The wall of mists thrummed as it glided steadily forward like a giant was pushing it. Azura stood before it, along with a small handful of mages. General Darkfall handed her a small, cylindrical object.

"Throw the beacon at the source of the mists. Once it breaks, we'll know where to attack."

"Once you are clear of course," Loric added. He said it more to the surrounding mages than to her.

"Naturally," Darkfall said. "The mana cannon takes time to gather power. You'll have several minutes to clear the area."

Azura nodded. She turned to head into the mists when a pair of slender arms encircled her. She was so surprised that she stood there, speechless.

"Be careful," Elise said. Azura turned, hesitating only a moment before returning the embrace. As she did, she leaned forward so her mouth was near her sister's ear.

"You should leave," Azura whispered. "The mages are planning something."

She disengaged and winked at her sister's alarmed expression before diving into the mists. That had been stupid of her, but she couldn't help it. Hopefully, they would get out in time. Instead of following the mass of tendrils, she headed for the first significant source of blood she could find. There were other options if she couldn't refresh her ki with mana.

***

Elise watched her sister go, then turned toward her father. His expression was a combination of disappointment and anxiety. He probably felt bad that she hadn't said goodbye to him. Azura had been cold toward him. She couldn't blame her. If he abandoned her and her mother, she would probably feel the same. Elise shook her head. They would have time to mend things. Elise started toward her father when the mages began pulling back.

"Where are you going?" Loric demanded.

"Back to Fortunia. I would suggest that you come with me," Darkfall said flatly. Elise's stomach began to sour.

"Nonsense! My daughter is out there!" Loric shouted.

Darkfall shook his head. "The Azure Magebane is out there. The kin who kills mages. That's not your daughter. Your daughter is next to you, and she needs you. Please, both of you, come with me."

"Father…" Elise said, backing away from both the mists and the mages. She was stopped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned to see an elf behind her. Then another, and another. More and more elves were arriving.

"I tried," Darkfall said, walking away.

"The council is betraying its word!?" Loric challenged.

"No," Darkfall said calmly. "We will not oppose the Magebane. Nor will we assist her. Our deal has nothing to do with the elves. You chose to stay here, so now you're in their hands. Don't worry. Your father ensured the two of you wouldn't be harmed."

Her father turned toward the nearest elf. "FROST…" That was as far as he got as an empowered fist landed in his stomach. He toppled forward, clutching his stomach as magical restraining spells were layered on them both. Elise just watched helplessly as they were incapacitated. All the while, more elves appeared. There had to be over a hundred. Then the kin arrived. Strange kin robed in white with an odd symbol on their chests. They stood behind the elves, patiently waiting. Their posture screamed violence. Elise watched in despair as everyone waited for her sister to emerge.

***

Azura killed the creature in a single blow. The fleshy worm-like creature posed no challenge. Azura pulled on the fresh blood. Instead of absorbing the essence, she pooled all the blood into a large sphere behind her. If the tainted mana wouldn't allow her to recover her ki, blood would be an excellent replacement. With her blood-attuned ki, it would be far more efficient anyway. However… Azura glared at the green motes that infested the blood. Corruption. She debated on using it or not when an idea struck her. Back in Azura's Rest, the river water was sometimes dirty, so they had filters to remove the impurities. Could she do the same?

Azura created a layer of ki between herself and the floating blood sphere. She then began pulling the blood through the ki layer. She focused on her ki, only allowing the pure essence of blood to pass. A spinning funnel of blood was passing through her makeshift filter, leaving behind the corruption and bits of other nasty particles. Ultimately, she was left with a pure crimson sphere and another sphere of green nastiness. She intentionally left a small amount of blood behind. With that last bit of blood, she condensed the sphere to the size of an orange. Orange was definitely the wrong description for the fleshy sack. It glowed an ominous green. With the tightly woven blood bag around it, Azura didn't have to worry about passively absorbing it later. Performing one last reinforcement on the blood sack, she let it drop to the ground. Then waited. No corruption was leaking. Azura smiled as she retraced her steps to the tendrils and slowly approached the source.

Two more creatures attacked during her journey. They were dispatched quickly, adding to her blood collection. Too bad she had to save it to refresh her ki. Collecting blood essence to create more ki was significantly better than her mana absorption. However, nothing compared to the dragon's blood. The quality seemed to vary a lot depending on the source. The blood in here wasn't desirable. She seemed to lose half of it by filtering out the crap. Azura distantly wondered what would happen once her ki spiral was full. She dismissed the thoughts of the future and focused on her task. The tendrils she was following were growing thicker. Periodically, they release small puffs of mist. It was almost like it was continuously flatulating. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. This began to increase in frequency as she moved further in. She must be close.

Unexpectedly, the fog lessened as the tendrils condensed into a single thick mass covered in bright green veins. The glow from the countless veins was so great it provided plenty of illumination despite the perpetual clouds above, which strangely seemed to be even thicker here. In the center of the clearing, Azura could see the mist generator. What a stupid name. A mist pod would be more accurate. The entire thing was a bulbous sack. Then again, no one had ever returned from seeing one, so the poor name choice could be forgiven. The reason for the lack of intelligence became clear as three figures appeared from a swirl of mists. A chill ran down her back. She hadn't seen them at all. Even now, with her blood sense, they were dim, distant things.

"A single kin challenges us? Usually, the mages send more." A distorted voice said. Every other word was a higher pitch.

Azura wasn't sure if she was more surprised by their ability to talk or by their appearance. Each one was unique but equally disturbing. The worst part was that they were all vaguely kin-shaped.

The speaker was male, around her height. He was lean and athletic; well, half of him was. The left half was stretched, elongated to obscene proportions. This was especially noticeable on his head. The left half was almost twice the size of the right. With its greenish glow, his gigantic left eye stood in stark contrast to his right, which was strangely normal.

To the speaker's right was a woman. This was obvious since she was naked. At least from the multiple sets of breasts on her, Azura presumed she was a woman. Couldn't be sure of anything here. The woman had three sets of breasts. If that wasn't creepy enough, each pair was distinct, as if revealing their state over a lifetime. The top pair was small and firm, like a girl, not yet a woman. The middle pair was firm and large. The bottom pair was sagging and wrinkled. Beyond the disturbing breasts, she had hair that resembled dry brambles and appeared brittle. Her face was elongated, and her mouth was disproportionately large, filled with surprisingly regular teeth.

The last was… well, Azura couldn't even guess at its gender if such a word could even be applied to the creature. It looked like a mushroom on two legs covered in gnashing mouths. A single enormous mouth and huge eyes sat just above the 'mushroom's crown.' It appeared to be leering at her.

All three were aglow with more corruption than other creatures she'd seen. The mages had been wrong. They told her that the mists were just filled with mindless beasts. A new natural plague. Fools, the lot of them.

More creatures she hadn't seen began rising from around her. Some looked like wooden dolls but twisted with extra appendages. Others were a mash between crabs and various mammals. All were disturbing.

"Fuck this!" Azura shouted in disgust. She gathered her ki, then punched. A shockwave erupted toward the first batch of monsters. Carapaces shattered, and malformed legs splintered from the force. The three figures held their ground as a barrier of corrupted energy surged around them. Their twisted visages still showed the shock they felt.

"What is this?!" The female figure shouted, her voice a rasping hiss.

Azura had no intention of allowing them time to process what was happening. With a burst of ki, she launched herself toward the trio. Before she could reach them, a tremendous force hit her. The world spun around as Azura was hurled away. Her landing tore a deep trench behind her as she tumbled to a stop. Shaking herself off, Azura got to her feet and saw a new figure standing before the others.

This new figure was definitely male. He had a broad, muscular chest and arms thicker than her legs. Corded veins stood out all over his body as if there was tremendous pressure from within. His blood was replaced with the luminescent green of corruption that shone from within. That greenish glow highlighted his abnormal features. Sharp bone spikes protruded from his arms and his head. He had no hair, only more spikey protrusions. His left hand was warped into a knobby stump the size of a rock.

"Leave this to me. Protect the seed," the new figure said, his voice echoing as if he were speaking from a far distance away, although it was clear.

"We can help, Lord," the woman abomination said, prostrating herself. The new figure never took his eyes off Azura.

"No. This one is mine," the Lord said. The three hesitated a moment longer before dashing off, taking positions around the mist seed.

"What are you?" Azura asked as she readied herself. This creature was strong. That hit would have killed any gas-level cultivator.

The Lord chuckled. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Then again, it doesn't matter. I'm an Eldritch Lord, and this will be your grave." With that, he attacked.

***

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The Eldritch Lord Torfang looked at his opponent with disdain. To think that he would have to fight himself was unthinkable. He was among the few to gain enough power to advance to an Eldritch Lord. He was too great to be used as a simple guard. The amount of eldritch power he held was far beyond that of the three underlings he sent away. He was more powerful than any eldritch being in the immediate area. He was only here because of the slow progress they'd seen for the Great Working. Yet it had to be. The mists had to spread. Keeping the mages ignorant of the nature of their purpose was critical. If they learned the truth, things would be more difficult. Hence, this kin had to die. A simple task for him. He was a being infused with eldritch energy. No mage or other such being could stand before him. Even a dragon would fall before him.

With a surge of will, eldritch energy flooded his body, augmenting his perfect nature. Then he attacked. Before the kin could move, he was before her. His enhanced hand hurled toward her head. A blow backed by his full eldritch power was unstoppable. He was sure of that… until the kin caught it. The ground broke around them as the backlash of power tore up the ground around the kin. Yet she was unmoved. A large sphere of blood floating behind her wobbled from the impact. Other than that, she seemed unaffected. INCONVIEABLE! How had this thing not perish before his might!?

The kin took advantage of his momentary confusion, swinging toward his midsection. Fool. He rooted himself in place with a pillar of eldritch power. He was unmovable. He was also confident of that until that, too, proved false. The force that landed moved him back a few centimeters. Pain. Actually fucking pain briefly rippled through him. A torrent of energy broke from her attack upon him, tearing up the ground behind him. The pair looked at each other, equally shocked. Apex predators that finally found a challenge. Then, as if in some macabre agreement, they began beating on each other. The earth fractured around them as the Titans dueled.

***

The former mage Roland watched as the Eldritch Lord traded blows with a kin. A kin! He knew from his time before his glorious induction onto the path of power that the kin were magically inert. They didn't care about capturing kin to improve them. Not like him or the other mages that have taken over the years. They were on the path to greatness. He had spent considerable time in the eldritch pools enhancing his body. The perfection he had obtained was evidence of that. It did take some time to get used to the changes wrought. His stretched limbs, in particular, took some time to master. It was a small price to pay. Soon, more and more mages would learn of the glory that could be had. He hoped to reach the rank of Eldritch Knight in a few more years and earn his new name. For now, he was just an underling, barely above a mindless beast.

A wave of force buffeted him, knocking him off his feet. His other companions were likewise blown back. The force the two were unleashing was destroying the surrounding area. With an exertion of will, he summoned an eldritch shield, blocking the mist seed from flying debris even as he was pelted. His flesh didn't matter, only his purpose. To spread the mist. How dare this kin interrupt that most holy mission!

Another shockwave knocked him off his feet again. Regardless, he held the shield in place. His companions, both mages introduced to the path of power the same day he was, layered their shields around the seed. They also ignored the flesh wounds they had received from flying debris.

A large stone was launched toward them as the kin swung a particularly mighty blow. The projectile was hurled toward his female companion faster than a crossbow bolt. She didn't move in time. The stone annihilated her head. The headless body swayed for a moment before another shockwave flung the corpse away like a doll from the arms of an upset child. The former mage didn't even spare her tumbling corpse a glance. He simply layered more levels of protection to cover the gap in the seed's defenses. They had to protect it at all costs. He just hoped the others were luckier with their mist seeds. They were in a dire situation if there were more kin like this one.

***

Azura felt blood leak from her lip and a gash on her cheek. That last blow had hurt! She snarled, slamming her fist with all her might into the Lord's stomach. Tainted blood escaped his lips, but he didn't move more than a hand's width. He cocked his club-like hand back for the next blow. She wouldn't lose! Azura braced herself for impact when another unseen blow hit her far harder.

Suddenly, she was a child again, trying to knock a cup from Gerald's head.

"Always move," Fatania had told her. "You're smaller than Gerald. You need to be swift. Dash around and get a few jabs in. Never stay still."

She had lost herself in her pride. The thought that something could challenge her had blinded her. They weren't fighting to survive. They were fighting to show who was stronger. She was taught better than this. She was better than this!

Instead of stupidly taking the next blow, she ducked, avoiding the strike. Surprised, the Lord stumbled forward from the lack of resistance only to receive a double cat kick in his sternum. She put all her strength and a large burst of ki behind it. The Lord finally went flying. Azura took a deep breath as more mana and corruption entered her, decreasing her unexhausted ki. The corruption was getting thicker. Azura quickly cultivated a portion of the blood. The blood sphere boiled briefly before shrinking in size as her ki was refreshed.

Even as she recovered, the Lord got to his feet. The rage in his eyes could melt Mythril. The Lord spread his arms out, corruption flowing into him. His greenish glow intensified, bathing the surrounding area in a sickly hue.

Azura changed her strategy, pulling on the surrounding mana and its corruption. Better to neutralize her opponent's strength if she could. However, whatever the greenish motes of energy were, they didn't obey her commands. The creature instead pulled them into himself. At least the mana she received had less corruption, restoring her ki. This was a battle of attrition. Here, in the mists, she was losing.

Azura pulled in what little blood was around her from dying creatures. It wasn't until she pulled the bit from her lip that everything changed. The pool of floating blood was just that. A useless sphere. It had no power beyond restoring her own and perhaps a small boost to cultivation. That changed when her own blood became part of the mix. The blood became alive in her senses. It flowed and moved with a slight exertion of will. Most importantly, she could feel her ki flowing through it, empowering the sanguine fluid. She smiled. Now, the full power of her attuned ki was hers to command.

***

Torfang got to his feet after the kin had kicked him. His rage was so great that all the eldritch creatures around him trembled at his fury. The one creature that did not was the abomination before him. How dare she throw him! Him! A great Eldritch Lord! A single attack should have torn her apart. Yet she traded blows evenly with him. It was unthinkable. She had to die. Such an opponent could not be allowed to live.

Torfang took an unsteady breath. His eldritch power had diminished during their exchange. He called to the power. The eldritch energy welcomed him as it entered his body. But the amount was less than what it should have been. He frowned as some power entered his opponent as she absorbed mana. Was she going to join their ranks? The eldritch energy altered any being it entered, allowing his master to influence them. This could be a great boon for them. That was when he felt the eldritch energy break apart.

No!!!

Torfang switched to this eldritch sight. The sight showed both mana and eldritch energy. He saw mana swirling into the kin, but the eldritch power disintegrated as it entered her. Blasphemous! He called fervently to the power, offering it shelter within him. It came. Whatever the kin was, she could not command the eldritch. No being beyond a chosen could.

"How do you withstand the eldritch energy of this place!?" Torfang demanded of the kin. That was when he noticed her smile. Streams of blood began rotating around her in an orbiting pattern.

He'd noticed the floating blood sphere but thought little of it. After all, nothing could resist his power, so any trick was pointless. This kin was different. She was strong. Perhaps that was a mistake. This was further reinforced as glowing spheres of blood shot at him. Torfang created an eldritch shield just in time as the first blood sphere hit. It was only the size of his hand. An eldritch shield should easily handle anything that size. However, he had underestimated this kin already. He would not do so again.

The blood sphere exploded. A massive geyser of destruction nearly shattered his shield. Torfang was forced to reinforce it further, as more blood spheres hit. Each one was like a swing of a giant's club hammering him backwards. Two more sped toward him. Instead of holding his ground, he abandoned his pride and dove to the side. Torfang unleashed a retaliatory bolt of eldritch power as he got to his feet. The kin went to slap it away, but it detonated on her. The results were more than he could hope for. The strange power of the kin stopped his attack, but the eldritch energy was only dispersed, not destroyed. As mana flowed into the kin, so did a massive amount of eldritch energy around her. She staggered as the power entered her. He could feel it breaking down, but the effect was noticeable.

So she can destroy the eldritch energy, but it costs her, Torfang gleefully thought as he launched another attack. This time, a wall of blood formed in front of the kin. He expected the blast to puncture the improvised barrier. It was only blood, after all. That didn't happen. The blood must have been reinforced with the kin's own power, for it held. Worse, it seemed to absorb the eldritch energy, keeping it away from the kin. The blood now had a greenish glow that bathed the surrounding area. Soon, he might be able to wrest control from the kin as the eldritch power increased. The blood suddenly shifted around, and the eldritch power was coated in a layer of blood condensing into the size of a large fruit. Torfang pulled at the power, but he was too late. The ball of blood disappeared off into the distance. It was out of his reach. He summoned more eldritch energy to him. Here in the mists, he would not be defeated. His victory was inevitable.

***

Azura felt sick. Her skin was clammy, and the world seemed to tilt around her. That last attack had taken a lot of ki to neutralize. Even so, it felt like she had the flu. The feeling was already lessening, but it made one thing clear. She couldn't win. Her blood supply was running low and using the collected blood in this new way was quickly exhausting her ki. Worse, her opponent was recovering faster than she was. Instead of attacking, Azura wrapped some of her blood around the beacon. Then, she prepared her most potent attack.

Ever since she reached the liquid ki stage, she had wanted to try this, but didn't at the same time. Now, she had little choice. The Lord was gathering his power again. It had to be now. Azura gathered a small amount of ki, but instead of exhausting it, she consumed it, just like a mage would when casting a spell with mana. The expended power was about a month's worth of cultivation from her passive mana absorption. It was gone in an instant.

It was worth it.

A crimson nimbus, the shade of blood, erupted around her. The bloody glow overpowered the ever-present greenish light, bathing the landscape in a crimson hue. The ground trembled as the mists around her were blown away. The power was so intense that it felt like the world would shatter if she took a single step. So, she punched instead.

Azura didn't need to chant the attack out like some mage. Yet as the power of her consumed ki was unleashed upon the world, guided by her will and strengthened by years of cultivation, a single thought or perhaps command echoed in her mind.

SHATTER.

The power obeyed.

A massive wave of destruction emerged from her fist. The ground was destroyed. The mists were eradicated. Everything in the path of destruction was annihilated as far as she could see. Everything but the Lord. He lay unmoving in the remains of the destruction Azura had unleashed. At least he was in no condition to do anything. One of his arms and legs were missing. His sickly green glow was gone.

Azura blinked in awe at the devastation she had wrought. If she had used that in the direction of the mist generator, this would've already been over. She didn't waste any more time on her revelation.

Azura flung her blood, with the beacon contained within, at the mist generator. The two lesser creatures moved to intercept, but were too slow. The blood beacon smashed on the generator. A pulse of magic radiated back in the direction of Fortunia. Mission complete. She turned to finish off the Lord but saw a new figure there staring at her. This one felt just as powerful as the other. Azura spat toward him and fled. That could have gone better.

***

Torfang had been humiliated. He'd lost. That wasn't supposed to be possible. Even worse, he was saved by a fellow Eldritch Lord. His shame knew no limits.

"Who was that kin? Her power was unfathomable." The other Lord said, kneeling next to him.

"I don't know," Torfang said as he tried to gather eldritch energy. It was slow, barely responding to his call. His eldritch heart had been severely damaged. He would need a significant amount of time to heal and restore his strength.

"This is troublesome," the other Lord said, getting to his feet as the two remaining underlings hesitantly approached.

"You," the Lord said, pointing to one of them. "Take Torfang back to the citadel for healing. You," the Lord said, pointing to the other. "Evacuate the area. The mages will use that infernal cannon soon." He turned and began quickly striding away. He had things to do. Important things. They needed an all-out attack now. The time for caution was over. If they got fortunate, the kin would die in the assault, but he doubted it. Torfang had lost in the mists. If he had lost in their place of power, they would lose beyond it. But he was not alone. He called for other Lords in the area. They would be here soon. Then, the actual attack could begin. The Lord commanded a horde of eldritch creatures to gather as he glared after the retreating figure. Fortunia would be theirs no matter what.

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