After Kaecillius's defeat, Mordo oddly wanted to test me himself.
He fought very differently from Kaecillius and used a new spell he'd been apparently working on since the fight with the Garok. Mordo had taken his men's deaths personally and worked on a spell that could close the strength gap between the demons and humans if they ever needed to defend themselves up close against a powerful Lesser or Greater Demon.
The spell was called Armament of Cyttorak, and as the name suggested, it drew power from Cyttorak's dimension, like binding spell, the Bands of Cyttorak.
Mordo's use of it was frankly humbling. Paired with his boots and Living Tribunal staff, he showed me how overpowered air maneuverability could be in the arms of a pro. You could strike from unpredictable angles, rapidly shift stances, and avoid even the most ridiculous attacks.
By the minute mark, I was already copying him, and that was when the crash happened.
Mordo's entire body suddenly seized, and he dropped from the air but landed with surprising control and grace. Everybody rushed to his side, and Kaecillius was certain I'd done something to him when Yao explained that Mordo's spell was designed as a last-ditch option and not a viable attack spell.
Apparently, channeling that much energy from the crimson dimension puts an incredible burden on the body. Yao theorized that only Rin, myself, and maybe Jean could use it long-term.
The fight ended much sooner than I wanted, but it disabused me of the notion that I was all-powerful, even if my upgrade made me feel like Superman.
There were still sorcerers and mutants who could take me down with the right tools and plans.
---
After my little session with Mordo, I spent the greater part of the day by myself, testing the limit of my abilities.
For starters, Nether Fire was far more complicated and potent than anything else I had in my arsenal. The fire burned hot enough to melt stone if I really pushed it, and the description did not lie about its corrosive and long-lasting properties. It was damn near impossible to put out once it started.
Nether Fire had also fundamentally changed my weapons. Even passively now, my demonic weapons were wreathed in the stuff, and don't get me started on actual weapon strikes and Cloak.
The fire also slipped into techniques executed in Cloak, turbo-charging them with Nether Fire.
The unintended combo actually gave me inspiration for a new demonic technique I'd been thinking about—an advanced version of Burst that incorporated my various affinities.
Sparda said everything had come back to Burst.
But before that, I needed to master the remaining skill catalog Sparda and Eva left for me. It was long overdue.
My Windborn perk provided less of a direct benefit as Nether Fire, but the difference between a High affinity and Very High was significant. If I had to put a number on it, it'd be about 20-25% in power and control, which was crazy considering how strong my wind skills were.
Gust made me feel like a force of nature, and Stinger, which I'd made the executive decision to rename Wind Blade, tore deep groves in stone.
TimeSage gave Evasion about a 75% boost. I went from having a Low Time Affinity to Mid to High and then Very High. Each step up the ladder brought about a 25% increase in power and control.
The skill description changed quite a bit, and I received a new skill rank.
(R) Moment of the Time Sage
Increases your Personal time by 55 percent when confronted with an attack that will take 2% of your health or greatly exceeds your perception threshold. Bonus lasts for 3 seconds of Personal time. Cost 10 AE and 10 stamina.
However, the skill I was the most excited to explore was Angel Evade. Much like Evasion, Dimensional Consciousness changed the skill in a predictable way. I could remain intangible for two minutes instead of one, and my body moved faster when I was in between dimensions. There was also a snippet about being able to peer into the sections of Limbo from which my skill drew.
I was understandably skeptical about trying that last bit. I was not quite ready for dimension-hopping yet.
I finished the day with a ton of answers but even more questions. I had to decide which skill needed the boost the most, as well as commit to learning every last Demonic and Angelic weapon skill I had available. There was also the small matter of smithing.
It was going to be a hell of a week.
---
"Jeez," I held up my nose as I waded through a press of bodies alongside Jean on our way to a biological Research lab at the edge of campus. Jean had portalled us onto a private College outside of Nevada from Kamar-Taj.
Given the abundance of people on campus, I'd taken the liberty of exercising my Telepathy. I was putting out about 1DE per second, meaning I had plenty of room to experiment.
So far, it'd been assaulted with thoughts that made me lose faith in humanity. I've heard hundreds of sexual comments thrown at her, and oddly, myself. There were dozens of budding criminal plots, nonsensical ramblings, and even illicit affairs between Professors and their students.
Telepathy, I was starting to realize, was every crime fighter's wet dream, but only if you had the temperament of a saint.
"How have you not completely lost faith in humanity."
"I try to remind myself that this is none of my business for the most part," Jean said, giving a more measured answer than expected from a teenager.
"If there's a serious issue, I'll report it, but acting on everything I hear will drive me crazy. Besides, what you think and what you do are very different things. I've also learned the hard way that you might not be able to save everyone. Doesn't mean we can't try."
"Jesus, you're much more measured than I expected, Jean. Have you been body snatched and replaced?"
She made a face, bumping me over with her fist. When I refused to budge, she punched again, but this time, the hit was assisted with Telekinesis. I laughed.
"I'm just trying to be more realistic," she said. "You were there. You saw how many people we lost at Strucker's base and the village in Africa."
I made a face. It was strange seeing her change in front of me. I'd hoped she'd become a touch more cynical, not flip up on me overnight.
"We can only try our best," I said.
We found Dr. Bruce Banner sooner than I expected. He was in a spirited discussion with his paramour, Dr. Betsy Ross, who was looking at him intently.
We spotted them across from the quad as they entered a guarded building. The uninitiated might've written off the security guards as low-experienced, fresh-faced hires, but the way they moved and the fact that they almost caught me all but confirmed they were trained.
Their mind reflected that single-minded focus and determination. Their surface thoughts gave up nothing about their employer.
"They could be mercenaries or soldiers," I said to Jean, turning to her to avoid their gaze. She was close enough that I could breathe in her perfume, and she didn't pull away. "I can't tell which."
"Hydra," she revealed, and I shrugged, not the least bit surprised.
"The cockroaches were bound to crawl out of the woodwork eventually. How do you want to approach this? Clear out the quad and incapacitate them, or maybe I could turn intangible and float past and then double back for you when I get chance."
"Or…" she pulled out the Siren Mask from her handbag, and I chuckled.
"Maybe Natasha was onto something about me being too much of a bonehead."
"I like that you're a bonehead and cynical," she said. "Being nice won't help us win this war."
"I know I tell you to be hard-hearted and ruthless," I said, "but I can't be right all of the time, an on the days I am not, I need you to be able to call me on my bullshit."
Jean blinked. "Uh---Okay."
I pulled my Siren Mask from my new storage skill—Dimensional Vault.
The skill was basically an unlimited version of Weapon's Vault.
I could store any item up to five times my bodyweight. However, all items cannot be summoned in a vacuum. They must always be in contact with me when they're called up. Unfortunately, it could not be used to do the more interesting things I'd managed with Weapon's vault like armor equip, but it was perfect for just about everything else.
The mask went on, and our faces morphed. I looked like a black-haired, mild-mannered science geek, and Jean was blonde and way out of my league. The guards didn't give us a second look as we walked past them.
Jean sussed out Bruce's location easily after we cleared the entrance. He was in the lab with a few other colleagues, finishing up another batch of the formula.
General Thunderbolt Ross came knocking seconds after they wrapped things up, and this time Jean didn't need to relay their conversation to me. My Telepathy worked just fine.
"Congratulations, Dr. Banner. You just made history. If the formula works, America will finally have a solid response against the encroaching superhuman threat."
"You mean mutants?" Bruce asked.
"We saw the video going around online," Betsy explained. "We just want answers."
General Thaddeus Ross mentally huffed at the idea, but one look from his daughter made him melt. He reluctantly asked his men to clear the room.
"You'd be breaking a dozen Federal Laws if you breathed a word of this to anyone," Thaddeus began, "but Mutants are not the biggest superhuman threat that the Government and the world, at large, is facing."
"You can't mean those so-called demons that have been popping up all over the world?" Dr. Banner said as he made the connection. "I thought they were a subset of a well-organized mutant terrorist group, not, you know, the real thing…because that will be preposterous."
"I can't confirm or deny anything," Ross said diplomatically, "but if it were true, you'd understand why this is so important. Our options of retaliation are severely limited by our human personnel."
"I imagine there's only so much carpet bombing the area can do…not that you've had any problems with that historically."
"Do you have a problem with me, Son?" Thaddeus demanded.
"Not more than I typically do for government types," Bruce said. "I'm literarily handing you the keys to dominate the free world if you so choose. I'm allowed to be a little bit bratty."
"Like hell you are!"
(Read up to Chapter 125 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting)