Chapter 4001: Phantom Mirage (Part 2) He could feel the Vurdalak blood he had left running thin with each blow he suffered and delivered. Keeping Frost Soul active drained him even faster, so he launched himself in a last, desperate attack. Hassar charged at the Agni with the full weight of his violet-cored Upyr form in the hope of squashing him like a bug. Nalrond took several steps back, exploiting the speed gap to avoid the attack, but his constructs weren’t so lucky. Hassar struck the multiple layers of Phantom Mirage like a hammer, and shattered them like glass. His khopesh, however, hit only air. The chieftain saw the sphere of emerald light coalescing between the Agni’s hands only when it was too late. Nalrond shot the Spirit Spell forward, and Hassar’s momentum was too great for him to alter his course. The Upyr raised his crossed arms, hoping it would be enough to resist the unknown attack and trample the Emperor Beast to death. ’Wait, what?’ A refreshing feeling washed all over the Upyr’s body, closing his wounds and mending his bones. Hassar’s panting became much heavier, and he watched the floor rising to meet him in confusion. Nalrond’s tier three Spirit Spell, Breath of Life, had robbed Hassar of the little strength he had left. The chieftain had stumbled and tripped on his own feet, hitting the ground with enough force to produce a small, localised quake. "Stay down, or I’ll make you." Nalrond would have loved to kill the chieftain of the Yellow Wind tribe, but he needed answers. Hassar opened his mouth for one last curse when the last drop of Vurdalak’s blood faded from his body and his newfound mass and powers disappeared. He lost consciousness immediately, and his life almost followed. Nalrond had healed most of the damage, but not all. What was left was more than enough to kill a human man, let alone one with little to no vitality left. ’This is great. All this effort to kill this bastard, and now I have to save his life.’ The Agni scoffed. "I need help! Now!" He actually said. Lith and Solus joined him immediately, while Friya arrived a few seconds later. Without Frost Soul hindering her powers, it took her but a thought to conjure a flame to warm herself and a pulse of darkness magic to cleanse the blood covering her. "Great work, Nalrond." Lith said while activating the Immortal Body array to stabilise Hassar’s condition. "If we manage to keep him alive, we can interrogate him and discover how and when he met Meln." "Thanks, but a bandit turning into an Upyr was the last thing I was expecting." The Agni sighed. "I was lucky he sucked as a Divine Beast, or the first surprise blow would have killed me." "Same here." Friya used Quylla’s Injection spell to send nutrients straight into the chieftain’s bloodstream and save him from death by consumption. "Even worse was the Frost Soul. I don’t think I would have survived it if I weren’t just half Hydra. "Which begs the question, why didn’t you help me?" "Why?" Solus answered in honest confusion. "Because you kept saying all that stuff about this being your fight. Also, we were waiting for you to say something. You carry the Monocle, and our mind link wasn’t affected by Frost Soul." "Gods, I’m so dumb!" Friya slapped her forehead in frustration. "I’m sorry guys. It all happened so fast, and the cold must have numbed my brain." "You don’t need to apologise." Nalrond left Hassar’s side and gave Friya a full check-up. "The only thing that matters is that you and the babies are alright." "No, I have to." Friya sighed. "I can’t believe I put the three of us in danger out of stupid pride. I should have let Lith fight from the start and use every weapon we have instead of stubbornly taking everything on myself. "Fighting a Divine Beast, even one so weak, is too dangerous for someone in my condition." "Don’t be silly." Solus replied. "How were you supposed to know we’d met Upyrs or that Meln’s blood would escape even the Eyes’ detection? Their transformation caught all of us by surprise, not just you." "True, but all the excuses on Mogar don’t change the outcome." Friya sighed. "A bright violet-cored Harbinger like me almost died at the hands of a mere thrall with no equipment and who didn’t even know how to fly." "Don’t be too harsh on yourself, Friya." Lith said. "There’s a reason Divine Beasts don’t need the Awakened Council, and special techniques are required to deal with them. Considering they had the advantage of surprise, you guys did great." Until that day, Friya had never fought an Upyr on equal footing. She had always ambushed them of fought them from a distance, keeping herself out of the area of effect of their bloodline abilities and the range of their physical attacks. Realising how easy it was for even an Upyr thrall to kill her was a heavy blow to her warrior pride. ’Years and years of relentless training and practice of magic made useless by a single bloodline ability.’ Friya shuddered at the memory of the feeling of helplessness she had experienced while under Frost Soul’s effects. ’That woman was one of the lousiest fighters I’ve ever seen, yet she was still a threat to me in her Divine Beast form. Gods, if life is unfair.’ "Not to pressure you, Friya, but what about Drenya?" Solus asked. "Drenya!" Between the shock of fighting an Upyr and the fear for her twins, Friya had completely forgotten about her estranged parent. "I’ll look for her after I’m done weaving anti-Divine Beast spells. "Please, guys, forget everything I said about fighting alone. If there’s another Upyr hidden amongst these people and they attack me, react with extreme prejudice." "About that." Nalrond pointed at the terrified members of the Yellow Wind tribe that had huddled together at the center of the village. "What are you going to do with them? We’ve killed their warriors, chieftain, and best mage. "I don’t think they will survive long if we leave them here." Only then did Friya notice the desperate cries of the families of the people she had just killed. The women hugged their children, while the few able-bodied adults left formed a circle around those too old, weak, or young to protect themselves. The people of the Yellow Wind tribe wielded their weapons with trembling hands, their faces green as they struggled not to puke out of panic. Everyone in the Blood Desert learned how to fight as a teen, yet only the warriors experienced real battles. Those left standing had never seen a real fight, and if not for their survival instinct, they wouldn’t have been able to lift their eyes from the butchered corpses of their loved ones. "If it were up to me, I’d do the usual. I wouldn’t care." Lith shrugged. "Since this is your mission, Friya, I’ll leave the final decision to you." Friya expected Lith to say something cynical, but the nods from Solus and Nalrond hit her like a punch to the gut. Then, she noticed the people trapped in the Yellow Wind village.