Savior! Redemption in Another World! - Chapter 83

(This chapter takes place directly after the cutaway within chapter 80 ‘Catastrophic Success’. It’s the fight between the party + parents and an Unleashed Antonio. Thanks for the pens 🙂 )

— Point of View: Teresa Delarus —

As Elandria bobbed her head out of the way of the incoming spike, it was obvious that Antonio was out of his mind.

No words needed to be spoken as the rest of the party drew their respective weapons, as Zerath, the man who identified himself as Anotnio’s uncle, had a pair of scaled wings extend out of his back.

Dashing backward, I knew my positioning in battle better than anyone else. All I could do was apply a Dominus tier cloak and sit in the backline, supplying buffs and support spells to our vanguard and main dealer.

Yet, the party composition was much different than I was used to. Out vanguard now consisted of both the large bulky Zerath as well as Flare, whilst Ivy, Stephanie, and Elandria occupied the roles of main damage dealers.

Of course, this was due to the fact that our main dealer was currently our opponent, but also due to the fact that Elandria had yelled out this formation and we simply followed her orders as if it were natural.

Unfortunately, although Antonio seemed to have lost his sense of self, his sense of reason and battle sense had not diminished in the slightest.

The moment we Elandria dodged his attack and called out the formation, the battle truly began.

Giving us no time to breathe and no time to coordinate with each other, Antonio started his assault. First, he stuck his staff forward and yelled something in a language it seemed not even Stephanie or Elandria spoke, as they both looked at him confused, yet once he tapped his staff onto the ground, I knew what was coming next.

“Everyone fly or leap into the air  NOW!” I yelled, forcing more cloak into my legs and kicking off the ground. Thankfully, my call came just in time, as a sheet of ice spread out from the tip of Antonio’s staff at a speed almost faster than my eyes could keep up, freezing everything in its path.

Yet, that pose left him extremely open, and Flare along with Zerath did not let that fact go to waste.

Flare immediately shot towards him, slashing at his neck with the broad side of her blade in order to knock him out, whilst Zerath dropped to the ground and attempted to land a blow to his chin.

However, remaining perfectly still in the air, Antonio brought his hand forward and quickly, yet audibly chanted.

“What’s yours is mine, what’s mine is mine. May those who have trespassed into my kingdom relinquish all they have gained. Despot’s Domain.” With those strangely deep-voiced words, Flare fell to the floor and Zerath’s speed was reduced to but a fraction, allowing the now reinvigorated Antonio to easily dodge and counter both of them.

Was that the new spell he was working on? I know he’s been practicing with his golden magic recently, but I had no idea it could have such an effect.

Yet, the terror of the spell did not stop there, as Anotonio shot through the air, landing squarely in front of Elandria, placing his fist square into her stomach.

Before she was even able to recoil, Antonio raised his now shining fist and struck her directly in the jaw, sending her spiraling through the air.

At the same time, he tapped his staff onto the ground, this time sending a wave of fire throughout the battlefield, burning those who had not been paying attention to their footwork.

It looked as if he was ignoring the rest of the battlefield and focusing solely on the master mage, and Ivy did not let that chance slip by. Drawing her steel hunting dagger, she slammed a hunter’s cloak into her arms and brought the flat side of the blade down on the back of Antonio’s neck, ignoring the searing burns slowly eating at her feet.

However, much to both Ivy’s and Elandria’s dismay, the dagger shattered upon impacting the back of his neck.

No, the moment before it collided with his skin, the same black rock that he had originally shot at Elandria formed around the area the blade was going to strike, taking the full brunt of the attack.

Instantly, I understood exactly what I needed to do.

As Antonio’s attention swapped from the injured Elandria to his attacker, I closed the gap between Elandria and me, quickly chanting a Dux tier healing spell and applying it to the Fae mage.

“Flare! Apply a Beast cloak and attack Antonio! I think I understand how his defense works!” I yell out, hoping she can hear me and make it in time.

Thankfully, it seems that was always the plan for Flare, as, by the time the words leave my throat, she’s already nearly in full swing at Antonio’s neck.

However, instead of tanking it as he did with Ivy’s dagger, the rabid ice mage drops his attention from Ivy and shoots into the air, dodging the strike and looking down at the battlefield. From above, he stuck his hands out and conjured a short storm of icicles, raining them down throughout the field, catching both Elandria and Zerath off guard.

“If he can take the attack, he does. If he can’t he either runs or casts that spell from before if he can’t escape. Also, he seems to have no tactics other than attacking his most recent attacker or who Antonio perceives as the biggest threat.” I yell out, confident in my hypothesis after that last interaction.

If Antonio was ‘normal’, he wouldn’t have dodged that attack from Flare, instead blasting her backward with wind magic. Also, he would be targeting me, given the fact I’m the party’s support. The tactical mind of Antonio is gone, all that’s left is instinct.

That being said, even if you can understand something, it doesn’t mean you can overcome it so easily.

As if to prove my hypothesis even further, Antonio completely disregards the rest of the party and instead shoots down towards the now open-for-attack Flare. Using herself as bait, Flare applies her traditional defensive cloak and prepares to face the mad mage on head to head.

Once Antonio is a few meters from Flare, Elandria, Flare herself, Ivy, and I all launch a different attack, trapping the mad dog in a cage of his own making.

Noticing the large blasts of magic much too late, the rabid Antonio has no choice but to finish his attack on Flare and dash to the right, directly into the loving embrace of Zerath’s large stone staff.

As the staff swings downward, a deafening crack could be heard, as the large shield of obsidian that had formed around Antonio is filled with spider-like cracks, yet it’s still not enough.

Antonio, taking this golden opportunity for all it’s worth, grabs onto the staff of Zerath and pulls him towards himself, causing Zerath to stumble forward and catch a blow from Antonio straight to the jaw, sending him spiraling into the ground, unconscious.

Turning to look at the rest of the party, Antonio then dashes once again at Elandria, now armed with a large stone staff. Yet, before Antonio is able to make contact, a miracle occurs.

A blur of red shoots past me, as a loud crash, resounds through the battlefield.

Standing before Antonio was a man I’d seen very recently, wielding a large battle-ax, which had just shattered the obsidian shield. Gust, Antonio’s father had never left, or if he did, he made it back in the knick of time.

Everyone present was extremely caught off guard, Antonio included.

Yet, the battle was far from over, as the obsidian shield quickly began to reform.

However, instead of panicking, Gust simply gave a large laugh.

“Self-repairing armor? I’m getting really sick of that gimmick!” He yelled with a laugh, striking down on Antonio again and again, each time destroying the armor that was still being repaired.

Antonio was defending the best he could, sending waves of fire, ice, and sharp spikes of earth off of his body at all times, all whilst blocking with his shield and ever-cracking stone staff. Yet it was obvious that the battle was quickly swinging in our favor.

No one wanted to let this opportunity go to waste, so we once again launched a four-pronged attack, this time being successful due to the physical giant that was keeping Antonio from blocking or running.

However, the feral beast was once again not out of tricks. As he continued to block Gust with his stone staff and obsidian shield, he began to quickly chant.

“What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine. May I reclaim all that’s been lost and all that will be. Despot’s Treasure.” Once again, golden energy shot out of Antonio, yet before it reached anyone but Gust, it suddenly vanished.

Along with it, so did his shield of obsidian, as well as the golden cloak he had surrounded himself with.

With his physical advantage destroyed along with his defense, Gust quickly overpowered the rampaging mage, allowing Ivy to sneak behind him, delivering the decisive blow to the back of his head, as I tended to the wounds the party had sustained.

Antonio fell to the ground, defeated, as the grotesque wings, made of pure white bones and feathered with pure red blood, disappeared into his back.

Seemingly not wanting to explain himself or make any trouble, Gust quickly made himself scarce after making sure Antonio was still alive, and no one was trying to kill him.

With that, Antonio was subdued and brought back to our campsite on the back of the embarrassed Zerath.

Only one real thought has been reinforced in my mind.

I  need this young man as my mage, he would make the perfect magical asset when I become Queen.