And in the middle of those sharply twisting beams of light there was a silvery sphere sliding silently toward VyeÆs chest
Almost numb Vye marked her last few papers with Reject and tossed them out to slow the assault Her initial instinct was to make two more Donates in order to dodge out of the way but the more she watched those wild bending light beams the more horror bubbled up in her heart It was clear that this was a technique designed to surround and hem in mobile targets
With no other option Vye also released the Mirror she had made blasting a thick light beam out toward the silvery Ion Bolt that was coming toward her While she struck out with the light beam her few Rejects were overwhelmed in a cascade of twisting beams Worst of all the blast of light she unleashed didnÆt slow the Ion Bolt in the least
The attacks are going to land Vye thought Her skin seemed to crawl in abject terror For a split second she froze For that second the attacks surged closer without her responding at all By the time Vye snapped back to herself the attacks were so close that she wouldnÆt have time to remove the emergency papers from her interspatial ring and then perform the rituals
Feeling profoundly afraid Vye looked down at her hands One empty one holding a pen Without paper
VyeÆs gaze sharpened If I want my freedom I canÆt keep running These hands these hands need to be enough
Chapter 985
NaffurÆs face twisted into a frown as the fool Roland lost his cool and unleashed an attack at his full strength Immediately he barked out Ajax
On it the giant cockroach man buzzed as his wings carried him down from the viewing platform to the arena below Naffur had been aware that Roland dearly wanted to be a part of the Order Ducis since the man had seen the Fate that Ajax and Madelyn had been able to condense with NathanÆs help Naffur just hadnÆt realized how deep the manÆs greed went
Inwardly Naffur felt an incredible amount of anxiety at the moment If this talented woman was seriously injured or even killed now he wouldnÆt be able to deny that it was his fault Despite knowing Roland was an unstable element Naffur had allowed them to fight He had seen VyeÆs unwavering will in her brilliant yellow eyes and had to admire her bravery
Under the influence of his second aspect the Aspect of the Wandering Knight NaffurÆs gaze remained passive He was the face of the Order Ducis and had been for several months He could not let this throw him no matter how unfortunate the outcome was
That was the heavy weight that Randidly had given him to bear
With these hands The woman Vye bellowed More quickly than even Naffur would have been able to mimic her hands surged into motion Right before the Ion Bolt and light beams arrived at her her left hand was glowing with a piercing brightness Without protecting her torso at all Vye swung her gleaming hand in a vicious cut toward the Ion Bolt
NaffurÆs eyes twitched For a second around her
But there was too much light so it was hard to confirm The attacks crashed into each other and after only a brief pause Vye was smashed backward Ajax arrived just at that moment his one hand steadying Vye while his other hand struck out and ripped apart the beams of light that pursued Vye
Naffur was gratified to notice that whatever Vye had done it had dispersed the Ion Bolt totally Even if she was knocked unconscious by the effort it was not a small thing
Coughing lightly Naffur said Ahem Congratulations Roland It appears you won the final duel of this yearÆs lottery Thank you so much for your hard work
RolandÆs face was extremely pale as he looked numbly at the crumpled and bleeding form of Vye that Ajax brought up toward the waiting Nathan Sir Knight Errant I
No need to speak Naffur hissed I believe we have all seen enough
Flushed with stymied ambition RolandÆs mouth moved wordlessly for several seconds before he simply nodded and walked off of the central arena Two men with mops moved up onto the broken ground and began to wash away both of the contestantsÆ blood
While Randidly was in the Dungeon he intermittently visited the Alpha Cosmos to track of the developments within his Soulskill Because it was now based exactly on the time he experienced the Soulskill would also go through a one year jump before he returned to Earth
Which basically didnÆt matter much to anyone but Helen who would benefit from RandidlyÆs increased understanding of the connection between his body and the Alpha Cosmos As he spent more time with it active the bonds that limited her power would gradually loosen Which honestly gave Randidly a headache
It was too easy to imagine Helen growing bored and making trouble around Erickson Steel It was better to immerse himself in his Soulskill and do his best not to think about it
The Monster PrinceÆs interim government continued to integrate with the nearby kingdom to avoid an all out war between the new arrivals and the original inhabitants of this strange continent It seemed that things would proceed peacefully for now but Randidly didnÆt want to be blindsided as he had in the past once a week Randidly would head into the Alpha Cosmos to have a discussion with Lucretia
While he was there he would also check in on the progress of the youth from the Willow Tree Spear Style Honestly Randidly was endlessly impressed by his determination Despite the grueling series of tasks that Lucretia had set for him he stubbornly continued to Engrave past the point where he had a sufficient amount of Mana to accomplish the task It was somewhat endearing so see him so feeble that he could only stagger away from a test unsuccessful and exhausted
Randidly sighed inwardly I suppose it’s unrealistic to think that ShalÆs brutal training methods wouldnÆt rub off on me
Lucretia and Randidly sat in rocking chairs on LucretiaÆs engraving complex while they watched the kid struggle The tall shadow of LucretiaÆs ranch style home rose behind them RandidlyÆs fingers danced across the wicker arms of the chair idly looking over the problems that Lucretia had set for her apprentices Only after he had solved them all to his own satisfaction did Randidly turn to Lucretia Anything worth reporting
Nothing over in the political sphere but IÆve continued to investigate the lighthouses present in the wider continent per your request Lucretia took a long sip of a drink made from the pulp of the sanu a sour fruit indigenous to the area that tasted kinda like pomegranate She licked her lips in satisfaction and tilted her head toward the pitcher in askance
Randidly shook his head None for me thanks So what did you find
Although the lighthouses existed before the didnÆt work in a straightforward manner most people couldnÆt get a Class from them Lucretia frowned down at the red violet drink To them the arrival of the refugees from your previous Soulskill and from Tellus is less a cause of what happened than a symptom of a larger change in the world There are some religious organizations here that predict a time of judgment is approaching
Quite accurate actually Randidly muttered
Lucretia had spent enough time with Randidly not to be dragged into his asides but the larger point was that the mainland doesnÆt have as much of an advantage as we thought when it comes to fighting strength A few exceptional individuals had previously been able to activate the lighthouses at great cost but by and large the Levels of our two groups are comparable There are just about ten times as many of them
Sighing Randidly leaned back in the rocking chair until his center of gravity shifted backward If we assume that these people are the accumulated subconscious influences from those IÆve encountered itÆs still somewhat worrisome that IÆm only one tenth of the population inside the world that is somehow my literal body
A ghost of a smile flitted across LucretiaÆs face Honestly how much of that remaining one tenth isnÆt also just influences of other people I think itÆs pretty impressive that you had direct control equalling ten percent of the rest of the realm