The residual energy the Awakened ones had planted inside the victims of the Griever formed several dots in the sky that stabilized the arrays. Lith could feel his entire body catching on fire as the cracks present in his life force were about to be torn open once again.
Yet the dots were too few to sustain any of the three arrays, which collapsed on themselves due to their inability to store so much world energy.
“That’s actually my line.” Lith unleashed the tier five spell Raging Sun he had kept at the ready for that precise moment.
A burst of violet flames engulfed the space around him with the strength and the heat of a volcanic eruption. Friya and Protector were safe from the spell, whereas all of Lith’s enemies were close enough to be caught in its area of effect.
‘I love it when a plan comes together.’ Lith was smiling inside and outside.
Before going to the church, Lith had mobilized the city guards and the conscripted healers. Their role had been to forcefully heal the victims of the Griever, eliminating the focus points that the arrays required to function properly.
While he kept the Awakened ones occupied, the healers had dismantled Third Eye in his stead.
‘Well, at least plan C succeeded. Maybe the third time really is the charm.’ Solus said. Their enemies were still all alive, so she continued to focus in case the worst happened.
“Crazy bastard. He really pulled it off.” Friya activated Full Guard and Dimensional Ruler. Her body was now surrounded by two auras, one blue and the other golden. She had already consumed a top tier potion, making herself immune to spirit magic.
The other two spells were meant to take away most of the advantages an Awakened had against a fake mage. Friya had heard many times from her parents about Nalear’s abilities, so she knew what to expect.
Even with Raging Sun as the opening act, she didn’t like their odds. They were still three against four, and no matter how fast he was, Protector couldn’t deal with two enemies at a time. Yet she didn’t hesitate and joined the fray the moment the purple flames dissipated.
***
Blood Desert. Panneia Tribe. Tasaar Quintus’ home, now.
Tasaar was thinking about how to punish his foolish heir and what gift he could give Lady Tyris to apologize for Deraniel’s trespassing inside her territories when the answer presented itself to him.
A delicate feminine figure walked out of a dimensional fissure right in front of him.
“Lady Tyris! To what do I owe this honor?” His voice sounded like someone had put his genitals in a vice. For a second, Tasaar’s body couldn’t decide whether it should be aroused or terrified by the apparition.
Tyris’s human appearance had a delicate oval face and perfect features. She was 1.76 meters (5’9″) tall and wore the uniform of a Royal Constable that fit her like a glove, emphasizing her figure.
Her shining golden hair was braided into a waist long tress. There was no trace of her usual kindness within her silver eyes, so Tasaar’s common sense made him settle for terror.
“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” Tyris voice was calm, yet the mana it carried made Tasaar fall to his knees and bleed from his eyes and ears.
“Your son and his friend trespass and a mysterious disease appears right in the city they were in. I could have overlooked their blatant violation of my laws if it was just a prank. Yet now it turns out that you sent him to practice forbidden magic on my turf.”
A wave of her hand made all of the arrays protecting Tasaar’s home collapse. The artifacts he wore turned into dust, even his prized Blood Scimitar.
“I swear I don’t know what you are talking about!” He said as his bones started to break one after the other in a symphony of snaps and agony.
“You don’t know? Then it’s even worse. You are so stupid that you didn’t even question Deraniel properly. Do you at least know what punishment awaits those who practice forbidden magic?” Her delicate hand lifted Tasaar by his head, threatening to squash it like a grape.
“Death.”
“Who is responsible for a disciple’s faults?” Tyris’s voice was unable to hide her anger anymore. Her question was accompanied by a roar of thunder.
“Their master. But Deraniel wasn’t alone, Kieran…”
“I’ve already dealt with Lesalia. Unlike her, you were unaware of your disciple’s plan, so I’ll grant you a peaceful death.” Her reply was the last nail in the coffin of Tasaar’s hopes.
“At least spare my children.” He wept.
“All but Deraniel.” She nodded. “I’ll leave them all of your riches and enough books to study magic, if that’s what they want. Yet your legacy is mine!”
Tyris placed her hand above Tasaar’s chest and stopped his heart. She waited for his mana core to disappear before moving on the second to last item on her to-do list. Deraniel wasn’t going to be as lucky as his father.
Her only regret was to have wasted too much time with Lesalia. Thanks to the surveillance device she had enchanted Kieran’s clothes with, the assassin knew all along what the six youngsters were doing, she simply didn’t care.
To Lesalia, everything and everyone was just a means to an end. She never cared about the Council, nor the Guardians. Tyris had taken her time to show Lesalia how wrong she had been.
***
Zantia’s sky, now.
The few seconds the forbidden formation lasted was enough for Xedros the Wyvern to recognize its nature.
“I knew that following Faluel’s disciple was a good move. With this recording, I can blackmail those pathetic humans and their masters into giving me everything I want. It only takes a call to the Council to kill them if they refuse.” A wide grin appeared on his scaly face.
“Where is that Wyrmling, though? How can a measly yellow cored human be so powerful? I smell human treachery here.” Xedros wasn’t aware of Orion’s ring shielding both Lith and Solus, but he knew of the existence of such items.
The more the fight progressed, the more he was certain that Lith was using a cloaking device.
Meanwhile, several hundreds of meters below the Wyvern, the battle was still ongoing. To come out unscathed from Lith’s Raging Sun, the four Awakened had to sacrifice something.
Pelion’s armor was as good as dead and he had consumed all the barriers he had at the ready. Ailia had sacrificed most of her spells and mana to carve a path for herself out of that blazing inferno.
Jaren and Benyo had managed to Blink away in time, just to discover that Ryman was able to hit both of them almost at the same time.
‘Curse their magical protections! With just my body I can’t kill them with one hit. I need a weapon.’ Protector thought. With tier five magic sealed by the proximity of his allies and dimensional magic sealed by Life Vision, Ryman’s options were limited.
Keeping two Awakened busy by himself was the only way he had to give his companions the opportunity to take out their opponents. Otherwise, the enemy would exploit their superior numbers to buy themselves time and use Invigoration when necessary.
