Chapter 3258 Chained Souls (Part 1)


    Lith, Solus, and Balkor always practiced Creation Magic in the safety of their labs. Only the Red Mother and the Overlord had no qualms about using it in front of witnesses because their mastery over magic had reached the point where they could cloak their spells even from Dragon Eyes or Soul Vision.


    The Yggdrasill knew most of the branches of magic yet Creation Magic had always cluded the past and present World Trees. To add insult to injury, even now that it was taking place right under their foliage, the Yggdrasill couldn''t figure out the first thing about it.


    "That''s a variant of Menadion''s Fury!'' Ma''shol recognized the runic pattern of the weapon from the previous Tree''s library. Since when-''


    The Demon bolted forward without saying a word, the hammer tracing a silvery arch with a motion perfected through hundreds of thousands of repetitions. The elf raised her hands and activated the protective spells in her arm


    Once again, the enchantments failed her.


    armor.


    Without the Spirit Barrier and the gravity sheath emanating from the Davross, the armor was nothing but a thick layer of very hard metal. The Fury smashed the Chronicler''s exposed head open and crushed her spine like a breadstick.


    The wooden vines were still inside Ma''shol''s body and the Yggdrasill saved her life once more, just like the Demon wanted. The petite woman grabbed the elf''s head and smashed it over the stone ring, sending it deep inside her skull.


    The Bleed welcomed the meal and drained both master and servant of their vitality until the World Tree was forced to cut off the vines. Ma''shol''s armor floated off her corpse, splitting itself into its basic components.


    A second spell Forgemastered the raw materials into a form-fitting armor of known design.


    "The Anvil of Menadion?'' For the first time in the Yggdrasill bloodline, one of the World Trees couldn''t make heads or tails of the events they witnessed. ''Creation Magic? Elphyn never used it during her previous escape attempts.


    The presence in the ring hammered at her chains to break them and only had a few left. The presence in the Demon, instead, used it to forge new ones. Her hair was ablaze and whipped through the air like she was amid a storm. Her eyes wept bloody tears and her mouth was opened in an endless silent scream.


    A constant stream of raging crimson flames erupted from her throat, tempering the new chain she forged and inflicting deep burns upon her hands. The screaming figure held the chain tight so that each hammer strike made her palm bleed until the heat cauterized the wound.


    All the chains that covered the second woman were red from rust and blood yet the dirt couldn''t hide the mastery of her craftmanship.


    The World Tree tried to make sense of those images but to no avail. ''Maybe this is my fault. I''ve split Elphyn Menadion''s soul in two. One carries her negative emotions and the other the positive. The Yggdrasill reached Solus'' same conclusion. The figure in the ring kept smiling even during her imprisonment, her air moved by a soft breeze while she worked on the chains that restricted her. She was as placid as the other one was furious.


    The World Tree pondered how to restrict them both but their options were limited. Any spell strong enough to destroy the Demon would affect the ring and from that distance,


    it wouldn''t survive.


    Even worse, destroying the physical form of a Demon of Darkness was pointless. As long as Lith injected more mana into her or she found nourishment, the Demon would rise


    again.


    "The bastard is inside my Fringe and body! It''s like having a parasite that can feast on my blood and lay eggs at her leisure. The Yggdrasill cursed the pain and hunger that plagued their mind, keeping them from focusing.


    Under normal circumstances, one Spirit Barrier around the ring and a powerful spell on the Demon would resolve the situation but right now the Tree couldn''t trust themselves. The Yggdrasill needed most of their willpower to limit the effects of Ra''ntar''s torture on the rest of the Chronicles and what focus the World Tree had left was barely enough to control the complex array system and suppress the world energy in the Fringe.


    ''If another pang comes and I fail to control my spells at the wrong time, everything I''ve done would be for naught. The tower would be destroyed and Verhen would retreat safely. I''ve burned too many bridges to turn back now.''


    The World Tree''s worst fears came true a second later when more Chroniclers died at the hand of the white cores and the backlash made the Yggdrasill lose their focus again.