"Wow, now that I'm seeing this close she's more impressive than I could have imagined." Thomas who kept quiet as he watched the flame empress fighting the strange black-clad men and was pleasantly surprised by her skill. Those men in black were also not weak at all, especially their ominous energy which felt unfamiliar to him, especially when he realized his couldn't hear their heartbeats like he could with the Flame Empress.
The fight kept on for a good thirty minutes and he was starting to get sleepy when that familiar hoarse male voice rose from the depths of his mind.
[Not bad, I didn't expect a Mera to become so strong.] (Kez'Ganak)
"Mera?"
[Meras are the term my people use for mixed entities. In general they are beings with something unnatural mixed into them. I should have known, even the strong adepts of your human race can't produce flames with such ease so it must be because of something inside her. In most cases a Mera won't even knew there was something foreign inside their bodies.] (Kez'Ganak)
"I see, so I guess it's similar to me..." Thomas finally seemed to understand some things about the Flame Empress. By having something mixed that gave her these unique powers... It is similar to the system in a way. He made sure to remember about this information as he kept watching her fight.
"I knew it would be easy for her." Despite having some moments he had the impulse of interfering, Thomas saw that Purifying Phoenix Dance even he felt the heat from afar. However, even after all those guys fell one after another he couldn't stop thinking something was wrong.
As to be expected, Thomas watched from afar as the faces behind the black masks were revealed.
"!"
Despite the distance of a few yards, Thomas could clearly see the faces which strangely reminded him of a zombie. At first he thought they were monsters, even demons won't look like that.
"Kez, can you see it?" Thomas asked the demon lord with who he shared his vision.
[I recognize this ominous energy. They are Necros, similar to what your species would call zombies or undead. There are many ways to create a Necro and most are similar to a curse. I didn't recognize at first because I've never seen this type before. Anothing thing you must know is that Necros are always bound to their creator, and with them all here means...] (Kez'Ganak)
"Their masters should be close!" Thomas concluded for him. The flames empress had already spent most of her energy and couldn't even stand straight. If another powerful enemy were to appear.
Confirming his thoughts, a mysterious man holding an cat-eyed pearl in his hands. When his eyes landed on him, Thomas couldn't detect a trace of energy from that guy as for the pearl in his hands....
Despite their voices being distant, he could still distinguish what they were saying.
"Who are you? I can see that you are not a pure human as well."
"Yes. Although, I am one of the older experiments." His body didn't seem to hold any energy, yet the flame empress couldn't keep her eyes away from that pearl which gave the sensation of danger.
"I'll ask again. Who are you?"
The man shook his head. "Unfortunately, I cannot answer that. Huh?I didn't realize there was a sneaking rat spying on us."
When he said that, the man eyes were directed at Thomas who narrowed his eyes a pale black arrow appeared out of nowhere and it was aimed towards the same spot where Thomas was hidden.
Both thomas and the flame Empress weren't expecting this course of action.
[Overclock: 50% Brain Activity Boost]
Feeling the sudden increase of his brain's processing power, the arrow which came towards him immediately slowed down, giving just enough time to use [Speed] to retreat. Yet the arrow changed directions and swiftly followed right behind him.
Before the arrow got too close, Thomas reached to the arrow when a bright red ghostly hand about the size of a human arm grabbed the arrow mid air and broke into two.
Almost instantly, Thomas deployed anima energy to his limbs and once he moved, not even a ghost could follow him. Soon, the young man was standing between of the flame empress and the mysterious man. When she saw the tall, handsome youth in the dark red, she felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her head as her heart started beating faster.
'Thom... he's here?I can't let him...' She tried to speak, but no words left her mouth. An mysterious energy seemed to emanate from him the 3-star adept fell unconscious without a ounce of strength left.
Once she fell, Thomas walked to her without paying any attention and quickly felt her pulse.After confirming she was fine. However he couldn't prevent a slight change in his expression and he even frowned a little before staring at that man.
'That pearl is dangerous.' Contrary to his expectations, the man maintained his composure when Thomas appeared. Calmly, the man spoke. "This is amazing. How did you escape my soul's chasing arrow?"
"I have no reason to reveal anything." Thomas laughed fiercely.
No matter in each age, information is power. Fighting demons and monsters is a entirely different thing from battling humans. Against a human, it is a stupid act to reveal any information to your opponent, maybe even your own friends. Many legendary heroes and mighty figures of the human race fell because of that so he won't do that mistake.
Since he wasn't planning on hearing that man's words, Thomas channeled his whole body with anima energy and assumed a combat posture.
Thomas felt a bad premonition and immediately rushed forward and unleashed a blade attack against that man, or at least it was what he wanted to do...
"Huh? I can't move."
Against his will, Thomas' anima energy struggled against him and pressioned him on the ground. He felt his whole body anima energy moving against his will...
'How is this possible... wait.' His eyes were directed at the cat-eyed pearl and seemed to have felt an oppressively force.