Chapter 365: The Alchemist Resolve

The Tome forged from the Empyrean remains of his Ouroboros Serpents was not only used to rebuild his body but there were many mystical traps placed inside it.

Eva had fashioned terrible Spells that Andar would be able to call upon when he was in a bind, and until now he had no chance to use them. The most important of them was a Teleportation Spell and a Combustion Spell that would reduce his body to atoms if he had no way out.

These spells were scattered all over his cells in little pieces and it was quite impossible to detect until he pulled them together using a configuration that only he knew about.

Far behind him, there was a dull rumble carried by Aether that swept past him, there was a battle happening.

Andar looked back, and he could see far in the distance, he saw the edges of the horizon lit up with a purple glow as massive lightning bolts accompanied by dark clouds clashed against something.

Andar squeezed his fist tight and he turned away, looking ahead, his eyes were cold. Through the Script he urged the Cloud Whale to move faster, with a joyful bellow the beast agreed and the speed of the beast soon reached three times the speed of sound and it was still rising.

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Silas held up a smoking skull that soon crumbled to ashes in his palm, he was careful to isolate the ash from reaching him, and after making sure it was not the Alchemist he flung it away with anger.

This was the third time he was clashing with the 'Alchemist' and as always he discovered that it was just a doppelganger. The problems of dealing with wily old foxes like the Alchemist was not their power but their cunning that had been honed for centuries.

The Glass Hound created by the Archmage was a marvelous Spell, but if you realize that she had so little to work with when making the Spell, it was incredible enough she could create them at all and they could function at such a level. Without their guidance, Silas would have been left with no method to track the Alchemist.

The Archmage had used only a tiny bit of power in his Communication Device paired with her voice to create the Glass Hounds, the Mayor's body was also not the best material, but it served its purpose. However, the Alchemist was still evading their pursuit.

The cunning Alchemist had buried several failsafes and traps along different routes and created many doppelgangers of himself using Transmutation and on such a deep level that it was fooling the hounds and dragging their attention in different directions.

The first time Silas attempted to separate the Glass Hounds to chase after the scent, the hidden Alchemist had struck, killing two of the hounds and now Silas decided to individually check out each of the leads and keep all the hounds with him.

The first doppelganger he saw was so life-like that after he took it down, he did not shield himself enough from the explosion that followed. Whatever methods the Alchemist used to create them, the resulting explosion created a potent flame that burned incredibly hot and was even harder to put out, worse yet the flames were filled with a peculiar poison that led to necrosis of the flesh.

Silas was burned beyond recognition, only his tenacious life force as a Rank 3 mage and the desperation in his heart kept him on his feet, but he lost an eye, and he was now bald, his skin was red and burnt, filled with pus as his body struggled to heal and fight off the toxins also present in the flames.

Silas had stopped holding back on the growing wave of fury and cruelty in his heart. He wanted blood. This day was turning into one of the worst days in his entire life.

He began to methodically take down all the doppelgangers he was tracking and when there were only two more left, he paused and analyzed the data he was left with. One should be pointed in the right direction, while the other would be a diversion.

He did not particularly care for which was the correct route, he would be finding the son of a diseased swine anytime now. He increased the speed of his flight and the Glass Hounds below cracked the earth with their heavy treads as they kept up with him.

In a short while, he caught sight of a figure on a hill, holding a purple staff, and the wind whipping his cloak about. He was hooded and by his posture, he seemed to be resting. Apparently, he must have been waiting for a while now.

The relaxed posture of the Alchemist created a flame of hate inside Silas heart and he manifested his fury.

Silas opened his palm and a green fireball swirled into existence, the fireball had a noxious stench, for Silas had been actively pushing all the toxins from his body into his hand, and when he saw his target he marked his location with his Spirit and he sent the fireball flying towards him.

The figure with the purple staff nonchalantly slapped the fireball aside, his actions pushed his hood and revealed Jonathan Melbrooks the Alchemist, Andar's Master.

Silas grinned and stepped back while still in the air, "It's really you this time. Then..."

He looked in the other direction where the Hounds were picking up a signal, "...that must be your apprentice."

Looking down at the hounds he commanded, "Fetch!" The remaining three Glass Hounds made a weird metallic noise from their throat and began to bound away in pursuit, surprisingly the Alchemist let them pursue with no sign of intervening.

"Why did you escape?" Silas asked, "I had nothing but goodwill for your Apprentice."

"Don't play your childish mind games with me Silas, your goodwill is at the end of a leash. My Apprentice is magnificent and even if it is the last thing I do, I will give him the chance to become great. I am useless because of my lack of strength and I cannot properly defend him, but I will never allow him to become your master's puppet."

With those words Jonathan Melbrooks attacked, a large lightning bolt erupting from his Mage Staff. As a Rank 4 Mage, he was way more powerful than Silas, but he knew the battle would not be easy.