question…" Ignazio looked around, then pointed toward the general fighting. "Still back there, I hope."
Cael nodded, smiling back. The easy way with which Ignazio accepted his oddities instantly warmed Cael to him, so the next words he said with a pang of regret. "I have to go, Ignazio."
Ignazio raised a fist. "Slay 'em all. I'll be right behind you."
With one last glance at the archer, Cael turned and whispered a spell. This was a third circle enchantment straight from his father's library—Hero's Valor.
"<Oh, great champions of old, hear my plea. Grant me the strength to stand courageously in battle, with vigor unparalleled, so that I shall triumph over evil!>"
It was rather long and complex. There were too many unfamiliar threads of mana Cael had to weave together, and it took him two attempts to finish it. But he had mana to spare now, and thanks to upgrades, the mana control to be able to finish it at all.
As soon as he did, magical might and speed filled his limbs. The effect was more powerful than that of a simple Windstride, and more broad.
Now Cael would match Ginevra's speed.
He ran towards the main fight. There was no time to lose… He already wasted enough. Except, it wasn't a waste, but a necessity. Until he killed all those people, he would've been useless in a fight against Ginevra, anyway.
He ran out onto the road and squinted, momentarily blinded by the bright spring sun. The fight began in the morning, but now the sun almost reached its zenith.
And ahead, surrounded by now much more spread out than before lines of fighters, Cael saw them.
His father and Ginevra. He saw her throwing him down with a strike, and his lips already chanted a spell. But he was still too far. Too far!
"<Crimson river, I command thee to become the blade of death!>"
When Ginevra moved to face him and her eyes widened in shock, Cael inwardly cried out with relief. His eyes, only for a moment, darted to his father.
Gianni sat up, his eyes shocked and fearful. Cael could read the silent question in them, and could hear it in Father's stern voice.
'Cael, why are you here when I told you to stay safe and away from the fight?'
Cael gave his answer to Ginevra instead.
"I'll stop you here, and then stop your father, too!"
"We will see!" she shouted back.
And, without warning, threw out her arm to stab at Gianni with the sword.
Cael gasped, dashing forward, but his father raised a hand and a foggy surface of a magic shield coalesced in front of him. Ginevra's blade struck it and harmlessly bounced back.
Gianni, still holding the shield out, tried to stand up, only to falter and fall to his knee. The shield wobbled, too.
But by then, Cael had finished reading his spell.
"'Crimson river, your master commands! Flow from the veins of the unworthy, give up their life!'"
Ginevra grit her teeth as her lifeblood left her wounds. Even if the cuts were shallow and already crusted over, they were still open gates for Cael's spells.
But behind those gates stood one of the two most powerful mages Cael had ever seen. And she pulled back, her own mana tearing at the strands of Cael's.
With a roar of pain and fury, she threw a flaming arrow at Cael. He staggered to the side, avoiding it, but the concentration on his spell was lost. What little blood he gathered fell to the ground.
"<Crimson river that flows so freely, call forth a hailstorm of death. Let the lifeblood of my enemies…>"
11:24
"<…unite with my power! Let thy scorching blaze consume all who stand against me!>"
Ginevra still stood on her feet.
Cael clenched his fist on the hilt of his sword.
"What magic is this?! Son…" Gianni asked, blinking in disbelief. Then he cringed. "Later. Later. <Spirits of nature, awaken and grow—no trespasser shall leave thy domain!>"
As grasping vines grew from the ground below Ginevra's feet, she countered them with her own spell.
"<Inferno, born of dragon's breath…>"
Cael guessed this was a fire spell from the first words of it. And maybe Gianni could still fight, despite being unable to stand, but Cael couldn't risk having Ginevra conscious for another moment.
He had to use his strongest spell yet. And this exchange just gave him an opportunity to finish it.
Cael threw down his sword to control the mana with both hands. It took most of his mana pool, but here, now, near all that blood—his mana was limitless.
"<Crimson river that flows so freely, call forth a hailstorm of death. Let the lifeblood of my enemies…>"
"<…unite with my power! Let thy scorching blaze consume all who stand against me!>"
With those words, a blast of fire exploded from Ginevra's hands, burning down the vines, pushing at Gianni's shield and blasting Cael with a wave of heat and the smell of cooking blood.
He recited the last words of his spell. "<…join you!>"
Droplets of blood rose from the ground, flattening into hundreds of tiny, razor-sharp disks. Ginevra's eyes widened, but she didn't look smug.
She must've felt the mana within the spell.
"<Eternal frost of the far North, come to my aid. Let—>"
Cael recognized the Frost Wall spell, but he didn't let Ginevra finish. The disks of blood, controlled by his will, flew at her like a deadly hurricane.
For every wound Ginevra dealt to his father, Cael would make her bleed hundredfold.
I'm very sorry for this chapter's delay. I had to wait until WN validates my premium, and this took longer than I expected.
But don't worry. Whenever I don't post, I write! All chapters written during this period of silence shall go towards future privilege and mass release (spoiler!).
Garessta
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