"A Wraith Prince..."
Feeling the intensity of the Eldritch energy that Evian gave off shocked the man in black even more than the fact that he had been seconds away from sure death had it not been for the swifty interference of that Arcane shield cast by an angry Neb who had his eyes on Evian.
"Is that miscalculation I detect in your tone?" Neb asked just as Evian killed his first victim.
"Agenon said he was a Wraith Lord..."
"Prince, Lord... who cares. We outnumber and outpower them. This fight is ours to lose..." Neb said and then stopped with his eyes narrowed.
While he was speaking, Evian managed to kill a second Rogue Arcanist.
"You must be careful," the man in black warned as he took quick steps back while frowning at Evian.
'How can he phase?' The man in black wondered.
Phasing was undoubtedly a Wraithic spell but one that was rich with history as well as mystery. All Wraiths believe it's their right to learn it and on some level, they are correct because there are very few spells that are tightly ingrained into the very heritage of Decadence and abyssal residency than Wraithic Phasing.
Alas, the very Wraithic symbols that form the composition to create the spell have been missing for eons so how, the stranger in black wondered, did Evian get his hands on it?
Suddenly, he wanted Evian alive. To question him about the spell and gain that knowledge for himself. Alas, now that all the Arcanists were riled up and two of their fellows had fallen, the man in black struggled with the very idea of even calling them to order.
Meanwhile,
With Evian handling one of the three threats to target her, Aren channeled even more Spiritual energy into the spell circles she had on both her hands and they thrummed with powerful magic.
Even with the situation as it was, Aren was not as despaired as she had been last night.
They might have been trapped within an array but at least they were not being restricted by the dark energy of the abyss and with that bolstering her Arcane might, Aren thrust the spell circles into the ground where they slammed with a tremor that sent a minor shockwave to slam into both the Arcanists she was battling.
The two conjured shields of Spiritual energy to assuage some of the force slamming toward them and although they succeeded, they learned quickly that the shockwaves were merely an after-effect of the spell and not what it was intended for.
"Ah!" The Arcanist let out in surprise but he just decided to cast his spell at Aren instead only for his spell to be met by a massive orb of Spiritual energy that thrummed electrically out of Aren's body.
The orb absorbed the attack and reduced its effect at least by half before it separated into singular tendrils that charged into the body of the Arcanist to subject him to the fate two of his fellows had suffered already.
"Argh!!!" Aren's victim yelled but whether due to a very capable presence of mind or having learned from the errors of his brain-dead colleagues, this Arcanist succeeded in insulating not only the inside of his body but the inside of his skull as well.
He protected his brain from being targeted and although he still endured pain, he was able to muster the strength and mental fortitude to direct his hands to Aren's midsection.
A spell circle appeared and barely a second later, giving Aren no time to react and defend herself, a concussive force slammed into her. It knocked the wind out of her and had her wheezing as she rolled to a stop on the ground.
Her attacker took a second or two to shake off the numbness of the electricity that had charged through his body and then approached Aren with assured steps.
The one Evian had slammed into the Array barrier with the heavy ball-guardian spell finally stirred and with his hand grabbing his head as he was nearly overwhelmed by a headache, he saw Aren on the ground, prone and groaning in pain and approached her as well. Together with his fellow, he was all too excited to bring about her permanent end.
He made to dash forward but a spell circle appeared at the spot he next placed his leg and chains charged out wrapping tight around his body.
The Arcanist, head still throbbing, charged up a powerful release of Spiritual energy to free himself but the seconds that took was more than enough for a very important resolution;
The Arcanist who had struck Aren with a concussive force continued moving without realizing or caring for the predicament of his brethren. He raised his arms and a magical circle appeared in the sky while unleashing powerful rays that came together to form a mighty hammer that struck down with clear the intention of crushing Aren into a paste.
And just then, Spears sailed over. Five of them, in quick succession, slammed into the hammer and destabilized its conjuration energy enough to cause it to sputter and eventually explode into a Spiritual mist that drizzled down like blessed rain.
"What?!" The Arcanist asked in shock and looked up at his shattered spell.
Evian smiled at the sight. The spears were the torturous spears he had gotten a considerably good while ago. Even enhanced with his Wraith Prince Eldritch energy, the spears would not successfully land on any of these rogue Arcanists but they were still useful to disrupt a spell that conveniently took time to get charged up.
*Sksh*
"Ack!" The Arcanist let out as he looked down to see a solemn Aren gripping the handle of a dagger she just stabbed into his heart. She went further and drew from her almost depleted Spiritual energy reserves to infuse the weapon with even more power and ensure death snatched her target away.
"Shit—" the Arcanist managed to say as his hands dropped to his side. Lifeless.