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976. If Only It Was A Beholder
🕑 Added 2025-04-11 11:23:51 +0000 UTC“[Maximum Inferno – Higher Detonation].”
Dozens of black, golden-encrypted magical circles propagated from the first. A vast network revealing the size of the encroaching star was created in an instant thanks to the newfound power she possessed.
The Seed which had been given to her by a being whose head was a magical circle had granted her a form closer to the twilight of darkness and light.
A hundred flaming meteors were released from the magic circles. A small portion of blue liquid was used to conjure the magic, but it was a small price to pay to eliminate a heretic.
Meteors scorched the world ahead, bombarding the star as it visibly dimmed.
Then, a great fireball exploded right where the star once was.
[Maximum Inferno – Higher Detonation] was an exceptionally powerful Seventh Tiered Fire-Elemental Magic.
Few in the world had the capabilities of welding such power. Normally, in warfare, anywhere from three dozen to a hundred soldiers were required to prepare an extensive chant just to wield a fraction of this power.
Yet here, it was further amplified using Refined Liquid Nex, her Mana Channels and her newfound abilities as an ‘elevated’ Witch. This brought its power closer in line to the power of the Supreme Magus, dare she even compare it to the likes of Thelma of the Golden Dawn, or the Colors.
In fact, while Colors were powerful, there were certain individuals who were at the same level. Thelma was one example. Their own Syndicate Leader could easily qualify as a Color as well, but the Cognomentum Association were picky in who they chose.
Or rather, they excluded those they did not favor.
“Splendid, Grandmaster Halva.”
“My kidneys are quaking with joy. H-03. Behave yourself. My renal functions must remain stable.”
“Hold your applause (Reveling). Send a volley of [Spears of Light – Midnight] (Assure destruction).”
Immediately, inscriptions glowed along the armor of the men. At once, magical circles appeared overhead. The same crystal spears that were used to shred the Central Elevator were fired in the thousands.
The meaning of [Spears of Light – Midnight] was displayed in full, and Grandmaster Halva reveled with all twenty-nine brains dangling behind her.
She imagined the fear in their eyes as the swarm of vibrant spears of light dimmed the world like midnight before they were skewered like the heretics they were.
Like how The Hammer of Witches had nailed them to a stake and burned their Sisters alive.
“Stop. Conserve your mana. Check your canisters. We no longer have a direct tap to a source of Liquid Nex.”
When the dust settled, she turned her back to the fallen star, her head held high with the taste of victory fresh on the tip of her non-existent tongue.
But this was short lived.
A sharp pain stabbed her from behind. It came from her many attached brains. They simultaneously perceived danger that surpassed all reason.
“Could it be a Blue Moon after all!? (Impossible).”
If it was, then they would not have been able to perceive a Blue Moon before they had struck.
The reality, however, was far from an assassin or covert operation.
It was, by all accounts…
“Those are… meteorites…?”
Flaming hailstones descended upon the world. If Grandmaster Halva’s opening magic were bullets, then these were artillery. The craters it left behind shook the world, their armors bounced as a collective whimper came from the backlines.
“Barriers. Now!”
“No, avoid. Apply speed-enhancing spells!”
The Sisters commanded, but they had nowhere to go.
Craters formed around them, just far enough where the shockwave and heat were not enough to rend them entirely. But they could barely breathe as superheated air entered their lungs, causing several to collapse to their knees, clasping at their chest in anguish.
“In what world…? (Magic of this caliber…?).”
Moons did not even hold a fraction of this power.
Did that mean a Beholder had followed them?
No.
It couldn’t be.
Beholders couldn’t care less if their own kind were being slaughtered beneath their noses…
At the very least, a Beholder themselves would not hunt them down.
Then, the attacks subsided.
They were left in a complete daze.
Their legs wanted to take them somewhere else, but their passages were blocked. If they attempted to fly, then it was possible that the same attack that was used to eliminate two thirds of their entire force would destroy them for good.
“… Could… Could it be…?”
“Grandmaster… Is that…!”
“Were we betrayed…?”
They saw a being with white hair, and a white-frayed tail. Their hair was slicked back, giving her a professional look. The Sisters collectively held their breaths as she approached, alone, and were close to lashing out in anger over the betrayal.
However, her black, funeral-esque suit and a lack of a tangible presence caused them to recollect themselves.
Even in the face of certain death, they held onto their faith.
“Far from it (Cannot be). It is a heretic (Sinner) with the same face (A mask). A parody of our Goddesses! (False Goddess!).”
Grandmaster Halva pointed accusingly at the woman.
But she did not arrive alone.
“What the fuck are you spewing about?”
A crude voice came from the smoke behind her. Now that she noticed it, that smoke had been moving. It didn’t come from the meteorites, but rather from a flame that had been burning continuously.
The heat was enough to cause her finger to dull.
“You dare speak foully in the presence of the Goddess’ mention–!?”
The being did not wait for her to finish speaking.
Bloody shards were flung in their direction.
It skewered through knees and limbs, pinning them in place like stakes. In the same instant that they were attacked, a blurry figure burst through the smoke.
“The only ones here are you and me.”
Azure hands latched onto them. Wounds that would have bled them out were miraculously healed as something moved through their ranks so quickly that the sand couldn’t choose a direction to flow in.
It was utter chaos, and the shockwaves of their movements stirred plumes of sand only to disperse them.
“Grandmaster!? The floor– It’s become glass!?”
“Brothers – Chant your magic! Apply basic buffs and scatter! [Blastwave Gale]!”
The Archmages scrambled to regain control as they attempted to track the location of this being. Following the source of the hands was simple enough, yet even so, it was an impossible endeavor.
Furthermore, their light-enchanted weapons could not break through these hands.
Magical circles appeared as they chanted. The magic they used was [Body-Enhancing] magic. It was weak, but it was better than nothing. The Sisters then began to conjure a spell, their implanted Mana Channels burning them from the inside.
“[Midnight Barrier]!”
However–
“[Mana Disruption].”
A deceptively calm voice spoke.
“The magical circles!?”
“Sisters– We’re being sabotaged!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” The Archmage who attempted to use her Mana Channels began to steam.
Her blood flash boiled as warts formed along her arms. Her clothes burned off, and her spine shrunk, causing her to bend backwards like a shriveled shrimp. Her Mana Channels were being sabotaged by this unknown threat.
“Sister… Your head… is going past your feet…?”
But how was that possible?
Mana Channels were an organ that did not require blood or nutrients to maintain, meaning necrotizing magic couldn’t target them. Furthermore, they were detached from the main systems of the body. Even if the body itself was damaged beyond repair, the Mana Channels would remain unaffected so long as they were untouched and that they had mana or life force to spare.
Yet it was being struct directly…
… by what they could only assume to be a Healer, no less.
“Do not use the Mana Channels! Prepare to move to pre-chanted inscriptions and short-form chants! Brothers! Defends your Sisters!”
Pandemonium began to spread through their ranks. But this was only the beginning. The Grandmaster attempted to utilize another powerful Seventh Tiered magic to reveal their foe. This magic – [Slowdown – Tether] – allowed the user to slow a target by 20% as long as they were within direct contact.
But this being could not be slowed down.
“Oh Deity of light and dark– Mmmmph!?”
“My our Sisters in arms gain your– MMMMMPH!”
“MMMMMPH!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
First there were muffled. Accompanying it was the sound of searing flesh. Second was the scent of burning meat and its acrid fumes. And lastly, once it died out, hands reached for their faces where their mouths had been sealed with Anid thread and fleshy growths.
“Overhealing…? (That cannot be). A Scarlet Healer! (Favored Healers). You dare–! (Traitors). After knowing that a true Goddess (The White Haired One) serves in those same depths (Heaven) that you’ve scoured! (Were left spared).”
Somewhere, deep down, a part of her hoped it was only a Healer.
But as the stirring of the sands died, and as more rods impaled them to the glassed sands, a figure finally descended into their sights.
“The– The… The, the… The…”
She knew who it was.
The figure in black was no Black Dove.
The Black Dove was not even a recognized Color despite how famous they had become.
Indeed.
The figure that graced them – whose face had been in papers following the recent Assembly – was none other than the Head herself.
A name she vehemently refused to say out loud, as though ignoring it would make them disappear. That this was all a nightmare.
For once, she wished it was a Beholder that had personally come to hand them their judgement.
“As much as I’d love to flay each of you individually–”
The Head yanked one of the Brothers towards her like a fish caught on a hook. Their limbs were ripped from the rods. What was then held in her gloved hands was torso in the form of sock-puppet.
“–I think this is a better way to make you talk. Let’s set the stage.”
The Brother in her hand – the man donned in perfectly pale and black armor – transformed into a sheep whose wool was made of needles. A screen grew in the center of his chest. Written on the screen was the word: “Belief.”
“This is supposed to be a ‘Brother’. But he was always a sheep. A lamb to a slaughter.”
“Brother…? He’s… You’ve Corrupted him?”
“Yes. Yes, I did. But it’s fine. Your Brother always wanted to be useful. He followed the whims of White Midnight, hoping he could become… Heh. A ‘Husband?’ Ah… Hahaha. Ahhh… Sorry. I’ve granted him his wish.”
The Head smiled innocently as she openly mocked them, placing what seemed to be a warm hand on the Corrupted’s head.
Then, her arm became a giant maw.
Snap
All that was left were his bleeding hooves.
“It’s a shame he’ll never know that he made for a better meal. Witches, hm? I was told that by a Witch that they were on the sane side. I guess this is what a Witch on the looser side looks like. So–”
Frost walked towards them. Her soft steps barely crunched the ground.
But in their eyes, they shook the world.
Each thumping step caused their hearts to race.
The innocent façade and admittedly small body of the Amalgam shone with a brilliant light.
She reached out for the Grandmaster, her soft hands thumb brushing against the glass as if she was about to bring her in for a tender kiss.
The fractured halo, and the golden eyes…
“Tell me, how would you like to die?”
… Just what kind of monster was the Head?
