Descent of a God

Widow's Crypt Pt. 2

Arthur POV:

Curtis! I need your help right now!" I roared across the battlefield.

"Arthur, I don't think I can afford to—"

"Come, now!" I barked back before he could refute.

Curtis was a bloody, grimy mess, but from the shallow wounds on his body, it was obvious that the blood on him wasn't his.

"What is it?" He panted heavily. I could tell he was exhausted by the wear on his face and body. His shield was badly dented and his sword was slick with blood, dulled from repeated use.

"Do you think your beast will ability, World Howl, is strong enough to clear the rubble?" I turned his head to snap him back to attention.

"Arthur, I don't think I have the mana to even go into my first phase." He shook his head hopelessly.

"Just answer the question. Is it strong enough?"

"Y-Yeah, if I had enough mana, I could potentially produce a blast bigger than the one in the mock team battle where you, um, got injured." He scratched his head, confused by where I was going with this.

I thought about maybe directing the blast at the queen snarler but even if it were strong enough to kill it, it would be impossible to accurately catch only the queen and not Professor Glory. It was safer to just go with this plan.

"Okay. I want you to not question what I'm about to do. Just focus on going into your first phase and producing a blast strong enough to clear that mountain of rubble. Got it?" The amount of urgency and authority must have gotten through to Curtis because he just nodded and turned around.

Taking off my seal and putting it in my dimension ring, I made sure to control the amount fluctuation in the mana as to not tip anyone off. Everyone was occupied with the snarlers but if I didn't control the mana release like Professor Glory did after she released her seal, I would draw attention from the queen snarler.

Feeling the untapped pool of mana that I now had access to, I placed both my hands on Curtis' back.

From the amount of mana I willed into Curtis, the prince involuntarily dropped to one knee before he was able to adjust his body to the sudden bombardment of mana.

As I began slowly controlling and limiting the amount of each elemental mana particle I transmitted to Curtis, I couldn't help but grit my teeth in self-deprecation at the turn of events.

No longer a king, tied down by rules and politics as well as my own physical capabilities, I'd become careless. In this world, the limits to my potential were boundless. Reaching the white stage or even further wasn't a dream but a matter of time and effort.

The thing that appalled me the most and what I hated to admit was that I was, in a sense, a bit like Lucas. I was nowhere near as much of a jerk as him and I had people I actually cared for besides myself, but I was becoming arrogant; arrogant to the extent of carelessness.

"I-I don't know what you just did, Arthur, but I feel great. I think I'll be able to go into my first phase!" the prince exclaimed, bringing me back to reality. I sensed the change his body was going through as he began to transition into his first phase.

Mana fluctuated erratically around him as he released his beast will. I jerked my hands back in pain as Curtis released his first phase. Confused, I tried transferring mana to him again but the rejection from his body was even stronger than the first time.

Would the mana from his beast reject my mana?

Before I had the chance to try again, Curtis began gathering mana for his World Howl technique.