Kapitel 91: A Message from the King
The group inside the gateway froze at the sight of the shattered lamp. Grayson stepped forward, picking up the broken relic, and looked toward the slightly open gate, musing aloud, "Could it be that someone else is doing the same thing as us?"
He and Andros quickly approached the door, each leaning against one side of the stone frame, peeking through the gap. Chaos had erupted outside; a horde of robed figures had stormed the valley, engaging in fierce combat with the genies.
Above, more than a dozen robed sorcerers hovered, seizing the moment of the battle below to land beside the towering lamp statue's totem poles, channeling dark magic into them.
The blue dimensional energy above the totem poles began to twist with the influx of dark magic, warping into black tendrils of power that wove across the valley's sky, culminating in a dark dimensional vortex above the lamp statue.
A dark ritual circle formed around the statue, and the vortex sucked in the genies, trapping them tightly within, unable to move. The robed figures converged from all directions, encircling their prey.
"It seems we've crashed Wystan's party," Grayson whispered back to Andros.
Before they could react, a figure burst into the gateway. They braced for combat, only to realize it was the genie captain who had betrayed Seraphine. He looked back at the group in panicked recognition, momentarily stunned.
"Did you bring these evil sorcerers here?" he accused them, frustration in his voice.
"Oh, the King of Black Sorcerers asked me to relay a message," Grayson glanced outside and quipped, "He didn't plan on paying us for directions!"
Suddenly, a raspy, chilling echo came from the valley: "Well done, apostles of dusk. Let's see what use these many spirits can be to us."
The group peeked through the gap, spotting a robed sorcerer with a dark tome floating amid the air, gazing down at the genies ensnared around the lamp statue.
"I knew this guy would show up!" Grayson's eyes locked onto the King of Black Sorcerers above.
"Spirits, you've been free from the Mages' Tower's control for far too long. It's time you had a master to rule over you. Submit to me, and I will lead you to become an unstoppable force, granting you unrivaled power!"
Wystan's voice reverberated through the Genie Valley, spreading like the ripples of the dark vortex.
"He said you've been free from the Mages' Tower?" Grayson turned to the genie captain, "What does that mean? Were you once under their control?"
"Yes," the genie captain nodded, "We were first summoned to this world through a magical experiment of the Mages' Tower. When the dimensional gates to this world opened, they summoned us in droves."
"For a time, the mages used us as summoned creatures for their battles, but we disliked being commanded, so we blocked the dimensional passageways and fled to the Titan's domain to evade the Tower's pursuit."
He sighed, "Compared to them, the mages never used us for evil. But that wicked sorcerer outside, if he controls us and the power of dimensions, no one knows what horrors he might summon!"
"I know what he's planning." Grayson turned to Andros, "Solon needs an army to sweep through Tyrrel's remnants. Using his own forces would make for a slow, arduous battle."
"He wants to use the genies and creatures summoned from the dimensional gates to flatten Tyrrel's domain!" Andros frowned.
"It's not New Year's Eve, and I don't plan to let him get his wish!" Grayson flexed his fingers, then whispered something to Andros, who nodded silently.
Andros pulled his hood over his head and slipped through the gap, walking unnoticed toward the robed figures. As he neared the outermost sorcerer, who turned at the sound of footsteps, the man mistook Andros for an ally and asked softly, "Hey, buddy, where've you been? Where's your sword?"
"Right behind me, isn't it?" Andros gestured with a thumb over his shoulder. The sorcerer, curious, turned to look back, only to have a gleaming blade flash from behind Andros, piercing the sorcerer's throat.
The sorcerer collapsed with a thud, alerting the others. They turned to see four silver streaks flying past, and four robed figures fell, blood spattering the ground.
A golden glow revealed Andros's spear, which impaled one sorcerer through the chest. With a flick of the chain, he struck another beside him, sending him crashing to the ground, bloodied and beaten.
Andros leaped toward a totem pole, a beam of holy light shooting from his spearhead, striking the ground at the feet of a black sorcerer. Caught off guard, the sorcerer was blasted into the air, landing bloodied and dazed.
"Who dares? Kill him!" Wystan, high above, saw a robed figure wielding a spear of golden light, destroying a corner of the ritual circle. Enraged, he commanded the robed figures to swarm Andros.
"Hey, you're not fighting alone, brother!" A white blur shot from the prison gate, Grayson's sword severing the necks of five sorcerers in an instant. The soul-stealing silver sword glowed brilliantly with the souls of the fallen.
"I'll leave them to you, Captain. You're not used to fighting alone, are you?"
Grayson pointed, and five blades of soulful white light circled Andros, shredding any robed figure that dared approach. Andros took the opportunity to strike back with his spear's reach, felling a second black sorcerer.
"But I won't let you win this, Captain!" Grayson dashed past a black sorcerer, his sword releasing a wave of soul energy, bisecting the sorcerer focused on charging the ritual circle.
As he prepared to charge the next sorcerer, three robed figures attacked. Grayson sidestepped the descending blades, his left hand piercing through a sorcerer's chest. He withdrew his bloodied hand, stepping over the fallen body to land a punch on another's chest.
The soul energy from his clawed gauntlet blasted through the sorcerer, sending him flying. Grayson turned and walked away as the punched sorcerer fell, his ribcage shattered.
In an instant, five black sorcerers lay slain, and the damaged dark ritual circle began to falter. The genies burst from the breach, launching a frenzied counterattack on the robed figures, throwing the scene into chaos.
"Wolf, I've had enough of your interference!" Wystan materialized behind Grayson, growling in frustration. He deftly opened his dark tome and pointed at Grayson, conjuring a clockwork sigil beneath him. Grayson's movements froze.
"Kill him!" Wystan murmured darkly. The surrounding robed figures, sensing his intent, converged on the motionless Grayson, their swords aimed at his head.
At the last moment, the six sorcerers stopped, their eyes lit with a green glow. They dropped their swords, clutching their heads or chests in terror, screaming as they fled toward the valley's edge, some collapsing, writhing in agony.
Wystan was shocked to see Grayson slowly turn, his eyes shining with emerald light. A powerful force struck Wystan's chest, staggering him backward.
"The lone wolf will not be tamed, no chains can bind the wolf!" Grayson's icy voice reached Wystan's ears as he left a white afterimage in place, darting beside Wystan and cleaving him in two with a swift stroke.
"You've grown much stronger since we last met!" Wystan's true form appeared behind Grayson in the sky, smirking, "But you still lack the power to kill me!"
"Do I? But I never intended to kill you."
Grayson returned the cold smile, and Wystan, realizing something amiss, dodged just as five blades whistled past, slicing his cloak and leaving three gashes on his right shoulder.
"You damned cur!" Wystan cursed through clenched teeth, rising higher and gesturing toward the black vortex above the lamp statue. His tome glowed with a sinister black light, and a dark red beam shot from his palm into the vortex.
"I don't plan to let you summon anything nasty!" Grayson maneuvered his blades toward Wystan, but a fiery red scythe emerged from the vortex, circling Wystan and deflecting the blades.
A massive red demon roared out of the vortex, silver horns atop its head, clad in black armor, its brawny arms ablaze with fierce flames.
The demon descended, seizing the scythe and swinging a fiery arc at Grayson, who stepped back several paces. The scythe struck the afterimage Grayson left behind, cleaving the ground with a fiery fissure.
"Hey, Captain, there's a big demon over there. Fancy playing the hero?" Grayson zipped past Andros, knocking down four robed figures, shouting to Andros.
Andros whirled to see the demon appear behind him in a blaze, the scythe descending toward him. The Knight Captain quickly raised his spear to block, and a loud crash erupted as hellfire clashed with holy light, causing an explosion. The demon stumbled back, while Andros was thrown to the ground.
With a roar, the demon raised the infernal scythe again, aiming for Andros. A beam of holy light shot from the valley's entrance, striking the demon's face. A majestic voice echoed through the valley, "I smell the stench of hell. Who has brought the flames of the abyss to the realm of man?"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein