“We can’t maintain this pace for long! Frumpy’s getting tired!”
“We have to! Can we outlast them to Sonam?”
Maiya shook her head.
Forests blurred by underneath, and Frumpy tired, beginning to slow. Despite Maiya’s best efforts at coaxing the beast, their pursuers drew ever closer. When they began hurling B Grade Lightning Burst spells, Maiya had no choice but to land, staying clear of the tall cliffs that loomed nearby.
Vir was cycling prana through his arms and legs even before they touched the forest floor. The instant they did, he supersaturated his blood, forcing as much prana into him as he could to prepare for the upcoming battle.
The enemy Acira landed just moments later. Both the demon and the mejai took their time dismounting, and Vir noticed the demon had an oversized collar around his neck.
Are they controlling him?
If so, Vir might remove his most dangerous foe by destroying it first.
“You’ve been a difficult one to track,” the Mejai of Realms said calmly.
“Did Mina send you?”
“Well, I wonder. Perhaps it was Sai? Or maybe we’re bounty hunters after your head?”
“You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?” Vir asked, eyeing Maiya, who’d slotted her most powerful orbs.
“That we are, I’m afraid. Will you go peaceably? Or will we have to do this the hard way?”
“What do you think, chal? You’ve got another thing coming if you think we’ll just lie down and die.”
The Mejai of Realms sighed, while the giant beside him gazed at Vir intently. In fact, he only looked at Vir, paying Maiya no mind—as if she wasn’t even there.
“If you will, Cirayus,” the mejai said. “You wanted some exercise? Well, here you are. Go wild and have fun.”
“Much obliged,” the demon giant—Cirayus—replied, cracking two of his knuckles as he walked, his thundering steps causing the ground to shudder.
Each oversized hand wielded a menacing implement of war. In his lower left, he hefted an enormous tower shield that was taller than Vir by a head. His lower right grasped a polearm. Ordinarily, a two-handed weapon owing to its size and weight, the giant twirled it effortlessly with only one. Finally, in his upper two hands, he wielded a massive greatsword the likes of which Vir had never seen. Half as long again as a regular greatsword, and twice as thick, Vir doubted a human could even lift such a weapon without the aid of Talents.
“Well, at least he isn’t wearing any armor…” Maiya said shakily.
“Don’t assume that. How much you want to bet he’s got Talents that negate the need for it?”
The sheer force of the giant’s presence made Vir and Maiya take an unconscious step back. His fearsome arsenal, hungry, vicious expression, and thundering steps only augmented his otherworldly aura.
“How much does he have to weigh for the earth to shake like that?” Maiya said in a strained voice.
He must weigh several tons… Wait, no. That can’t be right.
If he was that heavy, how could their Acira have hefted him? Forget combat maneuvers, even taking off should’ve been impossible.
“Maiya, go. This is my battle, you don’t have to—” Vir’s eyes bulged.
Those tattoos!
Markings covered the red giant’s body, but only one lit up brightly to Prana Vision. The one that overflowed with both Life and Earth Affinities. No orb in the world used two affinities at once, and yet, Cirayus’ blue tribal did exactly that.
“Balancer of Scales?” Vir blurted.
The four-armed giant stopped in his tracks.
“Ha! Hahaha! HA. HA. HA. HA!” he roared.
“Cirayus, are you right in the head? What are you doing?” the Mejai of Realms shouted. “Destroy him or face the consequences!”
“Ah, apologies,” Cirayus said, but it was not the mejai he spoke to. He bowed his head to Vir and Maiya. “I often let my excitement get the better of me. Old habits and all that. But alas, who can truly enjoy themselves with insects flying around, ruining our fun? May I trouble you to wait just a moment?”
The demon plunged his polearm, tower shield, and greatsword into the grass. Then he grasped his collar with all four arms. As if handling a toy, he casually crushed the relic from the Age of Gods, crumbling it to dust. Then he cracked his neck.
“Do you even know how itchy that infernal thing was? I’d be well within my right to end you for the discomfort alone,” the giant thundered, eyeing the mejai with the hungry eyes of an apex predator eyeing his next meal.
The mejai opened and closed his mouth, but only a hysterical squeal came out. “T-That was an Artifact,” the mejai whispered. “An Artifact! How can you just—”
“Human, ignorance is in your blood, so I’ll allow you these words before I kill you. No device, be it human or godly, is enough to restrain me. Mejai,” the demon spat, “here, you might be considered strong. But where I come from, demons of your strength wouldn’t even survive the prelims at the Bairan tournaments. Allow me to show you what true power looks like.”
The demon did nothing as mundane as running. Nor did he jump. He simply disappeared.
Maiya gasped. Vir’s mind went blank. Then it raced to understand what Talent the demon had used. Leap? Blink?
Neither. The demon had sucked in a torrent of Earth prana just before he moved, but he’d also sucked in Life prana.
Balancer of Scales, then? From Narak the Destroyer’s memory, Vir knew this ability was incredibly versatile. It could alter the weight of anything the wielder touched, but could it really accelerate someone to such a degree?
Vir thought back to how the ability functioned. A swinging blade tip’s weight could be made as light as a feather, then multiplied a hundredfold right at the moment of impact. Enemies could be flattened to the ground with just a thought.
And he just used it to move blindingly fast. By reducing the weight of every part of his body except his legs, the giant must’ve flung his body straight at the mejai.
No human should’ve been able to respond to such a fast attack, but the title of Mejai of Realms was not so easily earned. The mejai showed no hesitation, instantly aiming his precharged A Grade Locution Field spell.
“Vir! Run!” Maiya screamed, pulling Vir and sprinting in the opposite direction.
Sensing the panic in her voice, Vir activated Leap, picking her up in his arms.
They’d been twenty paces away and gained another five before the mejai’s spell activated.
Vir couldn’t know what happened. His ears rang and the next thing he knew, he’d hit the ground along with Maiya.
His arms and legs didn’t respond, and his body spasmed, out of control.
Maiya fared no better, her limbs twitching involuntarily.
So this is what an A Grade is like, Vir thought as he endured the pain. She was right. If we were any closer, we’d be dead.
They’d been on the very edge of the spell’s effect, where it was weakest, and even then it did this much damage.
All this time, he’d been worried about the demon. Yet it was the Mejai of Realms he should’ve feared. He’d thought his powers were well suited for killing mejai, and hadn’t regarded the mejai as a threat. How wrong he’d been. For this was no Mejai Sorcar. This was a Mejai of Realms.
At least that demon’s toast…
Vir doubted the attack would outright kill the demon, but he wouldn’t be walking away from something like that unscathed.