Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2120: Dreaded Name

The second silhouette dissolved a split second later, vanishing so cleanly that the Gnomes half-convinced themselves it had never been more than a trick of the residual light and smoke.

Varg and the others reacted at once, each calling their puppets closer. Elemental energy flared around them as they prepared to finish whatever remained of the threat. They knew it was impossible for that attack to end Old Humphrey, and were ready to kill him. The second shadow also made them wary.

At that precise moment then air beside Odelia rippled and Void appeared. Void had been absent throughout the earlier fighting; his sudden presence startled her.

The cat lifted his head and spoke in a low, clear voice that only the three women could hear.

”Be ready.”

Before any of them could answer, Void’s small figure expanded. In the space of a single breath the cat was gone and a masked young man in familiar robes stood in his place. Odelia recognized the garments at once. Combined with Void’s warning, the truth clicked into place without effort.

Grey had arrived.

His hair stirred in the desert wind as he brought both hands together in a sharp, deliberate clap. An invisible shockwave expanded outward from his body, detectable only by mental sense yet carrying the force of a blade. The three women felt it pass over them like a cool, focused gust. Even though each of them had cultivated for centuries and reached the Peak of the Sovereign realm, the sheer density and reach of Grey’s mental power left them momentarily stunned. Their own Teacher, Old Humphrey, could not match it.

They recovered quickly. Awe had no place in the middle of a life-and-death fight.

Grey’s sudden appearance had gone largely unnoticed. Most of the Gnomes were still searching for the second fading figure and trying to understand what they had just witnessed. Only when the crushing wave of mental force slammed into them like a battery of invisible swords did they realize a new enemy stood among them. By then it was already too late.

All six Peak Sovereign Gnomes had closed in around the three women when the ladies rushed toward the earlier explosion. Whether by design or simple coincidence, the tight formation placed every one of them within perfect range of a simultaneous strike.

They tried to scatter. Their bodies refused to move.

Grey’s mental energy blades cut the connection between each Gnome and their puppets, leaving them temporarily incapacitated.

In the same instant Odelia, Rowena, Blaire, and Old Humphrey launched their attacks. The Gnomes stood frozen and defenseless.

Old Humphrey’s chosen target was only a heartbeat away from being struck when the old man’s instincts screamed warning. Every hair on his body stood on end. Without hesitation he aborted the attack and threw himself backward.

The other four did not share his last-second caution.

Grey and the three women each selected an opponent and struck with everything they could muster. Odelia’s chosen target was Varg. The loathing she felt for the lecherous Gnome had only grown with every crude word he had spoken. When the chance to end him appeared, she seized it without restraint.

A series of overlapping detonations shook the air.

Grey and the three women were hurled backward by the combined force of the blasts as their attacks were about to connect. Old Humphrey reached them at once, steadying their flight and helping them regain solid footing. A minute earlier the Gnomes had been the ones waiting outside a cloud of smoke and debris. Now the positions were reversed.

Old Humphrey’s expression hardened as he studied the lingering explosion.

”One of them was unaffected.”

”I noticed,” Grey replied, brushing dust from his sleeves. Beneath the mask his face remained cold. In the final instant before his four colored fusion orb could connect, an unexpected attack had forced him to interrupt the strike. No ordinary Peak Sovereign should have recovered from the mental immobilization that quickly. Gnomes with high cultivation could indeed break free in roughly a second under normal conditions, yet this reaction had been faster still. It only meant that one of them was one of the few rare Gnomes whose connection with their puppets couldn’t be easily broken by Grey.

Even so, the surprise assault had not been wasted. The Gnomes who took the brunt of the attacks had been completely exposed. Whether or not they suffered crippling wounds, their combat strength would be noticeably reduced. More importantly, Grey’s presence now made it far more dangerous for them to keep their puppets active.

”Odel!”

Rowena’s sharp cry pulled every gaze toward her sister. Odelia’s right hand was a ruin of torn flesh and exposed white bone. Blood still dripped from the mangled limb despite her efforts.

She forced essence through the damaged channels to halt the bleeding, then formed a thin, clear film of water around the injury to shield it from further harm.

”I’ll manage. I got one of them.”

Blaire stared.

”You killed one?”

Grey and Old Humphrey were equally taken aback. Old Humphrey was the strongest pure combatant among them, and Grey was the most elusive. Neither had managed a clean, decisive strike. How had Odelia succeeded where they failed?

The answer lay in the ruined state of her right arm. She had been willing to trade permanent damage for a certain kill. Blaire and Rowena understood at once which Gnome would drive her to that choice. Had either of them drawn Varg as a target, they would have made the same gamble.

Attention returned to the dissipating smoke. A powerful repulsive force shoved the remaining haze aside, revealing five floating figures instead of six. Only a single puppet remained in the air; the rest had either been recalled or had fallen to the desert floor below.

The Gnome with the puppet hovering at his back, thrust a trembling finger toward Grey. Veins stood out sharply across his forehead and neck.

”You!”

He paused, eyes widening as recognition struck.

”You’re Grey Dawson!”

Anger still colored the words, yet beneath it ran a clear thread of fear.