“We are sacrificing mortals,” Friedrich corrected.
“Ah, I see. That does change things.”
“Yes, it does,” Friedrich agreed, a relieved smile creeping into his face. It was fake, of course. A mere courtesy.
“Don’t misunderstand. It makes your crimes that much worse. Even if I were to give you a pass on using human sacrifice to begin with, you are effectively sacrificing children because they won’t fight back.”
“I must disappoint you if you expect me to repent or beg for forgiveness. This is simply how we, the Order of Six Truths, have done things for as long as we have existed. It is not my place to speak on the morality of it.”
“That’s not disappointing at all!” she laughed. “I’ve already decided to wipe out the lot of you; first in this city, then wherever the rest of your sect is hidden. It will be a refreshing change of pace to see filthy beasts in human skin die with a modicum of honour.”
As they spoke, Zelsys still circulated Fulgur within herself in rapidly-alternating patterns, all based on the Hammerforged Heart’s structure, all stimulating the organ in different ways. It was close. So. Damn. Close.
“Ah. There it is.”
The moment it fit was unlike any other. To compare it to being struck by the Living Storm was an insult to the flame which had just ignited within her, whose spark she had merely tasted before. It was no wonder that the Truth of Fangs was required. The absolute violence of this reaction was something beyond even a fulgur-igneic reactor.
Friedrich responded right away. His aura shifted in a subtle way, flowing within him as he drew in a breath. There was barely any tell, yet the effect was undeniable. Almost as if mirroring her own techniques, Friedrich’s body whipped forward into a double-fisted punch, and from it erupted an invisible shockwave of truly terrible power.
Friedrich didn’t see it.
He didn’t see much of anything; the light was blinding.
One moment, he was stalling her with the classical tactic of interspersing combat with conversation. He’d felt her doing something, some kind of strange internal technique, a nonsensical one with no apparent pattern. It seemed almost as if she had lost control over her own lightning and was trying to recapture it, though the way she employed it with wild abandon certainly spoke to the opposite of such a possibility. Just what was she trying to do? Confuse him? Was this some elaborate method of covering up her real internal martial arts? She wasn’t using any breathing technique that he recognized, that was for sure. The glow from inside her chest resembled the appearance of someone drawing power from a pseudo-core that was beyond what they could handle.
All of Friedrich’s theories went out the window when it clicked. Even he felt it. The woman’s aura collapsed completely; not just that strange Pseudo-Beast Aura, but also the field of Fulgur that extended out in every direction around her. He couldn’t even feel her spiritual presence for a moment.
All he could sense was blinding light. An utterly, seethingly, brilliant outpour of light, and heat, and noise, a lightning bolt howling from the ground towards the heavens. Despite lasting all of a split-second, the intensity of it had made it feel far longer. Friedrich reacted without thinking, harnessing the only technique of his own that he imagined could possibly counteract or disrupt that energy. It burned away years and years of his lifespan with the strain of its usage, and it would regress his cultivation by months of seclusion training, but what had to be done had to be done.
DELUGE SIGN
A DAM IS BROKEN
A STREAM BECOMES A FLOOD
ALL ARE SWEPT AWAY IN THE DELUGE
HEURISTIC ART: DAMBREAKER CANNON
A small part of Zelsys felt bad about what she was about to do. A very tiny part, one which empathized with who she saw in Friedrich; a man who could have been a respected ally, even a friend, under different circumstances. That is to say, if he wasn’t an active member of an extinction-worthy organization like the Order of Six Truths.
She simply brought out Carnifex, and just as she had done against Red, used it to form an umbrella-like shield, this time shrouding it in Predator Aura in addition to Fulgur. A shield of whirling blades accompanied by claws and maws of lightning took shape, its bluish hue almost creating the appearance of water swarming with horrifying monsters.
The impact of Friedrich’s Dambreaker Cannon would not be denied, however. Whatever was behind it, it created a truly terrible power, one sufficient to send Zelsys flying. In the process of clashing with her own defense, the blast of force scattered so violently that it separated Carnifex’ many segments and, for lack of a better term, carried them off into the surrounding environment.
Zel righted herself as she flew, effortlessly pulling her scattered Fangs back together before she landed, sliding a short distance before she managed to halt herself using her left hand as a brake.
Friedrich stood, wavering, staring at her. He gathered himself, and as he did, so did she.
He had rudely interrupted her, denying her the opportunity to name the frightful power beating in her heart, this terrible thing which she had created within herself. All along, this was what Conqueror’s Mantle had been imitating. All along, she had been reaching for this, like a blind man trying to paint the sun, and only now did she have eyes to see.
Only now did she have everything needed. To call this a “Mantle” would be incorrect. She wasn’t playing at a storm, or taking on the aspect of a Thundergod. This was hers and hers alone.
ABSOLUTE VIOLENCE SIGN
A STAR OF LIGHTNING WITHIN ONE’S HEART
FORMLESS DESTROYER SCRIPTURE: VOLUME ONE
GEHEIMNIS: KUGELBLITZ INCARNATION
Friedrich beheld a human, a beast, and even a creature possessing such a presence as to warp the world merely by being… And yet, it was alien. By all accounts she gave off a presence alike to Lord Fourth in magnitude, yet she was unfamiliar, unorthodox, abnormal. The woman’s aura did not spill out, and she did not burn with such spiritual pressure as to destroy her surroundings.
Metal. Lightning. Flesh. Fury. Clarity. Evolution.
Ego and Violence.
Akaso
If you’d like to read ahead, consider heading on over to the Patreon! You get up to 20 advance chapters for both Retribution Engine and Cherno Caster.
I’d also greatly appreciate it if you could rate my story, maybe even leave a review or advanced review!
For a link to the discord, check the synopsis.
“We are sacrificing mortals,” Friedrich corrected.
“Ah, I see. That does change things.”
“Yes, it does,” Friedrich agreed, a relieved smile creeping into his face. It was fake, of course. A mere courtesy.
“Don’t misunderstand. It makes your crimes that much worse. Even if I were to give you a pass on using human sacrifice to begin with, you are effectively sacrificing children because they won’t fight back.”
“I must disappoint you if you expect me to repent or beg for forgiveness. This is simply how we, the Order of Six Truths, have done things for as long as we have existed. It is not my place to speak on the morality of it.”
“That’s not disappointing at all!” she laughed. “I’ve already decided to wipe out the lot of you; first in this city, then wherever the rest of your sect is hidden. It will be a refreshing change of pace to see filthy beasts in human skin die with a modicum of honour.”
As they spoke, Zelsys still circulated Fulgur within herself in rapidly-alternating patterns, all based on the Hammerforged Heart’s structure, all stimulating the organ in different ways. It was close. So. Damn. Close.
“Ah. There it is.”
The moment it fit was unlike any other. To compare it to being struck by the Living Storm was an insult to the flame which had just ignited within her, whose spark she had merely tasted before. It was no wonder that the Truth of Fangs was required. The absolute violence of this reaction was something beyond even a fulgur-igneic reactor.
Friedrich responded right away. His aura shifted in a subtle way, flowing within him as he drew in a breath. There was barely any tell, yet the effect was undeniable. Almost as if mirroring her own techniques, Friedrich’s body whipped forward into a double-fisted punch, and from it erupted an invisible shockwave of truly terrible power.
Friedrich didn’t see it.
He didn’t see much of anything; the light was blinding.
One moment, he was stalling her with the classical tactic of interspersing combat with conversation. He’d felt her doing something, some kind of strange internal technique, a nonsensical one with no apparent pattern. It seemed almost as if she had lost control over her own lightning and was trying to recapture it, though the way she employed it with wild abandon certainly spoke to the opposite of such a possibility. Just what was she trying to do? Confuse him? Was this some elaborate method of covering up her real internal martial arts? She wasn’t using any breathing technique that he recognized, that was for sure. The glow from inside her chest resembled the appearance of someone drawing power from a pseudo-core that was beyond what they could handle.
All of Friedrich’s theories went out the window when it clicked. Even he felt it. The woman’s aura collapsed completely; not just that strange Pseudo-Beast Aura, but also the field of Fulgur that extended out in every direction around her. He couldn’t even feel her spiritual presence for a moment.
All he could sense was blinding light. An utterly, seethingly, brilliant outpour of light, and heat, and noise, a lightning bolt howling from the ground towards the heavens. Despite lasting all of a split-second, the intensity of it had made it feel far longer. Friedrich reacted without thinking, harnessing the only technique of his own that he imagined could possibly counteract or disrupt that energy. It burned away years and years of his lifespan with the strain of its usage, and it would regress his cultivation by months of seclusion training, but what had to be done had to be done.
DELUGE SIGN
A DAM IS BROKEN
A STREAM BECOMES A FLOOD
ALL ARE SWEPT AWAY IN THE DELUGE
HEURISTIC ART: DAMBREAKER CANNON
A small part of Zelsys felt bad about what she was about to do. A very tiny part, one which empathized with who she saw in Friedrich; a man who could have been a respected ally, even a friend, under different circumstances. That is to say, if he wasn’t an active member of an extinction-worthy organization like the Order of Six Truths.
She simply brought out Carnifex, and just as she had done against Red, used it to form an umbrella-like shield, this time shrouding it in Predator Aura in addition to Fulgur. A shield of whirling blades accompanied by claws and maws of lightning took shape, its bluish hue almost creating the appearance of water swarming with horrifying monsters.
The impact of Friedrich’s Dambreaker Cannon would not be denied, however. Whatever was behind it, it created a truly terrible power, one sufficient to send Zelsys flying. In the process of clashing with her own defense, the blast of force scattered so violently that it separated Carnifex’ many segments and, for lack of a better term, carried them off into the surrounding environment.
Zel righted herself as she flew, effortlessly pulling her scattered Fangs back together before she landed, sliding a short distance before she managed to halt herself using her left hand as a brake.
Friedrich stood, wavering, staring at her. He gathered himself, and as he did, so did she.
He had rudely interrupted her, denying her the opportunity to name the frightful power beating in her heart, this terrible thing which she had created within herself. All along, this was what Conqueror’s Mantle had been imitating. All along, she had been reaching for this, like a blind man trying to paint the sun, and only now did she have eyes to see.
Only now did she have everything needed. To call this a “Mantle” would be incorrect. She wasn’t playing at a storm, or taking on the aspect of a Thundergod. This was hers and hers alone.
ABSOLUTE VIOLENCE SIGN
A STAR OF LIGHTNING WITHIN ONE’S HEART
FORMLESS DESTROYER SCRIPTURE: VOLUME ONE
GEHEIMNIS: KUGELBLITZ INCARNATION
Friedrich beheld a human, a beast, and even a creature possessing such a presence as to warp the world merely by being… And yet, it was alien. By all accounts she gave off a presence alike to Lord Fourth in magnitude, yet she was unfamiliar, unorthodox, abnormal. The woman’s aura did not spill out, and she did not burn with such spiritual pressure as to destroy her surroundings.
Metal. Lightning. Flesh. Fury. Clarity. Evolution.
Ego and Violence.
Akaso
If you’d like to read ahead, consider heading on over to the Patreon! You get up to 20 advance chapters for both Retribution Engine and Cherno Caster.
I’d also greatly appreciate it if you could rate my story, maybe even leave a review or advanced review!
For a link to the discord, check the synopsis.
