Chapter 4114: Under a Rock (Part 1) Tista and Morok took and amplified Lith’s Vital Storm until it was enough to supercharge everyone and their equipment as Lith approached the Black Throne. ’I’ll be honest, I’m greatly disappointed in you guys.’ Phillard said. ’Scourge is an asshole, but he’s the bravest son of a viper I’ve ever met. He’s going against a mage tower and maybe a lot of Divine Beasts alone, and you didn’t move a finger to stop him. ’I know I’m a scumbag, but what’s your excuse? Aren’t you supposed to be his friends and sister? Why didn’t you even offer to help him?’ His words struck hard, and the worst part was that they couldn’t say anything in their own defense. ’There’s no way to tell this idiot that we agreed on Lith’s plan because we know how a tower works and how to counter its enchantments without betraying Solus’ secret.’ Tista and the others thought in unison. ’There’s no time for recriminations.’ Solus conjured a small hologram of the Black Throne’s known arrays and their area of effect. ’Keep yourselves out of the magical formations, or Lith isn’t the only one who might need to be rescued.’ ’Will do.’ Friya nodded, checking Thundercrash’s gauge nearing the full charge. ’My spells are ready. What about you?’ ’Ready.’ Tista, Nalrond, and Morok took flight after receiving the Hyperion’s Mana Aura as well. Crank, Phillard, Solus, and Friya remained on the ground, covering each a different side of the Black Throne. If things went south, the cursed tower would suffer coordinated attacks from every direction. "Whatever you are, whoever is in control of the mage tower cloaked before me, I come in peace." Lith’s magically enhanced voice resounded throughout the clearing, betraying his presence and cutting the Black Throne short. "What in the gods’ name is that?" He asked as the intruder’s image appeared on the surveillance mirror beside him. "How did he find us? Nobody knew of this meeting, and I chose this place less than five minutes ago. "And how can he possibly see through my cloaking arrays? I’m still invisible, and so is my energy signature. The only possible explanation is that you’ve been followed, but I’ve looked into Jorl’s memories, and none of you is that stupid." "We covered our tracks thoroughly." Jorl swallowed hard, aware that his ploy to get rid of Orpal’s tail was likely what had brought Lith there. "But that means nothing. That man is Lith Verhen, the Kingdom’s Supreme Magus and best tracker. "He is the source of the Dead King’s obsession and one of his greatest enemies. Verhen might have followed my trail because he thinks I’m on a mission for Orpal." "What’s a Supreme Magus?" The Black Throne didn’t care for gossip and read nothing about the news of the past hundred or so years. "Never mind. The only thing that matters is how he found you. "Your cloaking devices are really good, yet they weren’t enough. Did you cover your smell?" "Of course, I did. I’m no amateur." Jorl replied. "It’s Verhen that’s just that good. Don’t forget that he found and killed the last Word Tree after invading their own Fringe." "He did what?" The Black Throne had attempted such a feat many times during his imprisonment and always failed. "Why did your mind link focus so much on this Orpal guy and leave out someone as dangerous as Verhen?" "Where have you lived until now? Under a rock?" Jorl snarled. "The things I showed you are secrets that only I know as Orpal’s second in command. "Everything I know about Vehren, instead, is public information to which anyone with a communication amulet and who can read my mother’s language can access! "Do you need me to inform you that the sun is yellow and the sky blue as well?" "My bad. No need to be so grouchy." The Black Throne accessed the interlink via his communication amulet and found enough information about Lith to fill a book. "Consider this our introduction gift, kid. I’ll kill Verhen for you." *** "Those who sought audience with you are Upyrs, oh ancient one." Lith said, unaware of the events unfolding inside, but forewarned by his rampant paranoia. "They are servants of an infamous criminal known as the Dead King. "You can read about him as well as about me on any official source." ’Damn if Verhen’s right.’ The Black Throne cursed as he scrolled through the headlines of the too many events he had missed. ’A Magus above Magi, Rulers of the Flames returning from the grave, hybrids of all kinds and races! ’I turn around for a single century, and Mogar turns upside down!’ "You can’t trust the Upyrs, and I don’t ask you to trust me. Just kick them out, and I’ll dispose of them-" The Black Throne dropped his cloaking field, and mana flooded his inactive arrays, readying them to strike. "Well, fuck me sideways." A hail of flaming meteors rained from above at the same time as gravity increased one hundred-fold. Together, they were enough to nail a Divine Beast to the ground and blow them apart. Lith escaped the hyper-gravity area before it fully formed and dodged the meteors by moving in an irregular pattern. The Tower Tier spell chased the Tiamat, but he anticipated the movements of the molten swarm and always found a way out of their encirclement. "Seriously, who in the nine hells is that guy?" The Black Throne kept readjusting the position of the hyper gravity field, but every time Lith moved away at the last second before the mana could gather around him. "You really don’t know?" Uragar was flabbergasted. "He’s the Tiamat!" "What’s a Tiamat?" The Black Throne asked. "More importantly, what can he do?" "That!" Jorl pointed at the surveillance mirror. Lith had succeeded in lining up the meteors and the mana of the hyper gravity field, making them easy prey for his Dread Flames. He had started conjuring them as he approached the Black Throne and had accumulated the Cursed Elements through his wings slowly to minimize the strain on his life force. He shapeshifted into his Tiamat form and hurled a river of silvery flames that moved as fast as a laser, destroying the meteor shower and scattering the mana of the hyper gravity field before crashing against the Black Throne’s pristine walls. Enhanced by Vital Storm, the Flames’ blast failed to pierce through the cursed tower’s defenses, but it was enough to shake it. "This is impossible!" The Black Throne roared. "How could Verhen analyze my structure and the spell matrix of my enchantments so quickly? The bastard didn’t just hit a random wall. Verhen struck one of the most vulnerable areas of my rune patterns!" "On top of neutralizing all your attacks?" Jorl asked. "Yes!" There was a reason Lith was so confident about his odds of survival. He donned both the Monocle and Ears of Menadion, allowing him to read the flow of mana around him and identify the spells aimed at him as not even a Dragon could. That, plus the Vital Storm and Mana Aura empowering Lith, made him a very tough nut to crack. ’Steady.’ Lith said via the mind link while darting in the air in sharp, irregular cuts to keep the Black Throne from locking his arrays on him.