[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 191: The Great Migrators

Just as Astrid ravaged half the magical inscriptions of the corrupted, the mana swirled in the air. Vibrating, Astrid could feel the intensity that the mage was able to control. Blood dripped from the corner of his eyes as they transformed to an eerie white.

Forbidden skill.

Astrid frowned as she blasted the mage’s body, but the bodyguards that were still to be dissected blinked to his side. [Crashes] blasted their bodies. Limbs scattered, blood flew. It wasn’t enough.

“Everyone attack!” Astrid cried out. “We need to stop him.”

Daniel took a breath as multiple lines flashed within his eyes. It wasn’t just him, all the others began channelling their strongest moves, or attacks. They were going all out.

They moved. In a flash, it was as if they had their own teleportation skills as they struck the flesh wall of the corrupted. Red rain scattered, but it still wasn’t enough.

Astrid could feel the vibrant space magic fill the air. She didn’t know what he was going to do. If he was planning on teleporting away, then although it wasn’t ideal, it was an okay outcome. However, if he was to bring others here… It would be disastrous for not just them–but the whole of Rebirth.

Is that what he was planning all along? Astrid grimaced.

She was about to form her strongest attack. Void energy. But an anxiousness bubbled deep within her. Something was telling her not to kill the mage. Was it her battle intuition, or was Pupil helping her out from behind the scenes?

Not knowing the reason–she just had to trust her instincts. It had gotten her this far, after all.

Instead, she had to stop the mage from casting his skill. And that meant delving into his mind.

Astrid used Mind Domain, and the connection shot through the air like a needle, and penetrated the mage’s skull.

An intense strain tugged at her mind. Although it was faint, she could tell that the mage was of a higher level than her. The level wasn’t a cause for concern as she was always facing enemies above, but the power of the mage was what made her struggle. He was strong.

Not only was his Intelligence very high, but it seemed he had a mental defence-like skill. It was a first for Astrid.

The defensive skill reminded her of the magical inscriptions within the corrupted’s heart. She first tried to blast through it just like she had done previously, but it was clear that the brand was far stronger in his own body, than what he could draw on others.

It stubbornly resisted the aggressive attacks. Once an attack was received, it would clench, becoming tighter. Stronger.

Astrid took a breath as sweat dropped from her forehead. The impending disaster only added to the stress of the situation, but she wasn’t alone.

The darkness swirled, and out came a mane of lithe build. Brett. He streaked through the darkness like a phantom of the night. His eyes were emotionless, as if he wasn’t human at all.

Blade sifting through the air with no resistance, it was aimed straight for the man’s red, beating heart. The aim was true, but a bodyguard blinked to the mage’s side.

But Brett had clearly watched and studied how they teleported. His body twisted in an impossible way. As if he had no bones in his body.

The black blade in his living-metal arm twisted, and flicked straight into the mages shoulder. Fire followed. It was a strange colour. Black mainly, but red was intertwined between each tendril of black. If not for the screaming cries of the space mage, Astrid wouldn’t have believed it was fire at all.

Although Brett wasn’t able to deal a killing blow, Astrid took advantage of the wounded man from the Order.

The magical inscription devolved from a sturdy compacted mass of high powered runes, to one that was filled with holes.

Astrid just had to crack it.

Thankfully, now that it was unravelled thanks to the wound he had suffered, Astrid was able to penetrate it, and ravage it from within. With a single [Crash], Astrid devastated the rune until it crumbled into nothing. Only then did her Mind Domain reach its target.

The world turned to white, until Astrid created the terrain of her choosing in a split second. A space mage would teleport, and he had access to trap magic. That meant the surroundings had to be created with restricting teleportation in mind, and of a creation where he couldn’t place his traps.

With her as the centre, a room filled with lance-like spikes jutted out from thin-air. She didn’t know if the mage had to touch an object to place a trap, or if he could do it from a distance, but she was ready for whatever he may do.

“You can only stall time–”

Astrid interrupted him with multiple high powered [Crashes]. However, he was able to dodge them by blinking to an area in the distance. In the next moment, Astrid could feel the powerful emotion racking his mind. Anxiousness.

Astrid commanded the spikes to spin, move. Disordered with no rhyme or reason, they moved with a mind of their own.

She continued with fast firing bullets of Psychokinetic energy. He attempted to teleport away, but the location he had planned beforehand was no longer safe. Just as he landed to a spot of his choosing, a spike sliced passed his brittle flesh.

It was evident he wasn’t a corrupted like Umair Byrd was, or Earl Kamron. His body was a regular mage that relied too much on people protecting him. Something that Astrid didn’t have to worry about.

The moment he entered her Domain, his life was forfeit.

Her attacks were relentless. Savage. Primal. Every technique she fired was aimed at any vital area she could see. Heart, brain, limbs. No target was out of bounds. She was aiming for his life.

However, she had learned from times previous. She couldn’t scour Earl Kamron’s mind because of the risk of his physical might that threatened to rip her to pieces, the space mage was different.

He wasn’t able to counter attack. He couldn’t move the way he wanted.

This was Astrid’s Domain, and he was just a prisoner within her mind.

The space mange attempted to blink again, but this time, Astrid had tightened the formation of lances. One pierced through his shoulder, ripping it off. Another shot through his stomach, impaling him.

Mana surged. He was about to move again, but Astrid sent out a soul attack. It disrupted the mana within his container, causing a globule of red to eject out of his mouth.

I can do it now. Astrid’s eyes flashed. One with an X scored within, the other, a void swirled.

She scoured his mind, but discovered a burst of energy took hold. It wasn’t trying to attack her, rather it was attempting to destroy his own mind.

Another defence skill. Just what are you hiding? Snarling, Astrid yanked out the eyes from his sockets at the same time, she [Crashed] the mana container deep within his body.

A pained howl bellowed out his scratched throat. Astrid ignored it. Instead, she focused once more on his memories.

Now that he could no longer use any mana, his mind was defenceless. It was a shame. If she couldn’t detect the skill thanks to the unique properties of her new eye, his mind would have shut down. The secrets of the Order would have remained that. A secret. But now Astrid, everything lay bare. Or at least whatever information ‘Darcy Beck’ was privy to.

A name that she had just discovered from a recent memory of his.

***

“Darcy, are you listening?” A grand voice with a dark timbre rumbled forth from a man that could only be described as… magnificent.

A golden mask with blank features that had long white horns growing from the forehead. A halo–a real halo, hovered atop like a crown.

Darcy gulped. Shit, he was caught in a trance again. If this is what it was like being in front of a Cardinal, he could only imagine the presence the Pope would have.

“I’m listening, sire.” Darcy bowed. “I will open a portal for you all to arrive into the underbelly and begin–”

Darcy’s words were cut off. Not because he was silenced–the memory was severed. It was just like back when Astrid delved into the mind of that ruffian outside the underbelly before.

Everyone was standing in a room, but Astrid wasn’t able to hear, or see them. She could only make out a vague image, but it was clear now. It was him. The Cardinal.

His words were intermittent, and although she could hear a few words, it wasn’t enough information to satisfy her. She needed to know what he was saying. What they were saying.

Astrid rekindled her efforts and unbeknownst to her, a third eye popped open on her forehead. She felt the connection become clearer. As if it didn’t dare hide its information from its gaze.

Finally, the words flickered back. From an inconsistent muttering, to full clarity.

A man in a grinning, multi-coloured mask stepped forward, and said in a high-pitched laughing voice. “First part of the plan is a success. We managed to guide the strength of Rebirth into Apocryphia.”

Then a woman stepped forward. Her mask had ice formed around it, but it wasn’t just the ornament on her face. The rest of her body was also covered in sharded ice. Her voice was as frigid as the ice on her body was. “Second part of the plan is a success. Although with catastrophic casualties, we managed to enter the dungeon to commence part three.”

Darcy stepped forward. “I am all set to commence part three. We have formed a runic teleporter within the dungeon. All we need is to activate it, and I can send the army into the depths of Rebirth.”

“And Ronan?” The Cardinal asked.

Ronan stepped forward. His mask was entirely blank. There were no features, but unlike all the others–he wasn’t wearing a robe. He was in a standard attire that anyone from the Wayfarers would wear. Leather jacket, slim fitted pants, and a sword lay at his waist.

However, unlike his bland appearance, his aura was incredibly sharp. The domain around him was unable to be turned off, so he stood a distance around everyone as the air protested against the sharpness.

“Because of the casualties we suffered on entering the dungeon, part four will be behind schedule,” Ronan said.

“How long does the Pope need to wait?”

“No longer than three days… the Leviathan will awaken, sire.” Ronan bowed.

“Good,” he responded. “Soon, Rebirth shall fall. And so will the rest of the world. We will finish what was started before the apocalypse. All hail the Great Migrators.”

“All hail the Great Migrators!”

The shouts rumbled throughout the shrouded room.

From the veil, a pair of golden eyes broke through the memories of Darcy. They stared at Astrid. Her Dominating Sovereigns Eye flashed a brutal light as the set of gilded eyes were destroyed.

Astrid screamed. Blood splashed from the orifices on her face as she clutched at her head. Agony. She resisted the pain, then severed the mind of Darcy. He was killed.

The Great Migrators… Astrid gnawed on her lips. What the hell is going on?

Skills have evolved!