Inside the Observation Room, Zaya still stared in disbelief at her friends' life totems.
They were all so strong, so she was still trying to understand how they had died...
The first to die was Zhang...
They had lost contact with him decades ago, and they suspected something horrible might have happened. He had a special physique and was supposed to be one of the strongest members of the Order.
Less than two minutes after his totem shattered, the next to die was considered the strongest Sage after Rafael, and also possessed another special physique: Jhon.
With the two strongest Sages dying first, the next two life totems to shatter were Liza and Vitarys. She didn't want to believe that her blood sister and apprentice brother had actually been killed. Could it have been a mistake?
After all, four totems had been destroyed in less than ten minutes. Was it a joke or some kind of prank?
Zhang should have been in Stygai, and Jhon was dozens of kilometers away, at least according to her last information. So how did they both die so quickly? Was it a coordinated assassination? Or simply a coincidence?
It had been a while since Zaya had sent Jack, Omar, and Katya to the mine entrance. But to her dismay, about 20 minutes had passed, and none of them had responded to her messages, and Rafael's totem, which had been wavering since the beginning, finally broke. Zaya, already shaken, turned pale and fell to her knees in the silent Observation Room…
***
After losing her left arm during Vitarys's unexpected ambush, Liza managed to get away from him and even used an advanced healing spell from her water affinity to reattach the severed arm to its shoulder.
But this measure was ineffective; despite being restored, the arm still dangled motionless, and now the two Sages were moving at high speed. Casting multiple spells at each other.
Contrary to what many thought, approaching a spearman to hinder their spear use didn't work on the Valyrian Noble Vitarys...
At this moment, he had a pair of magical green wings on his back and an illusory flaming crown on his head.
Coming within range of these two unique advanced spells would cause you to be burned by a type of fire domain and then flung long distances by the gusts of the illusory wings, which not only could unleash terrifying winds but also allowed him to fly freely across the battlefield.
That wasn't all; Haste, Wind Surge, Nimble Feet, Falling Feather...
Esmer's powerful disciple had inherited many unique basic spells from his master. And when combined, they transformed him into a high-speed and agile killing machine.
His Valirian Steel Spear also emitted several basic fire spells with each strike, meaning that even if he missed, there would always be burn damage to the surrounding area…
Liza was on the verge of collapse at this point. Lightning spells had the advantage of providing greater momentum and speed than wind spells, but they had a shorter duration in exchange for their greater power…
Her water spells, however, could do little beyond mitigating the fire damage Vitarys inflicted.
Any attempt to "wet" the target always failed due to the wind wings spell…
Besides using an advanced ice armor spell that made Liza resemble an Ice Valkyrie, the other advanced spell she used was a mist that made the surrounding area extremely humid.
Not far from where Liza and Vitarys were fighting, two pets were also fighting: one a chimera that resembled a giant wolf, the other a giant venomous wasp.
Liza's wasp could help her in this battle, as it was extremely fast and agile in the skies. But its poisonous attacks didn't seem to have any effect on Vitarys's chimera wolf, so she could only keep the wolf away from her and occupied…
After gaining enough distance, Liza once again cast her strongest advanced spell:
"Thunderbolt"
Despite being an impossible spell to dodge, when the powerful purple lightning bolt came at him, Vitarys escaped for the second time by transforming his body into a state of pure flame.
Liza knew that using a third Thunderbolt would end in the same situation…
Besides, she was running out of time; her spells like Lightning Steps, Thunder Steps, and Lightning Dash were already running out.
When their duration expired, she would surely die, and now it was too late to retreat or flee.
Decided on what to do next, Liza tried to use logic one last time in the hopes of avoiding a potential disaster.
"Vitarys... Do you really need to go this far? What did they promise you? What made you turn against us? What will Zaya and Esmer think when they find out?"
But just like the previous attempts, the Valyrian Noble merely stared at her with a cold gaze, remaining silent, launching another devastating attack that sliced through several rocks at the spot where Liza stood.
Appearing a little away from the struck spot, Liza bit her lower lip and finally began her dangerous plan…
She cast several Ice Barrier and Lightning Barrier spells. Lastly, she used a powerful advanced spell called Static Field.
The Static Field could easily repel any physical object from approaching, but its drawback was that the caster could not move…
Liza didn't care; she took two syringes from her Arboreal Bag: one with a purple liquid, which she applied to her heart, and another with a gray, nebulous gas that she applied directly to her temple. Finally, she bit her finger and used the blood to draw runes on her forehead and arms, beginning a powerful ritual.
At that moment, her eyes turned gray, and she stopped moving within the many barriers she had created...
***
After having his spear repelled several times from the ice barrier by a strange, repulsive electrical force, Vitarys stopped attacking and waited.
About two minutes later, he saw the repulsive electrical force disappear and began using his spear, along with several wind spells, to destroy all the ice barriers that formed a cocoon around Liza.
Two minutes later, all the ice and the many lightning barriers were destroyed, and Vitarys finally saw Liza standing as if she had died.
He gripped his spear firmly and struck straight at her heart.
But mid-swing, Vitarys's pupils dilated, and his hands trembled as if he had hesitated. The blow that was supposed to hit his former companion's heart changed direction, striking her abdomen in the same spot that had pierced Rafael.
Liza's body finally fell to the ground, blood dripping from her lips, and she didn't make a sound after being pierced...
Vitarys's hesitation lasted only a few seconds; his pupils returned to normal, and he attacked the corpse again, this time piercing Liza's head with his spear, as she lay motionless on the ground.
After confirming her death, he turned his back on the corpse and threw his spear, killing the enormous Wasp still fighting with her chimera wolf.
At that moment, a thin mist slowly and silently emerged from Liza's mouth. The mist was transparent, but it flickered vaguely between gray and purple.
When it stopped flowing from the corpse, the gas emitted a murderous intent and advanced at high speed toward Vitarys, entering his body through his nose, eyes, and mouth as he screamed and moaned.
After the mist completely penetrated him, Vitarys fell to the ground in agony for several seconds, groaning and gasping for air until the whites of his violet eyes turned red with numerous veins, and his skin took on a dark purple hue. From that moment on, blood streamed from his nose, mouth, and eyes, and he finally stopped twitching…
Only then did the strange mist leave his body, taking on a misshapen appearance. It slowly floated to Liza's corpse.
The corpse's Arboreal Bag floated into the mist, and soon after, it stored the remains of the two sages. Then, it floated again, enveloped by the mist, to the Giant Wasp's corpse, storing it along with the Valyrian nobleman's spear.
The "mist" then floated slowly, carrying only the Arboreal Bag with extreme effort, almost dropping it now and then, as it slowly moved toward Asshai.
From time to time, the mist attempted to assume a human female form, but its attempts nearly caused it to disappear, before finally returning to a shapeless, inhuman lump…
***
After its master's death, the chimera giant wolf fled far from the battlefield, enjoying its newfound freedom, searching for prey, and observing everything with extreme curiosity.
But before it could venture far, it was surrounded by hundreds of black, human-shaped shadows.
The shadows advanced and quickly tore the chimera direwolf apart, barely allowing it to put up any fight.
Then the shadows dispersed, heading in several different directions, killing everything in their path…
****
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