Chapter 65: Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane? No! It’s A... Meteor?

Bellona was tapping her foot in agitation as she stood in the Training Field waiting for the match to start. The other members of the team, the peaceful monk included, had all shifted away from her slightly, not wanting to stand next to the human volcano that was about to blow. Bellona was cursing Ares under her breath while running through the previous fight again and again, trying to figure what the stupid magic was. If she couldn't figure it out, she could tell it would be seriously problematic for her. One of the magic strengths of her magic was being able to directly affect pretty much everything in existence, people included. If she couldn't affect Ares directly because of that stupid magic, a large chunk of her magic's strength would evaporate on the spot. She wouldn't be helpless necessarily, but it would make life a lot harder and she would probably have to rely on her magical staff. The staff was a treasure and its function was simple, it stored mana. This was Bellona's major flaw; for various reasons related to her magic, she vacuumed up her mana at an astonishing rate. Rhea was aware of this drawback and went out to find a treasure that was perfect for her daughter and came back with this; which was perfect both in terms of design and functionality. Of course, realistically, only Bellona would be lucky enough to get a treasure this powerful in this sort of manner; her mother was a peak existence with a large amount of wealth at her disposal, as well as connections, to find such a thing. She treasured it, though, because it was really invaluable to her as a cultivator. It was so perfect for her, in fact, that it became her personal treasure the second she first touched it, that was just how tailor made it truly was. Normally, Bellona never had to use the staff as people typically folded in the face of her magic, but if Ares was going to be stubborn about it, then he would leave Bellona with no choice but to go all out!

Feeling pumped and raring to kick some revenant ass, Bellona waited restlessly for the current match to start. These poor cultivators were about to pay the price for Ares' antics, and it was not going to be pleasant!

The loud horn blew once more, dictating the start of the match, and the the Red Sea cultivators made a mad dash for the talisman. The first to notice something was off was a cultivator in the back who started sweating due to the boiling heat. He checked his body for any magical interference but promptly realised it was the temperature outside his body that was rising rapidly. What started off as wave of hot air became a mini heatwave. from there, it just kept getting infinitely worse. The cultivators' skin dried as they were boiled alive inside an invisible inferno. If given the choice, these cultivators would have rather been standing on the surface of the sun right about now as they rolled around screaming on the floor. The name Red Sea was somewhat ironic as they were being treated like lobsters by a furious Bellona who was only really half paying attention. She was focused on Ares' magic but couldn't figure it out to save her life. She bit her nail in frustration and even ended up agitating herself to the point she used an art in anger.

"Meteor!"

""Eh?!"" Ares, alongside every single other spectator, and even the burning Red Sea cultivators, looked to the sky in bewilderment as the name of that art could only mean one thing... But surely not, right?! Ares almost refused to believe whatever this absurd magic was could also literally summon a meteor and, yet, as his neck craned upward, he witnessed a large chunk of rock plummeting to the earth. As he squinted, he noticed something very interesting... The meteor is teleporting closer? As Ares stared at the meteor, he also realised something else, something that would pave the way for his thought process to finally prevail over this mystery magic. It's teleports are getting shorter every time... The temperature earlier incremented... Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh why am I so dumb?! I have all these details and I still can't figure out this damn magic! Bellona needs to a know a specific detail... The detail is presumably something that can increment or be lowered... So it can't be qualitative... It has to be quantitative... IT HAS TO BE QUANTITATIVE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I SEE! WHAT A FASCINATING MAGIC! Ares burst out laughing amidst a crowd of onlookers who were far too pre-occupied with the fucking meteor descending to earth to pay any attention to the lunatic howling beside them.

Ares turned to Enyo and whispered his speculations into her ear to which she replied, "Yeah, that's about right. You've missed a few small details, but you're mostly correct. It's quite a weird magic isn't it? It's no surprise everyone thought it would be useless. Objectively speaking, it sounds pretty unimpressive, and what it was capable of when Bellona was young was incredibly boring. It eventually evolved into this, though, and there's still room for it to grow even further beyond comprehension. Still though..." Enyo pet Ares on the head as she wore a proud smirk. "Who's a clever boy? In all seriousness, I would never have guessed Bellona's magic if I didn't already know it. I'm impressed you got it. How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Ah, when I narrowed the detail she needs down to a numerical thing, there were only so many options available. It also had to be something that was present in just about everything in existence, or rather was needed in relation to it, so that narrowed it down even further. Still, it's reassuring now that I know what it is. I'm fully convinced she can't touch my disintegration or nothingness magic now. Annihilation will do me no good, though, which is kinda sad. I do like making things go boom a lot... Well I guess I can still launch the attack, it will just become a mini boom which might be cute? Alrighty! I've decided to make it my mission to win with a boom!"

"... Can you even do it as long as Bellona has mana? It doesn't seem possible... Unless..." Enyo thought back to a certain thing she'd seen Ares do a little while ago and sighed inwardly. That poor girl Bellona is seriously not going to know what hit her... I thought that issue was going to be problematic enough as is, this is just going to make it way worse... Oh well, her problem, not mine. I've already said what needs to be said to her about that. 

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

While Enyo and Ares were chatting, the meteor had arrived and bulldozed itself into the Field, immediately killing every Red Sea cultivator no questions asked. The tremors and the gusts of winds that were supposed to ripple out from the point of impact were tamed by Bellona's magic so, other than the noise, it wasn't as impressive as it could have been. Ares jeered inwardly because he wanted to see the impact in all its glory and Bellona had robbed him! What a lame meteor! That settles it, one day I'm going to make my own meteor art! It's going to be way cooler! Its even going to explode!... Like everything else I do, I guess... But it will still be cooler than this at least! With firm resolve, Ares snobbishly turned his nose up at the art he'd just witnessed. "Hmph, 6/10 at best. Not nearly showy enough, how regrettable. And here I was thinking we shared a sense of aesthetic... My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined!"

"Yes, well, if you've turned into an art critic, then feel free to tell it to Bellona's face as she's headed this way. I could try and ask you not to be too smug in the upcoming conversation, but I know that request will just fall on deaf ears so, instead, can you at least not find a way to insult her chest again?"

"I promise you I'll try to refrain from doing as such. In fact, I'll do the breast I can. Hehehehe"

Thwack

Bellona waltzed over. She was still annoyed about the whole 'Ares' magic' thing, but that didn't stop her from flexing her own muscles in front of Ares to jokingly assert dominance.

Ares grinned so much his cheeks hurt. "Maybe I'd be more impressed if those muscles were twice their size."

"..." Bellona stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Ares with an uncertain glare. Does he really know, or was that just a coincidence. 

"I must say though, that meteor seemed entirely unneeded. I guess you could call it a drastic measure?"

"DAMN YOU BASTARD!" Bellona tackled Ares and they scuffled on the floor for a minute or two with everyone else crowding around and taking bets. Unfortunately for Gladius, who chose to bet on the dark horse, Ares lost and was begging Enyo for help again."

"Enyoooooooo, your sister is meannnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" Ares' whines fell upon deaf ears as Enyo just wordlessly shook her head from side to side.

Bellona was furiously shaking Ares. "Spill it, punk! If you know, say it! Don't act coy with me you dopey pea-brain!"

"So what if I know, it won't change the outcome of the fight anyway! You're going to lose, loser!"

Crack

Bellona dug her knee into Ares' spine to which he sarcastically complained. "Ow owowowowow. You seriously need to take lessons from your sister in how to give a massage!"

Crack

Ares Shifted out of Bellona's clutches and stretched, clicking all of his bones back into their correct positions. "So, 'Measurement Manipulation' is it?"

Bellona got up and dusted herself off, kissing her teeth before accepting defeat and sighing to herself. "Tsk. Yeah, go on, ask away. I'm sure you have questions."

"There seems to be a limit? You could decrease the distance between the meteor and the floor, but the amount was lowering every time you did it? Also, the temperature had to increase bit by bit when you were burning them."

"I can only half or double a measurement. As the meteor got closer, halving the distance meant less and less as the distance decreased. The atmosphere of this planet is roughly 60 miles away. The first halving after entering the atmosphere would bring it down to 30 miles, then 15, then 7.5, etc..."

"Four more questions. My first two are: where on earth did that meteor come from and how were you able to affect it with your magic from this distance?"

"Ah, Rhea got me my own collection of meteors. She checks in on them every now and then and refills them, but I have to go and interact with them manually to use a specific art. The art is like a mark of sorts that lets me use the distance halving part of my magic regardless of distance."

"I see. Third: You can double or halve literally anything that can be measured?"

"Pretty much. Distance, temperature, size, length, time, age, light, gravity, speed, weight. You name it, and the answers almost always yes. If a unit of measurement exists, I can toy with it. It's also why I'm not worried about your Shock Beads, I just need to reduce the energy of the explosion. You know, megatons and kilotons and what not. There are also a few other things I can do, like put up a distance doubling barrier around me, making me technically invincible. That was why Sadie could never hit me. Whenever her fist or weapon struck the barrier, it would just be pushed away over and over again. The same is true of magic. I can't really 'deflect' it, but if someone is 6 feet away from me and their magic is 3 feet away... Well, I can double the magic's distance from me and plop it directly on the cultivator's head. I can create tsunamis from glasses of water and earthquakes with the tap of my foot. If I repeatedly double my distance from someone with my mark, I can teleport all around the planet. By that same token, if I halve the distance, I can put myself directly in front of them from basically anywhere. I can increase my physical strength by upping muscle mass, grip strength, etc, and fight in close combat too... So yeah, I love my magic, it makes me feel omnipotent. Of course, when I first started using it, I could only double the length of things, and once at that. Some people thought it might maybe be good for increasing the range of weapons as a support type magic. My unique aspect does come under the support pillar at the end of the day so that was all anyone expected of it. Turned out to be a lot more than that though. I can still function as a support, though, increasing the power of other people's magic; I've just never found any magic worth sacrificing my own time and fun for."

"That's fair, I wouldn't either with a magic like that. Fourth, and finally, your weakness is your mana consumption, right?"

"... Yeah. The doubling and halving magic costs a metric ton on its own and can't be halved, nor can I double my mana pool either. Pair that with the fact that I pretty much always have to use the doubling and halving magics multiple times to get the desired effect and I run out of mana like no-one's business. That meteor alone near enough completely spent me. I've only got, like, 5% of my mana remaining. That's where this treasure comes in!" Bellona lifted her staff with a happiness plastered on her face. "The amount of mana it can store is pretty massive and gives me the reserves I need to keep casting. I have no need for treasures that can attack or defend as I can already do literally all of that with the snap of a finger. A treasure like this really enables me to do whatever I want. Rhea really went all out getting it for me... So I really do treasure it."

"Thanks for being honest. In return I shall tell you whatever you wish to know about my own magic because, truthfully, it doesn't matter anymore. You've already lost as your magic cannot affect mine. 'Disintegration' is not something that technically exists. It is a verb, not a noun, and therefore cannot be quantified or measured in any capacity. It is simply the essence of disintegration made manifest. Even if you try to manipulate, say, the 'size' of the magic, your magic will disintegrate the second it touches mine, long before it can take effect. You won't be able to win in a direct confrontation with my disintegration aspect, I'm afraid. It doesn't end there though as I also have the nothingness aspect. Negative space and negative time are essentially both permanently locked at 'zero'. Nothingness exists where there is 'zero' space, and negative time exists where there is 'zero' time. I'm guessing you can't halve or double zero and it would be irrelevant even if you could anyway, right?"

"Yeah... It's actually a bit more restrictive than that. I can't bring anything below 'one' with my halving. I can't say, halve the number of Ares there are. Since there's only one of you, it would normally split you in half, but that's a no-go because then there would be 0.5, which is less than one."

Charity interjected as, although she was familiar with the magic, there was still a lot she herself didn't even know about it. It was a magic with depth, to say the least. "What about back in Red Soil? How did you make that one guy disappear?"

"... Hmm." Bellona wracked her brain trying to remember the disciple selection. "Oh, right, that guy. The one that wouldn't stop hitting on me. Bleurgh. A loser with plain-Jane fire magic?! Hell no, I can do that myself with a lighter if I wanted too! Anyway, that one's actually really simple. He had a scar."

"... What?" Of all the possible options, Charity hadn't expected that response in the slightest.

"A scar is a wound. If I just double the size of the wound, it becomes bigger. Eventually, it becomes a hole. If I double the size of the hole, again and again, poof. It's like a magic routine! Now you see him, now you don't! Of course, if people put effort into blocking my magic, they can avoid it to an extent; but it's the indirect stuff they mostly have to worry about. What exactly are you supposed to do if the whole world turns against you? Temperatures of -2000 degrees, wind speeds that can shred metal, an earthquake that goes above and beyond the Richter scale?! God my magic is so cool!"

As Bellona rambled on about her magic and how unique it was, a certain trio showed up. Not together, mind you, but a trio of individuals who all had their own reasons to be here and just happened to arrive simultaneously. Eagerton, Sadie, and Fate all glanced at each other as it dawned upon them they were all here for the exact same reason... Ares! Sadie hmphed in their direction and set off because who exactly was going to try and stop her from having her say first? That logic was then immediately applied to Fate again who could do naught but give way for Eagerton who's cultivation was way above hers. At the very least, Fate was alive, so there was that. When she was caught eavesdropping on Eagerton he let her off lightly, mostly because he didn't want to ruin what he had going on with Ares as he was also a revenant, but also because Fate was pretty harmless overall. She could fight, definitely, way more than she let on at that too, but she was pretty much just a recon specialist. If the cultivation gap between Eagerton and Fate hadn't been so large, she might have gotten away with her eavesdropping. Actually, if Eagerton hadn't been aware of Fate's identity before hand, he probably wouldn't have even kept an eye out for her. Fate, being the spec-ops of the main Umbra Wolf family, was somewhat unknown. Most people knew a 'stealth-oriented' revenant existed within the main family, but knowing any details about her name, art, or appearance was rare. Once again, though, Eagerton's information network was phenomenal. This was also why Enyo, despite being in an equal position to Fate, didn't recognise her back when they met. Enyo knew all of the other children of Calla though, even if she'd only seen them once or twice. 

Ares was in the middle of insisting Bellona amplify his explosion magic; which was a conversation that was making Bellona mad and Enyo laugh. Ares paid it no mind though and kept pushing because there was seriously a lot at stake here! He had a world to save and he had incredible magic to do it with! But what If that incredible magic could become SUPER INCREDIBLE magic, as he so termed it, then wouldn't that be for the better of the universe?! Bellona kept bluntly denying him though because she wasn't impressed by the Shock Beads. Ares was about to explain that they were the lowest of the low in terms of output when Sadie showed up and interrupted the conversation. "Hey... Uh, good news or bad news?" Sadie was mostly directing this to Ares and Enyo so everyone else, other than Bellona who was nosy, went off and had their own discussions... Yes even Trew, which was a fact many still had trouble accepting. Even Sadie almost did a double take when she saw him.

""Good! / Bad."" Ares wanted the good, Enyo wanted the bad.

"Bad it is." Sadie ignored Ares because she knew revenants well enough to know that he was going to ask for the good news, and then refuse to listen to the bad news after, pretending that it couldn't hurt him if it didn't exist. She knew this because it was the exact same thing that goofball Aym always did. "Um, I apologise in advance... But I was just talking with Rhea... And she demanded I stop lying to her otherwise the consequences of my actions would be, and I quote, 'catastrophic for me'. Soooo, I told her that you, Enyo, asked me to keep a secret... When I said that, she started flipping out thinking you had truly been lost to the dark side of the clan. I reassured her it wasn't like that and that even Bellona was here now and you two were getting along very well, but she wasn't having any of it. I then had to promise to tell her the secret on the condition that she wouldn't come down here...."

Enyo was slack jawed as she stared at the traitor in front of her. She was starting to wish Dominus had bullied her more! "You... Ratted me out?!"

"I HAD TOO! Rhea was destroying Legion base after Legion base! I could hear our clansmen screaming for help in the background!"

"Oh please! She wouldn't kill any of them!"

"Yeah, maybe, but she would have killed me when she got her hands on me! Self-preservation! That's today's lesson!"

"Tsk, fine. What did you tell her exactly and... What... Happened after... I dread to imagine... If anything, her destruction of our planet probably ramped up afterwards!"

"Uhh..., I told her, and that she couldn't come down under any circumstance because of Calla, that you had a boyfriend..."

"And then?"

"Radio silence... I told her that you were happy. I told her you changed for the better and were more like Bellona now. I told her you only wanted to surprise her which is why you kept it hidden. Hell, I even lied to her and told her 'the boyfriend is a great guy' and that even Bellona thinks is a good choice!"

Bellona shrugged. "The first half is definitely not true, but I do think its a good pairing."

Enyo also agreed with a nod before looking back at Sadie. "... And then?"

"Radio Silence..."

"... And then?"

"She hung up."

"Oh."

"BUT, the good news is that if she was going to come down here she would have already done it! So it seems she's restraining herself? I really don't want to know who's paying the price for it though..."

Over in TPMZ, Rhea was currently summoning thousands of pure white swords above a very confused Calla. After all, as Rhea was currently thinking in her head that could see nothing other than red, 'IT'S THIS DAMN BITCH! I CAN'T GO BECAUSE OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU STUPID DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'. 

Back in Sheryashka, Sadie was warning Ares. "So yeah, she's probably going to kill you sight. On the bright side... You're a revenant I guess? Death isn't the end of the world. Oh, and she's probably going to try and sneak down a few days before the international, so you'll probably meet her in advance of the party... Erm, good luck?"

Ares simply chuckled nervously, what else was he supposed to do?! He couldn't even touch Sadie's toes and Sadie couldn't even touch the toes of Rhea! not even Dominus or Astraeus would be able to save his hide! HIDE! THAT WAS IT! HE COULD HIDE IN THE VOID! "Muahahahahahaha, the destruction pillar wins again!"

"... What are you talking about?"

Ares blinked as he realised most of that conversation had happened inside his dysfunctional brain and no one else could hear him, so he had to explain his brilliance! "I can hide in the void!"

"I have no idea what this 'void' is, but I wouldn't count on it. Rhea is scary when she's mad... A little magic hidey hole is not going to save you."

"Ha, no, don't worry. It's a little more than that. Unless she can somehow follow me.... No that's impossible, and even if it isn't she can't beat me there! And there's always Astraeus! it'll work!"

"Well... I don't understand half of what you just said, but I sincerely wish you luck. You're gonna need it... Anyway, on a different note, Bellona, don't feel too bad about losing, this mutt's pillar is just unnatural, is all."

Bellona was taken aback, Sadie should know just how strong her own aspect is... What had she seen that prompted her to take Ares' side in this? "I won't lose, but sure. Thanks for the advice, teach."

"Hm, I know what you're thinking, but it's really not that simple... Whatever, you'll see."

Why does everyone keep saying that for Christ's sake! Bellona could feel her head was on the verge of exploding. Why is everyone always bending over backward to praise this fool's magic?! Tsk, I'll show them! So what if it's a whole pillar? How many pillars does my magic encompass!?

"Oh, and Ares..." Sadie turned to Ares once more. "There are two others who want to speak to you. Well, Eagerton only came to watch originally, but it seems the presence of the other person has driven him to speak to you for some reason. I don't know what they want, but I'm just letting you know." With that, Sadie left for the stands. Although she was certain Ares would win, she still wanted to watch the fight, mostly just to see the look on Bellona's face. Sadie, like Enyo, could see the trajectory things would take after Bellona lost here. She didn't tell Enyo, but Sadie had also mentioned the Bellona situation to Rhea which was partially why she went so berserk she even dared to challenge Calla who was stronger than her. In her head, Sadie even said the exact same thing about Bellona that Enyo did, Silly girl.