Precipice (V)

Cyril bit down on his bottom lip, voicing the sinister machinations at play had left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Impostors..." Angelica parroted the word, her grip tightening on the sheath in her hand.

"Well it's not completely out of the question, but for someone to pull this off they would need the help of a powerful magician. No run-of-the-mill deviant could possibly impose their will on all the monsters here at once." Arden quickly moved his head from side to side, scanning the thick plumes of dust swirling about for any signs of movement.

"I don't think there's anyone like that here though," Percy made a slow turn with his body as he spoke. Even if their enemies had been temporarily blown back by Arden's shockwave, there was a good chance that the majority of them had already shrugged it off.

"The problem is..." Cyril muttered, clicking his tongue, "....we don't exactly know who we're fighting agains-"

Before he could even voice his answer, a shiver ran up his spine, priming his reflexes and compelling his body to move on instinct alone.

There was no time to think about it, the only thing Cyril could do was hastily leap back a few feet to escape outside the range of whatever his senses were warning him about.

As soon as he got clear, a loud whoosh rang out behind him, mere moments before the bright orange light came sweeping through the space he'd previously been standing in, scorching the earth as the pyre of flames tore through the ground—its afterglow fading into the distance.

"Woah! W-what was that?!" Arden shouted, arming his massive Warhammer once more. It wasn't just him either, Percy and Angelica were also forced to gain some distance and assume defensive positions post impact.

Since Cyril was the one being targeted, Onslaught's formation only crumbled long after the flaming lance had missed its mark.

"That spell...was it a misfire?" Percy muttered aloud, eyes fixed on the billowing wall of smoke and dust closing in around them. The sounds of battle had reignited, and those who'd been blown back by Arden's earlier shockwave were slowly beginning to fill the open gap once more—even if it was unintentional. Distorted silhouettes—both man and monster—clashed in the swirling haze, but now more than ever, it was nearly impossible to tell friend from foe.

"No, I don't think that was a coincidence." Cyril replied, shaking his head. "This is going to make me sound crazy, but I think we're being targeted—and I have a feeling that they're aiming for one of us specifically. Someone's trying to take advantage of this chaos to get rid of us."

"Huh? I get that there might be some shady people in here, but I think its a little far fetched to assume they're aiming for one of us out of everyone here." Arden retorted swiftly

Cyril's claim did nothing to lessen the tension swelling up around them, when considering the ferocious sounds of the raging battle encroaching upon them and the sizzling noise coming from the freshly carved trench at their feet, nothing was making sense anymore.

For those who didn't possess the exalted [Mobius] skill, it was nearly impossible for them to pick up on such minute discrepancies.

"I believe him." stated Angelica, her voice resounding strongly as she moved towards Cyril. "Whenever Cyril says something like this, it's usually for a good reason. I don't mean to rub any sore spots here, but need I remind everyone of what happened to us the last time we didn't heed his warning?"

"That's..."

Angelica held her gaze on them, the determined glint in her eyes was currently acting as her pivot, wordlessly amplifying her sentiment several times over. Her declaration left an impression strong enough to leave even Cyril himself in awe.

"I hope this much will do as a proper apology for last time." Angelica said, flashing him a small wink.

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"Actually, it's more than enough." Cyril told her with a calm smile on his face, nodding humbly as he turned toward their comrades. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but there's a high chance that the monsters here are being used as a cover up for whoever's targeting us."

"Assuming what you've said is actually true, Cyril..." Percy piped up critically—louder than usual to combat the noisy haze around them. "How exactly do you propose we find this 'mastermind that's targeting us?"

"Well..." he began, swallowing hard as he fished for an answer. Cyril's version of the [Mobius] skill was of an inferior build, even if he could preemptively detect the incoming projectiles, he still had a ways to go when it came to tracing the attacks back to their point of origin.

Before the doubtful answer could even leave his throat, a certain Saint level skill reactivated once more, alerting him to the danger afoot. Cyril hastily spun his body toward the source of dread; his breath hitching the moment his eyes obtained visual confirmation on the incoming assault.

All of the sudden, a wave of magical energy spiked around them. Through the billowing plumes of smoke, Cyril's eyes caught sight of all manner of magical arms ramping up their destructive potential. Streaks of every color imaginable swelled up within the smoke—too much for Cyril to trace with his eyes alone.

His comrades caught onto the massive surge of magical energy at the last second, but by then it was already far too late. With hardly any time left before the omnidirectional assault was unleashed upon them, Cyril could only howl one final command in desperation. "Scatter!"

Seconds after that one word escaped his throat, the mayhem took hold. A rain of magical devastation came crashing down all at once, bombarding the area with ceaseless waves of elemental devastation.

Bullets of water, bolts of lightning and spears forged from resplendent flames rained down relentlessly across the battlefield. The members of Onslaught had all dashed in conflicting directions at the last second, shattering the circular formation they'd assumed on instinct.

Naturally, their haphazard dispersal could only result in one thing—total separation.

"Damn it, we need to regroup." Cyril cursed, crashing into a nearby tree with enough force to puncture its bark. His augmented velocity gave him enough force to pierce through the giant tree like a javelin, but his lack of control also meant that he wouldn't be able to decelerate as quickly as he wanted.

That wasn't a problem for him, however. The tree he crashed into was soon blown to pieces by a brilliant arc of blue light soon after Cyril completed his harsh landing. He kicked off the ground and transitioned into a roll, then broke for another dash as soon as he adjusted his posture.

[Directive Initiated. The unique skill [Juggernaut] is now active.]

Aria's voice returned to Cyril's mind as if responding to his will, and without the need for any verbal inputs, the supernatural skill increased his speed by a factor of several fold.

Darting off like a spear, Cyril's body flashed across the arid lands being assaulted by wave after wave of magical devastation. He zipped from cover to cover and tree to tree, even leaping between them with borderline superhuman agility.

There wasn't any time for him to plot a proper route or even plan his next move, the powerful shockwaves rumbling through the ground would never allow for that. Evasive maneuvers were his top priority, which is why he allowed his motor reflexes to prevail without much thought.

"Shit, there's no end to this!" Cyril cursed as he leapt off the branch of a falling tree, flipping through the air and landing on the nearest foothold—a giant sprout of chalk white oak vegetation not unlike the last.

With what little time he had, Cyril carefully scanned the surroundings for any signs of his comrades, but the smoke, chaos and ongoing strife with the rampaging monsters below ultimately made his efforts futile.

From his treetop position—hanging high above the sea of dust and chaos, Cyril gritted his teeth in frustration.

Aria, is there any way I could use the [Mobius] skill to track down the ones behind this bombardment?

[Affirmative. That is possible, mana fluctuations and integrated manite data can be used to plot all hostile entities in the vicinity —provided the targets you're seeking are within the effective range of your [Mobius] skill. Currently, there are six such targets within reach. A successful preemptive strike will likely force them to reveal their numbers. Since this falls outside the scope of direct combat assistance, I am authorized to provide you with their coordinates.]

Sounds like a plan. Are any of the other party members within the detection range?

[Unfortunately, it appears they have all fled beyond the scope of Mobius' detection range.]

I see. Well Thanks anyway Aria. Where's the first target?

[Acknowledged. The closest enemy to your position is thirty meters northbound from here, perched atop the second highest tree in that cluster.]

Shortly after receiving the instructions, a visual lock formed in Cyril's mind, precisely mapping the targets he sought to fell. Without hesitation, he launched himself off the brittle treetop like a bullet, crashing into the ground and sprinting for his target.

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