Chương 96: 1-95 Serpent's gambit

Stepping around the stone lab that had served as his cover, Josef quickly made his move to support both Bezzo and Zippa. Both had been partially affected by the earlier nova of light, the bigger brother even more so than the other. Unfortunately, he had no experience in healing an infection with order mana, or presumably The Stillness, as the system had identified, without causing major damage to the infested area. It wouldn't stop him from going through with it, though, as the alternative was much worse.

Josef hoped that maybe one day he could heal everyone without causing collateral trauma. That day would have to wait though, as he immediately slapped chaotic energy straight into the reptiles' bodies, followed by a generously powerful cast of Regeneration. Which was less than usual, considering how filling up his mana was becoming more difficult, despite having a massive source of it close by. Even with his heartstone's best efforts, the throughput of his streams was continuously dwindling.

During the quick treatment of his friends, Linda jumped out of her cover, making a beeline to re-engage the bishop once more. Her sword had visibly suffered from the last clash, with its tip outright missing and some of the metal looking white as salt. As the monstrous force of her swing was once again intercepted, another figure slipped out of her shadow, flanking the elf with a secondary attack. Thaladur, for once, didn't intercept the move, instead stepping effortlessly out of its path.

Then, to everyone's horror, he simply touched the sword-wielding adventurer with his bare hand. If it hadn't been for the silver armor taking the brunt of it, the man would have likely turned to dust, just as the metal covering him now did. Linda would have likely suffered the same fate a moment later if an arrow from further back hadn't forced the elf to raise a hand for deflection. Josef took note of how Thaladur fought almost like a conductor. Whenever he used his magic, it was through a gesture.

Was that because he used the mana in their surroundings? He knew for a fact that spells weren't limited by such expressions, because his own could work just fine without them, and the same could be said about his familiars'. So if there was too much available mana to deal with, maybe they could win by taking his arms off? That sounded no better than killing the elf outright. After all, if they managed to slip past his defenses, then why aim to cripple his arms if they could go for the head?

The only positive thing to come from this was the knowledge that those barriers required a conscious effort. Now, they just needed a proper surprise attack. It was easier said than done, but desperation could cause someone's mind to work in unexpected and new ways.

"Can you keep going?" Josef asked under his breath, having finished his treatment. His friends were in a rough state, especially Zippa. Neutralizing the invading mana had literally ripped open his back, exposing much of the muscle underneath.

"Never been better," the reptile grimaced, but readied his stance. Bezzo, meanwhile, followed his example silently, though looked at his brother's back with concern. Willing or not, they had no time to lose, as Thaladur was already on his next move. Unwilling to allow further ranged suppression, the elf had apparently decided that the second archer had to go. He dramatically raised a hand and shouted, "Cease!" Then, with a downward stroke of the limb, the mana followed his command.

To be precise, it was the light right above the adventurer that did. With no way to anticipate an attack like that, they were encased in a pillar of light, leaving little doubt about what would remain once the energy faded. Josef was anxiously biting his lips, seeing that. This wasn't even a fight. Thaladur was simply playing with them at his own leisure. Silently communicating with Pretzel, they prepared a mad gambit.

Surprisingly, it was his familiar who had reached out with the basic idea, which required some more fine-tuning before they could make it work. Under any other circumstances, he would have rejected her plan outright, but he could think of no better way to buy themselves a chance at victory. He hated the plan, but the determination the serpent sent his way was the final push he needed to go through with it.

"Let's go!" He nodded towards his companions, signaling them to lead the charge. If he were to be successful, he couldn't rush in on his own. Thus, he advanced together with Bezzo and Zippa, with Sprout supporting him from behind. The latter did so in more than one way, because his own gait was growing increasingly unsteady. Without her vines correcting him, he might just have stumbled over his own feet.

Especially with his mind focused entirely on forming another spell, this time calling upon his water affinity to create one of his oldest, furthest developed spells. The central sphere of his Grasping Waters formed right behind his back. From there, it took all of his concentration to form four basic limbs, snaking them around his body to the front. They didn't exactly look like arms, but with some effort, he might just be able to swing them around as if they were.

Josef didn't have to wait long for his chance to use them, as Thaladur didn't even try to keep them away. For the bishop, their attempts to strike him must have looked laughably harmless. The scaly brothers were the first to strike, one going frontal with blazing fists, the other flanking with venomous, if broken, claws. Despite the earlier lesson, they showed no hesitation about striking with their bare bodies. All it earned them was a disdainful scoff from the elf.

Knowing the danger, however, both successfully avoided getting stuck in another barrier. And just as Zippa was about to be caught by one of the bishop's bony hands, a broken sword carved through the space he tried to cross, interrupting the motion. Linda had swung her damaged weapon like a cleaver, buying them another precious second. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

One that was capitalized on by the remaining adventurer, who copied Bezzo's flanking maneuver, putting on the pressure from yet another direction. With attacks coming from all sides, Thaladur still didn't lose his aloof demeanor. With a twirl of his wrist, the once solid barrier around him broke loose and unraveled in a circular motion, whipping the area close to him. While Bezzo could dodge the strike with quick reflexes, Linda had to sacrifice what remained of her sword, using it like a shield.

The adventurer followed her example, and his weapon was now broken down the middle. Zippa, in his usual reckless fashion, took the attack with crossed arms. He would need yet another round of treatment for that. That would have to wait, however, because Josef finally received his chance to strike. Using the last of his leg's waning strength, he launched himself at the bishop, using the two upper water-arms for an overhead smash.

Seemingly unable, or not in need, to create a barrier, Thaladur merely sidestepped the strike. His eyes looked into the human's with disdain. Following up immediately, the lower right appendage swung from the direction the elf had dodged towards. It met with a raised hand, freezing in place as it practically turned solid. Finally, the last appendage struck out, coming unexpectedly from the same direction as the one before it.

While the limbs had been arranged evenly before, Josef had snuck that final tentacle around his back, attempting to surprise the elf with the sudden divergence from the expected structure. Thaladur tilted his head, letting the limb pass him without harm. Then, his hands clamped down on Josef's shoulders. Searing pain flooded his nerves as the invasive mana quickly established a hold on his body. He wanted to scream, but his teeth were clenched in concentration. He had gotten too far to fail now.

With no spare mana, chaos or otherwise, to deal with the intrusion, he could only endure.

"Your suffering has continued long enough, child. It is time for you to rest within the light." The elf's voice was warm with his own perceived kindness. Josef was breathing heavily, having to fight for every word.

"Do you want… to know a secret… about summoners?" He noted a new barrier of light had formed, encircling both him and the bishop. Outside, Sprout's vines and his companions' desperate attacks failed to leave any damage on it. None of that mattered now, as he saw the elf's brows rise questioningly.

"Most summoners… are a weak link." His smile was bittersweet. Then, he continued, "Me? I'm… just a distraction." Following his words, a sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a shockwave that threw everyone off their feet, sending them skidding and sliding. Even the barrier around the two of them fell apart under it. And while the bishop managed to somehow anchor himself with magic, Josef was thrown harshly from his grip, sent flying until he crashed into the soft shrubbery of his last remaining familiar.

Your familiar 'Pretzel the sea-serpent - Level 42' has been slain. Time until recovery: 71: 59: 59 As if to mock him, the system managed to squeeze out one more notification, so pale it was almost transparent, but damning in its meaning. Beyond it, he saw a devastating crater where the altar had stood before. On the ground, smoldering, half-melted fragments of gold were strewn about. If the staff was converting vast quantities of mana, then they just had to destroy it.

Like his own ice-rod before, it should become unusable once it suffered enough damage. Thus, Pretzel had formed a particular plan to get rid of it. Just hit it with chaos mana until everything falls apart. And since the reaction between the two affinities was so volatile, she had not volunteered, but demanded to do it herself. After all, if he could share mana with his familiars, what was stopping him from pumping them full of chaotic energy?

The answer was nothing, except for the good sense not to do something so stupidly harmful. He had hated the idea, even though he understood the logic of not having him do it himself. He hated causing his adorable serpent so much harm. Nonetheless, desperation had him follow through, and delivering her to the target was the entire purpose of his last assault. Through quick un- and re-summoning, she had slipped into his very own water spell without notice, hiding within the final appendage.

The last strike was never aimed at Thaladur, but straight at the staff behind him, which she promptly wrapped within her coils. Who told the old elf to dodge when there was something precious behind him? It allowed Pretzel to let herself be flung straight at her target. Had he failed to dodge, however, then he might just have shared the same fate as his staff. Josef didn't have much time to come to terms with the outcome of their plan, as a terrific shriek shook the very air.

"Fools! What have you done? You have doomed us all!" Thaladur's voice seemed to echo all around them, sounding out from every bit of order mana around them. Then, with a heavy stomp of his foot, he called down some of the now limited mana above. His face was almost radiant, as it had turned beet-red with fury. The second nova of light was weaker, but much faster than the first. It went off like a flashbang, blinding Josef to the result until it was already over.

Recognizing the sensation of vines pushing against his body, he immediately felt the unpleasant sting vanish from his body, as Sprout clearly used her growths to shield him. She would likely lose a lot of mass from this, but as long as her core wasn't hit directly, she would be fine, or so he hoped. Using the momentary cover, he mobilized what dregs of mana he still had to fight against the mana that had already taken root in him.

Unfortunately, he was running so low that if The Stillness hadn't taken over parts of his body, they would have crumbled from the lack of energy anyway. Once the light waned and his eyes adjusted, he checked for his companions. Linda was doing well enough, though her armor had almost entirely broken down, the dust-like remains falling to the ground around her. The same couldn't be said for their last supporting adventurer, whose protection had already received a hole before.

Thus exposed, the person underneath was now just as white as his armor. Even more concerning were the forms of his scaled friends, one of whom was badly bleached of his colors.

"Brother, no!" Bezzo's cry was filled with desperation. Zippa had apparently shielded him with his body, protecting his little brother at the last possible second. As a result, the smaller reptile was physically unharmed by the attack. Josef could barely suppress his own scream of grief as he saw his closest friend's diminished form. The white coloration had almost entirely overtaken his body, having crept over his back and around his front.

"It's… barely a scratch." Zippa's voice was raspy and dry, his face no longer moving in a way that allowed a smile. Before Josef could even try to form a plan to fix his friend despite running on fumes, Thaladur stripped him of all his choices. Seeing the seething elf make a familiar gesture, eyes locked onto the human, he had barely any time to react. Using the last of his strength, Josef pushed away Sprout's now exposed core, saving her from the light that struck from above. Then his world turned white.