Chapter 943 Rationality of the Royal
Skullius saw many more Sif disappear, and as dread would have it, more of them started to vanish per instance, as though whatever phenomenon was causing this was invigorated by the rising despair.
The inexplicable, yet greedy black took every Sif who ran, walked, stood or hid; the trees showed Skullius even from the more absurd of angles, quivering families and lovers, as though to garner more of his sympathy.
"Odd..." Skullius said with a frown.
DOOOOOOOOOOONG!
He reeled and refocused quickly.
His sight was instantly shifted to another Aurora. Many were screaming all the same, falling to despair while glimpsing the peripheral view of familiar faces getting whisked away by the unknown.
The great station – one made from towering, tangled roots – which Skullius had seen, pulsing with absurd power and an obscene amount of defences he was unfamiliar with from multiple Auroras, churned. There were Sif within it.
'So that's why...' Skullius thought at the sight of them.
All of these Sif... were dead.
They were bleeding profusely from the ears, eyes, mouth and nose.
They were Masters.
DOOOOOOOOOOONG!!
Skullius' frown grew sharper over the contours of his face.
'The noise... It's targeting specific areas...'
The random civilians were seemingly unaffected by the loud gong, their only cause of concern being the mysterious force swallowing their kind every moment. However, the stronger experts... Skullius saw them sprawled on the ground, dead, with the same symptoms he had just seen from those on the root and trunk station.
Of course... the Incandescent Stagers were still alive, but they were struggling pitifully while clutching their ears, some even conjuring their Nitros to try and ward away the ridiculously invasive sound.
As harrowing as it was, Skullius did wonder why it was so extreme over there than here....
Right as what felt like the hundredth gong sounded, Skullius' vision shifted as he grunted, and he saw the towering mass within a different Aurora light up with a verdant glow, its viney make of impressive girth turned bright green flashing upon the city with an almost desperate sort of intensity.
Every Sif flailing around it was hidden in the protective glare in an instant!
The shroud was so potent that even the broadcast Skullius was linked to failed to show him the finer details of what was transpiring within green brightness.
One thing he could tell for sure though, was the fact that he had been right.
The defences that these stations were capable of, were not only much different from the forms he had seen, but they were very advanced. They giant structures could operate on their own too.
The light that had just blasted out was, much like a blanket, thick, yet also furiously hot like lava.
Skullius got the feeling that the heat had some kind of disinfecting application – on a magical level.
Somehow, it was supposed to counter various kinds of effects on the civilians all at once, which was very... nature-like.
However...
The bright light suddenly dimmed and fizzled.
The station creaked and crunched.
Its vibrant, natural hue was lost immediately, and it began to arc down, as though aging thousands of years in a moment!
'Damn it...' Skullius thought.
He let the remains of the screams of the people who became clear once again – the assault of the black reaper still upon them – tell the story of their deeper despair as he returned to his current predicament.
The sycamores around Gauurdfell struggled against the effect he had seen on the defensive behemoths in the Auroras, but although they managed to stall by surging within themselves what Skullius assumed was abundant life energy, it was clear they weren't going to resist for long.
DOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!
The Incandescent Stagers had already moved.
Skullius felt a bracelet get clasped onto his wrist by Cosycn, and he was heaved up from his kneeling position, along with Darwel by his side.
It was only when another dong came that he found that the discombobulating effects of the bell noise lessened dramatically, but not entirely.
'Darwel and me should have died like the Masters in the Auroras I just saw... Is it because of distance?' Skullius thought while sensing his surroundings.
The man addressed as Shannazah and the other delegation led by the girl wearing dark armour seemed to have resisted the effects of the bell with their own means.
He perceived the King and Queen's figures surrounded by ten Incandescent Stagers, with the others rushing off in different directions. It appeared the Queen had given them orders which weren't clear to Skullius because of the language barrier.
She was openly livid while the King seemed to subdue his rage.
"How is it that our barrier has been breached?! So help me if your warriors have gotten so weak that it takes mere seconds for them to be run through... allowing the enemy to reach our people...!" she barked at her spouse with her eyes letting out a vicious, magical, spark of fury that the Hybrid Luman felt impact the depths of his soul.
Everyone felt it.
The rage of a Transcendent Stage expert.
Darwel grunted unpleasantly. It could only be because she too felt her mother's particularly fierce presence.
"We still have many options at our disposal. They cannot cover the whole nation with a force of 1,000 even if they are granted minutes to roam free, Embrell," the King gave his wife a stern look that did nothing to shirk off her accusing glare.
DOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!
The Queen clicked her tongue.
Everyone was wearing the same kind of bracelet Skullius was wearing, and thus, they weren't affected terribly anymore. However... the sight of the trees beyond Gauurdfell – even past the sycamores – quickly losing vitality seemed to fuel everyone's seed of vengeance.
"You said there'd be a chance for a civil discussion. Your naiveté is showing its fruits," the Queen said to the King before pushing out of the circle of Incandescent Stagers around her and the King. "I will go meet them. You focus on getting everything ready."
"Excuse me..."
Amid the tension, Skullius interjected.
Every eye turned to him, two more dangerously than the others.
"Ah, yes. I will deal with you after this is done..." the Queen sneered dismissively, intent on hurrying towards a certain direction as many guards followed her, a hesitant Benyn included.
"No. I would prefer we deal with each other now..." Skullius said, and his four wings protruded from his back grandly, whipping into the air in a stellar golden white glow that cast a sunny flare, while their sheer length mesmerised the eye all the more.
The Hybrid Luman felt free and bold.
He felt everyone except the King and Queen succumb to his charm, turning stiff.
Of course, the beautiful El Sif with quite the tall frame and a bizarrely baggy, yet truly fabulous dress to compliment it in every way, was not impressed.
"You will—"
"You're wrong," Skullius interjected. "The Maqi soldiers have yet to arrive on land."
...!
Again, every Sif except the royal duo was smitten with an instant sort of compulsion that let them believe that Skullius was serious.
...And of course... he was right.
"How could you possibly know that?" the King frowned.
Skullius turned to him and wore an infuriating smirk.
"The greens here speak louder to me than the rest of you. I suppose.... even with their lives at risk, they see need to acknowledge me and have me in turn acknowledge the danger they are in..."
The Queen's eyes turned sharp and violent, but she instantly quelled her fury. A rational process began in her mind.
"Is that so? If what you say is true, how great is the damage?" she asked.
Skullius was quite perturbed by her sudden change in tone. He answered, his demeanour also changing to a stern one.
"Auroras closer to the ocean... from where the enemy is approaching, have been hit hardest. I'm afraid the noise is only one part of a remote attack. A pre-emptive strike, and it's working. You need to establish order quickly."
The Queen gave Skullius a quick appraisal.
.cοm She said nothing, but the Hybrid Luman felt as though she was whispering her thoughts in his ear.
Regardless of what she thought about him, he was sure... she believed every word he said. Or at least considered the validity.
DOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!
Before anyone could say anything else, the ground shook horribly, as though a titan buried underneath the ground was suddenly shaken awake!
Then, within a split of a second, the dying sycamores were pulled on from above, wound together into a massive construct, one that looked distinctly like an enormous fist, and hammered down towards the gathered.
...Towards the King and Queen!
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