? For a moment, the two forces collided, splitting the city asunder yet leaving both sides equally blind. Then, the battle began. The size of the goblins hadn't changed but their skin had gone from bright yellow to golden and even after the light pillars disappeared, they kept shining with their own light. The white of their hair had turned silvery while their eyes were pitch black. They had not only regained their elvish heritage but they also burst with the power of the elements that mixed freely within their bodies. All of the wargs evolved into Hati. Their fur became silvery and each one of them carried at least three elemental streaks. Unlike those Lith that had just naturally evolved, their bodies quickly stopped shifting from one form to another and became stable into hulking figures of fur and muscle at least 2,5 meters (8'2") tall. Lastly, the Traughen's arms turned each of the color of a different element, showing to have overcome their limit of two elements. At the same time, their affinity for light and darkness increased to the point that their plasma weapons almost turned into hard-light and their darkness spells now held a spark of Chaos. Yet instead of weaving spells or assuming a semblance of battle formation, the Awakened monsters charged forward recklessly, throwing themselves at the Demons to open a path to the still-stunned Tiamat. 'Watch out!' Solus warned Lith. 'Their cores and life forces are kept stable by the mana geyser, but they are both still too damaged to harness the power of Awakening. I can see them crumbling under the pressure their own cores produce. 'It's only a matter of seconds before-' As quick the mind link was, nature was quicker. The evolved monsters exploded like anyone who failed to achieve Awakening, producing violent bursts of guts, bones, and mana. The blast from the death of the first goblin struck those nearby, triggering a chain reaction that made Ne'sra quake. Eryon stared at the scene from the sky where he had escaped as soon as the Awakening processes had started. He hated the trolls because they were descendants of the accursed Odi, who Mogar had already judged and found them wanting. He despised the goblins, considering them greedy little bastards who had let their inferiority complex toward the elves define them. The only species for which the Fomor felt kinship was the warg. They were magical beasts that just like the Balors has simply tried to escape from the chains of an unjust fate and rectify Mogar's mistake. Yet that day he grieved them all like they were his own flesh and blood. 'You did it, my brothers. You've killed Verhen and saved our colony. The heretic creature will stain Mogar no more and maybe now our father Glemos will finally return to us.' Eryon thought while looking at the scene of destruction. An entire city block had been razed to the ground and the only piece of the Tiamat visible was an arm coming out of a pile of debris from a collapsed building. With the fall of their master, the Demons of the Darkness had disappeared while the golems lay rigid on a side like huge toys knocked over. The Fomor lingered for a second, wishing to come down to the ground and slaughter the citizens of Ne'sra now that they had lost their champion. Yet the weight of the dimensional amulet in his hand snapped him out of his righteous fury. It was comprised of a few grams of silver but it was heavy with liters of blood and tons of flesh from both sides of the conflict. 'A life for a life. It's fair.' Eryon sighed deeply to calm himself. 'Besides, I'm alone now and if I'm caught by surprise by the reinforcements of the humans I'll die. Farewell, Ne'sra. We won't come back for a third time.' He turned around and flew away at breakneck speed, reverting into an unfallen Balor as he got away from the mana geyser and then into a demonic three-eyed figure whose body bulged with muscles as soon as the flow of world energy stopped completely. Eryon wept the whole time, but not just for the loss of lives that the colony had endured. The mission had partly failed yet fewer mouths to feed had turned it into a great success. Even if the other units had encountered a similar resistance, the people waiting for the warriors at the haven would have enough food reserves to build another settlement and last for a few months before the need to hunt for more supplies. 'It's okay, now. You can get up.' Solus needed to focus a small pulse of Spirit Magic to be heard from such a distance while Eryon carried her away. Lith had one of his Demons look around to make sure that the coast really was clear before standing up. The Spirit Barrier of his armor coupled with his Demons shielding him had absorbed the damage from the conflagration, leaving him unscathed. Lith took his communication amulet out of his pocket dimension and alerted Faluel that the first step of the plan had succeeded. "Solus is in and I know the general direction they moved to. Tracking them would be easy but I prefer to wait until they reach their destination. If the monsters have sentries covering their retreat, we can't afford to get spotted." "Excellent idea. We are almost done as well and we'll converge on your position as soon as the local authorities declare the all-clear." The Hydra replied. She, Ajatar, and the others had answered the call of the Kingdom as well. The army lacked the strength to resist the monster hordes due to most of the troops being locked in the traitorous region to hold the peace and protect the fields before the harvest. Soon, fall would come and then the ripe wheat would be collected, putting an end to the two-year-long lasting famine and the food rationing. With so much good food and the harshness of winter, the Royals hoped that the War of the Griffons would be over for good. The two halves of the Kingdom would have no more reason for animosity and the people of the former territories of the Mad Queen would be reminded of how much they needed those very people they called invaders. "There's no rush. I've still got a few things to do here." As Eryon got further and further away, Solus' light grew dim in his mind whereas her memories burned strong. The fusion had shared every moment of their lives they had spent apart, both good and bad. Lith could almost see Neforce uncaring for Tista's tears and wounds after the previous raid. His sister had put her life on the line for them and had almost been eaten alive yet all the Captain cared about was sending her away. Lith could almost smell the fear of the soldiers and mages who had believed themselves capable of restricting Solus, Nyka, and Tista. He remembered the cruel words, how Neforce had tried to shift the blame on Solus, and the contempt in his voice while he addressed her without her hard-earned titles.