Currently the group is in the center of a circular space, but around them they were surrounded by trees. And from the latter nestled the pursuers of the group.
'Three, no, it's four.' Asteri was able to calculate the number of their enemies.
"Do you think it is still necessary to hide in the shadows? Get out so we can get to know each other better." Lanola invited the pursuers to come out of the darkness of the forest.
"As one would expect from one of the thorns on our king's side, Lanola Eleftherotís." One of the figures emerged from the darkness, revealing her appearance or at least her clothes, as she was completely covered in her signature assassin robes. She was all black, with a hood on her head and a full mask covering her face, only the part of her eyes and lips had orifices.
After him, three other killers come out, obviously wearing the same clothes as the first. As Asteri could see, the first was probably the team captain, as his level was the highest. He is in the third degree of the yellow core. The rest were at the second degree of the blue core.
"It is a pity that you have already managed to detect my identity, but it will not be a problem since you will die here." Lanola pulls her hood down, as they already knew her identity by now.
"What bold words ... too bad they will be the last you say." The group leader opens what looks like a parchment and begins to read it.
Lanola grabs the spear and immediately rushes towards the leader of the brigands, but it was too late. The reading was short, so she didn't take long to complete it. Immediately after you have finished reading the parchment, strange lights rise from the ground a little further back than where the four pursuers had exited.
'Wait, how they positioned themselves ...' Asteri had noticed that the pursuers were positioned in four different places. How to surround the group.
Returning to the lights, these four rose to a height a little higher than that of the trees and changed direction towards the center. As soon as the four lights, black mixed with gray, touch each other in the center, a strange fog begins to form in the four spaces created by the lights. Form a dome, trapping everyone inside.
'These bastards were really well prepared.' Asteri doesn't feel well to see this black and gray misty dome.
Lanola was now gone to lead the pursuers.
"Bad idea." Says the pursuer pulling out two daggers from under her clothes. To everyone's surprise he manages to parry the blow from Lanola's spear.
"How is it possible? Lanola is certainly stronger than him ... but he managed to parry the blow without problems." Betty cuts her wrist with spilled blood, creates her blood sword.
"And certainly the work of this dome." Allatu modeled her pink whip.
Asteri had no weapons, he had the ability to create his own astral swords, but he didn't want to waste his magical reserves right from the start of the fight. He then he takes the position with his fists raised.
"Would you like to face me with your bare hands? Ah, this arrogance of yours will lead you to death, ant." One of the pursuers points to Asteri, taunting him for his weakness, even though he didn't know he was stronger than he looks.
"Don't worry, my punches are enough and they advance." Asteri looks at Beatrix who is now at the center of the group, protected from the clutches of her pursuers.
"This dome ... has increased your power. Surely it is the work of that bastard on the throne." Lanola begins to unleash a series of spear attacks, trying to pierce the man's vital points.
"You should speak of our king with more respect. After all, you have had a chance to become the queen of Doulon." The leader of the bandits reveals a shocking fact. Asteri does not escape this, but for now he lets him go and his fight against the pursuer in front of him continues.
"Bastard!!!" Lanola gets angry at what the leader of the pursuers said, but despite his anger, he does not let himself be taken aback.
Asteri infused astral energy into his fists and parried with them the stabbings of the pursuer.
"That tricolor magic ... it's giving you abnormal resistance, but it won't last long." The pursuer was not entirely wrong, with the upgrade of the dome he had more physical strength than Asteri.
Betty and Allatu were also in bad situations, Allatu already had scratches on her clothes.
'Something needs to be done, will I have to resort to [Astral Empowerment] again?' He had recently recovered from the backlash of using his ability more powerful than him, now he was forced to use it again.
But before he could do anything, he heard a loud rumble outside the dome. The latter trembles violently, as if something had hit her.
"What happen?" Says the leader of the pursuers, while he parried the blows of Lanola. But he not only he had this question mark. The others were also puzzled as to what had happened.
* Boom *
Another rumble, this time part of the dome opened revealing the cause of the loud noises.
What they saw was a large rock with strange blue lights running throughout its dimension. As if it were flowing water.
"A stone? Is that stone making all this noise?" The pursuer in front of Asteri was stupid for a stone to make all that noise ... even though he wondered how it was possible since it couldn't move.
'It's not just a stone ...' Asteri had already guessed that it wasn't just a stone.
In fact this rock begins to tremble and rise in height. The protrusions appeared from below and on the sides of the rock. What he eventually formed was a rock giant.
He had two powerful arms and legs, and his head resembled that of a bald man with a thick beard.
"Who's making all this noise?" From his mouth, illuminated by a blue light, came a deep hoarse voice, as if the earth itself was trying to communicate.