Chapter 159: Chapter 152: Strongest
[Galadriel]
[Forest]
Mirabella breathed heavily, her exhaustion evident on her face.
"Nice, three minutes already," Mikoto noted, leaning against a tree in the forest near the academy.
"Damn, only three?" She sighed, letting her body hit the dirt ground. Sitting, she sprawled out her legs in exasperation.
"Just be glad you actually have Arcane Ascendance," he suggested.
She chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you’re right. With this, I’ll catch up to you in no ti." She grinned confidently, but Mikoto just snorted.
"You shouldn’t aim for impossibilities, Mira," he advised, using her nickna to annoy her. "You should be looking at surpassing Agatha first."
"Che, shut up," she whined, but her expression turned sowhat somber. "But how is she?"
"That Ancestor chick from yesterday did a number on her, but she’s in full health. She expanded her mana too much, though. Her body is in a state of unconsciousness because it’s busy filling up her missing reserves with the ambient mana in the environnt. She’ll probably wake up today," Mikoto inford. Mirabella grew noticeably relaxed at that. "What? You’re that worried about her? Is she your new best friend?" He asked in a singsong tone.
"Tch! She ain’t my best friend!" the princess exclaid in annoyance.
"Sure," Mikoto didn’t seem convinced. "At any rate, why did you ask
for help with mana training? It would make more sense to ask Lucinda. She’s always happy to help, you know?"
"Well, uhh...." She suddenly seed unsure, and he couldn’t help but raise a brow beneath his helt. "You just, well, seem well-versed in magic. Yeah, that’s it."
"Right...well, it doesn’t matter, I guess. After you can use Arcane Ascendance for five minutes, we can work on refining it. It won’t do you any good if you don’t train in that form because if left alone, all Arcane Ascendance will serve to be is a boost in prowess. Besides you need to focus on destruction itself, not imitating your God’s power through magic,"
"Funny, that woman from yesterday said sothing similar," Mirabella couldn’t help but notice.
"She had the right idea, but there’s sothing I am curious about," Mikoto admitted. Mirabella tilted her head and gestured for him to continue. "How did you finally and suddenly attain Arcane Ascendance?" he inquired. A pondering look suddenly decorated Mirabella’s face.
"Hmm, if I had to put it into words, it’s like I shed everything away. Focusing only on destruction and my avarice. My greed to want to destroy that woman, it’s sothing I wanted. So I abandoned it all, my want for versatility," she finished with a sheepish look. "Guess those lessons on the boat were all for naught, huh?"
"Maybe, but I’m glad for you," Mikoto waved off. "With Arcane Ascendance, you’re now a cut above the rest. Still far from , though."
She rely chuckled at that. "Heh, shut up, you idiot."
"Don’t worry about it. Even if you’ll never reach , you’re going to be pretty powerful," Mikoto inford, causing Mirabella to tilt her head.
"Really? You think so?" she inquired. "I did feel pretty powerful, but..." She frowned, realizing that with this power, she could beat a Chaosmaw, but her mind wandered to more powerful opponents. "What about soone like Selwyn?"
"What? Do you have a vendetta against him or sothing?" Mikoto couldn’t help but ask. Mirabella rely scoffed with a frown.
"Call it whatever you want. That guy nearly killed
back in Verdantis," she admitted with a scowl. "Not to ntion I heard from Lucinda what that guy did, killing kids? Commanding his troops to wipe out that town. Shouldn’t I use this destruction of mine to kill scum like that?"
"True, Selwyn is the kind of person you should aim to eviscerate," Mikoto agreed with a nod. "However, when the festival cos, do not even think about fighting that guy."
"What? Why not? I have Arcane Ascendance right now. If I tra-"
"No," Mikoto cut her off quickly. "Listen, Mira, there are levels to this. As of now, both you and Agatha have a limit. Should you reach that limit, you would be powerful, no doubt. But it would take ti, more ti than we have for this festival. Selwyn, that guy’s just different. When we fought back in Verdantis, his physical abilities were off the charts. Not to ntion his unique ability. It was absurd. He could erase things, though only the things he targeted. The only counter was Creation Magic. He took an arm and organs from . That ain’t the kind of damage you’ll be able to heal from. And even after our fight, he was hiding sothing, a trump card, I’d wager. Maybe sothing he and other of his animal brethren have."
Mirabella blinked at his rapid firing of words, reality kicking her in the face. Selwyn Von Auerswald was a different kind of monster than she knew, and that fact annoyed her. She sighed heavily. "Damn." She ran a hand through her hair. "Way outta my league, huh?"
"You don’t seem as annoyed as I thought."
"Well, I trust your words, I guess..." She quickly mumbled, though she quickly took note of what she said. "Don’t get the wrong idea, though! I just trust your words because you’re strong!"
"Uh-huh, sure, sure, Mira," Mikoto snorted out. "But don’t worry about it. I’ll make you strong. Strong enough to stick it to the Ancestors and Selwyn one day."
"Hah!" Mirabella grinned excitedly as she shot up from the ground. "You got
pumped now! I’ll get super strong!" She exclaid, while Mikoto rely smiled at her enthusiasm.
"Ah, here you two are," a voice suddenly cut in, causing their heads to whip to the source.
"Lucinda," Mikoto noted upon seeing the familiar head of snow-white hair. "What brings you so far out here?"
"Greetings, Mikoto, Mirabella," the spawn of Octavia greeted with a warm smile. "Is your training proceeding well?"
"Eh, it’s going fine. Just Mikoto being a pain as per usual," Mirabella joked. "I’m just glad I got Arcane Ascendance finally. Mikoto’s been jealous ever since."
"I see," an unreadable expression crossed Lucinda’s face upon hearing the princess’s words. She quickly shook her head as if to be rid of any lingering thoughts. "Well, the king has asked for us all. It has to do with the festival, no doubt. Most likely also what happened yesterday," her expression grew somber as she continued. "From what you relayed, Mirabella, about these beings called Ancestors, they have been responsible for more fatalities than originally thought. Once more, they’re powerful variables we know nothing about."
("Rhiannon’s goal was pretty clear, as was that Gisèle woman’s. To spread chaos, the forr to test the present and the latter because she’s insane. Britha seed opposed to all she had done, honor-bound maybe? Then that Aelfric guy, he unnerves , eyes full of hate and a vendetta against Octavia, it seems. I wonder....nah, not the ti for such thoughts,") Mikoto quit his inner musings as he turned his attention to Lucinda. "Then let’s get going."
------------------
[Forest]
From a cliff, he overlooked a wound in the earth, a gaping maw that stretched as far as the eye could see. The hole was roughly circular, its diater at no less than fifty kiloters. The depth was impossible to gauge, but the sheer walls dropped away into darkness, their surface marred by strange, glowing formations that flickered and pulsed.
"Hmph, it seems I’ve been mislead," Dante made a deduction from atop the cliff, the wind howled as his cape fluttered. ("I’ve been trailing Rhiannon’s mana for the last day now, yet she remained out of reach. I assu she wanted to keep
away from the capital city. Three prominent mana signatures were there, but I left it in the hands of Rowena. It should be sothing she was more than capable of handling.")
But this situation sowhat irked him. The return of Ancestor sparked the involvent of variables on par with the Gods and dragons. The dragons, however, were extinct, and the Gods rarely involved themselves in the affairs of mortals. Neither held back the Ancestors. Rhiannon had a clear goal, but the others safe for Aelfric were for now unknowns.
("Yet even if the fact remains that their goals are unknown, they would no doubt seek to involve themselves in this era. Lyra so far was an exception. The rest of her kind might not be as anable. The three in the Capital may attest to that,") And he had witnessed what Aelfric would do first hand.
"Ah, seems I am not the only one who’s been had." A voice suddenly cut into his thoughts from behind. Turning on his heel, he grunted in acknowledgnt.
"Divine Beast Telluris," he noted. "So you were pursuing the Ancestor of Chaos as well."
"Indeed, but I never expected to run into you here, A-"
"I go by Dante now," he quickly cut in, causing the Divine Beast to tilt her head but smile nonetheless.
"Tis a fine na," she complinted.
"Pleasantries have no worth now. You’ve no doubt business elsewhere as do I," Dante bluntly stated.
She gave an almost sheepish look, "I was not aware you held such distaste for . I apologize if my presence may co as unwelcoming."
"I do not detest you, Telluris," he corrected. "My ire lies only with those who participated in that aningless war and to those who would impede the current world. That includes your dear Octavia, however."
"Such defiance," Telluris smiled on despite his words. "Even after all this ti, you’ve not changed."
"My will remains ever steadfast."
"Such is the burden of the strongest mortal," Telluris mused, walking forward to stand by his side and overlooking the cliff and the gaping hole drilled into the planet. "Such power, even with my Origin Pulse, I cannot revert the casualty that has taken place."
"Mikoto Yukio’s doing, I’ve heard."
"Indeed," finally a small frown tugged at her lips. "So young yet burdened with power. Once more he shoulders a responsibility he does not need to. You and him are a lot alike, you know?"
"...."
Telluris turned to Dante with a serene smile, "Unfortunately, those with such vast power often find themselves alone. For his potential is to surpass the Gods and more, but what will he do with all that power?"
"Power has the potential for good," he noted off. "However, it has the potential to corrupt. I do not have a clear indication of who Mikoto Yukio truly is."
"He is selfless, unique, comical, and just soone who strives to do all they can," she inford with a distant look in her deep eyes that reflected the very skies. "He has comrades surrounding him, but I fear they will not keep up. He grows stronger and stronger with each passing day. He needs guidance. Guidance from soone who can relate to his."
"You would have
do that?" Dante questioned, Telluris nodded.
"Indeed, as I’ve said, the two of you share similarities. So filled with hope for a better tomorrow," she clasped her hands behind her back as her white robe wildly fluttered in the wind. "You also no longer need to bear the title of the strongest alone. Mayhap one day Mikoto can stand alongside you."
Dante rely grunted, "Perhaps."
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