Chapter 442: Black Neon appears [2]
While the combat continued, above the melee, on an obsidian ledge overlooking the immense central hall, a solitary silhouette stood motionless. Kris observed the carnage with icy detachment. His hair floated in the burning air current.
Kris did not need to raise his greatsword to clear a path. The aura he emanated, saturated with power, had become a force of nature in itself. Any Spectrum member who tried to approach him, whether out of fanaticism or desperation, ended up instantly flattened against the basaltic ground by unbearable pressure. For the boldest, the heat emanating from his body was such that their tunics ignited before they could even ready a blow. Without lifting a finger, Kris let death spread around him, his amber eyes fixed on a single target below: Kaiser.
He had concealed his presence from ordinary magical senses, staying at a respectable distance, observing the group at work.
Below, the chaos was total. Julian, Nox and Jasper had regrouped after being briefly separated by a wave of demonic mages. They now formed a triangle of destruction purifying the passage for the two leaders.
Nox Walpurgy let out a shrill laugh as he launched a new salvo of energy.
< Arcs of Oblivion >
The red lightning tore through the air, instantly disintegrating a line of defenders who tried to raise a rampart of darkness.
"It’s fascinating!" exclaimed Nox while adjusting his piercings.
Julian Frostvine, whose face was splashed with black blood, did not share his companion’s enthusiasm. He used his < Second Movement: Mist Form > to pass through the body of a Spectrum officer before rematerializing to slash his nape.
"Shut up and clean up, Nox! My mana is not infinite, unlike these meat sacks!" Julian cursed while brandishing his frosted blade. "Jasper, on your left!"
Jasper did not even turn his head. With a fluid movement of his longbow, he used the end of the weapon to break an assailant’s ribs while nocking a silver mana arrow.
< Transcendent Archery: Mirror Arrow >
The projectile struck a pillar, multiplied into a dozen shards of light that lodged themselves in the eye sockets of the enemy archers positioned high up.
"The passage is half open," he announced in his monotone voice. "If we continue, we will be able to clear a path."
While the three opened the way, Klein and Isabella progressed like a single entity of destruction in the center of the hall. Isabella, under her Predator mask, wielded her dragon lance with a violence that even Klein found impressive.
< Gravity Magic: Weight of Judgment >
An invisible sphere of pressure fell on a group of elite guards, forcing them to kneel in a cracking of broken bones. She immediately followed with a point of white fire that vaporized the remains.
Klein, at her side, moved using < Dash >. His < Eye of Perception > was active, allowing him to guide Isabella’s movements to maximize their efficiency.
"Isabella, at two o’clock! They are trying to close the portcullis!" Klein called while using his black blade to parry a scimitar imbued with demonic energy. He extended his left hand toward a group.
< Aura Repulsion >
A shockwave struck the group, sending them crashing against the wall before dissipating into particles.
Isabella stopped for a moment to crush the butt of her cigarette under her steel boot, her lance still vibrating with unstable energy. She cast a glance at the Spectrum members who were already beginning to resurrect behind them.
"If we do not penetrate the inner fortress now, we will end up drowned under the numbers," she added seriously.
"I know," Klein acquiesced, his gaze hardening.
The two fighters threw themselves back into the melee, Isabella opening the way with localized earthquakes while Klein used < Aura Repulsion > to deflect the magical projectiles that rained down on them. Their synergy was terrifying: where Isabella broke the defenses by the brute force of her earth and gravity magic, Klein finished the work with surgical cuts.
Higher up, Kris Pendragon did not flinch. He observed the melee unfolding below. His gaze crossed the flames, the aura flashes and the dancing shadows to fix on a silhouette he knew better than his own. Kaiser. The man he hated the most in the world.
Kris saw the Beasts of Black Neon carve through the ranks of the fanatics with efficiency. For a moment, part of him considered descending right then. He imagined the scene: his greatsword spinning, the purifying fire that would consume everything in its path, allies and enemies alike. He dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.
"Let them wear themselves out, Kaiser," murmured Kris without really addressing anyone. His voice nevertheless echoed against the stone walls blackened by the explosions. "Let them open the way to the heart of Spectrum."
His aura began to rise; under his boots, the stone cracked, then began to melt into a glowing flow that dripped along the balcony. Kris did not lower his eyes.
Below, Julian shouted to cover the noise of a demonic fire explosion. He had just cut down two fanatics with a backhand of his blade when a third tried to take him from the left. He dodged with a pivot and planted his dagger under the throat.
A few meters from him, Klein finished off the enemy threatening him with an aura blast. He heard Julian’s warning and cast a quick glance toward the inner fortress. The demonic iron portal stood before them, massive, covered in runes that pulsed weakly in the gloom.
He activated Dash without waiting. His body partially dematerialized, becoming a trail of light that crossed the last meters separating him from the door. Isabella followed close behind, leaping over a corpse that was already beginning to smoke, a sign that its owner would soon be reborn.
Klein struck the left panel with his shoulder, concentrating all his aura into a single point. The Repulsion skill multiplied the impact, and a white shock circle exploded at the point of contact. At the same moment, Isabella pressed both palms against the right panel and released her maximum gravity. The air around her twisted, and a dull rumble filled the hall.
The portal first groaned, a long and strident sound that raised the hairs on the nape of those nearby. Then the metal began to bend. The hinges gave way one after another in a deafening crash. The panels fell inward with a thunderous noise that made the walls of the Bastion vibrate from the base to the rafters.
He rushed in first into the darkness of the inner sanctuary, his aura serving as a torch. Isabella passed just behind him, followed by Julian who brought up the rear. Behind them, and the last member of the group turned to cover their flight, unleashing a deluge of red lightning and ice projectiles that pushed back the fanatics long enough for them to cross the threshold.
The door fell shut behind them in a final rumble. Darkness enveloped them.
Kris, still perched on his ledge, saw the door close on them. He did not move immediately. He let his eyes scan the devastated hall, now strewn with corpses some of which were beginning to dissolve into black smoke, a sign that they would not have time to be reborn before the next wave. Silence returned briefly, heavy, disturbed only by the crackling of a few embers and the sizzling of the damaged runes.
He straightened slowly. He freed his greatsword from the stone wall where he had planted it to keep his hands free, then pivoted it to rest it on his shoulder. The metal emitted a slight tinkling as it met the plates of his armor.
With a slow and assured step, Kris began to descend. He skirted the debris, stepped over the bodies, and headed toward the shattered entrance that Klein and Isabella had opened a few moments earlier. His presence seemed overwhelming, like an atmospheric pressure that announces the storm.
