From Ashes To Scales

Saphira mutated her arms. Her arms became thicker and pitch black with violet swirls. They do kind of remind me of a character from a certain JRPG I played back in Japan. Velvet… something. Well let’s not dwell on that. Since her screaming is just becoming more chaotic.

Then she took one step in my direction.

“I’ll kill you all!!”

She broke into a run.

At that moment, I was wondering if I wasn’t watching her in slow motion, as I could clearly see Saphira’s every move.

And I don’t mean that as a metaphor. She was slow. Maybe my eyes got too accustomed to Leona’s speed. In comparison, she’s just not on the same level. Why didn’t she enchant her speed?

“EAT THIS!!”

As she announced, she swung down her right arm from above.

“Hmm. A good way to defend against it would be…”

I effortlessly intercepted her swing with the staff in my hand.

The moment it collided with her demon hand…

“GUHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

Saphira, who had attacked me, was unable to withstand my magically enhanced energy burst, was blown far backwards, and plunged deep into one of the pillars.

“Oya? Is that all there was to the famous Calamity Witch? Perhaps I should have held back more, for the sake of these ruins at least?”

“GRRR… How dare you make a mockery of me!?”

She sharply glared at me as she got back on her feet. And once again dashed towards me. The same type of attack? For real?

“A slash with your left claws.”

*Swoosh*

“Followed by 3 consecutive right-left-right slashes.”

*Swoosh**Swoosh**Swoosh*

“And then you follow with a kick aimed at my torso.”

*Swoosh*

“Which is only a faint to come after me with an uppercut. Am I right?”

*Swoosh*

Everything I just said was me describing her attack pattern. And naturally I dodged everything. I guess from her point of view she must be confused.

“Bastard! Can you read minds or something?”

“Read minds? Heavens no. I actually pray that such an ability doesn't exist. I simply read your movements. The way your shoulder slightly moves, or the way your hips twitch. You are sending clear signs for me. Your enraged state makes all that much easier to predict your movements.”

“Shut up!! Then I will obliterate you!!”

She raised her right arm in the sky and red sparks gathered in her palm.

“Nebula Strike!”

Nebula Strike. A powerful spell that unleashes a massive dark energy beam akin to a mist, shrouded in lightning. This is indeed a spell I am not familiar with. Normally I would have to dodge this. But…

I simply reach my hand out. The moment the spell touched my hand I closed it forming a fist. The spell immediately shattered.

“Impossible!!”

“Impossible you say? Your control over mana is wavering so much and that spell had so many gaps in it’s magic formula that you issued… it was rather easy to break it. Grasping and analyzing the full scale of magic is a hobby of mine.”

“Bastard!!”

“I think there's no reason to drag this any further. You can probably scare off your typical holy knight or adventurer, but against me, brute strength and random spells simply won't work.”

“Such a thing… can't be happening!! I am the strongest!! You must die!!!”

“Not happening. Speaking of which… You're wide open. Grasp of Gaia!”

As I tapped my staff on the ground, two large stone hands emerged and grabbed Saphira.

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!”

She was now sandwiched between the hands. Only her head was visible, as her entire body was being squeezed together, not allowing any movement.

“Now then. Shall we drop this circus act?”

I calmly approached her as she was now restrained. And raised my left arm, bringing it up close to her head.

“Let's release you, shall we? Purging Light!”

A white magic circle formed and pure bright light was emitted. Staring straight into it could make you go blind, so it's not something you would want to shove in someone's face, but in this particular scenario it was necessary due to the spell’s other function.

“Heh. Haha. Ahahaha!!”

To my surprise, her howl turned into laughter.

“So you can see through me? So what? You think you're the first one to try that on me? You have no power over me, sorcerer!”

“Quite resilient. Then… I’ll… just have to take it further. Purging Light times 3!!”

An even powerful beam of light was generated.

“Kyaaa!!! Stop!! It hurts!!! She's mine. You can't…”

“I most definitely can. If this is still not enough… then I’ll just make it stronger. Purging Light times 10!”

“AAAAAAAAA!!”

This time her entire body was enveloped by the blinding light and she let out a horrible scream. But I achieved my goal. Because when my spell was over, Saphira fainted. And above her…

“Just as I suspected. A wraith.”

Wraith. A ghost of a deceased person, amplified by rage. Although it's see through, his body looks like a shriveled zombie. There's very little flesh on him, giving him a scary look. Wraiths are known for dying without fulfilling their purpose in life, so in order to finish their business, they tend to possess people. This one in particular must be strong for it to be able to possess someone such as the Calamity Witch. Honestly, if I was fighting the real deal, this story might have ended differently.

“Curse you… but this isn't over!! If I can't have her, I’ll take you instead!!”

The wraith rapidly flew and tried to assault me.

“Magnus, watch out!” (Silkzesta)

“Don't worry. He's delusional if he thinks that it's going to work that way.”

The moment he grabbed me and tried to possess me…

“Oblivion Ray!”

A powerful blast in a pure white flash with a thunderous roar--a disintegrating annihilation due to magic power should be repeatedly happening in the effect range of the attack. The effect range is a semi-circle that went about twenty-something meters around my body.

“GUUAAAHHH!!”

And his shrieking is proof that it was effective. To be honest, Oblivion Ray only works against the undead. It has absolutely no effect on humans, demons or even the terrain itself. That's why I was confident in unleashing it. Needless to say when the light show was over there was no trace left of the wraith.

“Magnus… is it over?” (Silkzesta)

“Pretty much.”

“How the hell did you know she was being possessed?”

“Let's just say I can see better with my new eyes.”

“So… what's next? What do we do with her now? The mission was…”

“I’m well aware of that. Please let me think for a second.”

Honestly… I’m not sure what my next move should be. Why can't life toss one easy decision my way? Is it too much to ask for?