When the second Exiled, Amerie of Aren, had arrived, the battle had shifted greatly.
Athelei watched as Hana barked out a command to let loose, and the four Artists and Dictators truly did so.
HUMMMMMM!
Two large Mystic Pattern circles appeared in the air and were infected by flowing Tangible Wills. The originally milky white patterns were dyed green and brown, churning with even more power than it originally had. Intentions were gifted to the Mystic Pattern circles, making the effects more frightening than ever.
Athelei ran Inspect on those Mystic Pattern circles, and he received a lovely revelation.
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Mystic Pattern Circle (Energized)
[ "Elemental Maelstrom" ]
- Mystic Pattern circle passed down in the Rose Family. Composed of the assumed 'four main elements' of the world, [Air], [Water], [Fire], and [Earth].
- Currently heightened by liquid Tangible Will.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei saw the words, [passed down] and nodded in thoughtful consideration. It seemed like that was a direction that Artists could take; If they came from powerful noble families, they could pick and choose from the creations of past Artists to accelerate their growth.
Students of Artists could choose to do the same to make their growth easier for both them and the Artists they were learning from.
'They are not like me, preferring to handcraft a circle of my own,' Athelei compared himself to those types of Artists and noted down the different pros and cons their chosen paths came with.
Just based on what he could see on the surface, Athelei concluded that choosing to follow a tried and tested path was exponentially more efficient. The rate at which an Artist who follows a path can grow was clearly much greater than the ones who had to fumble around and study a variety of things just to create a circle of their own.
On top of that, there was the question of stability. There was a large chance that the numerous Artists of the Rose family had had a hand in researching and fortifying the Elemental Maelstrom, making it a better, stronger, and more versatile Mystic Pattern circle as time passed.
But, using Mystic Pattern circles others have used before would make it easier for a group's enemies to scheme against them. If an Exiled fought one member of the Rose family, they would already have experience fighting most of the family's Artists.
On the other hand, those who did not follow a pre-determined path were the unpredictable variables. Who knew what kind of Mystic Pattern circle they would create and what kind of effects it could have? It could be anything from tools of mass destruction to blessings of grand proportions. If they were given enough time to study, research, and perhaps invent, things could get as wild as one's imagination could get.
BOOM!
Athelei watched as an inferno spread across the ceiling of the narrow hallway. A blossoming plume of flames rocketed across the air and hot winds blew everywhere, roasting those who were unprepared.
The ground shook, and the hallway walls collapsed outwards, crumbling like a wet sandcastle battered by the waves and opening up the constricted area. The battlefield now shifted from a constricting corridor to a spacious, but burning, arena.
Ssssssssssss!
After the winds, flames, and quakes, there was then a flash of blue as a huge wave of water manifested in the air. The wave had begun mixing with the blazing inferno and was letting loose a scalding zone of white steam that spread throughout the burning arena.
And then...
And then it happened again, for the second [Elemental Maelstrom] was activated.
A massive ball of fire was launched into the sky this time, and a powerful swirling wind began to churn. A whirlpool formed around the Banishers, swirling as it would in a stormy sea, while the earth continued to shake.
More of the Thiroe Castle crumbled, walls fell and the towers collapsed. The earth upon which its foundations had been buried had been loosened and now threatened to give way.
The ball of fire in the sky then exploded into a rain of flames, blessing the area with threats aplenty. It was like a more dangerous firework, flying straight into the sky and going boom with a splatter of sizzling sparks.
'That's cool,' Athelei whistled in admiration as he continued to watch. He had memorised the [Elemental Maelstrom] while he was at it for the sake of future reference. If he could get his hands on a more comprehensive document like the Tidal Tome was for [Poseidon's Domain], then that would be even better.
The two Exiled were indubitably injured after facing the combined bombardment of four Rank 2 Dictators and Artists, and Ivan Thiroe was pinned to the ground by Hana and Gorou. Things looked bleak for the enemies of the Banishers, and that was only expected.
Thus, the pair of Exiled assassins chose this time to flee.
They sprinted through the hot winds and zone of scalding steam, covered their heads as they ran under the fiery rains, and tried their best to keep their balance as the earth continuously shook.
Throughout all that, they also had to dodge falling debris as the Thiroe Castle crumbled while they did their best to avoid being a part of the landslides occurring all throughout the sloped area.
And in the end, the Exiled pair escaped.
'They made it through all that?' Athelei gasped in awe. He was tempted to clap his hands as he complimented, 'Wonderfully done...'
The duo's teamwork had been impeccable as they worked as a single entity. They had moved like slippery eels, weaving through whatever dangers lay in their path. The bodies of their counterpart served as leverage or as support at all the right times.
It had been what allowed them to leave with only a few broken bones, second-degree burns, and shorter hair. Those were small injuries that they could heal from if given enough time. Small, at least when compared to the environment they had run from.
The Thiroe Castle was now nothing but ruins. The space where the Banishers had stood was the eye of the storm. The area around them, however, looked hostile.
Small flames were still dancing below their pillars of black smoke and ashfall replaced the fire rain. Snapped wooden beams looked like spiked barricades among the messy stone chunks and stone pillars precariously rested on piles of debris, threatening to roll down the hill.
Athelei took one look at all this and thought, 'Now... I wonder if there are any secrets that I can find here in the ruins...'
Athelei's eyes gleamed as he fantasized about the possibility of an ancient family heirloom that had been passed down since the olden days. Many of the stories he was told had those mysterious heirlooms and wacky treasures.
Could the Thiroe family have one such heirloom?
That question propelled Athelei forward. He just had to take a look.
And so, A grey fog would descend upon the ruined Thiroe Castle. It sunk into the warm stones, sifting through every bit and piece of the castle. A Cosmic Interface visible only to the fog flickered constantly as every single object was put under the microscope.
.
.
.
"Well done, you four," Hana complimented her squadmates after a light sigh. "It was unfortunate that we had been unable to sufficiently prepare for tonight's events. We could not take those blasphemers' heads."
"At least we have this guy," Hana heard Gorou growl as he kicked the shivering Ivan Thiroe in the guts, "What the hell were you thinking, housing blasphemers in your own home?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, spare the Thiroe! I will do anything!" Ivan Thiroe squealed in fright when he heard those words.
Cold sweat trickled down his back as his limbs uncontrollably shivered. His knees had already given up on him, and perhaps his bladder would soon follow.
The head of this small noble family was filled to the brim with terror.
Ivan Thiroe was still a Rank 0 Dictator, after all. Being placed in a battle between Oxhorian Elites had terrified him to the core. The earthquakes, flames, and waters were like disasters of human creation. He had seen Lady Karire in action a few times before, but her [Malicious Storm] was not a purely destructive force like the [Elemental Maelstrom]. Thus, he did not feel too threatened by the powers humans could wield.
To him, his guards and army of knights were enough.
If Ivan Thiroe had not experienced tonight's events firsthand, he wouldn't have believed that such destructive powers could be wielded by humans. He saw all the hero stories as pure fantasy and exaggeration, and silently ridiculed all who believed that such things were even possible.
"Please!" Ivan Thiroe continued to plead, even going so far as to place his forehead on Hana's shoes "Spare me!"
"You will confess, and then you will die. That is all." Hana had rolled her eyes when she heard the noble's desperate pleas. "According to the laws of our Holy Nation, you and your entire family shall be burned at the stake. Your subordinates shall be maimed, and your friends shall be persecuted in the Holy Court."
Hana then glanced at her own subordinates as she ignored the despairing silence that suddenly settled around her, "Let's round up the survivors and bind them in thorns. We will pass judgement before the public in seven days. Send word to the other noble families as well."
"What do we tell them?" Momoe asked as she prepared to do as she was told.
"Tell them..." Hana glanced at the crestfallen Ivan Thiroe who was crying at her feet, "The Thiroe Family and Household is no more."
A noble family has fallen.
Hummmmmm!
It was at this moment that a low reverberation shook the hearts of all the humans present in the area. Hana felt her gut lurch and her heart tighten. Something made her incredibly uncomfortable the moment she said those words.
Was it a coincidence, or was it something more?
"Brace yourselves!" Hana hurriedly commanded, once more unsheathing her own sword and preparing for battle.
But the low reverberation did not return nor did it usher in any more chaos. A confining silence descended, causing even more discomfort than a simple battle.
Nothing else happened.
The soft, cool breeze, continued to blow through the ruins, snuffing out the remaining flames with moisture and fog, as if the low reverberation never occurred. The crickets had already their nightly concerto, and the crescent moon kept shining.
There was nothing wrong.
"...Weird," Hana muttered as her muscles loosened up, yet she couldn't shake the discomfort that had settled in the depths of her heart.