“Kai, focus on healing. I’ll take control of your mana and keep him at bay,” Scry sent a panicked message.
Kai groaned in pain.
“You can do that? Fine… do what you can. I need time to close these wounds.”
“Every spirit can do this with their contractor. I’ll cast my spells through your circles; it’ll buy us time,” Scry replied.
Behind Kai, two magic circles appeared, rotating clockwise. One was deep blue with two serpents biting the other's tail; the other, red and silver, depicted a pack of wolves in mid-hunt.
Florian halted, eyes scanning the circles.
“What kind of magic circles are those? I sense soul energy… They’re similar to mine, but more stable.”
A glint of greed sparked in his eyes. “Haha, what a wonderful gift. Thank you, I’ll take them and reach the ninth level!”
He surged forward, unwilling to wait and see what Kai had planned.
But Scry was faster.
Flames bloomed around Kai, forming a spinning fire rose. Each petal flew like a dagger toward Florian, burning with a fusion of Kai’s fire mana and Scry’s spirit mana. The attack was a spectacle, just the kind Scry enjoyed.
Caught off guard, Florian took the full brunt of the assault. The flames pushed him back, scorching even his fire-resistant body.
“Aaaaah! What is this fire?! It burns my mana… my insides!” Florian screamed.
Scry chuckled.
Fool. My fire attacks more than just the body.
Kai stared in shock, not expecting Scry’s magic to be so majestic and powerful. He pushed his mana and draconic blood to accelerate his healing.
Moments later, he finally stood.
Explosions echoed below. That had to be Liliya. Hopefully, she could hold her own.
Florian, still screaming, managed to recover by using the Salamander’s soul to devour the invading fire mana.
“You monster! What magic is that?! I’ve had enough of these games!”
“Time to die!”
He unleashed his mana. Grey and crimson energy danced around him, half his body glowing grey, the other half crimson.
“Fires of Purgatory, burn the souls of my enemies!”
A massive blaze erupted around him, grey and red flames intertwining as soul magic consumed even the air and mana in the room.
“Kai, that attack is stronger than the lasers from before. You can’t defend against it without soul magic,” Scry warned.
Kai frowned and nodded.
“Soul Slaughter,” he whispered.
His Winged Serpent stirred from its slumber, having been digesting fragments of Florian’s soul. It opened its emerald eyes, spread its wings, and manifested behind Kai, roaring with a draconic scream.
Florian’s body twitched; he remembered the pain of being burned alive.
“Not even a true dragon! I don’t fear you!” he shouted, thrusting his hands forward as the flames surged toward Kai.
Scry’s fire rose still burned, shielding Kai from the incoming heat.
The Winged Serpent sensed Kai’s resolve and summoned the first page, fueling its attack.
Kai lunged forward with Noxblade, aiming at both the flames and Florian. The serpent flew in a straight line, jaws open, targeting Florian’s soul; it had already tasted it once.
The Fires of Purgatory parted before Tenebria’s soul magic. Where the serpent flew, the flames split.
Sensing imminent danger, Florian wrapped his wings around himself and summoned a grey soul barrier. If he could survive this attack, he was certain he could kill Kai.
***
The Winged Serpent, in her ethereal glory, passed through Florian’s defenses and entered his inner world, striking at his soul, or what remained of it.
There, a fusion of a human and a Salamander soul awaited her.
Realizing this was a soul attack, Florian chuckled.
“You dare attack me, a master of soul arts, with soul magic?”
He commanded the Salamander’s soul to retaliate, launching a wave of soul fire toward the serpent. But she opened her third eye and released her own soul fire, erasing the Salamander’s attack with ease.
Guided by grey mana, she avoided the Salamander’s core and lunged at Florian’s fractured soul, biting and devouring massive chunks with each strike.
Florian’s already cracked mind shattered further.
“Aaaaaaaa! I am a new GOD! I won’t die here!” he roared.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Then, he did something no one expected.
In a remote corner of the room lay the shattered remains of an ethereal needle. Florian leaped toward it, grabbed the fragments, loaded two soul cores into the mechanism, and stabbed his own soul, forcing more souls into himself.
Sensing danger, the serpent retreated, still chewing pieces of his soul. Her body glowed with an even deeper silver hue.
Inside Florian’s inner world, two new souls appeared: a small red bat and a two-headed yellow snake. Using fragments of his broken soul, Florian chained the new souls to his own and stitched them into the missing parts.
The serpent hissed and fired rays of soul fire from her third eye, but the now four-part soul defended itself, using different soul frequencies to negate the attack.
Seeing her assault fail, the Winged Serpent hissed and withdrew from Florian’s body, turning ethereal and returning to Kai at high speed, unwilling to risk further exposure.
Kai, having witnessed everything that transpired within Florian, was speechless. Why is he so relentless? Why does he keep pushing, sacrificing everything, even his own soul?
Across the room, Florian screamed, an unnatural, distorted cry. Four souls battled for dominance within his body.
“Kai, now! We have to end him! I’ll cast spells, you slash! Wake up, KAI!” Scry shouted.
Kai grunted, barely holding himself together. His wounds were barely sealed; his mana drained from the soul attack.
His Blood Moon tattoo glowed, pulling his body together under a crimson moonlight.
He surged lightning into his legs and dashed forward with a thunderclap. His royal aura blazed as he slashed toward Florian.
Behind him, the two magic circles spun, and Scry launched a barrage of fire lances.
Florian, in the midst of his inner struggle, screamed and stomped his legs, forcing control over the other three souls within him.
“Not today! Today, I become even more perfect!” he roared, stabbing himself with syringes of green liquid, just before the attacks landed.
Kai’s aura slashed through the air. Fire lances seared the room, melting stone and floor alike. Both Kai and Florian fell through the collapsing floor.
Kai landed in the room below but couldn’t see or sense Florian. The air was thick with dust and debris, and the mana was twisted, unrecognizable.
In the chamber behind them, Liliya was preparing a spell to finish off the Tiger.
***
Before Kai and Florian crashed through the ceiling, Liliya had been locked in a brutal exchange with the Tiger.
He was lost in berserker madness, and though she countered every strike with her spells, she had no time to cast anything stronger; his relentless assault kept her on the defensive.
Fine. Time to stop playing around. I’ve seen enough.
At first, she had prolonged the fight, curious to see what skills Tiger could show her. But he was a mindless monster now; there was no point in playing anymore.
She stopped countering and poured more mana into her barrier, beginning a chant:
“Children of mana awaken, give soul to earthly beings, Earth Golem!”
Yellow mana swirled into a whirlwind, hurling the Tiger backward and slamming him into the floor.
Rubble and shattered pieces of the castle were sucked into the vortex. Moments later, a dark earth golem stood before Liliya, a glowing pentagram etched into its forehead, the same mark as on her grimoire.
“Geo, buy me some time!” she commanded.
The golem lunged at the Tiger, unleashing a barrage of punches that hammered him into the ground.
The Tiger growled and exploded with red wind pressure, forcing the golem back. One of his arms broke in two places, but he didn’t care; he kept exchanging blows with the golem.
Stone and blood flew with each impact.
Geo roared and summoned earth spikes that stabbed the Tiger from behind.
The Tiger roared and tore them out, leaving jagged shards lodged in his gut and chest, and continued slashing and punching.
The more damage he took, the brighter his runes glowed, and the stronger his attacks became.
Damn berserkers, Liliya thought, channeling mana for her final spell.
With each strike, the golem’s body cracked further. It was only as strong as the materials used to create it, and the black stone of Florian’s castle wasn’t ideal.
“Master, hurry up! And next time, summon me in a better body!” Geo grumbled, his form beginning to crumble.
“Sorry, Geo. Just a bit more,” Liliya replied with a warm smile, refocusing.
Geo roared and surged earth mana into his left arm, transforming it into a massive sword. He slashed across the Tiger’s chest, leaving a deep, brutal scar.
The Tiger screamed and cloaked his arms in whirling mana, then struck Geo directly in the head, obliterating the golem’s mark and core.
Geo faded, but not before exploding with earthen mana, wounding the Tiger further.
At that exact moment, Kai and Florian crashed through the ceiling on the far side of the room.
Seeing the chaos unfold, Liliya knew she had no time left. She activated her final spell combo.
“Freezing ice, slow down my enemies, Frozen Ground!”
She encased the already broken Tiger in ice. Even in his madness, he struggled to break free, but it gave her just enough time to cast her prepared spell.
“Rays of the Emperor Sun, Solar Judgment!”
Her strongest offensive spell. The spell she was known for. The spell of her cursed race.
Pure judgment descended in radiant light, engulfing the struggling Tiger. He roared, thrashing against the bindings, but the light consumed him.
His body turned to ash.
His madness was finally over.
***
Liliya fell to her knees, her breath ragged, her mana reserves nearly depleted. She might have strength left for a few more spells, but no more.
The radiant light of Solar Judgment faded, leaving behind only ash and silence where the Tiger once stood.
Her hands trembled as she pressed them to the cold stone floor. The battle had drained her, not just physically, but spiritually. She had pushed herself beyond what she had expected, and now, with Kai and Florian crashing into the chamber, the fight was far from over.
I can’t stop now. Not yet.
She looked up, eyes flickering with determination. Kai was wounded, barely standing. Florian was nowhere to be seen, but she felt a twisted mana spiraling behind the dust and rubble.
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand, swaying slightly. Her fingers curled around the edge of her spellbook.
“Kai… I’m still here. Let’s finish this.” She exhaled and moved towards Kai.?
main page and hit follow and favorite, or leave me a rating! Your reviews and feedback mean the world to me and help spread the word, especially for a small author. Thanks for your support!
My Patreon
?Featured Web Novel
The Vengeful Scribe - Rise of the Blood Mage Hunter
ProgressionLitRPGTime-LoopWeak-to-StrongRegressor
A noble’s blood magic grimoire cost Jack everything: his family, his fiancée, and the future he had as a young prodigy scribe. Drowning his grief in ale, he spent two decades chasing vengeance… and failed.
Now, the Gods cast him into a repeating time loop. Waking in his sixteen-year-old body, Jack has a chance to rewrite fate. All he wants is the simple life of a scribe, surrounded by his loving family. But the Gods and the Fates have other plans.
Armed with his previous life’s scribe skills and an unexpected forbidden class, he must grow strong enough to prevent the death of his family. Watch Jack grow while surviving in a steampunk/aetherpunk inspired world where blood mages kill for stolen power, adventurers chase coin, and the Inquisition is hunting him!
What to Expect
- Aetherpunk/steampunk
- Greek-style Gods
- Slow-burn power curve
Content Warnings
- Mature themes, violence, psychological depth, profanity
- No sex, explicit smut, or harem
Justice may be delayed, but it is never denied, especially not for the Vengeful Scribe.
Character-driven storytelling: grief, healing, and found familySlice-of-life warmth alongside grimdark shadowsFirst Arc Complete