Chapter 9: Sylvie Ascendant
Her blue-green eyes were quick to take in the sight. A brown wood-like shaft with a floating metal orb at the head that glowed blue with foreign sigils.
"Here, take this then." He continued- extending the staff out to her, "This is the Staff of Magnus, it should help with the performance anxiety."
"Where did you ge-" Sylvie began to ask him just before her gloved right hand gripped the staff, and she lost all words as her eyes went wide and her jaw slackened in awe.
It was like her magic suddenly lit up in equal parts joy and power. The staff magnified her magic to levels she did not know possible.
Power rushed through her veins and arteries like raging rapids- bringing life and power to every fibre of her being. The sheer rush of energy that excited her magic- it felt like she could wave aside the entirety of the TVA with just a half-hearted gesture.
Whatever this 'Staff of Magnus' was. It was simply begging her to use it, and she did so wanted to oblige.
A deep rumbling sound reached her ears and Sylvie recognised it to be Hevnokren chuckling in amusement.
"That much power… it feels good, doesn't it?" He stated in a knowing tone, and the answer was obvious to Sylvie.
Yes, it definitely was.
He knew it. She knew it. Even the Valkyrie was looking at her with a knowing smirk. The look on her own face must have been one of awe… or arousal.
But what they did not know was just how good this sort of power felt for her- to someone who had spent her entire life running- to someone who had always lacked power.
Sylvie felt like she could take the TVA on head on with the same brutish use of magic that she had once denigrated. But now? With every nerve in her body tingling with power? With her very soul alight with a raging force that begged her to unleash it?
She realised what a fool she was to turn her nose up against such methods.
"Well then, since you seem to be… eager to use that staff..." Hevnokren began- his grin of sadistic anticipation audible even through his helm, "lead us to where the other TVA squads are, then we can take out Ravonna."
"Of course." Sylvie replied with a matching grin of sadistic anticipation as she gripped this 'Staff of Magnus' tightly- her supercharged magic crackled within her with every step she took.
This will be enjoyable for her.
x-X-x
Sylvie liked to think that the first squad of TVA Minutemen to greet them on the ground floor were lucky: Their deaths were quick.
As soon as those elevator doors opened, she blasted out of the head of the Staff of Magnus a continuous lightning bolt of green magic - curving unnaturally in the air and whipping about like some tentacle made of pure magic.
The first Minuteman didn't even know what hit him before the green lightning bolt impacted against his face and reduced him into a shrivelled corpse still garbed in his Minuteman uniform.
"The variant is here! Prune her!" One of them shouted out in alarm as he foolishly charged her, only for his dried-up dead body to fall to the metal flooring with a single blast of Sylvie's magic.
The meagre magical energies of the TVA Minutemen's feeble magical potential drained in the first second before their lifeforce was drained next.
And Sylvie felt her own magic slurp up the energy- empowering her magic with more and more power. It was like the Staff of Magnus was a world-class chef. She herself was the guest. And the TVA Minutemen were her ten-course meal.
And their souls were delicious.
Every brutal whip-like crack of the green magical lightning tentacle left only desiccated corpses. And that was only exacerbated by Hevnokren and Brunhilde joining the fray. His mace and her sword arcing through the air before finding their mark on various Minutemen- mowing them down like wheat.
Five corpses. Then eight. Then fifteen. There was no stopping them as she whipped the crackling lightning tentacle like a whip. Every attempt to use those TVA batons of theirs were denied by the sheer range that she had over them.
And soon there were only two Minutemen left.
"Well, that's a new way of using the Staff of Magnus." Hevnokren commented- his massive form in a crouched position as he began looting the corpses. "Regardless, finish them quickly so we can move on."
But Sylvie paid him no mind, because after all...
"AHAHAHAHA! Witness the power of a god!"
...She was too busy cackling madly. The rush of power was something she had never felt ever before. The ability to effortlessly sweep them all aside was intoxicating. And her enemies knew it too, seeing as all two remaining Minutemen turned tail and began to run.
But Sylvie didn't feel like leaving survivors today though, so she pushed more of her magic into the Staff of Magnus.
With a single wave of her new staff, she enchanted them. Their black-armoured forms halting mid-stride and standing stiff like a pair of boards even as the rest of their squad was being killed with every wave of Sylvie's new staff.
Once, it took her too much magical energy to do so at a distance- much less cast such a spell on two targets, but now with the Staff of Magnus heightening her power and feeding her the energies of her enemies. She could do it as much as she pleased.
"Call the other teams for backup. Tell them that the Variant has been gravely injured, has retreated back into this skyscraper and you need aid to clear room to room…" She casually ordered them- letting them pick up their Tempads and contact the Ravonna-bitch herself to call for backup.
"Do we really want them alerted that we took out one of their lookout squads?" The valkyrie asked Hevnokren out loud while aiming narrowed eyes in her general direction.
Sylvie was going to explain herself, but he beat her to it.
"Yes, I think it's a good call. I'd prefer bringing them to us." Hevnokren agreed as he continued looting corpses. "It's better than going out there and hunting them down ourselves."
"Simple and devious. I like it." Brunhilde conceded with a nod as she casually wiped her sword clean of blood. "After that? Not all of their squads will come to fall for this trap, so we'll need to hunt them down. Their base of operations also needs to be trashed."
"We need to kill them all fast or they'll scatter and hide in the crowd like rats." Hevnokren all but demanded- his deep voice in a stern tone, "I'd rather not have the unbelievable headache that is rogue time travelling technology circulating in the black market when I rule this planet."
"Why don't we split duties then? You leave the main outpost and Ravonna to me while you two handle the remaining squads." Sylvie reassured her two new allies.
Left unspoken was Sylvie's intent on breaking the TVA Judge which Sylvie hoped her two new compatriots- specifically Hevnokren would approve of.
"Very well, you can toy with Ravonna on the condition that I'll be the one to kill her." Hevnokren casually agreed as he disappeared the last of the looted tempads and reset charges. "And you'll owe me a favour. That is… if you can handle her."
"Deal." She readily agreed- brushing aside the concern that she wouldn't be able to handle a dozen or so TVA swine.
The valkyrie wasn't as confident though- her brown eyes looking at her with mild suspicion.
"Hev? It's only been fifteen minutes since we've met her. Are you sure about trusting her with that?" Brunhilde asked, her gaze shifting from the giant to her every so often- she clearly didn't trust her yet. A wise move- Sylvie wouldn't trust herself too.
"And it's only been four hours since I've met you- and I." the bone-clad giant coolly rebutted as he rifled through the pockets of the dead Minutemen, "I'll explain why I'm unconcerned about that later on- if I feel like it. But for now, just don't worry about Loki, she's very well motivated to kill the TVA."
"Well, if you're that sure about this." The valkyrie hesitantly conceded as she took a swig from a beer bottle, "I think we'll be a more effective team if I went with her."
"No, my plan will work best alone." Sylvie immediately denied.
"Fine, if you insist on going alone, take this." Hevnokren strode to her, took her hand in his heavily armoured one and pushed a beautiful gold ring onto her palm. The green emerald inset into the polished gold glittered magnificently in the light while the graceful faux-Norse detailing that ran all around the ring only made it even more breathtaking. It was a legendary piece of craftsmanship that much was for certain.
Her own blue-green eyes looked up at him with a sly smirk on her pink lips.
"Is this for good luck or are you attempting to woo me with jewelry?" she coyly teased- stepping closer into his personal space and almost resting her chin on his bone chestplate before saying, "If it's the latter, then I must say that this is a good start."
"A Magicka ring that I forged and enchanted. It's a ring that should increase your magical capacity for as long as you wear it." He explained in a nonchalant tone as if fabricating artifacts of great power was as normal as cooking breakfast to him.
"That's even better..." She muttered at a loss for words while blinking dumbly. But that didn't stop her from hurriedly taking off her black TVA glove so that she could put the ring on. First the Staff of Magnus and now a ring. At this rate, she may just stay with Hevnokren just for the perks.
With hands shaking in anticipation, Sylvie slipped the gold-emerald ring on and she couldn't help but stumble a bit as she felt her magic almost double in potential. A giddy shiver ran up and down her body at how her magic lit up in delight (and how she came a little).
"Do not let even one of them escape."
"I can do that for you, along with another promise." Sylvie tutted with a wicked smile, "That TVA bitch won't like what I have in store for her."
Ravonna Renslayer was going to wish she didn't live to see tomorrow.
------
📚 Access 30+ advanced chapters right now!
👉 Come to my p atreon and subscribe!
🔗 The link is in the synopsis and on my profile: p atreon.com/ForgottenDaoist