79 Atomic Dissociation (1/2)
”What do you think?” Urag asked Kilian as the 300 suras encircled them. Of the group, 276 rivaled top-level High Emissaries, 23 rivaled low-level Archons, and the leader reached the mid-level.
”Fehl mutations? No, corruption. A high-level fehl must have corrupted them through some ritual, bringing them infinitely close to daemonhood,” Kilian hypothesized.
”Yep, those bitches are more daemons than suras. I guess we can call them fehl suras. This shit's serious son. At the very least, they have a Fehl Prince behind them,” Urag said in the gravest tone he'd ever used before Kilian. Below the Prince rank, fehls didn't have enough power to corrupt a race on this scale. Still, the knowledge that a Fehl Prince backed the suras didn't startle Urag. After all, high-ranking fehls enticed and bargained with lesser races all the time. The scope was the real issue.
”Find a god and pray that those 300 are the end of it because if we face legions, things will get nasty.” Although Sura Magic didn't have many destructive abilities, in terms of versatility, few disciplines could compare. Let's not mention their physical changes; once those fehl suras combined their innate abilities with Fehl Magic, their overall strength would skyrocket.
”Third Circle Spell: Reinforcement Link!”
”Third Circle Spell: Maximized Potential!”
Through the instantaneous fehl casting, the 300 suras conjured a slew of silver, arcane circles that rotated above them as their spells kicked into gear, making their magical abilities overlap and their battle-prowess reach its full potential. Worse, each could now see through the eyes of their peers.
”Fourth Circle Spell: Ground Conversion,” the 24 Archons whispered, conjuring clouds of gray smoke that spread across 6,000 square meters. The smoke seeped into the earth and trees, changing their properties and turning the battlefield into the suras' ally.
With one glance, the leaders realized that Urag and Kilian didn't play in the same league as the fallen students. Therefore, they pulled no punch.
”I considered the von Skolls, considered the Technocracy, but never anticipated that once in, the suras would turn into the biggest threat. My mistake. Urag, I will send you to Lena. Watch over her from the shadows and don't reveal your presence unless absolutely necessary. Kilian ordered, activated his Eye of Distortion, and opened a space vortex aimed at Lena's location.
Alarmed, the suras fired myriads of purple bolts at the portal but instead clashed with an energy shield raised by Kilian.
”You sure about that? They ain't no pushovers. Oh well, just don't make my girl a widow.” Not bothering to wait for Kilian's answer, Urag leaped into the portal and vanished within. Unable to break Kilian's energy shield in time, the fehl suras could only watch Urag depart and the portal close behind him.
”You should have left with him,” said the leader. Although Kilian's third eye marked him as a fehl mutant, in the suras' eyes, it changed nothing.
”You shouldn't have come,” Kilian replied. At first, he considered striking a bargain, but the more he studied the suras, the more he realized that ”discussion” no longer existed in their vocabulary.
Gray smoke billowed from the ground, forming a magical screen that prevented the average magus' Mage Sight from locating the suras. Closing his useless eyes, Kilian activated his Revelation, and for three seconds, the suras observed him in silence. Predatory gazes nailed Kilian from all sides, registering everything from how he breathed to the flutter of his eyelids.
A cracking sound broke the silence, and the battle began. Armed with their fists, 37 suras pounced on Kilian. Purple lightning cracked around their forms, enhancing their speed and destructive powers to the limit. At their back, their peers chanted:
”Fourth Circle Spell: Fehl Shackles!”
”Fourth Circle Spell: Withering!”
Massive white chains sprang from all sides and surrounded Kilian while the pressure of an invisible force barreled into him to enfeeble his muscles and bones. In perfect tandem, the 37 pugilists neared Kilian, and riding on their peers' chains, unleashed an explosion of punches.
The energy shield collapsed, blasted into pieces by the chains' constriction. One of the major advantages of Fehl Magic was that unlike other disciplines, it didn't have weaknesses. Fehl spells englobed all attributes, surpassed all and feared none. But as chains and punches neared him, Kilian's third eye went from gray to crimson.
”Aversion Field!” There was no fancy display, no theatrical move—but the chains ignored Kilian and wrapped around the 37 suras instead. Alarmed, they strove to break free by thrashing against their peers' binds. At the same time, the hidden suras tried to cancel their spells but were a step short.
”Compression!” Kilian slammed his hands together and pulled by irresistible compression forces, the 37 suras crashed into one another and burst into a blood fog. With no targets left, the chains crumbled in light particles. Bewildered, the 263 remaining suras stared blankly at Kilian.