Transcendence?

by Andur

  “... UUUUOOO! Look at that! What happened to the ferocious Lidith the Red!? Was she tamed? I already intended to name their team -The four Pillars of Death-! But now I am not so sure any more! Did they decide that it was better to turn Lidith into their mascot? ...”

  I drop to my knees with tears in my eyes. “That's it! My reputation is finished! The most important thing you have as a god is gone!”

  Ascathon pats my head with flushed cheeks. “There, there. You just have to kill them in a gruesome manner and they'll see that you are still the Red. How about ripping off their arms and ramming them down their throats? They'll suffocate while they try to scream.”

  Celetial grabs his ear and pulls him away. “Now you are crossing the line!”

  100 - Return.

  Sphere of Sous

  Ascathon

  “So weak!”

  I shake the guy whom I am holding at his collar. He has foam at his mouth and his eyes are turned upwards. Even though I did my best, he doesn't regain his consciousness. After electrocuting him once more, which only resulted in a little uncontrolled twitching, I drop him to the ground.

  Celestial appears at my side. “Our offensive power is very good.” She defeated her opponent first and assisted us just a little from that moment on. “But we should avoid splitting up like that in the future.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “It was an opportune moment to do so. Their party members seemed very weak on their own. Breaking their teamwork and creating mayhem worked to our advantage. Most other teams seem to be balanced groups of fighters and supporters. We should have the advantage as long as we are able to create one versus one situations.”

  Celestial nods while she watches Jazira's laser lashing wildly around at the horizon. It parted the clouds, then it swung down and parted a mountain the same way, turning it to lava. “I wonder how she does that. I would expect that a spell that powerful heats the air around it so much that it burns the caster too.”

  The laser turns and draws a line of fire and molten lava over the ground while following a target which we can't see. I frown. “If it was a normal laser you would be right. But Jazira's version is a little more refined. She is generating a strong cylindrical magnetic field with her index finger as the anchor point. Then she ignites the air at her fingertip with a basic flame spell and pours all her mana into it. The created plasma is forced down the magnetic field and contained within it. Do you see how the laser becomes a little broader and less focused once it's about fifty metres away from her? It's more like a plasma torch than a real laser.”

  Celestial's jaw falls open. “She does that with a basic flame spell?!”

  I frown. “Did she strike you as someone who would use a complicated spell if she could go with brute force and rely on her mana pool instead?”

  My wife snickers. “No, it's just...” She gestures at the ray of death, which catches up to a small black dot in the sky. The dot vanishes. “... no matter what you say! That's no basic flame spell which you learn in your first magical class!”

  “But it is! A basic flame spell, combined with the creation of a magnetic field.” I answer with assurance. “She is casting two basic channelled spells at the same time, while pouring all her mana into it. That's all. You shouldn't complain! Your aura isn't very complicated either.”

  Celestial gasps. “But it is! You have no idea how hard it is to control the mana within you while you fight. The constant movement makes it very hard! Why don't you do it yourself if it's that easy?”

  Damn. “Fine. You have a point. Have you taken a look after Lidith too?”

  In that moment Jazira appears in front of us with a delighted face. “I was good, wasn't I? My opponent ran and teleported faster than a bunny! But in the end I got him!”

  “You mean you managed to point your finger at him!” Celestial retorts at Jazira, who drops to her knees. “It doesn't sound like a fight when you put it that way...”

  “Back to the topic! There are no problems with her transformation. She had her opponent chained down with a light spell and was trying to rip off his arm. Probably she was trying to follow your advice.” Celestial answers with an uneasy voice.

  I decide to investigate further. “She was trying?”

  Celestial's licks over her lips while she searches for the right words. “Her half awakened state makes her stronger, but not as strong as before. She is still able to use spells though.”

  I nod. “That makes her probably more dangerous than before. Now she isn't just a brute with too much strength, but strong with a working mind.”

  Celestial shakes her head with a sad expression. “She was strong enough to break her opponents arm, but she didn't manage to rip it off. She was still trying to rip it off when I left.”

  “We should take a look! The poor cute kitty. Maybe I can help?” Jazira disappears.

  Celestial and I follow her towards Lidith's location. We find Jazira with furrowed eyebrows over the corpse of our fourth opponent. Chains of light are binding him to the ground. His left arm is detached from his body and a big puddle of blood is spreading from the wound.

  What's strange though is that the area around the mouth of the corpse is covered with blood. It looks like he was eating eating strawberry marmalade and dirtied himself.

  Lidith is crouching beside the corpse while drawing small circles onto the ground with her index finger. “I worked so hard, but it didn't come off...”

  Jazira kneels down beside her and pats her shoulder.

  “Then I twisted until I could finally detach it...”

  Jazira strokes her head.

  “Afterwards I tried to stuff it down his throat! But he didn't open his mouth...”

  Jazira hugs Lidith, who doesn't resist.

  “He died of blood loss before I could redeem myself. I was too slow...”

  Then the world around us turns dark and I get the feeling of falling again.

  We are back in the arena. Our opponents stagger out of the ring while the stadium is completely silent. I turn to a judge, but the guy looks a little absent minded.

  “... Aaaand that's the first victory for -The four Pillars of Death!-. At first I had my doubts! But the Red hasn't lost her edge! It even seems like her new form makes her even more dangerous! I thought that her normal self wasn't capable of cruel acts, but that seems to be my mistake! She showed no mercy for her enemy. Instead of simply ripping it off, she decided to twist slowly, ensuring to inflict as much pain as possible! Then she actually tried to feed him with his own arm! Her new persona is even sicker than her transformation!...”

  ***

  I lean back in my chair and enjoy the silence of our lounge. “This fight was mentally exhausting!”

  “You have no idea. I am actually considering to have my memories erased.” Lidith wipes the tears out of her eyes with a handkerchief. “How could they misunderstand me like that!”

  Celestial grumbles with a coffee-cup in her hand. “Why are you crying? Didn't you want to have a reputation?”

  Lidith's jaw starts to quiver. Now she looks completely like a crying child. “Earlier I had a reputation of having an insanely strong transformation, even if I went into a mad frenzy. Now they think that I am some kind of Crazy Killer Animal! How can I face Gemesh now.”

  Haah... I forgot that she is doing this to get the attention of her crush.

  “It will work out!” Jazira encourages Lidith. “I'll root for you! And if he doesn't acknowledge you, we'll use force!”

  Celestial frowns and takes a sip from her coffee. “Why don't you lock yourself with him inside a room and use a love potion on him?”

  “Love?” “Potion?”

  “Does that...” “... work?”

  Celestial rolls with her eyes. “Of course! You just have to flip their switch. Men are driven by hormones after all!”

  Two pairs of eyes wander in my direction. “Why are you staring at me like that? I get the feeling that you are pitying me!”

  Our
bickering is interrupted as the door to our lounge opens. Five people step inside.

  It's Charon, Wynne and three other people. There is a small kid, not much bigger than a toddler. A woman with an insanely huge rack and rabbit ears! And a big thin guy with dark skin and a bald head.

  The small kid steps forward. “I challenge you to a fight! The one who wins can stay, the loser has to leave!”

  I snort. “Who are you? Leave where? This is our lounge!”

  The kid turns red. “I am Aneth!”

  101 - Bet.

  Sphere of Sous

  Celestial

  “I am Aneth!”

  Four expressionless faces turn to the child in front of us. I can't help it, so I break the silence. “You are smaller than... you know... ?”

  The child stomps onto the ground. “Of course I am smaller! You killed me! I was reborn as the son of a fucking swineherd! Can you imagine what I went through until I managed to collect enough mana to speed up my growth!?”

  Ascathon sighs. “At least there seems to be something like karma!”

  Jazira nods and assists him. “The poor parents... I wonder what they did to deserve such a son!”

  Aneth clenches his fists and shakes them. “Anyway! We'll settle our conflict with this tournament once and for all! Our world isn't big enough for all of us! Seven gods is too much! The one who gets the most points during the tournament can stay, the others have to leave!” He points at Lidith. “And take that one with you!”

  I step in front of Aneth and look down at him. “I don't like your attitude!”

  He glares back at me, but Charon and Wynne step forward to aide him. “It's better to use the tournament as a fighting stage than to devastate our homeworld.”

  Ascathon shrugs his shoulders. “Who cares? You just want to play with those who are weaker than you. Wouldn't it be the best to let them die while watching our glorious battle?”

  “Hoooh? I like that id...” Charon starts to speak, but Aneth and Wynne glare at him, so he shuts up.

  Jazira lifts one finger to her lips and arches her eyebrows. “The idea in itself sounds nice. But why does it feel like we are being tricked?”

  “Because they have seven people on their group and we have just four!” Lidith shakes the sheet with the tournament rankings in her hand.

  I snort and grab the paper to have a look for myself. “It's true. What's up with this shit! Four against seven isn't fair!”

  A broad smile forms on Aneth's face. “The tournament allows groups between four and seven people. It's your own fault if you don't manage to gather a full party!”

  Asathon frowns. “So they matched us against groups with the same amount of people until now. It makes the fights more interesting. Fine! Bring it on! The four Pillars of Death will crush you!”

  Wynne shows her teeth and smiles. “This won't take long. It's good that you chose the reasonable path.”

  Lidith tilts her head and turns towards Ascathon. “Are you sure about this bet?”

  Ascathon smiles. “You are the one who said that you want to win. Then let's win and show them that a fight against -The four Pillars of Death- can have only one outcome.”

  “You like that nickname too much.” Jazira whispers.

  “I am a god of peace...” Lidith's tail curls up behind her.

  “The only one who deserves that name is you.” I mumble.

  All eyes in the room turn towards me. “What? Don't look at me like that! Who else, but a god of death would carry the souls of his enemies around?” I point at my husband.

  “The question is who would marry a god of death?” Wynne mumbles.

  Aneth turns to leave the room. “We'll call it a deal then! The ones who achieves the best score during the tournament gets the planet!”

  Our visitors leave the room. When they are gone I turn towards Ascathon. “And now you tell me how we are supposed to defeat a group of seven gods.”

  Ascathon crosses his arms in front of his chest and closes his eyes. “Since our house is at stake, I may have to become serious.” He points at us. “And that means that we have to equip you guys with some real weapons!”

  ***

  “I don't feel comfortable with this hammer.” I muse and swing the unwieldy thing through the air. At least I got a set of daggers too.

  All of us got a set of the latest crystal armour and weapons, combined with instructions on how to use the stored mana within them. These new weapons seem to work like magical amplifiers.

  Lidith inherited his sword, together with a second one. It looks a little strange when someone wields a two handed sword in each hand.

  I look at Jazira “And why is she the only one who got a fucking gun!”

  “~Tehe! Your husband seems to be fond of me.~”

  Ascathon shrugs. “It's a failure. I tried to build a particle cannon, but the mana consumption was too high. So I used it as a decoration for my laboratory until now. It occurred to me that Jazira might be fine with it.”

  “You built a cannon which consumes too much mana!? You are a god!” Lidith gasps.

  Ascathon nods. “Yeah. The problem is with all the different curses and seeking spells which were added to the rifle! I never thought that the interference of so many different spells would increase the mana consumption to such a level. But I wanted something which can kill instantly!”

  Jazira pouts. “But my spell does that anyway.”

  He shakes his head. “Your spell might be powerful. But if your opponents figure out how it works, they can counter it with ease. It's just a Flame Spell after all.”

  Jazira turns pale. “My top secret trademark magic was figured out?”

  Ascathon snorts. “I saw that spell often enough by now. Obviously I'd see through it after so many times!”

  Jazira drops to her knees and hugs the rifle. “Then I won't give this thing back!”

  He isn't offended at all. “Keep it! It's a failure after all.”

  Lidith's ears droop. “I wonder why he keeps calling it a failure...”

  102 - A brawl?

  Sphere of Sous

  Jazira

  *Bam!*

  “~Headshot! Mwahahaha!~”

  I love this rifle!

  The feeling of handling it is great!

  One shot and the opponent is dealt with!

  “~This weapon is marvellous! Nyhahahahaha!~”

  *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*

  The world turns black and we are back in the arena. “Aw! That was too fast! They didn't even try to evade! I was even using the weapon at its lowest setting.”

  Lidith growls. “The recent fights were too anticlimactic! We just stood back and watched Jazira executing them!”

  Celestial kicks a pebble on the ground. “You are right! This isn't funny. Why don't you try to change the settings? I want to see what happens at full power!”

  Ascathon shakes his head. “I strongly advise against that. It looks like Jazira's mind can't handle the full power of the weapon.”

  Huh? What is he talking about? “My mind can't handle it?”

  Ascathon sighs. “The weapon uses the caster's mana and his mind to generate the necessary spells and curses. The more power you use, the more you strain your mind. Aren't you feeling wonderful while using it? That's the sign of a beginning mental breakdown. The weapon reserves certain areas of your brain while stimulating others.”

  I grab the rifle tighter. “It's interfering with my brain!? What happens if I have a breakdown?”

  Lidith gasps. “Why are you giving such a dangerous tool to her? She can't become more simple minded than she already is! Her personality is strange enough right now!”

  “Hey!” I protest! I am not simple minded!

  “Don't worry. A mental breakdown will only cause her to fall unconscious. I tried it already myself. She shouldn't do it anyway. An unconscious team member would cause us to lose points.” Ascathon says.

  Lidith gnaws at her nail. “I am more worried that the judg
es would forbid us from using the weapon!! We are breaking the tournament with it. Up until now the tournament was like a boxing fight between the participants. There weren't any rules needed because nobody had a real weapon. It's like we went to a martial arts tournament and brought a gun with us!”

  Celestial nods. “I thought about the same thing. But nobody said anything. Even the commentator is just rambling his random thoughts.”

  Ascathon pulls a sheet of paper from his pocket. “We should concentrate on our last two fights. There is just a minor difference in points between Aneth's group and ours. We are slightly ahead though. If we manage a draw, we win.”

  “I am amazed that they managed to keep up with us. Jazira's rifle decided all matches for us until now. We got a perfect score every time.” Celestial puffs her cheeks up.

  Lidith's expression turns sour. “They have Nergal the Mind on their team. His sniping skills are on par with Jazira. They must've paid him very well to get him onto their team.”

  “Paid?” I ask amazed.

  Lidith nods. “Of course. They aren't exactly friends with other gods. So they must have bribed the other members of their team to fill the empty slots.”

  I take the sheet of paper from Ascathon and look at it. We went over the enemy team composition several times.

  There is Aneth the Vile, who has good close combat skills and devastating area of effect spells. And it looks like he can really accelerate the growth of his body. We watched all of his matches and every time he got a little bigger. Right now his body should be that of a teenager.

  Charon the Dead is relying on his curses while hiding behind strong barriers. All he does is watch his opponents slowly wither away.

  Wynne the Green turns the battlefield into a zoo of magical enhanced plants. All of them pose a real danger to gods because they are fuelled by her mana. She herself is trying to avoid combat while hiding inside her creations.