Supreme Magus

Chapter 4463: Payback (Part 1)

The mana bullets rained on Ankhuta from every side, and his depowered equipment offered him no protection against the emerald onslaught.

Venkhara abandoned the cover of his master’s back to move on the offensive, hitting Lith with a simultaneous barrage of glaive strikes, pincer cuts, and tail lashes.

Lith didn’t block any of them. Each attack landed exactly where Venkhara had aimed it. However, none of them cut deep. The Tiamat seemed to wear another layer of armor over his scales, and his body was denser than Orichalcum.

Lith exploited the moment the limbs of the young Ishara stopped inside his flesh to grab Venkhara’s spear with his free hand, the pincers with his upside-down wings, and the stinger with his mouth.

Lith’s fangs bit into the enchanted metal and released the Origin Flames directly into Venkhara’s body. At the same time, his wings pulled his pincers in opposite directions while his hand kept the spear still, locking the Ishara into place.

Lith’s tail, however, was free to move. It plunged into the scorpion bottom half from below and bisected it horizontally. Venkhara was still alive when the Tiamat ripped his pincer arms from his shoulders and set him ablaze with bright violet flames.

”No!” Ankhuta yelled in fury as his last disciple turned into ashes.

He released more Life Maelstrom and infused it into the strongest Doom Tide he could conjure.

Which wasn’t much. The world energy was still thin, and Lith had access only to what he had stockpiled with Swirling Wind.

The Tiamat placed his hand on the expanding blue dome and shattered it like glass. His open palm met no resistance as it closed around Ankhuta’s throat and released a Final Eclipse from one of his spell-holding rings that snuffed out the Elder Divine Beast’s life.

The darkness element sapped what was left of Ankhuta’s strength, while the fire element burned him to cinders.

Lith took a deep breath as he swooped down towards Tista, giving new strength to his Demons.

’There’s no need to save your mana. Go all out.’ His thoughts reached the Sigil Demons through the black chains, and they wove the final part of their respective Blade Spells.

”Incoming!” An Ishara yelled, and those in the backline of the combat formation turned around to unleash a volley of spells at the Tiamat.

None of them reached their mark. No matter their tier or element, every spell faded away the moment it got close to its mark. Lith landed like a meteor in the middle of the magical onslaught, wreathed in Balefire.

The Isharas attacking from a distance witnessed their best spells dissolving into thin air, no matter how much willpower they poured into them. Those who entered the range of the angry blade with their weapons found them covered in ice, their enchantments frozen still.

Ragnarök’s edge, however, had no such problem.

It cut through Orichalcum and Adamant like a hot knife through butter, severing hafts and limbs alike. Lith wrapped Tista in his wings and used his tier three Spirit Magic spell, Mother’s Embrace, to treat her wounds.

’It’s just like when we were kids, big sister.’ He said via a mind link. ’Just breathe, no matter how hard or painful it is, and everything will be alright.’

”Elemental magic doesn’t work. He must have Forgemastered his armor with a portable array.” An Ishara said.

”That’s absurd, but it’s the only plausible explanation.” Another replied. ”Use Spirit Magic!”

Many attacks slipped past Lith’s guard despite the Ears of Menadion and Full Guard, but they rarely hit their target. Not because Lith moved so fast that the Isharas surrounding him couldn’t follow, but because the enchanted blades harmlessly phased through him.

The Tiamat lunged with Ragnarök, but the Blood of Selkis ignored the attack. There was no one within Lith’s reach since the Isharas had retreated so as not to get caught in the tier five Spirit Spells they would soon unleash.

Lith’s right arm and blade fell to the ground into a back puddle, while the shadow they projected gained a third dimension and pierced an Ishara’s chest from behind.

”Screw it! Fire at will!” Another Ishara said, and Lith nodded in approval.

At his signal, the remaining five Demons of the Darkness exploded in unison, throwing the enemy formation into disarray and stripping the Isharas and their spells of the Life Maelstrom empowering them.

Lith put Tista down and covered her with his own body, focusing the Spirit Barriers of his equipment around her because even though the Spirit spell would tear his armor apart, at least his own mana contained in the black flames couldn’t harm him.

The Sigil Demons waited for half a heartbeat to unleash their Blade Tier spells, squeezing every drop of mana stored in their bodies and equipment. Five beams of black-reddish light flashed for a second, each one turning scores of Isharas into dismembered corpses.

”Well, this sucks, but I’m too pissed off to care!” Faluel too had just completed her Blade Spell, Venom Fang, killing the Isharas surrounding her on the spot and aiming what was left of its energy at the remaining Divine Beasts.

The spell manifested in a pillar of light shaped like a prismatic snake baring its fangs. Everything it touched broke down into a sizzling mass, as if it had been doused in a powerful acid.

”Snake. Lame.” Gungnir had no tongue, but it managed to click in disappointment.

”Hydras have snake necks, you buzzkill.” She replied. ”What’s wrong with my spell having the form of a snake?”

”No Dragon. Leviathan.” Gungnir replied with a matter-of-fact voice.

”Fuck! You’re right.” Faluel cursed as she bolted to the rescue of her apprentices, weaving a second Venom Fang with all her seven heads as the barrage of Spirit Spells reached its target and exploded in an emerald dawn

”Everybody, retreat! Don’t waste your lives and run!” The Ishara left in charge wove a Warp Gate that led as far away as he could remember, quickly followed by the rest of the survivors.

Lith Verhen was still alive.

The Void Flames had weakened the tier five Spirit Spells and neutralized the Life Maelstrom they contained. Balefire had further weakened the spells, but there were dozens of them, and they had all been aimed at the same spot.

The Voidwalker armor had crumbled under the repeated shockwaves generated by the Void Demons’ explosions and the Isharas’ tier five Spirit spells, leaving most of the Tiamat’s body exposed until the Davross-Adamant alloy rebuilt itself.

It allowed everyone, Faluel included, to notice that his scales had all become emerald. Strings of light connected his seven eyes, letting all the elements that coursed through his wings conjure their power at the same time.

’That’s what happened!’ Solus looked at his six wings, noticing that each one of them was wreathed in the elemental light of its corresponding eye. ’Lightforged increased his mass, Arcane Bulwark his defense, and Vital Storm amplified their effects threefold.

’In this state, Lith isn’t limited to using one elemental ability at a time like Ryla. He can use them all at once. It already happened when we fought Ruugat of the Earth.’

”You’re not going anywhere, Isharas.” Lith’s voice was an angry snarl. ”Not this time.”