Another chapter for you all, hope it is to your liking, a lot of good action in this one.
Next week I will be doing the final Transcendence Chapter for the year and also the Final United Against the Legion of Flames chapter for the year. Will be adding the Omake for the Dire Maul arc in the next Transcendence chapter, will do that first before I do anything else on Transcendence, of that you have my word.
Enjoy the story!
Transcendence
Chapter 50: Fading Shadow
Codexia ducked under the sword swing and plunged her blade through the gut of the Highborne Knight; he lurched forward and fell further onto her weapon. Kicking him off she leaped on top of his chest, pinning him down, before decapitated him, for good measure and to ensure this strange regeneration power did not take effect.
How they had acquired this power she did not know, but she did not denounce the remarkable results, the one whose hand she removed was only a few feet away. His body on the ground and charred, Mordents handiwork, when she last saw the stump it was a bulbous protrusion from the wrist that looked like a baby's hand. In only a few minutes he had regrown a portion of his palm, it likely would have been a fully functioning hand again had he survived the next few minutes.
'Where could they have gained this power?' Codexia thought.
Druantia could allow for the regrowth of limbs and partial regeneration of the body, but it had to be bestowed onto someone rather than taken from the spirit. So it had to be something else, maybe that strange ashen smell on them had something to do with it, another artefact perhaps?
'Find out later, find the Source now!' Codexia chided herself, her only interest in their new abilities should be how to counter them.
Taking off into another run they moved quickly, they had faced many delays in their pursuit, the ground between that traitor and her forces was growing larger every second. He would keep sending his men to delay her, always trying to create a greater gap between her and him. That had been the third time he had done so and by her count he was down twenty men. Meaning all that remained was himself and maybe three or four of his routine left, easy picking for her forces.
'Damn fool, should have sent everything you had against me, would have had a chance then.'
She glanced back at the eight magi with her, all that remained of the original twenty, even if they were tired and suffering from the loss of their comrades they pushed on. Mordent being charismatic as usual in convincing them of the dangers of the Nobles taking that Source, whether they believed it or simply ignored it in favour for revenge against those that tried to kill them she didn't know. But right now any aid was good in her books, especially true since she felt the Sylerian was nearby.
The Source was close, she could feel the pulses of energy through the air, the ground and water seemed to ripple and shake from the residual energy of its passing. It was too dangerous to be kept in the hands of the Highborne, it served some sort of purpose within this mountain if the location and architecture of the room if she was to guess. Who knows what kind of consequences could come of it being removed, it could be designed to contain something or be contained itself.
"There they are!" Arcanist Delaris called, just as the path they moved along open onto a ridge overlooking a massive underground spring.
A large expanse of shallow water moved out before them, crystal clear and shining in the caverns artificial light from the many crystals along the walls and roof. Moss and plants littered the ground, while small bugs and fish life could be seen moving along and below the water's surface.
But she ignored the pristine beauty and purity of the cavern, her eyes roaming over the cavern and searching for the target that had been pointed out. Then she spotted him, rushing to the nearby waterfall that led into a lower section of the caverns, just as he disappeared over the edge.
"After them! Do not let them escape!" Mordent cried, rushing down the path to catch up to the man that nearly killed them all.
Codexia was quick to follow, running down the ramp and then across the massive shallow sea, she didn't even let the water slow her stride as she chased them. When she reached the waterfall she looked down over the edge and to her surprise she found him there, along with thirty others guarding their escape route. What they were using was a Submarine, Codexia had recalled that Marta was helping but she never expected the Submarine to be able to enter the caverns.
"That damn Gnome, she will carry him away if we do not stop them!" Mordent cried, signalling his fellow Magi and in a moment they all disappeared in a flash of light.
Codexia glanced down to see they had reappeared fifty feet below her position on the waterfall and were charging towards the Submarine. But she did not follow at first, her mind reeling at what she could do and must do, if she went down there she likely would have to face the people she had considered family and friend. Could she become exactly what Marta called her, killing the people she so vehemently claimed to be her comrades and prove her right that she did not care?
'Why did it have to happen like this?' Codexia thought, gritting her teeth before she teleported herself below. 'I cannot let this end in any more bloodshed!'
She transformed into a mass of shadow and intercepted Mordent and his party, she had to hold them off from killing anyone else. Holding up her blade she signalled them to halt, and she was lucky to have been able to do it with little argument or an outright refusal, before she turned towards the Marta Mercenary Company that were only a few yards from her and waiting for an attack.
"Marta! I know you are there! Come out now!" Codexia roared.
She waited only for a moment before the gnomish captain crawled out from her ship, her expression neutral as she stared down her former contract and friend. Codexia knew that glare well, it was one given to those that she saw as lesser in her eyes, it hurt to be considered such an thing by her.
"Marta, you have to stop this! Right now! You have no idea what you are doing!" Codexia shouted.
"I know enough, about your schemes and plans for these people, and I was part of it all as well." Marta said, shaking her head. "I know what I am doing and that is stopping your mad bid to start a war that will result in immeasurable deaths."
"What I did was to help them, it may not have been of their own choice, but I did everything in regards to their safety and ensuring that they would survive." Codexia replied. "What you are doing is reinforcing the same thing that has led others to hate them, to fear them, you will aid in their demise if you do not stop and think!"
"Their demise? What of the threats you dangled over their heads like an executioners axe? That if they did not follow your instructions that they would be killed, they had to abandon all they knew and held dear because you said it was the only way they would survive!" Marta cried back.
"Because it is true! The Night Elves will kill them simply for existing, for what they are doing now with that power source and with their actions with the Spirits! And with their actions against the Centaur they had destabilized the region; the Horde may even seek blood for this!" Codexia yelled. "I may have threatened and warned but you are all but ensuring that they will die!"
"At least I am giving them a chance. And the freedom to do with their lives as they please!" Marta replied, scowling as she turned away.
"And how much gold did it take to convince you to do this? To sell away all your principles because of revenge on slights I never intended!" Codexia yelled. "For all that bravado and morality all I see is someone doing this for weak reasons, I know you better than that Marta!"
"Then you don't need to ask me why I am doing this then!" Marta screamed back at her. "To arms, do not let her near the ship!"
Codexia scowled at the Gnomish Captain as she disappeared back into her ship, while her men drew their swords and readied themselves for battle. As much as she wanted to spare them she had to retrieve that artefact, if she didn't than there was no telling how much damage could be caused if it reached Ethel Rethor.
"Mordent, try to spare them, they are but pawns in this." Codexia said, unwilling to murder these people if she could help it.
"We will make an attempt." Mordent replied, and she didn't know if he was being sincere or not, but she hoped he was serious in his reply.
Not wasting anymore time she quickly charged forward, blade drawn back and her target being the most dangerous of the adversaries here. Sylerian and his three guards, all of them huddled behind the majority of the Mercenary Company's soldiers. With a wave of her blade she dispatched them easily, the soldier's fell to the ground as they were drained of a good portion of their life energy and left with only enough to keep them breathing.
The three knights charged her, one lunging forward with a stab while the other two circled either side in a flanking maneuver. Quickly she shifted into the form of shadows and phased through the lead attacker, before turning and impaling him on her sword. Their armor was magical in nature and disrupted her magic, whatever enchantments were upon it were powerful, but a blade through the heart was still going to kill them.
Ripping her blade free she ducked away as the two surviving knights struck, she raised her blade and blocks one attack before parrying it to defend against the other. She knew she couldn't fight them in close quarters, their skill would definitely be above hers and with two of them falling upon her she would be defeated quickly.
Her shadows were not meant for defensive purposes, serving to drain the life of enemies and offer a quick means to escape. But luckily for her she had other means than just Decay, while her other powers were diminished they were far from gone. Waving her hand she created a small wave that struck one of the Knights, casting him aside violently and leaving only one to contend with for the moment. Yet even he was brought to his knees, thick vines and roots shot from the ground and ensnared the man pinning his legs to the ground while binding his arms.
Trapped she plunged her blade through his chest, her blade cutting through his armour and flesh as if they were one and the same, his heart was cut in two. Kicking the corpse from her blade she turned to the final knight, a flick of her staff another wave of water rose up and ensnared him. He would drown in a few minutes, and with no one else to get in her way she could finally deal with Sylerian.
"That must have taken it out of you, I can see your sweating and even hear your heart beating." The elf said, smirking as he saw Codexia move to conceal her true weariness. "No need to be so flustered, I know that with the spirits trapped and drained you are only running on the power that remains within you. In fact, I would wager that using that nature and water magic has left you with little energy left."
"Wrong." Codexia said, charging forward and disappearing into a burst of shadow, she reappeared behind the Highborne and attacked. "Decay feeds on death! And I have been dealing it in droves this past day!"
She had been feeding on the deaths of all the Centaur, Elementals and Highborne this day, their deaths feeding her power. With every soul she sends on the way and with whatever life force remained in their bodies would come to her, feeding this power and giving her what she needed to continue fighting.
"Shadows, it is a pathetic trick that has no substance!" Sylerian yelled, turning and blocking her blade with his own. "Luckily I have things greater than just mere enchanted weapons and armor!"
Codexia glanced at the silver blade, along its surface runes had been engraved yet they did not glow or shine with power, the hilt was shaped like the moon and folded over the blade. Despite the lack of actual flare of power she could sense something within it, obviously it was magical.
"This is Allaminar, The Star Blade!" Sylerian cried, before his weapon pulsed with light and exploded with force.
Codexia was thrown back and across the shallow water, as she lifted herself to a knee she looked back to her opponent, but found he was no longer there.
"Surprised you cannot see me?" Sylerian called, yet he could not be seen anywhere, with the echoing sounds of his own voice and the battles nearby it was impossible to find out where he exactly was. "This sword is known as the Star Blade for it shines as one, and can control that light to do nearly limitless things."
Codexia stood from the ground and looked around, unable to find him.
"Let me guess, you can absorb and bend light to make yourself invisible, not unlike what you did when you were in the main chamber, that means you are hidden from sight." Codexia said, glancing around and looking at the water before bathing her blade in darkness. "One problem with that."
She swung hard and slammed the blade into the ground, the water erupted and showered down upon everything around her, her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings looking for a disturbance. She could see a ripple in the air, the water particles distorting as they passed behind something, and as she saw it she released a bolt towards the shimmer.
It shattered and Sylerian appeared, as he staggered back a step he raised his blade and stopped her, but as he saved himself from the cut he was struck in the face by the tip of her staff. He stumbled back with a broken nose, and Codexia slashed him across the eye, he let out a cry of pain as blood pooled across his face.
"Damn you!" Sylerian cried, quickly stepping away before more harm could be done, his form shimmering and disappearing from sight.
"Is all you can do is run?" Codexia asked, glancing around for anything that could reveal the man, swinging her sword to the water and use the droplets to reveal him once more.
As the wall shimmered she released a bolt of darkness at the flicker of light and struck the elf in the chest, he was thrown back and hit the ground. He rolled back to his feet and appeared no worse for wear, Codexia scowled as she looked at his armour, she could see the magical aura that surrounded it. It was much more protected than compared to his underlings, meaning that simply deteriorating the metal would not be easy.
"Even if my power is diminished, I am still more than a match for an upstart like you." Codexia said, skulking forward and planning on forgoing any attempt to pierce his armour and instead slice off his head.
She swung down and he blocked it with his armoured bracer, a magical glow holding back her blade and even the decaying aura along her blade doing nothing to penetrate its defences, then he looked up and smirked at her. His eyes had regenerated and seemed to have only a small line within it, while there was no scar over his eyes, his nose seemed to have set itself back into place.
"This is incredible, I always looked down on trolls but to have this kind of healing power is incredible!" Sylerian yelled, slashing aside her blade and going on the offensive.
Codexia knew that trolls couldn't heal this fast, what these elves had used to gift themselves with was doing in seconds what it took trolls days to accomplish; this was a level above that of those savages. Which made fighting these Highborne all the more difficult, but it seemed that if the heart or the brain is struck then the person dies, she was lucky to have done so well against those she had fought.
"Let's see how good it is." Codexia thought, swinging her blade around and slashing against his arm, the force of the blow did not cut through the armour but it most certainly would have broken the bone.
Sylerian let out a scream before Codexia stabbed for his neck, he ducked to the side and saved his head, but he was not fast enough to save his jugular from being speared open. His mouth filled with blood and he had no other hand to hold over the wound, instead he swung his blade at Codexia and tried to fend her off.
He was successful for a moment before she charged in again to finish him off, he may likely be centuries old but he had the experience of a novice. She always though that elves with such long lives would have the time to perfect their skills and ability, in fact she once thought that they were born talented. Her old master was talented in everything, from the sword to history, he was incredible in her eyes and everything she learned and knew now was from him.
So seeing an elf with such poor swordsman skills and no natural ability was surprising, usually arrogance came with an actual show of skilfulness to accommodate it, kind of shattered her views regarding the Highborne now. Thinking along those lines it was probably time to shatter this bastards head and get that Power Source back.
But as she made for a stab her blade was deflected, a burst of light blinding her temporarily as she stumbled to the side, and then a searing agony slashed through her shoulder. She screamed as the blade cut through the meat and scraped the bone, she dropped her staff and continued to backpedal before collapsing onto her back. Looking up she let out a gasp at seeing the pulsing entity that had the shape of Sylerion, it was some kind of solidified construct of light, he had actually summoned a Mirror Image of himself.
"You think that this sword can only bend light? It can control it and manipulate it to a degree that you cannot imagine!" Sylerion said, his hand leaving his neck as he pressed against his jugular to see if the wound had healed.
"Lucky for me then," Codexia said, standing up and bringing her left arm over her chest and kept it there, she smirked despite the pain. "If that blade was in the hands of someone with actual skill than I would surely be in trouble."
Sylerion did not take the jab lightly, the frown on his face was evident of that, but he covered up his annoyance with a laugh and raised his sword once more. Giving it a flourish he summoned up three more mirror images, all of them taking different stances and looking ready to obey his command.
"Well, I am waiting." Codexia said, her smirk not dropping for a moment as she raised her weapon and readied herself for a fight.
"Such bravado, honestly I am surprised that you can be so calm." Sylerian said, before he aimed his sword at her and immediately the light constructs attacked.
Codexia knew that these constructs had to be controlled through the blade, but they must have semi-sentience that allows them to fight without the need of the master guiding them. In either case she needed to know one thing, it was crucial to her surviving the next few minutes, if these entities have the skill of the master, or were they better?
That answer was made as soon as the first attacked, which she dodged easily enough, before another attacked her from the side, an attack she blocked. Then one swung down from the opposite direction while she was locked with the other, leaping back she saved herself from harm but proved her theory. These constructs were poor imitations at best; the guiding will of them seemed to come from the blade and the one who wields it.
That meant they have their skill was only matched by the wielder, and if Sylerian's skill was any indication as before than she was in luck then. But there were still four of them and their master to deal with, and numbers often compensated for lack of skill. She needed to end this quickly before he got in another good shot that would cripple her, at least long enough for him to kill her without any problems.
'If I can negate the powers of that sword then I can beat him, but how can I do that, it resists the decaying aura of my blade and holds great power.' Codexia mused, her only arsenal was the Shadows and Decay, both of them seemed worthless against this man.
His armour protected him from harm and with his regeneration he likely could recover from any damage she could inflict, but maybe if she overwhelmed it with her power she could do it. If she could rot away his chestplate the power within it would be disrupted but that was easier said than done, the magical aura kept her blade from touching him completely. Only his exposed skin, as little as there was, could be touched by the edge of her blade and he was very cautious not to let her get a swing in on those places.
So the armour would be something she needed to deprive him of, but that was a secondary objective right now. First she had to deal with the sword and its power, with the constructs he was summoning it was tricky getting near him.
'He said that it shines like a star, yet it doesn't possess that great of a magical power within it, even the runes on its surface do not glow brightly.' Codexia mused, ducking underneath one of the constructs before plunging her blade through its chest.
The attack did little, the construct simply turned towards her and tried to stab her while she was close, and backing away she then tried to decapitate it. She was successful but the weapon phased through its neck and did nothing else, with a scowl she retreated from the unkillable foes, there was no way she could harm them. Her only chance was to get close to Sylerian and end him, easier said than done.
'He can manipulate light and use it to do almost anything, but how can I harm him when I cannot get close.' Codexia thought.
He always kept the construct between her and himself, unwilling to create an opening for herself to use. Worst of all their proximity was actually affecting her shadows, they were weakening and unable to fully form with these constructs nearby. That made it very difficult for her to summon up her power and use it, what she wouldn't give to be able to teleport behind him.
Then she noticed something, something that she had caught onto when she fought engaged them, it was the way they walked and moved. While the moved like normal human beings they seemed to have an unsteady step. She noticed with how they took steps that they seemed to stagger or slip, as if the ground they were walking on was covered in mud and they were either slipping or sinking into it. That shouldn't be possible as these things shouldn't behave like normal beings of flesh and blood, they held no weight and therefore should glide over the ground with each step.
'Could it be a possible weakness?' Codexia mused. 'Could Sylerian not be in perfect control of them?'
Sylerian had remained motionless since he summoned them and had made no move to engage her personally, likely wishing to wear her down and then go in for the kill himself. She wouldn't put it past him if he knew that he couldn't beat her with brute force and poor skill, yet she also got the feeling it was something else that made him keep his distance. He was proud and arrogant; he may actually feel anxious and desired to fight but choose to remain behind to guide the constructs.
'The Star Blade, that is what he called it.' Codexia mused. 'Because it shines like a star…'
Her eyes drifted to the ground and looked in the rippling water; the feet of the constructs taking her attention, as soon as she saw it she knew what the sword was doing and why he was keeping his distance. She smirked, before she bathed her blade in darkness and swung it to the side, a wall of shadows formed and curved around and behind the constructs.
When that veil formed between Sylerian and the constructs, the latter disappeared instantly, her theory was proven instantly.
"Now I got…" Codexia said, before she heard a loud splash behind her.
Turning to look over her shoulder her eyes widened, orange hair and a large sword resting on his pauldron, charging right for her was probably the only person she dreaded coming for her. Turning quickly she raised her blade and blocked the strike, her grip was sound but her feet did not remain so firmly planted on the ground, she was lifted from the shallow waters and tossed back.
She sailed through the veil of darkness she had summoned and crashed into the water. Quickly sitting up she looked at the advancing substitute and felt dread when she found his glare fixed solely upon her. This was possibly the worst time that he could have come for her, she may not know what he is but she sensed his power and had seen what he had done in Dire Maul.
'Of all the times, he has to come for my head now?' Codexia thought, before she saw a shadow to her right, eyes widening she leaped to the side.
Her decision saved her life, and as she looked up she saw Sylerian, a blade was stabbed forward and would have ended with her impalement. Rising up she rushed at the Highborne, locking blades with him, he growled as he pushed her back and attempted a strike. But both he and Codexia were surprised when the orange haired youth appeared before them and swung, his blade moving for Sylerian, while he kicked out with his leg towards Codexia.
Sylerian fumbled with a hasty block but it did nothing to halt the blade as it cut along his armour, the plated metal held but the Highborne was sent tumbling backwards. While Codexia had no time to protect herself as she was kicked in the chest, she hit the ground again and was sprawled against the sandy earth.
'Crap, he's better than both of us.' Codexia thought, realizing just from that single attack just how screwed she was right now.
The only way she could find this advantageous was if Ichigo focused solely on Sylerian, but when she saw him whirl on his heels and face her she knew that was not going to happen. Scrambling to her feet and ignoring the weight of her waterlogged cloths, she raised her blade and blocked the substitute and braced herself to prevent another tumble.
"Please… you need to stop… we are not… enemies… I only wanted to help…"
"Don't believe you." Ichigo cut her off, swinging his blade off hers before attacking again.
He pushed her back, sending her staggering away and fighting to stay upright, and as she lost ground he gained it and struck again. Again she fell, dropping to a knee and trying to hold to blade off her, with all her strength she could muster and what power she had she knocked his blade to the side and swung in retaliation. Her attack missed, Ichigo leaping back and away from the strike before bracing himself to charged back in.
Yet before he could he noticed a shift in light, glancing back he saw an ethereal construct of white light attack him, ducking quickly he avoided being decapitated. He swung Zangetsu up and cleaved through the construct, yet the creation didn't do anything but fracture and reform, when the attack failed he leaped away.
"Interloper, you will pay for interfering!" Sylerian cried, summoning three more constructs and sending them towards the Shinigami.
Ichigo furrowed his brow before he found a path through the constructs and used it, disappearing into a burst of Shunpo and reappearing behind the four entities of light and near the Highborne. He swung down at the man, who raised his blade futilely to block the substitute, his defence was weak and his blade was pushed down and Ichigo's sword landed right on his armoured shoulder.
Yet to his surprise the weapon did not pierce through his armour, it hit the man and brought him to the ground but he wasn't cut in half and not even a scratch was seen on his armour. Ichigo furrowed his brow, how was it that he couldn't cut through the guy?
'Magic.' Ichigo thought, it had to be the cause here. 'Need to do some research into that later, see exactly what it can do.'
He was severely lacking when it came to the capabilities of magic, having only faced it on a few occasions before and never really seen its full capabilities. Even against that Blood Elf and the Dreadlord they had employed simple magic against him, but this was obviously some kind of enchantment that made the Highborne's armour resistant to harm.
'How does that work? If it staggered him and dropped the guy does that mean it doesn't absorb the energy and force, how is it that the attack didn't cut through then?' Ichigo mused, he glanced at where the blade was resting and found a spark of energy between his blade and the armour. 'So a sort of personal shield then, explains why the metal didn't warp either.'
"I will make you bleed human!" Sylerian yelled, pushing himself up and wiping the mud and sand from his face.
He swiped at Ichigo, who jumped over it and back and waited for the guy to get back to his feet, and when he was upright again he moved in for a stab. Ichigo raised a brow at the attack, was this guy for real? It was dismally slow and he didn't even do it right with the way he held the blade or the motion of his arm. Ichigo proved that by sidestepping and then delivering a knee to the guy's stomach.
The attack seemed to do nothing but make the man lurch forward, yet he didn't gasp or even seem discomforted, Ichigo then grasped the man by the arm and shoulder tossed him aside. As he hit the ground and rolled aside Ichigo thought it over, rummaging exactly how it was that the armour could hold back his Zanpakuto along with a knee to the gut.
"Why do I get the feeling that magic is not going to be easy to understand?" Ichigo mused, from what he knew magic just broke reality simply because it could and all it could be doing was making that armour impermeable for all he knew.
Then he watched as the downed man summoned four more of the light constructs and attacked, Ichigo raised his blade and planned to bypass them again. But then he saw Codexia in the distance, moving for the submarine, just like that his priorities shifted and his targets changed.
Quickly vanishing via Shunpo he reappeared close enough to her that he could attack, leaping towards the running Primalist he slashed down with Zangetsu. Coming to a halt she raised her blade and blocked his strike, before redirecting it towards the ground and then vanishing, her form fading to darkness and completely disappearing from sight.
Ichigo's spiritual senses could feel the disruption in the air ahead of him, it was like some kind of personal Garganta portal, and then he felt one behind him. Turning quickly he reached out and grabbed Codexia as she poised her sword back; taking her by the hem of her cloak he pulled her off her feet and tossed her aside.
She hit the ground and rolled back to her feet, leaping aside as Ichigo pursued and attacked. His blade slamming down onto the ground in front of her and creating a temporary try patch of earth. Codexia swung down, hoping to at least wound him, but her attack was quickly parried and then he followed up with a counter attack.
He could move that blade of his so quickly and deftly that it belie what was possible with such a massive weapon, a blade as large as he was tall and solid metal and he swung it around with one hand. There was no way she would win here, she had to reason with him, try to find a way to end this without getting herself skewered.
"You must listen to me! I have not come here to take the Source but stop it from being taken! The Highborne cannot be allowed to take it!"
"Don't worry; I intend to stop them too." Ichigo said, rushing forward and drawing back Zangetsu.
"Then let me help you! We have the same enemy!" Codexia yelled, summoning the shadows to her blade and clashing with Ichigo. "We are united in this; if we fight together we can recover the Source."
"And then what? You run off when you have what you needed and leave everyone else here to fight for their lives?" Ichigo asked, remembering her departure from Dire Maul and the fact she only helped them because she wanted to get to the tree.
"I know you are angry for my deception, but my actions serve a greater calling than myself, what I did in Dire Maul was in service to it!" Codexia yelled, deflecting a strike and pouring her power through the blade to try and match the Shinigami's strength. "It was wrong to do what I did but I believed it to be the right course to take."
"Yeah and look what good it did." Ichigo replied, parrying two of her swipes before he slashed wide and forced her to leap away.
"This is not my doing! The Nobles are to blame! They seek the Source to satiate their hunger for magic; I am trying to correct their mistake!" Codexia responded defiantly. "Stand aside and let me reclaim the Source!"
"Not going to happen, last time you got near something you wanted you took it and bolted, not going to let that happen again." Ichigo replied, swinging Zangetsu around hard and tossing the Primalist off her feet as she made a hasty block.
She sailed ten feet before hitting the watery ground, letting out a groan she remained there for a moment before she picked herself up. Shaking off the water and feeling her arms strain to even lift her sword, she was on her last leg right now and she didn't know how much longer she had before she collapsed.
"I am not running from this! I have no intention of running! I came here to put things right and ensure that the mistake I made with the Highborne is put right!" Codexia replied, releasing a burst of darkness that propelled the substitute backward. "If you won't listen than I have no choice but to defeat you!"
Ichigo raised Zangetsu while Codexia collected the darkness around her and prepared to unleash it, she had no choice but to try and overwhelm him with all her power. There was no other option available to her. As they charged one another to end their stalemate, or in Codexia's case a good beating, they were interrupted by a wave of light. Both turned to face it they were assailed by orbs of light that crashed around them, exploding and showering them with hot sand and burning radiance.
"Fall! Fall to the might of the Highborne!" Sylerian roared, before swinging his blade forward and summoned up another group of constructs. "Attack! Annihilate them both!"
The ten beings of light shot across the water and for the Substitute and Primalist, but the former charged in to meet the entities in melee and reach their master. Ichigo cleaved through one as he ran, quickly looking ahead and noticing two more in his path, before he found a good angle to get a straight shot to the Highborne.
Using Shunpo he darted off to the right, as his feet hit the ground again he looked up and was right where he needed to be, and then he disappeared again and went right for Sylerian. Ichigo reappeared just behind the Highborne, shaking off the dizziness he turned and swung Zangetsu at the man. The elf couldn't turn as the blade struck him in the back, sending him forward and crashing into the water.
"This guy is not that much of a threat." Ichigo mumbled under his breath, without that armour of his he would be dead right now.
"You will not win here human!" Sylerian growled, rising to a knee.
"That armour of yours may keep my Zanpakuto from cutting you, but I am pretty sure I can overwhelm it." Ichigo said, raising Zangetsu and bathing it in spiritual energy. "I remember when I fought Kenpachi he said when two opposing forces meet the weaker of the two surrenders, let's see if I can overwhelm that armour of yours."
Moving forward he drew back Zangetsu and swung at the rising Highborne, who had no time to raise his own blade in defence. The Soul Cutters edge struck the armour and immediately the power that protected the Highborne appeared, a powerful translucent barrier over his armour taking the strike and dispersing the energy as it course from his blade.
Ichigo was surprised by the amount of force the armour could take, the only thing he knew that could probably take this sort of power head on and not falter is probably an Arrancar. Hell even Grimmjow didn't get fazed by his Getsuga when he used it against him, so to see magic actually hold off his signature skill was shocking to say the least.
"Getsuga Tenshou." Ichigo called out the name, and energy shot out and washed over the Highborne, the current carrying him back and tossing away.
It was over within a few second, the energy washed over the Sylerian and scattered into multiple waves that crashed against the waterfall. The armour's aura remained but he could see patches and open wounds along the magical barrier, he had left breaches in it and that is what he wanted. Then with a resounding crash the poor bastard hit the ground, and for a good few seconds he didn't move.
"Best not let sleeping dogs lie." Ichigo mused, knowing better than to possibly leave this bastard alive and kicking.
But as he charged in to give that armour another inspection swing the Highborne raised his blade up from where he lay and struck.
"Begone!" Sylerian yelled, pointing his sword at Ichigo and releasing a burst of light.
Ichigo stumbled back and did not react fast enough to the spell, one hand went to his eyes and covered them, he let out a scream as he felt the searing light hit his retinas. Even when the pain dulled he couldn't open his eyes, every attempt was met with his sight being blotchy as if his eyes had been burnt.
He had been blinded.
Yet even if his sight had been impaired he couldn't open them for long, the ambient light being too bright for his eyes to handle. Yet they felt so sensitive right now that he could do nothing but keep them shut and try to block out the searing pain. But he knew that without knowing exactly where he was and where Sylerian was he couldn't defend himself. The worst part was the short few minutes he had to wait for something to happen, he could barely hear anything above the clashing of steel nearby and the shooting off of spells.
He was truly in deep shit.
'Hope Hymaercia can get here fast.' Ichigo mused, he was thinking this was somehow going to come back to him when he ran off in Dire Maul. 'Of course this happens, first time I ask to scout ahead and do the right thing and I end up wishing I had some backup.'
"Now I have you."
Ichigo instantly swung out towards the sound of the voice, yet his blade met nothing, with a grimace he tried to listen in and hopefully hear where the bastard was. But with the damn fighting and yelling nearby he sure as hell wasn't going to pick one set of noises out of many.
"Hope my instincts actually save me this time."
Codexia blocked the blade of the construct and quickly manipulated the shadows to appear behind it, causing it to vanish without direct line of sight to the sword that created it. Turning towards the other two she planned the same offensive, yet she didn't need to, when she turned to them they immediately vanished from sight.
For a moment she was surprised why they suddenly vanished, then the reason showed itself, a bright burst of energy nearby alerted her. She watched as Sylerian was cast off his feet and sent flying away by a wave of blue energy, released from Ichigo. She felt the dense power from the strike and wondered how he could bring such power to bear so easily.
Her eyes trailed after Sylerian for a moment before she turned away from him and towards the Submarine, it was close and she was within reach. Quickly she vanished from sight, her form turning into a mass of darkness and reforming on the bow of the Submarine. Trailing over its surface she found the hatch on the top of the massive underwater ship, locked down and sealed tight.
Raising her blade and pressed it against the hatch, if she could deteriorate the metal enough Marta would be stuck here, unable to leave with a breach in her hull. Slowly her blade's tip sunk into the metal and her powers caused the metal to rust and fall apart, she just needed a little time to create the breach and then enter the ship.
'Marta, do not force my hand any further.' Codexia thought.
As she pierced through another layer of steel she noticed a blinding pulsing light out of the corner of her eye. She turned from her effort on the hatch to look upon the light, but she shut her eyes when she felt the sting from the intensity of the rays. When it subsided and she heard a loud scream she opened her eyes and beheld a shocking sight.
She gasped when she noticed the now blind Ichigo covering his eyes and letting out a string of curses, and Sylerian advancing on him slowly. He was completely defenceless and was swinging his blade around wildly to ward off the Highborne, but it would do him little good with no idea if he is swinging the right way. For a few moments she watched and wondered what she should do, her eyes shifting between the hatch and the substitute below.
For a while she had to argue over what she had to do in the situation, and eventually it came to her.
"I need to end this quickly." Codexia thought aloud.
Leaping from the top of rhe submarine she landed on waterlogged ground, gathering all her shadowy powers together she cast them out, behind her a wave of darkness formed and followed in her wake. As she drew close she stabbed her blade forward, casting it towards Ichigo and Sylerian, and just as the Highborne raised his blade to kill the Substitute both were consumed by the darkness.
"Damnation! What is this?!" Sylerian yelled, and then he was struck in the chest and tossed back. "Argh! I have had enough of this!"
"You are not the only one." Codexia said, sliding the tip of her blade along the back of his armour slowly, a pulse of purple light carving a line into the metal.
"Come out! Face me in the light!" Sylerian yelled, trying to use his weapon but finding it was not responding to his commands.
"Your weapon does not work here, for it can only use its powers when Light exists, and within this realm there is no light." Codexia replied. "Here you are powerless and weak, and vulnerable."
To prove her point she swung her blade at his exposed back and shattered the back of his breastplate, as he stumbled forward and the front of his armour fell away he tried to retaliate. Yet every wild swing in any direction he chose did nothing but cut down his strength, and as he stood there panting and growling in frustration did Codexia attack again.
"This is what your people will amount to; this is the hell you will fall into if you continue this mad bid for power." Codexia said, stabbing her blade through his chest. "A hell that I will deliver onto any and all who think as you do, I worked too hard to let your people destroy everything because of your own greed."
He fell to his knees, her blade cutting into his heart, she knew that his healing power would keep him alive for a time and all that energy would be drawn into her blade. She needed the power, even if the last of the rogue Highborne here were dead she needed the rest to retrieve the artefact from Marta and her forces. That would take a lot of doing to accomplish, and hopefully the amount of energy she had just siphoned from this bastard would be enough.
Kicking the decaying body off her blade she turned to Ichigo, kneeling down and covering his eyes, even in this oppressive darkness nothing was beyond her sight within the shadows. Saving him was not something she should have done, he was an enemy at this moment and saving him did nothing for her except hinder her and likely would result in capture.
'The Spirits said he was of use, they claim he would be have an important role in the future, maybe even more important than mine.' Codexia thought, she wondered what they could intend for him but she couldn't even begin to understand the minds of the Primals.
But Ichigo needed to be alive and if the Spirits had purpose for him she would make sure he was kept alive, yet she needed to make sure he was not a hindrance at this point.
"I know you do not trust me, but you must know that all I do now is for the good of the world." Codexia said, gathering some energy into her palm and planning to put Ichigo into a slumber. "I do these terrible things and sacrifice lives because they will be but a few compared to the many that will die if I do nothing."
She didn't know if was listening or not, but the way his head turned towards her said enough that he knew where she was.
"Even so I feel guilty about doing it so candidly, but I will fix this and for every life that is lost because of my actions I will make sure to repay the world back a hundred times over." Codexia continued. "I will stop the Highborne myself, no one else will risk their live and die because of me. So please, fall into the dark and rest for a long while, go to sleep."
Ichigo suddenly raised his blade, a sudden pulse of light flickered along its edge and expanded; soon the blade was engulfed with blue energy that continued to grow in volume and strength. Codexia knew immediately what it was, her eyes widening as she sensed the power of the attack to be far greater than the one used to dispatch Sylerian.
"Getsuga Tenshou." Ichigo called out, before swinging his blade towards Codexia.
The Primalist acted quickly to summon a defence, the shadowy world pulled itself towards her and she formed a barrier to her front, the powerful wave of pressure crashed into the shield and held it back for a few moments. Then the wave of pressure exploded, a shockwave disturbed the entire chamber and many fell to the earth as the ground shook. The ceiling cracked and the water churned violently, as if the entire chamber threatened to collapse in on itself at any moment.
Codexia looked up at her cracked and crumbling shield, the power she had brought forth had only just held it at bay, and it had taken a great deal out of her to hold back that Getsuga Tenshou. All that power she had taken from Sylerian along with the remnants of her power from Erebus was nearly spent.
'No…' Codexia thought, before she heard a loud crack.
Looking up she let out a gasp as a shoulder slammed into her chest, throwing her off her feet and sending her flying back, she hit the ground with a thud and let out a wheezing gasp. Even blind Ichigo was able to tell where she was, how could he manage that? Could he sense her as well?
"You keep saying that and oddly enough I believe you, every time I crossed blades with you I felt your guilt, but I also felt your resolve to keep going on despite it." Ichigo said, standing up and squinting his eyes in her general direction. "But all this destruction and death, you have killed hundreds and through your actions killed thousands and endangered just as many more and if you won't stop I will have do it myself."
Codexia lifted herself up, grimacing as she felt her ribs ache, her hand pressed against the small chestplate that didn't feel like it was doing it's just. Dented and pressing uncomfortably against her bosom, she really should have gone for a better one.
"You have no idea what is coming… the war on the horizon will consume the whole world…" Codexia said. "It was never meant to go this way. I should have been there to stop the Highborne."
"Don't know if that is a good thing or not, but since you can't do anything right now I thinks it's our turn to do something about this mess." Ichigo said.
Then they heard a loud rumble and roar, Codexia turned to the bay and her eyes widened, the Submarine was beginning to start back up. Codexia turned to see the Mercenaries had held off Mordent and his Mages well enough, many had fallen to them but they kept up the defensive.
Mordent and his party wouldn't be able to stop it, she was on her own here, she looked to the sub and tried to find a means that she could use to stop it. Her powers over water, along with Life, were depleted and gone, the only semblance of power she had left was that over decay and the shadows it employs. There was nothing she could possibly do to stop it, it was going to get away with the source.
"Getsuga…"
Codexia turned towards the Substitute, finding him winding up his blade and gathering the power within it to release another wave; he was going to attack the Submarine. She pulled back her sword and poured every ounce of power she could into the weapon, it pulsed with a dark purple light, and she attacked. As he made the swing so did she, her blade catch his and flinging it upwards, the parry knocked the sword off course and sent the Getsuga flying towards the roof rather than the submarine.
The explosion was as powerful as the last one, another thing that made Codexia shocked at the sheer power he could release on a whim, and just like the last one it shook the entire chamber. Codexia watched as the roof break apart and crack, shattering and destabilizing, it was already collapsing by the time she took a step away from the substitute.
Then everything began falling apart, Codexia turned and ran, she leaped and dashed away from debris that fell from the roof. Screaming and shouting could be heard, the collapsing chamber overshadowing anything else as people ran for their lives. Then it came to an abrupt end, a large stone collapsed next to her and she was thrown off her feet and into another rock, she heard a crack and then blackness consumed her.
It lasted for a moment.
Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself laying in the shallow water, rocks and hills of stone surrounding her on all sides, her head hurt and she felt groggy. Sitting up she pulled herself back to her feet and staggered forward, searching for any other survivors, her steps were slow and her vision was only just starting to clear.
When she moved around a large fallen stalagmite she found several survivors, Mordent and his mages alongside some of Marta's mercenaries'. But the two groups were bound and watched; they had all been captured and were being processed by their captors, by a group of Sentinels.
The sound of a bow string stretching drew her attention, looking on top of the stalagmite she found a Sentinel on top of it, arrow notched and ready to release. Codexia tried to take a step back, gain some much needed distance and try to fight back, but she felt something press against the back of her neck. Glancing over her shoulder she found the substitute standing behind her, frown still in place and blade poised and ready to stab.
"You have a lot of explaining to do and a lot to make up for." Ichigo said.
Codexia flexed her hand and tried to call to the powers within, but she felt nothing rise to the surface. She was drained of all her power and she had no weapons, her sword was gone and the staff had been destroyed, she had no way to get out of this. They had her and she had no way of changing this circumstance, with that final thought she let out a sigh and went slack.
"Yeah… I sure do."
Well there you have it, hope that you enjoyed it.
