Chapter 3145 The Bleed (Part 1) 3145 The Bleed (Part 1) The Crystal teeth of the Mouth opened and elemental streams of energy formed warpaint-like patterns on its surface. The Eyes glowed with power as the flow of information was rerouted from Solus' brain to the Library and the Grimoire floors. The former stored the acquired knowledge while the second relieved her from the strain of processing too much data by herself. Stone blades emerged from the back of the Hands, the seven gemstones rearranging their position and forming a straight line on the fullers. "You were the best and you always will, Mom!" Solus' strength hadn't changed but nothing managed to hit her anymore. The Ears read the flow of mana of every attack, allowing her to predict their trajectory and avoid them with minimal movements. The Eyes read the runes of the spells and the willpower imbued within them, letting Solus know what the spells were supposed to do and how. The Mouth received the information from the Eyes, weaving counterspells at a moment's notice without Solus spending one shred of focus on them. The Hands conjured more and more world energy, using it instead of her mana to fuel the abilities of the Set. The blades and claws cut through the Chronicler's weapons, flesh, and spells alike. The flow of elements inside the Hands countered the enemy runes and turned even Yggdrasill wood into kindling. The only problem was that the Chronicler's weapons were made of live Yggdrasill wood and would get back together in a matter of seconds. While Solus was still getting the hang of her new equipment, the layer of light generated by Menadion Set grew thicker and merged with her Voidwalker armor. "Protection insufficient." The feminine voice from the tower said. "Assembling the Anvil." 'The what now?' Not even the World Tree knew about the ancient yet updated defensive protocols of the tower since Menadion had lived a peaceful life. She had never needed them for herself but had prepared them anyway, just in case. The matter of the Hands, the Ears, and the Fury mixed with the Voidwalker armor and other materials conjured by the Workshop, forming the Anvil of Menadion. The suit of armor was designed to handle the constant energy flow of the tower and further lighten the strain from the use of the complete Menadion Set. Solus turned two more Chroniclers into toothpaste before they could react. The white crystals on the Anvil became blue and yellow, giving her the speed and flexibility to compensate for her weaker fusion magic partially. Strength wasn't an issue. Any attempt to block her attacks ended with a broken weapon and shattered bones. 'Enough with this madness! We both know you can't fight for long. My Chroniclers are Awakened and need one breath to heal. Without a host, every drop of blood you shed is lost forever!' The Yggdrasill activated a powerful gravity array focused solely on Solus and the tower. They also conjured the tier five Spirit Spell, Griffon Fetters, that exploited her sudden drop in speed to restrict her movements. Once paralyzed, the spells cast by the Chroniclers hit her one after the other. The spells were not intended to kill but they hurt just the same. With all the protections Solus wore, the elves didn't need to hold back much. Solus coughed out a mouthful of blood as she struggled to get free. The Hands clawed at the emerald energy of the Griffon Fetters but the Yggdrasill had an entire Fringe to fuel their powers. The Eyes and the Ears showed her everything about the spell, but gave her no suggestion about how to get rid of it. Only the Mouth helped Solus by making up for her lack of body casting and conjuring spells to help her weather the onslaught. "If you want to end this then let me go!" Solus roared as a display in the corner of her eye notified her that the tower was done charging up. She only had to think about it for the Prime Engine to come to life. The tower shapeshifted, its various parts rearranging themselves with clicks and whirrs that made her smile. Those sounds were useless, but they reminded her of Lith and gave her an idea. 'What is that? Why does it look different?' The World Tree had already witnessed the Engine in action and was wary of it. Even more now that it had a massive cannon above its right arm and a much meaner look on its face. "We call that the Mechatron." Solus replied as the Workshop and the Factory loaded the first bullet inside the railgun. The materials conjured by the tower couldn't go far, but they could be reproduced endlessly and the World Tree was as big as it was close. The first shot opened a tunnel leading straight outside, destroying everything in its wake until the bullet lost cohesion and faded into light sparkles. 'Fuck!' The problem was that Solus was still weak and so now was the tower. 'I should have thought that charging a railgun that big so fast would drain the tower. It's down to less than 40%!' As the Yggdrasill screamed in pain due to the grievous wound they had suffered and for the death of more Chronicles, the innocent elves on the outside fell to their knees, weeping for those who had been killed by the bullet. 'On the other hand, I'm free.' Solus coughed out more blood but she managed to break the Griffon Fetters and escape the gravity array. 'I can't waste a single second. I don't know how long I can hold o-' A Chronicler mad with rage for the loss of her friends and family shapeshifted her Yggdrasill staff into a spear and lunged at Solus. Between her weakness and wounds, Solus failed to react in time and the spear found its way to her side. The blade pierced her stomach only because the World Tree had forbidden any kind of lethal damage but it still cut all the way through her body, causing a massive internal haemorrhage. "Surrender now, bitch, or I swear to the Tree that I'll make you suffer until the end of your days." The voice of the elf was a velvet snarl, her eyes feverish from the outrage of holding back. "Warning!" The feminine voice coming from the tower resounded like a death knell. "Constant decline in Elphyn's strength, confirmed. No host, confirmed. Death of Menadion, confirmed. Engage Predator protocol." "Get your fucking hands off my daughter, Bytra!" Seven hundred years after her death, Ripha spoke in anger. Fangs appeared on the Engine mouth while its fingers turned into claws and its toes into talons. A gigantic fist grabbed the Chronicler but to everyone's surprise, it didn't squash her. The elf and her staff were sucked inside what looked like a long tube and carried inside the Bleed. It was the final modification Menadion had applied to the tower. A hidden floor she had crafted in order to protect Elphyn's life at all costs. It was her final masterpiece and her greatest shame. "No! Please, I beg you! Everything but this!" The Chronicler begged and screamed from inside a gene-tank as it became filled with a purple liquid.