Vir frowned. He didn’t think Cirayus would say that without a reason, but what more was there to watch, other than a slaughter?
Then, almost as if some demon had taken control of the swarm of humanoids, they lurched into action, blurring at speeds Vir wouldn’t have thought possible just moments earlier.
The group descended upon the Garga like locusts, attacks blurring together. Vir couldn’t even see their individual strikes, but he certainly saw the marks they left on the Garga. Its Prana Armor protected it, at first. After a few dozen strikes, the humanoids broke through. It wasn’t long after that.
Crimson marks appeared on the Garga’s thick hide one after another, crisscrossing it like a painting, and before long, there was more red than black. They didn’t stop there. They cut deeper and deeper as the beast howled and raged. They bit into it; they sliced.
Soon, its muscles were laid bare. Then bone. The Garga’s throes grew more desperate as its death approached. It lashed out, killing some, but the humanoids were relentless. They swarmed without care of injury or death. All to destroy the newcomer within their ranks.
Then their strikes found something vital. The Garga paused, its eyes wide with horror. It fell, buried under enemies that continued to devour its flesh.
Vir looked away. It was a horrible way to go, being eaten alive.
“Do you still feel my caution was unwarranted?” Cirayus asked after a moment.
Vir shook his head. “If we’d rushed in…”
Cirayus might’ve survived, but Vir certainly wouldn’t have. Not while those beasts moved so quickly. They’d chase him. He’d eventually tire, and that would be the end. Death came so easily, almost trivially, here in the Ash. It was as if death was the natural state of things, and all life was an abomination defiling the landscape. A blight that the realm sought to vanquish through all means possible.
“Aye. And now we have some grasp of their abilities. Tell me, Ekavir. What did you see?”
“The disorganized shambling is just a disguise. Or perhaps their dormant state. When they encounter a threat, they band together like a single entity and move at multiple times their speed. Their agility increases as well.”
“Good. What else?”
“Their nails. I’d thought them merely useless accessories, but they’re actually lethal claws. They seemed to use the claws to whittle down the Garga’s Prana Armor. Then they used their mouths as well. I think those are their primary means of attack.”
Vir put the Garga’s Balar Rank around sixty. The humanoids individually might only have been around ten, but together? Four hundred might’ve been a conservative estimate.
“Very good. Notice, too, how the Garga ended them easily before they swarmed. This tells us there is a delay in their reactions, and that individually, they are quite weak. It doesn’t appear they boast the same sort of armor most Ash Beasts possess. We can use that to our advantage.”
“With Balancer?” Vir asked. With his powers, Cirayus could easily negate their speed advantage. Even if they withstood its crushing weight, they wouldn’t be moving anywhere fast. Cirayus and Vir could then weave through their ranks, reaping them.
“I’ll distract them with Balancer of Scales while you close the distance enough to slip into the shadows. From there, observe, and strike when you deem it safe. Do not ever bring your whole body out. Do not draw their attention to you. If you are ever swarmed, retreat through the shadows to safety.”
If Vir hadn’t just seen the brutal display earlier, he’d think Cirayus was being overly protective. Now, he was happy for the precaution.
“Ready?” the giant asked.
“Let’s do this.”
“Remember. Our goal is not eradication. If that is what it takes, then so be it. We only need them to leave so we can gather our things and be gone.”
Cirayus jumped away with such grace that, even after seeing it so many times, it jarred Vir. As if there was a fundamental wrongness to how he moved with Balancer of Scales aiding him.
Vir was hardly one to talk, slipping into the Shadow Realm. The existence of a domain that lived in some mysterious space was far more bizarre than any weight-altering ability could ever be.
Still too far from the humanoids, Vir waited, keeping both arms outside the shadows to allow time to pass. Precious few exits were available to him; this part of the ash was a barren landscape that stretched forever, yet even here, rocks of various sizes dotted the scenery, casting small shadows of their own.
He didn’t wait long. Cirayus laid down a suppression field with Balancer of Scales that covered the entire region, crushing the humanoids.
Seizing the chance, Vir sprung from a nearby boulder’s shadow, Leaping near where the creatures roamed before falling into his own shadow again. Vir considered using Blink but rejected it. The ability was useful for moving blindingly fast, but due to how it worked, it wasn’t very useful for covering long distances at a stretch. It operated identically to Leap, just with all the power condensed for short-range bursts of terrifying speed.
Now within range, Vir had a multitude of exits to choose from. He picked a target somewhat separated from the others and snaked his katar from its own shadow. Prana shot out from his arm, coating the seric with Prana Blade.
Empowering the arm and activating Prana Channeling, Vir swung at the humanoid’s ankles, bracing for the resistance the creature’s Prana Armor would inevitably give him.
He’d braced for nothing; there was no resistance. Vir didn’t even feel his blade pass through the gangly creature’s bones, and he wondered for a moment if his foe had detected his attack and dodged.
But a shadow was inevitable, escape impossible. The Ash Beast’s ankle separated, making the beast fall.
It also caused the shadow he’d been using to collapse. Cirayus had mentioned the dangers of this—that several Iksana lost limbs while learning to use the ability. Not wishing to have his arm amputated, Vir hastily retracted his blade, then attacked again from a nearby shadow, ensuring he kept the bulk of his body within his realm as instructed.
He aimed for the same beast, but this time targeted its neck. As before, his blade met no resistance, making him wonder if he even needed his pranic abilities against these foes.
“Vir!” Cirayus bellowed from a distance. “You may leave the shadows if you wish. If you wish for an extra challenge, sheathe your weapon and fight barehanded!”
Surprised, Vir shifted his attention to the giant from within the Shadow Realm. If his body wasn’t frozen while inside, he’d have gawked.
Over four hundred beasts had roamed around the den when they’d started. Now, barely half that number remained. They lay crumpled on the ground, crushed under the tremendous weight of Balancer of Scales.
In the time Vir had taken to kill just one of these beasts, Cirayus had downed two hundred.
This is why his Balar Rank was so high in the Human Realm. Because he can end entire battalions in a single blow.
No matter how good Vir was at killing powerful mejai, he lacked any ability to exert his power over a large area.
And he wants me to fight barehanded? Okay, bring it.
Vir Leaped out of the shadows and crashed into a nearby mob. The moment his feet touched ash, he spun, converting his forward momentum into a deadly spin of prana and fist.
Chunks of the skulking creatures blew apart as Vir ducked, bobbed, and weaved through them like a reaper. For while his fist was hardly deadly, the prana surrounding it absolutely was.