Chapter Ashborn 329: The Final Moments

Chapter Ashborn 329: The Final Moments

Vir sent his Chakram flying, and it began to reave through the Hunter-Gatherers with brutal efficiency. Limbs went flying as the beasts were bisected one after another. Four, eight—a dozen.

“That... is one unbelievable weapon you’ve found,” Tara said in awe. Awe, and a hint of jealousy. “Where did you say you found that again?”

“Deep within the Ash,” Vir said. “But it may not be as impressive as you may believe. Look.”

The Brood Matron caught on and shrieked, ordering her Hunters to pull back. Workers took their place, occupying the Chakram as they were sacrificed like fodder.

Unfortunately, the Chakram’s intelligence wasn’t sufficient to identify between high-priority and low-priority foes. It uselessly slaughtered Workers and Scouts, allowing the Hunters to resume their assault on the Gate.

“They adapted so quickly,” Tara said, frowning.

“She’s smart,” Vir said, letting Tara down. “Exceedingly smart. We need to take down the Matron. Without her, the horde can't function.”

“You said you’ve fought them before,” Tara said, unsheathing her talwar. “How do you suggest we approach this?”

Vir thought for a moment, weighing Tara’s abilities. She was strong, yes, and had the benefit of being able to recover from any injury in a near-instant.

“Can you use Yuma’s Embrace for this?” Vir asked.

“I’d rather not,” came Tara’s immediate reply. “Maybe this isn’t part of the challenge, but it’s the Ash, after all. I wouldn’t put it past Thaman to consider this an exception. If I’m caught using my Ultimate...”

“Right,” Vir said. “Alright. Work on the Hunter-Gatherers. Their attention is focused on the demons beyond the Gate, so striking from behind should prove effective.”

Vir paused. He’d only fought those beasts in the Human Realm, where they were prana starved. The prana here seemed to not only strengthen them—it made them smarter, too.

“Don’t allow yourself to get surrounded. If you do, shout for my help. I’ll be right over.”

“Oh?” Tara said with a grin, swinging her sword menacingly. “You’ll be right over, huh? And I’m some damsel in distress in need of rescue, is it?”

“Wait, no. That’s not what I—”

Vir never had a chance to finish. His instincts blared at him to run away. To be anywhere other than here. And his instincts had yet to let him down.

He didn’t Leap away. He Blinked, and he activated Haste for good measure.

For the very air that surrounded Tara warped and darkened, turning a deep, toxic purple.

As expanding cloud blotted the naga from sight, Vir understood what he was witnessing.

This was Corruption—one of the bloodline abilities of Clan Panav—except it was on a level incomparable to what Balagra wielded. Tara’s power felt like a cloud of death, ending the life of all that it touched.

The Hunters seemed to have noticed because they gave the field a wide berth, not even daring to venture close.

“Show off!” Vir yelled, even as a grin crept across his face. Tara would undoubtedly make a terrifying opponent when he fought her in the tournament, but now? Now, she was the most reliable ally he could've hoped for.

Vir Leaped, leaving Tara and her toxic cloud behind.

Even so, Vir couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Especially when an Iksana Ghael had it out for them. He only hoped the Iksana didn’t use this opportunity to attack either of them—poisonous clouds meant little to those who wielded the power of the shadow. There would be little Vir could do to help Tara if the demon struck.

Which meant taking down the Matron as fast as possible.

“What number was I?” Vir asked.

“Fourteen,” Cirayus replied. “Two spots left.”

Vir’s eyes snapped back to the Ash Gate.

Tara was in her serpent form, slithering to the entrance, neck-and-neck with a gray demon who wielded movement arts, and a Bairan, who capitalized on his long gait to keep pace. Her cloud of death surrounded her, but at the speed she traveled, it failed to form a cloud—instead trailing behind her like a purple wake.

Unfortunately, it did her little good against her current opponents. Each moved in their own, unique way, and each was evenly matched.

Vir started forth unconsciously, but Cirayus placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

“You didn’t help her before. You won’t help her now,” he said simply.

It was true. Vir had no intention of getting Tara to fail. Yet still... He wished there was something he could do.

Something... Vir’s eyes widened.

“The Chakram...” he muttered. It was still buried inside the Brood Matron. And it was still in the Ashen Realm, which meant it had plenty of prana reserves.

“Lad?” Cirayus asked with suspicion.

Vir simply reached a hand out and summoned back the weapon. He’d never known how exactly it worked, but the Artifact always detected his intent.

A moment later, the deadly disc blurred through the air.

He couldn’t control its path once it had left his hand, so Vir could only pray it did what he asked of it.

The disc neared the three contestants... and blazed right in the middle, just a few paces above Tara’s head.

All three were trained Warriors. As such, all three had good instincts. And Tara’s were downright feral.

Vir banked on that.

The humming of the disc’s deadly spinning blades prompted both the Bairan and the gray demon to jump aside instinctively.

Tara, however, was a serpent. She kept plowing on, simply lowering her head to the ground. That was her instinct in action—distinct from the others.

The chakram sailed through the Gate and into Vir’s outstretched arm—deactivating.

Just as Tara slithered through the Ash Gate.

Cirayus locked eyes with Vir, his gaze stern.

Had he broken the rules? But how would they prove it? Vir had only recovered his weapon. Everything else was outside his control. Surely, they wouldn’t fault him for that. Right?

Cirayus remained that way for a long moment, and Vir braced himself for the lecture that was to come.

Then Cirayus, Ravager and demigod legend of demonkind—burst out laughing.