[Ashborn-B1] 93. Final Spark (Patreon)

XCIII

Final Spark

Duke hoisted Judith to her feet.

Dorothy, she screamed inside herself. Her voice trembled even in her mind.

Had she…had Dorothy sacri—

Don’t…so loud…need to concentrate.

Judith nearly collapsed back onto the ground. ‘You scared the shit out of me.’ But she supposed Dorothy couldn’t be blamed.

Her gaze went to her stomach wound again. The light woven together within the cavity pulsed slow and lovingly. The blood coursing through the stitching somehow made it more appealing to the eyes.

A million questions on how Dorothy had done this entered her head, but Judith shelved them all.

The ground near them rumbled with the wrath of some fallen and forgotten deity. Tirion flicked between the tentacles, his broad, short blade cutting through the appendages that got too close for comfort.

Judith’s gaze widened more the longer she stared.

‘It’s like he’s striding on top of the light.’

He wasn’t flying. Not at all. Instead, Tirion jumped on beams of light like they were solid. There seemed to be a limit to the skill—he never ‘jumped’ more than three times in a row without a pause—but it was still a ridiculously powerful skill.

Had he received that in the Temple?

Duke exhaled. “Suddenly that bloke’s gotten all dependable, huh?”

Which got a huff out of Judith. ‘You’re just too useless,’ she wanted to say, but her throat wasn’t agreeing with her basest desires. She needed a bit more time to recover.

“We should get you to the centre of the army,” Duke said, looking to their east.

Massive shadows rammed into domes of light and formed cracks on the surface. Echoes of screams rode the wind. One of the scorn heaved its foot and the broke the instable barrier with a kick. The hole it created was big enough for the smaller scorn to pour through.

Holy Blades cleaved through the worst of the stampede, but some of the knights got overrun, and a few scorn piled on top of them and threw the soldiers to the ground. The remainder of the scorn that slipped through the cracks were served a plate of weapons strung from light.

“Are we…losing?” Judith asked.

“We’re doing fine,” Duke said. “Could activate more pillars, but the Immortals haven’t surpassed us.”

Her legs suddenly wobbled, so her full weight came to rest on Duke’s shoulders.

“Vyke?” she asked.

Duke’s pause made her look up.

“We don’t know,” he said. “He pulled back shortly after we reached the temple entrance.”

‘…Pulled back?’ He had them cornered—why would he retreat?

“Your guess is as good as mine—”

A wave of black washed out from the horizon. Before any of them could react, the riptide passed overhead and hit the pillars behind them.

Judith, shocked, cast a glance at the source of the attack. One of the fingers of the Arch-Fiend was pulsing with a dark light.

‘What in the world…’

The pillars… Dorothy groaned.

She whipped on the nearest column. The light pouring from it had lessened, albeit it not to a degree that you’d notice if you weren’t looking for it. However, all of their pillars had been hit. When summed up, the difference was noticeable.

Judith groaned at the warmth fleeing her body. Duke’s knees buckled, too. It was easy to forget: but Duke wasn’t like other cultivators. His arts stayed active as long as he was playing, which could be the entire time. The toll that took on his essence was immense.

‘He must be close to running out.’ Yet he wasn’t showing it to reassure her.

Leila appeared beside them and flourished her spear. “You done being chummy and ready to get out of here?”

Judith would’ve rolled her eyes if she had energy to spare.

“How long do we have to stay here anyway?” Leah continued.

“Until one of us wins,” Duke said.

His girlfriend jerked, then slowly turned towards him. “You serious?”

“Deadly so,” I’m afraid.

The key to winning this shrine was to eliminate the other side’s power source, so it wasn’t necessary to kill everyone one. That said, killing everyone the system had designated to the enemy force would end the shrine, and it was probably the easiest way to win the whole thing.

Judith controlled her breathing and stood on her own. “We need…to destroy their pillars.”

The darkness around the Arch-Fiend’s finger hadn’t disappeared yet, so there could be another wave coming soon. If two or three more of those hit, their side would be at a serious disadvantage.

She pointed at the sky. “Can we kill that?”

Duke shook his head. “Not with what we have now. Maybe if activate more pillars.” Which would get them more Holy Blades. However, doing so at this stage of the fight was difficult.

Their best option was to cut the beast off at the source.

“She mentioned a ritual,” Judith said, drawing glances from the other two. “The cloaked woman,” she specified. “Killing the cultist may work.”

She swallowed at the end of her sentence. Her throat wanted to explode but she didn’t let it.

Duke stared off into the distance and paused. “Kiaya may be able to handle it.”

“Kiaya?” Judith asked. If she remembered correctly that was…

“She’s been hiding from the start,” he said, “and looking for an opportunity…I think.”

Her brow rose.

He shrugged. “I cannot tell what she’s thinking. I’m not even sure if she’s fighting.”

Which meant they shouldn’t be counting on her. But was there a way for them to cross the distance and take care of the ritualists? They were barely able to keep their position as is. Who were they even going to send?

Her chest expanded and depressed. ‘We’ll have to trust her.’

She turned to Tirion, who was still fighting the eldritch beast.

They needed to find a way to help him.

It was strange. I wasn’t any more comfortable with killing than I’d been a week ago. Preferably, I’d avoid it altogether—

The thunder wreathing Raiden’s frame flashed black in certain places, the regular lightning burned to a crisp with his anger.

—so why were my insides so cold as I stared him down? I felt no remorse nor pity for him. Was it because they tried to kill me first?

My nails scraped over Skul’s scales. The loyal guardian leaned into my touch like a cat. ‘No. That’s not it.’ All the people I’d faced until now had been out to kill me first, and I’d still felt regretful about their deaths if not guilty.

‘But then what is it?’

Cradling Skul with one hand, I offered him the fruit with the other. Greed erupted in his eyes. All other summons glared at him through our connection.

The balekin’s jaw disconnected—

“Careful,” I whispered. I’d turn him into paste of he made me lose my hand.

He simmered down and licked the fruit out of my palm. The world waited with abated breath.

Then the system chimed in quick succession.

Balekin Tree upgraded!

Balekin Tree - Late → Balekin Tree - Peak

Balekin skill slot unlocked.

Balekin learns [Azure Garden (Uncommon)]!

Azure Garden (Uncommon): The balekin dominates the area with its spirit, and the chill fires of the sleeping realm descend. All spirit-based garden entities have their stats increased. All spirit-based techniques have their efficacy increased. Effect lasts until the Azure Garden is dispelled or the balekin runs out of essence.

Summon rarity upgraded!

Balekin Wraith - Rarity: Normal → Balekin Wraith - Rarity: Rare.

Balekin stage has been reset to Early.

Please choose a specialisation for the Balekin!

Specialisations:

Vengeful Balekin (Soul, +)

Balekin Brute (Physical, -)

Bronze Balekin (Species, +/-)

This was likely where an Elder from my origin clan would’ve given me advice on what to choose. None of them were around, of course, so I thought for myself.

The second option sounded like a physical fighter. I didn’t need Skul to focus on physicality—that’s what I had Saber for. Neither did I need him to become one of Erri’s ilk. The signs also showed those two options weren’t the best path for him to go down.

As I had told the princess herself: Skul was not a dragon. He was more.

So I chose the first option.

Balekin Wraith - > Vengeful Balekin Wraith.

[Vengeful Balekin Wraith - Grade: F | Rarity: Rare | Stage: Early]

The moment I made my decision, Skul’s shoulders bulged, and a miniature explosion went off in his body. The fires pouring past the side of his mouth dimmed…but returned twice as intense. Skul lost some of his size. His tail and hind legs dispersed, reducing him to his half-formed appearance. Despite his appearance regressing, the energy he took up in the spiritual realm didn’t decrease.

On the contrary.

A single mound appeared near his left temple, from which a bony exterior sprouted that curled into the beginning of a horn. From the top of his forehead to his nose bridge, a violet line of flame carved its way down. Then, from his neck, what I could only describe as a flowing cape fluttered past his shoulders. It cut off abruptly and frayed at the end, as if the spinster who’d woven it had forgotten to ever finish the piece. But the fabric the artisan had used was no common material which could be found in the real world. Shifting faces, whose eyes flashed with fire, cried out as they wavered in the wind, and made my spine tremble just looking at them.

Skul opened his eyes. His arms, which he’d kept planted on the floor, rose…and clawed the air in a way they had not done before. The nails bit the air as if he was using the atmosphere to stand.

He turned on the gathering of cultivators. Gaje’s hundred eyes stared the newly upgraded summon down. I half questioned why they hadn’t attacked during his transformation—but they must’ve been scared of what he would turn into. Even Raiden had kept his distance despite the rage, which spoke to his presence of mind.

I reached out for the vengeful wraith. The feel of his scales was different. They were no longer a mere physical resistance against my fingertips but a spiritual one as well. To think the fruit was this powerful…

‘I have to feed all my summons one.’

Already, the heat in Saber’s eyes could not be explained away as mere rage or jealousy. Skul looked down on him from his improved perch in the air. Saber didn’t look away despite the red sprites wreathing his fur fading.

Right. That problem was back, I sighed. Luckily, the other fruits had already begun growing because of the recent influx of energy into the garden. Skul would be ahead of his companions, but not for long.

I turned back to the others. “Shall we continue where we left off?”