The Runic Artist Chapter 51: Chapter 370 - Heaven and Hell

Read chapter 51 of The Runic Artist by Ellake on NovelPedia.

Kiri floated in Nate’s vicinity, her brother shining like a torch as she watched Divine Energy swirling around him in patterns even her eyes couldn’t follow. Normally she struggled with recognising Concepts that were not her own but, this close to her brother's attempt at seizing the Pillar of Concepts, she couldn’t help but sense them. One by one, they appeared around him, clear as day, before vanishing into his body like he was collecting them. She knew, more likely, that he was painting them onto his Nascent Vessel. Her own ascension to the Pillar of Permanence had felt similar and she could no longer sense any separation between her body and her soul. They were one and she was Permanent. Which is why she held back, rather than leaping into the fray like she wanted to. Out of all the Pillars present and on Nate’s side, she was most suited to defending, and, in this case, it was her little brother that she would be protecting. In the distance she watched as Ankh’aris, larger than she had ever seen him, dived in all his obsidian-scaled majesty towards the four Celestial Pillars. His breath was almost invisible against the darkness of space but the Celestials rallied, defending each other as they tried to bring down what Kiri was certain was currently the strongest Pillar in their Reality. Nearby, Luci flew like a stream of sunlight, impatient to help her adoptive father. But, over the years, the once impetuous solar dragon had learned restraint. A very small amount of it, but it was enough to keep her focused on the task that Ankh’aris had set before them. Because the Celestials weren’t the only Pillars they had to worry about. Kiri felt their enemy bubble into existence nearby, like an itch she couldn’t scratch, grating at her nerves. His visage was one of terrible beauty, almost humanoid if it wasn’t for skin the dark red of blood, clawed hands with black nails as long as the fingers themselves, and two wings of hellfire. His entrance was flashy enough to draw eyes from all those involved, which was, of course, exactly the point. Kiri created a wall of force behind Nate, imbued with the Concept of Permanence and reinforced with Divine Energy. She hadn’t sensed the lance of shadow that shattered across its surface a moment later, but she had known it was coming. “Maginor,” greeted Kiri. “I wondered if the Lord of the Ninth Hell would come. And you brought Helikon with you.How …predictable.” Luci trumpeted, her roar echoing as the central star’s light shone brighter, revealing a shadowed being standing on one of the nearby planet’s moons. The solar dragon launched away in a bolt of light as the shadow tried to flee. Kiri let Luci go. It was her job to hunt down the Pillar of Darkness and force her to leave or, if Helikon stayed, to kill the Lady of the Fifth Hell.” “You know me, child but I don’t recall you. Were you one of the newly risen in the last decade?” asked Maginor, malice rolling off of him in waves as his flaming wings beat without any air, sending the taste of pain, ash,526 and death rolling across Kiri’s tongue. “Does it matter?” quipped Kiri, intentionally buying time. All she needed to do was keep Nate safe. If he ascended, this battle was over. Their enemies unfortunately were not morons and would know the same. Still, the demon couldn’t help but play with its food, and Kiri was perfectly happy to assume the role of talkative prey if that kept Maginor speaking. “I suppose not,” agreed the Lord of the Ninth Hell and Pillar of Malice. “Let us see if you’re actually worthy of the title.” Kiri felt him move and her hand struck out, blocking the attack towards Nate with her Regalia. Maginor tried to force his way past her but she was immovable, her body a fixture to the spot. When he vanished in a wave of dark flame trying to roll past her, all he did was wash up against a new barrier she had created around Nate. His flames crawled along it, seeking a way in, but she simply matched his Divine Energy usage, feeding