Beastforged Bond

B4 Chapter 47

The empowerment gained through fusing with Nox was cut short when the Ferronox Mantis retreated back into my World. Raffael released my arm, and I used Blink to teleport above him. Once above him, I didn’t have much time. The Ruler of Fire looked up, his crimson spear summoned once more.He attacked, which I barely managed to block before unleashing Mirage. A blinding light erupted from my body, blinding the Ruler.

The counterattack happened next. Moving as fast as I could, I accessed the onyx ring and retrieved a kelt stone, one of the densest stones found on Razarn. It was heavy, and grew even heavier when Aureus and I unleashed the Gravity Aspect on both Raffael and the stone.

Using Blink, I teleported above the stone in an attempt to push it down. It didn’t move much faster than before, but by maintaining Lifesight, I could keep track of Raffael. He roared at the top of his lungs and unleashed his second Soulkin’s fire. The fire never reached me. It burned the plant life around us and barreled toward the kelt stone instead. Then, the stone crashed to the ground, burying the Ruler of Fire alive.

I begged, even though I knew it was delusional to believe that a Ruler would die that easily.

His lifesource flickered beneath the kelt stone, but it didn’t diminish. It barely even weakened. The stone trembled when I landed on it, waves of power tearing through the dense material. But I was far from done.

The Ruler of Fire was no longer in the sky. He was in the ground, close enough to the earth to suffer the wrath of Aureus and me.

We unleashed the Major Earth Aspect together. Gravity kept pulling the kelt stone and Raffael to the ground, but now the densest material all over Razarn was in our control as well. It resisted for several heartbeats before submitting to our control.

Then spikes of kelt stone burst outward toward the Ruler of Fire.

Activating Nullblade as well, I tried to coat the spikes, but they were neither visible to me nor was the kelt stone easy to control. Nullblade consumed a horrendous amount of ether to coat one kelt stone spike, and even though it pierced the Ruler’s thigh, the damage did not justify the expense. Not when I almost lost one-third of my ether reserves from one spike.

A serum appeared in my hand at will. It was emptied shortly, filling the body with nutrients, energy, and several healing properties. I felt my bones come back together all while ether torrents swirled through the weave. Absorbing them, the core was full again, while the remaining ether circulated through the weave to be used at a moment’s notice.

The kelt stone heated up as the Ruler of Fire retaliated, but it did not crack. It endured instead as Aureus and me maintained the Earth Aspect.

Raffael’s lifesource looked worse than before, yet it was the killing intent that worried me most. His lifesource shifted suddenly, informing me that he triggered Soulfusion with his second Soulkin. A moment later, he shifted to the side and burst through the ground, fur growing from his only arm and his neck.

A Hellhound. How impressive.

Volix mused.

Certainly a good choice for an Overlord beast. While not considered a fiendish beast, it does have the same characteristics. Hellhounds are much stronger than most beasts their Rank.

Tufts of hair grew from his cheeks and his hair turned even darker as it elongated. Yet, it was the completely crimson eyes that unsettled me most. This did not look like a fiery beast. It was a beast born from the darkest pits, and it desired to devour me.

It was…happy to be unleashed, and it would do everything necessary to be out in the open. How did I know that? I…honestly didn’t know. My World stirred and seemed to resonate with the emotions oozing from Raffael and his soulfused beast, but that shouldn’t be possible. Or was it?

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“That’s it,” Raffael growled, and my danger sense perked up.

Predator activated as soon as the Ruler of Fire burst into action. I used Blink without a second thought, which probably saved my life. Raffael emerged where I stood a moment ago, his spear cutting through the spatial distortion that remained. A sting caught my attention, and I looked down at my arm to see a cut. It wasn’t bad, but considering that it should not even be there, it was disastrous.

The corner of Raffael’s lips curled upward, and he charged again. This time, I used Paralyze and Blink simultaneously. The cost of Paralyze was tremendous as it was used against a stronger being, yet the effect was clear enough. Raffael faltered for a fraction of a second, and I teleported behind him. His spear swept through the air even faster than before, cutting through the remnants of the spatial distortion; however, there was no new injury.

I grumbled to myself while spinning around with two shortswords in my hands. Nullblade coated the blades, as did the glistening flames of Volix, amplified by my Insignia. It was brilliant, or would have been if anyone had been able to see it. Mirage was active–not on myself, but on the blades. The reflection of light kept both the glistening phoenix fire and Nullblade’s coloration in check.

Raffael spun around, fire erupting from his hair. It was darker than the Magma Dragon’s flames and surged toward me like it wanted to consume me, and I let it. My blades carved through the air. One was blocked by the crimson spear, but the other found purchase. It carved deep into the Ruler’s side. The glistening fire erupted once the target was struck, and I did not waste the opportunity to twist the blade and rip it sideways, worsening the wound.

Raffael’s fury only deepened, and he closed in on me in a fraction of a second. I tried using Blink, but failed to escape when the crimson spear flashed before my eyes. I twisted out of the way, or tried to, only to get struck in the chest.

Once the first slash landed, the second, third, and fourth followed.

Blood gushed from several wounds, but it never dripped to the ground. It evaporated mid-air as the temperature in the surroundings kept increasing.

Pyromantic Recovery activated as soon as hostile fire touched me. It burned on my skin, yet the damage was manageable. A portion of the flames were sucked into my pores, only to be filtered by Volix’s phoenix fire before being devoured by the Elemental Phoenix’s trait. The emerald flames born from the trait surged through the weave and poured into the wounds. They erupted from my body, sealed the worst damage, and initiated the healing process, augmented by Pond of Life’s nectar.

But Raffael Torch was no fool. He noticed my initial recovery and must have identified the emerald flames in a split second because his attacks grew more rapid. Dark flames oozed from the crimson spear, and his attacks grew fiercer and faster than before. He avoided my most vital points and made sure never to attack near my head, neck, or close to my heart, but that was expected. He wanted me alive, not dead.

As for how alive…Raffael couldn’t care less. He nearly lobbed off one of my arms at the end of a rapid movement sequence, but missed the last attack when I unleashed Mirage once more.

This time, I did not blind him. I feinted an ether-based flashbang and went invisible before his eyes instead. Flapping my wings, I pushed backward and Blinked away. Then, just as I thought I had escaped the Ruler’s wrath, he emerged before me.

“I don’t need to see you to know where you are,” he growled, bleeding from the side. His spear was about to cleave down on me when a pained, and not all that mighty, roar reverberated through the surroundings.

Raffael’s expression darkened. He grimaced and clutched his chest in pain, his head snapping upward to the battle in the sky.

“No, you won’t!” the Ruler of Fire roared, kicking the ground to leap into the air.

I blinked before him once more, trying to stop him, but all I received in response was a five-meter-tall Hellhound leaping at me.

“Shred him, cripple him, just don’t kill him,” Raffael Torch snarled as he pushed past me and into the sky.

I tried to help, but a claw coated in dark fire swept past my face, missing it by a hair’s breadth.

Let’s end this one first. Fast.

Aureus proposed, and I couldn’t agree more.

Raffael Torch could only bind two Soulkins to his broken World. Killing the Hellhound would weaken him greatly.

Now I only had to find a way to do just that. Preferably before Raffael and the Magma Dragon killed Merlin and Dirk.