Boundless Chronicles

Chapter 44: The Spires of Aethelgard, V

The upper archway led them onto a narrow sky-bridge suspended between the Third and Fourth Spires.

Here, a thousand feet above the cloud layer, the icy wind burned Noël's lungs with every breath.

The Fourth Spire, the Spire of Obsidian Seals, stood before them. It was a monumental monolithic pillar devoid of windows. Its black surface was carved with thousands of pulsing crimson runes that thrummed with immense weight.

"The ambient pressure here is three times higher than in the lower towers," Gideon said. He leaned on his right foot, his silver rapier drawn, its white-gold solar ether flickering against the gale. "My ether flow is lagging."

"Keep your breathing steady," Noël said, wiping sweat and blood from his chin. "The Fourth Spire tests physical endurance."

Elara adjusted her grip on her Radiant Lancer spear.

"Noël... someone is waiting at the entrance."

Standing before the massive iron doors of the Fourth Spire was a single figure.

He was a giant of a man, clad in heavy obsidian plate armor. In his right hand, he held a massive six-foot war-cleaver embedded with glowing red mana ores.

[Hostile Entrant: Captain Valerius (Tier 1 Peak)]

Classification: Elite Vanguard of the Royal Guard Academy

Beside Valerius lay four defeated cadet teams, their members awaiting automatic teleportation out of the Trial. He had single-handedly held the entrance to the Fourth Spire, crushing every contender who approached.

"Falcrest's squad," Valerius growled, his voice deep beneath his heavy helm. He turned his crimson visor toward them, resting the war-cleaver on his shoulder. "Kaelen's team failed to stop you. But you won't step foot inside this tower."

Julian Falcrest swallowed hard, stepping back two paces.

"Valerius... the top vanguard of the Capital Academy..."

"No tactics," Valerius growled, taking a heavy step forward. The stone bridge cracked beneath his boot. "Pure physical weight."

He didn't wait for them to form a line.

Whooooosh!

Valerius surged forward with terrifying velocity. Despite his colossal armor, his physical stats were at the absolute peak of Tier 1. The wind roared around his war-cleaver as he swung it down in a brutal execution strike aimed straight at Noël's collarbone.

The speed was too great to dodge cleanly on the narrow bridge.

Noël raised his left forearm, bracing his Aethelgard vambrace against the inner shaft of the war-cleaver before the blade could reach full momentum.

Kaaa-shing!

The heavy iron shaft slammed into his vambrace with bone-rattling force. Pain exploded through his left arm as the metal plate buckled, driving his knees into the stone floor.

"Kuh...!"

The shockwave rattled his teeth, and blood rose in his throat.

"Noël!" Lyra screamed.

Valerius sneered beneath his helm, pressing his full weight down.

"You blocked it? Impressive for a vagrant. Now break!"

He raised his heavy iron boot and kicked Noël squarely in the chest.

Thump!

The impact hurled Noël backward three yards across the frost-covered stone. He skidded on his back, coughing up dark blood as his chest plate cracked under the strain.

[Health: 62%]

[Physical Stamina: 48%]

"Noël!" Gideon shouted, leaping forward with his rapier. "Solar Thrust!"

Gideon's blade flashed like a golden beam, aiming for the slit in Valerius's visor.

Valerius raised his iron gauntlet, catching Gideon's silver rapier mid-thrust.

Clang!

The metal gauntlet closed around the rapier's edge. Valerius twisted his wrist, wrenching the weapon from Gideon's grip before swinging his left elbow into Gideon's chest.

Crack!

Gideon flew backward, crashing into the bridge railing. His rapier clattered across the frost.

Elara lunged from the left, her Radiant Lancer spear blurring into three rapid thrusts aimed at Valerius's exposed knee joints.

Puuu-shk!

The spear tip pierced the thin mesh behind his right knee, drawing dark blood.

"Gah!"

Valerius stumbled onto one knee, but his iron grip closed around Elara's spear shaft. He pulled her forward and struck her with a brutal headbutt.

Bang!

Elara fell backward onto the stone, her forehead bleeding as her spear slid from her hands.

In under fifteen seconds, their frontline had been overwhelmed.

Noël wiped the blood from his mouth and slowly stood. His ribs throbbed with sharp pain, and his left arm hung loosely at his side.

Through his Gyre Eye, he examined Valerius's physical condition. The man was breathing heavily, his knee joint was bleeding, and his heavy armor was consuming enormous amounts of stamina.

He was a wall, but every wall had a stress point.

"Julian," Noël said, his voice raspy.

Julian was shaking, his sword trembling in his hand.

"N-Noël... he's a monster..."

"Pick up Gideon's rapier," Noël instructed, his violet pupil burning with cold focus. "When I breach his guard, drive the blade into his shoulder seam."

Noël unbuckled his heavy trench coat, letting it drop to the floor to shed extra weight.

'Void-Weaver's Tread.'

Pft!

His frame blurred, executing a short Spatial Step that placed him directly in front of Valerius's blind side, inside his strike radius.

Valerius anticipated the movement. His red visor snapped toward Noël, and he swung his massive war-cleaver horizontally to bisect his torso.

Noël didn't try to dodge the blade.

He allowed the flat edge of the war-cleaver to strike his left ribs, taking the impact head-on.

Cr-crack!

His ribs cracked, and white-hot pain seared through his chest. But as the heavy blade slammed into his torso, he locked his left arm around the cold steel cleaver, pinning the weapon against his body.

Valerius's eyes widened behind his visor.

"You... you used your own body as a catch?!"

"I caught your weapon," Noël muttered through bloodied teeth.

With his right hand free, he drew his Aethelgard combat knife and drove the point through the eye-slit of Valerius's heavy visor.

Puuuu-shk!

"Gaaaaah!"

Valerius recoiled, releasing the war-cleaver as he staggered backward.

"Julian! Now!" Noël roared.

Julian charged forward with Gideon's fallen rapier. Gathering every ounce of his remaining strength, he drove the silver blade through the exposed joint beneath Valerius's raised shoulder plate.

Kaaa-shing!

The silver blade pierced deep into Valerius's main nerve cluster.

Valerius let out a strangled roar as his stamina bar hit zero.

Tiiiing!

[Entrant 'Captain Valerius' has been eliminated from the Trial!]

Valerius's colossal frame dissolved into a shower of green teleportation light.

Noël fell to one knee, coughing blood onto the stone as his health bar flickered red.

Gideon limped over, holding his bruised ribs, while Elara helped Lyra to her feet.

"You took a direct war-cleaver strike to lock his blade..." Gideon said, looking at Noël with disbelief and respect. "You're insane, Noël."

"It worked," Noël rasped.

He pulled a red healing elixir from his vest and swallowed it in one gulp.

A warm sensation spread through his chest as the potion began repairing his damaged ribs.

Lyra walked over to the massive iron doors of the Fourth Spire and examined the release mechanism with her spanner.

Click.

Kuuu-ung!

The doors groaned open, revealing the Fourth Keystone Seal glowing atop a high obsidian altar.

Noël slowly stood, one hand resting against his mended chest, and stepped through the threshold.

"Four down," he said. "Only the Fifth Spire remains."