Chapter 55: Limitations

Chapter 55: Limitations

Power, lifeforce, and mana flowed through Leland’s lips before he whispered, “Maul.”

A breath later, lifeforce and mana swam around his heart, connecting his own to the woman in white’s. “Slow,” he whispered, anticipating a barrage of emotions.

He felt angry but he couldn’t quite figure out why. Obviously there were enemies and he needed to protect the Sightless King, they threatened him and inversely the cult. But the rage he felt was also distant, like it was afraid of the incoming moments. It wanted to retreat, to be praised, to fight together. But that had been cut off, by a singular red wall isolating the king from the rest of the town.

Leland’s vision unnarrowed and he saw the woman in white stumble. She was on the back foot, an invisible force protecting and attacking. She growled as she parried and blocked, each streak of red cutting into her ethereal defenses.

A war cry from his side alerted her to a new combatant. She remembered him and frankly scoffed. Jude had failed to deal any real damage to the woman during their first encounter, but that didn’t mean she could simply absorb his attacks.

“Fracture,” Leland whispered right as Jude towered down with a deadly overhead strike.

The attack was easily blocked, but not before s slight crack emanated out of the woman’s body. She grunted, shifting away from another red streak from her side. Quickly she spun, flailing out wildly at the invisible boy that dared attack her.

She missed and opened herself up to another wide-arc swipe from Jude. His axe shimmered with red rage, firing out a crescent projectile with raw strength. For a moment a thin ethereal outline shone around the woman. It took the form of a hulking person, one attached to her back like a conjoined twin.

Jude’s eyes went wide as the twin’s outline faded just after it reeled back. He quickly put up his guard, the now invisible fist of the twin bashing hard into his body. He flew across the street, crashing into a shop through a glass window.

Leland and Glenny reacted without modesty and redoubled their attacks. They threw malice out the window and dipped their toes into sheer hatred. Quickly the pages on Leland’s grimoire shifted as two red spikes appeared from Glenny’s invisible assault.

“Kneel before me!” Leland bellowed, his eyes turning fiery violet.

As he cast his net of influence toward the woman in white, a figure appeared directly next to the red wall.

The Huntress had finally finished clearing the sigils and moved her attention to the Sightless King. She slowly pressed into the wall, finding it hard like solid rock. She smirked to herself with a quick back step. A heartbeat later a bow appeared in her hands fully drawn. She fired the arrow and dashed forward, passing through the resultant hole in the wall before it could heal itself.

The Sightless King instantly reacted, all of his eyes swiveling to the intruder.

The woman in white suddenly shrieked, her hollow eye sockets turning into red waterfalls. She stumbled a bit, causing her to fail to move out of Leland’s spell. Abruptly a pain washed through her back as Glenny materialized beside her. He trusted deep, stabbing with a singular red spike before darting back and allowing a Legacy ability to exsanguinate the fresh wound.

All in all, Leland added three new lost souls to his body, ignoring the banging pain that sprouted in his head. Above his head, the Harbinger Halo fell away, turning to dust and nothingness. A smile found his lips as his grimoire floated into his periphery. Like the tome read his mind, it flipped open to the contract with the Lord of Magic.

Slamming his palm into the page, the contract took, fueling him with even more raw power.

Leland cursed as the woman and mangled twin barreled into the Circle of Soul’s edge. They dove into the flames without care, their boisterous war cries masking the pain the woman felt. Green continuously leaked from her bloodied body, only speeding up when she came into contact with the purple flames.

Nearby, the soul of the Damned tasked with taking her soul watched with burning passion.

Leland, however, faltered. He tried to cast Curse of Collapse but found his attention too divided. The spell fizzled before it found full form, sending a backlash of pain across his heart and chest. He grunted, forcing himself to regain focus on the Circle of Souls.

The pain in his head made it impossible – the spell weakened.

Suddenly the woman broke through the purple flames and cast off the soul of the Damned . Her eyes fell on Glenny, despite the young man being invisible. She charged, allowing her twin to launch her with unholy speed.

Dodging, Glenny suddenly found himself in a deathly game of cat and mouse. He pulled no punches and used everything in his arsenal to keep distance from the deranged woman. It would be hours at this rate before he would tire, something he kept in the back of his mind—

A bloom of golden light suddenly lit up the now dusk sky. The explosion formed into a miniature sun before hanging just above the ground. A guttural cry escaped the sanctuary of the red-walled legislation district along with an isolated earthquake.

The woman in white stopped cold. Her eyes widening, she turned towards her Lord and fired off. Her serving steps failed to protect the Sightless King, a red wall of his own design blocking her path. She wailed on the boundary, each punch only sending more blood down her crying face.

A person sized meteor crashed down next to her, his weapon mid swing. Jude’s eyes blazed as his axe found the woman’s spine, only for it to be stopped partway.

A smirk found his lips as he allowed part of the rage in. A red crescent flared to life at the tip of his axe’s edge before he reeled back and swung again. The twin caught the weapon but failed to grip the Berserker Legacy ability. Jude didn’t so much as try to wrestle his axe from the monster, and simply back stepped away.

The woman turned on him, the twin holding her spin together and aiding her movements. She snarled at Jude but another golden explosion caught her attention. Just then the red wall protecting the Sightless King faded away.

The woman in white didn’t hesitate. She turned and ran.