Chapter 85: Avatar

Sen 

He felt the shift immediately. He wasn’t the most experienced in resurrection magic, but he was experienced enough that he could sense when a soul was being fundamentally altered. This wasn’t resurrection; it was something else. He’d known, or at least suspected, what the source of Snake’s power was for a while now. His maximizer, the traits of his spells, and even his signature scales. 

“Serpia,” he said aloud. 

Wind rushed through the stadium, sending his hair rippling as a surge of new, powerful mana filled the arena. His mana had caused the arena’s barriers to crack. The added pressure shattered them. People covered their faces to protect from the powerful gust.

Venom poured out of Snake’s body, and it slowly dissolved. A puddle formed where his head and body had fallen. Even his blade, Serpentsfang melted into the acid. 

The crowd, those that were strong enough to resist the wind, fell into a state of shock. To them, it probably looked like Sen had done something to Snake’s body. But he didn’t blame them. How could they know what was about to happen? 

The silence was so profound that it was hard to imagine thousands of people were watching in the arena right now. But silence persisted nonetheless.

He waited. There wasn’t anything he could do to stop this from happening. It wasn’t like with Harpis. Snake’s soul was already well entwined with Serpia. All he could do was watch and prepare. He sent a quick set of instructions to Tutor while he waited. 

The venomous liquid shifted. The makings of a human body clawed free. Snakes’ head, chest, and arms burst through as if he’d just surfaced from a deep pool. Venom covered his features like green mud as his new body formed. 

Before, Venom was too much for Snake’s natural body. He’d acted pained when he used it, at least until he’d gotten this new sword of his. But now, his body had been completely reforged. His control over Venom was complete. Like Alari and fire, the element belonged to him in an even truer sense. 

This was a proper avatar, not a pseudo-manifestation like Tatter was for Harpis. 

Snake would have the powers of a god. 

[Master, circumstances have changed. There was evidence pointing to the fact that Snake and Serpia were connected, but the odds of him being chosen as an Avatar were statistically insignificant. Are you sure about this?]

Sen didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Of course I’m sure. I won’t run, Tutor.” Serpia was an equal. An equal he’d defeated before, but it was obvious her power was not the same as it once was. She had not been stagnant in the years he was removed from the world, traveling through time. The most troubling of all was the oath he swore before the duel. It would be…difficult to keep someone with Serpia’s power from drawing blood. 

But of course he would fight. Defeating an avatar while maintaining the conditions of the oath he’d sworn would be a challenge, but imagine how much more satisfying the victory would be. 

Besides, he’d made a promise. 

Snakes’ body finished forming. He was covered in emerald-green armor that reminded Sen of scales. There were mana channels, similar to his previous armor, except there were three or four veins for every one his previous armor set held. All of them were filled with venom. Snake’s eyes were a deeper green than Sen had ever seen them before. 

Snake lifted gloved hands, and scales started to form over his armor. They didn’t stop at his shoulders this time. The scales crawled all over his body, covering him all the way down to his feet. They only stopped crawling up when they reached his neck. Though it seemed the scales wanted to, Snake was stopping them from doing so. 

Snake ran a hand over his hair, and the venom dripping from it dissipated, leaving his hair instantly dry. 

[Snakes’ levels are rising quickly. They seem to be stabilizing, but they are approaching 600 now.] 

“Well, are you ready to die, Sen?” Snake asked, his voice infused with mana. He sounded like himself with a hint of demon mixed in. 

Sen stared at him unflinchingly. 

Sen always intended to show his strength here, but not to reveal himself as a god. The problem was that if he held back here; he was dead. He turned to look at his friends. Milim stood in her seat. She wasn’t the only one. Mori. Samara. Ilm. Susanna. Girch. Joseia. Zeke. Oliver. All of them, except maybe Oliver, seemed ready and willing to jump into the arena and help him at any moment. He smiled to offer them comfort. 

He’d need to defeat the avatar of a god without using the powers of his robe. 

Faira

She crossed her arms, watching from atop the stadium’s rafters. Her wings buzzed with excitement. Beside her, Bloods chuckled. “He was poised to win; now he’s lost everything. He’s incredibly unlucky. An avatar manifesting in a graduation duel is unheard of.”

She nodded. “And yet it happened. That’s the third avatar this year. The winds are changing.” Her wings ruffled as if to agree.

He turned to look at her. “Three? Harpis. Now Serpia. Who else?” he asked her.

Faira blinked. “Who else? Gom. Think about it...we don’t actually know that he’s back. Maybe he didn’t show up himself. Harpis had an avatar, maybe the God of Magic did too.” 

“Then you think two Brightsail students manifested avatars? That’s…I don’t know. Who would it even be?” His head nodded as he thought it through. “We’re approaching interesting times. That much is for sure.” 

Dean Crosp

He sighed. “This is why I don’t allow talk about cults in my classroom! If someone had mentioned Serpia in class, Snake would’ve gouged their eyes out. Seeing this, I’m not confident I could’ve stopped it.”

Sikar shook his head, staring at the display of power flooding over the arena. “I’m not sure anyone could.”

The Queen of Towers

“Your Majesty, everyone knows what that boy did to Susanna, and now, they know he’s an avatar of Serpia,” her attendant said. 

Her nephew stewed. “This weakens us. Even if he loses, the other boy is our enemy as well.”

“If two of our enemies fight, and one falls, then we have grown stronger,” she spoke. The other members of her family grew silent. “If the white-haired boy, Sen, loses, then he was our enemy. But if he wins, he was commissioned to create a special artifact for Susanna. He did so with our permission.”

Her nephew perked up. “Then, if he were to win, the Tower family would gain status. The narrative would work. He helped Susanna, and then defeated the man who injured her. It would look as if an ally of ours struck down someone who had slighted us.”

She nodded. “It would be an absolute projection of strength. Spread word, the best-case scenario for us is for the white-haired boy to win. His friendship with Susanna is one we can take advantage of.”

Her attendant bowed. “Your Majesty.” He hurried off.

She frowned. Of course, that scenario relied on this boy somehow winning against an avatar. 

Sen 

Sen stared at his opponent; the level disparity was massive between them. If you factored in all of his stats together, he was on par with a mage over level four hundred. Snake was just over six hundred now. But there was a different gap Sen could take advantage of. Experience. Sen had fought at the level of a god far longer than Snake had. Would it be enough to overwhelm his raw power? A difference of almost two hundred levels? That…was to be determined. But he had the mana reserves for a long fight. Not that he intended to allow it to drag out that long. 

“I’m ready whenever you are, Snake.” 

Snake glared at him. 

Sen readied himself. He needed to stick to a ranged fight as much as possible. The closer Snake got, the better chance of him breaking through Sen’s defenses. But that wasn’t a problem. He could — 

Snake appeared beside him and drove a fist into the barrier protecting Sen’s face.

He hardly had time to process as he flew through the air and slammed into the arena wall. His barrier strained at the impact. Mana Constitution reinforced it at the last second before slamming into the wall, but Sen hadn’t reacted in time to negate the attack fully. 

[First point Snake.]

Sen smiled. “This is going to be fun.” 

“Float Maxima.” He shot up and out of the crater. The wind pressed against him as he hovered over the battlefield. Serpent-like pupils trailed him. Snake tensed and jumped toward Sen. 

“Did I say you could leave the ground?” Sen asked. He held a hand toward Snake and cast quickly. “Swallow Earth Maxima.” The arena beneath Snake caved in, and a giant jaw formed of stone shot after Snake with ravenous hunger. Snake turned to look back just as the mouth enveloped him. Jagged, sharpened teeth smashed inward.

Sen squinted. 

As expected, Snake shot out, scattering debris and crushed rock. 

Then the real fight began. 

Sen turned and flew through the air. Utilizing a combination of Mana Gate, Float, and Encapsulation allowed him to move quickly and with great versatility through the air. The speed and lightweight nature of Encapsulation coupled with his ability to remain in the air longer and quick burst of mana through the gate around his palm allowed him to kick off and change direction quickly.

The Mana Gate was the third artifact he’d taken from the High-Level Artifact collection, and it was paying off. 

But Snake was right behind him. At the god level, most mages could remain in the air nearly indefinitely. If Sen had his cloak, he’d be able to fly outright. For now, he had to make do. He turned mid-air to face Snake and launched a volley of attacks. 

“Cloud Strain Maxima, Blood Moon Maxima, Corruption Seed Maxima!” he shouted.

Clouds surrounded Snake, quickly tightening around him like ropes. A small moon appeared in the sky, its attention focused on Snake. It prepared to purge the blood from his body. Glowing green seeds shot from Sen’s palm. A single touch would spread disease and corruption through anything they touched. 

Snake ignored them and kept charging, focusing wholly on closing the gap. Sen allowed himself to enter a state of freefall to watch. 

The clouds succeeded in pulling Snake’s arms into his body. The seeds smacked into his armor and drilled through. Green blood started pouring from wherever it could escape his armor at the moon’s beckoning. 

Snake didn’t react at all. “Purge Poison Venom!” he shouted. All the techniques dispelled around him. He reached back with a clawed hand and aimed it directly at Sen’s core. 

Sen sighed. A moment before Snake struck him, he released another technique. “Shatter Vine Garden!” 

It was his first time using the new maximizer. Snake reacted this time. He turned when he saw it coming, but not fast enough. A giant vine smacked Snake into the ground. Sen flipped in the air and landed on a platform he created with his mana gate. It floated above the arena. He looked down where Snake had fallen. 

[His experience is proving a problem. He’s desperate to fight up close. He’s too reliant on physical techniques.]

Sen nodded. 

Smoke filled the arena where Snake impacted it. Sen felt a surge of magic and readied himself. 

The arena quaked. The smoke lingered, but something green and viscous flowed beyond it. Sen squinted and saw the edges of a giant puddle of venom. His eyes widened when he noticed the silhouette shooting towards him, and he jumped a second before a giant snakes jaw crashed around his mana platform. 

The smoke dissipated at the presence of such speed, and Sen got a better look at it. A massive serpent had formed from the puddle. It looked like a specter, a ghostly green giant creature. But this was no ghost, and it wasn’t an illusion either. This was no different from the way in which he infused physicality into his butterfly spell. Snake was controlling a giant representation of Serpia herself. It might not be her actual body, but it would carry a portion of her power. 

The serpent’s eyes locked on him, and then it lunged again.

That was the point at which the match turned to chaos.

Milim

Sen moved higher and higher into the sky with a giant serpent flying after him. If the creature had spread out fully, it might honestly be too large for the stadium. But as it was, constantly lunging upward and still forming from the massive deep green pool of venom on the arena floor, space wasn’t an issue. They were fighting above the arena now. Sen moved away at a rapid pace. He shouted, and his voice echoed throughout the arena. “Candelance Multishot-Gigantia-Maxima!” A dozen silver lances formed over his shoulder and shot forward like artillery in a castle siege. Lances drilled into the serpent at various parts of its body, and explosions filled the sky like fireworks. The smell of smoke filled the air, and the temperature rose by several degrees. A roar resounded throughout the stadium, filled with the serpent’s fury. 

Snake was unperturbed. He ran along the serpent’s back, drawing that intimidating sword he’d used before. It had reformed, just as his body had. Now it was much larger, and oozed a powerful, sickly energy. Like a blade made of venom itself. Sen floated to a stop. Malleore formed in one hand, and his mana gate formed a second sword in the other. This time it was blue instead of purple. She squinted at that.

Mori stared. “He’s infusing a different kind of mana through the gate. That changes its nature.”

“What’s blue? Water?” Samara asked.

Mori shook his head. “I think he’s using pure mana. The densest he can manage. Watch carefully.”

Snake reached Sen, and the resulting exchange of blows was faster than her eyes could perceive. It looked as if each of them was moving a thousand times faster than they should be capable of. Sen’s dual swords against a massive version of Serpentsfang. Each blow sent mana and venom flying through the sky and into the arena below. Raindrops of acid and pure magic, falling together in equal parts. The acid destroyed the arena; the mana repaired it. 

It seemed neither side would gain the advantage until the serpent recovered. The translucent, massive serpent shot back toward the air. But Sen was still preoccupied with Snake. For a split second, Milim saw him turn to glance below at the creature rising to swallow him in its jaws. In the following moment, Snake grinned, knowing he had the upper hand. Then they picked their pace up again, exchanging blows and spells she couldn’t keep up with. 

Six copies of each of Sen’s weapons formed behind him and came cleaving down toward Snake. Twice as many spectral serpents shot out of Snake’s armor to meet the attacks and lunge at Sen’s barrier. All the while, the giant snake got ever closer.

Milim bit her lip. “Please, Sen…” 

Then something fell out of Sen’s pocket. She leaned forward and squinted. 

“What is that?” Joseia called out.

“Did he drop an artifact?” Samara demanded. 

Mori laughed. “Interesting.” 

Milim whipped her head to look at him. “What is it?” she demanded.

“Just watch, this will be his first real test,” Mori said. 

She turned back and watched the tiny pink dot fall through the sky towards the serpent. The serpent’s eyes constricted at fresh prey, but its path didn’t change. 

The pink blur did, though. 

“Mana Axolotls are said to react to the amount of mana you feed them. Really, their potential is as unlimited as the mana within your body. In this case…” Mori trailed off.

The God of Magic had massive amounts of mana. She’d sensed his endless well of power the same as everyone else had when he’d revealed it on the battlefield. Did that mean…?

“Xochi!” Ilm shouted through cupped hands at the top of her lungs. 

In the air, the falling axolotl seemed to respond. An explosion of magic resounded, and a pink cloud formed about fifty feet above the rapidly ascending serpent. Milim’s breath caught. 

The cloud was sucked back in, and in its place a giant beast filled the sky. It looked like the axolotl had taken on the form of a gigantic pink beast-man. His face was unchanged; it was that of a large axolotl, fins and all, but his body was a muscular, hulking figure that looked chiseled to perfection. With this power, she imagined it could box with a bone ghoul giant or even a flesh golem. Powerful pink hands rose into the air to clasp together just before the serpent reached it. Then, just as fast, those locked fists smashed down into the gaping serpent’s jaw. 

The serpent’s neck twisted at an odd angle, and a choking noise escaped its mouth. Xochi wasn’t finished. He reached down and grabbed the serpent with one hand. With the other, it punched the snake in the face over and over as they plummeted from the sky. 

Milim was speechless. 

Samara cackled. “This is freaking awesome!” she screamed in excitement. “I love that little lizard!” 

Mori’s gaze had returned to Sen and Snake. She looked up as well. Snake swung Serpentsfang aggressively; Sen blocked it with both blades. After the exchange, both men leapt back. Snake glanced at the ground and sneered at what he saw. Xochi pummeling the heck out of his serpent. Snake waved a hand, and a second serpent shot out of the puddle below. Xochi turned, caught off guard. The new serpent knocked him to the side. It moved quickly and wrapped around the hulking axolotl. 

Milim’s heart sank. “No…” 

Xochi struggled to free himself. The other serpent slowly rose and collected itself. Its eyes fixed on the axolotl captive and it slithered forward slowly. The one trapping Xochi waited for its companion. It was obvious what would happen. 

Sen held up a hand to release a spell of his own. But Snake closed the gap, sending slashes of venom the entire way, forcing Sen to defend. 

The serpent rose to strike, and Xochi stared defiantly at it. 

It lunged. Xochi roared back. Moments before the snake ripped into him. A floating cloth shot forth at incredible speed and enveloped Xochi. 

“The mana barrier!” Ilm exclaimed. 

The serpent’s strike bounced off the barrier. A moment later, Xochi disappeared. He’d returned to his normal size, and the mana barrier cloth floated away like a magic carpet with Xochi in tow, hanging on by his mouth. The cloth barely dodged the snap of the first snake. It was too tied up in itself to stretch far enough. 

The serpents roared in anger, but each of them looked up suddenly. 

Mori choked. “No…”

Milim shook her head. “It’s okay. He got away.” But Mori’s eyes weren’t on Xochi. He was looking up. 

Sen’s hand was still outstretched where he’d thrown the mana barrier with phenomenal force to save his friend. But that act had cost him. 

Snake’s weapon, Serpentsfang, had plunged directly into Sen’s core. Venom dripped off its end. 

It was covered in blood.