The fly-mosquito hybrid buzzed violently within the translucent barrier, its gray wings struggling to lift its grotesque, bulbous body.
Its multifaceted eyes glowed with a sickly green light, oozing malice as it launched venomous darts at Balins’ barrier but the barrier formed by an equivalent exchange wasn’t so easily broken, creating a sealed arena where predator and prey would clash.
“Kain! On the count of 3, I want you to have all of your Vespids target that fly! 1…2…3!” Serena called out.
Kain didn’t question how the stingers of his guards were expected to strike the fly through the shield erected by her own contract. Nor did he mention how it was unlikely for the stingers to penetrate its artificially reinforced body. He figured that she had a plan for both issues and chose to trust her.
As soon as Serena finished counting, stingers from over a dozen Vespids headed towards the fly beyond the translucent barrier.
However, just before the stingers were about to be blocked, the barrier surrounding the fly and Balins was removed.
Moreover, the fly hybrid’s exoskeleton shimmered and began to soften, taking on a waxy texture that was far less resistant to damage.
Clearly, Balins had made another equivalent exchange for this outcome.
But the wish had a price.
A similar shimmer ran across Aegis, Kain’s contract locked in combat with the beetle. The metallic lustre of its stone exterior dulled, and Kain’s heart sank as he realized what had been sacrificed.
“Damn it,” he muttered, clenching his fists. “We don’t have much time before Aegis and those kids are in serious trouble!”
Thankfully, they were on their way to eliminating another powerful enemy. The numerous stingers struck the now weakened hybrid.
Although with its great speed it managed to dodge nearly half of them, each of the ones that did hit caused immense damage to its weakened form.
Not resigned to its demise, the mosquito began to swell and increase drastically in size. Kain had an ominous premonition and began to prepare to activate any and all defensive equipment that he had.
However, whatever plan was about to be enacted was once again thwarted by the surreal abilities of the Emanascion.
The fly hybrid that appeared as though it had just taken a stimulant and was about to usher in a grand reversal, suddenly had its stinger droop and its size visibly deflated. The buzzing of its wings weakened further, and its strikes became feeble, as though drained of all power.
However, the cost of this wish sent a chill down Kain’s spine.
Bea, who had been instrumental in subduing the Doctor, suddenly faltered. Her split drastically decreased in effectiveness and no longer restricted the movements of the opponent.
When Bea’s control over the Doctor weakened. He took advantage of the lapse, wrenching himself free of her mental control and retreating toward the battlefield’s edge. Moreover, he pulled out another piece of equipment from a space ring that appeared to boost his defence—both physical and mental—even more.
However, although the price for Balins’ latest wish was steep, it was worth it.
The Rotfly twitched once, then lay still, its toxic aura fading into the air.
Across the field, both Kain and Serena were actively engaged in their own battles, but most of them were coming to a close.
But likely, sensing that their side was at a disadvantage, the poisonous spider-scorpion hybrid et out a high-pitched screech. Its body convulsed, glowing with an eerie green light.
“Serena!” Kain shouted. “It’s going to—”
The hybrid exploded in a violent burst, spraying corrosive acid in every direction.
The acid rained down like a deadly storm. The remaining Vespid guards screeched as the acid melted through their exoskeletons, leaving only six survivors.
The Starweaver, too slow to escape, was struck directly. The “stars” composing its body dimmed as it let out a mournful cry.
Kain watched in horror as a glob of acid hurtled toward him, barreling through a 3-star defensive artifact he had previously bought like it was paper. He raised his arm instinctively, but before the acid could hit, Serena was at his side, pulling a small, intricately-carved amulet from her belt.
The artifact glowed as she activated it, a shimmering shield forming around them both. The acid splattered against the barrier, sizzling harmlessly.
When the acid storm subsided, the shield flickered and shattered, the amulet reduced to ash in Serena’s hand. Clearly, it was a powerful defensive item, but only for one-time use.
Surprisingly, with three of his contracts now dead, the Doctor seemed surprisingly unfazed, not letting out the typical screams due to the soul-deep pain of a connection to a spiritual contract breaking.
Crash
At that moment, one of the walls erected by the weakened Aegis crumbled and Kain realized that since the price for one of Balins’ exchanges had fallen onto him, he was probably no longer able to hold on and the kids were in danger.
“Serena, we need to bring the beetle down now!” Kain shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Serena turned her attention to the hulking beetle towering over Aegis. Its reinforced shell gleamed like polished steel. It was locked in a physical confrontation with Aegis as it pinned him against with its large mandibles while Aegis pummelled its now extremely close face with his fists.
The sigils on Serena’s twin swords flared to life once more, their glow casting an eerie light across the battlefield.
Her blades were a blur of steel, each strike aimed for the joints in the beetle’s thick carapace, exploiting the few vulnerabilities in its otherwise impenetrable armor.
The beetle roared, rearing back as Serena’s blade found a weak point in one of its legs. But its retaliation was swift. It lashed out with its spiked forelimbs, forcing Serena to dart backward in a hurry.
However, before it could continue to attack her, it was blocked by a shield of starlight created by the Starweaver.
Kain’s focus shifted to the mantis-locust hybrid. It had turned its sights on the remaining Vespid guards, tearing through them with terrifying efficiency.
Even for the extraordinarily fast Vespids, the mantis-locust hybrid with its reinforced limbs was able to catch up to them within moments.
Kain could sense the spiritual power around Balins activating, and then shortly after the mantis-locust hybrid staggered, its previously blinding speed reduced to a sluggish crawl.
But the cost was immediate and brutal. Aegis, already weakened, let out a strained hiss as his movements slowed down as well. The creation of new walls to protect the containers also slowed down drastically, leaving a couple of containers defenceless.
Thankfully, the second strongest defensive contract, the Starweaver, was now also on that side but it wasn’t able to defend completely against the beetle’s attack and one of the insect’s sharp forelimbs managed to make contact with the container holding Harvey.
Crash!