The Wordless Mage
Chapter 29: When The Poem Burns

Chapter 29: When The Poem Burns

"What," the nightcrawler asked, sitting still to allow Rowan a moment to speak.

"The gods tormenting me in this new world, I harness the red hidden within, calling for the strength of a demon, the world scorching to ash therein."

"What the hell are you blabbering about, bursting into poem all of a sudden--"

A huge blast of blackened flame burst to assault the creature, scorching the air and removing the surrounding oxygen.

Had Rowan not been empowered by the black aether supporting him, he would’ve choked on his own magic, possibly dying.

The creature tried and failed to dodge, the simple grazing of skin against the blast causing a huge explosion to ensue.

The ground rumbled, Rowan’s grimoire struggling to stay by his side as it fought against the large amount of air pressure flying their way, but Rowan was unyielding, stepping in the nightcrawler’s direction.

"D-damnit..." it said, having one of their left legs crossing over to hold its other side.

The blast had burnt off one of its legs, the resultant wobble in its step causing it to fall to the floor with a loud ’thud’.

"The brilliance of her purple hair, dashing even amongst the others, the illumination of her personality, touching the heart like a butterfly’s flutter."

The poem he sung was the same one he’d made to think of Liora, its true purpose hidden right in front of his face the entire time.

But he understood it now.

Yes, that was the only way to describe him now. His face flashed with new insight, his mouth moving on its own to formulate spells contained in his grimoire’s pages.

As soon as he spoke, a bright light shot out from his grimoire, although this time, it wasn’t a faint dim that served no other purpose than a basic flashlight.

No, the light shot out to form three jutting spears of light hovering over the grimoire, reacting nervously to each flare in his ambient aether.

He could feel it--the control, the power. He didn’t even need to ponder on his words and their functionalities, he could just tell what it was he needed to do.

"W-wait!"

The nightcrawler was retracting in size, each limb folding in on itself while a peach overcame the black in its skin.

Eventually, it turned into human form to once again mimic the lady who tricked Rowan initially, her eyes tearful, looking toward him with a desperation evidenced within.

"Don’t just attack me like that, I don’t fare well to arcana in that form," she said, continuing her facade, "now, you wouldn’t hit a human, and especially not a human, right?"

Kill.

Wait, what--what is this feeling?

Rowan looked down, feeling for the black enshrouding his limbs. He couldn’t cease their shaking, the scent of blood exciting him beyond belief.

Kill. Kill... Kill....

Kill!

He jetted forward, the aether used to strengthen his limbs trailing behind him into the ground.

His strength was enough to push the earth into a surrender, the ground below forming a small crater from his propulsion.

But this wasn’t the extent of his abilities--no, he’d only just begun to tap into it.

"Huh, seriously," the creature asked, stepping back with half-turned shoulders.

Rowan didn’t give the thing enough time to run--not even enough time to think about it, his path ending just milliseconds after his short burst.

With a resounding thud, he slammed his fist into the creature, red shooting out in a thin beam from his hand and through the creature.

"Phfew," it gasped, flying off hundreds of feet into the distance as the houses between stood no chance against the force of his fist.

There was no thought behind Rowan’s movements, not even the floating desire to rationalize the situation, just the hate-filled thirst for blood and destruction.

He jumped, sprinting forward to follow the creature while they were still in the air, the thing skipping across the ground like a rock against water.

"W-wait--"

Again, Rowan didn’t bother to listen to the thing, crashing his shin against the creature’s stomach.

The female form wasn’t a concern of his, knowing that whoever the woman was, was long dead.

But even if that weren’t the case, he felt something deeper--compelling him to disregard human life in general.

And he listened.

"I’m going to fucking kill you!"

The black in his mouth stuck out as he devilishly grinned, the black around him flaring into the sky to mirror his ill intent.

Unbothered with the creature’s trajectory, he jumped above it, unleashing another blaze of red from his fist.

It wasn’t flame, no, he didn’t utter any words.

It was something else.

Something far more pure, unadulterated.

He could feel it beckoning to earn its release from his fist, projecting as untethered kinetic energy.

"What--"

The creature didn’t even have time to react, getting a hole drilled into it from the attack.

It didn’t even have any air to be knocked out, its insides pulverized into thin paste from where it sat.

"Who are you..." it continued, using its human hand to cover the gaping cavity in its stomach, "multiple forms of ryudo, free access to kodo, and even flames that tap into nendo. You’re not normal, nothing about you is."

This flesh talks too much, Rowan thought, raising his left leg to rub against the creature’s right shoulder, slowly hovering his heel lower and lower until it reached the creature’s chest.

"Hey, weren’t you talking about how I was going to die," Rowan asked, thrilled at the nightcrawler’s terror, "I think I’ll ask you the same question. How painful do you wish your death to be?"

"GRRRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The earth shook at the creature’s bellows, the air quivering from the intensity of its voice, but Rowan didn’t care--no, that was false. He did care, but in the same sense a child would when presented candy.

He found joy in this, rubbing his heel even more aggressively into the thing’s open stomach.

Purple blood spat out in every direction, the air filling with the putrid scent of whatever was inside his stomach and intestines, but also the metallic scent of monster blood.

"Please..."

"What was that?"

"GRRAHAHHHHHHHH!"

Rowan continued the torture, finding just the right spots where the creature’s face reacted in pain the most.

"You’ve found the perfect place for one of your stature," Rowan said, spitting on the thing’s cheek, "because, from the look of things, you’re under my heel, right where you belong."