COI C221

Twice, the door was open. Two more than the elven gods enraged on. It is forbidden for any life to enter the chambers, keeping so many collections of different creatures both land and air. Along with the seeds and other unique organisms wouldn’t tell it is part of the natural habitat. They thought the beasts they let out were enough to deal the two. And it should. The situation had turned when there’s a spirit coming here. Some of the elven gods let it pass. The soul they saw wasn’t any ordinary goblin, a goblin soul and its ancestry belonged in a same world as them.

Honorarily, the pureness, the bravery, and many more as the goblin soul gives the resemblance of a known goblin tribe. A weep of vapor coming from the air, it is what symbols of tears. Sadly, the undergrown has little water here. They then look at the collection of those predators they keep. The elven gods felt at ease. Yet, they send their message in the cast of wind where the spirits come in and out. Puma’s connected spirits are already heading their way to the surface. As spirits as they are, it will take a long time to get to Isekai City.

A wind blows from the tunnels. Fresh and aromatic, Rusic recognized this scent.

“They did it. We need to get going too, Voldemyr . . . Voldemyr?”

As Rusic sees Voldemyr marked the stash they found. Voldemyr keeps his eyes where he found a stone marked in shamanistic ritual.

“I know where we should meet them”

He heads out first, leaving what they are doing. Rusic goes to the ledge and sees the goblins are bound on the ground betrayed by their own roots. They fell into their own tricks. Rusic still wonders to their idiocy. The goblins’ enemy of other types of mana is always predictable. Yet Rusic questions about them

“From east coast, eh. Why go this far under the light blue?”

Silfa and the others go back where she got here. The place she finds the stone is still here.

“Great, the stone is still here”

The Rogue gazes at it “That is one nice rock. It’s all janky”

“That’s why I can’t even describe what it is”

Heist hears footsteps “Something is coming”

The Rogue throws her dagger where is he is pointing. The dagger floats in mid-air as it detects friendly.

“Heist! Those guys are friendlies”

Voldemyr comes out from the dark and the two were shocked. Heist calls out to Silfa

“Now that’s a nice reinforcement. Did you see him fight, Silfa?”

Voldemyr shakes his head “There is no need to fight. We need to save our energy when we reach the surface”

Rusic comes out as well “Yeah, we distract some nice numbers of goblins while you guys play underground. I’d say good job to go inside the elven storage. The elven gods have done well ever since their enemies captured it”

“Wait a minute, are there gods in there?” The Rogue is confused.

Voldemyr takes haste “We need to go. Tales to say when we get back. The weather outside starts to get troublesome”

No time to waste, they head to the surface and reached the secret outpost. Ironno is handling the runes on the magic circle. He turns around and he sees all of them are here, then quickly shatters it breaking the teleportation.

The outpost brightens out and let the light burst open. The Jigeram’s light caught the magic light emits from the outpost and sealed the structure with layers of crystallized shelling. He then opens another rune magic item and opens a path outside.

“Let’s get out here”

All of them followed him. They made it to the surface as the light blue shines down on them once again. Silfa places her dolls inside her inventory as they exposed themselves in such extreme. All of their magic fells nothing and rely their own strength to carry the weight of their runic armor.

Archivist arrives as soon as he senses the ground “You did it, Ironno. You attract the spirits to go to the outposts”

“Only one, let’s go before their keepers figured it out”

The city adventurers witness something they didn’t know what’s going on. The way they done it rather complex by looking at it. The outpost is being covered by crystallized dust and they said it attracts the enemy spirits. The spirits are already hitting the shells trying to get in. There’s no time watching any of this. They moved on by foot.

Archivist can’t bend his magic as he reserved his energy. The journey becomes immensely painful for everyone. No breaks can ease their fatigue and no supplies replenished their used-up energy. Travel without the use of magic, its unheard of for the city adventurers to go through hell. Heist is walking along feeling his sensitive senses blurred by the pure moon light. He thought that the dusts were the worse, but this one. Oh, the man cat is tasting what this world is and hope that there is a technology supposed to go through it.

He yelled it out. “Man, what I could give a modern time to deal with this evil moon light”

Rusic laughs as he breathes heavily “Breathe* Heh, I admit, the animal man said it best. By the raging god kins, this is really my kins punishment for not protecting the tower”

“Tower? What are you talking about?”

“Groan* It would be best for us to rest like this when ask me something so legendary. A drink or two would be best. Groan* Or you give me one. Laughs* Cough*”

Archivist twist his hood as a worried expression. No words coming out from him except his cartoony moody hood.

The Rogue talks to him “Say, what happen to your mask that lights up expression”

“I wore to your city and”

“Laugh* Ok, although your hood makes funnier than having a face”

While they are talking and walking, Silfa and Voldemyr were silent. She is about to ask, but something around her feels someone is watching them. Voldemyr felt the same, and he is preparing his weapons. He said to her

“We preserve as much resources we can. Do you still remember about those people?”

“You mean back at the city?”

He nods “The patrols from Fuku City found only monsters, about those two. Were they the same people kill those bandits?”

“Such opportunity to loot what’s left in your city during a Jigeram’s cycle. I fear what they have may cause us trouble someday”

“Yeah . . .”

The Rogue and Heist raise their hands, both of them speak out “Enemies, and they are using magic . . .”

The Rogue continues “. . . I thought no one would use any type of mana, except runes. My detection skills can’t reach that far, but the enemies though just revealed themselves. What idiot . . .!!!”

Archivist raises the crystal wall from the very bottom of the ground. Weighing a boulder to cut through the mana eating crystals and light, he stuttered by the sheer weight and collapse to his feet.

“. . . What just happened?” The Rogue looks at the crystallized wall as something inside filled with nothing but arms and hands reaching to her.

The two men approached from the light blue fog. The glow smothered on them to blend into the environment. A little reflector in each equipment to blend as crystallized statue. Commonly, most ambushes were supposed to be sudden and fast like lightning. The one who initiates is taking the blame. The Enders were suspicious and yet those three didn’t react. A man with a long sword, and the other already crystallized hands controlling the hands trapped into Archivist’s magic bending. It was a great reaction to hear someone calling them idiots. Either they saw them as fools or not, they dare to face as they are outnumbered.

Rusic without any chance to give them the opportunity. He suddenly pulls out his hammer and lands on the ground, pulsing with energy flows down to the ground causing electrical cracks crawling down like roots. Weapon at the ready, the thud sound gives thunder, and the light showers him to the limits of his runes. When he is about to strike, the enemies didn’t respond. They are standing. His angry tone feels their ignorance

“Dare to use the citizens’ words of oath? You two have done so much crime before the Lord Lori’es”

Rusic can’t start the fight because of how recognizable this behavior in Isekai City. Face to face and not fighting, this is how the city behaves. It is disrespectful to fight in this kind of situation. The dwarven culture fixed his hesitation. The two brigand Enders stood there and watch. Their luck for having a ceasefire after a failed ambush. The Enders who cast a spell have to play along to this conversation. He looks at Voldemyr and the young woman placing at the back. There is something keeping in her hands that is rare. The enemy raises both of his hands and said,

“May we share our says before we fight, this opportunity is rare for both of us”

Crystals start forming from that man. Everywhere the Enders goes where his body morph in to crystals, ignoring his very flesh as it turned and formed into crystals. Taints of dirt as if he is turned to ashes, he eventually breaks it off as the crystals shattered and fall to the ground. The shattered crystals released the amount of magic strength he needs to move them closer as he heals himself. It was unnecessary, but the city guild adventurers were hooked. Rusic speaks out the obvious

“Quit pushing your spells, magic boy. Your real magic is always those . . .”

Silfa stops him “No, if we are going through this. I don’t think fighting in this environment mean to do anything”

The brigands nod “As you wish, we have some interesting topic to say”

Voldemyr tried to interfere, once he raises his voice, his voice slowly gets softer “They are abusing your ethics . . .”

He then thinks “Then again, why we meet so soon”

Archivist thought so too. Under the true Jigeram’s light, this fight is at their full advantage. The men of the front, Rune Isles adventurers, are playing their games with the citizens.

The Rogue disagrees with her “I don’t know you have forgotten about them. But we already know those two”

Heist points it out “That’s Who yir and Kaze, right?”

Ka’zei answers “Eh, certainly. Enough about that the introductions, we just need a few words after we sense elven magic upon you three”

The four Enders obviously know the city adventurers were exposed by elven magic. It wasn’t that important, and those two makes a little story on this matter. Archivist feels his magic underneath them after Rusic lands his runic hammer on the ground. There is something they prepared.

Voldemyr sees their advantage is high, and his bounty, Hulyir and Ka’zei are in front of him. His group has the better skills under the Jigeram’s light. Ironno has prepared when ventured here, they have no problem if they lose. However, Rusic didn’t believe that they have the advantage. From the look of those brigands, they have their infamous crimes. This isekai citizens’ way of truce is making so much contradiction between them. On the other side of their heads, they felt hesitant. Both of their willing and doubts are going side by side trying to act now before anything goes wrong.

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Silfa turns around to them “. . . Hey, I hear my friends told me that those guys are dangerous, right Voldemyr?”

“Yet, you three are responding to their words”

The Rogue is mixed “It’s because I don’t want to fight that is not involved us. And this is a fight under this scenario”

Ka’zei speaks to his partner, Hulyir “You hear that? We already in the disadvantage and those three are not good enough to talk to”

He then speaks out to them “I thought we have a chance to speak the alternative. Your representative from Mihayara district have made a convincing argument when we are there”

Heist freaks out in rage “What did you say!? That bastard so called representative is not a leader. He is a joke of a man he takes power and failed to fight against the siege”

Ka’zei responds “We don’t need to answer that”

The hostility grew and another word will lead to a fight. The Raker Mawns ready their weapons and the brigands did. Their enemies have failed to ambush Silfa’s group, and their conversation is already goes bad. Rusic feels the ground is rumbling. They thought they have the advantage, they guessed wrong. A powerful spell that they never expected to join their quarrel.

“. . . The spring water turns red, Archivist! What kind of demon you remember . . .?”

Rusic tries to say it to Archivist. It was too late. A demonic spell pulled the light into a ray of light. The Jigeram’s light infamous natural weather fell to them. The fog, the rain, and the crystals into dusts both stone and mud alike. The two brigands dared to bring it here as it almost begins. Hulyir speaks out his warning

“We will never know whether you will survive or not. A warning to you when you returned to your city. The unrest had begun”

Raker Mawn Guildmembers hear his words, a dialogue spoken like from the city. The likeness conversation as he acts like a villain, too precise and too abnormal. Voldemyr knew those two entered the city in this very moon cycle. A riddling message, and it sends to them both hostility and a warning. They know they can’t put them out. The demonic magic has Hulyir and Ka’zei’s support. Rusic, trying to ask what demon is hiding inside the city. Time has failed them. The city guild adventurers react to their enemies’ advance.

A demonic field rose up forming a dome. Blocking all the exposure and unleashing unbelievable amount of neutral mana. Silfa and the other adventurers felt the sudden boost of mana within them. She summons her doll as Puma comes out and uses its shield to block Ka’zei’s spells. The magic hits its shield then transformed to pick it up including Puma and thrown aside.

“Puma!”

Silfa reaches her doll as it thrown to the section of the dome. A ray of light coming into the dome, exposed and crystallized her hand.

“Ugh! What!!!”

Archivist walks to her side and smashes her crystallized hand, freeing from the exposure. He then swings her out from the ray of light. Silfa flown over to her enemies. Hulyir reaches to his sword and nearly slice her near to the tip of his blade. Exposed both Jigeram’s light and demonic essence. Her eyes see the aura mixed of his sword together like a light blue flame together. After turning her eyes to other direction, she sees the extended of Hulyir’s blade shattered where a bolt hits it and broke it before it reaches her face. Silfa lands down safely as the Rogue catches her

“Hey girl! Follow the routine, the routine!”

“Oh, right!” Silfa nods as tries to recover such a fast sequence.

Hulyir and Ka’zei are surrounded. The demonic dome summoned to them with its aide. Ka’zei is setting his spells outside of the dome

“Would you think these people survived?”

“Voldemyr and the rest of the Raker Mawn guild members are here. They know how to cure them before we could get through their cores”

“Even with demonic magic casts on to us, having this conversation between thoughts are rare for us to use”

“Olde daemos are taming the people, the longer they are here . . .”

“That’s not our concern, our master still wields them”

A powerful swoop of Hulyir’s blade cuts through all the Rogue’s dagger and Heist’s basic spells like plain air. The dusts possessed on the sword torn all magic into crystallized dust. Then he twitches his wrist with a strong force where his gauntlet heals it before the next clashed reach them. Heist’s hand claws were parried, then the Rogue appeared throwing her traps. The traps quickly exposed by the ray of Jigeram’s light leaking through the dome remotely. Silfa yells them both

“We can’t beat them. They are using the light to their side. We must take it down if we have a chance.”

Hulyir sees them trying to break the dome. He takes a few steps forward to stop them. Later he was attacked by the Enders as they come to aid them. He uses his demonic magic to summon one of the demons’ puppets. The shadowy silhouette with its energy weapon sticking out. The heavy sounds of its weapon bolden with its true weight and speed. It jumps out. One shot of the bolts, it able to catch it. The bolt exploded from the exposure of demonic presence. Its hand remained undamaged as its grip healed in this demonic dome. The ground pulls out to form a wall then raked the shadow into Archivist. Hulyir sees it go by, then another of his enemy lands down with a quake.

A soft hit then a powerful ground shakes, the runic hammer nearly hits Hulyir as he parried him predictably.

“An incredible warrior, your weapon is truly from the fall era” Rusic lies his hammer to the ground, both can’t move after their intense strength clashing together. Hulyir struggles to raise his weapon again. The loud strong clang reloaded a bolt. A single fire from Voldemyr hits Hulyir’s shoulder. His shoulder pad bleaks off the runes it had with such tremendous force. The bolt dents and crushed the shoulder pad like paper misaligning the rune writings.

Voldemyr begins reloading again. He is about to reload something bright into his crossbow, then a ray of Jigeram’s light hits him clogged his crossbow whole. He uses his hand with his runic glove wipes it off enough time for him to fire. Shattering blasts of crystals aim in the arc as the bolt projectile is carrying weight. Rusic takes another move at Hulyir to get shot from Voldemyr’s bolt. Ka’zei casts his spell on the ground move to make Rusic trip. Rusic falls, but Hulyir picks the dwarf up as a shield to the arching bolt. Rusic empowers his runic armor to gain weight and fall quicker. The bolt misses them both, causing the spell on the bolt to release a bizarre wave, vibrating and blasts up into the air with strong pressure of mana.

“WAIT!”

Heist calls out to Silfa as they prepared to break the dome. They turned around and see their enemies are at the disadvantage. Silfa looks for Puma as it is not convinced the fight is over.

“We need to keep going, Heist”

The Rogue watches the Enders are surrounding the Brigands “I don’t think so, they seem to have it in the bag. Look, even that guy at the back is staying as reserve”

While they are fighting and the rest watching, Ironno sees the city adventurers are hesitating. They don’t know they are not nearly close to their true potential. Then the dome starts changing, Ironno readies his magic scrolls.

Ironno picked down on the ground with his pickaxe. Magic between his and the demon are conflicted to another creating a border among each other. The dome suddenly transforms as the barrier curved into a portal, unleashing the monsters they faced from the siege. The beetle like body monster appeared with its headless body filled with demonic runes. Its weblike thread spread all around, where the Enders back away. Leaving the web weaving to Hulyir and Ka’zei. Voldemyr calls out to the Enders

“They’re approaching from the portals. Destroy any of the demonic mana around us before it grew stronger”

Heist got hit from the back, the wraiths are coming from his side and getting buried alive from the brown red fog.

“Heist!” The Rogue reaches out to him.

As she reaches out to him, a sword almost pierced through her throat. She turns her eyes as Hulyir is attacking her. A switch of his sword to swipe through her neck. The Rogue’s body pop off into a wooden log. She appears behind him, and he counters immediately before her daggers touch him. She spits out on his eyes blinding him. Her luck comes in as her spit comes from her poison vile and summons all of her daggers in one target.

As she is about to rain down with her storm of daggers, the ray of Jigeram’s light shines on her immediately stops her summons.

“Shit!”

The burns of her mana quickly deplete her casting and swiftly retreating. Hulyir waits and listens to her footsteps, any single step will react him to attack. Luckily for being a rogue, he can’t seem to find her in his blurred vision and his high senses can’t find her. He pulls out his potion and drinks it. A mana forged into his vision merging together with his helmet. His vision is still weak, but it is enough for him to see the Rogue.

A sudden flash of his blade already aims at the head, lunging forward between her eyes. The Rogue never expected him to keep going after that.

Her thought “This is really people from Enders, too well prepared . . .!”

A spark hit on her helmet as her rune protection pierced. She feels the forced blunted on her forehead as she knocked back. Silfa catches her as the forcefield nearly stops Hulyir’s strike. Hulyir slides to their side, lower enough to swipe his blade on her forcefield. It cuts through, but stops in the midsection.

“He is not stopping! Puma!”

Puma comes to their aid. Summoning with his rituals and brought its shield into its hands. A ritual seed grew behind it holding it still as the barrage of Hulyir attacks unleashed. High speed attack on its shield trying to pushed him down. The cuts keep pushing on to the doll as the seed keeps growing to all the surrounding area filled with demonic mana. The shield is getting chipped and the blade becomes deadlier filling itself with the brown red fog.

The Rogue says to Silfa in regret “Damn it! Silfa, break the dome. They know how to use demonic energy. Break it!”

Silfa nods and summons her pet doll.

“Meow!”

The pet doll touches the dome, with its simple little nibble. The ferocious beast quickly absorbs it and the rituals send an uproar of hostile mana. The dome ripped open, breaking the dome and awaken the exposure of the Jigeram’s light. It shatters slowly one by one. Exposing Hulyir at the process. Ka’zei tried too much to summon the remnants of that the demon gathered had quickly fell down. Was their effort failed? The shattering dome timed them up as it showers them into the exposure.

Little it lasted where the monsters created retreating to the last standing portal. The Raker Mawn guild members have stalled enough. The exposure is now here. The unbelievable reach of the strong wind is coming. Blown sand as sharp as broken shards, they expected this kind of weather to come. Archivist felt the strong misdirection of the wind, and proceed to go to the city guild adventurers. The danger of Hulyir able to use his powers. Archivist calls out to Ironno

“Ready those items, give it to them before they fully succumb to it”

Heist breaks free from the brown red fog and sees himself buried in shards. His body felt so slow, like snow that freezes him, but this experience is different. A dream feeling into his head, no, a nightmare is surging in as the pain grew stronger. The same horrific feeling under the dusts. A wind blows like a sandstorm, he sees the monsters they tried to attack him retreating and leaving the fight just before the dome fully releasing portals. The dome shattered without a noise that fell only the clinging sound of the crystals.

Archivist picks him up pushing away the crystallized breeze. A slash coming from the strong wind, he follows the force of the wind. A movement of the blade so near where he stands on it. Heist sees how he is able to land on it without a problem and shook to the speed of the swing as it reaches the Rogue and Silfa. The bending of the magic comes out of nowhere, cutting through. Almost the two of them slide off from the sword. Hulyir sees them standing on his blade, the flames of the Jigeram’s light burning on Archivist’s boots. The boots didn’t burn as it floats up to the air. The brigand continues to attack him in the air, but he was able to dodge all attacks and bring them all three out.

They regroup with Ironno. Ironno then pulled them all into the magic circle protecting them from the hazardous surrounding. Heist couldn’t believe how they were able to survive the exposure and the attacks. But it won’t last long as they see the small barrier only kept them safe. A thud coming from the protection. Ka’zei’s abomination showed up with his own made creation. Brought from the ruins of Mihayara district and the last siege at Taiyou Industries, the monstrosity comes out both machines and flesh. Heist softly speaks out

“What in the hell is that!?”

Archvist explains to him “Man recreating the demons of the past . . .”

Ironno says to the city guild adventurers “There is no time, you three should go back there and fight”

Heist hesitated “What!? Both of them like has many utilities at hand. Even carrying all this equipment and you think we could beat them?”

The Rogue agrees “We are not ready facing people like them. All of my equipment become useless and there is nothing else I can do”

Silfa listens to their worries. S ranks starting to doubt if they could fight people like that under the Jigeram’s light, and the fight within the strong wind. She too thought it was impossible, but she feels the ritual in her UI is forcing it stay stable.

Ka’zei tooks the first hit since the start of the fight. He doused his potion on his blunted wounds. Rusic finally hits him as he moves back from the monstrosity’s advance. The call of his runes of his armor to taunt it than to let it attacked the others. The hit from the monstrosity is dimming his runes with such demented strength. His mind numbs from pure pressure and his strength weighs heavily from the putrid strength release as the crystallized parts of its body. Ka’zei steps in as the shards of crystals building into his body. He drank another potion to force open his spell.

His hands melted leaving with bones. He stretches forward into the portal that fits his hands. A large version of his skeletal hands appeared trying to grab the dwarf. Rusic grabs it only by palm of Ka’zei’s hand, sends it with a force of rune magic. Resisting the spell from holding in a crushing grasp. It stops only the touch of his armor. It crystallized faster before he got crush. The monstrosity appears again and pulled out from the grasp. Rusic slides to the side holding the merged limbs of a tail. Ka’zei with his boned hands sips a potion and quickly heals it back to full flesh.

Rusic mumbles at that potion “You’re nothing but artificial”

Hulyir’s still blurred from the Rogue’s spit. The potion he drank no longer takes the effects because of the light. The air, the wind, and the storm are gathered around him to sense his enemies. Voldemyr lost his bolts from the strong crystallized wind. He relies on other weapon, the chains shackle close to Hulyir. Hulyir raised up and feels the weight of the ball rolling into his blade. The sword touches the chains as he slides in a swoop, easily cutting it. The iron ball falls, and Voldemyr catches it and hits it at Hulyir. Hulyir dodges it then quickly maneuvered countering Voldemyr with more slashes.

Steady punches whereas Hulyir evasively moving up to the air and dashes to Ka’zei’s side. A wall appeared out of nowhere, fragile as it collapses itself. A powerful strike by two fingers hit Hulyir’s arm. It was Archivist’s black mist, the breath of exhaustion. Hulyir’s arm is feeling strained, he quickly forced it back to move as he got hit from the back by Voldemyr. A shallow elven magic cast from his gloves tearing off the demonic magic on his body. Hulyir strikes back with his sword upright and slashes forward along with the wind.

Voldemyr pushed back as he being splintered by numerous shards coming his way. The dusts and shards together consuming what mana hidden in his bag. All mana related except for the runes fell into the crystal touch. The concoction of his potion starts to react. His potions turned into a sack of dynamites, once that glass breaks and it will explode with unimaginable destruction. He picks it up aiming at Ka’zei’s monstrosity and throw it with all the runic words into his strength. A loud boom thrown at the monstrosity leaving great thunderous roar.

As it about to get hit, Hulyir blocks it using his sword’s blunt side to bat it out upward almost hitting the monstrosity. Both Voldemyr and Hulyir stops after such an exhausted battle. The heavy breathing gives little time to use their secret powerful stamina potions. They regain their strength withstanding the light. Something screamed, the monstrosity fell to the ground, pierced through the dusts and shard inside of its body.

“AAH!”

The battle cry, from Silfa’s voice. Bathed under the light as she uses her forcefield to redirect it back to the monstrosity.

Rusic cheers “Haha! That’s the lass who is ready for the fight. We can finally face their true power now”

“What!?”

Her dolls gathered around her, protecting the aura they could not sense before. Finally, the demon magic is released, the same phases in Isekai City. The brigands used this trick, as low as possible, not committing the horrendous strategy those people used. It doesn’t matter anymore. The three citizens understood already.

The loud regretful voice coming out the Rogue’s mouth as she learns the hard way. “They are not taking us seriously!”

Ironno sighs “Yes, and the demons who are trying to get you have never expected to kill anybody except for the goblins”

“Bullshit!”

Ka’zei calls out the cores moving, revolving around him. His spells safely inside of the cores as the light tried to stop it. Another core appeared, a demon core. Ka’zei forced to move his lips as they must play their game

“. . . Darkness will prevail!”