NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: 2 minutes
I stumbled forward, a bloodied cloak flowing in the wind. Stanceless with this vigorous energy coursing in me, three fourth-circle charged with mana blades light the dark forest. I crouched, clawing the earth, and I pounced after the attacker. Swifter than the wind, my blade of black diced the three before my feet felt the soil.
Status.
Plonk.
No change to my attributes. Then why do I feel invigorated?
A broad machete pierced my status screen and instinct protected my head again with a thick armour of black mana.
“It's always you.” The wind finally rushed into the vacuum created by Hymir's weapon. I batted his right-hand blade aside and swung my sword from the side. Hyrims left sword deflected and zagged to my head. I bowed my head to the right, dodging the deafening black energy discharging by my ear
“The blizzard.” His left blade zigged, and the air popped as he sliced at my neck. I crouched under the black fog. A right-handed blade jabbed low. My greatsword blocked on the flat side and the force carried me yards backward.
“The pimp. Desaw. Mouve.” Hymir cut into the air, and a flurry of black crescents homed in on me. With a flash step, I narrowly escaped as the mana slice demolished the ground.
Hymir burst through the cloud of dust and soil, striking down. I received his attack, feeling my muscles tear under the stress. Hymir pushed his swords to cut into my traps. I gritted my teeth from the pain and slowly pushed the blade off with great trouble. The ground gave way, fissuring from the battle of mana and steel. I inspected the smiling bandit leader. Nothing. I couldn’t read anything.
“I see your eyes. Working ideas in your head?” I felt the weight on my sword lessen. I focused mana armour on my chest and blocked a kick that launched me further into the thick forests. I rolled on the ground, spitting blood as my chest pained.
My ring hummed.
“Not again. NOT AGAIN!”
(01:30)
I clamoured off the floor, spinning my circles till my heart roared. With a howl into the sky, Reddish black energy towered into the sky.
All or nothing. No more hesitation.
My body flared in great black blaze and the enemy vanished. I twisted to my left. Our swords popped the atmosphere from their loud clash of powers. I mana repulsed a right blade, pulling my sword down to parry the left. Hymir’s body open, I ludged into an afterimage.
Machete dug its edge into my belly and flash sidestepped, saving my intestines from dropping to the grass. I grew a large mana blade and slammed down the crouching bandit leader. My black mana blade missed, creating a canyon metres deep. Spinning my greatsword around to deflect a strike from behind, my feet pivoted, and I slashed empty air. My reflexes lifted my hand to catch Hymir's machete. Mana armour shattered on my palm and steel tore into my hand between my ring and middle finger.
My ring hummed and I clamped on his sword.
“I’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD TODAY!!”
Concentrating my mana on my greatsword’s tip, I pulled the bandit bastard to me with Qi. Hymir got ready to guard his face with his left weapon and I redirected my sword to stab through his thigh.
“AAAAARGH!!!”
Mana saw shredded muscle and bone as I punctured the screaming man. I released his weapon as Hymir threw out wild mana sliced in my direction. I lept over the slashes, repulsing away to restructure my points with my lacerated hand.
(1:09)
His speed moves him like a phantom but he wields his mana harshly and with little technique. Mana saw can penetrate his defences but it requires my defence to be lowered.
My hand blurred as I reallocated my points.
(1:07)
Status.
Plonk.
Good enough.
I heard metal break the air on my left and I stepped back. The heat of the black crescent fog passed me, trailing with a disgusting smell. I shot out a bullet of mana under my armpit, Hyrmir's blades sizzled as they guarded him with a cross. Qinggong broke the earth as I jumped back and spun with my sword. Hymir's blades blocked my flaring greatsword. Repulsing at impact, I pushed the shaved man a step. Hymir retaliated with a great wave of mana and I vaulted over, my sword scorching black mana. I fell, as did my sword, with jets of mana from my back. With a shockwave, soil and rock rippled like an ocean before breaking. Hymir endured with twin blades above his head in the middle of a crater. He smiled arrogantly as the black mist slowly enveloped him. My greatsword bounced off, my left hand shot a bullet at his injured leg and the smile disappeared.
(00:47)
I let go of my great sword and pounced at his thigh. Twin blades strike down and I tug on my mana tether. Hymir weaved to my right, and a red line marked his shoulder. Twin blades broke the broken soil as I slid away with Umbra steps, pulling my greatsword back in my hand.
(00:45)
More fog covered Hymirs. With a step to the right, he disappeared, zipping around the battlefield. I held my greatsword with one good hand as my left hand leaked blood on the grass. Heightened hearing listened to the changes in the wind as he bulldozed through the air. The crunch of grass under Hymir's boots. The shing of metal splitting the air as he flung mana slices from all directions. I calmed my circles, and Qi rose up to feel my meridians. I skipped back and forth and danced in the storm of mana. Batting away some, twisting away others, my eyes tracked the bald man.
The left.
I shot where I predicted he would run, shooting at his face to obscure his vision. Blades covering his face, I rush in with a flash step. I flared my blade again, slashing from my nine o’clock.
(00:40)
Hymir yelled, pulsing with a mana it hurled me back.
“It's done! It's completed!!”
The silent mob of bandits shouted his name. “HYMIR! HYMIR! HYMIR! HYMIR!”
Arms spread wide, the cursed fog consumed the warrior’s blade, which exploded with mist. Head to toe, black swirled around him. Fog slithered off his face to reveal that shit-eating grin.
“Months after that humiliation, I will get my revenge.”
(00:35)
Swinging with abandon, waves of mana pelt me as I braced with a tight shield around my greatsword.
My ring vibrated on my finger.
ENDURE!
While I took hits from misty mana, I heard grass crunch as dirt-covered bandits approached with freaky grins.
“FALL! FALL! FALL!” they shout together in almost religious fervour. Striking my back, their weapons spark off and transparent black shields. Trying to chip at my defences, a dozen men bash my defence.
“Getting your goons to attack me!? What's got you so angry!? Need hair growth tips?!”
Hymir stopped swinging. His blades, black and fuzzy with cursed energy, he pulled his arms back for a double thrust.
“I don't want you to run away.”
Hymir's thrust created a hole in the air. Shooting enormous amounts of mana, The beam of mana destroyed everything in its way.
The bandits continue their hacking as if waiting to die.
Crazy fools…
I flared my blade, walking towards the fifty something metre tall bullet of deathly energy with a smile growing on my sweaty face.
(00:25)
She is still too far away.
I sighed.
I squared my feet wide and raised my sword to the moon. Two hands squeezed tight on the hilt as Hymir mana filled my vision. Circles spun till my chest was hot.
I slashed.
I checked my torn hand to checked if I was not dreaming. I balled a fist.
Still pained.
(00:18)
I looked up to find my enemy's deliciously dismayed look on his ugly, hallowed mug.
My heart hummed five times with more energy than I knew what to do with.
The black mana… It absorbs.
Plonk.
“WHO ARE YOU, DUKE?!! WHAT ARE YOU!?!?!
(00:16)
I blitzed, breaching the air. Several sonic booms followed me as twin blades hastily guarded Hymir’s right.
“Duke Tarion Greystone of Osberg.”
Mana repulsion batted him to the ground. Hyrim rolled on the ground evading my greatsword. My weapon followed him, stabbing the ground. Back his feet with mana, he furiously poked, his two weapons blurring into hundreds.
And my blade catches them all.
“Many would rather call me a beast.”
Parried a left machete to his right, a slice again making a mark on Hymir's chest.
“And today I will show you why.”
I shot at his injured leg, blowing away the mist. A flash step dipped me under an unbalanced swing of mana and Umbra slid me low to cut Hymir’s curse-covered torso.
“I WILL KILL YOU, DUKE!!” Madness took the bandit leader, his blade hacking an afterimage of me.
A lean to the right, a weave back, and I blocked a left-handed sword. A little twist, my steel sparked along the enemy's false edge and I returned a favour by chopping a thumb off then the rest of the left hand because I felt petty. Hymir shrieked at a dog whistle frequency.
“You can still run, you know.”
Grunting and yelling, I slipped past his swords. Only blowing my hair about a mad Hymir foamed a false hand from the mist to claw me. Hitting my blade, I diverged the claw down, stepped in, and slashed through Hymir's left knee. More howling in pain and the curse grew again to replace what was lost. I skipped out of range of Hymir's attack and followed his example. I zipped around Hymir, goading the bastard with a smile and slashes of black mana pelted him from 360 degrees.
(00:10)
“FOR THE MASTER!! FOR THE PROFECY!!”
FOR THE PROFECY!!” the bandits repeat after Hymir and make a suicide charge with swords and shields alight with blue mana. Hymir looked for exits.
“COWARD TILL THE END!!”
I ran after the bandit, producing a shockwave to push his hundred men to the grass. I raised my sword high and slammed. The earth parted like a ship through water and I smashed at him with my greatsword.
“YOU DARE ATTACK MY CITY!!”
I smashed again and again. With each strike burrowing us deeper into the soil, Hymir’s remaining sword broke
“KILL THE PEOPLE OF MY LAND; SACRIFICE THEM FOR YOUR FOOLISH GOALS!!”
A blast of mist spewed from Hymir’s mouth. Black mana sheathed my left hand and I plugged the bandit's hand. I gripped hard and the bones in his hand were ground to bits. I beat the bkack mist away untill it evaporated into the air.
“YOU COME AFTER MY WIFE!!”
I pushed my blade into Hymir's heart.
“AND YOU RUN?!?!”
Hands-on hilt and pommel, I pushed the sword deeper into his body.
“Before I end your life, tell me who told you about her.”
I blocked his spit of flem and blood.
“The saintess will meet her end. The master will make sure of that. So enjoy that little dream of yours! HAHAHAHAHAH. FOR THE PROFECY!!”
I sighed. “No reasoning with the mad.”
Tearing flesh and bone, I finished the job with a slice from the chest to head.
Deep in a hole of my making, I roared and laughed to a cloudless sky. Victory was mine and I wanted it known to all.
(00:03)
Dirt fell from above the hole as hundreds of the leftover bandits stood by the edge, staring down, stricken with grief at the leader’s passing.
(00:02)
Bows were nocked and strings pulled. Swords burned bright.
(00:01)
I breathed slowly, and my battle high rose again. The sword of Osberg lit my cheek blue.
(00:00)
“Goddamnit…”
My ring finger hummed.
Fatigue weighed me down and I kneeled by the dead. Tears welled up in my eyes as every injury, wound, and burn was felt all at once.
Bandits roared, sliding down the hole as arrows soared for my head.
Arrows lost their energy and fell to the ground. Shouting warriors slammed into a dome of blue.
“It makes sense why you were chosen.” In pain, I turned to the voice.
“Geo-” Coughing blood, my voice box was like gravel rubbing against meat and my lungs were on fire.
The stranger sauntered to me as bandits screamed and shouted outside his shield. “Quite a unique specimen you are.” Boots were still dirty from horse shit, and peasant clothes were old and dirty brown. Looking like he never held a bale of hay in his life, mana leaked off enough to strengthen a thousand men. His hat glitched, revealing his true face and hair. I felt like such a fool.
“Vel…”
Oh, lands above what a terrible day.
The mage tapped his head and the hat returned to its normal state of a gold rune crown. His short, fluffy white hair shimmered under the moonlight, and his beautifully clear face could compare to the boyish stars of my old world. Sliver's eyes condescend through his long, unkempt bangs.
“Ah… You’re like Haru, aren't you, friend from another world?”
The creepiest character in TAPLM.
Vel, Ninth circle mage and the second male lead.
The mage crouched and rubbed my head with a kind smile.
“Understand your place yet, big boy?”
TO BE CONTINUED.