Orion let the six tars he'd selected pass and allowed them entering first. Ordering them to descend the stairs toward the next chamber to await "their prize".
Then he deliberately positioned himself to obstruct the entrance. His body still surrounded by the barrier blocking access in a manner that would be impossible to allow without destroying that sa barrier.
And after a minute he threw Victor like he was disposable garbage down the stairs.
The body rolled without control downward. Crystals scraping against stone as it "slowly descended".
Yet through it all, that faint mana signature still flickered. Still persisted despite all that should've extinguished it. Stubbornness or miracle keeping him barely alive through abuse that exceeded anything humans should survive.
Orion laughed with satisfaction.
He turned to see Selphira who was now considerably more enraged than she'd been during previous exchanges. Her fury being fed by the unnecessary cruelty Orion exhibited toward a prisoner who couldn't defend himself.
"Don't worry," Orion uttered with a tone that was almost conversational in its falseness. "These n are going to wait for him at the bottom of the stairs to play with him a bit. Let's say they're his old rivals who don't like him very much... Though the rule is they must wait at the end of the stairs."
He added with a smile that was absolutely mocking in intent: "But you can go ahead if you want to recover him imdiately before they mistreat him too much. However, you have to enter through these specific stairs, following the straight path the ancients and I have prepared for you so carefully."
Selphira realized imdiately what Orion was establishing.
If she descended through the stairs that were completely straight without curves or alcoves where she could take refuge, she'd have no way to dodge the beam Orion would launch from his elevated position where he'd have the perfect angle to attack without her being able to effectively dodge or deflect.
The geotry was perfect… From his position at the top of the stairs, he could shoot straight down. It was a simple but effective trap, using terrain and motivation against her. Making her choose between accepting a vulnerable position or abandoning her objective. And knowing she couldn't forsake it, that she couldn't let Victor die after coming this far.
The stairs were maybe 100 ters long. Straight drop with no landings… She'd be exposed for the entire descent.
And if thinking too much she'd need to arrive among six Gold-rank tars to take Victor from them while expending the power she'd need for Orion himself.
There was no good option.
Facing Orion's increasingly mocking smile, Selphira clenched her teeth with force that made her jaw ache.
Physical control being the only outlet for fury threatening to overwhelm the discipline she normally maintained to keep emotions appropriately contained.
She couldn't jump into such an obvious trap…
But she also couldn't not jump into it. Orion elaborated on the situation with a tone that was almost pedagogical. Like he was explaining a lesson to a student needing deeper comprehension.
"I can launch a more powerful beam. This one travels in a spiral and has more power that would make your fusion insufficient to completely protect you as it was for Victor. But if I do that, I have to deactivate the barrier. It couldn't defend from you if you decide to attack when I'm committed to that technique requiring considerable concentration."
He paused to permit the dilemma's weight to settle before continuing.
"Besides, that beam is slow if we compare it to the simple black one. Too slow for a slippery old woman like you who's perfected evasion during hundreds of years. But here in the stairway tunnel, not even soone who can fly as fast as Victor could escape when the space is so confined that maneuvering becos impossible. It's a perfect zone where speed provides no great advantage."
It was an explanation communicating strengths and weaknesses carefully with detail that was almost insulting.
He was laying out the entire tactical situation. Showing her exactly how the trap worked and making it clear he was confident enough that even with complete information, she couldn't escape it.
The spiral beam was devastating but required dropping his defenses. The straight beam was weaker but could be fired while maintaining the barrier. And the stairway eliminated the mobility advantage that would normally let her dodge either one.
It was elegant in its simplicity and terrifying in its effectiveness.
It was obvious he wanted to give Selphira hope that "the barrier wouldn't be standing" if she could overco the beam.
Dangling the possibility of victory. Making her think that if she just survived the descent, she could reach him, break through his defenses when they were montarily down and could end this.
But it was bait… Obviously bait. And she knew it.
Selphira already desperately wanted to save Victor. But she knew perfectly well this was exactly what Orion wanted. Eliminating her using the sa thod that had left Victor in that dying state barely qualifying as living.
She clenched her teeth even harder to resist the now greater impulse to launch herself without appropriate consideration of consequences. Control requiring considerable effort when instinct scread; she needed acting imdiately to prevent additional damage being inflicted beneath the stairs.
Because she could feel them down there. The six tars positioning themselves around where Victor would land. Discussing in voices too low to make out words but with a tone that promised violence.
Old rivals eager to settle scores. To finally have power over a prince who'd once had power over them.
And Victor couldn't defend himself.
Every second she delayed was a second where they got closer. Where Victor's already fragile life beca more precarious.
But Orion sighed after a mont of observing Selphira's resistance.
His expression changed to one of disappointnt and acceptance. "If you're not going to cooperate, then leave. I'll have to find another way to resolve this later. At least permanently disposing of Victor will be sufficient for this occasion. He's not precious to you so he no longer serves a useful purpose to anyway."
And he aid the black beam directly toward the stairs where Victor had fallen. The threat being absolutely clear without needing additional verbal elaboration.
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