TBATE Volume 7

by Divergence (epub)

  Deciding that she would be fine for now, I made my way to where the teleportation gate had been buried beneath a tide of black spikes. 

  There, I spotted Nyphia slow chipping away at the black spikes while Madam Astera held off several dozen Alacryan mages by herself. 

  Immediately, I closed the distance and unleashed a blast of frostfire at the Alacryans, freezing half of them in a single spell. 

  I ignored the rest, letting Madam Astera handle it while I got to work on the black spikes. 

  While half-tempted to release a torrent of lightning, I was too afraid that the gate would be damaged so I clad my fists in lightning and charged forth. 

  “Nyphia! Help Tess and get her here!” I ordered. 

  “G-Got it!” Nyphia scrambled out of the way as I punched through the scores of black spikes jutting from the ground and blocking the teleportation gate. 

  My lightning-clad fists shredded through the layers as I kept my senses clear in case Elijah or the scythe was nearby.

  A piercing scream suddenly invaded my thoughts.

  Sylvie! I called out as her mind clouded in a sea of pain that even I could feel through our shared minds.

  ‘Just keep… going!’ she sent with whatever was left of her sanity. 

  I could feel the ground shake with every explosion of black flames and pure mana in the distance, but I continued to push forth until I could see the faint glow of the teleportation gate. 

  Almost there! 

  Suddenly the sky darkened and a shadow cast just above me. Realmheart continued to cycle through me, burning away at my own body but I relied on it once more as I layered aether over the frostfire surrounding my two hands. 

  I pushed, sending out a shockwave of aetheric ice straight at the black hellfire descending on both myself and the teleportation gate just beside me. 

  As the two forces clashed, a shockwave rippled, shattering some of the black spikes. The teleportation gate also quivered and groaned, threatening to break and leave us stranded here. 

  Still, the ancient portal held strong and now there was a path directly to it. Tess, Nyphia and Madam Astera were running towards me as well. They’d be able to make it back. 

  “Hurry through the portal!” I roared as the three of them ran past me. 

  Tess turned back, facing me as she continued racing for the portal. “What about you?” 

  “I have my own medallion. I’ll meet you back at the shelter with Sylvie. Now go!”  

  “Grey! You can’t do this to me, not again!” Elijah shouted from above, desperately trying to get here in time. “Not after what you did to me and Cecilia!” 

  Elijah’s words struck like thunder, and I almost let him get to the portal. 

  With aether under my command, I closed the distance, just as he was about to fire a black spear at the gate, and intercepted him. 

  Wounded and tired, Elijah wasn’t a match anymore while I was in this state. 

  I gripped his neck and squeezed just hard enough so he could barely talk. 

  “How do you know that name?” I growled. 

  “Looks like you’re finally…sober,” he wheezed.  “If you weren’t…under the influence of that power that’s…killing you right now, you might’ve already figured it out.” 

  I squeezed harder, making him gag, before loosening my grip. “Who are you.” 

  Elijah spat on my face before smiling, revealing his blood-stained teeth. “I was your best… friend, and the one whose fiancée you killed in front of me.” 

  My grip loosened and I felt my strained heart clutch. My mind swam and my entire body felt like it was submerged in tar. My throat tightened and choked as it tried to keep me from muttering the single word that pressed against my brain like a smoldering brand. 

  “Nico?” 

   

  Chapter 249: Gone

  Explosions of black and gold from Sylvie and the scythe’s battle resounded in the distance but I was focused on the man I had in my grasp. 

  “I-It can’t—no, it’s impossible. There’s no way—”

  “That I’m…Nico?” Elijah coughed as he pried my fingers apart just enough so he could speak. “If you’ve reincarnated into this world, Grey, why is it impossible for anyone else to as well?” 

  The hand currently wrapped around Nic—no, Elijah, trembled uncontrollably. I squeezed harder. I didn’t want him to talk. I wanted to deny everything. I couldn’t bear whatever it was that he was about to say.    

  “Art! Watch out!” 

  Tess’ scream jolted me out of my thoughts, but I couldn’t fully dodge the back spike that Elijah had launched from the ground. 

  My grip around the black-haired traitor’s neck loosened and Elijah took advantage of that moment perfectly, prying himself loose and punching me square in the jaw with a hellfire-clad fist.

  I swayed, nearly losing consciousness as the runes coursing down my face protected me from the black flames. I nearly fell from the sky but a hand grabbed my wrist. 

  As my weakened body struggled to counteract the otherworldly toxins that had entered my body from the black spike, Elijah grabbed my collar and pulled me close. His piercing dark eyes glared down at me while the venom-coated black spike hovered over his shoulder, tip pointed at my face. 

  “Art!” Tess shouted. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see her aura flaring as she prepared to attack.

  “Focus on the gate!” I roared.

  Elijah looked back as well, but just as he was about to go to Tess, I grabbed his arm. 

  “What did Agrona do to you, Elijah?” I groaned. “Did he make you say all of this?” 

  Elijah spun his head back, anger dripping from his voice. “Do you think even Agrona would know how you and I used to steal and sell whatever we scrounged to the pawn shop? And that we’d use the earnings to keep our orphanage funded without Wilbeck knowing?” 

  “That… doesn’t mean—”  

  “Do you think Agrona knows that deep down, you had feelings for Cecilia?” 

  I stiffened and the world that had been spinning because of the toxin in Elijah’s spell suddenly came back into focus. 

  Elijah smirked but his eyes remained cold. “Cecilia liked you for a time as well, but she gave up because you kept your distance emotionally ever since you found out that I had feelings for her.” 

  “Stop,” I whispered, anger flaring up the mana inside me. The runes spread throughout my body pulsed as I focused on gathering strength. 

  “And even when I told you everything I uncovered about Lady Vera, you turned your back on your best friend for that bitch,” he seethed, black flames spreading from his hands. “And as if that wasn’t enough, you killed her! You killed Cecilia in front of me!” 

  My runes and his flame clashed in a constant battle to keep my body from igniting. 

  “Stop, Nico!” I cried, tears burning as they rolled down my cheeks. 

  Another explosion resounded from the distance, the shockwave creating a gust of wind that blew all the way here. 

  At that moment, a translucent-green blade of mana shot from the ground below. 

  Even though Nico was unaware, the black spike managed to block the green crescent that Tess had undoubtedly fired, but that gave me the opportunity to let out a blast of frost right at Nico’s face. 

  From the shoulder up, Nico was frozen for a second until a black flame started melting the ice. Still, I managed to kick myself free from his grasp and launch an arc of lighting at my disoriented foe. 

  Nico crashed to the ground, a mushroom of dust covering the area he had landed. 

  Are you okay? I asked my bond, checking up on her after that last explosion.

  ‘I’m…fine. It’s weird, he’s definitely attacking me but
it feels like he’s…holding back,’ she responded. ‘How are things going over there?’

  Not so…good, I admitted. But I’ll be able to hold my own. I just need to get Tess and them through the gate. 

  Just as I finished that thought, I turned my attention to the crater to see a large fluctuation of mana from where Nico had landed.  

  He was preparing a spell—a powerful one—but it wasn’t aimed at me. 

  I immediately burst through the air, landing on the ground right between Nico and the teleportation gate. 

  A concentrated beam of hellfire barely thicker than the width of a wrist pierced through the cloud of dust and debris, targeting just the teleportation gate. 

  Squeezing mana from my core and begging the aether around to aid me, I countered with a swirling barrier of aetheric wind. While ice would’ve been a better choice to effectively negate Nico’s attack, the toll of sustaining Realmheart for this long was becoming more and more evident. 

  Flickers of hellfire that had managed to make its way through my wind barrier burned through my skin like acid while even my regenerative abilities were hurting me, as if my body was begging me to stop getting injured. 

  Sustaining the barrier, I looked back over my shoulder, snapping impatiently at Tess. “He’s trying to destroy the gate! Hurry up and activate it and escape!” 

  “It’s almost done! But what about you and Sylvie?” Tess shouted as she continued to hold the ancient medallion up against the center of the glowing ring that was almost filled with purple. 

  “Just go! Please!” I begged. 

  “No!” Nico shouted. He withdrew his concentrated spell and burst forward to try and get past me. However, despite the poor state of my body, my reflexes were a lot faster than he assumed. 

  I pivoted and launched myself, tackling Nico. 

  “Let go!” he roared as he flailed, trying to escape my grasp. 

  Small embers of hellfire ignited throughout Elijah’s body but I held strong with the help of aether. 

  “Hurry up!” I warned, feeling the black flames slowly burn through the layer of aether and mana protecting me. 

  Nico suddenly stopped trying to break free. His shoulders trembled as he gritted his teeth before shouting, “You owe me, Grey. You owe me for killing Cecilia!” 

  “So that’s what it is? Cecilia died so you have to have Tess to make it even?” I spat out. “I didn’t mean to kill Cecilia, but even if I had, she wouldn’t have wanted this, Nico! Taking Tess isn’t going to bring Cecilia back!” 

  “What if it is?!” Nico shot back. 

  Caught by surprise, I didn’t answer. However, I saw the mana fluctuation in Nico’s hand as he willed another black spike from the ground. 

  I quickly spun, using Elijah as a shield against his own spell. He was able to stop the spike from piercing both of us. 

  A guttural cry of frustration ripped out of his throat as he tried desperately to break free from my grasp. 

  Just then, another explosion resounded from where Sylvie was fighting against the scythe. 

  What’s going on? Are you okay? I asked, my concern bleeding onto my bond. 

  ‘I’m…fine, but the scythe is heading your way,’ she replied, even her mental voice pained. 

  It took less than a second for me to feel it—the presence of the scythe approaching. And it took another second for me to see the rapid fluctuation of mana right where the teleportation gate was.

  I hurriedly initiated Static Void, but this time, I felt the cost of its use. 

  Along with the inverted colors of the frozen world, I felt a cold grip clutching my innards, warning me that death was inevitable if I continued to exploit this powerful aether art. 

  Ignoring my body’s warning, I released the frozen Nico and made my way toward Tess, Nyphia, and Madam Astera. 

  My body grew heavy and nauseous with each step I took but I couldn’t afford to release Static Void and risk the scythe’s spell go off. 

  My body was drenched in sweat and I was gasping for air by the time I reached the gate. 

  I grabbed Tess’ waist with one arm and released the time-freezing aether art. 

  A cold chill ran down my spine as my body instinctively knew that danger was just behind me, where the gate was. 

  Tess flinched in my grasp.“What th—”  

  I picked her up by the waist, cutting her off, while I shouted at Madam Astera. 

  “Grab Nyphia!” 

  Immediately, the former knight professor and soldier bolted to her student and tossed her over her shoulder just in time for me to flash past them and grab Madam Astera’s free hand. 

  I tried to bend space once more with the help of aether, but the translucent purple bridge  wouldn’t form. Without even the time to curse, I gritted my teeth and expended what mana I had left to gain some distance when a horrible explosion of fire resounded behind us. 

  Unable to even look back, I could only imagine how close the conflagration was by the sound of the roaring fire and its heat scalding my back. 

  A green aura suddenly surrounded all of us as Tess activated her beast will to protect us while I focused on getting us out of range, but the heat only grew stronger. 

  To make matters worse, the scythe was within eyeshot just up ahead. Even if we were able to somehow make it out of the hellfire explosion, we’d be facing the scythe as well as Nico. 

  Suddenly, Madam Astera let out a scream of pain, but I couldn’t afford to slow down as I could see the tendrils of black flames in the air. 

  My very thoughts of surviving molded itself into the elements. Gales of wind coalesced beneath my feet as even the uneven ground smoothed out in front of us to make a clear path. 

  It didn’t matter though. The sky darkened as the black flames were about to engulf us, but neither the scalding burn nor the searing pain came. 

  I peeked back just over my shoulder to see Nico using his own black flames to block hellfire that the scythe had unleashed. 

  “Get them out of here!” Elijah shouted as he struggled to keep the powerful explosion at bay. 

  “Hold onto me tight!” Tess exclaimed as she withdrew her beast will and conjured a condensed orb of wind in her palms. 

  I squeezed her waist tightly as she unleashed a gale of wind behind us, propelling us forward. I stumbled and nearly fell forward by the sudden force but Madam Astera actually stabbed her sword into the ground, allowing me to regain my balance.

  Continuing to run until I couldn’t feel the heat any longer, I toppled forward from sheer exhaustion. Still, I made sure to cling tightly onto keeping Realmheart Physique active. I knew that once I released it, the backlash would hit me—hard. 

  Ignoring the dull, radiating pain that was growing stronger by the minute, I inhaled more ambient mana like a drug addict on the cusp of his crash. 

  I couldn’t even cycle and purify it through my mana core, which made the mana poison to my body. Realmheart Physique would’ve helped with purifying the poisonous mana but I had taken in too much during this battle. 

  But what’s a little more poison for my already deteriorating body? I just needed to hold on and get the rest of them out of here safely.

  “Stay with me!” Tess said to someone from behind, voice shaky but strong. 

  With the ambient mana temporarily boosting the functions of my body, I wiped a stray drop of blood that fell down from my nostril and turned around. 

  My eyes widened and in my head I was already starting to calculate the odds of their survival…and it just got a whole lot worse. 

  It was Madam Astera. She was missing her right leg from the mid-calf down and Tess was doing what she could to soothe her wounds using water magic while Nyphia was preparing bandages made from ripped strips of her ow
n inner robe.

  “My foot got caught in that explosion. I knew I couldn’t put out that black fire so I cut it off,” she grunted. For a split second, I admired the fact that, for such a petite woman who had just lobbed off her own leg, she was barely even grimacing. 

  Then, reality sank in as I felt the tremendous pressure of the scythe fast approaching.

  “Damn it!” I cursed, already turning my gaze from the disabled soldier and to the scythe almost upon us. 

  To my surprise, however, Nico marched past us, a smoky nebula surrounding him as if illustrating his anger. 

  “Tessia almost died because of your attack, Cadell!” Nico roared. “I’m sure Agrona made it clear to you that she is to stay alive!” 

  I finally knew the name of the scythe that had killed Sylvia when I was a child in this world.

  Cadell landed deftly on the ground as if he had just stepped off the sidewalk. His stride was leisurely yet confident, each step demanding your attention. 

  I made sure to position myself between Cadell and my allies behind me while taking note of the rising tension. 

  ‘Arthur! I’m almost there,’ Sylvie relayed. I could already see her large figure in the sky above some distant buildings. 

  Cadell noticed as well, his gaze flitting behind him for a second before he focused on Nico. 

  “If I had not acted in the way that I did, the vessel would have escaped,” he responded apathetically before turning to me. 

  “That doesn’t justify you risking her life! We had a deal,” Nico snapped, a tendril of black smokey aura flaring out at the ground and creating a large gash. 

  “You would’ve failed on your own. Why? Because of your past with the boy. If you weren’t so fixated on getting your revenge against your old friend, then the vessel would have already been in your possession.” 

  Sylvie was almost here, and while it would’ve been smart to leave them alone to buy ourselves time,  I couldn’t ignore what they were speaking about. Even though I knew I would regret it, I just had to know.