Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water

Chapter 231: Victory

The moment Carlyle’s body hit the ground with a deafening crash, Lassim barely had time to catch his breath before the air around him trembled once more.

Carlyle was dead, his eight-ringed halo extinguished, but Gaelin, the remaining Spirit Transcendent, stood hovering above the battlefield, his seven-ringed halo glowing like a blazing sun.

Gaelin’s eyes burned with fury as he watched Carlyle’s crumpled form below.

His aura surged violently, the heat radiating from his body distorting the air around him. The sheer intensity of his rage was palpable.

"Brother… AHHHH!!!! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!" Gaelin snarled, his voice a growl that reverberated through the air.

With another furious roar, Gaelin launched himself into the air, the sunfire aura around him expanding as he raised both hands.

His seven-ringed halo flared with blinding light, and a massive sphere of pure day-elemental energy formed at the end of his spear, pulsing with destructive power.

Lassim’s eyes narrowed as he braced himself, his muscles tensing for the inevitable assault.

He knew that Gaelin wasn’t just furious—he was desperate. And a desperate man, especially one with the power of a high-level Spirit Transcendent, was even more dangerous.

Gaelin launched the sphere of energy toward Lassim with a vicious snarl. "[Solar Cataclysm]!" he roared, and the massive orb of light exploded forth, racing through the sky toward Lassim like a miniature sun, consuming everything in its path.

Lassim didn’t have time to think—only time to act. He instinctively called upon his [Grand Aegis], the icy dragon coiling around him protectively as he summoned a surge of water and lightning mana into his halberd.

His breath came in short bursts, exhaustion pulling at the edges of his consciousness as every defense against Spirit Transcendent level attacks drained him immensely, but he couldn’t afford to stop now.

With a determined shout, Lassim swung his halberd forward. "[Hydroburst]!"

The moment the halberd’s blade met the oncoming orb of sunfire, there was an explosion of energy.

The clash of water, lightning, and day-elemental energy sent a shockwave rippling through the sky, tearing through the storm cloud above in half and causing the very air to vibrate with raw heat.

Lassim gritted his teeth as the force of the collision threatened to push him back through the sky, but he propelled himself forward to counteract the knockback, pouring every ounce of physical strength he had into the [Hydroburst] to split the orb.

For a brief moment, the two energies seemed evenly matched, locked in a violent struggle for dominance.

But slowly, inexorably, Lassim’s water and lightning combination began to overpower Gaelin’s attack, extinguishing the flames of the sunfire orb with a hiss of steam.

Gaelin’s eyes widened in shock. "Impossible!"

But Lassim wasn’t finished. With a swift motion, he swung his halberd again, sending a modified [Thrust] with not only a thick bolt of lightning mana but also a torrent water mana crashing toward Gaelin.

The attack struck Gaelin head-on, sending him reeling backward through the air.

Gaelin’s body shook violently as he tried to regain his balance, his aura flickering unsteadily.

Blood dripped from his mouth as his internal organs felt like they were being crushed and shocked at the same time as his seven-ringed halo also dimmed. The light fading as his energy reserves were depleting after his last attack.

"You think you can stop me?!" Gaelin roared, his voice strained as he raised his spear once more, summoning another massive surge of day-elemental energy with the last of his mana reserves. "I’ll make you see the light! BURN TO ASHES!"

But Lassim wasn’t going to give him the chance.

Before Gaelin could unleash his next attack, Lassim charged forward with blinding speed, the storm cloud above them rumbling ominously as he drew upon the last reserves of his mana as his progenitor marks were working tirelessly to filter in new divine mana for him to use.

His halberd crackled with violent arcs of lightning and plasmafied water, the blade glowing with the combined fury of the storm above and the elements coursing through his veins.

Gaelin barely had time to react as Lassim closed the distance between them, his halberd aimed directly at Gaelin’s heart.

With a final, desperate roar, Gaelin thrust his hands forward, condensing the orb and unleashing it as a concentrated beam of sunfire directly at Lassim. "[Solar Lance]!"

The searing beam of light shot toward Lassim with terrifying speed, but Lassim was ready.

With a grunt of effort, he twisted his body mid-flight, narrowly avoiding the beam as it scorched past him, missing by mere millimeters.

His right side lost slight feeling as the nerve endings screamed briefly before they were burnt away from proximity.

Then, with one swift, decisive motion, Lassim brought his halberd down.

The blade, charged with water and lightning mana, cleaved through Gaelin’s chest with devastating force.

The moment the halberd struck, there was a deafening explosion of energy as Lassim’s mana tore through Gaelin’s body, ripping apart his defenses and shattering the seven-ringed halo above his head.

Gaelin’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth opening in a silent scream as his body convulsed.

Blood sprayed from the wound in his chest as the day-elemental energy around him flickered and died. His hands, once raised in defiance, fell limply to his sides. His eyes reflected pain and anguish as he scanned Lassim and then his surroundings.

For a brief moment, Gaelin hovered in the air, his body trembling as the last vestiges of his power slipped away. Then he smirked as he saw that the last of his attacks had been at least somewhat successful. That was enough for him as his life force slipped away then and there.

Yet, that chaotic energy didn’t go too far as Lassim’s odd constellation seemed to take a deep inhale as the powerful Spirit Transcendent power left in the air from both Carlyle and Gaelin’s deaths went directly to Lassim’s inner heart world where the Leviathan’s curse converted it into gaseous clouds that began to refill his empty reserves.

Then, with a finality as the energy surged towards Lassim, Gaelin’s body plummeted to the ground below, crashing into the earth with a resounding thud.

It was over.

Lassim hovered in the air, his body trembling with exhaustion as he watched the last of Gaelin’s life force enter his heart world.

The storm cloud above him began to dissipate, the rain slowing to a gentle drizzle as the violent energy of the battle faded into the background.

But there was no time to rest as he finally realized what that smirk was for at the end.

Tristan had, in the last moments, prepared to send his own lightning attack from directly behind Lassim to support him and kill Gaelin.

Yet, when Lassim dodged instead of blocking, it was Tristan that had absorbed the attack.

Tristan’s injuries from Carlyle’s attack were not small and had left him in critical condition.

Breathing heavily, Lassim descended back to the ground, his feet landing on the cracked stone streets.

As he touched down, exhaustion hit him like a wave. His muscles screamed in protest, his reserves of mana nearly depleted. But there was no time to rest.

He glanced over at Tristan, whose body lay motionless a few feet away. Eveline was already by his side, working desperately to stabilize him with what defensive runes she knew to keep his inner organs from spilling out.

"[We need to act quickly]," Lassim thought, pushing aside his fatigue.

He hurried over to Eveline, kneeling beside Tristan as she applied a new layer of runes over his chest, binding his aura and attempting to stop the internal bleeding with some cauterization.

Lassim didn’t waste another moment.

Placing his hands on Tristan’s chest, he summoned his refilling mana and converted it to the healing energy, activating [Lifestream].

Water-infused mana flowed from his palms, seeping into and across Tristan’s body as it began the slow process of knitting his wounds together.

Lassim could feel the strain in his own body as his mana reserves dwindled further as he pushed the technique to its limits, but he gritted his teeth and continued.

As Lassim focused on Tristan, a familiar voice echoed from a nearby street.

"Lassim! Are you alright?" Aerin’s sharp voice called out as he, Kaelin, Lara and a few members of the remaining Spirit Ascension teammates approached from the command center.

"We’re fine," Lassim replied without looking up, his focus still on healing Tristan. "The defenders, Gaelin and Carlyle are dead, but Tristan took a bad hit at the last minute. Eveline and I are working on stabilizing him."

Aerin surveyed the scene quickly, his eyes lingering on the charred remains of Gaelin around them.

He let out a low whistle and made a cold comment as if unconcerned for the sect member dying in front of him. "Looks like you really did a number on them."

"More like they almost did a number on us," Eveline muttered somewhat angrily, not taking her eyes off her runes as they glowed and pulsed with steady energy around Tristan’s form.

Lara knelt beside Lassim, her expression serious as she reported, "The command center is under our control. We’ve secured all key facilities. The Sun Sect’s forces are either dead or have surrendered."

Lassim nodded, "Good. Can either one of you send a message to the War Council. Let them know we’ve captured Amberlight City and we’d appreciate a healer to come. I think we can keep him stabilized for now, but my healing technique is something I only recently learned. I can’t restore him even closely back to fighting shape, let alone full recovery."

Aerin gave a quick nod, pulling out his communication disc and activating it.

With a pulse of mana, the disc lit up, displaying the rune of the War Council.

"This is Aerin, under the direction of Team Leader Lassim’s unit," Aerin typed into the disc, "Amberlight City has been successfully recaptured. All key facilities are under our control, and the enemy leadership has been eliminated. Awaiting further instructions."

The disc glowed softly as the message was sent, its light fading into the dimming evening sky.

Aerin slipped the disc back into his pouch and turned to Lassim. "Message sent. They’ll respond shortly."

Lassim let out a sigh of relief, but his attention quickly returned to Tristan, whose breathing had begun to stabilize under the combined effects of [Lifestream] and Eveline’s runes.

Slowly, after nearly an hour of effort, color returned to Tristan’s face, and his shallow breaths became deeper and more regular.

"Come on," Lassim muttered under his breath, his hands still glowing with water-infused mana. Lassim felt Marinelle’s efforts and control flow threw him as she helped guide the mana to flow more naturally aligned with the elements and showing Lassim through her action, which caused him to feel her supportive bond grow slightly, "Stay with us."

After what felt like an eternity, Tristan’s eyes fluttered open. He let out a weak groan, his body still wracked with pain, but he was alive.

Eveline leaned back, wiping sweat from her brow as she stopped maintaining the runes that held the pieces of his chest together now that they were mostly unneeded. "He should be fine for now. We need to get him back to the sect for proper healing, but he’ll make it."

Lassim slumped back, exhaustion finally catching up with him. "Thank the gods…"

Tristan managed a weak grin, his voice barely audible. "Did… we get the city back?"

Lassim chuckled softly. "Yeah, we did. Thanks to your support."

As Lassim sat back, he focused on himself to allow [Lifestream] to continue its healing work on his own body now, a sharp whistle and landing could be heard followed by the sound of approaching footsteps reaching his ears.

He turned his head to see a group of Lightning Sect elders approaching, their robes billowing in the light breeze.

At the head of the group was a stern-looking man with a commanding presence—clearly the War Council’s representative.

The elder stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield, taking in the sight of the fallen enemies nearby and the smoldering remains of the Sun Sect’s forces all throughout the city with his spirit sense assessing the state of it all.

His expression was one of approval.

"Well done, Lassim," the elder said, his voice carrying a tone of respect. "You and your team have done the sect proud. Amberlight City is back under our control."

Lassim rose to his feet slowly, wincing as his muscles protested the movement. He bowed respectfully to the elder. "Thank you, Elder. It was a team effort. I couldn’t have done it without them."

The elder nodded, his gaze shifting to Eveline, Aerin, and the others. "Your success here will not go unnoticed. The War Council has been following your progress closely, and they are most impressed with your tactics and resilience. The war merit rewards will not be small."

"We did what we had to," Aerin said, stepping forward. "The Sun Sect’s grip on the city was strong, but their leadership made a mistake in underestimating us."

The elder’s eyes flickered with approval. "Indeed. And now, with the city back in our hands, the Lightning Sect will be able to restore order to the region. The Thunder Rams will be ours once more, and trade routes will be reopened. Your victory here is the first major step in turning the tide of this war."

Lara glanced at the damaged buildings and streets around them, her expression thoughtful. "We did our best to minimize the city damage, but… sorry. There’s still a lot of work to be done to repair the damages we did cause."

The elder nodded. "Rest assured, the War Council will send a team of cultivators to assist in the restoration efforts. Amberlight City will return to its former glory soon enough, and we’ve already sent for a healer for Tristan. They’ll arrive shortly."

Turning back to Lassim, the elder offered a rare smile. "As for you, Lassim, the elders that make up the War Council have taken a particular interest in your abilities. There are many among us wondering just has gotten into that block headed Volten to bury you so heavily up until now. Expect to hear from them soon."

Lassim nodded, though his exhaustion was too great to muster much more than that. "Thank you, Elder. We’ll be ready as a team for whatever comes next."

The elder inclined his head, then turned to address the rest of the team. "We’ll handle the aftermath from here. You and your team have done enough for now. Return to the sect and rest. You’ve earned it. Regrouping orders will come later as we’ve received had word that nearly all of the top 10 within the inner sect have returned form the trial.

We’ll allow them to take over your missions so you can get a much needed break."

With that, the group of elders began to move toward the city’s command center, taking over the task of securing the area and ensuring that the Sun Sect’s remaining forces were dealt with.

The War Council’s representative offered Lassim and his team one final nod of respect before departing.