Chapter 212 - Sometimes, Knowing Doesn’t Solve Anything (Patreon)

The revenants rushed them both. A dozen converged on Jiran and easily three times that many went after the downed anomaly. Jiran’s aura was well hidden and if not for his wariness, the split would undoubtedly be more even. He threw himself to the side with a blast of ignited gases, then cut off his mana so he fell haphazardly toward the ground.

The beasts gathered where his flames had been, unable to easily find him. He sent a silent prayer to the Fathers that his ploy worked. It would have been catastrophic if he were forced to flee and lost track of the anomaly. Or even worse, broke his focus on the half-formed weapon formations that would have then blown up in his face.

Upon roughly landing atop a small rise at the base of the mountain, Jiran stood and squinted through the fuzzy vision of the blizzard, filtered by his suit’s visor. The revenants were piled on the anomaly. Curiously, they weren’t attacking the beast directly but clawing and biting at the air around it. When its body reformed a few seconds later, it leaped to its feet. A fist lashed out, releasing a destructive wave that shredded the framework enough to annihilate several of them.

Two revenants lunged at its back, claws and teeth not reaching it but clearly doing something as the anomaly threw its head back and released a pained howl. It spun, a backhand destroying the two daring enemies but that only gave four more an opening to latch onto it from the other side. This time, they sunk their teeth directly into its flesh and it stumbled forward, falling to the ground.

Why isn’t it using that same shockwave ability from before? It has enough mana already.

Jiran finished compressing the last of the cooled hydrogen and oxygen inside their gravitic prisons and began sealing them inside the formation casings. At the same time, the anomaly turned into a blazing sun of light as it used a quarter of its regenerated mana to immolate its own body. The revenants fell back, the fire somehow powerful enough to scorch the framework they resided in. The anomaly was on its feet in a flash, zipping through them at blistering speeds; each punch or kick it released was the last thing a revenant ever saw. The entire time it laid waste to them, eyes brimming with hatred were locked onto Jiran’s distant form.

The revenants are holding up pretty well, all things considered. That thing’s soulwall should be in tatters by now, but I’m guessing it's somewhat immune to its soul leaking out. Though it was definitely in pain when they attacked. Come to think of it, there weren’t any revenants at the top of the mountain so it probably went out of its way to hunt them. And they know how strong the anomaly is since they’re only willing to attack it when it's weakened. Looks like they don’t get along. Which means I have an opportunity I can’t afford to waste!

Jiran’s aura roared from his body. He stretched it straight into the air and pushed as much mana into it as it would hold, creating a strobing beacon that the revenants couldn’t possibly miss. The nearest ones locked onto his position in a heartbeat and at least a hundred more turned their hungry gazes his way. They descended with spread-wide claws, mana drooling from their mouths as they howled with glee. Except Jiran had already left, blasting toward the anomaly with a severed cord of aura trailing behind him, the rest returned to its dormant clump inside his chest. They took the bait, racing after him through the blizzard.

A full third of his mana swam down his tap, converting into aspect that raced ahead of him, swamping the entire area around the anomaly and the remaining revenants too foolish to flee. It ignored the lesser threats, focusing on slowing the anomaly’s movements to a crawl. It was still faster than Jiran, but his efforts were enough. It tried to dodge, somehow detecting that what he was about to do would be very bad for it. Like a whip, Jiran swung the string of severed aura forward and wrapped it around the anomaly’s waist.

It surged toward him in a flash. All Jiran saw was blood-stained teeth set in a rictus of pure animosity and madness before a compressed clump of his mana detonated between them, propelling them away from each other. The anomaly’s rage-filled bellow overpowered the explosion and the blizzard alike. It was so mighty, it shook the ground and sent ripples of destructive energy through the air. Jiran curled into a ball, weathering the storm inside his armor and several layers of protective mana. Still, Mana Confluence was required to mend fractured bones and reform a ruptured organ.

Several long seconds passed as he slowed himself with only aspect pulling on the framework, not willing to use his aura after sacrificing so much to bait the revenants. When the synapses repaired themselves enough to see, he nearly shouted in triumph. A small hill of ghostly shades had piled on the anomaly and due to their transparent physiques, Jiran could clearly see the still form of the beast.

There was a flash of light, quickly followed by a sphere of expanding darkness that swallowed all matter it came into contact with. It grew so quickly, Jiran’s brain barely had time to register the flash of light before the darkness was a hundred meters in diameter. It expanded nearly half a kilometer before finally stopping. As quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving a perfectly shaped hole on the ground.

What?! Did it’s soulwall rupture? Was that its soul leaking into reality?

More surprising than the expanding blackness were the several hundred revenants near the epicenter that pulled a portion of themselves from the framework to reform their ghastly bodies. They didn’t immediately wander off as usual, instead loitering as though waiting for something.

That didn’t destroy the framework? I suppose that makes sense in a way. If it did, the revenants would die every time they ate.

Curious, Jiran crept closer to the hole, unable to believe his eyes when he spotted a familiar set of bones at the bottom.

Are you kidding me?! Hmm, hold on. The revenants aren’t attacking. Maybe it's really dead this time.

Mana Omnis spotted a glimmer of energy forming within one of the larger bones. Without giving himself a chance to reconsider his recklessness, Jiran fell forward into the hole. His focus was entirely dedicated to reaching the bones through the mass of revenants. Getting there without running into any of them or using his mana or aura, required him to jump from a specific angle. When his body was aligned correctly, he pushed hard off the inside lip of the wall. The ground shattered behind him as he barreled toward the bones with all his physical might. 

The true forms of the beasts were far larger than their apparitions and Jiran had only seen a tiny space he could slip between them. It was so narrow, it made the arena’s obstacle course look easy. The revenants he zipped past howled and gave chase, their speed no less than Jiran’s.

Jiran crashed directly into the pile of bones, sending them scattering but not before he snatched up three of them at random as he slid by. A cone of aspect formed above him and he launched himself straight into the air, boldly crashing through the monsters. Gases ignited beneath his feet, sending him off course but vastly increasing his speed. He didn’t look back to see how many were chasing him since it didn’t matter anyway. He only needed to get far enough away that they couldn’t detect him anymore. Originally, Jiran thought the revenants were faster than him, but that was only in melee where their unusual composition, lacking any sort of mass or momentum, could truly shine. Moving in a single direction over a longer distance, they weren’t even close to his match.

He landed halfway up the mountain, above the belt of caves. A few quick hops took him far enough away that he was confident the few revenants who tried to keep up wouldn’t find him while he examined his prizes.

Disgustingly, the bones in his gauntleted fist were already growing muscle tissue. They struggled in his grasp, trying to fly through the air and reconnect with the rest of them. The attempt was beyond feeble, as though only a child's strength lay dormant inside. If he let them go, it would likely take them two or three days to arrive.

Does that mean they use aura to recombine? Those revenants really did a number on you, huh? Or are you so weak because of the distance between your other bones?

More than ready for some answers, Jiran’s mana dove into the few bones he had collected. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. His mana hit a membrane that it was completely unequipped to penetrate. His jaw dropped as he stared at the bones in shock. Even the restraint fashioned by two emperors hadn’t been enough to stop his mastery over mana. 

But his inability to penetrate the membrane was in itself a clue. Whatever secrets the bones contained, they were put there by someone far more powerful than the anomaly.

A slight difference in hue on their surface caught his attention before it vanished. It was so subtle he would have missed it if he weren’t staring at them so intently. With furrowed brows, he shifted the bones this way and that, trying to find the right reflection of light to see it again.

Oh. Duh.

Resisting the desire to smack himself in the forehead, Jiran removed his helmet so the blue-light filter wasn’t restricting his vision any longer. The blizzard came to life around him, snow he was used to seeing as background static jumping into existence. Along with the weather, faint glyphs and lettering on the surface of the bones became easily visible. They were covered in them to the point that clear spaces were more rare than the unknown language. Jiran’s heart rate galloped out of control, the unfolding mystery before him even more exciting than the all-out battle he’d just escaped from.

Elemental Castigation created a miniature blazing star that wrapped around the bones, incinerating the annoying flesh that was blocking his view. He poured over the symbols, memorizing each and every one. Before long, his translator deciphered several lines that had his jaw falling open all over again.

“Property of the Dunherst Academy of Scientific Advancement. If found, return to Professor Hallestahn. Please note that academy property can be incredibly dangerous. For your own protection, do not attempt to analyze, dissect, or otherwise tamper with academy property. You have been warned.”

Are you kidding me? Some academy professor turned a person’s bones into a science experiment that somehow ended up in an arena and you actually expect me to not try and figure out how they work?

Still, this explains a lot. These bones are clearly formations, The membrane blocking my mana is proof enough of that. I can sense them pulling density from the air, which confirms my theory about it regenerating mana. To think they were formations all along, and ones created by someone significantly higher tier, too. No wonder this anomaly is practically immortal.

So, each formation utilizes several skills: Absorption of density and conversion into mana, accessing aura to bring them together, healing to reconstruct the body, and some kind of defense that makes the bones nearly impossible to destroy. Incredible. To think all of that is crammed inside each and every bone. I can barely fit two effects into my weapon formations! And how are the formations accessing its soulwall to utilize its aura? Agh! I have so many questions. Maybe I should track down this professor...

No, Jiran! None of that is important right now. What I should really be asking is how the heck I’m supposed to stop this thing.

As he had the thought, an all-too-familiar roar split the air, shaking the mountain beneath his feet. He scrambled to re-secure his helmet, only to see a huge circle of expanding dirt being blown away from the crater where the rest of the bones were. The anomaly appeared outside the pit, its hungry gaze locked on Jiran and the pilfered possessions grasped firmly in his hand. One of its arms was missing, and they both knew why.