"Please, no." Ailia said even though she knew that the Ranger couldn't hear her.
She was a smart girl. Ailia could easily guess what was going to happen. The moment the spell hit her, Lith would be free to cut her down with his swords while she was too busy defending herself from the storm.
A mage couldn't be hurt by their own spell, so the Ranger could disregard Stormnado's effects and focus solely on attacking.
Jaren too understood that her friend had a few seconds left to live. He had no idea how a fake mage could hold her ground against Pelion, but he knew that the moment one of them fell, the rest would soon follow.
The Emperor Beast had no skill with his weapon, but each of his strikes had the weight of a mountain. The only time Jaren had blocked with his broadsword, not only did the blade almost break, but the impact also numbed his hands.
"Benyo, keep him busy! Ailia needs help." He yelled as he dived below to the rescue.
Benyo released a strong cyan aura and went all out. Up until that moment, Protector's strikes had been shallow because he had to shift his attention from one Awakened to the other, but now he could focus solely on her.
'There's a silver lining in being alone. Here goes nothing!' She unleashed a tier five spell, Shattering Star. The space around her was now filled by ice shards as big as a man, each one infused with several lightning bolts worth of electricity.
Protector dodged the magical hail like it was moving in slow motion, but then Benyo snapped her fingers and the ice constructs exploded into a heavy rain of smaller crystals.
The damage each one dealt was negligible, but they were almost impossible to dodge and sharp enough to cut through Protector's thick fur. They would also release a jolt of electricity so strong that they would cause a seizure even to someone using earth fusion.
Protector cursed his naivety and conjured a small tornado around himself to escape from the jaws of death. Shattering Star ended up inflicting him only scratch wounds, but it had never been meant to win the battle, only to stall for time.
Benyo smirked at her turtled up opponent and cast more spells while using Invigoration. She considered Emperor Beasts dangerous only because of their physical abilities. Due to their primitive brains, their magic lacked finesse.
Or so Benyo thought until she noticed that the tornado didn't deflect the ice crystals, so much as capturing them. She could feel the Emperor Beast's mana flooding her spell and make it his own.
The shards grew in size by the second and so did the electrical current they held. When Protector released half of them, they had become ice lances which moved as fast as bullets.
Benyo had no defense that could stop that kind of firepower and was forced to Blink away. The moment Protector spotted her exit point, he released the other half while he called the first volley back.
Benyo was ready to Blink again, but the ice lances hit her barriers like a truck, making her lose her focus. By the time the second volley arrived, all of her protections were exhausted.
The first spear pierced through her lung, the second through her stomach, and the third through her shoulder. Each one opened a gaping hole into her flesh, so big that Protector could see through them the events unfolding at Benyo's back.
The number of holes in her body increased until it was turned into a burst of blood, skin, and guts.
"I'm sorry, but you left me no choice." Protector said as Benyo's remains were scattered to the wind.
"I was willing to spare you if you surrendered, yet you kept fighting despite everything was lost. I can't afford mercy when you willingly threaten the members of my pack." Then, he had the wind blow under his wings and turned into a blur.
"Ailia, Blink behind me!" Jaren said the moment he was sure that the Emperor Beast wasn't following him.
Ailia did as instructed, but unfortunately, so did Lith. The two Warps opened almost at the same time, making it impossible for Jaren to distinguish friend from foe.
"Me and my big mouth!" Since he couldn't attack, Jaren weaved several barriers in front of himself, just to be safe.
Lith had run out of tier five spells, so he had to resort to the tier four spell Death Call. Four long arms made of shadow came out of his body, ignoring both of his enemy's defenses.
From such a close distance, neither of them could use magic without the risk of harming their partner rather than their enemy. To make matters worse, they soon discovered that, even two against one, they were physically no match for Lith.
Both the Ranger and his blade were infused with the power of the elements, doubling the effects of fusion magic. After exchanging a quick glance, Ailia and Jaren Blinked away at the same time, hoping that whoever Lith ended up chasing would buy the other enough time to turn the tables.
Pelion wasn't faring any better. Dozens of deep cuts covered his body and the blood loss was draining his stamina by the second. Dimensional Ruler prevented him from using dimensional magic to escape and all of his means of attack had been neutralized by Friya's combination of spells.
Full Guard allowed her to move her conjured tower shield wherever it was needed, and the golden light surrounding them made her rapier appear from his every side, as if he was surrounded by several opponents.
Trying to get at least a second of respite, he unleashed all of the spells he had at the ready and those stored inside of his magical rings. Friya did the same, but whereas she had several means to defend herself, Pelion only had earth fusion and his enhanced body.
He infused the amulet at his neck with what mana he had left, generating a barrier made of pure energy that saved his life. Friya used her tower shield to block as many attacks as she could before it crumbled, and then she Blinked behind her opponent while Pelion was blinded by the light generated by the spells exploding on his barrier.
Pelion wasn't naïve and was expecting something like that. His enhanced senses alerted him in time. He managed to turn around in the nick of time and block Friya's sword with the hook shaped hilt of his own.
He ripped it off from her hand and used his free arm to grab at her neck.
He was now out of mana, making it necessary for him to finish her quickly. Unfortunately, while he so skilfully overpowered her arms, her leg found her way to his gonads.
Friya kicked them hard and fast enough to send them keeping company to Pelion's tonsils. With his pain receptors functioning again, he doubled over in agony and Friya's knee welcomed his face as her elbows struck at the back of his head.
Meanwhile, in the sky above Zantia, Xedros was considering the idea of going down and save the three Awakened youths remaining.
'If those weaklings die, I will never learn their masters' identities. Dead men tell no tales and can't be blackmailed!' He thought.
