Chương 105: Afterlife Guardians

"How can you tell?" Acrypha whispered. In answer, Ryland cast [Omniscience] again. Except, he threw it over Acrypha's eyes. She gasped. Right. Now she could see what Ryland had noticed. The riotous miasma of mana that was writhing throughout the "Warden", mana that was invisible to the naked eye. The same mana was everywhere else too. Within the tentacle-like grass, within the stone trees. Terribly clear evidence that their guide was compromised.

"Now that we're aware of what it actually is," Ryland said, keeping his voice low.

"We'll have to be careful about how we handle this, understand?" Acrypha nodded. She was already looking at Viren, trying to determine how best to approach him. Ryland deliberated how best he could handle the matter while causing the least amount of chaos. It was clear that this Living Mana might appear benign, in comparison to other Incursions, but in truth, it was conniving. The other thing Ryland wasn't sure about was just how devious this Incursion was.

It had either created an entire replica of a real person, or it had somehow taken over the psyche of an actual person. Ryland thought it more likely that it was the latter. That was frightening enough on its own. Ryland was already casting [Omniscience]. He had to check the others. If one person could be overtaken by Living Mana in this manner, then there was no telling how far it had spread. There was no saying how bad the situation actually was. Therefore, more [Omniscience].

It was worrying how much he spotted the same situation all over the Incursion area. Not all the Wardens were suffering from the same condition, but there were enough of them for it to be a cause for concern.

"What are you two whispering about?" Viren asked, squinting at Acrypha and Ryland. Acrypha started, which was odd. Normally, she was much cooler about such things. And snippier.

"We're planning a surprise," Ryland said with an easy smile.

"We'll tell you about it in a minute." He gave Acrypha a meaningful look, who got a hold of herself before nodding. There. Now Viren would know what exactly was going on eventually. Ryland hadn't told Acrypha what he was planning to do, but as long as they were both aware that something was wrong, then it would be enough. They'd know that he was on the case, which meant they'd be ready for anything. The question remained regarding what exactly he intended to do.

Because if he acted now without informing the others, it would lead to the exact sort of chaos that he wanted to prevent. Ryland sighed. It seemed he had his work cut out for him. Acrypha had managed to draw Viren back enough to secretively inform him about everything Ryland had discovered. So, while the fake Warden was distracted leading them as well, Ryland used [Omniscience] and a Glyph of Contact. The next while had him trying to explain what he would do and why without causing mass hysteria. It was difficult.

Most people had questions that Ryland either didn't have the time to answer or just couldn't do so at the moment without someone panicking. Telling everyone the full story would just create snags for his plan. All he needed was for the members of the Excursion Club to be prepared for things to get a little worked up.

"We will be careful, Ryland," Academ Jules said through the Glyph of Contact.

"I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," Ryland said.

"I will begin in ten minutes."

"Good luck." It came out as a mutter, like he was wishing himself and all the students luck, not necessarily Ryland. The ten minutes was less because he needed preparation and more because he wanted to give everyone else some time to get adjusted. To get ready. He wasn't quite sure how the Living Mana was going to respond, but it was highly unlikely to be a response that saw them in a favourable light. Ten minutes passed surprisingly quickly.

In the distance, they could see the ruins that they were heading towards growing larger and larger. They were still a bit far, but it was easy to make out how the edifice was warped and twisted just like the rest of the area. Stones had turned to fractured glass, rusted iron resembling dried blood. The whole place was overrun with the tentacle grass and the black trees forcing out from every crack and opening.

Ryland took one last glance at how tense Viren and Acrypha were, then checked everyone else using [Omniscience]. Everyone was more or less ready. It was time to act, whatever happened afterwards. He cast his spell with a low murmur." [World Node]," he incanted." [Ephemeral Fortress]." The first spell turned the world into a field of invisible coordinates.

With his Soul Glyph of Rift, Ryland could essentially instantiate a periodic pattern of locations superimposed on reality, where distance between each point and how far the sea of points spread could stretch as far as he needed them to. For now, he ensured that his field of nodes covered everything a few thousand handspans all around him. There. That should cover up the entire area the Excursion Club was traversing.

With that established, the second spell went first to his two nearby pupils. Viren and Acrypha did their best not to react. It was easier for Viren since he had experienced it already, but Acrypha was similarly resolute. But it wasn't just them. With the aid of [Translocate], Ryland gently ensured that the spell went to everyone he sought to protect. Not just the students and their lone Academ, but also to the few Wardens he had determined weren't compromised by the Incursion.

Several of them reacted a little oddly, but not enough to give the Living Mana any hints that something was wrong. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Finally, it was time for the Glyph of Exorcism to come into play. His Tier [19] Glyph burned into the exact pockets he had created with his prior spell.

When the first one went into the nearest location Ryland instantiated, the property of his [World Node], where one spot in reality was multiplicated and spread everywhere, the Glyph of Exorcism was essentially copied into every node that he had set up. Which meant the entire multiple-thousand-handspans wide area was now covered by incredibly powerful Glyphs of Exorcism. And for each one, Ryland had set the Living Mana as the main target. Of course, everyone else nearby would feel the effect of the magic too.

Just as Viren had experienced a few months ago when Ryland had exorcised Fate itself, everyone's soul would feel a dislodging sensation. [Ephemeral Fortress] would suppress any truly harmful reactions, and that was good enough to be going on with. Because in comparison to what the Living Mana received, a little wobble was nothing. The Glyph of Exorcism replicated over the entire area glowed with apocalyptic intensity. Light seared through everything.

Magical intensity pounded like a gong hammering right in front of their faces. Air rushed up in a storm, churning into a shriek that echoed everywhere. The shriek turned chillingly personal. All the Living Mana was being forced out. The Warden up ahead was jerking this way and that, clutching his head like it was about to split apart. Both Viren and Acrypha had stepped back in alarm. Ryland, however, stepped forward. He went up to check on the Warden, his magic primed to act.

Viren couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Really, Acrypha?" he hissed.

"You expect me to believe the Living Mana has possessed the Warden?"

"It's true!" she hissed right back.

"Sir said so himself." Viren held back his grumbles at her insistence. Wasn't she supposed to be the sceptical one between the two of them? And here she was, readily believing this madness. Then again, it was Ryland who had discovered it. It had to be true, then. Right? Acrypha's eyes said so. But the revelation just brought in more questions for Viren. He stared at the Warden's back. Supposedly a man who wasn't a man anymore. But then, how had no one else discovered it yet? Why was no one else suspicious?

Were they all in on it? Was all of Gildharbour compromised? That could explain why they had allowed the Living Mana to flourish for so long. It wasn't like Viren had seen any proof of these Academs and other people visiting and researching this phenomenon. Wait, but if they had visited, then were they compromised too? Were some of them already at the academy and— He frowned at Acrypha.

"Why aren't you stopping me from spiralling?" She blinked.

"What?" There was definitely something up with her. Oh, great. She was compromised too. Had to be. Viren just needed to keep his cool and somehow explain it to Ryland. Although, he wasn't sure how he could get the opportunity to do so without making things look rather suspicious.

"Stop looking at me like that," Acrypha said. There was that deadpan she was much better known for. Maybe he was overreacting a bit.

"Alright, fine," Viren said. He drew closer and lowered his voice further.

"What do we do about it all then?"

"We just need to be ready to protect ourselves. Let sir handle the main issue." Oh, right. They were in the presence of a mage who could probably fix nearly any problem he might encounter. Cursed Calamities, he had even brought Tallow back to life. Viren was suddenly very glad he had left his kitten back in his hotel room.

"Are you okay, though?" Viren asked Acrypha. She blinked again, now defensive.

"I'm fine."

"You've been looking very distracted recently." Her face twisted. Instead of angry, she looked sad of all things, and that made Viren feel surprisingly awful for questioning her. Maybe he ought to just drop it.

"It's just…" Acrypha swallowed.

"It's my parents' death day." Whatever Viren had been thinking and considering, it all sank to some place he couldn't fish them out of anymore. Today was the day that Acrypha's parents had died. Parents she had known, parents who had loved her, to some complicated degree, at least. And yet, she was soldiering on with them through his mess of the Living Mana anyway. She was so strong, it boggled Viren's mind.

"I also have, uh, a certain gift from my parents," she continued. It sounded like a dam had broken and now she was letting it all out. As much as she could, at least.

"Well, one of them. But I can't fully control it yet. I keep it to a minimum. And it's just taking up all my thoughts…" Her words petered out as the Warden pointed out that they were getting closer. Both Viren and Acrypha reflexively smiled to give the terribly fake impression that everything was fine. At least the man appeared to not be suspicious of anything just yet. Which was something. Once the man had turned around, Ryland began casting. Viren's heart rate spiked.

Yet again, despite having seen it so often now, the enigmatic mage's magic didn't fail to impress Viren. The first one warped space itself somehow. There were little twists in reality that Viren could only just perceive. If he looked at them directly, they went missing. He couldn't tell what exactly Ryland was hoping to accomplish, but Viren could sense those weird little pockets everywhere. He stayed away from them all. Then came something more familiar.

A rare barrier spell he had experienced before, and then the Glyph of Exorcism. Ah. Now things were starting to make sense. Ryland was going to straight up exorcise the Living Mana out of the man just as he had done to Fate for Viren. Which was an interesting tactic. That explained his earlier spell. Viren even remembered it. [Ephemeral Fortress] would do well to keep Viren and Acrypha safe from the effects of the Glyph of Exorcism, to some extent. The Glyph in question came alive the next second.

Viren and Acrypha were already drawing back, already feeling the effects of Ryland's terribly powerful magic warping reality itself. Viren was forced to squint his eyes as things got terrifically bright for a moment. The Glyph was acting on all the Living Mana around them. And on Viren too. His head pounded. It felt like he was getting detached from his body. Everything was turning insensate. He could hardly see, faintly hear, barely feel anything at all. Then the shrieking arrived.

The noise was like metal sheets being torn apart. It spiked through the air and speared into his eardrums. Viren couldn't feel himself moving, but his arms moved, probably instinctively, as he thumped his hands over his ears. It was the Living Mana. He was sure of it. The evidence was right before him, with how the man was jerking around and contorting his body. He looked like he was in pain, in a far worse state than Viren himself, which probably explained why Ryland advanced quickly.

Maybe he could help the fellow, or at least reduce his suffering, while still pulling the Living Mana out of the Warden. With the light and noise and pressure fading slowly, Viren was able to at least stand straight.

"Acrypha. Are you seeing this?" There was no answer from his right, so he turned. Acrypha was just standing there, staring ahead with unblinking wide eyes.

"Acrypha," Viren said urgently.

"What's wrong?" She still didn't respond.

"What's up with you?" Despite the rising register of Viren's own voice, Acrypha didn't hear him. Ryland didn't either. He was busy trying to contain the Warden, while also extending his hand to cast spells through those spatial pockets as well.

"Acrypha." Viren got up and grabbed a hold of her arm.

"What—"" [Afterlife Guardians]," she incanted. Magic shocked out of her enough to make Viren jerk back. He was so stunned, he failed to produce words for a while, his whole body jerking and twisting entirely out of his control. The sheer helplessness terrified him, so much so that he wasn't even aware of the magic continuing to emerge from Acrypha. By the time he managed to get enough of a grip on himself to look up, he stared. What in the world was going on?

Two figures constructed purely out of incandescent mana had sizzled into being on either side of Acrypha. One was tall and bulky, the other shorter and lither. Both exuded so much power, even Ryland glanced back, frowning all the while. Acrypha's awareness had returned. Her eyes were still wide, though, and this time, they were wide with terror. Viren had never thought he'd see an expression like that on her face.

"I—""Acrypha," Ryland said with rising alarm.

"Wait one moment."

"No! This wasn't supposed to happen. I can't let this get out of control." Before Viren could make either heads or tails of that statement, both mana-constructed figures grabbed Acrypha before exploding. Viren coughed as he quickly pushed himself up from where he had fallen. A dark trail led off into the forest that was rapidly returning to normalcy. He couldn't tell what was going on, was too stupefied to begin to understand the magic that had just occurred. But one thing was certain.

Even as that last tremendous burst of power had thrown him away, he had caught what was most important here. Those strange beings had just kidnapped Acrypha.