Chapter 145: Nova Lights

Vivian Lex walked towards the group of adventurers, half forgetting that she'd ordered them not to move. She glanced up to notice all eyes on her, which made her feel somewhat shy in a way.

*Gather the wounded. We need to leave, before any more trouble comes our way.* Vivian transmitted as she walked towards Bracha, who was still lying on the ground some distance away from the site of battle.

*Bracha. Are you still conscious?* Vivian asked as she gazed down at the Runemaster.

*Barely. I can't...move.* Bracha responded. Looking down at the incapaciated Runemaster, her body seemed to be full of bruises in various places, scratches and crusted blood at the corners of her mouth. It was apparent to Vivian that Bracha had really pushed herself to the limits.

With the aid of Katrin and Agni, Bracha was escorted towards the large circular pit nearby. Not far from this was where the creature's remains were, more specifically the core which had been embedded in the Fused Grimlock's chest. Despite the fury of Vivian's blows the core still existed, which was somewhat vexing to her.

*How durable is this thing?* Vivian thought as she came to a stop and knelt next to the cracked core on the ground. Behind her by just a few steps were Agni, Katrin and Bracha. The Scribe and Succubus held the Runemaster up so that she could help the Kitsune inspect the core more closely.

*I've never seen anything like this. Normally a core is easy to destroy. Why is this one so resistant?* Vivian asked as she raised her foot suddenly and bought it down upon the cracked core. In terms of size it was no larger than a baseball, yet hard enough to resist the most viscous of blows regardless of its current condition.

The remainder of the group mobilized quickly to stabilize the injured. Oliver was unconscious and bleeding from his left eye , yet he was still considered stable. Gigi on the other hand writhed in pain at the slightest motion. Oliver's healing managed to cure her internal injuries and mostly mend the bones in her arm -- but the job was left incomplete. Gates knelt before the red headed Spellsword, wiping her forehead occasionally as he tended to her.

Meanwhile Shula and Dealla stood watching the others. Throughout the entirety of the battle they had been relegated to rear guard. In particular Dealla was beginning to feel useless. At most they could serve to carry their wounded comrades in order to escape this hellish place. All things considered, everyone was in a condition to return home with their lives--but empty handed. Despite this, Vivian had no intention of trekking back with injured members.

*How did you damage it?* Vivian asked Bracha. In return Bracha didn't say much, just that she "hit" it. This answer sounded too convenient for the Kitsune.

*You just struck it? There's no way that's right.* Vivian thought inwardly as her mind flashed back to the fearsome power of her strikes. Vivian glanced towards Agni and Katrin for confirmation and they agreed as much. However, to a seasoned rank 3 adventurer, Bracha's answer still made little to no sense.

Vivian pointed the tip of her katana downwards, aiming at the cracked core. She then willed her blade to extend outwards using the special abilities of her shapeshifting weapons. The tip of the blade struck the core, chipping off a tiny piece of the crystal - like substance in the process. Ultimately though, the attempt to destroy it did very little damage.

Vivian gritted her teeth in annoyance. If the core couldn't be destroyed then they would not be able to collapse the shard realm. If they couldn't collapse the shard realm they would have to return on foot and deal with any Grimlock they may come across. A dicey proposition given the current state of the attack party.

Vivian was just about to try burning the core with Fox Fire when she realized she'd forgotten all about Ryo.

"Oh...crap." She audibly muttered as it dawned on her.

*You three stay here. I need to grab Ryo.* Vivian commanded as she stepped forward, intent on making her way towards the area she believed him to have landed. In that moment something screamed within Vivian's mind, perhaps it was the keen senses of a battle hardened warrior. She hopped away on reflex, yet she was not quick enough.

The core, cracked though it was, began to shake and shudder. A dangerous energy crackled through it's cracked fissures as a black mass began to grow from within. In an instant several black tentacles shot forth, growing and expanding rapidly towards any being within range. One such tentacle attempted to wrap around Vivian's forearm. Due to her reflexes this failed, instead the tentacle latched onto her ankle. It quickly tightened its grip while several other "arms" lashed outwards towards Agni, Katrin and Bracha.

The trio of adventurers had no time to think, only react. Agni attempted to leap backwards, but Bracha's dead weight counteracted her evasion. Instead she and Bracha both received a lashing blow to the chest as the tentacle whipped forth. With the added weight Agni was forced down, Bracha tumbling on top of her. Katrin attempted to help, only to be lashed against the cheek by a second tentacle strike. The Scribe landed with a hard thud, nearly knocked unconscious from the force and speed of the blow.

*You're pissing me off!* Vivian growled internally as she prepared to lash out with a Fox Fire coated slash. The focused energy within her weapon was fearsome, causing a fiercely blue glow to flare up the surroundings. She swung with all of her might, despite being off balance from the sudden ambush. In response to her incoming blow, several more tentacles spurted forth, covering the core itself in a thick coat of black. They acted as a sacrificial buffer forcing Vivian's blow to stop before it even reached the target. What's more, the Fox Fire seemed to extinguish itself when pitted against the creature's flesh -- a feat that Vivian thought to be impossible.

With her attack having failed, Vivian attempted to land and try again, only to have her feet pulled out from under her by the single tentacle attached to her ankle. It yanked her upwards and swung her into the air by several meters. At the same time the core, now covered in an undulating mass, began to take new form.

The remaining members of the alliance stood frozen, partially out of shock but more so out of helplessness. Only Gates reacted, calling forth a water spirit with such quickness that one would swear he could see the future.

The blob of water expanded rapidly, several under currents swirling beneath its surface before a stream of concentrated water shot forth like a high pressure laser. The blast blew forth, lifting the earth where contact was made, briefly and sending chips of dirt and wood splinters flying upwards as the beam moved.The high pressure water blast was enough to do the trick -- as stream of water extended, shooting upwards, it sliced the tentacle gripping Vivian cleanly in two.

The water spirit, having used all of its energy, faded out of existence as the entirety of the conjured water was spent. Gates, normally cool headed, seemed more agitated than anything in the moment. Others might have been hard pressed to understand his resolve -- yet it was his fiercely loyal nature towards his friends that fueled his anger.

He stepped forward immediately, lifting his staff upwards as a spark of flame grew into an orb of fire. With furor he smashed the end of his wizard's staff downward, causing the conjured flame spirit to grow larger by several sizes before it began to unleash, much like the previous water spirit.

By conjuring raw elements Gates could quickly make use of his abilities as a Spirit Mage. Under normal circumstances he would first pull the element, and infuse it with a spirit to give it both shape and substance. This abbreviated form was improvised freeform magic, brought upon by an anger that grew with each passing moment. The flame spirit shot forth fireballs in rapid succession in varying patterns. Each blast struck the mass of rapidly growing tentacles, forcing its mass to quiver and recede -- at least for the first few blasts. Gradually, the unknown entity began to shrug off the flame attacks, unbothered by the assault.

Vivian, having been flung upwards a considerable distance, twisted her body and watched it all unfold. She now realized what happened to her Fox Fire. Somehow the creature built up a resistance. She shifted her body, righting herself as she landed near Agni and Bracha. Gates continued his onslaught, constantly renewing his flames -- it was little more than cover fire at this point. What's more the mass seemed to grow even larger with the passing seconds.

It was at this point that all hell began to break loose. The black tentacles retracted, revealing the damaged core at the center of the black mass. This lasted for the briefest of moments as dozens of smaller, snakelike tendrils extended outward from the core. These tendrils moved along the ground like fast growing vines, creeping over everything nearby.

For Agni, Bracha and Katrin it was too late -- the tendrils wrapped around their ankles and quickly wrapped along their bodies. Within seconds they were covered head to toe with dozens of tiny, branching strands of black. Only due to her own foresight did Vivian manage to put some distance between herself and the creeping vines.

As she hopped backwards, Vivian --for the first time in a long time--felt conflicted. She genuinely had no idea how to defeat the foe in front of her. She knew that she had to shatter the core, yet the same core was protected from piercing, slicing and magical strikes.

It had been so long since the Doyenne of Mystic Tower felt fear, and the threat of it penetrated her to the bones. Despite this she gripped the hilts of her katana and dashed forward, flaring her Fox Fire, spreading it along the edges of her blades.

She resigned herself in that instant -- if she was to die -- she would not die cowering. She launched herself forward while issuing the order for anyone who could still move.

*Escape. Don't look back and don't stop.*

As Vivian jolted herself forward, Agni struggled to breathe. The black tendrils were attacking her from all angles, burrowing into her flesh, jabbing and constricting her. She felt a panic take hold unlike any she'd ever experienced as she came to grips the unfettered truth --

*I'm going to die!* The thought resonated within her mind, pushing out all possible hope until all that remained was the dread filled sound of her own beating heart. Out of the corner of her eyes Agni could see Katrin desperately struggling against the tide of black tendrils, meanwhile Bracha was the first to be completely covered -- her body resembled a black mummy as the tendrils covered her in totality.

Meanwhile Vivian swung her blade, consolidating her power as she prepared a last attempt to end the desperate battle in the mist. She reached back and prepared to strike-- in that moment the world turned silent and grey. Time seemed to distort, for the briefest of instances. She was so faintly aware of it, and thus assumed it was part of dying -- after all "life flashing before one's eyes" seemed fitting. Still, the Kitsune followed through with her blade strike. She watched as the brilliant blue flame began to shift in color, a red flame mingled with the blue, joining together at the edge of her blade. This red flame slowly spread, blending to create a dual colored flame.

Her first strike cleanly cleaved through black mass and the damaged core alike. Though she connected cleanly, Vivian dared not stop. She followed it up with three more strikes, lending the full weight of her body behind each.

The haphazardly made creature recoiled as it was sliced cleanly. Almost just as quickly it's flesh caught fire,ignited with red and blue flames. The flesh quickly burned up, dissipating into nothingness -- not even ash-- as the core of the creature was finally engulfed as well.

Vivian lifted her sword a final time and inhaled deeply. She would have but a single slice and it needed to be absolute. Her katana shifted, taking on a new heft as the edge morphed into a triangular blade edge. It now resembled a mix between a cleaver and a machete. She dropped her second blade completely, abandoning it as she prepared to pour her all into a single strike.

With both hands the Kitsune latched onto the cleaver-katana, sharpening her senses as she inhaled a deep breath. She forced all of the sound and urgency of the moment away, she disconnected herself from those slowly being constricted. Those wounded and those still willing to fight desperately for the lives they held dear. She placed her soul into a singular strike -- one that dropped with such speed and force that both the core and the ground were split in two.

The blow was struck, and it was perfect. The cracked core became cleaved, cut cleanly by Vivian's red and blue fire. Unfortunately that was not the end. Suddenly Vivian felt an intensity of unparallelled proportions pressing against her body. There was a bright light, one that filled her vision and drowned her senses as the one closest to it. All sound,sight, sensation and sense was lost as Vivian Lex was caught up in a point blank explosion.