2079 A New Life (Part 1)
"What the fuck is that?" Treant collapsed on the floor in agony as the white flames entered through his wounds and set his nervous system ablaze.
'Don't use fusion or healing magic to counter them!' Pilmo warned Orbaf. 'Only Invigoration works.'
The now healed Mikuna unfolded her wings and jumped at the small human, only to meet an even smaller human head-on.
"Back off, ugly!" Jirni Blinked between them, Skywarp already lunging at the creatures' eyes.
Pilmo saw the exit point with Life Vision, easily dodging the blade and its wielder.
Her compound eyes and flexible wings granted her full maneuverability in the three dimensions. Even while performing complex movements, a Mikuna could always move at their top speed.
'I just need to grab the human and drag her through the Steps I have at the ready. How hard can it be?' She thought in frustration.
Pilmo's hand was centimeters away from Kamila's face when a sudden tug pulled her back with a strength that had nothing of human. Skywarp's lunge had Warped away the air on its path, leaving behind a trail of vacuum that was now violently collapsing on itself.
The dimensional magic imbued in the glaive had formed a path connecting Pilmo's back to the tip of the blade that were drawn to each other like magnets of opposing charge.
'Thank the gods my tail is not just for decoration!' The external layers of her exoskeleton uncoiled, revealing the presence of a sting dripping a powerful acid that sizzled when exposed to the air.
Even in her humanoid form, Pilmo was taller than any human and her tail longer thank Skywarp. The annoying female would be impaled with the strength of her own attack and the acid would burn her organs beyond saving.
Or that's what would have happened if Jirni was still there.
She had Blinked away at the last second, timing her spell so that the dimensional door closed as soon as the Mikuna's tail was halfway through as well, cutting it asunder. Jirni and the severed sting reappeared above Pilmo who had all the time to notice her appearance but no way to defend herself.
Her mutilated body moved awkwardly through the air, its center of gravity shifted. Instead of dodging, the Mikuna slammed against the floor and bounced right on the glaive's blade that entered from her left eye and came out of the stump of the tail.
At the same time, the members of the Knight's Guard had recovered from the initial surprise and activated their body-enhancing tattoos while also triggering the code red that would soon summon the Royal Guard.
The Awakened were outnumbered, but not outmatched yet. Jirni was already busy dealing with a Nue while the soldiers were doing their best to deal with the remaining two Awakened.
Unlike the Archon, they needed time to chant their spells and none of their weapons was on par with Skywarp. To make matters worse, the enemies could Blink around with Spirit Magic whereas the Knights' dimensional spells were sealed.
Orbaf roared his challenge, covering the whole room with his bright blue aura.
'No time to play around anymore.' The Treant went all-out, his humongous fist moving at an incredible speed for someone of his size.
The first hit sent Kamila crashing against the wall and opening a small crater.
The impact would have killed a normal human and broken the bones of a member of the Knight's Guard, but thanks to the Voidfeather armor, it just squeezed the air out of her lungs.
Her head rang and fear pumped adrenaline into her veins as she saw a cross follow the jab. Orbaf had used the first and weaker attack to test her defenses to understand how much punishment she could endure without dying.
'I need her alive, not well!' As he moved forward, he could have sworn to hear some kind of familiar pop but in the heat of the battle, he couldn't put his finger on its source.
Kamila looked at the incoming first through the crystals of the eye slits of the armor and suddenly it wasn't blurred anymore. The white crystals on the Voidfeather armor burst with light that filled the space in between the plume-like plates while emitting a buzzing sound.
She easily dodged the attack, sliding her left arm against the opponent's right to keep his movements under control. The dodge turned into a cross counter that struck the Treant with the combined strength of Kamila's charge and his own momentum.
His head snapped back with the cracking sound of wood thrown into the fire and the space under his chin shattered, sending splinters flying throughout the room.
'Seriously. What the fuck is that armor and how can it overpower mine? A human can't be this strong.' He thought as Kamila headbutted him and her mouthpiece opened.
A sudden burst of red-orange Origin Flames entered Orbaf's still opened mouth and burned his eyes. The weak Flames couldn't hurt his tough skin covered by the Adamant armor but his inner organs were another story.
A Fae had no lungs, they could breathe through their skin, but they were still plants. They still burned.
'Okay, fuck this mission. If I can't capture this wench then I'll kill her.' Fear, rage, and panic made the Awakened take the kid's gloves off.
A tier four Spirit Magic spell conjured a stream of hexaelemental emerald lightning. Air sent Kamila into a seizure, earth clogged the joints of armor, water allowed the spell to slip past the enchanted plumes, fire and light made the metal red-hot while darkness just went for the kill.
As she screamed in pain, the Treant unleashed the spells contained in his rings.
Kamila's fear turned into terror that made her stomach churn and her entire life flash in front of her eyes.
***
Gorgon Empire, back when the Voidfeather armor had started to buzz.
The communication amulet of the Empress went wild as she received reports about all known volcanos, no matter if active or not, going into eruption in unison. Citizens, mages, and even Emperor Beasts were terrified by the quake that was shaking the land from coast to coast.
From the windows of her throne room situated in the flying fortress that hosted the capital of the Empire, she could see black pillars of smoke rising from every direction as the sun turned black.
***
Blood Desert, at the same time.
The shifting sands of the dunes had turned into tidal waves that threatened to destroy every form of life that wasn't affiliated with the Overlord. Only her tribes were protected by arrays strong enough to deflect the ongoing cataclysm.
The tremors had come from the borders with the Empire and only grew stronger with each passing second. Then, the sunlight disappeared and the day turned into night.
Yet there were no stars or moon, just an endless black sky as far as the eye could see. Torches and magical lights still worked, but it was as if the heavens had been overturned.
When the sun reappeared a few seconds later, it was a black sphere spreading an eerie violet light. The people of the Desert fell onto their knees, praying to the Overlord to have mercy on their souls and lives.
