'One more thing.' Friya said. 'If Skinwalkers are so powerful, why didn't Thrud send them here? Also, why does the Doppelganger wear a Harmonizer? Manohar is studying them thoroughly and he says they are no fallen race.'
'I can answer that.' Solus replied, but only in Lith's mind. 'When the Balor sucked away the world energy, I managed to use mana sense to understand our situation. The Harmonizers are the only reason the fallen races are reverted and managed to evolve.
'My bet is that without the collars, the faulty mana cores would be incapable of surviving on their own. I noticed that on the other side of the Steps there was another mana geyser that kept fueling the Harmonizers even after they left the mine.
'Thrud didn't send Skinwalkers simply because they are best suitable for fieldwork rather than mining. As for the Doppelganger, I bet that she sent him here with a ruse to get her hands on a Harmonizer and study it.
'The rest of the creatures would die the moment the collar is removed whereas Protheus is a regular Awakened. He can study the Harmonizer with Invigoration without arousing suspicion.'
Solus was only half right. Thrud had sent Protheus not only because he could freely move away from the geyser and report to her at any moment without the Balor's permission, but also to test if the Harmonizers could help Awakened to develop their cores more quickly.
Time was of the essence and with the Golden Griffon moving from one mana geyser to another, the Harmonizers would allow her army to become stronger in the short time between battles.
'There's only one remaining question.' Lith said. 'Are we going to leave the mine, call Faluel, or fight them head-on?'
'Let's call Faluel. It's her mine and we are her apprentices.' Protector replied before backing away to the nearest side tunnel.
"Interesting." The Hydra seemed intrigued by the situation, not scared. "How many intruders are left?"
"Each group is comprised of five people, for a total of fifteen." Protector replied.
"Then I don't see what the problem is. Five of you is plenty enough to deal with a bunch of weaklings. Try to spare at least one enemy per group to interrogate them. If it's not possible, put a Harmonizer in a dimensional item the moment you kill its wearer.
"I have a way to keep them from self-destructing and I want to study them at all costs." Faluel said with the greed typical of Dragons lighting her multi-colored eyes.
"I'm sorry, but you lost me. We are outnumbered three to one." Protector said. "On top of that, why aren't you angry? They have stolen a crapload of crystals from you."
"Numbers matter only when skill and equipment are comparable." Faluel shook her head. "Those guys have no weapons and if they recently evolved, they are even weaker than their previous state because they aren't used to their new bodies.
"You guys instead are all veterans and fully equipped. Worst-case scenario you only have to damage the Harmonizers to kill or incapacitate any of them in one shot.
"As for the crystals, I would be angry if this Sovereign didn't turn all of my violet crystals into white and the blue into violet. Even like this, the mine is more valuable than when I left it and if I get my hands on those collars, I can easily make up for the lost crystals.
"You get to work. I'll come there as soon as I'm done with the Council. I've already beaten the other two Regional Lords. I'm just waiting to get my due. Faluel out."
"Can we really do it by ourselves? Wouldn't it be better to call the Council for reinforcements?" Nalrond asked after the hologram of the Hydra disappeared.
"To what purpose?" Lith shrugged. "This is a mine, not an open field. Too many people would just get in the way of each other. Also, if I were Faluel, I wouldn't want to share the Harmonizers nor let the Council know of their effects on the mine.
"The other Regional Lords might demand that Faluel gives up some of her resources since now she has so many white crystals."
"We don't need reinforcements." Protector said. "Aside from the Balors, I don't fear any of those things. Ready your spells. The moment you are done we attack."
"Not so fast." Friya took out Thundercrash, the railgun, and started to charge it up. "This thing takes a long time to reload and as you said, Balors are nasty. We could use starting the fight with one less of them.
"This way, Thundercrash might cool down in time for a second or maybe even a third shot."
Friya lay on the ground, using elemental and gravity fusion to stabilize her position. The air and earth magic in the bullet wasn't strong enough to trigger a chain reaction, but only if they didn't hit a crystal.
She had to wait for a moment when an evolved Balor was visible and away from the gemstones which wasn't easy since they were all mining.
'I wish I could take out the leader, but the bastard always sticks to the walls.' Friya opened a Scope in the blind spot of her victim to keep them from dodging the bullet and avoid the potentially lethal consequences of a stray shot.
She pressed the trigger the moment the dimensional fissure opened yet the six eyes coupled with their wings bestowed the Fomors, the evolved Balors, uncanny senses. The creature perceived the distortion in space and turned around instantly.
Unfortunately for him, from that distance the bullet was way faster than his reflexes, making his head explode before he could alert his companions. In such an enclosed space, the boom accompanying his death bounced on the walls, stunning the other Fomors.
While they were still down, holding their ears and trying to regain their balance, Morok jumped on them with his twin battle hammers, Grimnir, bursting the head of a female Fomor open like a watermelon, bringing their numbers down to three.
The others clenched their teeth in outrage, but the tinnitus kept them from casting spells. All they could do was to unfold their wings and open their eyes to unleash a hail of energy pillars of all elements.
"Thanks for the meal, suckers!" Only then did Morok go back to his Tyrant form.
He now looked like an over 2 meters (7') tall lean humanoid covered in multi-colored scales, with six big eyes, each one bearing the light of a different element.
Morok had the yellow and the orange eyes where his regular eyes had been until a second ago. The black and the silver rested respectively on his right and left shoulders while the remaining two emerged from the back of his hands.
He used Domination to separate the energy beams based on their element and to suck them in via the corresponding eye. Then, his six eyes merged on his chest, forming a giant emerald-colored eye that returned the absorbed energy in the form of the tier five Spirit Spell, Breakdown.
Air and earth would block the victim by inducing an electric seizure and by trapping their limbs in a prison of rock. Fire and water would alternate in pulses, causing a thermal shock that would sap their strength and make it impossible for them to breathe.
Darkness and light would constantly consume and heal those hit by the spell in a cycle that would consume their vitality until they would die of starvation.
The Fomors had no power over the seventh element nor defense against it.. By sucking in the surrounding world energy to fuel their attack and keep the crystals from exploding they had also paved the way for Morok's counterattack.
