736. Raven’s Realm

736. Raven’s Realm

Ordering the shardflies off, Dallion drew his harpsisword.

Harp, will you survive the magic drainer?

he asked, evading Raven’s attacks through extreme combat splitting.

It can’t affect items,

the nymph guardian replied.

That was all Dallion needed to know. Tapping the blade of his harpsisword, he sliced through a spoke of stone, parrying Raven’s attack. The boy flinched, surprised for a moment, but then quickly twisted his body in a way that even someone double jointed would have difficulty with. The action made it apparent that the person Dallion was fighting was a true noble.

Meanwhile, the emerald shardflies continued with their attempts to harm the boy. No longer receiving instructions, they had become a hindrance for both sides. While their attacks were deadly and numerous, the speed was so slow that evading them presented no issue. Dallion could easily see the wind slashes like waves of magic floating through the air—easy to evade, and even easier to slice out of existence. Then again, this could also be an opportunity.

Once again, both opponents had the same idea, taking advantage of the shardflies’ numerous, yet chaotic, attacks to complete a guard skill sequence. Blades clashed one final time, before each performed their own series of evasions. Time slowed down.

Got you!

Dallion thought.

No sooner had he done so, than Raven leaped right at him, no slower than before.

“Crap!” Dallion instinctively cast a protective barrier spell with his left hand.

Nil, how come he’s not affected?

He asked, moving back while casting the spell on repeat.

Because he completed his sequence at the same time,

the old echo replied.

A quite splendid execution on both your parts, I must say.

Aether barriers shattered like glass as the boy kept on pushing forward. Left with nowhere to retreat, Dallion resorted to sword fighting again. He could sense Harp occasionally guiding his attacks, though that only provided a moderate advantage. Raven’s style was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was both precise and fluid, as if a nymph or fury was controlling the blade.

For several seconds, blades swished through the air, barely touching one another, then engaged in dozens of strikes as if two woodpeckers were attempting to peck out each other’s beaks. Sparks poured out of the harpsisword, only to be quickly swallowed by the magic draining blade.

Harp, can you guide my hand?

Dallion asked.

I’m doing it,

the guardian replied, partially confused.

Dallion would have liked to explain exactly what he had in mind, but there was no time. His mind was working on overdrive, calculating potential attacks and other approaches. In this short amount of time, Dallion had already seen that his chances of victory were slim, and decreasing by the second. Even without the aid of Argus, Raven was a better mage than him, while his brother—vastly superior when it came to combat. The greatest advantage Dallion had was the lack of coordination between the boy and his echo. While the older brother had taken control, he was still getting used to the role of puppeteer. The moment he went through that hurdle, he could well become invincible.

Lux, get down here and do a blinding flash!

Dallion ordered.

I know what you’re thinking.

Nil raised the alarm. It won’t work.

You have a better chance of defeating him here.

Forgive me if I don’t trust you, Nil.

Dallion gritted his teeth.

There will be two of them! Not to mention that magic will—

Before the echo could finish, the bladebow that was Lux emerged between him and Raven. The firebird had moved so fast that it appeared he’d teleported there without warning.

Dallion closed his eyes. He felt the flash that followed even through his eyelids. His entire body plunged forward. The hand holding the harpsisword extended forward based on his memory of where Raven had been. There was no contact. Even taken by surprise, his opponent was unwilling to let himself be defeated. It was at that point that Harp did what she had been asked.

The harpsisword lead Dallion’s head forward, then, when it could do so, no more tugged him gently to the left. So it continued for a full second until it came into contact with something—something warm.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

REALM INVASION

A red rectangle popped up, becoming visible despite Dallion’s eyes still being closed. That was reassuring. It meant his plan had worked.

“Lux, Nox!” Dallion said, opening his eyes.

Familiars and gear alike appeared, as he prepared himself for battle. This was a tremendous gamble on his side. Even with Raven being no more than level twenty, he was bound to have impressive skill and trait values. Furthermore, there was always the chance that the magic draining weapon would be linked to his domain.

Dallion split into a dozen instances and looked around. He was in a large training room, similar to a closed arena. Statues and portraits covered the walls, depicting the boy in various stages of his life. In some, he was no more than five years old, holding a large sun gold saber in a battle pose. The others were of similar nature, depicting the boy in older stages of life. At one point, the pictures drastically changed. Gone were the weapons, replaced by spell circles surrounding Raven’s hands.

“He must have had a fun childhood,” Dallion whispered.

Most nobles go through the same,

Nil said.

Only those completely incompetent get pampered out of pity.

“That’s not what I’ve seen.”

You haven’t seen as much about nobles as you think.

After spending a few more seconds examining the place, Dallion made his way to the massive steel doors that marked the only way out of the chamber. Since Raven’s level was so low, his realm remained in the dungeon-tunnel state. One could assume there would be twenty rooms connected via one long corridor, unless the boy was extremely creative. Normally, the rooms would be filled with dozens of strong echoes, there to protect him from any potential invasion. However, Lux had already mentioned that a single echo was present—an echo lacking magic.

In different circumstances, fighting against a mage and a noble would have been strongly inadvisable. The combination was enough to cause towns to surrender. Dallion wasn’t alone, though. He had many friends supporting him, several of which were capable of spellcasting as well.

No sound could be heard beyond the double door. Nonetheless, Dallion tapped the blade of his harpsisword and gently pierced through it. Three instances sliced the door the same way someone would open a can of beans. Seven more stood a respectable distance away.

TERMINAL WOUND

Your health has been decreased by 100%

A red rectangle emerged as what was left of the door exploded, destroying all three of Dallion’s instances.

“Should have guessed,” Dallion hissed, choosing one of the remaining ones to become reality. Raven was waiting for him and was prepared.

As I tried to tell you earlier, there’s two of them and you don’t have a lot of maneuverable space,

Nil said.

You were better off fighting in the real world.

That could be argued. Despite the tactical disadvantage, all that Dallion had to do was eliminate the echo. Without anyone to control him, Raven would be rendered harmless or go on a wild spree until the Moonstone effects fizzled off. Either way, Dallion would no longer be targeted.

“Nox, you’re up buddy,” Dallion said.

Without needing instructions, the crackling divided into two, going to the side of both doors. It was a pleasure watching him slice the hinges with his claws, causing the thick metal pieces to hit the floor with a slam. Similar to before, a ray of scorching flame flew in from the corridor, hitting the wall behind.

That wasn’t a spell Dallion was familiar with. Four of his instances sprinted into the corridor in a scouting attempt. Two of them even resorted to wall running. Alas, their fate was the same. Four rays of flame hit them well before they could make anything out.

“Are novices taught illusion?” Dallion asked from the safety of the hall.

Not usually, but I think you should ignore the standard curriculum.

Nil grunted.

While there are limits to what a novice could achieve, I’m sure that Argus taught him everything he could get away with.

“It’s a good thing he isn’t here, then.” Dallion had more of his instances rush into the corridor.

One after the other, they attempted to reach the far end, like enemy NPCs in an action side-scroller. Most of them got vaporized within seconds, but slowly the mass managed to find a pattern, causing them to inch closer and closer.

Seeing his success, Dallion increased the pressure. Hundreds of instances poured in, this time they were also casting spells of their own. In one case, Dallion even went so far as to do a spark infused point attack down the corridor. The echo of Raven’s brother must have anticipated that, for the strike was met with an equivalent point attack, canceling it out.

“You know you can’t win.” Dallion resorted to his music skills. “I don’t need the Moonstone’s powers to keep this up. I can go about it all day.”

“I don’t need a Moonstone, either!” a deep voice shouted back.

The anger Dallion had imbued his words had had an effect. Now he got to hear the real voice of his adversary for the very first time. Based on its properties, he could assume it belonged to someone in their late twenties, or mid-thirties, strongly suggesting that the persona and Raven were only half-brothers. That would also explain why the boy was considered expendable. The enemy noble shared no love for his brother. On the contrary, it was very likely he despised him.

It was always messy when it came to nobles. They did a good job presenting themselves as the upper crust of society—something unreachable that ordinary people aspired to be. The outfits, the buildings, the glamor that accompanied them had the single purpose of maintaining that image. Beneath it, they were just as human and petty as everyone else, more so in certain regards. That was why losing face was considered the greatest fore than an insult. When it came to intrigue and politics, it was the same as a wound on their image.

One could speculate that Raven had to be the misfit of the family. Not a direct heir and brother to one who’d already passed through the fifth awakening gate. He would have probably had a spoilt and pleasant life if he hadn’t ended up with the magic trait. That change had thrust him into the game of politics faster than a poison arrow. Many had seen him as a useful pawn, Raven probably viewed himself as a player, while his brother regarded him as a threat.

“Nil, is the house of Dreud split?” Dallion asked.

It’s a well-known fact that they are one of the most united households within the empire,

the echo said.

That is one of the reasons they’ve successfully kept their province all this time. Of course, there’s talk that even the strongest house might not survive having two strong heirs.

“Ha! I knew it!”

Which is why there’s a lot of talk who the Dreud heir would marry. The

old echo continued.

Being the prodigy he is, it’s almost inevitable that any offspring will inherit those qualities and potentially even outshine their father at some future point.

Crap!

Dallion thought. Fighting Raven was difficult enough. If his brother was considered being the family prodigy, even his echo would prove a challenge.

The waves of instances kept pushing on, now reaching the middle of the corridor. Raven was doing his best to keep them at bay, but it was obvious they were overwhelming him. It wouldn’t be long before Dallion made it to the illusion barrier and peeked beyond.

Be careful

, the armadil shield said.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Dallion asked.

If the echo can easily negate point attacks, why hasn’t he used a single echo?

Dallion thought about it. There were only two reasons he could think of. The Dreud family probably knew everything there was to know about Dallion, especially as Adzorg was helping them. They were aware of his forced combat splitting ability. There was a chance that the echo of Raven’s brother was deliberately not resorting to that so as not to end up in a compromising state. However, it was the other possibility that Dallion was concerned with. What if his opponent was just as skilled, if not better? If so, that would suggest he could have easily thrown out Dallion from Raven’s domain, but didn’t want to. What if his entire aim wasn’t to kill Dallion, but to have Dallion kill or cripple his brother? As messed up as that seemed, it was precisely something a noble would do.

A note from Lise Eclaire

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