Chapter 82: Facade
The frigid gale of wind continued to batter against the barrier held up by five of the Silva Mona clones, constantly chipping away at it while the five clones also constantly supply more aura to it, continuing the standstill of both sides. However, one of the Silva Mona clones' eyes suddenly began to dull before its entire body turned slack. A second later, that clones body turned limp and fell, eventually crashing down into the earth below. Its fall accompanied by a large crashing sound, dust and rocks flying into the air.
The other Silva Mona's seemed to hold little attention to this fallen comrade however, as seconds later another Silva Mona clone had taken that one's place, not letting the barrier falter for even a second. This clash continued for several moments, with one clone falling after another until the glacial gale that was battering against their barrier finally lost its edge and eventually dissipated fully.
But the several clones didn't get to rest long, as a second later the barrier was suddenly and mysteriously smashed open by a shadowed shape which quickly revealed itself as Alexander, his Crying Night extended forward overbearingly.
'I can't mind-read these mechanical clones... So my best option is to go after the weak looking man who has been alongside Silva Mona.' Alexander's thought process was such as his shadowed form continued its mad dash forward. On his way upwards towards the tip of the thistle tree, he didn't forget to strike every Silva Mona clone on his way.
Clang!
Bang!
Clone after clone was struck. Though most seemed to dodge the brunt of these fast and overbearing attacks, several clones were directly severed and ripped apart brutally. Dozens of the Silva Mona clones were directly destroyed or severely injured by the end of his flight and in seconds flat, Alexander had flown back to the leaf where this conflict had began; flying through the gap in the leaf that he had created earlier when throwing the first Silva Mona clone through it.
"Ah!" The man standing on the leaf cried out when he saw this speeding figure rise into view, its blurry form turning sharply in the air, rocketing straight towards him in a frightening and hair-tingling manner.
"Dammit!" One of the Silva Mona clones cursed as he and his fellow clones chased after Alexander, though their speed seemed minuscule compared to the Sky Magician's.
This was the overbearing power of a Sky Magician at work. Despite having nearly a hundred clones roughly around the Spirit Rank, they were still nowhere near enough to put up a decent fight against this man who was two whole ranks ahead of them at the King Magician Rank. If he were at the first rank of the Sky Magician Realm, that of Reformation Rank, they may have been able to fight back somewhat.
Safe to say, none of the clones could possibly hope to reach Alexander in time, and in a flash Alexander was upon the frightened man who looked on with wide, hazy eyes. Alexander's free hand outstretched forward, bearing down on the man's forehead.
Despite this seemingly perilous situation however, the Silva Mona clones didn't seem too disturbed at the sight as their flying forms came to a stop and they simply watched with a dull look as Alexander's palm finally made contact with the man's head.
"Oh well..." One of the Silva Mona clones sighed. "I guess the jig is up."
"Eh?!" Alexander's eyes opened wide in shock.
His power to read the memories of a person, a powerful magic called Soul Ripple, had failed?!
"Hehe..." Surprisingly a strange and croaky laugh escaped the lips of the man under the palm of his hand. Not only did this voice sound elderly and powerful, most strange was that this voice was definitely not the voice of a man.
"A woman?!" Alexander murmured disbelievingly. How could he not have seen through this woman's disguise. In his shock, it took a second for everything to click together. For his 'Soul Ripple' spell to have failed and his sight (without the Ruby Enchantress) to have not been able to see through this person's facade. 'Sky Magician... And a powerful one too...'
"That hurt, bastard!!" The woman disguised as this weak looking man's face suddenly turned crooked and grim as he spat out in a foul curse. With nimble and instantaneous movement, the fingers of her right hand shot out.
"Gah!" Blood flew out Alexander's clenched teeth as an involuntary cry escaped his lips. A numbing yet sharp pain pierced his stomach. This woman's attack was so fast and precise, dodging his hand which had flew to catch it and directly pierced into his stomach, her bloody and gory hand cutting through his flesh and bones like butter. There seemed to be no resistance, his iron body of a King Rank Magician seemingly nothing under this seemingly simple attack.
"..." The Silva Mona clones continued to look on dully, though they had began to float at an easy pace in a half-circle around the two entangled foes. Other than that, they didn't react otherwise.
"You should have just let us go... You Wilderwolf boys, always making things so... Difficult." The woman's ancient voice spoke as if right next to his ears, sending a frightening chill down his body. Reactively, Alexander wanted to retaliate by slamming his Crying Night right into this alarmingly dangerous opponent.
But to his shock and despair, he found that the numbing feeling he had felt in his stomach had seemingly spread to the rest of his body, his attack moved at a snail's pace. As if he were nothing but a mortal man. His opponent didn't even have to move swiftly to bring a stop to his retaliation, catching his spear in her nimble hand. He found that he could not move his spear even an inch under her mighty clutch.
He was stuck like a fly in a spider's trap. But his situation seemed even more dire, as he could not even squirm under this opponent's grasp.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
zelci
zelci Sorry for the long wait, I have been in a real writers slump for the last while. Its just that getting down and finding the motivation to write has been difficult as of late.
As a way to prevent myself getting in the slog of things again, I'm going to be writing smaller chapters, prob at around 1000 words for the most part starting from now. I'm sorry if this is off putting to anyone. Volume 3 is wrapping up soon!
But other than that, happy new year everyone!
Chapter 83: Healer
'No, everything's not hopeless yet!!' Alexander growled in his mind, the darkness filling his thoughts dissipating as soon as it came. While his physical body had been sapped of strength, but his aura was unaffected by this mysterious anaesthetic trudging down his body, numbing his senses.
Ice Sculpture!!
A powerful and fast acting spell and one of his strongest was released, chant-less so that he would not give his opponent anytime to escape.
Upon the activation of this spell, the woman masked as a man was surprised to find her left hand, the one which sat horrifyingly through Alexander's stomach, was suddenly pricked by a deep coldness. Her cold eyes darted downwards and dilated at the sight of a thick layer of ice was beginning to from the point of contact of herself and Alexander and was expanding across her arm at a terrifying pace.
'Heheh, what a quick reaction!' The woman praised internally as a dark smirk curled her lips into a cruel and malicious look. The woman looked on with a stern gaze as she noticed that not only was her hand being encased in this thick ice, but her arm was being frozen in place, making it difficult for her to pull her arm out, lest she didn't want to pull her own arm off completely. This ice was that powerful, and she instinctively knew that her fire element would be too weak to effect the ice enshrouding her. She could only praise the man that he lived up to his moniker of the 'Frigid Wolf'.
Behind Alexander, the ice had fully enraptured her hand and was quickly crawling up the rest of her hand as the seconds passed at this silent and tense moment. Finally, the elderly woman's mouth opens as she begins to sing out in a melodious chant as she preps a spell. Upon completion of the chant however, nothing happened.
'Oh...' She blurted in realisation as her smirk turns darker. "This rune formation you've planted doesn't only prevent the formation of Void Portals, but Space magic as well. You must have really payed a good price for that Magical Item, huh?"
Alexander was about to respond when he suddenly found the voice speaking to him familiar, preventing him from speaking back with any snarky comments. The reason for this familiarity alludes him however and he dares not get to lost in thought at this moment, eyes peeled for the woman's next actions.
"Oh well." Despite finding herself unable to escape from the incoming ice shrouding her body, the disguised woman spoke in almost a casual manner in her conclusion to this complex conundrum.
Slice!
Alexander's eyes opened wide in shock at the sight before him as a splatter of crimson splashed his cheek and stained a portion of his scholarly glasses. His eyes looked in disbelief as the woman's hand that was previously holding his spear at bay had suddenly rose and chopped downwards, her fingers straightened out like the edge of a knife as she shockingly and determinedly cut off her own hand, cutting off the enrapturing ice at the source!
'How rash and decisive.' For a powerful Magician, gathering the means to recover one's limbs was actually possible. But their would definitely be a huge price, one that was even frightening for a Sky Magician. It would also require the attention of a highly skilled doctor at the Sky Magician Realm. To so decisively cut off one's hand, this person was either rash in her thinking or confident in a quick recovery.
Alexander knew he could not falter against such a foe for even a second, one who could so easily trade their own limb at a moment's notice was definitely a frightening opponent. It was a good thing Alexander usually faced people with such a mentality, or he may have slipped up when the woman suddenly attacked with her remaining hand, its pointed end stabbing at his face like a sharpened dagger!
'...From my previous experience, I cannot underestimate the piercing power of this attack, having suffered greatly from it before... Only, no barrier I know could be erected in time to stop this attack.' Then the only option was avoidance!
Inhaling a deep breath, Alexander's aura began to burst out of his Inner Haven at an incredible rate, spreading throughout his body and enhancing his various muscles and tendons, powering his body into its normal state as if his aura were wires controlling his body like a puppet.
While primitive, this fast-acting action worked in this moment as he swerved his head and leapt backwards with nimble movements that matched his opponent. Avoiding the brunt of the woman's blade like fingers, he couldn't avoid the sharp and piercing aftereffect of the strike that shot out like a bullet, nipping at his cheek before whistling into the distance.
With his enhanced senses, Alexander could see this small dagger of wind pierce and cut through and apart the thick bodies of the Rising Earth Thistle bodies for a whole mile before finally dissipating into nothingness. This attack of hers was truly a sharp and deadly Magical Art.
Having created some distance between himself and her, Alexander finally took a chance to take a good breather, only to be surprised to find that the anaesthetic in his body had already begun to effect once more. In several minutes, he predicted that he would return to that sluggish state of before...
'Wait... Adept in drugs and isn't afraid of chopping her limbs off at a moment's notice... Is she a Healer?!' Alexander pondered, his brow furrowing in his contemplation. Healer Magician's were people who dealt in the Magic of medicine and health, creator of potions and drugs, and Magician's of regeneration and rejuvenation magic. Any Magic dealing with the betterment of a person's physical health would be called under the generic term of a healer.
While usually Healer Magician's were inherently weaker than Magician's who trained in the art's of combat, Healer's couldn't be looked down upon either due to their insidious means and capabilities. Especially one who has reached the heights of a Sky Magician like the woman before him, if his hypothesis were to be proven true.
'The battle's not over yet though!' Alexander determined, gripping Crying Night in his hand and en-capturing its length under a sturdy hold under his armpit, its blade pointing valiantly at his foe.
A bright, light blue smoke began to flow steadily from his mouth as his veins popped and the temperature around him in a several dozen meter radius plummeted into a frigid coldness, shards of ice forming at his gallant feet.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
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