Chapter 51 Adrift In Fog (final) The Abomination replied with a shriek of its own, using all three of its heads, which carried with it?different tones and pitch, it was like the dying cries of a crow played in reverse. Strange and nauseating. The Abomination was massive, almost the size of a fully grown male elephant. The multicolored hair waving in the breeze made it appear larger and ferocious. Its tail was devoid of any hair but was segmented like a rattlesnake, and tiny three—inch spikes liberally coated the tail. Rowan observed that the tail could be a potent weapon, but compared to the size of the Abomination, it was too small to effectively attack with. The physiology of these creatures just kept getting weirder. Nevertheless, Rowan did not let down his guard. This was an Apex Predator. No features on its body were wasted. But that did not stop a thrill of excitement coursing down his spine. The Abomination charged at him, and Rowan lined up the beak like a spear to face the charging creature, and he properly set his feet to brace for the incoming clash. He shot a burst of his Spatial Sight to run a quick analysis, and he traced every movement of the creature. Selecting his target, he gritted his teeth, leaned forward and set his shoulders with bone crushing speed, they both collided. BO OOM!!! Rowan was thrown backwards, and his body embedded into the pillar. Rowan blanked out for a moment and came to in a fraction of a second. He pushed himself away from the pillar, the slight force he exerted broke the battered pillars in two. The Abomination had also been thrown back, its massive body tumbling twice, and throwing dust everywhere, the spot where they clashed had lines of impacts radiating from there. He moved to the left, dodging the falling beam. The gates it held came crashing down with a loud bang, and he winced a bit at the sound. The greedy gremlin inside Rowan complained about property damages and the cost of repairs, pushing that little Scrooge aside, he focused on the Abomination that was wailing ahead. The entire beak had penetrated its central head, so deeply it ends shot out from the neck, the shock of such a massive injury had killed a couple of souls inside the creature. Knowing he did not need to make this gesture but still doing it just for dramatic effect, Rowan snapped his fingers and the wails from the Abomination ceased, and it collapsed. The wave of Soul energy that streamed into him made him smile with satisfaction. Soul Seizer shrank and returned to his wrist, eerily fading through his shell and latching onto his flesh. Rowan brushed away specks of dust from his shoulder and surveyed his garden. It was a mess. Craters and broken trees littered the grounds. The short fight with the Avian Abomination had destroyed his once pristine gardens. Even his gates were no longer standing. Luckily, the sigils placed on the gates were drawn on a rare metallic ore that was difficult to damage. They were still functioning properly, he could tell because the fog had not come closer to the gate. The sigils were drawn on hexagonal metallic plates that came in sets of seven. The character seemed simple at a glance, but a more careful introspection of the plates would reveal a somewhat 3D like effects on the drawn lines. They shifted in angles that defied meaning. It was a fool's errand to try to copy a sigil, the way the lines were drawn, you could not even trace it starting point. Little was known about these bizarre symbols before a reluctant explanation was released to the few Noble clans. Sigils were a set of lost languages of power that could only be drawn by the Melcine Forges of the God King. They were rare and precious, and one of the hallmarks of Nobility was to have access to it. It could not be bought or traded, and it was strictly defensive in nature. There were rumors of sigils with different capabilities, housing both offensive and support capabilities, exists. If there was, the God King kept that knowledge and their existence under wraps. What made Sigils a powerful tool, was that they did not need any apparent source of power to function. They could exist perpetually unless they were destroyed and that was very hard to do, almost impossible, Rowan had never heard or read of anywhere where Sigils were destroyed. They were always recovered in the event of the owner's passing. The plates could be tracked, and this dissuaded the most hardened thief. After countless examples of entire families and even counties being wiped out for stealing a Sigil plate. Rowan heard the rapid footsteps of Maeve and the Guardsmen, they were just making it to him, the battle was a short one. "My Lord, we followed your battle from a distance. Apologies for my failure in guarding you." "Foget it. There was nothing you could have done, and I am also complicit in this matter" Rowan interrupted her, "Besides, It was a short battle. Your efforts should be placed elsewhere. These attack show we are not safe here as our defense are solely lacking. A few more of these…. things, and everyone here would perish" "Creating ambush points is ineffective, if they can just fly over them. With the tools, we have, there are limited countermeasures to this problem." Maeve seemed to have developed new frown lines. The Guardsmen, meanwhile, were assessing the creature, poking at it. Captain Titus looked at the Abomination while frowning, this was not the first time he had seen the eerie method with which lord Rowan was able to use to kill these creatures, he knew that a wound like that should not be able to kill them. He kept that thought to himself however, and motioned for his men to check their surroundings for any breach caused by the battle… This mayhem around him showed that this battle was at the peak of Legendary, and if he was unsettled about how a helpless Noble could become so powerful in such a short time, he showed no indication. Rowan's sight was wrapped around him, checking his reactions to these events, his sketch reveals there was something problematic about this individual, and he hoped his vigilance would bore fruit. He had figured out some of his capabilities, and he would need to leave for the moment, the appearance of the Avian Abomination indicated that even if he stayed behind, there was no assurance he would be able to save his people with his current strength. Although he was powerful, his offensive methods were still not complete, particularly his range offense, and getting to Legendary would most likely for him be killing two birds with one stone. He would be enhancing his lifespan, as well as grow more powerful, and get his Legendary Ability. A unique power that could only be bestowed on a Dominator when he became a Legend. Rowan turned and began walking back to the manor, calling for Maeve"So as I was saying… " Rowan suddenly stopped talking and looked at his feet, the dust was stirring rhythmically, it didn't require much thought to figure out this was the pattern of breathing. This could only come from a set of massive lungs, and the only creature that should be able to do that, should be dead. He turned to see the Abomination risen once more, the head he pierced was the one in the middle, that one laid dead, the movement of the Abomination dragging it to and fro. It suddenly spread great leathery wings and its two heads rose and shrieked to the skies.