I became a legion lich

199 Clash of gods

“That’s all the more reason to kill them now, when they don’t pose a serious threat! These demi-humans found a way to get their blood back and they won’t stop until they become true giants.” Eishin roared.

“Even if become giants, you are not allowed to act. Don’t forget the agreement we all have and that it is the only thing that protects the sandcastle you call an empire.” Illum seriously threatened seeing that Eishin didn’t intend to back down, but his intentions were different.

‘I really hope that the evolved demihumans are capable of becoming giants. In the past, I agreed with the extermination of the giants because they were tyrants and posed a danger to all races and I don’t regret that decision, but today I realize that I lacked vision at the time.’ Illum thought as he reminisced about the past.

Illum still believed that exterminating the giants was the right decision for the time, but he should have saved a few children from each different race of giants and preserved the species. If he raised them from a young age and taught them to coexist with other races, it might be possible to change the giants’ aggressive mentality.

At the time, he believed that the innate nature of giants could not be corrected and that killing them was the only way for other species to prosper, but it was Kalesi who changed his mindset.

She was able to overcome the killer instincts of the undead and change the mindset of other undead species, which until then were mortal enemies of all living beings.

These evolved demihumans were their chance to correct their past mistakes and restore the giants. Bringing the giants to their side would not only atone for their wrongdoings, but also ensure mighty warriors when war against the human empires eventually broke out.

The war against humans was already a matter of when, rather than if.

“I’m going to kill them and you’re not going to stop me, now get out of my way.” Eishin spoke coldly, casting his best spells and preparing to fight.

.....

“Why don’t you try to get me out?” Illum teased him as he did the same but on a much grander scale. The world’s energy several kilometers across was sucked in and pooled in the spells Illum was casting, raising his level.

He was using his racial ability, mana authority to power up his spells. The skill allowed him to absorb the world’s energy in large quantities, needing to add minimal amounts of amber energy for it to carry his energy signature.

All of a sudden, all the spells Eishin was preparing lost their strength, all the energy that hadn’t yet been mixed with his holy mana being sucked up by Illum.

Illum didn’t give Eishin time to think of a countermeasure and unleashed his spell, hollow meteor. A hundreds of meters black meteor pierced the clouds just above them and flew swiftly toward Eishin.

The meteor was infused with earth to give the spell mass, fire to increase the temperature, and darkness to harm Eishin. Eishin’s body was made of pure light and darkness was the only element that could cause him real harm.

“Do you think a slow spell like that will hit me??” Eishin shouted in mockery, cutting the distance between him and Illum in less than a second. Hollow meteor was an incredibly destructive spell, but it was slow despite its size.

Eishin punched Illum in the face and stomach as soon as he reached him, releasing a burst of white flames and a storm of white lightning respectively. They were incomplete spells that Eishin was unable to finish casting, and he used his own mana to forcefully complete the spells.

The ensuing explosion temporarily blinded his senses and Eishin tried to back away to avoid a counterattack, but an amber hand grabbed his wrist before he could pull away.

“That’s it?” Unfortunately for Eishin, the smoke dispersed with a gust of wind and Illum was unharmed, glaring at him mockingly. A paper-thin amber energy barrier covered his body.

‘Tch. I should have expected half-baked spells wouldn’t break this bastard’s defense. I need to fight seriously if I want to win.’ Eishin thought and tried to dissolve his body in light to gain distance, but Illum acted faster.

The amber barrier that covered Illum’s body slipped through his arm and surrounded Eishin’s body like a human-sized statue, sealing him away. The barrier was just a lump of amber energy and Illum could shape it into whatever shape he preferred.

‘The hardest part of fighting this guy is his speed and his ability to transform into light to get away. Take that away from him and defense is no big deal. Illum thought as he felt Eishin struggle within the barrier.

Eishin transformed into light and attacked the barrier from all sides, releasing the incomplete spells he had held ready, but it was ineffective. The barrier withstood Eishin’s desperate attacks and the shockwaves of his spells hit him, damaging himself.

Magic couldn’t affect its own caster, but its secondary effects did.

Cracks appeared in the barrier from Eishin’s constant efforts and he used them to try to escape, but the hollow meteor hit him. The hollow meteor broke through the barrier and hit Eishin while he was transformed into light and pushed him into the ocean below.

“Argh!” Eishin screamed in pain as he felt the darkness corrode his body and the high temperature burn him and released a laser of light that pierced the meteor until it crossed it, but the colossal size of the meteor was too big for a laser conjured only with its own manna.

The Hollow meteor crashed into the ocean, generating tidal waves that could destroy a city if they were near the shores of the mainland and a steam explosion, but Illum cast a second spell, dark zero.

A wave of blue-black energy shot out of his body and moved into the ocean below, instantly freezing him. The steam explosion, the tidal waves and all the sea water from the ocean’s surface to the bottom turned into a black ice, attacking Eishin from all directions.

As the World Tree avatar, Illum could use all six elements of magic, though he could not use opposing elements at the same time.

‘If I could use all six elements like Eirin and Canan, I wouldn’t have to worry about this non-intervention agreement and killing the human gods, putting a quick end to this madness.’ Illum thought and with perfect timing, a flash of light appeared a few hundred meters away, followed by a sonic boom.

“I’m late?” Canan asked as soon as he saw Illum standing unconcernedly in mid-air.

“No, I haven’t even started to sweat yet. Your friend on the other hand.” Illum replied as he pointed his chin towards the ocean, causing Canan to snap out his tongue in frustration and fly to stand between the ocean and Illum.

“I appreciate you stopping him, but your job is done. I’ll take over from here.” Canan spoke in an aggressive tone, casting a spell on each of the fingers of his hand. All twenty.

Canan knew he couldn’t face Illum alone, so Eirin joined the fray, instead of just leaving control to him as she usually does. His body shape-shifted and grew to nearly 10 feet, while a second pair of female arms grew just below his armpits.

Her face warped as a pair of eyes grew from her forehead, a new mouth grew from her chin, and her hair grew down to her waist. His clothes ripped in the transformation, revealing that his body had no male or female characteristics, being completely genderless.

It was the form Canan and Eirin assumed when their bodies synchronized perfectly.

The world energy vacuum that Illum caused was quickly being filled and Canan/Eirin quickly cast their best spells, freely using all the elements. It was a unique Canan/Eirin ability that even Illum envied.

“I’m sorry, but this boy doesn’t look like he’s going to back down anytime soon and you already broke my trust once when you betrayed me to join him, so I don’t intend to back down here.” Illum spoke dismissively and Canan/Eirin flinched for an instant at those words, but quickly recovered.

Canan/Eirin were old acquaintances of Illum and former apprentices to him, but they left when they realized that they did not agree with Illum’s ideal and joined Eishin. They still respected their former master, but Illum despised them and blamed them for the current state of the world.

If they hadn’t betrayed him and joined Eishin, it would have been three Gods against one and Eishin would have been easily killed and the world would have achieved peace, or at least would be in a better state than it currently is.

“I’m sorry professor, but this is not a request. Stand back now or your fight will now be with me.” Canan/Eirin spoke, their voices synchronized and sounding neither male nor female.

The entire world suddenly began to darken, interrupting the discussion. Both looked up at the sky and noticed the solar eclipse, but something was wrong.