Thanks to the cloaking rings, not only was Solus’s mana core and life force invisible, but also her energy signature was so messed up that even from up close Life Vision failed to perceive it.
“When are you going to leave?” Lith asked while giving her his pocket watch.
“About one minute before you do. I need that time to lure the guards away from the Light Torch and get used to fighting for real before facing the King.” Solus started weaving her best spells while she talked.
Her heart pounded faster by the second as the adrenaline rush made her hands tremble. It was the first time that she fought on her own and to make matters even worse, the thought of all the lives that would be lost in the case she failed weighed on her mind.
Suddenly the room felt small and damp. Solus didn’t realize that it was just her being drenched in nervous sweat until she massaged her temples to calm down.
“Don’t worry. It always feels like that.” Phloria said while using water magic to clean Solus up.
“Do you mean the first time you go to battle?”
“No, I mean every time. People like me have simply learned how to manage their stress.” Phloria said.
When the clock marked one minute before the first pulse from the Council, Solus opened a Warp Steps leading right in front of the King’s tower.
The appearance of a human threw those who had come to plea the ruler of Kolga into a panic. Solus ignored their screams and their calls for the guards, focusing solely on the mana geyser below her feet.
The Hands of Menadion collected most of its power, making it impossible for her to wrestle for the control of the geyser from a distance. Now that Solus was so close to King Ykrah, however, she could finally put her mother’s ingenuity to the test.
‘Even if I’m unable to manifest it, the tower is still a part of me. I refuse to believe that my mother was so stupid that she would create something capable of messing with her own home.
‘No matter if the tower and the Hands have similar effects on mana geysers, the tower must be stronger.’ She thought as her consciousness spread through the ground with every breath he took.
Menadion had indeed made sure that none of her creations could threaten her, yet the situation was far from simple. The King’s tower had been built exactly in the middle of the geyser to tap into its core.
On top of that, the Hands had perfect control over the flow of world energy. While in her human form, Solus could nibble at the geyser and slowly took over, but it would take her too long.
Also, she doubted that Ykrah would fail to notice her attack.
“Freeze! Hands in the air, now!” Solus turned around, hoping that she would face the same Captain that had taken away Khalia.
It would have been poetic justice and give her the opportunity to kill her first person without feeling any guilt. Alas, Kolga was big and plenty of people joined the army ranks for the power it granted them.
When Solus turned around, she didn’t recognize the man in front of her.
“Your wish is my command.” Solus raised her hands, unleashing the Ice Age spell.
All those around her became trapped inside thick ice crystals imbued with darkness. The cold slowed their metabolism, weakening the effects of light magic, while darkness ate at them from every side.
Their combined effect hindered the regenerative abilities that the Forbidden Sun bestowed upon the Kolgans so that when Solus snapped her fingers, not even being so close to the source of their power could save them.
A sonic boom shattered the crystals into hundreds of fragments and the ice surrounding them kept the small pieces of flesh from reforming. Guards and bystanders died on the spot, allowing Solus to observe how the Forbidden Sun retrieved their energy.
Mana sense showed her that now that the sun had fewer people to feed, the power of the remaining inhabitants of Kolga had increased.
‘Fuck me sideways! That’s why even violet cored Awakened always failed to destroy the city. The more people we kill, the stronger our remaining opponents will get. I need to get rid of the Forbidden Sun first.’
Meanwhile, the others received the first pulse from the Council. Lith opened the Warp Steps and the girls entered first to take care of the witnesses. Neither of them was used to wielding a butcher’s cleaver but the strength of an Awakened made them as light as feathers.
The thick blades produced a wide and rough cut on the necks of their victims, making it difficult for the injury to mend. The ice and darkness the cleavers had been infused with left the wounds open long enough to be fatal.
The two women Blinked non-stop, severing one head with each blow. Lith stepped through the Steps just a second later, yet ten Kolgan mages already lay on the ground. None of them had made a sound except for the thud of their bodies hitting the floor.
Lith Hushed the area and used Life Vision to check their surroundings. Once he made sure that no one would disturb them, he cast an array detection spell that confirmed his suspicions.
‘The Light Torch has several underground floors. This should buy us enough time to retrieve the Hands, but I can’t risk leaving Solus behind.’ He thought.
When the second pulse came, the three of them had to pump their mana into the Council’s amulet to turn it into a dimensional beacon for the Awakened on the other side of the spell.
Several Warp Gates opened in quick succession, letting Awakened of all races step through in their human form.
“Damn if I hate feeling puny. Status report, kid.” Said a Treant that for the occasion had shrunk to just 2.5 meters (8’2″).
Lith projected a hologram with all the information that he had collected thanks to his previous visit with Solus and his spells.
“I don’t know how deep this place goes, nor how to get to the lower floors.” He said. “You need time to level the Light Torch, but luckily the cracks in my life force allow me to exploit the effects of the Forbidden Sun.
“It should give me an edge against the guy who controls the geyser. I’ll keep him busy as long as I can, but you need to send someone for me once you’re done here.” Lith didn’t wait for a reply and Warped to Ykrah’s tower as well.
“You heard the kid. Let’s get a move.” The Treant unleashed a tier three earth spell that barely dented the floor.
“What the fuck?” All the Awakened said in unison as they tried their own spells just to obtain the same result.
“The bad news is that the whole building is protected by some kind of Silverwing’s Hexagram.” A Lich said, making a single one of the many arrays around them become visible with a wave of her hand.
“Any non approved spell that hits the walls gets countered and loses most of its power. The good news is that the Hexagram can’t do anything against this!” The Lich stomped the floor, opening a crater.
