Thursday, December 11, 2014

Page 905 -- CIII.

Ibai handed the reapers off to Rafael and the others, keeping only Chergoa for himself.

And everyone abruptly stopped yelling. They were all staring at him now, even his own family members. Only the faint rumble of distant battle prevented complete silence.

“Ensure no harm comes to them,” Ibai said, uncertain if those words were his own or his father’s or Uncle Mel’s. “They don’t deserve to die, and we won’t be so afraid of their future actions as to execute them unjustly, either.”

More silence, until Rafael spoke up. “...A-are you certain, m’lord?”

Ibai grinned. “‘The rain fears not the torch,’” he said.

That only made everyone stare again.

Ibai became impatient. “What’s the matter?”

We are just--’ Ustox broke himself off. ‘As you wish, m’lord. Rafael, let us go.

Rafael still seemed a bit awestruck, but after a moment, he blinked and looked at Chergoa. “What about her, m’lord?”

“Oh, she’s with me! We’re going on an adventure together!”


Chapter One Hundred Three: ‘Ye who must hold firm...!’
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Hector’s armor kept crumbling. His clothes kept burning. And he kept losing extremities to the Lady Blackburn’s very annoyingly well-placed attacks. Even Haqq’s shield couldn’t stand up to her destruction power--Hector had lost an arm, shoulder, and half his face figuring that out. She seemed particularly intent on clipping his legs, and Hector was equally intent on not allowing that to happen. If it weren’t for Asad, he definitely would’ve been dead by now.

But here he was. Still alive. Still keeping hold of Duvoss and Xuan. He really wished they’d hurry up and finish regenerating already. He knew the chaos of a fight tended to make time feel longer, but this was getting to be a bit much.

He just focused on avoiding Nere’s attacks. His shield and body could weather Ismael’s flames, if absolutely necessary. Ismael seemed to be trying to close in on him, probably for some kind of explosive attack, but Asad was keeping him at bay while also giving Nere glass javelins to worry about.

And then he saw Darktide finally snatch Dimas out of the air and snap the man in half, ripping Iziol from his body in one smooth motion.

Hector didn’t get the chance to keep watching, but knowing that Salvador was now alone against Melchor, Hector had a dreadful feeling that he was about to be seeing a whole lot of liquid mercury again.

38 comments:

  1. Ibai is my new favourite. He's got every attribute I love in the villains, every attribute I love in the heroes, and a new flavour all his own going for him.
    Remember, Frost: Underdog story, not shaggy dog story.

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  2. glass javelins [to worry about].

    Also, the next-to-last sentence looks a bit odd with two "the man"s.

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  3. Ibai is awesome! I really hope he doesnt die.

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  4. Alright, I forgive him for killing the cat. I like Ibai now!

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  5. I can see a few possible conclusions to the whole Ibai thing, I am praying its not A: Hector fully antagonizes Ibai, and it causes a full rift between Hector and Emiliana, Hector does not need more enemies B:It ends up being a chase, and we have to wait a long time before Chergoa and Garovel meet

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  6. You know, that's quite a handy motto. "The rain does not fear the torch" - we will prevail against outsiders, we need not resort to desperate measures due to fear, we do not fear that progress will harm us, we must sacrifice ourselves for the good of the family, the country, or our ideals, we are eternal where the flame is temporary, we must not succumb to strong emotion but neither should we ignore it, we must open our minds to other perspectives, we must crush any opposition before it becomes a blaze, we shall fall into progress and be transformed by it.

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  7. owww man i am starting to feel so sorry about hector that he is gonna get a really, really rough time, still hope sometime crazy will happen.
    and if we know hector it is gonna happen just can't wait
    and thanks for the work mister author guy!

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  8. To me it feels like the only real enemy someone who can telleport should fear is a stronger materialization user otherwise you'd have to chase him around forever and be carful of sneak attacks but if you had materialization you could just kinda flood the space around you so he can't teleport right next to you

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  9. I just realized I messed up the word teleport

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  10. This chapter makes the ninth oath the longest oath by 1 chapter at 14 chapters. There's some useless trivia for you.


    Thanks for the hard work so far this month Mr. Frost. It's almost like an early X-mas present.

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  11. Hector would probably either kill Ibai or Emiliana would stop him. Ibai probably wouldn't take offense if Hector attacked him, and a chase would be completely pointless against a guy who can teleport at will.

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  12. actually, what Ibai really needs to avoid is surprise attacks. Almost everybody can break his shield, and he can get hurt like a human if he doesn't teleport away in time.

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  13. Yes. I am now officially a member of the Ibai fan club.

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  14. Will Ibai became a reaper when he dies?

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  15. Does Ibai have a chance of becoming a Reaper?

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  16. Unfortunately, even if he seems to be clever, moral, competent, and powerful, he also has the attention span of a six-year-old on crack cocaine - He might actually be able to rule House Blackburn, but he'll need someone to be the power behind the throne, or at least a council of advisors with the authority to veto him with any seconded vote. I can see him as becoming a sort of champion, with only symbolic power but a lot of freedom.
    Also, he can bypass soul empowered fields and cages - and he can take reapers with him. That's tactically invaluable.

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  17. They already decided not to make him heir. I believe Horatio is currently first in line for the position.

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  18. I still predict the next Oath being about Hector and Garovel chasing after Ibai. There's so many possibilities for world building, character development and background plot (all three factions will probably be interested in an Aberration that chose not to kill, not to mention it is a mystery how he was born, or for his completely overpowered ability).
    I am not looking forward to it... Because I just know Frost is going to troll us somehow. WE'RE WATCHING YOU FROST. (Lucky for us, April is months away...)

    But for now, we're back to Hector. Am I the only one waiting for the inevitable power boost (or a comment from Garovel in the aftermath complaining about a lack of one)?

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  19. And then Ibai will show up.

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  20. I am still hoping that Hector will ask Colt to return to Atreya, after this Oath.

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  21. You don't get more random than Ibai.

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  22. Wow, I have been reading this for a few days now nonstop. Mr.Frost thank you for the wonderful reading material! I found and ad of this on improbable island, it has been one of my best decisions to read this, can not wait till the next page.

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  23. would be more interesting if he became a servant.

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  24. Nope. You'll recall that Geoffrey didn't become a reaper after he died.

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  25. Must. Resist. Urge. To. REREAD.

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  26. Ibai: the new fan favorite by literally everyone. I am wholly in agreement with this decision.

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  27. Um, you actually didn't get it. Still says "to worry about it".

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  28. I see.
    Thank you for the answer.

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  29. I don't think Ismael actually disclosed that info. Not to Horatio at the very least. So, Ibai can technically still be in the running

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  30. I am so very scared to like Ibai, but it seems like there's less and less of a reason not to as we go on. Hopefully it stays that way...?

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  31. Ibai is scary, impressive, and kinda likable... I wonder what kind of aberration he will become if he leave with Emi and go on adventures... Will they become friends?? The good friend and the bad friend??

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  32. even without disclosing it is the current "official" thing. probably in his will or something. although it can be easily changed in the future should they decide to do it. although even with this display of self-control i dont think anyone in their right mind would give an aberration the ability to govern an entire house, although i suppose ismael couldt really be considered in his right mind. in other words, ibai is really funny and interesting and i hope he sticks around for at least a few chapters

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  33. ‘The rain fears not the torch'

    This sentence always give me nice goosebump.

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  34. Yay! Nurture over Nature! Go Ibai!!! <3

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