But resisting wasn't the sa as being immune.
And the beam's push was enormous. Constant pressure forced Julius backward even when he planted his feet and used his fusion power and his allies pushing to maintain position.
It was an energetic flow practically making advancing impossible without spending resources at a rate that would exhaust the fusion long before he could escape completely.
And when the purple energy rged too… The beam wasn't just blocking. It was actively pushing him back. Slowly but persistently.
The purple energy now, the mutant beasts, the timing, and there was sothing else strange.
The sa mutant creatures that had been entering like mad had stopped suddenly shortly after they reached the final chamber's tunnel. Didn't continue the pressure just a bit before when the beam began. Instead their nearby energy signatures now waited at the tunnel's entrance as if awaiting the energy confrontation's result without directly participating.
That was when Julius realized finding the ruin just now perhaps also hadn't been a coincidence.
His group of seekers had finally felt it when they approached the place, the strange sensation of the ancient chamber's mana. But the distance had seed odd to him.
It was very close to it.
It had been a great help in avoiding getting lost in the final parts of the purple crystal labyrinth. The crystallized roots of corruption created a maze that would have taken days to navigate without a beacon to guide them.
But they'd realized they weren't that far from it. So why hadn't they sensed it before? The mana signature should have been detectable from a much greater distance if the chamber was actually open.
Julius understood then that perhaps soone had unblocked the door just recently. Letting energy out... Had they done it with so crystal barrier or high-level beast ability like the biofilms of spiders able to prevent mana passage?
It didn't matter… If it was true then this confird everything.
It was a cumulus of behaviors almost absolutely confirming this was an orchestrated trap rather than an unfortunate coincidence.
The creatures were being controlled by sothing or soone who'd calculated exactly when to let them lose.
Let Julius and the others advance just far enough to commit. Block them at the final mont when they were most invested. Force them to either exhaust themselves breaking through or retreat and abandon everything they'd gained.
Classic tactical manipulation. And Julius had fallen for it completely.
Unfortunately, recognition that this was deliberate didn't provide an imdiate solution to the problem they faced.
Julius was still blocked by the beam and consuming energy just by resisting. And his fusion's clock continued running slowly but surely towards a point where his power would exhaust and leave him vulnerable.
If he couldn't overco the beam in the next minutes, he'd literally run out of the ti window necessary to escape the ruin while still having the capacity to move independently.
And then he'd be trapped in the depths of this cave again. Except this ti he'd be in a critical state requiring others to carry him instead of being able to contribute.
It was a brutal equation of ti versus resources that had no good solution.
The chaotic beam of blue and red continued ensuring Julius remained exactly where he was during the critical period. Keeping the prince and his most capable soldiers contained underground while whatever was happening on the surface developed without their intervention.
And Julius gritted his jaw with determination coming from the sa earlier recognition that surrendering wasn't an option he'd consider regardless of how impossible the situation seed.
He'd find a way to break through. Or die trying.
Because remaining trapped while his family and kingdom faced threat without him was a fate he rejected with every fiber of his being.
His hands moved to the pouch at his belt. Fingers closing around a small crystal vial that glowed faintly even through the black leather.
Julius pulled out one of the few Diamond-rank recovery potions remaining in the kingdom.
Only Selphira carried one. And Victor might or might not still have his after whatever had happened when he'd tried escaping.
These weren't just rare, they were practically irreplaceable. Product of thods lost centuries ago, each one worth a small fortune. Each one capable of restoring a tar to near-full capacity even from the brink of death.
Using it ant burning a resource that might be desperately needed later. ant gambling that escaping was worth the cost. ant betting everything on the assumption that whatever was happening above was important enough to justify the expenditure.
But Julius had already made his decision, if all his energy wasn't enough then...
The final push was about to begin.
♢♢♢♢
Orion received a ssage from his brothers through a fairly large and fast bird.
He unrolled the parchnt with rapid movents communicating his high expectations mixed with impatience. His eyes scanned the content quickly to extract the most critical information without needing to process each word with excessive care.
There had been so complications according to the report that Magnus and Dorian had written with a calligraphy that was deteriorating toward the ssage's end. Likely evidence of accumulated fatigue controlling the crystals making their fine motor control more difficult.
But despite the difficulties they'd faced, it seed they'd managed to retain Julius's group until now successfully.
An entire day had passed since the attack's beginning.
Julius and his elite force still remained locked in the depths. Neutralization that had been the operation's primary objective of the secondary mission that the brothers had been executing.
More than twenty hours of constant control over crystals shooting energy and directing mutant flow. Maintaining the blocking that made escape impossible and coordinating efforts requiring intense concentration without appropriate rest.
It was a feat demonstrating considerable capability considering the task's complexity they'd been assigned.
The energy flow didn't stop at any mont according to the update the brothers provided. Confirmation that the system they'd established continued operating as designed despite prolonged use stress
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