Veph watched Atrevaar burn. Even when the spell ended, fires continued to rage all throughout the residential district. She had twenty Shard Heroes and another three dozen high level heroes waiting in the plaza.

Every single one was dead.

She walked into wreckage that had once been the Nimble Hogs. When she checked the index, Nikoletta was still there. It seemed impossible. The goblin had been confident she was dead.

Veph tossed aside rubble until she found the spot near the back of the building. It was only standing because of the reinforced practice arena above it, which was still intact despite her use of Explosion and Eruption.

Nikoletta was sitting up drenched in blood. The cathkabel squatted in front of her and ran its long fingers through the blood, then licked it off. He moaned with the action.

"Is she going to live?" Veph asked.

"Yes. When we fuse." Zazenk ran his whole hand over her breasts, gathering more blood before licking his palm clean.

Veph scowled. "Then do it."

He turned huge silver eyes to her. "She will not be the victor of the fusion."

"Unless you let her."

A disgusting smile spread across the cathkabel's mouth. "I will not."

Veph gestured to Nikoletta, who had lifted her head enough to look at the cathkabel.

Zazenk hummed quietly and gathered more of her blood.

"Do you know how to start fusion?" Veph asked.

Nikoletta opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Place your hand on his chest. It will be like casting a spell. You will need to remain touching the entire time. Cathkabel, show your skin."

Zazenk left on his bandolier, but tore away what was left of the silver suit underneath. He moved closer, letting Nikoletta's raised hand press against his pale flesh. He moaned gently as she touched him.

Veph considered killing the creature, but keeping Nikoletta alive was a potential gain unlike anything else she had at the moment.

"Do it," Veph said.

Energy pulsed from the two of them. Luminous light shone brightly under Nikoletta's palm. It glowed through the cathkabel, showing beating hearts, the hole in his brain, and every other damaged organ.

The goblin had really beaten the Death Priest. Or had it been the skeleton?

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She would need to rebuild. Egnatia and the others would be able to pick up some of the slack in building an army to manage against the 7 Shard Hero, but what were they going to do against Power 7 spells? The only ways to avoid that were to field heroes on the same level and shard count. Overpowering a hero below your shards was generally simple, especially if one had fused. At least, that's what Veph had been told.

She needed to. If not, she wouldn't have the willpower to sacrifice those at her level.

If the Rat could do it, she could without difficulty.

Veph tapped her foot impatiently. The fire from above had found its way into the basement, burning through the ruins. At least Nikoletta had been protected from the Power 7 spell by being underground. It was a good note for the future if Veph needed to fight against a fire wizard again.

Both Nikoletta and Zazenk twitched horribly. Internally, they were fighting against one another. Mind against mind. Willpower versus willpower. Once the connection was formed, it was all internal.

Seeing it now gave Veph ideas of what she could use for her fusion. It would need to wait for a bit. Rebuilding Atrevaar had to be the priority. They needed to see her as a leader. As the leader.

While she did that, she could at least put out a bounty on Sofia Halaby. Owin was safe from that as even his Power 6 spell failed to kill anyone. It destroyed some, but that was normal in a Shard Hero battle. The city was ready to make those repairs. It was the Rat that caused the real damage.

Luminous light grew until Veph had to cover her eyes. When it faded a moment later, Nikoletta stood. Her skin was pale and smooth without any sign of scars. Her eyes were bigger than before with a bright silver iris. Her hands were a finger short, and when she stretched, feathered wings emerged and spread out wide. She looked more cathkabel than human, but that didn't mean anything about what was inside her head.

"Who are you?" Veph asked.

Nikoletta looked at her hand. "Nikoletta Olah."

Veph grinned. "Nikoletta Olah, would you like to be my new right hand?"

Huge silver eyes snapped to Veph. "You will help me kill the goblin?"

"I will help you become the world's strongest."

Nikoletta dropped to one knee. Her wings still stretched out wide. "I am with you, ma'am."

***

Desert Dungeon

Tenth Floor

Vondaire strode into the beautiful room. He shared a respectful nod with Crusader, who was sitting across a small table from a mouse-like woman. She had tan fur and beautiful blonde hair that hung in thick curls.

Nehadya sipped tea and poured more for Crusader before gesturing to an open spot. "Would you join us?"

"I apologize, my lady. I am in a hurry." Vondaire bowed his head.

"Heroes always are. Some of us enjoy taking our time." She sipped her tea before placing the elegant teacup back in the saucer. "We were having a nice time."

"I apologize," Vondaire said.

Nehadya stood up and pushed in her chair. She looked more humanoid than the lehboa people, but she still shared many of the same characteristics. Even her tail looked almost identical to a lehboa. She was incredibly short and had to look up at Vondaire to make eye contact.

"Do you have a question you wanted to ask?"

Vondaire lowered himself to one knee so she could look right into his face. "I do, my lady."

Nehadya smiled. "You know, umbras aren't my favorite, but I truly appreciate the effort you have put in. The way you saved those shardless heroes was admirable."

"Thank you, my lady."

"What's your question, Vondaire?"

He couldn't keep the grin off his face. The deal he had made with Althowin was nothing more than advice from the old hero. An idea and advice.

"When and where can I find the Phoenix Omen?"

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