Titan's Throne

Compound Defense

"Old man, I thought this was supposed to be a test."

Bastian's calm boast awoke Phantasma from her stupor. The former raised his free hand and formed a large circular matrix above his open palm. 

It was a magnificent matrix with intricate designs, composed of complex interwoven runes rotating and revolving around the periphery. 

"If I don't deal with these flames, we will get noticed soon so I'm taking action. Phantasma, pay attention to what I'm about to do. Because this move is going to be crucial in our first real battle tomorrow."

As the spell matrix fully formed, a wave of formless energy spread to the environment around the duo. The flames around them started to change shape as the walls of flame were pushed back. 

The point of contact where Bastian had split the flame had created a gap that was of a small angle. But with seconds passing, the angle, and thus the gap the duo resided in, enlarged. It went from only being a few dozen degrees to being one hundred and eighty degrees flat. 

If one observed from the sky, it looked as if the wall of flames had been perfectly blocked by what looked like an invisible horizontal shield.

"What on earth is this?"

Phantasma was horrified by what she saw. But she was even more horrified by what she was feeling. The world energy fluctuations she felt gave her ridiculous readings. She was starting to believe that her senses were broken. 

"There is no shield, and your senses are not lying to you." Bastian's words caused Phantasma to develop a weariness toward Bastian. There was no such thing as mind reading, thus Bastian had read her body language like she was an open book. 

'Incredible observation skills. Talent, wisdom, courage, and the resolve to work hard. Sebastian Tirius, where on earth did you come from?'

Bastain ignored the flabbergasted Phantasma and crushed the matrix in his palm. The spell matrix broke and became another shock wave that spread outwards. Bastian also took the opportunity to answer Phantasma's earlier question regarding the skill's name. When she heard the name she could not help but wonder. What did it do?

…

Phantasma's recollection was disturbed because Bastian had finally decided to take action. 

"I got the signal from General Moto. The net should have gotten enough of them now. Okay, time to finish this."

The orb Bastian had been messing around with flashed with a small energy pulse. This was the 'signal' Bastian had been waiting for. There were many uses for a pocket dimension, and simple forms of communication were one of them.

Bastian twisted his arm like a baseball pitcher warming up for the first throw of the game. He narrowed his eyes and focused his breath as he formed a claw with his right hand. 

A small spell matrix formed above the claw, and it was one Phantasma was familiar with.

'He's about to use it. But how, this area is too great to cover. Unless he is planning to use the orb as a conduit for the spell?' Phantasma knew what was coming, but that did not stop her heart from beating with anticipation.

Sula had a look of shock on her face as the matrix caused a twinkle in her eye.

'What an exquisite matrix. It's quite a high-tier spell. But what does it do?'

Sula, as a mage, had a decent level of knowledge regarding matrices. She could not claim to have seen many, but she was confident in knowing the more commonly used ones for fire mages.

'He should be a fire element mage. So that should be a fire-type matrix. But I have never seen anything like it.'

Bastian did not waste time as he slammed the spell Matrix into the orb he had been working on earlier. Immediately after, the orb shone with intense light. Energy grid lines lit up from the orb, forming complex geometric formations all over the large underground space. 

'This! This is!'

Sula looked around in wonder as the final pieces to a puzzle she had been mulling over finally came together.

'It's super-massive spell formation! Incredible! Someone in the Foundation Realm is actually able to do this. It's absurd! How intelligent is he?'

Spell matrices can only be created if the mage is able to clearly picture the matrix in their mind. Even if one was drawn earlier, every inch has to be stored and remembered to perfection for the spell to work. 

This matrix was made up of  many large shapes moving differently with many smaller shapes contained within. These small shapes also moved in their own patterns. 

'He has a powerful mind as well as a powerful soul. Truly gifted indeed. As expected from someone believed to be a Mark Bearer.' 

A pulse of energy fluctuations flooded Sula's perception as the World Energy around her started to shift in a way she could not comprehend.

'Eh? What is this?'

Sula could hardly believe her senses. 

'The World Energy, it's suppressing me?'

Sula could feel the fire element World Energy around her suppress her spirit. Being suppressed by one's own element. This was an absurd notion to Sula.

Phantasma observed Sula from the side with a hint of pity. She knew what Sula was feeling because she had felt that exact same sensation the night before. She was also of the fire element and had felt a similar suppression.

'But compared to last night, this is much worse. Because he has the pocket dimension to use as a conduit.'

"What on the Sovereign Continent is this spell?" asked Sula as she rapidly used her Soul Force to fight the suppression of her spirit and energy.

Bastian didn't seem to care about anything as he continued his activation of the spell. It was taking up his entire focus and was an incredible undertaking. 

Unlike the last night, there was no Medici Connection. He had to shut down the Medici Matrix because he no longer had a 'Master' who could confuse senses. So he had far less computational power. But he could at least use the pocket dimension as an avatar for the spell to expand its range. Bastian had made it cover the majority of the Cole family compound. 

Bastian had revealed the power of the spell to Sula and quickly took her off the list of targets in his mind. He could freely adjust who he targeted so long as they were in range of the spell.

Anyone within the range of the spell was detected by Bastian. His energy sensitivity and powerful soul were his greatest assets. Bastian, through the Medici Area, had already evolved his e-vision. It was now beyond just 'seeing' flakes of light. He could now sense the energy around him so long as it was within the range of any spell matrix he had activated. 

Sula showed signs of visible relaxation once the suppression had dropped. Phantasma took the opportunity to explain what was happening despite the fact that the question was not directed at her.

"It's called Unjust Augury: Homeostatic Seal."