Tiffany blew a horn as the sun began to rise. Rousing the fortress and angering certain hard-shelled residents.

Atimin followed the horn with a bellow. “Wake up! Undead hordes of humanoids and monsters have us surrounded!”

Kyrion put a pillow over his head to muffle the sound. Only the pillow was covered in quite a bit of dry blood. Said blood flowed down the mattress and soaked into the ground around him. Getting to his feet Kyrion fell to the ground and twitched as the world seemed to spin.

“Undead hordes being led by the republic’s team are coming! Wake up!” Chester added.

“Not good.” Kyrion crawled towards the doorway as the sounds of cannons going off could be heard. He felt a gaping hole in his core where Jala usually resided and found his wind affinity also absent.

Arion and Kyrie entered the room moments later. The former had an emotionless look on their face while the latter seemed conflicted.

“You two come to kill me?” Kyrion asked.

“No. Though I did consider it. In your current state, I could exert dominance over your body, and you can set my future brain to explode in our skull.”

“Then help me up.”Kyrion held a hand out.

“We can’t,” Arion stated coldly with no trace of positive or negative emotion.

Kyrion sighed. “Why?”

“One of our shards is currently challenging your dominance. We are unable to interfere in such a bout directly, or provide either of you aid.”

“That's stupid.”

“It’s more of a balance thing. You have summoned a creature of great power which has great restrictions on your development.” Arion stated.

“What is that crab?”

“One of the guardians of the Seven Seals. Removing one from their home is a challenge to Imala’s authority hence the great strain on your body. Stealing from a god is something they see as punishment worthy.” Arion said as he held out a golden scroll.

“Never fishing again.” Kyrion eventually got to his feet and washed his form with his water affinity before cleaning some robes he’d retrieved from a hook.

“How am I supposed to fight when my methods are being hampered?”

“Head on.”

Kyrion gasped before he started coughing as got stuck in his esophagus. He then began the process of healing the injured portion of his nose before clearing his system. Finally, he attempted to summon a ball of water only for nothing to happen. He then tried to convert the ambient mana into water only for red orbs to appear where there should have been water.

“I can’t separate water from this blood.” Kyrion scowled as he shaped the balls into loops and compressed them into near-solid states despite not being frozen. He repeated the process two more times ending up with a total of six wings.

“Blood magic? When did you learn something like that?”

“Water, earth, and an order of affinities are what I'm using to create this effect. Since I can’t dilute my blood normally. I’ll hold onto these for now.

“That seems unsanitary.”

“If I wasn’t dealing with undead then it would be. Light and blood-based healing magic tend to reverse the undead creation process and my mana can easily break the bonds of such magic.”

“How do you know about that?” Rie asked.

“You fought my brother, based on those memories it seems he was a necromancer. When I was little. I followed him into a laboratory and found a book with interesting pictures and big words. I received a paper cut that caused the zombie plants to flinch in fear. My reading lessons stopped around that time. It’s a memory that Psycho locked away instead of lancing.”

“You’re fine telling us this?” Ari asked.

“You all have… Oh right. You don’t have perms… I’ll ask Karl to give you watch-only permissions for the memories Psycho locked. Just don’t do so while I'm fighting. I need most of the processing power for spells.” Kyrion poked the side of his head three times infusing his brain with some of the mana he gathered.

The hole in Kyrion’s core was then stitched he sighed as he walked to his balcony and stood atop a ledge “I’m sorry for the trouble Jala.”

“You can’t fly,” Arion said bluntly.

“I’m going to fall really hard,” Kyrion said honestly.

“At least read the scroll,” Arion added.

Kyrion sighed, then opened the scroll.

Restriction: Use of Space and Wind affinities are locked for the following duration.

Duration: 1 month or until either a donation of 10 million gold or reaching the expert tier.

Offense: Pulling an entity that keeps the sea balanced from its home and leaving it undefended. A great evil has gotten loose as a result. The seal of BluBluchavak has been destroyed.

Summoned Entity: Unclaimed Demigod of the Night Sea Cancer, Tier Meister, Your maximum summoning tier, Expert. The normal penalty duration is 10 years, reduced twice via an owed debt and the summoned entity mostly summoning itself.

“Ah…So a slap on the wrist in the grand scheme of things. But I still caused a big mess. No more drowning my enemies in the ocean. Unless I close the portal immediately.”

“That and it’s bad for the ecosystem. Do you know how long it takes to get radioactive mana out of an ocean?”

“Look. Drowning my enemies or letting fate decide what happens to them isn’t as effective as I thought.”

“It is effective. But not killing them directly would come to bite you in the but later. Kill your enemies and make sure they can’t come back. Only idiots try to kill someone indirectly and believe that they are truly dead.” Kyrie sighed.

“But that’s evil.”

“To be honest, that is one of Gios’ methods. Teleporting an enemy somewhere they should die immediately or painfully with no obvious way out. By ripping out their heart from across the planet and assuming that it did the job.”

“That is dumb. Though I'd prefer not to kill any living humanoids if I could help it. Some should be lanced quickly.” Kyion said before launching himself off of the balcony, over the walls, and towards a gathering horde of undead.

“Sometimes I wonder which one of you is more evil. Then you go and say something ruthless which makes me wonder…” Kyrie said to himself as a streak of mana gathered in the flying form and took cover.

----------------------------------------

Bastion stared at the small crab leisurely cooling off in the moat. His eyes were half open and in his right hand was a stick that he was currently holding in preparation for poking the odd creature.

“What are you doing?” Bastion asked.

The crab said nothing as regular crabs didn’t talk.

“Hmmm.” Bastion poked the crab, his eyes opening slightly as a portion of the stick cleanly fell off.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Eyy stop dat! No poke dey crab!”

Bastion’s eyes opened even more as the illusion on his eyes faded for less than a split second as they slowly entered a resting position. “So you can talk.”

“Or you speak dey words of dey Crabairins.”

“My da-teacher can talk to squirrels, and I’ve borrowed his magics.” Bastion muttered.

The crab sighed in relief.

“Still how did you get here?”

“Whirlpool. I was eaten by a whirlpool and ended up here.” The crab lied.

“O.k.” Bastion turned to walk away. As he was thirty feet away from the crab he turned back. “Must have been a big whirlpool.”

The crab clicked his pincers. “Is that all you wanted?”

“No…I was just looking to ride a giant crab into battle. Sadly my team won’t come true.” Bastion coughed into his right hand covering the words written on his palm in a red substance that almost resembled blood. A crab wouldn't know the difference, however.

Bastion used guilt to trip his eyes like a sad puppy.

The crab stared for a long minute and after said minute Bastion was aboard a crab the size of a tank with a crew of goblins connecting a cannon to it. The group of five, three goblins, a human child, and a giant crab were ready to fight off the zombies.

----------------------------------------

Kyrion seemed to land softly as his earth mana transferred the force deep into the ground. After a brief delay, an explosion of earth erupted from the ground and sent everything around him down a hole into the area below the desert where various large burrowing creatures seemed to find themselves surrounded by free food.

“What have you done!” White Fox yelled from the distance.

“Are these yours? You know that attacking us makes you an enemy. Right?”

“Oh, I know that. But orders are orders and somebody wants your head. I’m referring to the undead you got rid of just now. You didn’t kill them and these babies propagate via necrosis and can turn creatures they kill into undead. If a monster eats enough of them then they become an undead thrall with that same ability.”

“Ah. I've done the dumb again.”

“And guess what? You’re out in the open surrounded by foes and limited. Will you surrender?” White Fox asked.

Kyrion watched as the infection spread rapidly unbothered. Standing motionless for a long moment more areas collapsed. The area around his fortress eventually vanished.

“Why aren’t you bothered by the hoard growing under you?”

“You’re helping provide pest control. I’m gonna let you work. Use up some of that pent-up energy you clearly have too much of.”

“Pest control?”

“Those worms are the only pest in this general area that can cause my soon-to-be city to collapse under itself.”

“You are insane.”

“No. I’m Kyrion. Why do people keep making that mistake lately?”

“I knew you were here!” A figure appeared from above with black-scaled wings flowing from his back looked bizarre in the morning light as all the light on his wings seemed to get sucked in and vanish.

Kyrion looked up at the half-dragon above him and smiled under his mask as various triangles broke off from it causing half to take the form of a palm the size of a door and twice as wide slapped Milo out of the air and into the death pit. Some of the strange geometric creatures began tearing into his wings. As frenzied undead began to attack the new arrival.

“Fox! Call off your hoard!”

“This is why I told you to wait with the others. Milo you’re used to being the second best option. Sadly it’s made you cocky. I think I’ll let nature take its course and you should be teleported back.”

“I’ll kill you for this!”

White Fox smiled as a red chain around him snapped. “And thus I have been freed from my oath of servitude.”

The undead around Milo stopped approaching, bowed then got back to hunting the pest leaving their captain confused.

“Great. When this tournament is over. I’ll be leaving the republic. Or should I call you the Beat Blood School”

“Beast Blood?” Kyrion asked.

“Did I study?”

“Stutter… This drama is none of my business.” Kyrion watched as his plants began to snake through the pathways searching for more worms. When worms were found the undead hordes would be directed towards them and the hunt would continue, within the next thirty minutes the hoard was now trying to climb out of the circular pit.

Kyrion held up his hands. The red rings around them shoot upwards and spread around the area in a circle before falling down like fresh bloody rain. Where the rain fell, the undead vanished and water appeared.

“Look I’m not going to fight a chi—” Kyrion started.

Bastion appeared atop a giant crab along with some goblins and eyed White Fox. “I chalice you to a duel!” Bastion said as he landed in front of White Fox.

“Challenge. You aren’t even supposed to be participating.” Kyrion sighed.

“That's what I said?”

“Fine. Chaotic West style, or Eastern Desert style?” White Fox asked as he began to pace as though getting ready for a fight.

“Chaotic West two-thirds variant,” Bastion replied, shaking his hands as he prepared to fight his opponent directly he two-paced and the duo looked like they’d start circling. Then Bastion tripped over his own foot, fell to the ground, and got back up within a brief moment. His knee was bleeding a bit.

“You ok?” Kyrion asked.

“It’s a battle wound.” Bastion held up a hand and engaged his opponent.

Birdion appeared and flew down the hole and quickly retrieved Milo an explosion of death mana being countered by life mana connected creating chaos as they melded and then destroyed each other leaving behind a thick miasma of raw mana that was aligned to Kyrion.

“Transmute Mana to Purifying Water.” Kyrion raised his hands.

A river of water that smelled somewhat alcoholic appeared around his settlement flowing through the collapsed area. Causing some of the pathways to fold in on themselves as areas around him seemed to become noticeably healthier as dirt and grass appeared where sand had been.

The duo stopped their duel as the environment changed suddenly.

“You go play your games. Just fixing up my new homestead.”

“Focus Bla–action. We fight.” White Fox through a fist from about five feet away only for his hand to open up into a palm.

Bastion moved into an uppercut from across the area and threw out a palm.

“Paper!” The duo said in unison.

“Why did I expect something else?” Milo asked as he was carried to their floating eastern platform.

White Fox transitioned into a slap toward Bastion's face.

Bastion replied by raising his opposite fist up to block.

The slap became a fist as the fist became a palm.

“Rock!” White, yelled.

“Paper!” Bastion bellowed!

“No!” White Fox stood there as Bastion slapped the back of his hand.

White, jumped back six feet from a standing position and dashed forward hiding his left hand behind his back.

Bastion responded with a closed fist held in his left palm as he moved forward his expression quite exaggerated as he met White head-on.

“Scissors!” White Fox yelled!

“Paper!” Bastion said as they met.

“Finally!” White Fox took two fingers and used his thumb to create potential energy before flicking Bastion on his wrist.

Bastion shook his hands and as he blew on his wrist. The scrape on his leg, still bleeding a bit.

“Final round!” The two said in unison as they met again.

White Fox was clearly overthinking his move as the duo throughout their choices.

Bastion didn’t seem to think much at all. As he spun on his good leg to hide his movements.

“Paper!” The duo said in unison.

White Fox scowled as his brain whirled into motion. He’s been constantly throwing paper. Maybe he’s waiting for me to fall for it and through rock. But what if this was a trap and he was going to throw rock if I play scissors? No, no, he wants me to throw scissors so that he can throw rock. Wait, his eyes, he’s up to something. He’s planning to get me with scissors when I try to throw paper. I’ll go with rock.

Bastion’s expression went blank as he tried to remember why he was doing this again. He’d never used two fingers to scratch his nose. All these bugs were making him want to sneeze. No Bastion hold it in. Wait what's with these strange bugs when he touched them they vanished and became mana. Before Bastion knew it he’d swung his hand down in an arc as he remembered the game.

“Rock!”

“Paper!” Bastion yelled as he swatted the floating yellow ball and swatted White Fox’s hand.

“Did I win?” Bastion seemed confused.

“This time…. But I have your number now.”

Kyrion sighed, approached the two, and healed them both. “Are you all done now?”

“I won!” Bastion yelled.

“And I surrender. See you real soon.” White Fox stated as a white light developed his body and he’d disappeared.

“I also surrender.” The light didn’t take Bastion.

“Uh oh.” Bastion seemed confused as he didn’t disappear.

“Back to the fortress with you.” Bastion climbed aboard his crab and it scuttled away.

“Birdion. Why don’t you go and lick your wounds? If you want to fight me this morning go ahead. If not, go home. Whose team are you even on?”

“I’m a recent recruit. Doesn’t really matter as my team is not that special. Aside from the members. Currently, I’m working with Sheeva, she’s currently hiding somewhere safe with my teammates.”

“Is that so?” Kyrion tilted his head and flicked an olive pit into Birdion’s open mouth.

As it flowed down the birdman’s gullet the seed began to grow.

“W-what have you done!” Birdion tried to throw it up to no avail as an olive tree grew inside him and the birdman exploded in a blast of flame and feathers.

Kyrion watched as an olive hybrid fell to the ground and took root on the ground next to the water. He tapped his leg and began to count to himself.

Milo looked down from above his expression grim as no corpse seemed to remain.

“Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.”

At nine seconds a figure shrouded in flame appeared out of thin air where Birdion had been previously. The head of a red cardinal appears where a copy of Kyrion’s face had been.

“So… Is that your true form?”

“How did you kill me so quickly?” Birdion asked

Kyrion had felt a large amount of mana build up and compress within his form as it took half of it for him to reappear. He’d played around by manipulating the burst of lost mana to grow the plant.

“Magic.” Kyrion took out some of what appeared to be dandelions and blew the seeds at his opponent.

Birdon set them ablaze in a panic only for the seeds to then explode into wooden spikes embedding themselves in the man as plants grew from his body as he hit the ground.

Kyrion started counting again, reaching nineteen as the Phoenix human hybrid exploded into flames and reformed two moments later as the flying seeds embedded themselves in the ground.

“Twenty-two this time. Now then. I’ve figured out how to delay your magic.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“This is how I fight when I'm not holding back. You have one resurrection left to surrender otherwise you won’t make it to the wards.” Kyrion said, with a tired expression.