Chapter 22: Rising

“Heeeeeello! Hello! Hello! How’s the killing, Little Haddy?” A loud, boisterous yell greeted Lord Hadrion as he floated at the base of the World Bridge to Taprisha, the early morning light pouring down on him. Hadrion sighed.

“Eren. It’s been a while.” He slowly turned to look at the being that was approaching him.

Standing roughly 3 meters tall, covered in rippling muscles, with skin that was a very dull red, the being before him looked nothing like a Wizard. The long orange robe he wore did little to convince onlookers. A heavy, sharp aura seemed to emanate off of him, as if he was about to slice apart space itself.

Yet, despite his appearance, Eren Kirstein was one of the most accomplished Lord Class Wizards in the Sundering Department. He also wasn’t a human.

He was, instead, a member of the Titan Race.

Titans were humanoids that were renowned for their ferocious strength and enormous stature. Eren was robust even among Titans, a veritable noble of his race. In sheer strength alone he measured up to a peak Grandmaster Class beast.

While the Borrel Autarchy was dominated by Humans, and largely considered a ‘Human’ kingdom or place of rule, that didn’t mean other races weren’t allowed to live here. Far from it, the Wizard King Telmon, over the course of his nearly 400 year reign, had implemented sweeping changes in regards to how race as treated.

No matter what skin color, or creed, you believed in or had, all races and kinds were welcome in the Autarchy.

The Sundering Department was a Department renowned for having nonhuman Wizards, largely due to the type of Magic itself. Sundering Magic was one of the most offensive styles of magic in existence. Many beasts or nonhumans appreciated this type of magic, and the overwhelming attacks contained within.

The chief reason, however, was the strain Sundering Magic had on the body. Casting even the most basic spells required a very robust physical form, but relatively low requirements in terms of magic sensitivity.

Hadrion had recently killed a member of the Sundering Department, another Titan, but one that was suspected of, and eventually proven to be, a traitor. The battle had proven fierce, one that destroyed an entire mountain range, and earned him a huge amount of merit.

As a result, however, his relationship with the Sundering Department had soured. Even if the Titan was a traitor, the fact that he killed a member of their Department, and a fellow nonhuman, had spurred resentment.

“Hahaha, yes it is! Yes it has!” The Titan had an odd manner of speaking, where he repeated himself for emphasis. A fierce grin shined on his mostly humanoid face as he glared at Hadrion. He had a short nose that had been broken before, a strong jawline, and powerful, piercing red eyes. His short, white hair was stark, and stood out. His tone was decidedly unfriendly.

Eren was currently floating on a large, ten meter long black metal blade, in mid-air. A trio of beautiful women stood behind him, two dressed in the customary blue robes of the Fate Department, while one wearing a set of black leather armor that he didn’t recognize. Faintly, he detected traces of Curse Magic from her. He wrinkled his nose at the scent.

“So where is this little beasty?” Eren clapped his hands together, his eyes darting to the left and right.

“You have your own team, yes? Find him yourself.” Hadrion’s voice was calm and gruff. Having other Lord Class Wizards with him would only be a good thing if he trusted them.

“Yessss, exactly. To each our own.” Another voice chimed in as another figure appeared. A man wearing a full set of black robes, with a high black belt wrapped around him. His face was covered with a simple dark mask and hood, blocking his appearance.

His words slurred, slightly, as he spoke, a result of some unknown injury.

He was floating in the air, only half visible. His form was shrouded in darkness, and no one else appeared to be with him.

“Shadow Mask.” He nodded, acknowledging the Lord Class Darkness Wizard.

The Darkness and Sundering Department were the two closest Departments to his own, the Black Lightning Department. He knew almost all of his fellow Lord Class Wizards in each Department, having encountered many of them before on various missions.

“You all may ssstay here assss the rearguard. My sshadowsss will hunt the beassst down and find it. Your sservicessss are unneeded.” Shadow Mask’s voice was raspy, and filled with arrogance.

“Haha! Haha! Haha! Not a bad idea, Little Masky! Let this be a hunt for the records! A competition!” The Titan Eren broke in, smiling ferociously. Neither he nor Shadow Mask appeared to be taking this quite seriously.

Shadow Mask didn’t deign to respond, instead vanishing from sight. The Titan Eren gave Hadrion a derisive look before turning, his enormous flying sword floating off towards the nearby Capital of the Tandor Empire, Yum City.

Hadrion sighed again and shrugged, twitching his fingers. All around him, spreading out for miles, several small black lightning bolts flashed.

After flying all the way to the World Bridge, Hadrion had set up a complex network of lightning particles, stretching into a huge, invisible bubble that surrounded the entire complex.

The spell, known as Lightning Magic: Electric Field, was normally one that could stretch a few miles at most. He’d been forced to use Lightning Magic: Greater Amplify, to stretch it. Maintaining such a spell was tiring, but he had no other reasonable way to watch the massive World Bridge that existed for dozens of miles.

Any creature that moved into or out of the World Bridge he was immediately aware of. The field also served to create an odd, unsettling feeling that drove away most wildlife, leaving only those that were at the Earth Class or above. This particular World Bridge was set like an enormous savanna, unlike the large river the World Bridge to Mesor held.

His electric field not only covered the surface, but also several miles into the sky, and underground.

He felt an ache in his eyes. He rubbed them and waved a finger. Immediately, a small, glowing white pill appeared in his hand. A famed ‘Light Pill’ produced by practitioners of Light Magic. Light Magic and White Magic were the two styles of magic that competed for the crown of ‘Greatest Healing Magic.’

Light Pills were imbued with the essence of a high class healing spell, and could be used to replenish one’s energy. This particular one was created by a Grandmaster Class Light Wizard, requiring an entire day’s focus.

Using them to replenish one’s energy to avoid sleep was an absurd expense, but he had little choice.

He’d spread out his men, 6 Grandmaster Class Black Lightning Wizards, and a dozen Master Class Black Lightning Wizards, to help surround the huge World Bridge, but he didn’t trust anyone but himself to maintain a complete net.

Larah’s Fate Wizards were either working to find the drake, or resting. The block on fate was weakening, but it was gradually becoming harder to pinpoint the dragon.

They’d managed to determine it was within a few hundred miles of the Bridge, but that was it.

For now… they would have to wait.

..

In a small inn in Yum City, a mid-sized private bedroom currently fluttered with light.

Blinding white light covered William’s form as he floated in the air, feeling an incredible transformation rock his soul. Tens of thousands of symbols fluttered around his Soul Spell Matrix, unfolding into complex patterns and mysterious shapes.

His eyes shined as he felt his body tremble, ecstasy and joy flooding him.

Tentatively, a small barrier of energy began to wrap around him, a transparent, almost invisible layer of protection. As this appeared, his Soul underwent a qualitative change, becoming several times stronger.

He had just undergone a baptism of the laws of magic, and broken into the Master Class.

The past day and night had been a transformative one for him.

After being forced to move alongside Lord Hadrion and the team hunting down that dragon, William had been unceremoniously dumped off in Yum City, the Capital of the Tandor Empire, extremely far away from his home in the Obsidia River Empire.

During the trip here, and the entire night, William had stayed up going over the inheritance he had received from that strange fallen Wizard.

The more of the knowledge he read and absorbed from the cluster of symbols in his soul, the more and more it made sense. The unorthodox method of studying Light Magic had appeared strange in his eyes, at first. But after constant exposure, his general understanding of magic had begun to change.

Every spell became a song to him, one of beauty and mystery. Combining symbols in one manner or another was like creating a beautiful painting, and marveling at it.

The dead Wizard’s past experiences in regards to Light Magic had flooded into his mind, the exact knowledge he needed to know appearing when he needed it. He was like a sponge, soaking up information at an incredible rate.

He managed to break through the Mortal Class, the Earth Class, and the Sky Class in a single night.

He relied upon his soul already being at the Sky Class to survive the brunt of this breakthrough. And, despite only then being at Sky Class, his understanding of Light Magic had managed to reach the Master Class before he was forced to stop, his head threatening to implode.

Each Class beyond Master Class, he knew, would require step by step growth. He’d only managed to break so in his understanding so quickly thanks to his soul already being at Sky Class.

Still, to do this all in a single night… the powers gifted by the fallen Wizard in his inheritance were truly absurd.

“Incredible.” He muttered, waving his hands together. A beam of light jumped from one hand to another, moving at a fantastic speed. This beam was about the size of his hand, but only a few inches thick.

This was a spell the fallen Angelic Class Wizard had created on his own. A fantastic transport spell called Light Magic: Riding Light.

He looked across the small beam and held it in his hand for a second, looking at his room.

It wasn’t too large, only about 8 meters across. A private, inn bedroom, with a small nightstand, a bed, and a few paintings on the wall. A hard wood floor covered by a plain rug. Nothing luxurious.

He flicked his hand forward.

As he did so, the small beam of light in his hand shot forward and landed on the opposite side of the room.

As soon as it landed, almost instantaneously, his body vanished and reappeared, in the spot where he had sent the light beam.

“Awesome!” William grinned, pumping his fist in the air. Light Magic was truly amazing!

As he considered this, his mind went to how he had obtained this, and his smile lessened. He looked down at his hands, and then clenched them, a decision made in his heart.

He would not let that dragon walk into this trap if he had a say in this.

..

In a small, random field two dozen miles north of Yum City, a three meter tall green scaled dragon appeared, rising in the early morning light. Dirt brushed off his scales, cascading down in a flood.

“Mmmm.” Dorian yawned and stretched his draconic form, feeling a deep warmth in his scales. He pulled a random Magic Herb out of the Spatial Pouch he’d tied around his neck, sating his appetite and thirst. Magic Herbs truly were a miracle food you could live entirely off of.

He then turned towards the south, where the massive pillar of land that was the World Bridge was located.

His eyes flashed. Instead of asking Ausra to do anything, he willed his body to change.

Gradually his body began to shift, the green scales twisting, his arms and legs distorting. In just a few split seconds, his enormous 3 meter tall body shrank to a much smaller, barely 1 meter tall Red Salamander. In length, he was about 2 meters long, with heavy, plated red scales and a line of sharp spikes down his spine.

His Elder Salamander form.

“Weraagisf!” (It worked!) He said aloud, completely butchering the words as he tried to speak. He realized, to his consternation, that he couldn’t speak like normal in his Red Salamander form. The vocal chords of a Red Salamander were odd and didn’t quite allow for it.

He’d gradually come to sense that all the abilities Ausra had were actually his own, coming from his Soul Spell Matrix. Even Ausra itself was merely a construct of his own power.

If he was being attacked, it would be far too dangerous to have to ask Ausra to change one of his forms to another.

Rather, just by using his will, he could cause his forms to change.

He smiled, his teeth pulled up in a snarl on his Salamander form, and began to run south, in a path that would circle the Capital and head straight for the World Bridge, doing his best to look like a wild beast.

..

Floating several miles in front of the World Bridge, in the direction of Yum City, were a cohort of large, black metal swords with several figures standing on them.

Most of the figures were humans, but three were large, red skinned Titans. Some wore loose orange robes while others were dressed in tight fitting black metal armor. All three titans were dressed in a full suit of black armor, reinforced by what appeared to be thousands of tiny swords linked together.

Eren hummed happily to himself as he folded his hands together, looking in the direction of the city. He was sitting on the edge of his floating blade, his legs hanging off.

“Your Lordship.” One of the beautiful trio of women standing on his blade stepped forward next to him. Her blue robes swayed slowly, clinging tightly to her body.

“Yes? Yes. Yes, Mayne.” He replied, his eyes shining.

“I can’t determine an exact location, but we know the disturbance in Fate is somewhere within a hundred miles of here.” Her voice was calm, matching her peaceful blue eyes.

“I see, I see.” Eren’s voice rumbled. Small, tiny blades floated above his head, transparent and ephemeral. He scratched at his head, ruffling his white hair.

“It is a competition now.” He stretched his arms, his muscles bulging. A small smile appeared on his face as he stood up, looking towards his subordinates.

“ATTENTION!” His voice boomed out, an explosive one full of authority and power. Instantly all the Wizards on flying swords turned and bowed slightly, at attention. A powerful, sharp Aura spread off of Eren, his strength as a Lord Class Wizard fully revealed.

The three Titans floated to the front of the crowd, bending down on one knee before him.

“Mayne. Greta.” He called out, waving with his hands. Immediately the woman wearing a set of tight black leather armor stepped forward, standing next to Mayne.

“You two will go with Byrus and take the western side of the Bridge. Laura, you will stay with me in the center. Ugdol and Barrack you two will take the eastern side. Everyone else pair up with your usual team leaders.” His voice shook the air as the Wizards began to split apart, gathering behind the three Titans.

“We are on the watch for a small, green scaled drake. It is wily, and powerful. If you see it, you are not to engage it, but to instead send a Shearing Blade into the air.” He clapped his hands together, making a sound much like thunder.

“Move out!”

..

“Go my beautiesss… sssearch the ssshadowss… find the green ssscaled dragon…” A black robed man stood floating on a disk of darkness, several miles above the ground. Darkness flowed about him like a river as several shadow forms broke off, hundreds of them blasting downward.

“Find it…”

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