Chapter 60 - I don't mind being against the wall.

"Compress it into a condensed, spherical structure... like that of a beast core --- containing chaotic mana but yet contained within it's confines," Arthur's voice caressed Ellie's ear in a hushed tone, enveloping her in a cocoon of trust and guidance as he enveloped her slim body with his arms from behind, his hands overlapping over Ellie's as he firmed her grip over her weapon. She let out a deep breath, her delicate and slender fingers touching the sinewy bow, causing the skin on her fingertips to yield and embrace the contour of the wood. The skin of her fingers sunk even deeper as she pulled the string back.

"Mhmm," Ellie emitted a soft, resonant hum, evoking a delicate harmony amidst the beads of perspiration meandering down her plump, flushed cheeks. Her gaze narrowed, akin to the focused point of a needle, as she immersed herself in unwavering concentration. The toll of maintaining two spells slowly but gradually started to catch up to her as she maintained the body of the arrow made from pure mana while also pouring a large amount of mana into the tip of the arrow, making it reach it's absolute limit like a balloon while also keeping it under control, preventing premature explosion.

Her tiny hands trembled, her grip getting weaker but Arthur curled his fingers over Ellie's hands and made it firm, "Don't worry about the hold on the bow for now. Just focus on the spell," He whispered once again as Ellie gave an affirmative nod.

"Brother... I can't hold it in much longer," she said as sweat fell from her face on the ground below, evaporating in a near instant as heat continued to build up from the rapid compression of pure mana into a small area.

"It's ok," Arthur comforted Ellie as he placed a hand on her head, "you can let go. But don't let your concentration on the compressed mana go."

"I... I will try," she replied before releasing the bow. The semi-translucent bow made out of Ellie's pure mana shimmered in the air as sunlight fell from the glass dome above their heads. It's trajectory was straight as it tore through the air with a sharp, whooshing sound before making contact with a golem conjured by Arthur. The golem was around 8 feet tall with multiple layers of dirt and rocks held together by earth mana.

"Can you still feel it?" Arthur asked as Ellie's feet stumbled and she fell back. However, Arthur caught her, slipping his arms under her's and lifted her on her feet.

"Thanks, brother," she said with a smile and wiped the sweat stinging her eyes like a needle with the corner of her sleeve before looking at the golem that was standing still, the arrow piercing its chest and protruding from it's back, "and yes, I can still feel it. But it has gotten faint."

"So it depends directly on distance, yes?" Arthur asked Ellie as if he was assessing her.

"Not just distance. It also depends on the amount of mana. If I inject more mana into it, while it is unstable and difficult to contain, the range until where the tether of control can be connected is increased." Ellie reported as her brown eyes fixed on the unmoving golem. Boo's menancing presence loomed imposingly behind her, its towering figure commanding attention, while its paws collided together repeatedly with a resounding thud, echoing through the air like a thunderous applause in her honour.

"Do you like that, Boo!? It was so cool... right?" Ellie asked suddenly as she turned her head back, a wide grin over her face as she completely let her mind wander, receding her control over the spell.

"Watch out," Arthur's voice came out more rushed than he had intended to, arriving beside her before anyone else could even comprehend the situation as he covered Ellie's body with his own.

A seismic surge of potent mana surged forth, rupturing the very foundation of the arena as Ellie's condensed arrow of mana detonated with cataclysmic force, reducing the golem to infinitesimal fragments. The ensuing explosion soared skyward, raising up like a mushroom, before collapsing inward, unfurling its destructive tendrils towards the vicinity where Ellie and Arthur stood, threatening to engulf them in its swirling maelstrom.. "I told you not to let go of it." Arthur whispered to Ellie who was still in his embrace as he placed his finger in front of the incoming wave of pure heat and destruction. A small ball of wind covered in green aura materialized in front of him. Before anyone could react, a small twister which was a compound magic of wind and water engulfed the explosion and it disappeared as soon as Ellie blinked her eyes.

Ellie's trembling hands clutched Arthur's shirt as if her very existence hung in the balance. With her face buried deep within the sanctuary of his chest, she sought refuge from the harrowing realisation of reality that surrounded them. The palpable fear coursing through her veins rendered her limbs quivering, her heartbeat thundering in her ears like the ominous drumming of imminent danger. Her once-ebon tresses, meticulously woven into a lengthy braid, now cascaded in disarray, their ashen strands unshackled from their confines. Disheveled and uncontrolled, they draped haphazardly across her face, obscuring her delicate features in a chaotic veil as the stray strands stuck to her face via the sweat dripping down.

Boo --- the guardian bear --- ever vigilant and attuned to the subtlest shifts in the surrounding milieu, promptly positioned himself as a tough wall before Ellie's vulnerable form, an instinctual awareness permeating his being that she stood on the precipice of peril.

"Oh, you're useful it seems." Arthur remarked, still holding onto Ellie who refused to let go of him as Arthur raised a brow due to him deeming the guardian bear as just a pushover. Boo let out a victorious grunt, puffing his chest out and a smirk formed on his serious looking face. However, the smirk faded away into oblivion as Sylvie pulled Boo by his long ears.

"You were too slow. Your bond would die if you are not faster," she reprimanded him, her voice serious and her features hardened. Boo was about to lash out on her but seeing the intangible veil of mana around her made a shiver run down his spine as he took a step back.

"Don't be too hard on 'im, Sylvie. He's just a wee four-year-old. Remember when you were four? You were a proper tumbleweed rollin' off the bed and refusing a bath like a cheeky monkey." He quipped, causing Sylvie to clutch her chest, teetering to the side with a comical flourish, play-acting as if she were grievously injured.

"...rry."

Arthur looked down where Ellie was still holding on to him, her voice muffled because of how hard she had been pressing her face against his chest. "It's ok. Just be careful next time." Arthur consoled, patting Ellie's back as after a brief while she finally sobered up, peeling her face away from him.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Arthur asked gently as he sat on the ground. Directing towards the ground, he motioned for Ellie to sit right beside him. Ellie nodded her head and sat down, elegantly tucking her dress beneath her as she looked up at Arthur.

"My concentration... I don't need to let my thoughts wander off."

"Half-right." Arthur replied as Ellie tilted her head in confusion, her ashen locks covering half of her face. "While it's true you need to keep your concentration on the spell to make it work, completely directing it towards a single action leaves a small window. That window of opportunity is enough for a skilled fighter to box in and land a fatal hit," Arthur explained as Ellie continued to nod taking in every little piece of information Arthur was telling her, "so what do you think you need to do?"

Ellie placed her chin on her thumb and index finger, her brows creasing in as she tried to think of possible answers to give to Arthur. She closed her eyes, recalling the feeling of the spell and the moment she lost her concentration on it, her desperation to control the explosion and her failure in doing so. After a while she threw her hands in the air, a resignated look on her face, "Ughh, I can't think of anything, brother! My brain isn't braining."

An amused look appeared over Arthur's face for the slightest fraction of a second before returning to his usual (-_-) one.

"Brother!? Did you just smile?"

"I did not."

"Liar."

"You're the one to talk."

"I never lie-"

"Didn't you ask Alea to train you by using my name?"

Ellie scratched her neck sheepishly, "Hehe, sorry. How do you know that though!???"

"Well, back to the main question." Arthur dodged the question faster than the father who went to get some milk for his cheerios.

"Are you not mad at me?" Ellie asked as her eyes concentrated on Arthur.

"Not really," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "you are my sister, after all. You'd need to do a lot more than that to make me mad at you." He replied as Ellie's eyes widened before she leaned in and gave Arthur a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank yo-, ow, ow."

Before she could thank him, Arthur pulled her by the ear and directed her towards the ground, "As I was saying. The main problem lies in your mana input. Do you now get what I mean?"

Rubbing her ear that was now bright red she looked up at him, "Yes. The more mana I pour into it, the more concentration needed. So, I just need to perfect my concentration over my current limit and then slowly increase the level cap."

"Exactly." Arthur replied as he leaned back, his hands extending backwards on the ground.

"Ellie sure is smart," A voice said from behind him as a pair of arms draped over his shoulders and coiled into a hug from behind as she placed her face near his.

"Hi, Jasmine." Arthur greeted as Jasmine smiled, ruffling Arthur's hair and tightened her grip over him. "Hello, Arthur. Long time no see. You've gotten really busy."

"I can say the same." Arthur replied as Jasmine's thin lips curved into a wider smile before letting out a slight giggle, "Sorry. I wanted to meet you as soon as I could but I had some duties." She replied and sat beside him, hugging her knees.

"Haaai~ Jasmine," Ellie greeted her as Jasmine waved at her.

"Ellie. Go back and play with Sylvie," Arthur spoke up as Ellie looked down at him and a mischievous grin appeared on her face, "Sure, hehe. Good luck, brother."

With that she bolted off, hand-in-hand with Sylvie while Boo looked back at Arthur once. Arthur gave him a slight nod as he grunted proudly and started to follow Ellie.

'Was he seeking some kind of validation?' Arthur thought as he saw the three of them disappear behind the huge, alloyed doors, the gears inside them opening and closing with loud metallic grinding.

"So, you finally got some time to spend with your family, huh?" Jasmine asked as she leaned her head over her arms that were hugging her knees as she looked at Arthur, her red eyes that carried a soft look were further punctuated by her beautiful, raven-black locks that were let loose and fell on her back and face in a languid grace. Her small body felt feeble beside Arthur's form who's shadow completely veiled her in his.

"I don't have much time, so I am trying to do as much as I can," Arthur replied as he looked forward, his face showing a tinge of worry.

"Are you worried about your parents going to war?" Jasmine asked, as she inched closer.

"There is nothing to worry about them," Arthur replied as Jasmine's eyes widened, not entirely understanding the intent behind his words, "they will voluntarily not participate in the war."

"How are you so certain?" Jasmine asked, her confusion turning into curiosity. Narrowing her eyes she looked at Arthur, "Did you do something?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows... right?" Arthur spoke.

"Pfft~" Jasmine stifled her laughter with her right hand, as she bent lower, "haha, well, if it is you, then I am sure we will never know." She replied as Arthur continued to look at her little laughing form. Wiping a tear from her eye she looked up at him. "Thanks, Arthur," she started to speak, "you know since the war there haven't been many moments where I had so light-heartedly laughed. So, I am grateful to you."

Arthur tilted his head the other way, swaying it in right and left motion, "I didn't do anything. However, it's still good if that made you alright than before." He spoke and hugged his knees as well, looking at the glass dome above their heads that had a crack running across it.

Jasmine followed his gaze and looked up as well, noticing the same crack in the glass. "Her magic is weird. Do you know of a reason?" Jasmine asked as she felt the lingering effects of the catastrophic force of Ellie's raw pure mana.

Arthur's eyes traced the lingering trail of pure mana in astonishment as he muttered under his breath, "I have no idea."

Of course, Jasmine caught up to him lying because of the amount of time she had spent with him and how close they were, but she stayed silent. 'There must be a reason.' She assured herself.

Arthur stood up and extended his hand downward, towards her, "Want to practice for a while?" He asked as Jasmine nodded with a bright smile, slipping her hand into his. He closed his palm, embracing the thin fingers as he pulled Jasmine to her feet.

"Try to last for a while," Jasmine challenged with a smirk.

"I think I last quite a while," Arthur replied and was waiting for a laugh, thinking he cracked some kind of joke but seeing Jasmine's impassive face --- completely oblivious, he let out a deep breath.

"Just like old times, Arthur. Blunt your weapon with mana. However, you can only use wind," Jasmine spoke as Arthur raised his hand in protest.

"Isn't that unfair? If I don't use everything, I think I will lose," Arthur replied in an exaggerated tone, trying to act confused and all scared.

"You're a horrible actor, Arthur," Jasmine spoke as with a swift, practiced motion, she unsheathed her twin daggers, revealing their gleaming metallic blades. As the blades emerged, a faint but distinct screech reverberated through the air, reminiscent of mana beasts' mournful cries that had fell to her blades.

"Maybe you just know me too well," Arthur countered with a shrug as he took Dawn out from her sheath. He looked down at the Teal blade, the rune on it's hilt lacking any vibrance or hum, as if it had lost all power or vitality.

Maybe I should try aether on her.' An intrusive thought entered his mind as he mindlessly kept looking at Dawn's shimmering blade. "You need to be more vigilant," Jasmine's voice echoed like a hushed whisper inside Arthur's ears as her dagger's sharp tip touched Arthur's throat, their red and blue eyes looking at each other with an overwhelming intensity.

For a moment Arthur stayed silent and motionless. Jasmine kept her eyes unmoving, not letting it off him even for a little while. But soon enough... she blinked. Not every human has the ability to go without blinking for a long while. It was the smallest fraction of a second but as soon as she blinked, Arthur had disappeared. Jasmine looked down as she saw Arthur almost on the ground level. Her hair stood on their edge and her senses started blaring their alarms as she sensed an incoming danger.

Arthur spun on his back and delivered an upper hook kick but transitioned it into a straight power kick towards her midsection. Applying wind mana to her midsection, she augmented herself and readied for impact but as soon as the kick landed, she felt her mana core inside her body move an inch from the impact of the blow. It was passive force as she wasn't sent tumbling away but instead just felt the strength of the blow. Before she could react, Arthur spun once again, this time delivering the upper hook kick and knocked the dagger into the air. Following in a near instant, his own sword pressed against her neck, "Your grip. It was weak."

Jasmine smirked and extended her hand forward, catching the dagger that Arthur had kicked into the air and swatted his sword away before dashing inwards and slashing in a diagonal. Arthur's eyes widened as he started dodging her attacks.

'Diagonal slashes leave an opening but are effective. However, she is covering the openings with her speed... and her speed in increasing more and more,' Arthur noted as he focused solely on defense. Dodging another arc of blades from the same direction, he was about to jump back to create some distance, however, a powerful gust of wind propelled him forward and Jasmine once again touched her dagger to his neck.

"2 for me," she spoke with a bitter smile, "and you can use mana too. I know you're barely augmenting yourself." She spoke as Arthur closed his eyes.

"This is all I can do for now. My mana reserves are really low after training with Ellie. It's my loss," he replied while raising his hands in a placating manner. Jasmine bitterly removed her daggers from him before sheathing them in her scabbard.

"You should take some rest. We can practice tomorrow," Jasmine suggested.

Arthur looked down, his hands trembling as he placed Dawn back into his ring. The acclorite in his palm started resonating, sucking in huge amounts of mana from his secondary core.

"No promises," Arthur spoke, his voice staggering as he took a step back.

"Arthur? Are you okay?" Jasmine asked as she got closer but Arthur took another step back.

"I am fine. Don't worry. I just need some sleep," he said and turned around, taking quick steps towards his room. While he was on his way, he took out a scroll from his ring.

"Where are you?" He asked, his breath getting shallower with every passing second.

"I... I am in my room. What happened to you?"

"I am coming over," Arthur replied and ended the transmission. Making his way quickly towards the designated room, Arthur crashed the doors open. Arisu stood inside with a worried face, her damp tresses cascading over her shoulders, clinging to them like a heavy shroud, their moisture saturating her clothes. In this state, her inner-wear became inadvertently visible, adding an unintended layer of vulnerability to her already disheveled appearance.

"What happ-" Before she could talk, Arthur clutched her arms and placed her against a wall, his hair covering his eyes.

"Oh wait, wait, wait. I understand you've finally understood your mistake for not considering my proposal before, but isn't doing THIS too sudden? I mean I don't mind being against the wall but--"

"Your mana..." Arthur spoke and stopped.

"Say what?"

"Your phoenix will. It can burn anything. I can't control the mana spilling out from my core. Destroy any bits that leak out of me," Arthur spoke as Arisu let out a disappointed sigh. He was nearing a certain stage and the ramifications for them and the changes in a human body were beyond his calculations... for the first time. First time in his both lives, he felt uncertainty. A feeling of not knowing anything about what was happening.

Arisu hovered her hands above Arthur, her white hair transitioning into red hair with red strands while her eyes changed into a bright red colour. Meanwhile, Arthur's body automatically activated realmheart. The runes over his core and his body started to burn like wildfire and then all of a sudden, the golden light engulfed not only him, pulling him in an amethyst portal before his existence was completely wiped out, leaving Arisu's hands hovering over complete emptiness, the subtle warmth of his body over her fingertips and thighs where he laid down were the last proof that he ever existed.