The betrayal against Ansel and Evora's hysterical "SAVE " transpired in a re instant.
The extraordinary beings, poised to strike Evora, were left utterly bewildered. Even with their vast experience, their minds struggled to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
The annihilating black radiance engulfed Evora upon her throne, piercing deeper into the blood flas, its terminus indiscernible.
Under this terrifying onslaught, capable of effortlessly eradicating any being below the sixth stage, every object within the dilapidated palace touched by the dark light vanished, as if it had never existed.
Yet, curiously... the fractured throne and Evora, half-flesh and half-bone, remained unscathed.
Crack.
As the extraordinary beings grappled with the recent upheaval and marveled at Evora's inexplicable survival, her already crumbling throne suddenly developed a network of fine fissures.
Crack, crack, crack, crack —
Amidst the unceasing sounds of disintegration, the shattered throne shed a few more fragnts of gold and iron, yet miraculously retained its form. It appeared largely unaffected, but the armrests, backrest, and Evora herself began to emit a golden radiance.
This faint, shimring golden light coalesced around Evora's wrists, ankles, waist, and neck, taking the unmistakable form of... shackles?
"Ansel, save—"
Evora attempted another frenzied outcry, but the shackles binding her suddenly flared with golden light. Upon closer inspection, these fetters seed not rely to restrain Evora, but to penetrate her very flesh, as if ceaselessly... draining her power?
As the golden light erupted, Evora's eyes instantly lost their luster, her head drooping lifelessly as she slumped upon the throne like a marionette with severed strings.
The current situation... no longer reflected the initial unity of purpose.
The nine-headed serpent turned its colossal form, its savage gaze fixed upon the distant congregation of extraordinary beings.
"My friends..."
The deep, layered voice reverberated through the blood flas: "I don't recall our plan to eliminate Evora including that particular sequence of events."
The Duke of Wyvern, initially perplexed by Evora's intervention to save Ansel, quickly regained his composure upon witnessing her sudden collapse. With a cold smirk, he retorted:
"Nor do I recall Evora beseeching you for aid. She implored you to save her, Hydral... Were you planning to sacrifice us to facilitate her escape?"
Casting aspersions is a trivial matter. Despite not understanding Evora's apparent madness, the Duke of Wyvern recognized this as an opportunity too precious to squander!
Evora's first utterance being a plea to Hydral for rescue... The insufferably proud Elder Princess would never conceive of such a tactic to sow discord. Her desire for Ansel's aid was genuine, a fact undoubtedly clear to the other extraordinary beings.
With scant support for Ansel to begin with, who would stand by him under these circumstances?
"The onus of explanation lies not with , Hydral."
The Duke of Wyvern's form began to tamorphose. Enormous brown fleshy wings erupted from his waist, his eyes transford into draconic orbs, and his face beca adorned with fine scales. His voice grew even deeper and more resonant: "Moreover, neither you nor Evora should exist. For the sake of this continent, for the Empire... This world has no place for so-called divine species!"
If Ansel could adopt a righteous stance, so could he. Clent was confident that his rhetoric carried more weight than Ansel's "new order". Or rather... A new order devoid of divine species would be the true new order!
"I see..."
The colossal nine-headed serpent murmured, displaying little anger as it contracted back into human form.
Unnoticed by all, Faust, concealed within the crowd, appeared less pained.
Obsidian liquid enveloped Ansel's statuesque figure, materializing into an elegant black suit. Hydral gently caressed his cane, sighing: "I had hoped Lord Wyvern wouldn't be so myopic. Ambition and avarice ought to be pursued after Evora's demise."
Duke of Wyvern had initially shared this sentint. Upon witnessing the strike Ansel had conjured, he harbored no doubt that Evora could withstand another such blow, especially with the other extraordinary beings unleashing their lethal attacks simultaneously.
If she did survive, she would be barely clinging to life. At that juncture, his priority would naturally shift to assaulting Ansel with full force.
In any case, had Evora survived, her primary instinct would undoubtedly have been to eliminate Ansel first. Caught in a pincer attack, Hydral would have suffered grievous injuries. Witnessing such a turn of events, the other extraordinary beings would have been even less inclined to align themselves with Hydral.
However, the situation had indeed evolved beyond anyone's expectations—Evora erged unscathed from that world-shattering strike, even managing to aid Ansel; the extraordinary beings, poised to attack, hesitated in their bewildernt; and Clent's backstab was thwarted by Evora's intervention.
Though unable to significantly damage either party, the circumstances still favored Clent. Evora's cry for help had essentially sealed Ansel's fate.
"You still have a chance, Lord Wyvern," Ansel calmly stated.
"Let us first deal with Evora. Once this calamity has passed, we can settle your ambitions."
Bang!
A thunderous roar answered in lieu of the Duke's response as lightning crashed against Ansel's form.
Clent's entire being crackled with violent electric energy. He had dispelled all of Faust's abyssal matter, now combating the feasting flas with his own ether and power.
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He realized that without Ansel, Evora might prove unkillable, yet he refused to cooperate—simply put, he distrusted Ansel completely.
The Duke of Wyvern believed that even a second of fighting alongside Ansel would seal his own demise.
"Clent! What are you doing?"
One of the first extraordinary beings to launch an attack on Evora cried out in fury. A shield materialized before Ansel, deflecting the Duke's lightning. The scattered bolts ricocheted through the sea of flas, testant to the devastating power of a top-tier fifth-stage extraordinary being.
"...Pablo Celsus, you ask what I'm doing? I'm saving us all, reclaiming the world that should be ours."
Ti was of the essence. Without Faust's abyssal matter, each second in this inferno posed imnse danger. Clent had no intention of wasting ti on those still siding with Hydral.
"Together we can kill him, and just as easily... we can kill Evora!"
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