Book 5 - Chapter 60 - Reinforcements (1/2)

Cloudhawk felt his body getting heavier.

He was really in the shit, both physically and in general. He wasn’t sure how bad he was hurt but he felt his strength slipping. The orb of castigation fire was too much for him to maintain. Meanwhile Janus’ attacks were still constant and had no sign of slowing.

Those biting daggers kept coming from different directions. They were too fast and hid behind dark powers just long enough to land their blows. With every pass they damage they dealt increased.

Because of this assassin’s methods, although his attacks fell like rain they were still practically impossible to follow. Even keen-eyed spectators watching from beginning to end could not tell where he was hiding. After all, Janus was not only exceptionally fast and able to change his form, he could also cloak his presence. To most his attacks came from nowhere, summoned from nothing.

All they could do was watch.

Cloudhawk struggled to uphold the flames. While he continued to blast through a huge number of Janus’ shadows, more kept coming and slipped through the net. The assassin’s attack was ever changing and unceasing.

With each passing second Cloudhawk’s body sported a new slash, all of them were laden with poison. So far it wasn’t enough to overcome Cloudhawk’s resistance and his regenerative abilities were closing the slices as quick as they occurred. At least from outside Janus’ attacks didn’t appear to be doing much harm.

However it continued, over and over again. As his strength waned it was a miracle Cloudhawk had survived this long. Another demonhunter would have fallen long ago.

Where’s that damn assassin! Where is he hiding? Cloudhawk tried to see if he could pick him out with Oddball or with his own special senses. So far nothing was working.

Eventually he understood that one’s stealth capabilities could be strong or weak. Oddball’s eyes were sharp enough to pierce many illusory relics – such as the sort used by Atlas – but not whatever power Janus was using.

Under these conditions, Cloudhawk’s own senses were equally confounded.

Each of the shadow assassins hummed with resonance, completely obscuring where their origins were coming from. In addition to the chaos all around them, with hundreds of demonhunters at war and their many relics activated, Cloudhawk couldn’t tell any particular relic out from the din.

Selene couldn’t see what was happening clearly but she knew Cloudhawk was dead if things didn’t change. Her power reached in Transcendence and he braced herself to leap to action.

But before she moved an unsettling rasping sound filled her ears. It wasn’t so much a sound since it didn’t come through sound waves. It was borne on wisps of mental energy that reached directly into her mind.

It dug into the darkest parts of her thoughts as though someone were digging a needle into ker skull. Even Cloudhawk felt the excruciating pain of it.

All at once, demonhunters lost control of their relics and their power faded. Huge groups of soldiers fell to the ground grasping their heads.

Cloudhawk didn’t need to guess where it came from, he knew the instant he felt it. At the same time all the shadow assassins stopped in place as though rooted in place.

It was the mental dissonance from Silvana’s flute!

The Shepherd God had two primary skills; first was the ability to control animals, and second was to control movement. By flooding her victim with mental power she was able to override and take control of their actions.

The Shepherd’s flute was the god’s own artifact. When employed against those of low intelligence it took them over completely. Janus’ shadows were powerful but unable to act of their own accord. They had no intelligence, making it easy for Silvana to manipulate them as she pleased.

And as the Shepherd God’s song reached across the field, a cascade of yellow sand sprinkled down from overhead. It spread wide enough to encompass the stronghold’s central dais, so thick that those caught within couldn’t see two meters in front of their noses.

Among this sudden, unnatural sandstorm was a hail of arrows. They were made from raspy yellow grit and were practically invisible as they dashed along attacking indiscriminately. Noxian soldiers or Elysian elite, it didn’t matter. The arrows ran them through just the same.

Hundreds died when the sandstorm appeared. Most of the victims were Elysian.

One of the Skycloud demonhunters roared angrily and tried to control the winds with his relic. A huge gust was released, blowing the sand aside like someone had blown a bubble into its midst. It disrupted the storm enough to give them a glimpse of clear air.

It lasted only a brief moment. The gust was crushed and once more every eye was blinding by yellow sleet. While it raged at least a thousand troops arrived on the field – Dark Atom’s elite warriors.

Two figures stood out, hovering in the air. One was Autumn, in her emerald dress. The other was the hideous and intimidating Abaddon, Caliph of the Sands.

One God. One Demon. Both presented themselves before Arcturus.

Their timely intervention had saved Vulkan and the Khan of Evernight.

Four figures of vastly different background, but all working in tacit congress. It was a mighty seige laid out before the Governor of Skycloud. But could the four of them threaten Arcturus?

Things had changed near Cloudhawk as well. Silvana’s flute had frozen the shadow assassins in place. He staggered backward as a streak of bright blue light flashed by his face.

It was so brilliant it stung the eyes and moved several times faster than the speed of sound. In the blink of an eye the shadows were cut apart. All that remained was a single target, hanging in the air.

Janus the Titan of Many Faces was revealed.

A broken sword was immediately hacking toward his chest. The angry blue sword was drilling forward as well.