Free Web NovelChapter 533: Chapter 521: Slaughter
[Realm: Uhorus] frёeωebɳovel.com
[Location: Verdantis]
[Western Outskirts]
Aerinon and Lucinda followed Alyssia’s line of sight almost immediately. Neither of them needed to ask what she had seen; the answer stretched across the snowy landscape before them.
A swarm of Abyssal Creatures, hundreds of them, perhaps even more. They were scattered across the rolling hills in large clusters, some trudging slowly through the snow, others crawling low on the frozen earth, while several slithered with unnerving movements over rocks and ice alike. A handful stood completely motionless, neither hunting nor wandering, as though waiting for something only they could perceive.
As always, there was no consistent shape among them. Some resembled malformed beasts with an absurd number of limbs. Others possessed elongated humanoid silhouettes whose proportions refused to resemble anything natural. Several looked as though they had been stitched together from incompatible creatures.
Others were little more than masses of writhing darkness held together by violet markings that, as ever, pulsed in an odd pattern beneath their pitch-black hides.
It was far too clear to see that none of them belonged in the natural world.
"So..." Alyssia leant forward ever so slightly, studying them with open curiosity rather than apprehension. "So those are Abyssal Creatures."
Her red eyes moved from one grotesque form to another as she tilted her head.
"I have to admit..." A small look of distaste crossed her face. "...they’re considerably more disgusting than I imagined."
Lucinda glanced towards her.
"It’s your first time actually seeing them?" There was mild surprise in her voice; given everything Alyssia had no doubt already experienced, she had unconsciously assumed otherwise.
Alyssia nodded without taking her eyes off the creatures.
"It is." Her tone remained thoughtful. "I’ve spent almost all of my time confined to the capital." She said as she exhaled quietly. "It was never directly attacked while I was there." Her gaze remained fixed on the distant horde. "I’ve seen the Abyssal tears countless times..." She narrowed her eyes. "...but never what emerged from them."
For another few moments she simply observed; there was not much to analyse. Of course there wasn’t, not because the Abyssal Creatures were being unpredictable. It was the exact opposite; they weren’t doing anything of note. So there was nothing worthy of observation for the most part.
"I suppose..." Alyssia spoke more to herself than anyone else. "...what they’re surrounded by is Abyssal Energy." Her expression grew more focused. "It feels denser than mana." She noted with a small frown. "And extremely malevolent."
Lucinda nodded.
"It is." She looked towards the distant creatures herself. "Abyssal Energy is what they primarily draw upon." Her explanation came naturally as she continued. "I’ve always assumed it functions for them much the same way mana functions for us. As both fuel and a foundation."
Lucinda paused briefly before she continued.
"Although..." A small frown crossed her features. "...most of what I’ve personally witnessed amounts to them simply releasing it in overwhelming quantities. They’re capable of more than that; I’m certain they are. But that’s what I’ve seen most often."
Alyssia nodded slowly.
"Good." She sounded almost satisfied. "That gives me enough to work with." Her expression brightened slightly. "I see little reason to waste time with this rabble." She casually raised one pale hand towards the distant swarm. "I’ll simply erase the lot of them."
The declaration was delivered with complete sincerity.
Lucinda’s eyes widened.
Almost instinctively, she reached out and gently caught Alyssia by the wrist before the spell could even begin.
Alyssia blinked.
She looked first at Lucinda’s hand, then at Lucinda herself.
Lucinda forced a patient smile.
"When you say..." She chose her wording carefully. "...’erase the lot of them’..." Her smile became just a fraction more strained. "...what exactly do you have in mind?"
Alyssia answered without hesitation.
"A large-scale mana detonation." She spoke as though suggesting something perfectly reasonable. "I might accidentally remove a mountain." She considered the possibility. "Perhaps two."
A tiny shrug followed.
"But honestly..." She looked genuinely unconcerned. "...who really cares?" Her eyes returned towards the horde. "The world is ending, is it not?"
Lucinda slowly closed her eyes, then released a very long breath.
Alyssia possessed more life experience by two years.
Yet somehow...
Common sense abandoned her with astonishing speed.
"Alyssia..." Lucinda’s tone remained remarkably patient. "If you release that much mana..." She gestured towards the broken skies. "The Abyssal tears will react."
Her gaze returned to Alyssia.
"And remind me..." A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "...what was it Guinevere wanted you to train?" The question was entirely rhetorical.
Alyssia stared thoughtfully into the distance.
She genuinely considered it; several seconds passed. Lucinda watched in increasing disbelief; for one terrifying moment she wondered whether Alyssia had actually forgotten.
Then realisation finally appeared.
"Oh." Alyssia lightly struck one fist into her open palm. "Right." Memory had returned. "The old hag wanted me to improve my efficiency."
Lucinda nodded immediately.
"Exactly." Then she asked another question. "And do you truly believe levelling half the countryside with an enormous explosion is the most efficient way to accomplish that?"
Alyssia hummed, her fingers moving thoughtfully to her chin; it seemed like she actually considered the criticism.
"Hm..." Another pause followed. "I suppose..." A tiny sigh escaped her. "...probably not."
Lucinda visibly relaxed.
Small progress was still progress.
She couldn’t help thinking that if Aerinon possessed even the slightest inclination towards expressive reactions...
He would almost certainly be staring at the two of them with the most exhausted expression imaginable.
Instead, he remained perfectly unreadable as always.
Lucinda slowly stepped forward.
"The easiest place to begin improving efficiency..." She raised her gauntleted hands. "...is reducing scale while increasing lethality."
Her hands rose before her chest, palms hovering only inches apart.
"I’d also recommend avoiding elaborate spell structures for now." She looked towards Alyssia. "Pure mana manipulation teaches control far more effectively." Her fingers shifted slightly. "Watch carefully."
A red sphere of condensed mana gradually ignited between her palms, small and perfectly round. It hovered motionlessly; not a single spark escaped its surface, and there was not a single ripple to disturb the surrounding air.
Then without warning the orb shot forward; its acceleration was almost instantaneous. A streak of red crossed the snowy landscape before coming to an abrupt halt high above the scattered Abyssal Creatures.
For only a heartbeat, it remained still.
Then the attack truly began; thin red streams burst outward in every direction. Each strand, no thicker than a thread, curved sharply through the air. They changed direction and split around one another.
Streams zigzagged between the moving creatures with astonishing speed.
One beam pierced directly through the chest of a hulking Abyssal Creature; its massive black body convulsed, and the violet sigils glowing beneath its flesh flickered violently before fading altogether. The creature collapsed without another movement.
Another stream passed through two unnaturally lanky creatures in a single line before continuing onward.
A third impaled something resembling a malformed hound as it attempted to leap; another pierced a vaguely humanoid creature through its head.
The beams never slowed or wasted movement; they never struck the ground. And within mere moments, over a dozen Abyssal Creatures had fallen. The red orb quietly dispersed, its purpose fulfilled. freewebnσvel.cøm
Silence briefly reclaimed the snowy field.
Only a scattered number of surviving creatures remained, aimlessly shifting through the snow as though nothing had happened.
"Oh..." Alyssia’s eyes widened ever so slightly; there was admiration in her voice. "You didn’t even scorch the snow."
Lucinda lowered her hands, and a small smile appeared.
"That was intentional." She nodded towards the area. "I also concealed the nature of my mana as much as possible." Her gaze briefly shifted upward towards the Abyssal tears. "I didn’t want them reacting more violently than necessary."
She looked back towards Alyssia.
"Mana itself isn’t especially difficult to shape, certainly not for spawns like us." She spoke it confidently. "The difficult part..." Her expression became more thoughtful. "...is finding a method that naturally suits you." She rested one gauntleted hand against her side. "Efficiency isn’t something another person can simply hand to you. You have to develop your own approach, your own habits and your own way of controlling mana."
Lucinda looked more thoughtful with each passing word as she continued.
"So that part..." A small smile returned. "...will have to come from you."
"Hm..." Alyssia no longer looked towards the remaining Abyssal Creatures. Instead, she stared thoughtfully at the empty air where Lucinda’s orb had vanished.
Her mind was already racing.
("Her control was astonishingly precise.") She replayed every movement. ("Those streams avoided the snow.") Another memory surfaced, the falling snowflakes.
Not a single one had been disturbed unless it lay directly within a beam’s path.
("Even the snowflakes...") Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ("Compressing mana alone reaches a limit.") She quietly analysed her own habits. ("Eventually the density begins reducing its overall effectiveness.")
Another possibility slowly formed.
("But...") The pieces gradually aligned. ("If I create an outlet...") She almost smiled. ("Rather than endlessly compressing it...") The idea became clearer. ("...I could transmute my mana instead.")
She unconsciously lifted one hand, studying it.
("Alter its mass, its appearance and even the signature it gives off.")
The concept settled neatly into place; a small smile finally appeared.
("Yes, that could work.")
