The violent trembles soon came to an abrupt halt as a powerful gust of wind swept away the dust in the atmosphere along with the debris.
At the same time, the plant life that was destroyed by the impact started to take roots once again. It was as though the plant life had a will of its own as it began to slowly grow again.
Meanwhile, Izroth and most of the others in his group were forced to spread out at a moment’s notice to avoid being in the epicenter of the impact.
Just from looking at the size of the crater generated by the crash, even if one had somewhat sturdy defenses, it may have been difficult to escape completely unscathed.
“Are you two alright?” Izroth asked without looking back.
“I am fine. The force of the impact at this distance was fairly tame compared to the center.” Sychia responded.
“As if some gentle breeze like this could do any real harm. More importantly, that thing—you don’t mind if I take care of it, right?” Hakros asked as his vicious gaze locked onto the one who just appeared before the group.
The one who arrived from the sky was a cross between man and beast—much like the Keeper of the Ninth Gate, Vagelrio.
It was roughly two meters tall with pasty skin. Its arms were fused with a pair of black wings and on its back were another pair of wings except they were dark yellow.
Their legs were closer to that of a bird rather than a human as razor-sharp talons could be seen in place of its feet. But, perhaps the eeriest thing about this man-creature was its eyes. Or, to be more precise, its left eye.
While their right eye resembled that of a normal bird, its left eye matched the patterns of the nebula-like view in the sky. And, when the dust was fully expelled away, Izroth was finally able to see its system information.
Name: Left Eye of Ourami, The Mandate of Scrutiny(???)
Level: 0
‘That eye… It feels like we’re being observed and judged by a distant gaze.’
Although it was just a hunch, given the circumstances, Izroth believed that the one watching and judging them from afar had to be the Pillar of the West, Ourami. And, if that was the case, it was a good thing that Astratis had already left this place with Isylo.
The observation only lasted for a brief moment before Izroth sensed that it had disappeared.
‘Oh? We’re not worthy enough to be considered a threat, is that it? Interesting…’
Without a doubt, the reason Ourami averted his gaze was because he did not consider Izroth and those present as a threat. Not only were they not enough for him to personally take action, but even something as simple as observing them was viewed as a waste of time in his eyes!
“No, there’s no need. In order to properly draw their eyes to us, we’ll have to grab their attention in a grand manner. For now—Sagarus.” Izroth said as the Storm Commander kneeled next to him along with the Lighting Soldiers nearby.
“The Great Lighting Army is at your command, my lord,” Sagarus declared without hesitation.
“Since they gave us such a warm reception, we should return the favor in kind. Bring me back its left eye.” Izroth stated indifferently.
“Your order has been received,” Sagarus replied as he stood to his feet.
Soon after, the Lightning Soldiers followed the Storm Commander’s actions and also rose to their feet before springing into action!
There were less than ten minutes remaining until the Great Lightning Army went on cooldown, but that did not affect their power.
Besides, if they truly wanted to draw out Ourami’s forces and get the Pillar of the West to look at them seriously, they could not waste time on just one enemy.
The next moment, Izroth tapped on his left shoulder twice.
Swoosh!
Out of nowhere, a gentle gust of wind blew next to Izroth’s left side as a humanoid-shaped entity materialized next to him. This entity had no physical features and was an almost ethereal presence that occasionally faded in and out of existence.
“We will handle things here. You all can go on ahead.” Izroth said to seemingly no one.
However, as the words left his mouth, the sound was immediately erased. Instead, a stream of energy that matched that of the ethereal presence escaped from Izroth’s mouth and was drawn into the humanoid-shaped entity. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the entity vanished.
If one just saw what happened, they would think it was a ghost. But, this was one of the abilities that belonged to one of the celestials of the group, the Celestial of Duality, Diparxi.
This particular ability allowed Diparxi to take what one said and distribute it to several different locations where his influence stretched. While it was not as stealthy and well hidden as the type of communication used by Isylo, it still made for a great way to ensure the group kept in contact.
In the distance, Kyamakri looked at Izroth with furrowed brows as if she were conflicted with his suggestion. This was not just any opponent, but one that was under the direct service of the Pillar of the West, Ourami! Could he handle such an opponent with so few people? Wouldn’t it be safer to just attack him together and then focus on drawing on the rest of Ourami forces? Did he plan on sacrificing himself? Kyamakri could not understand what Izroth was up to.
“No… Since Astratis places such a great deal of trust in him, he must have something more concrete in mind. Besides, with those odd warriors and irregular mortals by his side, it should be possible to fall back should anything go awry.” Kyamakri internalized.
Kyamakri was the one officially left in charge by Astratis upon his departure. Therefore, she was responsible for the lives of all those present and making sure that the mission was carried out flawlessly.
Since Izroth wanted to give them a new window of opportunity, it was her job as the group’s leader to take full advantage of it!
In the end, Kyamakri responded to Izroth’s request. She instructed the other celestials to back off and regroup.
There were those a little confused by Kyamakri’s command; however, they still followed her orders.
Then, once everyone regrouped, Kyamakri clearly explained their next course of action to continue on and leave this fight to Izroth’s group.
Some of the celestials voiced their objections and concerns, but Kyamakri had already made her stance on the matter clear.
Ultimately, the celestials respected Kyamakri’s authority and went along with her orders.
Before the group departed from the area, Kyamakri sent a message to Izroth the same way he did earlier as her voice entered his ears. The message was one of simplicity—”Stay safe.”
After that message, Kyamakri and the other celestials left the area.
Of course, the Mandate of Scrutiny would not just sit back and watch intruders escape right before his eyes!
“Insolent!” The Mandate of Scrutiny roared as it flapped its wings and prepared to take off after the celestials; however, before it managed to do so, a blade of lightning descended down on it from above.
Bzzzzt! Crrrrckle! Bang!
The Mandate of Scrutiny adjusted its body and lifted its talons at the last moment to intercept the blow.
The strike came from the sword that belonged to the Storm Commander Sagarus.
“Make way!” The Mandate of Scrutiny cried out as an intense wave of blue and silver Ethos washed over the battlefield!
Meanwhile, seeing that Izroth decided to send the Great Lightning Army instead of letting him fight, Hakros released a low growl that did not hide his displeasure.
“If you want to fight it, I won’t stop you, but… This kind of opponent—will you really be satisfied with them alone? I had a much more interesting idea in mind; however, if you wish to fool around here, you’ll miss out on the real deal.” Izroth said calmly.
Hakros narrowed his eyes and his impatience was on clear display; however, he released a heavy sigh under his breath as he relaxed his battle aura.
“You haven’t forgotten what I said, right? I won’t forgive you if it’s something boring.” Hakros commented.
“That’s fine. I just hope you won’t regret it later and keep up.” Izroth stated nonchalantly.
“Ha? Regret? Keep up? Interesting…! Hey—do you think, I, Hakros, won’t be able to keep up with whatever you have planned?” Hakros said as his battle aura rose to new heights!
“There are some who bite off more than they can chew and those with the actual strength to back up their words with actions. I’m curious to see which one you turn out to be.” Izroth responded with a carefree expression.
“…Good…! Good! It’s been a while since someone dared question whether or not I have the ability to back up my words with actions!”
In the blink of an eye, the pressure around Hakros increased more than tenfold.
Naturally, Izroth was not merely taunting Hakros. He understood well how those like Hakros reacted when presented with a challenge. This was even more so when their ability was called into question.
‘It may have been a somewhat unnecessary precaution, but with this, at least I can guarantee that his focus will be on what awaits us ahead rather than what’s in front of him.’
When Sychia witnessed the way Izroth interacted with Hakros, she half-excepted the behemoth to start a brawl given his, at times, abrasive personality. But, why did she feel like Hakros was being led around on a string by Izroth with just a few words?
‘Now… Shall we begin the true assault?’
