The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 271

Chapter 271

Chapter 271: Back to the Basics

My vision focused on the towering figure as I approached the ensuing battle. There were two ascenders fighting against it, and from this distance, they looked more like fanged mice scurrying desperately around a giant orc. I knew without looking who the two were—Taegen and Arian were the only ones capable of staying alive and keeping the titan occupied for this long.

I rushed toward the colossal guardian, tearing divots into the barren ground as I gained speed. My hand gripped tightly around the curved handle of the white dagger; compared to the size of the monster I would be facing, this dagger couldn’t even serve as its toothpick, but having it in my hand filled me with the confidence I needed.

Expending most of my reserves on controlling the aetheric blast had almost the same benefit as going through the three stages of refining my core and aether channels—albeit with the added risk of death.

I could feel the complex, minute differences in the way the aether flowed through my body.

Using aether for the first time after forging my new core had felt like I was trying to regulate the direction and speed of the aether’s flow using a kitchen strainer. Now, however, I felt like I had a proper floodgate installed while the aqueducts leading to various points throughout my body were slowly being tunneled and constructed.

I was physically stronger and sturdier than ever before but I knew it wasn’t enough to face off against the Scythes just yet.

My entire arsenal had been taken from me and I was given a single, ethereal weapon. I finally had begun to learn how to wield it. Now, to make up for the versatility that I had lost in mana, I needed to be able to wield aether at a level far above not only the Indrath Clan, but also the ancient mages.

The first one to notice my presence was the colossal beast. Its bat-like face whipped toward me and let out a furious shriek that shook the ground.

As I coalesced aether to my legs, accelerating to meet the beast head on, I was surprised by how much more naturally the action came. Everything but the beast’s shoveled face became a blur as I clad aether around the dagger.

I leaped from the ground, spinning to gain momentum for my attack. Even the beast wasn’t prepared for the sudden increase in my speed as it tried to pull its head back up.

It wasn’t fast enough.

The dagger held in my hand, blade down, turned to a shimmering streak of white and purple as it pierced through the side of its nose. And while my weapon was barely a fraction of its size, the impact was anything but.

The sound of thunder erupted from the impact, sending shockwaves of force so strong that it was almost visible. Its head whipped to the side, staggering the beast long enough for Arian to charge up and unleash a flurry of golden crescents. Taegen, whose body was adorned in an intricate earthen armor, launched a devastating strike nearly as loud as my own using mace.

Both Arian and Taegen had focused on the legs that were carrying the brunt of the beast’s weight after my attack had hit.

The barrage of golden arcs and the ear-shattering mace strike were barely able to draw blood but they were enough to sweep the beast’s legs from right under its body.

With an enraged roar, the titan crashed on its side, shattering the ground and sending tremors that nearly fell the very tower it was trying to protect.

Both Taegen and Arian had to fall back immediately after it launched its attack—just the weight of the titan’s body alone would be enough to crush even the most powerful mages.

“Effeminate One! Is Lady Caera safe?” Taegen yelled out as soon as he and Arian retreated to a safe distance.

“She’s recovering at a safe distance with Daria!” I shouted back, my gaze fixed on the giant beast trying to get back up to its feet.

“Looks like we’re in your debt,” Arian replied, his voice quiet but oddly clear despite his distance and the noise coming from the titan.

Judging by the powerful vibrations that pulsated from his sword and those golden crescents, it seemed that his magic stemmed around specific subsets of wind and gravity affinities.

Taegen, on the other hand, surprised me even more, as his magic didn’t stop at just the earthen armor. Every step he took seemed to manipulate not only his own armor but the earth around him. Even as he swung his mace, chunks of the ground would envelop his weapon, molding around it to form a larger mace.

I didn’t waste the opportunity either, landing several more attacks at its face in order to keep it from getting back up for as long as possible.

Despite its colossal size, however, the beast was surprisingly deft. It was able to recover by pushing off the ground with its long tail. As soon as it was back up on all six of its feet, it whirled both its neck and tail like a whip, hollowing out chunks of the ground where it passed and launching shards of earth all around it in an attempt to keep us at a distance.

I weaved through the chunks of earth the size of carriages hailing down in an attempt to stay within striking range. With my aether core still in the middle of replenishing its reserves, I couldn’t risk using aether blast.

The problem was that the beast was so large that no amount of stabbing or hitting was going to do any significant damage unless I found a weak spot—if one even existed.

A loud crash resounded amidst the ensuing chaos and the beast buckled for a moment before it whipped its tail. Taegen, completely clad in stone armor that made him look more like a golem than a human, had tackled the beast.

And almost immediately, he was smacked away like a dung fly. He crashed like a meteor into the ground and was immediately buried within a thick cloud of dust and debris. It had been ingrained in me to always keep the entire battlefield within my view, storing everything happening around me in my head even if I couldn’t immediately act on it.

Reaching its front left leg where Arian had previously launched his attack, I was able to see some deep gashes on its three-story-high leg. I would have to focus on those.

I kicked off the ground and plunged my dagger, and the aether surrounding it, into a particularly deep gash that Arian had made.

Pinkish blood spilled everywhere, covering me almost entirely. A giant shadow suddenly enveloped me as the beast’s head fast approached.

Prying the dagger from its flesh, I prepared to meet it head on until a swirling sphere of mana struck the side of the beast.

Arian was several yards away, his body giving off a tremendous aura as the beast turned to face him.

The swordsman’s expression darkened as he prepared to face off against the colossal monster, when an idea came to mind.

“How much stronger of an attack can you launch?” I yelled. The beast kept its head high, keeping both of us in its field of view...as if it was trying to decide which one to kill first.

“Perhaps five times the strength, but I would need more time to prepare,” Arian answered, his voice as clear as if he was standing right beside me. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ll have to trust me on this!” I shouted back before turning my attention back to the beast.

I turned into a flurry of blades, dancing within its six giant legs as I carved gashes and dodged, then carved gashes into those gashes in an attempt to keep the colossal beast’s attention solely on me.

The earth shook with each step it took and I would have to dodge the blurring tail every once in a while as it attempted to strike me from right under it.

All my focus was spent actively limiting my output of aether, controlling it as efficiently as I could in preparation of the perfect time.

“I’m ready,” Arian said from afar, his figure no larger than a white crow from where I was.

A flash of gold suddenly filled my vision a second before a deafening explosion thundered through the air.

Arian had unleashed a giant blast of cutting force directly at the beast, enveloping its entire head in the bright golden surge of light.

I leaned forward, crossing my arms in front of me to keep from getting blown away by the attack.

It wasn’t just Caera. They were also hiding their strength while in the convergence zone.