MAZE - The Endless Quest

As the fight started, Nimbus held a spear tightly in his hands. His opponent, one of the easiest to identify, the cloud and the Sun, would be facing a storm. More specifically, Zultar the Stormbringer. A short but imposing figure dressed in long gray robes with electric blue details. Lightning crackled around his limbs, ready to discharge at his command. The Orc man opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t have the chance. Nimbus thrusted Sun repeatedly, delivering a quick flurry that forced Zultar to focus all his attention on dodging. The relentless strikes came one after the other, each deadlier than the last, every movement faster, and each target coming closer to hitting its mark.

Such intensity wasn’t without reason. Nimbus did enjoy this type of setting. He would have loved to banter with his opponent, flaunt his power, and prove he was superior. However, all that was secondary to his main goal. As the Sentinel, his job, his purpose in life, was to protect the Empress and the Court. He had been willing to participate in a one-on-one fight when each battle would happen separately and interfering wouldn't be allowed. But now, with everyone fighting different enemies at the same time, there was no option to play around. He had to be swift and decisive. He had to finish off his enemy before anyone got hurt, because he wasn't there to protect them.

It was a shame, and he knew that. The concept of the fight was incredible. Being able to face someone who controlled storms could have been very helpful, not just because of his own origin, but also so he could be a better sparring partner with Blue in the future. Zultar tried to speak again and again. At first he was simply upset for the lack of proper respect, but soon he was just trying to find an opening to take a breath. The Orc man triggered an ability, one that functioned as a short-range teleportation. From the center of the arena, he suddenly appeared on the first floor of the bleachers. In response, Nimbus put Sun in his mouth, shifted into his griffon form, and charged toward the man, matching the speed of Zultar’s teleportation.

With a gasp, the Orc jumped back, trying to avoid the collision. But Nimbus wasn’t done. He switched back to his titled form and triggered Sun’s [Solar Flare] in an upward thrust, adding a [Grasshopper Stab] for good measure. The attack missed as the Stormbringer created a small burst of lightning in front of him to push himself away, but the power of the flare was evident. The ceiling melted from the heat, revealing a statue of tar that was struck by Yuwei at the same time.

"How can you—" Zultar began, but was interrupted as Nimbus hit him in the back of the head with a [Mana Shield], slowing the Orc’s escape.

Nimbus pressed his advantage, using Sun’s [Seal of Eternal Radiance], which started to burn Zultar. The pain from the searing heat increased as [Cold Burn] weakened the Stormbringer’s defenses. [Call of the Wind] and [Wind Front] both triggered, adding wind damage and then another layer of both fire and ice damage, further amplifying the power of the assault. With one final [Solar Flare], the Sentinel burned Zultar away before he could launch even a single attack. Leaving a melted hole in the side of the arena.

The very center of the arena hosted a battle of pure power. Livy and Eira, the two court members with the largest strength scaling, fought against the brute of the Demon Cult. Drakvar, who, despite being called Iron Fist, utilized volcanic mana. However, he refused to do so in this fight, as his opponent was only attacking with physical prowess. He would do the same. They clashed repeatedly, their fists connecting in a contest of strength. Eira, the permafrost glaive, didn’t say anything, but her frustration leaked out towards Livy and the rest of the court. She was slowly getting more upset by the fact that she wasn’t truly participating in the duel. Yet, her complaints went unanswered. The two juggernauts continued pummeling each other, neither gaining a clear advantage.

Being able to hold off Livy alone meant that Drakvar was, without a doubt, the strongest enemy they were facing. Even though he was eight levels behind Hera, he fought as if he was the Leviathan's equal. Eira noticed that a few of the other fights were already over, and people were beginning to jump in to assist those still struggling. This was the first time she had participated in something this important, the first time she was ever told to fight against a real enemy. As the newest court member, and one who should be among the strongest, the glaive knew she couldn’t allow anyone else to help, especially with Livy by her side.

When the next clash happened, Eira triggered [Permafrost Vortex], freezing Drakvar in place and reducing his defenses. However, instead of simply stopping him for a few moments, he was actually frozen solid, his entire body turning to ice. The defense reduction was also several times greater than what Eira had expected. She couldn’t have known that a drawback of Drakvar’s cultivation was that, without his Qi, he was extremely vulnerable to magic attacks, and even more vulnerable to ice. This compounded weakness turned Eira’s skill into a deadly strike. Unaware of what was about to happen, Livy continued with an uppercut to Drakvar’s jaw, shattering his head completely.

"What did you do that for? I was having fun," Livy grumbled, looking at the weapon made of ice in her hand.

'People are already finishing their fights. I didn’t want to be the one needing help,' Eira huffed.

"Still, you didn't have to help me. I could have finished the fight at any moment."

'But you didn’t, and that’s why I stepped in. If you still want to fight, we have others to face.'

"Fine," Livy grumbled and looked around to see who might need assistance.

When the fighting began, Helena had some issues with her opponent. Hera had organized the Court to face off against the best matchups, but she hadn’t had time to share her plan with the mage. Instead, Helena was dragged by Robin toward another shadow user among the Demon Cultists. Normally, this would have been a good idea. Fighting another shadow user was something Helena knew how to do. The problem was that this person wasn’t just a shadow user. She was also an assassin, something that was generally known as the bane of mages. Both were glass cannons, capable of dealing massive damage in seconds, but just as easily taken down.

Lythara, the Shadow Blade, had a particularly nasty way of moving. She could jump into the shadows and appear in any other connected shadow. This meant Helena had to defend herself not just from visible attacks but from those that could come from her own magic. The first thing Helena did was call her [Wasp Guards], but that ended up benefiting her opponent. Lythara appeared from inside the guards themselves, her dark mask coming into view just before one of her arms lashed out to attack either Helena or her constructs.

In response, Helena created a thin net of Shadow Grabbers across her spells and shadows, making it difficult for the assassin to maintain momentum after each attack. At the same time, Robin fired magic arrows relentlessly at the enemy. A few of the Shadow Grabbers created light arrows and drew the string of the bow, increasing his firing rate and clearing away places where the assassin could hide. She was forced to jump back and evade a few attacks, and the constant assault stopped her from approaching.

Changing tactics, Lythara used her own ranged attacks, throwing tiny strands of darkness that turned into daggers flying through the air. Helena dodged the first few attacks, but the assault was relentless. Robin started firing arrows to intercept, triggering [Seal of Mystic Resonance] to release even more projectiles. He also activated [Spectral Guardian], which detached blades from the edges of the bow to block the incoming daggers of shadow. Even with this, it wasn’t enough. Helena narrowly avoided the attacks until they began scratching her skin. The Nexus of Duality, her robe, altered the surrounding air into shadows, increasing her defenses. But this turned into a disadvantage. With an extra layer of darkness close to Helena's body, Lythara was able to fire tendrils of shadow directly from the new pieces of darkness.

Feeling the pressure, Helena activated [Harmony Wave], hoping the shadow aspect of the skill would be able to follow Lythara. But she never got the chance to find out. The assassin leaped into the air, avoiding the attack. Before she could land, a chain whip wrapped around her. The surprise attack from Clay gave Robin the opening he needed to fire a light arrow directly into Lythara's head. The projectile didn’t finish her off, but Helena quickly covered the lance and sword held by her [Wasp Guards] in pure white light. The constructs attacked the Orc woman, waves of energy shooting out from their weapons. The energy hit Lythara, separating her arms, torso, and head from each other. The Shadow Blade crashed to the ground in four different pieces.

Meanwhile, the twins, Viper and Crimson, were up against another pair from the Demon Cult. These two had different types of mana, but seemed almost intertwined. Because of their close connection, the Empress assumed they would fight together. What she didn’t expect was that the two Orcs were also twins, even if they were extremely different. The first was called Kaelgor, the Soul Reaper. He wore dark robes adorned with chains and pale green gems. His entire body seemed to shift in and out of existence, like a ghost. The second was Morgath, the Devourer. Despite his name, he didn’t use devour mana like a Wendigo. Instead, it was a strange type of consumption mana that was hard to pinpoint. Hera could only tell that he absorbed something to strengthen his powers, and his mana gave off an unsettling feeling. That feeling only grew when he removed his cloak. Unlike the other members of the Demon Cult, Morgath barely resembled an Orc. His skin was still green but deformed and undulating, as if something lived inside it. He had eight tusks instead of two, most of them protruding from his cheeks, and arms that were too long to belong to a person.

As the battle began, Kaelgor sent a couple of gems toward the Spymasters. The attack had a simple stunning effect, which Viper and Crimson dispelled in a second. However, their momentary distraction caused Kaelgor to believe the stun had worked.

"There, brother. It will take hours for them to regain their senses. Now let me prepare your meal. Their despair will be exquisite," Kaelgor turned to Morgath, who growled incoherently with an insane smile on his face.

'Play along?' Crimson asked Viper. If the attack was supposed to take hours to dispel and they had done it in seconds, whatever else was coming might not be too dangerous.

Viper paused, considering their options. 'Play along. Let’s see if they come closer.'

With a mental nod, the twins waited. Time passed, and they observed most of the other battles ending around them. At one point, Helena's [Harmony Wave] even hit the two, healing wounds they didn’t have. It got to the point where Viper had to ask the rest of the court not to interfere unless they requested help.

Eventually, whatever spell Kaelgor had been preparing triggered. Crimson and Viper saw mana swirling around their bodies, only to dissipate immediately. Nothing had affected them. The benefits of the Wardbearer title once again proved their strength.

"Come closer, my minions," Kaelgor smirked. A beat passed, and nothing happened. No one was entirely sure whom he was addressing. "I said, come!" Kaelgor yelled.

'I think that’s us,' Viper said, starting to walk, keeping his face blank as if he were being mind-controlled.

Crimson followed, staying close to her brother.

"There, enjoy your feast, brother," Kaelgor patted Morgath on the back. Morgath quickly approached, opening his mouth, which revealed five rows of teeth. His jaw stretched almost to his chest, and the inside of his throat writhed with what looked like tiny worms.

'Kill it?' Crimson asked.

'Please. I don’t want to throw up my lunch,' Viper sighed mentally.

As the Devourer was about to bite Crimson, she raised her dagger along with Glacia. She unleashed a [Glacial Strike] that had been prepared while waiting. Simultaneously, taking advantage of all the blood on the battlefield, she activated [Bloody Claw], the three crimson red blades decapitating the aberration. Morgath dissolved into the ground moments later.

"What! How are you free?! I bound your very souls!" Kaelgor snarled.

"Oh, so that’s what you tried to do," Viper shrugged, "You will never be able to do that to us."

"Why?!" Kaelgor yelled, more enraged by his failed binding than the loss of his brother.

Crimson smirked. "We are already bound to someone else. And you could never break that bond."

Viper dashed forward, sending a [Crackling Strike] from Storm at the Soul Reaper, stunning him for a moment. That was all it took. Viper closed the gap and attacked with both his dagger and longsword. [Grasshopper Stab] and [Grasping Strike] hit in quick succession, ripping Kaelgor’s body to shreds. As a final blow, Viper took a deep breath and spat out an [Acid Spray] directly onto the Orc’s face. The intensity of the acid and poison was so strong that even Hera and Lurize flinched, remembering the same attack from the vision where they first encountered Scryotra.

With all the individual battles finished, they turned toward the last surviving Demon Cultist: Xirvork, the Bone Warden. The junior disciples had done their best to fend off his skeletal warriors, but they weren’t strong enough to face such creatures. A few of them even had perished, only adding to the undead army.

"You think you can stop me? All you’ve done is give me more bodies," Xirvork gestured with his hands, and nine more skeletons appeared, each with a faint resemblance to the other Demon Cult members. It was clear they weren’t as strong as the originals, but they still possessed some of their abilities. In addition, there were another 20 regular skeletons surrounding them.

"That’s true. Let me change those numbers, then," Hera invoked the [Blade Graveyard]. The irony of using her 'dead' blades to fight the undead wasn’t lost on her. Xirvork tried to stop them, but Helena’s [Wasp Guards] blocked the incoming attackers.

Once all the blades were in the air, the Empress gave another command, "Vulcan, would you be a dear and awaken Storm?"

Understanding her intention, Forge grinned, "But of course, my Empress," He tapped Storm, activating [Awakened Potential]. This allowed the Verdant Marchioness to use her heirloom skill, [Awakened Wind Fury], a power originating from Gale that could create two copies of every court member. Between the six titled blades, the nine Court members, and the seventeen blades in the graveyard, plus Hera, Helena, and Daskka, their small group was now one member away from being a hundred strong.

With a devilish smile, the Ophidianite faced Xirvork. "Now, let’s see how long you last when you have the smaller numbers."