Chapter 192: Run Ragged

PoV: Snow Okiyama - Ion

Raven stands in front of me, and I’ve run out of tricks. They’ve torn their way through more than twenty banshees, a hundred minor traps I’ve placed, three ambushes by Opal, and they’re still alive. Ragged and panting, but alive.

“Finally,” they pant. “Finally, I’ve got you. It’s not even been ten minutes yet. Hah. Hahahaha. You’re dead, Kuro. Dead.”

I tilt my head. “Why is that?” I ask.

“You agreed to the bet. I felt the chains tighten around me. I know it’s-”

“Not me,” I say, shaking my head. “Titania is the one who makes bets, silly. She was just wearing my cloak.”

Raven goes silent. I just look at them, as the realisation sinks in. The moment they get that they have about… thirty seconds to kill me, before Sylves’ bargain makes them freeze in place. Because the condition was to catch the person who made the bet. Which isn’t me.

A heartbeat passes, and then, everything goes chaotic at once. Darkness spills forth from the air in front of me. A thousand ravens burst forth from their mantle, dark feathers shoot for my eyes, I feel barbed wire wrapping itself around my joints. One moment to another, Raven unleashes a storm of powers.

Their authority is stronger than mine. They’ve advanced it by a step. But it’s also run ragged already, and defiance is made for combating it. My razorblades of defiance crash into the barbed wire of their dominance and both of them carve into each other. I feel the way that my authority flexes and burns, but I don’t mind it.

Raven charges at me, humming with violence, swinging their spear - and that’s the final surprise I have for them. Because they’ll die here, so there’s no more need for secrets.

With a breath of relief, I let my mask of shadows fall. Raven’s sight lands on my face, as I pull down the cloak. My white hair, my dark eyes, everything. And the rage coursing through them intensifies with a scream. “Yuki!!” they roar, cutting at me. Ten seconds have passed

And their weapon betrays them.

[Selection 29 > 30]

I channel my mana through [Selection], finding the back door I left for myself in the runes. Hidden pathways that Raven never knew about activate. Their mana is already flowing to the weapon, and instantly flows down those newly revealed paths.

Mana crystallizes on the haft of the weapon, crawling up their arm in a sudden crystalline growth. Raven hums in pain as their blow is stopped dead and I slip beneath it. Their own mana burns as the weapon sucks it out of them - until with a brutal swipe, they slam it into the wall, breaking the crystal and chipping the spear as they drop it.

“You fucker!” they roar, blazing at me at speeds far too fast for me to follow. 

Raven is faster than me. Way, way faster. But that’s alright. Because I’ve already latched onto them. My tether sticks to them, and then, [Suppression] hammers down.

One moment to another, they slow. Raven stumbles, then turns into a flock of crows to disperse the pressure. They rush at me, but already, I am surrounded by a swarm of needles. Mana solidified in large chunks, bleeding it off. I’m a bonfire for the banshees, but that’s fine. They’re worse for Raven than for me.

The sumeen dashes through the air, and I direct my needles to them, steadily tying tethers to take the burden off my will. Perpetual Pursuit activates, keeping my mind steady even as I overtax myself. A bit of blood leaks from my eyes, but I smile. “Honesty is beautiful, isn’t it?” I ask Raven.

I feel the anger radiating off the sumeen in their flurry of attacks. [Suppression] flicks on and off. They stumble, but still score a glancing blow on me. Talons rake their way across my skin, leaving bleeding gashes. My efficiency fights, and my mana spills out of me in a torrent.

I crush down on Raven with suppression, summoning a shield in the hand I still have, but giving it a bladed edge. Then, with a swift motion, I slam it at the scout’s face. Only for Raven to disappear in a puff of feathers.

And for the first time, they use a skill that’s fully mana-based. I grin, happily, already knowing their trick. I’ve been busy in the safe zone, tinkering with it in my archive, after all.

[Annexation 6 > 8]

My anti-magic crashes into the teleport, forcing the disparate feathers back into a single unified shape. In horror, Raven brings up their arms to block, and my shield cuts deep into them. A piece of it even breaks off, messing with their internal mana, and I repair it, holding it up. 

“Come on, Raven. Show me more,” I whisper, shadows flowing out of my cloak. Raven is almost twice my level. But I’m not scared of them. Not when we’re like this. Twenty seconds have passed.

They give another angry hum, and forsake their skills. Instead of manipulating mana outwardly, their body shifts. They speed up, fighting against my [Suppression]. Efficiency makes my skill stronger, but inside their own body, Raven is dominant. 

I feel their domain scratch and tear at the skill as they speed up again, and I funnel a torrent of mana into it. It slows them down just enough for me to block one of their strikes, talons cutting a deep rend into my shield, before a brutal kick lands on my stomach, launching me into the wall.

Blood spills from my mouth, and my insides clench with pain. I grimace, but then smile as I hold up my shield, stopping yet another slice. Raven is panting, moving so fast despite my debuff. So I cast it again, and again, keeping multiple smaller loops active on them. I play the magic like an instrument, rhythmically flicking the different spots on and off, messing with their movements.

For a moment, Raven turns jittery and unsure, and I bash them in the face with my mana-shield. They hum in pain, grasping their face, and flare their ragged authority. It crashes into my defiance again, razorblades cutting into barbed wire. My skill chokes for a moment despite that, and Raven charges.

Lightning fast, they are upon me. A storm of feathers and talons, raking three bloody lines across the side of my skull, cutting into my ear. Blood pools, and I hold back on the pain. I don’t back down. I charge.

Tackling them with all my weight, I slam a torrent of mana into them, greater than ever before. Their authority screams against it, against the debuff - and falters. It weakens it, but not enough. Raven slows. They fall. From being a demigod to being made mortal by me.

I slam the shield into their stomach, wrestling them to the ground. A bloody smile hangs on my lips as I slam it into their face again, six holes facing me with a wheeze of pain. “Fuck you, Raven. Should have just given me the mono token earlier, but no. You wanted your money. Your influence. But I’m. Not. Your. Property!” 

My shield bashes into their face again with the words, carving bloody lines into the skin. But on the last strike, Raven roars, grabbing the mana construct. It cuts deep into their talons, blood spilling down as they lift it, tossing me into a wall.

Stones crack as I slam into them, and I feel a deep cold brushing my back. Instinctively, I apply [Suppression] around my ears - only a moment before a terrible wail cuts through the air. Raven staggers, and I [Deconstruct] the banshee, which returns about as much mana as I spend on it.

A moment later, a dozen needles fly towards Raven. Dizzy and shaking, they pull apart into feathers - and my [Deconstruction] flares again. I’ve analyzed their skill, roughly. It’s their third time using it against me, and it fails, fully. My needle lodges deep into their shoulder, burying into their skin. Raven screams in pain, but still charges at me again. 

I barely rise from the rubble, making another shield, before they shatter it. A scaled fist slams into my face, making it snap to the side. I grimace, and then trigger [Biological Restoration]. Gold and white crawls over my skin, putting the pieces back in place, and Raven gasps, realizing yet another secret I had, yet another betrayal.

“You scum,” they hiss at me, and swing again. 

Except, time’s up. 

Thirty seconds have passed. Sylves’ bargain runs out, and Raven stops. Trapped in a cage of time, for just a second before the last of their authority dissipates the spell, then crumbles away.

I take a single breath, and move out of the way. Raven jerks forward, their fist sinking into the stone with the crunch of breaking bones. In a heartbeat, I slam my shield into their stomach, bladed edges cutting deep into their skin. More of their mana leaks out, mixing with mine, and again, I break off solid pieces of mana into them.

The dispelling effect slows them even further, some kind of strengthening skill finally failing. My mana is down to about half, my authorities feeling raw, and I kick Raven. Their bloody arm tears free from the wall, and another Banshee wail sends them sprawling on the ground, before the ghost breaks apart.

Panting, I stand over them. Blood trickles down my face, and I can feel myself running ragged. My own mana burnt my insides. And yet I live. 

“I win, Raven,” I whisper.

“Watch out!” Anna screams, down the hallway.

And then, a rapier sinks into my back. Bofoy steps out from the wall in a single smooth motion, their weapon lodged deep inside me. The zoof makes a show of twisting the knife, stepping into my field of view

For a moment, I’m shocked. I didn’t notice them? How? They’re so… unremarkable. 

But then, their outline shifts. The [Mask] falls. And in front of me, grinning brightly, is another human. “Hello there, Snow,” he breathes. Blonde hair falls over manic eyes and a face splattered with blood. I feel his authority, his signature skill, writhe in pleasure at my surprise.

“Vincent,” I gasp in pain, blood pooling from my body. “You sneaky fucker.”