Chapter: 659 – To the Core

Tala’s eyes were locked onto the Pillar of the House of the Frost Lance as she opened her mouth and created a portal. The pressure and magics involved acted so quickly that barely a blink of time passed before the lance of dissolution magic was tearing through the space that separated them.

Even so, this Pillar was old, his battle senses honed, and his magics well practiced.

The power that he’d been gathering pulled together, forming an oddly clear wall of ice more than a foot thick.

The dissolution slammed into it, the containment magics around it shattering at the contact. Even still, Tala found herself surprised as both the dissolution—and the fire it inevitably created—were held back.

“Your ancestors tried those magics against me, girl, and they had no better luck than you will.” His voice reached her through some trick of power she didn’t bother to analyze. “Though, I will admit that is a novel method of delivery. You do those ancient savages proud. I’ll give you that.”

Huh, this might actually be a bit of a challenge.

Tala contemplated for a brief, frozen instant.

At this point, she could have flickered forward and likely killed the enemy Pillar with Flow, but she was mindful of the show she was trying to put on. Well aware of the projection orb following in her wake, showing all she did to any who cared to observe from the outside of the hold. It wouldn’t have sound, but the visuals should be more than sufficient.

With an internal sigh, she cut off her less-than-effective breath weapon and opened a series of portals—one after another—sending dense projectiles cracking across the distance between them.

The icy explosions of the siege orbs would have been useless, and they might have even empowered the Pillar if she’d used them in that way. So, she was left with mostly kinetic projectiles. Still, that should be sufficient.

She was surprised yet again by this Pillar as his shield held up against the first three impacts, though it splintered so extensively that she only caught the barest glimpse of his widening eyes before the view was completely obscured.

The fourth projectile obliterated the shield and slammed into a barrier of force projected by the man’s Regalia, sending the tungsten ball ricochetting off to shatter the ceiling above, sending down a cascade of rubble that was shunted around the man, again by the magic within his armor.

That sphere might be back.

-Not in a useful manner… It hit the top of the hold. It’ll come, but with negligible speed.-

…Right. Hold fighting has that limitation.

The authority which was practically the bedrock in this hold flexed, and the ice walls around them shot spikes forward.

Tala had a momentary flare of concern for Lea as this wasn’t something Terry could quickly counter. She almost cursed her own hubris in bringing the girl, but the Pillar was apparently of a more traditional cast than his Eskau had been.

He wasn’t willing to fight down.

As such, Tala wasn’t forced to pull Lea into her sanctum, or otherwise protect the girl. The spikes aimed for Tala alone.

Each one extended like it was a growing, living thing, but at speeds rivaling arrows loosed from a bow. The totality of them were filled with power to strengthen, sharpen, and empower them in their deadly purpose.

Tala felt the attack coming—containing a quantity of power she’d never experienced in an arcane working—and smiled.

She would have laughed, but there really wasn’t time.

Without Lea being in danger, this attack was meaningless.

The spikes slammed home… shattering against Tala’s Reforged body like so much dust kicked up by a particularly strong wind. To an outside perspective, the ice didn’t even harm her clothing, but that was because her clothing was her. Not that such was obvious to others.

She wouldn’t say that weathering the attack was pleasant, and the ice shards and shavings got everywhere, but it didn’t damage her meaningfully.

Among all the noise, she projected her voice to Lea. “Go, face those you can, use this to practice. Be honorable, be safe.”

The girl nodded, turning and rushing down a side hall, Terry on her shoulder and Sole’s sword—now hers—firmly gripped in her hand.

The projection wouldn’t follow Lea’s activities, but as she disappeared, Tala was grateful to see that her perception would allow Alat to follow the girl. If she got into trouble—and Terry wasn’t enough to handle it—Tala should be able to interfere in time.

Though, in truth, if there was anyone here that Terry couldn’t handle, their intel on this House’s presence in the city was radically flawed.

As soon as Lea was gone, a wave of cold rolled down the hall, freezing the fragments back together and ostensibly locking Tala in place.

Ah, it wasn’t a failed attack. It was a disguised, controlling strike.

-I imagine he’d have been quite happy if it pierced you full of holes.-

That’s… fair.

His voice reached her through another application of the same magics. “Hah! Not so arrogant now, are you? Blood Hound. You aren’t worth the attention clearly lavished on you, slave.”

Excuse me?

Tala tilted her head to the side unsure if she’d heard him correctly, the motion shattering the ice that was surrounding her neck with ease.

The man hesitated at that, seeming surprised. Tala projected her voice through her aura, keeping the tone to barely above a whisper, even though she filled the space with the sound. “What did you call me?”

The man straightened within his armor. “A blood hound, nothing but a dog of the House of Blood. A slave. Your gate would have been put to better use in a farming hold, feeding the citizens of this city.”

Tala rolled her shoulders back, causing the ice to crack and splinter in a manner that reminded her of Lupe’s glass, and that made her smile. “You are mistaken.”

She almost used ‘Crush’ on the man, but not only was he more powerful than the first Pillar, but his Regalia’s defenses would make that all but impossible.

She had felt the iron on his armor and considered claiming it, but it was already very closely held by the vestiges in a manner that she hadn’t seen in magical items before, though she had only seen gated created items with iron in them, and they didn’t incorporate souls into their construction.

She could probably overcome their claim on the material, but it would cause the vestiges the equivalent of pain, and she wanted to free them, not hurt them further.

Still, the armor was the key.

Stone- and starward, her reality iron chains were not quite far reaching enough to encapsulate the man, but that didn’t matter overmuch. The City Lord had just recently shown her a very clear example of authority made manifest.

Now, she couldn’t do that herself, not really, but she could do the equivalent.

A blade of iron swept forward, only crossing into the superficial through a very short section of dimensionality.

The Pillar grunted in surprise and pain, even as his right arm—and the armor and vestige attached thereto—slid free of his body.

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Before he could do more than utter that grunt, Tala pulled that arm stoneward… but found it resisting, the authority in the hold—new as it was—helping the magics involved work against her will.

No matter, she had separated it from him. She didn’t need to claim it and free it yet.

Blood had barely begun to flow from the fresh wound before it froze over. In the same instant, the magic around her flexed, and the cracked and breaking coating of ice encapsulating her tried to compress, suddenly pressing closer in places while pulling back in others to create a maelstrom of icy blades to tear at her being.

The cold inherent in the attack actually did make her more brittle and vulnerable to the blades, and they were wickedly sharp to begin with.

As such, the ice was briefly tinted red as dozens of minor cuts sprung up across her all at once, all barely enough to breach her upper layers of skin.

It was the equivalent of getting thousands of papercuts all at the same time. It stung, but it didn’t really matter.

Yeah… that rusting hurt, but it won’t stop me. It did tick her off, however.

The next moment, Tala pulled her blood back through the already closing wounds, returning the ice to its mostly clear state.