Chapter 190: The Summit

I motioned to step forward, but Rina grabbed my wrist to stop me. "Before we go," She said with a hesitant voice. "I'm sorry, Kai." She showed me a bitter smile. "For doubting you, for not believing in you." Her voice was weak.

"It's ok." I faked a smile. "I knew the things I told you would be difficult to believe in." I glanced at the path to the summit. "So, don't worry about it, ok?" I stepped away from her. "We don't have much time, so let's go." 

Her shoulders dropped as she nodded. I could see the regret and sadness in her eyes, but I simply couldn't bring myself to forgive her – or Alex – for their distrust that day. It hurt too much, and it reminded me of how Erik had distrusted me. At the time, the young paladin had let his fear get the better of him – something Alex and Rina disapproved of, at the time. What they had done now, however, was no different. How could I forgive them so easily?

I took a deep breath and headed to the summit. I couldn't let thoughts such as these cloud my mind right now.

The bright sunlight blinded me momentarily as I stepped outside. Right behind me, Rina and Alex also shielded their eyes from the sunlight.

Unlike what I expected – or hoped for – the summit was a rather large crater. We had stepped out of a small tunnel, and before us we could see the still in construction Divine Pillar. On the ground, an awfully familiar symbol was drawn. 

"I guess we didn't go the wrong way." Alex whispered. Her gaze was focused on the eight soldiers and a… was that a priest?

"Hide!" I hissed as I quickly retreated into the tunnel as the clearly different Ereth glanced our way.

She was wearing long, white robes that covered her entire body except for her wings, though since they were also white, it was difficult to tell where the robes ended, and her wings began. She had elegant, stag-like horns and she was carrying a long, white staff.

All that white immediately pissed me off – what did the Ereth love about the colour white anyways? 

I pushed my irritation aside and focused my gaze on the soldiers. Four of them were focused on rebuilding the Divine Pillar. They stood on four corners of the symbol carved on the ground, I could see the magic flowing from them into the golden structure. 

"Wait," Alex mumbled. "How is that pillar getting larger? There are no materials anywhere. Do they create gold out of magic?"

I looked around and clenched my fists as I noticed what she had. She was right – there was no gold anywhere in sight. 

"They're pulling it out from the ground." Rina whispered. Hiding in the shadows of the tunnel, we continued to watch them as the pillar was being built. "Look," She said pointing at the robed Ereth. "Can you see her magic?"

I had to squint to be able to notice it. "She's empowering them?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, I think so." The green haired wizard rubbed her eyes. "Too much white – I can't see it properly either." She grumbled.

"What do we do?" Alex asked. "If that Pillar is already supplying them with power, we don't really stand much of a chance, do we?"

I hesitated. She had a good point – the pillar would give the Ereth near unlimited power once completed. And to make things worse, it suppressed my power somewhat. I could already feel the suffocating divine magic slowly gathering in the area.

"We stand more of a chance than we will once the construction is completed." I took a deep breath. We needed to do this properly – charging in without even a rough plan would be disastrous. "Rina, I need you to stop the spellcaster." I gestured towards the robed Ereth. "Alex, take on as many of the soldiers as you can, and I'll take care of the rest."

Alex nodded, but Rina seemed somewhat unsure. "Are you sure it's a good idea?" She asked as she glanced at the pillar. "We could wait for nightfall and try and strike when they are getting ready to rest."

I shook my head. "I don't think they need to rest – the Pillar is already supplying them with ridiculous amounts of power. The golden structure is nothing more than reinforcement. Proof of their greed." My last words were but a whisper. "Ready?" I asked.

After a moment of silence, the green haired wizard nodded. Alex's sword appeared in her hand and I took a deep breath. "Remember – don't worry about us and just take care of the robed woman."

I was the first to dash out of the shadows. I used Soul's Aspect, Fallen Grace and Death's Scythe all at once and as my body was still taking on the Corrupted Demon's form, I arrived behind one of the Ereth.

Before they even realised what was going on, one of the four Ereth concentrating on their spell to construct the pillar gasped and fell to the ground, lifeless. 

Surprised at my own speed and strength, I didn't allow myself to hesitate. My flames spread out as the spell they were casting shattered and everyone finally noticed me.

Eight shocked and angry eyes turned on me as I grinned, showing my sharp fangs. Then, the dance of death began.

As I dodged, blocked and attacked and allowed my flames to run wild, Alex arrived. A single strike of her long, powerful tail was enough to scatter whatever formation the Ereth were trying to form. With her large, round shield and deadly cutlass, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Not long after, the robed Ereth had to take her eyes off me because Rina had gotten to work.

The green haired wizard also wielded lightning, much like Asher. Yet while she lacked his sheer power that seemed to be able to bend the sky to his will, she had precision and cunning on her side.

Lightning bolts leapt from her fingertips to the robed Ereth, forcing her to back off and defend herself. Locked in a battle of wills, the two of them seemed to forget the chaos of battle. 

I, on the other hand, had no such option. Alex had the attention of three Ereth soldiers on her and, mostly thanks to her shield, she was faring fairly well. I, however, was having some trouble with four people on me. 

Sure, none of these were particularly powerful on their own, but they were most certainly a force to be reckoned with as they worked near perfectly together. I assumed they were handpicked by the Divine. Naturally she would send some of her best soldiers to reconstruct and protect the Divine Pillar.

Yet, despite their amazing teamwork, they did have their flaws. Flaws that would prove lethal to them. Flaws I could take advantage of.

Three of them had exhausted their magic – probably because the spell they were concentrating on was interrupted. So, they had no way of defending against my flames. And I pushed that advantage to its limit.

Every swing of my sword left a trail of fire behind it. Every time I attacked a wave of fire extended from my sword.

Each time, the only one who still had magic was forced to back off and cast protective spells. And every time that happened, they had to fall back, act more defensive.

All I had to do was to exhaust that one guy's mana. So, I did just that. Focusing my attacks to the soldier farthest from him, I danced amongst their swords. Yet, my flames weren't strong enough. It would take ages with just them.

I backed off a little to avoid a sword aiming for my neck as my magic formed in my left palm. Black bolts leapt from my fingertips to the soldiers, forcing the spellcaster to stop mid-strike and cast a defensive spell.

As he raised his hands to do so, I sent another volley of dark bolts, this time all of them aiming at him. I saw his eyes widen as he hesitated – who was he going to protect? Did he have enough time to shield both himself and the others? Were they going to die?

I dashed towards him as such thoughts clearly whirled in his head. I leapt up and raised my sword for an overhead strike.

A loud clang echoes as one of his allies blocked my sword with his own blade. I let go of it as my lips formed a wicked smile. I swung my left hand towards the spellcaster's chest.

As my sharp claws pierced his clothes and dug into his flesh, I caught the falling sword with my left hand and hit the other soldier's forehead with the end of its hilt. His eyes rolled back as he stumbled backwards.

I pulled my claw out of the guy's chest and focused my attention on the remaining three. Now, there was nothing left standing between them and my very, incredibly hungry flames.