Chapter 65. Liliya Volkov
Ever since Levi had reincarnated into this world, he kept on finding himself running into Phantasm’s plans. First the sabotage of the Ascension Trials, then the whole Hollow mess with Hawke, and now this… It was as though fate itself was conspiring to cause their paths to always collide.
Phantasm chuckled. “I confess, I was surprised to see you tonight, Levi Ironwood. You seem to have this serendipitous propensity to appear in just the right place at the wrong time. Still, I suppose I owe you for shattering the wards surrounding this manor and making my job much easier. I am not fond of debt, so as repayment, I’ll allow you to ask one question – any question – and I’ll answer truthfully.”
Levi hesitated. As much as he wanted to rush to find and help Liliya, he couldn’t pass up on this chance to finally gain some information. He just had to have faith in her for now. He believed in her ability to handle herself.
His expression turned pensive as he considered what to ask. Multiple questions filtered through his mind, but the most pressing one was…
“What is Crucible’s goal?” he asked.
Levi knew nothing of either the man before him nor the organization he belonged to. Not even Qorbin did. They had theorized that Phantasm was attempting to destabilize Luminarche, but that was it. Were they some foreign wetworks organization? Internal dissidents? Mercenaries working for the highest bidder?
Phantasm looked back at him, and despite the mask covering his face, Levi could somehow tell that the man was smiling.
“To save the world, of course.”
Levi blinked. “Save the world?” he repeated. “You tried to kill Liliya with the Ascension Trials to save the world? You tried to have Hawke summon an archdaemon to save the world?”
Phantasm nodded. “Yes.” At Levi’s incredulous look, he shrugged. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Such actions were necessary for the greater good. Speaking of, how did you manage to defeat an archdaemon without wiping the entire surrounding town off the map in the process? I didn’t expect Elysia to still be standing when I arrived.”
“The archdaemon summoning never took place.”
“What? Did Hawke get cold feet? No, his resolve was the real deal; his hatred for adventurers was too fervent not to be. Unless… Oh, that sentimental old fool. He tried to resurrect his daughter, didn’t he?” He sighed. “What a waste. Anyone knows that not even the Hollow can interfere with the boundary of life and death…”
“Why are you here?” Levi asked. “Did you know we were attacking Montague tonight?”
“No, nothing of the sort. I wouldn’t dare put myself up against Ravenbane’s counterintelligence; I prefer to keep my sanity intact, thank you very much. This is, believe it or not, wholly a coincidence.”
“I see. Then what are you doing here? And…” Levi narrowed his eyes. “Were you responsible for Montague’s possession?”
Phantasm stilled. “Pardon?”
“When I first confronted him, Theodore Montague was possessed by some unknown entity,” Levi said, watching Phantasm’s reaction carefully. “That wasn’t your doing?”
Phantasm was silent for a long moment. “No,” he said, for once sounding slightly disturbed. “It wasn’t. Possessed, you say? How peculiar…”
Which meant that there were three total parties at play here in the castle, all intersecting with one another: Levi, Phantasm, and whatever that had been possessing Montague. Perhaps Phantasm was lying, but his perturbation had seemed genuine.
At any rate…
Levi had all the information he needed now. His time was running out.
It was time to act.
He whipped his hand up, and a blazing fireball hotter than the sun itself blasted forth from his palm. It tore through the hallway, stretching into a teardrop shape from its incredible speed. The surrounding walls burst into flames from the proximity alone, and even the quartz floor underneath cracked and began melting from the sheer heat.
Phantasm didn’t even flinch as the flames struck him in the face and sputtered into nothingness, not even embers left behind. His [Sanctum], an anti-magic refractory shield wrapped around him like a second skin, rendered all conventional magical attacks obsolete.
“This again?” Phantasm sighed. “How droll, Levi Ironwood. Haven’t we already established in the previous fight that such attacks won’t work on me–?”
The fireball had been a spell of such unbelievable power that mages could spend their entire lives attempting, and failing, to reach its level. In any ordinary fight, it would’ve been used as a final trump card.
Here, however, it had acted merely as a priming step for Levi’s next attack.
Levi twisted his hand and the vacuum in the hallway, brought about by the flames devouring all the oxygen, intensified a hundredfold. Phantasm’s next words were quite literally sucked from his mouth, the man cutting off in a choked gasp as the vacuum almost ripped out his lungs. While [Sanctum] might negate magical attacks, a vacuum was still a physical attack at its core, even if magically amplified.
A runic script etched onto Phantasm’s white mask blazed to life, seemingly sealing off the outside air. Even then, however, some blood trickled out from beneath Phantasm’s mask.
Levi, for his part, hadn’t seen any of this. After unleashing the vacuum attack, he had immediately turned and ran, not wanting to waste another second. Dealing with Phantasm could come later.
As he raced through the halls, Levi snapped his fingers, releasing a single radial pulse of mana. A second later, the mana returned to him, and he winced as a deluge of information flooded into his brain. It was a form of magical echolocation that provided a mental model of everything within the castle.
It took him less than a second to locate Liliya. She and Montague were inside the grand ballroom at the far end of the castle. It seemed that Phantasm had a sense of irony.
Adjusting his path, Levi channeled even more mana to his legs. His muscles burned from the magical reinforcement, but he ignored it. The interior of the castle blurred around him as he turned corner after corner, jumping over mezzanines and leaping up entire flights of stairs. He couldn’t sense Phantasm anywhere; either the man had fled or he was getting into position to ambush Levi. It didn’t matter.
Finally, the ballroom entrance came into view. Levi didn’t even pause in his step, his magic surging forward automatically and blasting the ballroom doors wide open. He burst through the entrance–
Only to get nearly clotheslined by a familiar arm that suddenly blocked his path.
Levi instantly came to a halt, his magic negating his momentum. The tailwind generated in his path caught up a moment later, blasting into the room and causing his hair and cloak to swirl wildly.
“Glad you finally joined us,” Qorbin said from next to him as he lowered his arm.
Levi stared at Qorbin. His mana pulse earlier hadn’t detected Qorbin’s presence inside the ballroom at all. Fucking assassins and their presence concealment abilities…
Wait. What was Qorbin just doing standing here? According to Levi’s internal timer, Liliya’s potions were definitely out by now.
“Why aren’t you helping Liliya–” he demanded.
“Shh,” Qorbin said, lifting a finger to his lips. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the battle before him. “Just watch. To think I’d see this happen twice in my lifetime…”
Levi frowned but complied, turning to observe Liliya and Montague’s battle as well.
A moment later, he smiled.
Earlier
Liliya dropped through the air and took in her surroundings. She and Montague were falling through a massive ballroom. Vaulted pillars stretched up fifteen meters high, and a gleaming chandelier overhead cast a bright light over the entire room. The two portals on the ceiling had already closed up, cutting them off from Levi and Phantasm.
Liliya landed soundlessly on the balls of her feet, and before she even fully absorbed the situation, she was already surging forward in a burst of speed. Panic flashed across her mind.
Calling up a quick [Status], she saw that she had less than thirty seconds before her potions expired. After that… Well. She was completely outleveled and outmatched. Even with his injuries, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Montague to overwhelm her.
She had to end this now.
Montague barely had time to widen his eyes before steel filled his vision. He jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding her [Piercing Strike] before ducking low as she swiped her sword across at him. Strands of blonde hair fluttered to the ground as Montague leaped forward, trying to tackle her to the ground.
Liliya leaped back, lashing out with a vicious snap kick as she did so. Her foot slammed into the side of Montague’s temple, and were it not for his high Constitution, it would’ve knocked him out. As it was, the impact only dazed Montague – but that was enough for her to halt and reverse momentum, blurring forward in her own charge.
Gashes opened up in Montague’s limbs and torso as she unleashed dozens of blows. She made sure to never keep her sword still for even a moment, her [Dance of the Sword Saint] passive constantly increasing her strength and agility.
Montague blocked a strike with his dagger, but the force of the impact sent him hurtling back. His back slammed against a gigantic marble pillar and he groaned in pain.
Now!
Liliya bent her knees and blasted forward in a devastating lunge. Her sword seemed to glow from the staggering amount of mana she channeled into it. She had only a few seconds left before the potions ran out. She had to make this strike count.
Holding nothing back, Liliya unleashed her attack.
[Blade Waltz]!
Her sword carved across the air–
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Montague smiled at her, blood trickling from his open lips. Liliya’s eyes widened. Rested between his teeth was a tiny glass potion vial filled with the familiar red liquid of a health elixir. Then he bit down and swallowed, glass shards and all.
BOOM!
Her sword carved through the pillar with a screeching sound. Notably, however, it did not cut through Montague; the instant healing of his injuries had allowed him to dodge her strike with a sudden burst of speed.
Liliya tried to spin in place and redirect the momentum of her slice into a follow-up attack – but that was when her potions ran out.
Her entire body seized up, and she nearly fell to the ground. Pain and exhaustion slammed into her in equal measure. She felt burning hot and freezing cold, her vision swimming before her. She stumbled backward, pressing a hand against her head in a fruitless attempt to stave off the migraine that felt like a hole in her skull.
Montague let out a cruel, triumphant laugh. “Time’s up, huh?” He rose to his full height, and with his hands healed to full capacity, he finally summoned his weapon. A giant halberd taller than he was materialized in his hands. Before, he had only been able to use a dagger due to his broken hands and the cramped hallway. Now in the ballroom, he could freely use his main weapon.
Then for the first time since their fight began, he went on the offense.
It quickly became evident just how large the gap between them was. Liliya, for all her prodigious skill, was still a fresh Institute graduate. Montague had over a decade on her in experience and levels.
He lashed out with powerful strikes, and while she was able to block them, the force behind them alone made her arms feel as though they’d shatter. She grunted as she tried to evade, but Montague was relentless, pressing the attack like a beast.
“You dare defy me?” Montague shouted as he rained down blow after blow. “You dare spit in my face? I am amazed, Liliya. Have you lost your senses? Have you no dignity? You shame your House and family!”
Slowly yet surely, he dismantled her defenses and drove her against the wall. He wasn’t even attacking to kill; he struck her with only the blunt sides of his halberd. Liliya let out a cry of pain as he slammed the flat of the halberd’s blade into her ribs, several cracks ringing out.
“By the Goddess, just look at who you’ve allied yourself with!” Montague snarled. “Some disinherited disgrace of a noble? A rotten Grand Assassin who’d bathed himself in the blood of entire villages?”
His next strike was so brutal, even though she blocked it with her blade, the shock rendered her entire sword arm useless. Her arm dropped limply to her side, numb and unresponsive.
Montague didn’t give her any time to recover. He slammed the butt of his halberd into the ballroom floor, driving it through the polished hardwood. Then, his hands now free, he reached out and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her close to him. His eyes were clouded with fury as they glared into hers.
“Well?” Montague demanded, spittle flying from his mouth. “Why would you do this?” His voice broke. “I was going to give you the world! I was going to grant you the greatest honor I could bestow – the privilege to become my wife, the mother to my children. I would have done anything for you. So why? So you could play at being an adventurer? So you could gallivant around with such reprehensible scoundrels? Answer me!”
“I… I never wanted to marry you–”
Montague backhanded her in the face. The strike sent stars flying through her vision. She hissed in pain – and then the wind was driven from her body as he punched her in the gut, once, twice, thrice. She retched, and if she’d eaten anything earlier that night, she undoubtedly would’ve thrown it all up. She tried to double over, but Montague grabbed her by the throat and hauled her back up, pinning her against the wall. She weakly clawed at him with her one good arm, but his grip was unforgiving.
“Look at what you’re making me do!” Montague shouted. He looked, and sounded, genuinely heartbroken. “Look at us! Stop this, please just stop this!” His grip tightened around her throat, cutting off all her air. “I… It’s okay. We can put this behind us. We can still fix this. Just apologize, Liliya. Say you’re sorry, marry me like a good noble daughter, and we can live happily ever after.”
Liliya let out a choked gurgle, her vision becoming blurry and blackening at the edges. Her one good arm slowly dropped back down to her side.
“I’ll provide for you, I’ll protect you, I’ll ensure you’re never wanting for anything,” Montague said, taking on an almost pleading tone with her. “All the wealth and luxuries in the world will be yours. I won’t tell your father about what happened here – hell, I’ll even grant immunity to Ravenbane and Ironwood so the Royal Sentinels don’t execute them. Just say you’re sorry. Just apologize.” His gaze hardened as an ugly, hateful look entered his eyes. “Otherwise, I’m going to make you regret you were ever born. You will never again see sunlight for the rest of your days. What will it be, Liliya Volkov?!”
Just apologize, huh?
All she had to do was quash her feelings, swallow her desires, and apologize to him. Suppress herself once more, like she had done her entire life so far.
…
“No,” she whispered.
Montague frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“You heard me,” Liliya forced out. Her voice was raspy, but she glared defiantly back at Montague even as her vision swam in and out of focus. “I am… sick and tired of this. All my life, I’ve restrained myself, suffocating myself for the sake of carrying out my duty,” she spat. “No longer, Theodore Montague. I’m done.”
Montague stared at her, looking as though he couldn’t comprehend her words. “What are you… You’re not even the heiress to your House, Liliya Volkov! You don’t get to decide when you’re done! Obeying your family, adhering to the rules of higher society – as a noble, that is what you were born to do, what you ought to do!”
The lack of air was getting to her. She could feel her consciousness fading. And yet…
She gurgled out, “I refuse–”
His fist crashed into her face, and her face crashed into the ground. Liliya’s world became absolute pain. She couldn’t move. Was her neck broken? Did he paralyze her?
In front of her, Montague had stepped away. He paced back and forth, gripping his hair and muttering to himself. She caught the word ‘enslavement potion,’ and her heart filled with fear.
No, it would be fine, she reminded herself. Levi was no doubt already on the way. It wouldn’t come to that. She didn’t have to fight anymore – she couldn’t fight anymore. She was too injured, too outclassed, too weak.
All she had to do was stay down and wait for Levi to come save her.
Her eyes drifted shut.
…
…
…
Yeah, fuck that.
Her eyes snapped back open, burning with resolve.
Slowly, despite the agony coursing through her body, she climbed to her feet. Her limbs trembled, and she couldn’t feel half her body – but she hadn’t lost grip of her sword. She was still clutching it with her right hand.
Stay down? Wait for someone to come save her?
She was Liliya fucking Volkov. Genius. Sword Saint. And above all…
Someone who never backed down no matter what odds.
Within her, a lifetime’s worth of suppressed anger began bubbling up from the deepest recesses of her being. For nineteen years, she had shoved all her rage, resentment, and unceasing fury into those dark corners of herself. She had told herself that it was her duty as a daughter of House Volkov, that she had no other choice, that it was what she had to do.
It had been so long, she had almost begun believing it as well.
Perhaps one day, she would have. If it weren’t for the words of a certain disinherited disgrace of a noble.
‘Then break them.’
Well.
Perhaps she should.
Because this was her fight.
“Here’s what I’m going to do, Theodore Montague,” Liliya said, her voice low. He turned to her, looking surprised that she was able to stand. She took a single step forward, ignoring the searing pain that shot through her entire body. Her focus was entirely on Montague. “You are going to shut up now. And then I am going to make my way over there, shove my sword into your body, and GUT YOU LIKE A FUCKING PIG!”
Montague stared at her with wide eyes, taken aback. “What?”
It was the first time she’d cursed out loud in… well, ever. Her etiquette instructors would’ve been horrified. She found that she didn’t care.
She took a step forward, and then she vanished.
A series of rapid explosions ruptured across the ground as she moved at an inhuman speed, appearing as little more than a blur. She dashed across the ballroom floor, horizontally across the walls, even upside down across the ceiling. Montague’s eyes flickered back and forth as he tried to track her movements, but she was too fast. He didn’t even have the time to blink before she appeared before him.
Six near-simultaneous piercing strikes lanced at him, and crimson blood splattered the ground. Montague had blocked half of them with his halberd, but the other half had struck true. He unleashed a devastating swing, but she was already halfway across the room.
Despite her injuries, Liliya’s body felt impossibly light. She was moving faster than she ever had before, even faster than when she’d consumed the potions earlier.
She didn’t understand what was happening. How was she doing this? It felt as though there was some unknown external power flowing through her…
Oh.
This was why her [Binding Threads] had failed to properly form earlier, wasn’t it?
A person’s Concept reflected their fundamental being. It was the manifestation of their core essence. So what happened when someone’s fundamental being shifted?
Liliya’s Concept of Suppression had begun breaking apart when she decided to take Levi’s offer. And now, with her latest resolution, it had shattered entirely.
That wasn’t to say that she’d lost her Concept altogether, though.
For just as a person could change, so too could their Concept.
Several dings suddenly sounded in her head. The world around her slowed down to a crawl as several status messages appeared before her.
[System Notification: The god of War has recognized your display of fortitude]
[System Notification: The god of War approves greatly of your refusal to give up]
[System Notification: The god of War offers you divine sponsorship. Do you accept? (Yes/No)]
Liliya didn’t hesitate.
[Yes.]
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have gained the Concept of {Defiance}]
The world returned to normal as information automatically flooded into her mind: the knowledge of how to use her newfound Conceptual Skill. A direct link between her and the god of War opened up, and his divine power poured over in overwhelming waves. Her heart nearly stopped at just how much there was – and how high were her stats right now?!
Ah, that was right. Qorbin had spoken of this before, hadn’t he?
‘Depending on how much a god favors the person, a divine sponsorship can boost a person well past their normal tier’s level. Especially when they first unlock it, as that’s when the god is often the most generous with the amount of their power they send over the link.’
The same phenomenon that had allowed Professor Heimler to slay an Old Vampiric Lord when he had only been an Adamantine-tier adventurer…
“How are you doing this?” Montague asked in disbelief. “Did you drink even more potions when I wasn’t watching? No, this power…” His eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me. A Conceptual Shift, at this time?!”
He swung his halberd, trying to hit her, but she was too fast. She dashed in and out of his range, practically dancing around him. She left cuts across his back, his torso, his arms, his legs. The ground around him became soaked in crimson as she attacked again and again.
Montague roared in pain and frustration as she systematically took him apart with textbook perfection. She slid across the floor, ducking low to avoid his halberd’s blade and taking out his heel’s tendon as she did so. He dropped to one knee, a look of panic crossing over him. He scrambled to locate her, but she’d already disappeared from view once more.
Above him, the ceiling let out a resounding crack. He looked up to see her crashing down on him like a meteorite. He raised his halberd to block her descending strike–
[Denial]!
–and her blade flickered through his halberd. Montague bellowed in pain as she cut from his right shoulder down to his left ankle.
Her new Conceptual Skill, [Denial], allowed her to completely ignore all defense and resistance in defiance of the opposition.
Then, she reversed her blade and slammed the hilt of her sword upward.
Right between his legs.
Something ruptured. Maybe two.
Montague howled in distress. He desperately raised his halberd to try and fend her off, only to blink as his halberd clattered to the ground. Along with his left hand.
He watched her with a mixture of fear and horror, stumbling backward. “I…”
Idly, Liliya realized that she’d gained an audience during the battle. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Levi and Qorbin watching her at the edge of the ballroom. She had been too immersed in the battle to notice them earlier. When had they arrived?
No matter. She turned her focus back on Montague.
“Allow me to make myself perfectly clear,” Liliya hissed. “I will never marry you, not in a million years. We could be the last two humans in this world and I’d still rather drive my blade into my own heart than willingly touch you. You disgust me, Theodore Montague. You want children? Fine.” Her eyes blazed. “Then go fuck yourself!”