‘Fighting Verhen alone is definitely easier, but if our duel goes on for too long, the two Lessers will recover their strength and kill my soldiers!’ M’Rael’s analysis was spot on.
Ajatar had assumed his physical form again and was now able to recover from the wounds and exhaustion caused by the Spirit Fusion.
As for Faluel, not only was she drinking barrels of nutrients from five mouths, but she was also channeling the power from the Hands into the Royal Fortress armor to replenish the Life Maelstrom faster than usual.
M’Rael, instead, was still quite shaky from the Dread Flames, and even with the Immortal Body array from the Heart of the tower, he had yet to fully recover. There was something wrong with him, as if the tower had suddenly shifted down one gear.
That and the violence of the impact as he blocked War caught him by surprise. He had expected the fragments of the blade to hold an insignificant amount of power compared to when they were a real weapon and coated in Double Edge.
Instead, the blow had been much heavier than before and Verhen had no care for the might of the Fury any longer. The strike had been clean and straightforward, as if he wasn’t worried about the blade taking more damage.
Because he wasn’t.
War was already shattered and bleeding, making quickness more important than finesse. Also, the blue flames didn’t just hold the pieces of the dying blade together. They embodied the fusion between Chaos and Immortal flames, burning everything in their path.
The clash failed to deform the fragments because they moved away like water while the blue flames struck at the hammer and eroded the aura empowering it.
“I applaud your warrior honor!” M’Rael noticed that Lith was stronger than before, but not enough to be a threat by himself so M’Rael found his bravado back. “Fighting me alone is-”
Two black flaming fists hammered at him from above while he was busy repelling War and squashed the High Chancellor into a pulp. The Void Demon Dragon struck at the elf’s Soul Projection so that the tower suffered no harm.
Lith didn’t miss a beat, plunging the tip of his blade down where the heart of his sprawled enemy was supposed to be.
M’Rael survived only thanks to the Immortal Body array first and then due to the Tower Warp. He became one with the flow of world energy and moved away at a safe distance without creating any opening that Life Vision could predict.
‘Dammit! I created that spell to protect Lith. It’s one of my greatest accomplishments and my first step into Rebirth Magic yet that fucker used it to save his sorry ass!’ Solus thought as the distance turned out to not be safe.
Lith extended his arms, emitting a Final Eclipse from his right hand and a Plague Storm from the left. A raging stream of darkness-infused violet flames with the heat of a sun knocked the elf off his feet while a hail of darkness bullets dragged him along like an avalanche.
M’Rael cursed, most of the tower’s barriers were still recovering from the Dread Flames and out of order. He conjured the darkness and fire-sealing arrays to put an end to the onslaught.
Or so he thought until blue magic circles appeared on the Void Demon Dragons’ hands and wings, switching the elements respectively into light and water. The flame pillar turned into a freezing ray with the mass of a freight train while the darkness bullets became hard-light restraints that chained his arms and feet.
‘What? How? The Dragon is supposed to use only magic while the Abomination can only attack physically. How can that thing do both?’
“Who’s the one-trick pony now?” The Void Demon Dragon replied, giving the impression he could read M’Rael’s mind. “I warned you before. Bad things happen when we agree and we agree that you must die!”
Lith bolted forward with a flying spell and as he came closer, the elf felt the world energy thinning.
‘That’s it! Earlier the Abomination gained physical substance by feeding off the abundant world energy of the Fringe. The Fringe’s output is the same as a mana geyser and Abominations become stronger the more nourishment they have.
‘Now that they have fused together, the Dragon has gained substance as well. That’s why he can use those odd flames!’ M’Rael thought while flying back as well.
He couldn’t afford to stay still anymore without the Dragon pummelling him. M’Rael had to constantly move around and use his superior might to keep Lith at a distance while killing him with spells.
The High Chancellor switched from the Fury to the Sage Staff to exploit its superior reach and its ability to boost his magic. Yggdrasill wood was inferior to Davross, but far superior to Adamant.
At the following clash, M’Rael activated the elemental crystals, releasing six pillars of magic that blasted every metal shard of the blade away and hit Lith from point-blank range.
Only the hilt was left, but Lith refused to let go as he tumbled on the ground and clawed with his hands to regain his footing.
The fifth mana crystal faded as well and more Adamant fragments failed to rise.
“You are a very strong mage, but nothing compared to one with his own tower!” M’Rael quickly cast his Spirit Spell via the Mouth, fueled it with the Hands, and amplified it with the Master Mirror.
The final result was still less powerful than a Nova spell, but the Eyes fixed on Lith ensured M’Rael that the Tiamat had no way to dodge or defend himself. The elf unleashed Spiral Gorge just to be forced to turn around and use it as a means of defense.
The Sentries had warned him of Faluel’s attack and he couldn’t afford to ignore it. The Hydra was coated in silver lightning, her physical might further amplified by the Royal Fortress armor and so was her glaive.
Six of her seven heads held a spell of untold power each that crackled with Life Maelstrom. From her opposite side, a living stream of emerald and silver light was taking the shape of a chain of tier five Spirit spells.
As for Lith, he had found his footing again and was completing the formation of the three-pronged attack even though his blade was now only made of blue fire. The Adamant fragments had been scattered across the battlefield and opted for a recharge before going back.
They caught an elven squad by surprise and slaughtered them. War took their blood as a prize, using it to fuel the flames and buy itself a few more seconds.
“You said you wanted to fight me alone!” M’Rael yelled in outrage as more and more attacks slipped past the tower’s defenses and dented his armor.
“And you believed that?” Lith, Solus, Ajatar, Faluel, and even the Tree said in unison.
M’Rael felt stupid but also confused.
‘I don’t get it. I’ve seen from the Yggdrasill data banks how strong Verhen was even back when he was just a blue core. He was stronger than I am now. Then why is this my limit?
‘The tower is supposed to have recovered more floors from the battle at the Feymar mines. Can the Nova Spells really make so much of a difference?’
