The air smelled of twisted steel, hobo piss, and bad decisions. She barrowed the old train yard once named the final destination. From Mexico to Montana the tracks carried the isolated, suicidal, and abandoned to the larders of many covens. After the creation of synthetic blood, the old trains were decommissioned. Those ancient tracks were ripped up and and the engine decommissioned. For a decade it went without purpose. Annette would give it one.
Her white parasol kept the morning sun at bay while her thralls worked tirelessly to load the train cars with lead. It wouldn't do to give her wooden boy an easy time today.
She once read that the most important part of training was cardio. After having the train cars loaded, she took care to ensure the chains and straps were suitably comfortable. Electricity was hooked up to her car and and the speakers had been tested to perfection. She blasted Mariah Carey's 'We Belong Together,' while she had her thralls test the AC.
The old forgotten train yard's tracks lead out into the Mohave desert looped and returned to the train yard after a few hundred miles. She hoped nine cars would be enough. It wouldn't do to give him an easy workout.
Nothing ever went as planned. The mages from the artificer's club have yet to return the tenth box car. The final car was to be the heaviest of all.
"Are we going on a train ride?" Nero asked. "Where's the engine?" Her wood boy's gaze froze on the straps. She pulled out a container with the greatest surprise of all. It held three raw ostrich eggs she'd taken fresh and cracked with her own thralls.
"Drink up, this is all you're going to get until we return to the station." She smirked at the way he gazed at the nine box cars loaded heavy on their tracks. The rusted wheels would make the task even more difficult. She pulled out a fan to cover the unladylike grin that stretched across her face. Annette waited for the praise, the adoration, and the sheer gratitude she was due.
"This is ridiculous, what inspired you to do this dragon ball? The cars are weighed down with lead, they must weigh dozens of tons a car. Did you thrall engineers just to make train cars capable of handling the weight? You have wards to keep nomages away, speakers to play music, and is that a coffin in the first box car." Nero said.
"It's daytime." She mumbled.
This wasn't turning out like she'd seen in her head. When he said he'd fight Valdo Narcissa Valentine for her, she wanted to help him. Maybe she should have spoken with him first. She hadn't been answering his texts for a few days and only sent him a message to meet her here this morning.
Suddenly, he held her in his arms, and she felt warm. "Thank you, Annette, it's a wonderful gift." She made her way to her train car and closed the door.
With the dreaded sun gone she watched him pull on the strap and begin drinking the gallon of ostrich yokes. Once the container was empty, he began to jog forward. He took a few steps and the cars began to move.
"That's impossible." Her thrall engineer said. They began to pick up speed until they were moving at a comfortable 300MPH. She set her mp3 player to random and laid down for a nap.
She wasn't done with her wood boy's training. He was to fight a veteran warrior of the werewolf wars. Annette chose to use every underhanded trick she could, to prepare Nero for the fight. Pulling a massive amount of weight for three hours was impressive but martial skills were needed as well. Nero was to fight a pure vampire like herself, a perfect being of power, speed, and mystical might. Every pure could equal a wizard lord in magic. She was no exception. The fact that Nero was favored by nature didn't mean he was invincible.
The need for martial skill led her to remember a promising location. It was a tower devoted to martial skills.
The tower was left behind by time, but no one dared to tear it down. It was the work of an ancient wizard obsessed with martial combat. Lone flags frayed by age displayed a number of arms. Around the tower were warning signs, a razor wired fence, and red tape sealed the door. A warning appeared on their slates and he watched Annette casually sign the 300-page long user agreement. She watched Nero did the same and sigh.
"You don't get what you'll face. This is for you." She ground out.
"I know, I must be tired from the run this morning."
He wasn't and that infuriated her more than anything. After the thirtieth car length it was getting ridiculous. At first, he seemed strained but by the second or third loop he always adapted. She'd begun intermediately hitting the breaks to give him a little strain. The fact that he was weakened during the day made it worse.
"Just try to learn these weapons." Annette said.
She grew up on the tales of powerful warriors who slew hundreds of blood thirsty werewolves. Valdo was said to have slain the Alpha werewolf Lucien Nashville in the southern war.
The Nashville family were of a powerful shaman bloodline. Each could empower themselves with the souls of their ancestors and bind powerful curses. Combine that with an alpha werewolf's strength, healing factor, and natural affinity with natural magics and a challenging foe formed. Then add a natural pack affinity and hit and run tactics.
Valdo went in with only a few thralls, lesser nobles, and his cousin. When he emerged wearing the pelt of Lucien none denied that he lived up to the name Valentine. To be the wife of such a man would mean a powerful and valuable status. She could hold that over her sisters for the rest of eternity.
When she looked at Nero the desire for status became inconsequential. Valdo was useful. If she played her cards right and had a few kids she'd hold quite a lot of power. She could arrange an accident for Valdo and use her children's name to hold power in the family. The problem is its been done to death and the elders of the Valentine family would shut her down.
When she looked at Nero, she felt hot desire flood her veins. Her poor undead heart wouldn't stop hammering in her chest. Nero was a desire that couldn't be satiated and a source of blood she valued in of itself. When she compared the two it was simple. One was a means to an end and the other was both a means and an end. That didn't make Nero flawless.
Nero was in heavy debt, his sister didn't like her, and he was only her age. He didn't have any hidden gold mines, ancient weapons, or a castle filled with ancient ancestors to fall back on. She'd never seen Valdo fight; he was all reputation and stories to her. If she was to describe Nero, it would be savage, brutal, and mechanical. The first flaw she would grind down was his savage nature.
The second they stepped into the sword dojo; the training golems attacked. Its bloody swords were inches from butchering her, Nero struck it with the back of his hand. The golem's feet left the ground ripping up chunks of concrete before it smashed into the wall. She didn't have to look up or move. Nero had defended her on reflex.
He pulled a training sword from a nearby wrack and began his duel with the six-armed golem. They traded blows and the golems swords scraped against his skin. Sparks shot off his skin and his t-shirt tore. More of the golems emerged and Nero began his training in earnest. She watched Nero go from a beginner to a novice in a series of exchanges.
Gold and white light covered his blade and he bisected the golems. Pieces of the constructs piled on the floor while Nero cleared them out. Every kill showed the difference between Nero and a common wizard. His use of magic, the power, and the brutality was just like a pure-blooded vampire.
"Why is this place off limits, they weren't that powerful?" Nero asked.
"This tower was built by some dumb artificer obsessed with martial skills. The golems were meant to train a beginner to the master level." Piles of old bones were scattered to the sides of the dojo. "The golems were a failure." Nero held up the strange featureless sword he picked up.
"What's up with this sword?" Nero asked. A smile spread across her face. He held in his hand the prize of the tower and didn't know it. Another flaw she could polish away with time.
"That is the key to the tower. You can only take it from this place if you reach the top floor." They had a month before she must return home with Nero in tow. He had to be ready for any challenge by then.
This sword was hungry. Nero felt it in his hand. It whispered sweet nothing in his ear like a gold digger while feeding off his mana. Power attracts all kinds, he needed to look no further than the woman behind him. His sister didn't like her but that wasn't his problem. It was up to the girls to find a way to make things work out. The sword was a strange one.
Golems buzzed around him like flies. He moved through the forms whispered by the sword, slipped through guards, and struck the golems. Instead of merely shutting off, they shattered. The enchantments connected to the tower wards winked out while his powers shook them apart. With every swipe the sword in his hand began to change. Something was waking up. This old car needed a push before she'd crank.
He swapped through forms and matched footwork with the six-armed golems around him. The annoying flies were worse than the meat sacs. Nero smashed, they broke, and more came. It didn't take long to figure out the secret. To move to the next room, he had to match the golems movements and counter the other golems with them. Only after passing through every form would the door to the next room open.
Nero could change through the forms dozens of times a second and could anchor himself to the ground. With his abilities, he could brute force his way through every combination of form and pass the floors quickly. There was a reason why there were so many skeletons on the ground. There were no instructions.
His shirt was in ruins and rust covered his body. The gold-digging sword cleaved through another floor boss golem after he learned the golem's stance. He had to match breathing patterns halfway through the tower. If he didn't match his breathing just right, then the golems wouldn't let him through.
Enchantments, wards, and mobile artifacts roamed the higher portions of the tower ready to obliterate anyone using magic to win. In this section of the tower there was only martial skills. Nero stepped up to the top floor after leaving thousands of golems shattered behind him. In the span of a few hours, he'd tricked the tower's system. Anything to keep Annette from worrying.
Hours of his days had already been stripped from him to pull train cars. Cling had maxed out twice in the practice. In a sense he could manipulate friction to an extent with the skill. Hours of his day that could be spent studying an interesting facet of magic were taken.
Cling III lvl50
He was unwilling to give this tower more than a few hours of his time. Ahead of him stood a recreation of Arthur and his round table. The first golem rose with sunlight armor and a sword that glowed with heat. It crossed the distance in a blink. Nero blocked several strikes matching the golem. It pointed its blade forward and Nero did the same with his sword.
Black flare flowed through his sword before firing to meet the golem's sword technique. Both skills clashed one the light of sunlight the other the darkness of hell. Nero matched the knight's breathing and used the blink technique. It brought his already colossal speed to a new level. His sword ripped through the golem.
The golem's golden armor cracked and shattered. A blue glowing ball of energy flew from the golem and into Nero's sword. Just as the golem fell a bunch of streamers exploded. Soggy old balloons fell to the ground.
'Congratulations you are now a sword master. You may leave this tower with a sword molded to your magic. But if you want to go further be warned there are no safety features on the golems remaining. They are my greatest work and the ultimate tests of a swords master.'
"Which is stronger flesh or steel?" An elderly golem croaked as it rose from its seat beside the king.
The long-bearded golem stepped forward with a slender sword in one hand and a sword staff in the other. It thumped its staff against the ground and several identical golems appeared with it. Nero stepped forward just as all six golems attacked at once.
Their strikes hit with the power of dozens of industrial strength steel presses. The sword swung from the original had the strength of a locomotive. All struck but none broke his skin. Nero swung his own blade and tore the golems apart.
Again, a light left the golem and entered his sword. Nero felt something change in his sword. It was stronger than it had been before. His connection to it grew and so too did its connection to his mana supply. That old engine began to shake off the rust and the pistons began pumping.
The next to rise was a golem with eight arms and a glowing sword in each. It crossed the distance and flew through several forms. Nero matched it and followed the flow. It became a dance between man and machine. Each clash taught Nero more about this art combining the many stances and skills he'd learned in the lower floors.
Instead of brute forcing his opponent he slowly followed its movements treating the battle as a lesson. Nero learned the forms and then turned them on the golem. He sliced off the eight arms and decapitated the golem. A silver light flew from the golem and entered his sword.
A red knight rose from its seat.
"Allow me to fight with you great warrior. Together, we can overthrow my father." Nero killed the golem from behind and approached the king.
A red light flew from the red knight and into his sword.
"My son," the king cried out with almost human emotion and entered the fight. Nero moved in for the kill but found his sword was turned away. They exchanged blows and moved through forms in moments. No matter the exchange Nero couldn't overcome this golem with skill. The golem moved through forms, feinted his forms, and adjusted to always have the advantage. Nero pushed white form through his sword and the golem resisted the skill.
The golden blade of his foe moved with such power and intrigue that Nero couldn't take the advantage. He was on the back foot. If he used more strength, then he wouldn't learn anything. If he used more speed, then he wouldn't learn anything. Sweat began to pour off his body as they fought.
Hours crawled by while he fought on the back foot always one step behind the king, but the king couldn't do him any harm. It reacted to his feints adapted and boxed him in. This was a chess program on max difficulty. He tried putting it in a trap of his own only for the machine to take back the lead.
Dirty tricks didn't work, and the machine didn't tire. Sweat beaded down Nero's face and blurred his vision. If he wasn't here to learn, he'd have crushed the machine by now. That's when a thought occurred to him. What happens when he has to deal with a being as skilled as the golem but as strong as himself?
Nero focused on learning. A new sense of determination came over him. This might be his only chance to sharpen himself. If he could defeat this king golem with skill alone, then he'd crush other swordsmen beneath his feet.
Eventually, he reached a point where he tied with the machine. At that point he began trapping the golem. Every way out was only steering the creature further into a trap. When Nero drove his sword into the Golem's chest, he felt his hands shake. The feeling in his guts loosened and he roared in triumph. He brushed his hair back and felt the sweat fly behind him. Golden light flew from the golem and filled his blade.
At that moment, he felt his bond with the blade form. A sense of pride bubbled up from the blade at his accomplishment. At that moment, he realized he hadn't named the sword.
He held up the blade and felt it hum in pleasure. The pistons were well oiled and pounding away. It purred in his hand like a kitten. Mana poured from the air into him despite the daytime. He didn't understand it or how it could be created. He sensed his own power flowing through the blade and more. The blade itself was straight without a curve to it. A sheen of white form glowed white along the edge. Small stars of golden light from his guardian formed constellations within a swirling spiraling pattern. It was a golden milky way.
"Galatea," Nero decided. The sword froze for a second before humming in approval. He placed a second hand on her pommel and felt a significant boost in her power. In his hands she was lighter than a willow wand before. Now she weighed nothing. Before she had been a nameless blade on a weapon's wrack. In his hands was Galatea a blade of swirling light like a golden milky way galaxy. He wanted to swing her up to the heavens and declare to the world we are here.
A cough from behind knocked him out of his moment.
"We could summon a demonic sheath for her." Annette suggested. That was considered prestigious. Demonic sheathes were temperamental at the best of times. Finding a sword, they consider worthy to contain was difficult. Still he had no doubt that Galatea would have her pick. Unfortunately, they were out of black Madra. More crystals should have grown in the scrap yard by now. He needed to test Galatea's power.
Where the hell did that thought come from? Annette was rubbing off on him.
"Alright, if you'll contact my alchemic team for another black madra conversion we'll get started. I'll prepare her vessel." Just rubbing shoulders with his fellow mages at Jefferson allowed him to meet many masters of flesh puppetry and golem creation. First before he did anything, he needed another grand Madra crystal.
The scrap yard was an ever-expanding pit of the dead and dying experiments. Failed celestial guardians were dumped here along with their human hosts. What happens to the guardians when their hosts die? It was actually well documented in Jefferson. They had more than enough examples.
Jefferson was home to branches of the Li, Wang, and Meng clans. A portion of the scrap yard was a mass grave to those who failed to survive the guardian creation process. In the three large clan branches in fighting and and house warfare was common. Young gifted mages died often from accidents, especially if they weren't of the main family line. Wang Li was of the Wang clan and not Li as confusing as that was. She isn't of the main family but wasn't considered gifted enough to have an accident. Instead, she worked in one of the many general stores on campus.
She sat on one of the park benches overlooking the scrap yard. She was slowly working through a series of hand signs while she wept.
"Are you grave robbing again Nero?" Wang Li asked.
"You could call it that. Did they dump someone you knew down there recently?" Nero asked.
"You're an asshole like every other outsider in this school. I hope the vampire drains you." Nero chuckled.
"I'm sure she hopes the same." They settled into an uncomfortable silence. "I'm going after a grand black madra crystal. Do you want to come along?" It was a spur of the moment decision and he was bored.
He saw something flash across her eyes. Then a cruel smile settled on her face. "Sure, I think I can lead you to what you seek." Nero shrugged his shoulders and let her follow him. Moving at her slow pace was annoying but he could handle it.
Yet another mutated golem died to his sword while they crossed into the shadowed patch of the scrap yard. This was where most of the bodies were dumped. Only once they crossed a certain threshold the number of fallen guardians thinned out. He looked up to see another body being loaded on a catapult and launched into the scrap yard.
"What amazing respect for the dead." Nero said.
"I will likely see my own sons loaded on such a device and thrown into this place." The body crashed not too far away from them.
Nero watched the body's celestial guardian push at the body. On the inside he felt wrath begin the burn once again. For a moment he closed his eyes and thought about the situation. Did he really want to stick his nose into this? He had a lot of shit on his plate already. This injustice grew the black madra crystals. With the revelation of seeing the guardian remain after the corpse was launched, everything fell into place.
Black madra crystals were the crystallized desires of the guardians. The half-formed creatures who only wanted to protect were thrown into this place together. Black madra crystals were a manifestation of that desire twisted into a new concept. Those that still wanted to protect became the white crystals. The black madra crystals were a desire to protect by destruction. That unfulfilled desire collected and crystalized. That was his working theory. It could be wrong.
"Leave your family." Nero said.
A sad smile crept over her face. "I know too much. If I leave rogue mages will hunt me down to dissect my guardian. This world is filled with being older and more terrifying than any dark lord."
"I could protect you." Nero said.
"You think you can protect me?" She scoffed. "You're a dabbler in our ways stuck in the foundation stage. Most wizards who dabble in the sacred Taoist arts never step beyond the foundation in three decades. I won't give you my clan secrets. Not even for your protection." Wang Li said.
Nero had figured out the right direction a year ago. He remained in the foundation stage for another reason. From his research Nero found image training to be the most efficient route to clear the foundation stage. The bead in his forehead had integrated swimmingly. His every prayer held the form of at least a hundred people. He wanted the strongest foundation possible.
"What are the stages of the celestial guardian?" Nero asked.
"You don't even know that. Well there is foundation where the image of the guardian takes form. The next three can only be described to members of a clan. I can still tell you their names. Meridian Opening, Nascent Rebirth, and Immortal Phantasm. Each stage is more complex than the last. Most die during the Meridian Opening phase." Her last words were an almost too quiet to hear.
"So why did you come here with me?" Nero asked.
"I wanted to see my brother's guardian again, before I'm forced to marry his killer. And I didn't want to die alone." The guardian attached to the freshly dropped body shivered.
The marble of black madra in his forehead ached a bit. He sensed a connection to the being that cleared out the other guardians.
Nero placed both hand on his sword. "Who said anything about dying?"
A massive black hand wrapped around the dropped guardian. A beast made of thousands of writhing guardians emerged from the darkness standing on its hind legs. Massive goat horns on the monster's head were tossed back when its mouth opened. A massive tongue formed from hundreds of writhing black guardians took hold of the guardian. The great maw closed, and the guardian vanished. One of the creature's thousands of eyes turned to them.
The creature slammed a hand on the ground and massive black tentacles shot after them. Nero cut them down. The light from his guardian tore apart the shadowed limbs. Mana pulled away from the bisected tentacles into Galatea. He felt the imaginary pistons begin the pump faster.
More eyes turned to them. The creature's hand made a finger gun. Power gathered enough to worry even him. Nero stepped in front and held his blade flat. The blast hit him point blank. He felt pain for the first time in years before his magic defense canceled out most of the damage.
Nero dashed forward in a blink of speed. He slashed through the creature's guts and sliced off multiple arms. Thousands of writhing tentacles erupted from the wound. Nero raised a hand and laughed while unleashing black flare.
Black Flare II lvl45
Flames erupted within the beast and bubbling darkness rushed out of its flesh. The creature vomited a dozen malformed guardians. The creatures struggled only for more flames to devour them. Nero held up Galatea and felt the mana pulled from the abominable guardian pool into his blade. The pistons shot into a new gear. He dashed forward and sliced into the monster. Black flare, guardian's light, and the overwhelming power of white form blasted into the creature.
It opened its massive mouth and like a snake its head struck to swallow him whole. Nero swung his blade and glided out of the way. Cling always gave him the advantage in torque.
As the monster burned parts of its body dissolved and sunk into itself. The struggling guardians trying to break free dissolved into black dust and sunk into the whole.
"Do you think you can forget about us? We won't be silenced." Thousands of voices said while they were swallowed by the center mass. "Even if you kill us the dead speak."
His forehead ached and felt his strength, defense, and speed drop by about a tenth. The mass of darkness was shrinking, and he felt a pulse of mana that approached even his ridiculous reserves.
It shrank and molded itself until it appeared as a child. A mop of black hair tried to cover ten yellow eyes that circled its forehead. The boy had hundreds of faces and no face. Wang Li rushed past him and threw her arms around the child and hugged him. It wrapped its hands around the Wang Li before grabbing her guardian. The spirit shrieked before it folded into itself and flowed into the inky black monster.
Tendrils wrapped around Wang Li and pulled her into the monster's body. She threw her head back and screamed as inky black tentacles flowed into her body. While all of that happened Nero kept his eyes focused on his prize.
Behind the monster atop hundreds of bodies was the largest black madra crystal he'd ever seen. Blood oozed from the bodies still. Some blinked while others struggled to escape the mass. Roots from the crystal writhed through their bodies. They grew over the heads of the corpses and sucked their brains out. Above the crystal a mass of brain matters pulsed. The brains should be dead but they pulsed with life. A drop of black prayers fell upon the crystal.
Thousands of hands reached up grasping at the heavens.
"When the bodies meridians are opened through acupuncture the guardian and the flesh may merge. Through the womb of the flesh a nascent soul may be reborn." The creature chanted in Wang Li's voice.
Wang Li's body rose and stood on its two feet wrapped in blackened silver armor. Her skin took on the grey pallor of a corpse, her eyes opened revealing yellow irises, and her mana became oppressive.
Nero transformed into his monster form completely and felt Galatea hum in his hand. If in his human state his strength was a 1 then in his monstrous state it was a 10. His hand glowed a shining white and gold before he waved it. A pillar of darkness met the wave of his hand. The pillar that grasped at the heavens and the oppressive white light and protective gold of his guardian did battle.
When the dust cleared the hills of artifacts around them were blown away. The uneven ground was flattened under the rippling oppressive force of white form. All around them piles of junk and shattered pieces from the black pillar formed a cage.
From the mound of corpses, a blade was drawn of gnashed teeth, shouts of disbelief, and desires always out of reach. It was a desperate blade of misshapen teeth with a hungry eye on the guard and lined with a blackened spine.
Nero's own blade roared and pounded its pistons. Mana flooded the blade from the full moon. He could feel something happening within the blade. A shift had accrued. He'd gone from one gear to a higher one.
Long veins covered the eyelid on his forehead. Nero placed both hands on Galatea's pommel. Black Flare gathered around his blade. It was the only weapon he was sure could destroy guardians.
From the massive black Madra crystal a wave of mana erupted. It covered Wang Li and her strength increased even more. A red glow surrounded her weapon.
Galatea swung horizontal unleashing three eastern dragons of black flame. Each held the power to heat a black madra crystal to plasma. In this environment it would only increase the impurities of the crystal. Three pyramids of black energy emerged to meet the attack and the clash began.
Sparks fell from their blades clashing lighting their arena on fire. The flames quickly spread melting the artefacts around them to slag. Both of them were able to stand upon the molten metal while they clashed.
Cling had become automatic like breathing. When he pulled a kiloton of train cars, he was forced to expand upon the skill under the heat of the sun. Those lessons have expanded his use of the skill. Even standing upon a liquid wasn't a challenge. He'd long since master surface area manipulation.
As black flames lit the arena rising high in the air the human monster and the fallen celestial guardian continued their duel. The conditions around them didn't bother them. Nero's fire elemental skill gave him an edge in the arena.
Nero began increasing his speed by increments as the fight drug out. He slashed his sword through her gut, slit her throat, and blasted her with a guardian empowered sword spell. He continued to to take her apart with superior sword skills and speed.
"Am I too fast for you?" Nero quipped at the creature.
"No, I just needed time to adjust to this body." It flipped backwards and stabbed forward. The fallen guardian stretched its host's body in inhuman ways. Its sword shot like an arrow and retracted like a spear.
Fiery pain in his shoulder was a shock to his system. The toothed blade had managed to cut open his shoulder and his blood fell into the molten metal below them.
Nero felt his strength drop again. Something in the wound was weakening him more. He was placed on the back foot and forced to reevaluate his options. More black veins surrounded his forehead, and some grew around his wound. It bled profusely and refused to heal.
Wand Li's blade found a hole in his guard and ripped through the side of his stomach. The deep wound spilled his blood to sizzle in the molten metal below his feet. Nero clutched at the wound and fell to a knee. His strength fell again this time worse than before. The curses were mounting. He was about even with his human form now.
"Let me protect you, Nero." A voice demanded. That was easier said than done. He didn't know the name of this supposed ally.
"I've always been here. Through you, I was shaped. It was through your prayer and power that I took this form. For three lifetimes, I've remained silently supporting you. Say my name and give me the power to protect you."
He knew what the voice was. It was shaped to stand against adversity. The voice belonged to his own dream.
"Invictus," Nero said the words and felt the presence separate from him. His guardian formed in all its glory. Instead of the white chitinous skin Invictus's armor was black. While Nero wielded black and red flames, Invictus wielded cold flames of white and blue. Where Nero's sword was black with golden stars, Invictus wielded the inverse. Invictus's sword was a glowing universe covered in black holes.
The second his guardian separated from him; he felt a weight leave him. The wounds healed over quickly. When the wounds healed his curse ended. Invictus swung his sword and where the flames touched ice and steel erupted.
"Can she be saved?" Nero asked his guardian.
"When her guardian was devoured and her meridians were forcefully entered, she was devoured. Wang Li may not be in there any longer." Nero closed his eyes and whispered a silent prayer.
He pushed his mana into Galatea and her cross guard shifted. The golden stars lit up and a stream of mana surrounded the blade. Soon the blade was consumed by golden light. Invictus unleashed his false flames and trapped Wang Li in ice. It wouldn't hold her long.
Nero held Galatea up for the world to witness the might of his blade. Golden mana sheathed the black void of the mana cyclone that exploded upward from his sword. Immediately, the mana condensed into the blade. The air froze around them from the sudden change in pressure.
"Ga-la," Nero placed both hands on the blade to fully control where the blade swung. "Te-a," Nero shouted and unleashed a cone of golden mana. From one end of the scrap yard to the other the beam of Golden light traveled. The golden light sheathed what lay within the beam.
New Skill Plundered:
Hands of Desire I lvl1
Type: Active/Passive
Attribute: Phantasmal
Effect 1: Devouring Phantasm: (0.01% stat drain x skill lvl) per hour until 100%.
Effect 2: Weaken: -10% enemy ATK/DEF/SPD per wound.
Effect 3: Bleed: Wounds stay open longer.
MP Cost: 100,000/hr
Description: The hands of those who perished always reaching for the heavens.
Floating in the molten slag was Wang Li. Golden light radiated off her body and a young boy cradled her above the metal.
"There is one thing I wanted more than revenge. I wanted to see my sister one more time." Nero returned to his human form.
"Will you take her away from them?" Nero nodded his head.
"I'm taking the crystal." The boy touched Nero's forehead. He felt a change in the crystal. Instead of damaging his body he felt it align itself to him.
"It takes 108 acupuncture to truly open your meridians. Your meridians are too clogged for normal needles and your skin is too tough for mere jade needles. I heard legends of a jade dragon king whose hair is used by the gods to conduct acupuncture." Nero nodded. Another fetch quest, great.
"Invictus, you kept her alive, didn't you?" Nero asked.
"You didn't want to kill her." Nero nodded his head. Slowly, the boy morphed into light and filled Wang Li.
He tossed Wang Li over his shoulder and hooked some chains to the crystal. Once he pulled the crystal free, he lit the mound of bodies on fire with black flare. This was the last black madra crystal he needed. There were others mounds but at least he could put these people to rest.
Dozens of exhausted concubines surrounded his bedroom. Wang Chen had only shut his eyes when he sensed a nascent rebirth. A vast, angry, and oppressive qi slammed into his senses. This was madness, how could a practitioner go through the ordeal of opening their meridians only to give themselves to a fallen guardian? With a shaking hand he grasped a bottle of scotch. No one was watching. He tipped his head back and drank deeply. After the burning sensation he felt cooled. It wasn't yet above him.
Wang Chen was moments from calling his lieutenants when another power rose to confront it. Th qi was merely at the mid foundation but the mana. This challenger held an ocean of mana that boggled the mind to his senses it was truly like staring into the abyss. Whatever being the fallen guardian disturbed was more than a match for it.
He chuckled to himself. No matter how large one might think themselves there was always a bigger fish. Wang Chen debated telling his uncle about the incident. It made him wonder how many of his peers were awake now.
When he put down the scotch a section of the scrap yard flattened. An arena formed before his eyes and then it lit up in flames. Terrible black and red flames roiled about while the metal of countless artefacts filled crafted a silver floor. Two being at the nascent level duked it out surrounded by flames hot enough to break down the magics hundreds of thousands of old enchanted items.
His hand reached for the comfort of his scotch. A few drops fell on the rug for the made to clean when he poured. The same cum stained rug was worth ten grand and could fly. Sometimes, Wang Chen bought things and forgot about them. This was the first time a knickknack would prove useful for anything but catching the occasional misfire.
After grabbing another bottle of scotch just in case he stepped on the carpet. It was wobbly at first from a lack of use but once the window was open, he zoomed through the air. It was steadier than a broom. Besides the cum stains and his spilling scotch, the article was perfect. As a reward for tonight, he'd have it cleaned.
Wang Chen easily made his way to the battlefield under the gaze of the few being that could challenge him. He sneered down at the scrap yard giants. Despite their size they were little more than eye sores. With all their strength, they couldn't leave this place.
With his spirit vision he looked through the flames to see a vicious demon battle a beautiful woman. She was the one who was only moments from the nascent soul realm. All her meridians were open, and she gave herself to the fallen guardian. He snorted at the idiocy of women but couldn't help his rising manhood.
The woman was beautiful. She fought with the ferocity of a tiger and the grace of a mantis. When she scored a hit on the demon he cheered. A plan began to form. His birthday was coming up. With some kowtowing to Elder Wang Chao an exorcism could return this woman to her sanity. More blows rained down on the demon.
Even Wang Chen must commend the elder demon for its superb sword play. In skill alone it greatly surpassed the fallen guardian. If not for the fallen guardian's Nascent power and flexible tactics, the demon would win.
He watched the demon fall to its knees and prepared his carpet to leave. There were preparations to be made. A room in his tower must be prepared for his future concubine. Through the crackling of flames, he heard the word of the demon's celestial soldier.
Invictus was announced and a demon with the reverse color scheme of the original demon appeared. Then his beloved was trapped in ice by a mere foundation level guardian. Wang Chen fell back on his carpet at a sudden rise in mana.
Golden light erupted feet from his nose pushing his carpet from the battlefield. It was the demon's sword. Then the demon did the unthinkable.
It chanted the name of its sword. "Galatea," until he took his last breath, he'd never forget it. The black flames were extinguished and across the battlefield mana and qi were devoured by the weapon. Light gathered into the weapon and changed the landscape of the scrap yard.
Rage filled him like never before. He drained the last of his scotch and prepared himself to do battle with the demon. He'd show it that none messed with Wang Chen's concubines. When the light subsided the beautiful flower still lived. She was cradled by a little brother of a guardian spirit. With his nascent eyes he could tell a familiar resemblance. Wang Chen grinned to himself. This was it. He'd battle along side the little brother guardian spirit and defeat the evil demon. It would be a tale told for a thousand years.
Just as he descended on his flying carpet and gathered his qi, the spirit kowtowed to the demon. It walked up and tapped the demon's forehead and vanished within Wang Chen's concubine. The demon's flesh shifted. It took on the face of white man. He collected Wang Chen's future concubine and took a grand black madra crystal. The demon casually flicked a finger and a mass grave caught fire.
Wang Chen drank the last of his scotch and threw the bottle at the demon in human form. The bottle sailed off course and smashed harmlessly on a mound. He took out his slate and attached a high-resolution camera to it. The demon's human form was captured along with the face of Wang Chen's future concubine in front of the burning honored dead.
As he slowly flew back to his tower while thoughts of vengeance filled his mind. For the honored dead who died in the pursuit of the Dao, the sweet woman that deserved the life of luxury he'd give her, and for his pride he'd slay that demon.
"Welcome back young master." Wang Bo said. Beyond a mere Immortal Phantasm Wang Bo stood at the Deva stage. There was little a Deva had to fear save the elders. A deva was considered the pinnacle of what a genius could achieve. Wang Chen was of the main branch of the Wang clan and was above even a genius.
"I found another concubine." Wang Chen said.
"Shall I go fetch her young master?" Wang Bo asked.
Wang Chen selected every enforcer under his command and sent a message with the picture attached. They will find his concubine and bring her to him. He wouldn't have her waking up to any but himself.
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