Chapter 145: The Terror of Firwood.

Chapter 145: The Terror of Firwood.

KiiiiiiiiiARRRRRGRHHHHH!!!!

Wh-What is happening?! Tasianna cried out, stepping back as she instinctively raised her hands towards the scream of pain.

A chill went down my spine; it felt like time was slowing down as my mind was overwhelmed by the sheer pressure emitting from Davisons wailing body. The ice daggers stuck in his body were starting to shatter, cracking under the unnatural twitching. Tasianna! Kill him! Kill him already!

Kiiro and Tasianna wanted to gloat. Their emotions were running wild and they wanted to see Davison suffer as much as possible.

I should have said something. The events in the basement probably shook Tasianna too much. Her behavioral change is exactly what I was afraid of seeing, but I didnt respond to it well enough!

Tch, Kiiro! Back! With one hand Tasianna recalled her catalyst like a puppeteer, while with the other, she raised it up and then slammed it down like a blade. Like a hail of arrows, daggers of ice descended onto Davisons blackening body, battering his bloodied body and tearing chunks of flesh off.

However, none of that mattered. Davison, with the voice of a beast, cast [Earth Wall] and erected a tall wall of hardened rock, buying Davisons body enough time to break off the daggers stuck in him and let his flesh regenerate at an astounding rate. It was as if healing magic was cast on him.

He didnt stay on the defensive for long though, as spears of rocks and earthen balls fended the daggers away while also forcing Tasianna, my wolves, and I to back off. I threw some bombs at him, but an earth wall appeared immediately as if he was anticipating my attack. That was when his assault became more fierce.

All my daggers are gone, Tasianna announced with a frown, chugging down a dragorade to recover her expended mana before touching her sword, probably to take the mana stored in her catalyst. She then cast [Frozen Shield] to block the incoming attacks.

At this time, I left Tasianna behind and entered a shadow for [Shadow Dash]. Dark magic had a weakness where a majority of its spells required me to visually confirm a targeted shadow to use it for any spells, even [Shadow Dash]. Using [Shadow Snake], which allowed me to look through its eyes, allows me to use spells remotely, although if the distance between the shadow and me was too long, I couldnt use [Shadow Dash] on it.

As Davison was blocking my sight with those [Earth Wall]s, I had to dash to his flanks with my wolves. And that is when I saw his disfigured form.

If his appearance was distinguishable before, then now it was as if Davison was an entirely different person. His body was completely black-red, with no hint of his formerly white skin. Not only did he grow in height, but the other aspects of his body also transformed.His muscles became as thick as a boxer in the heavier weight classes.

His hair, formerly yellow-brown, was now black while bone-like horns grew out of the side of his face, framing it. At his waist, tentacle-like appendages grew out until they formed something similar to a half-skirt, while his legs grew carapace armor similar to a knights. His upper body was still bare, leaving the bloated belly as the only thing recognizable from the former Davison.

RaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrARRRRGHHH! His roar, similar to a wind blast, forced me to retreat back into my shadow, my instincts telling me to back off at any cost. Despite not giving them any orders, it seemed that my wolves also felt the pressure from Davisons roar, as they backed off, too and returned to Tasianna with me.

While I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, another massive roar thundered. The air felt hard to breathe, taking multiple tries to fill my lungs up with oxygen, straining my nerves and mind. My mouth felt dry, but I couldnt stop myself from swallowing what little saliva I had.

I squeezed my daggers as a System message confirmed my suspicion.

[Fear (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Fear Resistance Lv. 1] evolved into [Fear Resistance Lv. 2]

Im scared.

Kehehehek. Cackling from a deep, hoarse voice encroached my ears like insects, causing my hairs to stand up.

A hand so large it could wrap around my head touched the top of the [Earth Wall] before a horned head appeared Davisons. He managed to break out of my mana threads and stood up, nearly as tall as a lamp post. His mouth contorted into a grin, baring deformed teeth and canines a dentist would recommend removing as soon as possible. How blissful. This power. Surging through my veins. How tragic. To use it. Here before the dogs of Greenveil.

Davisons second makeover didnt stop there. His hands were now protected by bone-like gauntlets while the orb lodged in his chest was now covered up in red slime, pulsating like a heart.

Creators of problems. You are. To my plans and pride. Insignificant. You are. Before the plans of my master, Davison spoke in cut-out sentences. You will die. I announce. Stop the loopabits before they evolve into loopriszars. Then he threw a chunk of wall at us.

Tasianna and I separated, dodging in opposite directions. My [Foresight] was warning me of another projectile, to which I responded by using [Dark Tendrils] to deflect the massive wall chunk to the side. It flew past me, bouncing on the floor before tearing another piece of the guild buildings wall away.

Magic circles began appearing again, this time with a higher intensity, as it looked like the [Earthen Spear]s were larger. Those giant spears pierced through the air, drilling through the ground as if they were butter, stopping only after stopping only after burying half their length in the ground.

Tasianna and I returned fire with our own ranged spells, but even though all of them hit Davison, none of them seemed to have fazed him. As if his every cell was multiplying each second, his wounds would simply disappear and his body would grow back the damaged flesh, leaving not even a scar behind. His strong bones with his heightened Vitality meant Tasiannas ice daggers couldnt cut his limbs off now. Davison laughed at our feeble attempts before charging towards Tasianna.

His Strength, Intelligence, Vitality, Wisdom, and now even his Agility improved?!

Using his massive bone gauntlets, Davison smashed the grounds while chanting a spell. The ground exploded in tiny fragments wooden and stone pushing Tasianna into the air to avoid the shockwave. A stone spear shot out from the crater, tearing through her [Frozen Shield] before Davison followed up with a fast-moving [Rock Bullet].

Arghk! Tasianna screamed as the bullet penetrated deep into her leg; however, even injured she didnt give up the chance for a counter. Her ice sword flew and pierced his left arm, twisting it in the process before leaving by cutting downward. Davisons arm wasnt severed, but it looked unusable.

Useless, he commented, bending his knees a bit before jumping up and grabbing Tasianna by her leg. Ahhh, I heard fairies can use transformation skills too. What a powerful fairy you must be. Perhaps? You will be the one to finalize my potion? Huh?

White flames erupted from Tasiannas wound, not to heal it since a stone was still stuck inside, but to attack Davison. Argh! he screamed, letting go of Tasianna as if he touched a hot pan. You can use that white flame?! How? Were you the one who created those white flame bombs? You have made me more interested in you, fae! Argh!

Davison began struggling, moving his arms behind his back to squash the source of his distress me. After coating my tanto with one of the corrosive toxins, I sneaked behind Davison and pierced his nape. I continued hanging onto him to continue applying the toxin using my claw guards, stabbing him over and over again. Using the toxin that damaged the mana paths, the same I used on the onnikai garms, I intended to debilitate and slow Davison down.

I noticed when I attacked him just now, but his Vitality truly did increase significantly after this transformation. My tanto couldnt cut through his neck completely, making me unsure if I had enough Strength to decapitate him. This was while I was in my [Humanization (Minor)] form.

[Uno, Song, Sarasa. Now!] I commanded my wolves, who jumped out of Davisons shadow. Song and Sarasa bit his heel while Uno targeted his, ahem, more vulnerable and soft spot.

Ihieuck! Davison groaned, stunning him for a second as he moved his knees a bit closer together. Song and Sarasa held onto his heels but, due to the carapace covering his legs, they were having trouble biting through it. I saw them wince the moment blood came from their gums. Meanwhile, Uno, who had Davisons, uh, precious under control, was scratching his legs to apply the toxin coating his claws.

I let go of my tanto, activated my [Mana Weave] skill, and used the newly produced threads to wrap them around Davisons throat. I stepped on his back and began pulling the threads, all while the toxic slime was oozing down from my claws, soaking my threads and, as a consequence, his throat.

Arghhhh! What is this poison!? he shouted while trying to catch me, but I was able to stay nimble and used his larger size by tip-toeing around his shoulders and arms. It also helped that his left arm still hadnt regenerated yet, so I only had to deal with evading one hand. Fuck! Hardened earth, pierce my opposition! Earthen-Guarck!

As he was about to cast another spell, Davison coughed up some blood, interrupting his cast. Him using any spells while the toxin was inside his body really helped me.

Kehek. A mana venom. I see. It ravages my body, but I will heal. I will live, Davison said, staring at me from the corner of his eye while showing his unnatural teeth.

Keuk! Thats not good for my heart

No magic. But, magic isnt needed. This body isnt restricted. To that concept anymore. Davison then began bending his body backward, making it hard for me to keep standing firmly on him. As I was repositioning my feet, his tentacle half-skirt suddenly split themselves back into individual appendages and attacked my garms.

Two tentacles wrapped around Songs and Sarasas neck, another two attacked me, and the last four caught Uno, prying him off Davison. And then he caught me with his hand. Got you, he said in his eerie voice before removing me from his back and slamming me face-first on the ground.

Instead of continuing his attack on me, he focused on Uno. He punched the poor garm onto the ground and then slapped him across the battlefield. Song and Sarasa were being choked by Davisons tentacles and were easily removed from his legs. I couldnt let him continue doing this to my garms.

[Uno! Rest for now!]

Through [Shadow Pack] I was able to confirm Unos survival. I wasnt able to see his exact Health, but since the number of my shadow beasts didnt decrease, I knew he wasnt dead. It was just inconvenient that I couldnt see how much damage he accrued.

As white flames began healing me, I slipped back into the shadow world and jumped out of Davisons shadow, but he anticipated my move. I narrowly managed to sidestep his attacks thanks to my skills, but it was still a close call. As I was about to step back to recover my posture, an ice sword flew in to intervene against Davisons next attack.

Annoying fly! The sword aimed for the patch of red slime on his chest, but couldnt pierce it as he swerved his body. This gave me the chance to cast [Dark Tendrils] underneath Davison, which I used to close the distance between me and my garms. Using my tanto and one of my daggers, I severed the two tentacles holding my garms and had them flee back into a shadow.

Umbral Pendulum! Claws of Darkness! Three claws materialized from shadows and raked into Davisons stomach while a black bladed pendulum swung down from the half-destroyed ceiling. Davison clicked his tongue when he noticed Tasiannas ice sword was coming at him once again. An ice sword was aiming for his chest while a giant raven-black construct aimed to rend him in half.

Davison couldnt move much with the [Claws of Darkness] stuck in his stomach, but he could move enough so that the pendulum could only hack off his already destroyed left arm, saving the rest of his body. Then, before the sword could stab him, he grabbed it perfectly around the orb.

Daaaaavisssssonnnn! Kiiro screamed, struggling in vain to break free of Davisons grip.

Ahhhh, I remember you. This catalyst. Fae help fae, huh? A shame to break. A good orb...and mana source. Davisons muscles grew in size as he strained his hand; however, he couldnt fully commit to it as Tasianna sent a barrage of ice daggers at him. The slime of his chest suddenly moved, multiplying itself around his left shoulder to grow a temporary slime arm, which he used to absorb the daggers. They stuck on him but, as it wasnt actual flesh, he ignored them and turned his attention back to Kiiro.

Damn you, Daaaavison! Kiiro screamed as Davison tightened his grip. The ice sword had broken and Kiiro was desperately trying to form something using its own mana, but it was too late for that.

Whatever my opinion of Kiiro was, it wasnt important at this moment. The catalyst he currently resides in is Tasiannas; not only that, but it was also blessed by Zephira herself. Such a precious tool was irreplaceable, especially when something inside of it was mine. Quatre, the fourth onnikai garm, was waiting for me to level up [Shadow Pack] so he could join me. I had to stop Davison from destroying it.

After evading Davisons tentacles, I dived into a shadow and reappeared in front of him, tanto and knives ready. But, I wasnt fast enough. I could hear a crack...and then a wind storm exploded.

Griiiiargh!

What?! Argh!

Urgh!

The moment cracks appeared around the orb, Kiiro screamed and a wind explosion happened, pushing everything in the orbs vicinity away. As I was recovering from the pushback, I quickly understood that it had to be due to Zephiras blessing.

Kiiro! Tasianna, as the only one who wasnt affected by the gale wind, swooped in and picked her catalyst before retreating. Kiiro! Answer me!

Quatre! Are you alright?!

Urgh, before we could get an answer from the spirit, Davison stood back up. Surprises. Surprises. Always something new. I cannot deal a clean. Blow. Cheating death. The slime in Davisons left shoulder retreated back to his chest, revealing that his left arm was slowly regrowing. He held onto it, groaned and strained it, and the regeneration spiked where the arm instantly regrew back to its former form.

What is this crap

He did some arm exercises with his new arm before tearing a piece of the slime on his chest, throwing it away like a piece of wet cloth. Filtering. There was a lot of that toxin. Deadly for a normal person. Would corrode my heart and mana paths. Hmm. Yes, a very deadly anti-mage toxin. He then invoked a magic circle but immediately canceled it, looking disappointed. Damage is very severe. Must study it later. How different it is. To other toxins.

His focus wasnt on the fight right now, he was looking at the surroundings with the eye of an alchemist a scientist. Inspecting his body, the corrosive toxin, and the slime on his chest. The curiosity of an intellectual had overtaken him.

His mouth curved into a crescent moon. Anger and annoyance. You brought me. New Experience. You brought me, too. Proper dissection and dismantling. Is a must. Now, what surprises will I find.

How about an explosive surprise?

Huh? That voice?

From underneath Davisons shadow, a man suddenly jumped out. He slapped both of Davisons legs before returning back into his shadow. The spots where he touched them turned red before they exploded in a fiery burst, causing Davison to fall down.

Aurgh! Davison groaned.

How about another?! Gale Steps! The man jumped out of another shadow, accelerated his steps before slapping Davisons chest and head, and then retreated. The exact same thing happened again, the spots grew red and they exploded.

Gael?! I called the man out as he appeared before us.

Sorry, sorry, I thought bringing some hard-hitting stuff would be better than my measly spells and daggers. Sorry for leaving the heavy-lifting to you two ladies, he said with a wink.

The last time I saw Gael was after Davison used his first potion to transform into his less radical form. We were standing in the air with [Air Walk] after he detonated a bomb, causing the whole building to collapse. I did wonder where he was during the whole fight, but I didnt give it too much thought after the fight intensified and took my full attention.

Davisons body tried to regenerate its lost flesh, but all its attempts were stopped by Hestias scale-dust, exploding and incinerating the limbs before they could grow in size. If she had taken the [Scale-Dust User] Job, she probably could have stopped his regeneration altogether.

Hestia would continue fighting against Davisons mangled, deformed corpse, however, she was buying time for something big. Looking at the sky, two massive magic circles were materializing in the sky as they fought, one red and the other white. The more powerful a spell, the longer it needed to fully form its magic circle. Even if we didnt need to chant due to [Chant Revocation], there was still a preparation time until we could unleash the spell. Without chanting, it was just lessened.

Hestia had the lightning spell [Purple Flash] which helped her cast these large spells instantly by materializing the magic circles in seconds, but the issue was it would consume triple the amount of mana she would have needed to cast those spells normally. Since she held her concert during the night, there wasnt a sun to help her regenerate mana so she must have tired herself out. She would use up her remaining reserves if she were hasty about it.

It only took a bit longer in the scorching flames for the two circles to be complete.

Symphonie des Feurergottes. Omnictus, she said before grabbing onto the limbless torso of the corpse. Release. Solar Flare!

The fire on Hestias body flared up in size before erupting like a volcano upwards. That was when both [Symphonie des Feuergottes] and [Omnictus] released, pouring rays of light and waves of inferno onto the Hestia and Davison.

The heat and pressure were so intense it forced us to move back even more, as staying closer was enough to risk our clothes and hair catching fire. The sea of fire released by Hestia didnt move any further than the area created by her Idol song [Dragon Fire], preventing further collateral damage to the neighborhood. She was isolating everything into a single area.

Like a star, the night was brightened by her white flames.

Once it ended, the residual heat was still too much for us to approach. Tasianna had to apply [Glacial Protection] and cool the surrounding temperature for us to even get close to Hestia. There we could only see a crater. The alchemy guilds building was completely vaporized, leaving nothing behind. Speaking about vaporization, so was Davisons body. There was nothing in the crater except a collapsed dragonewt girl.

The heat at ground zero was the most fearsome, requiring Tasianna to cool down everything with her ice and water magic. Once we could traverse it safely, we approached Hestia. Her breathing was ragged and she was sweating profusely, something she rarely ever did as a fire dragon.

She noticed us and opened her eyes, before showing us another thumbs up.

Can I get some food, please?

...Unbelievable.

A note from AbyssRaven

Well, that was the Alchemist Arc. Only thing left to do is the clean-up. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Actually, I wanted to ask you guys something and since we haven't done a poll in a long time, I guess the time is ripe. The question I wish to ask is: What do you guys think of the pacing of this arc?

I know my story is not the fastest and I only recently increased the tempo of my releases, so that's why I wanted to know everybody's opinion on the pacing. It would help, as I can adjust future arcs to your feedback. Actually, feedback in general would be nice.

Thank you very much!

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 15 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

If you guys enjoyed this chapter then, please follow the story. If you guys want the story to grow, then giving it a rating or a favorite will do wonders: Rawr

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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What do you guys think of the pacing of this arc?

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021 5:16:18 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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