The one to make the first move was, surprisingly, the female Wizard in the back, Wimo.
"Cursed Water Magic: Poison Torrent." She had been preparing this Spell for the past several seconds.
Wimo was a member of the Cursed Water Department, one of the smaller of the 108 Departments.
In the 30,000 Worlds, certain types of Magic were able to combine with other types of Magic, forming entirely new branches of study. Cursed Water Magic was exactly one such branch.
Formed from a combination of Curse Magic and Water Magic, Cursed Water Magic took aspects of both and brought them together.
A huge spout of black water formed in the air and shot off high above, covering the sky. It quickly spread out to form a giant dome, writhing in a haphazard fashion. Large tentacles of water began to shoot off from the dome, piercing towards the Vampires and the Anomalies.
"Hmph!" Helena launched herself forward, her eyes zeroed in on the female Wizard. A devastating Aura of Might covered her body, her every movement giving off a feeling of overwhelming strength.
"Rain Magic: Aquarius Shield!" Trajan immediately responded on his own, casting a faster, but less powerful defensive spell.
WHOOSH
BOOM
Immediately, several large shields roughly 5 meters wide and long formed in the air, hovering over each of the Wizards or Anomalies. Not a second later the tentacles of black water slammed into each shield, sending huge ripples through each.
Black water splashed into the crystal clear water of Trajan's shields, distorting and corrupting them. Gradually, the shields began to wear off, but not before they absorbed the brunt of the impact.
At the same time, however, several large black tentacles burst forth from the ground near Wimo, soaring towards Helena. They gave off a ghastly, almost deathly feeling, one that was wholly unnatural.
Helena batted them aside agilely, but was forced to jump backwards. She could tell just by looking at them that nothing good would happen if she let herself get enveloped.
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
Tentacle after tentacle of water pierced towards Helena without pause.
'No, not yet. I need to conserve my strength!' She forcibly held herself back, not allowing herself to tap into her Impact Magic yet.
"I can handle her!" Trajan called out as he dismissed his shields, causing the black water on them to dissipate as well. The large dome of black water above them remained in place, however.
While he no longer had his regular eyes, he was able to see through the use of an Artifact combined with some roundabout spells. The world around him was bathed in energy in his eyesight, making the Cursed Water Wizard, and her attacks, stand out.
"Just take out the half-diamond human first!" Trajan clasped his hands, jumping forward towards the Cursed Water Magician.
"Rain Magic: Water Knives!" Hundreds of blades made of pure water formed in the air and began to rain down towards the gaunt woman.
"Take me out, eh? You Vampires sure are cocky." Taemin grunted as he ignored the others and started to walk forward, heading directly towards the Anomalies.
He stopped after a moment, however, as Probus stepped in his way once more.
"I used to not name any of my techniques, focusing purely on my cutting. After losing my main arm, I realized I needed more. And so that is what I have for you today, human." Probus' voice was cold as his left hand rested over his shoulder on the sword on his back.
"Pointless." Taemin shook his head and then continued walking directly at Probus without pause.
Probus' eyes flashed.
"Blood Sword Style: Sundered Slash."
His left arm transformed into a blur as it swung down with an incredible amount of force. A powerful Aura burst forth around Probus as he attacked, infusing his strike with the Law of Cutting. At the same time, his blade took on a reddish hue, infused with energy.
Probus had, using his understandings of the sword and the Law of Cutting, created his own Mystic Martial Art.
His sword strike let out a red arc of sharp energy, shredding through the air with a huge amount of force. It slammed into the ground in front of Taemin as well as collided with the Wizard, too quickly for him to dodge.
In the instant that the attack had been launched, however, Taemin had shifted his body ever so slightly, just a few inches. Just so that his right side, his diamond half, was facing the attack.
WHOOSH
BOOM
An explosion of dust and dirt covered the ground as Probus's attack landed, cutting cleanly through a portion of the stone outcropping. The attack was incredibly potent, a sword strike that easily had the power to split an entire mountain in twain. The stone path and ground was no match for it, immediately collapsing.
"Suffer the first technique I created. The Sundered Slash. It's easily twice as skillful as my previous stronge-" Probus's words cut off as the stone dust faded.
Revealing the half-diamond Wizard, casually brushing off the dust from his tight robes. Not a single injury could be seen on him.
Probus looked at his left arm as if it had betrayed them, an understanding light appearing. Having lost his right arm, he was forced to use his left arm for combat. He'd trained heavily and was highly skilled, but he was far more used to using his right arm. In actual combat, he couldn't bring about the same level of force with his left arm as he could with his right.
"Not too shabby Vampire. I see why you're considered an elite among your kind." Taemin's body flickered as he stamped his right leg on the ground.
BOOM
CLINK
He reappeared standing right next to the stunned Probus, lashing out with his right fist. Probus recovered from his shock in that moment, just barely managing to raise his sword up in a guard position.
A shockwave expanded outward as Probus's feet sank several inches into the ground, a network of cracks spreading from the impact. His body shuddered at the force of the blow, his bones creaking.
In particular, his left arm trembled. Probus's eyes widened as he felt this.
'Damn it. Am I really this useless all because I lost my arm?!' A crazed light appeared in his eyes as he twisted his body, stamping down hard to get out of the stone.
Taemin didn't wait for him, however. By the time he was launching out of the ground, Taemin was already bearing down on him, right arm punching forward.
"But, as I said. Your struggle is pointless. I wi-hup!" Taemin's voice cut off as he spun around, abandoning his attack on Probus.
BOOM
Not a second later, a huge cluster of emerald energy slammed into his diamond arm, knocking him back a few steps. He shrugged the attack off, however, grunting slightly.
"Have at you!" Xaphan's voice was full of menace as the demonic chef glared at the Vice-Head of the Diamond Department. The emerald gem that was set in his forehead glowed brightly, small sparks of energy flowing upward off of it. A powerful Aura rested on his shoulders, full of electrical energy.
Standing next to him, wielding a long iron blade, was Aron. The wolf-like armor he wore seemed to gleam with energy. He guarded his ally, his gaze unwaveringly set on the half-diamond Wizard.
Probus managed to finish spinning away, freeing himself from the ground as he came back on guard.
"Wimo!" Instead of responding to the attack, Taemin paused, yelling out loud as he stared at Xaphan and then up above, at the dark dome of water that floated in the air.
"It's ready!" Wimo yelled back, her face twisting as she controlled several black tentacles, stopping Trajan's Water Knives from hitting her.
"Very well." Taemin smiled. His right arm seemed to twitch and, abruptly, a small figurine appeared in his hand. It was carved of some type of strange wood, cut precisely and with great care.
The figurine was carved to look like a smiling, bare-chested man wearing a loose set of pants, with a small crown set lopsidedly on his head. A long, red scar ran down the length of his right cheek onto his neck, ending at a set of muscular shoulders.
While the figurine didn't give off any energy, it seemed to bear a presence of sorts. One that was vast and powerful.
Several dozen meters away, Trajan paused, his face twisting in surprise as he turned around, staring directly at the figurine.
"No! Probus, stop him!" Trajan yelled out loud. He spun back around, abruptly forced to dodge as the gaunt Wimo lashed out with several more tentacles of black water.
Probus jumped forward as he heard Trajan's shout, just barely stepping between the anomalies and the half-diamond human.
"Time to sleep, Anomalies." Taemin crushed the figurine before anyone could do anything else.
WHOOOOOOSH
A split second later, an enormous, gargantuan Aura appeared. An all-powerful, almighty Aura that carried with it an ungodly amount of power. An Aura that set the air itself to trembling, causing space to fracture.
An Aura that touched upon the forces of Creation itself.
Helena's body trembled as she felt this Aura.
It was one she recognized, one she had felt long ago.
The Aura of the strongest man in existence.
The Aura of the Wizard King Telmon.
As soon as this Aura appeared, it rocketed out in all directions, spreading with abandon. It covered the entire plateau in a split second.
However, the intangible Aura of the Wizard King seemed to bounce as it collided with the dome of magic water that was covering the stone outcropping. The powerful, spreading Aura flipped backwards, bouncing off the dome. At the same time, the dome shivered and almost collapsed due to strain.
The bouncing back Aura morphed together and condensed, and then shot towards the area just in front of where the figurine had been broken.
Towards Probus and the two Anomalies.
The Aura moved at near-light speed, far faster than anyone present could react. By the time anyone realized what was happening, it had already made contact.
First, it collided with Probus, washing over him. The tremendous forceful presence of the Wizard King was not something a Lord Class expert could handle, even a Pseudo-King Class expert, when taken by surprise. If one was ready for it and made preparations, there was a chance.
But when taken purely by surprise… the result was already a given.
Probus collapsed to the ground, instantly knocked unconscious.
However, as the Aura washed over him, it interacted with the unique Aura that Probus was unleashing, through his own Law of Cutting. While Probus stood no chance at stopping the Aura, the Aura itself was not directed with intent, it was just moving in a concentrated direction. It was impossible to directly control another person's Aura unless one cleansed that Aura and imprinted it upon their soul.
When the Wizard King's Aura slammed into him, it split apart ever so slightly, due to the sharp edge his Law of Cutting gave his own Aura.
The Wizard King's Aura moved onward, rushing towards the two Anomalies.
It washed over Xaphan and instantly knocked him unconscious as well, his eyes rolling up in the back of his head and his mouth frothing.
When it came to Aron, however, the Aura did something odd.
It mostly missed.
Part of this was because of Probus' Cutting Aura redirecting the Wizard King's Aura. The other aspect was due to sheer luck, or as others might term it, a twist of Fate. The leading particles of the Wizard King's Aura fully bounced off each other and only lightly touched Aron.
That alone was enough to send Aron reeling to his knees, his face hidden by the heavy iron armor he wore, shaped like a wolf.
"No! Probus! Helena! Help him!" Trajan's voice was half full of panic as he saw what happened. The aftermath of the Aura had only slightly stunned him. His unique vision allowed him to see the figurine for what it was.
A remnant Aura of the Wizard King himself, condensed into a Magic Artifact of some sort.
Trajan was forced to turn around after he yelled that, clasping his hands together to cast a Spell to defend himself as the Cursed Water Wizard Wimo launched several more tentacles of black water at him.
"Damn it." Helena swore in a decidedly unladylike fashion as she saw this, her eyes glinting. She rubbed at the Spatial Ring she had on her finger.
At that exact moment, however, as Helena was preparing to take action, an explosion of light caught everyone off guard.
The huge dome of black water that surrounded the stone outcropping collapsed, exploding into particles of steam as a huge bar of white light shot through it, melting it in mere seconds.
Revealing a large, glowing disc of light, upon which several figures could be seen. Some clad in armor, other in robes. One and all, however, gave off a sense of strength, with latent Auras waiting to be unleashed.
At the back of the group stood a man wearing a set of faded grey leather armor with the insignia of a golden sun emblazoned upon it. The air around him abounded with might, a pure, Kingly Aura unleashing.
Right next to this man was another figure. A hooded woman, floating half a meter above the disc of light. Instead of a regular pair of legs, her lower half was insubstantial, made up of shimmering clouds of grey light, with a few small wavering tendrils of smoke drifting to and fro.
Helena recognized the figure. It was exactly as Trajan and Probus had described. The Anomaly known as Veritas.
The Shades had arrived.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
"What relation do you have with my grandmother? Who are you?"
Dorian looked back at the Wise Jade Dragon lady, his heart pounding. He realized, then and there, that this was extremely dangerous.
The woman's tone carried with it a powerful, underlying force. In it, Dorian could sense that same alien emotion he saw in the other Dragon's eyes and actions.
These Dragons did not view the world like he did. To them, he was merely a lesser creature, prey. What mattered to them was the importance he held to their goals or mission.
And, right now, they were far more powerful than he was, even with Leader here as backup.
With all of that, however, his powerful soul and mind allowed him to forcibly calm down.
"I see. Lady Ausra was your grandmother, huh?" He responded, nodding at her.
The woman's body seemed to tense, almost imperceptibly, as Dorian spoke, as if she was preparing to take action.
"Then I guess I have no choice but to tell you the truth." Dorian shrugged and then patted on his chest proudly,
"I am the Inheritor of Lady Ausra's magic."
"Oh, is tha- what?!" Mira began to respond but then immediately cut herself off, staring at Dorian in sheer disbelief,
"You-you are the Inheritor of Lady Ausra?"
"Yep, that's me." In a way, it seemed to be kind of true. Dorian wasn't sure what the Soul Spell Matrix Genie 'Ausra' was doing in his soul, but she seemed to be directly related to the 'Lady Ausra' that this dragon lady knew.
"But you- you're a human!" Mira sputtered, rubbing her face as if she couldn't believe it.
"Yep, well, sort of. I practice a bit of Transformation Magic thanks to her Inheritance, so I'm really a bunch of things. But human works." He shrugged.
"I don't- that can't- she wouldn't give her Inheritance to a human!" Mira finished lamely, shaking her hand.
"Are you sure about that? She doesn't strike me as the type of gal that would judge people by the breed of their race or color of their skin."
Mira rubbed her eyes for a second time as she returned,
"No, no of course not. But the greed and corruption that is so prevalent among you humans would preclude-"
"That seems like a bit of an assumption." Dorian cut in, frowning slightly.
Mira continued on, however, ignoring him,
"No, there's no way. I can't believe this." The air around her seemed to take on a dangerous edge as she looked at him, the alien, predatory emotions returning.
Dorian held his hands up, however, cutting her off,
"How about this. Let me prove it to you. After all, if I am truly her Inheritor, you wouldn't want to do anything hasty, right?"
Mira studied him silently for a moment, her eyes unfathomable. After a few moments, she put up a slight frown,
"How can you prove anything?"
Dorian smiled. The fact that she was asking questions meant she was starting to believe him.
"It's simple! The Inheritance I gained from Lady Ausra gave me a huge amount of knowledge on other species. I know that alone won't convince you of anything. However…" His smiled widened slightly,
"Thanks to her Inheritance, I have the magic ability to take on the form of any creature, as long as I have some of their blood!" He snapped his fingers.
Immediately, his body shifted, transforming into that of a muscular, towering Grakon. His clothes didn't rip to shreds this time, leaving him with his dignity thanks to a magic set of stretching clothes he'd purchased at a magic shop a few hours after they'd arrived at the city.
Mira's eyes widened as she looked at Dorian's new form.
In the background, Aiden, who was still standing several meters away, tensed up, his eyes cold as he glared at Dorian. Leader remained leaning against a tree in the background, supremely unconcerned. He had faith that Dorian could handle himself with ease, faith that was a bit misplaced given it should've been for Yukeli.
"I know, other Wizards could take on a form like this. However, how many could take on a form similar to that of your race?" Dorian's voice boomed out loud in his Grakon form.
He nodded his head at her and held out his hand,
"Simply give me some of your blood and I will prove myself completely!"
.
