Chapter Sixty-Six: Breaking a World Limit

Chapter Sixty-Six: Breaking a World Limit

The ocean breeze was thick and fierce, clouding my nostrils with the smell of dense salt. It lingered on my nose. Strands of black hair swooshed past these pair of hardened, yellow eyes that had witnessed more death in a week than most had seen in a lifetime. The boat we were on was owned by a man named Rickard, who jumped overboard when that lion roared at him. The city-state of Plymoise, Parthina, was his destination—something we discovered after finding charter documents hidden in a bedroll.

Dad and I laid on the deck after anchoring the boat for the night. Mom was tending to Mila and watching over Sekh. We still didn’t know why she was surrounded by ice, but I knew she wasn’t dead.

Someone like her was too powerful to die...

Primrose was preparing food in the hold while Niva did her ‘physical therapy’ under her spirit’s watchful gaze.

Even though this boat had people...it felt empty, like we were lost in a world that twisted upside down in a matter of days. Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“I’m...scared... What are we going to do? We don’t have a home anymore? We haven’t seen land in four days, and...”

“Just hang on, sweetie. It’s a few more days away. If we can sell the supplies, we can get our bearings.”

“I can still see the smoke. Ria’s still burning,” I said. Lifting my arm, I looked away from the sight of destruction to a series of blisters trailing around my wrist. The terrifying attack the Essence of Wrath used broiled the skin of all within range. It would heal, of course.

There was no doubt about that...

Right?

Dad took the most damage, then mom. I protected Erin, so she took the least. The only blister was on her cheek, but Primrose used some ointment in the cargo crates to cover it. She did the same to us, but ours were more serious.

Dad was my father, after all. When I was scared, I could turn to him. When I was lost, he knew the answers. He knew everything...

“Mila’s going to wake up, right? Tilde’s going to come back? Sekh’s going to get better?”

“...”

Dad was quiet.

I was quiet.

No, I wanted to cry and hug Mila...and Sekh. And Niva and Primrose. And Mom, Dad, and my sister. And Tilde... I wanted to be with them...

“Mila’s a strong woman. Sekh has unimaginable power. You love them, yes? Have faith. When they do wake, we must be there for them. I can only imagine how your sister will feel.”

“Yeah, I love them. I wanna cry, but it doesn’t seem right. I need to be strong for them...so I can take care of them until they wake up. I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

Dad excused himself and stood and stretched. He was shirtless after using his shirt to wrap mom’s blisters. He soon went to bed, and I followed, closing my eyes under the starlight.

That night? I dreamt of happier times— when we had just moved to Ria, but Mila and my other friends were there. They lived with us in our home, and Mila came to work with me at Smithy’s Corner... Dad taught with Tilde and Sekh at the academy. Niva helped around the house with mom, and Primrose grew herbs and plants to sell. Erin was there, too, of course, directly interacting with the customers and working the register. And Lei was our mascot.

It was my dream. No, it was more than that. I desired that future for us. For all of us to live together...without barricades or gas threatening to destroy our way of life.

Why couldn’t life be that simple? I didn’t want much—just the bare minimum. And maybe after a year or two, Sekh and Mila would marry me, and we could be wives to each other. Then? We’d really be family.

Yeah... That’s life...right there... Mila... Sekh... I love you. Please...wake up. I miss you. I want to hold you again...

“Irisa, get up!”

Dad’s frantic voice jolted me awake as something heavy slammed into the boat. I was thrown against a cannon, cracking two of my ribs. Crying out, the smell of firesalt lingered in the air and stained my lungs. I coughed, vomiting the contents of my dinner across the deck as the stench grew. My sight was hazy, cloudy by the smoke blocking the moon from casting its light.

“IRISA!!!!” Dad shouted my name and rushed towards me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away moments before I was about to be splattered by the falling mast.

Falling mast?!

Amid my groans, Dad helped me to my feet and threw me a sword stashed in his belt loop.

And I realized we were under attack. The pain sent throbbing flares of agony up my spine and stomach, but I gritted my teeth and did my best to focus my blurry eyes. Mom emerged from the hold with a longsword, and we watched the incoming ship approach. Smoke still filtered from its 12 cannons aimed this way, though we were lucky only two managed to hit the mast. The others missed, and it didn’t seem like they were reloading. Looking up, I didn’t see a flag...and my mind instantly went to pirates!

The ship had three masts and large, black sails, but it was on the smaller side.

My heart was filled with dread and fear. Mom stepped in front, her back trembling.

She was afraid... And crying.

I always hated seeing her cry.

Mom was a good woman. A better person. She deserved happiness, not this...

We didn’t deserve this...

Not the attack...

“TRONITI, GET TO THE SHIP! And you! This all could’ve been—” The pirate captain’s ugly words were cut short by something I could not explain to save my life.

A limit placed on the world has been broken. Repeat: a limit placed on the world has been broken. All those who have achieved an evolutionary level of Lord or higher now have access to the power of [Conferment]. Repeat: all those who have achieved an evolutionary level of Lord or higher now have access to the power of [Conferment].

From everywhere, nowhere, and all around came a voice with a stern tone. It spoke with zero emotion, almost sounding like a golem or monster without a soul.

I didn’t know how I knew it, but instinctual knowledge buried deep within me told me the world was hearing this same message simultaneously. From my perspective, it spoke Arezzian, but if you only knew Orcish or Elvish, you would understand it all the same. Even if you were deaf, those words it seemed the heavens were speaking would find a way to you.

As abruptly as it appeared, the grand voice ceased to exist.

But we still couldn’t move. I couldn’t. Dad couldn’t. The pirate captain couldn’t.

Even when our ship violently shook, throwing everyone to the deck, we remained frozen to the ground. From the hold came screams and gurgles of death with the stench of burnt flesh. Pleads of mercy and compassion wailed, but they were cut short by someone or something and fell on deaf ears.

“What...is that feeling? Is it mana? Oni, what the hell were you carrying?!” demanded the pirate captain. Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks and chest, and I knew what he was talking about. Even if you weren’t powerful, your mana could leak out of your body and affect those around you. As a little girl, I was taught to keep mine in check, and it wasn’t hard. Mila probably never learned that technique, but her weird [Status Cloak] ability most likely did that for her. When the Essence of Wrath took over her body, that ability was still working to keep us from being drowned in its oppressive atmosphere.

But it seemed like that wasn’t the case anymore. The overall pressure was constricting, making it hard to breathe or blink without feeling like your head was about to be chopped off. Footsteps eventually reached my ears, and with each one, the feeling increased—no, it doubled. Finally, through the darkness leading to the hold?

There stood a woman—but not in a form I had pleasant memories of. Mila almost looked like she did when the Essence of Wrath overtook her—she still wore the black robe I put on her, but she had these curly, red, ethereal dragon horns off the top of her head. I thought there wasn’t much more room for dread to fill my heart, but staring at that...thing?

It was like all hope was lost.

That monster held out her hand, and Sekh’s icy coffin appeared from nowhere. Mana materialized beside her, forming an unknown girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and a weird hat. The mysterious girl touched Sekh’s ice, causing black flames to swallow it whole. Instead of burning her or the boat, dark embers danced to the hull, taking the form of five large, giant lions— with coats of black, eyes of red ember, and manes of iceflame. The largest one was at least eight feet tall and towered over Dad.

That was the same lion that held Sekh in its mouth when we ran to the ship. The monster in Mila’s form touched Sekh, and she disappeared again.

“The Transcendent Dark Lord commands you to eliminate her foes,” said the woman masquerading as Mila, extending an arm.

As if replying, all five lions roared and jumped to the pirate ship, starting the massacre. I stared in awe at their power. Their massive claws cleaved an armored man in two from a single swipe. The largest raised its tail high, the furry tip flashing crimson. Roaring, sharp arrows of flames shot out, piercing ten screaming pirates through the heart in the blink of an eye. It glowed again, launching a bolt of energy into the sky. It exploded like a firework and rained icy death from above, covering the warship. Even one icicle was enough to split a head open, and dozens slamming into the same body blew it into fleshy, gory chunks no larger than an apple.

The woman with the fox tail quickly leapt to her ship, leaving behind her captain. She attempted to stab her weapon into a lion’s side, but it melted against its flame-like body after failing to pierce it. Slowly, the magnificent beast turned around, staring down the woman, who was on borrowed time. It roared right in her face, each tooth almost larger than her head.

Then it chomped, severing her head.

Three smaller lions dug at the deck to create a hole, then jumped in and killed indiscriminately. I doubt they cared how brutal or disgusting they had to be to fulfill the order given to them.

I only heard the feeble, worthless, useless cries of the dead...

I hated the pirates. I hated them so much...

Of the two remaining on the deck, the smaller one seemed to enjoy eating their opponents alive, devouring them whole while roaring at those on borrowed time.

I struggled to look back at the woman in Mila’s form. She walked to the closest pirate. He was pinned against the deck, unable to look up enough to see her face. Without being able to move, the pirate did nothing but endure that woman touching his head.

“[Combustion Grip],” she whispered. Suddenly, flames shot from her hand and swallowed the pirate, scorching him to ash in seconds.

He was dead, just like that. The enemies we struggled with were easily killed by the power the Essence of Wrath wielded. But she didn’t stop there. I was convinced the end was coming, but I wanted to meet it head on, so I watched her incinerate the other pirates before awaiting my turn.

But the death I expected never came. Something was odd when I saw the Essence of Wrath carrying Sekh, and I couldn’t identify why I felt that way. Looking at Mom and Dad was challenging, but I didn’t think they shared the same apprehension as I did. Or if they did, they disguised it well.

“You’re being hunted?” asked the High Elf with Mila’s voice. She spoke while the lions were continuing their fun. The screams, once loud and frantic, were quickly quieting. Eventually, that vessel would be nothing more than a ghost ship of those who once hunted this wide, open ocean.

“Y—Yes! By Plymoise’s navy. T--Take the necklace! I swear it’s worth more than my bounty—”

“That’s all I needed to hear. Die, you piece of shit.” ‘Mila’ grabbed the necklace, it vanished, and she ripped the pirate captain’s head clean from his body before stepping on the corpse’s chest. The body caught aflame. She looked at the head, and it disappeared like that necklace.

‘Mila’ turned to me. Her mana was restrained because I could move. The sword I wielded was in the corner of my eye, barely within hand’s reach. Mom and Dad had lost theirs when they were forced to the deck.

I had a choice to make...

No, we had a decision to make.

The five lions emerged on the ship’s deck, their fur stained with evidence of their completed task. They leapt back to our boat and bowed their heads in reverence. Primrose used her vines to get to her feet, and then she rushed into the hold, her frantic voice calling out for her summoner. Before now, the pressure coming from that ‘thing’ prevented us from speaking out of fear because we knew what damage that thing could cause.

“Mila, I know that’s you,” Dad said, standing. The horns disappeared.

“Mila!” Mom and I cried. We scampered to her feet and rushed to hug her with Dad.

“Mom... Dad... I’m sorry...for everything...”

Mila was back!!! She was back!!! She was awake, she protected us, but most importantly...

She!

Was!

Back!

But her voice... It....was cold—abrupt, even, clashing hard with the fire magic she used to kill the pirates.

No, that’s just a trick my mind’s playing on me. I haven’t heard Mila's voice in so long... Yeah, that's it. She's the same as she's always been... Nothing’s wrong with her...