Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water

Chapter 250: Mercy Once More

The First Blade’s eyes lingered on Lassim with a sharp, wary edge, his presence heavy with questions that now filled the air.

The progenitor marks began to fade and recede back down his face and hidden away under his martial robes as Lassim stopped circulating the void energy. His eyes went back to the normal violet with lightning bolts occasionally jutting out.

From the First Blade’s perspective, Lassim just slashed an attack towards a random spot on the air behind the portal and it collapsed in on itself.

The way Lassim had closed the portal, the ease with which he managed it—it was far from normal.

Even for someone as blessed by the gods as him, he believe it was something that shouldn’t have been possible for anyone—except for possibly those legendary Demi-gods.

Add onto that the sight of Lassim’s celestial constellation, the vivid and lifelike Leviathan roaring in defiance as it broke free of its chains, was something that would not be easily forgotten.

But the First Blade was wise.

You didn’t get to rise to his level of power, living soundly for 8,000 years like he had, and not know some things were left better as secrets when they touched upon certain topics.

Especially the ones that involved the gods or a still living Demi-God that was the basis of calamity for countless bedtime stories for the denizens that lived along the coasts.

He had his suspicions, but for now, he let the matter rest. He was also warned beforehand by Volten that Lassim could close the portals, so he didn’t press further. Instead, he silently fell into the Lassim’s shadow and reappeared on the vessel once more.

The current mission was too important.

Yet, for Lassim, as the team regrouped on the vessel preparing for the next and possibly final targets, he could feel the weight of the First Blade’s gaze under the silence.

The elite leader was watching him carefully, as if trying to puzzle him out.

Lustria, however, seemed more relaxed, her attention shifting back to the task at hand.

She holstered her bow instead of storing it back into her inner heart world as they lifted off.

Her eyes occasionally glanced at Lassim, but there was no judgment there. Just curiosity.

She understood that everyone had their secrets—herself included. She trusted him fully and knew how special he was. It didn’t matter if he didn’t share the details about his new powers just yet.

As the vessel cut through the now night sky once again, Lassim leaned on the rail, watching the darkened landscape blur below.

The night was growing deeper, the scattered lights of ruined towns and villages, and the distant glow beneath the moon made their targets easier to spot as they approached.

He tried to steady his thoughts, but the thought of the First Blade’s probing questions lingered.

He knew he’d have to explain himself soon. Maybe not to the First Blade, but definitely to Volten.

The Sect Master had already shown an odd mixture of amusement, coldness and genuine concern or possibly curiousity when it came to Lassim’s strange powers, but he hadn’t demanded answers. Not yet.

Still, it wasn’t a conversation Lassim was eager to have.

—-

Before long, the vessel approached another target—a small village at the base of some rolling hills. Fires dotted the landscape like embers in a campfire’s coals, and the familiar stench and feeling of the unnatural energy of the abyss filled the air.

Lassim straightened, his senses flaring as the group readied themselves.

"They’re spread out this time," the First Blade said, his voice calm but sharp as he addressed his team. "Same as before. Yet, let’s now show our Lightning Sect friend here what it means to face us in the night."

The assassins nodded, their forms already blending into the shadows around them.

Lustria once more took her place by the railing, her sharp eyes now slightly turning slightly dull like the moon’s dark side as she was scanning the village below.

Lassim noticed that her power seemed slightly boosted now that night had fallen. She radiated nearly 30% more power just with her spiritual pressure alone, which was a huge improvement just to be caused by the change in time of day.

She knocked an arrow, the black and silver bow’s floating rune ring seemed to powerfully suck in the surrounding darkness, pulling it towards her and covering her entire figure as it charged with the shadowy energy.

Lassim stared out as well, as this was the fifth target of the night, and the pattern of what to expect was becoming clear—these left over and scattered demons were thankfully random disciples. Most likely ones not strong enough or high up enough in the hierarchy to be part of the main assault on the Lightning Sect Headquarters.

Why they were out in these random places maintaining the Sun Sect presence was now unknown and would stay that way, but at least this made things easier for the Shadow Sect elites as Lassim stood by waiting for any more portal openings.

Lustria was the first to act this time as she spotted her target.

Her arrow flew silently through the night, a shadowy bolt that seemed to disappear into the darkness.

Moments later, one of the demons dropped to the ground, an arrow buried deep in its skull through its eye. She seemed to have quite the habit of targeting the eye sockets, but that began to explain her shadow sniper codename a bit better.

The other Sun sect demons didn’t even notice in their rampages that one of their companions just fell over with goo leaking from their skull—another of her arrows found its mark, and then another.

Lassim admired and was impressed by her.

The way the shadows caressed her hair and features and seemed to enhance the brightness of her crimson amethyst eyes made his heart flutter.

"So pretty…" he muttered to himself unconsciously.

Her eyes briefly darted towards his direction before returning to focus on the next target as she summoned another shadow arrow while her cheeks had tinges of red starting to show.

Below, the rest of the Shadow Sect assassins moved swiftly and silently, all enhanced with the same boost under the cover of night and the moon.

Their Night element abilities now fully allowing them to strike without being seen.

One by one, the demons fell, their twisted bodies disintegrating into dark, corrupted goo that the world seemed to reject.

Lassim remained on the vessel, the same as before, watching carefully. His spirit sense scanned the spatial fabric continuously, but so far, there were no signs of any more rifts forming.

The First Blade observed the battlefield with a grim expression still, his hands folded behind his back.

His eyes flickered toward Lassim occasionally, but he said nothing.

Within minutes, the village had grown silent. The last of the demons had been cut down, their bodies fading into the night like the ghosts they had become.

The Shadow Sect team regrouped, their movements quiet and precise as they reappeared from the shadows back on the deck of the vessel in formation once more.

The First Blade nodded approvingly, his gaze sweeping over the village. "Good. On to the next."

---

The sixth target came sooner than expected.

As they approached, Lassim’s spirit sense picked up something once more.

He tensed and summoned his halberd to his side as he leaned over the edge of the vessel for a better view as he activated his enhanced spatial vision.

They were close, maybe only a few kilometers away from the next village, but something was definitely off already.

Lustria noticed the change in his posture immediately. "What is it?"

"Something’s wrong," Lassim muttered, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the disturbance. "There’s a shift in the spatial threads up ahead… like a portal is trying to open."

The First Blade, standing nearby, listened carefully. His expression darkened as he stepped closer. "Another portal?"

"I think so. We need to hurry," Lassim replied, his voice tense. He could feel the void energy within him responding to the disturbance, his progenitor marks tingling.

The vessel picked up speed, the night wind whipping past them as they closed in on the village.

As the vessel descended, his spirit sense sharpened, and his heart jumped on surprise when he felt the familiar presence down below.

"What are the odds…," Lassim whispered, his stomach knotting as he recognized the figure.

On the ground below, just outside the remnants of the village, stood three figures.

Two were clearly former Sun Sect disciples, their twisted bodies transformed into abyss-corrupted demons. Their aura was strong but wild, their cultivation at Spirit Growth stage level 9, boosted by the demonic transformation.

Yet standing before them, scolding them with an air of annoyance, was a man in a pristine black tuxedo. The man stood out sharply against the chaos of the ruined village, his demeanor entirely out of place.

The demons were struggling, clearly not fully in control of the portal-opening process.

The tuxedoed man, in stark contrast, was composed, though visibly frustrated, directing them with the elegance of someone used to command.

"No, no, no, you fools!" Mercy snapped, his voice dripping with exasperation as he stabbed one of the demons in the leg, causing it to howl in pain. "You’re doing it all wrong! Focus the energy on the nexus! Do I have to do everything myself? Damnit all, if only I had your blessing I could do this myself!"

Mercy paced around the two demons, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. His frustration grew as he poked and prodded the demons with a slim, cruel miséricorde—a slender dagger designed to pierce armor and find the vital points of those already wounded.

The demons snarled and hissed, but even they seemed to flinch at Mercy’s pokes and jabs. Despite their greater physical power, the demons obeyed his commands, albeit poorly.

As Lassim watched from the airship, his breath caught in his throat.

That face, that voice—it all came flooding back.

"M.E.R.C.Y…!," Lassim whispered slowly through grit teeth, the name laced with venom as he uttered it.

He hadn’t forgotten. He couldn’t. The terror of that day when he was still a Spirit Growth stage newbie at the full mercy of the cultist known as Mercy.

That day where he had forced him off the cliff into the black depths was seared into his memory. This man was the first of the Abyssal cult that Lassim had ever encountered.

And now, after all these years, he was here again, causing more destruction and chaos.

Without hesitation, Lassim’s body moved on its own.

He leapt from the vessel, his heart pounding in his chest. His body became a blur of lightning as his [Tempest Steps] propelled him down toward the village square, his halberd crackling and surging with mana.

Mercy’s head jerked up, sensing the sudden surge of energy that landed just a couple meters away.

His eyes locked onto Lassim, and for a brief moment, confusion crossed his face before a slow, chilling smile spread across his lips.

"Well, well, well," Mercy said, his voice smooth and honeyed as ever, even as Lassim landed in the square with a crash of lightning. "If it isn’t my old friend, the Harbinger himself. My, how strong you’ve grown! Have you reconsidered my offer?"

Lassim’s face twisted with anger at the name. "And ’My, how you’ve hardly progressed at all’," he spat, mimicking Mercy’s tone and cadence. His grip on his halberd tightened. "I wish I had been strong enough back then to fight back, but the tables have really turned, wouldn’t you say?."

Mercy chuckled, stepping away from the demons to focus on Lassim. Yet, Lassim noticed he was slowly inching himself further away, "Oh, Harbinger, there’s no need for such hostility. I take it your answer is still a no? Very well.

We’ve all had… unpleasant encounters in the past, but surely we can let bygones be bygones, yes?" His eyes flickered over Lassim, his smile faltering slightly as he now felt the immense spiritual pressure radiating from the young cultivator that was fully targeting and locking onto him.

Lassim was no longer the frightened Spirit Growth 8 year old boy Mercy had toyed with all those years ago.

Mercy swallowed nervously, realizing the full extent of the situation he was in. He was now standing before a Spirit Ascension stage cultivator, far beyond his own Spirit Transformation level.

Mercy raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "I see you’ve grown quite powerful. Impressive, truly. Perhaps we can... come to an understanding? No need for things to get—"

"No." Lassim’s voice was cold, final. "I haven’t forgotten what you did. You nearly killed me. Plus, after all the dead bodies I saw in the last week from your stupid attack on my sect, and for all the people and fellow disciples I couldn’t heal in time, I’ll never let anyone from the Abyssal cult walk free while I’m still breathing."

Mercy’s smile faltered completely, "Now, now, let’s not be hasty—," panic flickering in his eyes as he turned and broke into a run as negotiation was impossible.

But Lassim was already moving.

In a flash of lightning, Lassim activated [Tempest Steps] and surged forward, his body becoming little more than a streak of blue lightning as he closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Mercy was much weaker than Lassim and had no time to react before Lassim was upon him.

Lassim’s halberd, infused with both water and lightning mana, glowed with deadly precision. He activated [Hydroburst].

With a single swing of his halberd, the blade struck Mercy squarely in the chest.

The moment the halberd made contact, the [Hydroburst] detonated with a violent explosion of superheated water and lightning. The force of the blast tore through Mercy’s body, vaporizing him into a spray of blood and mist in an instant.

There was no time for last words. No time for Mercy’s usual sly charm. The man was simply obliterated, his body reduced to nothing more than ash and scattered pieces of flesh.

The two Sun Sect demons recoiled in terror as the explosion rocked the square, their eyes widening in horror as they saw their so-called leader that had tried to commandeer their power to open a portal turned to mist in front of them.

Lassim stood unmoving.

He breathed deeply, as a weight of relief and resolution washed over him. Mercy was gone. He finally had his payback. And with him dead, one less threat from the Abyssal cult remained in the world.

But Lassim didn’t have time to savor the victory.

The two demons, now leaderless, turned their gaze toward him, their corrupted minds scrambling to make sense of the situation.

With a guttural snarl, they lunged at him almost mindlessly, their sunfire-infused abyssal energy crackling around them.

But Lassim was ready and these were some Spirit Growth stage weaklings.

With a fluid motion, he brought his halberd up again, the blade shimmering with a combination of water, lightning, and void energy.

He didn’t even need to expend much effort as he slashed through the air in two swift strikes.

The first demon was cleaved cleanly in half, its body collapsing into a pile of oozing, corrupted flesh. The second demon barely had time to react before Lassim’s halberd found its mark, severing its head from its shoulders in a single, precise cut.

The battle was over in mere seconds.

Lassim straightened, his breath steady as he surveyed the scene.

The village square was now silent, save for the distant crackle of flames in the ruined buildings. Mercy was dead, and the demons were gone.

As Lassim stood amidst the wreckage, the First Blade descended from the shadowy vessel, landing gracefully beside him.

He eyed the scene with a raised eyebrow, clearly having watched the entire encounter from above.

"Well," the First Blade said slowly, his voice measured. "That was... efficient."

Lassim didn’t respond, his mind still racing from the encounter with Mercy.

The First Blade’s eyes narrowed as he studied Lassim. "I don’t know what that man was to you, but good for you. Though, I wish you hadn’t blown him to bits like that. Could’ve interrogated him after capturing him."

Lassim met the First Blade’s gaze, his expression unreadable for a moment before it relaxed and he scratched the back of his head, "He was just a loose end I needed to tie up. Sorry about that, I didn’t think of that at the moment," he said quietly, his voice flat.

The First Blade studied him for a moment longer before finally nodding. "It’s fine. Let’s finish this job. There’s still more demons out there to take care of."

Lassim nodded, his hand tightening around his halberd. "Right. Let’s go."