2054 Best Laid Plans (Part 2)

Her claws ripped the tendons in Lith's right hand, making him lose the grip on War and allowing her to Warp the dangerous blade dozens of kilometers away.

'That thing isn't just a weapon like those that the Queen forged for us. It's part of the Tiamat's power. Without it, he can't express his full abilities.' She thought and she was right.

It was thanks to War that Lith could use Domination with such ease. The blade's abilities complemented his own and there was no strategy in his playbook that didn't make the best of the special bond he shared with it.

With his limbs pinned by the Sekhmet's legs during the freefall, the only thing that Lith could do was to breathe a burst of Origin Flames but his shallow breath greatly reduced its efficacy.

It was the only reason he survived his blunder.

Iata had trained against Jormun the Emerald Dragon, an opponent who had mastered the Origin Flames after spending over 500 years trapped inside the Golden Griffon. During her clash with Lith, she had been wary of the possible tactics he might employ, but now she had realized how little he could do compared to her mentor.

The moment Lith had inhaled, she had felt his temperature rising as the Flames spread throughout his body before erupting from his scales.

'The kid is so devious that I had forgotten he's just nineteen. Without a master, he didn't have the time to learn how to control his bloodline abilities. He can only breathe the Flames from his mouth like a dragonewt or from his body.

'He's just a two tricks pony.' She headbutted the Tiamat while he was still inhaling, making him lose control of the world energy.

The Origin Flames manifested inside his body, eating at his flesh and blood without being hindered by the Voidwalker armor or any of its protective enchantments. Lith's seven eyes boiled, blinding him and sealing Domination.

His throat burned, stopping his breath and making it impossible for him to use Invigoration. Smoke came out of his ears along with two tongues of fire that burst his eardrums.

His charred muscles stiffened, becoming useless.

The Tiamat had become blind, deaf, and paralyzed, incapable of using body casting. He had taken so much damage that without a healing spell, light fusion would take minutes to restore his mobility.

Yet he had only a few seconds left to live.

Lith crashed against Belius' plains at terminal velocity, bearing both his own weight and that of the Sekhmet. His bones shattered on impact, piercing his own flesh and puncturing his organs despite the Spirit Barrier he had conjured at the last second.

The emerald sphere had expanded outwards from his body, both cushioning the impact and pushing Iata away. She had been taken by surprise and sent tumbling on the ground.

The Sekhmet had taken little damage, but Lith had bought himself a bit more time.

'Fuck me sideways. My only option is to either manage to restore enough of my throat to use Invigoration or hope that Solus has recovered her strength and can help me. Otherwise I'm finished.' He thought while focusing light fusion on his windpipe.

Lith knew that turning his head around would only cause him agony but he did it anyway in the hope that at least one of his senses could perceive Iata's next attack and allow him to further prolong his life.

The worst thing about that situation weren't the wounds or the pain that overcame even darkness fusion. It was the feeling of helplessness that came from the dark, silent world where he was currently trapped in.

His lungs burned from the lack of air and small bursts of fire came from his empty eyes instead of tears of pain. He called upon his Golems, but they were too far to make it in time to save him.

Lith searched his surroundings for a wandering soul strong enough to receive what was left of his strength and protect him from the Sekhmet but there was none. Iata stood up with air magic, avoiding to produce a single vibration that her opponent could perceive through the ground.

Then, she bolted from the side at him with her clawed weapon extended to its full length to decapitate the Tiamat like a flying guillotine.

It was then that a second meteor fell from the sky, producing a shockwave so strong that it sent both Lith and Iata tumbling in opposite directions.

"Thanks. You have no idea how awkward I feel when I'm away from dear old Mogar." The meteor turned out to be the curled-up form of Crank the Hyperion who stood up while never averting his eyes from the opponent.

He didn't move from his landing spot, ready to Blink after Iata in case she tried to sneak past him to finish Lith off. Most of the spells he had at the ready were suited for an aerial fight and of little use on the ground so he needed time to weave new ones.

He activated the tier four spell, Tidal Wall, and hit the ground with his forelegs. The earth rippled before bursting up in a series of concentric waves infused with darkness magic that corroded everything on their path.

Iata shrugged off the concussion with a quick breath of Invigoration and flew above the spell at the last second. The moment she reached the safety of the sky, a bolt of darkness the size of a house struck her with the speed of a bullet.

Not only was it unnaturally fast, but it had moved under the cover of the first wave of Tidal Wall so that she couldn't notice it with Life Vision and had caught her by surprise.

Iata fell right into Tidal Wall's second wave that carried her away while eating at her body from every direction. The earth construct dived down like a hand swatting a fly, slamming the Sekhmet against the ground.

She bounced up just to get caught by the next wave, again and again in an endless cycle that broke her armor and cracked every bone in her body. Iata used Light Mastery to keep her armor from falling apart and activated a Spirit Barrier.

It bought her the second of respite she needed to Blink away to safety.

Or so she thought until she reappeared just to see a volley of darkness headed her way. The projectiles had been infused with Spirit Magic, granting them the speed and the kinetic energy of colossal cannonballs.

The first bolt was too close to dodge it and she took it square on the muzzle. The impact sent her on the path of the second which in turn bounced her against the third, turning the scattered shots into a precise machine gun.

'Just because I have to keep things simple it doesn't mean I can't kick her ass.' Crank thought.

An elemental spell infused with Spirit Magic was way less powerful than a Spirit Spell but also much less mana expensive and quick to cast.

On top of that, while Iata was busy fighting him, Solus was doing her best to save Lith's life. She had come down riding the Hyperion's back and had Blinked on Lith unnoticed during the landing.