“Has there been any news?”

“No.”

“Useless. It is just one girl why can’t you do something so simple?” Anthony couldn’t help but show his anger as he threw the file he was holding. Slapping into the man kneeling in front of him. Papers went flying everywhere, however, the man didn’t even flinch.

“Everhope has told people to distance themselves. Over half the people we sent were caught and sent back.”

“That bastard. He keeps telling me to wait. And yet he continues to get in my way. While expecting me to help him at every turn. Does he think my elves are helping him out of generosity…” Mana swirled as Anthony’s clenched fist slammed into the table causing it to crumble into smaller pieces.

Quickly regaining his composure, he lowered his voice, “How is that progressing?”

Before he could get an answer there was a loud rumbling and sounds of explosions. Turning to look in the direction of the commotion, it became possible to hear a loud voice booming in the air, “Everwar! What do you think you’re doing?!”

By now an open field had been created as a white cloaked red masked individual appeared in the air. Standing like there was solid ground under their feet. Mana was crushing down on everyone in the camp down below.

Those that survived the first strike could be counted on one hand. They were kneeling as they prayed the fight wouldn’t reach them as they couldn’t move, let alone defend themselves.

In the surroundings, like the place where Anthony was, there was a few that couldn’t withstand the pressure of the mana being released. Without being given time to even scream they disappeared with a pop. Red almost like blossoming flowers appeared where they had once been. As the mist drifted away, any evidence they had even existed was lost.

As for Anthony himself, and the man that had been kneeling. Both were now on their feet. Anthony looked fine with a stern face. The man with him was a bit shaky. Soon a sly smile appeared on Anthony’s face as he gave the man a sign before slipping away.

As Everhope looked up at the man standing in the air, he was a bit disheartened that his plans had been exposed so soon. Still, this was bound to happen. He wasn’t all that surprised. He had laid down the groundwork for this moment.

Very quickly, his expression darkened as screams were heard. Glancing around, he noticed 15 white robed individuals. In the few short moments he had been standing here. At least half of the white robes were dyed crimson to match their masks. Of those, three were maskless.

Focusing back on Everwar, “I demand an explanation.”

It was impossible to see his expression, his voice was soft, “Are you pretending to not know why we are here? Or are you just feigning ignorance, ignoring it like the deaths of your subordinates.”

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“How cheap. People come and go. As an Ever don’t you know that better than anyone? You are the oldest amongst us.” Everhope was stalling. Counting the seconds in his head.

“Enough.” As Everwar took a step closing half the gap. He paused slightly looking down. The ground started to crack as mana was flowing underneath. He could sense an array holding an insane amount of mana.

“Hahahaha! You’ve grown impatient in your old age.” Without chanting, Everhope was using his hands to control the mana inside the array. Even though his outwards appearance was arrogant, he was not an imbecile.

He knew exactly why they had figured out what they were doing. Not only that, he had already marked Anthony. Knowing what he was planning. Inside he was laughing coldly. With the alliance in place, his place had been solidified.

Once Anthony was dead. Without Everwood being there to protect them, he would have control of both forces. While not having the same level of control, he could springboard his actions. While being the youngest Ever he wasn’t stupid or full of himself.

Jessica was the lamb to the slaughter. Only, with Izic watching, she turned into an immortal. While tracking Everwood was extremely difficult, it was the only way. However, that idiot was off to commit suicide. Now all he had to do was play his part before retreating. Lose the battle to win the war.

As screams echoed around them, Everhope ignored everything else as he focused on the array. Everwar who was feeling the pressure inside coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sliding down the inside of his mask, splattering onto his white robes.

Not an ounce of panic could be felt from his body language. Instead, he continued to focus on the array as mana circulated through him. Constantly looking for a loophole or a weak point to exploit. As this continued, the pressure started to intensify as Everhope continued to add more mana to the array.

As fog started to creep into the area.

Both of them were the first to react. Everhope didn’t hesitate to remove the array. Going so far to crush the core. His face paled as he spat out black blood. Though he ignored this. Just as quickly as the array disappeared, Everwar moved next to Everhope.

Almost as if everything had been an act. The two stood next to each other. The battle continued around them as nobody else seemed to have noticed the oddity. That was short-lived as fog started to billow in as if it was planning to coat the entire forbidden zone.

As the fog filled the entire place, the fighting stopped as even those that could handle to battle between the Evers had fallen to their knees. Some of them had fainted as others were scratching their heads until they drew blood as they continued until their nails dug so deep they broke their skulls and kill themselves.

None of this was visible to anyone but the two Evers. With the amount of mana filling the fog it was difficult for the two to see very far themselves. They had no time to worry about those around them. Enemies that were just fighting had to work together as the threat posed by this entity was too high. Causing their conflict to look petty.

“Get out. This place doesn’t belong to you. By being here, it is asking me to come on land.” A voice that had no indication as to a gender. There was both male and female aspects to it that merged together creating an artificial voice.

Those that were still able to struggle before, were now on the ground unconscious. Anyone that was unable to at least cope with the fight between the two Evers, was now dead.

As every part of the fog was filled with that being's mana. When his voice appeared it was drilling into the two that stood side by side. Even doing their best to use both of their mana as one, was failing. The air continued to crack and break around them.

Even as they were struggling to just withstand the focus that being was giving them. They were being pushed out of the forbidden zone. Not a single attack, and yet it had caused the two Evers to struggle to survive.