Blasts of steam and fire danced flowed and danced together in the bandit camp. Feyd had an almost indifferent expression while he fought, fighting at with the same level of skill as he always did, but just with more aggression and an offensive tone to his actions.
Steam blasted past Feyd who was nearly hit by the attack but had dodged it by calmly tilting his head. More blasts of steam came his way as he was forced to dodge or parry the attacks preventing him from getting close to Steam Cannon.
However he did send blasts of fire, Flame Arrows and Fireballs whenever he could to pressure Steam Cannon.
Steam Cannon's purple tinged steam was now much more powerful accompanied by what seemed like an increased reservoir of energy. His initial outburst of madness seemed to have calmed itself, but Steam Cannon's shaking pupils and slightly maddened expression spoke for himself.
He no longer cackled nor spoke, instead he seemed to be in more control of himself now. A smirk appeared on his face as he continued fending off Feyd while injuring him in turn.
Ray watched the two fight. They seemed to be completely engrossed and had even forgotten about Ray, though their reasons may differ.
He wasn't sure how Feyd would react to him interfering, nor did he sense any good opportunities to do. However he knew that this was a good opportunity for a strong sneak attack against Steam Cannon when his guard was down or was distracted.
"Kehk, it seems I have the advantage here, well I've had it since before but now it's even greater! Each of my attacks requires tremendous effort on your part to deal with!"
Steam Cannon's voice was colder and calmer than before, but Ray reckoned that a normal Steam Cannon would not have spoken at all.
'Why have both of these two gone crazy? It seems to be related but not directly? I'm not sure, maybe I can search around for something?'
Feyd swung his blade in response as his flames roared out. His usually lively eyes were dull yet they seemed to radiate a sharp killing intent at Steam Cannon.
This attack was easily blocked by Stema Cannon however just as he had launched steam to do so a tiny explosion erupted behind him causing his to falter.
A tiny Rift had formed behind him without his knowledge and Feyd had used that to send tiny Fireballs at him. Steam Cannon spread steam out in waves to defend himself from the continued attacks of Feyd while his eyes shook and his facial muscles began to twitch.
Slight cackling escaped his lips which were struggling against themselves to stay still. Irrationally angered by being hit, Steam Cannon decided to engage Ray in close quarters combat.
The wisps of gold in Steam Cannon's eyes glowed brighter as he began to feel it was beneath him to whittle away at Feyd from a safer distance.
'This elf hurt me!? What a disgrace, I was planning to extend the fight but it seems he wishes to meet his end quickly'
If Feyd was in a state where he could express himself he would have grinned and felt glad that Steam Cannon was coming at him. He calmly raised his sword and readied himself to face Steam Cannon.
Ray decided to sneak away from the fight since even after the power up Feyd seemed capable to handling Steam Cannon and instead began to sense through the shadows attempting to find anything special.
Sensing through shadows was strange. He gleamed into the properties and aspects of the thing casting the shadow, yet it wasn't exactly in terms of sight, sound or any other major sense. It was unique and strange.
'Rubble... Pots... Water Tank... Bandits? Eliminated... Some slaves...? Guess can save them later...'
'Hmm there's nothing interesting nearby'
Ray continued to search while keeping an eye on the fight between Feyd and Steam Cannon. It seemed that Steam Cannon had continued becoming stronger but not by much. The steam countered Feyd's flames yet his swordplay against the unarmed Steam Cannon seemed to balance the fight.
Feyd seemed to fight with a slightly cold and calculative touch to his fighting, with a strong killing intent mixed in. Yet there was this lack of substance behind his actions that made it seem less impactful somehow, however the highly efficient combat he performed seemed to make up for it thus making it feel like a variation of his average combat prowess.
While Steam Cannon seemed to have a sort of pride in his actions, not backing down even after failing to succeed. His steam disrupted the effects of Feyd's powers, especially his fire, and Ray's abilities too.
'His disruption of abilities is strangely pervasive and overbearing in feel, yet it seems to be a power not originally his and weaker than what it should be.'
'... Disruption... Wait, the building he came from is more disruptive than other places. At first i thought it was just his close proximity to it that caused it but now...'
'What if there's something there?'
A glint flashed in Ray's eyes as he began to make his way towards the building with shadows cloaking his presence. However he made sure to constantly keep a check on the two fighting, just in case Feyd was ever in danger.
However just as he was about to leave he thought of something:
'They both seemed mentally disturbed in some way, confused even. What if I try to probe it with psychic energy...'
However just as he was about to send carefully structured psychic waves with ever changing frequencies towards the two an ancient voice echoed in his mind.
[I wouldn't do that]
Ray flinched and immediately stopped himself. At first a wave of displeasure washed over him, irritation at himself for listening to Eribos. However the more he thought the more sense it made.
'Soemthing that can affect the mentality of Feyd to such an extend could be dangerous, atleast enough to affect me too and I'm not sure of the effect duration or exact conditions for activation so it will be dangerous to check him'
'Steam Cannon's change must be related to the disruptive purple energy and the golden light in his eyes, but this very well might even be more dangerous than Feyd's cause. All this would most likely give me a backlash, providing Eribos with the chance to take over or attack me'
'However if he chose to stop me from probing then it must help him out somehow, but the question is how?'
'Whatever, I won't be getting any answers anyways. Better play things safer since I already found a clue'
Eribos ignored Ray's internal monalogues, remaining unresponsive. Whether he couldn't or wouldn't was questionable. Ray moved towards the building while suppressing his urge to investigate Feyd and Steam Cannon.
'Anyways probing Feyd like this would be a breach of trust, and I get the feeling this state of his isn't permanent. And checking Steam Cannon seems much more dangerous so lets just leave it at that'
Ray remained reluctant though he attempted to convince himself with reason.
Entering the room Ray immediately noticed many suspicious things. The disruptive energy was much more intense inside the building so he couldn't use Shadow Sense to find the things he wanted.
The building's insides also weren't burnt much, nor damaged. The most damage he saw was slight burns around the door frame and the door itself.
However although all of this disabled Ray's strongest investigative tool, it didn't leave him helpless.
'Although Shadow Sense can't be used here, my bare perception should be enough. It'll just take longer'
And so he began looking around while maintaining as little physical contact as he could, using his rapier or solidified shadows for such activities whenever needed.
But after searching the entire house all he found was a good amount of credits and stolen goods. Ray pocketed the credits almost immediately but left the stolen goods untouched, mostly checking them to see if they were what he was looking for.
But after checking every chest, every box and crate, every bookshelf and any other hiding spots he ended up with nothing. Thus he remained standing indront of the door, reexamining the minor details he had observed.
'The amount of disruptive energy is much more concentrated in his bedroom, but I'm not sure of the possible reasons. Maybe that's where he conducted the methods to gain the power, or is it because that's where he spent the most time?'
'And the rooms also feel strange somehow, but I just can't pit my finger on how...'
And so Ray continued to ponder.
Feyd meanwhile continued to fight Steam Cannon though at a disadvantage. Steam Cannon's eyes were brimming with confidence and pride as he continued to blast Feyd with steam. However every once in a while he would be cut by Feyd's blade causing wounds to begin accumulating on his body.
-Blast!
Two outbursts of steam combined into one and slammed into the weakened Feyd, causing him to be sent flying through the air. He shot past the vice leader's body and though two burned buildings!
However he impassively forced his weathered body up and picked up his blade. Fire sparked around him as he pushed his body to its limit and rushed towards Steam Cannon.
Steam Cannon seemed to be happy at this sight, watching Feyd struggle while being absolutely thrashed by him in a fight. He waited for Feyd to come closer to him, even letting him run past the ideal range for his steam blasts. He believed he would win no matter what, even if Feyd got closer.
'Aha! That's it!'
Ray seemed to have connected the whatever he needed to as he walked over to Steam Cannon's bedroom with purpose.
'The room layout is strange! The space occupied and room layout suggests an extra room. A room that would conveniently be right beside the bedroom'
'So what if the disruptive energy is due to Steam Cannon staying there for a long time or doing things there, what if it's energy that leaked from the hidden room?'
He soon entered the bedroom and turned towards one of its walls. He gathered the limited amount of shadows he could within the disruptive energy and prepared to cut open the wall.
'I don't know how to open up the hidden room, but it's just wood. I just have to cut through. And if they have a mechanism to punish forcibly breaking in somehow then that's my loss'
And so Ray unleashed four cuts that perfectly nicked through the walls and carved out a rectangular hole, perfectly door shaped. And immediately a wave of energy rushed out that dissolved the shadow infused in his rapier and destroyed the shadows cloaking him.
Inside was a small room with a large altar in the middle. It glowed purple with mist and a power presence surrounding it, however it glowed a golden light which gave Ray the feeling that it was much more important than the purple energy.
"W-Woah, this is..."
And so Ray began to investigate the room, its altar and everything else inside. From the atmosphere to the objects, nothing was left unchecked.
However the moment he had cut the walls Steam Cannon had already been alerted. A shocked, embarrassed and angry expression appeared on his face before he swiftly distanced himself from Feyd.
A strange purple energy swirled inside him, circulating through his body, as his aura intensified.
"I will finish you off here, and now"
Feyd ignored his words and rushed at Steam Cannon. Flames bursted out from his feet, though not much considering the low reservoir of energy that remained within Feyd.
Steam gathered around Steam Cannon's two open hands as he brought the two together. It quickly formed one large and condensed ball of purple mist.
And the moment Feyd stepped within what he calculated was the ideal range for attack, Steam Cannon struck. A good distance away from where he usually attacked Feyd misleading Fey's attempt at dodging the minet he reached Steam Cannon's 'attack range'.
Steam blasted out at incredible speeds, with more disruptive, purple steam than any previous attack blasting Feyd past houses and creating a large crater.
"Steam Eruption!"
Feyd remained unmoving inside the crater while a Steam Cannon radiating purple energy rushed towards his building and Ray, who was fully engrossed investigating the room and unaware of the threat rushing towards him.