A/N - Thank you, MilkTheShark, Dustin McClure, ManguKing, & MeepGod, for becoming God of Velmoryn's Patrons!
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"Praise be to the God of Velmoryn!" I shouted, raising my voice as much as I could. I wasn't trying to make a declaration of faith, I wanted attention. And I got it. Several heads turned, eyes locking onto me from across the battlefield.
I didn't have the power to win this fight as I was. Huanir wasn't coming. My blade couldn't pierce the chitin of the spider mutant, and I was nearly out of mana. The vessel's abilities weren't enough on their own.
So I reached for something that would guarantee victory.
The power I wasn't planning to use.
I raised my sword, angling it toward the sky. I didn't want a subtle execution, I wanted a show that would be remembered. It needed to be unmistakable, something they would whisper about later. Not a simple lightning strike, but a divine reckoning. A display of mercy delivered by a god.
They might try to crown me as an apostle after this… but I'll just deny it.
The sky distorted.
This was the first time I saw Destruction with my own eyes, not through the Window, not as raw feedback, but as an observer standing beneath its effect. The clouds twisted in silence as crimson light tore through the sky. A lance of energy split the heavens and fell toward the spider mutant like a spear cast from the hands of something ancient.
I realized too late how close I still was.
The moment the crimson glow engulfed the spider, I threw myself backward. The ground trembled. The air warped. The spider screamed, shrieking.
It wasn't rage or fear. It was pain.
Pure, crushing pain.
Its body began to collapse inward, bones and limbs compressing. Segments of the shell folded into themselves with unnatural torque. The joints didn't break, they reversed, twisting and rotating until the creature's mass compacted into a single sphere of black chitin, soaked and steaming in dark green fluid.
Then it dropped. A solid thud shook the ground as the crimson glow faded.
For a moment, the battlefield went still. The Velmoryns who had seen it froze, stunned by what they'd just witnessed.
Then someone shouted.
Others followed. The renewed cries of battle returned as the shock turned into momentum. Their blades moved faster. Their stances held firmer.
But I didn't care.
My focus was locked on the notification hanging in my divine realm.
[Warning: Destruction consumed 10 Divinity Points!]
Ten? Why ten?
The goddess's statue had only cost me two. A spider mutant was dangerous, yes, but it wasn't divine. So why had it taken five times more? It didn't make sense. It was just a beast. A monster. Not a relic. Not a god.
I exhaled, letting the breath of fresh air calm me down. There was nothing I could do now. What was spent was spent.
However, now I knew that I couldn't use that power again. Not without burning through my Divinity Points.
But I couldn't just stay idle - Huanir still needed help.
I looked around searching for a solution. Then my gaze landed on the spider mutant's remains. A grotesque mass of shell still dripping acidic green.
The spider mutant's outer shell was tougher than anything I'd seen so far, definitely much harder than my sword. If it were turned into a weapon, it'd be sharper. Sturdier. Deadlier.
The orb's surface shimmered.
Crimson light bled through the cracks in the chitin.
It began to rise.
The orb floated several inches off the ground, the glow intensifying with each second. Then, slowly, it began to change. The mass started to elongate, twist, reshape.
The first thing that formed was a hilt - dark green, almost obsidian in tone, jagged like raw volcanic glass. The blade followed. At first, it was a thin line of energy, then metal began to wrap around it, forming mass, weight, and shape. It grew in length and width until it was too large to be called a longsword. It was a greatsword.
And for the final touches, I decided to risk it.
I wasn't sure if the enhancement would even work in my hands - Hollow Core made all divine power pass through my vessel like wind through broken glass, but I still wanted to try.
The edges of the greatsword began to shimmer. Not with the deep crimson, but a sickly green mixed with dark red.
The glow pulsed once, then again, until a bright final flare blinded me.
Then it descended. Slowly, deliberately.
It hovered for a moment, then dropped in front of me, point down, half-embedded in the ground.
I stepped forward and grabbed it without hesitation.
Now this is how a sword should feel.
It didn't just sit comfortably in my hands - it fit. The balance, the weight, even the length… it felt like a weapon built around me.
Not only had Sylvan Heritage given me an instinctive understanding of how to wield a greatsword, but the blade itself felt responsive. Like it had been made not just for me, but from me.
[Warning: Creation consumed 5 Divinity Points.]
That made me pause, but only for a breath.
Could've been worse. The shield I can't even use cost the same. This sword is worth triple that.
I adjusted my grip, noting how the hilt curved just enough to fit my palm. The sword was slightly lighter than I expected for its size, but it didn't feel fragile. And most importantly, the glow along the blade's edges had still remained, even after I grabbed it.
That meant the enhancement was still active.
Hollow Core likely makes me immune to divine power, but that doesn't mean it cancels divine effects on items I'm wielding.
I realized that in the future, I could create truly powerful equipment for myself, but now, I didn't have time to waste on such thoughts.
Huanir was still fighting.
I charged forward, letting my body adjust to the new weapon with each stride. The angle of the grip, the drag of the blade tip through air, and even how much wrist tension I needed to keep it straight. I absorbed all of it on the move.
I did not have time to test it freely, I'd be using it on my foes right away.
I reached the fight just as one of the spider mutants lunged at Huanir from behind. He was still locked in motion, dodging the other one's attacks, completely unaware of the danger closing in. But even if he had noticed, there was nothing he could've done to stop it.
Realizing I was his only chance of survival, I kicked off the ground and hurled myself between them. The spider shifted its attention the moment I landed, its focus locking onto me instead. It leapt immediately, aiming to crush me beneath its weight, but I darted to the side just in time, far enough that it missed by a breath.
The ground shook as it landed, dirt and stone flying everywhere.
I didn't wait.
My hands tightened around the greatsword as I brought it down in a single, heavy arc. I could feel my shoulders tense as I forced every ounce of strength into the swing. Thanks to Sylvan Heritage, my footing and form were almost perfect, adding just enough weight behind the strike to matter.
The spider didn't even bother dodging. It raised a limb to block, fully convinced it could take the hit.
It was wrong.
The blade slammed into the limb with a jolt that shot through my hands. I felt skin split across my palms as the pressure pushed back, but the edge didn't stop. It cut clean through the creature's arm, and green blood exploded outward, spattering across my chest.
It reeked, the stench burning my eyes.
The spider shrieked, its body twitching from the pain, but I didn't slow down. I raised the sword again and lunged toward its leg, this time rotating my body with the swing to build momentum. I already knew I'd lose balance if the strike went through cleanly.
It did.
The sword tore through the joint, carving deep into chitin and muscle. I felt the resistance snap, heard the crack as the leg gave out beneath it.
The spider stumbled, but didn't fall.
I did.
My footing had been all but sacrificed for power. The moment the blade connected, my weight shifted with it, and I hit the ground hard, one knee digging into the ground. I instinctively let go of the sword to stop myself from faceplanting, catching my fall with both hands. I quickly checked the sword, which had landed a few steps away, as I winced from pain.
The raw, open wounds on my palms scraped against rough soil, and the burn was immediate. I clenched my teeth, groaning as grit pushed into torn skin. But there was no time to breathe.
The spider recovered faster than I expected.
It lunged again, this time not to strike, but to bite. Its massive jaws opened wide, already descending toward my head.
I looked up, eyes locking with its own.
Its fangs glistened, thick with saliva. I could almost feel its hunger, its certainty that I wouldn't get away this time.
Phantom Step.
Even as I sacrificed my footing, I knew the spider wouldn't die from that strike. I also knew it would try to retaliate the moment it had the chance.
But I still had two uses of Phantom Step left.
Shadows pulled me.
And when I reappeared, I was already beside my sword. The spider was just a few steps away, its massive form twisting around, clearly confused. Its prey had vanished right before the killing blow. It didn't know what had happened.
I didn't give it time to figure it out.
Kicking off the ground, I surged forward with everything I had. The spider's back was still turned, and it had no idea I was coming straight for its blind spot.
I closed in, targeting the leg on its weakened side, the one where it was already missing a limb.
I raised my greatsword and brought it down with full force, the edge slashing diagonally across the joint. The blade sliced clean through, the severed limb spasming on the ground like someone would reattach it.
The spider shrieked, a sharp, deafening sound of agony as it tried to turn toward me, legs scratching the ground.
But I wasn't finished.
I yanked the sword free from the dirt where it had embedded itself after the hit, pivoted, and struck again, this time aiming for its last remaining leg on my side.
The impact hit hard. I felt the satisfying crunch through the hilt, the vibration attacking my arms as the chitin cracked open.
The spider lost its footing and collapsed, crashing onto its side. It let out a screech, more desperate than before. Its limbs twitched wildly, uncontrolled, panicked.
Then it turned its head toward me, forcing its remaining legs to brace against the ground. Its eyes locked onto mine, hate burning behind them, primal and unveiled. It raised its head and spat, but I was already moving.
Without the weight of my shield slowing me down, dodging the projectile was easy.
It hissed and dragged itself forward, still trying to reach me, but I could see it was weakening. The bleeding was catching up with it now, the wounds on its body getting worse with each passing moment. Each movement was slower, less precise, and more desperate.
I stood still for a moment, watching.
I thought about finishing it off, ending things before it could crawl another inch.
But then I heard it.
A low, broken whimper.
I turned sharply, heart already sinking as I realized what was happening.
Huanir was hanging in front of the second spider, both shoulders pierced clean through by its limbs. The rest of his body didn't look much better. Rot clung to him like a curse, his skin split open in too many places to count.
I flinched, then kicked off the ground without thinking, trying to close the distance.
Even Phantom Step won't get me there, it's too far.
Anger hit first. Then sadness. Regret. But beneath it all sat a deeper, colder feeling - defeat. I was too slow.
The spider glanced at me, registering how fast I was closing in.
It didn't hesitate.
Its neck stretched forward, saliva-soaked fangs nearing Huanir's throat. It didn't bother to enjoy the kill, just wanted to finish it before I could interfere.
And then, just for a second, Huanir looked back at me.
I couldn't read his mind, nor did I have a divine bond with him.
But I didn't need one.
Because when I met his gaze, those crimson eyes, filled with blood and pain, I understood exactly what he was asking.
Save me.
**
A/N -
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