Ryman assumed a hybrid form over two meters tall, which resembled a two legged humanoid wolf with feathered wings on his back. He was wearing Lith's prototype of Skinwalker armor and wielding an enchanted two handed mace.
It was another failed attempt at reproducing the Gatekeeper, but it had to do. Protector had never learned how to use weapons. He had dedicated all of his free time to magic.
Lith was eager to even the field. He charged at Ailia, who was currently the easiest target while unleashing a barrage of spells to prevent her from escaping.
Pelion had the same idea. He Blinked behind Friya, having care of remaining outside of Full Guard's area of effect. His hands were brimming with mana, ready to unleash a spell that she couldn't avoid from such close range.
Unfortunately for Pelion, he was well within Dimensional Ruler's area of effect. The golden sparkles of light which were filling the air distorted the space and made his dimensional door volatile.
Instead of closing, the exit point exploded. The resulting burst of flames burned Pelion's back and threw him off balance. Friya turned around, performing several lounges with her rapier aimed at his vitals.
Pelion took his greatsword out of his dimensional ring and a small explosion almost threw his weapon away. He managed to catch it by infusing himself with air fusion, but the desperate movement left him exposed.
The rapier hit him several times, draining Pelion's armor of its last bits of energy before piercing his shoulder. Pelion grunted, using darkness fusion to cut off his pain receptors. Between his burned hand and his wounded shoulder, he wouldn't be able to keep his focus otherwise.
"A greatsword? Are you overcompensating for something?" Friya said with a sneer.
Pelion was enraged at the idea of having been hurt by a fake mage twice, yet he managed to keep his cool and unleashed the tier four spell Wendigo's Wail. It was an unblockable attack that produced a cone of freezing air mixed with a shockwave.
The former would weaken and slow down the enemy, while the latter would stun them long enough for Pelion to deal her a finishing blow. The sparks of golden light coalesced in front of him, forming a Warp Steps which swallowed the spell and released it right behind Friya's back before dissipating.
It all happened so quickly that Pelion was still trying to understand how she could have deflected his spell when Friya resumed her attack. The potion she had taken made up for her lack of fusion magic while her swordsmanship outmatched the opponent's.
She never attempted to block the much bigger and clumsier great sword if not with her conjured tower shield. Her rapier danced like a snake against Pelion's guard and every one of her hits created a deep wound.
Pelion cursed his bad luck realizing that even when his attacks landed, they did little to no damage. Now that his armor's pseudo core had exhausted its energy, the difference in defensive abilities was overwhelming.
Light fusion alone wasn't enough to heal his wounds fast enough. Thanks to darkness fusion shutting down his pain receptors he didn't feel pain, but every new cut was making his stamina deplete faster.
He faked a lunge and the moment Friya retreated, Pelion flew back to buy enough time to use Invigoration. Friya lunged too, but despite the distance, she hit her target. The golden lights had coalesced again, forming a small Warp Steps right in front of Friya's weapon and another at Pelion's back.
She kept stabbing the air in front of her and her blade started to appear out of nowhere from impossible angles, forcing Pelion to use all of his focus just to remain alive.
"What kind of monster are you?" He said.
Friya didn't reply. She moved forward, making more and more golden lights surround her opponent.
Dimensional Ruler was a tier five dimensional magic spell which used Friya's great mana perception and her talent for space manipulation to open countless small Warp Steps all around her.
It allowed her to perceive anyone Warping near her and to make space instable at will. It was the reason every time Pelion employed a dimensional ability something had exploded in his face.
Friya could also use it as a means of attack or defense, but only within a short range. Like all dimensional spell, it was also very mana expensive, but she knew that time wasn't on their side.
They had to get the upper hand quickly, or they would be defeated.
Lith and Ailia were fighting in close quarters and things weren't going well for her. She had come to the fight prepared. Too bad that according to her predictions it was supposed to be a long-range battle where her group would outnumber and outgun their opponents.
After activating Third Eye, Ailia and her companions were supposed to become even stronger, whereas their enemies would be like fish in a barrel after suffering from a damage to their life force they weren't used to.
Even the worst case scenario she had prepared for didn't involve fighting one on one at close range. Lith was faster, stronger, and more devious than any opponent she had ever sparred with.
If she tried to buy some time to cast a spell, he would exploit her lack of focus to aim straight for her vitals, whereas whenever she focused solely on dodging his attacks, Lith would cast a spell toward her escape route and disrupt her rhythm.
'We've been fighting for just a few seconds and I'm already covered in wounds. Where the fuck are the others?' Ailia released all of the attack spells stored inside her rings.
The Gatekeeper was seconds away from chopping off her head and she knew it. The sudden barrage of spells forced Lith to step back and dodge, giving Ailia a full breath worth of energy from Invigoration.
Most of her wounds healed, yet the most important thing was that she had regained part of her stamina.
'Dammit! I was so close to finishing her off. The silver lining is that her rings should be out of energy now. I could use Origin Flames, but aside from giving away my identity, I would gain no advantage.
'Back at the church, her barrier withstood Protector's and mine combined attack. A simple blast of flames would just surprise her. She's physically weak, I need to exploit it!' Lith thought while he Blinked away.
The moment Ailia saw the dimensional door opening, she spun on herself like a top to find its exit point and counter attack, yet she found nothing. She then watched above and finally below, where Lith had just appeared at dozens of meters of distance.
'I expected him to stick at close range, but maybe he too is running out of strength.' Ailia was about to use Invigoration again, to not waste a single moment of that unexpected break, when Lith released the tier five spell, Stormnado.
The air around him became thick and heavy. Strong gales spread upwards the noxious fumes generated by his hands. Stormnado was a mix of air and darkness magic that conjured a thunderstorm of poisonous gas.
Lith had switched his position to make sure that even with its huge area of effect, only Ailia would get caught by the ascending toxic tornado he had unleashed.
