The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar's deer anima sank into Erden, matching the beast by every inch down to the branches on its antlers, and fused like a soul entering a body. Mists and smokes of blue Ein hissed and steamed out from the pores of Erden's body, and he cried out. Ein burned from Erden's eyes, giving the beast an otherworldly look.

Erden stomped his hooves. A clear clang echoed and silenced the shrieking cries of the red root. Erden's hooves were coated in sapphire metallic plating. But that was not the end. More sapphire metallic plates formed up, staring from Erden's hooves, clicking into place as they settled and spreading all over his body until they covered everything, up to the tips of his antlers.

Fully clad in armor and burning with Ein from his eyes, Erden no longer seemed like a beast. Now he was a refined steed and warrior of metal. The Meld was complete, and the Ein around Erden was a mix of Oscar's and his own, terrifying and oppressive. Emanations of this Ein pulsed from Erden like heatwaves, spreading all over Isaac's stone garden.

The red root shrieked louder and lifted six large tendrils with overly large and inflated tips. The mouths on these tips twisted unnaturally to point their sharp teeth outward. Suddenly, they all protruded a few feet, resembling cacti needles, and dropped on Oscar and Erden.

Erden rushed up and jumped as Oscar stayed back. He felt Erden's yearning to test his new powers under the Meld, much like Oscar himself. In the air, Erden faced the large red cacti of teeth and swung his antler once. The antlers grew to three times their size, making Erden seem so small, and spheres of Eirin floated around the metal surfaces.

The Eirin-powered metal antlers ripped apart the cacti and shattered the teeth. Red fluids poured out from the newly severed tendrils, smelling like blood. Erden retreated to Oscar's side with a proud huff and a deep glow from his burning blue eyes.

"It worked," Oscar stroked his hand over Erden's head. It was odd to no longer feel the soft white fur, but the smooth metal was just as appealing and cool to the touch. Seeing the red root's distress, Oscar understood his Meld power, a new way for him to fight and surpass others.

"You've tried to force the anima into me for many years. It kept feeling so uncomfortable, but now it's a refreshing taste." Erden spoke, his voice deepened and echoed from under his metallic armor. "Even with this armor, I've never felt so light."

"Hold on, so what are your Meld powers?" Gol-4 asked. "How did you get the Eirin onto him? It's exciting to know what Melds can do."

Before Oscar could answer, the red root opened its innumerable mouths and spat out purple droplets. Thousands and thousands of these droplets spread everywhere, a sudden downpour of purple rain with not a single spot missed. Oscar sensed the danger, recalling his prior experience with the Thousand Serpent long ago, and punched several times.

Each punch shook the air and created fierce winds. Several mini-Shattering Waves came out with thunderous cries. Mere liquids were nothing before destructive force as the Shattering Waves repelled all nearby droplets, scattering them somewhere else. Oscar remained still as observed as the droplets burned on the ground, leaving scorch marks.

'Acid…' Out of nowhere, four large streams of acid shot out like a dragon's breath from the four main faces. Oscar and Erden moved to dodge, but the red root was fast. It rotated its main body so fast in several revolutions, and the acid breaths spiraled all over the stone garden.

Having no choice, Oscar leaped up with Erden to avoid being melted down. The ground was no longer safe until all the acid had dissolved away. Oscar stared down at the red root and was taken aback. Its main body had split open from the top and bloomed like a flower. Resembling a pearl, a concentration of red Ein and acid formed in the center and released with incredible power.

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"So it was also testing us earlier with those cacti…quite smart." Oscar stared at the other tendrils which had followed and surrounded him from the sides, leaving no room to retreat. The teeth gleamed dangerously as a bloodied aura emanated from the red bodies. The earlier cacti were nothing compared to these.

As the powerful wave of Ein and acid ascended, the other tendrils spat out thin and fast acid threads, beelining for Oscar. Surrounded on all sides, Oscar could only smile and flew with Erden straight toward the strongest attack. His heart thumped, not from the use of Reis or Eirin, an already solved problem, but from the thrill of battle.

It had been years, and the only closest opponent was Lucus, who fought decently until Oscar went all-out. Now, the best opponent stood before him. Oscar transmitted a mental thought to Erden to coordinate their attacks, and Erden responded instantly, a great benefit to their Soulbond.

Blue antlers formed on Oscar's head, and his body was wrapped in spheres of Eirin. Having used the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle, Oscar concentrated the Eirin into a fine point on his copper shield and released it. Thirty Percent of his stored Eirin flowed into a Shattering Wave, and Erden added to the attack by stomping his hooves to release his own staggering wave, mixed with Eirin.

Oscar and Erden's blue Eirin clashed against the red Ein and acid. The two powers collided with so much force Oscar and Erden couldn't keep still in the air and flew back. Screeches came from the tendrils by his sides, which quickly retracted away back to the red root, though many were stuck to the walls, unable to tear away against the shockwaves from the center of the battle.

Everything fell apart.

The spheres of Eirin popped like bubbles and disappeared. The red Ein and acid evaporated away into mists. Once it cleared, Oscar and Erden locked gazes with the toothy eyes of the red root. Sweat beaded down Oscar's forehead, and he chuckled.

"Is this beast really a Lower Knight Exalt? Or is it some mutated Exalt Beast? The Ein within the power was beyond what I thought it was capable of." Oscar said, staying still in the air as the red root wriggled around. No doubt it was readying for its next attack.

"Definitely a mutated one, but I'm unsure if that is enough to warrant this much power. The fact you were able to match it is astonishing enough." Gol-4's eyes flickered around, studying the creature. "Ah, so that's it."

"What did you find? I only have around seven minutes now." Oscar seemed to be in a hurry. Using the Eirin Shattering Wave in his mantle form hastened the time based on how much he used.

"That large root under it is connected to the floor. I would bet my arm that it's connected to the Forest Heart. How surprising that it managed to do so."

"You don't have an arm," Erden quipped.

"A figure of speech, you blue beast. Cut it off from that main root, and it'll no longer have the large amounts of Ein to boost it."

Oscar nodded and flew straight down to the ground. The heat of his Eirin and Ein evaporated the remaining acid, allowing him to walk freely. Clenching his fists, he formed Eirin Silver Lances. Though the quality was no longer on par, the extra small boost of sharpness and penetration was still worthwhile.

His nemesis, the red root, growled as all of its many roots and vines entangled around each other, wrapping themselves into larger and thicker forms. Out of the thousands of tendrils, only ten remained. The ten were large and made up of countless smaller tendrils.

His first thought was the red root had given up speed in exchange for power. Oscar quickly threw it aside, knowing this red root wasn't some regular mindless beast. He charged ahead while eyeing the ten tendrils carefully.

In a split second, Oscar sidestepped far away, dodging one of the tendrils. He was right. The speed didn't decrease at all. Somehow, the tendrils were faster than ever despite their large frames. Taking his chance, Oscar and Erden tried to stab the tendril.

'What?' Oscar trembled and widened his eyes. The smaller tendrils loosened up and created openings where Oscar and Erden were about to attack. Oscar's powered fist went through nothing and inside the new opening, surrounded by wriggling maws. Before the opening could clamp shut, Oscar released a powerful Ripple Shroud to force it open longer and pulled back with Erden.

The large tendril had a mess of loose small tendrils on its sides, which quickly recovered to form its sturdy body.

"How terrifying. It can control each one to such a shocking degree. I could have lost an arm if I had been a moment too late. The Ripple Shroud didn't tear it to shreds either." Oscar dodged the incoming tendrils, some of the smaller tendrils shot out to grab at him, but he avoided them by flying.

"Six minutes left." Oscar counted down the time to his end. He smiled and lifted his copper shield, coated in Eirin. It was time for his armament to shine.

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