Flames. Nothing but flames could be seen rushing through the labyrinth of intersections that was the Artisanship Commission. The once pristine streets were now covered in unnatural sap, coating them in a hue of gold. Limbs and mutated internal organs fell to the ground after the torrent of flames passed, leaving the onlookers within their buildings to look upon the disturbing sight, unable to come close to the carnage unless they desired to become infected with Mara. Even a short whiff of the pollen expelled from the golden leaves would be enough to trigger a mutation in th Xianzhou natives and Foxians.
A natural disaster. There was no other way to explain the dance of amber that blitzed through their streets.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Mara-Struck.]
[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Mara-Struck.]
[You have slain an Awakened Beast…]
The voice of the Spell sang within Sunny's mind as he slaughtered the Mara-Struck with the composure of a professional killer — which he supposed he was, now that he thought about it. The Lance of Preservation shone with a blinding radiance, a stalwart heat threatening to burn those who stood in its path.
Sunny's goal was simple: reach the roots at the center of the Artisanship Commission, and destroy them. Doing so would halt the constant spread of Mara… and it also happened to be what Kafka wanted him to do in exchange for the Transcendent Memories he now held.
It wouldn't be incorrect to assume that the fastest way to get this over with was to go straight to the source, get rid of the bundle of roots that began to look like a tree, and be on his merry way. If he was feeling generous, he could deal with the Mara-Struck after the fact, as well.
However, speed was not his main priority. Rather, he needed to be cautious due to multiple factors.
Firstly, one of his shadows caught a glimpse of the creature that was standing guard before the root: a Transcendent Tyrant, by the looks of it. The five Soul Cores that he found burning within it didn't hold the vileness Nightmare Creatures held — quite funny, considering the Mara-Struck acted like them. Despite being a Master now, Sunny was sure that he'd still struggle against a Transcendent Beast or Monster, be on equal grounds with a Demon, and possibly defeat a Devil by the skin of his teeth.
The gap between Ranks only increased the higher up one went. While the gap between two humans of the Awakened and Ascended Ranks could be closed through skill, equipment, and knowledge, Saints didn't often fall before a Master. Sunny has done his research, however, so he knew of a few individuals who have achieved such feats.
In the past decade, a random from the IPC gambled his life against a Saint that tried to claim one of the intergalactic corporation's planets as one of their own. Somehow, the IPC lackey somehow stood on top, looking like he died, but to a much lesser degree than the Saint before him, who looked like he was pummeled to death.
There was also the Queen of Glamoth who died over four millennia ago. The terrifying woman seemed to have lived for over ten thousand years, achieving Sainthood only half a century after the Nightmare Spell appeared. She was supposedly final link of a fallen Legacy Clan.
This was particularly relevant to Sunny himself, considering he was the slave to someone who wore the armor of Glamoth's Iron Cavalry.
Oh, and there was also Mongrel. Honestly, who would think to fight a Saint as a mere Awakened?
Probably some lunatic. Sunny was glad he'd never have to meet that guy.
Getting back on topic, the average Saint was equal to a Transcendent Devil. 'Average' being somewhat misleading, as that was specifically referring to Saints who lacked Aspects directly relating to combat. Diviners, healers, or those who fit into other support roles wouldn't have an easy time against a Transcendent Devil.
Those who could augment their strength, cause intense catastrophes, or had other Abilities that could even the playing field, would at most be able to go toe to toe with a Transcendent Terror. The difference between a Terror and a Titan was massive, with the latter taking full cohorts of Saints to properly fight against.
The point was, Sunny was in a position where he needed to fight against a Transcendent Tyrant. He would need to be more deadly than a non-combatant Saint, at the bare minimum. That wasn't even considering the fact that the Tyrant was likely receiving some boons from the Abundance, just like how the Doomsday Beast was clearly being boosted by the Destruction — though, it was unnaturally weak for an Ascended Titan due to it being an imperfect artificial creation.
The second reason he needed to clear out the Mara-Struck and automatons was simple. He just didn't want to constantly watch his back when fighting the Transcendent Tyrant. Furthermore, as a Tyrant, it wasn't impossible for the Mara-Struck to be its thralls. Doubtful, considering the lack of organization, but not impossible.
Even if they weren't, it was a threat he didn't want to deal with. Sunny wasn't so arrogant as to assume that a baby with a knife wasn't a threat to him, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Any amount of coincidences could happen, letting a mundane piece of steel pierce through his Ascended skin, wielded in the hands of a babbling infant.
Against a Transcendent Tyrant, he couldn't lose his focus for even a second unless he wanted to die. Best to get rid of the lesser threats.
Thirdly, he needed to test things. For example, complete gibberish was rushing into Sunny's head.
[Gr…ow…]
[Spre…ad…]
[Life…]
Well, not quite gibberish, but it was pretty useless. Although Mara seemed to take root in the soul, it also seemed to spread and corrup the mind… which wasn't much of a surprise, considering that the Mara-Struck simply fought anything that wasn't one of them.
Like zombies.
The reason why Sunny could hear the voices of the Mara-Struck was thanks to the [Silent No Longer] enchantment from the Silent Mist. He could understand languages that weren't translated by the Nightmare Spell — those that did not belong to humans.
Sunny couldn't help but wonder where the language of the Mara-Struck had come from in the first place, then. He didn't think they really communicated, considering the short one-word sentences they seemed to repeat. He wasn't sure if it was just something they could do, or if their language came from Yaoshi.
If that was the case, did Yaoshi use THEIR own language, or did Aeons all share the same one?
'…What? Why am I using mortal logic on those bastards?'
He was simply going to hurt his head at this rate. At the very least, the enchantment worked. Sunny wondered if it was working earlier, and he simply couldn't find the source of the voice. He had been in plenty of crowded places on the Xianzhou, after all.
As that thought passed through his mind, he slammed — no, slashed — the Lance of Preservation into the shoulder of one of the Mara-Struck, cleaving it in two as if he was wielding a sword.
Lances were weapons that were meant to be used to thrust, stabbing into the opponent with the pointed tip at its end. Overall, they were inefficient weapons… outside of the hands of those infected by the Nightmare Spell, who had strength and powers that defied all known laws of physics.
With nothing but his immense strength, Sunny managed to turn the blind edges the Lance of Preservation… into a cutting weapon.
In reality, all weapons — all objects, even — could technically be used to slice into other objects when enough force is applied. That was assuming the weapon didn't crumble under pressure, but it was technically possible.
Against abominations with skin as tough as an Awakened, the Lance of Preservation easily turned from a club to an axe, even if it wasn't meant to be used in such a manner.
Sunny also noticed with a hint of confusion that unlike the Preservation, the Destruction seemed to be just as powerful as it was when he absorbed the second Stellaron. It was somewhat worrying, but not much so. He much preferred the Lance of Preservation, alongside other weapons, in comparison to the simple bat with no special effects.
Why would he need something so bland when he was incinerating countless Mara-Struck simply by proximity?
Stabbing the lance into the skull of one of them, he let go of the weapon. As the Mara-Struck began to fall to its knees, Sunny rotated, jumped, and promptly kicked the pommel of the Lance of Preservation with an absurd amount of force. The amber armament forced itself through the Mara-Struck it was impaled to, exploding its sap-filled head like a watermelon.
It flew through the air, spinning as it became surrounded by a whirlwind of flames. The endless fire was simply too heavy and powerful, blanketing the streets and scorching the earth as the Mara-Struck and automatons burned from within, all the force absorbed by the Lance of Preservation in the past few months being released in a single moment.
It would have been wasteful… if it wasn't so damn cool.
Just as the Lance of Preservation was about crash into a wall, Sunny dismissed it before it could do any property damage. Summoning the Covetous Coffer, he whipped out his phone, finding a bunch of missed phone calls and text messages — most of which were from March. Sunny shrugged, summoning the Lance of Preservation into his free hand as he cast a physical barrier around himself.
A moment later, he teleported to the other side of the Artisanship Commission, finding himself right between two Mara-Struck. Moving so quickly that they couldn't even perceive him, Sunny passed the Lance to a stray shadow, wrapped his arms around the Mara-Struck's necks, put on a winning smile as a shadow put up a peace sign behind him, brought up his phone…
And snapped a picture.
"Don't mind me, fellas. A hottie was just demanding my location, and you know how it is… uh, knew how it is? Not sure if you guys are still conscious in there… on any level."
Sunny stepped back the illusionary amber barrier around him was banged against by mutated limbs. Sending the photo to March, he nodded in satisfaction as the shadows handed the Lance of Preservation back to him. Testing his grip… Sunny stepped forward.
The heads of the Mara-Struck surrounding him flying off in that moment were only special effects, he was sure.