"You seem to be as good as you claim to be, Abomination." The creature said with a low leopard growl. "Maybe there really is?merit in your presence here. Maybe."
"First, I'm an Eldritch, not an Abomination. Get on with the program or I'll refer to you as a kitten." Xenagrosh's voice now sounded bored which gave insult a further sting.
"Second, if I wanted to hurt you posers, that pulse would have exploded in your face instead of imploding on itself. You live because I allow it."
"You-" Before the white tiger could snarl something back, Bytra wrapped the strap at the end of the Absolution's hilt around his hand and let go of the hammer.
The Emperor Beast charged himself with another yellow bolt of lightning and tried to move but the Absolution brought him down like a dirty rag. His speed was meaningless while he was pinned to the ground.
He grunted, pulled, and pushed, but the hammed didn't budge. Bytra, however, was free to move. With one hand locked on the floor and a half-knelt position, the white tiger could neither block nor dodge.
Her delicate fist hit in an uppercut that sent him flying up just for the pinned arm to whip him down with a shattered jaw and dislocated wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
"You live because she allows it!" Bytra snarled, her black aura spreading to the sky and conjuring dark clouds.
The Fourth Ruler of the Flames was the meekest among the Organization's Eldritches.
Like most clones, her past, innocent self was dominant compared to the original's ruthlessness. She felt remorseful for slaughters she had never perpetrated and wished to make amends for them.
Unless someone threatened Xenagrosh.
The Shadow Dragon was a merciless killer to the rest of Mogar and the sun to Bytra. Any attempt to harm her wife turned the Raiju into a feral beast that would have made the old Korgh hide in a corner.
Meanwhile, the lonely tree had fallen back to the ground and shapeshifted into a Fae wearing a dark suit of armor identical to those of the other three Awakened. They assumed a battle formation with perfect teamwork and bolted forward with a unique flight spell.
They were a human male, a humanoid serpentine creature, and a rotten skeleton wielding a staff that Lith assumed was a female solely because she was too short to be an Awakened man.
'So they didn't hide behind the tree. The tree was hiding them in an underground space between its roots.' Lith's thought, uncaring of the events unfolding around him. 'A smart move, but it still doesn't explain why we failed to notice them.'
Life Vision, mana sense, and the Eyes perceived nothing where the four black-clad warriors and the white tiger stood. Aside from a slight distortion in the world energy around them, it was like they didn't exist.
'My bet is they wear Darwen-coated armors.' Solus replied. 'Somehow, the material has been treated to reduce the vacuum in the world energy that would otherwise betray its presence. Whatever the crafting method of that armor is, the result is beyond every cloaking artifact we've ever imagined.
'I can't read their cores, their life forces, their equipment, nothing. They could all be Divine Beasts wearing Royal Fortress armor and we'd be none the wiser.'
"That's why I hate stupid kids." Xenagrosh sighed. "They can't see the truth until they slam their noses into it."
When the four alleged members of the Hand of Fate were just a few dozen meters away, Zoreth spread her black-violet aura and activated Dragon Fear.
Her mana filled the area, carrying with it her killing intent that seeped inside the bodies of everyone inside the Dragon Fear's aura of effect. Panic made the four Awakened lose control of their flight spell and crash onto the ground.
As Lith estimated their masses based on the depth of the crater their fall created, the only thing in their eyes was Xenagrosh. Even though she was still in her human form, they could see behind her the illusion of a majestic Shadow Dragon standing on all fours.
Its wings were unfolded, blotting out the sky, and its neck was reared high, ready to unleash the sea of fire and shadows that was roiling in its mouth.
"Dodge." A flick of Zoreth's middle and thumb fingers conjured several icicles the size of a dagger that flew at the warriors.
It was just a tier three spell, something that anyone with an alchemical wand could use. There was no willpower in it and its destructive power was far from remarkable. Yet the Council's elite took every icicle in full.
They had been forewarned and had plenty of space for manouvre but Dragon Fear paralyzed their limbs like Adamant chains. They were sent sprawling on the ground, coughing up blood from the internal injuries they had suffered.
"Byt, stomach please." Before the white tiger could be outraged by the humiliation of his soldiers or confused by Xenagrosh's request, the Raiju delivered a punch to his solar plexus.
It squeezed the air out of his body and cracked the insulating layer of Darwen that coated his armor. Lith could now see a bright blue aura seeping out of the four lackeys and a bright violet one from their indomitable leader.
"Now that we have properly introduced ourselves, would you like to speak like a civilized person or do I have to keep beating manners into you?" The Shadow Dragon had yet to move from her spot, her voice the same she would use to discuss the weather.
The white tiger growled back but Bytra's charging fist was as telegraphed as its consequences.
"Fine, let's talk." The fist didn't slow down, it just changed its target from the throat to the gonads. "I apologize for my rude behavior. The attack was uncalled for, but I couldn't help myself.
"I wanted to see what's so special about you guys."
"Apologies accepted." Zoreth nodded and Bytra let go of the scruff of the white tiger while recalling the Absolution to her hand. "Take your time to heal your soldiers and compose yourselves. I want to avoid further delays to our mission."
"Excellent idea." The white tiger turned around without introducing himself, taking care of fixing his armor first and checking on his unit later.
"What was that?" Solus pointed at the spot where the Absolution had lain until a second ago.
There was a deep depression in the soft soil where the hammer had blocked the Emperor Beast. A crater several meters deep that couldn't be explained by the combined weight of the Absolution and the white tiger.
Solus still had many reserves about the Raiju, but her love for Forgemastery was stronger than her trauma.
"Something I made up to avoid the Absolution ever ending up like the Fury." Bytra lowered her gaze in shame while offering the hammer to Solus. "It conjures an internal gravity field so that arrays have no effect on it.
"The moment someone who hasn't my approval or has a different energy signature from mine touches it, the gravity field increases the weight of the Absolution. Also, since the enchantment works akin to fusion magic, you can't store the hammer inside a dimensional amulet to steal it."
