Chapter 78: SUBTLE WINDS - Pillar of Fire
There was no expectation from me that a spear the size of a toothpick to the chimera would kill it. I smiled though as I dove down past it, my wings spread out to catch the wind while it flailed and roared in more panic than pain.
"Now!"
The Voltar was quick to act on its blindness. Their feets stomped the ground with strength as they took off, their claws cutting open their wrists as they ascended. Lava rushed from their hands and condensed into various shapes and weapons. Going round the Voltar came past Iigrazre in a swarm. A swarm that let loose a rain of hot lava, dried lava, and rocks onto it. Iigrazre uttered yet another enraged bellow right as I landed amongst my fellow Furians.
A tingle swept over me, one I did not understand. It was something I had never felt. Yet as I watched Iigrazre recoil on himself, I noted from the side something strange.
"Everyone duck!!" I wasn't the one to shout. It was Graden the ever watchful cold and annoying Fury. Yet his shout came from the same thing I noticed. The pillar of fire churned on itself and formed darker shades of green and sometimes turning lighter while at the same time shrinking in size.
BOOM
Green flames swept over the plains, in all directions that there would be no way to dodge. Like a sea of raging water, a sight the Gemini would find outstanding, it swept over the mountain range and then poured down over us. I was so mesmerized that I completely forgot to shield myself. So enraptured that I barely realized the arm pulling me to the ground, the figure over me shouting as two red shields covered us.
The flames swept through the plains like a flood. The ground hissed and melted. Corroded and dissolved. Lava spurted from beneath and turned green. Steam rose from the ground and turned the air gaseous.
In just a minute the flames had reshaped the plains of the end of the world into a poisonous habitat. It would have been a problem if messengers needed to breathe to live. So it wasn't surprising when we Furians stepped out of our shields leaving a few to protect the Voltars from the gaseous environment.
Garden stepped by my right as did Arane by my left.
"The pillar protects the chimera as it too protects the pillar," Graden muttered.
"Then we keep both busy." I looked at Graden meaningfully and he signed with understanding. Without a word, the Furian took off and headed for the pillar. My eyes locked on Iigrazre who lay where the fires had washed over it and I paused.
"I don't think the flames were just to harm us" I ignored Arane's words as I stared at the thing. Iigrazre had grown or shrunk, I wasn't sure. His eyes were now darker green, his skin now had scales and rocks oozing green mists and his spider legs had gotten taller.
What bothered me though was that the eyes hadn't healed but rather had evolved to their defect. Its vision locked on me as I felt a sickening energy wash over me.
"Did it just scan me?" Arane was quick to comment again.
"It did" I looked quickly towards the pillar of fire watching as Graden stuck the landing right next to the pillar of fire, far enough to not be burnt suddenly but close enough to attack. "Arane take the skies" I ordered.
"The rest with me" I ran forward wings folded behind me. At times I wished we could take the wings into our bodies. The Gemini did say it was only possible on Vaustaris, an ability to help blend in.
Right as we neared closer to Iigrazre, the chimera itself rose its legs clacking against the dry stones and ground. It uttered a defiant and dominant roar at us exposing long fangs that gleamed with sticky green fluids. Its head recoiled back as it darted for us.
"Arane!" I screamed as we got ever closer to the chimera. It responded to what it must have seen as my defiant cry with a louder more powerful roar.
"Now!"
From above black fire descended, neither compressed nor shaped. Just like a scalding breath, it consumed the Iigrazre. The chimera wasn't backing down either as its rear limb-like tail swept out. Most of us jumped out of the way as it rumbled over to us. Some shot fiery flames at it while others dished out attacks with their spears and short swords covered with Fury Armaments.
I rolled to a halt watching as a Fury ran up the Chimera's limb. Without pause, not hesitation it leaped unto the things spider leg. Black fire swirled into being just as the Fury raised its hand. Iigrazre looked down almost like it could feel the heat from the fire. I hissed as I realized I had no spear to throw to buy the Fury time.
Iigrazre lurched down at a speed that was unheard of, jaws snapping down with a ferocity that stunned me. The Fury was gone blood and gore splashing over the spider legs of Iigrazre. A wail rose from behind me but I had little time to note who mourned.
The ground shook as black fire and green flame rose into the air drawing my eyes to Graden single-handedly holding back the pillar of fire's flames.
"It has no weakness, its sight is now evolved. How do we kill it when our black fires do naught but burn it?" A Furian asked. I recognized it as Otheren the one who had gotten himself struck by lightning before.
The more I looked the more I saw some similarities between us and Iigrazre. Dylaeria was made with the Sentinel, as the nexus. As long as a messenger had its EUF the Divinum could always resurrect a fallen messenger. Always. Iigrazre had the pillar of fire to aid it but like us, it would work when it was in danger. How would one kill a messenger when it was capable of resurrecting and had little to no weak points?
"Follow"
Otheren obviously confused hesitated for just a second before running after me. I took off into the air in my right hand the fury armament formed a spear and in my left, the Fiery flame formed a ball that I condensed.
"Strike its gills when I say so" I dove down after the command leaving Otheren to watch from above. All around Black fire and fury armaments struck the chimera from all sides. From above Arane continuously flung red energy spears down on Iigrazre.
"This ends now" I shouted. With the fury spear in my right hand, I pushed the fiery fire within me to form around my ankle. As it did on my palm the flames flowed beneath my heels and then with an explosion blew me forward to Iigrazre.
"Otheren now!" My shout caught Iigrazre's attention. The chimera reared its bloody head to face me, mouth agape in preparation to swallow. I was already right by its face when I realized there had been no attack on it. My head turned to see Otheren flying there frozen in fear.
Hot air rushed over me making me turn back to see a fanged maw encapsulating me.
'At least it opened its mouth." In a flash, I flapped diving forward into the open maws of the creature. Its maw snapped shut where I would have been. A close call since its fangs would have put me in half. The air in here was acrid and stunk, but I didn't let it distract me as I moved with speed down the gullet of the creature.
The spear flew down stabbing into its neck and I twisted it harshly causing a vibration from down there to rush past me carrying a stink that made me almost gag. I didn't waste time once its bellows of pain ended as I landed on the great tongue.
I exhaled, gritting my teeth as I breathe in the noxious stench before shutting my eyes.
Fiery flames like the Armanents were powered by a dense energy called divine mana refined from the faith unit. Each faith unit gotten by a messenger was more power it had. The older we got the more our stats increased and the stronger and fitter we got. Each point was spent either on resurrection or fixing something like a lost limb.
It was this divine mana that messengers used to cast their skills or armaments. It was the intent of messengers, the will of the children of Dylaeria condensed by the faith unit. It was this energy that I drew on as I paused there. Normally it was not hard as it was part of us. Faith was received and converted into this divine mana that made us stronger, fixed, and resurrected us. Therefore it was a part of us, but like everything it was finite. Its uses were dependent on our mind stat. As such the strain to pull at the mana, the weight in my mind to meld the mana to my desire was heavy.
The ring that formed around my wrists this time was slower to form. Yet even as it filled in it thickened and widened. My body shook a few times from the Iigrazre moving about, fortunately, no other body fell in here.
My eyes snapped open. The white irises of my eyes wider apart, a new black spot in place of the very light blue that once stayed at the center of the ring of white irises.
I exhaled.
The ring around my wrists shattered. The black flames slowed to my palms and like the green wave of corrupted fire that swept the plains earlier, my black fire poured down Iigrazre's throat. The steam and smoke were dense, the vibrations that rose from the gullet shaking my feet.
I stood in place the flames still dishing out, my divine mana shrinking. my feet shook as I felt the beginning of the divine mana depletion in my body. Something that could be fixed by the EUF getting converted back to Divine Mana. The process was a confusing one.
Finally, the flames sputtered off just as I fell over the world tipping. I smacked into the roof of the Iigrazre's mouth as everything shook. I rolled before hitting the side of its fangs and halting. A rush of stinky air shot out the gullet and washed over me. Then there was silence.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone