ldoon Crum’s emotional capabilities flickered and died like an old lightbulb as he looked behind him at the new arrivals. They stared back at him curiously. After being driven mad by the fact Claudette Beigon refused to concede even the smallest fraction, thereby giving him no choice but to kill her and risk the ire of the Frost Matriarch, this new unexpected variable pushed his mind beyond his limits. They would make the truth of this matter even more difficult to hide. He could only blankly stare at the group of six that was suddenly standing near the wall of the isolated space.
His blank eyes wandered across the group, reeling even further as he examined them. He searched their figures for any sort of sense of reassuring familiarity, sothing that would ground him in the mont, but he could not find it. One of the figures was a leafy humanoid, carrying a lance and riding what looked like a cal covered in chitinous armor. An elfen humanoid stood next to the lancer, shivering lightly as he looked over at ldoon.
In that man, ldoon could observe a kindred sense of helpless fear.
On the other side of the group a ram demon and a Vulpine looked around with interest at the two forces clustered around the Nether Array. They spent a particularly long ti looking at the armored troops of the Holy Frost Society, causing ldoon’s blood to pound loudly in his ears. Just by observing their well-muscled physiques and auras of self-possession, both were intimately familiar with violence.
But it was the middle two that ldoon found the most fearful. The one on the left was a lovely woman with her hair done up in a tight braid. Every part of her seed graceful and deadly. Her arms were folded across her chest and her sharp eyes swept across every single individual present in the clearing. Even from just her gaze, there was a strange distortion in the surrounding space. Everything she looked at was briefly dyed blood-red.
This was a woman who had taken many lives.
The man on the right had dium length black hair and a black tal left arm that was covered with golden veins that pulsed as ldoon watched. He was tall and athletic, less so than the two individuals on the right, but still enough to evidence his capability. His feet were bare. Compared to his companions, this black-haired man stood with the most casual posture; he clearly didn’t feel even a hint of a threat as he examined ldoon’s squad and the trapped group from the Holy Frost Society.
Yet what was most threatening about the man was the total lack of image that radiated off of him. The air around him was still and peaceful. Looking at the man’s subordinates, ldoon wasn’t fool enough to believe that he didn’t possess a powerful image. He simply had enough control that he could mask his image almost completely.
Figures who possessed so much control over their image were rare, even in the Nexus.
But the question that ldoon couldn’t move past was who these people were. His mind was fuzzy and repeatedly tried to place this assembly into a reassuring label, but no sufficient category occurred to ldoon. Such a grouping seed to defy categorization. Not that there was anything strange about different races working with each other in the Nexus, but since most individuals in the Nexus were descended from a powerful progenitor, most organizations were rather uniform. Even Pinnacle Seeker groups at least had a similar, unifying image.
Yet these people…
While ldoon’s mind continued to stall out and sputter, the elfen humanoid spoke. “Ah… that appears to be a Retrieval Squad from the Engraving Guild. See the insignia on their uniforms? They likely ca out to capture so of the stronger Nether individuals. And that group- by the great Lord, t-t-t-t-t-t-that i-i-is C-C-Claudette Beigon!”
The barefooted man scrutinized ldoon for a second then frowned at the elfen man. “...Didn’t we talk about useful information? That na ans nothing to . But she must be a Pinnacle Seeker, right? Since the Engraving Guild is willing to attack her.”
“You-! I didn’t… I didn’t want…!” ldoon snarled, finally snapping back into a conscious state. Being accused of attacking the Holy Frost Society when he had been forced to this by that stubborn bitch was simply rubbing salt in his wound. His limbs trembled. If she hadn’t refused to kill him, should he release her…! That pride was the only reason-
“Fellow adventurers!”
At this mont, Claudette herself entered the vocal fray, favoring the newly arrived group with a winning, dimpled smile. Although her image was related to frost, her beaming expression had enough light and passion that even ldoon’s fury was briefly silenced. “I crave a boon! Assist in escaping this predicant and I will definitely repay the favor!”
“This… this shalessness!” ldoon hissed this ti, practically spitting. She was suddenly willing to trade a favor for being released? Why wasn’t ldoon, the actual controller of the array, able to take advantage of that opportunity?!?
The ram demon pointed toward the trapped Claudette and her subordinates. “She craves a boon.”
“Honestly, seems like a good opportunity. Pissing off the Engraving Guild isn’t a problem; they’ve caused enough trouble for already.” As the barefooted man walked forward, his eyes began to glow. “Plus, we get to earn so goodwill in the process.”
ldoon snorted, gratefully seizing onto the man’s naked aggression as a way to overco his sense of helplessness. He unwound his Nether Core from the Nether Array in front of him and wheeled to face the approaching group. He used hand signals to get his subordinates to continue trapping the Holy Frost Society while facing these recent arrivals. While ldoon’s eyes were red-rimd, he felt exceedingly calm. After shorting his emotional circuits, he sweated no longer.
He had moved past that. Now he only understood necessity.
Sensing the change, Claudette and her team unleashed powerful attacks on the interior of the Nether Array. Tridents of ice slamd repeatedly into the flickering boundary. But while ldoon’s subordinates couldn’t crush them as he could, they could still maintain the Nether Array while ldoon dealt with these unfortunate interlopers.
Can I do this? ldoon’s heart was pounding. But he forced himself to remain focused. No, I NEED to do this.
Truly, Claudette’s earlier ridicule was correct; ldoon wasn’t highly rated amongst those in the Nether Lattice. He had only received his Nether Core in the past year. The Engraving Guild had created a powerful shortcut to creating a Nether Core, but it relied on being partially incorporated into another’s Nether Core. So a portion of ldoon’s Weight was taken by the superior that had given him this chance. Until ldoon reached 500 Influence and was able to bestow a Nether Core onto one of his subordinates, he would remain relatively weak.
Usually, the powerful individuals within the Nether Lattice had at least ten subordinates with Nether Cores. Achieving that feat would likely require a hundred more years for ldoon Crum, because a portion of every gain he made would be siphoned off to the one who had given him his Nether Core.
But that didn’t an he couldn’t handle an arrogant interloper now. Especially when his squad had set up several back-up Nether Arrays in this isolated space to handle unexpected situations. As the barefooted man walked forward, he walked thoughtlessly into a preprepared Nether Array. Instantly, ldoon gestured sharply and his Nether Core began to spin. A burning cage of Nether erupted out of the ground and trapped the man.
Rather than being worried, the man glanced around with the sa aloof curiosity he had displayed before. “Oh? The deploynt of this ritual is pretty rapid. And the way it’s woven together… haha, it’s like a finger trap isn’t it? The more force is applied from the interior, the more intense the constriction it gets.”
Upon hearing the man’s words, ldoon couldn’t help but choke. It… wasn’t possible that this individual truly could imdiately see through the Nether Array, right? Very quickly, the Engraving Guild officer reassured himself that the man must be bluffing; he likely knew the details of the Nether Array beforehand and was now just taunting ldoon.
ldoon narrowed his eyes as he felt burning hatred rise in his chest. I’ll teach you to take lightly… take this…! All of my 37 Weight! As long as I crush you in front of your subordinates, I can still salvage the situation!
Instantly, the Nether Array constricted at ldoon’s direction. 37 Weight only ant that he received 3.7% boost, but that was across all of his abilities. As he utilized his Nether Core, his Willpower, and his Stats, that small boost incestuously multiplied his power, perhaps reaching a full 30% increase in capability.
Also, ldoon’s eyes brightened as he watched the barefooted man’s actions in response to the array activating. It seed his assumption was true; although the man understood the chanics of the array, he didn’t even bother to apply that knowledge. He simply walked forward, feeling the full force of the suppression that ldoon unleashed.
At the mont, his physical body is slowly being crushed. ldoon managed to smile vindictively. Every movent he makes will allow the array to absorb a little bit more of his energy. Soon, he- eh? Wait, why… why can he just…
ldoon’s eyes bulged as the barefooted man continued to stroll forward. The suppression of the array, even with all of his Weight behind it, didn’t slow the man in the least. Even more horrifyingly, the man quickly reached the edge of the cage and continued to walk forward without stopping. The elastic black bindings of the array stretched and warped as the man continued forward. While the bindings should be as powerful as a refined tal alloy, the man’s Strength distorted the surroundings to the point that the Nether Array seed to have been constructed out of chewing gum.
Still, with every step, the array rapidly absorbed more and more power. ldoon’s Nether Core spun faster and faster. The suppression grew more powerful. And ldoon could guarantee that the Nether Array was working. The ground within the array was slowly cracking from the force. So why was this man so unbelievably powerful…!
The man continued walking forward, stretching the Nether Array one ter beyond its original position. His steps were steady as he moved first two ters, then three ters forward, basically walking directly toward ldoon. Rather than a dangerous Nether Array, it looked like ldoon had thrown a pesky black net across the man that he now carried with him as he moved.
But at about five ters of walking, with a few ters still between the man and ldoon, the man revealed a helpless expression and shook his head. Finally, his speed had slowed as the Nether Array accumulated more restrictive energy. “I guess it’s a little arrogant to think I can just force my way through a barrier like this. Nether is just a higher tiered energy…”
For a split second, a spark of triumph flashed in ldoon’s heart. Then the man gestured lightly and ldoon felt an unexpected tug upon the flows of energy he manipulated through the Nether Array. His spinning Nether Core was destabilized as it bounced off of sothing massive. He was taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion, but it wasn’t just that. ldoon’s Weight was shoved to the side without any difficulty.
The Nether Array unraveled instantly. Once more, ldoon could only stare blankly ahead. It felt like he had aged several years in the past several minutes. He couldn’t understand how the man had quickly severed the Nether Array. Why… why is this happening…?
I just… I wanted a future for my family… I thought...
After sohow unraveling the Nether Array around him, the man turned and did the sa to the Nether Array binding Claudette Beigon and her subordinates. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Claudette moved more quickly. As soon as she was freed, she spread her arms and an enormous image manifested above her head.
In a vast frozen tundra, the hilt of a sword stuck out of the ground. The hilt was wrought in silver, with a pearl the size of a child’s fist forming the poml. The air around that exposed hilt was such a low temperature that even if the wind would dare wander too close, it would be frozen imdiately. As ldoon looked up in fear, the pearl seed to pulse and co alive.
Like a pupil-less eye of a monster, that pearl trembled and locked onto ldoon and his crew. A wave of frost blasted outward from that image manifestation, instantly flash freezing the surrounding space.
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