Arc | Chapter. 123: Ceremony (Part 5) (Patreon)

Chapter. 123: Ceremony (Part 5)

So in the end…

I was most likely going to fail, huh?

A small sigh left me watching the spirits rushing towards me; in the end I just had to fight.

* * * * *

The Hero of Spirits smiled, grinning wildly.

Things were going just perfect; or as perfect as they could be. He never expected for the Heroine of Frost to be able to kill him in the blink of an eye. It was an incredibly terrifying ability that not many heroes had, and especially not with such destructive power. The Hero of Spirits would’ve been terrified if it wasn’t for his own skill.

He was in pain sure, but he was still alive. Nothing was greater than that. He did fear death. But now, even if the woman had a skill that prevented him from moving his spirit it truly didn’t matter. The only drawback was the pain, but he was a hero, and like any other he had survived the System’s stupid training, so he could tolerate that much.

And so, all that was left was for the Heroine of Frost to die; it wasn’t as if she could fight back after all.

Though she could certainly try.

His eyes narrowed as the two archmaguses died at her hands. She had taken a hit from each, part of her clothes burnt and charred. If there was something to give her credit for, it was her tenacity. Any other hero would’ve given up ⁠in this situation — he would’ve given up ⁠— but her? She fought wildly, valiantly and without fear and in spite of her dire circumstances.

And she was…

Smiling?

“You know.” She began, dodging a volley of arrows, some pelting her. “I feel like I won’t be able to stop the ceremony.”

He frowned. “Isn’t that obvious?”

“But, at the same time I think this is a good opportunity.”

“A good opportunity?” The Hero of Spirits raised his brow.

“That is right.” She nodded and the Brawler Closest to God hit her. She blocked with a grunt as blood exited her lips, then with a flick he was blasted away; shards of ice flying through the air.

The Hero of Spirits frowned and the heroine gave him a small smile through her bloodied lips.

“It’s a good opportunity to learn a new SS Tier skill,” she explained, “and more importantly a good opportunity to kill you regardless; I doubt you won’t hold a grudge if I were to leave.”

Her words were…

Hilarious.

Her words were hysterical. The Hero of Spirits couldn’t help but laugh at what she had just said. It was absolutely ridiculous. Learning an SS Tier skill? That was absolutely unheard of. Also…

“Killing me? The only one dying will be you.” He chuckled, wiping a tear off his eye. “Well you’re right, I certainly would come after you after all is said and done.” His voice turned serious. “You’ve already earned my resentment.”

The Heroine of Frost did not reply, and instead she disappeared, as another barrage of arrows came. The Hero of Spirits felt the familiar ambush and turned, he saw as the Herald of the Sword got ready to defend and⁠— was kicked. The spirit let out a rough shriek as it was sent flying; crashing into the frozen lake with an explosion.

His eyes widened and when he turned, a spear drove into his chest.

The Hero of Spirits grunted in pain as the heroine got on top and stomped. He coughed blood⁠— it was the first time a woman had been so aggressive while on top and he definitely didn’t like it. Still, if she thought he’d die from just this, it was completely wrong.

The other spirits had regenerated enough, and now it was time for their counter attack. Thunderclouds formed above with a reddish tint coming from an incoming meteorite. The Hero of Spirits smiled knowing the heroine was in trouble.

“You know, I wonder if it’s easier to kill you a bunch of times rather than come up with a skill.” She tilted her head.

The Hero of Spirits paused, and a moment later he was lifted without trouble, and he was flicked⁠— a punch traveled through his body as he felt numerous bones shatter. All from the might of the Closest Brawler to God, then the heroine flung him upwards and a moment later.

Lightning and the armageddon struck, killing him a second time.

* * * * *

I blocked another punch from the brawler and a moment later, he disappeared. Vanishing into thin air.

I blinked as I stood there, now more confused than ever. I didn’t expect the unrelenting attacks to suddenly stop or anything like that. But now, even the spirits had vanished right after I had killed the Hero of Spirits?

That was…

I didn’t have a notification so that meant.

“You!”

A booming voice spoke in anger, and I turned in the direction only to see the Hero of Spirits standing in the first spot I had killed him. His expression was ugly.

“You dare disrespect me like that!?”

He screamed and clapped his hands, the spirits were resummoned in a single moment. And I couldn’t help but raise my brow as I had a realization. If I killed him the spirits would vanish?

That was helpful.

I smiled and used [Quick Step] to appear next to him. I immediately flicked my spear, this time instinctively as I sliced off the arm of the Herald of the Sword with its tip. Then, I charged forward as the Hero of Spirits frowned⁠— and a moment later I was punched from my blindspot.

I was sent flying across the lake and rolling with splattering blood as I raised my brow. I was in pain, but also…

The Hero of Spirits himself wasn’t really fighting?

“You think you can just keep trying the same thing?!”

I stood up only to have a myriad of spells nearly kill me, I barely protected myself with barriers of ice as a deep breath left me. The situation was… bad. I didn’t have all that much mana left to begin with, but even then I was hopeful.

I just had to keep trying.

And so I did.

I used [Avatars of Frost] immediately making them attack both of the mages and the archer. Then, I used [Quick Step] appearing mid air on top of the Hero of Spirits, he raised his head immediately with a frown. The brawler was too far away and the Herald of the Sword was nowhere to be seen.

And so I lifted my arm and called.

“[Judgment of the Ice God].”

The spear came from the air and immediately struck, and at that moment I saw a flash of light along with a clink. My eyes widened as the spear was⁠— deflected back at me.

It immediately struck me as I was sent flying, I barely managed to see the Herald of the Sword out of the corner of my eye as I hit the castle wall. My vision turned as bleary as much as it did bloody. In a single moment, I had suffered terrible injuries from my own attack.

I guess I had to come up with my own skill?

I hit the ground as blood began to pool beneath me; I was quite certain I would’ve just died if I hadn’t consumed the Dragon of Frost’s flesh sometime ago.

“So I guess I have to thank him, don’t I?”

I slowly stood up, quivering in pain, my blood dripped onto the grass as I stared at the smashed lake.

“Though first, I need to put a stop to everything, and I already have an idea of how to do it.”

The Hero of Spirits met my gaze and frowned in response.

* * * * *

He thought she had died.

However, that wasn’t the case.

The Hero of Frost frowned. The Heroine of Frost was rather… inhumane. He had no other descriptor for all of her characteristics; whether it was her physical strength, her durability, her magic power or even her mana capacity. None of it made sense to him. That fact alone was enough to slightly terrify him.

He didn’t know where she had come from⁠— or rather how she had become so strong so fast after arriving to Arlas, at least her presence has been known for at most two months. And in that timeframe she had grown just as strong as him…? Stronger? It was a hard pill to swallow, but that only hardened his resolve.

The Heroine of Frost had to die, and thankfully; unlike other heroes he himself could skip the revival skill.

After all, without a spirit how are you supposed to revive?

And so, he commanded his spirits to kill the crazed heroine that kept trying to kill him, but unlike before she didn’t rush. Instead, she focused on dodging and protecting herself, she focused on recovering from her physical injuries as she deftly and elegantly disposed of any attacks that were thrown her way.

It was… infuriating.

* * * * *

My mind was elsewhere.

Unlike before, I knew what type of variant I wanted. I knew that I wanted to extract Eternity and Stasis from [Frost, Stasis, Eternity, and a Prophecy], the skill was a mouthful but each part served its own purpose. Frost taking control of all ice, Stasis freezing time itself, and Eternity manipulating things and making them last as long as I pleased, and finally there was Prophecy; something that made the skill unstoppable.

The fight continued, as the Hero of Spirits grew more frenzied, commanding his spirits with greater vigor. But I paid it no mind as I was thrown around and made to bleed, the pain nothing but a small backdrop in my mind.

I wasn’t going to die. I knew that much.

I wanted to extract Prophecy and Stasis, I didn’t want to use my[Stasis] skill, a skill that consumed my mana for the time that it paused, but rather I wanted a different kind of skill…

I wanted a skill that would freeze things for a set duration.

A skill that would be able to override the SS Tier skill of the Hero of Spirits and more.

And, thanks to Regis’karr I had an idea of what I needed to do.

“Enough! Just accept your fate!” The booming voice of the Hero of Spirits pierced through my ear. “You shall die now. [Suppression of the Spirit]!”

At that moment I felt myself grow heavy and I got a notification.

[ Your spirit has been weakened, your Strength and Agility have been halved. Cooldowns of skills have been doubled.

From the Depths of Frost has been disabled. You’re unable to revive. ]

My eyes widened from surprise and shock.

“What kind of bullshit is that⁠—”

And a moment later I was punched, I barely managed to block as I felt my arms nearly shatter. Then, a barrage of arrows came and I used [Quick Step]. I landed meters away only to see thundering clouds overhead. I frowned and tried to use [Quick Step] once more only for nothing to happen.

“Fuck.”

I cursed and immediately ran for it, I stomped on the ground with [Ice Creation] as a pillar erected and kicked me out of the way just in time for a rain of fire and thunder to strike.

The situation had become extremely dangerous in a single moment, and even though my heart was beating in fear, I also felt something else. A need to be better and surpass myself, and my previous limits.

What higher stakes were there than my life?

And this time, I was quite certain of the skill I wanted to make. It all began with what I wanted to build up to, and then came specifying things. I knew it wasn’t as straightforward as that, but I had a feeling that I could do it.

And so I began chanting under my breath.

* * * * *

She had to die.

That was what the Hero of Spirits was thinking of, the woman was now talking to herself and he didn’t like it one bit. Even though there had been brief panic and urgency in her expression, now it was replaced by an eerie calm. And he hated it.

He had enough experience to know that this woman was a crazed battle maniac, one of those that would rather die before losing, and unlike them, she was much more skilled ⁠— much more talented, and a lot stronger than a lot of them. It was a dangerous threat that had to be eliminated at once.

He bit his nail as he watched the Herald of the Sword and the Brawler Closest to God struggle to injure her, then came the arrows and the fires along with the thunder. Somehow and in some  way she would have a way to dodge, whether it was through using an offensive skill with knockback, to rotating the cooldowns of them.

This woman was… too dangerous to be left alive.

The Hero of Spirits frowned deeply as he made his decision; every time he used his own spirit powers while his skill was active it would decrease the duration by quite a margin. But now, he decided he had to end her at any cost. His life wasn’t on the line; and the ceremony would see completion.

And so, he touched upon the runes of his body as he slammed the ground, still channeling the powers of the Runic Druid.

“[Binding Tree].”

In a single moment branches bound her feet and her eyes went wide as numerous attacks came.

* * * * *

Within flashing lights and surrounding danger, I had a revelation

In the struggle of death, I saw it.

The skill I wanted to do, and it all began with pulling the mana in the air.

* * * * *

And everything exploded.

The Hero of Spirits closed his eyes.

Did he get her?

A gust of cold air exploded and his spirits vanished, he felt his connection disappear in a single moment too as all the mana in the vicinity seemed to stop functioning including his own. He turned to the explosion site, only to see a bloodied Heroine of Frost slowly walk out.

“[As The Sculptor Of Ice, I Shall Capture The Perfect Moment, Because I Alone Am The Queen of All Frost].”

The Hero of Spirits immediately felt anger. “What have you done?”

Without reply the woman continued walking and an ice spear appeared within her hands. He tried to use a skill only to find it impossible to move his mana let alone his soul. Though he could still control the people carrying out the Ceremony thankfully.

He backed off, but in a single blink she reached him and swung the spear like a club.

It hit him across the face as he was sent right to the ground, rolling in pain.

“I’ve frozen all of the mana. Though I have to say I never expected Regis’karr’s way of magic to be so malleable.” She tilted her head. “Thank you for that.”

“What are you saying⁠—”

And he was hit again as he rolled in pain, he came to a stop on his side as he faced the heroine who had a cold face.

“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble.” She sighed standing over him as she raised her spear. “So I’ll give you what you deserve: death.”

And she stabbed⁠— his shoulder.

The Hero of Spirits screamed as she twisted, breaking his shoulder bones.

“A slow and painful one.”

A/N: We are nearing the end of book 2, I hope y'all are enjoying it. Each of these chapters feels incredibly hard to write so I hope they are turning out well. I read all comments and some of the reactions made me chuckle. 

Hopefully it was a satisfying chapter. Thank you all for supporting me thus far.

I know I dropped the ball pretty hard with book 2 of Arc, but I think this last arc has been very good.

Azrie