There was a familiar corruption in the wounds reducing the effectiveness of Zack's abilities. Miu's wound was healing, but not fast enough. Looking at the blood-drenched hands and feeling her growing cold he recalled Lauren.
'Nothing has changed...'
Miu was already unconscious, but she squeezed his arm slightly. Zack snapped out of it and conjured his holy orbs. They fused in his palm as he slowly pushed it into the wound. Miu's body was squirming from the pain, but her complexion was returning. The wound was closing, but it required Zack to focus.
Kaya and Octavia were warding off the spikes, but they suddenly stopped. Emerging from the desert were revenants with worn weapons in their hands. Each of them was a victim of the mysterious storm. They all glanced at the elves as their eyes went red.
'A necromancer out here?' Octavia rapidly beheaded the charging soldier.
Octavia turned to release her sword aura when a blade swung for her back. The armor held strong causing it to recoil as she turned to face them. The head rolling on the ground was being brought back to the neck by grains of sand. Once the two were connected the sand dissipated as it continued to strike relentlessly.
'If this was necromancy a decapitation would work.'
Kaya was releasing a steady barrage, but there was no end in sight. No matter how many times they got cut down the bodies reformed. They switched up their magic, but the flames still didn't affect them.
Getting fed up with the run-around Octavia unleashed a blast of chaos. It was aimed at a large group reforming, and the dark magic exploded. During their eradication, she saw a red orb get destroyed.
"They have a core somewhere, but I think it's moving." Octavia relayed.
"Then we just have to go all out," Kaya stated.
Octavia positioned herself on Kaya's back, and their aura's flared in unison. Deep under their feet was a dungeon filled with mana, and it was flowing to the surface. The revenants struggled to move forward as mana swirled around them.
Once their meridians were at the limits the counterattack began. Kaya's bow faded as she slammed her hands together. Rotating around them violently was a powerful storm shredding the charging revenants. Watching the cores shatter they backed up, but Kaya directed her hands outwards.
The wall of wind exploded outwards dicing them into little pieces. One sprang from the sand to swing its ax down, but Kaya placed her hand on his forehead as its body was shredded.
To bypass Kaya's magic they emerged from the desert, but Octavia used all the mana she gathered to enhance her body. She was dashing around the battlefield as shadows open and closed behind her. One could faintly see the flash of her blade before it was dyed black.
As the new wave was forming Octavia dropped the gladius into the dirt. The desert beneath them opened as warriors fell into the abyss, and as chaos began to pour out the hole slammed shut.
'What happened?' Octavia glanced at her sword.
"What are elves doing in the badlands?"
Landing behind on the battlefield was a man named Lazare. With their attacker in view, Octavia retrieved her blade and released a devastating attack. The chaos was ready to engulf Lazare, but he lifted his hand halting it in place. Even Zack would struggle to shrug off an attack like that.
'Leave that one alive.'
The chaos rapidly condensed into a lance as Lazare hurled it at Kaya. It narrowly missed thanks to Octavia's interference. They tumbled across the sand as the spear struck the ground, and beams of chaos erupted from it.
Kaya extended her hand creating a wall around the source, but it quickly decayed. She knew it wouldn't last, but it was the only way to reduce the area of the attack. Kaya called her bow back and rapidly fired at Lazare as he navigated through the sky.
'Human's flying with magic isn't impossible, but he's too nimble. Let's see if he can dodge this.'
Kaya rapidly fired four arrows, and Lazare smirked preparing to strafe. While attempting to move the arrows broke apart covering the sky. The smirk was wiped away, and two scarlet wings sprouted from his back. Lazare dove down at tremendous speeds narrowly avoiding becoming a pincushion.
Observing the demon wings, and tail they were puzzled. Demon's siring bastards with a human isn't unheard of, but the odds of their survival were low. The only one they ever encountered was Mephisto. If not for the tail hidden around his waist one would think he was human. These hybrids were supposed to be powerful magic users, but Lazare was manipulating chaos with ease.
When Lazare landed Octavia's gladius cut across his chest creating a deep laceration. She went for a second strike, but his wings conjured a sandstorm that temporarily blinded Octavia. Lazare was flying backward and glanced at his chest.
'How is that weapon withstanding the chaos?' Lazare glanced at Octavia's blade.
If it were anyone else the chaos would've been spreading through his body, but instead it flowed out from the wound. The gash rapidly healed as Lazare glared at Octavia.
"You sure I can't slit this bitches throat?" Lazare stated.
"You can try," Octavia smirked.
'I'm a little curious which of you is stronger, but she's still useful to me so don't go overboard.'
"I wasn't speaking to you." Lazare raised his hand rapidly withering the corpses littering the battlefield.
The dark magic rapidly swirled around Lazare's palm. Kaya shuddered from the malevolent aura flooding the area. It rapidly condensed and launched at Octavia.
"Take cover now!" Octavia shouted.
Octavia rapidly cut an X in the air as the chaos clashed, and tried to overwhelm the other. Lazare's blast was gradually pushing forward, but Octavia raised her hand in its direction. Her eyes went black as the chaos stopped in its tracks, and began racing back towards Lazare.