Ch 45: A Purpose

Alexander and Richter face off with Magus and Rend, Alexander holding back as he knows full well the sprites are only being used. Yet these two seek no sympathy, as this is their purpose.

            Adjusting his shades, Alexander said, “Richter, you get at Magus with your crystals. I will deal with the other one.” Leaping into the air and coming down with her claws, Rend said, “I’m called Rend, now please DIE!” Both he and Richter leaped away, and as Alexander landed on his feet, he charged back at Rend with a counterattack. Richter quickly got to his feet as well and formed one of his floating crystal walls, leaping onto it and riding it into the air after Magus, avoiding as she rained bolts of arcane magic at him. Crouching down on his crystal wall and weaving his way through the web, Richter returned fire with his Radiating Shot, but Magus moved with speed and agility through her web, avoiding his fire with ease while continuing to shoot bolts of arcane power. Meanwhile, Alexander’s sweeping counterattack met with air as Rend jumped over his blade and landed a spinning kick to his face. Gathering EDE as he staggered back, Rend became a blur of strikes as she shouted, “Sonic Claw!” Alexander recovered just in time to dodge and dodge as she lunged forward and slashed at him again and again. Then getting knocked away after blocking a powerful strike, as he landed hard on his back, Alexander muttered, “She’s rather strong…”

Leaping into the air, as Rend came down on him, she shouted, “That really all you’ve got old man?!” Raising his legs up, Alexander caught her in the gut with a powerful twin kick that sent her sailing over his head, and as she landed face first on the floor, he rose to his feet and chanted, “Magistri Alica!” Running his hand across his sword, red and blue runes appeared on his hand as the powers of both fire and ice coursed through him at the same time. As Rend got to her feet and turned to face him, she watched as he chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Ignis Gelu Acies!” Leveling his frostfire blade at Rend with a grin, Alexander called out, “If you’re who you say you are, you’re getting up there yourself! Times change though, and I possess a style of magic that didn’t even exist in your day! You’d best not underestimate a Master of Rune Swordsmanship!”

            Charging at him and gathering EDE into her claws, Rend shouted, “I’ll slice you and your spells to pieces!” In response, Alexander quickly chanted, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Ignis Gelu!” As red and blue runes appeared upon his sword, a barrage of frostfire arrows shot from the tip of his blade, sailing straight into Rend’s path. Without any hesitation Rend charged straight into them, and in a frenzy of EDE charged swipes and slashes she cut the arrows down and leaped into the air, swinging a clawed hand through the air in Alexander’s direction and unleashing the EDE gathered in it as arc shaped blades of nature energy. Charging his own blade with EDE, Alexander deflected her energy blades and knocked her away as she came down at him with her claws. Flipping in the air and landing on her feet, Rend closed the distance again to strike, but sidestepping her attack Alexander raised his rune covered hand and chanted, “Magistri Zona!” Seeing the red and blue rune circle form beneath them, Rend leaped from harms way as everything above the circle was engulfed by an explosion of frostfire. Watching the aftermath of the blast, Rend muttered, “Did he try to take me with him?”

Suddenly, she heard Alexander’s voice chant, “Signum Impetu!” Rend turned as Alexander stepped from a dark vortex and slammed a rune covered fist into her masked face. Rend’s mask shattered as she was sent bouncing across the ground by the might of the strike, the vast energy within the runes on Alexander’s hands having amplified the impact. Coming to a halt face down on the ground, after laying there a moment Rend struggled onto her hands and knees as she muttered, “It’s been awhile since I’ve had such an opponent…” Stepping out of a dark vortex before her, Alexander leveled his sword at her face as she looked up at him with her pale blue eyes. Rend simply grinned excitedly and said, “I’ve waited far too long… for an opponent like you!”

            Alexander leaped away as bolts of arcane energy rained down on him. As Rend rose to her feet and looked up at Magus, who was still locked in combat with Richter, she heard Magus’ voice call out to her using telepathy, saying, “What are you doing? Rip him to pieces!” Her grin widening, Rend responded, “Activate the wavelength!” Quickly Magus’ confused voice said to her, “Why?” Rend looked up and shouted out loud at her, “Do it!” Magus stopped moving and looked down at Rend in rage for a moment as she muttered, “What’s gotten into her? Is he really that appealing of an opponent to her?” Then as Richter zoomed through the web at her with guns blazing, Magus quickly pulled herself out of the way with one of her scarf tails and then reached out her other scarf tail and grabbed hold of Richter’s arm. Pulling him from his floating crystal wall, Magus swung him around and hurled him through the web as she shouted, “Begone you pest!” 

As Richter tumbled through the air, he crashed painfully into several strands of the web before at last using the free fingers of his right hand to grab hold of one. Pulling himself up onto the strand, as he looked up, he saw Magus gathering magical energies as she hung there. Yet that was not all he saw, as with the power of his crystal lenses he noticed strange energy waves radiating from her multicolored eyes, which had begun to glow. Noticing more waves beginning to appear from somewhere else, Richter followed their path up to the ceiling of the dark room, and laid eyes on the enormous gathering of spiders staring down on the battlefield as they emitted energy waves identical to the waves Magus was emitting. Watching them intently, Richter thought, “The spiders from before! Are they under her control then? What are they doing now?” As Richter continued to puzzle over the spiders, Magus noticed him staring up at them. Placing a hand upon a nearby strand of the web, she channeled arcane magic through the thread and more threads of arcane material formed out of the strand Richter was standing on, wrapping around his ankles. Drawn back to reality, Richter looked down at the threads binding his ankles and thought, “Damn! I dropped my guard!” Raising a hand at him, Magus triumphantly chanted, “Radium Eversio!” As a rune circle formed in the palm of her hand, a mighty beam of arcane magic shot out at Richter. He struggled to break the arcane threads, watching as the beam drew upon him and muttering to himself, “Quite a pinch…”

            Blocking Rend’s clawed hands with his sword, as Alexander struggled against her strength, which seemed to be increasing somehow, he suddenly looked up as he heard the destructive blast of arcane power. As the smoke cleared, Richter was nowhere to be seen, and Alexander was in disbelief as he shouted, “No, Richter!” Suddenly Rend overpowered him and shoved him away, and as she leaped back she gathered EDE into her claws and unleashed more nature energy blades at him as she shouted, “Forget about him! It’s just you and me now!” Deflecting the energy blades, Alexander watched as energy began swirling around Rend. Beginning to somehow transform, her eyes became red and animalistic, her body became larger and more muscular, and sprouting all over her body was thick, bladelike red and black hair. Flexing her now monstrous clawed hands, Rend said, “The Bloodmoon wavelength is active, so let’s go crazy!” Gritting his teeth, Alexander thought, “A werewolf sprite. They’re a rather reclusive breed, known for their ferocity and bloodlust. To think I’d face one with this much strength…” Glancing up at Magus, Rend shouted, “Don’t interfere Magus! He’s mine!” Glaring down at her, Magus replied, “Do not think you’re one to give me orders, Rend! If you want him so badly then go ahead, but remember we need him in one piece.” Returning her attention to Alexander, Rend flashed her maw of sharp teeth in a grin and said, “Let’s go Mr. Shades! Hurry up and bring it!”

            Rushing at Rend, Alexander closed in and swung his sword as he chanted, “Signum Vulnus!” Raising an arm up, Rend blocked his sword with her forearm, the thick hair growing out of it defending her from the strike as though it were plated armor. The massive power of Alexander’s swing combined with the impact enhancing energy of the runes on his blade sent Rend sliding backwards, but after a moment she came to a stop, still on her feet. Lowering her arm, uninjured, Rend exclaimed, “That’s right, more!” Rushing at him suddenly, Rend leaped into the air and gathered EDE into her clawed hand. Then she balled the hand into a fist as she shouted, “Show me even more!” Quickly Alexander leaped back as Rend slammed her fist into the floor, punching a crater in it, and as Rend unleashed the power she had gathered, the room began to quake as seismic energy rippled out from her fist. Staggering as the ground swayed beneath him, Alexander stabbed his sword into the floor and dropped to one knee, unable to balance. Sensing her mustering energy for yet another attack, Alexander looked on as Rend opened her mouth and unleashed a deafening roar that focused itself into a sonic blast and shot straight for him. Raising his rune covered hand, Alexander chanted, “Magistri Obex!” A barrier made of layers of red and blue rune circles formed before him, but as the sonic blast reached it, the barrier faltered. Alexander felt as though he’d been hit by an airship at full speed, and even though the barrier managed to soften the blow, Alexander still sailed through the air to crash hard into the wall behind him. 

The room stopped shaking, and as Alexander struggled to his feet, Rend called out, “C’mon now, Mr. Shades! I know you can do better!” Turning his gaze to her as she slowly started moving towards him, Alexander said, “We don’t have to do this you know. Despite all you must have done in the past, you’re the real victims here.” Flashing her toothy grin, Rend said, “So that’s why you’ve been holding back?” Seeing his face, Rend’s eyes narrowed as she said, “Thought so. The time when you punched me, and when I blocked your sword with my arm, you held back out of pity for us poor sprites, didn’t you?” A powerful aura gathered around Rend as she said, “I don’t need pity from anyone. I am a soulless creation… AND THIS IS MY PURPOSE!” She opened her mouth and again began to gather energy for a sonic blast, and as he channeled EDE into his blade, Alexander thought, “Forgive me Bella… I see no way of saving them…”

            Suddenly Richter’s voice shouted, “Charge complete. Cannon of Heaven!” Turning her attention away from the battle below, Magus looked up with eyes wide as a massive beam of prismatic colored power shot down through the elevator shaft at her. Quickly she grabbed hold of a strand of her arcane web and formed a network of more arcane strands to block it, and the power of the beam obliterated it in a prismatic explosion. Dropping through the blinding light of the blast, Richter came down with a crushing drop kick to Magus’ face, and as her mask shattered, Magus’ eyes rolled back into her head and she hung unconscious from her scarf tails. Halting her attack, Rend looked up and exclaimed, “What?!” Coming down to land on the floor, Richter raised his dual barreled pistols and opened fire at Rend, who quickly turned away from Alexander and rushed at him. Rend’s thick fur deflected the prismatic bullets like they were nothing, but as she leaped at him to strike, a beam of frostfire knocked her out of the air and sent her bouncing across the ground. Richter turned to Alexander with a grin and said, “Looks like we’re even already!” 

Returning his grin, Alexander said, “You had me quite worried you know…” Looking up at Magus hanging there unconscious, Richter said, “It was the only way I could have caught her off guard. With those spiders running around, she had eyes all over the room, so I had to move somewhere outside their gaze.” Raising his arm to display a bracelet of crystals around his wrist, Richter said, “When she lost sight of me in the explosion, I formed this crystal bracelet that generates a field with the same effect as my Refraction ability. The light waves that would normally bounce back off my body and into your eyes were completely disrupted. It only worked for a brief few seconds, but it was enough to get into the elevator shaft unseen.” Reverting back to her original form, as Rend struggled to pick herself up, she looked up at Magus hanging there and muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Just when it was getting good…”

            Glancing up at Magus’ unconscious body a moment, Alexander turned to face Rend and said, “I think now would be a good time to consider surrendering.” Dropping into a battle stance once more, Rend smirked and said, “Not happening! Don’t forget who you’re dealing with! We’d rather die than fail! You aren’t going anywhere without the code Magus has!” Raising his pistols at her, Richter said, “You think you can defeat us both?” Suddenly, a voice from above said, “Caecus Centum Lacrimas Dolor!” Having regained consciousness, her face painted with blue streaks down the sides of her face from her eyes, a white gem affixed to her forehead, Magus angrily glared down at Richter and Alexander with her multi colored eyes as dozens of orbs made of arcane power formed around her. Grinning wickedly, Rend quickly got out of harms way as the orbs rained down and engulfed Richter and Alexander in explosions of arcane magic. 

As the dust cleared, Alexander stood over Richter’s unconscious body with a broken shield formed of Corrupted EDE raised around them. Injured by the surprise attack, as he began to heal himself, Alexander muttered, “Victims or not, I will not go down without a fight!” Magus simply chanted, “Caecus Lancea.” As a spear of arcane magic formed in her hand, Magus took hold of it and dropped down from her web, and landing gracefully she said, “Rend, report back to our master…” Flexing her clawed hands, Rend said, “Who do you take me for?! I haven’t had a fight like this in ages! I’m not going anywhere!” Leveling her arcane spear at Rend, Magus said, “You may be the master’s favorite, but I am the one in charge of this operation! You will do as I command! Not only have you let your bloodlust go to your head, but you’ll be useless without me channeling the wavelength!” As Magus withdrew her spear, Rend shrugged and muttered, “Fine, fine. Just don’t come crying to me if he’s too much for you to handle!” Quickly Rend leaped up onto the side of one of the pillars, and pushing off from it she leaped up into the elevator shaft and disappeared. 

Finished healing most of his wounds, Alexander touched the tip of his sword to the ground and chanted, “Nox Curator Sigilli.” He stepped out of the black rune circle that appeared, leaving Richter in the circle as a shield of darkness formed over him like a shell. As he stared Magus down, Alexander pleaded, “See reason Magus! You’re being used for evil, a pawn in the plan of a scheming noble! Whatever loyalties you hold for him, he holds none for you! He’ll use you and cast you aside!” Magus hurled her arcane spear at Alexander, but with his rune covered hand Alexander grabbed it out of the air just as it was about to strike him. As he cast it aside, Magus channeled arcane magic into her hands and chanted, “Manus Ut Magicis.” As arcane rune circles glowed on the palms of both her hands, Magus said, “You waste your words. This is my purpose, and whether it is good or evil I truly do not care.” Suddenly her scarf tails shot out, and as Alexander raised his sword in defense, they moved around it and grabbed hold of his arm. Pulling with powerful force, the silken appendages swung him around and flung him sailing towards the wall behind her, and turning around Magus fired a barrage of arcane magic from the circles on her hands as she shouted, “If it were his will, I would set the entire world ablaze!”

            Opening a dark vortex just as he was about to strike the wall, Alexander disappeared into it as arcane magic rained against the wall. Dropping out of a dark vortex above his opponent, Alexander’s sword struck the floor as Magus leaped away. As she landed, she raised a hand and fired more bolts of arcane power, and Alexander quickly charged his blade with EDE. As the blade burned with heat and cold, he swung it in an arc to unleash a wave of frostfire, intercepting Magus’ attacks and detonating them in a brilliant blast. Magus’ scarf tails burst out of the smoke and shot out at him once more, but deflecting them with his sword, Alexander quickly aimed his blade at her and chanted, “Septimo Spiritus Fulmen!” Bursting from the rune circle that formed from the tip of his sword, a serpentine dragon of lightning shot out at Magus, who leaped back towards the wall as its crackling jaws rent the air where she’d stood. Quickly the dragon pursued her, but grabbing hold of the wall with the ends of her scarf tails, which formed into claw like appendages, Magus pulled herself from its jaws once more and flung herself up the side of the wall. The dragon crashed into the wall below her, and planting her feet against the wall, Magus pushed off and leaped into the air, grabbing hold of part of her abandoned web with her scarf tails. 

Crawling along her web, Magus began firing bolts of arcane magic at Alexander again, who quickly started dodging and deflecting them. Losing ground steadily, as he found himself backed into a wall, Alexander quickly chanted, “Ventus Ambulans!” Turning and running up the wall as he became light as air, Alexander then chanted, “Cesso, Susicivus Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Ignis Quod Nox!” His delayed spell readied, Alexander opened a dark vortex in his path and ran into it as arcane power rained against the wall where he had been. Appearing on the side of one of the pillars supporting the room, Alexander slapped his rune covered hand against the side of the pillar, and as Magus saw him and opened fire with more arcane bolts, he quickly opened another dark vortex and vanished into it. Appearing on the next pillar he once again slapped his hand against it and vanished, and in confusion Magus muttered, “What is he up to?” After slapping his hand on the last two pillars, Alexander leaped off and landed back on the ground below Magus. Stabbing his sword into the ground and raising his hand up, he chanted, “Magistri Obex!” As he blocked more arcane bolts with the barrier of rune circles that formed, Alexander began to chant, “Magistri-” Suddenly, Magus’ arcane bolts swerved around the barrier and came at him from all sides, and Alexander quickly changed his chant to, “Validus Terra Obex!” 

With not a second to spare, walls of stone rose up like a dome around Alexander, but they were quickly destroyed as Magus’ arcane bolts rained against it. Predicting his next move, Magus quickly chanted, “Caecus Lancea!” Once again, Magus formed a spear of arcane energy just as Alexander appeared out of a dark vortex right behind her, standing upside down upon a strand of the web with the still active wind walking spell and rushing at her with a swing of his frostfire sword. As Magus blocked with her spear, Alexander grinned and said, “I’ll have you stay still now if you don’t mind! Catenas Glacies!” Chains of ice burst from his blade and wrapped around Magus, tying up her arms and binding her to the sword, and Alexander wasted no time as he chanted, “Magistri Circuli, Vena Iacio!” From the four points at which Alexander had placed his hand on each of the pillars, red rune circles formed and adjusted themselves so that they aimed up at Magus. Alexander quickly opened a dark vortex as he prepared to escape at the last moment, but suddenly one of Magus’ scarf tails relinquished its hold upon the web and grabbed him by the neck. Holding tight to him, Magus said, “You’re not going anywhere!” From each rune circle, a barrage of fire arrows shot up at them. Grabbing the scarf with his rune covered hand, Alexander channeled EDE into the runes on his hand and froze the scarf material solid, and snapping it off with his hand, he tossed his sword so that the ice chains connected to it got tangled with a nearby strand of the web. Freed from Magus’ grasp, Alexander leaped through the dark vortex just as the energy arrows were closing in. Hanging from her remaining scarf tail, her body still chained to Alexander’s sword, there was a sour look on Magus’ face as she hurriedly chanted, “Arma Familiar Est Magus!” Moments later there was a storm of fiery explosions as the fire arrows impacted.

            Stepping out of a dark vortex on the ground below, Alexander recalled his sword to his hand and looked up as the smoke from the blast was suddenly sucked in by a swirling black mass of dark energy. Watching the affects of his darkness based Susicivus spell in action, he thought, “There, the arrows hit dead on. The darkness based after effect I added to the fire arrow spell created a power sealing field. She’ll no doubt have survived the blast, but her strength to fight will most certainly be gone.” Suddenly a shockwave of arcane magic swept the power draining field aside, and Alexander laid his eyes on a strange sight. Still hanging from her scarf, Magus was cocooned in a web wrap of arcane thread, spiders scurrying about along her wrapped up body. Then they scurried up onto the web and slowly the arcane thread around Magus vanished. Her scarf released its grip upon the web and Magus dropped down to gracefully land on the ground before Alexander. 

With a disappointed expression, Alexander muttered, “I see, the spiders defended you…” As the spiders skittered down the pillars, down the walls, appearing from everywhere, Magus said, “My familiars serve as much more than spies. They are an extension of myself, creatures born from magic just as I was.” Glancing back and forth as the spiders gathered around them, Alexander said, “Birth does not have to define one’s destiny Magus.” Narrowing her eyes, Magus said, “Destiny is for those who have souls. I have only my purpose. You could have defeated me with a powerful spell just now, but instead you tried to spare me. For that, you are a fool…” Raising a hand, Magus chanted, “Congregate Ad Familiares Caecus Magus, Da Mihi Potestatem Gladius Incarnatus Magica!” The spiders around them quivered and became concentrations of arcane magic, and gathering in Magus’ hand they took the form of a sword with a red crystal blade and a spider shaped guard. Grasping its handle tightly, Magus muttered, “I should have done this as soon the other one was dealt with…”

            Raising her Hadrox Spellblade, Magus chanted, “Mente Telas.” Her eyes glowed and so did the crystal blade of her sword, and dropping into a defensive stance, Alexander watched as suddenly Magus began to blur and then vanished. Looking around in confusion, Alexander thought, “Invisibility? Teleportation? What technique is she-” Startled by a sudden hissing sound, Alexander turned his attention to the hand with which he held his sword, only now it did not hold a sword but a snake. Throwing it away quickly, as it slithered off, Alexander looked at his hand in utter disbelief for a moment. Then as he was struck powerfully in the face by an unseen force and landed sprawled on his back, Magus’ voice echoed through the room, “Something wrong?” Before he could get up, he felt what seemed like the force of a powerful kick against his side and he rolled across the ground. Just as he’d struggled to his hands and knees, something wrapped around his waist and flung him into the side of one of the support pillars. 

Slumped against the side of the pillar, his signature shades now resting on the ground beside him, as Alexander looked up he saw multiple transparent images of Magus surrounding him. Staring down at Alexander, the phantasmal Magus clones all said, “What happened to all your self righteous chatter? Perhaps your ‘destiny’ ends here…” Struggling to his feet, Alexander said, “An illusion? Of course, the hypnotic wavelength!” As the entire room seemed to sway and quiver, Magus’ clones said, “Knowing it’s an illusion does you little good. It’s through our minds that we conceive all reality. I cannot directly control you with it, but as long as I focus my wavelength on a single person’s mind, I can turn their world upside down!” As barbed wire burst from out of the pillar itself and wrapped around him, Alexander grimaced in pain as they constricted and pinned him to the pillar, the barbs digging into his skin. All her lookalikes vanishing, Magus said, “I’ll break your mind and bring you back as ordered. I wonder, how long will you last…?” Struggling to free himself, Alexander thought, “However cowardly, this may be one of the most dangerous abilities I have ever encountered!”