Aozaki Aoko [586-588] (Patreon)

Chapter 586: 

Even with super-delayed super-magic, Aoko's time stop didn't give her much time to set things up, so she made the most of every second to prepare spells against Auril.

First, she placed three High-Efficiency, Instant-Cast, Delayed Blast Fireball around Auril's body from three directions. These orange-yellow orbs would detonate if Auril's body moved even a little, triggering all three spells in succession.

The second layer of trap was a High-Efficiency, Instant-Cast, Death Field. This 6th-level spell was cast using a 9th-level slot. Its central focus, remaining inert due to time stop, would activate as soon as time resumed, creating a spherical zone centered on the Winter's Womb. Any creature inside would suffer massive necrotic damage.

From previous battles, Auril had shown weak resistance to negative damage from Aoko's ultimate attacks. So, against pure necrotic magic, her resistance should be even lower.

But considering this was a deity with a divine spark, even though Mystra said Auril had expended most of her divine power, Aoko knew this wouldn't be easy. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been injured twice already.

Thinking of her injuries, Aoko couldn't help but recall being badly hurt by the Primate Murder. It's been so long since then… even the feeling of pain had become unfamiliar.

With the blessing of the Mythallar Core, Aoko faced no limitations in spell slot consumption—so long as she stayed near it, she could cast most spells of 9th level or below endlessly.

This boost reminded Aoko of the days she rampaged across the Nasuverse. Once she returns, she'll definitely find a poor soul to relive the good old times.

She caught herself daydreaming at this critical moment… But her ability to split her thoughts allowed her spellcasting to continue uninterrupted. As time stop was about to end, she set up the third magical trap.

This final spell wasn't meant to deal damage, but to restrict Auril's movements and amplify the effectiveness of the damaging spells already prepared.

A 7th-level Evocation spell: Forcecage. Using her advanced metamagic, Aoko enhanced it with Delayed, Instant-Cast, and Expanded Shaping, creating a massive cubic force cage that perfectly encompassed the death field's spherical area. She reshaped the usual cage bars into solid force walls.

Anyone with basic physics knows explosions in confined spaces are far more destructive than in open areas. Rather than casting more spells with uncertain aim, it was better to restrict Auril's movement and amplify the power of the spells already deployed.

Moreover, any creature trapped inside a force cage must succeed at a nearly impossible Charisma save to escape.

Aoko figured Auril, as a deity, must have extremely high Charisma, but she doubted Auril could instantly break free. As long as Auril couldn't escape before taking the full brunt of the spells, Aoko's goal would be achieved.

Plus, the force cage exists on both the material and the ethereal plane. Even Auril couldn't simply slip out via the ethereal.

The moment she finished setting up the force cage, time stop ended. Aoko couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

The greater the challenge and the more desperate the situation, the more excited she felt.

The very first second after time resumed, Aoko heard Auril's Polar Ray slam into the force cage with a dull thud—it was clear the spell had been cast just before Aoko's time stop, so it went off first as the effect ended.

The next instant, the death field also triggered.

A huge black-purple sphere instantly enveloped the Winter's Womb, crackling with the sound of necrotic energy eating away at it.

The sphere warped as Auril struggled, but the deformation was limited by the confines of the force cage—just as Aoko intended.

Once Auril realized she was trapped, she immediately tried to break free, which—unsurprisingly—triggered all three Delayed Blast Fireballs, resulting in a triple explosion.

The tremendous blast was completely contained inside the force cage, sending brilliant light streaming out from within, forcing Aoko's teammates to shield their eyes.

But Aoko dared not relax. The explosion was so intense that Auril thrashed wildly inside, forcing Aoko to maintain her concentration on the force cage lest the spell be shattered.

Normally, physical attacks can't break a force field, but against divine power, nothing is guaranteed.

When the explosions finally subsided, Aoko immediately dropped her concentration, letting the force cage sustain itself—because the spell she was about to cast might drive Auril even more berserk.

Quickened, Maximized, Delayed: Dimensional Anchor!

A green ray shot from Aoko's staff, piercing the force cage and striking the battered Winter's Womb dead-on.

A shimmering emerald field enveloped Auril, robbing her of any last chance to escape via teleportation.

A mind-shattering screech, the sound of Auril's psychic attack, made everyone's heads ache.

The once flawless ice diamond was now covered in scars, barely holding its form. Aoko saw that a huge chunk of the upper half was missing, exposing the divine spark within—divine power was visibly leaking away.

This massive damage pushed Auril past the brink of reason. She forced out her last reserves of divine power, stretching and reshaping her body into a long spear of ice, even at the cost of irreversible damage.

The spearhead pointed straight at Aoko, focusing what little power remained into the sharpest tip, and in one desperate charge, pierced the outer wall of the force cage, lunging at Aoko for a final attack.

Damn, Aoko cursed inwardly—Auril really was the madwoman of the divine realm, actually planning to take a mere mortal down with her?

Chapter 587: The Death of a God

How can one evade or block a god's all-out, self-sacrificing strike?

There is no way. At least, within the rules mortals can use in the Crystal Sphere of the Prime Material, it's impossible.

Aoko didn't want to die here. Before Auril's spear could hit her, she did everything she could—her contingency spells all triggered.

But it was useless. Resilient Sphere was pierced, portals were sealed, even her self-activating Warding Shout was effortlessly shattered. Nothing worked.

"Death" had come knocking once more. Aoko could only hope the gods wouldn't hold her mental complaints against her.

She stared at Auril's spear, eyes wide, fully focused.

She hadn't given up hope; she knew she was closer than ever to achieving her legendary destiny. But the god's furious strike had already pierced her chest, the cold sensation painfully real, signaling her imminent demise.

The ice spear slowly drove into Aoko's body. Maybe because it happened so fast, she felt little pain after the initial stab—was this the famed adrenaline-fueled near-death experience?

Something felt off. Aoko sensed her magic circuits and long-dormant Magic Crest activate. Aside from the initial sting, even as the spear passed halfway through her body, she felt no pain.

Could it be…?

A sudden realization struck Aoko—at the last possible moment, she had entered the Red Shift state, a derivative of the Fifth Magic. She had continuously shifted her physical form to different points in time, thus achieving a divine level of evasion.

She didn't know why she could do this now, but it seemed Supreme God Ao had temporarily relaxed the rules binding her. Joy surged through her—could she use all her magics again?

Auril's spear passed clean through Aoko, embedding itself in the ground, trembling as if it wanted to pull free and strike again.

Having escaped death, Aoko had no intention of giving Auril another chance.

She raised her right hand, lighting up her long-unused Magic Crest, magic surging through it—

—but the resulting magic bolt was even weaker than a casual Magic Missile.

It seemed the world's suppression of her original magic system wasn't lifted, at least not fully. Maybe creating a mini bounded field inside her body had allowed Redshift to affect herself?

No, that wasn't it. The throughput of her magic circuits hadn't returned to Nasuverse levels. It wasn't Ao's suppression being lifted, but rather some external factor letting Aoko activate Redshift.

"You'd better act quickly," Mystra's voice sounded in Aoko's mind at just the right moment. "I've temporarily lifted part of your restrictions with my power over time, but it only applies to you, and only for time-related uses. It won't last long!"

That was the answer. Relief flooded Aoko. Mystra might have a bad reputation, but she was certainly reliable at times like this!

Aoko gripped her staff, straightened up, and looked at Auril with newfound confidence. From this moment, the outcome was certain.

When Aoko was impaled, her teammates' hearts sank. But as she stood up, unscathed (having secretly healed herself), everyone breathed a sigh of relief, quickly followed by jubilation.

"Yes!" Simon pumped his fist in the air, overjoyed that Aoko hadn't fallen. But his celebration broke his concentration, nearly snuffing the fireball he was using to keep Edgin warm—he hurriedly recast it.

But it was no longer needed. With Auril's ultimate attack, her divine power was too depleted to maintain the deadly winter over Ythryn.

Meanwhile, Auril's spear quickly broke free from the earth, floating in midair again. Though weakened, Aoko could still sense mortal danger if she didn't use Redshift.

The spear shrieked, hurtling at Aoko's head. She just smiled, gripping her staff in a melee stance.

But such a casual pose couldn't fool the Winter Goddess.

Auril's spear predictably slipped past Aoko's defense, piercing her skull and emerging from the back of her head, embedding itself in the ground behind her.

But Auril immediately sensed something was wrong—there was no sensation of striking flesh or bone, as if Aoko simply wasn't there.

An illusion?

Auril doubted it. No mortal illusion could fool her. So how had that damned mortal evaded her attack?

Space magic? Setting up portals in front and behind herself? But forcibly teleporting a divine being is nearly impossible, especially in a heated battle.

Then there was only one possibility. The Frost Maiden's heart sank. This mortal woman had used some kind of magic to briefly leap along the timeline, dodging her spear at the moment of impact.

For Auril, this was the worst answer. None of her powers involved time, and she had no means to strike at someone moving through it. Her divine power was too drained for that.

In other words, against this mortal woman, defeat was now inevitable.

How unwilling… The Frost Maiden's last thoughts flickered. Her divine spark was almost extinguished. Though gods are hard to truly kill, it would be a long time before she revived in her divine realm.

All the beautiful things she'd collected in the Valley of Icewind would likely melt and vanish under the hateful, warm sunlight…

Gradually, Auril let out a sigh, her mind ceased thinking, and her divine spark faded away as her power finally ran out.

Chapter 588: Ascension to Legend

Auril was dead.

Aoko Aozaki had defeated the actual avatar of a god.

Even though this deity was greatly weakened, her power almost spent, to defeat a god face-to-face was an unprecedented achievement for any mortal of the Prime Material.

If news of this battle spread, Aoko's name would be sung by bards for centuries.

But Aoko didn't intend for that to happen. Making an immortal god your long-term enemy was unwise—even if said god wasn't the brightest.

Gods may not care about a single defeat, but if that defeat is spread among mortals, the victor might need to watch their back. Gods like the Frost Maiden wouldn't hesitate to ambush mortals from the shadows.

So Aoko decided to keep things discreet, warning her teammates not to talk about what she'd done.

Edgin, you wouldn't want your wife and child targeted by a vengeful, divine madwoman, right?

But all that was trivial.

The most important thing for Aoko now was her newly completed legendary destiny.

"Supplies are here," Aoko hurriedly tossed water, food, and essentials to Simon, giving brief instructions. "I've just completed my legendary destiny. I need to start meditating for my ascension—please guard the area and don't let anyone disturb me."

Simon nodded blankly and watched as Aoko sat cross-legged, floated into the air, and closed her eyes.

Ordinary people in Faerûn know little about true supernatural matters, like legendary advancement. They might have heard scattered rumors, but the process itself is a mystery.

Among Doric, Holga, and Edgin, only Simon might know more—his ancestor Elminster still kept an eye on him, after all.

But no one minded staying here for a few days. The core chamber's temperature had normalized thanks to Aoko's resonance with the Mythallar Core—it was even a bit too warm for their cold-weather gear.

Not long after the fight, Edgin woke up. He looked around in confusion, then saw Aoko meditating mid-air and instantly guessed the outcome.

Simon and Holga explained Aoko's instructions. As a Harper, Edgin knew a bit more about legendary ascension than the other adventurers, so he immediately moved the camp farther away to avoid disturbing her ritual.

At this moment, Aoko hadn't technically begun her legendary ascension. Her consciousness had entered the depths of the Weave, reporting in to Mystra.

"Mission accomplished, the Mythallar Core is secured," Aoko told the radiant goddess. "But I didn't expect Auril to show up at this critical moment—I thought Everlasting Rime had nothing to do with Ythryn City."

"Who knows?" Mystra sighed melodramatically. "Her mind has never been quite right. What sensible god joins the Gods of Fury? Just asking for trouble."

"How am I supposed to transport this Mythallar Core?" Aoko pressed. "It's far too large and powerful for my imaginary space. With my current strength in Faerûn, I can't take it away."

"Don't worry," Mystra soothed. "Once you complete your legendary ascension, I'll use my divine power to shrink and seal it inside your holy symbol. As long as the symbol stays intact, it won't affect the outside world."

"Great!" Aoko breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly grew nervous. "I used part of the Fifth Magic just now—will the Overgod be after me?"

"Relax," Mystra reassured her. "Your magic is nothing compared to the antics of Faerûn's gods and archwizards in the past."

"That's good…" Aoko relaxed. With the goddess's assurance, she felt safe.

"…But I suggest you leave soon," Mystra warned, suddenly serious. "Auril's death will shake the entire North. Even if no one talks, someone might figure out you took the golden scroll and the Mythallar Core."

"I understand," Aoko nodded, accepting the advice. With such treasures, caution was wise. "I've been away long enough—maybe it's time to go home."

"Anything I should be careful of when ascending to legend?" Aoko paused, then asked, "Any taboos or dangers?"

"Anything to watch out for?" Mystra waved a hand dismissively. "You've already inherited the legacy of a legendary class. Ascending is just a formality. Defeating Auril was already the hardest part—nothing else to worry about."

"Got it," Aoko nodded. "I'll get to it then, Lady Goddess?"

"Go on," Mystra said. "If anything comes up, I'll contact you. Remember to keep your holy symbol with you!"

With Mystra's image fading from the Weave, Aoko focused entirely on herself.

In a way, she achieved a self-examination even more profound than Introspection, possible only for those immersed in the Weave's depths.

The moment she completed her legendary destiny, Aoko sensed herself changing.

Her body was evolving toward a higher life form. She also found her fate had become more resilient.

In other words, she was now less affected by misfortune—luckier, in fact.

Perhaps this is why legendary beings are called truly extraordinary.

With a vast reservoir of insight and her legendary destiny reward, Aoko poured it all into her Legendary Arch-Metamagician class, finally breaking free from the shackles of 20th-level mortal.

From today, Aoko could truly be called a legendary spellcaster—her caster level had finally reached 21.