The Wordless Mage
Chapter 30: My Fist, Not My Will

Chapter 30: My Fist, Not My Will

The nightcrawler squirmed, its lips trembling from the strong presence releasing from Rowan, emasculating the strength in his limbs.

It fell, its head falling to the side with closed eyes.

Is it dead, Rowan thought, reeling his head in just to watch for any movements.

"Come on, you couldn’t have bit the dust just like that, right? Not after all that talk," he said, wriggling his foot inside the beast once more.

"GRRAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The beast shrilled again, its eyes popping open while one hand raised to grip onto Rowan’s ankle.

"Playing possum, I see. You’ll pay direly for that one--ah, but that’s more thrill for me. Perhaps I should reward you instead."

Crrkkkkk!

Rowan spun around himself to build momentum, the growing pressure in his limbs almost ripping the air asunder.

His shin impacted against the downed beast’s ribs like a battering ram, lifting the creature like a cloth.

The resultant sound crashed into the sky above, forming its own sonic boom.

He reveled in the power, watching as it was sent flying hundreds of feet in the opposite direction.

He didn’t jump to meet it--no, he knew that he wouldn’t need to. Fear locked the creature’s limbs, leaving it stumbling to even get back up onto the ground.

As Rowan walked towards it, though, violet blood that waterfalled from the gaping cavity in its gut began to turn into a trickle, its skin tearing at itself to reconnect.

It was healing, the squishy sounds of organs coming together to form one, cohesive system steeling Rowan’s resolve.

"Hahaha, I knew you had more in you," he yelled, growing in velocity to where the monster stood.

The womanly figure that it’d adopted began to contort, her arms and legs convulsing wildly in every direction, the hair on her scalp lapping into the air and falling inside the follicles, and the face marking her distinct features blending together into one homogenous surface.

"It’s clear I underestimated you," the beast echoed, growing taller once more.

However, its ascent was cut short, only growing to be about ten feet tall as opposed to the tens, even hundreds of feet that its kindred towered as.

Its arm flailed violently at its sides as black shot out from its wrist, the length of its arm increasing with the ever-growing horrors that designated the creatures’ appearance.

Once again, it had revealed its true form, although, this time, it was bipedal with only two legs, and its stature was far more muscular, something that Rowan was unsure its kind even had.

It was humanoid, although it lacked any features that would consider it human such as a face or naturally pigmented skin.

"To make me reveal this form, especially by a human boy such as you--it’s my greatest embarrassment, one I’ll have to erase."

Rowan didn’t even flinch at the creature’s appearance, glancing between the thing’s face and his own fist.

Kill. I’ll burn down it and everything that dared to underestimate and put me down. I’ll fucking end this entire world!

Kill. I’ll leave nothing behind and envelop even the gods with my hatred.

Kill. I’ll eat everything, release the demons that have long stayed restricted, bring about the consumption of all things.

KILL!

In a small pocket within his mind, buried deep within the forest of flames representing his rage, Rowan reached out, trying to overtake the overbearing emotion.

To no avail, his hand hot from its heat.

He winced, looking around where he floated.

If not from the willowing flames trapping him in this sub-space, he would’ve been in an empty void, the black concealing everything happening in the real world.

The only thing that allowed him witness was a small projection to his left, showing everything going on in the real world.

He watched as his own body marched to thwart the beast, clashing with its new form.

It was insane, the power exuding from himself. The ground shook with each step he took, the air shivered with each breath of air he exhaled.

The world before him could barely contain his sheer power, and all at the same time, insights poured into his mind of what was occurring.

He could feel it, understandings of the Way, the mechanism of his grimoire, and the strength it held withing breaching his knowledge like the unrestricted gallops of a roaring river, its velocity shaking the earth surrounding it.

And yet, he couldn’t practice any of these insights himself, the feelings and sensations he felt in this void separate from his own in the real world.

He was in two places at once, but he couldn’t feel or interact in the real world.

Someone was controlling him.

Rowan tried his best to calm himself, closing his eyes to feel for the outside world and try to cause even the twitching of a finger, but to no avail. He was a prisoner within his own mind.

The only thing he could truly feel and understand was the nature of whatever took control over him, the only proper description for it being hatred incarnate. It burned with such intensity that even tracing his attention over it fried his brain, pounding against his skull and forcing him to jolt his head back in excruciating pain.

It was primal, its flames not only enveloping itself, but also everything surrounding it.

After the intense throbbing in his head finished, Rowan looked back up at the projection, watching again for what was occurring on the outside.

He could tell--the demon was steadily growing stronger, its anger a fuel to its strength.

With each attack it took, each streak of pain tinging its mind, it grew even more furious, lashing its hatred out unto the beast it was preoccupied with.

"I’ll fucking kill you," the demon continued, smacking away the red blast of kodo that the nightcrawler had sent his way, "I’ll gut you, flay you, grip your insides, and crush your heart!"

The nightcrawler’s face--although it didn’t have much features to express emotion--squeezed, a moment’s hesitation marking the perfect opportunity for the demon.

Thwam!

The air lit aflame from the sheer force from his resounding fist, its attack laced in kodo that flared out in front of him as a strict beam of red.

It was enough to rumble even the sub-space that Rowan was trapped inside, his eardrums shaking far more than comfortable from the boom it’d unleashed.

"Rowan," a voice yelled, off to the side of where the demon had been standing.

It turned, a devilish grin beginning to form in its face.

It was Liora, standing in front of the king and the other heroes.