Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Python's appearance had thrown their defensive lines into disarray, but thanks to Stephan's timely support, they were able to muster up a proper response and redraw their formations.

Having a giant serpent cut through your defensive lines wasn't helpful, but it wasn't the cataclysmic event Sorin had expected. Michael and Fenrig's appearance immediately curtailed Python's influence, while Astley, now mimicking Daphne, brought the situation under control by raining acidic fire to control the more numerous demons.

With the situation under control, Sorin focused on the spell matrix that was gradually being illuminated by Bast and Daphne. He used his poisons to probe individual sections and elicit responses, which Bast and Daphne noted down to craft an initial solution.

"Sorin Charles, we're not familiar with your spells, so you can act as you see fit," said Bast. "Our only condition is that you focus your efforts on these twelve spell clusters. While your attacks weaken the matrix, Daphne and I will try to exploit weak points. If a flaw shows itself, we'll attack it with brute force.

Serpentine runes formed with poisonous mana emerged from Sorin's body and positioned themselves over the spell matrix. It was Sorin's first time trying to take down such a massive arrangement, but he immediately noticed the similarity to bone unsealing and was, therefore, able to twist Serpentine Approximation into simplifying the array for him.

Several minutes later, Sorin had identified 72 critical weaknesses in his sections. He mobilized manatoxins and acitoxins to erode the weaken the matrix. Charles immediately picked up on these weaknesses and used his own spells to expand Sorin's coverage.

This far exceeds anything I've ever attempted, thought Sorin as he attempted to calculate a way to break the matrix. Unfortunately, I don't have the mental capacity to do this; I can only risk it with Ophiuchan Simulation.

Sorin drew on his corruption and forcefully expanded the scope of his Divine-Tier skill once again. At this point, he was stretching the bounds of credibility and felt resistance followed by a cracking. His connection to the Ophiuchus constellation weakened, but as a result, he was able to borrow it to perform broader computations than ever before.

Thanks to these calculations, Sorin was able to expand his coverage of the spell matrix a second time. Charles's supplementary efforts compounded the effects, but in the end, their solution was still sorely lacking.

At this rate, it'll take years to melt down this formation, thought Sorin. That's assuming Melinoë doesn't attempt to tamper with our efforts. The spell matrix shook as Bast and Daphne probed the formation. Their efforts were made in vain.

If this drags on too long, too many of us will die, thought Sorin. My companions will be in danger. Though I'm not yet ready, it's time to take a risk.

"Pull me back if something goes wrong," said Sorin, taking a step towards the golden barrier. A strong, repulsive force pushed Sorin back and tried to infiltrate him.

"You're insane!" shouted Charles.

"Mind your own business," snapped Sorin. Though he wore an ugly expression inwardly, he was quite pleased by the result. The barrier possessed a mixture of divine and corrupt energies. What's more, it was extremely pure and exceeded that of two-star demons.

Since I have a suitable source of corruption, I can attempt a breakthrough. I'll complete my fifth forging and fifth tempering and use the opportunity to eliminate the Divine Bone Rot from my body!

Sorin cracked open his vial of Call of the Ferryman and downed the liquid. His flesh started to rot, and his bones began chipping away.

The Divine Bone Rot that lay cowering at the center of his bones, sensing its opportunity in the necrotoxins, reared its ugly head. It pounced on Call of the Ferryman and consumed a portion of it to restore its strength to peak condition and began attacking Sorin's bones with renewed vigor.

Like I'd let you. Sorin drew on the corruption in the matrix and pulled it into his bones to initiate simultaneous forging and tempering. The potent corruption immediately clashed with the divine bone rot. Blood spurted from Sorin's body, and his vitality dropped precipitously.

Sorin grinned madly as he embraced the challenge and fully immersed himself in what would be his final confrontation with the Divine Bone Rot. It was an act of raw Violence. It was sheer Madness. After all, only a madman or brute would dare challenge a divine poison and expect to come out on top.

The ensuing conflict ravaged Sorin's bones, destroying silver runes to expose runeless white bones. And he could feel his power sharply declining. His silver bones, originally providing roughly twenty percent less than the normal twenty-fold amplification, gradually lost their supporting runes, reducing it to a bare skeleton that was only fifty percent effective.

The battle continued, and it soon became clear to Sorin that his vitality was getting dangerously low. Even Toxic Metabolism and the copious amounts of corruption in his body, he was having difficulty bridging the gap. Fortunately, I have other variables to muddy the waters.

"Charles!" Sorin shouted. "Help me out!" He pulled the corrosive mana Charles was using to attack the barrier and winced as his resistance to poisons dropped and his flesh began to disintegrate.

Sorin's gamble proved successful. Toxic Metabolism quickly discovered the potent divine poison and began converting it to a life force that replenished Sorin's body at a faster rate than before.

What's more, the foreign mana served as an outside force that clashed with the foreign corruption in his body while simultaneously attacking the bone rot. As a result, the Divine Bone Rot's attack patterns grew increasingly erratic.

"Are you insane?" yelled Charles. "We're busy breaking this spell matrix! What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

"We can't do it with our current power, so I'm breaking through," Sorin announced.

"Here, of all places? Using my mana as a catalyst?" exclaimed Charles. "You're insane beyond belief. I could kill with the slightest twitch of my finger!"

Sorin laughed. "Then do it! Prove to everyone that your loyalties don't lie with this city but with the traitor, Melinoë! I won't even fight you, Charles. If you want to kill me, I'm completely at your mercy."

Charles ultimately didn't pull his mana back and continued allowing Sorin to divert a small amount to continue the now four-way battle raging inside his body. His own mana and life force continued to plummet, and so did the intensity of the corruption and the Divine Bone Rot. A careful balance had been struck, and if things continued as they were, Sorin would ultimately prove victorious.

This means I can expect Melinoë to come knocking in three… two… one.

A fifth force suddenly entered Sorin's body and attacked it from within. It was a tiny amount of chaotic energy, however, showing that whatever she was doing was taking a huge toll on her.

Despite the smaller quantity of energy, Melinoë's energy existed on a higher level than Sorin's, likely due to the support of the corruption in Delphi. It bypassed Sorin's mana, which was busy regulating his body, and directly attacked his vitality. His energy stores dropped to dangerous levels.

Unfortunately for you, I've grown used to your scheming, thought Sorin. He drew on his ring of Mind Ward and cut off Melinoë's spirituality from the energy she'd sent. He then proceeded to ignore his rapidly dropping energy stores. The reason he did so was simple: he had a life force reserve that could supplement him at any time.

Dense, demonic vitality poured into him through his bond with Lorimer, regenerating his flesh and maintaining his bodily functions. It's too bad I couldn't wait any longer, thought Sorin as he inspected his bones and the remaining 40 percent of his original silver runes. It'll take years to rebuild this bone-rune matrix.

With Melinoë's attack taken care of, Sorin continued the forging and tempering process. The repeated clashes of all four forces, slightly complicated by Melinoë's interference, gradually strengthened his bones and forced out the Divine Bone Rot, trying to infect them.

The process soon reached a head; Sorin's bones were at their limits and about to complete their final forging and tempering. The Divine Bone Rot was almost completely forced out and at his mercy.

It was at this point that Sorin paused. He looked at the Divine Bone Rot, which was about to be extinguished, and realized that he had a different avenue that could be pursued. I could eliminate the bone rot once and for all, but wouldn't that be a waste? Can't I put it to better use?

If Sorin possessed Divine Bone Rot, unsealing bones to silver grade wouldn't be out of the question. In fact, even silver runes weren't completely immune to the poison.

Wait! This is a test! A test within a test! Almost too late, Sorin realized that his silver runes were being prioritized over his white bones. This meant that the white bones while appearing to be ordinary, were more resistant to the Divine Bone Rot than his silver runes were.

Normally, I'd need to fear the bone rot and the possibility that it could infiltrate the core of my bones and destroy my skeleton. But since I'm now in control of the situation and can destroy it at any time, can't I use it to chip away the last of my silver runes?

It was uncharted territory. A mere guess. But thinking back to the golden chains locking away his divine potential in the Blood Thickening Realm, Sorin decided that the risk was well worth it.

If there's a first seal, there's likely a second one. A way for me to strengthen my divinity even without Asclepius's blessing.

Though Sorin wasn't clear about the reason for these seals, Sirius Abberjay Kepler's words indicated that investigating them had been prohibited by the Olympian gods. In other words, it was likely the Olympian gods themselves that were responsible for these seals in the first place!

Was it related to the divinity in humanity's blood or a much deeper secret? Sorin was determined to find out.