Chương 51: [BL] 50. Sky Battle [2]

"I don't think your prayer matters," Kroos said. He allowed his body to sink deep into the throne, which he had changed into a sofa, prioritising comfort over ridiculous design. The emperor's throne is especially bad. Don't know how the man still has his back whole. An old man ought to choose comfort over a headache! People—people around him—kept telling him that his throne should show power, a cold seat made of golden stone! Those suggestions even came from his loved ones.

By the light, even sweet Krywen thinks he, in her words, 'deserves' a more suitable throne. Too young. They're far too young. Kroos sighed through his nostrils, pushing away the strand of white hair that had gotten stuck. Or maybe I'm too old. He closed his eyes. His vision passed over the throne room, sweeping over the entire fortress in a circle. He made arrangements; the south wall was especially dangerous due to the wyverns' fireballs. Quite a powerful spell. Simple, efficient, and could be cast over and over.

His recommendation to assign the [Guard]s class there worked well, but those flickering aegis began breaking. So, he ordered a concentrated ballista's effort atop the nearest two walls to support them. The order did not need any courier or any of that nonsense. His Golden Servant spells reacted, and Kroos's intent was born inside them, becoming their life duty. He zoomed out to look at the battlefield from high above. For now, he had done what he could.

As much as he liked to go out there and slaughter every single Tier-two that made it inside, he knew better than to. His Lord Castle would have broken. Maintaining this castle for all its functions trapped him inside here, and that was a frustrating limitation… Unlike many, he did not actively seek tier-five, but now? Ah, Edward. My friend. Why couldn't you just let me rest? That fool, what did he intend to do?

"You are saying, Count?" The Justiciar had just spoken to him, having the gall to address him only after his prayer. They knelt beside the girl whose body lay on a bed. Beside her was the Ivory Assassin Veil, a gift from the church. Mages were ready to imbue it the moment she awaken.

"He said—""I know what he said, Justiciar Tel."

"Ah, pardon me, Justiciar Amon."

"Even if I know what he said, it is only the individual's self-explanation that could bring the full context of such a statement. So, my lord, may I ask you to explain?" Kroos had to battle the need to sigh.

"Your prayer has been wasted."

"No! No! No!" Justiciar Tel shouted and opened her arms wide.

"I can feel it. A class where she becomes one with the light! I can see her. Eyeless! An eyeless!"

"Yes! Yes! Justiciar Tel! I sense it in my heart. A class where she has to let go of something important to her. In exchange, the light will grant her sight. A sight of gold! Of Light itself! Ah, how perfect that would be? Shall we pray more? To guide her to the right choice!"

"Of course I will! Of course, we will! Everyone." Justiciar Tel rose, looking around—the surrounding mages looked almighty uncomfortable—and worse, she turned to Kroos, who just smiled.

"Very well, I shall offer my prayer as well," Kroos said. He closed his palms together, ignoring the cries of gratitude from both justiciars. Okay, girl, please don't pick that one. He prayed.

Almost.. Almost… Shera could not tell whether they were unlucky or lucky. The clouds, angry and dark, replaced the pre-battle sunlight and sent pattering rain down. It was strong now, but not weak either. Did the rain make the flames across the ground stronger, or did it try to snuff them out? She put the random thought out of her mind, as another Griffin with red scales shrieked across the skies.

Spreading its wings, it soared in a crescent; its talons clawed across the battlement, carrying over five legionaries and tossing the humans to their deaths. The wind consumed their cries, and Shera could only close her eyes as their bodies smashed against the ground. Too much. Too many crushed bodies around her. She opened her arms, her Cloak coiled around her, her brim hat covering her eyes for a moment before she tugged it up and pointed a finger right at the tier-two.

Witch's Fog was expelled from the Griffin's body, and the Riftborn hovered upward, tossing its head wildly in confusion. Good, it's Arcanery not far away from mine. The Griffin tried to escape by tucking its wings and flying around the middle castle, but Shera's mist still followed it. When it finished its lap, it screeched in annoyance, then tried to rub its body against another Griffin. But that foolish move earned its brethren a bolt to the belly, killing it. It died under the rain.

In rage, the Griffin swooped right at the golden ballistas below and dodged five bolts in succession, even somehow catching one and clawing over two ballistas like a whiplash. Arrows from the Golden Soldiers just bounced off its red fur, which was heated by fire magic. It spread its wings, and small sputtering fireballs shot out. The Tier-threes, Leynah and Drey, moved with their shields, taking the brunt of the damage. When they approached to kill it, the Griffin had already flown upward again.

Beside Shera, the Olympyan Knight—the knight Willow had summoned took her time to draw her golden arrow. She let loose, but it was so bright that the Griffin noticed and sheared it in a downward talon slash. Thirty seconds. Shera thrust both palms at the Griffin; each would give her extra Arcanery. She twisted her fingers as if she were trying to rip apart the Griffin's neck.

"White Out!" Thick, pure white mist exploded around the Griffin. It let out a wail as it lost its sight, bumped its head against the fortress wall, all the while peppering arrows hailed upon it from below. Bolts were reloaded and released; the Griffin's fate sealed at first glance, as three bolts hit it right in the back and one right in the shoulder. But the creature was a tier-two, and it quickly shrugged off Shera's hex.

It opened its eyes and flapped its wings, sending a lashing gust downward, and with the recoil, it soared upward. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It was smart enough to avoid Leynah and Drey. As a Witch, Shera's speciality was a single, focused hex on a single opponent. So far she had only used her ability to summon a mist for cover, but that was not how she should fight.

She stepped backward up the small stone slabs leading to the entrance of the stone tower. Shera hid behind the arrow slit; she ducked down to see the Griffin soaring upward. When a target was already hexed once, she gained extra Arcanery to do it again, and the effect stacked.

"Frost Hex." For the cost of five runes, another mist billowed out of the Griffin's body. This time, frost froze it, creeping over the Griffin's fur, and it roared upward with thunderous shrieks. The frost slithered into its wounds, and the riftborn tried to smash its body against the castle's window, but it proved useless as it slowly lost the use of its wings. That was when everything went wrong. [Predatory intent bore down on you!] [-30% Dexterity +10% Sense to The Frost Witch] Losing its mind in pure anger, the Griffin let out an ear-splitting wail and beat its wings. It launched, leaping over the castle's window. In a plummeting dive, it sped up like a blur of air right toward Shera, who was well-guarded inside the tower. It's going to stop. She should run, yes, but if she could take down this tier-two… Then she would ascend for sure. Not to mention, most damage dealt to this one had been from her spells.

She spent half of her Rune to whittle down this single Griffin. She had to do this. If not for herself, then for Mera. Her heart ached at Mera's name. If she were beside her now, the girl might have taken Shera's wrist and taken the fight straight at the Griffin. And we will die, she smiled. She huffed and waited. A second passed, then a tremendous, bone-jarring impact slammed into the wall. The Griffin's beak pierced through the arrow slits.

Its side face scraped against the coarse, rough walls, tearing at it, and blood slithered down the side of the Griffin's head. It shrieked; its breath bellowed to Shera. And of course, it was stuck with its butt sticking out, its head desperately trying to pierce her.

"We should not have gone," Shera mumbled. She shook her head and promised herself it would be the last time she would complain about this. So she told the Griffin.

"We could have waited. We could. The Cycle will start, more monsters will die, and we will eventually get our Class Stones. We should have waited." Now, she found herself face to face with a dying tier-two she had taken down. The Griffin kept trying to eat her, a snap that had killed many soldiers. She watched as the blood marred the edge of its beak. She wiped her tear with her witch cloak sleeves. Her palm traced her mouth, and she let out a wispy breath.

"Witch's Breath." Pale mist puffed from her mouth like smoke, and slowly, excruciatingly, it flew toward the riftborn's head, which Shera's earlier hex had frosted over. The frost kissed it, and the riftborn's life snuffed out. Its head hung down, and she took down a tier-two. [You grow stronger] [You reach the next tier] [Level—21 will be unattainable unless the Frost Witch chooses one evolution presented… [Frost Enchantress] [Winter Witch] [Winter Hag] A special option… An outlier choice, just as that tier-three—Leynah had said. Shera would've hopped up and down like a child right now, but… her cheek exploded with red heat." A hag? Huh?" Few manage to reach tier-two. Not many at all. So she should be grateful, and—and what? What even does a Winter hag do?" Lass! You did it finally. I also did it myself." Rom, the handsome ginger man, made his way inside the tower. She briefly remembered how a small part of her wailed inside when she saw him kissing his wife and daughter's head before the battle began. Stupid, stupid. This is why you are given hag. She chastised herself. [Veteran—Level 20]"Master Rom, you already chose your class?"" Ah, there's really no need to consider other options. My rune is Might, like many others, and many Legionaries before me have kept proper records of the class background. What about you? I think you need to go through the Ascension dream."" Y—Yes, I do."" Come on then, I will escort you inside the castle. The Mages are all there." Shera followed him, stepping into the rain once more, and tipped her head to see the fight still as fierce as ever. The Princess soared through the sky alone now that Josha and Willow were going through their ascension. She kept dodging attacks from multiple Tier-two, even aiding on the battlement if she could. This is the princess who abandoned her duty for elopement? One wyvern broke down from the Princess and saw Shera. She felt it again. [Predatory intent bore down on you!] [-20% Dexterity +10% Sense to the Frost Witch] Did it come for revenge? With most of her dexterity gone, she sludged through the courtyard. Rom stopped and turned for her, but above, Wyverns descended with talons as sharp as swords. Ten of them were about to—"Leave me!" Shera shouted, but Rom did not intend to. The man raised his shield and pressed his shoulder—about to receive the brunt of the tier-two fury. He will not stand a chance. Shera pointed her finger right at the Wyvern and was about to hit it until something stopped it like a lasso. A string of brilliant light lashed at it, looping around its neck, yanking the Wyvern away with a powerful tug. The Riftborn was torn off its momentum, dragged up toward the sky once more. Its neck bleeding—and above, a figure with six resplendent wings like a pointed firefly's glared down at it. Two pointed ears peeked out of a white hood trimmed with a golden line. Willow—the Bright one—wore a veil of dim white covering her mouth, but that did not hide her fury and voice as she said:"Marks." She swept aside, letting the Wyvern soar through the sky. Casually, Willow let go of her string, and she traced the sky, summoning a golden bow like a thin sun. She pulled out golden arrows and launched them like bursts of sunlight, catching the Wyvern right in the head, and a smoldering flame seared through it, leaving the creature headless. Willow was not done; she clenched her fist—a point of light shone on the Wyvern's stump, and another arrow of light was born and shot at another one, piercing its throat. Then, like a ricochet, it slammed into another as it flew, splitting the Riftborn in two. Shera forgot to breathe, and she knew Rom did too. Two tier-two died just like that. The human or elf landed, and the outworlder clad in an assassin's cloak tugged down her mask veil and shot Shera a grin. [Auric Huntress—Level 22] Of course, she levelled up from that. Like, why wouldn't she? Shera blinked, suddenly distracted. She reached toward Willow's ear. So pointy…" Can I touch it?"" You have much more important things to do." Willow gave her an unimpressed stare." Oh, also, if you can get a class that can fly, it will help us a lot."" Us?" Upward, a thunder crackled around something—a gathering of force around a lance. A figure held a thunderous lance above a dark Pegasus. Rumbling thunder clad Josha and his mount. They zapped through the sky and charged at a Wyvern. The forces of the charge split the Wyvern's body into two, and for a brief second everyone's eyes were on them as the Pegasus turned and tucked its wings for another charge." That Josha? Lancer?" Willow nodded." So, what class are you getting?" She leaned forward when Shera tried to avoid her gaze." Come on now, don't be shy. What's the option? You know, I'm finding this ascension thing fun… Why are you crying?"" Just. Just go, Willow; they need you. You will know what I pick soon."