The Infinite Bk. 05 Ch. 12

"This blade comes from your predecessor, Kaisen, a lovely spider I had the pleasure of knowing. It's enchanted to inflict extra damage to fiends and negate Profane resilience, so not only are the wounds far worse, they don't heal. I prepared several blades for you filthy monsters, and now I will feed you to them."

"Kill these humans!" Kaisen roared.

"All troops, charge!" Lupin ordered.

The two armies swarmed towards each other, soldiers and knights vs. the fiends. Kaisen's elite troops all converged on Noah, but he was ready. As he charged, the goat-headed man lowered his head, producing a massive field of dark mana in front of him, smashing through soldiers like they were being run over by a train.

Noah conjured an illusory machine gun and sprayed the charging fiend with bullets, each one disrupting his mana and chipping away at the oncoming rampart. By the time he reached Noah, his attack was withered enough for Noah to simply step to the side and bifurcate him. The fiend collapsed, ripped open like an old pillow with blood spraying. Lying there, he found himself unable to move, with his wounds refusing to heal. He was just bleeding like a simple beast.

As he lay dying, his comrade, a cobra-type fiend, attacked. She had no legs, only a long tail that could change its length. The powerful appendage writhed like a firehose and smashed everything around her with destructive force. Every time her tail stuck a knight or soldier, they were sent flying like a baseball hitting a bat, while the surrounding buildings collapsed like houses of cards.

Her tail coiled around Noah, ready to crush his bones, but before it could touch him, he severed it with two lightning-quick slashes, making her scream in agony. Blinded by pain and anger, she lunged towards Noah, her hood flaring and her jaws open, ready to sink her fangs into his neck. "Ah, a snake woman. You would have been fun to play with. Oh well." Noah effortlessly cut her down, his blade not slicing her flesh so much as causing the tissue to disintegrate on contact.

From above, a fiend with black wings descended, aiming for Noah with his talons. At the same time, the fiend with the head of a bear charged on all fours, locking Noah in a pincer formation. Both of them were attacking with black mana swirling around their claws, capable of ripping apart steel, but unperturbed, Noah stood his ground, and when they were finally within reach, he lashed out. He avoided their attacks with graceful agility and gentle steps and dismantled them with masterful slashes, hacking through flesh, muscle, and bone. Fountains of blood sprayed from the warriors as they collapsed, the two of them trying to understand where they went wrong in their lives to end up Noah's victims.

Kaisen and Lupin watched as Noah cut down the fiends one by one. Each was superior to a silver knight, but he reduced them to piles of bloody chunks and spilled viscera. It was more than just the blade helping him do this; it was his skill and power. Half the time, his movements appeared so fast that they couldn't even be seen. Noah would simply wave his sword like a wand, and his foes would erupt into geysers of viscera.

Lupin had heard stories of Noah's abilities, about the Night of a Hundred Heads during the last Red Revelry, and how Noah served up a mountain of death to the knighthood. He remembered Noah mentioning how he had bested Aithorn and several knights in combat. Now he understood how it was done. True, Noah wasn't the most powerful warrior, but he was perhaps the deadliest.

Soon enough, the last elite fiend was reduced to bloody pieces, leaving just Noah, Lupin, and Kaisen, while their armies battled throughout the area. "All of you are useless," Kaisen growled. "Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!"

"You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, especially when you are soon to join them," replied Noah.

"This is the end for you, Kaisen," said Lupin as he stood beside Noah. "You won't live to see the sunrise."

"You two think you can kill me? Fine, try it!"

Wrapped in black mana, Kaisen lunged for them both. Noah stepped forward to intercept, but before he could swing his blade, Kaisen had already leaped over him and was lunging for the prince. Lupin cracked his whip at Kaisen, but he merely batted it aside and brought down his claws. Lupin jumped back to dodge, and Kaisen's attack ripped apart the ground, tossing Lupin through the air.

Charging through the smoke, Noah slashed at Kaisen's neck. Kaisen dodged the attack with his superior speed, but was shocked when he felt a blade slice his chest. He had followed the sword's arc closely, but Noah's attack somehow got through, and it was far more painful than it should have been.

Kaisen opened his jaws and fired a blast of black mana, but Noah rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding annihilation. Getting back to his feet, he tried again to cut down the fiend, but Kaisen jumped. With his foe overhead, Noah once more conjured an illusory machine gun and riddled Kaisen with bullets, each weakening the dark aura around him. He couldn't use his invisibility and guns at the same time, but switching between them was easy enough.

Landing nearby, Kaisen launched a barrage of claw waves, ripping apart the earth like a plow as they surged toward Noah. Noah stood his ground and parried one of the mana blades with his sword, sending it into the sky. Before Noah could close the distance, Kaisen once more went after Lupin. Lupin was swinging his whip as fast as he could to build a charge, and once Kaisen was in range, he sent one end of the chain forward, glowing with enough mana to rip through stone like it was fallen snow. Kaisen avoided the attack and reached out with his claws. A bullet from Noah struck the back of his hand, weakening his attack, but Lupin was still slashed across the chest. Fortunately, his armor had protected him.

As he staggered back, Lupin cracked his whip, causing it to wrap around Kaisen's head while he grabbed the end. He yanked on the chain, pulling Kaisen's head forward while he jumped up and raised his knee to strike his chin. Kaisen blocked the attack and grabbed Lupin, lifting him above his head. Before he could slam Lupin into the ground, an acid arrow struck his back and released its payload. As his flesh dissolved, he staggered and dropped Lupin, and Noah charged towards him.

Kaisen gathered his strength and jumped out of range, narrowly avoiding the blades, yet somehow receiving a deep cut on his leg. That was the second time he had received an unseen attack. He didn't understand how Noah was doing it, only that he had to keep his distance. Arrogant though he was, watching his elite followers getting slaughtered was a learning experience he wasn't going to waste.

Lupin scrambled to his feet and cracked his whip, directly hitting Kaisen. However, a thick layer of mana radiating from his skin protected him, leaving Lupin unable to even wound his foe. Kaisen circled the two warriors, running and jumping across buildings. As he ran, he opened his jaws and launched a barrage of mana bombs, each one exploding like a mortar round. Noah and the prince were sent running for cover as shrapnel and corrosive mana filled the air. Buildings were obliterated by the shelling, with Noah and Lupin forced to wait out the continuous explosions in the wreckage.

"Here, take these; they'll make your attacks more effective," said Noah, handing the prince a pair of daggers identical to his sword.

"My thanks," replied Lupin as he went to work attaching them to the ends of his whip.

He then handed Lupin a small capsule. "This is a smelling salt. Crack it open, snort the contents, and it'll speed up your reactions and reflexes."

There was a lull in the volley, so Noah left his clone behind and stepped out to scan the area. He spotted Kaisen, still circling as he waited for them to reveal themselves. Noah drew his bow and launched an arrow loaded with the same explosive he added to his throwing knives. It struck Kaisen's shoulder and detonated, nearly ripping his arm off, but his flesh began stitching back together.

In response, Kaisen was about to launch another mana bomb, but Noah pelted him with bullets, disrupting the flow of power and preventing him from forming the attack. Kaisen once more went on the move, trying to escape the continuous hail of bullets so he could respond with his own attack. Unfortunately, this was the best Noah could do at the moment. Even if he could attack while concealed, Kaisen was too fast to get close. Invisibility was useless if he couldn't reach his target. He needed Kaisen to stop long enough to land a hit.

"Lupin, you ready?"

Lupin stepped out from behind cover with the two Carthace daggers affixed to the ends of his chain. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Seeing Lupin, Kaisen launched a barrage of claw attacks, surging towards them like a runaway semi. Noah and Lupin were forced to split up to dodge, narrowly avoiding annihilation. Kaisen dropped into the street and rocketed towards Lupin, but Lupin cracked his whip, sending it swinging towards Kaisen.

Kaisen jumped to avoid it, unaware of the other end of the chain closing in on him. He spotted it in midair, with Lupin flashing a smirk, but by twisting his body and exuding his mana aura, Kaisen managed to dodge it. He landed on the ground and pounced, but the prince was not helpless. With both ends of the whip still under the effect of their momentum, he pulled on the middle of the chain, redirecting the force and causing both ends to snap back and strike Kaisen with full force.

Kaisen was tossed through the air by the blow, now sporting two deep gouge marks in his flesh. He narrowly stuck the landing, skidding back with his claws carving trenches in the ground, and as soon as he stopped, an illusory RPG exploded against him, extinguishing his mana. Before he could recover, Lupin cracked his whip once more, slashing Kaisen across the throat. Kaisen staggered back with blood pouring from his neck and his wounds refusing to heal. His acid burns had mended easily, but every slash of the Carthace blades was whittling him down.

"Show me the parasite, Kaisen! I want to see it!" Lupin shouted. "I want to see the disgusting worm feeding on your blood that you sold your soul and dignity for!"

Kaisen covered his neck wound with his hand, trying to maintain the pressure in his windpipe so he could speak. "My parasite? Oh no, you misunderstand," he said with a gravelly chuckle. "I don't simply have one parasite; I have millions flowing through my veins, each smaller than a grain of sand. You would be horrified to know how many others have them and don't realize it, but mine are unique. Mine were explicitly cultivated for my body for a perfect union. They are a part of me, providing maximum power while fully stable and deformity-free. For all intents and purposes, I am a true Profane, not one of these simple hosts with a leech on their back.

Truthfully, I was supposed to be recovering for another month, but your father's death came way ahead of schedule, and we had to speed up our plans a bit. No matter, I feel amazing, and if I had to wait another month, I would have gone insane. Now I can finally kill you like I've always dreamed."

"Is all the blood you're losing part of your fantasy?" Noah asked.

Kaisen once more laughed, throwing his head back and revealing the gory smile carved into his throat. "You really think you've seen the best I can do? Oh no, no, no, no, no, I've been taking things slow, savoring the kill. Cats love to play with their food, after all. But I think the time has come. Let me show you what true power looks like!"

Black mana once more surged from his body, but with far greater intensity and volume. It wrapped around him like bandages, forming layer after layer of expanding mass. Kaisen was lifted off the ground as what was originally a dark aura broadened to become a new body. His energy had taken the form of a massive black lion, more than a hundred feet tall at the shoulder, with sabretooth tiger fangs and a mane that burned like dark fire. This form was more than simple mana; it was dense and solid, almost becoming real flesh while retaining its phantasmal properties. Looking at this new threat, all the blood drained from Lupin's face as his courage left him, while even Noah was left struggling to think of a plan.

Kaisen gazed down at them from within his monstrous new form. "So tell me prince, what say you?!"

----------

Elsewhere in the city, a similarly intense battle was taking place. Every second, Valia and Tysinger's blades were colliding over and over with showers of sparks spraying in all directions, courtesy of their mana grinding like saw blades. They were zooming in all directions, running and leaping with superhuman strength and grace, unbound by distance, as they fought across Welindar. They were like two bullets endlessly ricocheting, and every time they leaped forward, their dismount would crush wood and rend the earth. So focused on the battle, they offered no thoughts to any obstacles around them. If a building was in their way, they smashed right through like walking through a cobweb.

Valia took the lead in this battle only because she had maxed out her enhancements. Speed, strength, endurance, cutting power, balance; if she slacked in any category, Tysinger would get the upper hand, but doing so exacted a heavy toll on her body. She had even tried her sundering spell to destroy his sword, but it didn't work on enchanted weapons. Tysinger was receiving the brunt of the injuries, but they all healed as quickly as he received them. His natural ghoul abilities astounded Valia, now understanding why Noah had struggled against him.

Repelled by their last collision, Tysinger was sent skidding backward past a cluster of terrified civilians. Without looking at them or slowing down, he held out his sword and cut them to pieces as if they were nothing. Their blood soaked the blade, creating a burning aura of crimson mana. "Sanguine Wrath!"

He dropped his sword with a mighty swing, launching a mana blade towards Valia. She cut through the incoming attack with her sword, dispelling the wave, then charged towards Tysinger. Tysinger parried her attack, and she slid past him, then leaped for an attack at his blind spot. He blocked her swing and countered with a kick, which she twisted her body to avoid. She launched herself forward again, aiming for a stab, but he sidestepped and raised his sword, charging another bloody attack.

Caught in the path of his swing like a criminal at the chopping block, Valia touched the ground with her foot, using her balance enhancement to convert her forward momentum into rotational. She pivoted on her foot, swinging herself out of the path of Tysinger's roaring blade as he brought it down. She narrowly avoided annihilation as Tysinger's wave obliterated a whole row of buildings. She swung at his neck before he could reform his stance, aiming to take his head. He leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding her sword, and this time, when he countered with a kick, the blow landed.

Valia was knocked by the force, and Tysinger chased after her, once more bringing down his sword as though to execute her. Spinning around, Valia kicked his sword aside and retaliated with a slash to the leg, cutting deep. As he staggered back, Valia got to her feet and pounced on him, swinging down her blade like a hammer. He blocked the attack, and the ground buckled from the force. The moment her power waned, Tysinger disengaged and jabbed Valia in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. Even with her endurance boosted, the blow still made her buckle, but she grabbed Tysinger by the collar and pulled him forward, bashing her head against his.

Disoriented, he staggered back, and she slashed him across the chest. Roaring in determination, Tysinger dragged his sword across his open wound, wetting the blade with his own blood, then slashed the air and hit Valia point blank with a burning wave. The explosion knocked her through the air, her clothing torn, and her body covered with lacerations. She narrowly stuck the landing, and the two warriors faced each other.

"You really are as powerful as the legends say," said Tysinger, panting like her.

"High praise, coming from someone with your abilities."

"The Wandering Spirit is indeed skilled, but he doesn't have the strength or speed to keep up with me. You, on the other hand, are providing the fight I've always dreamed of."

"You as well. I regret that such a wonderful opponent is an agent of the Profane. You would have made a great ally."

"I still can be. Noah refused my offer, but I now realize you are a far more deserving candidate. Let me pass my venom on to you, let me make you a ghoul of the highest class. Join the Profane and you will reach your full potential. Your powers combined with Profane strength, you would become the greatest sword master in the world, past or future."

"After everything I've seen since coming here, all the horror and destruction wrought by your kind, you really think I would let myself become one of you? No good can come from siding with the Profane. All your power brings is misfortune."

"I noticed you aren't with your brother. I met him, you know, when he and my comrades engaged in a relic trade. Just from a glance, I could tell that his powers were beyond description, far superior to yours." Tysinger's words made Valia tremble, and a lump formed in her throat that she struggled to swallow.

"For the famous Zodiac Twins not to be traveling together, one must have betrayed or abandoned the other. If I had to guess, he's the one who went rogue, and you're looking for him, aren't you? I don't know if it's revenge or reconciliation you're after, but tell me, what do you hope to accomplish in finding him when he outclasses you in every category? Whether you want to kill him or save him, I can give you the power to do it."

Valia struggled to maintain her composure, but her hand trembled against her will, causing her sword to rattle. Tysinger was right. When she fought Valon on Kisara Island, Valia realized she wasn't strong enough to subdue her brother. The gap between their strength wasn't just painful; it was humiliating. How could she help him when she couldn't stop him? How was she supposed to help him when she couldn't make him sit still and listen?

She and Noah had discussed it and agreed that they had to get stronger if they were to have any hope of healing Valon's damaged mind, but after what they had seen and experienced on Kisara Island, where were they supposed to find that kind of power? What was she willing to do to get her brother back? What was she willing to sacrifice?

She looked at Tysinger, the warrior before her. At one time, he had just been a mortal man, a regular human, but now, his abilities surpassed any swordsman's. Without the power of Zodiac, he'd have killed her already, despite Valia being one of the greatest elf warriors who ever lived. But what would happen if she took him up on his offer?

She shook her head, trying to dispel those thoughts while thinking back to everything she had seen. How many lives had been ruined and ended by the Profane? How many snarling monsters had she encountered, once innocent people, but deformed and mutated until losing their hearts and minds? Did she really want to be corrupted like them? To become a pawn of evil?

Then again, Tysinger said she would become a ghoul like him. No mutations or deformities, just raw power coursing through her veins. She walked the path of a warrior, a noble path, but so too was she bound by her warrior ego. All fighters, no matter how disciplined, fantasized about the next level of power, imagining themselves reaching the absolute pinnacle of strength and wondering what form it would take.