Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 181: Arrogance

Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 181: Arrogance

Chapter 181: Arrogance
Celeste.
That singular name nearly broke John. Hours upon hours of theorycrafting, broken to bits.
So many questions had arisen because of Sofya. What did Diaboli want? What was her goal? Why did she keep spreading [Deus Ex Machina] energy? It simply didn’t make sense.
To begin with, Diaboli had a substantial amount of [Deus Ex Machina] energy, enough that she actually bore some of John’s memories. More than that, she had enough power to take over the world. There was nobody in this [Story] who could contest her.
Yet, she hadn’t done so.
Next, Doctor’s research. Making slaves wasn’t really a necessity, but it seemed that the [Deus Ex Machina] had been utilized to do research regarding souls. Still, John didn’t know what souls were needed for.
But John had learned that Doctor knew about Soul Steal. He wanted it. Why? And why did Diaboli want Prota?
Sofya had all but confirmed that theory. It was an incredibly roundabout way of doing it, but had Prota been replaced with Sofya’s daughter, Diaboli would’ve had access to Prota’s body. John suspected, then, that it was Prota’s power Diaboli was after.
But why did Diaboli need that kind of power?
And who was Prota?
But now that Celeste was involved, all of these questions lost validity. If it wasn’t Diaboli who’d given the energy to Sofya, but Celeste, then it wasn’t Diaboli who wanted Prota’s body. It might’ve been that Prota’s body wasn’t wanted by anybody.
But then why Sofya? Why give her the energy? What was the point?
It didn’t make sense.
Every [Arc], John had slowly been growing closer to the conclusion of this world. To the conclusion of this [Story].
Each battle had been a piece of a puzzle that was slowly taking shape.
Diaboli. She was behind everything. Each challenge had merely been another stepping stone to get just a bit closer to her. But the closer John got, the more he realized that he didn’t know what Diaboli wanted.
Technically, there was no need for him to know what her motive was. But knowledge was something John craved. It was what made up his existence. Without the ability to see the world as a [Story], he was nothing.
An [Character] like Diaboli needed something to drive her. Without that goal, the [Story] was incomplete.
But if an entirely different variable was being introduced, that changed everything.
John could feel his mind breaking under the weight of the implications.
“John,” he heard in his mind. “Keep going. You can’t stop here.”
Zero’s voice snapped John out of his trance. Right, there were tons of possibilities. Diaboli could’ve disguised herself. Chen So could be lying. Saying Celeste gave it to him could be metaphorical.
“Thanks, Zero,” he muttered under his breath.
“Any other questions?” Chen So said, seemingly calm.
Well, that made sense. He had no reason to be afraid. In his mind, he was a Mystic, and before him was a mortal. To the prince, there was no realm in which John was capable of victory.
“Yeah,” John said quietly. “When you say Celeste, do you mean she literally came and gave it to you?”
“...no. I had a dream. A vision. Celeste told me she was giving me the power to grow strong. She was giving me the power to rule and escape the fate clearly set out before us. All I had to do was deliver a strange orb to Sofya Ohrein, and I would be given equal power in return. When I woke up, there was a letter alongside the promised orb. If that was the case… who else could it have been?”
John nodded slowly. It could be anyone. But the fact that Chen So believed it was Celeste…
He’d have to file that away for later.
Now, it seemed there was no more information to gather. The [Plot], for all his theory crafting, was rather simple.
Chen So was a patriot of sorts. He did seem to care for his clan in a twisted sense. His ideals stemmed from his clan being weak, not himself. Whether this was born of an inferiority complex or true patriotism, John didn’t know, nor did he care.
All he needed to know was that, once again, the cultists weren’t involved.
It seemed that the [Plot] was trying to slowly deviate from cultists. They’d shown up at Scholaris, leading John to believe they’d been part of the original [Plot], but now that he was involved…
Well, it didn’t matter now. He could theorize about all that later.
“I see you’ve resolved yourself,” Chen So smiled, standing up.
With a flash, he withdrew a long, thin sword, straight and double-edged. Cherry petals began to fall, despite there being no tree in the room. John clenched his teeth, standing up. Illusion magic. Great. One of his biggest weaknesses, and he was alone in this fight.
Swords equipped in both hands, his left eye began to glow.
“...are you truly manaless?” Chen So frowned.
“I’ll answer that if you answer one of my questions.”
“Very well.”
“What does your new power give you? I’ve met a few people like you,” John said casually. “They all had something going for them. For one of them, it was control. For another, it was desire. What’s your schtick?”
“...what do you mean?” Chen So frowned. “I simply received power.”
John felt his heart skip a beat.
“Shit,” he muttered.
[Power]. While this could definitely take other forms, it seemed that what Chen So wanted the most was power in its most literal sense. He had a desire to be stronger. Again, this could stem from wanting to control his fellow Ninetails, or it could stem from the desire to simply be something better.
But ultimately, the thing at the forefront of the prince’s mind was power.
And that meant that John had to deal with such a [Deus Ex Machina] ability on top of a Mystic. He sighed. Wonderful. Yet another losing fight.
“Seriously, give me a break,” he muttered, taking a stance.
“So you choose to fight. What do you hope to accomplish? Do you seek to free your companion?” Chen So laughed. “You don’t even stand on the same level as her. Your existence is meaningless before her. You are but an ant compared to us, a being so infinitesimally small that your life means nothing to beings such as we. What could you possibly hope to accomplish?”
[Determination activates! New limit: x5000]
“I don’t stand on the same level?”
John dropped his swords, and they hovered next to him, waiting for him to pick them back up.
“You’re right. I do. But not in the way you think.”
His scarf fluttered in the faint breeze caused by the prince’s illusion.
“It’s your decisions that don’t matter to me. Your little argument with other Mystics. Your desire for power. I don’t give a shit. I just want the power that’s inside of you. It doesn’t belong to you.”
At that, Chen So displayed his first sign of irritation.
“Oh? Then, pray tell, who does it belong to?”
Slowly, John wrapped his scarf around his mouth and lifted his hood, covering his face. A single red light shone out from the shadows.
“Me.”
~~~
“Prota, I don’t know how much longer we can hold out for.”
Elder Kang Loy still had yet to display any signs of weakness. Worst of all, however, he was still holding back. Neither Destiny nor Prota were sure why this was, but he hadn’t displayed the variety of spells he’d shown them while training them.
Most importantly, he had yet to activate his domain. While the children’s mana reinforcement was now strong enough to withstand it, they wouldn’t be able to do much else.
It wasn’t like any of that really mattered, though. Ever since he’d absorbed the white flame, he’d become faster, stronger, and far more dangerous than before. His spells were beginning to break through the children’s mana reinforcement, and they were no longer injuring him.
Thankfully, he seemed to be taking a break. His eyes were open now, glowing with a white light, but he wasn’t moving. Prota was hesitant to approach, and so was Destiny. Well, they needed a breather, anyway.
Prota was starting to remember just how strong Hikari had been. Mystics were beings they weren’t supposed to mess with. Just how had they gotten themselves into this mess?
Had John been there, he would’ve reassured her, telling her that with Destiny on their side, it’d be all right. Unfortunately, while she understood this fact, it didn’t help her in the slightest. John’s words soothed her. The [Story] did not.
This would’ve been a good thing in any other scenario. It meant that she hadn’t internalized the truth of the world. However, at the moment, peace was something she would have welcomed.
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“Alright,” Destiny said, wiping his forehead. “I have one last plan. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but… I don’t think we have any other options left.”
Prota’s eyes widened. A plan? Why hadn’t he brought it up earlier?
“Look. This is a gamble, ok? It’s just… something Kit told me a while ago. I tried grabbing her tail, but she was really annoyed. Something about the tail being a weak point of the Ninetails clan. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough, but if we can somehow grab the tail… are you down?”
Prota nodded. An opening was what she needed. Right now, she would take anything. Normally, it was John who came up with such plans, but it seemed that Destiny had come up with something quite interesting as well.
“Alright. You distract him. I’ll move in. If you see an opening, hit him with everything you’ve got, alright?”
Prota nodded again, and with that, Destiny dashed off.
She had to focus. During the fight, she’d been analyzing Kang Loy’s fighting style. She was used to fighting with as much efficiency as possible, but she was now realizing that there was much more to magic than she’d initially thought.
Taking a deep breath, she summoned her fire domain, turning the air sweltering hot. The ground began to crack even further under the heat, the air shimmering before her eyes. Summoning a Frozen Flame, she laid it on the ground, then switched to her ice domain, summoning two Blossoms.
With that, she began to move. She commanded one of the Blossoms to move, smashing into th Elder and coating him with ice. Unfortunately, the ice quickly melted away, revealing no damage done, but Prota had been anticipating this.
The Elder turned to her direction, moving with terrifying speed, but Prota was ready. She lured him toward the Frozen Flame, still keeping the other Blossom hovering around, waiting for the right moment to strike.
It seemed that her ice domain was slowly the Elder down ever so slightly. Good. She was able to move around freely, meaning she could definitely survive this gambit.
Well, maybe not definitely. But that wasn’t something to worry about.
As the Elder got closer, she suddenly pulled on the Blossom, tugging it toward her location. This time, however, it wasn’t aimed at the Elder.
It was aimed at the Frozen Flame, hovering midair, right next to the Elder.
The two spells smashed together, creating a massive blue explosion that sent ice shards scattering everywhere. This wasn’t enough to do damage, though. Prota had already hit the Elder with multiple Blossoms and Frozen Flames, and all they’d done was slow him down a little.
But slowing him down was all she needed.
Her perception sped up and time slowed down, and she could see Kang Loy still moving. The shards of ice were scattered everywhere, reflecting the light of the sun and flames, but its beauty couldn’t be appreciated at the moment.
Mana gathered around the Elder as Prota cast Absolute Zero, slowing him down even further. A Plasma Disk was prepared, aimed in such a way that his movement was restricted to only two directions. With that, the trap was set.
Three Frozen Cannons were prepared. Prota felt a massive pain pierce through her head, something she hadn’t felt in quite some time, but it was necessary. Anything less would lead to the same result as before.
Time jumped back to normal, and the spells all activated at once. Prota collapsed, blood spurting from her ears and nose, but with the amount of mana regeneration she’d cast on herself, she soon recovered. She watched as the Elder dodged the Plasma Disk, but the three Frozen Cannons did their job, exploding on contact.
That wasn’t all, though.
The premise of a Frozen Cannon was a high-pierce Blossom of Ice, meant to both penetrate high defence and do high amounts of damage. Against the Elder, however, the Cannon did very little damage, causing only a few scratches.
But the ice that was used was still blue ice. It was still incredibly dense and had the capability of becoming a Frozen Bullet.
Before the Elder could activate his flames, Prota pulled every single shard of ice and repurposed it, attempting her most ambitious spell yet. In fact, she had even used her third charm of healing just to recover enough physical stamina to pull this off.
Time slowed down once more. Her eyes strained under the pressure of increasing her perception this much, but nobody said this fight would be easy.
Every fight, she’d suffered. She’d struggled. She’d grown.
This fight was no different.
She had to cast the Tenth Seda. Or, well, as much of it as she could. The last time she’d cast it, she’d only been able to get it up to the sixth step. That had been the start of the creation of her Rain of Arrows spell.
Since fighting Sofya, she’d put off on practicing it. It brought back too many painful memories. But now, she had no other choice.
“Han. Tool. Set.”
The mana began to overlap, folding in on itself. The element of wind was imbued within it, turning the mana violent and powerful.
“Net. Tas.”
Prota could feel the strain, now, but she had to hold on. She was stronger now. The words the Elder had told her came back to mind.
“You do not influence mana. You control it.”
The mana wasn’t listening to her. She was forcing it to obey her. She would make it do her bidding.
“Yas.”
The pressure was immense, now. Prota could barely hold on.
“Il.”
Her heart felt like it was going to burst, but that was fine. The spell was complete.
The ice from the Frozen Cannon had accumulated before her, ready to fire once more. Prota wasn’t looking to kill the Elder. If she had been, she would’ve done this with another Frozen Cannon.
No, she just needed to stall.
Time once again jumped back to normal, and the wind was released, firing shard after shard of ice. They barely cut the Elder, but the important part was that they were bothering him. Attack after attack landed, each nicking him, drawing just a bit of blood, but ultimately wearing him down.
And there was no shortage to the attacks.
The gale Prota had built up was still strong, still firing at top speeds, and it showed no sign of relenting. It just kept going, firing shards like a machine gun, slowly but surely pinning the Elder down to the ground.
Prota’s fatigue was immense. She wanted to lie down and fall asleep, but there was no time for that.
One more spell. There was still one more spell she had to cast.
~~~
John was strangely silent as he stared down the Mystic. A single wrong move would spell death, and he didn’t have nearly enough [Infinity] to keep himself alive for long.
“You?” Chen So laughed. “Please. As if I would believe such a foolish lie.”
John ignored the taunt. He thought about the weapon in his pocket dimension. One shot. That was all he needed. But a shot took a whole four seconds to charge. Against a Mystic, that might as well be a lifetime. Initially, he’d been planning on having Destiny and Prota stall for him. That was, after all, how a majority of their fights had gone. Someone stalled while the other charged a powerful attack.
But now, for the first time, he was alone without [Infinity]. He was fighting as John, the manaless boy as opposed to John, the [Writer].
Still, he couldn’t give up.
“You may make the first move,” Chen So said, taking a simple stance.
It was akin to a fencing stance, with a hand behind his back and the other hand held out front, prepared for any attack that might come his way. John clenched his teeth. It was an obvious trap, and he didn’t have the power to just charge in. If he were operating at a higher level of [Infinity], he might just charge in, but now…
“The first move?” John said, suddenly realizing something. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I will not make a move until you attack.”
“In that case…”
With a grin, John pulled out his weapon, dismissing one of his swords. His finger pulled the trigger, the weapon warming up as the mechanism began to whir.
A second passed.
Then another.
A third—
“Fuck you!” John yelled, leaping back as a sword flew his way.
Chen So hadn’t moved an inch. When John blinked, the sword was gone, as if nothing had happened in the first place.
“What the fuck happened to giving me the first move?” John exclaimed.
“I beg your pardon? I am still waiting,” Chen So said, not bothering to hide his smile.
“...I see how it is,” John muttered, putting his weapon away and bringing his second sword back out. “You’re a little bitch, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about? Please, continue.”
[Determination activates! New limit: x10000]
John grinned, the light in his eye glowing even brighter. This Mystic was genuinely pissing him off. Real or not, he was being a real bitch, a serious pain in the ass, and real or not, it was affecting John.
But that could only work in John’s favour.
“You’re a little arrogant, aren’t you?” John said, tapping the tip of his blades against the ground. “Cocky bastard.”
“Hm… an inferiority complex, perhaps?” Chen So said, stroking his chin. “Well, it matters not-”
In an instant, John dashed forward, far faster than the prince had been expecting. Still, the sword in his hand continued to be useless. Two blades flew out, blocking John’s attack, sparks flying as the metal collided.
“Is that your power? Your illusions are stronger to the point of being real?”
“Indeed. You’ve figured it out,” Chen So said, the smile on his face dropping just a bit. “Well, it matters not. Die.”
Dozens of blades began to appear, simultaneously flying at John, leaving very little room to dodge.
“Fuck.”
He immediately switched every last bit of [Infinity] into his perception, giving him a little time to think. Time was moving so slowly that he couldn’t even move his eyes, but that was fine. He wasn’t concerned about the blades, anyway.
“Do I really have to do this?”
He wasn’t sure if he could pull off this technique. Technically, it was possible, but there was a reason he’d avoided using it in the first place.
It was incredibly risky. One wrong move, and he’d die instantly. And it was very, very easy to make a wrong move here.
Then again, did he have another choice?
Not really.
“Fine.”
He analyzed what little he could. Six blades in front. From what he remembered, there were another six behind him, and another four on his sides. Given that he could only see what was in front of him, that was the direction he’d move.
“Let’s do this.”
[Infinity] was utilized purely in speed, and John could barely control himself as he dashed forward, holding his swords before him, just barely managing to block enough blades to make it out. He immediately switched back to perception, allowing him to analyze the next attack for just a brief moment, then dashed again, once again surviving.
He’d have to switch his powers of [Infinity] over and over. If he did this, he was effectively multiplying his multiplier by five. With this, he could survive the fight. Winning… well, that could come later.
“What the- how are you doing that?” Chen So cried out, stumbling a step back.
John looked at the prince, panting heavily. This technique was already taking a toll on his mind. Still, through the fatigue, he understood:
Chen So was not a combatant.
He was a Mystic. But he was nowhere near the level of Hikari, or even Lupin. He was someone John could react to, someone John could hurt.
Without another word, he dashed forward again, this time aiming for the prince directly. He slowed down perception for just a moment to analyze the Mystic’s position, then converted half his power into speed, swinging his blades. Just before they reached the Mystic’s body, he converted all his energy into power, dealing a heavy blow to the prince.
Blood dripped through the shrine outfit, pooling on the floor as Chen So staggered backwards.
“You… you… You cut me,” he hissed. “You cut me! How? How? This shouldn’t be possible! A mortal, cutting me? Never!”
John remained silent, trying to preserve what little energy he had left. He, too, was mildly surprised. The prince shouldn’t be this weak.
Then what? Why was he struggling so much?
“Kit,” John muttered, sweat dripping down his face. “He’s maintaining control.”
As he’d suspected, Kit was under the prince’s control. But Kit was fiery and free-willed. She couldn’t be easy to dominate. In fact, she’d been so hard to dominate that the prince required [Deus Ex Machina] energy to do so.
The amount he’d received must’ve been pitiful indeed.
Regardless, the point was that he was expending most of his energy on controlling Kit. That meant that he himself was weak.
This was doable. He just had to hold out a little longer.
“Huff… huff… that’s it,” Chen So panted. “I suppose this is a good time as any to test out the combat force of our nation.”
John’s eyes widened. No, he had to end this now. Hurriedly, he whipped out his gun, but four seconds wouldn’t be enough. Still, this was his only opportunity. He’d seen Kit fight. If she got involved…
His fingers squeezed. The gun began to whir once more.
One second.
Two.
Three.
“Kit Ninetails! Eliminate that man!”
In a blur, the weapon was knocked out of John’s hands, and he just barely got out of the way to avoid a fatal hit.
“Oops! Was that precious?” Kit said with a smirk. “That’s too bad.”
John was upset, but to be honest, he’d been expecting an interruption. Thus, there was only one thought in his mind at the moment.
“She still talks the same,” John muttered, eyeing her warily. “Great.”
~~~
“Prota! Now!” Destiny yelled, grabbing the Elder’s tail.
The old Ninetails stumbled, momentarily weakened. The light in his eyes flickered for a moment, showing a sign of weakness.
They’d done it. They’d made it this far. All they had to do was knock him out, and they could escape.
With much effort, Prota began to fold mana once more. She was at her limit. Any more of this, and she could collapse. Still, she couldn’t give up. Not yet. She didn’t know where John was, and until she knew he was safe, she had to keep fighting.
Surrender was not an option.
Blue flames coiled around each other, intensifying in heat until they’d formed a dragon, snaking around Prota’s body, waiting to be fired.
It flared in intensity as Prota summoned her domain, scorching the air around her. This had to do it. If it didn’t work…
“Go,” she whispered, her throat parched.
The dragon flew forward, spiralling into the enemy. Destiny yelled, leaping out of the way just in time to avoid the massive explosion that ensued.
“Did we get him?” he panted, watching the smoke fade.
Prota flinched. She didn’t quite understand what it was about that statement that messed things up, but she knew that it was something that should never be said.
A white light shone from the smoke, and as it faded, they saw the Elder, his eyes closed, and a small but intense light glowing before him.
Prota shot Destiny a dirty look.
“...sorry.”

.
!
Chapter 181: Arrogance