Master Of None

2078  2078. Somewhat Empty

"Come on, we were put here for a reason." Ventus had left them and began fighting with a terrifying foe. Remey and Barry knew that well, but Remey was still stunned. The royal dragons combating the corrupted undead dragon was not something that could just be ignored. The pressure from that battle had been great. Especially when multiple elder dragons had finally shown themselves from all the places they had been hiding. Even the fire dragons had pushed down their pride to hide high in the sky where the enemy would not notice them. This isn't the case, it had been a great showing when they had moved to defeat the corrupted undead dragon. Even when it had come at the cost that they had used all their mana and would be forced to rest for a significant time. It was a reason why they would not be able to be relied on later. Not that the elder dragons could venture in to the ruins with their royals dragons as the leaders. They lacked the ability to make themselves smaller through transforming in to the dragonkin form. This was a major drawback in their strengths right now. Regardless, they had played an imperative role. They had brought the very dragon that was dishonored by being brought back as a corrupted undead to rest. "It's silent here." Remey noticed the dramatic difference. She had expected this place to be teeming with corrupted undead monsters. So many that Barry would be going berserk to defeat them. Having to use all his power as the strongest human fighter there was currently. "That's because all those monsters dropped downm to that island. They are wreaking havoc so that the demon lord can control the situation. So he can do whatever it is he needs." Barry appeared to be much angrier than what Remey had realized. It wasn't that he hated the demon lord or the fact that he didn't want to be here. He would fight for the safety of others regardless of his situation. Right now, he was angry that the evil villain they had been fighting had been so shameless as to keep using pawns. To throw ast them the undead he had corrupted over and over just to ensure that he was left alone to grow his evil more. "We aren't alone though. This city is dripping with it." Barry could feel it on the edge of his mind. The corrupted mana oozing out of the ruined floating city around them. So much of it had been destroyed. The floating city was in ruins, but what remained intact was being more and more corrupted as it went on. Some higher stone buildings showed off runes that the angel race had carved generations ago. They had various uses that were not all being utilized. However, they showed large cracks around them. This was the stress of corrupted mana being forced through them. These runes were not made for the chaotic nature of corrupted mana. They had been made to maintain and grow this floating city alongside the angels that lived there. Because it was being abused right now, more structures were crumbling. Remey had even seen a few of the spires break apart just standing here now. "It's a sinking ship." Her anger sparked up while they walked through. Her words more of a statement than anything. The demon lord had greatly disrespected the culture of the angels. Their ruins had been left alone despite the battle between the two angel race factions. The two empires had the respect of their history between them. They would not lay a hand on this place because they cared for their ancestors. To disrespect that was like spitting on their entire history. Exactly what the demon lord had done. "To the left!" Remey jumped up and dealt a heavy punch downward. The shattering stone that cracked and groaned under her forces did not entirely crumble. Instead, it began rebuilding itself before the pair. Runes with cracks around them were very clear on this stone figure. It was more like a broken statue weathered by the elements. Seemingly depicting an angel that had once lived, this statue clearly had an important part in the city. Not that it was playing on any longer. The cracked runes on this body and the fact that it had attacked them meant that the role it once played was long gone. Now it was being used with corrupted mana to attack and defend this city from those who wished to liberate it. To put it back to rest. "Golem or magic. What a pain." Barry saw that Remey's punch had damaged the statue but it had repaired itself using the corrupted mana and the false death rune. His ax slashed down breaking it as well, only for it to begin rebuilding again. This time though, they had gotten a look at the embedded runes within. Runes that were focused around two carved stone beads. "It does have cores." Barry smirked as slashed again. This time he targeted the monster they had just seen. His ax cleaved through one while Remey jumped in to punched again. Her defense breaking fist cracking through the stone and breaking the second beard. "Great, golem like statues that want to kill us because they naturally defend this city. I would have thought they didn't survive." Remey growled out in frustration as she saw three more of them perched on the top of a nearly ruined building. They had just stepped off their pedestals. "Ignore them and move toward the large temple at the center. It's the only building that is nearly full. That has to be where the controller of all this is." Barry knew that they could sit here and fight these statues for hours. If not hours, days. The faster they moved the better. "Since the ruins are falling apart, it should be fine to use my flames a little." Remey knew that stopping the statues was not really an option. However, the ruins themselves were already damaged a lot. She also knew that when this coyote fell from the sky, that the damage would be immeasurable. This all meant that the angels knew this would be the case and that they would most likely not be claiming this city back. Instead, they wished to be put to rest. The corruption removed. The insult to their history removed by defeating the demon lord and the one causing this grave insult to their ancestors. 20:19 Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Barry raised his eyebrows as he saw a dragon like figure in flames appear around Remey. The flames reflected her nature as a dragon soul. As a being that could access the flames that only a greater dragon within the elemental plane of fire would be able to access. The heat from this fire was unique. It began burning the stone at every step that Remey took. She knew this would be the case and had not hesitated. While stone did not necessarily burn, it would be affected by what. Especially since it was so damaged from years of disrepair. The statues and the structures nearby were the same. The black marks that spread out due to the flames growing only proving that. Some walls began to break and crack even more. The statues that came too near suffered enough damage that a single swing of Barry's ax allowed them to fall, the following flames causing the small carved stone beads to shatter. This was how they boosted their speed. They charged through the city with one goal in mind. Reach the massive spire, the central temple where the past angels had lived and controlled their grand city. More bodies appeared though. Not corrupted undead monsters, but bodies of monsters that did not rise. The pair realized that the corrupted mana had not worked on everything. They had failed on some of the bodies due to the nature of the chaotic mana. Walker had somewhat theorized this, but had been unable to prove it. No one had been able to control the corrupted mana. Therefore, they had not been able to test these theories. But proof was just that. Proof. Knowing it though, did not help. It just pushed Barry and Remey to clean up this area even more. It also went as fuel to her flames. Destroying even more of the tarnished ruins that the elves would only weep over seeing again. When her flames stopped though, Barry wondered why. She had been using them a lot, but he had not grasped the cost of that mana. Remey needed mana saved to remain as she was. She was unique now. So, she did not allow too much mana to be used. Especially since she had just sensed the danger ahead. They had reached the large space surrounding the temple and spire. But they had also reached the pressure emanating from it.  …

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