Run.
Faster!
It's either that of death!
It's what currently lies in the mind of a young boy, running through the moonlit streets.
"Auarhrh." A group of human like creatures, around three, chasing after him.
If a knowing person were to name these creatures they would call them Ghouls.
The boy grabs his bag before looking inside one of its pockets. He then grabs two pieces of paper.
Both of these papers are identical, filled with a certain type of scribbles.
"I honor you my goddess."
"I ask you to turn your light upon me."
"I honor you with this prayer and ask that it become a talisman of power."
The boy begins praying, or rather, he begins chanting.
He quickly turns to his chasers and point both of his papers at them.
"Fiery Heaven!"
A small wave of fire is created by the papers, hitting the creatures, before turning into ashes.
They creatures stop for a while, and the boy turns away before he begins running once again.
'Barely any damage...not unexpected but still annoying.' The boy couldn't help but get annoyed at the current situation.
'I hoped that using two talismans while charging them with a three-line incantation would at least knock them off for a bit. But it just burned their skin.'
As he thinks that, his instincts flare, he then jumps to the side, dodging a charging creature unseen before.
'More?! Shit, things just got way worse.' He thinks, as he looks at the arriving five creatures.
He takes four new talismans from his pockets, these being different from the ones used before.
"Oh gods of Izumo"
"Let this become proof of purification"
"Frigid Heaven!"
A icy wind flies towards the creatures, creating a thin layer of ice around their feet.
'Great, fire may not work but ice can at least slow them down! I just need a bit more time, I am almost done. Then I can go to my workshop.' He thinks before running once again, the ice won't last for long after all.
And just as predicted the creatures are able to break free of the ice once they exert any amount of strength.
But by them the boy had already ran quite a bit, creating a decent distance between himself and the creatures.
Arriving at the corner of the corner of the alley the boy takes a chalk from his pocket and begin scribing at the ground.
'So first Sowilo(ᛊ) to connect to the energy of the minor fount'
'Then Ansuz(ᚨ) to reveal the current unknown energy'
'After finding the energy I can use Fehu(ᚠ) to start gathering the energy'
'Now I can use Nauthiz(ᚾ) to absorb the energy, but instead of bringing it to myself I will connect it to my workshop using a few talismans to create a charm, I believe Spirit Theft will work'
'Finally, I use Ansuz(ᚨ) again to harmonize the newfound energy.'
"Safna (ᛊᚨᚠᚾᚨ)"
'Alright, the preparations are done, now I just need to get to my workshop.'
"Wrrahr!"
'Fuck! I thought I had a few more seconds!' He begins running again, now even faster than before.
He then jumps over a dumpster and then begins chanting.
"Oh god of wisdom"
"Aid this follower in his time of need"
He then grabs two small papers from his pockets and hold them between his fingers.
"Batna Sik(ᛒᚨᛏᚾᚨ ᛊᛁᚲ)"
A rune sentence that focus in self improvement, better for training one's body but can be used to reinforce their strength although temporarily.
The boy then uses his newfound strength to grab the nearby street dumpster and throwing them at the Ghouls.
Then he bends down and grabs his chalk, before writing a new runic sentence.
'Perthro(ᛈ) can mean uncertainty, secrets and hidden things'
'When used alongside Nauthiz(ᚾ) that embodies the concept of uncertainties and restrictions'
'And then using Isa(ᛁ) concept of challenge and frustration to create a psychological block upon the affected...'
"PNI(ᛈᚾᛁ)"
A bounded field is then erected, making the creatures uncertain of the fact that the boy is there, despite seeing him just a moment early.
'Fuck, I messed the runic sequence, it should be PIN(ᛈᛁᚾ) not PNI(ᛈᚾᛁ). After using Perthro(ᛈ) to hide my presence I should have used Isa(ᛁ) to make it more challenging to find me and only then using Nauthiz(ᚾ) to increase the uncertainties around myself.' He frustratedly thinks while running towards an old building.
'It doesn't matter anymore, it did its job well enough. I was able to reach my workshop, now I can confront these ghouls appropriately.' He sighs in relief, entering the building.
The building is clearly abandoned, with broken glass on the floor and a sickening amount of dust.
But at a certain corner, a small table filled with books and papers looks pristine.
The boy goes in direction of this table and grabs some papers alongside a brush, then begins scribing on those papers.
'I need as many talismans as possible, now that I have connected my workshop to all nearby Minor Fonts I have enough telluric energy to cast mid tier spells. In my current condition I need not to worry about the ghouls...but their creator is another thing entirely.'
He finishes scribing his papers, and now goes placing them around the building near some mirror shards on the floor.
Suddenly a heavy impact can be heard near the main door.
'They're here already. Okay, my preparations are done I just need to time the casting time right in order to preserve my magical energy and maximize the damage dealt.'
The door is then broken, with the ghouls entering the building in a frenzy.
'Around 20, okay just time it right...'
"In this sunless night I ask for your blessings'
'Aid me in my quest for living'
'Turn your sight upon your follower and bring light upon this land'
'This is my proof of purification'
'Bring back the sun my Goddess'
"Mantra: Bestial Sky" A bright light surrounds the boy's body before he grabs five talismans.
"Curse: Fiery Heaven"
A fire ball of around 50 centimeters of radius is throw from his talismans hitting a few of the ghouls.
But before dissipating, the fire reaches a piece of mirror surrounded by a few talismans. Which reflects the fireball and helps it regain its previous strength, allowing the ball to hit more ghouls before reaching another mirror.
Again and again the flames are redirect stronger than before by the mirrors until the ghouls's bodies are so burned that they cannot move despite their inhuman strength.
The talismans surrounding the mirrors finally turn into ashes, having overused their power.
*Pant pant* The boy heavily breaths, having used much of his limited power to cause that damage.
'All that effort for a damage that could easily be done by a C4...' He couldn't help but ridicule his own abilities.
*Clap clap* Echoing claps can be heard from all over the building.
"Not bad child, despite your young age you did well. It's been a while since I found such a great source of entertainment." A tall man talks from over the higher floors of the building.
'He was here already?! Since when? He was able to complete ignore my bounded field's detection?' The boy thought in desperation.
The reason for his fear? Simple.
He could deal with a few Ghouls.
But a rank IV Dead Apostle is another thing entirely.