Ezekiel’s ears were ringing as he pushed himself up. He vaguely felt Shine screaming at him through the link, but the sensation felt more like panic born of worry rather than urgency.
Using a toppled tree to force himself onto his feet, Ezekiel saw that the area around him was not only farther away from the base than he had been when the explosion went off, but also utterly devastated. The ground was torn up, no trees were still standing, and at the center of the explosion the ground had turned to glass from the heat.
‘Behind you!’ Shine’s voice finally came through to Ezekiel clearly. He idly realized that his hearing had returned to him. But he had other things to worry about.
Not thinking about what he was doing, Ezekiel forced himself to ‘Jump’ with most of his remaining mana. Toppling to the ground and throwing up as he disorientated himself.
Given the flashes of light that just passed through his previous position, he knew he made the right choice.
A sudden heavy feeling filled his hand as Shine ‘Jumped’ into it.
Regaining control of his body, Ezekiel faced the person that had just attacked him. Letting out a curse as he did.
Meli Kindled stood not far from him. Clad in her Spirit Armor and pointing a sword directly at him.
He could tell that she wasn’t in her best condition, as her armor was scuffed, and her figure was hunched over. Ezekiel figured that she had taken a few hits when destroying one of the focal points maintaining the boundary of the Spirit Haven.
However, that didn’t necessarily mean that they were on even ground.
As explosions echoed in the distance, Ezekiel knew that he wouldn’t be getting any assistance from his father. Worse yet, he didn’t know the state of any of the guards. Not even whether or not any of them had survived.
“Shit.” Ezekiel grabbed Shine with both hands and readied himself to fight.
A flash of light filled his vision, and he narrowly raised Shine in time to block Meli’s first attack.
The sound that was released nearly deafened him again.
Ezekiel was forced to lean back thanks to the sheer speed of the impact increasing the power behind her blow. But it was the ground that was shattered as he only leaned back a little bit. The force had been redirected thanks to Ezekiel’s magic.
‘I can’t do that too many more times.’ Shine tried to stay calm, but even though their voice was clear, Ezekiel could sense their concern.
‘That’s fine. We just have to hold out for a little bit.’ Ezekiel was trying to convince both himself and Shine with his words.
Meli said nothing as she attacked Ezekiel with several rapid-fire attacks but didn’t use her magic to make any constructs. Ezekiel hoped that that meant she couldn’t afford to. It would mean the odds were closer to his favor than he had thought.
Of course, that hope was dashed in an instant as Ezekiel came in with a downward swing, only to be blocked by a shield of light thrown up by his opponent. A flash of light as the construct shattered briefly stunned him, and he wildly tried to defend himself.
Shine blindly ‘Jumped them out of the way, avoiding a slash aimed at Ezekiel’s head. But each time they did this it used up mana that was needed to fight.
‘I can’t do that again!’ Shine sounded desperate. Ezekiel knew the feeling. By this point, they were both basically out of mana.
A dozen dagger constructs flew at the Void duo, and they successfully deflected or dodged most of them. But Ezekiel still got hit by a few. Blood was dripping down his arms and legs now.
Meli charged forward once more, with a light construct blade in one hand, and her enchanted sword in the other. She swung her blades at Ezekiel, and there was a brief back and forth as Ezekiel forced his body to move as fast as he could.
Then, the sound of glass shattering could be heard as Shine broke through the Legendary Radiant Hunter’s dagger construct.
She stumbled, briefly, and Ezekiel pressed forward. Swinging downward at an angle, intent on cleaving through Meli’s shoulder.
Only for a flash of light and a ‘clang’ to ring out as Meli dispersed her Spirit Armor. The mana used to sustain it had been converted into a shield that blocked Ezekiel’s attack. Shine’s blade stopped cold in the air.
Jarred and stunned, Ezekiel could do nothing as a sword passed through his stomach.
Followed by a wave of blue fire that consumed him and his opponent.
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Riley had always thought that Legendary Hunters were the strongest being’s that she would ever encounter. She knew of Tier five Hunters; they were the pinnacle of humanity and Spirits alike. But she never thought for a second that she would ever get to meet one.
Thus, when she finally reached Legendary for herself, she expected to finally have the power to protect herself and the people she cared about. As well as repay her debt to Ezekiel for saving her.
Time after time she had been forced to support Ezekiel, rather than take the lead, even when she was at a higher Tier than him. It was something that hurt her, deep in the soul, knowing that, for all her power, she still couldn’t save anyone.
A sentiment that was shared with Celia, who didn’t like being weak any more than Riley did.
This feeling grew even worse when she failed to immediately recover from the detonation of the cult’s new weapon, even though she was a fair distance from the explosion. Leading to her recovering, just in time to see Ezekiel fighting the Radiant bitch from the Kindled Hounds.
‘No!’ Riley screamed through her link with Celia, and the two souls, Hunter and Spirit, seemed to become one in their intent.
Their red clad figure charged forward, but were just a second too late, as the Radiant Legendary dispelled her Spirit armor, a little viper formed around her neck, and hung down the front of her torso.
Allowing her to block Ezekiel’s full-strength strike, just enough to stab him through the stomach with her sword.
Riley howled in rage and brought her own weapon down on the Kindled family’s Hound. Releasing a torrent of blue flame at her enemy. Raking across her enemy’s chest as the Radiant Legendary threw herself backward. Charred black burns now covering her body.
But she wasn’t fast enough for her to get her Spirit to avoid much worse damage than she suffered. As it was nearly cut in half; currently too weak to defend itself against the might of another Legendary.
Reeling from the flames, Meli stumbled as she felt pain from both her own flesh and her bonded Spirit. She managed to use the last of her mana to disappear from the area in a flash of light.
Unable to follow, knowing that she would be too slow, Riley turned her attention to Ezekiel. There was nothing else that she could do at the moment.
“Ezekiel!” Riley caught Ezekiel before he could fall down. Blood ran down his side, and there were golden veins stretching out from the wound where the Radiant Legendary’s sword was still stuck in his side. She went to remove it.
“Stop!” Ezekiel exclaimed. He held up a hand to keep Riley back. “I’ll bleed out without a healer if you remove it.”
“But the mana will eat away at you if we don’t!” Riley didn’t take her eyes off the pulsing golden lines. She continued to hesitate regarding whether or not she should pull out the sword.
“No, Riley! He’s right. You need to leave the sword in!” Shine used a bit of what remained of their mana to keep Riley back when she reached for the weapon in Ezekiel’s side once more.
Unable to do much at the moment, Shine slid themself back into their sheath to more easily be carried with Ezekiel.
“I’m dispersing it. It’ll be painful, but I can recover.” It was only Ezekiel’s reassurance that finally stopped Riley from acting.
By this point, Ezekiel was halfway on the ground with Riley holding him.
“For now, I just need your help getting to the second camp. There should be healers there, and it should be far enough away to be out of the cult’s range.” Ezekiel knew that they needed to move, and that Riley needed a distraction. “Pick me up and get us out of here.”
Riley firmed her resolve and nodded. Picking Ezekiel up, he grunted in pain, but didn’t let that stop her. She knew that they needed to move. So, even though she was running low on mana, she still took to the sky and began her retreat to the second camp.
“Thank you…” Ezekiel’s voice was quiet and weak as he focused on not letting the venomous mana destroy him from the inside out.
While they fled, a part of Riley was worried about what would happen to the rest of the guards that would’ve survived. But those concerns were pushed aside as more Wild Spirits flooded the area.
Battle broke out once more, and several figures retreated in the same direction as Riley and Ezekiel. While in the distance, Warren and the enemy Cavern Legendary continued to fight.
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Outside the broken boundary of the Spirit Haven, Callrond and the other Legendary birds were looking down on the chaos below.
The Wild Spirits from the haven finally managed to take out the cult’s weapons, but not before they had managed to use up all their ammunition. Wiping out the majority of the Wild Spirits that had attacked. The two sides were now on their last legs. With the Spirits having only the slightest advantage due to numbers and the fact that the Cultists were tired.
“It seems like this Spirit Tide is almost over.” Callrond’s voice was quiet as he observed his surroundings. He was on his last legs when it came to his mana.
On his back, Feynari was melded into the shadows of his feathers. The two had worked together to take out a fair number of cultists, as well managed to destroy one of the cannons before having to retreat. Gravely injuring one of the cult’s Legendary Hunters in the process.
“I wonder if that’s actually the case.” Feynari didn’t seem to share Callrond’s sentiments regarding the situation. “We still don’t know how the cult managed to get so many numbers into the mountains like this. Nor do we know if they have even more people that will be attacking us.”
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“There is no chance that they have even more people. They cannot afford to keep throwing bodies at us like this. They would lose ground in the desert if they tried.” Callrond didn’t allow Feynari’s doubts to lower his mood.
Though the shift in the find did make him narrow his eyes. It seemed like there was a change occurring at another corner of the battlefield. Morty and Spina were in trouble.
“Interfering might make things difficult for us.” Feynari cautioned.
“They are our friends. We cannot simply leave without at least attempting to aid them.” Callrond disputed his sister’s words.
“I know. I am simply providing a warning so ensure you don’t overlook anything.”
Callrond hummed in understanding and banked to the side, diverting his course towards where Morty and Spina were locked in combat with two Legendary Hunters. One of the last remaining pairs from the cult, if they were seeing things correctly.
But as they approached, Callrond felt a tingle run up his spine.
“Dodge!” Feynari screamed, and Callrond rolled to the side, channeling his mana to turn himself into a ball of light as a sword construct of the same element passed upward through his previous position.
Glancing down at the ground, Callrond saw a pair of Legendary Radiant Hunters gathered together. His blood ran cold as he recognized the cobra themed armor of the Kindled family Legendary.
“What are they doing?” Callrond whispered with an undercurrent of horror.
From what he could tell, there were numerous bodies of fading Spirits all around, but something had changed. Instead fading into the atmosphere, it seemed like Norton was absorbing the mana that was being released from the fallen Spirits.
“By the Ancients...” Callrond lost all focus he had on aiding Morty and Spina. The terror and disgust he felt at what was happening with Norton and the leader of these cultists was too much to look away from.
All across the nearby area, others looked toward the same thing as their battles slowed to a halt. A shift in the air seemingly passed over the region. Chills and shivers passed through all the Spirits as their instincts, honed through years of surviving in the wild, told them danger was coming.
But it was the cultists that acted first. Each and every one of them moved to flee the area. Leaving the Spirits and the remaining Kindled Hounds in confusion. Some acted to follow or take the chance to strike the cultists from behind. But even as Morty and Spina rejoined Callrond and Feynari, their opponents having left them alone, it was too late.
A Blinding flash of light spread through the area. Radiant constructs of all sorts were fired in all directions, with only the strongest Spirits avoiding them.
When the light faded away, there were no longer two Legendary Hunters surrounded by fading Spirits. Instead, there was only one. The leader of this band of cultists.
Beside him, was a monster made of gold.
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Warren shifted out of the way of a stone ax his enemy swung down on him. His own weapon was used to aid in deflecting it to the side to avoid a direct blow.
The ax was rough and crude but was clearly not a construct. The inlaid gemstones and intricate carved runes proved as much as it glowed with power.
“Hold still you wretched heathen!” The Cavern Legendary screamed at Warren. Who merely retreated once more, not falling for the trap he knew his opponent was laying for him.
Warren had already tried to take advantage of his enemy’s missed attacks before. It had ended badly for him when his Spirit armor formed and shot a stone spike at him when he’d left himself open while attacking.
“You’ve got a lot of tricks. But even I can tell that you’re running out of mana.” Warren wasn’t wrong in his statement.
Over the years, he had risen above the lower end of Tier four and was much more sensitive to the mana of others. Especially those he was fighting directly.
By this point, it was obvious to him that he had more mana still left than the Cavern Hunter. To the point where, the only reason they were evenly matched was the fact that the cultist had better Artifacts, as well as a genuine Relic from the ancient Eras.
The fact that the cultist hadn’t pulled them out in the beginning of the battle meant that there must be a strict cost, one that likely wasn’t related to the amount of mana needed to activate them. So, Warren was hoping to draw out the fight for as long as he could.
The two Legendaries moved to charge each other once more, but a sudden sense of unease flooded over them both. A sense that both had sharpened over decades of fighting. One that Ezekiel naturally had at a much higher level.
Both the cultist and Warren stopped in the air, and felt fear fill their bodies. But unlike Warren, the cultist was smiling. Even as his body started shivering from fright.
“Damn... It looks like this battle will be coming to an end either way.” The cultist shifted in the air, and Warren moved to keep the cultist in front of him. “Don’t worry. I’m not moving to attack you. I’m moving so as to get out of the way.”
Before Warren could ponder what exactly the cultist was talking about, the two had swapped positions in the sky, and the Cavern Legendary immediately fled the scene. Turning into a streak of orange-brown light as he fled as fast as he could.
Theo mentally asked Warren what all that was about, but Warren didn’t have an answer.
Instead, he cautiously turned towards the direction that the sense of dread was coming from. His heart dropped as he realized that it was coming from the area where the breach in the haven was at.
For a moment, he thought about moving toward it to help the Spirits as best he could. But he knew that that wasn’t his responsibility right now. So, instead, he moved to take out the cultists that remained in the area. Freeing up the remaining guards so that they could retreat to the second camp.
All the while, Spirits from all over the haven rushed toward the location of the main battle between the haven and the cultists.
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Ezekiel was drifting in and out of consciousness as he and Riley reached the second camp. It was far enough away to take hours on foot, even by a peak Adept Mage. A Hunter might shorten the time by riding their Spirit, but unless their Spirit could fly, it would still take an hour at least.
For Riley, who was still maintaining her Spirit armor, it took them a handful of minutes. Which would’ve been even less had she the mana to spare in order to increase her speed further.
As they covered the distance between the two camps, Ezekiel was vaguely aware that they hadn’t passed over any Spirits. A part of him assumed that they had already all rushed over to the first camp, or the primary battle with the cult.
Another part of him felt like something big was about to happen. A premonition of something even worse about to happen, something familiar, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
Upon reaching the camp, they had little trouble getting in. The guards were aware of exactly what Riley’s Spirit armor looked like, so they didn’t activate the defenses as she dove toward the camp.
“Healer! I need a healer over here!” Riley screamed as several guards rushed to her position. Her mask retracted into motes of red light as she got their attention.
Fortunately, it was apparent that one of them was a Life Mage, and they immediately began channeling their mana into Ezekiel, bringing him back to full awareness. Worsening his pain in the process and making him scream in pain.
“I’m sorry, but the sword in your side means that this is going to hurt.”
Riley looked murderous as the healer did job. But she knew that there was nothing she could do.
The shadows writhed and formed abnormal shapes that drew the eye and caused confusion. Stepping out from a wall that utterly lacked any form of light, Evelyn nearly fell to her knees as she fretted over Ezekiel.
“What happened? Why do you have Legendary Tier mana infecting your side?” Evelyn felt a hint of familiarity as she saw Ezekiel’s bleeding side, but she was more focused on making sure her son was okay. She didn’t give him a moment of peace as the healer tried to treat him.
“Enough! Healer, will I be able to survive if you remove the sword at this point?” Ezekiel felt a bit guilty for not learning the healer’s name but knew that this wasn’t the time.
As the Life Mage nodded, he turned to Riley and his mother.
“I need you two to help. Riley, you need to pull the sword out, and mom, I need you to flood the wound with Obscure mana.” Ezekiel’s words nearly caused the women hovering over him to scream. “Riley needs to pull it out, the healer needs to keep me from bleeding out, and you need to counteract the Radiant mana that’s poisoning me!”
“... He’s right. I don’t like it, because it’s crude and has its dangers, but the longer the sword and that Radiant mana are in his system, the longer it’ll take me to heal him.” The healer said to Ezekiel’s mother and Riley. Both looked uncertain but agreed to do as told. “On three... One... Two... Three!
Ezekiel let out another pained yell as Riley pulled the sword out and his body was flooded with another mana type. Fortunately, his mother was very good at controlling her mana, and didn’t use more than what was necessary to counteract the Radiant mana in Ezekiel’s body.
“Damned venomous Spirits...” Ezekiel grunted as he felt his wound finally stitch back together.
“Was that injury from the Kindled Hound?” Evelyn just realized where she recognized the wound from. “Did Norton show up?”
The worry in Evelyn’s voice was palpable as she imagined Warren fighting with his old mentor and family member. But she visibly relaxed when Ezekiel shook his head.
“The other one. From before Norton showed up. The one from back in Tollren.” Ezekiel explained the situation and was about to describe the events that had occurred in the front camp.
A sense of foreboding and sudden doom then passed over them.
As one, everyone turned to the direction of the ongoing battle. All but Ezekiel, who had frozen at the familiar sensation. One that he recalled from the worst day of his life in the Archipelago. At the same time, his danger-sense began screaming at him. Physically demanding that he get away.
“I need to go.” Ezekiel tried to climb to his feet, forcing himself to ignore the pain as he nearly ripped open his side once more.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Riley threw herself over Ezekiel and pinned him to the ground. “Healer, keep healing. Ezekiel...”
The fear in Ezekiel’s eyes made Riley pause. She had seen him worried and uncertain before, but not like this.
Ezekiel was practically vibrating as he tried to get away. Even Shine was rattling in their sheath.
“You don’t understand. That thing is going to be coming for me!” Ezekiel was practically screaming at Riley and the rest as he needed to get away.
“What is it?” Evelyn was somewhat more composed as she looked down at her son. “It feels like... the Exalt. But that’s not possible...”
“Riley, you know first-hand that the cult can forcibly advance someone's Tier. They made you into a pseudo peak Adept when you were sent to kill me. Imagine what would happen if they did the same thing to a Peak Tier four!” Ezekiel’s words caused Riley to turn pale.
Evelyn’s face matched, as she knew exactly what Ezekiel was talking about. But before they could do anything, a flash of light approached from the first camp.
The guards immediately went on alert, but the figure stopped a distance away from the second camp. It was Warren, who looked a little bit worse for wear, but was mostly unharmed.
The guard quickly let him into the camp, and he began explaining the situation. While more guards were called in to pin Ezekiel down. Each one strained under the force of his Tier four strength.
“The other survivors will be here within a couple of hours. They should have a clear path now that I’ve wiped out the cultists. Where’s--” Warren finally caught sight of his wife and son in a small clearing. Ezekiel’s obvious struggles made him pause, and nearly lash out, but the fact that Evelyn wasn’t doing anything to free Ezekiel seemed to hold him back.
Warren was given a brief rundown of what had happened, and the fact that the Kindled Hounds were still around. Meli having retreated meant that there was the possibility that there were more that would be able to go after the retreating guards.
“I’ll go and oversee the guard’s retreat from the first camp. You stay here and recover.” Evelyn moved to fulfill her side of the contract that was made between her and the Alkena and Morse families.
She sent a worried look at Ezekiel, who had calmed his struggles. For the most part.
“Don’t go.’ Ezekiel’s voice made Evelyn pause. “It’s already too late...”
Everyone’s faces seemed to darken at Ezekiel’s words. His voice was cold and calm. As if he was resigned to an inescapable fate. Like he had given up.
It was a sound that none of them had ever heard from Ezekiel before, and it made them feel afraid all over again.
No one could ask what he meant, however, as a massive pillar of light shot into the sky. A heavy pressure settled on everything as the sound of a bomb going off echoed in the distance. The shockwave passed over the caravan’s camp.
Ezekiel, Warren, and Evelyn could easily tell what had happened. None of the guards were aware of just how much danger they were all in.
“Mom.”
Evelyn turned to her son.
“Dad’s almost out of mana, so you’re the only one who can save everyone right now.”
Everyone looked confused. Ezekiel just sighed, relaxing for a moment before flexing as hard as he could, and tearing himself out of the restraints that the others had put him in.
“I don’t know how, but the monsters that the cult makes are able to track my presence. Since you’re the strongest person here, you need to do everything you can, to get me out of here.”
The others looked mutinous as their faces twisted in rage. Ezekiel could tell they all thought he was running away. Even though it was the opposite.
“That way, the pseudo-Mythic being that was just born will come after us. Leaving the rest comparatively safe.”
All complaints stopped short as Ezekiel’s true plan was revealed, and his words registered in their heads. Evelyn looked determined after a second of hesitation. However, Warren and Riley didn’t seem to agree with Ezekiel’s plan.
“You’re not going alone,” Warren declared, “I’m coming with you.”
“Me too!” Riley nearly shouted.
“You two need to stay here to protect the guards. Otherwise, the contract between them and you will be voided, and you, dad, will suffer the consequences.” Ezekiel glared at Riley and his father. “Riley... I’m sorry, but you’re in even worse shape than my dad. You won’t even be able to keep up when we run.”
Warren tried to argue but flinched as something seemed to pull him back. Ezekiel knew it was the contract affecting him. Evelyn wasn’t held back, since she knew that Ezekiel’s argument made logical sense for protecting the guards, given the danger they now faced.
Riley also didn’t have such restrictions, but Ezekiel wouldn’t allow her to come along. Even though it pained him to leave her behind once more. He promised himself to do something to make it up to her if they managed to survive this.
“Let’s go, mom. We can’t waste any more time. As fast as you can. Now.”
“Don’t ignore me, Ezekiel!” Riley moved to reach for him but stumbled and face planted as her armor suddenly dispersed. Celia reformed on the ground next to her Hunter. Ezekiel nodded in thanks, while the little dragon Spirit just stuck her nose up at the Void Hunter.
Evelyn moved to hug Warren, and for a brief second, both knowing that this would be dangerous. While Riley got to her feet and was about to reach forward and grab them.
The earth-shattering roar that emanated from not too far away made her flinch and pause. Allowing Evelyn to pull Ezekiel into her shadow, unimpeded.