Return of the Runebound Professor Chapter 931: Full Merge

“What?” Noah asked, staring at the badge in confusion. “The hell kind of bullshit is this? I just went!”

“It’s been lit for a little while,” Lee said, her suspicious gaze lingering on the glowing badge. “I think you might have to take that pretty soon if you don’t want to get disqualified.”

Noah ground his teeth. “Damn it. Thanks for the catch, Lee. I definitely would have missed this.”

She gave him a nod. Noah snapped Grim closed. He’d been so damn close to making his Rank 6. But he couldn’t let himself get disqualified from the tournament before he’d found everyone. He’d just have to make it through one more round before he wrapped things up.

With his lips pressed thin, Noah reached down to the badge and grabbed it.

A flash of brilliant green light swallowed him.

Then the room was gone.

Noah found himself sitting upon the cold stone of the arena floor, the dimmed roar of the crowd echoing far above him. A woman stood on the far side of the arena, a metal mask covering the lower portion of her face. Two brilliant red eyes bore into him from beneath a long head of pitch-black hair that hung down to her armored shoulders.

Her features didn’t so much as twitch at Noah’s arrival. It didn’t seem like she was too impressed. There was confidence in her stance. She also didn’t seem to be armed with any sort of weapon. If anything, that concerned Noah more.

A sword was a lot easier to predict than some kind of mystery magic.

Pressing down annoyance, he uncrossed his legs and rose to his feet. He slung Grim over his back, then cracked his neck.

“And there we have it!” Baun’s voice echoed through the arena in its typical, booming roar. The mustached announcer was every bit as obnoxious as he always seemed to be… though there was a flicker of something new in his voice. He almost seemed off guard. “A return fighter has joined us in the arena! We’ve seen him put up a good fight once before, so let’s see how he does this time around!”

Foul play. Something is amiss. Be careful. If the need arises, I can aide you. But it would be ill advised for me to reveal too much of my strength here… and if this is a Rank 7, there will be little I can do to help in my current form.

Grim was being unusually helpful. And, if anything, that concerned Noah more than anything.

Noah cracked his neck. He could feel his new runes within his soul, ready and eager to be called on. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t feel the faintest amount of his opponent’s domain. His own domain was basically useless so long as he was unable to call on the Beyond—

Noah’s eyes widened slightly.

A faint grin pulled across his lips. He didn’t have to avoid calling on the Beyond anymore. He probably couldn’t afford to show off its full strength in front of all the Rank 8s watching… but he could definitely make a little slice in Aqua Terra’s miasma so he could get a feel of what he was up against.

Noah reached out to the Beyond, letting a sliver of pure white magic’s power wind through his body.

Vivian was drawing on a very considerable amount of self restraint to keep herself from letting out a slew of curses. She sat in the room with all the other Faction Heads, staring down at the fights unfolding in the arenas. But there was one arena in particular that Vivian was paying attention to.

And she wasn’t the only one.

“Isn’t that the one Vivian and Rake were fighting over?” Baress asked, letting out a rich laugh. “Called down again, so soon? Isn’t that the coincidence! It’s quite unfortunate for him, though. I suppose his loss is our gain!”

Vivian’s jaw ground. “Indeed it is. But the selections for fights are purely random. Nobody is safer than anyone else. I do not show favoritism, even to those whom I have interest in.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to go so far to prove this,” Baress said. She leaned forward in undisguised interest, her lips pulling up in a grin as she splayed her hands out across the table. “That poor lad is about to get slaughtered. His opponent is one of mine.”

“Is that so?” Rake asked, a note of curiosity in his voice. His head tilted ever so slightly to the side. “And what can you say of her?”

“She’s a brutal one,” Baress said with what could only be called a giggle. “Her name is Kali. She’s combined a fascinating rune that she calls Shadowflame. Her magic is incredibly sticky and hard to avoid, and she’s got a nasty personality to go with it. I’ve quite enjoyed watching her work.”

“What Rank is she?” Rake asked.

Baress’ grin grew wider still. “Oh, you’ll see. I’m afraid your Spider is about to get burned to a crisp, Vivian.”

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Vivian’s jaw clenched tighter still.

Noah released the Beyond.

A titanic wave of pressure slammed into him in an instant. It drove down his throat and bound his chest, strangling him violently. He stumbled, his breath catching as he desperately shoved the Beyond back into his soul. A violent ringing shook his head like he’d just been struck in the side of the skull.

Something wet trickled down his lips behind his mask. It felt warm.

Dread ran its icy fingers down the back of Noah’s neck. He swallowed. His throat felt dry and parched. The sheer magical energy that had met his curious probe was so immense that it had nearly knocked him out on the spot. The only reason he was still standing was because Aqua Terra’s anti-magic domain was him.

“Fuck,” Noah breathed. “She’s a Rank 7.”

Steady yourself. Now. Don’t treat this like your fight with Garina. It seems she’s releasing the full might of her domain. She’s not planning to go easy on you. Full merge. Immediately.

Noah released a slow, heavy breath. His skull was still pounding. Baun’s voice droned on overhead. He ignored it. All that mattered was his magic.

A countdown appeared in the air above them.

Ten seconds.

There wouldn’t be enough time to start a Formation when the fight begun. Noah didn’t get the idea that he was going to be able to talk his opponent into a defeat either. There was death in her eyes.

Even if he went all out… Noah wasn’t so sure on his chances. A Rank 7 going all out from the start… unless he managed to get her into his Mindspace, he was looking at a pretty decisive defeat. He doubted he’d be able to get close enough to use Sunder. Not before she tore him to pieces.

But he’d have to try.

The counter had already dropped down to only four seconds.

Noah drew on his magic. He let the Beyond swirl through him, pulling as much of the magic as he dared hold at once. He’d have to survive her first move. And until he knew what kind of magic she was using, he couldn’t rely on the Line to dodge it. There was too high of a chance that she used some area attack that hit the entire arena.

His best chance was to block it and try to counterattack while she was off balance.

The counter ticked down.

Three.

“What do you go by?” Noah called. If he could get her talking—

“Death,” came the ice-cold reply.

“Edgy,” Noah said. “Do your friends call you that too?”

The counter hit two.

The woman didn’t reply. Her gaze just lifted to the count above them.

One.

Noah gritted his teeth.

“Let’s get ready, everyone!” Baun called. “Two strong competitors with very different styles! Let’s see which one of them takes the prize!”

Zero.

The woman’s hand’s carved upward, clawed, as if she were trying to summon the dead up from beneath the earth. Noah didn’t even wait to see what her magic would do. He released the Beyond in a field all around him, thrusting it outward with all the force he could muster.

Brilliant white cracks cut through reality in every direction around him.

And then the world went black.

Noah’s eyes went wide.

A wave of crackling, oil-colored fire materialized from thin air all around him. It came from all sides, the heat so intense that his eyebrows had burned away before it had even gotten closer to him. Every scrap of oxygen in the air burned away with an instant.

And then the flame slammed into the Beyond.

A searing scream ripped through the arena. The massive wave of magic crumbled, torn to shreds, letting faint flickers of light cut through the sea of darkness that had surrounded Noah.

And then the flame returned.

The Beyond vanished within it, but more hungry fire replaced what had evaporated within an instant. Noah hadn’t done anything more than buy himself a few brief instants.

The flame closed in on him.

Noah grabbed for the Line.

Then the fire slammed home.

It slammed into the spot he’d been standing with enough heat and force to incinerate anything foolish enough to dare stand within its presence.

Noah stumbled as he landed on the other side of the arena, pain searing through his being. He hadn’t been fast enough. Thick strands of oily black flame clung to his limbs. His robes had miraculously resisted their intense heat, but he could feel his flesh bubbling beneath the cloth.

He desperately reached for Abyssal Durge, drinking an enormous amount of power from the rune and calling it into being. Magic swirled through the air and deep blue water splashed across his entire body. The flame stubbornly resisted his magic for nearly a second before it quenched, sputtering out with a reluctant hiss.

Noah gritted his teeth, his gaze snapping back over to his opponent.

Her blood-red eyes were affixed on him — but the look in them had changed. The death was still there… but it had mixed with excitement.

“You’re stronger than the other ones so far,” the woman said, her tone cruel and sneering. “I haven’t gone up against anyone who survived my first attack yet. You should be fun. I am known as Kali.”

Noah gritted his teeth. He was pretty sure his arm had literally been burnt down to the bone. He could barely even feel his right hand anymore. It wasn’t even bleeding. Kali’s magic had instantly cauterized the wound. He had an equally bad burn on his left side and right foot.

Grim didn’t reply. It seemed that his book didn’t have much of an answer.

Noah’s mind spun, desperately hunting for a solution. Another hit like the one he’d just taken had a very good chance of taking him down on the spot. He couldn’t let that happen.

He’d come so far to get fucked over because he’d gotten screwed midway through trying to create—

Leave.

Noah’s back went stiff.

That hadn’t been Grim’s voice.

It had been his own.

“Scared?” Kali asked. Disappointment cut through her features. She raised her hands. Black flame coiled down her arms and rose up behind her in two massive black wings. “Paralyzed by pain? I had been hoping for an interesting fight. At least try to squirm a little more for me. You asked my name, but it seems that I won’t have to worry about getting yours.”

You aren’t needed here. Go finish what you started.

Noah didn’t have time to reply.

He just closed his eyes.

Kali thrust her hands forward.

A wall of black fire tore through the air with a screaming howl. It hit the ground a dozen feet from Noah and broke, exploding out in every direction to come crashing down upon him once more, the fist of a furious god closing around a disbeliever.

Noah’s eyes snapped back open.

The air around him thrummed. A discordant note warbled. Oily red tendrils of magic swirled out from Noah. They twisted into a thick, rippling bulb around him. Pitch black fire slammed down upon the murky red.

Ripples exploded through the barrier. It shuddered beneath the force of the flame, cracks arcing through its surface. The fire bore down heavier still. More and more cracks cut through the barrier. It bent and buckled. The red light faded. But even as it did, thin red tendrils wormed into the black fire.

Those tendrils spread their reach until they had wound into every scrap of the flame hungrily trying to consume Noah.

The barrier shattered.

But, before the black fire could claim its prize — it vanished.

Every scrap of the molten power crumbled away. It fell to the ground around Noah in a dull reddish-gray rain, swirling around his feet and coiling around his fingertips. Not so much as a lick of it had touched his skin. A musical hum filled the air around him. It carried magic within its song. Not just Noah’s magic, but remnants of Kali’s as well.

A flicker of surprise passed through the red-eyed woman’s features eyes.

“Full Merge,” Kali observed. Her eyes narrowed. “You—”

“Spider.” A discordant mix of two, whispering voices crawled through the air from Noah’s lips. “For what time you have remaining, you may know of me as Spider.”