Judging from the vines that composed her dress, the branches that came out of her hair, and the several plants that seemed to have fused with her body, the giantess standing near Lith was likely to be a Titania.
The other three people smelled like a beast, a human, and even an undead.
“An explanation about what?” Lith asked.
“During the day of the attack on the Undead Courts, not only did you fail the mission, but our elders were attacked and many of our fellow apprentices killed. On top of that, I heard that you came out of it unscathed and that your group suffered no casualties.
“How awfully convenient.” Her voice oozed sarcasm and spite.
“Are you implying that I worked with that fucker of the Dead King?” Lith replied with mockery. “That I attacked my own family and caused my exile? And for what reason?”
“To avoid any suspicion.” She said with a stone-cold voice. “After all, that day you lost nothing but your human façade. None of your loved ones died whereas good people, like my mentor and my friends, were killed by your brother!”
“Look…” Protector said.
“Dughia.” The Titania introduced herself.
“Dughia, I can vouch for Lith and his loss. I understand that you are angry and you want someone to blame, but sowing discord among us Awakened is exactly what the Dead King wants.” He said.
“Then how do you explain how my master, a powerful bright violet-cored Awakened fell at Orpal’s hands, while your friend survived? How do you explain how both of them have authority over the dead?
“They are brothers, after all, and they seem to have many things in common.” Dughia hissed a word too many, making Lith jump on his feet.
“Don’t you dare lump me with that pile of shit!” He glared at the Titania, yet she was over three meters (10′) tall, making him look like a child in comparison.
“Why not?” She stopped to glare him in the eyes. “The last time you were here, your pets hurt a lot of my friends. When you met Thrud’s spouse, you let him go. He even called you his little brother on more than one occasion.
“How do I know that you aren’t helping the Mad Queen in order to replace your brother by her side?”
The spite in her voice grew with every word she spoke and before Lith could answer, she decked him with a right hook. Despite his mass and the Voidwalker armor, Lith felt the punch.
Titanias were one of the strongest Fae. Despite their size, they could hit with the might of a Divine Beast.
According to Feela, Titanias were no weaker than Behemoths who had inherited the full physical prowess of their Griffon Foremother.
Dughia caught him from the collar of his shirt with her left and quickly jabbed at Lith’s eyes and nose.
Protector and Nalrond tried to intervene but the Titania’s friends stopped them.
“Sit down, weakling.” A Vagrash in his hybrid form effortlessly pushed Nalrond on his chair.
Not only was he much heavier than a Rezar, but the gap in physical prowess between them due to body refining was enormous.
Protector had no such problem against a Dullahan and an Awakened human, but he was one against two.
“Haug! A little help here.” He said.
The bartender looked in their direction and seeing that no weapon was being used, he just signaled the band to play something appropriate.
“I’m sorry, but in any tavern friendly fisticuffs are considered a free form of entertainment.” He replied. “No spells, no weapons, and no damage on the establishment allowed.”
The Titania turned toward Haug for a split second and nodded before resuming the pummelling.
Another wave of Haug’s hand stretched the space inside the Tavern, creating a wide area where the two groups could fight without bothering the customers or damaging precious furniture.
Dughia threw Lith against the now empty wall, catching him on the rebound with a punch to the guts with all of her considerable strength. The Voidwalker armor creaked and his dinner rose back to his mouth, bringing along the acrid taste of bile.
While once again Nalrond cursed his double nature that kept him from Awakening, Protector had a hard time against two deep violet-cored mages. He was faster, stronger, and heavier but their perfect teamwork sealed his movements.
Every time he moved to escape the encirclement or tried to attack one of the two, the one behind him would exploit the opening to strike at Ryman’s most vulnerable areas.
‘Fuck! Bright blue or not, I can destroy them with my speed, but only if I manage to get the space I need to move!’ Constricted as he was between the human and the Dullahan, Protector could barely take a side step.
All he could do was turtle up and wait for a chance.
As for Lith, the first hit had cleared his head. By the time he had sustained the fourth, his system had cleansed the alcohol, bringing him back to his peak form. Yet he remained passive.
After being unjustly assaulted for the umpteenth time in a few days, rage had immediately made his blood boil. Then, as hatred once more was about to blind him, Lith had noticed his core stirring again.
There was no quake nor storm so the bar fight hadn’t triggered a tribulation, yet he could still overcome the bottleneck, if only he understood what his problem was. Then, Lith remembered Friya’s words about mercy and forgiveness.
‘Maybe she’s right.’ He thought while the taste of blood invaded his mouth and his vision blurred more with every hit. ‘I never forgive or forget. This Titania is simply mad with grief, just like me.
‘Orpal is my brother and, in a way, I’m responsible for his actions. It’s because of me that our parents disowned him. Everything he does, is just to get back at me. Dughia is trying to overcome the pain from her loss, just like me.
‘She doesn’t deserve my fury, only my compassion.’
Alas, the Tiamat was a creature of hatred.
That and his survival instinct urged him to react to the senseless assault and deliver twice the pain he had suffered. Lith felt his feelings stirring along with his core, believing to have finally found a solution.
Yet two broken fangs, three cracked ribs, and a hairline fracture of his shoulder later, nothing happened aside from a copious bleeding.
The Titania conjured vines that wrapped her fist, enhancing its mass, hardness, and strength, and threw a right cross at Lith’s face to put an end to that farce. She wanted a fight, not a one-sided beating.
“Enough!” The Tiamat intercepted the fist with the palm of his left hand, snarling. “I’m sick and tired of being everyone’s scapegoat!”
He grabbed and pulled, forcing Dughia to stoop and line her chin up with his uppercut. The blow sent her head whipping back and blurred her vision.
“I’m tired of bearing the shit of others on top of mine!” His size rose to that of the Titania, headbutting her as she stepped back and then raising his head so that his horns pierced deeply into her lovely visage.
Fae, however, had the best healing abilities of all races.
