The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

The Greater Knight Exalt from the Thousand Storm Palace kicked off the air, a crack of thunder booming across as a green panther anima formed beside him. The panther growled with the roaring of thunder, lightning sparking all over its body, and lunged into the man's bow. His Meld transformed the bow into a strange shape; the string was far thicker than normal, fangs lined the bow's curve, and claws gripped the arrow along its length as he pulled it back.

Oscar felt the air change. An armor of lightning formed around the man, turning him into an avatar of thunder. He coordinated with his companion from the Black Core Academy and was about to let loose his arrow when Oscar rushed in. Oscar's golden drill tore apart the lightning armor and plunged into his chest and out the back, shredding the man's heart into a pulp without mercy, without hesitation. The man quivered, unable to stop the blood coursing out his mouth, and gave Oscar a bewildered look.

Oscar gave nothing in response, only a chilling gaze. He drew back his drill, letting the blood flood out the gaping hole in the man's chest, and dropped him to the ground. His arm had several small burns around it from when he touched a part of the man's bow, the fangs searing lightning onto his skin. Truly, anyone caught unaware by the invisible movements of Reis would meet an untimely death without being able to show their powers. Oscar thought as the last one from the Earth Core Academy rushed in with a spear.

An immense weight fell on him. Oscar bent his body forward, fighting against the increased gravity. Dust and earth somehow attached themselves to him, furthering the weight on him and stifling his movements. From above, a large spiky boulder rammed into his head, forcing him to the ground. His Edureisclad and his recently learned Indestructible Gold spell stopped any damage, but the Earth Core Exalt was quick. Oscar saw him dive straight down, the spear guiding several fast-spinning boulders toward him.

The boulders landed on the ground, encircling him and radiating a strange Ein. Oscar's movements fell to a halt. The gravity, the layer of thick earth on his skin, and the strange pulsing of the boulders around him all restricted his movements.

The dangerous glint of a spear neared, the sunlight reflecting off its sharp tip. Oscar didn't fear and waited until the spear was before his forehead. Using the Reis movements and Silver Burst, Oscar rolled to dodge, moving to the man's back. The man's feet shifted and rotated his body, bringing his spear to swipe away at Oscar. Oscar was hit by the blunt shaft, its weight surpassing its appearance, and absorbed the Reis within, swirling it through his body with the rest of his Reis.

He grabbed the man's spear for good measure and punched. The man let go of his spear and tried to retreat with the earth shuffling underneath his feet, and a thick wall formed, separating them. It didn't matter to him. Oscar drove his drill into the wall and sent forth an enormous Eirin Omnireus. The man's scream did little to appease Oscar's wrath, not even the broken body, the lower half completely obliterated.

"If you flew faster, you could have saved your lower half." Oscar walked calmly to the howling man. The man's screams turned into horrified gasps and wails when he looked down at his missing lower half, only the pulp of his flesh and blood pooling around. Oscar stomped on his chest, forcing the air out of the man's lungs to shut him up.

"Where's the other three? Arinn and Gail went to the City Lord's palace, but what about you and the others?" Oscar drove his foot deeper into the man's chest, hearing nothing but his gurgling.

"Dead…they're dead, you monster. Are you with the Pavilion?" The man wheezed, his complexion paling by the second. A faint bloody smile formed on his lips. "Well, who knew someone like you existed? I can't let you go." He grabbed Oscar's leg, strange stone-like cracks forming around his body.

Sensing the danger, Oscar brought up his newly crafted elemental shield. The man vaporized before him, releasing a blinding light, swallowing everything around him in a devastating shockwave, rupturing the earth and shaking the sky. The seismic force behind this was enough to reach deep and cause the underground water under Convecia to sprout up and shower the entire garden district in a rain of dirt and water.

Deep inside the resulting crater, Oscar's body stood firm amongst the dust, the diamond shield resonating with the Indestructible Gold on his skin. The spell canceled and cracked apart, and the shield stopped its connection. He held his shield to his eyes. The power of an elemental armament lay in the resonance with the spells that the user wielded, adding to its effects. It did depend on what kind of armament it was, a sword increasing the sharpness, and a shield increasing the durability. His Indestructible Gold became sturdier than the norm, thanks to the elemental armament, a new layer of defense along with his Ripple Shroud and Edureisclad.

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Oscar coughed from the dust, picked up the man's space pocket, and flew into the air. He looted the other corpse and used a powerful Shattering Wave to scatter it into indecipherable pieces. Not a trace of their identities remained, only the scarred battlefield of their last fight.

"Halt! What is going on here?" A platoon of eight lion-armored guards surrounded Oscar, not holding back their collective Eins to suppress him.

"Nothing, sir. Just a battle. If you want to know more, you can visit Lady Alkemar." Oscar held up a token with her symbol, giving him her backing.

"That's….you can't disrupt the peace of Convecia at a whim just because you have the branch head's backing." The leader floated forward, brandishing his sword.

"Then. What about Lord Brenor?" Oscar showed them Hector's token, their helmet-covered heads reacting with a tremor. "I have the backing of two Marshal Exalts. These men were people who had ill means for Convecia. Now let me through." Oscar growled, his Ein forcing some of them back. Time was wasted. Fifty minutes remained until Helen was ready, and he would not waste a single second.

The guards stayed silent before him. The leader kept his sword raised but then lowered it after a few seconds. "I will make a proper report. Both Guilds will have to provide an explanation for your actions."

"As you should. Now let me through." Oscar glared, the guards parting a way for him to fly away. He soared and landed in the busy market street. Before him, the City Lord's palace stood, shining under the sunlight with the flags and sculptures of lions circling the perimeter.

'Erden, you're still safe?' Oscar went over to a nearby well and washed his hands.

'I am. They haven't spotted me yet. It seems they don't pay too much attention to the room unless someone comes in. But I can confirm one thing.' Erden showed Oscar the image of a symbol, an eye with two pupils looking left and right. 'It's the New Dawn. What are the chances we run into them like this?'

Metures' rusted and damaged body came up. The Threads. It was the only explanation. Was it fate? Destiny? Something that inexplicably connected him to them, a gravitational pull that put them together. Maybe his meeting with Sevon and Adam was because of the connecting thread of Reis. Intertwining threads that sought to set them on a course with or against each other.

'Then that means she and I are still linked. If only there were some way to follow these threads.' Oscar bought several large papers and hid in an alleyway, skulking in the darkness. 'Be ready soon, Erden. Tonight, Convecia will be turned over.'

…….

The floor was cold and rough. Avril groaned and gasped from her dry lips as her vision struggled to regain clarity. From quadruple to triple to double to single, her sight restored itself, and she blinked once to adjust to the dim light. The first thing she noticed was she was in a cage, a prisoner, bars of black steel lining across the would-be exit.

Trembling, Avril wanted to move, but her hands were cuffed and loosely chained to the floor. She started to hyperventilate as if she were drowning, beads of cold sweat running down her body. The shivering would not stop. Her blood came to a chill, her bones rattled in their places, and her skin crawled like a million insects writhed on it.

A shadow roamed outside the cage and paused before her. Though the bars separated them, the shadow didn't seem to care, passing through like a ghost with a scythe in her hand. Avril scurried away to the far corner, tearing parts of her dress in the process, her face as pale as a ghost, the opposite of the dark shadow.

Avril covered her ears and repeated one of the stories she had read with Oscar, whispering it to herself as the shadow neared, stretching its hand to pat her head like a dog. Disgusting. Utterly disgusting. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the nausea overwhelming her.

She found herself on a bed, leaning on Oscar. Before her eyes was a book, and Oscar's wonderful voice spoke each word while caressing her head. Remembering that sweet memory, Avril mumbled the next few pages to herself, having memorized them.

Everything fell silent and calm. Avril peeked her eyes open, no longer seeing the dark shadow of her former mistress. Without warning, she hit herself on the head in self-punishment. This was her plan! Her idea! How could she falter here? Being taken was one of the possibilities.

'What can I do?' Avril glanced around the prison, seeing no one else around her. Outside, she spotted a few prisoners inside their own cells, the other kidnapped victims. 'My Ein is useless with these cuffs on, and I don't feel Erden on me. So he must have dropped off somewhere.'

Her chains rattled on her cuffs, and she glanced down at them. A single tap confirmed these cuffs were hard, hard for a Greater Knight Exalt to break. Avril smiled through her pale and sickly complexion. It was indeed tough. But perhaps, not for a Reis user. She only needed to bide her time and wait for Oscar to move in.

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