Blade Over Magic

Chaos IV

Ragna exhaled, and suddenly his aura exploded. His dark skin turned a dark crimson as the markings on his body seemed to gain a life of their own, growing and increasing in number. His pupils disappeared, leaving blazing red orbs that were filled with the desire to destroy everything.

A bolt of lightning descended from above and struck Bodhi, but rather than charring him black, it entered his body. His hair stood straight and turned an electric blue, and sparks of lightning radiated off his body before condensing around his sword, increasing both its length and thickness significantly.

Zeke’s arm, while reattached, still hadn’t healed properly yet, but he had no intention of fighting with it. Using his good arm, he used a needle and poked himself in several spots. Green veins suddenly spread across his skin, making him look quite sickly, but despite this, his aura rose up a notch as well before promptly vanishing, as he became even harder to perceive.

Then, roots emerged from the ground and touched everyone. As soon as they did, a feeling of invigoration coursed through all of them as Nash promptly buffed them all.

Sparrow pushed Overclocking to the absolute limit, then she activated a spell she’d developed after her fight with Xander.

’Overdrive.’

No single person had any intention of holding back. All of them activated their boosting spells without hesitation. Each came with a corresponding cost, but compared to the Captain who had paid the ultimate price, it would be disrespectful for them not to go all out.

...

That, and they’d probably die for sure if they didn’t.

The only ones without boosting skills there were Aubrey and Falael, but their roles were clear.

’Telepathic link is back online.’ Aubrey’s voice entered everyone’s mind. Not just those facing the ant, but the soldiers who intended to lend support from a distance.

The information clones were working overtime as Falael began his chant, and Sparrow leaned forward.

’Begin.’ Her figure vanished in a flash of blue, while Bodhi’s vanished in a flash of sparks.

Both of them appeared near the ant that still appeared dazed in a mere moment, their speed beyond logic at this point.

Sparrow’s swords stabbed towards the wounds created by the Captain, and the ant finally seemed to snap out of its daze as it raised its limbs to block, but as it did so, Sparrow’s sword suddenly changed direction mid-stab, her force magic doing more than just amping her base stats as she stabbed into two gaps in its shell. Yet despite this, her swords didn’t go deep.

’What insane durability.’ She though as she leaned back, allowing Bodhi’s lightning sword to sweep over her towards the upper body of the ant.

It was engulfed in a slash that moved at lightning speed, the slash carrying it along and carving out the landscape wherever it passed.

Before the slash could go on much further, though, a red line appeared in the center of it, and the attack was destroyed.

But that’s when Ragna descended from above like a very angry red meteor.

The ant raised its limbs to block as Ragna’s axes dropped down, and the ground beneath it exploded from the sheer weight of the impact, throwing rocks and debris high into the sky.

From within the dust, several tiny needles shot through, aimed at the gaps in the ant’s shell which hat yet to mend themselves.

The ant twisted its body so that the needles would hit the places where its shell remained, only for a blue force to take control of the needles and change their direction at the last moment, ensuring that every one of them found their mark.

Zeke and Sparrow synergy!

The ant pushed back against Ragna, throwing him away, and dark and red energy started to spew from the wounds, intending to expel the poison in them.

That’s when roots burst forth from the ground around the ant, each with a strange looking flower on its surface.

As soon as they appeared, red lines covered them as they were immediately severed into pieces. But this just caused the brownish pollen within them to be released, immediately covering the ant. This made the wounds on its body start sprouting strange looking mushrooms that began to suck the energy within its body, making them grow.

The ant staggered, allowing Sparrow and Bodhi to run in again.

The ant swung its limb at Bodhi, causing a red line to appear on his body. But his ’body’ exploded into a wave of blue sparks, while the real one attacked from below! He swung his lightning sword, the added reach allowing him to strike from further, and the ant swung its own limb to clash.

Only for the lightning to be dispersed at the last moment, making the ant swing at nothing but air and leave itself wide open.

Which allowed Sparrow to dive right into the opening and jab her sword right into the destroyed eye of the ant.

And this time, it actually shrieked in real pain.

The shriek wasn’t just loud, either. It carried a wave of force that pushed all of them back. But no one panicked.

Because that gave Nash the perfect space to activate the other effect of those mushrooms.

BOOM

The mushrooms that had been feeding on the immense energy of the ant detonated, resulting in a violent explosion.

But they still were not done.

Under Aubrey’s guidance, the artillery had long taken aim, simply waiting for their chance.

Massive spheres of immolating heat erupted where the ant was, completely bathing its figure and turning that region into something akin to a wasteland.

When the explosions subsided, a massive crater was what remained, and in the center, the figure of the ant could be seen. This time, its shell was covered in cracks, and dark blood tainted with poison dozed from numerous wounds on its body. It looked very unstable and... empty.

Aubrey’s pupils constricted.

’Falael don—’ She tried to stop Falael, but they had already uttered the last words of their incantation.

”Starlight Magic: Starfall.” Several magic circles bloomed high in the sky. They overlapped, becoming incredibly complex and much larger.

An attack similar in power to the spell Falael had used against the Azure Tree descended like a pillar from heaven. Only this time, rather than a massive blast, all that destructive capability was focused into pure potency, concentrating it all into that point where the ant was located.

The light was blinding, and many had to shield their eyes from the spell as it fell down.

And yet, Aubrey didn’t even pay it any heed. Rather, she just pushed Falael to the side with a shove.

Their eyes showed a mix of pain from the resulting Mana burnout as well as confusion, only for a bladed limbs to emerge from the chest.

Eyes wide, they looked up as blood leaked from their mouth to see the figure of the ant. Only that its previously dark shell was pale and squishy, but this was rapidly changing. Its color darkening and durability spiking.

Aubrey hadn’t noticed until it was too late as the corruption in the air was still messing with her perception. But during that last bombardment, the ant had moved out of its own shell, somehow leaving the different negative effects it was under inside as well, and had somehow hidden its presence from everyone and make its way to the back to take care of Falael.

The only reason its limb didn’t directly penetrate their heart is due to Aubrey’s timely intervention. But coupled with their mana burnout and the fact that one lung was now collapsed, they were out of the count.

Which raised an issue.

The ant swatted its limb away, throwing Falael to the side as it rounded on Aubrey.

It would take a bit for anyone to reach her, so she was entirely on her own for at least a few seconds.

But that was fine.

After what happened with the captain, some information clones were dedicated to to constantly observing the ant, which is how she noticed its trick in the first place. But more importantly, it stopped her from getting caught off guard like before.

But even then, saying the ant stat gapped her would be an understatement. In the first place, she used her bow more than her dagger. The dagger was just in case she was forced into a close combat situation. She would avoid such things if she could, but it seemed like she had no choice right now.

But that was fine, too.

In her library, an information clones which had been on standby opened a book and flipped through the pages, and in real life, these pages seemed to reflect in the depths of Aubrey’s eyes as she held up her dagger, and she chanted in her mind.

’I Came, I Saw, I Record.’ The book landed on a single page, and projected behind her, a phantom image of Xander wielding the same dagger she held appeared, her stance mirroring his.