This daemon was such a strange creature. I didn't know how else to formulate an apt description concerning this misshapen abyss dweller.
While it was known to us that most preferred an appearance that was a mixture between a bat and a lizardman, it was quite harrowing to find the right words for what I saw.
Surely, the bat-form allowed for greater aptitude with the dark element. However, what about lightning?
The show playing out in front of me was part of a different script entirely. Ivasaar's summoning was known for its lethality.
The distinguished house of ancient mages he was from took pride in their vast arsenal of deadly wonders.
They weren't much of a lone soldier, but no established troop could do without one of their formidable ranks. I still darkly wonder about the price the leader had paid for Ivasaar's support to this day.
Yet his prized stingers were effectively dealt with today. My scholarly heart couldn't help but take relish in this marvellous display of countermagic.
Practice most scholars in my circle regard as downright nonsense, at that. I had to admit that to this day I was inclined to unite myself in their ranks, but I could no longer do so.
The ashes swirling around almost as grey in colour as Ivasaar's nondescript expression had such an impact on me I nearly failed to keep my incantation from backfiring.
This... creature occasionally spewing words that made no sense and evidently indulging in ridiculing practice at our expense was truly baffling.
Just from where did its lightning talent come from? Was it a mutation? Or did the abyss change on a fundamental level just like so many years ago?
Be it as it may, I was ready to cast my spell just like my experience compelled me to, but Leader Intevar wasn't of the same opinion.
For relatable reasons, he preferred to play it safe and engage the creature in close-quarter combat. I had no further opinion.
Corym and Gorred weren't as tranquil. Their youth undermined rigorous training as their mana fluctuated wildly.
It just so happened that Cory had no juice left, so there was little he could do to act upon his impulses. Gorred, on the other hand, took my sign to heart and refrained from making a fool out of himself.
I felt Leader Intevar's relief clearly. Glancing at Selyn, I insured myself that the archers kept their cool too.
They continued to do so even when the daemon started shooting lightning from its palms, steadily muttering one spell after the other.
Its deep mana reserves unsettled me, for the sheer quantity seemed to go hand in hand with quality, which was believed to represent a practical impossibility.
It demonstrated repeatedly that it was no stranger to the battlefield to such an absurd degree that the experienced among us saw signs of it holding back even.
The daemon looked my way, its thin lips caught in a creepy fit of laughter that lacked sound. It was just waiting for me to unleash my surprise, of which notion I was certain.
Even Selyn's increased pace and denser shooting couldn't pressure it enough to lose that everlasting calm etched deep into its bones.
The longer we fought, the bigger my doubts grew. Was it really fine for us to dispose of a creature evidently sentient and old?
It might be a daemon, or it might not even be. This was a question I lacked the necessary knowledge to answer and it infuriatinly exercises silence on that topic.
There was a considerable chance it wasn't aware of our blunder. Leader Intevar seemed to have discovered that too.
His face grew especially detestable because of this. The elder seemed to have made a blunder, and we were lapping up the disgusting weeping discharge like so many times already.
Even if we wanted, peace was no option as we had already expressed our intentions. Once Lyrrania accomplished her goal, there would be no turning back.
Soon, we all stopped in our tracks. Everyone looked in a certain direction. Everyone perceived the swirl of lethal curses and bottomless grudges in the distance.
Then we heard a shriek so especially loud in the abruptly silenced forest. Lyrrania, no doubt, or ehat had been left of her, given the notch. From then on, true hell unfurled its presence.
The daemon stared foolishly at the smoke the curses left behind. Then he muttered something I couldn't quite comprehend.
It sounded suspiciously like, "Yer cuckoo, Elfriede?" which made little sense. But what happened next made even less sense.
The sky darkened, the earth trembled, the forest stood completely still, no breeze blew and the ambient mana seemed to freeze over.
Then the unthinkable happened. It moved towards the daemon. Slow at first, but the pace only increased.
After a few odd seconds, from everywhere it came gushing, even from within myself as I had to discover with unconcealed dread.
And not just myself, given my teammates' horrific expressions. The mana gathered... and gathered... and transformed the creature.
It was then and there I understood just how ridiculous it was to mistake this intruder for a daemon. If the abyss had this kind of being, then the Just Federation wouldn't even have come into being.
My mind was split between marvelling at the glorious show of might, cursing the deadbeat elder who must have downed one too many and pitying myself for I couldn't study this knowledge.
My teammates went ballistic, doing whatever they could to turn the evident outcome around. But what was up to their efforts, exactly?
What good did struggle in the face of overwhelming might do? This was no longer magic derived from spells, this was something different altogether.
Something primordial, crude, straightforward yet impossible to understand or imitate given the knowledge I had.
The creature's horns grew as they shone in resplendent dark light, its wings following suit. The scales all over its body circulated pure lightning, meek as a kitten.
For some strange reason, I felt there was something missing. Although grand, it was not complete. However, I could not explain what, nor did I have the time to think about it any longer.
An instant was all it took to burn Selyn's archers to cinders and strangle Leader Intevar with pure darkness. Or should I say, consume?
The last thing I noticed was the small, unassuming booklet affixed to its waist shining in mystical glimmer, betraying the origin of this transformation.
Just how happy I would have been, were I given the chance to analyse this magnificent induction of raw power, to lay my hands on the secrets buried therein!
Yet all I found was nothingness, of which there existed no escape. Within there was but one undisguised emotion: Fury. Then, truly nothing followed.