Zeeeeut!
Suddenly, Sychia, Hakros, Kyamakri, Diparxi, and Methysria vanished from sight. But, they were not the only ones.
All throughout the battlefield within a hundred meters, no celestial was anywhere to be found!
This was one of Diparxi’s abilities that allowed him to swap the positions of those affected by the ghostly-like beings he controlled with ones placed at a different location.
Diparxi had set this up beforehand in case of an emergency situation where they had to fall back. Needless to say, the presence of two pillars undoubtedly fell under this category.
Unfortunately, this ability was only enough to buy them some time given its limited range and the fact that they were within an area under the influence of a pillar.
When Ourami and Yia saw the celestials disappearance, neither of the two reacted to stop them.
“They want to flee once they’ve stepped into the Fourth Heart of the World? A futile attempt. Even with the Teraidi’s absence, the likes of you cannot escape from my grasp.” Ourami scoffed.
“Hm? What’s this? Did they abandon their comrade? It turns out in the face of death, even those celestials lose their vigor and values.” Yia commented as his attention fell onto a single person who had remained behind after the other celestials and those two mortals fled.
“Are you surprised? They know better than to dare walk before us while carrying the essence of that woman. Perhaps they believe we will show them mercy if they distance themselves from it. Such a useless gesture. It’s just what I’d expect from a group of ungrateful rebels. We should have eliminated them all from the beginning.” Ourami stated as his gaze landed on the sole person left behind.
“You are having quite the casual conversation up there. Can it be that I don’t exist in your eyes?” Izroth said indifferently.
Izroth stood alone in the face of the two pillars and amidst a sea of ancient races that surrounded him on all sides.
In the eyes of others, it may look as though Izroth had been abandoned. However, Izroth had requested to be left behind of his own accord!
Of course, there were those who were against it. Sychia believed it was too reckless and tried to change Izroth’s mind. Or, at the very least, stay and help him fight. But, when Izroth said he had his own reasons for doing so, they could only hope that he was not speaking empty words just to soothe their conscious. Though, in the end, they accepted Izroth’s choice.
Not only did Izroth warn them about the presence of a second pillar, but he was even willing to place himself in harm’s way so that Astratis would not walk into his potential demise.
At this point, if Izroth said he had his own reasons, they trusted his words.
However, the most surprising matter was how easily Hakros accepted falling back with the celestials. This was even more shocking when the one who left him in that previously pathetic state had arrived right in front of his eyes. Would someone of Hakros’ temperament be able to control himself with such polished grace?
The next moment, a powerful gale of wind blew out from Izroth’s location as he unsheathed his Sword of the Storm.
A look of disgust and anger formed on Ourami’s face when Izroth spoke.
“Insolent! A mere lower celestial dares to speak and draw their weapon before us?!” Ourami erupted in a great fury.
Since when were the pillars spoken to in such a casual manner, let alone by a lower celestial? That ant even had the courage to unsheathed its weapon in their presence! Had their prestige fallen so low since the rebellion that now even some random nobody had the courage to speak to them without permission? How absurd!
“Cut off its hands and bring me its ring. As for what you do with the rest of it—make sure that ant dies a painful death.” Ourami ordered coldly.
Right after Ourami gave this order, the sea of ancient races rose to their feet.
At the front of this great force were the remaining six Keepers and Mandates of Ourami.
Name: Left Hand of Ourami, The Mandate of Force(???)
Level: 0
Name: Right Hand of Ourami, The Mandate of Seizing(???)
Level: 0
Name: Keeper of the Sixth Gate, Akeli(???)
Level: 0
Name: Keeper of the Third Gate, Tigryli(???)
Level: 0
Name: Keeper of the Second Gate, Fantamonas(???)
Level: 0
Name: Keeper of the First Gate, Protas(???)
Level: 0
Unlike The Mandate of Scrutiny and most other Keepers, those who remained Keepers were not primarily humanoid-animal hybrids except for the Keeper of the Third Gate, Tigryli.
Tigryli appeared to be a cross between a man and a tiger. He possessed a powerful frame and a natural beastly aura. But, besides the Protas, Tigryli looked the most ordinary out of the remaining Keepers and Mandates.
As for the First Gate Protas—he looked the most human out of any of the ancient races present.
Protas was encompassed by a mysterious aura that made it difficult to get an exact read on him; however, that was only if one relied on their eyes alone.
Though Izroth knew that out of the Keepers and Mandates alike, Protas was the strongest and had already stepped into the late stage of the legendary realm.
The Sixth Gate Akeli is where the appearances started to drift further away from a typical humanoid ancient race.
Akeli was a headless creature with a devilish form. One could not tell if it was male or female as six thin, to the point of being almost sickly, dark red triple jointed limbs extended from the side of its body. What appeared to be eyes ran along the surface of its twisted physique.
The Second Gate Fantamonas was a specter-like entity with no true physical form and seemed to exist both in and out of this world simultaneously.
Though when it came to the Left Hand of Ourami, The Mandate of Force—things took an even more bizarre turn.
The Mandate of Force resembled a tall seven-meter dark stone statue of a woman with flowing tears carved as if they were flowing from her eyes. But, unlike a typical statue, the woman’s head was placed sideways at the center of her body.
The statue’s front hands were pressed together as if offering a prayer and from its upper back protruded a total of thirty-two additional arms. And, they were one of the two primary stage legendary realm beings Izroth sensed earlier.
The Right Hand of Ourami, The Mandate of Seizing, was the largest present, spanning roughly fifteen meters. At its core was an area covered with a pair of small black wings and from this core expanded five enormous pairs of wings. Two pairs of wings came from the top of the core, two pairs from its sides, and one pair from below. These wings were covered in several thick layers of obsidian feathers that looked challenging to penetrate. And, just like the other Mandate, it was also at the primary stage of the legendary realm.
However, Izroth understood that one’s realm did not always accurately represent one’s total strength. While it was a good general rule of thumb to follow, one would be unwise to follow it rigidly.
These six beings were a part of Ourami’s core force and commanded the vast army under him. Their loyalty to the Pillar of the West was absolute.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the master this furious. I’ll do the honor of taking care of this impudent whelp.” Tigryli said as he released a low growl and leaped forward.
BANG!
Tigryli landed directly in front of Izroth. He was at least twice Izroth’s size and his muscular frame was on par with a member of the Megada ancient race.
Tigryli was someone in the initial stage of the legendary realm. He relied on a streak of relentless attacks, as well as utilizing his speed, power, and natural instincts to overwhelm his opponents in battle.
A grin formed on Tigryli’s face as he stared down at Izroth. This person barely had any Ethos running through their veins. He could sneeze and they would die from the pressure!
Tigryli’s eyes fell into the blade in Izroth’s hands as his nose twitched.
“This guy has some really good stuff. A blade that’s touched the Primordial Forge—it’s too good for the likes of your hands. I’ll offer it to our master!” Tigryli roared as he swiped down with a heavy force.
His goal was not to claim Izroth’s life, but rather to carry out his master orders and take off Izroth’s hands with one strike!
Bzzzzt…! Crrrrrckle!
Out of nowhere, the clouds in the sky darkened as a purple bolt of lightning struck down from the skies right to where Izroth and Tigryli were located!
During this flash of light, Izroth’s figure began to flicker as two arms made of lightning emerged out of thin air!
