Book 4: Intermission – Rulers of the Sky (3/3)
With a storm of spells coming at him from every direction, Gawain had no room to run, and could only resist by relying on the gravity-controlling Wrath Ball to cover him. That wall of gravity that could be said to be the absolute defense blocked all of the attacks and canceled out the spells, but of course, Grimoa could foresee that much.
He wanted time so he could take the mana he used in their clash of spells and chant at a much higher level, a spell that could destroy several cities.
Grimoa took above Gawain, who could not move, because of his gravity wall, and called upon his Fire Pouch while his Wrath b.a.l.l.s continued their offense. Magic formations overlapped, and a ball of flame that was just like the sun appeared, a ball of flames given birth through the stacking of countless formations.
“Fall, Scorched Star(Rodor Meteo).”
To break Gawain’s control over gravity, Grimoa unleashed an attack that possessed even more mana. On Gawain’s eyes were reflected the sun itself descending. A small sun it may have been, but it was enough to annihilate several cities. A giant ball of flame that could devour all of Gawain. Were that to fall upon the land, the mountains would surely be erased.
But Gawain did not fear before that sight, only a ferocious laugh left his mouth.
There existed a composition formula that supported the very existence of the giant magics released by dragons and ryuus. These ma.s.sive composition formulas had many restrictions. For example, if they were to be destroyed or if their core were to be penetrated, the spells would immediately disperse, but they were necessary for the spells to support themselves.
The prime example would be Grimoa’s wrath b.a.l.l.s, which are able to chase Gawain on their own even though they were already separated from him.
The annoying wrath b.a.l.l.s above Gawain have already been destroyed by Grimoa’s scorching star. His gravity wrath ball continued to block the attacks coming from his flanks and from below, but he canceled the barrier above him. Gawain deployed a ryuu orb full of ether in front of him, and immediately, he brought out a spell that would surpa.s.s that giant ball of flame.
Grimoa used his magic formations to control his ball of flame, and then overlapped more magic formations to amplify it, but as far as Gawain was concerned, his ryuu orb could take those roles on all on its won; which is why, what Gawain brought out was the original form of magic.
“Strike it through, Divine Hammer(Rutia, Lightning).”
As the small sun pulled its own tail of flame and descended, a lightning hammer appeared to intercept it. Before that power was even released, the moment it touched the air and its powers leaked, its arms reached out to every direction, and seized the gravity barrier and the wrath b.a.l.l.s.
The power within those streaks of lightning were so pure that they could easily destroy the wrath b.a.l.l.s. And Gawain brought that power to the limit and unleashed it on Gawain.
The lightning stretched out its arms and wrapped them around the tail of the descending ball of flame, and then it covered the flame itself. When the lightning spear that had been unleashed penetrated the core of the ball of flame, the two powers struggled as the spear sought to destroy the composition formula of the spell. Despite that the giant ball of flame continued to descend on Gawain.
No matter how powerful or how pure the spell, time was needed to reach the composition formula. Before Gawain’s spell could eat through the composition formula of the descending sun, that sun would reach him first, or at least that’s how Grimoa saw it.
But Just as the scorching star was about to reach Gawain, the end of the lightning spear protruded from the center of the star, proving that Gawain’s lightning spear had penetrated the composition formula. Immediately, the ball of flame transformed into grains of light and dispersed, and the lightning spear too, with its power exhausted, vanished.
Grimoa and Gawain glared at each other, two death throes resounding in their ears. When they turned to the source, they saw a wind ryuu and a wind dragon perish after biting each other.
“It appears this session has ended.”
“Very well.”
Gawain was the first to speak.
They had not made any promises, but there was a tacit understanding between them that if one of their subjects were to die, their battle would come to an end for the time being. With a cry, the masters of the dragons and the ryuus called to their subjects and they left in small groups.
In the first place, if these two creatures fought with the intention of actually destroying each other, they would end up scorching the world. As such it has become a custom for them to stop fighting once one of their subjects die. The power that gives birth to their subjects was their power to store mana, and it would take a long time to exhaust all of their mana. That was how grand of a scale their battles were, a battle fought across many months and years.
Gawain called upon the dark clouds, and his subjects took shelter in them. Before he left, Grimoa and Gawain faced each other.
Grimoa would be seeing him off.
“Will your master return?”
It was Grimoa who asked that.
“Of course, my master is the G.o.ddess of Vengeance.”
Gawain replied matter-of-factly.
“If so, then our next battle will burn the world.”
Grimoa nodded, a little sad.
Someone who could bring change to their battle has come. The G.o.d of Illusions(Famil) that birthed Grimoa and the G.o.d of Dreams(Jeje) that birthed Gawain have left for the distant stars and would not appear before them. Meeting Jeje was impossible even in slumber, and it wasn’t even known if Famil was truly somewhere in the distant stars.
To Grimoa, who sought to fill the void left by his parents’ death with battles, Altesia’s attempts to return to the world was an enviable thing.
“…Even still, the one who will appear before you is me.”
Nothing would change. This battle for the throne between the Ruler of the Heavens and the Ruler of the Sky belonged to them, Gawain said.
“…Yes, that’s right. That’s exactly right.”
As a fierce smile surfaced upon the two rulers, they shared a laugh.
“Goodbye, Ruler of the Sky, Grimoa.”
“Goodbye, Ruler of the Heavens, Gawain.”
After the ryuu and the dragon finished withdrawing their subjects, they promised to fight again and then parted.