Ceph watched from afar. His heart frozen in a gripping fear, dread paralyzing him as he watched his mother fall through the sky. As if dead.
She recovered quickly. Just a few seconds of freefall. Those seconds, however, had drained Ceph of any energy he had to spare. He was covered in a cold sweat as he feared the worse.
And those seconds had brought the worse. Ceph didn't know what was happening. He couldn't follow what was happening, after all. But he could tell that his parents were being pushed to their limits. And his mom, in particular, was slower than before.
Most of the time, she was still too fast for Ceph to see. But, it was not as smooth as before. It was clear that the arrow which had struck her had left lasting damage.
As another handful of seconds passed, Ceph nearly charged forward. Unable to think rationally. Luckily, he had seen what always happened when Eldrian did just that. Those memories allowed him to stay in place, despite how much he wanted to go to their aid.
Yet, Ceph was unable to just watch. It was too painful.
Desperate, he sent Eldrian a request to teleport over. Something they only did when things were seriously dangerous. Otherwise, they would contact one another.
In response, Eldrian appeared. Right in the air, with nothing to stand upon.
"Whaaaa— Ceph! Land before you ask me to teleport over!" Eldrian cried. Recovering quick enough. When he did, his attention was drawn to the ongoing battle. It didn't take a genius to know who was fighting.
'We need to help them!' Ceph shouted, too flustered to keep the mental link he had with everyone in Avgi going. Luckily, the battle between his parents and the devils had caused the army to flee.
The massacre caused by the collateral of their battle was fear inducing. No amount of command ability could keep the army advancing on Avgi. That, however, didn't mean the attack had been halted. Just that the rabble was no longer adding their numbers to it.
'How?' Eldrian asked, his mind racing. He was tempted to ask Ziraili for help. However, he knew she wouldn't, couldn't, interfere.
Doing so would cause the other gods to move to action. They were already complaining because she was teaching him, after all. And that was before she took him to the core of ANW.
Eldrian's question was, of course, rhetoric. He didn't expect an answer from Ceph. Just a glance at the battle made it clear that he could not interfere directly. This was far past the battle between the duke, Hrothgar, and the lich.
Eldrian couldn't even follow their movements, only the occasional flashy clash.
It was clear to see that the difference wasn't just in Tier. Each individual here was clearly at a level rivaling Legends. If not actual Legends.
Thinking of them, Eldrian recalled that Amnur was in Ganalin. Surely, he would come to the aid of Avgi. However, as the second ticked by, no help arrived.
'There is no way he hasn't sensed this battle, and I am sure Zamia or Agamemas would have called for help...' Just to make sure, Eldrian sent a SOS through the players to the dwarves. Sadly, it wouldn't arrive within seconds. No, it might even take a few hours.
It was futile, but he had to do something. As things were, there was no way that Zamia and Agamemas would last that long. Eldrian could see that clear enough.
'Wait, I can see their battle!' At the start, it had just been a blur of flashes of light and explosions. But now, Eldrian could follow their movements. He couldn't quite make out all their attacks. But he could track their bodies, at the very least. Though, it was hard at this distance. Even when enhancing his vision with magic.
Realizing that he must have activated his bloodline to slow time, Eldrian also knew he had more time to think. So that was what he did. He sent his thoughts into hyper-drive as he thought of all the ways he could offer support.
Using his bloodline of time, Chronos, was a thought. However, Eldrian doubted he would be able to control it. A collapse as had happened way back was the more likely outcome.
'Wrath would be useless. I can't control it well enough. And at their speeds, I doubt I will be able to close the gap. Just like when I fought the Pegasus.' Thus, Eldrian turned to Tranquility. Ziraili's words echoing in his mind.
"Tranquility is the absence of motion." Instead of envisioning it as Ice, Eldrian would envision it as this. As the lack of kinetic energy, as a lack of any and all energy. He picture in his mind the devils halting, as if frozen in time.
As he did, he could feel Tranquility stirring. An icy mist started flowing through him, dropping the surrounding temperature. But it did not activate. So, Eldrian continued to sharpen the image in his mind.
'I failed to cast my spell on the Pegasus. Instead, I summoned ice between myself and it. I need to make sure I don't repeat that. The distance is far too much.'
Eldrian also realized he was unlikely to freeze the devils. After all, they were cornering Zamia and Agamemas, some of the strongest beings Eldrian knew.
Sure, they were outnumbered. But only three to two. The devils weren't much weaker than the Alicorns. If at all. Zamia and Agamemas might be holding out not because of their individual strength, but because of their superb coordination.
Covering for the other's blind spots and weaknesses as if a single person. Their partnership was far deeper than his and Ceph. That much was clear at a glance.
'Envision it, Eldrian! Envision it as clear as day. The image of the devils slowing, slowing to a crawl. Freezing in time. Stuck where they are!' Pushing his mind to its limit, Eldrian formed this image as clear as he could. Pushing his entire being into it.
And as he did, he felt a massive drain suddenly assaulting him. His consciousness nearly stolen from him. His flight spell falling apart as he plummeted to the earth below.
—
Ever since Zamia had taken the arrow, she had been slower to move. While she had dispelled the poison and healed the wound, the damage had been done and was increasing. She was no longer in peak condition.
The arrow was covered with voidstone dust, enchanted to gather mana from its surroundings. These, she could not remove from her body.
They had flown into her blood along with the poison. And now, they were consuming her stamina and mana alike.
If she didn't find the time to cleanse the enchanted voidstone dust from her body soon, the damage would become extreme. The dust would activate, tearing through her body as they collected towards each other to reform a full stone.
When that happened... the magic release would likely kill her.
Yet, even knowing that they were on the clock, they couldn't go on the offensive. The best they could manage was surviving.
Help... was not coming.
Agamemas had already contacted Amnur, as well as Athtar. The former had been attacked at home, and the latter was being stalled.
This was indeed the devil's attempt to destroy Avgi.
The Alicorn's saving grace was that only three devil kings were here. Had there been four, then they would already be dead.
It was as Zamia's thoughts turned to despair, her worry for Ceph growing, that the devils suddenly slowed. It lasted for barely a second. But a second was plenty of time for Agamemas to capitalize.
He struck without hesitation. Closing in, Agamemas' first strike sent the devil's war-mace aside, Zelth unable to brace for the attack in time. Agamemas' second attack claimed the devil's arms below the elbow, and his third decapitated Zelth'terkt.
Instead of rushing the others, Agamemas turned back into an Alicorn and swooped towards his wife. Who jumped onto his back as they flew towards Avgi. Unable to activate teleportation magic due to the magic casting devil maintaining an anti-magic barrier.
Simple spells could be cast through it, just as he had cast simple spells through Zamia's barrier. More complex spells, however, could not be formed without a clash of wills. Which would give the archer an opening.
Thus, Agamemas had chosen flight. And the devils, still slowed, were too late to react. In the blink of an eye, Agamemas escaped their range and returned to Avgi.
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