Chrysalis

Okay. It's not looking good. I can see that, Big Bird can see that, a blind mole in the second stratum can see that. Regenerative fluid pumps through my body, icy cold, and I feel my insides begin to un-roast themselves. Holy moly, that light attack was no joke. Not only was it scorching hot, there was a lot of force behind it, enough to blast me all the way back down to the water.

I weave the gravity mana as dense as I can, producing a powerful gravity well. I'm going to need it, since I've been sent so far away. I'm literally dozens of kilometres away from where I was hit. The ray of light managed to push me out of range of my previous gravity well, and with nothing tethering me to that point, my only option was to fall. Not that I did much falling, I think that beam reached just about all the way to the water.

When it's ready, I spin up the well and lift myself up from the water, accelerating as quickly as I can. The giant bird is still there, a creature of light and air, its magnificent wings beating slowly. Dimly, I'm aware of the hubbub in the city, people stopping and pointing, looking up at this huge guardian beast who probably doesn't manifest all that often.

Lucky me.

As I rise, I continue to suck in all the mana I can, converting it to gravity mana and then stuffing it into a familiar, dark sphere. I didn't want it to come to this, but I don't have a choice. It was enough to rock Greystone, I'm hoping a full powered blast will be enough to keep this bird off my back long enough to get into the city. The monster told me itself, it isn't allowed to do anything inside the city. So long as I can get past it, it can't stop me from rescuing my sibling.

Beyond that, I'll just slam my head into the ground and accept the repercussions. It doesn't matter what they are, they aren't as bad as losing a family member.

As I rise, faster and faster, I make sure I don't draw too close to the bird until I'm ready. That light beam isn't only powerful, it's fast. A gravity bomb takes a bit of time to prepare, so I won't approach until I've got something I can fire back.

Well, that's the plan anyway. The bird doesn't quite agree with my terms.

My antennae give me the first warning and acting on pure reflex I manage to adjust my trajectory as a lance formed of pure light strikes down from above, barely missing. What the heck?! In the distance, the enormous monster continues to flap its vast wings, almost in slow motion. I didn't see it do anything, where did that beam come from?!

My minds scatter to the winds, seeking out any signs in the mana around me, and eventually I find something, right before my antennae scream at me again.

HOLY MOLY!

I tilt to the right, almost in time to avoid it. My front left leg gets roasted as the beam sizzles past me. This damned bird! It's manipulating mana so far away from itself that it boggles the mind! Far away from me too, I almost couldn't detect the gathering light mana at the limits of my range. But I can detect it. With a portion of my mind constructs dedicated to detection, I'm able to pick up on the gathering light rays. Just before they discharge, I whip together a little force mana to shift my position in the air once they fire.

It's risky. If the bird predicts my movement and guesses correctly, I'll just get roasted. The light strikes so quickly it's practically impossible to tell if it's moving or if it just appears. I mean, it's light. Of course it's fast! What I didn't expect was the devastating power of it!

Using this method, I manage to get myself close enough without taking another hit, despite having to dodge over a dozen times.

[Hello again, Big Bird.]

FWUMPH.

FWUMPH.

The giant bird continues to hover, each stroke of the wings feeling as if they rearrange the sky.

[I AM CALLED THE LIGHT PHOENIX, RAMMON.]

[What's wrong with Big Bird?]

… No response.

[Fair enough, Rammon it is. Listen, my sibling is still alive in there, so I'm going to keep coming, but I should ask, is your master going to do anything about it? If the Child-Emperor is about to mount a rescue of my sister, then all's well and good, I can wait… a little.]

FWUMPH.

FWUMPH.

[MY MASTER WILL NOT INTERVENE. THE PRICE IS TOO HIGH FOR A SINGLE ANT.]

[Are those your words?]

[THEY ARE NOT.]

Huh.

[Well, I feel a little less bad about doing this, then. No hard feelings, Rammon.]

Not going to help rescue the innocent? You can deal with this gravity bomb instead. I dump the last reserves of energy from my gravitational mana gland into the bomb, empower it with the Altar, and let it rip.

Such an outpouring of energy leaves me feeling physically weak, but the bomb springs to life with its trademark cry.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLL!

The moment it appears, the air is whipped into a hurricane, sucked into the rapidly moving ball of doom. Light fades where it passes, bending and twisting on its edge. In the distance, Ramon continues to beat his wings as the spell rockets directly toward him.

I adjust the gravity well I still maintain control of and orient myself towards the cathedral. My only hope is that the Phoenix is too occupied with the bomb to stop me from reaching the building. To that end, I begin to fall as quickly as possible.

Stay strong, sister! I'll reach you, I swear!

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