The Author's Viewpoint
Chapter 156 - Fatebound Core

Chapter 156: Chapter 156 - Fatebound Core

The golem charged forward, crashing across the field. The demons didn’t hesitate, they ran to meet it, blades drawn, snarling, even against a giant they could barely match in size.

But it wasn’t the grounded demons that posed the true threat.

No, the real danger hovered above, the ones in the sky, circling like vultures, waiting for a weakness.

Yet even that threat had already been anticipated.

Just as the two forces were moments from clashing, Vanya lifted both hands, her fingers outstretched to the sky. Her voice rose, singing in the ancient, lilting cadence of the Elven tongue. The melody shimmered across the air like a spell of old, and at once, the very atmosphere shifted.

"Spirits of the ancient green. Breathe life into the sky and root. Let wild power rise unseen. And bring our fate to blooming truth."

Elemental particles thickened, swirling visibly around them until the entire clearing pulsed with primal energy.

Tave felt a chill crawl down his spine, goosebumps rising from the sheer weight of the magic in motion.

The trees bowed slightly, grass shimmered, vines writhed. Nature itself had yielded to her command.

Massive vines erupted from the earth, twisting and snapping through the battlefield. The ones already wrapped around the golem tightened, enhancing its movements, making it faster, more fluid, as if it were part of the forest itself.

The demons screamed as the ground beneath them turned hostile. Roots gripped their ankles, vines lashed across their bodies. They fell into chaos, tripping over each other, formation broken, feet crushed beneath their own panic.

Then the golem struck.

Its foot came down like a war hammer, crushing several demons under its weight with a single step.

Above, the sky darkened, not with clouds, but with blooming vines shooting upward, entangling the flying demons mid-air, yanking them down violently. All around, glowing magic circles flared into existence, floating like fiery halos above the field.

Then the barrage began.

Elemental arrows exploded from every circle, forming a relentless storm of power. Fire, ice, wind, and earth. All unleashed in a vicious cascade that cut down demons in every direction.

It wasn’t a battle.

It was a massacre.

All orchestrated by a single forest elf.

No... not just a forest elf. This was the crowned princess of the Vensalor Kingdom.

And in that moment, Tave moved.

His hand reached into the storage ring. He drew it out: the Fatebound Core.

An item earned from the Echelon Gift when he had broken through to Gaia Guardian. One of the rarest items he’d ever laid hands on.

[ Fatebound Core: Temporarily unlocks max Pact Resonance. Boosts both users’ stats by 30%. Enables fusion abilities during life-threatening moments. ]

And this moment, this exact second. Was about to become exactly that.

[ Item ’Fatebound Core’ Activated. ]

[ Max Pact Resonance temporarily unlocked. ]

[ All stats increased by 30%. ]

[ Elemental Affinities elevated to High Tier. ]

In an instant, Tave felt a surge of energy blast through his core. Unfiltered power flowing through his veins like molten light. His status screen flickered with shifting values, and before his eyes, every elemental affinity he possessed spiked to High Affinity.

His blade ignited in response, no longer just dancing with flame, but now engulfed in a roaring blend of crimson fire and black abyss. The flames curled across his body, coating his limbs like a living armor of fury.

He had become one with Shadow and Blaze.

Wings erupted from his back, massive, fearsome things formed from fused elements. One half of searing blaze, the other a veil of writhing darkness. They flared open, and Tave launched into the sky.

Faster. Deadlier. Quieter.

The air cracked as he soared, a black-red blur ripping through the clouds of battle.

Below, the demons roared in fury and confusion:

"What is that?!"

"Those wings... that’s not a normal Pact!"

"He’s fused with something! Stop him!"

"Bring him down! Bring the rat down!"

But Tave didn’t hear them. Didn’t care.

He dove into their formation, and the shadows responded.

From his body, writhing Shadow Vines burst outward like living serpents, coiling, lashing, tearing through the sky. They wrapped around every nearby flying demon, yanking them mid-flight, crushing wings and pinning them in place.

It was overwhelming. Glorious.

Empowered by the Fatebound Core, he and Fang moved as one, mind, instinct, and magic merged into flawless coordination.

Tave swung his flaming sword with force. Soul Fire howled in the air.

With a single slash, a demon shrieked, its body erupting in black-crimson fire. Another lunged at him, only to be dodged with a mid-air spin. Those cursed flames clung to them, devouring from the inside out.

Then came the real strike.

Tave gathered Netherblaze Flames in his left hand, energy whirling violently into a pulsing orb of death.

Two demons dove at him from opposite sides.

He didn’t wait.

He flared his wings, vanished from between them, and left the orb hovering in the air like a baited snare.

The moment they crossed its pull, the core flashed.

A deep pulse rang out, then. B-BBBBOOM.

The explosion tore the air apart with a concussive blast that warped space itself. Black fire and violet shadows erupted in a vortex, consuming the two demons in a blaze of annihilation. The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield, hurling other airborne enemies off-course.

Flaming embers rained down like meteor ash.

From Vanya’s position, the storm of energy arrows continued to surge in all directions, a relentless barrage of glowing projectiles that tore through the sky and scorched the earth. It was more than enough to keep the demons at bay, their ranks unable to close in on her as the air shimmered with raw elemental force.

Below, the golem charged forward like a living siege engine. Each step shook the ground, and each strike sent demons flying like insects caught in a tempest.

With the Fatebound boost pulsing through its form, the golem’s might had reached terrifying levels, its stomps splitting earth, its fists reducing enemies to nothing.

And in the sky, Tave danced with death.

He blinked in and out of visibility, cloaked in stealth, reappearing only to drive his flaming sword into the throats of airborne demons.

He was a ghost of vengeance, erasing one flying enemy after another.

He was clearing the skies, and saving the ground for last.

How many had he killed now? He’d lost count.

But one thing was clear, his level was rising, fast.

Even without pausing to meditate, Tave felt the surge as his soul climbed. The power throbbed inside him as the system confirmed the jump. Level 33.

His breathing was steady. His blade felt lighter. His senses sharper.

And he wasn’t alone.

He could feel it through the Pact, the radiance from Vanya’s energy. She had already reached level 40.

And if this momentum continued... if Vanya ascended to Gaia Grand Master. Everything would change.

Their odds would tip dramatically. Victory might actually become possible.

Then, in that final moment of airborne dominance, the Elite Flying Demon appeared, materializing before Tave in a sudden blur of wings and wrath.

With one hand, he caught Tave’s flaming sword mid-swing. Forcing Tave backward.

Tave spiraled, wings flaring as he fought to regain control, stabilizing himself in the sky with clenched teeth.

"No more games," the demon said coldly. "You’ve ruined everything."

Tave straightened mid-air, blade still blazing, eyes burning with challenge.

"Well then," he snapped, "maybe stop trying to conquer the Dissidia Kingdom if your forces can’t handle two rats."

The Elite Demon’s face twitched in disdain. "Keep that arrogance... until you’ve earned the right to speak it—standing over my corpse."

"That definitely sounds like something I should be saying," Tave shot back without missing a beat.

When it came to throwing words as sharply as blades. Tave wasn’t about to lose. They should’ve known by now...

He played the game of taunts just as well as he played the game of war.

The Elite Demon lunged forward.

Tave barely had time to react.

A massive claw lashed out, tearing through the air like a comet. He managed to block, but the force of the blow sent him hurtling backward, spinning through the air like a broken arrow.

But Tave didn’t fall.

He twisted mid-flight, wings flaring wide, controlling the momentum. With a snarl, he dove again, fire roaring across his blade.

The Soul Fire pulsed. Angrier, hotter, hungrier.

He slashed through the air, and from the arc of his swing, a crescent-shaped wave of Soul Fire erupted, a glowing blade of burning death streaking straight toward the demon.

"Burn in my Soul Fire, demon!"

The real fight had begun.