Astaroth knew he didn't have time to dodge, so he instead did the next best thing. He raised his arms, crossing them in front of him, hoping to block a part of the impact.
But he didn't expect what happened next.
As the massive orb of demonic mana reached him, he clenched his teeth, expecting the impact to send him flying back. But no impact came.
When the orb reached him, a powerful suction suddenly appeared, originating from his ring. The ring absorbed the entire orb of demonic mana in a matter of seconds, leaving Astaroth standing there, speechless.
He felt the ring pulse a few times before settling down to normal.
"What the fuck?"
Astaroth did not know what had happened, and how the ring manifested power of its own, but he would not spit on a win. But he took a mental note to go speak to Solomon as soon as possible.
Just to be sure nothing had changed with him, he sent his consciousness inward, inspecting every inch of his body and soul. But nothing seemed amiss or different.
'Why did it absorb the mana, and what will it use it for?'
Looking around himself, Astaroth searched for any remaining corrupted beasts. But he couldn't find any.
All the monsters that had originally been against him were now on the ground, either passed out or dying.
Some wounds on their bodies were grievous, and the bleeding effects that came with them were enough to deplete their suddenly reduced health pools.
It seemed that as soon as the corruption was gone, the monsters' grades went back to normal. Only the extra levels remained.
Astaroth wondered why the strength stayed, if the monsters were being propped up with a steroid-like effect, but he guessed some of it might have just stayed as a permanent gain.
'I won't complain. If these monsters are on our side for the next time we get attacked by another wave of corruption, we'll have better chances.'
Astaroth walked over to where Genie was, before climbing on her back. It was still the middle of the night, and Astaroth felt completely drained, because he converted almost all his mana into Aether.
He undid his meld with Luna, calling back White Death and Morpheus, before collapsing on the wolf's back.
"Can you carry me back inside? I'm beat."
Genie nodded her head gently before walking her way back to the walls. Astaroth only needed to hang on to her once, as she climbed over the walls in three quick jumps.
While they walked back into the tunnel that led to the underground refuge, Astaroth opened up his notification screen.
*Spell Learned*
*Your deepening knowledge of the functioning of mana has taught you how to manage mana overload. Enhance Weapon mastery level 1 gained. Spell learned; Mana Shatter. Congratulations, player Astaroth!*
*Passive Learned*
*You have touched upon the realm of purity, and experienced how to control its energy. Passive Learned; Aether Control. Congratulations, player Astaroth!*
*Spell Learned*
*Upon finding how to guide Aether into your spells, you have taken a minor spell and changed its function entirely, learning a new spell in the process. Ignite mastery level 1 gained. Spell Learned; Flaming Cleanse. Congratulations, player Astaroth!*
He smiled tiredly while reading all the notifications.
'My list of mastery spells is getting thicker. I bet a lot of players are doing the same as me, and finding new ways to use spells as they go. I wonder how everyone in Paragon is doing?'
Astaroth fell asleep, rocked by the side-to-side movement of Genie's shoulders.
***
In the Bastion's throne room, Phoenix was reacquainting herself with all the work she now had on her plate. Leon guided her through all the new personnel he had recruited during their ten-year disappearance, and she felt proud that he hadn't slacked.
"I have to say, Leon, I'm impressed. I had expected you to take it easy while we were gone, and have everyone do the work for you. But with how all the new court members seem to respect you, I assume you have been diligent."
"Tsk. I wanted to take it easy, at first. But the contract you had me sign kept me on my toes. And when the invasion started, I ended up taking the job seriously, lest the kingdom turn to ash before your return. I didn't want to die, just because I couldn't keep my word."
Phoenix eyed him with curiosity.
"So you only worked so hard because of the looming threat?"
"At first, yes. But I realized after a few years that ruling like this isn't much different from what I had done with the beasts. Of course, the load is a lot heavier, and the enemies are a lot different. But I still ended up enjoying it."
Phoenix smiled at his answer.
"What threats did you face while we were gone?"
"The biggest one was when the elves tried saying we had to go under their banner, since we were in their territory. They refused to acknowledge our right to rule, at first. I wanted to go on a rampage in their kingdoms, and show them we had a right to be independent.
"But after many negotiations with Elwin, and a few forced altercations, the Elves finally left us alone. They were especially happy they had left us alone, once the corruption started spreading. Now we have an allied relationship, and we help them fight off the monsters when we can."
Phoenix internalized the information. She had guessed the Elves would be a problem, but she hadn't thought that they would go as far as wanting to subjugate them, or even fight, just for a small plot of land in their forests.
She would have to look closely into the matter, and have a talk with Elwin about his negotiations. What had he promised them, for them to back off?
But for now, this was on the back burner.
"So the corruption started before we came back. How bad is it?"
Leon looked grave for a moment.
"It's bad. The return of the abnormals is timely, but could either spell our salvation or our doom."
Phoenix became glum.
"Tell me everything."
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