Elizabeth woke to a pain unlike any she had ever felt before. Seven spikes of agony shot through her soul as she felt like seven things that she couldn’t describe were being ripped away from her. Liza received multiple Notifications in that instant and an influx of energy, so much so that it rippled space-time around her as a bubble of power flexed around her. The energy did not affect the people around her, but the slave collars, clothes, and the cage that held her were destroyed. Liza and the two slaves with her were left standing nude on the floor of a cage that was no longer a cage.
As she looked around, not even worried about being nude, One Notification that flashed by a moment ago caught up with her mind, and she remembered what it said.
“Jesra Thayne has killed Claw Member Rene.”
Liza’s mind began to crack as a thought crossed her mind. She hadn’t even known her sisters for a day before these monsters killed them! Rene had been a baby, you little shit…
Liza moved to the closest slaver before she finished that thought.
SLASH!
Congratulations! You have Killed Jesra Thayne, Uncommon Cleric, Level 4
10,400 XP Earned
Reward:
Do not fucking Congratulate or Reward me! Liza thought as the crystal the little shit had been holding fell to the ground and was quickly shattered with the stomp of her foot. She felt her sister’s soul release and flow into and through her before it left this plain of existence. A sense of righteous gratitude added to her soul as her sister moved on to the next life.
As her eyes took in her surroundings and the other six people holding glowing crystals, another Notification of her failure flooded her memory.
“Brey’an Jes’ron has killed Claw Member Rowan”
These fucking monsters deserved every sing ounce of pain I can give them!
CRUNCH!
You have Killed Brey’an Jes’ron, Uncommon Fighter, Level 5
10,500 XP Earned
Like before, Liza shattered the Soul Crystal holding her sister, and she was flooded with gratitude and a sense of righteous anger that added to what she’d already received. Her purpose solidified into a need to destroy those who had done this to her sisters as another Notification appeared.
“Krillian Krooper has killed Claw member Rose.”
I am going to rip every single one of their souls out!
SWIPE, RIP!
You have Killed Jesra Thayne, Uncommon Fighter, Level 3
10,500 XP Earned
You have Earned Level 11
Tears streamed from her eyes as she killed every person holding a crystal that carried the souls of her sisters. She also made sure to shatter those crystals. Her purpose to punish and destroy built upon itself with each released soul. How did she know who held her sisters? Her vision had lit up tethers of pearlescent energy that reached from her to the seven gems held by the little shits standing over the corpses of the slain Shadow Panthers.
Liza paid only enough attention to get the nobles' names. She would remember the last names of every one of these fuckers. Next, she commanded the SYSTEM to show her only the names and, finally, only the levels that she was gaining as she went through the Nobles and then the nine slaver guards who tried to stop her.
You have Killed Krillian Krooper…
You have earned Level 12.
You have killed Jasmine Daverack…
You have earned Level 13.
You have killed Liam Hendren…
You have earned Level 14.
You have killed Oliver Agnor…
You have killed William Erickson…
You have earned Level 15.
Liza did notice one weird thing. In the time it took her to kill the seven noble teenagers and one guard, no one had responded. They were all moving as if in molasses. The same was true for the next eight soldiers she killed
You have earned Level 16
You have earned Level 17
~
You have earned Level 20
As she started to get into a rhythm and began to look around, a woman with raven black hair and emerald green eyes dressed in a combination of leather armor and lacey black materials that hung and flowed from the leather pieces to make her look like some nerds’ fantasy female crush appeared before her,
“And you’re back with us. Cease attacking now, and I may let you serve in my ranks.”
Not quite settled, Liza's anger flared as she yelled, “FUCK YOU, BITCH, You killed my…
Liza was interrupted as the woman lunged at her, which caused her to react. The attack was a masterful feint. Her attacker seemed to be trained and much faster than her, and before she knew it, Liza suddenly had a sword across her neck and the tip of a dagger above her kidney. The women started to say, “You were say….” As a ship appeared above them, Liza looked up with her eyes and saw…Connor? Was that Connor from school? Just before he vanished.
Liza felt a field envelop her entire body as someone popped into existence five feet in front of her. She watched as a dagger was thrust forward into empty air toward her, and then the impossible happened. The hand holding the dagger was crushed at the wrist, causing the dagger to drop out of the new attacker's hand as the dagger vanished.
Liza heard the Woman behind her say, “What a waste,” as she watched her draw the blade across her neck. She felt nothing as she watched with her peripheral vision as the woman froze, gurgled, and then her face exploded, though she couldn’t see what had caused it. A moment later, the new attacker, still held by his hand, was picked up like a ragdoll and hurled into a nearby wall with a loud THWAP. He came to rest on the ground and lay there in a heap.
Even as she wondered, "What the hell is going on?" Liza felt the field around her expand away from her skin and into a bubble. As that happened, the Notifications she had disregarded began flooding her vision as if they were trying to show her something.
Will to the Claw Mother from Bella:
Strength, Agility, Endurance, Constitution, Luck, and Running speed +10.
Perception, Willpower, Hit Points, Hit Point Regeneration, Stamina, Stamina Regeneration, Mana, Mana Regeneration, Psychic Energy, and Psychic Energy Regeneration +1.
Liza read over the next six messages, which were the same. Each member of the claw had gifted her as they passed on into the next life. Then, the notifications that she’d minimized when they had been killed scrolled through her vision.
Warning!
The influx of energy from seven Uncommon Shadow Panther Soul Gifts while possessing a Common Rank Core has permanently changed you.
Shadow Panther Core Affinity achieved.
Core upgraded to Uncommon, 100% Shadow Panther Affinity.
Uncommon Core Upgrade 60% Complete. 60% Shadow Panter Affinity.
Uncommon Core 60% complete toward an upgrade to Rare Core.
NOTE: Class and Evolution must also be Upgraded to Uncommon before Core can be upgraded to Rare.
Shadow Panter Evolution Affinity achieved.
Evolution upgraded to Shadow Panther Divergent Uncommon Evolution.
Warning! Racial Evolutions that are divergent from your original race will permanently change you.
Congratulations! You have gained the Perk “Cat Reflexes.”
Having absorbed the will of a Shadow Panther Claw, You gain +10 Strength, Endurance, and Agility. You are also highly sure-footed on ledges and branches.
Congratulations! You have gained the Perk “Shadow Panther Affinity.”
Shadow Panthers, upon meeting you, will automatically treat you as if you are one of their siblings or Claw, provided you treat them in kind. Attacking a Shadow Panther negates this Perk concerning that specific Shadow Panther until amends are made.
Congratulations! You have gained the Perk “Shadow Claws.”
Claws of shadows extend from your hands and feet just like the claws of a Shadow Panther. These claws can be used to climb and attack others. All Attacks with these claws receive +2 to Hit and +2 to Damage
Congratulations! You have gained the Perk “Wrath of the Claw Mother.”
To protect or avenge her Claw, the Claw Mother can draw on the power of the Claw and burst forth with explosive force and power. Once activated, this Perk will last a number of Combat Turns equal to the number of Claws that have sacrificed themselves for the Claw as well as any current member of the Claw. The Claw mother may make a number of attacks equal to the number of Claw Bonus Perks she carries plus the number of current Claws. Each attack carries a +10 to Attack and +10 to damage and bypass all nonmagical armor as well as any armor that is not made out of Light or Fire. No extra attacks may be made while under the influence of wrath, but there is no Stamina cost for each attack as they are fueled by the spiritual remnants and the link she carries with other members of the Claw.
This Perk may only be activated once per number of days that the perk will activate for.
Current Use Rate / Number of Attacks / Duration: Once per 8 Days / 8 / 8 Combat Turns.
You have earned the Perk, “Shadow Affinity, Common.”
You have an affinity to Shadow Magic. All Darkness Based Magic (Including Shadow Magic) Damage is reduced by 10. Additionally, Any spells or perks may be used as if they were one rank lower than they are. For example, the skill Shadow Step at Uncommon Rank normally costs 100 mana to move 100 feet. Someone with this Rank of Shadow Affinity can Step 100 feet for a cost of 10 mana.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Congratulations! You have learned the Uncommon Skill “Shadow Step.”
At Common Rank, you can instantaneously teleport between two points through the Shadow Plane. Shadows are not required to utilize this skill. Powers that block dimensional travel will block this skill. This is considered movement and does not require an action to activate. Range 100 feet. Mana Cost: 10
2 of 4 Skill Two Skill Slots Allocated.
As Liza read, she understood why everything was dying. She hadn’t even realized that she was using Shadow Claws. They had just felt like a natural extension of her. As she considered this, Liza looked around and saw other guards moving toward her, which began to fuel her anger.
Congratulations! You have earned the title “Rage Rider I.”
You have ridden the wave of unbridled rage and come out on top. With the help of your Claw sisters, you have learned to control the rage, not let it control you. When enraged, you will no longer lose control. Berserk and Frenzy status conditions no longer cause you to lose control. Additionally, while enraged, all attacks receive +10 to damage.
As rage filled her mind, the tears leaking from her eyes slowed and then stopped. Liza smirked and activated Shadow Walk for the first time to appear directly behind one of her would-be attackers. Before he could turn, his head was lopped off by a double swipe with her Shadow Claws. This was going to be fun.
For the next five minutes, Liza would Shadow Step behind a target, lop off their head and then move on to her next target. While she wasn’t watching her Status Screen, she was aware that her Stamina and Mana Regeneration kept up with her attack sequence without issue.
As Wrath of the Claw Mother subsided and her attack rate slowed, she became more cognizant of her actions as she continued to kill slavers all over the clearing. Suddenly, the ground below her feet rumbled as new Notifications filled her vision.
You have received 10,453 new notifications. Would you like to sort and prioritize them before viewing them? Yes or No?
Liza chose “Yes.” As she activated, Stealth and Shadow Stepped to the Plateau above the clearing, where she pulled up her notifications.
Congratulations! Your party has killed 4,191 Level 1 Common humans.
Congratulations! Your party has killed 2,861 Level 2 Common humans.
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 1,881 Level 3 Common humans.
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 1,023 Level 4 Common humans.
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 209 Level 1 Uncommon Minotaur.
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 143 Level 2Uncommon Minotaurs
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 94 Level 3 Uncommon Minotaurs
Congratulations! Your Party has killed 51 Level 4 Uncommon Minotaurs.
What the hell? When did she join a party?
***
Sam found a place to hole up for a moment while he opened his Status Screen and checked the Notifications he’d just received. He’d been moving through the base, killing anyone that was off by themselves and did not have a slave collar on them, well, except for the cooks. He wasn’t sure if they were slavers or slaves, but they made food for everyone. He wasn’t going to mess with them unless he had to. In the last seven minutes, he’d killed 21 people with Soul Drinker, the sword that Connor guy had given him. The first skill he’d picked up with a Tutorial Crystal was Analyze, so he could see what was up with the sword.
Soul Drinker
` Advanced Short Sword
Durability 400 of 400
+4 to hit / +4 to damage
All Kills feed the sword, which regenerates the Durability by an amount equal to the damage done.
Additionally, durability can be sacrificed to add damage to the target if backstabbed successfully.
For example, the wielder could sacrifice 300 points of durability to inflict 300 points of damage. If the attack is successful, the damage inflicted will replenish the durability up to the total damage inflicted. If the target only has 50 Hit Points, it only returns 50 durability for a net loss of 250 durability.
If the attack fails, the durability is lost.
Durability can be replenished through combat and corpse absorption. One point of Durability can be replenished by planting the blade in a corpse. One durability is returned to the blade per full 50 pounds of the corpse. Soul Drinker can absorb four points of durability per Combat Turn in this manner. When finished with a corpse, all that is left is a dried-out corpse.
Sam defaulted to adding 100 points of durability to each backstab he performed. That turned out to be more than enough. Every person he killed had between 215 and 330 hit points. With his Backstab multiplier from his Rogue Class, each of his attacks from Stealth inflicted 336 points of damage and returned the 100 durability he’d sacrificed for the attack and then some. If he’d been utilizing a normal dagger, he’d have had no chance against these Uncommon Slavers. With Soul Drinker, though, he moved quietly from target to target and left their bodies behind. Of course, he checked them for loot, but his Inventory skill only had 10 slots at Common rank.
Sam found a quiet room with no one in it and sat down to look through the notifications he’d received. There was a Notification informing him that his Core had upgraded to Uncommon rank. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. He’d received that notification after the 10th kill notification. There was a second Notification that also stated that he could improve his Evolution to Uncommon, which he accepted. He wasn’t sure what an evolution upgrade was or how they worked, but if he had to earn it, it must be good, right?
Finally, he received two Uncommon Skill Crystals, which were deposited into his inventory. One was for Uncommon Identify. The other Skill Crystal was for the Uncommon rank of the skill Inventory. Sam saw that, pulled it out of his current inventory, and activated it.
Prerequisites Met: Core is at Uncommon Rank
Would you like to use this Skill Crystal to learn or upgrade the Inventory Skill to Uncommon for two Skill Slots, one Skill Slot if you already possess skill Inventory, Common, Yes or No?
Sam checked his available Skills Slots, saw that he had three Skill Slots available, and chose “Yes.”
You have upgraded the skill Inventory to Uncommon Rank
You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 100 slots worth of equipment.
Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.
Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.
Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.
He wasn’t going to go back and grab everything from the bodies he’d left behind, but now he could at least pick up a few more things. As he considered this, his mind exploded with Notifications, which he auto-sorted and then ignored. Except for the fact that he had been added to a party and that he was now level 63, which was crazy. What the hell was going on?
***
Just before the explosion, Connor added Elizabeth and Sam to his Party. It was a last-second thought that the SYSTEM honored, as the experience he received was divided by three. He probably could have received more than ten levels, but that was fine. Helping Elizabeth and Sam so they could help others seemed like a good plan. He wasn’t quite sure why he’d added Sam, but he’d just felt that it was the right thing to do. Helping Elizabeth had been a no-brainer.
While he was still blind from the explosion, a timer had been added to the Blind debuff in his vision. He had about two minutes left. Also, his skill Eyes of Eris seemed to work just fine. Of course, floating in an empty cave while his mana regenerated and his eyes healed from a blinding flash gave him a little bit of time to think. Connor pulled up the information on Eyes of Eris.
Eyes of Eris
Range: 10,000 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10,000 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.
If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than 10,000, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff – Distracted.
If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than 5,000, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.
His Perk Intellect of Eris really was a game changer. The skill and the perk gave him an insight into the difference in power between each rank. That power variance had to be logarithmic. It also seemed like people would have to pick or earn perks and skills that would allow them to focus and use the higher-ranked skills and spells. If he’d only attained Rare rank, there was no way he could have had the attributes needed for Eyes of Eris to function at Advanced, let alone Master Rank. The Perk, Intellect of Eris did let him utilize the skill at Advanced Rank. Maybe there was a way to upgrade that Perk so he could improve Eyes of Eris to Master Rank.
Connor was beginning to see that the class Unfettered was both a blessing and a curse. He wouldn’t be able to focus his attributes so that he could utilize specific skills before other skills, nor would he receive the class-specific skills. Of course, he had a skill that allowed him to create skills and another skill that let him create spells, but if form followed function, if he created a Master level spell and its costs increased logarithmically, it would require 100,000 mana to cast. Connor pulled up a truncated version of his information from his Status and reviewed his Resource Pools, Regeneration rates, and attributes.
Hit Points: 2,800
-Health Regeneration: 40
Stamina: 3,834
-Stamina Regeneration: 1,347
Mana: 3,352
-Mana Regeneration: 160
Psychic Energy: 3,352
-Psychic Regeneration: 198
Strength: 1,317
Agility: 1,327
Dexterity: 1,327
Endurance: 1,317
Constitution: 1,327
Perception: 1,317
Intelligence: 1,317
Wisdom: 1,327
Willpower: 1,690
Charisma: 1,317
Luck: 1,327
Connor thought about how he could try to cast a spell that required 100,000 mana. Maybe there were magic items that could act as batteries, and then he thought about what had happened in the Cavern he was floating in. There were definitely magical items and tools that could hold that much mana. Could there be a skill that did the same thing?
Even if some skills and items could hold and channel that much mana, it would still take him about one hour and forty-four minutes to create that much mana with his regeneration rate. But if a Master ranked spell did 100,000 points of damage…damn.
As Connor’s eyesight returned, he thought about how lucky he’d been that the item anchoring the portal only did 5,000 points of damage to his Force Barriers. One hundred thousand points of damage would have vaporized him. That meant that someday, he would be able to use spells that could vaporize others. However, it looked like the SYSTEM put some severe limits on any one person getting that much power before they were ready for it.
Force Daggers of Throwing was a Master level spell. It lasted for 100,000 hours but only cost 1,000 mana, which seemed to be the amount of mana it would cost to create an item with a durability of 300, which the force daggers had. It looked like there was a structure for how the mana cost and damage of spells were figured out. He could almost comprehend how the SYSTEM required a sacrifice in one area to allow the maximum rating for a specific Rank. Force Daggers of Throwing maximized Duration, which required him to sacrifice durability.
Force Daggers of Throwing, in particular, was really good for him because it allowed him to draw and throw a dagger instead of having to cast and then throw the dagger on his following action. Before he’d received the spell, he'd been throwing five daggers every combat turn. Now, he could throw ten. Also, because their durability was 300, he could put his full strength into the throw and inflict a minimum of 136 points of damage.
Connor blinked rapidly to clear his eyes. Next, he made sure Stealth was active, and then he flew up into the lower levels of the base. He quickly made his way to the clearing where Elizabeth had stopped killing slavers. She’d walked over to a barrel of water, drawn some out with a cup, and was rinsing herself off. He checked the immediate area. The only people still moving were some people running down an escape tunnel. He couldn’t tell exactly where Sam was but tracked him by the trail of dead bodies he was leaving.
Connor landed 50 feet from Elizabeth on the other side of the barrel from her and deactivated Stealth. He waited until she looked up, noticed him and then dumped more water over her head.
“You okay, Elizabeth?” Connor asked.
“First, just call me Liza. Elizabeth died with my sisters. As for your question, No, I’m not alright.”
Connor noticed that Sam had appeared and was about to exit the entrance to the tunnels into the base in the mesa, “Liza then. A man is about to step out of the tunnel behind me. The man is from Earth, like us. Please don’t kill him on sight.”
“Whatever. Connor, is it?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Just then, Sam stepped out of the Tunnel.
Connor looked at Sam as he asked, “Is there a reason you didn’t have your Stealth active when you stepped out?”
Sam looked at Connor with a look that conveyed just how stupid he thought the question was, “I’m not an idiot. I already came up and took a peak, then backed down a little so I wouldn’t startle the two of you. While you seem to be pretty powerful, your friend is on a whole other level of ‘Do not piss off’”
Liza looked over at Sam and was about to argue when Sam cocked his head and then made a sweeping gesture to all the dead bodies lying around. Liza froze for a moment and looked around again. Her expression changed to a smirk, and then she just nodded.
“Now that we have the who is the bigger and scarier person out of the three of us figured out, do either of you know what happened below, and why did I just get so much experience?”
“Liza turned back to the water basin and rinsed her hands off as she said, “It wasn’t me; I didn’t kill that many people…What I meant to say is I didn’t kill over 10,000 creatures in one attack.”
“It was me,” Connor admitted. “There was a staging cavern below us. I killed the mage that was controlling the portals, and he and it exploded.
“Shit!” Sam said.
“What about the rest of the slavers up here?” Sam asked.
“They’re running away,” Connor and Liza said together.
“Okay, so what do we do now?” Sam asked, quickly adding, “And while I appreciate the view, might I suggest, Liza, that you put on some clothes?”
Liza blushed slightly, then casually walked over to the area where the slavers were handed togas. She picked up a couple, which she stored in her inventory as she put one on before she came back over. While she did this, Connor continued.
“Now, we release the slaves so they can help us, and then we try to find all of you a way back to Earth.”
“What about you?” Sam said, “Don’t you want to go back?
“At the end of 30 days, I’ll return automatically. It was a reward for a quest for killing the leader of this place,”
“Quest?” Liza said questioningly.
Connor proceeded to tell them about the first quest he’d received back in his Tutorial. As he did so, he went around to each of the cages and opened them. The locks were made out of a soft metal, which he snapped with a simple yank. Sam and Liza walked with him and listened as he went about freeing the slaves. Once released, the three of them removed the slave collars. Sam then let them know that there was a place to get food in the caves under the mesa. Most went for the other food. Other more practical people went over to the stacked weapons and armor and equipped themselves after they removed their Slave collars.
“You seem to be adapting to this relatively quickly, “Sam said, which was more of a question than a statement.
“Yeah, before the Tutorial kicked off, I’d already been affected by the SYSTEM, so while I still don’t know how this all works, I’ve had more time to adapt. Besides, if we don’t adapt, we die, right?”
Connor was about to continue when he detected a portal opening nearby and watched a glowing red gem appear behind a row of crates near the stack of equipment before the hand withdrew and the portal closed.
***
Kess Hendren watched through her scrying crystal as the human, Connor, was it?, explained to his two friends how he’d received a SYSTEM-sanctioned quest to kill Mistress Morena. The SYSTEM had issued an assassination quest against her former friend and lover. What had she done to piss the SYSTEM off that bad? She hadn’t done anything more heinous than anyone else in the Sect, which meant her Sect had pissed the SYSTEM off…Shit!
There was nothing she could do about that now, so she focused on what Connor was saying and watched the other two as well. Kess had seen the report concerning Sam. He had some new ability that prevented anyone of the same rank or lower from detecting him. The Girl, Liza, was an unknown, but she had decimated Tier I and Tier II assets with little effort. And then there was this Connor character. The way he was talking about what happened on Earth…it was almost like he was there when the blast that destroyed their invasion fleet had gone off, or he had something to do with it.
Kess couldn’t Identify Connor through her scrying crystal. Still, she’d been around long enough to know that if the SYSTEM gave him even 10% of the credit for killing 4,000 Tier II assets, 1,000 Tier III Assets, 100 Tier IV Assets, and the three Tier V assets that had been destroyed on the Command ship, he’d have enough experience to reach Tier IV, maybe even Tier V. Which meant that the only reasonable thing to do would be to kill him now before he was able to improve his Core and Evolution ranks.
Kess summoned a glowing Opal from her Ring of Holding. The Opal of Destruction was an incredibly powerful Magical Item. At Master-rank, the Opal held 100,000 mana in a spell matrix that had been inscribed into the crystal. The material component and spell would take the mana, convert it into an elemental configuration, and release it on such a scale that everything within one mile would be obliterated. The mage that created it had claimed that when detonated, it would amplify the invested mana in such a way as to increase its destructive power at least threefold. He’d also claimed that if the Opal was detonated at ground level, it would create a 100-foot diameter crater and vaporize anything within 1,000 feet. She had three of the powerful Opals that were to be used to cover the Sects tracks if a contract or job went sideways. This clusterfuck had gone sideways and was now spiraling out of control. It was time to cover those tracks.
With a thought, Kess modified the target of the scrying crystal until she found an area that was just over 100 feet away from the three Earthlings, who were still talking. Kess focused on the location and cast her spell, Reach Far. Reach Far allowed her to open a hand-sized portal to any location she could see within range. In conjunction with the scrying crystal, she could see quite far, which made passing along information relatively easy for her. In this case, it made placing an item that would destroy her enemy and any evidence of her sect's involvement very easy indeed.
Kess passed her hand through the small portal and placed the Opal of Destruction on the ground as she gave the mental command to activate it. She withdrew her hand from the portal and ended her spell. Next, she altered the location of the scrying crystal to a point one mile above the target and waited. It should detonate within the next 30 seconds. The loss of resources would be devastating, but it would be better to destroy the three humans that could prove to be a liability later than have them become an issue later. As for all the slaves and personnel left at the base, including those that were running away from the monsters that had just killed their sect brothers and sisters? They had allowed her little brother to die at the hands of that Liza woman. Kess really wanted a personal crack at her, but business was business, and whether she ripped her heart out personally or reduced her to ash, she’d still be dead. As for the members of the Sect, she was killing. If they’d done their job, they should have been able to stop the three Earthlings or have died trying. She was making sure they met one of those two fates. Their weakness would soon be cleansed from the Sect.
As she waited, she thought of her friend. She would miss Morena. Perhaps she was responding a little too harshly… No, Morena had failed. She would not. That man Connor had left nothing but a ruined face on his friend. He would soon join her as no more than flakes of ash on the wind.
A moment later, something zipped away from the ground, almost faster than she could see, as the image flashed and a shock wave expanded out in all directions. She saw the test footage that had been recovered from Earth of their technologically based nuclear tests. This looked like that. She couldn’t tell if there was a mushroom cloud, but there was definitely a blast wave expanding away from the center of the explosion. Whatever the blast wave washed over was obliterated. As Notifications started to fill her vision, she deactivated the Scrying Crystal and smiled. There was no way that little shit outran that explosion. Even if Kess was pretty sure that had been him trying to get away right before the Opal of Destruction exploded, she was sure that he was dead. She’d have confirmation in a moment. Kess opened her Notifications and began reading.