The Runic Alchemist

Raising her hands high, Vidalia chanted two spells at once, moving at blinding speed. Seeing her on her feet, Lysandrea, Aramis, and Tristan felt relief, finally regaining their battle clarity. Damian, however, was still feeling the aftereffects of enduring so much pain and having his mana drained and refilled.

The two large, red runic circles near her hands activated at once, releasing a flood of molten lava with the force of a high-pressure water jet aimed at the traitor's face.

"Here's your reward for a successful mission, bitch..." Damian heard Vidalia say as she incinerated the black box along with Esme, reducing them to ashes in mere seconds.

It happened so fast that Damian was left stunned by her decisiveness and lethal efficiency. She truly was a spell master, proficient in all forms of magic. However, this little display gave Threadripper the opportunity to finally break free of his bindings with a roar. Vidalia quickly regained control over her purple vine spell, but the paralyzing effect was no longer working.

Had his body already adapted to counter it? These third-rankers really were monsters...

Moondancer swooped in, helping her partner and pulling him onto her mount, creating distance between the two parties. The second-rankers that had emerged from the waygates were being handled by Vidalia's companions, with help from her high pressure molten lava spell. It was an even fight; while Ashenvale had more numbers, they had superior quality.

However, Moondancer and Threadripper's disregard for their own people, using them as mere pawns to create an opening and escape, made killing them much easier than expected. Besides, Aramis, Tristan, and the pugilist were transcendent seeds, not just any ordinary second-rankers.

"Broken Branch... You've made a huge mistake coming here with your ragtag group of puppies..." Moondancer taunted from a distance, her playful tone at odds with her menacing appearance.

"I went easy on you, Elf, but it seems my mercy isn't appreciated here... What is this, some pitiful attempt to buy time for your forces to retreat? It's useless. We have the upper hand. Admit it—you just don't have the numbers," Threadripper added, his voice tinged with anger. Couldn't blame the guy; he had come dangerously close to Vidalia hacking him to pieces.

Still, they both seemed far more composed than Damian thought they would be.

They must have slaughtered hundreds of Ashenvale's people, and these second-rankers were highly valued. They didn't care about any of them, Damian realized. These third-rankers truly thought themselves above everyone else. It was hard for him to believe Vidalia's story, but these two were clearly just playing games, secure in their power, unafraid of any consequences.

They acted as if they were invincible.

"And who the hell is that abomination? Some kind of Esper with a weird ability? He uses spells though..." Moondancer sneered at Damian, who had just gotten to his feet and joined his companions, who were still finishing off the remaining second-rankers.

Damian stood beside Vidalia as Tristan, Lysandrea, Aramis, and the pugilist joined them, having dealt with their own targets. Together, they stared up at the flying beast carrying the two third-rankers.

"You bit off more than you could chew, Threadripper. You shouldn't have invaded my home. History does not look kindly upon those who do so. But I guess you uncultured swine don't even know your ancestors' names, let alone their deeds. Look closely, open your eyes wide—this is what vengeance looks like," Vidalia declared, her voice commanding, like a queen passing judgment on peasants.

"Vengeance? Don't pretend like those bugs mean anything to you. But then again, you Eldoris folk are strangely sexual about nature and bugs, so I guess it makes sense..." Moondancer replied, her irritatingly cheerful tone cutting through the tension.

'Bugs? People are bugs to them? Kyle... Paul... The pretty maid... Makayla...

Are those the "bugs" she was talking about? How... dare she?!'

'Calm down. I understand your frustration, but don't let her get to you. She's always been like that...'

"Huh?" Damian realized the mental link had been unblocked. His emotions must have slipped, allowing Vidalia to hear his thoughts. That wasn't good. He reminded himself to stay composed—he already knew what kind of scum they were, worse than the people standing beside him. That was why he was fighting them.

Damian glanced around. His companions wore the same expressions as him, even Vidalia, who usually kept a cold, blank face, showed signs of anger.

"Return to your miserable camp. You've annoyed me enough, yet I'm giving you a chance. Surrender your army, and no more blood will be shed. We can resolve this peacefully, just as you want..." Threadripper offered, as if his proposal was actually worth considering and he was being incredibly generous. The audacity of this guy...

Vidalia stepped forward, twisting her blade, gripping it tightly as the steel reflected the fire burning the Ashenvale knights nearby. Tristan and the others followed her lead—that was their response to his 'generous offer.' Threadripper sneered and leapt down from the low-flying beast, his body now healed thanks to some runic tool Moondancer had given him.

His rapiers extended, ready to rip the world apart.

Damian regained full control over his golem, bringing it forward from where it had been left. As Vidalia and the others began chanting and gesturing, including Threadripper, Moondancer landed nearby to face Vidalia. Damian took his time though, conjuring a small runic circle for black aura fire to enhance his golem's spear, preparing it for the next battle.

The golem was dented and scorched in many places, but it was still functional.

Then, all at once, spells flew through the air. Moondancer hurled her large javelins, which Vidalia countered with fiery birds she had just summoned. Tristan unleashed highly condensed water blades aimed at Threadripper, which turned into ice mid-flight.

Lysandrea fired her version of rock bullets, while the pugilist charged forward head on, shattering the snow-covered stones beneath his feet as he rushed toward Threadripper.

But the sword master simply unleashed a massive gust of wind from a large green runic circle near his face, deflecting all the projectiles and tossing the pugilist aside with the wind force, then followed it with enormous horizontal dark blue aura blades that cut through the air.