" You are right. That barrier was putted for that boy but you till don't know who was? Putted that barrier." A Mage King said in cold immersive tone.
"That's not the matter. Who putted that? The matter more now is we know how to break it." The creature spoke. A wide smile on his face. A creepy face.
"So what you want? What is your next planning?"
"Are you stupid? You think we will tell you that. Never." He laughed again.
"I know. But now what you do with us? Now!"
"Nothing! As you knew about me now. I will ruined you evryone."
"Ohh! really? You think you can handle all of us."
Mage King narrowed his eyes.
"But you revealed yourself," He said slowly. "Now that we know what you are… what will you do?"
The creature tilted his head. The smile widened even further, impossibly so.
"Nothing," he whispered.
A wave of pressure slammed down across the chamber. Chairs cracked. Glass instruments shattered. One council mage fell from their seat, bleeding from the ears.
"I'll do nothing... because I already won."
The creature lifted his hand and snapped.
The ground beneath the center dais ruptured like glass under pressure. From it, a swarm of dark tendrils erupted, writhing and snapping toward the council members. One man tried to raise a barrier, but the tendrils shattered it like paper and flung him into the wall.
Seroi was already moving. He understood that the creature attacked soon. He had experience so much.
He dashed across the chamber, drawing a blade from his hip a short dagger etched with white veins. The moment it left its sheath, lines of light laced across the floor.
He slashed through three tendrils in a single breath, the weapon pulsing with pure counter-mana.
But the creature was waiting for him.
A blur. He was suddenly there, behind Seroi, whispering again.
"You still fight like a human."
Seroi turned, blade flashing. The creature caught it mid-swing, claws curling around the mana-steeped edge.
"No spark," the creature said. "Nothing. You still useless."
He flung Seroi backward with a twist of his wrist.
Seroi smashed through a crystal projection, rolled, and landed hard. Mana shield half-broken. His shoulder dislocated.
Focus. Don't panic. This is not a battle to win.
The Mage King moved next.
His shadow stepped forward. Not his body, not his voice just his presence. A vast outline of pure pressure that bled golden edges into reality.
Everything stopped. Even the creature paused.
The Council had never seen it fully awakened before. The shadow loomed like a walking eclipse, and with it came something else time seemed to hold its breath.
"You overstep. You think you can handle us. Now handle this.," the Mage King said.
The words were carried not by sound but weight.
The creature shuddered.
For the first time… he stopped smiling.
The shadow surged forward. Space distorted. The stone around the intruder began to peel apart, flaking into ash. Runes bled into the air. Every council member, even wounded, stood stunned by the sheer force.
But then… the creature grinned again.
The pressure cracked. The light dimmed.
And the creature breathed out.
A single exhale.
Everything broke.
The golden pressure fractured. The Mage King's shadow stumbled.
"You rely too much on borrowed light," the creature whispered. "And borrowed light always burns out."
He turned his body fully toward the council now.
Twelve high mages. One commander. And a half-manifested sovereign.
And he still looked bored.
Seroi pushed himself up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He activated a secondary seal across his ribs. Mana screamed through his veins, burning through every pore.
He rushed the creature again.
Their weapons met. Sparks flew. Mana collided and split into twin arcs.
"Who are you?" Seroi hissed between breaths. "Why are you doing this?!"
Their blades locked.
"Because it's my nature," the creature whispered. "Because this world holds something I need."
He pressed forward. Seroi felt his footing slip.
And then, just as he was about to fall. The creature stopped.
He blinked once, slowly.
"Ah. That's enough," he said.
The air calmed. The pressure vanished.
Seroi stared in disbelief. "What…?"
"I don't need to kill you," the creature said, stepping back. "You're not the enemy. Not yet. You are just a small trace creatures. I want to spark with that boy. He seems to be interesting."
"Then why come here?" one of the wounded mages spat from the floor.
The creature looked down at him. Not with contempt.
But pity.
"Because I wanted you to see. You needed to know what walks beside you now. You needed to understand. your planet is already theirs. It's my nature to bully someone like you. It's the part of our planning. Hahaha... Trace creatures."
He turned to leave.
As he reached the sealed doorway, he extended one clawed finger and carved a single name into the stone.
The letters burned with an unnatural green.
VAEL
He paused, glancing back over his shoulder one last time.
"When he comes… tell Ren I remember. I am waiting for him. Tell him to meet me near the Kullon lake."
Then the doors opened.
And Vael walked into the dark without another word.
The chamber was silent.
Broken.
But still alive.
Seroi stood amid the wreckage. His blood drying. His shoulder twisted. His mind spinning.
Vael… That name… that name belongs to the forbidden records. Like him evryone were thought about it. That name was sound to familiar.
After that all are looked towards each other and help each other. All were not fine. Special a Seroi. He fought directly with the Vael. So one of them was a healer. His name was Frein. He started healing to all. He moved towards the Seroi... bent Seroi's hand and locate it via his magic. All had not severe injuries. Just a minor injuries that were easily healed through Frein's magic.
We saw that the chamber was broken from every side. The small and big cracks seen.
Then after healed. The one member Layra spoke to the Mage King in calm but worried voice...
"So what next? What we can do now? He is left and invited Ren for the battle."
"We have no any other option left. We can do anything but can't defeat him." Mage King spoke with sad voice. Like he knew Vael's power. He understood him properly. What he can do and not.
All remained silent. Then to broke the silence Seroi spoke...
"We can negotiate with him. We will offer him that give us more time for taking with Ren."
"We can't do that. He placed the seeds of revenge in Ren's heart. Ren will find him at any cost. But before that he will find us. We will to prepare for that. Any moment he will come for truth. The truth that is liar."
Mage King spoke with deep sadness. In his mind thousands of thoughts flickered.
"We have one hope. Elara. She can help us. We can offer the Vael to Keros drug and buy a some time...." The Verica spoke with wisdom.
"Are you stupid? How can we give someone that drug. It's too dangerous for humanity. If we will give him, he will gain more powers." The Geron shouted and intrupted his. His words carried the truth. A meaning...