NOVEL NEXT The Heaven’s War – Part 1 [Othinus]
Somewhere in Gamma.
After all that happened in the [Deified Pantheon], both the Lich and the goddess of death managed to escape successfully. The location is a plot of land enveloped in a forest. Uneven ground. Shrubbery. Very rustic vegetation.
Morrigan had fallen on top of Liselotte, with only the second of these being the stunned one.
Liselotte manages to get off Morrigan, and so the first thing she does is to look for the leg she is missing at the moment.
That leg was only a few metres away, so crawling to reach it was the easiest task. Anyway, when Liselotte has the leg in her possession, she places it in the place where it was cut off and from her inventory she takes out an object.
It is a vial, containing a black fluid. Morrigan loses her breath as she sees what it is.
-Phalna... -. Murmurs Morrigan, who couldn't believe what she was seeing.
This black fluid is a compound that is not supposed to exist, however, Liselotte still has bitter memories of the first genocide she had to perform in her life, which triggered the series of events that gave birth to the "First Lich", who is the one who precedes her in that title.
The phalna is nothing more than the concentrated accumulation of the corpses of thousands of "Fairies" who were Liselotte's victims a millennium ago. The bitter memories she has are due to the traumatizing screams of suffering that are still replaying in her head.
-I'm sorry, it's what I have to do in order to survive.... -. says Liselotte.
The moment she poured the black fluid on her severed leg, it regenerated the severed bone, muscles, nerves and tendons at great speed. It was functional again in seconds.
Liselotte then stands up, and holds out her right hand to Morrigan as she says:
-Let's go. We have a lot of things to do.
Morrigan doesn't answer, but takes Liselotte's outstretched hand. Standing up again.
Liselotte then begins to walk, leading this new team.
-Where are we? -. asks the Goddess of Death.
-We are near the centre of the world. I suppose I shouldn't say more than that.
-Zawar Orcubalis... ah...
-Our purpose here is to disable the Supernatural Rift, in order to prepare for what is to come.
Zawar Orcubalis. Also known as [Origin]. In geographical terms it is the coordinate (0,0). Place where the main supernatural phenomenon of Gamma takes place.
The "Supernatural Rift" is nothing more than the reason why all magical processes are possible. Without it, there would be no magic and no skills. In fact, there wouldn't even be a [System] if the rift didn't exist.
The inhabitants of the now-extinct Zawar Orcubalis were outstanding spellcasters because of their generations' exposure to the ecosystem created by the rift, making this place a perfect land for spellcasting.
However, Liselotte blocked the entrance to this part of the world 700 years ago when she learned to erect magical barriers. She did this so that no one would enter and desecrate the land of her birth.
But sooner rather than later, Liselotte would realise that such protection no longer mattered at all.
-Shit. -. Liselotte mumbles, while looking straight ahead.
Liselotte steps in front of Morrigan, and then, in an eloquent voice as she raises her right hand, she exclaims:
-Alrade! -. After the invocation of the spell, a barrier surrounded them both.
The Alrade spell is nothing more than one of the many spells of defensive magic that exist, with the difference that this is one of those that can defend too many projectiles at the same time, a property that comes into action almost instantly after the barrier is lifted, as a set of lightning bolts hit the magic dome.
-Good reaction. -. Morrigan mentions in a low voice.
Once the attacks are over, Liselotte is quick to take matters into her own hands.
-Calliope... -. Liselotte mutters first.
Magic immediately appears, lines of magic, similar to strings begin to emerge from the same directions and angles where the attacks came from a moment ago.
This is a spell like no other, Calliope is a location magic designed by Liselotte a thousand years ago when she was still human. Back then the world was different and because of that, measures had to be devised to easily find targets without much effort. The Ahrsei army asked Alexander Maxwell to design a spell for such a task, and he left it to his apprentice, Liselotte.
As an inhabitant of Zawar Orcubalis, Liselotte had no problem creating such magic, which is one that even the magical gods have no knowledge of. Thanks to her union with the "Supernatural Rift", Liselotte then connected her magic to this very rift so that it would be easy to trace the remnants of magical energy in a surrounding area. Calliope is inescapable and unavoidable, there is no way to protect yourself from a magic that gives away your position by using the traces of spells you have already cast.
Of course, in those hostile times, knowing the position of your enemy was not enough, so Liselotte also created another variant of that spell, to which she would manage to create a magic capable of locating and counterattacking the cursed wizards that always hid in the shadows.
-Fractal! -. The spell was finished with this last word, and Liselotte's gesture of closing her hand to form a formidable fist.
And then, the threads that linked the magical energy to its users changed to a deep violet colour, causing a huge amount of magical energy to flow into these same threads that reached their targets without any problems, a rain of blood began.
The wounded came out from the trees and bushes they used as camouflage, while Liselotte undoes the previous Alrade to start a direct combat.
-Magical gods...
-This is the first time we have met, Lich! I stand before you, I am Zephyrus, Magical God of the Element of Air! -. One of Fractal's target entities screams, his arm bleeding.
Liselotte removes the gauntlet from her left hand, and in the blink of an eye...
-I am Liselotte Sitri, fuck you. -. With a voice that would freeze hell itself, Liselotte blows Zephyrus' body into rotting chunks of skin and guts.
Liselotte casually wipes the blood from her face, and asks:
-Who's next?
The backs of the gods present broke out in a cold sweat. Liselotte's contempt for these gods is such that it makes them wish they were dead right now. But one of them stepped forward, unafraid of what was about to happen.
-Othinus...". Liselotte mutters the name of the enemy in front of her.
Othinus, also known as Odin in his own mythology is the "Father of All" and is the ultimate example of a magical god that resembles the figure of Æther in the earthly world, he is bleeding from his leg from the attack that Liselotte threw at him with Fractal. Of the magical gods, Othinus is the most important. He has grey hair, an elderly face and beard of the same colour, an eye patch, and a stocky body covered by a tunic, accompanied by his Gungnir spear to engage in combat.
-This is the second time we have met, Sitri. Have your wounds healed?
-Tch... -. Liselotte clicks her tongue.
The first encounter these two had was at the time when Elise Redhart was being hunted, Othinus was one of the few gods who intervened on Redhart's behalf in the final battle and had a run-in with Liselotte when she was still a novice. The first time Liselotte tasted defeat in her life was thanks to Othinus.
She was kicked out of the final battle by Othinus due to Othinus' great experience in the use of magic, which far exceeded what a novice Liselotte could do.
The Lich did not hesitate too long in this regard, and began to strike first.
Coating her hands with magical power, Liselotte launched herself at Othinus, seeking to penetrate the God's chest, all at an almost imperceptible speed, but for Othinus it was nothing to worry about.
Othinus moved his spear slightly, and was thus able to block both of Liselotte's attacks. The Father of All then infused his own magic into the spear and was then able to make Liselotte move out of the way.
-Before, that trinket was not a problem...
Liselotte's complaint is accurate, before she became a Lich, this weapon was extremely useless in combat by Othinus, who at the time merely provided a magical duel against the novice Liselotte. But now things were different, and Liselotte narrowly escaped having any part of her body disintegrated by Gungnir.
The spear, as expected, has divine properties that would purify an undead like Liselotte.
-Morrigan! Take care of everyone else!
-Understood!
Both went into separate fights at the same time, allowing Liselotte to focus entirely on Othinus.
Magical attacks began to fly, while melee combat raged between the Lich and The Father of All.
Othinus was not allowing Liselotte's coordinated punches to get past his guard, and he was merely taking a defensive stance, waiting to counter any of Liselotte's attacks.
And to keep her at bay, he strikes her a blow to the head with the spear without using any of his magical power to seriously injure her.
-Kgh!
Liselotte's head jerks up, it was the first time in years that she received a blow with such an offensive weight, definitely the strength of a god is something she can't underestimate. But despite receiving a blunt blow like that, she was still able to counter with a punch to the face that made Othinus frown for milliseconds before he was sent flying a few metres away.
Liselotte threw herself at the present opportunity, managing then to connect with a kick that sank into Othinus' solar plexus that sent him knocking down an entire row of trees in its wake. And using a bit of "Space Magic", she teleported on top of Othinus to begin connecting earth-shaking punches to the God's face.
Othinus' lips and nose began to leak blood, as Liselotte's blows sank into his face.
At some point, however, Othinus was able to predict the trajectory of a pair of attacks and was then able to grab both of the Lich's arms.
-You have grown surprisingly strong, Sitri. There is no trace of the brat I left drowning in her own blood.
Then Liselotte realised that she had let her guard down too much again. For the blood of Othinus that had spilled on Liselotte's clothes, on the floor and on the Lich's fists broke away from every surface and began to levitate in the form of letters of a unique language.
-But you must understand, you are more than a thousand years away from reaching the level of a god!
With extreme force, Othinus pulled Liselotte towards him, headbutting her so hard that Liselotte's nose, eyes and ears bled. Septum, blood spleens and eardrums were shattered by the force of the impact, and Othinus' remaining hold on Liselotte prevented her from breaking free in time before Othinus exploded her blood into fractals, just like Liselotte's Calliope Fractal magic.
It was a crude imitation, but a powerful one nonetheless.
Liselotte's body was riddled with multiple explosions coming from all angles. But even Othinus did not escape his own attack and his clothes were torn to shreds by the multitude of explosions that unfolded.
Arms and legs were torn from Liselotte's torso, leaving her a useless lump of flesh that Othinus did not hesitate to throw away.
Liselotte herself was almost on the verge of convulsing from the torrents of blood that were rushing up her throat and obstructing her breathing.
-Your rebellion ended too quickly. -. Othinus says, getting back to his feet.
The Gungnir spear is raised to the level of Othinus' head, who took a throwing stance.
The Norse God has a duty to end the battle the way he has done in the countless battles fought in Yggdrasil since the creation of all realms. The strongest Æsir of all then claims his victory:
-Hail me Maxwell in Helheim!
Gungnir shone with a blinding light, and the stunned sound that echoed in everyone's ears at the same time made it a given that the attack was executed.
Of course... as if Liselotte cared about that.
Suddenly, a fragment of memory came back to Othinus' mind. A reminder of what happened a thousand years ago.
One Thousand Years Ago
-You fought well, child. Remember your battle wounds with honour, for this time I will spare your life in full. Rise no more if you do not wish to die, be assured that the battle is about to end. That master of yours... is an exceptional man.
As the most important Magical God of all, Othinus did not bother to swing his weapon at a mortal when he saw that she was a sorceress. Othinus decided to measure the girl's ability as a wizard, and the result was just what he was hoping for.
-Be prideful to be taught by such a formidable sorcerer as himself. But not proud enough. He is a coward for not facing me, sending you instead. You are a warrior, he is not.
Liselotte could barely breathe for the blood that was clogging her airways. She had her intestines out and several broken bones penetrating the girl's skin. This pitiful appearance was barely a fraction of what was left of her life. But even though she was dying very slowly, regardless of the pain coursing through her body from all directions...
She never stopped glaring at Othinus.
-In your future fights, remember what I'm about to tell you... stop letting your guard down so much, you were susceptible to too many attacks because you thought you could hit me with one of your own. Stop running away, a worthy wizard must never turn his back on his enemies, no matter how tough the situation is. And above all, learn to get ahead of your opponents, make them believe they have victory in the palm of their hand and then rip their glee from their chest.
Liselotte's bloodshot gaze keeps her eyes fixed on Othinus, she still wants to keep fighting.
She then learned something that no one else would teach her.
And that was the last thing Othinus said to her:
-You have potential, Liselotte Sitri. It is a pity that all that potential is wasted on a mortal girl. You are perhaps the strongest sorceress I have ever faced, even if you only managed to reach me once, you think fast and act just as fast, we Gods cannot be like that and that is our greatest disadvantage. I'll tell you something that even Maxwell won't have told you, but you need to know... -. Othinus pauses a little.
The "Father of All" then starts drawing runes in the air. In the direction of Liselotte.
-... girl, you have the power to kill us no matter how weak your spells are. Look at the wound you inflicted on my eye, it won't heal no matter how much time has passed or if I use magic. I can stop the bleeding, but I can't regenerate the eye you tore out of me. It's a shame, I was going to give it to Mimir to get the gift of omniscience. If you achieve immortality, it will only be a matter of time before the entire "Pantheon" learns what you are capable of, but by the time they do, it will be too late.
The runes that Othinus drew are then finished, and they enter the girl's bloodied body, to stop the bleeding she was having. Liselotte didn't even have the strength to do that on her own.
-And when that time comes, I will fight with everything to stop you. This is a warning, Liselotte Sitri.
Othinus walked in the opposite direction to the other battlefield where the first Lich and Maxwell were facing Redhart. And it was there that Liselotte made a decision.
"What will you do once our adventure is over, Liselotte?"
Such a question was asked of her by Maxwell on multiple occasions, and she could never be sure of the answer she wanted to give him.
Sometimes she would say that she didn't know, other times that she just wanted to have a quiet life, and other times she wouldn't even answer about it.
It was there that she learned that she needed to learn more. She was already a good sorceress, but she had never felt the desire to want to learn more than she already knew. It was unnecessary for her, she was going to die of old age anyway and no one could ever know that she had been willing to learn more about magic.
She was sure of that now. She knew what she wanted to do, and she wasn't going to hesitate anymore.
"I want to become a Lich..."
This was her new will, a wish that would be passed on to Maxwell, who did not hesitate to grant his wish to his only apprentice after everything she had to go through since the moment Zawar Orcubalis was destroyed some months ago. The whole story of Liselotte Sitri converges at this point.
She has to carry on Maxwell's legacy. She has to be the greatest sorceress in history in her own way, just to take the place of Alexander Maxwell. She has to show the world what Liselotte Sitri, the last strike force and the greatest element the now extinct Zawar Orcubalis ever had, is capable of.
In memory of her loved ones, and all those who fought for her to survive to this point, she will carry the weight of those lives for the rest of her immortality, so that this will serve as motivation for her to continue to grow as a sorceress, to continue to grow as an individual, because she will no longer be fit to call herself "human" after having adopted this new mentality.
And all of that brings us back to the present.
-Greet me Maxwell, in Helheim!
Othinus hurls his spear, and with one mighty impact, Liselotte's body is wiped from existence. This is the power of the Gungnir spear, one that is based on a complex concept of "Non-Existence", which is capable of removing all traces that you were ever alive, on all planes of existence such as the Yggdrasil or the Samsara of Reincarnation.
The old man can rest easy now.
The threat to all the gods had been...
-You're getting old now, can't you tell the difference between an illusion and reality?
-What...?
Before Othinus could react a wet sound was heard, along with the sound of bones breaking.
The voice was the same as the one Othinus knew for Liselotte Sitri, but... How? She must be showing right now.
No! There's no way it was all just an illusion! Gungnir took effect regardless of whether it was an illusion or not!
Then how was this possible?!
-You said it yourself, I made you believe that victory was in your hands and all I had to do was rip it out of your hands.
-But it doesn't make sense, I killed you! -You... you bloody coward...! Gah...!
Liselotte's grip strengthened, and Othinus is unable to move because if he does, his spine will be brutally torn out.
-I'm not a coward, I stood up to you the first few moments of the fight, but then I created this space around us and used one of your weak allies as my puppet to get you to let your guard down. I like silence, you know, I don't tolerate a noisy fight.
Liselotte says that in a calm voice, and... remember then what Elise does to fight... Recreation?
Anyway, it's no problem for her to make a fake weapon, it was a bowie knife, a knife that Liselotte didn't hesitate for a moment to plunge into the left side of Othinus' lower back.
The god writhed from the pain that penetrated his senses.
This has got to be a joke.
-Let me go, Sitri! I'm going to rip that smile off your face along with your goddamn head!
At such a provocation, Liselotte puts a foot on Othinus' back and pulls Othinus' spine towards her, managing to rip it off with a single jerk.
Othinus' body collapses from the now inability to steady itself, sputtering blood in spurts.
-Try, Othinus.
The atmosphere around Liselotte changes, causing the God who was confident just a few minutes ago to get a horrified expression on his face...
This is nothing more than revenge for what happened a thousand years ago. Liselotte is now a towering presence in Othinus' eyes, which only makes him give up more and more on this.
-I didn't turn my back on you this time, Othinus. I didn't run away, I just used what I had around me to get ahead of you and beat you. Thank you for giving me that life lesson a thousand years ago. If it wasn't for you, I would have died at a fraction of my current age and I wouldn't have been able to learn the things I know now.
-I guess this is the end of me?
-That's right. You should have killed me when you could have. Although that spell from before might have gotten me into trouble... but it wouldn't have left me in such a sorry state.
-Tell me, was that magic worthy of you?
-Not at all, your magic is too archaic, I could have easily nullified it. It is nothing like our battle a thousand years ago.
-I could never achieve true magic... the "Rift" rejected all my attempts to bond with it, and there was no way for me to develop into a true Magical God without it.
-I did it. I restricted the "Rift" so that no one else could use its power but me.
-Impressive... you exceeded my expectations, Sitri.
Othinus could see that the progress she had made in her thousand-plus years was no small feat.
Liselotte was going to kill him, he knew that much.
There was no way he could escape now.
-A true Magical God does not escape, not even death. You made a good choice in becoming a Lich. You beat me with absolute ease, Liselotte.
-I was just paying for a thousand years ago. I had time to think about how I was going to kill you the next time we met. But I couldn't think of anything concrete...
-The seclusion has changed you, there's really no trace of that brat who almost died like an animal at my feet. I would like to ask you, what have you learned in these thousand years?
-...
Liselotte didn't expect that question...
It's the first time she hears that, and she has no idea how to answer it properly.
So she meditates for a moment...
How many places did she visit? How many people did she meet? How many things did she learn?
In her thousand years, Liselotte has done so many things... and she remembers each and every one of them. She went to the edge of the world until she finished learning everything she needed to know about it.
History, biology, geography. She knows the most about it in the world.
Maxwell's library only corroborated the things she had already learned on her own. But if she had to sum it all up in a single thought, it would be...
-I lost my ability to socialise. My empathy and emotions are just a copy of what I was when I was young. When we first faced each other I was a stupid girl who had never learned what defeat was. You tore me apart. But I was able to get back on my feet and decided to become a Lich. Because of that I was able to understand that this world is cruel. No mercy. Anyone can kill you if it benefits them in the process.
Othinus pays attention to Liselotte's words.
-But there seems to be some kind of plot to make everything revolve around vampires. Think about it, the first monster was a vampire, this world was tormented by vampires for years, and now it seems that everything is repeating itself?
-The reincarnated girl, Elise, right?
-Yes, Elise... for some strange reason she's at the centre of it all... ah, explain to me, why are they doing this?
-I have no idea, they just told me I had to stop you.
"Oh..."
Sighs Liselotte to herself...
-I don't understand how she was left in the dungeon, I don't understand why she was given the same name as Redhart... she's physically identical and has the same abilities, but she's very different psychologically... she's just a child.
-I don't know either. But I guess Nergal wants to do something with that girl.
-I see... Hey, Othinus, do you have a last wish?
-Two, actually...
Liselotte smiles a little, and asks:
-What are they?
Othinus lets out a bitter laugh, and says to Liselotte:
-Keep Gungnir, as a reminder of this fight.
-... all right...
-And... please, teach me the real magic...
Liselotte is a little shocked to hear those words.
What was the "True Magic" Othinus was referring to?
No one has ever seen anything like it in the history of Gamma, not even Alexander Maxwell was able to achieve such a complex concept as "True Magic". Throughout the history of this world, the only display of such a concept was the one used by Æther to provide magic to all living beings.
Magic with the magnitude to change the world.
Liselotte had researched this type of sorcery... and it took her decades to perfect it.
It was only thanks to her union with the "Supernatural Rift" that she was able to achieve the wishes of all practitioners of sorcery so far. No one has ever seen anything comparable.
-I'm going to kill you, then... -. Liselotte mutters.
Othinus accepts his fate, and looks forward to discovering what is about to happen.
Liselotte undoes the barrier that separated them from reality, to demonstrate to the still living magical gods what they in their thousands of years have not been able to achieve.
She concentrates her magical energy at various points in space, producing orbs of energy charged with monumental fractions of Liselotte's power. Such orbs join one with another, to form a figure of architecture impossible in the present dimension, a tesseract made up of fractals that expand to infinity.
Liselotte Sitri's "True Magic" has such a complex figure because of her own eccentricity in this world.
The shortcut to the "Supernatural Rift" is opened in this way, using Liselotte as a gateway.
Such a tesseract, taking on a dark colour, represents the soul of the Lich that is injecting its power into this figure.
Liselotte extends one of her hands, showing the tesseract to all present.
And she pronounces:
-Void Negation, Lich Archetype.
The tesseract expands throughout the surrounding area. It does no immediate damage.
Othinus mutters:
-What beautiful magic...
The body of the "Father of All" vanishes into dust, and little by little, the other Magical Gods stopped resisting and vanished into dust as well.
Liselotte's concept of "True Magic" is that of the "Slayer of Gods".
-Let us continue, Morrigan.
Liselotte turns to Morrigan, the only deity standing here. The Lich kneels to pick up Gungnir, the weapon Othinus had inherited from him.
Odin's death came to the "Deified Pantheon" as a shock, similar to the one Morrigan feels being around Liselotte now.
"She could kill us all effortlessly... but she prefers to fight..."
That is Morrigan's only thought at the moment.