After adventuring for many years, Vanessa was able to move through the onslaught of opponents with relative ease, but once again, the sheer number of them was gruelling to most people.
The Star Gate was in sight, as were the men of the Eshvir Knights, who brandished their weapons against the beast.
The clangs of metal overpowered the battlefield; the humming of the Stargate became nonexistent. Vanessa was determined to help relieve the pressure that had built up in this section.
These people had been fighting for no less than a few hours against the vermin that sprawled from the forest.
She needed to turn the odds in their favour. Despite their outward show of confidence and valour, they were being worn down by the second.
Luckily for them, Vanessa was a 4th-tier mage. This meant that she not only had one element but two, and in her time, she had been able to unveil many abilities and acquire various types of soul shards that would provide her the edge she needed.
She stretched out her hands, her body radiating a shimmering scarlet as she activated her soul shard, obtained from slaying an advanced mana beast many years ago.
In one hand, she wielded her water magic, and in the other, she grasped the wind. She looked down, pinpointing where the hordes were emerging from.
The mana began to dance around her hands as she directed it toward the target. She called upon her wind and water incantations and showered the battlefield with beautiful arrows of wind and water.
One by one, goblins, slimes, and other beasts fell. Vanessa had to focus intently on the creatures, ensuring her arrows did not strike any of the knights—and she succeeded.
Many of the knights seemed shocked. Where did this assistance come from? They wondered. Sensing the origin of the magic, they turned to Vanessa, raising their swords in a cheer. Though the battle was not yet over, her intervention had helped them significantly.
***
Aya clutched her shoulder; the force of her leap from Shadowbound had injured it. She was already running low on mana, and the goblins were only wounded, not dead.
The only possessions she had were her wand and a few garments that might withstand a few slashes from Shadowbound's blade.
Her mind raced, calculating how she could win, but the odds were slim, escape alone seemed unlikely, let alone victory.
She knew that controlling someone with an artifact required intense focus, meaning both the goblins' connection and Cid's link to the mage had to be weak.
That also posed another problem in itself.
For a mage to dominate someone like Cid, Dorian must have inflicted enough damage to make him desperate, or perhaps the mage had done something to incapacitate Dorian, granting him the opportunity to seize control.
Shadowbound, however, was not about to let her strategise in peace. He lunged forward, his dark blade plunging toward her. Aya dodged to the left—only to find a goblin lying in her path.
The creature leapt and latched onto her stomach, raking its claws across her flesh before kicking her hard into a tree. Aya groaned in pain, blood seeping from the wound.
She pressed a hand to her stomach; it felt as though molten lava was pouring from the gash. Her vision blurred, but she refused to be done.
This pain was hollow compared to what she had felt. The burning blood seeping from her body was minuscule in comparison to the shattered bones she had that day.
The sight of the beast burning through Xerxes as she ran was way more pathetic, far more terrifying than Cid and a couple of goblins.
She couldn't give up now, not for Xerxes' sake, not for her own sake. If she wanted to give up now, what would that spell for her future? She didn't even want to imagine the answer, making her gather the vestiges of strength she had left.
Aya braced herself against the tree, pushing herself upright as she wiped blood from her lips.
"I don't wish to fight you, Cid. But if you insist, I'll have no choice."
"Foolish," he replied flatly.
Physically, there wasn't any merit in going against the man sheathed in sheets of metal, so she opted for something else. Her plan was foolish, bizarre even, but she would commit to it regardless.
Cid's weapon glowed a sapphire blue, mirroring the aura around him as he channelled a simple spell, launching an aerial slash of water. Aya ducked beneath it.
Then she ran fast, in a wide arc, avoiding the goblins. Blood seeped from her stomach, causing her agonising pain, but she pushed through.
Currently, the creatures were split into two groups: one writhing around the alluring herbs he had previously scattered, the other clustered near Shadowbound.
They weren't attacking him. It seemed that due to the spell of control, their sole target was herself, though the ones still drawn to the herbs seemed to be distant, unaware of what was happening. In fact, they were violently raking their claws across the floor.
She didn't need to personally defeat Cid to win. She could outmanoeuvre him and exploit the state he was in to win and it was within reach.
But then something shifted. Shadowbound's movements became erratic, his pace accelerating as he dashed toward her.
Aya reacted instantly. As his sword arced down, she slashed a gust of wind at his breastplate, hoping to stagger him. The attack wasn't anything that displayed a semblance of strength, but it was the best she could muster.
The gust of wind landed, but he barely flinched, his assault unrelenting. He raised his sword, swinging it down.
Blood splattered everywhere; it was truly a massacre. Though it wasn't Aya's blood, it was a goblin's.
That final gust of wind wasn't intended to do any real damage, but instead mask Cid in the herbs, which were less than a few steps away from her, attracting the goblins.
To say the least, it was successful; goblins began relentlessly attacking him, and Aya was safe, for now.
**
Dorian floated in the water, battered by violent currents. Through the muffled depths, the enemy mage's voice taunted him:
"You were supposed to be the resistance? You thought you could stop me, stop the golden will? It's out of my moral compass to kill children, but maybe..Maybe I can break my rules, can't I?"
The arrogance from the mage was almost amusing, but Dorian had been acting frivolously long enough. From what he sensed, Aya was weakening, Shadowbound seemed to be in battle with Aya, meaning he was taken over, and a group of goblins had broken free of the mage's control.
The plan was unfolding, not in the most favourable way, but it was still working. Aya and Shadowbound had drawn in enough goblins, his fire walls still held, and the mage's mana was nearly depleted to a manageable level.
"It's time."
Dorian thrust his sword outward, channelling energy. Shadows coiled around the blade as he spun, steam erupting from the water that started to boil.
The barriers of fire he had once surrounded himself with expelled in every direction, this severed the connection of everything all around him, which would render the mage's primary power useless.
As Vanessa said, the way that her adventuring party had once dealt with someone of a similar nature was by using a vast amount of mana, specifically fire, to overpower the tether between the artifact and the controlled.
Though this required specific situations, it had to be unexpected, or whilst using their own mana. This was because they could resist it to a degree - if they suspected what was occuring.
However, with the enemy mage being engrossed in combat with Dorian specifically, whilst utilising his mana, it was the best of both worlds he could have asked.
There was no more water that could hinder Dorian's flames now. A murky chuckle escaped his lips.
"You should have done more whilst you had the chance, now there will be nothing you can do."
He threw his hand to the side, "Impossible, IMPOSSIBLE I SAY! I was specifically chosen for this, I won't lose. I WONT!"
Dorian planted his foot into the ground and dashed towards the man with impressive speed. He rushed forward, with fire pulsing within his sword.
The mage invited the challenger. He raised his wand, and an incantation began spilling from his lips, but Dorian was prepared.
He recalled the knowledge of the grimoire, not only providing the ability to control things, but also granting the ability of incantationless mana, meaning that the mage would likely try to catch him off guard.
Midway through chanting the incantation, a spiralling beam of water sprang towards his face, but it was too slow for Dorian, too easy for him to read.
He had anticipated the trick, which caught him off guard once and easily outmanoeuvred the deceptive attack.
Leaping to the side, Dorian's body was leaning downward, he rotated the full force of his body, and instead of striking him with the sword that seemed to slip off his skin, he dug his elbow into the man's stomach, this way it would ensure a hit.
Colliding with the mage's sternum, Dorian winded him, knocking him to the ground, right at his feet.
Dorian didn't stop there; he kicked the mana, causing him to crash through the grass. His cloak was torn and his face had finally come into his view
"Pathetic." Dorian sneered.
"Me, Pathetic, you've had to orchestrate your whole attack, whilst I fought you unknowingly, and I'm not done fighting. Why would I be? You're nothing special, Dorian Tenum."
Dorian frowned. It was strange that he knew his name, but who could have given him that information?
"Oh yes, I do know about you, I know that you're a pathetic excuse of a wielder for the draconic blade. That onyx blade, which has been useless against me. Your a member of that no-named, crossed seas guild as well, and if you don't chose how you act next, I will send you to the afterlife, just like that little shit, Xerxes."
Dorian was silent for a moment and started drawing on a different power, one that he didn't have to use often. However, because of his comment, he felt as if it was appropriate.
"You think of yourself as high and mighty, don't you? Allow me to paint the picture for you. What you've done here, you truly believe that this was anything I could even fear."
The mage faltered. Something in Dorian's jet-black eyes froze him—a primal terror. He sheepishly muttered the word, "LIAR!"
"Has anything about the way these events have played out been a lie. I've dominated over your shit excuse for mana and I've done it all by myself, do you really think I had an inkling of losing before coming here? No."
"Doing this is as trivial as brushing my teeth, or going to sleep, nothing is exciting about this, there is nothing that you could do that would make me take you seriously, after all, I'm not the one on his knees right now."
The mage dragged his body back, in an escape to miss Dorian's gaze, but there was something about it, that latched onto him. It felt as if there was something greater and more sinister embedded within it.
What he was saying was correct; it was so correct that the mage started screaming in fear and realisation that he was about to die.
This was Dorian's move, he had inherited from Emryss, Draconic presence.
Tears began streaming from his eyes, as snot ran from his nose, "This wasn't supposed to happen, I was supposed to kill the Eshvirs, I was supposed to take control of the stargate, I was meant to draw you out and kill you!?"
Dorian didn't respond, he enjoyed watching the man struggle with his own thoughts, knowing that Dorian was the catalyst for it.
"If there's nothing I can do against you, then..then I HAVE TO CONTROL YOU!"
The mage spread his hand across the grass, in attempt to reach the grimoire, and he even touched it. Mana began streaming from his arm directly into the grimoire, but what he couldn't suspect were the two figures who emerged from the shadows.
A torrent of wind pushed the book towards Dorian, as Dorian simply stabbed the sword, with the flames searing over the pages, over the entire book.
Shadowbound, on the other hand, used the midnight blue fist of his armour to add more blood to his hands. He punched the mage directly across the face, making him collide with the trees.
Dorian walked over to them and smiled.
Shadowbound was covered in sheets of blood, and Aya was holding her stomach, but they had made it.
"You guys, look in worse shape than me, what hell were you dragged through?"
Cid held his head, "One more harrowing than anything else I had felt before, I was a puppet being controlled, I even attempted to strike you multiple times, Aya, I apologise once again. I feel ashamed"
Aya waved her hand, "I have said countless times, it was not your fault, Cid, we're all doing alright at the end of the day, so tha-
Dorian's breath hitched as a blade of shimmering water jutted from his stomach. Blood, warm and choking, escaped from his lips in thick torrents.
He staggered, eyes wide with disbelief. Did he miscalculate something? He was still on guard, but he couldn't sense this.
Looking behind he saw the mage, but with a syringe implanted into his neck, full of oozing purple and scarlet liquid that gave the man a deranged look.