878 - The Quill is Mightier
Lex’s spell swept over the battlefield and beyond, leaving nothing untouched. Himself, Kryonex, the undead, the valley, the mountains, the network of tunnels where Nenet and the others were. All of them were affected.
But to an outside observer, there was only a single change that happened as a result of his spell, one difference that his magic had made:
The massive portal to the Negative Energy Plane was now closed, shuttered under the dimensional lock that he’d cast.
It was the thaumaturgical equivalent of the curse he’d used to keep anyone from teleporting in or out of where Nenet was keeping Adagio. He’d prepared it purely as a redundancy, wanting to have multiple options at his disposal for suppressing teleportation and planar movement. As it was, the only reason he’d elected to use a curse to protect Nenet’s position, rather than casting this spell, was because of his natural aversion to using a limited resource where an unlimited one would suffice. Using a spell where a curse would do would have been wasteful, since the physiological strength that his horn drew upon was now limitless.
It was a predilection that had served him well, since he’d found out shortly thereafter that he wouldn’t be able to use curses during this fight.
But now he wasn’t the only one operating with a handicap, since – if his spell held – Kryonex wouldn’t be able to keep using planar gateways to his advantage.
Something which the demigod himself seemed to already be aware of.
“To overturn my power for the second time,” rumbled Kryonex, his blue eyes having darkened almost to black as he look at where the ebony gateway had hung. “As I thought, you’re no mere titan.”
The animal within Lex wanted to gloat, to flaunt his power in front of his enemy and drink in his despair. But he pushed that urge away, knowing that he had to take advantage of this opportunity while he still could.
The dimensional lock that he’d cast would last for weeks on its own, but the armor that his tulpa had brought forth would only be able to sustain itself for a little over a minute.
Fortunately, that was all Lex needed.
Putting the speed he’d gained as part of his ascension to good use, Lex immediately zipped across the battlefield, cutting through the atmosphere so quickly that he left trails of fire behind him as he hurled himself at the nearest group of undead.
Kryonex met him before he’d gotten halfway to them.
Immediately, Lex found himself facing another storm of blows, fending off the demigod’s furious assault as he put everything into defending himself and reactivating his wards against cold each time they crumbled. But unlike before, the damage caused by the demigod’s strikes was almost immediately repaired by the Armor of the Renewing Light, its glow undiminished as it healed him.
Nor could the multitudes of undead drown out the light as they threw themselves at it.
Like moths drawn to flame – or ghouls drawn to living ponies – the creatures continued to hurl themselves at him, despite how each of their brethren died without exception before they ever reached him. Burnt corpses, translucent specters, headless bodies, inky wraiths, and so many others all threw themselves at him in a mad, howling frenzy.
Singly and in groups, the light consumed them all.
It was like what had happened when he’d used his tulpa’s power against Sanguine Disposition, but a thousand times more potent. A few lasted longer than others, coming at times to within inches of him, but none of them made it. Nor did Kryonex try and dissuade them, the demigod instead trying to wear him down underneath a mad rush of strikes.
No, corrected Lex as he twisted away from two legs closing in on him from either side, ducking beneath a third, and blocking a fourth with Belligerence. It’s not me he’s trying to cut down. It’s my armor.
Even as he thought that, the single spike on the end of one of Kryonex’s legs drew a large gash across Lex’s chest, the gold of his armor immediately parting under the assault. A second hit tore away the armor on his right foreleg, ripping it open from pauldron to gauntlet. An attempt to shred where it covered his torso was fended off, as was an immediate follow-up directed toward his tail. But he wasn’t able to completely block a fifth strike, jerking his head back in time to minimize a scratch to his face, leaving the right side of his helmet damaged, the jewels covering his eye scattered across the ground.
But the light shed by the armor didn’t so much as flicker.
And as the undead continued to destroy themselves in their futile efforts to reach him, Lex put the second part of his plan into motion, again channeling as much power as his immortal body could handle.
A moment later, the runes on Belligerence began to glow with a dim purple light as he forced that energy into the quill.
When Kryonex’s next leg swung out at him, Lex abandoned his defensive posture, a guttural snarl escaping his lips as he instead stepped inside his enemy’s swing – letting his mystical senses guide him, since it was too fast even for his eyes to see – and stabbed upward.
Belligerence’s barbed head struck the edge of the demigod’s metatarsus, and the impact was enough that Lex felt it rattle his bones, grinding his teeth as he pushed forward in the split-second that the quill made contact, driving it hard against Kryonex’s exoskeleton.
For the briefest instant, nothing happened.
Then, with a sound like a thousand glaciers being split in half, the outer covering of the demigod’s leg cracked, and Belligerence sank into – and then straight through – his leg.
Hissing, his eyes somehow managing to turn even darker, Kryonex threw himself backward, wrenching Belligerence out of Lex’s grasp as he moved to the other end of the valley.
Lex made no move to follow, instead summoning the quill back into his grip as the undead continued to commit suicide. Shrieks and howls filled the air as the furious cadavers and their spectral counterparts rushed him in vein, almost as if they desperately sought out the oblivion that his armor offered, crawling over and flying past each other in a frenzy to reach him.
Finally, after what seemed like an interminable time even though Lex knew that it was only a matter of seconds, the last of the undead was gone.
Silence fell over the valley then, the quiet broken only by the low whistle of the wind and the quiet patter of sleet on the ground, the blizzard surrounding Kryonex still barely kept in check by Lex’s influence.
Finally having a free moment, Lex glanced at Belligerence. The quill’s runes were still glowing, but far less brightly now, as though simply penetrating the demigod’s defenses had taken a significant amount of the power he’d imbued it with. Silently, he willed more into it, and watched as they brightened in response.
But he also felt an inward strain this time, the multiple expenditures beginning to catch up with him.
He hadn’t tried overloading Belligerence like this before because of the undead, knowing that if he’d wounded Kryonex before they were eliminated, his foe would have changed tactics. Instead of interrupting his spellcasting, the demigod would doubtlessly have attempted to maneuver him into using the quill against the undead after charging it, wasting the imbued power on those weak creatures.
That was no longer a concern, however. And judging by the fact that Kryonex hadn’t attempted to open another gateway, his ward against planar travel was still working. Even more fortuitous, the armor’s influence hadn’t ended with the last of the undead being destroyed; a quick glance around showed that the negative energy saturating the area was beginning to diminish, the positive energy his armor was radiating washing it away to the point where it wouldn’t overly impede the healing spells the Night Mare had given him.
All of which meant that at last, he was able to fight on even terms with his enemy.
But first, there was one other thing which needed to be done. Nenet, what’s your situation?
M-Master! We’re doing alright! Please don’t worry- Her message cut off abruptly as Lex registered the sudden spike of panic his foresight had detected come to pass. Fortunately, it ended just as quickly, leaving a flustered state of nervous relief coming across their bond. I promise, everything’s under control! You don’t have to burden yourself checking on me!
He weighed that for just a moment, before deciding that he had little choice but to trust in her assurances. He knew that some of the undead were still in there with her, but right now he had to focus on the enemy in front of him; to do otherwise would likely cost him the advantages that he’d worked so hard to gain.
Which right now meant allowing the Armor of the Renewing Light to finish healing him before he engaged with Kryonex again.
Now that he’d leveled the field, whatever had been prompting the demigod to hold back would likely not apply anymore.
But to his surprise, Kryonex’s next move wasn’t to attack, but to talk.
“It occurs to me,” pronounced the monstrous spider whose form the ice deity wore, “that you have yet to introduce yourself.”
Lex frowned inwardly, trying to determine what Kryonex’s angle was, but he never considered snubbing the request for his name. The beast within was growing progressively more agitated at how it kept being denied, and would not be refused the opportunity to show off now. “I am Lex Legis,” he declared, standing upright as he grasped Belligerence in one claw, tail thrashing behind him. “I have slain dragons, founded kingdoms, created magic from nothing, trafficked with gods, and clawed my way from the grasp of death into the embrace of immortality.”
Slowly, he turned Belligerence around, pointing its head toward his enemy. “That is the power that you’ve dared to challenge.”
Kryonex gave a low chuckle, his eyes lightening just a little. “Indeed. Perhaps I was hasty in my initial assessment of you. Tell me, are you that singing slattern’s keeper?”
A rush of possessiveness ran through Lex at the thought of Adagio, the overwhelming desire he’d felt for her suddenly flaring up in him for some reason. “She belongs to me, and I won’t turn her over.”
But again, Kryonex surprised him. “I wouldn’t ask you to. On the contrary, I’m truly impressed at what the two of you have accomplished. To not only steal a fragment of a god’s power, but then use it to elevate a mortal, is the stuff of legends. By any measure, you’re both to be commended.”
Lex’s lip curled at the praise. “Your actions speak louder than your flattery.”
“As I said, I suspect now that I judged you in haste,” repeated Kryonex. “Which is why I’m curious as to why your concubine saw fit to attack me. To my knowledge, I have done nothing to warrant such aggression from her, yourself, or the Night Mare whom you serve. Why then was my realm invaded, and my servitors slain? Why was part of my essence stolen, and my efforts to recover it fought against?”
From the gap in his helmet, Lex’s one visible eye flashed, glowing green and purple as the gems still covering his other eye lit up, reflecting the light beneath them. “As I told you before, the tenure of your divinity has been one of corruption and malfeasance, and that alone makes you unworthy of possessing it. All of the lives you sacrificed just to gain an advantage in this battle is testament to that.”
“It was you, not I, who slew them.”
“You put innocent creatures, who gave you no prayers and no fealty, onto a battlefield!” snarled Lex. “You have no right to say that you bear no responsibility for what happened to them, especially after you saw fit to defile them after they died!”
“Which is all the more reason for us to end this conflict now, before more bystanders are made to suffer for our war.” Kryonex’s comment wasn’t idle, his eyes glancing toward the cavern entrance where Nenet and the others were.
Lex bristled at the threat, his grip on Belligerence tightening. “You won’t hurt them. I won’t let you.”
“I have no desire to, which is why I have a proposition for you.”
“I’m not interested.”
His refusal prompted another chuckle. “You claim to have founded kingdoms. Surely diplomacy is not a concept you find foreign?”
Lex’s eyes flared brighter, but he slowly lowered Belligerence. “Fine. Speak.”
“I cannot leave here without recovering what I have lost, and you are intent on not only keeping what you have gained, but protecting the one who gave it to you. I propose that these are not mutually exclusive goals.”
Lex was already shaking his head. “No.”
“We can work together,” insisted Kryonex. “Pledge fealty to me, and I will forgive all of the hostilities that I have been subjected to. I will exalt you in my religion, welcome you in my realm, and forsake all retribution toward that wench who wounded me.”
“Absolutely not,” swore Lex, clenching his left foreleg, feeling the barbed wire surrounding his skin. “I will never abandon the Night Mare. Not for you. Not for anyone.”
“Then worship me alongside her,” pressed Kryonex. “You would hardly be the first to practice a syncretic faith.”
“Worship you?” Sneering, Lex spat on the ground, his inner beast screeching at the idea of what it saw as capitulating to an enemy. “You’re not worthy of my veneration, and even less worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the Night Mare. She is a goddess deserving of the name, while you’re the cosmic afterbirth among a collection of wretched strays that barely warrants being called a pantheon. It’s an insult to think that I’d ever want to be associated with trash like you.”
Kryonex shifted in place slightly, and Lex tensed, eager for the consequences of his antagonism. “So there’s to be no reconciliation between us then.”
Under what was left of his helmet, Lex smiled. “No. This will only end when one of us retreats...”
Sinking into a crouch, he held Belligerence at the ready. “...or dies.”
Then he rushed forward.
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I wonder if Adagio has realised the situation and is now working with Nenet on a, Counter, to Kryonex, instead of Aristea, if Nenet cant reflex any back either by herselfs acended powers or by anything Lex can throw her way?
Big bosses tend to be even harder to hit from the far weaker insides than the armoured outside though getting through the breath weapon etc?
Spiders also dont have ears?
And thus negotiation breaks down once again but this is one that I'm quite happy with falling apart. However, I wonder if Kyronex knew it wouldn't work and was simply using the brief pause to buy time. If this was the case, then buying time for what?
Regardless, if Lex manages to drive Kyronex off or even slay the demigod then more eyes will undoubtedly fall upon him though for good or ill, is yet to be seen. A part of me hopes that Lex can slay Kyronex since if the demigod retreats, he will undoubtedly scheme to get back at Lex while licking his wounds. Though slaying a demigod, while possible, especially for a titan like Lex, will still not be an easy task to accomplish.
Apart from the undead and the portal to the negative plain all his attacks has been physical in someway. Is him speaking buying time for something? At least Lex has the sense to attack without wasting time.
11726524 The fact that Kryonex has been holding back so much does seem odd, doesn't it? There's doubtlessly some reason behind it, and it makes his sudden desire to negotiate seem suspicious also. If it is hiding something sinister, then at least Lex didn't seem to be taken in by the demigod's desire to talk things out, and is willing to go on the attack now that things are more favorable for him.
11725826 Adagio is no doubt still trying to work her own angle, though whether or not she'll get the chance is something else again. Still, if things get bad enough with the undead who're menacing them (since they weren't there to be destroyed by the Armor of the Renewing Light), Nenet and Mei Li might have no choice but to let her out.
What happens then is anyone's guess, especially since Adagio still has a trump card she's holding in reserve.
11725887 Kryonex's sudden desire to try and talk things out is definitely odd; was it because he saw how Lex managed to turn things around, or was it because he was working some hidden angle? Either way, it's a moot point now, as Lex made it quite clear he has no intention of breaking off hostilities. Although now he has to make good on that.
Of course, if Lex can actually slay Kryonex, that will be a huge blow. Even the pony pantheon seems to think the best he can do is drive the demigod off, and most of them seem to be dubious that he can accomplish even then, so if Lex upends their expectations, that will be a huge upset in his favor...albeit one that might come back to haunt him later. Declaring yourself that loudly on the interplanar stage is likely to have some serious repercussions down the line.
But that's only if he can do something so grandiose.
Whew! finally made it to the latest chapter. I must say that this story has cost me many a working hour trying to get here but I am happy I did. I am thoroughly enjoying this story and have an irrational love for this cast (no I don't just love the Dazzlings, shut up!) Thank you for your hard work and I literally can't wait for more!
11727496 Your comment made my day. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're enjoying this story so much! I hope that you'll continue to follow along as future chapters unfold!