The air hung thick and suffocating as the unnatural black mist blanketed the battlefield, turning the once-vibrant scene into an eerie, lifeless void. The guttural growls and chittering noises grew louder, echoing ominously through the dark haze.
The young hunter trainees trembled, gripping their weapons tightly as their nerves began to fray.
"I… I can't see anything!" one of them cried out, their voice barely masking their panic.
"Shut up and stay close!" another trainee snapped, though their shaking hands betrayed their own fear.
The air felt alive with movent. Shadows flickered just out of reach, accompanied by the crunch of footsteps and the occasional scrape of tal. Whispers filled the air, unintelligible but oppressive, as if the mist itself was mocking them.
Suddenly, bursts of light cut through the darkness as those with fire or light affinities instinctively conjured their powers. Small flas flickered into existence, providing faint illumination, but the mist seed to devour the light, leaving only an eerie, dim glow in its wake.
"Enough," the Queen of Nature's voice bood, steady and commanding despite the oppressive atmosphere. She raised her arms, and with a flick of her wrist, a do of erald fire erupted around everyone, its flas crackling fiercely. The mist recoiled, retreating from the searing heat.
At the sa ti, a gust of wind swept through the area, dispelling the lingering haze and revealing the surroundings. The battlefield was eerily empty. The hunters—those who had probably set this up—were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had vanished into the mist, leaving only silence in their wake.
The Queen's eyes narrowed, a flicker of regret crossing her face. "I should've listened to that boy's warning," she muttered under her breath.
Her gaze swept the area, searching for the boy who first called himself Kale and then Adrian. 'Where did he disappear to?'
"Everyone, gather around !" the Queen ordered sharply. Her voice carried an edge of urgency that snapped the trainees and elvin warriors out of their daze. They hurriedly moved closer, forming a big circle around her.
Just as she prepared to reinforce her shield, the silence was shattered by a sudden, tallic clang. Black chains shot out from the black mist, their ends tipped with jagged hooks.
They moved like serpents, slithering through the air with unnatural speed.
The Queen raised her hand to block them, but the chains wrapped tightly around her arms and legs, binding her in place. She struggled, her glowing aura flaring as she attempted to break free, but the chains only tightened, glowing faintly with a sinister energy.
Her movents slowed, her strength inexplicably sapped.
It seed like these chains were created with the sole purpose of restricting her.
The elvin elders, who had remained stoic until now, sprang into action. They unleashed their most powerful spells—massive waves of wind, torrents of water, and spears of earth—all aid at the chains. But to their horror, the chains absorbed the attacks effortlessly, their dark energy pulsing in defiance.
"These chains… they're draining ," the Queen murmured, her voice laced with frustration. She tried to summon the earth to aid her, but even her connection to the land felt dulled, like a distant echo.
"Haha!"
"KEKEke!"
Then, a mocking laugh echoed through the air, sending chills down the spines of everyone present. Four figures stepped forward from the shadows, each radiating a nacing aura.
They moved with deliberate ease, their confidence apparent.
The first was a young woman wielding a chainblade, its serrated edges glinting with malice. She twirled the weapon casually, her smirk dripping with arrogance.
On her opposite side stood another woman, her eyes cold and calculating. She carried a massive scythe, its blade black as midnight and humming with dark energy.
To their right corner, a scarred man hefted a heavy axe over his shoulder. His presence was like a storm—wild and unpredictable.
Finally, a handso man with sharp, calculating eyes stepped forward, his spear held loosely in one hand. Despite his composed deanor, the air around him crackled with latent power.
"You can't break our master's creation," the man with the spear said, his voice calm yet laced with cruelty. He gestured toward the chains. "These are unbreakable. A gift from the master himself for you."
"Your struggles are pointless," the woman with the chainblade added, her tone mocking. "Why don't you just give up?"
The Queen's eyes narrowed as she studied them, her mind racing.
Stay connected with empire
'They must be the Top Hunters,' she recalled.
Adrian boy had ntioned them—warned her about their strength although not enough to fight against her - enough to make her focus on them. '
In case darkness falls, just pretend to be yourself.' His cryptic words also replayed in her mind, but she couldn't dwell on their aning now.
Was she being soone else before?
But, the Top Hunters didn't wait.
With a simultaneous leap, they lunged at her, their weapons glowing eerily as they grew larger and more nacing mid-swing. Their combined attack was aid directly at the Queen, their intent clear.
The elvin elders moved to intercept, placing themselves between the Queen and her attackers. Spells and shields flared as they fought to protect their leader, but the Top Hunters ignored them entirely. Their weapons passed through the elders as though they weren't even there—ghostly, intangible.
The sa thing happened with the Queen.
The weapons slashed and passed through her body.
"What's going on?!" one of the elvins shouted in confusion. "Why aren't their attacks landing?!"
"They're using the intangible mode," another trainee murmured, though their tone was more puzzled than relieved. "But how is that helpful?"
The question was answered in the next mont.
The Queen suddenly gasped, her eyes wide with shock. Blood spilled from her lips, staining the pristine green of her robes. She doubled over, pain etched across her face.
"Mother Nature!" one of the elders cried out, rushing to her side.
The trainees froze, horror dawning on their faces as the reality? of the situation sank in.
The Top Hunters' weapons, though intangible to others, had struck the Queen directly. Her soul, spirit to be exact.
They weren't bound by the sa rules as normal attacks.
The handso man with the spear grinned, his eyes gleaming with triumph. "Did you really think we'd co unprepared for soone of your caliber?" he taunted, his voice dripping with mockery.
The Queen straightened slowly, her eyes blazing with defiance even as her body trembled from the strain.
"You all underestimate ..."
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