Inside Arran raged a torrent of raw Essence, rushing through his veins like a violent storm. It was more than he could contain, more than he had thought possible.
He had taken the ten Realm Opening Pills the moment he understood that Stormleaf planned to kill him, and now, the Essence within them erupted in his body.
Taking the pills was a crazy decision, but not one he had taken without thought. Each Realm Opening Pill contained the raw Essence of a defeated Grandmaster, and if he was able to wield that power, perhaps he would have a chance of escaping the situation alive.
It was a wild gamble, but it was the only thing he could think of that might give him a small chance of survival.
"Who are you?" Stormleaf asked. "Were you the one who killed our brothers?"
While there was some fear in the faces of his two companions, Stormleaf himself did not seem the least bit concerned. If anything, his expression was one of curiosity, as if he had just encountered a new puzzle that he was eager to solve.
"You… will…" Arran struggled to utter the words, his body twisting in pain as Essence burned within him. With a final effort, he shouted, "Leave!"
"I don't think I will," Stormleaf replied calmly. "Again, who are you?"
As he spoke the words he thrust out his hand, and an invisible force slammed into Arran, sending his body flying backward.
Arran crashed into the ground with a loud thud. Between the pain of the Essence flooding his body and the force of the blow, Arran felt that he was on the verge of passing out.
Nevertheless, he forced himself to stand up, ignoring the pain even as it caused his vision to grow blurry. While the Essence raged inside of him, he tried to force it into his hands, the way he would do with Master Zhao's fireball technique.
If he could just unleash the power that was now seething within him, perhaps he would have a chance of defeating Stormleaf and escaping with his life.
Yet there was simply too much Essence for him to command, and he was only able to control a tiny shred of it. Even that, however, was many times more than anything he had wielded previously.
Stormleaf approached Arran slowly, an amused look on his face.
"You're not the one who killed our brothers, are you?" Stormleaf shook his head. "In fact, I doubt this Essence even belongs to you. Which raises the question… how did you get it?"
Arran was barely back on his feet when another invisible blow smashed into him. Once more he went flying, his body swept up like a leaf being torn from a branch in a violent storm.
Again he crashed into the ground, and he could vaguely sense that he was injured. Yet the pain of the blow was nothing compared to the agony caused by the Essence in his body, and he felt as if he was about to be torn apart from the inside.
"Did you take a Realm Opening Pill?" Stormleaf's expression turned thoughtful for a moment, but then he shook his head. "There's too much Essence for just one pill. You weren't foolish enough to take two, were you?"
Arran stood quietly, ignoring Stormleaf's words. It took all his effort to just stay conscious, but still, the Essence in his body was increasing rapidly, and so was the pain that by now was threatening to overwhelm his mind.
"Even more than that? Three, perhaps?" Stormleaf laughed. "You thought you could use that stolen Essence to fight me?"
Without even attempting to reply, Arran desperately tried to direct the raw Essence toward his hands and away from the rest of his body. Yet there was too much of it, and the amount was still growing.
"I saw an initiate take two Realm Opening Pills once," Master Zhao said, a cruel smile on his lips. "He suffered quite a bit before he exploded. Took down several buildings, too."
Ignoring Stormleaf's words, Arran thrust both of hands forward, and used all his willpower to force the Essence that had pooled in his hands outward.
For a moment, nothing happened. But then, a torrent of Essence came rushing forth like a tidal wave breaking through a dam, uncontrolled and unstoppable.
The surge of Essence caught the Academy mages unprepared, slamming into them like a charging bull crashing into a mantis.
Stormleaf staggered back several paces, but his two companions weren't as lucky. Both of them exploded in a shower of blood and gore, completely unable to resist the wave of Essence that came rushing at them.
"How many pills did you take?!" Stormleaf's previous calm disappeared in an instant, and there was panic in his voice.
Arran did not respond — he could not have spoken if he wanted to. The Essence within him had built up to a raging inferno, and he felt as if every inch of his body was being burned with the fire of a thousand suns. Only through sheer willpower was he able to stay conscious.
The attack had released only a tiny sliver of the Essence that was still building up inside him, and he knew that if he was to have any chance of survival, he had to release more.
"You can't—"
Stormleaf's words were cut off as another wave of Essence slammed into him, far stronger than the previous one, sweeping him off his feet and sending him to the ground.
"Stop!" Stormleaf shouted, but it was no use.
Arran was no longer concerned with the mage. The only thought left in his mind was that he must release the Essence consuming him from the inside and send it away from himself and Jiang Fei.
Again, raw Essence burst forth, and again, there was many times more than there had been only moments earlier.
That Stormleaf was in the way did not matter. Even if the mage still lived, he was like an ant standing in the way of an incoming tide, unable to resist it in the slightest.
By now, the Essence no longer came in blasts, and what little control Arran had over it earlier had now completely disappeared.
A seemingly unending deluge of Essence burst forth from his hands — Fire, Wind, Earth, Water and numerous other types mixed together in an avalanche of destruction, obliterating anything that stood before it.
Arran felt as if his body was disintegrating. The power within him was still building up faster than he could release it, and he could feel that if he stopped the flow for even a second, he would be consumed entirely.
He forced himself to walk forward as the torrent of Essence continued. Although he was only barely conscious, some part of him still knew that he had to get away from Jiang Fei.
He did not know how many paces he lasted. All he felt was endless pain that left no part of his body untouched, and an overwhelming power that surged forth from his hands, destroying all that it touched.
Finally, Arran sensed the last shred of his consciousness start to slip away, and he fell to his knees. Still, with all the willpower he could muster, he kept unleashing the Essence from within his body.
At last, he was able to endure no more.
The world went black.