While Solus filled his body with fusion magic, treated his wounds, and shared with him a part of her vitality, Lith was free to fully focus on the Demons.
Jakra stopped for a moment, staring in awe at the gigantic shadows that towered over him and so did Lith. It was the first time that, instead of looking like humanoids made of darkness, the Demons resembled how they looked in life.
A four-headed Hydra that looked like Sedra wrapped its long necks around Jakra while a Wyvern spat a black mass that closely resembled flames on the Emerald Dragon.
A Lindwurm charged in outrage, quickly followed by several species of lesser Dragons that Lith had never seen before. Yet all their fury and power couldn't exceed Lith's and they only managed to stop Jakra for a few seconds.
Seconds that Lith exploited to use Invigoration and rack his brain in search for the missing piece of the puzzle.
'What the heck am I doing wrong? Why no matter how many spells I cast and how much elemental energies I circulate does my core remain bright blue?' He thought as his memories flashed in front of his eyes.
"Dominance isn't something you can perform as a conscious action. It's a reflex you merely guide along the right path." Faluel's voice echoed in his mind.
"True magic isn't about hand signs and words. It's about imagination and willpower." Lith's own voice as a child said.
"When the time comes and you'll gain the power necessary to break free, don't try to resist nor to control its flow. You must become one with that power but without letting it take over your mind, just like you did with Epphy until now." Baba Yaga's voice said.
Then, everything made sense as the images of his date on the beach with Kamila resurfaced. He remembered her words about having fun and how the sand had formed a mosaic of Carl without Lith putting any effort or focus behind the act.
'F.u.c.k me sideways, Kami was right. I'm so focused on my work, on my paranoia, that I never learned to just enjoy what I do. Magic is more than a tool, it's more than a sequence of runes. Magic is everything I am.' Lith thought.
'Just because I don't think about it, it doesn't mean that my core stops beating nor does my mana flow stops. Everything I do, everything I feel is an act of magic. I don't control the power, I am the power. How could I have been so blind?'
What gave them meaning was the experience he had piled up, the moments he had spent doing nothing but stupid tricks to entertain the kids or to make Kamila laugh after a bad day.
Training and studying had given him power, but only stopping to contemplate his achievements and to enjoy the marvel that magic was had allowed Lith to truly understand its meaning.
Very few reached the violet core simply because they failed to see it as something more than a power source. Those stuck at the blue core considered magic as they did with their clothes and their equipment.
Something they owned instead of something they were.
'Solus, I need you to stop helping me. Don't cast spells against Jakra and stop using fusion magic on me.' Lith said via their mind link.
'Have you gone insane? It's only thanks to our joined efforts that you are barely holding out.' She replied.
'I know that, but Faluel was right all along. Being together makes us stronger but at the same time, it hinders our personal growth. I finally understood why I went this close to the violet core against Qisal and failed ever since.
'Because back then I didn't think, I acted. And the only reason I managed to do that is that you weren't there to help me.' Lith shared with her his revelation, making Solus curse.
'Do you trust me?' He asked.
'Always.' She stopped doing anything but draining the world energy to weaken Jakra's Origin Flames and using all the energy she got from the mana geyser to enhance Lith's equipment.
Solus had merged her stone form with his sword and armor for a while, but her active role in the battle had kept her from changing their properties much. Now that she had gone to a passive stance, she focused on their pseudo cores, controlling them as a power core would.
At the same time, Lith stopped casting spells consciously with his body. He just visualized what and where he wanted to conjure his spells and willed for it. Alas, knowing and doing are usually worlds apart.
Now that the barrage of weak but annoying Spirit Spells was gone, the Emerald Dragon's sword reached its target with increasing frequency. Without Lith's body casting advantage, Jakra could focus on readings his movements and patterns.
Dragonclaw pierced Lith's left shoulder first and then opened a long cut from below the armpit to the hip. Whenever Lith focused too much on the blade, Jakra would switch to a one-handed grip and punch him with the now free hand.
The hit would make Lith falter and focus on the fist long enough for the blade to strike. It was a simple but effective strategy that made use of the Emerald Dragon's superior skills.
Neither their battle experience nor their mass could be compared. The 500 years spent inside the Golden Griffon had been a nightmare, yet they had also forced Jakra to fight some of the best warriors of the Kingdom non-stop.
Compared to that, Lith's 19 turbulent years were barely a speck of dust.
The fight turned for the worse with each exchange despite the help from the Demons of Darkness. They were too weak and made of darkness, not Chaos so the Kingslayer armor was enough to deal with them.
Its barriers kept them at bay while its automatic counter spells destroyed their ethereal form. Lith, however, didn't give up and neither did the Demons.
"You truly are an anomaly, little brother. I had never seen a faulty bloodline power before. This will make our fight last even less." The Emerald Dragon said.
"I only agree with your last statement, big brother." Lith said while resuming his attack with renewed fury. He daydreamed about a hail of spells manifesting around Jakra and attacking him from every side, yet nothing happened.
The strike, however, came faster and stronger than the Emerald Dragon had expected, forcing him to block it instead of his usual dodge-and-counter routine. The clash between War and Dragonclaw sent shockwaves solely throughout his body, leaving Lith unaffected.
"What the f.u.c.k?" Jakra said while completely unaware of the wave of Demons of the Fallen that charged at him from behind.
