1971 Parting Ways (Part 1)
The resonance between the Eldritches was still in effect and so were the combined effects of the various bloodline abilities of the Divine Beasts.
Even with her tower form at full power, she could feel the pressure they exuded.
'It's no wonder that Malyshka avoided fighting with them. I'm not a white core and the Eldritches have become much stronger compared to the last time I saw them.' She thought.
"If that's what you think, maybe you should learn Forgemastering because I'm not going to make equipment for any of you!" The Raiju replied in anger.
"Would you really betray our father for this insignificant relic of the past?" Kigan the Phoenix roared, revealing a second set of wings.
They were membranous like those of a Dragon but it was the elemental eye that opened in the middle of his forehead to reveal the presence of his Balor half. Kigan had now a black, a yellow, and a red eye.
Three eyes were the limit for Balors in their fallen state and the Phoenix was no exception.
"I would never do that!" Bytra said in outrage. "I owe a lot to the Master but nothing to you guys. The Fury was mine so I was free to do with it whatever I wanted and the same applies to the Mouth. If not for me, you wouldn't even know that it was here."
"Enough!" Zoreth and Nelia said in unison. "We'll quarrel later. First, let's get our hands on the prize."
Neither of them was the eldest or the strongest Eldritch. That role belonged respectively to Tezka and Orulm, who like the Fylgja pre-dated the Guardians but was still waiting for a monster core powerful enough to contain his black core.
Both the Shadow Dragon and the Storm Griffon were the most respected due to their wisdom. Zoreth was the first Abomination that the Master had recruited while Nelia was the one who had used her connections with the underworld to turn a small group of outcasts into a powerful shadow organization.
"Bring us the Mouth of Menadion and Visante. Then we'll talk about your life." Zoreth said.
"Who?" Nelia asked.
"The man who killed Menadion's disciple and imprinted the Mouth. Without him, the artifact would be pointless. We can't remove his imprint and he would need but a thought to recall it." Zoreth replied.
Ozak, clenched his teeth, inwardly cursing the Abomination. He had offered them the Mouth because he knew that he would be able to retrieve it. Once back in the safety of his own home, nothing could scare him.
No one knew where is secret lab was and the Eldritches couldn't hurt what they couldn't find.
"Of course." He actually said with a smile, as if that had been his intention all along. "You'll need to cancel the Sealed Space, though. I need to call my assistant and she has to Warp here."
"Fair." Zoreth shapeshifted into her human form but her right hand remained that of a Shadow Dragon.
She plunged it inside Ozak's chest and he felt her slightly clenching his heart as it literally skipped a beat.
"You know how Eldritches are hard to kill." She said while looking him in the eyes. "Warp away and my hand will come with you. You'll die a second later and I'll find the place you went to hide by following my own hand. I'll get both your life and your legacy."
Ozak nodded in a frenzy, swallowing a lump of saliva as even his second contingency plan failed.
The Leviathan and the Fenrir cleared from the dimensional seal only a small area around the representative, keeping the rest of the hostages trapped.
"Prexa, red protocol. Bring the Mouth and Visante at my coordinates, no matter how." Ozak said in his communication amulet.
A few seconds later, a Warping Array led a young woman and an old man near the representative.
"Elphyn?" The old man looked at Solus in fear but she didn't recognize him.
He was about to say something about her weird appearance when his eyes met Lith's and he froze in terror. Visante was a bright violet core and under normal circumstances, he would be immune to Demon Fear.
Yet now that the Tiamat was empowered by both Life Maelstrom and the resonance effect with hundreds of Demons of the Abyss, even the ancient Awakened couldn't stand the pressure.
"I've kept my part of the bargain. Now it's your turn." Ozak said.
"Elphyn, this is the man who killed your friend and stole your legacy." Zoreth pushed Visante in front of Menadion's heir and forced him to kneel. "You can kill him however you want. There's no rush, take your time."
"Thanks, but I don't want to." Solus shook her head.
Visante was over 900 years old and looked like a man in his nineties. He was a wiry tall man with clear white hair and a long beard. He only lacked a pointy hat to look like Merlin from Earth's legends.
"Thank you so much, Elphyn." He said amid tears. "I knew that you would understand. You've always been so good to me. If only your mother chose me for the Mouth instead of Vestha, none of this would have ever happened.
"You and I both know that I was a better mage than he ever was."
Visante mistaking her mercy for camaraderie, her unwillingness to kill in cold blood for absolution for his murder, made Solus' blood boil.
"I've lost my memories so I have no idea who you are or who was the better mage between you and Vestha. What I do know is that I can't let someone like you, someone who killed his fellow apprentice to rob him of my mother's legacy, live."
A single swing of the Fury turned the bright violet core into a bloody puddle.
"I like her." Cyare said and the others nodded. "Not enough to gift her the Mouth, though."
"Can I go now?" Ozak asked, uncaring for who would keep the artifact as long as he kept his life.
"Depends, how many people know about the artifact?" Zoreth asked.
"A lot." The representative lied through his teeth. "Letting me go is in your interest. I can keep others from seeking vengeance but if I die-"
"The entire Verendi Council will be wiped out." Nelia completed the phrase for him. "That and the death of so many Awakened will cause a power vacuum that will take decades, if not centuries to be filled.
"If we kill them all, by the time the Verendi Council has the power to stand up to the current us again, our strength will have increased one hundredfold."
"No!" Fear turned Ozak as pale as a ghost. "If you let me go, I promise that the Council will stay off your back, that no one will seek you for the Mouth."
"Would really any of you be so foolish to attack us on Garlen?" Zoreth replied with a sneer. "We've beaten you in your own home, you'd have no chance in ours even if by some sort of miracle all of your fallen soldiers came back to life.
"Also, as you said, a lot of people know about the Mouth. Any of them can rat us out to the Garlen Council and reveal we now are in possession of the artifact.
