Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage-Chapter 57: Into the Pyre II

CH57 Into the Pyre II

***

Body Strengthening Magic! Fleetfoot! Featherflight! Featherfall!

Without hesitation, the OmniRune Core resumed its barrage of buffs.

Still channelling mana like a warrior, Alex launched himself forward like a comet.

His speed eclipsed even that of the peak Class 2 Nether Panther.

Then—

From the edge of the Flame Wave’s radius—

A shadow leapt.

A surviving Ironspine Raveger wolf, burned but not broken, hurled itself at him in desperation.

Time slowed.

An idea struck.

A flash of inspiration.

Alex gathered the raging warrior-energy coiled inside him and focused it into his right arm.

Still flying forward at terrifying speed—

He punched.

His entire body’s momentum compressed into that single blow.

And when it was released—

It didn’t feel like a punch.

It felt like a cannon.

A phantom fist shot forward from Alex’s arm—

an ethereal projection fuelled by speed, internal energy, and sheer momentum.

It struck the Ironspine Raveger wolf dead-on.

The beast’s body erupted into a grotesque explosion of flesh and gore.

Alex dashed through the aftermath without pause. Blood sprayed over him, but the force of the blow had blasted most of the bone fragments away. freewebnoveℓ.com

As he passed, he snatched the only intact piece that remained—the wolf’s head.

Dangling it by the scruff, he sprinted straight into the zone where the late- to peak-Class 2 beasts were tearing into one another.

The sight of the severed head drove the surviving Ironspine Raveger wolves into a frenzy.

They forgot hesitation.

Forgot caution.

Their eyes turned blood-red with rage, and they gave chase, bent on ripping him limb from limb.

Meanwhile, the peak-Class 2 beasts viewed Alex’s advance as a challenge.

A few turned and lunged at him, snarling in defiance.

---

But Alex was no longer a normal human.

His mind was in overdrive—perception sharpened beyond reason.

Time stretched.

Every movement, every twitch of muscle and ripple of mana around him played out in slow motion.

He moved like a phantom—his speed rivaling that of speed-type peak-Class 2 beasts.

Alex danced.

He weaved between the strikes of claw and fang with precise, fluid grace.

The more he evaded, the more beasts joined the fray, drawn in by his threat.

Yet he never struck back.

Not because he didn’t want to—

—but because he couldn’t.

His body was on the verge of collapse. Every twitch of muscle sent pain screaming through his nerves. Every dodge required intense focus to predict and pre-empt incoming attacks.

Survival came first.

---

Then, after what felt like an eternity of dodging, Alex reached it—

The stomach of the slain Bladefanged SkyTiger.

He roared:

"Do it!"

Two spell circles formed above him in response—

glimmering with volatile power.

They merged into one.

Suddenly—

The sky darkened.

Even the frenzied beasts faltered, sensing the incoming cataclysm.

But Alex wasn’t done.

As the great spell gathered overhead, he raised his hand and cast another spell in a flash.

"Windblade!"

A shimmering blade of wind burst forth, slicing cleanly through the SkyTiger’s hide.

Alex dived in.

Blood soaked his body as he submerged himself into the beast’s gory remains.

Inside, searing heat closed in behind him, but his hand found what he sought—

The Beast Core of the SkyTiger.

Buried above the stomach. Pulsing with raw, untamed power.

Without hesitation, a blue light enveloped him.

His body blinked out of existence.

Teleportation complete.

---

The beasts pursuing him skidded to a halt.

They looked up.

And their blood ran cold.

A massive, flaming object loomed above them, descending fast from a hundred metres in the sky.

The air boiled.

The beasts turned, panicked, and began to flee.

But it was too late.

BOOM!

The sky shattered with fire.

The ground cracked with force.

Flames surged in every direction—unrelenting, insatiable.

Fireball + Earthball + copious Astral energy + Solmir’s True Name + Elemental Affinity enchantments...

Special Grade: Inferno Meteor.

Alex’s parting gift to the battlefield.

A blazing meteor of destruction.

The valley roared as half the battlefield was engulfed in a hellish inferno.

Those who didn’t die instantly were scorched and crippled.

And soon, whatever part of the valley wasn’t already ablaze...

...was.

-

Alex’s body tumbled out of the portal and hit the ground of the pocket dimension with a heavy thud.

"Hahahaha!" A crazed laugh escaped his lips. "I’m alive!"

He had done it.

Escaped the Ironspine Raveger wolves.

Avenge the Crimsonspine-Frostback tribe.

And most importantly—

he had prevented the rise of a new Class 3 beast... at least for now.

His completely insane plan had actually worked.

But it hadn’t come without cost.

His body was in ruins.

---

Internally, he was a mess. Pushing himself beyond all human limits had shredded his insides.

His right arm hung limp—fractured bones grinding with every breath.

His legs were torn with micro-tears and ruptured fibres; even twitching sent agony screaming up his spine.

And worst of all, his Mana Heart and Mana Vessels were injured and destabilised from the reckless, rapid overconsumption of mana.

None of these were injuries that could heal quickly.

And Alex could already feel the darkness creeping at the edges of his mind.

Consciousness slipping.

He fumbled the Class 3 Beast Core from his storage pouch and tossed it toward the Bonsai Tree.

The cub, still unconscious, lay nestled beside the tree.

"I hope... you can use it..." he whispered.

Even in his state, Alex thought of the future. The cub would need that energy—might even awaken early with its help.

And he?

He’d need every ounce of support to escape this cursed forest alive.

’Mana... gathering... circl—’

He passed out mid-thought.

---

But the OmniRune Core responded.

Glowing faintly, it shifted into its mana-gathering configuration.

Like a soft breeze on a still lake, thin traces of mana trickled into Alex’s body from unseen sources, as if the dimension itself were lending him aid.

The energy crept through his veins, coaxing his body into much needed state of healing.

A subtle light-element mana suffused his muscles and flesh, washing over torn tissue in a slow, almost reverent rhythm.

It was working.

Very slowly.

Too slow.

At this pace, Alex would barely stabilise before his allotted time in the forest ran out.

---

Silence reigned in the pocket dimension.

Only the soft rustle of the Bonsai Tree’s leaves and the faint, unconscious twitches of Alex’s battered frame broke the stillness.

All was calm...

Until—

***