Terrified, everyone watched as the vestige formed itself from the surrounding ash.
—(Where did we go wrong?)—Shoun wondered as he tried to find a way out of the situation. But his limited time had run out. The gigantic hand made of ash came crashing down toward the four young men, barely dodged by all of them.
—Don't just stand there, attack!—Snapping them out of their trance, Deuz nocked an arrow and fired directly at the creature's eye. The vestige didn't even bother to dodge. The arrow hit its mark, but it was immediately swallowed by the ash. The eye reformed as if nothing had happened.
Setting aside their fear, they all began to surround the vestige's body to attack from different angles. Shoun used his electricity to extend Iron Serpent, which he launched to ensnare one of the monster's legs, then delivered an electric shock. But it had little effect. A moment later, a massive shadow loomed over the young man, signaling that he was about to be crushed by one of the vestige's arms. He was saved at the last moment by Kaze, who completely severed the limb.
—Thanks—The masked boy nodded in acknowledgment. Moments later, a rain of ash fell over them, eventually settling on the ground, replacing the ash that had already been mobilized to replenish the creature's arm.
Meanwhile, Deuz fired a couple of arrows, but they had no significant effect. Seeing the futility of his current weapon, he didn't get frustrated and simply changed strategies. His black bow transformed into two black daggers with winged details. Several ash tentacles emerged from the vestige's torso and lunged at the beret-wearing boy. He elegantly cut through each one, but for every tentacle he severed, two more appeared. Slowly, he found himself surrounded, and with no other option, he activated his ability, sinking into his faint shadow and reappearing a few meters away, just beneath the shadow of a rooftop.
Sein, on the other hand, was struggling the most. Like Deuz, he was being attacked by a multitude of ash tentacles. His weapon had no trouble cutting through them, but they came in such numbers that he couldn't handle them without expending energy. Enhancing himself with his ability and charging his weapon with light, he resumed his attack, momentarily easing the pressure. But he was quickly overwhelmed again. His once-clean uniform was now full of tears, which tried to heal but were torn again by the vestige's fierce assault. Shallow cuts appeared on his arms, neck, and cheeks.
—Agh!—Suddenly, a gash appeared on his stomach. With no other choice, he used his second ability to heal himself, reducing his offensive capabilities at a critical moment. He was surrounded in an instant, and before he could counterattack, all his limbs were bound. A new wave of ash crashed over his small body, trapping him in a kind of prison that tightened more and more—Haaaa!
Noticing that the small boy needed help, everyone rushed to his rescue while dealing with the vestige's onslaught. Sein, who was being slowly crushed, began to lose consciousness. Under the pain and the horrifying sound of his bones being crushed, the small boy regained his determination. Releasing an insane amount of energy into his sword, a golden light burst from within his prison, exploding and freeing Sein, who fell to his knees, exhausted.
The tentacles tried to attack again, but by then, the others had managed to reach Sein and defended him as he recovered from the attack.
—Splitting up isn't working—Shoun declared as he analyzed their enemy. He had concluded that the vestige's true body had to be hidden somewhere within all the ash. He tried to detect it with his energy-sensing ability, but it was useless, as every grain of ash contained a tiny amount of spiritual energy-about 0.01%. But due to the sheer volume, it overwhelmed his senses.
—Our attacks aren't working either... haaah... It's like fighting Shoun during a storm or Deuz during an eclipse—Sein exclaimed between gasps. He had already used 50% of his core's capacity in that first assault, and it didn't seem like the fight would end anytime soon.
—We need to change our strategy. Cutting its limbs isn't working. I can't feel its body inside that thing...—Deuz reached the same conclusion as Shoun. As he cut through a tentacle that grazed his neck, he came to a grim realization—I don't think we can win, but we still have a chance to complete the mission.
—...You don't mean that, do you?
—I'm afraid it's our only option. Someone will go for the documents, then give us the signal, and we'll leave the mirror world.
—That sounds good. Who's going?—Sein asked as he rejoined the battle, taking his share of attacks. But when those words left his mouth, everyone stared at him—...Why me!?
—Sein, that first assault proved this fight is much more dangerous for you than for us. You'll weaken us more if you stay here—Deuz explained coldly as he took charge. The other two didn't protest the idea, so the small boy reluctantly agreed.
—Fine, you'd better be safe while I'm gone!—Sein quickly turned and ran toward the mausoleum. Noticing this, the vestige within the ash grew furious and tried to stop him, but its path was blocked by the others.
—Deuz, there's a flaw in your plan. What if we lure that thing into our world when we leave?
—...I thought about that. At least it would be less dangerous than here, but it's definitely not ideal... Let's pray we find a solution before Sein returns—Without another word, the three split into three flanks to cut off all paths to the mausoleum. The vestige's attacks grew more aggressive. It wasn't just tentacles anymore—if they didn't dodge or destroy them, they'd be crushed.
Shoun used his fists and Iron Serpent to destroy tentacles and waves. He used his electricity, as before, to enhance his body. But despite all his efforts, he could barely keep up with the vestige's attacks.
Meanwhile, Deuz and Kaze were in relatively better positions. Both managed to counter the monster's attacks and even strike back.
—(We should be almost equally strong now. Why am I falling behind?)—The young man began to reflect on how his two companions were handling this fight.
Deuz, with his two daggers, cut through and countered the vestige's attacks. If he needed more hands, he created two sharp tentacles from the shadows of his clothes to assist him. When surrounded, he simply sank into his own shadow and repositioned, giving him the chance to attack the central body in brief moments. Kaze, on the other hand, seemed to suffer the least. Thanks to his cloak, he was never in a situation where he was surrounded, allowing him to attack with his sword or wind gusts far more often than the beret-wearing boy.
—(Let's see... Both Deuz and Kaze use their basic abilities to defend themselves, creating opportunities they exploit to counterattack. To win this fight, I need to support them in that and create my own attacks... The three of us are Apprentices, but I'm missing something)—The young man began to reflect as he defended himself. He wasn't really tired from the exchange. Despite constantly expending a large amount of electricity to enhance himself, his core remained full thanks to his Apprentice ability. In his opinion, he wasn't underutilizing it—(Thinking about it... Am I limiting myself by using my new ability this way?... If we assume a situation where Kaze and Deuz were Seekers, they were limited by one thing: mobility. Deuz is highly flexible thanks to his shadow manipulation, able to fill almost any role in battle, but his lack of mobility left him exposed. That's why his Apprentice ability removes that limitation. As for Kaze, his problem must have been similar. Cutting Wind is a weapon that allows him to defend himself both at range and up close, but in many situations, the "close" aspect couldn't be used due to his lack of speed. That's why his cloak gives him precisely that).
Shoun's analysis led him to a rather obvious realization: Apprentice abilities help compensate for a Seeker's shortcomings, allowing them to aspire to fight stronger opponents.
—(In my case, applying this, I had a different shortcoming. I didn't lack speed or strength, but I did expend a ridiculous amount of electricity. That led me to develop a fighting style that allowed me to perform well throughout the entire battle without exhausting my core... It was useful at the time, but now it's more of a limitation than an advantage)—As he thought this, Sein finally managed to enter the mausoleum, causing the ash vestige to attack even more frenetically. Shoun was running out of time to solve his current problem—(Damn... So, to summarize, simply putting 5% of my core into each limb isn't enough anymore. I can be stronger than before due to the new "quality" of my electricity, but that's not enough. My body is stronger now; it can handle more than 5% without worrying about pain or energy expenditure)—Quickly, Shoun began to enhance his body even further. At the same time, as his electricity left his body, new energy replenished it thanks to his Apprentice ability. This allowed the young man to adapt to the vestige's more frenetic attack rhythm, but it still wasn't enough to counterattack—(This isn't the end... I need something more)—Punching a wave and shattering it before it could surround him, Shoun noticed the chain hanging inertly from his wrist—(Iron Serpent... Right now, it's basically useless. I can't use it to defend myself against this ash, nor can I use it to paralyze this thing. I'm sorry, old friend, but I'll have to set you aside for now)—He acknowledged that his artifact had been incredibly useful in every battle since he obtained it, allowing him to safely paralyze his enemies without expending much electricity. But now he needed to reinvent himself. Simply enhancing his body more wasn't enough. Using Iron Serpent as a conductor wasn't enough. So, he made it crawl toward his chest—(I've almost got it. I know I'm close).
Angered by its inability to stop the small boy from entering the mausoleum, the vestige shed parts of its artificial body. With all the extra ash, a massive number of tentacles and waves began to flood the three young men. Kaze calmly cut through each attack. If surrounded, he used his cloak to quickly escape the situation. Deuz did something similar, cutting through attacks and, if surrounded, leaping to another location with his ability, preventing the vestige from crushing him with its ash. But Shoun? He simply let himself be caught.
Watching as a massive wave of ash isolated him from the world, the young man didn't defend himself at first. Slowly, the walls of his new tomb began to contract. Seeing this, both Deuz and Kaze tried to approach to help, but it wouldn't be necessary.
For inside the tomb, the young man prepared a punch. On the surface, it didn't look different from the ones he'd used to defend himself before, but it was different in Shoun's mindset as he prepared it. Feeling all his electricity constantly moving through his body, entering and exiting, he felt he was on the verge of overloading. And that's precisely what his new fighting style would focus on. His body and core couldn't handle all the electricity he could attract, but limiting himself to avoid using his full potential wasn't an option either. So, his new style would focus on a delicate balance—a devastating yet calculated technique.
In a split second, Shoun absorbed all the energy around him, converting it into electricity without fail. The accumulated electricity, plus the new influx, made his core creak, as it was now at 150% of its maximum capacity. But he wouldn't let his core suffer like that. Remembering his fight with the Hydra and how he released electricity while absorbing it, he prepared his punch and struck the walls of his prison.
Balanced Voltage Strike!
From his fist, a powerful surge of electricity shot out, directly hitting the walls of the tomb and completely shattering it, freeing Shoun in the process. But the movement didn't end there. The moment he struck, a massive wave of lightning burst from his fist, sweeping through and pulverizing all the ash in its path, clearing the space between Shoun and the vestige.