Chapter 41: Thetis’s Power
Phantasia propped herself up on her remaining arm and willed herself to absorb anything she could from her surroundings. All she needed was a slither of mana to help restore her body, to help her endure just another minute. Help would be here soon. Ms James would arrive with an explosive solution, Azarat Haan would cleave through the darkness with one of those enchanted swords he always carried around, Mr Payne would demonstrate just why he was the headmaster of this Academy…
The creature released another sphere of dark power towards her. Phantasia called out to the Goddess. She called out to Dionysus. She just needed a tiny boost. One last push.
And then she was swept away to the other side of the pool, as if she’d been caught in a sudden flood and washed out of harm’s way. She strained to make sense of the hazy world around her. Another aura. A familiar aura. A blue aura. She could hear a voice asking her to return to her senses. A monotone, polite voice with a matter-of-fact tone. Then the fog began to dissipate and she felt an incomplete energy begin to flow through her body.
“I am giving you some of my strength,” said the voice, “I do not know if this will benefit you but there is no other reasonable option,”
“Faye!” Had Phantasia the strength – and the arms – she would have hugged her stoic handmaiden there and then.
“I apologise for my delayed intervention,” she said, “I have been analysing this entity’s powers and capabilities. A pre-emptive declaration of my presence may have skewed my conclusions,”
The automaton, its body still crackling with dark power, loomed over them, but was once again motionless.
“This is an entity referred to as a golem,” explained the ever-knowledgeable Faye, “Its body is shaped from physical matter by transmutational magic and them imbued with mana from its creator. This mana also contains instructions that enable the golem to function. Currently the creature is receiving updated instructions as it was not programmed to deal with a Water faerie such as myself.“
Were it not for her exhaustion, Phantasia could have traced the source of those instructions, but presently she could only attempt a recovery and hope Faye would handle the situation. Faye – her handmaiden who had no combat experience and acknowledged herself that she couldn’t fight.
“I agree,” she said, “My battle capabilities are non-existent. At first my plan was to protect you until suitable reinforcements arrived. However it would appear that none are present and a thought-scan of the area suggests they are trapped underground by the same entity controlling this golem,”
“You know who it is?” wheezed Phantasia.
“Negative. They are protecting their thoughts and I cannot ascertain their location or strategy. Also, the golem is now prepared for attack,”
The golem lifted one of its clawed hands about its head as dark power danced between its dagger-like fingers. Faye took a few cautious steps back towards Phantasia and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Our options are limited,” she said, “We do not possess the strength to defeat this opponent and it has adapted its offensive strategy to focus on area-of-effect attacks, thus reducing our evasive ability.”
There had to be something they could do! Maybe if they split up, the golem could only concentrate on one of them while the other devised a counter-attack…
“An ineffective strategy,” said Faye, “The golem will target you, and you lack the mana to sustain a direct assault. There is only one logical solution to this—“
The golem swung its claw forward without warning, crackling dark energy spraying forth like wild lightning dancing from particle to particle. A wide attack, perfect to counter any attempt at escape…
And then the swimming pool exploded into a tower of water; a liquid wall that devoured the darkness before it had a chance to reach its targets. At first Phantasia wondered if Faye had somehow developed mana-controlling abilities of such a level she could command liquid matter, but then, as the water wall broke down, a figure began to form in the downpour.
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6th paragraph: Skewered:pierced through. I suspect you meant skewed:thrown off of true