-War Campaign: Renault, Part 7-

My companion's expressions didn't improve, with obvious hints that they still struggled with whatever they had seen.

I was having my own difficulties.

Just as I'd witnessed in my recalled memories, my armor was a mess beyond what one would expect from a sword fight with a single knight.

Off-colored magenta blood seeped through my sleeves, dripping down my arms.

"What in the…" Julius' voice wavered, "Airis, what is going on? You were just… and I was…? I could've swore—"

He turned away, and his voice became too quiet for me to hear, but it was clear he was having trouble reconciling his recent experience.

As he turned, I caught sight of a red aura of light emitting from his left wrist—shimmering around the exposed runic sigil tattooed there.

My gaze hurriedly scanned our troops. All the divisional officers and knights had identical flashes of red light emitting from their runes.

I glanced down to find the same reddish light flickering on my wrist.

It was then I noticed the line of crimson emblazoned text in the corner of my vision begging for my attention.

» YOU HAVE WEAKENED IN POWER, YOUR ATTRIBUTES HAVE DECREASED:

» SANITY HAS DECREASED TO 35 (48)

This is the first instance I've ever heard of someone permanently losing attributes…

My mind was consumed with concern, and I felt myself spiraling.

What can I do to resist falling under that spell again?

Who could handle something like this?

Was there even a counter to SANITY loss?

What is the negative effect of—

Oh. This is…

This sudden fragile mental state and spiraling mood was certainly the effect of having my SANITY reduced.

Anyone with a martial specialty, having lower SANITY values by nature, was likely experiencing even greater symptoms.

Julius' bizarre rambling now made sense.

» YOU HAVE GAINED IN POWER, YOUR ATTRIBUTES HAVE INCREASED:

» SANITY HAS INCREASED TO 36

A spark of clarity zapped through my mind as I pieced a part of the puzzle together. Any thoughts of relief were quickly squashed, however, as the tyrant we had ignored must've decided he had waited long enough.

Akari's fiery barrier sprung to life, flickering under stress, as a massive barrage of void magick struggled to penetrate it.

Supplementary barriers from our spellcasters appeared right after, reinforcing her spell and successfully defending against Renault's assault.

Their rattled minds may have reacted on instinct, as my officers seemed yet to fully regain control over their senses.

"Oh, my head…" Julius' gruff voice groaned.

Someone in a red officer's coat was rushing around the affected soldiers, kneeling by them one by one, and then hurrying off again.

"Les grands Ténèbres qui nuisent à ces âmes, disparaissez, Purifiez! You should feel fine in just a moment, okay?"

Hikita stepped past me and knelt by Julius, repeating the same spell incantation in Renaultian.

Julius' expression changed abruptly as whatever was clouding his mind disappeared.

"Haah," he sighed in annoyance, "It's just one trick after another with this guy, huh?"

He glared at Renault and spat at the ground.

I glanced over to see the remaining void-shackled puppets rushing at us with various weapons drawn.

"Casters," Julius began giving orders, "hold the barriers until we've stabilized everyone! Assault-Three, to the front with Assault-Eight and Specter-Four, focus on maintaining a shieldwall for when the magick drops. Remaining Assault teams cover behind the shieldwall. Specter and Seeker teams engage foes at will once line of fire is available!"

His orders were followed and the soldiers snapped into place.

My guard knights took positions around Akari and me—joined by Hikita shortly after she finished cleansing whatever void-filth had affected us.

Akari was leaning against me. I felt her body slink down, and her barrier wavered as the volley of attacks continued.

"Get ready to drop the barriers!" I called out to Julius.

The static on our communication channel came back as Julius relayed new orders over it, now that all our troops were back on their feet.

"Assault-One to all teams, prepare for barrier magick release on my mark."

He raised his weapon in the air, then dropped it like a rally starter, "Mark! Drop barriers and begin counterattacks!"

Everything we could muster was wielded against Renault's encroaching army of pawns. Aestori imperial magickians channeled spells beyond the capability of our divisional troops.

The sudden burst of magick caused the air to stir, and a thick fog of aethermist settled in around us—but just as abruptly as it had formed, the mists condensed around a single person in the middle of our formation.

Enveloped in a swirling mass was Tatsuko's tiny figure.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Her quieted voice was in the middle of a lengthy incantation, "—O' savage winds of unyielding will, O' furious flames of ravenous avarice! I plead for the might of nature to reach through the veil and strike at the heart of my foe, Pyrostorm!"

Incandescent flames burst to life from the dense aethermist, slithering into the raging vortex that had formed around Tatsuko.

Her storm of super-heated air struck the frontline fodder, burning the enemy into husks.

The spell tore a hole through the middle ranks and continued toward Renault, seated atop his throne. As it made its way up the dais, a veil of shadowy magick rippled.

Another sphere of void magick burst out from his position, rushing over the entire hall.

Tatsuko's magick fizzled as it was snuffed out.

Renault raised an arm, revealing one of the dark-purple shards that had pierced his body. The crystal seemed to grow out of his side, embedding itself into the throne.

He was muttering something unintelligible.

With a limp wave of his hand, crystalline formations erupted out from behind him, forming a backdrop to his throne.

They pulsated in an eerie rhythm.

Renault's voice was projected along with these new growths, exposing the depraved state of mind he'd fallen to. Hints of madness echoed through the hall, "I shall not fail you, Master. I shall not fail! I shall not f-fail… I… I shall… not! Ishallnotfailishallnotfailishallnotfail—"

Each new utterance was paired with a grotesque twisting of his expression. Disgust, fear, hate; they all showed themselves in their worst forms.

The gaps in his forces continued to widen, and a clear path began to form.

Already a step ahead of me, Julius' voice broke the tense static in my ears, "Their ranks are falling. Assault Eight, press the advantage and move the shieldwall forward on the left. Assault Three, take the right. I want a spanning line. Once it's formed, we'll push!"

"Hoooah!" The knights on the front rallied.

Our forces made their advance under the cover of shields and sparse magick barriers.

Another wave of empurpled magick washed over us, and Hikita cried for a sudden halt. Grotesque creaks, cracks, and snaps emanated from all around us.

Julius picked up her urgency and issued new orders to close ranks, "Triptych Shield, begin encasement formation! Seeker teams, deploy mass barrier magick immediately."

Akari's fiery barrier sprang to life around my guard knights and me, followed by the shimmering barriers of multiple mages.

Hikita stepped in close, with her blades sheathed.

"That was reanimation magick." She said coolly.

What? Like resurrection magick? Isn't that something only possible with chaos magick?

I didn't have time to put my thoughts into proper questions before I got an answer.

Tendrils of the dark-purple magick wrapped around the bodies of the fallen Renaultians, seeping through the skin of the many burned and beaten puppets.

The dead began to twist and shamble back to their feet. Empurpled magick imbued areas that had been crushed or incinerated.

Dark energy oozed from their hands, and weapons made of void magick formed.

A massive surge of void-stained magick rushed at us from the mass of shambling corpses as a horrifying tendril of flesh emerged from beneath the floor. Shock waves swept through our ranks as it slammed into the barrier—the soldiers who'd been steadying themselves were sent sprawling back on the ground.

"What in the…" A low growl escaped Julius' throat as he planted his own into the ground to stay upright.

I clenched my teeth, overcome with a sudden dizziness, and cursed, "This gods-forsaken bastard."

Among our toppled soldiers, some clutched at their ears and eyes, crying out in pain.

The tendril slammed down on the barrier once more, and the ground slipped out from underneath me. I fell to the floor, barely catching myself and avoiding a full-on face-plant.

The undead wailed and thrashed just past the barrier—the magickal shell wavered, flickering twice before collapsing entirely.

A trio of knights rushed ahead, their faces covered in dust and blood.

"Protect the Empress!"

"For the Crimson Blade!"

"Back to the Underworld for you, demons of the void!"

The wriggling flesh recoiled briefly, as if observing the three knights.

They split off in their own directions, bringing their weapons down onto the undead horde. Beneath a crash of holy and void magicks they emerged victorious, continuing their advance toward the tendril.

It made no effort to dodge their attacks. Under their assault, the outer flesh blistered and ruptured, revealing a disgusting interior of pulsating purple viscera.

The gooey mass suddenly formed into hundreds of spikes, piercing the knights through the gaps in their armor. A bloody mist formed around the tendril as the knight's bodies convulsed.

Guttural screams echoed through the hall.

The tendril retracted the spikes, releasing the bodies, and three knights stumbled to regain balance.

They turned back to face us—their flesh replaced with haunting visages of skeletal remains encased in a viscous void-colored fluid.

These apparent Void-knights made a roaring noise as they turned against our frontline, striking down a group of unprepared soldiers and rushing straight at me.

"I'll put those knights to rest, Your Eminence." Arcs of blue lightning streaked past my vision as my Knight Captain dashed ahead.

"Wait, Flik—"

My response was drowned out by the rumbling of more tendrils bursting out of the floor, sweeping away more of our troops.

"—of your golden flame." Aeko's voice, chanting holy magick, broke through the chaos, "Bestow your grace unto me and deliver us from harm. Mass Heal!"

A wave of golden light washed over our encircled group. Soldiers who'd been teetering on their last legs, stood to continue the fight.

As the holy magick reached the forward line, it caused the void-infused undead to enrage. The liquid form of the void-knights burst, dispersing the dark fluid all around.

Flik recoiled, shouting as it splashed on her, "Ah! This stuff is corrosive, watch out!"

She hurriedly shed a gauntlet that had been covered in the purple goo.

In the corner of my vision, status displays for the raid members continued to deplete and restore at rapid rates.

Damn it!

I stumbled back as my legs nearly gave out. Something wasn't right. This all felt off, but I couldn't quite pin-point exactly what.

Is it with the knights?

My gaze flitted across the troops, battle-worn and struggling in a tug-of-war with the undead. Each enemy felled would return shortly after, imbued with a denser mix of void-magicks.

Not there… The mages?

I scanned the mass of spellcasters huddled in the center of our formation. Thick swirls of aethermist raged around them as magick was formed and cast out in all directions, but I couldn't sense anything extraordinary.

No.

Think, Airis! Come on.

I wracked my brain, turning to my inner mana circuit. Sending a pulse of magicka out to check my close companions.

Instantaneously a series of alarming pings sounded in my mind, and I whipped my head to the source.

Julius stood atop a crumbled pillar, his silvery shield held high in the air. A wave of energy washed over us as he activated SILVER BULWARK.

Why does this feel so familiar?

A silvery bubble encased the formation, shaking under the impact of dozens of flesh-tendrils.

It was then that sudden darkness swept over his barrier. Thick mists obscured the view outside, but I could sense something big had made its way to the battlefield. DANGER SENSE was screaming in my head, pounding on my mental doors, to get the fuck out of here as fast as I could.

Julius' barrier shattered, and the screaming in my head became screams from my mouth—my voice, infused with aether and divinity, peaked through the communirune channel so loud I could hear the high-pitched screech echo off the stone walls.

"GET DOWN!"

Every raid member immediately collapsed to the ground. It was an imperial command, a decree by a goddess, and my followers were compelled.

Time slowed to a crawl as a massive void-reaver cut through the mist, its gaze locked onto Julius' descending body, slipping down from the rubble. It turned to me, with a flame-like flicker of violet in its eyes.

And it smiled.

Rows of jagged teeth flashed a wicked grin at me.

It was just like the thing that haunted my nightmares. The Archdemon who'd slain Julius and I before. That creature with a perfect-fitting name: Terror Demon.

Its bladed claws cut through the air at super-speed, impaling Julius through the chest—as I had once been.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.