Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

865 - Supernatura Supernaturata

With her echolocation spell still active, Adagio was able to “see” Lex’s eyes widen as she began to sing.

It was clear that he had mystic senses of his own, and Adagio knew they had to be screaming at him right now, warning him of what was about to happen. Immediately, more phantasmal notes reached her ears, his eyes and horn lighting up again, and she smirked inwardly, knowing that he’d be hard-pressed to drop whatever barrier he’d placed her under and stop her singing in time.

Or are you going to run away? she wondered silently, amused by the thought of him turning tail and teleporting out after all his macho swagger. Better give him a little incentive to stick around.

Raising one hand, Adagio slowly pointed a finger.

But not at him.

Instead, she directed it a few feet to his right, directly at where her echolocation spell was picking up the flap of Nenet’s wings. With no one else in the mountain, it was easy for her to place the sound, especially since she’d been the one to blast these tunnels open. And if Lex and her wayward daughter actually had some sort of special connection the way her having his cutie mark suggested, then he’d likely know exactly what – or rather who – she was pointing at...

The corners of her lips turned upward as she saw those glowing eyes narrow, understanding her threat: if he ran away, the spell she was casting would target Nenet instead.

And I bet you think I can do it, too, don’t you? Adagio laughed silently. You know how much power my last attack had, even if this little box of yours contained it. You know it would have punched right through the mountain. And that this one is far more powerful.

Of course, that power came at the cost of range: even if the intervening stonework was no obstacle, the Song of Destruction couldn’t have reached Nenet from this distance.

But Lex didn’t know that.

Nor, it seemed, had he ever intended to flee, as his spell went off a second later, and this time Adagio was able to follow the ghostly melody to its conclusion, knowing that he’d just wrapped himself in some sort of force field similar to what he’d imprisoned her in. A half-second later his horn glowed brighter, and her echolocation spell registered a thick barrier of some sort – one whose aural resonance seemed almost like it was composed of crystals, of all things – appearing between the two of them.

That he actually thought that any of that would protect him almost made Adagio burst out laughing.

Instead, she focused on finishing the last few notes of her spell...

And then it was done.

Savoring her imminent victory, Adagio spread her arms wide as she unleashed the Song of Destruction toward Lex Legis.

There was no melody to mark its passage, no notes or tune to be heard. Sound, after all, was merely the vibration of a medium, and the power of the Song of Destruction was that it vibrated whatever medium it traveled through so powerfully that it ripped it apart. Nothing could survive its passage; molecules were shredded, atoms were torn apart, and – loaded down with aristeia – even magic was torn asunder.

This was the power that had wounded Kyronex, after all.

And even if Lex Legis was telling the truth about having absorbed the divinity she’d stolen, a power that could injure a demigod would absolutely be able to kill someone who only had a fraction of that power.

A moment later, she was proven right.

Her mystic senses felt it as the box around her shattered into pieces. Her echolocation – muffled by the spell’s passage – showed her the crystals he’d raised crumbling, followed immediately by the force field he’d placed around himself.

Then the spell slammed bodily into him, the lights returning as he lost control of whatever he’d done to douse them, and Adagio had the pleasure of watching him writhe under the onslaught, struggling to quite literally hold himself together. It was like he was caught in a hurricane that only he could feel, legs kicking as he was lifted slightly off the ground, thrashing to free himself. His jaw worked, silently yelling something, and his eyes caught hers for an instant.

“Too bad, Lex,” she taunted, hoping he could read her lips since there was no way for him to hear her. “We could have been great together.”

The last word had just passed her lips when he started to disintegrate.

Adagio couldn’t hold back a chuckle as the Song of Destruction finally worked its way through whatever remaining defenses he’d wrapped himself around, causing his collapse one layer at a time. In the blink of an eye, his clothes, fur, skin, muscles, and organs all fell away, leaving nothing but a ragged skeleton that collapsed to the ground a moment later, held together only by a few remaining vestiges of sinew.

As it was, Adagio was mildly surprised that even his bones had survived her spell, needing a moment to realize that was probably because of Kryonex’s divinity; it had apparently spread from his spine to the rest of his bones. So he wasn’t lying after all, she noted, unable to help but feel a bit of grudging respect for the fallen stallion.

“You should be grateful,” she announced idly as she stepped toward Lex’s skeletal remains. “Your soul would probably have paid off a lot of my debt to those daemons.”

Unfortunately, that was out of the picture now, as soul-binding magic had to be used immediately after death; otherwise the soul fled to the afterlife. Likewise, the astradaemons she had patrolling the place wouldn’t show up either, since she’d told them never to enter her personal chambers. Even if she made an exception and called them now, she’d have to flag them down and direct them here, by which time Lex’s soul would have fled to its eternal reward.

“Instead, all you got was your heart broken,” she snickered, kneeling down by his corpse as she reached for his spine. With any luck, showing that to Nenet would be enough to break the little brat’s spirit once and for all. “Along with the rest of y-EEEEEK!!!”

Her shriek echoed through the room as Lex’s skeletal claw reached up and grabbed her wrist before she could make contact with his spine, his skull turning to face her as the empty sockets flared green and purple.

“I’ve had my heart broken before,” came Lex’s voice, his jawbone unmoving as he tightened his grip on her, holding fast despite her efforts to break free. “Along with numerous bones and organs. As you can see, it doesn’t phase me now.”

Grimacing in fright, Adagio managed to regain enough control of herself to start singing another spell, but she’d only gotten two notes out before Lex’s other claw clamped down over her mouth.

“I admit I’m impressed,” he hissed. “Your spell broke through two force fields, a ultra-dense wall of crystals, a ward against sonic damage, and a sound-dampening abjuration, as well as my natural defenses.”

Still unable to speak, Adagio struggled to extricate herself from his grasp. How was he holding her so securely?! She’d broken out of his grip before! Forget that, how was he even still alive?!

“Now,” declared Lex, “it’s my turn.”

An instant later, a concussive wave slammed into her, sending her flying across the room as though she’d been launched out of a cannon. Hitting the far wall with such force that she sank almost five feet into the solid rock, the impact made Adagio’s vision swim for a moment, feeling like she’d just had a skyscraper dropped on her.

Nor was Lex done, his boney form rising up and pointing a claw at her. A blue light gathered at its tip, and Adagio had just enough time to realize that she couldn’t dodge whatever he was about to do when it lanced out in a beam wider than she was, hitting her with cold so profound that it stole her breath away.

But being infused with aristeia had given her resistance to extremes of temperature, among many other defenses, and despite the fact that she was already going numb, Adagio managed to tear an arm free of the ice that was already gathering around it, bringing it up to shield her face as she managed to gasp out another song.

Immediately, a wall of pure sound sprang up between herself and Lex. It wasn’t enough to stop the freezing onslaught – the vibration of the air being unable to interfere with the transmission of temperature – but the aristeia she’d imbued it with allowed it to ignore that restriction, bleeding off enough of the chill that Adagio was able to recover, pulling herself out of the impact crater Lex’s spell had thrown her into.

Which was when she saw that he was already recovering from the damage she’d inflicted on him with the Song of Destruction.

It wasn’t regeneration; or at least, it didn’t look like it. Instead, it was as though he was an image on a slide projector, and additional coverings for his muscles and skin and everything else were being layered on top of him. She could already see the parts of him that had been blown off fading – not regrowing but fading! – back into visibility. Even his clothes were being restored!

That shouldn’t have been possible. One of the deadliest things about the Song of Destruction was that it overcame regeneration. Vidrig, who’d been able to heal back from anything that wasn’t fire or acid, would have been slain by that spell. But now, Lex Legis had not only survived it, but was recovering...apparently without the use of magic.

Yet more proof that he had absorbed Kryonex’s godhood.

But that just means I need to hit him with that again! decided Adagio as she immediately began singing another spell. If I can rip that fragment of divinity out of Kryonex, I can do the same to this guy!

Singing the Song of Destruction a second time, Adagio poured more aristeia into it, silently vowing that this time she wouldn’t give him any time to recover before she tore his spine out!

He was already moving as she finished the last note, but while the wall of sound that she’d raised wouldn’t stop what she was about to unleash, Adagio knew it would at least slow him down somewhat. Sure enough, when he plunged into it a second later, Adagio saw him falter as the wall’s mixture of semi-solid frequencies slowed his movement. It was just enough to let her finish her spell before she could close the distance.

And at this range, I won’t miss!

A second later, she hit him with a second instance of the Song of Destruction.

Or at least, she should have...but somehow, Lex wasn’t there anymore. Instead, the only thing her spell hit was a fading outline of him – a literal afterimage, realized Adagio, her blood running cold – before the magic faded out just before it reached the far wall. But then where...?

Her question was answered as she heard the ghostly notes of a spell coming from behind her, barely noticing a flicker of green mixed with purple accompanying it.

But she didn’t have a chance to act on that knowledge before a claw grabbed the back of her head. “Bow down,” came Lex’s voice, the words carrying supernatural weight behind them, “and remain silent.”

Adagio’s voice choked in her throat, and as Lex’s grip left her, she could already feel herself sinking to her knees. But even as bent down to place her palms on the floor, she struggled with everything she had against the commands. She knew that as a Siren, her mind was naturally resistant to enchantments, but Lex’s magic was powerful enough that she could feel herself folding beneath it, unable to fight the pony who’d overcome a fragment of the divine through will alone.

That infuriated her, and she fought back with everything she had, filling her mind with memories of the frustration and humiliation that she’d endured on Earth. All of the men who’d thought they could possess her; having to play nice with an imperfectly-charmed thrall in order to keep from arousing their suspicions; the many times she’d been forced to lead her endlessly-complaining sisters to a new home because some villagers were growing suspicious of how the three of them never seemed to age. All of it and more, for more than a thousand years! And now, for the second time, she was being thwarted by a pony just as she was about to finally get what she’d always wanted!

Never again!

NEVER AGAIN!!!

Her eyes glowing red as she threw off Lex’s commands, Adagio twisted at the waist, rising into a crouch as she sang a spell of fury, throwing as much aristeia as she could into it.

Again, he was already moving as she cast her spell, dodging out of the way at incredible speed...but this time, she’d anticipated that, not having bothered to shape the sonic force of her spell. That diluted its power, the impact of it being heightened the more she contained it to a limited area, but by that same token it meant that Lex Legis had nowhere to run, and Adagio grinned viciously as it hit him hard enough to knock him off his claws.

She didn’t give him a chance to get up, immediately hitting him with another aristeia-infused wave of sound. This one was directed, and heard his pained grunt as she saw his batter him across the room.

He immediately started weaving another defense, layering another ward – this one a general protection against magic – onto himself as he sent another wave of utter cold toward her, angling it around the wall of sound she’d raised. But this time Adagio was ready for it, dodging past the beam, and although it clipped her side, she ignored the pain as she hit him with another aristeia-infused spell, the collision spinning him around and causing his attack to dissipate as he hit the floor, struggling to rise.

The sight of him having trouble getting up was what Adagio had been waiting for. Now I’ve got you!

This time, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the Song of Destruction.

Singing its notes, Adagio once again filled it with aristeia-

Only to find that she had none left to imbue it with.

The realization made her breath catch in her throat. No...! It can’t be!

I assure you, it can.

Lex’s voice in her head was enough to make Adagio choke. What...?!

You should learn to guard your thoughts more carefully, explained Lex coldly as he stood up, this time without any trouble. I’ve been listening to them ever since I sent Nenet away. And once I learned that your supply of aristeia was limited, it was easy to plant a suggestion in your mind that you should expend it profligately.

Her mouth going dry, Adagio took a step back, trying to figure out what was happening. He’d been reading her mind? But she’d almost killed him with the Song of Destruction-

Stalking toward her like a predator advancing on cornered prey, Lex’s voice in her mind gave a dark laugh. You should never put credence in anything your enemy says. It’s true that your spell injured me, but not as much as I led you to believe. I made you think otherwise so that you’d keep expending aristeia. And now, you’ve used it all.

Feeling her back hit a wall, Adagio tried to figure out how it had come to this. She’d been so close! After a millennium of exile, after being defeated by Twilight Sparkle, after being forced into servitude by Iliana, she’d finally been on the verge of being adored by everyone! And now-

“And now,” finished Lex, no longer bothering with telepathy as he advanced on her, already looking as though he’d never been injured in the first place, “your parade of failures has reached its conclusion.”

Clenching her fists, Adagio glared daggers at the stallion who’d ruined her dreams. “And now what? You think I’m going to bow down and call you master like Nenet? Or that I’ll giggle and offer to be your adorable little pet like my sisters? Or maybe you want me to play nice and make friends with everyone like that stupid little pony princess?”

“Now,” intoned Lex darkly, “you pay for your crimes.”

Straightening up, she tried very hard not to think about the talisman that was in the bottom drawer of her desk, barely five feet away, edging in that direction. “If you think-”

She didn’t get a chance to finish as temperature suddenly dropped by what must have been a hundred degrees, causing Adagio to gasp. Even if the sudden chill wasn’t enough to hurt her, it was still shocking. “What are you doing?!”

But Lex wasn’t looking at her, frowning as he faced toward what she knew was the front of the mountain. “This wasn’t me,” he answered at last.

For a moment, Adagio wasn’t sure what he meant. If the cold wasn’t his doing, then whose was it?

Then her eyes went wide, as a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature ran down her spine.

“Kryonex!”

Author's Note:

For all of her power, Adagio isn't prepared to face Lex, resulting in the titan's complete victory over her! But his conquest is short-lived, as the demigod she injured draws near!

In the face of an angry deity, what will Lex do now?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Figured that this would happen though I suppose it was obvious given the hints you wrote out plus the overall narrative. Though I had expected Lex to be more worn down by Adagio but given the circumstances, I could see why he was playing so defensively.

Still, given that their encounter was now interrupted, will these two work together where Adagio will inevitably try to betray Lex at the end or will the Siren make a break for it and run?

Though I doubt the one that interrupted them would allow the latter should they see her fleeing.

[Booster Spice]

Pity, that all in one shot at zero range in Kronexs ear, eye, back of neck might bee enough to take his head off, if that would affect anything, given she somehow took his shade down before?

Lex will have to use his mere fraction to Leech the rest of divinity from Ktyonex or set up a paracitical degradation strong enough not to be overwealmed by just teh passive bonuses Kronex has against such attacks?

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

So Lex can survive even being turned into a skeleton. I was wondering if his brain was his Weak point but not even can stop him now, sorta godhood is no joke.

Seeing that Sonata's attack hurt Kryonex and Him generating his own Aristeria I can see him using Adagio but the trust is not in there. Plus This shouldn't be him at full power seeing as he is not in his own domain. so let's see where this goes.

[Alzrius]

11690913 The interesting thing about this fight is that we got to see the key difference between Lex and Adagio, which is that large quantities of aristeia made Adagio more of what she already was, whereas Lex had become something altogether greater. Now, that's something of an oversimplification, because we know that Adagio does have versatility by way of spellcasting prowess, but wasn't able to access it due to no longer having any of her spellbooks available. So she was playing with a bit of a handicap here. Still, it's telling that she was ultimately using her voice as her weapon, whereas Lex had so much more.

Of course, that's something of a moot point now that the demigod Adagio was afraid of has stepped onto the field. At this point, the question becomes how the two of them will react to a greater threat, since it's unlikely that Kryonex will view Lex (being the recipient of the stolen divinity) as being any less culpable than Adagio. Given that, a team-up between the titan the Siren is a distinct possibility...though not necessarily a certainty.

[Alzrius]

11690981 It's unlikely that Kryonex would allow for any more of his godhood to be stolen so easily, considering that he's come this far looking for revenge for the bit that he lost (and, presumably, to recover it). As for taking more...well, don't forget that even though Lex mastered the fragment he had, it took the Night Mare herself to help him utilize it in a way that elevated his existence.

[Alzrius]

11691411 The Night Mare herself said that Lex was immortal now, so it's no surprise that damaging his body wouldn't kill him, or even incapacitate him all that much. Of course, it's not impossible for even gods to die, so you have to wonder if Lex is still vulnerable somehow...still, if he is, it doesn't seem to be a case of having any sort of physical failing.

As far as using Adagio to try and put the hurt on Kryonex, since she's done it before, goes...don't forget, she's out of aristeia now, which means that her strongest power is gone. How useful she'll be in a fight with a demigod now is likely to be highly suspect.