City of Sin

Book 7, 40

Sharon’s Magic

Richard felt a chill running down his spine as Julian smirked. He had beaten the man in this exchange, but that was mainly because he had been underestimated. Decked out in terrifying runes including layers of Lifesbane that turned even the smallest of wounds into lethal ones, he also had the advantage in martial arts with his skills being developed for areas under the control of the Eternal Dragon. Still, he was barely superior in combat. One could only tell who was truly stronger once the legend started attacking in full earnest.

He said nothing as his hand stroked Moonlight’s blade, birthing sapphire flames on the sword as he prepared for another flurry of attacks. This engagement was just as quick and brutal as the last one, but now the blue flames danced with no signs of weakening as the weapon slashed and jabbed from all angles.

Julian chose to evade as much as he could, not letting the blade even touch him as his figure flickered mysteriously in the night sky. Even Richard couldn’t simulate his future actions, a result of the pure chaos that allowed the man to operate on pure instinct. Having been injured in the first go, he was now wary of being touched again; he thus just spent time trying to avoid getting hit while waiting for his clones to kill off Waterflower and Nasia before merging back to him.

While she was a saint as well, Waterflower’s abilities weren’t tailored to fighting multiple opponents at once. She slowly lost ground in the one-on-two fight, but the Shepherd of Eternal Rest danced in the air as it blocked all attacks and even retaliated on occasion, scaring off the clones. These clones had sensed a real danger of death from her blade.

Julian almost gasped in surprise as he saw this; the young lady’s battle capabilities far exceed his expectations. He had thought of everyone in Norland as dogs, with even the legends only being a little bigger, but she seemed to be able to fight even him off at the same level. When she reached level 20, she would be at the peak of all saints.

Since those two wouldn’t be able to gain a quick victory, he placed his hope on the level 16 clones instead. He didn’t believe the ordinary-looking paladin would be able to survive too long when faced with his might. Once the three returned, they would be able to gang up on Waterflower and eliminate her as well.

Julian’s confidence stemmed from the fact that the faceless paladin hadn’t once attacked; after buffing Richard, she immediately pulled the three clones into a chase. This was a smart choice; if she believed Richard could beat him or Waterflower could defeat the other two clones, then buying time would give her a chance of survival as well. It was a praiseworthy strategy.

However, Julian was in no rush; as someone from the Outlands, patience was a thing he had cultivated to a high degree. Even though he was being exhausted by Richard’s endless attacks, it was the battle up above Floe Bay that truly decided victory. Besides, he could feel that those blue flames were some sort of bloodline or saint ability, not ordinary mana or energy; there had to be a limit to their usage.

...

Back in the main battle, Sharon had showcased alarming power and defence that Apeiron couldn’t even match with her bloodline activated. However, the Empress’s lightning pace overwhelmed the legendary mage as well. Neither party could contain the other; ten strikes wouldn’t hurt Sharon much, and while a single full power attack would defeat Apeiron the legendary mage wasn’t fast enough to hit.

At this point, Apeiron had changed her style and was circling Sharon from half a kilometre away. She was mimicking an archer’s stance with neither bow nor arrow, but whenever she let go arrows of grey energy shot towards Sharon and reached the mage within moments. Despite Sharon’s best efforts, a little under half of them struck and sent her flying ten metres back at a time, face turning pale; these attacks were so powerful that an ordinary legend would be injured in one blow.

Sharon had unfathomable bodily strength, but she still felt pain every time she was shot. Her defences were of no use, even level 9 barriers only halving the arrows’ might. A powerful Gravitational Guard spell would have formed a layer of yellow earth around her body to help, but that was completely contrary to her aesthetics. If this went on, she would eventually die at Apeiron’s hands.

The legendary mage suddenly froze in the sky, her expression clouding over until it was frightening. Another grey arrow shot towards her, but it was suddenly blocked by a dark blue force field even as astral energy started radiating from her body. All of the subsequent arrows were blown apart, while the remaining astral energy started dancing in circles around her. It looked like Sharon was a beautiful goddess descending from the sky.

Apeiron’s eyes narrowed, “So this is the Deepblue Aria known for its attack and defence... Really terrifying, I’m growing more and more curious about you!”

Sharon remained silent as she traced an outline in the sky with her hands. Before even a second had passed, an enormous portal appeared in mid-air.

The Empress laughed condescendingly, “What, running away already? Or do you want to summon those dragons of yours...”

Before she could finish, her eyes opened wide. Sharon wasn’t summoning anything, instead moulding the incomplete portal into a ball the height of a person. She felt her heart freezing up; portal explosions were some of the worst disasters in history, and Sharon was now messing with an enormous one. Just how much condensed spatial energy could that thing hold? Was she thinking of killing herself?

But even Apeiron knew that the terrifying legendary mage wasn’t suicidal. Sharon wound up for a throw before shouting, chucking the glowing ball straight at the Empress’s face.

“You crazy bitch!” Apeiron shrieked as she turned and fled, her figure disappearing from the sky. The ball of light grew even more glaring as it flew past, eventually so bright one couldn’t even look at it directly. From afar, it looked like a sun was rising over the bay as an enormous ball of flames rose into the sky; dark red flames billowed out into a mushroom cloud that floated up above. The entire sea seemed to rise up more than ten metres, forming a wall of water that surged towards the coast. The tidal wave grew even further to thirty metres as it crashed into the cliff violently, causing a thunderous roar that sent ripples of energy through all of Norland.

Several powerful conscients awakened in the void around Norland, all of them focusing on Floe Bay.

Several kilometres away from the core of the explosion, Apeiron stumbled out from the void while coughing up blood. She looked towards Sharon with a complicated expression, never having expected such a terrifying attack. Just the aftermath had left her with injuries; the attack could raze an entire city to the ground.

Was this even human? As soon as thigh thought crossed her heart, the Empress laughed and corrected herself. Of course Sharon wasn’t human.

However, her eyes suddenly narrowed once more; Sharon had raised her hands again, and there was another ball of light within! The legendary mage’s azure pupils drilled into Apeiron’s, and she threw the death ball out once again. This time, the Empress didn’t even have any time to shriek as she dove into the void.

Another huge fireball lit up Floe Bay, turning into a mushroom cloud that slowly dispersed from the sky. This time Apeiron only managed to get a kilometre away, her face pale from serious injuries that had also affected her existing ones. However, she showed no signs of fear as her face started glowing, and she stared death at Sharon and cried out, “I want to see just how many more of these you can make!”