Seeing that Dark Mastery had no effect on the neos, Akhton stopped weaving his next Source Magic spell and released a wave of Frost Soul.
'If no spell can keep up with his regenerative abilities, then I must stop whatever is fueling them first.' The Upyr-Bastet thought as an off-white gust of corrupted water washed over the city block, killing the mages who were trying to heal the injured and rescue those trapped under the debris.
"You sound just like the Dead King, brother." Theseus' eyes steeled as he donned his Firemane armor and wielded his sword, Scarbrand. "I have no reason to hold back anymore."
"Shut up!" Akhton hated his brother for comparing him to Orpal, but Akhton hated himself even more because he was now forced to admit that he shared more than the Vurdalak blood with the Dead King.
The Upyr extended the Ashen Dread spear that he carried on his back and unleashed a frenzied series of attacks. Neither Bastet could use Origin Flas or Mana Body while under the effects of Frost Soul, yet Akhton had a significant advantage over his brother.
Spirit Magic didn't require world energy, and the Upyr used it to compensate for the gap in size and mass with the Eldritch. An erald aura enveloped Ashen Dread as Akhton weaved his tier five spell, Bonegrinder.
The Upyr used the surging waves of pure mana to empower his spear and deliver his spell straight into the Eldritch's body once it reached completion.
"An interesting technique." Theseus nodded in approval. "I can see that you've practiced hard."
Scarbrand blocked or deflected every lunge, pushing the spear tip away and allowing the neos-Bastet to step inside his brother's range. Akhton moved back to keep his reach advantage and stop Theseus from getting close enough to hit him, but it was a losing battle.
The Eldritch carried all the battle experience of the original Paquut, and the Yggdrasill wood of his equipnt sharpened his mind to a razor's edge.
That and the countless hours Theseus had spent sparring with the craftiest and most ancient Eldritches on Mogar made Akhton's skills look like a child's play.
"Stop patronizing !" The Upyr shortened his grip on the haft and put all his weight into a desperate lunge.
"It's over, brother." Theseus intercepted Ashen Dread with his off hand, blocking its advance with ease. "Apologize to our mother on your way to the afterlife."
"Right back at you!" As the Eldritch raised his blade to plunge it into the Upyr's chest, Akhton finally completed his spell.
Bonegrinder erupted from the spear tip, hitting Theseus square in the chest and punching a hole the size of a house through the neos-Bastet.
The earth and light elents made the spell as hard as a diamond, the air elent cut organs and bones into minceat, and darkness magic seeped into the chunks of flesh, making them rot from the inside.
The fire elent released the remaining kinetic energy of the spell in a massive explosion, while the water elent froze the layers of exposed flesh, keeping them from regenerating.
Xenagrosh's head was still turned to watch the fight, and Erion took her shocked expression as his cue. At his signal, his soldiers released waves of Frost Soul that reinforced Akhton's bloodline ability, and Erion released his tier five Spirit Spell, Anvil Breaker, from point-blank range.
The Shadow Dragon lifted her right hand with swift grace, interposing the index finger of her battle claw, Sky Piercer, between herself and the spell. Before Anvil Breaker could strike, Xenagrosh released her tier five Chaos spell, Hungry Void.
The Cursed spell pierced through Anvil Breaker, erased Erion's right arm from existence, and devoured the Drake-Upyr standing behind him from the waist up.
The pain and shock from the sudden amputation made the Jormungandr lose his focus, and with it, Anvil Breaker.
"You were taking so long to make your move after I lowered my guard that I was starting to wonder if I had misread the situation. For a mont, I fell for your act and believed you were just an innocent bystander." Xenagrosh said.
"I stand corrected. You are indeed an Upyr. You are just a very patient and cautious Lesser Leviathan. Thanks for your help, Theseus. Without your little act, this bastard would have never taken the bait.
"There's no way I was really going to call the Garlen Council. They would have asked too many questions, and I couldn't allow any of your Upyr friends to ntion the fungus folk."
Only then did Erion notice that the Shadow Dragon's battle claw stored a vast amount of world energy that enveloped Xenagrosh and isolated her from the effects of Frost Soul.
"It was the least I could do after everything you have done for ." Theseus maintained his grip on Ashen Dread and plunged Scarbrand into Akhton's chest. "Goodbye, little brother."
The roots of his neos' half ran deep into the ground, absorbing the pure world energy that rose from the depths of Mogar and allowing Theseus to nd his wounds with a speed visible to the naked eye.
His tissues broke free of the ice and grew into new organs and life vessels at the sa ti as Akhton gurgled up enough blood to fill a pond.
"Fire Soul, go!" Erion realized his mistake when Xenagrosh conjured a second Hungry Void.
The Jormungandr avoided the Chaos Spell by Blinking away, but the Redcap wasn't so quick on her feet, and the upper half of her body disappeared.
Luckily for her, her Root was hidden in her feet, so she survived her blunder.
The air burst into foul red flas that cauterized Akhton's wound and blinded Xenagrosh until she reverted to her Shadow Dragon form.
"Ti to go all out! We can't allow the Master's Eldritches to survive. It's them or us!" Erion's body elongated to thirty-three ters (109'), yet it looked nothing like a Jormungandr or a Leviathan.
Erion's Upyr form had no bristles, but no scales either. His body was covered in a thick, black carapace, and long, thin bat wings replaced his fins. The Upyr's mouth was full of fangs, and his tail ended in a scythe-like bone spike.
The other two Upyrs roared their challenge as well, growing to the size of an adult Divine Beast and drowning the Eldritches in a sea of Corrupted fire.
"Nice try, but this cheap imitation is nothing like the real deal." Xenagrosh and Theseus needed a single breath to envelop their bodies in Origin Flas and outburn the Fire Soul. "Prepare to-"
Erion's Doom Tide cut her short and took everyone by surprise.
Suddenly, all mystical fires went out, and before any Upyr or Eldritch could understand what was going on, a blue tide of highly compressed world energy and life force blasted the nearby city blocks away.
The Upyrs were struck in the back and killed on the spot, while the two Eldritches were sent flying despite their considerable mass. By the ti the blue do disappeared, there was no trace of Erion and Akhton.
The Jormungandr had Spirit Blinked his companion to safety as soon as the Doom Tide had moved far enough away from himself, and then had conjured a Spirit Steps that led in the middle of the ocean.
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