“Begone monster! You don’t belong in this world!” She said while pointing her rune covered rapier against the All-Lith. The golden light pushed the shadows back and made the killing intent which had oppressed the worshippers until that moment disappear.
“It is not by my will that I was summoned here. I only answered the call of humans who want to pay me tribute.” The All-Lith replied.
“Tribute? You steal their freedom and treat them as nothing but food!” Friya couldn’t believe that she was actually following Lith’s script.
“Foolish girl! The same could be said of all religions.” The All-Lith and his steed charged forward.
“Run away! I’ll hold him as long as I can!” Friya flew forward, slashing against the rider. Her rapier produced a silvery sound as it clashed against the All-Lith’s arm.
People stared in awe as the small figure managed to stop the two monsters alone. Many of them knew Friya and despised her for being Viscount Krame’s henchman. Now their eyes were filled with tears of gratitude and their hearts with admiration.
“We should have never doubted our mages.” Many said while helping those who were too weak to get up on their own due to the emotional rollercoaster they had experienced.
“Suckers.” Lith said with a wide grin as Protector continued to step back, pretending that the fight was balanced.
“Is there something you can’t do with those holograms?” Friya whispered while making sure that her back prevented the spectators from seeing Lith’s human arm appearing where her blade made contact with it.
“I wish. I can’t hold on for long.” It was a lie. Only his eyes were covered by holograms, making them appear as if they were opened. Lith had simply reverted his arm to its human form upon contact.
They kept fighting spell against spell, claws against blade. Every one of their moves was dramatic and heroic, to the point it looked like an epic battle straight out of the legends.
It was all staged, of course. Their spells were flashy, made to appear powerful, but had no substance.
They were weaker than first magic, barely a light show. As soon as everyone got outside, the three mortal enemies stopped to plan their next move.
“I’d say that the Church of the Six is done.” Friya said as both Lith and Protector reverted to their human form.
Ryman purposely produced a flash of light to blind her long enough for Lith to build and destroy a hologram that could cover his transformation.
“Indeed. I was expecting them to attack us during our little play, but they seem to be otherwise occupied.” Ryman pondered while using air magic to reproduce the sounds of a heated battle and witty one liners.
“At this point they have no choice left but to activate the arrays now. Even if some of the spells’ foci are out of place, they had enough to spare in case something happened.” Lith used his army amulet to make sure that plan C was going smoothly.
A yelp and a “No!” accompanied an explosion big enough to make the whole building crumble. The alleged monsters had allegedly been defeated. The crowd still around the church exploded into cheers and applauses as the three walked out of the debris.
The mercenary, the Ranger, and the hunter smiled at their audience. Lith even raised his hands while holding Ryman’s and Friya’s before giving those present a bow, just like they were actors.
The cheers and applauses intensified.
“Good gods! How did you become a man who can see a whole city almost ripped to shreds and joke like that?” Friya angrily whispered.
“For them, we saving their city might be the most important day of their life. But for me, it was just another day’s work.” Lith’s reply earned him a nudge in his ribs from both of his partners.
“We have no time to waste! According to General Vorgh they must be at the center of the array. If even plan C goes awry, we’re screwed.” Friya chanted her spells with astounding speed, urging Lith to do the same.
This time, the Awakened would be prepared and have the home advantage. Lith chanted gibberish, giving Solus the task of providing for plan F while he took care of plan E.
He had to keep them both a secret, or the others would never let him hear the end of it.
‘I’m completely against plan E and I wish you to reconsider.’ Solus thought.
‘This time it will be three against four. Four versus four at best, if we give away your existence. But what if they have prepared more arrays? I’m not going to risk the life of any of you. You mess with the Scourge, you get buried. Period.’ Lith ended the argument before it even started.
Ryman opened a Warp Steps leading to their destination as soon as the chanting ended. Dimensional magic was mana expensive and Friya was the only one among them who wasn’t an Awakened.
‘She is the weak link. I have to make sure that nothing happens to her. Friya is a good person and I don’t want to see Lith experience any more grief. The next time he snaps, it could be the last one.’ Ryman thought.
The Warp Steps led them to a spot far enough from the array’s epicenter to keep them from being spotted with Life Vision, but close enough to check their surroundings for traps.
“All clear.” Lith said after performing the array detecting spell and using both his own and Solus’s mystical senses.
“Same. I can’t sense any suspicious sound or smell.” Ryman found the lack of enemy traps disturbing. He had checked for undead, explosives, and even hidden soldiers to no avail.
They flew toward the center of the array and soon they were able to see four figures high in the sky. The four Awakened moved rhythmically, using Invigoration to conjure more and more world energy.
It would ensure that they would have a successful activation of Third Eye even if they lacked a few focal points. Due to the temporary relief from the storm, people might have left their homes. The four were arranged back to back in a circle, covering all the possible directions their opponents could come from without leaving a blind spot.
“They are here!” Benyo said. Things couldn’t have gotten any worse. With only four of them, Third Eye would take a big chunk of her life force. To add insult to injury, the makeshift addition to the ritual would ensure its activation, but they were likely to lose the grounding array’s effect and even more life force in the process.
‘I hope there is a special place in the afterlife for idiots like you, Kieran.’ She inwardly cursed.
“Let them come. Ready on my mark.” Ailia said. Her face looked like it had been chiseled in stone. She had sacrificed too much to allow anyone to stop her. All of them knew the risks involved when they had accepted the chance to become Awakened.
Back then, however, death seemed like something distant, whereas now it was waiting for them around the corner.
���Now!” At her signal, a golden six pointed star appeared in the space between them. It soon grew enough to cover all the space around them for over 100 meters (328 feet). Silverwing’s Hexagram was one of the most common training routines for Awakened ones.
Four of them could cast it quickly and suppress any enemy thanks to Invigoration providing them with endless mana. Lith’s group suddenly lost their flight spell and gravity did the rest.
Thanks to Lewis for his generous donation and to darkestkhan for having supported me for so long.
*author bow*
