Nobody was sure what to do as the two powerhouses stared at each other. The size difference was vast, but the power they were radiating was making Remi’s Thunderstorm churn, and they hadn’t even used a skill yet.
“It’s too late.” The second Karl announced, staring at the Titan, who spat on the ground, while glaring at him.
“It’s never too late.” The Giant declared, and began to surge with power, pulling the mana out of the area into himself.
The skies went clear, every barrier collapsed, and even the barriers over the city walls fell under his power. The might of the Archbishop was nothing compared to whatever this thing was. But the other Karl and Bishop Misty looked unconcerned as the transformed Temporal Dragon waved her hand. “Let’s take this back home. You know better than to meddle with things that must be.” The Dragon insisted as white fog filled the air.
“NO!” The Titan shouted, as a black bolt of lightning raced from his hand toward his nemesis.
The second Karl casually swatted away the bolt of power that would obliterate Totems with a glancing blow. The power streaked off into the sky, vanishing out of sight. Then the fog closed in on them, and the trio was gone.
Karl staggered as the world seemed to shift. All of the mana had been taken, used for that insane skill, and everyone under Royal Rank was unconscious, unable to defend themselves.
The Monarch Ranked Giant who had come to open the portal simply stared at Karl for a second, then took what might be his one chance, and attacked.
From within her space, sheltered from the mana drain, Remi channelled [Chain Lightning] into him, a steady stream that fried the Giant’s body even as it twitched, suspended off the ground by the magnetic field of so much electricity flowing through metal armour.
The Giant’s body collapsed, nothing more than a scorched husk, and Remi nodded in satisfaction. That had taken a lot of power, but with no energy to defend himself, and his armour weakened by the powerful one, the attack had been quite satisfying.
Hawk picked himself up off the ground and shook the dirt from his feathers. He had been kilometres away from the incident, and the effects had still knocked him from the sky.
But from here, he could see the most wonderful sight. There were shiny treasures in the sky.
With a streak of fire, he went to claim them before anyone else could get to the good stuff.
The attack by the Titan had to have passed right through this spot, and whatever spells had been protecting the treasure had shattered, leaving the shiny thing to fall from the sky.
He swooped close just as portals opened all around it and attacks lashed out. But they were all too slow and stupid to challenge him. Hawk pulled the item into his space, then vanished from the area as he followed it home to examine his treasure.
He hadn’t managed to get the box. The attackers had covered it with danger, but it was already open, and Hawk was happy to just take what was inside.
As disappointing as it might be.
It felt like holy power, but it was just a silly tiny dragon scale. It wasn’t even a good one, it was cracked, and dull, and most of its power had been drained.
He was keeping it anyhow.
If someone was willing to attack him to steal it, that just meant that he didn’t know how good it really was yet. So, he would keep it hidden with his other treasures until he found the answer.
[Good work, everyone. Status report. How are our cubs? Did anyone get injured?] Karl asked.
[My baby Rogue is good. She’s already waking up and coherent. Ophelia looks tired, but Thor’s barrier is back up already.] Rae agreed.
[The other ones are waking up too. The Lotus Tree has everyone around us recovering quickly.] Cara agreed.
[I protected my team. Tessa is good to go.] Thor added proudly.
Half a second later, Overlord Niall was next to Karl, blades out and looking for danger.
“Relax, they already left. Bishop Misty, the Temporal Dragon, threw them through time to fight it out.” Karl explained.
“That’s not what I’m concerned about. Our reports from interviewed detainees say that the Titans thought they had located a fragment of the original System Stones, but the box was open and empty.
I am looking for signs that it might have been stolen by one of the three creatures that were here fighting.
If there really was a surviving fragment in that chest, and the attack destroyed it, the System might collapse entirely.”
[They can’t have my treasure.] Hawk pouted.
Karl frowned at the Inquisitor. “There is definitely no sign of the System Stones here. Nor the chest or what was in it. I think it was already gone before the portals arrived.”
Niall smirked.
{Fine, but know that I’m keeping an eye on you until we have verified that statement.} He sent as a system message, not trusting Karl’s honesty.
They were friends, but when it came to trying to keep a Divine Relic secret, silence was your best option. Lottery winners had enough problems when people found about their ticket, and that was just a bit of money.
{If I had something with that much power, we would likely have a lot more visitors right now, wouldn’t we?} Karl joked.
Niall wasn’t so easily swayed. The item was gone, despite every Totem on the continent trying to grab it. There was a chance the box was always empty, but as an Inquisitor, it was his job to explore every possibility until the Holy Relic was recovered.
However, it was no wonder nobody could find it in the past. The relic wasn’t on the ground, it was thousands of metres in the air, hidden in a separate space. You could fly right through it and never sense its presence.
It was a brilliant hiding space, and logically, there would have been some sort of clue or guide to finding it when it was first placed, but that was lost before any recorded history that they possessed.
Niall shrugged as he sent one last message. {If it is found, we will find another safe spot for it. The question is if the Giants or anyone else will be able to determine where it is before we can recover it. If they think it stopped existing, we’re good. If they think that someone in the Capital might have it, all hell is about to break loose.}
The armies of the Giants and the Golden Dragon Nation seemed unsure what they should be doing now. Everyone was exhausted, and something big had happened, but they had no way of knowing who won the exchange.
Karl sent a message to Tabitha. {Let everyone know that our side won the exchange between leaders. I will explain the details later.}
Then Karl messaged the rest of his team. {Once the armies are rested, prepare for another attack. There is no telling how the forces that could see the incident are going to respond to the battle.}