Chapter 557: I Am Mane Harbinger: III (An Ancient?)
"Ah, the first one arrives," Mane smiled as he stepped across the stones of the large street he stood on. Even without looking he could feel the approach of Ancestor Fire. Her fiery aura was like a blazing furnace, and the lesser man would have cowered before it. But the one who stood here was no lesser man. Mane's smirk was impudent at least and mocking at best. He waved his hand like a man swatting away a tirelessly curious fly and the guards who lay fallen at his feet were pushed gently to the side.
"Who dares to run rampant in Amalgamation?!" Ancestor Fire' strong screech arrived even before she did. There was a kind of authority that couldn't be concealed in that voice.
"I do," Mane smiled and responded. His voice wasn't as loud, but it was clear and vibrant. His voice was like a judge – an arbitrator – and Ancestor Fire's authoritative statement was crushed.
"Ashera's Herald?" Ancestor Fire arrived with a flashy bang. Her aura was unconcealed, leaving the surrounding objects to feel the heat of her majestic power. The surprise in her eyes couldn't be hidden when she saw Mane. He may be wearing a mask, but it was impossible for her not to be able to recognise his voice.
"Bingo," Mane chuckled like a mischievous child and gave a small clap of approval, a response that didn't go down well with Ancestor Fire for she ground her teeth in fury and allowed her power to run amok.
"I don't care what it is you want to achieve, but for you to dare cause such a commotion in Amalgamation you will pay the price!"
It wasn't clear what annoyed her more: Mane's carefree attitude that seemed to hold this situation with the disregarding superiority of a monarch, or his sheer impudence in attacking her home. However, what was clear was her intent to battle.
"Ancestor Fire is here!"
"Finally, this man can be dealt with"
"I wouldn't be so confident"
"What do you mean?"
"This man put down the guards with nothing but his words. And with the same authority he tossed them aside like they were flies. He is clearly strong."
"Are you saying that this monster cannot be stopped?"
"No, he can. But he cannot be stopped by one Ancestor."
While a few of the braver peepers were confident in Ancestor Fire, there were those who weren't naïve. For those few they knew that with Mane's display so far, Ancestor Fire wouldn't be enough.
Of course Mane's sharp ears picked all these up, but he couldn't care less what the people thought of the battle. To him this was nothing serious. It was just a bit of cleaning. Pazuzu was the real deal. But Pazuzu wasn't here, so might as well focus on the one who was.
"Please do your worst," Mane smiled slightly and said. Since his face couldn't be seen because of his mask, his sly smirk remained his little secret.
"Spirit Scan," Mane's eyes flashed as he used his abilities as a Spiritualist in this world for the first time
NAME: Ancestor Fire
AGE: 100,000
HEALTH POINTS: 50,000,000/50,000,000
RACE: Ancient
BLOODLINE: Fire Ancient
BLOODLINE RANK: Level 13
LEVEL: Ascension (Level 92.95)
POWER LEVEL: 70,950,900,000
WIELDER TYPE: Energy Wielder; Body Wielder
SPECIALTY: Intelligence; Dexterity
GLOWS: Fire Manipulation; Fire Cloak; Impregnable; Ultimate Punch
BREATH: Fusion
"Oh?" Mane was surprised by what he saw. It wasn't Ancestor Fire's strength or her skills that caught him unaware. It was her race!
"Impudent brat!" Ancestor Fire raged and smashed her cane into the ground.
She had no idea what Mane's internal turmoil was, neither did she know that he was struggling to accept what he had just learned. She pushed herself forward, allowing her flames to fill the streets as she went on the offensive. In less than a second she was right in front of Mane, and using her cane as a conduit she pulled the wayward flames she had summoned into a straight line and morphed it into an enormous spear. Then she smashed it into Mane.
"She is an Ancient?" Mane mumbled in surprise.
He ignored Ancestor Fire's charge. He ignored her strike. And he certainly overlooked the spear headed his way. He allowed it to strike him. He took the blow calmly; unlike his turbulent mind which was still processing what he hadn't yet understood.
Spirit Scan was never wrong. Some things could be hidden, but to deceive it took the skills of a true Spiritualist; a power that Ancestor Fire didn't have.
*Boom*
The giant spear smashed into the stationary Mane, much to Ancestor Fire's surprise. Her eyes were filled with confusion. For she didn't think that Mane was this weak. How could he not evade a simple blow?
"It seems that Ancestor Origin overestimated your abilities," Ancestor Fire was slightly disappointed. It had been so long since she got to stretch her limbs. She didn't think the fight was going to be this easy.
"It seems he isn't so strong after all"
"Yeah. He was literally all talk"
"Hehehe. That's a good joke."
Many of the peepers felt their anxious hearts regain their calm. And they kicked themselves for thinking little of their Ancestor. Many of them felt that it had been so long since they saw their Ancestors that they had overestimated the enemy and underestimated their ally. But soon their eyes popped out of their sockets. They watched in shock as the flames faded to reveal the figure of the man whom they thought was done for. What was revealed wasn't a pillar of ash, nor a broken corpse. What they got was a healthy man; a healthy man whose clothes were not even ruffled.
"How is that possible?"
Even Ancestor Fire was stunned by the results. Ancestor Origin was the strongest person she knew, but the older man wouldn't dare receive her flames without any protection.
"It must be his clothes," Ancestor Fire refused to accept that there was a person with this level of power. So she attributed Mane's omnipotent display to his attire. She concluded, all on her own, that Mane must be wearing some highly graded artefacts that protected him from her storm. After all, why else would his clothes be intact after such a blow if they weren't special?
"I just have to destroy them then!" Ancestor Fire was quick to choose her next course of action. Having deemed Mane's attire to be the defensive mogul of this era, she decided to destroy it. So she started her own barrage of fire attacks.
*Boom*
The first attack came. And without waiting for the flames to die down the second arrived. The third followed swiftly after. And then the fourth. Soon there was a large billowing storm in the middle of Amalgamation, with Mane caught in it.
"That must be where the battle is ongoing," the rushing Ancestor Origin's 'dead' eyes spotted the flames in the distance. And he sped towards it. However, the one on the receiving end of the strikes was busily mulling over what he had discovered.
Mane's mind raced back to the suspicions he had concerning Ancestor Fire and Ancestor Bold. He believed the two were hiding something and now his senses were screaming at him, telling him that this was it. The increase in his power as a Scholar was the confirmation of his suspicions, and Mane couldn't believe his eyes for a while.
"Ancients have infiltrated Amalgamation?"
How was that even possible? According to the records Ancestor Fire had been born and raised in Amalgamation. And the same could be said for Ancestor Bold. How was it possible for them to be Ancients? And even more unbelievable was the lack of distinction between both of their auras and the auras of Elementals! What kind of skill was this? What kind of power could achieve such levels of perfection?
"It can't be!" Mane was having a hard time accepting this.
There was a skill capable of evading his strong senses? Mane had ignored the fact that even Ashera hadn't sensed anything amiss. This was because whatever skill it was so strong that it could evade Ashera's senses. And certainly whoever it was that had cast the skill on them was powerful enough to do so. Mane didn't know that the Ancients had people that powerful. He knew they were the strongest race, but he didn't think they were this powerful.
"True Eyes," Mane quickly summoned the eyes that could cause the envy of kings in order to confirm the things his eyes had seen. And once they were open he could see. He saw past the flames and into Ancestor Fire's body. And by seeing he realised that it was indeed true. Ancestor Fire's star map was similar to Dan's. She was very much an Ancient!
"I can't believe I allowed myself to be fooled," Mane's face grew slightly hot. If he had analysed the Ancestor with True Eyes he wouldn't be in this mess. For with True Eyes he could have easily seen things as they were. He made a promise to himself to never be so stupid ever again. He wouldn't ignore the use of his gifts any longer.
"Then Ancestor Bold's enthusiasm to kill Dan, was it even real? Or was it a way to report new developments to the Ancients? That would explain his 'apology visit'. Did he really attack or did he just delay for a while and return with the report that a mysterious passerby stopped him?"
So many questions took over, seemingly holding more weight than the furious tornado that threatened to cook him alive. However, the answer to these questions couldn't be given now. The only person who could reply to them was Crystal. Mane would have to wait for her return. But for now, there was something else that interested him.
"That mark," Mane's True Eyes were focused on a small golden mark stamped onto the surface of Ancestor Fire's Star Map.
That mark looked familiar. It was a golden little phoenix with its wings spread apart as if to take flight. Mane's mind took less than a second to remember what it was and where he had seen it.
"Basileus!"
Mane's eyes went wide when he was finally able to place the mark within his mind. Now he knew why the mark was so familiar. It was the same mark he had. It was the mark that signified his power as Basileus's inheritor! This made him much more confused. How were the Ancients related to Basileus? And what was his mark doing on Ancestor Fire?
"The skill that was used…It's a lease!"
The new discovery had Mane reeling with excitement. Leases! They signified the embodiment of Chaos. The fact that a Lease had been cast meant that there was a Spiritualist amongst the Ancients! And a very powerful one at that! And maybe Mane would be able to get answers from this person as to why he had Basileus's mark.
"Ashera the Scholar for Elementals. And a mysterious Spiritualist for the Ancients. I wonder if the Barbarians have anyone of interest." Mane was much calmer now. The turmoil was temporarily extinguished, not unlike the flames that threatened to drown him in.
"That's enough," Mane declared with Words of Power, and the flames were forcibly extinguished.
"How?" Ancestor Fire's exhausted figure was the first thing that Mane saw when the flames disappeared. She looked slightly worn out, and there was a huge haze of anxiety covering her aged face.
"Well, flames aren't cruel to me," Mane shrugged nonchalantly as though there was no other explanation. Ancestor Fire gritted her teeth and summoned another fire spear. This time the spear was much smaller, yet the flames were much more concentrated than anything she had conjured so far. With a mighty shout she flung it at Mane.
*Whoosh*
*Boom*
"Impossible!" Ancestor Fire mumbled as she stepped back fearfully. Her eyes were fixed on Mane's hand. For the spear she had thrown was within the grasp of his palm like a little child being disciplined by his father.
"As I said, flames don't exactly act cruelly with me," Mane's mask had been broken in two by Ancestor Fire's earlier rampage, exposing his large grin and sparkling white teeth.
With a casual wave of his hand the spear grew, covering more than half of the street. A blazing heat much greater than anything Ancestor Fire summoned earlier filled the halls of each and every home. The walls started to melt, even with Mane's barrier protecting them, and people felt their skin boiling like they were in a steaming hot pan. With a light chuckle Mane readied himself and said,
"My turn"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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