The pressure that the energy blades conjured by Ruin exerted on the Bastions required the Awakened to focus on hardening the magical barrier. Yet this way the Menadion’s Wrath met no resistance as it twisted the magical energies until they turned volatile.
The Bastions exploded, leaving their casters injured and opened to the onslaught of Ruin that cut them into pieces so small that even Faes couldn’t recover and died.
“My name is Elphyn Menadion!” Solus yelled at the top of her lungs as a battle cry. “I’m here to reclaim both my name and my legacy. I don’t care who you are or how old you are. If you steal from me, you’ll face my Fury and Wrath!”
“Screw keeping Menadion’s heir alive, she’s too dangerous!” Senara changed her orders again, making her soldiers sigh in frustration. “We’ll settle for studying her magical items.”
“Oh, shit!” Solus’ group said in unison.
Lith was dead tired and needed to use Abyssal Grasp to recover. Dolgus was busy dealing with Senara who had earned her position as Council representative on the field.
The Fae was smaller and weaker than him, but her expertise with magic and recovery ability made the Firbolg a force to be reckoned with. Senara used earth magic to conjure barriers that took the brunt of the damage of his maces while also making Dolgus slowly sink into the ground.
His technique required him to be constantly on the move and shift his weight from one foot to another, but the muddy ground made it impossible. If the White Griffon took flight he would escape the trap, but he would also lose his footing and leave the enemies free to focus on his companions.
The Firbolg used her bloodline ability, Unbridled Growth, to inject the world energy into the soil and make plants reach a size that would take them decades to achieve otherwise. Roots, trees, and even flowers came to life, crawling over Dolgus’ body and further restricting his movements.
Wyverns flew around him, breathing Origin Flames that consumed his Life Maelstrom and weakened his equipment while a Litanu, a lesser Leviathan, used the power of Elemental Flow to conjure arrays that neutralized his spells.
“Tyris’ son or not, you are just one while we are many. You shouldn’t have outstayed your welcome, runt!” Senara said while conjuring the tier five Spirit Spell, Starfall.
A hail of small green meteors imbued with the power of all elements appeared out of thin air, forming an emerald aurora that matched that of Light Raider.
Each of the mystical projectiles was just the size of a marble, but also had the energy of a cannonball and detonated upon impact with the destructive power of a concussive grenade.
The air filled with green fire as the countless projectiles reached their immobilized mark and forced the Griffon to fall onto his knees.
“I may be young compared to you, but I’m still a Divine Beast!” Dolgus joined the two ends of his maces, fusing them into a polearm.
At the same time, he used what Life Maelstrom he had left to empower the enchantments of his Twin Stars before slamming it against the ground and activating its enchantment, Force Wall.
The light element mixed with fire, generating a huge pillar of light that intercepted the incoming attacks and pushed the Council’s soldiers away. Then, darkness joined the other two elements, opening cracks into the ground and making the plants wither.
The stolen energy was passed onto Dolgus, healing his wounds. Force Wall bought him enough time to look in Solus’ direction, but not enough to help her.
Theseus was fighting tooth and nail, but now that the Awakened had discovered the secret of his strength they were aiming their attacks at his feet. He withstood one Annihilation after the other, but the same Mana Body that saved his life kept him from casting spells.
The enemies that until that moment had left Solus alone now swarmed her from every side while she was at her weakest. She had poured the Mana Flow and the Life Maelstrom into the Wrath, leaving her blue core almost depleted.
Emperor Beast fought her in close-quarter combat while Faes kept themselves at middle range, using their abilities to hinder her movements and block her spells. The humans in the unit used that time to weave spells and conjure arrays to defend their allies.
‘Fuck me sideways.’ Solus thought as she turned into a punching bag for the Awakened.
She had little battle experience compared to Lith and had yet to lose her bad habit of overthinking in action whereas her opponents were all centuries-old seasoned veterans.
To make matters worse, her superior physical prowess was useless if none of her attacks managed to land. Having a mere blue core not only limited her mana, but also her speed and reaction time.
To the violet-cored Awakened, her movements were in slow motion, making Solus unable to see their movements, let alone block their attacks. If not for her tower half that bestowed upon her a great mass and her Voidwalker armor, she would have died at the first blow.
Cracks kept appearing over her skin and they spread further with each attack that she suffered, forming spiderwebs. Solus could feel the tower slowly collapsing and her human body losing its integrity.
“Don’t worry, Elphyn Menadion. We’ll take good care of your legacy.” A Wyvern dived down, hurling a river of light violet Origin Flames.
‘Thanks for the meal.’ Solus thought as she activated her bloodline ability, Draining Grounds.
Her tower half combined its effect with the Sage Staff to drain the surrounding world energy, including that of the Origin Flames. Solus’ body started to heal as the stolen life force became her own.
A Hippogriff threw a silver bolt of Life Maelstrom at her, but Draining Grounds split it into its components as well. The world energy filled the tower with new strength, the life force joined Solus’, and what little remained of Life Maelstrom was easily Dominated.
She smiled when a Litanu started to conjure Doom Tide, but her optimism faded when the Wyvern called back the attack.
‘Stop feeding her with our skills! Somehow Menadion is immune to world energy, let’s hit her with Silverwing’s Annihilation.’ The seven Awakened assembled in the Hexagram formation and unleashed the anti-Guardian spell.
Even if Solus had been at her peak condition, she wouldn’t have been able to dodge.
The Annihilation burst forward faster than a bullet, destroying everything in its wake and opening a deep trench into the ground.
Solus closed her eyes, waiting for the worst, but the only thing that hit her was a sudden gust of wind. When she opened them again, she discovered to be on Bytra’s back.
The Raiju had never stopped moving through the battlefield, always keeping an eye on Solus in the case she needed help. Yet Solus’ instinctive reaction wasn’t of gratitude, but of revulsion.
She screamed in panic and fell off the Raiju’s back, kicking Bytra with all the strength she had left. They both ended up crashing against the ground, their vision blurred by the violent impact.
The Abomination-Hybrid was sturdier than a normal Raiju, but her mass was still a small thing compared to Solus’. The hit would have ripped her head off if not for her innate regenerative abilities.
