The Wielder of Death Magic

‘Sorry about this,’ he inhaled and ambled into the retreating crowd of fanatics, they ran, no care for women, children, or the elderly, those who fell were trampled – the yelps and cracked bones muffled under the layer of fight or flight. Shoulders bumped numerous times, rather than falter, Igna pushed through, unshaken by the oncoming horde. The conjuration of the magic, through the vision granted by Origin, told of the properties and when it was to fully materialize, *Grant me knowledge, library of the all-knowing: Mantia.* passages to counteract the active spell flickered in waves of pages – *Book of Roels, verse IV, page CCLII, command over they who wish the destruction of the innocent be persecuted by the flames of Revilas, hero of old who stood against the misgiving of his god, conjure forth the emotion in the last moment upon which the god was betrayed. Forsake loyalty in favor of those sworn to the protection.*

*Mana Control,* he flinched, ‘-bypass,’ he gasped, ‘-I can somewhat utilize the books to nullify their spells,’ in where he thought the recital to have worked, the page from where he read, faded into ash, ‘-it didn’t work,’ he coughed, ‘-the mana in the atmosphere isn’t stable enough to sustain the library’s knowledge,’ he arrived at a lesser crowded area, the three figures flapped, arms stretched to the sun as to call upon their powers. ‘Should I do it?’ the fingers tapped nervously, ‘-should I or should I not?’ he pondered – insanity divulged further, ‘-screw it,’ the palms clenched, ‘-if I have to cross the bridge, then so be it,’

“IGNA WAIT!”

“Intherna?”

“Don’t expand thy domain,” she panted, “-they’re after me,” Fenrir followed behind, “-it’s a ploy to test our might.”

“We should stand back and watch the people die?” turned on his heel, what awaited was utter malice.

.....

“What people, they’re already dead,” she desperately tried to maintain her breaths, “-the spell’s activated,” opposed to a slow fall, the projectiles teleported and destroyed the buildings, nothing was safe, explosions carried bodies, mutilated limbs, woeful expression, beheaded children, the face of a familiar couple landed at his feet, ‘-the two from this morning...’

“We need to run,” she motioned to conjure the teleportation crystal.

A heavy feeling brushed against his shirt, “-don’t worry about the deaths,” said Fenrir resting her forehead on his back, “-it’s not your fault; herein lays the true demented world of Draebala...” The targets switched for Intherna, a brute gust blasted past his face, a shockwave of equal density cracked the very ground, “-IGNA, RUN,” the two other angels swarmed in with elemental and physical attacks, she fought bravely, unable to call onto most of her strength due to limitations, her fire robe barely conjured. She dipped under the punches, conjured fireballs, and palmed her opponents, a transparent shield dissipated her element, ‘-what?’ *BOOM,* a sudden beam of extraordinary power forced her across town, through buildings till the wall.

“We’ve defeated her, brother,” said an angel, the trio gathered a rock’s throw away from Igna.

“No, we’re not done playing,” added another, “-have you taken care of the people?”

“Most of them are dead,” said a genuinely unnerving cackle, “-with her symbol of power, we’ll be accepted, at last.”

“Accepted?” echoed a deep-toned voice, “-who do you think you are?” a burst of energy tore into the stone street, “-you dare hurt one of my companions?” he vanished, grasped one of the angels and dug its head downwards, “-DON’T YOU DARE!” the ground carved.

*Watchers, spectators, names ring high and low, us, unknown to the world’s reality, unknown to the world’s knowledge, have lived in utter solemness for millennia to come and go. Watcher of the Shadow Realm, beckons my might to be fully materialized without prejudice, reality is but my playground, neither god nor demon shall overcome my authority, face me in stride, face me in fear, reality’s what I wish it to be for knowledge is the true strength: Realm Expansion Shadow Realm Variant – Rantiam.* a massive sphere swallowed the town, time froze, broken buildings in motions of falling halted, those given motion were Igna, Fenrir, Intherna and the angels. He side-glanced to Intherna, rose an arm, *Be healed,* the words alone restored her physique – consciousness awoke to a dense sea of sheer power, the gaze returned to the angels, *lose thy boon of immortality,* the transparent shield cracked, *-die,* he clenched and broke an angel’s neck, the remainder jumped to no avail.

“Brother, I can’t move,” they levitated, the wings flapped in desperation.

“You,” he rose from the fissure, curled his index – thus animated the corpse, it stood lifelessly, head drooped on one side. Canines sharpened an emotionless expression tore into the fair-skin, golden-haired, angel’s neck.

“WHO ARE YOU!”

“WHAT ARE YOU!”

“LET US GO, DEMON!”

“MONSTER, HOW DARE YOU CAPTURE US!”

“Shut it,” a dragon-shaped gust tore into the remainder, promptly sending them against the clock, a monument, “-Master,” she panted, ire lit her clothes ablaze, a clock of pure fire shielded her body, “-what are thy orders?”

He rose a finger, flicked, *lower pain tolerance, amplify body resistance, triple life-essence, increase sensitivity to elemental and physical damage.*

“Understood,” her fist tapped against one another, “-payback is a bitch.” In the twenty-five minutes which elapsed, what they felt was an eternity of pain. Intherna paid her due with interest, punching, kicking, smashing, nothing was out of the question. When they grew weak, she signaled and the bodies would heal. Meanwhile, he drained and took apart every fiber of the one he killed.

‘Is this the master’s newfound power?’

“I’m finished,” said a sensually charged smirk, “-that felt good,” jitters ran throughout her body. To say she was covered in blood would have been an understatement – parts where her cloak didn’t reach dripped in the essence.

“Went a little overboard, didn’t you,” returned Igna, they faced the town; his symbol of power brightly gleamed, *Present and never changing, present and never yielding. All who wait for break and all made are subjected to thine will. I, heir of Death, the humble inheritor of thy power; call upon thee to have mine will answered: Time Control – Reversal.* fallen pillars resettled, the town folk wound back to where they stood, the panic backpedaled, the currently free-market square filled in attendance.

*Mantia – Book of Restoration, Honzela, fifth passage, broken art be fixed, fixed art be broken, eternal cycle; creation and destruction, levy for reality changes prospective, watcher watches, creator creates, destroyer destroys, and restorer restores, Hicht.* the wounded healed, *Conjured from the powers of which rules the law of nature, summoned to aid, mine quest art be left alone. Reality is as I dictate, matters affected in Mantia ought be reflected in the outside world. Realm Retraction Shadow Realm Variant – Rantiam.* The heaviness lifted, “-what happened?”

“Weren’t we attacked?”

“I’m confused...” so went the common line of thought.

“Igna,” said Intherna, “-about what happened...”

“No need for concern,” he casually replied, “-what’s done is done. We had our revenge, tis all which matter,” in when the words articulated, Fenrir threw an anxious look. “-I guess there’s more than meets the eye.”

“More than meets the eye, sure, whatever you say, master,” her arms crossed, the ears defiantly lowered to stare the bystanders, ‘-what he did can’t be classified as strength, he exerted his will onto Draebala, reality buckled under his pressure. What sort of entity has he become, I thought he would have unleashed the death element; instead, he unleashed a domain far superior in stability and latent power, scary. If either the Eipea or Aapith faction learns of what I’ve witnessed, they may go to war and beg for him to join their cause, if not, they might as well join and fight a common enemy...’

“Turn the frown upside down,” said Igna poking her cheeks, “-let’s get ready to depart.”

“I beg of thee,” the priestess dropped onto her knees and clenched her palms in prayer, the crowd threw suspicious glares, “-o’ thee who owns me and mine soul, I promise to make good on our contract. Do not discard me for I shall endeavor to serve without prejudice...”

“Enough.” The teleportation crystal summoned; “-we’re heading home.”

Somewhere inside the castle, an unforeseen threat loomed in the shadows. The head-butler, old of age and strong in mind, walked, the footsteps echoed per the grandeur of the hallway, towards the balcony. The outside dampness, ignorant to the festivities, cast a melancholic dullness through the windows. Tray in hand and duty in thought, he stoutly struggled across the lushly woven carpet, which in hindsight, felt more to walking through water. Therein, his hair rose, the confident walk stopped, cackles flickered to and fro, a creek forced a gulp.

‘Three, two, one,’ murmured.

‘This sensation,’ he watched cautiously, ‘-don’t tell me.’

“CHARGE!” two figures cut towards him, “-ATTACK THE ENEMY!” Saniata’s griffin held Draconis and its master, the former held a makeshift lance – a mop. The dirty end hit his stomach directly, the butler buckled and was yet to drop the drinks, “-thank you for the refreshment,” winked Saniata who proceeded to run into the sunset, else known as the throne room.”

“Back home,” they dropped onto a green plain of grass, the side of the castle rose before them.

“Where are we?” fired Fenrir.

“The Shadow Realm,” replied Intherna, “-good job,” she leaned and offered a helping hand.

“Thank you for the assistance,” he took her offer, “-the quest isn’t accomplished yet,” an unsettling gaze rested on Yuio.

“Why the strange look?”

The wind whistled, a lovely figure arrived, “-long time no see, my heir.”

“Adete,” he smiled, “-it has been a while, where have you been?”

“Exploring the world,” she curtly added, “-hold on a moment, Fenrir?”

“Adete?”

“IT IS YOU!” they leaped into a close embrace.

“I trust you’ll explain Fenrir where we are and what happened?”

“Will do,” for the first time in ages, the first progenitor held a genuine smile.

“I ought to report our journey to the others,” wings of fire sprouted, “-see you around, Igna.”

Soon after – Igna and éclair stood behind a protective barrier. In front rested a pod.

“Took quite the effort to put her in there,” complained éclair.

“She’s very energetic. How’s her soul, suitable to be the sister-system?”

“Beyond suitable, master, I’d say, the pod was made for her. The soul is stable and her consciousness is perfect for the world she’s about to be embarked on.”

“Long as she’s of use, I don’t mind,” they faced away, the sleeping demoness soon faded into nothingness, a side panel slid to a surgical room, here, under the bright light of a lamp, laid a lifeless body, puppet to be exact. The surgeon, inhumane in appearance, worked its tentacles, “-she’ll inhabit the body?”

“Yes, tis the plan,” added éclair, “-I proud myself in being thy personal assistant, hard as I work, I’m afraid it would be a hard endeavor to overexert myself. Hence, the new soul will be fragmented, we’ll separate her into two beings, one as the emotionless soul charged to overseer the AFR, and Phantom’s infrastructure, whilst the second, the body, will be employed as thy assistant, naturally, she’s going to be useful in the various task I wish her to partake.”

“Working her to the death,” he laughed, “-how long were we gone?”

“A week? We’re on the 10th of December,” éclair replied.

“Any reports from Vesper?” the phone vibrated, to which éclair handed the device over, “-speak of the devil,” he answered, “-Hello?”

“Master, Vesper speaking. I have news, the adventuring party has made it through floor 198, it shan’t be long till they beat floor 199 and climbed to the top. Could thee kindly return to the overworld and make for the Azure Wall?”

“Can’t we teleport from here directly?”

“Sadly not, the link’s been ruptured. I’ve sent a photo – rejoin him no later than three days from now, preparation is key for our second coming.”