"Let that woman go, tell me where Phloria is, and I will kill you." Lith had no idea who the handsome man in front of him was, but he remembered Wyra well.
She had helped him back in Zantia and Friya would often speak fondly of her, considering the burly woman her closest aide.
"What kind of offer is that?" Kallion laughed while choking Wyra with one hand while piercing through her abdomen with the other.
He enjoyed squeezing her guts to see the agony in her eyes. The Vampire's blood coursing through his veins didn't just boost Kallion's physical and magical prowess, it also amplified his predatory instincts.
To him, humans were just cattle. Small mice destined to be the plaything of the cat.
'That's Kallion Nuragor, Phloria's ex-boyfriend.' Solus said via their mind link.
"The kindest deal I can cut you and only because I'm in a rush." Lith replied while looking at the several undead jumping on him from every side as if they moved in slow motion.
His tier five magic holding ring sparked, releasing both the Final Sunsets it held. A maelstrom of blue flames infused with so much darkness element to paint them black engulfed both Lith and his assailants.
Yet the spell only spared his owner, burning everyone and everything else on its path until only cinders remained. Darkness magic was the bane of the undead and the only element that even Mage Slayers couldn't feed upon.
After the Sentry that now had joined him confirmed to Lith that there was no one worth saving in the vicinity, the blazing dome grew in size until it surrounded both Lith and Kallion, isolating them from the chaos of the battlefield.
"How could I refuse such a generous offer?" Kallion broke Wyra's neck before throwing her tortured body at Lith along with a crushed golden pendant shaped like a lily.
For a second, Lith froze at the sight of the present he had given Phloria years ago. He had no idea it was just a replica identical down to the last detail that Kallion had realized for the purpose of torturing Phloria's parents.
The damage the pendant had sustained made it believable the fact that it had lost its enchantment and Phloria's imprint.
"Allow me to turn our deal into a real bargain." Kallion threw Rotha's body right next to Wyra.
"Happy now? They are all dead and soon you'll join them." Like Lith, Kallion wasn't big on talking, he just needed time to weave his spells.
He was still a fake mage, but thanks to the Vampire blood stored in his second core, Kallion could use both darkness and air magic in their true form, along with their fusion magic version.
Seeing the destroyed replica almost drove Lith insane. Great Mage Nuragor had even imitated the impurities in the metal comprising the original pendant that Lith had spread through the flower to make it look more lifelike.
Solus's nearby mage tower amplified the effects of his seething anger just like it did with all his other abilities. The sky darkened and the temperature dropped as his eyes turned into fiery slits burning with black mana.
Yet he knew Wyra well. Even while the light in her eyes dimmed, Lith could see in them a silent plea for help, but not for herself. Even on the verge of death, Wyra performed her duty.
"We'll see." Lith touched Wyra and Rotha, using Invigoration to restore them.
Their flesh regrew, their bones returned to their original condition as the breathing technique even replenished their vitality and mana. Yet they were still hungry.
"He's lying!" Wyra said with the first breath of air she inhaled. "They are still in the caves, alive."
'I can confirm. Phloria's rune on your amulet is intact.' Solus said.
"We'll deal with him, you go save them. Our lives don't matter, please save our god." Rotha shielded Lith with his own body and attempted to push him away from the incoming tier four darkness spell that Kallion had unleashed while the Archmage healed them.
Nuragor had no idea how Lith could have mended that many mortal wounds and still be able to stand, yet he didn't care. From such a close distance, dodging his Black Haze was impossible.
It was a spell that Kallion's sire had taught him that used both air and darkness magic to generate a black bolt of lightning that would split into two smaller bolts with each centimeter it moved forward.
The newly generated bolts would split as well until all the space in front of the caster was turned into a dark mist.
Rotha's attempt to push Lith away was akin to pushing a mountain uphill whereas Lith's hands moved the two members of the Crystal Shield guild behind him as if they were weightless.
"A lying traitor. I'm not going to take that filthy mana of yours." Lith refused to use Dominance or War's World Mirror ability and had a wall of black flames erupt from the dome to intercept Black Haze.
Kallion's shock grew once again.
Keeping two tier five spells active for that long was already a strenuous task, but doing it while also using those same spells to keep a small army of enemies at bay was supposed to have drained Lith's focus.
That degree of mastery over two Final Sunsets at the same time was impossible, yet reality begged to differ.
"I didn't lie so much as stating an inevitable fact. My words have yet to turn into reality but they will!" Kallion said as the metal rods stuck to his right leg assembled themselves to form his prized spear, Stormbreaker.
Unlike Lith, he knew about the dimensional sealing array, so he had taken out of his dimensional item everything he needed, just like all Friya's men had done since day one of the mission.
It was the reason why they had lasted so long.
'For years I practiced my spearsmanship until my skin broke and my hands bled because I knew my worst opponents would be human. No matter what kind of monster Verhen is, with my enhanced body and the superior range of my weapon, a disarmed man has no chance of victory.' Kallion thought.
"War, sing your dirge for this fool." Lith extended his open hand and the bastard sword appeared in a burst of emerald flames.
Between Xedros's words and Xenagrosh's practical demonstration, Lith had discovered the secret behind omni pockets. While regular dimensional items were the focus between their user and their storage space, omni pockets used their master's very life force as a conduit.
Otherwise, distance or a simple dimensional sealing array would cancel the imprint over time. The use of life force also allowed the owner of an omni pocket to ignore the effects of arrays simply by expending a bit of their life force.
Lith already knew to project it thanks to Origin Flames so connecting the dots had only required some practice.
Seeing the shattered necklace turned the angry blade into a grieving one. War broke free from its scabbard and what looked like blood tears streamed down the magic crystals on its hilt.
War almost moved on its own and struck at the tip of Stormbreaker, but instead of pushing it away, the grieving blade cut through metal as if it was butter. Kallion quickly tried to step back, but Lith moved much faster.
