Nerusia teleported into the battle just in time to see Althea fall. The black fog, for she refused to give it a name, erupted towards the cavern, but it failed to reach it. A single paw halted it, connected to a single Lion.
"Beast King Feruss." she said. "I was under the impression that you were dead."
"I am sorry to disappoint you, unknown human. I fear you weren't born when I was trapped in these catacombs." it said, fire burning the air as it looked towards her.
The legend of the Emperor of Beasts had died out centuries ago, but the royal family kept records. After all, they knew that it was true. The last Archduchess of Diery, Hirrita, had killed the Emperor of beasts and sealed his followers somewhere in the county with her dying breath. And supposedly left an inheritance there. But that seal should not have broken now.
The royal family did not know where the inheritance was, but they had spent a lot of time searching for it. Perhaps if they had informed the Diery family that there was an inheritance, it would have been found. But the family was greedy, and wanted the Diery family to fall so that they could solidify their control over the Empire,
Nerusia shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. This was not the time to be angry at the past. There was still this guy. The right hand of the Emperor of Beasts, who should have died centuries ago. Of old age. Seven hundred years was a long time, even for a beast half a step into the Grandmaster stage.
Nerusia teleported around him, letting the black fog whittle his defenses down. The Fire Lion grinned, revealing sharp, deadly teeth while letting his flames consume her fog. Nerusia was sure that the fog would win eventually…maybe. There was something strange about the fire.
A corrosive property. A corrosive property that could affect her fog directly. This was not normal.
Nerusia's eyes narrowed as more beast appeared around the Beast King.
"Master spent a lot of time preparing this for you." the Beast King smiled. "I hope you like it."
Nerusia leapt towards the Beast King, conjuring her weapons for the first time in years. The black fog had not failed in a long, long time. But it was about time to get the rust out. Althea did not have time for her to wait around.
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Ven
Ven watched as beasts emerged around the periphery of the battle. Two, three, five Adept stage beasts. Not every one of them was powerful, but they were still a threat together. This would not be easy to deal with. Not with the three statues he was already fighting.
Ven circulated his mana into the atmosphere, letting it circle around as he readied his power. The beast did not speak, they just attacked. The attacks landed on the wind that circled around him, but they did not pierce through.
Adept Skill [Wind as if it were Earth]
The defense of an Earth spell in a wind spell. Perhaps only the System could manufacture such a thing. The mana consumption was huge, but he did not care about that. After all, he had a special trick to it.
Grandmaster Skill [Mana boost]
Mana swirled through him, giving him the mana of a weak Grandmaster. There was more to a Grandmaster than just mana, much more, but mana was still a lot. This gave him the confidence to stand against even people at the half-Grandmaster stage for the duration of the Skill. A hundred seconds.
Ven controlled his power, letting it flow through the air, circling the area. A hundred seconds. Eight enemies. This would have to be a quick battle.
The wind howled as he spun the staff. Two mountains crumble around him as a huge tornado appears around him. The county would have to do with a couple less mountains. The rocks broke into smaller and smaller portions as they formed razor sharp edges, and then he shot them at his enemies.
The statues shot towards him, the wind whittling them down as the rocks cut them. The beasts were more intelligent. Adept stage beasts were sapient, and this much more challenging than the statues.
The statues died before they reached him, but the beasts had conjured shields, used artifacts to keep themselves safe. The measures were temporary, but so was his power. Ven called on the wind, using more power than he had in decades. The wind howled, condensing into a spiral that concentrated into one point.
The construct shot towards one of the beasts, Ven struggling to control it. The attack was like a wild horse, buckling under his control, having too much mana, too much power to control. But the power showed. The horse beast neighed in panic as it tried to run away. But could the horse truly be faster than this wind?
The wind escaped Ven's control, transforming into some kind of wave-like beast that ran after the horse. A dragon. Ven had not seen one, but as usual, there were records. The royal family had too many records, literally kilometers of books detailing every little thing they thought could be important. Collected over ten thousand years.
The wind dragon was officially out of his control now. But he could still influence it a bit. The beasts retreated away as Ven felt his power drain. The Skill was coming to an end. The wind dragon seems to howl as it ate two beasts at once, taking a third down with it as it disappeared.
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The Skill taxed his body, the cause of his aged appearance. And there was this period of weakness. The skunk that remained watched him carefully as he tried not to show how weak he was. And then it ran away. The mana from the wind dragon trickled down towards where the Countess lay.
Ven wished he could help her as he saw the Beast Prince circle her as she bled on the ground. But his power was gone. The only thing he could do was escape himself. Purple surrounded him as he teleported away, but for a second it seemed as if he saw a familiar face in the air. Was that…
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Nerusia observed the beast, watching it carefully as Ven handled the others beside her. There was a power in the air as they watched, waiting. The wind spells were impressive. So was the mountain shredding.
But both her and her enemy knew, they were mere tricks at their level. The mountains were mere playthings, the wind fragile as paper. The black fog and corrosive fire would not be halted by either of them.
The two powers clashed, competing in power as they tried to decide a winner. Nerusia was getting anxious, there was so little time. Althea was bleeding, the beast prince was playing with her, and there did not seem to be any time left at all.
So she took a chance, and attacked. The black fog rolled with her, wood mana ran through her veins, and she teleported right into fire. The fire burned through the black fog in seconds, but that was enough to land an attack.
The battle suddenly sped up. The beast attacked, fire speeding through the air as it attacked her. Nerusia dodged, using her more elementary spells to twist it around with the black fog.
The two powers mixed in the air, tongues of flame swiping at her as the fog hovered around the beast. On the surface, the fire was simply standing there, but there was a battle going on that the average human could not see…
Nerusia pushed it away numerous times in a second, and each time it came back. The fire pushed harder and harder. The black fog grew larger and larger. Mana weighed heavily on the air as the battle grew faster by the second.
A tongue of flame headed towards her, she dodged, calling on the black fog to circle around the fire and towards the beast's body. The flame took the chance to try to attack her as some of it burned away the black fog. So she dodged, attacked again.
Nerusia attacked, the beast attacked, they defended, and it was just like that for some time. The powers caused waves of mana, as their power spread. Nerusia felt other powers respond, other half-Grandmaster stage mages of the continent teleported close. But they did not interfere, just watched.
This was a chance for them to gather information to them. And maybe watch her die. After all, if she died, it meant that the Solerian Empire was weakened. And they were stronger.
The battle suddenly paused. The beast looking at her as fire roared towards the sky. The black fog retreated around her too, the two of them watching each other. Althea was still alive, but she did not know till when it would remain the same.
But now was when she had to be careful. The other half-grandmasters could take the chance to interfere. The Grandmaster clans were just too famous. If one of them decided to kill Althea, just in case she was a threat…
"I can feel it, you know." the beast said as a strange power welled up in him. Nerusia called on the black fog in hordes as she panicked. The observers ran away, communication orbs lighting up as they sent a single message.
"The power that has been just beyond my reach for so long." the beast grinned again. "But now… I have it. Just give up, Empress, not even the Law of Soleria can defeat the Master."
Mana swirled. Magic entwined. Nerusia felt her power weaken. The world was responding, acknowledging. A Grandmaster was about to be born, and she could not let that happen.
Nerusia attacked, putting everything she had in the attack. The lion raised a paw, slamming it against her attack. And neutralized it. Nerusia's eyes widened. Was this the power of a Grandmaster?
Even if her power was not much use in attacking directly, was this not too much? The lion was just breaking through, not even a Grandmaster yet. If he succeeded, the Solerian Empire might not be around anymore. The human race had a Grandmaster, but he wasn’t on the continent anymore.
The lion opened its mouth, and let out a huge breath of flame. Nerusia surrounded herself in black fog, hoping, desperately, that it would be enough. But the fire did not reach her. A new wave of mana appeared, moving the power, gentle and yet powerful. And so familiar.
Nerusia moved the fog away, desperate to see if it was her. A beautiful woman stood in the air, a single pair of wings behind her. The flame blew away as she stood in the air, the shaky mana of a half-Grandmaster that had only recently broken through circulating around her. Jerissa. So she was alive.
A feeling of relief flowed through her, despite their situation.
Jerissa smiled. "Hello, Nerusia. I don't have a lot of time. Want to deal with this little kitty with me?"
The lion growled at the insult, fire burning the air as it let its power flow.
"I will not show mercy just because of your grandparents, Princess." he growled.
Jerissa just gave a slight smile. "I am not part of the Fae Empire, beast. I was kicked out long ago. But there is something much more important for you to deal with."
Nerusia took a back seat this time. Jerissa smiled, and then pushed her hand forward. The fire parted, and then she slammed her mana into the lion, pushing it back. Nerusia let the black fog trickle in.
The lion conjured fire, letting it burn the black fog. The fire was even more effective now that the lion was breaking through to Grandmaster. But she wasn't alone this time. Jerissa kept moving the fire, slamming it back onto the lion. The beast growled, angry. Jerissa had that effect. The ability to make a person's own spells hurt them was stupidly powerful. And very, very irritating to battle against.
The lion growled, its fire weakening as the black fog got into its body. The breakthrough was on the verge of failing. And then he would suffer a backlash. A backlash that would kill him.
"How foolish. Master is not something you can defeat, Law of Soleria. Even the Druids could not kill him. Do you think you will be safe if they rise again? Do not forget who it was that broke the treaty of three in the first place.
“There is still a cost to pay, and I will see if the little Druid will let you off.” the beast flashed purple, teleporting away. Nerusia felt like following, but it was probably too risky. So she turned to Jerissa.
"I must leave. Take care of my son, sister. In time, I will answer. Do not trust my father."
Nerusia opened her mouth, wanting to ask so many questions. Where had she been? What had happened? And who was the kid's father?
“Tell Nathan that Keron’s is his father. And tell Ven I am sorry. I will try to explain things when I have time" a whisper told her as she felt mana pull towards the ground.
Nerusia still had questions. But they were suddenly lost as she stared at the scene below. Just what was that girl doing?