Chapter 8: Field Trip (8)
~8.8~
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Kye joined the battle in a way that nobody could possibly miss. She had already begun to be called Goddess of Light from her display in the Battle for Arslade and did nothing to give anyone cause to think otherwise. Golden blasts of light aether flew from her blade as though it were second nature, and it was. She cut down many demon beasts both up close with her blade and from afar with sword waves.
Many of the beasts she cut down were from a swing charged with mana that she unleashed mid attack. As she cut through one beast, she simultaneously released a sword wave that blasted through it and hit another beast beyond it. She was positioning herself before the close one to be sure she hit it and the one behind it.
"<<Seiken>>!" Kye charged an incredibly dense blast of mana and swung her sword, throwing a giant wave of light across the battlefield that tore through dozens of low-rank beasts.
Alfia watched with a smile on her face. She knew Kye hated what she was doing, but was still proud of her little sister for wielding the Sword Wave Technique so openly. Kye could see the silly grin on Alfia's face and gave her a smile and a wave before gesturing toward the biggest rift. The white-haired sister nodded, and the two took off toward the main target. A powerful demon beast was descending from the rift.
But it wasn't as powerful as they expected.
"That's it? That's weaker than the one I killed at Arslade."
"It's barely S-Rank, but it's still leagues above the A-Ranks," Alfia said.
"This is an opportunity. I want to see how well I can fight with only the Awakened State."
"Good idea, Kye. I am ready," came Astraia's voice.
Kye held the gold-hilted blade up and shouted, "<<Awaken>>!" Using Astraia's much greater threshold for mana channeling, Kye wielded mana on a similar level as what she did at Arslade. Kye had no need to invoke Aether Drive or wield the Mana Burst technique with the power she could draw out while in the Awakened State with Hikarimaru.
"Eli, be sure to never use Mana Burst through the weapon's soul corridor! I hope you remember that, but just in case it's a locked memory…"
"No, you're right. If I was taught that, it's a locked memory. However, I put it together on my own that doing that would be too burdensome on a weapon other than Jouten."
"I see. Good. I suspected you would figure it out anyway. You are my little sister, after all."
Kye chuckled and clapped her hands together, having already transformed Hikarimaru into twin bracelets. With a soul weapon, there was always a single band around one of the wielder's wrists, but Kye needed her own hands free for what she was preparing, so she needed Hikarimaru to be in full support-mode, rather than combat mode.
"Fia, keep that thing busy for a moment?"
"Doing something grandiose? I can sense the aether you're channeling.
"Yeah."
Kye held a hand toward the sky, and a rune appeared. She willed it upward, and it grew in size dramatically, destroying any rifts in its path as it ascended high into the sky.
"Shi-chan, you're doing that again?" Alethea asked.
She clapped her hands together and began chanting, "I offer this prayer to the goddess. Grant my wish and rain judgment upon these foes." Her voice echoed as she chanted. Everyone figured out what she was casting, and quickly began evacuating the sky, all save for the select few who knew better. The center of the rune began to glow, tracing along the various circles and markings within the rune. "Let no more be harmed this day and may these beasts' souls be purified.
"Honestly, I want to put a spin on this and make it a little more… magical this time," she said over the coms as she created the second and third runes. The second rune formed directly beneath the main rune, and the third rune formed directly above the forest, plenty high enough to avoid harming the trees.
"What exactly are you planning?" Michelle asked. "You going any more off-kilter than you already are is nothing short of concerning."
Kye only smirked as she waved her hands in a way that looked as if she were turning something upside down. And just as her hands moved, so did the giant rune in the sky. It turned upside down and vanished, reappearing below the third rune. The third and second runes swapped placed as well, each without the obvious flipping motion. She simply transported them that way. Then, she flicked her wrist and flung the third rune, which was now placed by itself high into the sky. It rocketed ever higher, well beyond the breathable atmosphere, soon beyond the atmosphere altogether.
Alfia burst out laughing. "So that's what you're doing! Hahaha!"
"May all be purified in the wake of my power." She quickly pulled her hands apart and raised the left to the sky. "<<Pillar of Light>>!"
Despite the different name, it worked identically to Heaven's Fall, except from ground-up, rather than sky-down. Light poured from the massive rune, to the smaller rune above it, then into the sky beyond, engulfing every beast and rift that had appeared, as well as Kye herself and the few allies that stayed behind.
Everyone that was in the know knew that Kye's grandiose magic would never harm anyone, not even the demon beasts. The beasts were former demons from Daemonheim, warped by a strange power and transformed into the monsters that everyone had come to know of. Only the immortals and a small handful of others that Kye had informed had any idea of the truth. It was a secret she didn't want to share.
The beast's bodies were nothing but a warped manifestation housing their damaged souls. Kye's magic freed them, destroying the warped manifestation and cleansing the damage before sending their souls to the goddess. One might think that was no different from killing them, but in truth, they were no more than walking dead. Kye merely freed them from their purgatory.
Once the massive pillar faded, there were no rifts or beasts remaining, only her allies. "Hear me, monster!" Despite speaking softly, Kye's voice boomed through magic, but none with a mortal soul could hear it. "You will be made to meet justice. This is my world. I will find you and put an end to this monstrous act of yours. Your days here are numbered. I will see your soul sealed away in Eden. Surrender yourself now, before you earn more of my ire."
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Revision 12-15-2023