Jiran capitalized on his surprise attack by turning to the next closest Forkara. He released the chakram of fire he had used to cut the Storm Claw leader in half, unleashing a beam of raging fire that enveloped his target. To his annoyance, the winged man appeared several meters away. One half of his body was charred but his flesh was rapidly reknitting; the mana from two healing treasures that had been hidden within his body slowly dispersed in the raging winds around him.

I missed them because their energy was masked within his mana. Now that I know what to look for, it appears he has two more.

“Wait! Why did you suddenly attack us? Who are you?” One of the three elders from the Divine Faction raised his palm toward Jiran. Needing only a second to gather and condense his mana for the next attack, Jiran pretended to hesitate, intending to surprise his enemies with overwhelming force.

“Wait!” Dokkuun rapidly approached from below, the pleading in his tone apparent. Jiran changed his mind, deciding to wait and let things play out so as not to damage his reputation with his newest allies. Considering how much weaker than a tier seven beast these elders were, he doubted they could kill him while he was wearing his armor. After a grateful bow to Jiran, Dokkuun turned to the members of the Divine Faction, “You do not need to know benefactor’s name, only that he is here to correct the wrongs we have failed to mend.”

“What in the tempest is that supposed to mean? Speak plainly, old fool!”

Ignoring the furious Forkara, Dokkuun pleaded to Jiran, “Senior brother, there are two children who were caught in your attack. They may be innocent. They are worthy warriors—”

“Which ones?” Jiran demanded. Dokkuun pointed to where the twins had fallen into the fog and Jiran saw them fighting together against a single murker. They were losing and already on the verge of death. He didn’t hesitate, confident that even if the rest of the Divine Faction supporters fled he would be able to catch them. There was no harm in checking to see if these two were truly innocent. If they were, saving them would go a long way in convincing the remaining elders to help him and the empire. If they were guilty, he would just throw them back into the fog.

Oneness flooded his body with power as he flipped himself upside down in the air. He leaped off the aura gathered at the soles of his boots. An explosive detonation of compressed gasses propelled him all the faster while his aura and mana pulled at the framework, turning him into a blur that tore through the distance between him and the fog.

He arrived a fraction of a second later, far too fast for the murker to respond. He activated the newly upgraded defensive formation of his suit which completely covered him in a thick coating of ice. He crashed into the beast, pushing it deep into the ground. The two chakrams of Elemental Castigation he had prepared were released, incinerating half of its body. Its tier seven regeneration began repairing the damage at an alarming rate. Not giving it time to recover, Jiran cut into it with blades of sharpened mana that extended from his fists. The beast lashed back with its one functioning arm, scoring two deep scrapes across the plated sections of his chest. After the fifth cut, it fell into pieces and its regeneration ceased.

Enthralling Touch gathered the beast's remaining mana and pulled it into his suit’s filters. He hopped out of the hole, grabbed the dying Forkara. Since they were unconscious and unable to resist, he drained their mana. He then released all of it upwards, into the fog, before escaping while dragging them behind in his aura. As he fled, he checked over his shoulder and didn’t see any challenger density. He sighed, relieved the twins had managed to hurt the beast enough it didn’t count as a solo kill. He felt ready to absorb more of the energy, but with so many tier seven elders to negotiate with, he wanted his wits fully intact.

Jiran exited the fog to find Dokkuun and his brothers shouting at the three from the Storm Claw. The separate group of eight clan heads had moved closer, blocking anyone from escaping. They hesitated at his approach, eyeing the twins he was carrying by the scruff of their necks. Of the two, the boy was hurt the most, missing both arms and a leg while the girl was only missing one of her wings and an arm. The back of armor oozed blood from several puncture wounds that weren’t as deep as they seemed. Considering every one of their life saving treasures had already been consumed, it was even more apparent how bad a matchup the Forkara were against the foggy beasts.

Jiran held the girl in front of himself, giving her a little shake, “Did I grab the right ones?” Dokkuun nodded while the three elders from the Divine Faction snarled at him, their hands moving toward their weapons.

Mana Confluence pumped regenerative energy into them, rapidly sealing the skin of their missing limbs and healing both of their internal injuries. The girl snapped awake, screaming and clutching at her still-missing wing. Jiran smacked her with his aura, “You’re fine, it's just a wing, stop screaming.” The woman instantly complied.

She looked around in a panicked daze, completely failing to understand the situation. When she noticed the other Forkara, she mumbled in a pleading voice, “What? How? Where did that beast go? M-my brother!”

“I killed it,” Jiran replied calmly, his whispered voice that promised further violence appearing from right behind her ear caused her to jerk instinctively. He turned her head so she could see her brother and she sagged in relief.

She didn't even realize I was holding her, she's really out of it.

“Young miss, would you mind answering the question I asked you before?” Dokkuun spoke sternly, snapping her attention away from Jiran.

Her aura tried to wrest control of herself but Jiran easily brushed it aside. He squeezed her neck hard enough that she could actually feel it, which was difficult since she was two and a half tiers above him in attributes. Realizing she was out of mana and helpless inside his aura, she went limp again, no longer attempting to resist. “I… Which question?” Her eyes darted around frantically; Jiran assumed she was trying to buy time until she could think of a way to escape.

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“Have you ever murdered any Timberlings for the sake of ascension?” Dokkuun reiterated his question. Jiran instantly realized his mistake and injected five percent of his mana into her manapool. He released the energy to her and Mana Omnis watched carefully as the mana was condensed to match her concentration. She gasped, the surprise from his mana suddenly entering her causing her to hesitate.

Dokkuun, clearly misunderstanding her reaction, clicked his tongue and reached to draw his blade. Jiran raised his other hand and the elder immediately froze, “Let her answer, I’ll know if she’s lying.”

“Where is my Father? D-did he truly abandon us?”

Jiran once more whispered warningly in her ear, “I killed him, too. Now answer the question.”

“Impossible! There’s n-no way to kill him, he’s invincible.” Jiran activated Elemental Castigation, creating a chakram of fire centimeters from her neck. The appearance of the deadly, spinning blade inching closer caused her to struggle against him but with his aura condensed around her, it was futile. “W-wait! I’ll answer. I was sent on numerous assassinations, but I have never killed another purely for the sake of ascension, there were always other motives. I swear it!”

“What about your brother?”

“We have always been together. There is no possibility he encountered a Timberling when I have not.”

Jiran’s chakram vanished instantly and he released his hold on her. Not expecting it, she fell an entire meter before recovering. Considering she was a tier seven, the response had been considerably slow, “You’re free to go,” he shooed her off with a wave of his hand.

“Wait, what? You’re letting me go? Just like that?”

Dokkuun cupped his fists together and lowered his head to Jiran, “Thank you for your mercy, Senior Brother Guardian. Young miss, you should also show thanks to Senior Brother Guardian. It’s true that he killed Raahak. I suggest you take control of your clan with all haste less he be forced to cull your people to satisfy his grudge.”

She looked between Jiran and Dokkuun for several seconds before nodding slowly. Having finally collected herself enough to understand the situation, she turned to Jiran and cupped her remaining fist with a deep bow, “Thank you for freeing this Keara of the Storm Claw Clan from her Father’s tyranny, Great Elder Guardian. May you permit me two questions, lest my clan unwittingly offend you again in the future?” Jiran nodded and she sighed in relief, “How, exactly, did we offend you?”

Jiran’s eyebrows rose when her affinity jumped from Malice all the way to Indifferent in one go. Putting aside his shock, he responded, “Your clan confined the Timberlings purely for the sake of harvesting their lives as EXP. I’ve no interest in controlling how any of the clans operate, but any aggression against the Timberlings will be met with death. Leave them be, and make no moves against me and I will reciprocate.”

“Thank you for the clarification, Great Elder Guardian,” she bowed again, “I was not involved in the decisions regarding the Timberlings, so I hope you will believe me when I promise that no further acts of aggression against them will ever happen while I draw breath.” Jiran could clearly see the fluctuations of the little mana he had given her and she definitely didn’t appear to be lying.

These people sure can be polite. I have to say, they’re really starting to rub off on me.

With a deep breath to gather her courage, Keara asked her second question, “That said, I am in no position to assert authority over the clan while these three elders live,” She nodded toward the only three left from the Divine Faction who were still being boxed in by Dokkuun and the eight neutral Forkara. “If you would lend me a spear, I will face them now.” Jiran snorted and shook his head in the negative, “Please! Allow me to show my sincerity. I would rather die attempting to satisfy your grudge than allow my people to be slaughtered!”

Jiran rolled his eyes at how quickly she had misunderstood him, “Unnecessary.” He considered saying more, but talking it through would take too long. He wasn’t about to let the fool girl die so easily now that her affinity had risen. Jiran turned his gaze toward the three from the Divine Faction, not missing the two neutral elders who were outwardly calm even though their inner energies churned with nervous dread after he explained his reason for wiping out the Storm Claw.

They must have sent several of their clan members to murder Timberlings and are scared I’ll clean out their families. Well, too bad. Murdering fuckers are going to get what’s coming to them no matter what.

Keara’s brows scrunched and her face contorted on the verge of tears, “Unnecessary? So, you're going to kill me after all? Very well, I failed to stop their actions, so I must also bear the burden of my clan’s failures.”

If Jiran wasn’t wearing a helmet, he would have facepalmed, “You're misunderstanding… Just shut up and watch.”

As Jiran flew toward Dokkuun, one of the eight neutral elders called out to him, “You are an outsider to our skies! Do not think we will idly flap as you disregard our way of life so thoroughly. We have our own values and traditions. We will take these three into custody and judge them accordingly.”

Dokkuun turned scarlet and his aura flexed with rage, “How dare you spout such nonsense! Where were your values and traditions when the Divine Faction had us outnumbered in a clear ambush? You watched from the sidelines like a coward and now you’re hiding behind your numbers once more!”

Jiran raised his hand toward the infuriated Dokkuun, behind the visor of his helmet he was grinning, “Is that how all of you feel this situation should be resolved?” Five of the eight backed away while looking nervous. The two he noticed before moved to either side of the one who had spoken. They nodded sharply, their arms crossed in defiance.

Jiran smirked, happy they sorted themselves out before he needed to waste the effort doing it for them, “Go ahead and join the Divine Faction members then, I’ll kill you all at once.”

“Such arrogance!” The same speaker from before shouted, “With our assistance, you’re outnumbered six to five. You’ve clearly exhausted yourself after killing Raahak and saving those traitors. Retreat now and I swear your precious Timberlings won’t be attacked again.” Jiran spotted the lie immediately and a low growl escaped his throat.

In response, three chakrams of Elemental Castigation appeared before him. He had already condensed the mana before converting it to elemental form so it took him less than a second to bring the particles of energy up to the maximum speed before he unleashed his attacks. All three beams shot toward the single Forkara he had wounded earlier. Unable to respond in time, he could only throw up a wall of wind and swing his sword before he was struck.

Enveloped in raging inferno, the two remaining life-saving treasures inside his body activated but ultimately failed to heal him before his head was completely melted. When the explosive wall of fire dispersed, a smoking corpse fell toward the ground.

“Looks like it's five on five now, not that it matters,” Enthralling Touch ripped the remaining mana from the dead elder and Jiran used it to create four more chakrams that buzzed around him with a piercing howl.