Chapter 71 Arcane Revelation
The moment they left the Prince"s mansion the trio took to the skies. But there was no wind spinning around them. Instead, they flew effortlessly forward through Rainer"s use of [Eldritch Flight]. The spell itself kept any pesky wind resistance from ruining the trip.
"How nice…"Luna remarked, completely ignoring her own capabilities for flying. Both Rainer and Kara shared a smile as they headed towards the now crowded area around the Ruler"s Palace.
"Where are we heading to first," Rainer asked the beaming Luna as others around them joined in flight. Though n.o.body was interested in flying too close.
"It starts with a ceremony honoring the First Queen, and from there it divides. Dancing, food, games, your donated Arcane-Water," Kara added the last part with a laugh, already looking forward to seeing a gaggle of drunk Fae, Luna included.
Rainer suppressed a small grimace, remembering the last time Luna had drunk Arcane-Water. She had dubbed herself a sword that was not to be contained by his pockets and did her best to reveal herself to any Goblin in the area.
Rainer glanced around. While several of the Fae flying around them to the start of the festival gave them looks, he couldn"t find anything other than female Fae, a couple of males, interested in his Arcane-laden Mana as usual. Just as with Elru, Luna"s cla.s.s didn"t elicit any interest. And Yulia"s full name and appearance wasn"t well known enough to make the connection that Luna looked like a very close relative.
Though he was quite sure her presence, in general, elicited jealousy.
They landed soon after. The once empty fields around the palace were filled with an a.s.sortment of magically constructed stalls, arenas, and buildings. In the center was a stage, the forerunner of the festival, already prepared.
Rainer himself found a small open wooden tower reserved by Laneth as their family had done every year, given freely to the trio this time around. It wasn"t as if the social family couldn"t find a place elsewhere. At the top were comfy seats and a slathering of food and drinks, not for human consumption, however.
A penetrating look with [Arcane Sight] and a check with all his detections later, Rainer found the food and drinks clean.
"Let"s not chance it. I watched Laneth"s chefs prepare food for us, and I took it in my Spatial Ring."
Luna pouted but removed all the magic and mana laden food with a wave of her flame. Rainer avoided a face palm at the blatant display of her flame, but no one paid them anymore mind than usual. Instead, he just laid out everything he brought as the three sat on the comforting chairs provided.
Materials made from Fae Magic like all these buildings and everything else would disappear in a day. It was more than enough for the festival.
Rainer sat with an arm around Kara as they awaited the start of the festival. Several female Fae took center stage on a round stone platform. In the heart of it was what could only be a statue of the First Fae Queen.
Without any introduction, the four masked and cloaked Fae, each facing a separate direction began singing. And yet it was not in words easily translatable. Rainer didn"t even have a chance to answer his curiosity with [Appraisal] as they were all quite heavily blocked. Not even a combo with [Arcane Sight] helped.
Each of their voices overlaid with one another"s along with themselves sounding like there were 40 women on stage each singing a different song. And yet somehow each song harmonized to perfection.
A tingle of magic entered the air in the ma.s.sive plain surrounding the Ruler"s Palace. Numerous of the more Mana-abled Fae offered their own power in cooperation. The bright sky of the Fae Realm turned to night, as a swathing of stars lit the sky. Torches of blue and green flame appeared all across the area, lighting it up alongside the starry sky.
Even Luna who had been gorging herself on the brought food sat back on the sofa with Kara and Rainer as all three listened in silence.
Wherever their thoughts trod, or the day and night led, they all at least agreed coming here had been a rewarding experience from the start.
The end of the song prompted cheering and a rush of crowds towards various attractions. Rainer looked at the system"s clock in amazement as nearly 2 hours pa.s.sed while the song was sung.
And yet it felt no longer than a few minutes. Had he not been using [Void Detection] the entire time he would have not even thought to check because of the strange feeling. It kept him a bit more in the moment than anyone around him.
"Let"s start the night with a dance then?" Rainer asked, standing up and stretching his hand out to Luna. Earlier, before he could even ask, Kara had agreed that tonight was to be focused on Luna.
Luna happily agreed as he Void-walked the trio to an open platform. A band of strangely shaped and stringed instruments were off to the side as Fae had already begun dancing. A rare event truly as members of Court danced with farmers with no issue. After all, despite how history truly went one of the First Fae Queen"s dearest wishes was for Fae kind to live in happiness and love. The protection from the rest of the realm provided by the tree provided for that. It was a shame her own children; each established a Court in their name after her death. It completely altered her goals.
Even if they opted to honor her wish a single night.
Kara went back to the waiting crowd. She was quite happy that the Fae"s love of Mana meant she would be left alone and wouldn"t have to rebuff some annoying princeling. While doubting Rainer would actually care if she danced with someone else, the height difference made it an unpleasant prospect.
At almost 5"10"" Kara was taller than any male Fae she met thus far. Even Luna at 5"6"" was one of the tallest Fae, at the very least more than most females.
So instead she watched the bright look on Luna"s face as she engaged with Rainer in a formal dance, matching the recent shift in the music.
She quite enjoyed seeing the formerly trapped Fairy enjoying herself so much. Luna"s personality made any of her requests rather than being tiresome to answer, pleasant. Which was exactly what made Kara rush over and ask Rainer for Luna to come to this festival. She knew the considerate Fairy would never put Rainer in that spot.
Several others left the dance floor leaving the two to attract most of the eyes on them. Rainer alone being a celebrity at least in fame among the Fae, and the Fairy that looked far too much like Yulia as his partner only added to that. Higher ranking members of the Court were after all fully familiar with Yulia.
Rainer locked gazes with his violet-eyed partner. A small exchange of Mana went between the two, less as anything pleasurable but more just a merging. The two were entirely in sync as they danced.
But hearing several gasps and pointed looks from several older enchanted item adorned Fae left Rainer feeling annoyed. Letting none of that show or travel through the familiar bond he carefully picked out and memorized every Fae giving them strange looks.
With a far more pointed use than he ever had before, a wave of violet overtook the dance and its surroundings. [Arcane Presence] lashed at the speed of whip for the briefest of times at several of the more shocked and now calculating Fae.
The already pale-skinned Fae turned as white as snow as an impossible sight displayed before them. As if time slowed to a halt the happy looking [Archon] turned akin to a multi-headed hydra, somehow glaring with the a.s.surance of death at multiple directions simultaneously. And as quickly as the pressure acted did it leave. Apart from his targets, none were the wiser.
And so too did it"s affected realize this was not a place for them.
Luna tilted her head at Rainer as he broke their Mana connection for a moment. But seeing it return soon after she didn"t ask any questions. Such was a nice benefit of Rainer always taking care of troublesome things so quickly. And she could only guess whatever he had just dealt with was most certainly troublesome.
Her own people always seemed to act annoyingly enough.
The music slowed as Luna instead now leaned her head into the much taller Rainer"s chest.
In a moment of fancy, Rainer lifted them both a few feet in the air to continue their dance.
Not completely aware, but still enjoying the weightless sensation, Luna relaxed into the dance for quite some time longer, before Kara too shared a few.
Luna rushed ahead with Kara in tow. She had found a game she really wanted to play, or rather a prize. And having the martially skilled Wolfkin with her would be a boon.
Unlike most of everything else, the prizes themselves were carefully crafted with real materials, and even some enchanted items were up for grabs. A truly decadent display for what was the most important of Fae holidays surpa.s.sed only by the Trial for picking their Ruler.
Rainer walked slowly behind. [Void Detection] spread out as he found three Fae hiding amongst the crowd in a glamour. Security for the festival was obvious. So long as they stayed away from him and his, he had little issue with them. Thinking of the earlier Fae, he realized their shock could have been related to Luna"s t.i.tle as a [Homunculus]. Either way, he didn"t particularly regret scaring away a group of annoying Fae.
He paused his stride for a moment, looking at Luna from afar. Just seeing how happily she listened to a Fairy explaining the game to her and Kara was enough to take the risk. The risk of anyone recognizing parts of Luna"s cla.s.s for what it was.
The earlier trouble with those older likely Court affiliated Fae could have been anything. Her similar appearance to Yulia as well as sharing a last name, which was not a well-known fact due to Yulia"s obscene skill in resisting [Appraisal] could have been just as much of a reason. And politicians were misers with information. It"s quite possible very few actually knew much about the former Queen.
At the very least, he was sure no one would recognize the exact cla.s.s due to the Arcane part in it.
Rainer froze for a moment as he felt a familiar feeling. Having spent a month by Amer"s side, he was all too used to the fluctuations of s.p.a.ce that accompanied teleportation. But it was not Amer coming to them.
[Arcane Awakening: Surge] activated as the base skill flared to its maximum of 100%. His high Intelligence caused the moment almost to freeze as he watched with an over strengthened [Arcane Sight].
A Fae covered in the strongest glamour he had yet to witness was reaching out for Kara. The Wolfkin was already turning, but it was too slow. Too slow to stop the fluctuations of s.p.a.ce around the Fae that could only mean a single thing, Teleportation.
And yet, a flash of Arcane determined a different fate.
The now unglamoured Fae did not even let out a cry as the ends of his fingers were cut by a Void-walking [Archon] and his blade. Instantly, the experienced Fae leaped back and began teleporting away.
But he was not the only one here capable of bending s.p.a.ce and time.
A violet haze stretched out in every direction as a domain descended upon the festival. Nary 60 feet away from Rainer, the Fae bounced against the edge of it, cutting his teleport short.
Rainer stood tall, blocking the way to Kara, [Arcane Blade] in hand as he squared off with the would-be a.s.sa.s.sin and kidnapper.
A pregnant silence pa.s.sed. Appraisals were exchanged. The gray-cloaked Fae was visible only through his blue crystalline eyes, and yet every member of a Court here knew his name.
[Fairy, Male, Spectral a.s.sa.s.sin(2nd) lvl 24, Spatial Twister(2nd) lvl 9]
[t.i.tle: Spectre]
And before the eyes of the entire crowd…they vanished.
A flash of an enchanted dagger sent Rainer"s hilt flying away. Now facing off, the [Archon] lashed out with a fist and a slam of gravity on the quick Fae in concert. Using [Arcane-Spatial Domain] to block off long-range teleportation and more accurately slow down and detect short range ones was something Rainer developed with Amer.
But it had a huge flaw; he couldn"t cast any other spells while maintaining the same level of pressure.
[Arcane Blade] was only an exception to the rule when he had prepared it beforehand. But now he had only his body to rely on.
Sensing the magic behind him, the a.s.sa.s.sin charged forward, ducking under the far taller [Archon]"s swing. He flipped his dagger in his hand and stabbed towards the human"s back. His eyes widened in shock as even him reinforcing the dagger with a spatial blade related magic had barely penetrated the surface, stopping at the coat.
He leaped away. Eyes darted around as he now looked for a method to flee. Had he known the translucent violet shielding around his target was a limited effort, he might have attacked again. But alas, the shock was too much. And he did not earn his reputation and old age for his profession through reckless behavior.
Rainer spun around a pained look and a trace of fury in his eyes.
Two chains of Arcane lashed forward, the ends of them pointed and sharpened. Rainer threw it forward not only with his body but with his mind, manipulating the chain to achieve a speed otherwise impossible.
The Fae a.s.sa.s.sin parried the flying chain and dodged another, only to watch in shock as they both twisted around his arms and tugged him forward.
The [Arcane-Spatial Domain] pushed down on him as he tried to teleport out of the [Archon]"s grasp. The chain too gripped tighter as for a brief moment the a.s.sa.s.sin considered cleaving his own arms with spatial magic. But such a thought was too late and with far too little conviction.
The strength of the supposed mage surprised him greatly as he could only watch in awe as the [Archon] grew a foot in height. He couldn"t even resist as the giant reached out for his head.
Rainer gripped his hand around the smaller Fae"s head, prepared to slam him to the ground. A barrier of mana wrapped around the falling Fae"s head, preventing a quick squeeze from taking his life.
But even with all Rainer"s will focused on him, he could feel the a.s.sa.s.sin slipping away. He couldn"t maintain the pressure of the Domain and use [Void Hold] at the same time. The switch would take too long.
Rainer stared at the eyes that glared through his fingers; Time shortened as he watched the Fae"s floating body all but disappear.
But a cracking of bone and a snapping of tendons deigned a different fate.
Gravity surged downwards, slamming both of them into the ground. Rainer"s bones left his sockets; his arm all but tore off. Even through his ma.s.sive Const.i.tution, his hand shattered under the ma.s.sive force of the gravity slam.
And so too did his target"s head.
A cracking of a mana shield reverberated, giving an end to the battle.
The battle was vicious and quick. Nearly all the Fae in the area had by instinct appraised both partic.i.p.ants before the Fairy side of the conflict lost his head.
Those watching were brought back to the present by the snapping of bones. Rainer"s gravity crushed hand twisted and broke in macabre ways as [Arcane Invigoration] healed it. He popped his shoulder and various other bones back into place, giving a dark grin at the message that appeared.
[Pain Resistance has reached level 2]
The air still teemed with magic as Rainer"s domain remained in effect. He could feel the anger boiling in him. The desire to grab every Glamoured Fae that just started to run away from their possible fallen comrade and make a scene out of it. To threaten any of the Fae Court present. This Fae"s goal didn"t seem like an a.s.sa.s.sination this time, and flashing memories of a Fae Queen stealing Luna from him only served to increase his rage further. Even if the target was different this time.
Were it not for his far higher Const.i.tution; his palms would have bleed from his clenched fists.
But a reminder of how bright Luna smiled as she enjoyed the festival had him taking a different route. Rainer understood as he watched Luna"s face fall, likely already preparing to leave the festival. Rage on behalf of another could often be nothing more than self-satisfaction.
As he made his decision, he glanced for a moment at the ruined and dissipating corpse beside him. Death in battle didn"t matter to him anymore, it seemed. It was just another dose of experience.
Did it truly ever?
He let any lingering tension out with a long breath and did his best to think of making Luna and Kara happy. And with their current enemy already dead, getting angry about it was not the answer.
Flashing a bright smile toward Luna and Kara still at the booth, he spoke.
"So, how close are you to winning something,"
"Ah, very close. One more try for sure," Luna answered holding up a single finger before turning back around. Without even looking a violet Faerie Fire cleaned the blood and its additions off of Rainer.
Kara looked at him annoyed, before sighing and returning to watching Luna play. If he wasn"t making a big deal of it she hardly could. But knowing how close she came to being s.n.a.t.c.hed away likely to a place filled with enemies she couldn"t match, sent her mind reeling. Another reminder to why she needed to take the Trial as soon as possible.
Recalling an earlier sentiment of Rainer"s at how done he was with the Fae Realm, she found herself agreeing.
Luna continued her game, throwing darts at the strange glamour created creatures. Even the small stall seemed to hold within it an entire world of bizarre creatures to aim at. In her excitement, the Fairy had completely forgotten why she dragged Kara with her to the booth.
A few hidden nudges by Rainer with a light as possible [Arcane-Spatial Domain] and Luna had won her prize. But seeing the prize she chose soon after left the [Archon] wondering if perhaps he shouldn"t have helped her gain it.
The multi-limbed monstrosity was difficult to look at. The item was certainly a soft plushy if one ignored the crooked, but soft, claws adoring seven different hand-like appendages. Inky skin that were it like the real monster in the flesh would feel absolutely horrid. A single ma.s.sive green eye made up the head of it, now being squeezed by Luna.
Kara and Rainer shared a grin that spoke to both the ridiculousness of her choice and how they both had no interest in trying to dissuade her from the toy creature.
They could only hope they never came across such a thing.
Arriving in their room soon after the three shared a toast. Luna with a cup of Arcane-water, and Kara and Rainer with a nice, but very strong wine. Poison free for a change.
"Then let"s have a toast for…" Rainer paused, trying to come up with something meaningful to say, but opted against it, "our eventual leaving of this irritating Fae Realm."
His words produced a few giggles as the goblets clashed. Luna wasted no time drinking the Arcane-Water, her larger size making her a bit more resistant than when she was far smaller.
"Ah, Kara you said tonight was my night, but you decided to look so pretty," Luna shamelessly added, moving over from her own chair to Kara"s lap.
"I"m afraid there"s nothing I can do about that, though I would say you have the greater advantage," Kara smirked before locking lips with the Fairy on her lap. Rainer opted to watch, more than happy to see Kara and Luna getting long. Both of them had been far more chummy than usual after all the time they spent together talking about things they could do even if in the end, they"d likely leave the Fae Realm before they could do most of it.
At least the Dragon Isles should prove entertaining for them, he mused. It would mark the first time Luna could travel with them without needing to hide.
Minutes pa.s.sed as Luna and Kara only pa.s.sed to drink further, and Rainer joining in that effort. Suddenly a bout of flight magic had all three floating to the bed.
Hands roamed between the three of them as kisses interchanged. With an applied amount of Arcane it took only moments for the girls to be divested of their clothes, and with Rainer throwing his jacket to the ground, the rest faded in turn.
"I liked this dress," Luna mumbled before turning her attention to Rainer this time.
Kara moved herself a bit off to the side, more interested in watching for the occasion. After all, she owed the favor back to the Fairy who had quite clearly watched them numerous times no matter how much Rainer had pretended she hadn"t. It was easy to think of the Fairy as innocent with how she talked when it had often been the opposite. Who else but Luna would act the way Rainer fed her Mana for months was completely normal?
Luna sat down on the bed as Rainer"s arms went to either side of her. A minute of intertwining tongues later and she returned for a breath of air, his hands now on her hips.
She watched his member with interest uncommon of her race. Not exactly having a normal upbringing she lacked the normal aversion to physical love that Fae had, let alone any outright disgust some member of the race shared for anything other than the exchange of Mana.
Before she could act on any thoughts about it, Rainer lightly pushed her down on the bed, fully intending to take it slow despite the fact that at least by Fae standards this was nowhere near their first time. His hands moved her arms above her head. She pushed her mana against him, reaching out to exchange as they always did. But with a different idea in mind, he pushed back, stopping the process and building up pressure.
Luna inched towards him a bit confused but returned her attention to the tongue in her mouth. She opted to trust Rainer with whatever he was doing.
With one hand still holding her arms above her head, another moved down her body teasingly slow. She inched closer to him a bit, reaching out with her Mana as well but only found that he pushed even harder as she tried. The pressure building up.
With just a few minutes of his hand at her opening, he found her more than ready to go on. One part in not wanting to hurt her, and another in teasing the impatient Fairy further he entered as slowly as he could, surprised by the heat he felt. In fact, the more he used the technique he looked up at keeping Mana from joining the hotter her entire body got.
Luna unable to wait anymore moved herself forward as well. A small gasp left her lips as she felt herself tighten around him.
Rainer settled inside for a moment longer, his free hand pouring Mana around her hips to reduce any pain.
Minutes pa.s.sed as he began moving. Every slow thrust brought up another loud moan from the Fairy as she desperately tried to push against Rainer"s Mana and mix together with it. But he wasn"t having it, just yet.
Kara sat in the background, fingers pleasuring herself as he watched. Her slow rubbing turned far faster as even she felt the burst of magic as Rainer let Luna"s Mana join with him all at once, resulting not only in a physical release but a magical one. The same magic that even spread to the low Mana Kara.
Luna gave out a shuddering gasp as she all but fell into darkness as Rainer filled her. The earlier blocking of Mana enacted the pleasure all at once, extending Luna"s final moan into a loud uncontrollable yell as she gripped the sheets futility. The bursts kept coming from a few second brings in and out of unconsciousness at will until a final burst of Mana and fluids ended the built up encounter.
Rainer collapsed to the side of the Fairy, breathing just as hard as her.
"Wasn"t that a bit much," Kara said walking over a few minutes later. though the look she gave the nearly pa.s.sed out Fae conveyed something different than her words.
"No. And you"re next."
Kara found herself laying right next to the downed Fairy, her legs wrapping around Rainer as he slipped into the already wet wolfkind with ease. The soft fur of her tail went in-between his legs, and moved by Kara had him fully ready to go, mana improved body or not.
Luna awoke fully minutes later. Her mouth reached, and her body touched against Rainer as she leaned closer. In a strange movement, all three of their Mana pool"s reacted on their own. Kara"s own smaller one reaching out to the two larger ones.
With his hand pressed behind Luna and fingers entering as he continued his thrusts into Kara the very air become charged with magic.
With a gentle hand, Kara separated from Luna and used her legs around Rainer"s waist to push him flat on the ground behind him. His hands gripped her legs as she moved up and down, letting her own Aura as well mix into the amalgamation of power swirling around the trio.
With beckoning from Rainer, Luna found herself positioned above his mouth. A skilled tongue moved around before the rampaging energies around them became too much for him to hold back.
A final shuddering moan from all three signaled the end as the buildup triggered multiple o.r.g.a.s.ms for each of them.
The trio sat in the magic created tub of heated Arcane-Water. Luna sat partially on both Kara"s and Rainer"s lap. With far higher Const.i.tution, the hardness of the Arcane-Earth didn"t bother the taller two of the three.
Rainer"s mind was blank as one hand ma.s.saged parts of Luna"s body and another scratched Kara"s wolven ear. The Fairy herself was all but pa.s.sed out sitting between the two.
But the Wolfkin was lost in thought. She had been surprised how much she enjoyed the company of them both, the wine smoothing the original resistance to it. Her own hands wrapped around both Luna and Rainer.
As of now, they were both hers. And with that she was happy.
The following morning, Laneth"s father came with good news on the favor Rainer asked of him. Getting ready to leave, Rainer went out to seek Maya, and they both prepared to go together to where the prisoners were moved.
"You ready?" Rainer asked Maya as she led the way into an older building of the Fae. They had just climbed down a flight of stairs to the underground prison. Laneth"s father had come through with obtaining dozens of their worst criminals for Rainer to do with as he pleased. The condition for it had been simple; should he succeed, any future diseased members of the Autumn Court would have priority to be healed.
The number of criminals surprised Rainer given the size of the Fae society. He guessed the lack of any real conflict and an overabundance of decadence control by a small portion of the society was doomed to produce deviants.
After all, many of the ones here were members of the Fae Courts. It spoke to just how terrible their crimes were that even the mildly corrupt government was more than happy to imprison them.
"Might as well start with him," Rainer said, looking the at quiet Fae who stared at him with disturbing yet bright yellow eyes.
"Why are you in prison," Rainer asked, [Mana Reading] turned on. However, the thought brought up by the question was more than enough for Maya to enter the weak and suppressed Fairy.
And so, the pair continued, finding the eventual 31 Fae, 7 with Akhor"s, to be all guilty of a.s.sumed crimes.
Just as Rainer was about to ask Maya about which she thought most deserving to start with, she rushed out of the room. Her face was completely pale. She looked no more than a zombie. It seemed the last Fairy they interrogated did quite a number on her.
A pointed look from Maya answered the question he had yet to ask.
Rainer frowned as he read the file given on that particular green haired Fairy. Like many in here, it was serial murder, but there was nothing that would elicit such a reaction from the otherwise stoic mind reader.
But a small conversation later, he found himself quite sickened by this particular Fairy.
A short while later the same Fairy lay strapped to a table in front of him, rendered unconscious by a sleeping ritual drawn on his forehead.
Rainer held a knife in his hand, ready to search through the Fae"s body and see firsthand how his Arcane power reacted in the Fae"s body. It was easy to heal such wounds with just pure Mana when it came to Fae, meaning this single Fae would last through numerous trials.
But he couldn"t go through with the first step. Back on Earth what he was about to do, no matter the test subject, was considered one of the highest crimes. An act reserved for the vilest monsters of both history and fiction.
Yes, he had some leeway given the target he was using. But for him, especially given his major of Biology in college, it was a daunting step forward.
Grabbing the wrist of his shaking right hand, Rainer remembered what happened earlier today and realized that the longer he needed to be in the Fae Realm, the more risk his loved ones faced.
He never had an issue of abandoning his morals for the ones he cared about.
The [Harbinger] sunk into his Void Will. His hand steadied along with his breathing. And now in front of him was only a tool for progress and the material with which to do it with.
Knife sank into flesh.
The same night, Rainer sat against the headboard of his bed, a small Luna taking her favorite spot sleeping on his head.
"Are you alright?" Kara asked. She saw how unusually quiet and reserved Rainer was.
"I"ve just been thinking."
Kara nodded, before sitting next to him. She knew that for some reason Rainer felt poorly for what he was doing. She couldn"t understand it. Kara had seen a sick looking Maya and had asked her what was wrong.
The Wolfkin instantly regretted that decision as Maya described some of the things she saw with Mind Magic, especially one Fairy in particular.
"Thinking about what?" Just because Kara didn"t understand his guilt didn"t mean she wouldn"t listen to him.
"Some of the greatest villains were seen as such for their experimentation on humans…I just can"t help but wonder where I"ll be 1, 5, 10 years from now. Will I think nothing of killing a random person because he b.u.mps into me on the street? Or will I be fine with testing Magic on a common and starved thief, because I think they deserve it? I"m strong Kara…maybe too strong. And power corrupts. No matter how good you once were," He then snorted, "not that I could claim to be that good in the first place."
Kara paused for a moment. This she at least understood. And it also offered a slightly selfish opportunity of getting rid of the constipated look Rainer had whenever she talked about her mother. He thought he hid it well, but Kara believed the opposite.
"I"ve been thinking about the prophecy recently…"
"Yeah?" Rainer asked, figuring Kara was trying to distract him from his thoughts.
"I"m almost positive it"s true. I know you like to think of my mother as a horrible villain who forced me to kill innocent villagers to unlock my Aura," Kara gave Rainer a pointed look when he tried to interrupt, "but everything I know about her said she regretted it when she was a child as well. And with me being perfect evidence of her extended period of time traveling outside of the Demon lands. The only thing I could think of that could force my mother to want me to be as strong as possible…"
"The prophecy… but even still…"
"Don"t get me wrong Rainer. She was a Demon, tried and true. If the sacrifices were done in a time of war or in combat, to her a soldier dying in battle or dying to fuel a rite of pa.s.sage was no different. But she was not the type to raid a village for such a thing. And I"m not saying it was right but…"
Rainer hugged her a bit closer. He never once saw less of her for what she had been forced to do as a child. And sought to make sure she understood that.
"So, I"ve been wondering. What if my mother was stronger? What if she was in her third tier? You think she would have had me do the rite of pa.s.sage?"
"No?"
"And would you, as you are right now, kill a group like the Winter"s Guardians if they discovered Luna?"
Rainer shook his head before letting out a long sigh. Was the answer really so simple?
Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely, he mused, enjoying the common saying"s comparison to his own magic. And at the same time fearing what it may mean for the future. But Kara had just cornered him into another truth.
Absolute Power is Absolute Freedom.
Killing, maiming, torturing, and many acts of evil were often committed out of a lack of reasonable or timely choices. It was the opposite truth to this, in fact, that allowed him to eventually test on those horrendous Fae criminals.
They made a choice purely through their own will.
In Rainer"s opinion, it"s what made **** such an easy crime to hate against and rightfully so, even ignoring the other reasons. There were basically no underlying circ.u.mstances, no excuses, only pure evil. There was no logical way to justify it, barring magical means of mind-control. And it"s why he had chosen his first subject for experimentation as such.
With the hunters, he all but knew that at least one of the Winter"s Guardians would betray him, guaranteeing a fate worse than death for Luna. And so too was he weak.
To him, there was no other option, especially when added on to Kara"s situation. Let alone a king seeking a few years of more life, there would be few who wouldn"t view a Half-Demon as a need to kill existence. Even Demons themselves, if the prophecy proved true on this world, would likely seek to kill her if they couldn"t subjugate her.
And so too did he all but know, at least one of the Winter"s Guardians wouldn"t betray him. But that truth didn"t matter in the face of all else.
Unless of course, he was as strong as he is now. That one chance of innocence would be more than enough to simply let them go where Rainer was concerned. So long as he was sure of handling the consequences.
In fact, next he saw Matheus he"d likely donate some of his remaining Fae gold and have the Hunter"s Guild find any of their families and give them security. Such was a benefit of power. Even if they discovered their benefactor was their doomsayer, what did it matter? Though in truth a lack of Rainer in their lives would have spelled their deaths in the very first Corridor of the Dungeon.
A freedom of choice granted only by power. The same freedom that allowed Luna to enjoy the festival or for Laneth"s father to survive with the knowledge that there was no Arcane Order. Without such freedom, so too would he have to had killed Amer"s real body as well, instead of developing the friendship they had now. At least as far as Rainer"s priorities were concerned.
In the end, his personal morality was irrelevant to the safety of his companions, those he was indebted to, and his own life. His ideas of goodness landed far behind that, only to surface when he had the ability to let it.
"Thanks for ruining days of moral anguish and existential crisis with one question."
"No problem," Kara grinned, happy to see Rainer"s mood back to usual.
The next days pa.s.sed quickly. Parts of Rainer"s days were filled testing [Absolute Rebirth] once more, having fully accomplished his first task, which was avoiding destroying the sleeping ritual. However, no matter what he did the far more complex ritual circle for anchoring the Soul was always destroyed.
He thought to try another method, using [Void Hold] to keep the Soul bound to the body even as the destructive Arcane Energy tore away the connection. The energy caused a true death far faster than the stopping of a beating heart did.
Now at his first attempt without the soul anchoring ritual, Rainer could only watch as his Void Will ran out long before he could manage to use the healing Arcane energies of [Absolute Rebirth] and his knowledge of the Avatar ritual and spell of Amer"s to try and reattach the soul.
His nights had been filled with alternating uses of [Absolute Rebirth] on Demon"s corpses and whatever interested his mind at the time. And yet he grew no closer to truly curing Akhor"s.
But at this particular night he sought after what may hold the key to healing Akhor"s, or at the very least understand it.
[Arcane Sight]
Sitting in the white void, Rainer focused Arcane Power onto a layer above his eyes. The object in front of him was one of the many enchanted books he memorized from his Trial. The runes inside the books themselves were gibberish, but the enchantment was beyond reproach. He could imagine nothing better for training his [Arcane Sight].
Arcane Power poured across his eyes as he continually tried to see more and more. To peer deeper and deeper into whatever he gazed upon. Any time he over did the power, his eyes would become injured, and at times even blinded. But he pushed the limits constantly. Far more than he ever had in the past to truly see in the ludicrously complicated enchantment that made up the book.
As his [Arcane Sight] climbed in levels, he soon realized that the enchantment of the book was as nonsensical as the runes themselves.
And yet he had learned the [Draconic Runic Language] from these books. It may have been with the aid of the then [Arcanist] cla.s.s bonus, but nonetheless, that bonus wasn"t omnipotent. He had to be approaching the skill in order to gain it. Which meant the book alone contained such a potential.
After several hours of his pouring of the limitless energy of the white void, on top of being able to refresh his eyes whenever he burnt them out, granted him the peak of [Arcane Sight].
[Arcane Sight has reached level 9]
But even still he felt it not enough to truly see what was wrong with the Fae cursed by Akhor"s Sickness.
Stuck, he went back to training [Void Hold]. He had already abandoned the ruse of the Avatar inspired ritual circle to hold the Soul. Which meant he needed to improve [Void Hold].
Absentmindedly practicing it the pain in his head had granted him inspiration. But not for [Void Hold].
"Biology major my a.s.s…" Rainer mumbled to himself.
The eyes didn"t see. The brain saw. An [Arcane Sight] applied only to the edge of the eyes could never achieve what he was after.
And being an Aura skill that also accepted Arcane Power, he started from the basics.
Using his knowledge of [Human Anatomy], he looked inwards as he tried to enhance the nerves and pathways which connected his eyes to his brain.
Yet so small and fragile the amount of Arcane Aura they could be enhanced with was equally exact. Rainer refreshed his body nearly every other second as failed attempts would overload the nerves and leave him blind or worse if the damage spread elsewhere.
But lacking a fear of death or disability he made progress, slowly refining the exact power needed. And just at the cusp of success, he combined the effort with [Arcane Sight], empowering his eyes to a level unmatched.
The otherwise small boost, instead allowed for a far greater amount of Arcane to enhance the eyes themselves.
[Arcane Sight has reached level 10]
[Arcane Sight has reached its maximum level. 5 skill points have been rewarded.]
[Arcane Sight has unlocked Arcane Revelation lvl 1/10]
Rainer"s mind shifted gear"s instantly. He reached out and now concentrated on [Void Hold], using his new skill to see how the Void shifted when he tried to hold an object with its power.
Every attempt he practiced let him see the skill closer than he had before. And to refine the wastes of power when he used it.
[Void Hold has reached level 2]
[Void Hold has reached level 3]
But before he could progress once more, Rainer found himself rudely awakened.
"Rainer, Rainer!" Kara said a bit louder as her dazed mate shook himself awake.
"What"s wrong?" he mumbled, before growing alert. He noticed Maya at the edge of the bed with a deeply concerned look.
"Sasha"s condition…it turned for the worse. I had been putting off telling you for a few days since I thought I had more t-time…but…"
Rainer moved a hand through his hair as he thought over the situation. He would have liked to have tested in on a criminal before the real thing.
"I just need a day or two of testing, and I should be there," He added. He was mostly concerned about the recovery period. Given what he had experienced he knew just using Void Will wouldn"t be enough to hold the soul until he could reattach it. He"d need to overextend his mind as well.
Combined with the Arcane energies that would tear apart his body, a day was a conservative estimate for a full recovery.
Maya shook her head.
"She could make it, or it could get even worse. It"s…starting to eat the magic in her body now too, far faster than before…"
Rainer let out a ragged breath of air. That was the worst-case scenario. It was an uncommon symptom, but Akhor"s sickness did not always stop at the infected"s Mana.
"Let"s go then," Rainer said without pause as he organized his thoughts and got dressed.
The whole party went at Rainer"s request as they followed Maya to her home. A short flight later they entered the village she lived in. Compared to other houses in the small village, Maya"s near mansion sized one stood out by far. Whatever Maya had done for Yulia, perhaps it paid well? Rainer questioned to himself.
In a large open room, Rainer sat across Maya"s wife, Sasha. It was hard not to feel pity for the young woman. She had been about the sweetest fairy Rainer had ever met, and that was with a disease that was worse than a death sentence for the Fae.
Perhaps the Fairy in front of him already accepted her death. To the point where even a legendary [Archon] attempting her healing did not phase her.
Though in this case, it had become a death sentence as well. Maya had rushed over to him in a panic, stating that there were complications. And with the backlash from overusing Void Will and the destructive Arcane energies funneling back through his body, there was no time for more testing.
"Can you describe what you are feeling again?" Rainer asked.
Sasha nodded at yet another question with the same patience as always. The ill feeling and the strange emptiness she felt even more than usual once more pointed towards the effects of a Fairy consuming their own Mana in excess.
Said [Archon] closed his eyes as he traced the nerves to them and his brain. Arcane Power surged as he wrapped and enhanced them. Suddenly, his eyes shot open. [Arcane Revelation] displaying its full power as he stared the demure Fairy. Eyes entirely covered in a violet power inspected the Fae.
He had many theories about Akhor"s sickness. And after the success of last night"s [Sleep Learning], he could finally test one of them.
Akhor"s Sickness while not usually fatal sometimes killed it"s infected. The symptoms while different enough shared some similarity to over indulging on one"s own Mana instead of a foreign source. Something that could be fatal for certain Fae.
And it was with this, and his current eyes covered entirely in violet that he finally realized how the disease functioned.
Mana naturally radiated and influenced the body it occupied. This was often done by such a small amount of Mana even Rainer at his weakest wouldn"t notice his pool shrinking. But with Akhor"s the very cells of the Fairy in question seemed to engorge themselves on the Mana Pool, leaving it barren. Something Rainer had now only witnessed with his upgraded sight.
It also made it seem as if the very magic of the Fae was being consumed in extreme cases where it sought to not only steal mana but use it to fuel the Fairy"s body.
Even if it was just a side effect of the Fae in question consuming their own Mana, this stage of the disease was fatal.
So Maya was right about one thing, Sasha had very little time left.
His thorough study of healthy Fae made him believe he truly had a solution.
"Don"t struggle. Let the magic enter your body and count backward from ten," He spoke softly to Sasha and drew the ritual circle for sleep on her forehead. The Fairy pa.s.sed out within moments.
With [Arcane Awakening] glowing at its maximum, he put a hand on either side of her head. He looked around the room, and following a nervous nod from Maya, began. A voice tinged in power and Arcane rang. It"s English words transcending barriers of language.
"Race: Fae, Gender: Female"
Anatomical knowledge flowed to the forefront of his mind and magic.
"Ailment: Akhor"s Sickness, Type: Mana and Magic Consuming"
The sight he saw with [Arcane Revelation] added to the knowledge already brought forth. And so too did it merge with the understanding of what a healthy Fae"s cells looked like.
After a calming breath, Rainer"s hands erupted with Arcane power, and Sasha"s body surged with energy. A magical glow spread out through the whole room as the Fae became encased almost entirely in violet targeting every cell of her body systemically.
"Absolute…"
He intoned with [Will of the Arcane].
Gritting his teeth, Rainer did his best to avoid severing the Soul from this damage as long as he could.
But in just a second, he needed to grab it with [Void Hold] along with her life energy.
Seconds, that stretched beyond their measure, pa.s.sed as her body glowed more and more. A message of experience flowed by Rainer"s mind, but he pressed onward.
[Experience Gained: .00%, .00%]
And with a surge of power the destructive Arcane energy started to flow towards Rainer. Runes lit up on his back as excess Arcane dispersed.
The cycle of death to be replaced with life as the healing energy used the previous cycle to move itself.
The healing focused on what a healthy Fae"s cells should appear as. Rainer had purposely ignored a more complicated approached of dealing with DNA, as he knew not how to approach that, and let the magic guide his healing instead with only a general understanding of a non-dieased Fae.
His Void Will dipped to nothingness as a tremor of pain rang out in head. But it soon turned to a smile as he used that healing energy to start to reconnect the Soul to the body slowly.
And yet just before the Soul was fully connected, guided by not only the healing energies but Rainer"s own [Arcane Energy Manipulation], the last step stalled, right at the cusp of life.
And then elation turned to a raw primal fear. As if rejecting life itself a surge of power erupted across the room and shook the entire house.
Rainer froze as he felt…a ma.s.sive presence loom over his shoulder. Searching, seeking and finally denying. Denying the connection he tried to form with the recently deceased Sasha and her Soul.
A divine darkness seeking to maintain the natural order even as it"s divine sight was unable to witness the cause of it. A gaping maw looming over all the occupants of the house. The people, Rainer included, far too pressured too even move as the house heaved under the divine presence.
But Rainer remained undaunted. For a brief moment, he released his [Void Hold] and spread out an [Arcane Presence] across the whole house causing the Divine power to rumble in fury, but remain impotent. By nature of his invisibility to Divine sight, Rainer extended that protection.
With all his remaining power, he grabbed onto the Soul once more. Arcane tore through his body as the streams behind him turned akin to wings, smoldering the wall behind him, making him appear more than but a man defying death itself. Even as the blood seeping from his eyes and nose betrayed his mortality.
And as if time ground to a halt under the unrelenting pressure of the Divine, it began again with a start as a roar filled with Arcane finished the spell, an eruption of Arcane power, and a gasp of air.
"Rebirth!"
[t.i.tle Gained: Life-Bringer]
[Experience Gained: Deferred, Deferred]
[t.i.tle Amended: One who defies Divinity]
[t.i.tle already held: One who Defies Divinity. 25% Bonus Experience gained added to t.i.tle. 50% General Improvement Bonus to Divine Resistance added to t.i.tle.]
[Experience Redacted: .00%, .00%]
Not even witnessing most of his messages, the moment he saw the final one, unconsciousness took him.