[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 282 – One More Light

The lightning was a dead giveaway to the element the Immortal was relying upon for his speed. In a normal fight, that would have spelled his doom. Good fighters, especially mages, could neutralize a known element if they were skilled and experienced enough. However, the Immortal’s speed increase made that a non-issue.

Even if somebody could counter the element, by the time they readied the skill or spell, the Immortal would have run them through.

Most people were not Sam.

Even still, he barely had the time to raise his hand and use [Void: Smother], targeting the lightning element.

[Void: Smother] 

(Magical Art) (F-Class)

(★☆ Uncommon)

As your control over the Void within you improves, you are able to designate an area that inhibits the proper functioning flow of mana, reducing the effectiveness of the mana type you designate. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Insight, Arcane, and Vigor when using [Void: Smother].

Mana Cost: Varies

A wave of dark smoke rolled out from Sam, smothering the area around him in a circle. As the Immortal came on at breakneck speed, he passed through the leading edge of smoke and stumbled.

Carried forward on his momentum, the Immortal lost all control without the use of his Lightning mana. With an almost lazy thrust, Sam impaled the Immortal on his wickedly curved greatsword.

Being speared through the middle on a normal sword would have been devastating, but survivable for some. A greatsword–especially a baldr type–was a sure death sentence.

Despite that, the Immortal’s limp body jerked, and he lifted his head to meet Sam’s gaze. Blood bubbled and frothed at the corners of his mouth. “You can’t stop it,” he wheezed.

To Sam’s surprise, the Immortal gripped the blade and pulled himself closer to Sam. “The Silent Stars are the only solution, don’t you see? The Emperor’s blood must be spilled. The last lights, stolen. There. Can. Be. No. Hope.”

“Sam, push him off!” Komachi cried.

Sam noticed what the Immortal was doing too late. He released his grip on the sword and kicked with all of his might, sending the Immortal’s glowing body away in an awkward sprawl.

[Self Destruct]

Burning orange light leaked out of every gap in the Immortal’s armor. It flickered once, then the room turned blindingly white. Heat unlike anything Sam had ever felt washed over him.

There was no time to erect a barrier or even breathe. The explosion knocked Sam into the opposite wall, stunning him as his head slammed against the stone.

He couldn’t hear anything other than the roaring of flames.

Slowly sound and light came back into focus. The dull thudding of his heartbeat was all he could hear. Pain like he had never felt before soaked into every inch of his skin.

“Komachi?” Sam croaked. He had [Covered] her, but he had rarely taken so much damage at once. As his vision returned, the scene in front of him froze his blood.

He saw Komachi’s body sprawled out on the ground, beret smoldering with embers. Instruments were scattered everywhere. Harps, guitars, horns, and a drum set. Even some treasure had fallen free. Small golden piles of it were slowly melting in a perimeter around her.

However, the coins within that invisible circle were fine. In fact, not a single instrument was broken. Some portion of the [Cover] effect held.

Komachi let out a pitiful meow. All four paws trembling, she struggled to rise, then stumbled sideways and slumped over.

He didn’t want to think about what would have happened without [Cover].

Sam scrambled on all fours over to Komachi, heedless of the flames, and scooped her up in one arm. “Shh, it’s okay, Komachi. I’ve got you.”

“Everythin’s movin’ real fast...” Her eyes were spinning like the world’s worst bout of vertigo.

“Just rest,” Sam told her, gingerly slipping her into his battered and dented armor. It was like pouring a furry drink. His cat easily slipped into the armor’s accommodating space designed just for her. She could even tap mana into the armor to see what was going on, much like Raiko’s enchanted hat.

Sam picked up the rest of her unbroken items. The fused loot and coins were left where they were.

“You’re just like Sonic,” Sam muttered to the empty room. “Get hit hard enough and all your loot comes out.”

She meowed grumpily, then mumbled about being like Chompers. Grumpy was at least better than miserable.

The entire room was in flames, the Immortal was nowhere to be seen, and Sam’s [Imperial Baldr] was lodged in the wall beside his head, still vibrating like a massive tuning fork.

He took another look at the blade and noticed that the sword was embedded into the wall hilt first and barely more than a few inches from where his head had been.

“What the hell are the Silent Stars?” Sam wondered, trying to piece together what the Immortal had told him.

He didn’t have long to ponder the Immortal’s cryptic words.

The gate burst open with the light of a thousand suns, blinding Sam yet again. “Come on! I just got my vision back!” he bellowed angrily.

Guttural voices echoed through the cloister as the light died and shapes took their place. At first, Sam couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

“Killer Croc?” he asked, confused.

“Kill the manling!” a deep voice called out.

Sam unsheathed his second greatsword and carefully backed up away from the gate and the incoming monsters, buying what little time he could for his vision to restore itself.

“I know I’m asking a lot of you,” Sam told his body, “but if you could speed up the vision a bit, that’d be great.”

Apparently Komachi mistook that for him talking to her. Silvery notes of [Ninefold Harmony: Regen Paeon] began to flow out of his armor, then cut off again. For the briefest moment, the sheer force of it was like being healed by a god.

She was desperately struggling to play the harp.

“Komachi, stop,” Sam whispered sharply. “Just rest. I’ve got this.”

I very much do not have this, Sam thought as his vision returned and he witnessed the army arrayed against him.

Sam had fought in many monster incursions since he first came to the Empire, but this was the first time he had seen more than one faction represented at a time.

It was an alliance of monsters.

On their own, the monsters never would have stood a chance at taking the capital. Together, however, was a very different story. The many tribes outnumbered the citizens of the Empire 10 to 1. If they ever learned to cooperate the Empire was done for.

Taken alone, the monsters were difficult to deal with at the best of times. When temporary alliances were made with one or more tribes, they became something that required all of the Granserpents.

This was something more. It was the power of the Lumanot, though Sam couldn’t be sure how. He could feel the twin pull of two Lumanots. One behind, one in front.

On the large plinth suspended over the darkness, Sam could hear the song of the Lumanot struggling to break free of its confines. He felt and heard the ring of his boots on the metal catwalk, but refused to turn and look.

The monsters, seeing a lone disoriented warrior instead of their inside man, must have been confused. They came on slowly, but sure in the knowledge that he was cornered.

He didn’t want to break the spell by looking at the Lumanot.

Sam had inadvertently used its power before by carrying it with him after breaking the lamia’s vessel. It had been overwhelming, nearly blinding and useless to him at the time.

This time, he had to find a way to ride the waves of power instead of being nearly drowned by them.

He needed to wield the Lumanot’s power again. Alone and badly hurt against an army of allied monsters, it was his only chance. Even his bloodline wouldn’t get him out of this.

Not without burying them all beneath a mountain of rubble.

Even with all of his fighting and training, Sam could tell that he stood no chance of fighting the Lumanot wielding monster. Maybe if it was one-on-one, but the walking 10-foot crocodile monster with two heads was backed by a massive army.

There were no Granserpents around. No Imperial army, no Immortals. It was just a man and his unconscious cat against an unholy alliance of monsters.

They must think this is going to be a cakewalk, Sam thought to himself as the winds of the Lumanot buffeted him. He felt the familiar sensation of growth and life off to the side. Sam adjusted his direction toward it without looking.

The monsters advanced, snarling, hissing, and grinning evilly. They knew he had nowhere to go.

At the last moment, Sam spun and jumped the gap to the Lumanot’s plinth. He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew how he had used the Lumanot before. All he had to do was repeat that.

“Stop him!” called a sibilant voice.

Sam pressed his hand to the tall plinth and concentrated on his Breaker bloodline to shatter the thing. In an instant, he recognized the device for what it was.

An antenna.

It broadcast the Lumanot’s power over a wide area, spreading its gift of strength and light for all the twinned cities to enjoy.

The plinth was a work of art, one that Sam knew the Empire would sorely miss if he destroyed it. Even if he defeated the monsters here, the destruction of the plinth would hurt the Empire.

Any conduit of power, however, could be made to flow in any way its user wished. Sam infused his hand with Void mana to carefully open a hole in the plinth’s channels.

The Lumanot high above dimmed immediately as the flow of power reversed its direction, flooding into Sam’s body.

The room filled with screaming as monsters rushed toward him. Cruel blades, wicked axes, whips of shark teeth, and many more barbaric weapons fell on his shoulders and broke across his back.

Sam felt none of them.

The Lumanot filled him up, supercharging his body and his Tin aura until it blazed with the light of a thousand suns. Those monsters closest to Sam were vaporized instantly as his aura expanded until it clashed with another empowered by the swirling scintillating winds of the Lumanot.

Sam turned and raised his greatsword. He felt like a god. Power thrummed in his veins. Light spilled out of him like he was about to explode. It was all he could do just to keep hold of himself and the Lumanot.

Each step forward brought pools of argent light rippling across the floor, seeping into the cracks and repairing them until the burned and charred tiles were like new again.

Across the way, the double-headed crocodile monster was clearly much more comfortable wielding the Lumanot than Sam. His aura expanded like a barrier, pushing back against Sam’s encroachment.

Even after seeing the destruction of their allies, more monsters poured into the cloister. They split around the lead monster and came at Sam with spell, ability, tooth, and claw.

Each movement Sam made felt like his bones were made of molten lead. It took a colossal amount of power just to move a few feet. He soon realized that when he was able to push himself in a direction, he simply appeared there without bothering to cross the intervening distance.

He marveled at what the Lumanot was capable of.

A hulking, brutish creature reared up in front of him, halting his progress to the two-headed monster. The damn thing looked like it bench pressed semi-trucks for fun and snacked on sedans. Sam threw out a single punch that ripped through the wall of muscle as if it were tissue paper.

A wave of destructive force rolled out of Sam’s fist, obliterating the monster and the two qultrubs that had been hiding behind him.

You defeat a [Grimal Bruiser (Level 40)].

You gain additional Experience for slaying a Decent Challenge monster!

You defeat a [Qultrub Assassin (Level 41)].

You gain additional Experience for slaying a Decent Challenge monster!

You defeat a [Qultrub Assassin (Level 40)].

You gain additional Experience for slaying a Decent Challenge monster!

Level Up!

Your [Swordsman] Job has reached Level 48.

+9 Strength | +9 Vigor | +5 Agility | +5 Dexterity

+3 Bonus Points

Sam grinned to himself and pulled his arm back, pushing what remained of the towering monster corpse to the side. “You want the Lumanot?” he said, staring straight at the two-headed monster. “Then come get it.”