Zultar lounged on a cushioned seat as Darkfall flew to the top of the keep. He must have casted the fly spell after sending Azura into the mists. Next to him, mages were frantically preparing the mana cannon after a minor mishap. Zultar leaned back, grabbing a grape from a bowl Hamal held as Tabatha cooled him with a fan. Gerald… well, he was a bear-kin. He just stood there looking imposing. An easy task.

"Is everything ready?" Darkfall asked as he strode toward the mana cannon's firing mechanism. Zultar tossed a grape into his mouth as he watched. His part could come soon enough.

"General Darkfall, we received the beacon signal from the Magebane a minute ago. We immediately began charging the weapon when… err, a small accident occurred," a simpering mage said.

"An accident?" Darkfall's words held equal amounts of disbelief and anger.

"A dust buildup on one of the crystal relays caused it to fracture when the mana began channeling. We're getting a replacement."

Zultar carefully avoided looking at Hamal.

"When will we be ready to fire?" Darkfall sighed.

"Around ten minutes or so," the mage said.

"Very well. Inform me when everything is ready."

Darkfall looked around and spotted Zultar. He came toward him.

"Raphael, I see you made yourself comfortable."

"Yes, very much so," Zultar agreed. "Once I cast my spells, I'm afraid comfort will be difficult for me for some time. One must live when they can."

"True enough," Darkfall chuckled as he sat beside him.

"Is everything alright over there? I know nothing of such weaponry beyond how impressive it is."

"It's fine. Small mishaps like this are not uncommon. Channeling such large amounts of mana requires perfect alignment of mana crystals. A much harder task than it sounds. It doesn't take much to cause problems."

"Pity," Zultar said.

"No matter. The mana cannon takes some time to charge fully. The odds that the Magebane would have been in the area were remote. If anything, it's better this way. Let the elves deal with it."

"Along with my kin."

"Of course. When will you empower them? It won't be long now."

Zultar rubbed his chin like he was deep in thought. "I'd rather wait till the Magebane exits the mists. The strain the augmentations take on my kin is extreme. I believe the elven commander will signal me when they are ready."

The doors to the balcony flew open as a mage rushed in, holding a large crystal. Zoltar admired the crystallized mana as the mage technicians got to work.

"Please excuse me, Raphael. I have work to oversee," Darkfall said, getting up. Zultar gave him a nod as he ate another grape. A glance toward the door showed more cultivators filing in disguised as staff. Hamal had truly been efficient in his activities over the past few days. The kin brought refreshments to the mages, who barely glanced at them. A pity that after today, such dismissal of kin would never happen again. As the mages slotted the crystal Zultar looked toward the wall of mists.

Be safe, Zultar thought as he ate another grape.

***

Loric ground his teeth as the elves waited at the base camp. All his yelling and threats were as helpful as a kin in an enchanting contest. There could only be one reason for that. The council had planned on betraying his daughter all along. That included his father. Intellectually, he understood their position. Azura had clearly sided with her own kind over the mages. In response, they decided to strike first. No matter how much he understood, it did nothing to dull his feelings. The rage he felt was nearly overwhelming. If he wasn't magically neutralized, he'd killed them all. Or at least tried to.

He debated yelling more when the mana cannon fired. An iridescent beam of decimation shot just over the landscape. The ground was seared in its passage like it had been cooked for hours. The mists parted as the beam entered. A moment later, the earth violently shook. A massive explosion could be seen through the tunnel created by the attack before the mists fell in upon the opening.

"Azura…" Loric swayed on his feet. They hadn't waited till she was cleared before they attacked. Did they get her? Did she escape? Why wasn't she out yet? Despair engulfed Loric as the elves moved forward, waiting.

***

"Gods below!" Azura shouted as the distant explosion rocked her. She would have fallen if her ki steps technique hadn't made that practically impossible. The creature she just killed began rolling away from the force of the blast. She finished draining the creature's blood and filtered out the corruption, or she supposed the eldritch energy. So much had changed in the last hour that she could hardly believe it. She had found a new way to use her attunement. More importantly, she discovered that the mists were the work of intelligent beings who rivaled her in power. No matter how she looked at it, Fortunia was doomed. Perhaps it was for the best that the mages planned to betray her. Otherwise, she might be compelled to fight with them.

She ran out of the mists with an ample supply of blood, and her ki mostly refreshed right into a mass of elves. Although she had been expecting them, the number of elves was still surprising.

"Azure Magebane," an elf said, striding forward. He looked somewhat familiar. He held a rather impressive spear that pulsed with magic.

"I am Sylvar, a representative of the Elven lord Mistveil. You are to surrender yourself to us to answer for the crimes you have committed against the elven people!"

Azura didn't answer. Instead, she looked at the forces against her. To her right were around two dozen elves. Each had weapons and armor that were clearly magical. Ahead were roughly another dozen or so. To her left were closer to a hundred, along with the kin. She was puzzled at the strange formation before it became clear. They didn't know where she would emerge and took a guess based on where the mana cannon blast came from. That made sense.

"What crimes are those?" Azura asked as more elves fanned to her right, reinforcing the weaker forces.

"What crimes!?" Sylvar said aghast. "You have killed our people and crippled our representative!"

"Oh, those crimes," Azura said in her most annoying voice. "I didn't think those counted. You know, because they were all sadistic assholes."

The elf spluttered in rage. Before the elf could go on, Azura continued. "Besides, you can't do anything. I have amnesty from Deepmere."

"Our actions have nothing to do with Deepmere. Now kneel and place your head on the ground!"

"You pathetic mages," Azura said, shaking her head sadly. "Fine! I was willing to cooperate, but you've made my choice clear."

Her following words rang across the landscape, amplified by ki. "BEHOLD THE TRUE POWER OF A CULTIVATOR!" With those words, she burned another piece of ki. The elves wanted to fight, fine! She would literally make them pay in blood.

***

Loric watched helplessly as the elves began surrounding his daughter. It didn't surprise him that the elves were trying to take her prisoner. They would want to interrogate her for the secrets of her power.

"Run!" Loric shouted, but his own words were drowned out by his daughter's.

"BEHOLD THE TRUE POWER OF A CULTIVATOR!" The words seemed to reverberate in his very bones. Then Azura burst into flames, the color of blood. Magically speaking, there was nothing there. At least nothing he could sense. But all his other senses seemed to scream at him. The ground trembled beneath his daughter, reaching all the way to where he stood. Even the air rippled, crying out in pain.

What was this!? That was when his daughter swiped her hand at the elves rushing at her from the right. Lines of burning blood flew out from the strange sanguine sphere floating behind her. The elves fell apart, all of them. Elves, more than a century old, using body magic spells he couldn't fathom, collapsed into multiple pieces. Then, the trees behind them did likewise. The bloody lines continued to do the work of an army of woodcutters as they disappeared into the distance. The elves rushing from the left halted. They gawked at the instant loss of over thirty elves.

"Gods above…" Loric whispered. He had been worried for his daughter… now he was more worried that she would leave no one alive.

***

Elise was held firm by the elf behind her. His grip dropped from her when the elves died. Now free, she could flee or kick him in the family jewels. Yet, both of them were so shocked that they stood there in silence. The elves were dead. Well, mostly. A few screamed and cried. They futilely tried to place missing limbs back if they had the attached arms to do so. Most were in too many pieces to attempt the futile act.

Elise gaze turned back to her sister. Her bloody aura tore at the world like it was too great to be contained before disappearing. This was her sister's true power? How could anything be that strong? Her sister raised her hand, and everyone flinched. She expected another wave of destruction. Instead, the blood from the fallen elves was being sucked out. Flows of crimson funneled into the bloody sphere behind her. Was that it? Was her sister practicing some unknown blood magic art? If that was true, why wasn't there any magical traces? Would any of the elves even survive this day?

***

"Do you want to surrender?" The Magebane asked calmly as she walked toward Sylvar. He couldn't stop the involuntary shivers of fear that shook his body as he glanced at the slain elves, then back to the Magebane. Elite mages killed like fish on a chopping block. There could be no doubt. The Azure Magebane was a monster. He suspected that much when she had taken his hand a year ago. Much of the time after that incident was spent recovering. When he heard about the plan to capture the Magebane, he jumped at the chance. He told himself this time would be different. It was indeed different. She was stronger. So much stronger.

"Raise the signal! Everyone attack!" Sylvar shouted. He couldn't keep the panic from his voice. A large pillar of light plunged straight into the darkening sky. The elves unleashed all they had. It was futile against the Magebane. Shields of blood pooled from the sphere behind her, making an impenetrable wall that blocked every spell.

This was bad. The mana cannon had sucked all the ambient mana from the area. Their mana recovery was nonexistent. At least the Magebane's aura appeared was gone. What little comfort that was.

Sylvar quickly ate a mana pellet. The kin would have to hold her off. She might be hesitant to attack her own kind. That was when he noticed the elves behind him had stopped attacking. He turned, dreading what he might see. The kin controlled by the mage Raphael were attacking, but not at the Magebane. The kin tossed elves around like toys. Their punches knocked his elven mages dozens of meters away. Such strength! It was almost like… He turned to see the Magebane right next to him.

"I've been busy," she said casually.

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Gods above, Sylvar thought with a chill.

Was she creating more kin like her? It couldn't be. It looked like she would say something else, but that was when the mists parted. A horde of twisted monstrosities descended toward them. The pair look at each other for a brief instant. In unison, they turned their fight forgotten. A new, more deadly opponent had appeared.

***

Zultar yawned as Hamal passed a selection of wines from his stock to the mages. It was exceptionally strong. A few of the mages were already tipsy. To the side, a half dozen mages worked on powering down the mana cannon and doing status checks. The others were watching over the wall at the distant wall of mist.

Then it happened. A bright pillar of light shone in the rapidly darkening sky. It looked like it would soon rain. How fitting.

"There's the signal," Darkfall said. "Raphael, please power up your kin."

Zultar got to his feet, activating his staff, which partially blinded all those nearby with its intense light. He began his nonsense spell chants.

"MASS GREATER STRENGTH!" He faked a stumble, as if he had expended a great deal of mana.

"MASS GREATER HASTE!" He hoped his shouting covered the thuds from behind him.

"MASS STEEL BODY!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs as more light spilled from his staff. He couldn't see at all anymore.

"MASS COMMAND MESSAGE! Destroy the Magebane!" He unleashed a final, blinding burst of light from his staff. Once his vision cleared, he turned. All the mages were down. Most were dead. Darkfall was still alive, although he was clearly unconscious.

"I can't believe that worked," Zultar said.

"I can't believe you made me fan you!" Tabatha growled, throwing the offending fan off the keep. She stamped her paws, giving him an aggrieved expression.

Zultar gave a weak shrug. It had been Hamal's suggestion.

"Yeah, Zultar, that was pretty sexist there," Hamal said admonishingly.

You rat bastard…

"Come on," Gerald said, hefting Darkfall. "We'd better get in position."

Zultar grumbled as other cultivators joined them. They had a job to do.

***

Gwen had a job to do. This was just extra. Her mission, along with a dozen other cultivators, was to keep the gate open. That was all. She had time. Gwen smiled down at the mage she had lured out behind the stable. He would have been screaming if she hadn't crushed his lower jaw. The man would be running if his knees weren't at angles no functioning body should have. He would have pissed himself if his privates weren't smashed beyond recognition. In all fairness, he had pissed anyways, although it was thoroughly mixed with blood, so it was hard to tell.

"I'm so sorry, Philip, our playtime is over," Gwen gave him a light slap across the face. The mage didn't react.

"Oh, don't you fret! I'll be just fine. You're so cute for worrying about my safety. What a little soldier you are!" She then gazed at the ruined mess between his legs.

"Was," Gwen shrugged, then slammed her fist into his face. The face collapsed, spraying brains everywhere. That had been so satisfying. She wanted more. At least when the Magebane returned, she could kill again. Unfortunately, it would have to be brief.

Gwen cleaned her hands on the dead mage's clothes and skipped out of the dark alley. She whistled a happy tune as she went toward the gate. Today was going to be a good day.

***

The elves were not having a good day. Perhaps that explained what happened next. Maybe it was the sight of Azura killing their fellow elves in a single attack. Or it was the kin turning on them. Or it could have been the rather massive horde of abominations charging them. It could have been any of these things. Loric wasn't sure, and neither was the elf holding him hostage. Either way, the elf panicked. The blade that entered his back was sharp enough to cut a falling leaf. It met little resistance. It was hard to say if Loric or the elf was more surprised. Loric felt his legs go weak. An incredible heat on his back made him wonder if there was some weak fire enchantment. The cold that permeated his fingers suggested otherwise. The elf let him go. The elf stared at his bloody hands in shock before dropping the dagger and fleeing. The elf didn't run in any logical direction. His instincts told him to go to the forest. Unfortunately for him, that only delayed his capture and eventual corruption. None of that mattered to Loric as he lay dying, his blood pooling around him.

"FATHER!" Elise cried out and ran toward him. Her own elf didn't stop her. He just looked around in confusion. The elves were dying either to the kin or to the corrupted beasts. It was a mess. The human mages made things worse as the base camp erupted into chaos. They had been idle as the elves had their little drama. Now, spells flew almost at random, hitting anything that moved. Elves, kin, or mist creatures all suffered equally.

"HEAL!" Elise chanted as soon as she reached his side. He felt the magic, but it wasn't enough. The blade had hit his mana pool. It would take at least a Greater Restoration spell to slow the damage. He reached for his daughter. He wanted to say so much, but the abominations were nearing now. She had to run. Before he could speak, a white furred kin had scooped him up.

"Move!" The kin shouted. His vision was a bit blurry, but he swore she looked familiar. Loric turned to look around as the kin ran, Elise trailing after. Everything was a disaster. The kin were organized. At least someone was. They moved in groups of three to four, returning to base camp. They seemed to avoid most of the fighting as spells struck the more obvious threats. Loric searched for his other daughter. There. In the distance, she battled three mist creatures that could have previously been human. The force from their battle flung debris everywhere as Azura's blue hair whipped around her.

I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you. Loric thought. He turned to look up at his attempted rescuer. He knew there was no hope for himself. He couldn't even raise his arms. Perhaps the kin could save Elise instead. That was when he recognized her.

"Coralline," Loric whispered.

"Shut up," Coralline snapped. "You have to save your strength." Were those tears in her eyes? Did she still care after all these years? Even after he'd failed her.

Away from the carnage, she set him down behind the base camp lines. Elise panted as she caught up.

"Father, you're going to be okay." She gasped out.

Loric shook his head as his vision began to darken.

"I'm sorry, Elise," Loric said, his voice growing quieter with each word. "I won't be there for you."

Elise eyes teared up as her words broke. "Damn it! Don't talk like that!"

"Coralline," Loric said his voice now only a whisper. "Please tell our daughter that I'm sorry I failed her. Tell her… I love her."

"Loric," Coralline said, her voice a choked sob. Elise turned to Coralline and then to Loric, understanding blooming in her eyes.

"I was… really bad… at the whole… parenting thing…" Loric said before his vision failed. The sounds of fighting grew distant, then were gone. He had a single moment of complete nothingness before his heart gave its final beat. His last breath wasn't a long dramatic exhale but a short sputter that quickly stopped. Loric died, held by those he loved. In that way, he was lucky. The others taken by the mists were far less fortunate.

***

Azura slammed a ki-reinforced fist into the Eldrich Lord's crab-like face. The Lord went flying. Before she could follow up, a second Lord launched an eldritch blast at her, which she used a blood shield to absorb. Then, a third flew above her with bone wings. The bony structure was infused with eldritch power, forming a luminescent skin. That one launched a massive energy lance straight down on her. Azura reinforced her left hand as much as she could, catching the spell which detonated. Before she could do anything, the first Lord was back. Azura snarled and leaped away, slamming her palms together in a ki blast. The shockwave knocked the flyer away and stumbled the other two. Azura quickly pulled blood from her rapidly dwindling sphere and mixed it with her own blood from several cuts. A shaft of empowered blood formed over her head, radiating destructive potential. Azura sent the blood strike at a Lord, who got an eldritch barrier up to block the attack. The resulting explosion knocked him back several steps. That was all.

This was bad. Beyond the mists, Azura was stronger than her opponents. But three against one quickly made that advantage worthless. It was made even worse by her rapid use of ki. Every blood usage quickly drained her. Left with little choice, Azura retreated farther away from the mists. The Eldritch Lords slowed their pursuit. Their distant source of power caused them to hesitate. That cost them. A timely barrage from the mage base camp engulfed the trio. It did minor damage. Like her, they were incredibly durable. However, the distraction it provided was all she needed. Azura sped forward before the dust settled. The crab-like Eldritch Lord's stalks went wide. He made a reflexive strike at her. Azura caught the blow. She then pivoted, tossing the Lord with all her strength over her shoulder. There was resistance. Much like her, they had some way to root themselves in place. However, they were weaker here. She wasn't. She tossed the creature right into the mage's base camp. The Lord shrieked in what she could only guess was fear. The mages unleashed everything on him. The massing horde of creatures suddenly surged forward, not bothering to attack any mages in their way. Their only goal was the base camp.

Azura turned back to the other two, who were already retreating toward the mists. She nodded in satisfaction. She quickly joined the fray, killing two massive creatures before they could harass the mages further. A quick pull on their blood gave her another large floating sphere. This one was tinged with corruption, but she had no time to filter it. Mages were dying. That wasn't really an issue as far as she was concerned. Killing the Lord was. Azura landed atop the Lord with a ki-infused leap, her fists swinging.

***

This is an utter cluster fuck, Sylvar thought as his Greater Forcebolt shattered a mist creature's carapace. He then quickly downed another mana pellet, grimacing. The mana pellets were great for rapidly restoring mana. The toxic side effects of consuming too many would leave him incapacitated. That would mean his death. Not taking one would also mean that. Damn, how had everything gone so wrong? They were supposed to be taking the Magebane, although that quickly became impossible even before the mist creatures came. That was the other thing. It was apparent now. The mists were not a random force of nature. This was an invasion that was disguised as a natural phenomenon.

A bolt of corruption came from a corrupted creature blasting into a Dageth mage next to him. The man shrieked before going down unconscious. Sylvar grimaced as he grabbed his enchanted spear, raising it high to plunge it into the man's chest. Better dead than tainted. Before he could kill him, the mage slid out of reach. Pulled by invisible fingers. The act was clearly not from the unconscious mage. It must been those elven-shaped creatures guiding the horde. A fellow mage launched a fireball at the tightly clustered group only to have a barrier disperse it. They were as skilled as any elf. He was just glad he wasn't facing the ones the Magebane fought.

Sylvar glanced at the man's body as it dragged along on the ground. The force pulling on him continued until the man was inside the mists. The goal of these creatures was clear. They were recruiting. All around him, mages were falling. Only the kin were relatively safe. They had started falling back as soon as the horde appeared.

Sylvar had wanted to call them cowards, but he understood. Enemies surrounded them. The elves and mages had just betrayed their leader. It wasn't their fight. At least the Magebane was still attacking. Sylvar shuddered both at the power of the Magebane and at those creatures she battled. It was clear now. They were severely outclassed. Suddenly, the crab-shaped creature the Magebane had been battling landed in the middle of the camp. The creature's power was overwhelming, like a strong tide pulling him in. Yet, it was hurt. Tainted blood flowed from numerous cracks on its shell. Sylvar wasn't sure, but he thought he saw panic in its eyestalks. The nearest mages, both elves and regularly station mages, unleashed a massive barrage on the creature. Before the attacks landed, a corrupted shield surrounded the monster, deflecting all attacks.

"You think to kill an Eldritch Lord!? You disgusting inferior beings!" The creature shrieked, which promptly stopped all the nearby mages.

Gods above… It spoke. Sylvar was too stunned to stop the creatures as it made a dash back toward the mists. It made it four steps when a metaphorical boulder shaped like a half cat-kin landed atop it, driving it to the ground. A geyser of debris erupted from the impact. Sylvar shielded his eyes. Once the dust cleared, he saw Magebane sitting atop the creature, her arms blurring up and down as she pummeled the creature repeatedly. The ground trembled from the impacts and the Eldritch Lord's attempt to throw her off. It did him no good. She was like a large bully mercilessly pummeling a smaller child. This action didn't go unnoticed. The mist beasts around them screeched in a frenzy, trying to reach her. They were far too late. In five seconds, the crab-like creature's head fractured. Another five it broke. One final second, and its head was reduced to a splattered mess. Blood so tainted with corruption that it was luminescent green spilled out, pooling around the corpse. Sylvar was glad that the mists were so far away. Without the mists as a carrier, the corruption couldn't travel.

An ear-splitting shriek of denial emerged from all around as the monsters wailed. It had the opposite effect that Sylvar desired. They went berserk, tearing into the nearest mages. Death was everywhere, and it was coming for him. He knew that now. The Magebane seemed to reach the same conclusion. She fled toward the rest of her kin back towards Fortunia. That seemed like an excellent idea.

"Retreat!" He called. The diminished mages and elves began casting hurried spells as the horde rushed them. But the number of spells was minimal. Their power was gone. Most couldn't even use Haste or other movement techniques to escape the death looming around them. Damn that cannon!

"GREATER HASTE," Sylvar chanted as he left the others behind, his mana nearing depletion once more. Three of the over a hundred elves he had brought with him managed to escape. Only three… If he was lucky, he wouldn't be exiled as soon as he reported to the elven council. There were a dozen other mages from Dageth running with him. Even fewer of the local Deepmere forces. How could things get any worse? That was when the earth trembled. The shaking was so violent that he lost his footing. A glance behind showed the mists rushing forward, engulfing those left behind. Oh… that was how.

***

Coralline had no time to sort out her feelings. The mists were coming like a tidal wave. In all their planning, this had never been considered. She scooped Loric's body before pushing the girl onward.

"Run!" She shouted before following her own advice. She would sort her feelings after she wasn't in immediate peril. Soon, she was joined by the other cultivators.

"Anyone missing?" Alenina shouted. Coralline had often wondered why people said that. How could anyone know in all the confusion? She supposed it was more to show them that someone was in charge.

Predictably, no one said anything as the rest joined them. A blue streak flittered ahead before turning back to them. A wave of relief nearly made Coralline tumble. Azura was there. She was somewhat battered, which was extremely worrying. If anything could do that much damage to her, then this was far more dangerous than she had suspected. She pointed at them, apparently doing a rough head count as they rushed past her. Azura paused when she looked at her mother and the burden she carried. A complicated expression crossed her face before she moved on.

Poor girl. She lost the father she never had a chance to have. They'd have a long chat after they were safe, along with ear rubs. Elise's weeping didn't make things any easier. At least the girl was smart enough to keep moving.

"Keep going!" Azura shouted. "Leave no kin behind!"

With that, they outpaced the mists back toward Fortunia.

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