Supreme Magus

Chapter 1342 - Monsters Among Us (Part 2)

”Yet it was a small price to pay and avoid much worse damage in the future.” Lith shrugged after Hushing himself and Vastor.

There was nothing he could say to his parents that would make them feel better. Quite the contrary, in their grief even the sweetest word from him would sound like a ”Told you so”.

”Youʼre harsh, Lith.” The Professor said.

”Life is harsh. I just make sure to keep it to a minimum but Iʼm no miracle worker. They should have kicked him out the moment Meln appeared on their doorstep.” Lith replied.

”Being a parent itʼs the worst scale of grey youʼll ever find.” Vastor shook his head. ”You always wonder how much of your childrenʼs mistakes is due to their stupidity and how much is just a ripple of your own faults.”

”If you say so.” Lith scoffed.

”Letʼs have this talk again once you get a little monster of your own. I bet you wonʼt be so confident then.” Vastor said.

”First my parents, then my friends, and now you too? Why is everyone so fixated on children?” Lith said with a sigh.

”Because these are turbulent times and you are a mage, Lith. Thrud, the undead, Deirus, whoever is sending those cards, youʼre going to be on the frontlines against all of them, and your life force is already crippled.

”Donʼt delude yourself into thinking of being immortal. Why do you think that Orion, Jirni, and even I married so soon? Because once you step on the battlefield, you donʼt know if youʼll come back.” Vastor said.

”You didnʼt marry early, Professor.” Lith raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

”It was early according to my plans. An academic like Marth can take his time but I…” Vastor couldnʼt tell Lith about his work as a Highmaster.

”Letʼs just say that I remained a bachelor for so long because those were peaceful times and that I married as soon as things changed. Youʼre like those who lived under Balkorʼs shadow. Thereʼs no telling which year will be your last.”

Aside from Lith and Tista, no one replied to Vastorʼs goodbye as he left the house, but he didnʼt care. The Yggdrasil staff kept him calm, but there was only so much rage it could repress.

”Can I kill them?” He asked Jirni while pointing at Zinyaʼs parents.

”No. We need to squeeze everything we can out of them. Besides, if I let you, Zinya wouldnʼt be able to see past the blood on your hands.” Jirni replied.

”I can live with that.”

”Then you are a moron. Are these dirt piles worth your effort? Why stain your clothes with trash when the system will do it in your stead?” Jirni had the Retta sent away through the Gate in the barn.

”This one, however, you can play with.” She kicked Orpalʼs b.u.t.t, sending him face-first in the dirt. ”Donʼt kill him. Not now. It would make me look bad with my colleagues in the Empire and I would have to fill a lot of paperwork.”

Hearing someone talking about him like an official stamp, something irrelevant but that it would be bothersome to replace, outraged Orpal.

”You have no idea who I am-” He said while throwing a punch, but Vastor intercepted his arm and twisted it at an unnatural angle.

”I donʼt care.” Vastor shoved the staff down Orpalʼs throat the moment he opened his mouth, cutting Orpal short and keeping him from screaming.

Vastor healed the limb and broke it again. And again. And again, pushing the staff deeper down each time Orpal tried to escape the Professorʼs grip. The resistance that an Awakened body of that level offered to Vastorʼs Abomination strength was barely noticeable.

”I donʼt like you one bit.” Vastor took the staff out abruptly, ripping off a chunk of meat from the throat. The injury filled Orpalʼs mouth with blood and muffled his screams into gurgling sounds.

”You hurt those people. My people.” A swing of the staff broke both Nightʼs hidden armor and Orpalʼs left kneecap, making him gurgle harder.

”The only reason Iʼm not going to kill you now is to not make Lady Verhen suffer more.” Another swing shattered the remaining kneecap, making Orpal thank the gods for not giving him a third.

”One day, when Lith is home and has plausible deniability, Iʼll come for you in the Empire.” A third swing broke his left arm along with the ribs, turning breathing into an agony.

Orpal activated fusion magic, ready to rip apart the two ants in front of him.

ʼAre you insane?ʼ Night forcefully sealed his abilities. ʼThere are about a hundred magical beasts, six Royal Guards, three Phoenixes, two Emperor Beasts, and one Dragon Eye looking at us.

ʼAnd thatʼs just those who donʼt bother hiding their presence. We came here alone and unprepared. I donʼt even know if we can take down the ”old fart” let alone the others.ʼ

”Kill… you.” Orpal gurgled with a hatred that burned like a sun and left his torturers unfazed.

”Speak up, son. I canʼt hear you over the cliché d.i.c.k in your mouth.” Vastor healed him so fast that Orpal almost fainted with exhaustion.

”You wonʼt need to come for me. One day Iʼll come back and Iʼll kill you two first!” He said.

”Let me add ”death threats to an Archon and to an Archmage” to the many charges already on your file.” Jirni sounded annoyed from the workload he was giving to her, not scared.

”Iʼm Archon Jirni Ernas and this is my business card. Come visit anytime and youʼll find me ready.” She put the piece of paper in his mouth before shutting it close with a fist.

Orpal passed out cold while Night tried to understand how could a regular human punch an Awakened so hard and come out unscathed.

***

About a month later, the veil of grief had been lifted from Lutia and the Blackest Day had arrived. Lith was now able to react with Domination to all the elements of his five eyes, but only up to tier three spells.

Spirit Magic lessons, instead, had taken an interesting turn. After a slow start where he and Solus had been left to square one while the others learned to manifest two elements at once, they had managed to quickly catch up with the rest of the class.

ʼIn the end, our artificial mana flow paid off.ʼ Lith thought.

ʼIt was a gamble worth trying.ʼ Solus replied via their mind link as they practiced.

ʼAfter all, just like world energy is comprised of the six elemental energies plus the will of Mogar, the pure mana produced by our cores is comprised of the six elemental energies as well but with the addition of our life force.ʼ

ʼItʼs the reason why Spirit Magic that uses pure mana for its spells is known as the seventh element of life.ʼ

ʼIndeed.ʼ Lith nodded. ʼWhile normal spells require us to mix our mana with the world elemental energy to weave a spell, Spirit Magic spells only need mana, making them nigh-omnipotent but also incredibly energy expensive.

ʼSpirit Magic requires the mage to learn how to sense the six different elemental energies mana is comprised of, then how to isolate each one of them, and lastly how to amplify them one by one.

ʼOnce we learn to do that, weʼll be able to create spells that can use all elemental properties at once without them interfering with each other and that will be also much easier to control.ʼ