Opening her eyes Lyra looked at her strongest skill
A man 7 inches taller than her made of mana stood their holding a spear The mana construct was gazing at her Lyra who barely able to stand simply nodded
The figure turned and thrust forward with his spear
The world seemed to explode in a wave of concussive force but standing behind the figure Lyra felt nothing The barrier around Kim Lath shattered the spear barely slowed It rushed forward Kim Lath’s eyes widening with shock and the spear sank into the flesh of its body blowing a huge hole in the tribulation
Before her very eyes it seemed to deflate energy seeping out of it
The spearman raised his spear once more but then dissipated the power inside of Lyra all spent She raised a mana potion to her lips but she couldn’t maintain her strength and the bottle fell to the ground shattering
She allowed herself a small smile Randidly would be so pissy For a man he was oddly protective of his glassware Then she too fell no strength remaining in her body
It’s not like the potion would have done anything the resource Lyra had expended was much more vital than mana It was that violet energy that Randidly seemed to be swimming in But unlike him Lyra did not have a spring within her chest She only had the small amount she could slowly gather over time
As she collapsed she wished deeply that she would have the chance to see Randidly again She had told the truth to Kim Lath she was ready to die to protect the village nurtured by Randidly And she was afraid that even then she would never know what face he would make when he found out
Would that mild if intense gaze finally waver
Yearning Lyra opened her Eyes of Wonder gazing forward
Then her gaze sharpened her eyes glittering
Then she began to crawl forward her body slowly dying
Nul sat up some of his color returning She she really did it The tribulation is dying Now I can
But that Nul squawked and rolled over on his side writhing back and forth as if in the midst of a seizure
Sam just looked down his mouth wide open
What the fuck was going on
Chapter 98
Randidly arrived at Donnyton 40 minutes later the distance completely eaten by his mobility with all of his skills active Most everyone was gathered in a huge clump whispering All of the Classers had worried looks on their faces
Randidly used his Eyes of the Spear Phantom to pick out someone in the far side of the crowd and then used Phantom Half Step to teleport right in the middle of the group appearing next to Sam and Daniel
Daniel paled even further which seemed impossible given how bloodless his face was right now and Sam directly collapsed his limbs trembling Immediately the surrounding people turned silent eyes wide at Randidly’s sudden appearance
But Randidly ignored them and asked what was going on Sam quickly explained about the Tribulation somehow corrupting Turtletown then releasing the Raid Bosses it had been hiding to attack Donnyton Lyra had arrived and then left to fight the tribulation Then he explained how Nul attacked it spiritually somehow and disappeared in the process At that point the strange corruption seemed to affect Donnyton’s Classers briefly then stopped
Randidly glanced at Sam What’s your excuse then
Immediately Randidly was shocked at his rough tone but honestly it had been a long night And his aggressiveness which he usually just bottled up had finally found an outlet in violence and had been acknowledged Randidly knew deep down that he was starting to change but he couldn’t work up the effort to care
Changing was better than dying
Sam just grimaced taking it in stride I’m not sure I’ve just felt Strangely weak lately
Shrugging Randidly leapt leaving the group of people Time to find Lyra
The search didn’t take as long as he expected There was an area to the Northwest where trees in a large area had been leveled as if with a razor the cuts clean and sharp Randidly moved quickly into the cave where he found a very strange scene
Lyra was sprawled out on the ground reaching forward to another Lyra who was sitting in a sitting cross legged her face scrunched her eyes closed
Randidly raised his spear
I swear to fucking god I am SO not in the mood right now Lyra muttered out through gritted teeth Randidly sighed and lowered his spear
If I really wanted to kill you I’d use a spell anyway
Which I would see coming you idiot Better stick with the spear before I murder you
They were silent for a long while as Randidly looked to the reaching Lyra She was still her limbs stiff her lips blue clearly dead His eyes slid to the living Lyra
Have something to say Lyra said waspishly
Nope Randidly said grinning slightly
Well I do Bring all the fat cats from Donnyton I have something to say I need you all here
Randidly nodded but as he turned away Lyra’s voice stopped him And Randidly what I’m going to say doesn’t apply to You
It seemed like speaking took a great toll on Lyra because she spat out a fat glob of black blood that began to sizzle on the ground Randidly nodded slowly uncomprehending but acknowledging the words The he spoke quietly
Lyra it’s really good to see you again I missed you
Her pinched face broke into a small smile In that moment Randidly activated Haste and Empower his spear ripping across in a line beheading the sitting Lyra Bloodlessly her head toppled to the ground and then dissolved into a grey goo
Inwardly Randidly set himself into a fighting stance struggling to avoid the strange sense of loss in his heart If Lyra was dead
I SAID I am NOT in the fucking mood Lyra spat her head reforming before his very eyes The beheaded version began to sizzle away into nothing on the ground
Randidly blinked
Sam winced still feeling weak after Randidly’s arrival earlier caused him to collapse It had been happening intermittently of late but today was the worst it had ever been It wasn’t as bad as the pain the Classers had briefly experienced but it was infuriating in a different way He hadn’t felt the trappings of age since the system had hit and to feel them again now
It reminded him of his own mortality
But Randidly had come gathered the Council taking them to an area 3 miles away from Donnyton through a deep cave He warned then to not jump to any conclusions based on what they saw and also to be ready to fight
Then he had fallen silent a brooding expression on his face and that had been most disturbing of all
When they arrived they all looked eyes wide at Lyra’s corpse and then her sitting form The Ghosthound walked right up to her so the rest followed
As they approached The Ghosthound drew a wooden training spear and held the point to the throat of the sitting Lyra Her mouth quirked up in a small smile but she otherwise remained still They stood like that as the Council arrayed itself near but far enough away to react with Donny standing confused with his shield raised
When they had all settled in The Ghosthound coughed and then said Before Lyra starts I want to say no questions until she finishes Especially you Daniel This seems straining on her
Then they all turned to the sitting Lyra
She opened her eyes which burned a vivid violet The Ghosthound narrowed his eyes but otherwise showed no reaction Sam gasped taking a step backwards This these weren’t Lyra’s eyes
Ahem Welcome welcome ah yes finally my chance to monologue As some of you suspect yes Lyra the human has passed Of course as a personality I am unending ohoho so now you see before you the glorious Lyra the Village Spirit Praise me
Everyone just looked at her The Ghosthound’s fingers tightened on the spear Lyra just sighed Sam was torn Her eyes were different but the confrontational and rambling way she talked
I have a secret and I also have a truth Nul might not have been such a bad guy after all You really are stuck in some ways as village spirit but I should be able to persevere by well it’s complicated Anyway Classes are important but not just for skills and level up gains It’s the true reason why staying an NCC forever isn’t feasible That is