Spellheart 10: Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Liora whispered a word. Her voice was so low and quiet not even my acute hearing could make it out. But deep in my gut, I knew the word meant fire, for that is what the world became.

I felt her will, the power of an Immortal Ascendant, stretch out to surround my fair city.

Not long ago, some of my children by Sava thought it would be nice to decorate the outside of the walls. The grass surrounding the walls was always cut short, and the trees pushed back to ensure nothing could crawl along branches and sneak into the city. But that didn’t mean the open ground could go to waste.

A ring of broad, flat, and open terrain like that was perfect for turning into an idyllic meadow for flowers of every sword. Many cute and fluffy creatures called that meadow home since it was one of the few places in the Hearthwood safe from higher-level predators. Comala had even mentioned a family of bunny-like creatures she and the other soldiers on the walls had been watching day after day.

They’d started as one male bunny and a few females and, over the passing months, had grown into a sprawling clan of hundreds. At the time, I’d thought them similar to the Hearthwood, complete with a founding bunny patriarch and his bunny lovers.

If they had survived the fighting against the void monsters by retreating into their burrows, they were surely dead now as flames engulfed the walls. Heat drenched our surroundings as flickering flames painted the world orange. The stone extensions to our wall started to melt, so hot was the fire.

That was likely the goal behind this attack. To create a flame so hot that our defenses would crumble. This was conceptual fire, and it could burn away materials from the Primordial World. Mundane earth and stone were nothing by comparison.

But the creations of The Wanderer were made of sterner stuff. The paint and accessories we’d adorned our defenses with burned away in an instant. But the substance beneath it all held strong.

Soon, the false stone cladding we used to disguise the unusual nature of The Wanderer’s walls faded away, and instead of smooth beige stone, we had the glint of shiny space-age metal. To this day, I still wasn’t quite sure what The Wanderer was made of. It seemed like stainless steel in a lot of ways, though if it was, it didn’t burn elves upon contact in the same way other iron alloys did.

Whatever it was didn’t mind Liora’s fire concept. When the flames receded, and the molten stone slagged off, they stood strong, with defenders shielded and still ready for battle.

“Attack!” Louis commanded. At first, I thought he was speaking to Liora again, but instead, another set of rifts opened up behind him. From that rift streamed many elves, all of them blank-faced and placid.

Most of them bore the elegant robes and bronzed skin of the lands surrounding the Cult of the Unblinking Eye’s main territory. These were forces the Cult of the Unblinking Eye had lain claim to long ago.

Each one of these women had probably once been powerful matriarchs on par with the various leaders of the great clans of Deania. Some were probably the leaders of their respective nations.

But in this battle, they were merely fodder the Cult intended to throw at our walls to test our defenses.

And test them we did. As the army flew, ran, or charged at us, the sentry turrets sprung to life and began spraying wave after wave of kinetic or energy beams at them. Those who didn’t have defenses against such attacks were bloodied or driven back right then and there.

Thinking foes would see the waves of ranged attacks raining down on them and pulled back to a safe distance, but these were not thinking foes. They charged, heedless of the danger. Some were cognizant enough to cast shield spells, but not nearly enough.

Shortly after the turrets sprung to life, the magical artillery came into play. Comela was still on the walls, commanding a group of my children to gather energy to fire dense beams of sunlight zeal. By combining the powers of enough lower-level cultivators, even a True Mage like her was able to cut through a Wizard’s defenses.

By the time the first wave reached the walls, there were only a third of them left. That was when the Hearthwood’s own defenders sprung into action.

Valanda was there fighting with my family. She’d found Yorik and Assyrus on her own and was fighting side by side with them, along with Amisra. The rest of my matriarchs were prepared to defend the walls as well.

They weren’t alone, though. I saw the Golden Sword Sect Leader, Sava’s sister Katiana, in one corner. In another, I saw Ullua, Assyrus’ old rival for leadership of the Waterbeetle tribe.

There was Mayatania, the alchemist, Sava’s assistant and friend from her past life. Then there were Feilinith and Teilinith, throwing roots and vines aplenty.

Even Yavilla and Tavilla were there. Neither of them were warriors, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t support those more inclined toward fighting. The pair of them had grown several wide wooden slides leading from the back of the wall from the ground, and even now, they were transporting the wounded back to the Medical Bay.

The weaker golems were down there helping with logistics. Mac must have been controlling those. The Demigod-level golems would come into play when the fighting on the walls grew fierce enough to warrant them.

All this I noticed out of the corners of my eyes. The rest of me was busy charging down an Immortal Ascendant.

Liora held up her hand, flicking two fireballs at me. For a moment, I felt as if I had once, long ago, faced down Matriarch Crimson Dragon. But I had fought countless battles between now and then. Overcome countless enemies. One mind-controlled Immortal Ascendant wasn’t going to stop me.

Fire washed over me. The concept seared my skin. I could have counteracted it with concepts of my own, but I was saving that power for when I truly needed it. This was only pain, after all. I could endure it.

Behind me, my comrades threw spells of their own from a distance. Spatial whips, bolts of lightning, gusts of wind flew past me. It didn’t matter as long as they drew attention away from me.

Spell Eater slammed into Liora’s belly, driving her back a half dozen paces. She held two burning flames in her hands. These were brighter and stronger than the fireballs, and they could do some real damage.

I would have to use a concept to counteract them. But a thought struck me as I fought.

What if I dodged them? What if I evaded this attack completely and pressed my assault.

From so close against a foe of such power, such a feat should have been impossible. But I had done the impossible before. Tivana had shown me that much.

And so I once again embraced the essence of the impossible and drew on a new concept. One that I shouldn’t possess, and yet through my dual cultivation with Tivana, I had ahold of it, anyway.

Liora’s left hand came a little too slow. I ducked my shoulder just enough for her to miss me. Her other hand twisted and tilted, but a small movement of my elbow threw her aim off. The fire in her hand slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground. I’d completely evaded her attack, though it hadn’t come without some mental fatigue. Still, the Impossible concept seemed far better suited to defying the odds against this Immortal Ascendant than either Gravity or Identity.

I felt something stir deep within me, and my cultivation stirred in response. Earth zeal flowed through me, followed shortly thereafter by body and mind. The Wanderer threw several notifications across my vision.

Congratulations, you have advanced to a level 54 Mid-Demigod Earth Spirit cultivator!

Congratulations, you have advanced to a level 51 Early-Demigod Mind Cultivator!

Congratulations, you have advanced to a level 55 Diamond Muscles Body Cultivator!

Whatever Tivana and I had done, I needed to do it again. As many times as possible, in fact. I only wished I’d figured this out sooner when I still had time because this was the fight where I’d really need it.

The sudden surge of new power turned the small opportunity I’d found into a large one, and Spell Eater pierced the Immortal Ascendant’s stomach.

Normally, I would have started to drain her zeal then, but that was a long and slow process. Despite the Impossible concept allowing me to land a move I never should have been able to, I didn’t expect to be able to keep it up for long enough to do appreciable damage that way.

Luckily, Spell Eater was still full to the brim with power from a certain Void Kraken I’d slain. And taking in the zeal of the wrong aspect was even worse for spellcasting than being completely drained.

I pumped the Kraken’s void zeal directly into the Immortal Ascendant’s core. Her zeal was bright, quick to move, and even quicker to burn. The void zeal was inky black, sticky, and got everywhere. It was the perfect counter.

Had the Immortal Ascendant only been a Demigod, she might have lost complete access to her powers immediately. The flame within her would have been snuffed out until she could purge the Void zeal.

As it was, it merely dampened her abilities, like casting a wet blanket over a bonfire. The flames would be smothered for a while, but eventually, the hot embers underneath would burn through the water and cloth.

I pierced her nine more times in quick succession, each time aiming for a major meridian. Once, I’d tricked a True Mage into destroying her own cultivation through a zeal reversal of the wrong aspect. Her case had been far milder than this one. But the channels and spirit of an Immortal Ascendant were far more durable than a True Mage’s, so what would have crippled a True Mage ten times over would just cause Liora a bad day.

Burning through this damage would take even someone like her a few moments. And in a fight like this one, a moment might as well be an eternity.

I twisted, spinning and turning as I gripped her by my spear. Spell Eater’s length gave me extra leverage, and I swung my weapon like swinging a stick with a ball at the end of it. Only in this case, the stick was the Immortal Ascendant, and instead of aiming for the goal, I was aiming right for my Level Reducing Sentry Towers.

Arms cocked back, I threw. I released it just in time to feel something striking my back. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Louis. A lance of indescribable pain shot up my spine. It was more than one blow could have possibly caused, which meant he’d mixed in mind magic somewhere.

An instant later, the mental assault began. I wasn’t on his level with mind magic, but I’d spent years preparing mental defenses specifically to combat the direct and overwhelming mental attacks the Cult of the Unblinking Eye favored.

I ignored the pain and finished my throw. Liora went flying. Her expression showed the faintest hint of surprise as her back struck the wall.

A moment later, a beam of rainbow lightning struck her. Then, three more in quick succession. I felt her power drop from Immortal Ascendant to Demigod. And then from Demigod to Sorcerer. The fact that her cultivation had been temporarily crippled likely meant the beams were even more effective than usual.

“Grab her!” I heard Yorik yell from the walls. In an instant, she had the weakened Immortal Ascendant pinned in a headlock while several of my matriarchs swarmed her. So long as her powers were restrained, she was as good as finished.

Eltiana clamped a zeal-restricting collar around her neck, and Illiel clapped two hands on either of Liora’s ears. Perhaps she was working a little mind magic of her own. Whatever the case was, I turned my attention away from that fight and back to the man who’d kicked me in the back.

“Knight takes queen, Louis. Your strongest piece is gone. You will follow her soon.” I pointed Spell Eater toward his chest. With Liora out of the picture, I could end things even right here and now. And that’s exactly what I planned to do.

“I don’t think so.” Louis held his hands wide. Two more spatial rifts stretched wide and then tore open behind him. Monsters began spilling out, along with a pair of elves, one with silver hair and one with midnight black hair.

Just like Liora, the two of them had blank and expressionless features, along with the powerful but simple zeal I’d sensed from the fire cultivator.

“Slave one, slave two, attack!” Louis commanded. And suddenly there were two more Immortal Ascendants on top of me.