Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Astrid smirked,

"Nothing so vengeful. It\'s just the way it is. You want to break through My Kingdom\'s barriers and I must stop you. Only one of us leaves here alive."

"Again, Damn. Haha, but you are being very candid. it\'s good. It makes me think we could have really gotten along had we not been saddled with our responsibilities," Hernan said.

Evian watched.

No one was attacking him at the moment.

Apart from the fact that they had seen two Captain-level Monsters lose their lives and were worried about rashly going after Evian, they were also focused on the fact that their Commander was now here.

They wanted to hear what he had to say.

They all did.

The Leuitenants all gasped when Hernan said Astrid was a Commander and now, they understood why the Lieutenants who faced her before had died. Anetta and Vernon understood why they had lost. They both felt it was reminiscent of any duels they had ever had with Hernan and that was even more evidence that Astrid Renan was far beyond what they could handle.

Evian clenched and unclenched his fists a few times.

This was it.

This was the reason Astrid had agreed to his idea. He needed to be ready. He needed to be ready to take her the hell away from here at a moment\'s notice.

His Phasing was primed and in the face of an Opponent as capable as Hernan Vron promised to be, Evian knew he had to be discreet and above all precise…

\'Shit! Why is he looking over here? At me?\' Evian asked himself while rooted to the spot.

Hernan was indeed observing him with a strange smile on his face and a penetrating look that appeared to expose Evian\'s most hidden depths right to those all-seeing eyes.

Hernan looked back at Astrid and his strange smile reverted to amicable,

"Now then, shall we?"

Lights appeared all around Astrid and all of them transformed into spell circles that ground Astrid in place better exploding with such impact, that everyone who felt the blowback felt as though they were being ripped to shreds on a fundamental level.

"One of the most powerful spells in my arsenal. Did not think we should waste time with this," Hernan said and then as everyone locked in their knees to avoid getting blown away, his eyes rolled upward to see Astrid balancing in mid-air, quite at ease,

"Of course, that wouldn\'t be enough. Not for you at least."

Astrid said nothing. She simply cast her reciprocating spell. Her pillars appeared and all struck down to destroy a single target.

Explosion to meet Explosion.

Hernan avoided it all with a movement spell that then propelled him upward with powerful force. Astrid\'s eyes widened but her opponent moved and cast too fast for her to properly react.

A hammer of Spiritual energy appeared and swung out…

*BAM!*

… The impact was dreadfully magnificent that it sent Astrid rocketing miles away to crash into the ground.

"Ack!" Evian groaned in pain.

He remembered the Chain spell Astrid had cast on him in case he got too far and he knew he had to cover the distance that was now between them before his heart imploded in his chest.

His cry of pain called the attention of multiple attackers to him but Evian ignored them.

He used Wraithic Phasing and he did not even have to be mindful of the direction Astrid was at because the chain connecting them pulled him so that he surfaced right by her side as she got back to her feet.

"I knew you were coming," Astrid told him with a smile.

"How—?" Evian started and then realized how stupid of a question that would be. Of course, she knew. She had control of the chain that almost killed him.

"We should get going now. You have the information you need, right?" Evian eventually said.

"Go where?" Astrid asked while looking at Evian like he was insane.

"Ah, of course, you beat me here," Hernan said as he floated gently over while staring at Evian,

"You\'re a Wraith, aren\'t you?"

Evian frowned but said nothing. There was something about the smug look on Hernan\'s handsome face that made him want to punch him.

\'Is this what everyone else feels when they look at me?\' he asked himself and then chuckled. He thought the situation was ironic but also felt foolish for letting his mind wander to such unimportant things in such a potentially dire moment.

"I amuse you?" Hernan asked when he heard Evian\'s chuckle, "Do you feel big about successfully laughing at my kindly posed question?

You know, you don\'t have to answer. I know what you are. I observed you -the both of you- before making an entrance.

I find that an entrance is most impactful when you know more about your opponents than they know of you.

It\'s why I took so long to make a personal appearance to the Barrier-shattering attempts of my forces. How could I properly prepare an entrance when I don\'t know who I am to meet."

Hernan let his voice trail off a bit, looking at Astrid and then his attention returned squarely to Evian,

"I could feel your decadence in every one of your attacks. I have to say, had you not shown off your prowess, I would not have known. For a Wraith, you keep it well hidden.

I wonder why -how- that is.

Is it because you have allied yourself with Verlice… Convinced yourself you\'re on the right side and that somehow excuses your deplorable Soul-Eating lifestyle.

Or do you look the way you do because you are so damn special?"

Hernan punctuated the last assumption with a mocking scoff to showcase how that idea was so clearly much too far-fetched.

"Are you done?" Astrid asked calmly, looking like she had been especially patient so Hernan could go off on his rant.

"About done, yes," Hernan said and there was something about the look in his eyes that worried Evian,

"There\'s a reason someone as weak as he is here with you. You, Astrid, might be strong but it takes some specific sort of maneuverability to avoid my sensors so I want him first."

\'Shit!\' Evian let out but it was already too late.

There was nothing he could do.

No speed he could muster, no spell he could cast that would save him from the grasp of Seventh Circle Arcanists who wanted him. Even Phasing would be too slow.

*Vroooom!*

*BOOOOOMMMMM!*

In the split second before Hernan\'s attack made contact (an attack so fast that Evian did not even know what it was or how it looked and how it sought to smite him), Astrid fired a counter that raised every hair on Evian\'s body as it intercepted the one after him.

From their roots, Astrid\'s hair began to return to their natural golden hue, and along with that, came a glorious radiance like she was constantly emitting her absurdly pure Spiritual energy while simultaneously drawing in more. A consistent exchange that spoke of a strange command that only Astrid appeared to hold.

There was a flash of movement and soon, Astrid and Hernan were locked in combat too fast for Evian to follow. Despite the loud sounds of their battle, Evian could hear the forces of the Arkadae human/monster forces drawing close.

"Damn it!" Evian let out.

He knew why Astrid had looked at him like he was crazy when he suggested taking her back to the Fort. The only reason she would have had to run away was if the opponent was stronger than she could handle and so Astrid must have believed she was right in her element.

Whether she was right or not, Evian could not have a say in a battle of such an intense, ground-shaking magnitude.

Whether she was right or not, it was time to let out the Verlice Kingdom\'s forces and for that, he enlisted the services of the two beautiful ladies dutifully cultivating as per his orders.

-

***

The Western Fort was quiet when Carleine and Ember jolted awake from their cultivating trance. They had both made progress but that was not too important considering the urgent message they just received from their lover.

They looked around. Seeing as they were in her room, they felt it was a safe bet that this was where they would find Zayda.

She was not there so they set off.

Luckily, the quarters of the Force Commander were not all that difficult to find, and there, they saw Zayda pacing back and forth.

Since Evian and Astrid had been gone over two hours ago, Zayda had been there, restless seeing as she was the only one who had any idea what those two idiots were up to.

"Zayda," Ember called.

"What are you two doing here?" Zayda asked, confused.

"Evian sent us," Carleine said.

"He\'s back?" Zayda asked, immediately angry that Evian had not even had the courtesy to come to her first.

"No, he\'s not," Ember said, "We don\'t even know where he is,"

"Then how—" Zayda started but Carleine interrupted.

"Not important," she said,

"Evian said to tell you;

\'it\'s time.

Use the Seal, call everyone to arms, and get over here!\'"