Kigan and Eycos rammed against the members of Xondar’s unit and every group of enemies they met, bouncing like a destructive pinball that left a trail of ozone and charred meat on its passage.
“This is impossible! That’s supposed something that only a lost bloodline like mine can do!” Leari the Thunderborne said before being turned into cinders by Volting Essence.
“What an idiot.” Kigan scoffed at the Thunderborne’s naivety. “Her bloodline was lost because our foremother understood that by not picking a single side, she didn’t get them both but only bits from each.”
“Indeed.” Eycos nodded. “It’s one of the cases when the result ends up being less than the sum of the single parts.”
“That’s where you had disappeared, Kigan!” Salaark clenched her fists in fury at the memory of the black sheep of her nest. “Zagran, you have to see this.”
She opened a mind link that crossed two continents and an ocean to reach the Mother of all Garudas.
“Eycos, my baby! What have you done?” Zagran stared in horror at how her gifts had been twisted by the black core first and then by the Master. “Can I come there? Please, I beg you.”
“Ask Tyris, not me. This is her turf.” Salaark replied.
“You can come, but only to watch. No interference is allowed during or after the fight that will determine the future of my Kingdom.” The Great Mother anticipated the question. “I don’t care how you feel about your lost son.
“You threw Eycos away and he made his own destiny. You have no right to mess with him in hindsight. It would only be a hypocritical gesture out of guilt.”
“Fine!” Zagran snarled in submission and opened a Gate that brought her next to the other three Guardians. “Do you want to warn Fenagar and Roghar as well?”
“Like they would care.” Tyris clicked her tongue, her face a disgusted grimace. “They would both consider their children’s fate as one of their sick experiments. I’m not going to enable their obsessions.”
“I’m sorry, you are right.” Zagran gave her a deep bow while clenching her hands.
She was torn between the desire to protect her baby and kick his ass into oblivion.
“Dammit, one Annihilation, one Ruin, and that thing just to kill a single Divine Beast?” Lith cursed their bad luck.
“Less yapping, more fighting.” Vastor chided him. “Let’s finish off those bastards before they regroup. There’s only six of them and they are weak now!”
“Keep dreaming, ant!” Iata the Sekhmet threw barrels of nutrients to her companions while conjuring a spherical hard-light construct imbued with Life Maelstrom. “Your Council stands no chance against us because you are only strong as individuals.
“While you wasted your time hiding your secrets from each other, we shared everything we had. We trained countless times for this moment, and not by performing stupid drills but by real battles to the death!
“We learned how to fight even when outmatched and outnumbered. How to defeat a much stronger opponent thanks to teamwork. Unlike you, we are strong as individuals and even stronger as a unit. Glory to the Queen!”
Alas, Iata was right.
Having over thirty Divine Beasts meant having four seven-man units and a few Generals to spare in case one of them died. On top of that, aside from Silverwing’s spells, the Council elders had no training in cooperating.
They used their bloodline abilities only for themselves, often messing with each other’s strategy.
Also, the battle between the two academies wasn’t going well for Marth. He had fused with the White Griffon for barely one minute whereas the Golden Griffon was Hystar’s true body.
They had both turned their wings into a sword and a shield, but while their physical prowess was equal, there was a gap in their magical abilities.
Hystar could freely use Silverwing’s spells and Decay magic whereas Marth’s limit was the tier five spells he knew.
“You don’t have to feel bad, brother. The new replacing the old is the way of life.” The Cursed Headmaster said with a laugh while unleashing a barrage of Decay rays from his fingertips that opened deep holes in the White Griffon.
“Valeron the Fool could have never defeated Arthan the Genius and the same stands for their respective creations. You are made of rainbows and happy thoughts whereas I was bred for war!”
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Queen Sylpha was the only one faring well in her fight.
“How is this even possible?” Thrud delivered another barrage of feints, blows, and spells that Sylpha seemed to read like a book, ignoring the first, parrying the second, and countering the third with surgical precision.
The Queen’s spells were weaker, but she aimed them at the focus points of Thrud’s spells before they could fully form. The resulting explosion couldn’t hurt the Mad Queen since it was mostly comprised of her mana, but from that distance, it couldn’t hurt Sylpha either.
“The blood of Tyris and Valeron runs thick through my veins. I’m one of the only two Golden Griffons on Mogar whereas you are a human woman. How can you still be alive?”
“You talk too much.” Sylpha grunted as she wrapped Saefel’s Sword around Arthan’s, pushing it aside before moving on to the offense.
Both Queens employed the Royal Blade style and with the gap in their physical prowess, Thrud was supposed to win by a landslide even without using a single one of her bloodline abilities.
Yet not only had every one of her assaults failed, but Sylpha was also slowly overwhelming Thrud with sheer technique. The Saefel Sword moved like a snake, whipping from one point to the next in a continuous, fluid, and unpredictable motion.
Whenever Thrud blocked, Sylpha changed the angle of her own blade so that the momentum of the impact would be carried on and accelerate her next move. The Saefel Sword became faster and heavier with every exchange until it exceeded the alleged limits of a bright violet core.
“You are nothing but a fool.” Sylpha said to throw Thrud off her game now that the Mad Queen was on her back foot. “We practice the same style, but while you ran like the rat you are around Mogar for centuries, the Royal Family kept practicing.
“The Kings and Queens before me improved the Royal Blade style until what you learned as a kid became obsolete. As for me, I didn’t spend my time demanding to be treated like a Queen and crying like a baby.
“I spent the last few decades training, not against Dragons, Phoenixes, or Griffons. Every day since my coronation I’ve fought against the Mother of all Griffons until my limbs gave out.
“When I fight Tyris, I always feel small and insignificant, but I never gave up. Against you, instead, I feel nothing. I’m not afraid of you Thrud Griffon. I can see victory smiling upon me already!”
“Shut up!” The Mad Griffon cried in outrage and unleashed her tier five Spirit Spell Rainstorm.
An emerald tide filled the air between the Queens, ready to swallow Sylpha in an hexaelemental avalanche.
“Begone!” Sylpha raised her right hand and activated the emerald streak amid her hair, Dominating the incoming spell.
