2123 Foolish Genius (Part 1)

By combining the enchantments and the mass of the golem with the brains and the shared bloodline abilities of her Chosen, Night had managed to grant to the most fanatic among her followers the power of an Awakened Emperor Beast.

On top of that, the light element filling the air was healing their wounds as fast as the self-repair system of the golems repaired them. Night had never used the constructs in battle because they could only be used for a few minutes at a time.

Without a recharge pod, they would turn into useless junk the moment they ran out of energy. To make matters worse, both golem and Chosen required a prism each, taking away part of her power and inflicting upon her all the damage they would suffer.

"I'll admit that your sister isn't dumb, but she isn't smart either." Xenagrosh laughed as she turned into a human sized Shadow Dragon, spreading her wings to harvest as much energy as she could.

Night's plan had been to fill the air with so much light element that it would neutralize both the Chaos of the Abomination's spells and that of their skin that generated the Abomination Touch.

Yet she had failed to take hybrids into account. The reason their black core exceeded the limits of an Eldritch was that their monster core balanced the destructive effects that conjuring too much Chaos caused.

It could be said that the only thing capping a hybrid's power was the amount of Chaos the second core could safely neutralize. The light element around them had no effect on the bottomless hunger of the black core but its effects cumulated with that of the monster core.

Xenagrosh was now free to push her black core further than ever while also giving her life force the opportunity to experience and adapt to her new heightened state.

The golems weighed a few tons, but Xenagrosh's real form was much heavier, and compared to her mass, they were as light as children. She needed but one hand to capture a golem and slam it against the floor to keep it from escaping.

"Are these guys someone you know?" The Shadow Dragon asked with a grunt.

The two prisms were emitting massive amounts of darkness element that after coming into contact with her Abomination Touch turned into Chaos. It caused Xenagrosh great pain and forced her to constantly regenerate her hands.

On top of that, the undead were unleashing several tier five spells from the Golems and more that they kept at the ready. Holding the Chosen still without killing them would have been nigh-impossible if not for the Dragon's superior mass and bloodline abilities.

She kept taking deep breaths that turned into bursts of light violet Origin Flames that she emitted from her body, using them as a protection against the spells. They would still hit Xenagrosh, but their destructive power was reduced enough for her troll half to heal her wounds before they could fully open.

"No." Dusk shook his head while studying her prisoners with Life Vision. "They look young and their blood core can't be more than a few decades old. Yet since they are Night's Chosen, they should know what we are look-"

Before the Horseman could complete the sentence, the Shadow Dragon released one Howling Void from each of her hands, aiming for the prisms protruding from the constructs.

The Chaos spells were quickly weakened by the overabundant light element in the air, but from point-blank range, they had all the power they needed. The prisms, the stone, and the enchanted metal simply disappeared along with the undead they contained, leaving behind a cloud of fine dust.

A cruel smile appeared on her face at the thought of the pain that Orpal would suffer due to the link between the prisms and Night. Every wound that the Shadow Dragon inflicted upon them, the Horseman would experience as well.

Xenagrosh was unaware that due to the Sealed Space Orpal was imprisoned in, he was safe from the consequences of the death of his Chosen, just like he couldn't retrieve the power stored inside them.

Both of them would keep lingering around the Golden Griffon and return to their owner the moment they found an opening.

"Why did you do that?" The Horsman and Kigan asked in unison. "We could have interrogated them."

"No, we couldn't." A snap of Xenagrosh's fingers turned part of the light element in the air into visible light, illuminating the corridor. "During one of the Council's past attempts to eliminate Meln, they discovered that his Chosen share some kind of mind link not only with him, but also between them.

"It allows them to perfectly coordinate their strategies in battle and to instantly share information. If we told them what we are looking for, we would have alerted the rest of the Chosen in this and the other palaces.

"At that point, our brethren would have lost the advantage of surprise and our enemies would have probably destroyed everything they have on the Golden Griffon."

"It makes sense." Dusk nodded. "It would have been their bargaining chip and we would have had no way to discern truth from lie. And that if we managed to make them talk.

"All Horsemen give their Chosen the possibility to detonate their prisms when faced with a destiny worse than death so keeping them prisoners and torturing them isn't an option."

"We'd better move then." Kigan said. "If they chose to follow Narchat, these guys can't be too brilliant but it's just a matter of time before they realize the reason we are here."

"Maybe, and maybe not." The Red Sun shapeshifted into his real form.

His figure grew from that of a kid into that of a man of ethereal beauty 1.9 meters (6'3") tall. His red hair turned blonde, the pink skin became bright red, and his eyes assumed a tinge of orange so clear that they seemed to flicker like flames every time he moved his gaze.

His gala clothes shapeshifted into a full suit of red armor and the twin short blades into his great ax. Both the Scorpion armor and Firebrand had been reshaped by Baba Yaga when she had tailored them for Kelia's needs but Dusk could change their appearance to that of their old form.

"I'm the Horseman of the Red Sun and Hushed King of the Dusk Court. I've come to take back what's mine. Join me or die!" His voice roared through the empty halls, the echo making his words loud and clear even at a great distance.

'What was that?' Xenagrosh asked through their mind link.

'A believable cover story.' Dusk replied. 'Night's underlings already know to be under attack and now they think to know the reason. My sister took treasures from my Court after my disappearance and I'm here to get them back in spades.'

'Brilliant idea.' Kigan pondered. 'It explains the presence of a Dragon and gives the Chosen hope for survival. The problem is that it exposes your presence. Now all of Night's Chosen know that you are still alive.'

'A problem for another day. Now let's move.' Dusk and the hybrids dashed forward, uncaring for the traps and the arrays in front of them.