"Are you saying that you aren't his comrade?" The group of Upyrs carried the sa subtle, tangy sll as Akhton, but it was so faint that Xenagrosh couldn't tell if they released it or if the stink of the Bastet had rubbed off on them after travelling together for days.
"Comrade? That guy is barely an acquaintance, lady!" Xenagrosh detected no lie in Erion's words. "I t him just a while ago, and we travelled together only because our interests aligned.
"We needed a local guide to find a very rare… specin and allowed him to join us because he has several contacts in the neighboring countries that should allow us to find it."
"Are you talking about the rumored fungus folk?" The Shadow Dragon was tempted to kill all those who carried Erion's sa sll on the spot, but pity stayed her hand.
'It would be a pity to waste such a golden opportunity.' She thought. 'Dead Upyrs always revert to their original form. If I kill them, there's no telling when I'll have another chance to put my theory to the test.
'If what I discovered is the scent of the Upyrs species, I'll be able to recognize them no matter what disguise they take. It would give an advantage and maybe even a ans to track them down to Narchat's base.'
The only reason Erion and the rest of his team were still alive was that the Skull of Bytra perceived nothing wrong with them. The Dragon Eyes and the rest of Xenagrosh's senses perceived them as a Jormungandr, a Redcap, a Dryad, and a Drake.
They were a heterogeneous group, and were short a few mbers to even cast Silverwing's spells. It was likely they were just a bunch of Awakened who had joined forces to capture the fungus folk.
After all, the secret of the white core could be shared.
Erion swallowed hard and exchanged glances with his accomplices.
"There's no point in lying if you already know about the moldy bastard." He sighed. "Yes, the fungus folk is our goal, but if you don't like having competition, we'll take our leave.
"Consider it our thanks for exposing that traitorous Upyr hidden in our midst. If not for you, milady, he would have probably killed us the mont we outlived our usefulness."
Between Erion's honesty and his servile nature, Xenagrosh would have fallen for his act if not for her long life. During her youth, she had t many great liars by omission who chose their words carefully to gloss over everything that might incriminate them.
She hadn't missed how Erion had never specified how long ago he and Akhton had t, nor had he claid to have no affiliation with the Dead King. He had kept his words vague, open to multiple interpretations.
"There's no need for that." Xenagrosh shook her head. "If you find the fungus folk, you can have them. Yet I can't let you leave until I've confird your identity."
She took her Council communication amulet out of her pocket dinsion and watched the group of Upyrs get covered in a cold sweat.
"I'm a mber of the Garlen Council, and even though I can't use Invigoration to check on your life forces, I know plenty of people who can. The mont they send one of their envoys here, and I get confirmation you're not Upyrs, you are free to go."
***
Akhton fought with the spite and envy that Orpal's blood bestowed upon him. He was supposed to hate Theseus for what he had done to Verendi since his return, yet the longer the fight went on, the more Akhton hated Theseus for what he had.
The Upyr had ripped enough of the Bastet's flesh apart to bleed out a Divine Beast. He had broken Theseus's hands, shattered his ribs, and punctured with their fragnts every organ in his ribcage, yet the traitor still stood.
The endless power and vitality that the Bastet-neos so casually displayed aroused a resentnt in Akhton's heart that burned its way to his head and eclipsed every other thought.
"Are you done with your tantrum?" Theseus' wounds healed as soon as they were opened, and his life force had not weakened one bit during the entire one-sided beating. "This is your last chance.
"Call our brethren and co clean with them about your dealings with the Dead King. Face your cris, and I promise that I'll do the sa. I'll abandon the Organization and stand trial right beside you."
"Are you insane?" Akhton and Xenagrosh said in unison, although for completely different reasons.
"As much as you annoy , kid, you are innocent." The Shadow Dragon said. "You got a second chance at life, and I'm not going to let you throw it away like that. You owe nothing to Verendi.
"Its people made foolish choices, and now they are paying the price. The only thing your death would achieve is to make Bytra cry!"
'If not even putting wrong ideas in her head.' She inwardly added.
"I have committed no cri!" Akhton roared. "I'll stand no trial because I'm innocent. I told our kin countless tis that we should have beco the rulers of Verendi. I warned them of what our inaction would cause, yet they never listened!
"It's because of them that I had to turn into an Upyr. The Dead King may have many faults, but at least he's willing to help make Verendi better. Once we're done with Garlen, I'll return here as a conqueror.
"I'll bring peace and order to Verendi, and our siblings will either kneel before after admitting their wrongs or they'll die where they stand. I have no use for self-righteous pompous fools in my empire!"
Akhton snarled, conjuring the two tier five spells, Corona Discharge and Burial Grounds. Before they could fully form, he extracted the core runes from their spell matrix, fusing them into the Source Magic Spell, Dark Mastery.
Earth magic fused the rubble of the destroyed city block, shaping it into countless axes, while air magic lifted and propelled the constructs, giving them speed. Water magic soaked the rocks, making them more flexible and easier to adjust their density.
Darkness ca last and engulfed everything else. It seeped into the air, the water, and the earth elents, increasing their destructive power and giving the spell the sa appearance as a hard-darkness construct.
Dark Mastery's effects resembled Light Mastery, but earth magic made it sturdier while darkness made it deadlier.
"I joined Narchat because, unlike our people, he's not a coward. He's willing to do what needs to be done, and he has given the power of a Magus!" Akhton filled the axes with Thunder Soul to the brim and hurled them at the Eldritch.
The constructs cut so deep that their blades disappeared under Theseus' flesh. The darkness elent destabilized his Eldritch half while the Thunder Soul carried the power of Dark Mastery throughout his body until not a single unbroken bone was left.
Yet the nutrients in the ground flooded the neos along with the world energy, while the Chaos of the Eldritch devoured the Source Magic spell with the enthusiasm of a hungry wolf eting a lamb.
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