The impact of the attack by a true Mythical Being was something that Ezekiel never wanted to experience. The sheer devastation caused by the attack was enough to not only crack open the defensive formations on one of the more fortified cities in the Empire, but enough to level nearly half the city itself.
Worse yet, it didn’t seem like the pressure from the Broodlord had lessened either. Meaning that it’s power must’ve been higher than a Step one Mythical Hunter. Ezekiel just couldn’t imagine that the amount of Ichor used in that attack could’ve been anything less than a full Mythic Step of power.
It was significantly different than Meryn, who had forcibly broken through to Tier five using external means. Clearly, even though he had been stronger than a group of Legendaries, there was simply no comparison between a phony and the real thing.
Fortunately, Ezekiel, his parents, and their Spirits didn’t directly suffer from the impact of the Broodlord’s attack. The moment he saw the wings appear in the sky, he forced himself to reach forward, grabbing his parents by their shoulders. He then expended basically all of his mana to Jump as far away from the city as possible.
Having just under half his mana left, a full Step of Adept level mana was used in this jump. Which was reflexively strengthened by Shine, who had felt a tug on their mana from Ezekiel. This resulted in their Jump taking them nearly two kilometers outside the city. The results were a lessened blast from the impact of the Broodlord’s attack, as not only had the distance increased, but they also had high walls that were able to lessen the shockwave.
Now, neither Ezekiel nor Shine had jumped with more than one passenger before, technically two if you include Celia. But at the time, Riley and her Spirit had been brainwashed and forcibly focused on trying to kill him. So, it was clear that they weren’t in a proper state of mind when the Jump had occurred.
Ezekiel’s parents were fully in their right mind when the Jump occurred and were therefore forced to experience the full brunt of the effects of Ezekiel’s spell. Something that he was immune to and hadn’t been expecting. So, it was much to his surprise that his parents immediately began throwing up as they nearly collapsed to the ground from dizziness and nausea.
“Mom! Dad!” Ezekiel said as he knelt down to try and help them. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do besides wait for them to settle themselves. Luckily, the constitution of a Legendary Mage, who was also wearing their Spirit armor, was far tougher than an Adept’s. So, it didn’t take long for them to settle themselves and stand up straight once again.
“Do... you... go... though that... every time?” Warren asked once he regained his balance. “That was horrible. Like I was being squeezed and pulled in every direction at the same time all at once.”
Evelyn didn’t say anything, just weakly nodding her head in agreement. Her experience had been much the same. This threw Ezekiel for a loop, as it wasn’t something he had known about.
“No. I’ve never felt anything other than having to focus on where I am after a Jump, but I can prepare for that beforehand.” Ezekiel explained. “Shine, have you ever felt anything weird from Jumping?”
“No, but we’re Void users. Maybe we have an immunity like how Flame users have better fire resistance.” Shine suggested. “But that’s not important right now! Look at the city! Also, get ready. We’re under attack!”
Ezekiel snapped out of his concerned mindset as he realized that there was a small group of Cruor headed straight for them. They seemed to have at least a few Legendaries with them, but mostly had a number of Adept level Cruor. All of them were Winged Cruor, which would make things difficult for him if they attacked from above. Of course, he was nearly out of mana, so it wasn’t like that mattered too much.
Suddenly, the Adept Cruor were filled with holes as spears of Light pierced their bodies. Warren had a hand held out, with several more spears that had formed around him, clearly as a result of his attack. Suddenly, a bright flash revealed the spears that had attacked had returned to Warren’s side.
Ezekiel could vaguely recall this as something that his father explained to him as a means of overcoming Mana loss in battle. Something that Ezekiel hadn’t been able to perfect just yet. By retaining the form of a construct, but moving it with your will, a Hunter or a Mage would be able to save mana by reusing the mana within the construct they had made.
The technique itself was incredibly difficult to use. It required a level of control over one’s mana that simply wasn’t reachable by most Mages and Hunters. Not even the older Legendaries were guaranteed to be able to use this skill. That was just how hard it was.
It was something that many Hunters and Mages failed to do, however, since it was more difficult to control a construct the further away it was from your body. Also, Ezekiel didn't have many construct creation spells. He was limited to his Void Panes. Said two-dimensional constructs were incredibly costly, and that cost simply grew the more Panes he made.
Regardless, it was amazing for him to see his father in action. Sure, Ezekiel had, technically, dueled Theo back when he was tested for his first Expedition, but that had been when his father was an Adept, and it hadn’t been like Theo was fighting for real. Ezekiel also hadn’t seen his parents fight in the battle for Harkem eight years ago. He’d only heard stories told by his friends and the Scholars.
Immediately after the Adept Cruor were killed, Ezekiel witnessed the remaining Legendary Cruor attempt to defend themselves. There were three Legendaries in total. Warren began fighting with two of them, while the third was pulled to the ground by a shadowy tendril that pulled it down as it tried to attack Warren from behind.
Up in the air, Warren had reabsorbed the mana used to create his light spears. Instead, he now had two double bladed swords in his hands. Usually, Ezekiel would’ve thought that such weapons would be cumbersome and impractical, but it was clear that his Earth life mentality was wrong when faced with this magic his father was using to fight.
Warren was a whirling flash of light as he spun around like a tornado. It was apparent that Warren wasn’t just spinning either. He was striking at different angles, and his blades were moving up and down, as well as spinning at their own pace, separate from his body. Clearly there was more to these constructs than Ezekiel was currently aware of.
The Cruor attempted to defend themselves, but it was apparent that they were simply too slow. While it wasn’t possible for a Radiant Mage to actually reach the speed of light, they were still amongst the fastest magic users for a reason. Ezekiel found himself transfixed as he witnessed his father cut through two Legendary Cruor like they were steaks on a cutting board. Their wounds were also cauterized as the light that made up Warren’s blades also burned them.
While the deaths of the Cruor weren’t instant, it was still surprising just how fast they had died. Ezekiel had expected his father to be somewhat tired as he drifted back to the ground. But it seemed that Warren had mastered his magic to such an extent that he had barely broken a sweat in that battle.
A gurgling cough attracted Ezekiel’s attention, and he turned to see his mother finishing off the last Cruor. He couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. As focused as he was on his father’s battle, he had seen nothing of his mother’s.
“Here. Let me see your dad’s fight.” Shine said as they shared their memories with Ezekiel.
Suddenly, Ezekiel’s vision was momentarily filled with another battle as Shine shared their memories of Evelyn’s fight. While this happened, Ezekiel absentmindedly shared his memories of Warren’s fight in exchange. The exchange of memories happened in an instant, but the battle had obviously not.
As Ezekiel absorbed Shine’s memories, he saw the Cruor that was pulled to the ground. It landed with a crash as it tried to cut the tendril. But it only managed to partially cut through it before another shadow had grown from the tendril and wrapped up its talons. This prevented it from having enough momentum and leverage to cut through all the way.
From there, it tried to get up and charge at Evelyn and Ezekiel, but as the tendril slipped towards the ground, Evelyn and the Cruor’s shadows became connected. In an instant, more tendrils reached out and wrapped around the Legendary Cruor. But as the tendrils slithered over its body, it was apparent that the Cruor’s immense strength wasn’t helpful in this situation.
As it tried to rip itself free, the tendrils simply shifted away from its talons. When it tried to rip itself free by pulling, the tendrils would suddenly go slack, causing it to overbalance and fall over, just as it managed to get up. This occurred over and over again, and the tendrils continued to grow, until eventually they had encompassed the Cruor entirely.
Ezekiel wondered why his mother hadn’t simply pierced its body with her shadow spikes. But as he saw the tendrils had difficulty directly forcing the Cruor’s body to move in certain ways, even with better leverage, he assumed it was because the power in the spikes wouldn’t be enough to pierce the Cruor’s feathers and hide. A difference from his father’s fighting style that he made a note of.
Suddenly, the Cruor opened its mouth, likely to scream and launch some sort of Tempest-like attack. It probably would’ve been deafening, if not for the fact that Evelyn was able to react in time. A black mask covered the Cruor’s mouth, and two tendrils lead to its ears. The partially feather Cruor screamed, but no noise was made. The vibrations were, instead, contained and directed towards its own ears, rupturing the Cruor’s eardrums and causing it to stop almost as soon as it started.
The Cruor pitched forward, disorientated, and Evelyn had a moment to focus. She created a stronger construct, this time she aimed directly for its eyes. Stomping her feet as she did this, she focused more mana into her spell. The spikes she had made began to spin like drills and pierced the Cruor’s clouded eyes. The strengthened spell was now so powerful that it successfully pierced through the Cruor’s skull as well. It’s brain was basically mulched as Evelyn’s spell tore through its head.
Once the Cruor fell over, reflexively choking and making noises as Evelyn’s spell was reabsorbed into her mana pool, Ezekiel noticed that she too didn’t appear to be that tired.
“Hey, Ezekiel… “ Shine breathlessly called out in his mind. “Your parents are kind of scary. Did you know that?”
Thinking about it, Ezekiel realized that, no, he did not know his parents were so scary. He knew they were powerful, but not this scary. Clearly, they had not been sitting idly as they had been working for the Church to pay the fine that had been placed on Ezekiel. It was obvious that they were much higher than mere Step one, or even Step two or three, Legendaries.
“No. I didn’t know they were this scary. But that’s a good thing, right? It means that we have a higher chance of getting out of this alive.” Ezekiel said to Shine.
Suddenly, another massive impact happened in the sky, where yet another heavy presence impacted against the Broodlord. Who had, for some reason, not taken part in the battle that occurred after his initial attack. Ezekiel and his parent’s flinched from the noise but were able to witness a set of violet silver wings behind the figure that had attacked the Broodlord.
It seemed like the Exalt from the Empire had arrived. Only somewhat surprising, given that even a Legendary figure would require at least a couple hours to make it to Harkem from the border. Clearly the Empire’s Mythical Hunters were a cut above the rest when it came to ability. Though the fact that they were clearly a Lightning Hunter would’ve contributed to their speed.
Stolen novel; please report.
At that moment, howls and shrieks filled the air behind the Luminance family. Looking back, a massive horde of Umbral Beasts of the Fang and Bone Broods could be seen rushing towards Harkem. They must’ve been signaled by the Winged Cruor and were likely gathered and directed by whatever Peerage members were leading them.
Ezekiel knew that they were in a bad position, but it seemed like the battle wasn’t going to end anytime soon, as elemental attacks rained from the sky. Fire, ice, lightning, stone, light, and every other elemental effect that Ezekiel could imagine were thrown from a distance.
It seemed like the vanguards of the reinforcements had arrived slightly earlier than expected. A good thing, considering the current situation. The war machines and Legendaries leading the army of Guilds and unaffiliated Hunters immediately evened out the battle. At least for now. The sudden tears and craters appearing in the ground as the two Mythic Beings fought high above them were more than enough to turn the tide at any moment.
Of course, just as he was about to regroup with his parents, to make their way to the closest gathering of Hunters, Ezekiel felt his ankle be wrapped up in shadow, and thrown to the side by his mother. Causing him to narrowly avoid being skewered by several stone spikes that had shot up from the ground where he had been standing.
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Several hours prior to the destruction of Harkem, Yarrik was not having a good time. He had been chosen to act as the leader of a group of volatile Hunters as they searched for, and put down, the greatest threat to the Followers of Light that wasn’t a Cruor. Worse yet, the Anathema had become a Hunter. Meaning that there was a Void Spirit in the world. This could not be allowed. The Beginning had long since passed. The End could not come to be.
“Oy! Are we going to stay standing around like a bunch of headless chickens or are we gonna keep hunting for the Anathema?!” The Hunter that was clad in bright red Spirit armor asked.
Yarrik gave him a sidelong glance. He didn’t actually know the names of any of these Hunters. His fellow followers were all from different cities. Given they were going to be splitting up again after they had killed the Anathema, it was obvious to him that there was no point in learning their names.
“There is little point in continuing our search at this time. We might as well head to the city. Wait around their outskirts and avoid detection by their Hunters.” Yarrik said. “It is likely that the Anathema diverted his course towards the Cruor’s territory. If that is the case, then he almost certainly would’ve run into a patrol from the city. If they didn’t kill him themselves, then they likely would’ve brought him back to Harkem. No point in sending away another blade to use against the Cruor.”
He received a series of nods from the other four Hunters. Though the Flame Hunter clearly didn’t like the fact that he was being told what to do.
“So, you’re saying we wasted all that time when we could’ve just went straight to the city instead?” The Flame Hunter asked. “Why the hell are you the leader again?”
Yarrik decided not to mince words, or actions, and sent a spear of light through the Flame Hunter's shoulder. Ignoring his scream of pain, Yarrik retracted the spear, and a golden light covered the wound, healing it for the most part. Though his face was covered, it was clear the Flame Hunter was glaring at Yarrik with a burning hatred.
“I am better than you. That’s why.” Yarrik declared. “Now let’s go. We’re not too far away, but it’ll still take us a while to get to Harkem. Half speed, near the ground. Move.”
The Hunters responded to his orders by doing as they were told. They stayed just a few meters off the ground as they flew towards Harkem. All of them had either flying or otherwise high-speed-movement Spirits. So, they could’ve moved far faster and flown much higher. But they were trying to avoid getting too much attention at the moment.
Of course, once they got within viewing range of Harkem, and the massive pairs of wings appeared in the sky, their plans were forced to change once more. The mixed responses to this change in the situation made Yarrik want to rip his hair out.
“We need to get to the city and provide whatever aid we can to the Guilds and other Hunters.” Yarrik declared. “We need to help them hold out until the reinforcements at the border cities arrive. Exalt Harras should be here in moments, but that doesn’t change the--”
“I’ve found him!” The Tempest Hunter in their group suddenly spoke up. “I’ve found the Anathema. They are roughly a kilometer in that direction. He is accompanied by two Legendary Hunters. A Radiant and an Obscure Hunter. From what I can tell, the Anathema is exhausted. There is also a group of Winged Cruor headed straight for them.”
Yarrik closed his eyes for a moment to express his frustration. He didn’t need this right now, but understood that they had orders, even if there were other things that he thought they needed to focus on right now. As he opened his eyes, he saw that the Hunters were all looking at him. Some, accusatorially.
“You four, go kill the Anathema.” Yarrik said. “You, with me. We’re going to help the city hold out until the reinforcements arrive. Which hopefully won’t be too long.”
The Glacier Hunter nodded in reply, and drifted over to his side, as the other four looked at him with disgust. He ignored that, however, as he knew that their presence in this conflict was already going to paint them in a bad light. It was better that they were seen at least attempting to help, rather than just killing a young man and then leaving Harkem to fend for itself.
Perhaps the Lights of Radiance had clearer vision than himself and could see the outcome of their choices better than he could. But for now, this was the path he believed was right. Given the chaos that was breaking out, there was a chance that the Anathema would die regardless of their actions. So, at least for now, Yarrik decided that he needed to help against the Cruor.
“Flame Hunter, you’re in charge, like you wanted to be. If you fail to kill the Anathema when you outnumber his protectors by two-to-one, then that’s on you. Go.” Yarrik declared before turning away.
“My name is--!” Yarrik didn’t bother waiting for the Flame Hunter to tell him his name. He didn’t care, and as far as he was concerned, there wasn’t any time to be wasted with useless people saying their names.
He idly diverted his attention to the other group as they landed. Sighing internally to himself when he noticed that the attack made by the Cavern Hunter failed to kill the Anathema. The Obscure Hunter yanked him out of the way just in time. He was hopeful when he saw the area be filled with red hot flames, but he squashed that down in an instant.
This was not the time for hope. It was a time for focus and fighting. Nothing else.
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Ezekiel stared at the spikes shooting up from the ground in shock and dread. He was nearly out of mana, as was Shine. It would be impossible for him to make a Jump that was bigger than a couple dozen meters at this point. Nowhere near enough to get out of the blast zone of the conflict that was about to occur.
Worse yet, so long as he was there, his parents would be concerned with his well-being, rather than fighting to their best ability. If he weren’t completely tapped out, he would at least be able to run while his parents held them off, but now he was just dead weight.
Suddenly, a bright searing hand grabbed the back of his neck. His father threw him out of the way as the area they were in was engulfed in flames. While it was painful, it got him out of the way fast enough to avoid being set on fire and turning into a charcoal silhouette.
A sudden ‘twang’ rang out as Ezekiel felt an impact behind him. Turning back, he saw his father had just severed a number of whips composed of light that were aiming for him. At the same time, he felt the wind begin to pick up, and Jumped two meters to the left, barely avoiding a sword that stabbed down from the sky. The Tempest Hunter above them then had to move as a swarm of needles made of light flew at his position.
Ezekiel could tell that his parents were doing their best to conserve their mana, as his father didn’t usually use such small constructs when attacking. They worked, but only in distracting the Mage from making another attack right away.
“We need to get out of here!” Shine screamed inside Ezekiel’s mind. He agreed, obviously, but it was kind of hard to do so when he was in such a bad position. They were currently outnumbered, and he was basically just a target. One that was causing his parents to quickly lose ground as they tried to protect him.
They would need a miracle to happen if he wanted to get out of there right now.
Of course, just as that thought crossed Ezekiel’s mind, he noticed that there were several more Cruor headed their way. More Legendaries, as well as a mix of Adept and lower Cruor that were likely there to act as fodder or were chasing after scraps.
A plan formed in Ezekiel’s mind as he looked over his current circumstances. His parents weren’t doing well, and he was holding them back. He needed to give them a reason to get out of there. As well as take away the reason for the Cult being there.
“Shroud and Float! It’ll give us a few minutes!” Ezekiel said to Shine as he got an idea. He then called out to his parents. “I’m leaving! You should too!”
He then disappeared, Shrouded by Shine’s mana, and began floating a few feet off the ground. Turning his attention to the city. He Jumped a few meters once more, now with barely any mana left, but hopeful enough to hold out for now.
Seeing the looks of shock on the Hunter’s faces as they failed to sense his whereabouts, the Hunters from the Cult of Light began screaming at Evelyn and Warren. They demanded that they tell them where Ezekiel had gone. But Ezekiel’s parents stayed silent, and instead they made a mad dash towards the city of Harkem, avoiding the Cruor that were barreling down on their position.
Ezekiel didn’t miss the look of worry on their faces as they fled from the battle. It was obvious that they were concerned about Ezekiel. They knew he was almost out of mana, so it would’ve been impossible for him to have gotten too far away.
The Cultists, seeing this, moved to chase as well, though not before the Tempest and Flame Hunters performed a combination spell that formed a flaming typhoon that leveled the area. Ezekiel had a moment’s notice to surround himself in barriers, but even then, the lack of gravity holding him down threw him away from the battlefield.
The barriers just barely held, however, so he was safe from the flames, for the most part. He knew that, if the attack had actually been focused and directed, rather than the Cultists just passively beating the bushes, there was no way his barriers would’ve held. Not even moving with the momentum of the spell would’ve saved him.
That didn’t mean he was out of the woods yet though. He still had to deal with the fact that he was blown sky high and was nearly out of mana. He’d be lucky to survive the fall at this point. But the Cultists had cleared out the area, so at least he only had to deal with Cruor that were enraged, rather than Cultists that were focused on him, specifically.
“This isn't good. Is it?” Shine weakly muttered in Ezekiel’s mind. The Shroud that they had thrown up was flickering, and finally disappeared after a few more seconds. They were barely holding up with the gravity manipulation, and even that had lessened, to prevent them from flying any higher.
Looking at the Cruor charging in from the East, the city still too far away to reach in the West, and the Cruor descending from the sky, Ezekiel couldn’t deny it. Things were not good for them right now. Even with the Reinforcements coming from the south, it was unlikely that help would reach them anytime soon. If they even survived the landing from this height.
“No. This isn’t good, and I’ve got no ideas for getting us out of it either.” Ezekiel replied. His plan had almost worked. He had managed to bluff the Cultists into running after his parents and getting closer to the city and away from him. But it seemed like his luck was finally running out.
Looking at the city of Harkem in the distance, Ezekiel couldn’t help but sigh. He had been so close but had stumbled at the finish line. Thanks, in no small part, to the interference of what was essentially a demigod attacking from the sky.
As the last few remnants of mana faded from both himself and Shine, he felt gravity fully exert itself on him. Flashes near the city showed that his parents had made it, and were getting help fighting against the Cultists.
The ground was coming closer now. He could hear the screeching and howling of the Cruor as he got closer to the ground. It came from both above and below him. Spreading his limbs out, he tried to increase his air resistance to slow his fall, just a little bit.
Suddenly, just as he was a couple dozen feet from the ground, his body now limp, to hopefully disperse some of the impact, a sharp pain dug into his arms. Talons the length of forearms dug into him, tearing his flesh as he found himself pulled back into the sky.
Nearly panicking from the thought of being caught by the Cruor, Ezekiel tightened his grip on Shine as best he could. Turning to look up, however, he saw that the creature that had caught him wasn’t a Winged Cruor. It was a Spirit. A sleek and shiny silver Tempest bird Spirit. One with a vaguely familiar man standing on top of it.
“Drew?” Ezekiel asked after a moment of thinking. There were some features that he could recognize, but it was clear that Drew had been through a lot. The scars that ran up and down most of his body were more than enough to prove such. But it was the indifferent glare on his face that nearly threw Ezekiel off.
Before Drew could say anything, he turned his attention to the sky. As Ezekiel followed his gaze, he saw that several hundred flying Hunters had entered the fray. It seemed like, as he was falling, the Hunters from the city, as well as the southern reinforcements, had been flying towards them. Likely to intercept the Cruor before they could get much closer.
A sudden jerking sensation pulled Ezekiel to the side. Drew seemed to be against leaving the battlefield, but had turned towards Harkem, nonetheless. Even without the defenses, the amount of cover that the city would grant the Hunters was enough to make it a safer resting point than the open fields around them.
Beyond the city, to the north, Ezekiel could see massive flashes of Lightning, as well as tears and rents that ripped up the landscape. It was obvious that the Tier five beings that were the ultimate determining factors in this battle, were holding nothing back. It was also clear that whoever won that battle, would be the winner of this conflict.
Looking back at the city, Ezekiel shut down those thoughts as best he could. There was no point in worrying about the outcome of that battle. Not when he had just survived one battle and needed to recover to enter another one as soon as possible.