BOOK 4: CHAPTER 14: ANCIENT LAWS

A blade of Rend blossomed out of nothingness. It whisked through the air, split the surrounding space, and cleaved through the Death Knight’s helmet, along with the cold, flickering soulflame.

Rend severed everything obstructing its path—except for David. The tendrils of Deryadus’ Arm were unscathed, and so was his pure Blood and Vitae.

“Damn,” David gasped, feeling like he had just done something extraordinary.

However, just as suddenly as he had gained access to the Weave and its power, it disappeared. His Source was screaming, and thin, cobweb-like cracks spread across its surface. It was severely strained – more than ever before. This time, the lines engraved on the Source suffered as well. The cracks in the Source ripped the lines apart, severing his access to them.

The Beacon of Life dispersed, and the last remnants of the Domain of Vitae ceased as well. In the same instant, a holographic screen materialized before him.

[By unleashing the power as an Ascendant, you have been granted access to the Weave. Do tread carefully. The Weave is the greatest being. Treat it with respect, and it may treat you kindly in return. Exploit it, and true death is all that awaits.

You have grasped the Law governing Rend, yet you were unable to make it yours. Deepen your understanding of Rend, the Law you desire to control, and the Weave to gain full access to the Ancient Laws and their Aspects.]

That was a strange notification, which David dismissed as he fell to the ground. He tried to retain the sensation Rend’s Law had created deep within him, but it seeped out of him, cruel and unbidding. The Law did not want to stay with him. Worse still, David had been so close to attaining a Law through his own effort, yet it felt like he was further away than ever now that the sensation had been taken from him.

[You have defeated Ancient Death Knight, Siegas (Platinum III).]

It was the first time in a long while that he received a kill notification, but it arrived just in time. David had been so focused on retaining the Law, he had nearly forgotten about his impending death. The Death Knight may be dead, yet that didn’t change his condition. The cursed sword was still inside him, and so were the curses and the condensed presence of death. Worse, his lifeforce was still being drained, even though the Ancient Death Knight had been defeated.

Vitae surged out of the Corrupted Divine Heart, devouring the remains of the Ancient Death Knight. It was about to consume the cursed sword as well when something stirred in his mind space and drew his attention. The Obsidian Blade, his trusted soulbound weapon, stirred and manifested before him.

David didn’t know what he was supposed to do, but he trusted his instincts and grasped the Obsidian Blade once his tendril-like fingers had reshaped into a hand. He clutched the blade tightly and listened intently to the soulbound weapon’s intent. Although David was confused by the emotions and impressions reaching him, he complied and moved instinctively, thrusting the Obsidian Blade into the Ancient Death Knight’s cursed sword.

Nothing grand should have happened. First of all, he didn’t have the strength or momentum to execute a fierce thrust filled with immense power. If anything, his attack was lackluster. Second, the cursed sword was damaged, but that didn’t mean a light thrust would destroy it.

But logic didn’t seem to apply this time, as the Obsidian Blade phased smoothly through the cursed sword. There was no sound of steel hitting steel. It was almost like the world around him had swallowed all noise as he stared at the distortion of space where the two blades overlapped.

David failed to understand what was happening, but he sensed a change in the Obsidian Blade as the distortion expanded into a maelstrom consuming both weapons. The part of the cursed sword that was still stuck in his chest was suddenly gone. So was the rest of the cursed sword, as a matter of fact.

He had to triple-check the maelstrom that had formed from the two weapons. They intertwined with one another and…fused? David cocked his head to the side and grimaced.

“This is… forget it.” He shook his head. “Do whatever you want.”

He had other matters to attend to—his body, for one. The death of the Lich and the Wailing Banshee, for another.

[The Wailing Banshee (Platinum II)] has been defeated. You have contributed greatly to her defeat!]

[+1 Blood]

That fucktard just killed his ally. What a bastard.

The corner of David’s lips curled upward. No matter how he looked at the Lich, the undead was the incarnation of an opportunist. Not that it was a bad thing. David actually liked that. He was already exhausted and didn’t want to listen to the Wailing Banshee’s screams any longer. It was a good thing that she would be silent forever. ꞦäNȰ𝐛ÈṠ

The annoying part? The Lich was still alive and unscathed.

A clattering of bones rang in his ears as he lay there in the center of the ground, and it didn’t take long before the Lich appeared in his periphery. The undead hovered above him, the soulflames burning in its eye sockets lingering on him.

The Lich lowered its jaw and laughed heartily, reminding David of the cheesy villain movies he’d watched years ago. It took the Lich a while to stop laughing, which David took advantage of. He cast [Lifeweaver’s Bond] on himself and analyzed his situation.

While his Source was on the verge of breaking, the Sacred Beast Core and his other Blood storages could still be utilized. Besides, his Source was already empty. There was no need to strain it any further.

“You fool.” A hoarse, ancient-sounding voice resounded. It boomed and hurt his ears, but David was more fascinated by the language, and the fact that he could understand everything being said even though he shouldn’t have been able to.

“I did not expect one of you foolish cretins to be strong enough to do my dirty work, but here we are. A fool on a fool’s errand accomplished everything I had planned – and more,” the Lich shouted and resumed cackling.

David listened half-heartedly. He was certain the Lich would soon start shouting his dreams of world dominion and similar nonsense, but that was probably for the best. The more the Lich talked, the more time he would have to expel that damn curse.

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“You, being the foolish cretin you are, accelerated my plans. If not for you, fool, I would have had to play with those morons for a few more years. Fortunately, that was not necessary. Thank you, fool.”

Bro, can you shut up for a moment?! David cursed, gritting his teeth as he located the areas the curse had already spread. He ushered Vitae to spread through him and willed it to devour most of his abdomen, alongside his gallbladder, liver, pancreas, and a portion of both his large and small intestines. It was not as painful as he’d expected, but the sensation was odd nonetheless. Losing so many organs, in addition to a considerable amount of blood and flesh, was uncomfortable to say the least. And it would have been scary if he had to rely on others to heal himself.

Fortunately, that was not the case.

He overclocked [True Restoration] after applying and overclocking [Herald’s Blessing] on the former’s Skill Rune. Following that, David willed the pure Blood stored within the storage in his shoulder and drained it at once. Twenty droplets of pure Blood—each formed with three times the amount of lifeforce and Origin Essence and further amplified by circulating through Deryadus’ Arm to strengthen their healing properties—were used to fix him within seconds.

“You do realize that you’re quite annoying, right?” David groaned, leaping to his feet as the mess of his upper body fixed itself magically. It hurt, but so did the Lich’s nonsense.

“Calling me a fool over and over again is plain stupid, and I hope you understand that you’re projecting. I might not be the smartest, but at least I’m not as foolish as you are.” He chuckled, releasing a shockwave of Vitae into the surroundings, obliterating the undead that had charged into the campus as the Domain of Vitae dispersed.

He may not be able to use the Words of Power or the Domain of Vitae without putting his Source into unnecessary danger, but he could still use Vitae and pure Blood.

Dozens of bloody projectiles emerged around him on command. They swirled around him like tiny, twinkling stars and burst in all directions, transforming into crimson shooting stars, piercing brains and undead cores all the same.

The Divine Seed pulsated vibrantly, providing him with more and more power as Vitae spread out, consuming hundreds of corpses. Simultaneously, more bonds were forming. However, the new bonds weren’t those of Favor. They were bonds of Conflict. But these bonds were connected to Favor as well. No, they were two different bonds, yet they were all linked to the same person, intertwining and providing him with even more power.

Bonds of Favor and Conflict formed simultaneously, and David knew why. He could feel it, or was it better to call ‘it’ her?

David stood unmoving, even as the Lich gathered its power in a fit of rage.

What a fragile ego. Calling him foolish once was enough to enrage him?

His smile widened, which seemed to ignite the Lich’s wrath all the more, but David wasn’t paying attention to that fool any longer. The Lich was as good as dead at this point.

A massive sphere of death formed atop the Lich’s wand. It pointed the wand at David and shouted something, but his focus lingered momentarily on the myriad of innocent souls stored within the sphere of death. They screamed and thrashed, trying desperately to escape the confines of the death sphere.

The projectile was definitely strong enough to kill David, as long as it hit him. However, the Lich was too focused on David to realize what was happening around him. Its wrath, and the concentration required to conjure and maintain the death sphere filled with thousands of souls, demanded its full attention, enough to render it oblivious to the dark-violet lightning currents that riveted through Liear, tearing through the masses of undead, killing them in the hundreds.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and it didn’t take long before a massive figure, shimmering vibrant crimson, burst through the clouds. The figure was dozens of meters long and clad in mesmerizing feathered wings tucked against her serpentine form as she dove to the ground.

She did not seem to particularly mind the Lich’s existence, let alone the death sphere, as she smashed into the undead creature, hurling it aside. Her descent continued until she crashed straight into David, who welcomed her with wide-open arms… and fused with her.

Electra was back.

Their connection jumped back to life, filling him with emotions, images, and complaints. Plenty of the latter, but David didn’t complain even as the Sacred Beast’s presence filled his very being. Quite the contrary, he took in the Sacred Beast as an extension of his body. After all, at this point, Electra was a part of him. She was not only his Champion but also a crucial part of his very being.

His shoulder blades twitched as Electra settled down within him. She moved through him and slowed only once she reached his back. Pure Blood sloshed through him, threatening to escape his control. But David didn’t force it to obey. Curious what Electra was doing with his Blood, he let her be.

Wings of pure Blood sprouted from his back—long, feathered wings that reminded him of the Sacred Beast’s appendages. David knew he wasn’t born with wings, and he knew he shouldn’t be able to move the unfamiliar body parts freely. However, they moved at will and flapped once, barreling him high into the air.

David couldn’t hold back his smile any longer. His lips parted, and he flashed his white teeth at the scrambling Lich as the clouds overhead gathered in one spot—directly above them.

A halo, faint and semi-translucent, formed around David, revealing the Sacred Beast in her full glory, all while arcs of lightning riveted through the clouds, displaying a mesmerizing scenery of black currents intertwining with pristine-white arcs.

“You took your damn time,” David snickered to his Champion before turning to the Lich.

His smile widened as the aspect of death and the souls forced within the Lich’s death sphere dispersed, fleeing the Lich’s control. Then he raised his hand.

The clouds darkened, and the lightning currents expanded. They grew thicker, faster, and deadlier as the energy accumulated within the Sacred Beast Core diminished rapidly. A dozen pure Blood droplets were drained in an instant, yet the drainage didn’t stop until more than 100 droplets had been consumed.

That should be enough, he thought, taking a deep breath.

“Greet the other Rulers for me,” David muttered, unleashing two intertwining lightning bolts that couldn’t have been more different. They were pitch-black and pristine-white, yet there were two things that connected them. One was David, and the other was their overwhelming destructive force.

The lightning bolt zapped past David and struck true. It incinerated the Lich, whose pained screams resounded as the lightning burned through the undead’s soulflames, extinguishing its very being.

[You have defeated the Lich of Deaths and Curses (Platinum IV).]

The bolts never stopped wreaking havoc. They pierced through concrete and erupted, splattering arcs of black and white in all directions, incinerating the remaining dead roaming the campus. Two unfortunate Classers were struck and nearly incinerated by the lethal arcs as well, but David reacted in time and preserved their lives.

The pained screams and groans of the Classers reached his ears, but he tuned them out, casting [Weave of Life], [Vital Weaving], and [True Restoration]. They would survive, and David was certain the Classers would come out of this stronger than ever. Just like he did.

Closing his eyes, David savored the bonds of Favor and Conflict ripple and shift. The bonds of Favor intensified and grew firmer and more numerous, whereas the bonds of Conflict seemed to stagnate.

“It has been a while,” he muttered, and Electra responded with waves of blame, images of boredom, and frustration.

The Sacred Beast was far from weak. Sure, she had less than one-quarter of her initial pure Blood left, but her body brimmed with refined Aether. Electra wouldn’t have a problem dealing with a monster at the Platinum rank. She was still weaker than he was, yet the gap between them had shrunk considerably since their separation. Electra hadn’t been idle.

“How about helping me eradicate the undead of Liear first? We can play the blaming game later.”