Chp.31: Tricks and deceptions

Thornag reached the royal palace within minutes. Despite the long distance, thanks to his speed he was able to reach his destination in a short time. Once there, he stood in the courtyard, staring at the havoc in front of him.

The bodies of dozens of soldiers were scattered everywhere, some with a clear expression of terror on their faces. However, they weren't placed at random: whoever killed them had purposely placed the level adamantium soldiers in plain sight, so he could deduce that they hadn't been able to do anything either. And judging by the markings on them, the one who killed all of them must have been the same person.

Thornag clenched his fists. To be able to kill so many level adamantiums at once, his opponent had to have some extraordinary ability… or more likely, be a legendary level too. This could be problematic; if his opponent was that powerful, then it would have been impossible to determine ahead of time who would be the victor in a one-on-one battle. In these cases, it was likely that the first mover would have the advantage.

Thornag stood motionless in the middle of the courtyard, his senses highly active. His divine power granted him a perception of the environment far superior to that of ordinary mortals. And suddenly, he perceived a movement in the distance, coming from a window of the building, as if something was leaping out of it; he raised his hand to strike his opponent, but it turned out to be only a vial containing a strange liquid which, as soon as it broke in contact with his fist, turned into a bank of fog that completely enveloped him. Thornag clapped his hands together and created a shock wave that thinned the mist in a five-meter radius around him, but the rest was so thick and dense that he was unable to move it. He could have done this by using more divine power, but by doing so he would have had to concentrate more, and this would have created an opening in his defense that his opponent would surely have used. He had no choice but to stand still and wait.

Suddenly, he sensed something again; he turned to a point in the mist and condensed his divine power into his sword, ready to smite anyone who dared attack him. But contrary to what he expected, what he heard was the rhythmic sound of two hands clapping against each other. "My compliments" a woman's voice said. "You were able to see through my invisibility. Even though I already knew you could, you are one of the only three people I've met in my entire life who have managed to notice me while I'm using this power. You must be proud of that"

Something appeared in the fog. It was like watching an image reflected in the water that rapidly took shape and form. Finally, a woman appeared before him, just outside the fog-free zone Thornag had created. "Who are you?" he asked.

"My name doesn't matter" the woman replied with a smile. Obviously she was none other than Sisna, but she certainly wouldn't have revealed it to him for fear that someone investigating could trace her false identity.

Thornag tightened his grip on the sword. He clearly felt that something was wrong; his highly alerted senses were telling him so. "That's not what you really look like, mh?" he murmured. "What kind of illusion are you using to be able to hide so well?"

"Oh, did you notice? You're truly amazing then. I didn't expect you to see so well through my disguise" Sisna replied clapping her hands again as if applauding him. "I should have expected it, after all I can see even from here that you are very focused"

Thornag was annoyed. Not so much for Sisna's words, since he certainly wouldn't lose his temper over a little taunting, but for the fact that he couldn't see through her illusion, just as he hadn't been able to see through her invisibility. Even though he sensed that what he was seeing was false, he couldn't break the disguise. It was as if the light itself had begun to create shapes other than those that existed in reality. Could it be... "Are you using light magic?"

"Wow, please don't expose all my secrets! Do you even want me to strip naked in front of you?" Sisna teased him. "Anyway yes, I'm using light magic. As for how, or what I can do... I'm afraid I won't tell you. A good conjurer never reveals their secrets"

Thornag understood that he would receive no further explanation of this. "Who are you, what do you want and how many are you?" he asked again.

"Hey! Seriously, aren't you a little too curious? We've only met for a minute and you're already bombarding me with questions! At least shake my hand first!" Sisna answered with a smile. "And anyway... who tells you that I want something? Or that I'm not alone?"

"Please, would you like me to believe that you would have unleashed this cataclysm just because you had a bad day, or because you wanted to have some fun?" Thornag said sarcastically. "Besides, I know someone else is attacking the Academy of Magic right now. You're not alone"

"Unleashing a cataclysm just because I've had a bad day? Mmm... actually, now that you mention it, that actually sounds like something I would do" Sisna muttered, rubbing her chin as if she was thinking carefully. "As for those who are attacking the academy... why are you so sure they're connected to me? Maybe they have their own interests and I have mine, and the fact that we attacked together is just a coincidence..."

Thornag's eyes narrowed. "Has anyone ever told you that you're really annoying?"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop! How touchy" Sisna grumbled. "To answer your questions... I've already told you that my name doesn't matter, I'm not going to tell you anything about my goal, and how many we are is not your problem. The only thing I can tell you, that is what maybe will be some comfort to you, is that we have no interest in hurting people in this town… sure, if anyone tries to stop us we will kill them, like I did with these pathetic guards… but if they will stay quiet in their homes nothing will happen to them. That should be good for you, right? After all, your goddess has chosen you to defend the people of this kingdom, hasn't she?"

Thornag moved his sword, taking a stance on guard. "If you're not going to talk, then let's not waste any more time! Draw your weapon and face me!"

But contrary to what he expected, Sisna didn't do it and on the contrary she seemed annoyed: "Hey! I haven't finished yet! There's something I wanted to ask you"

Thornag bit his lip. Something told him he wouldn't like what the woman said. "What is it about?"

"Easy. Everyone knows of your loyalty to the king. So I was wondering…" and a wicked smile appeared on Sisna's face. "... who will you choose to save, between him and the people you are supposed to protect?"

Thornag sensed movement behind him and whirled around, and what he saw made his blood run cold. On the top of the building, people had appeared, completely bound and gagged and suspended in the air by a rope that was slowly breaking. One of them was the king, while the others, bound by a single common rope, were the chief ministers of the kingdom. "What...?" Thornag exclaimed, not understanding what was happening. Why was the king there? It should have been safe! When had they caught him? His brain completely panicked and he couldn't think anymore.

"The choice is yours now" Sisna said with a wicked laugh. "Who will you save? Your king, who alone cannot control the whole kingdom, or the people who already do and without whom the kingdom would fall into chaos? Remember that you have something like twenty seconds left before the rope ends break"

The king couldn't speak because of the gag, but he was clearly beckoning Thornag with his eyes to save the ministers; however, he did not listen to him. With several leaps he moved upwards and grabbed the body of the sovereign an instant before it fell. But when he did he realized that there was something strange… to the touch, the body felt different…

A bright light suddenly burst from the king's body, pelting Thornag full and blinding him for an instant; as he struggled to recover, the man felt his mana drain from his body. While he was still trying to figure out what was going on, something extremely sharp struck his neck. Thornag reacted quickly and created a barrier with his divine power, but the sharp object had already penetrated the skin far enough to enter his veins.

Thornag felt his body weaken and his mind cloud; something had gotten into his bloodstream and was literally tearing him apart from the inside. He tried to use his divine power to stop it, but even though he managed to stop it, he was unable to get it out of the body. How was this possible? There was no poison capable of resisting the divine power! Unless it too was tainted with divine power...

While thinking about this he crashed to the ground. It had all happened so fast that he hadn't realized he was in free fall from the top of the building. Luckily, his was the body of a legendary level wouldn't have broken for so short a time, but since he hadn't created any protection the impact still hurt a lot. With a jerk, someone snatched the sword from his hand; he opened his eyes and saw that he had been disarmed by the same king he had tried to save, who also had a syringe in his hands. The king looked at him with an evil smile, and then his figure twisted and changed into another woman.

"Pff! I was sure you would fall for it!" Sisna burst out laughing, then she patted the other woman, who was Malificent, on the shoulder. "Good job! Sister, come down! No need to hide anymore!"

At the top of the palace, the images of the ministers faded and in their place another woman appeared and quickly leapt alongside Sisna and Maleficent. She was Finiar, who had disguised herself as the ministers so that she could intervene in case Thornag chose them.

Thornag realized he had been duped. "What have you done to me?" he exclaimed furiously.

"Heh heh! Now you want to talk, I see!" Sisna laughed taking his sword and waving it as if it were a toy. "We just exploited your weaknesses. You know, we studied you for weeks… and figured out a lot about you. And so, we came up with this trap. What if you were in a situation where your king was in danger, but would you have had little time to save him? Would you have reasoned? Of course not! You would surely have jumped into the fray without thinking, just as we wanted you to. Because of this, you did not reason and did not notice that what you were grabbing at was just an illusion. However, as I am a cautious person, I preferred to use a small guarantee... and for this I have generated this fog. For your information, this fog not only limits your perception due to the density, but when inhaled it causes derangements to the senses. It's a fairly common potion for hunters, and we've made it more potent using a... little trick" she said referring to dragon's blood. "You obviously didn't inhale it right away, but when you rushed in to save the king, you were too focused on him not to breathe or use your power to block the effects of the mist... which in fact prevented you from realizing the deception immediately!"

Thornag grit his teeth. He hated being fooled so easily, and to top it off the poison in his body hurt him terribly. "What did you inject me with? And what was that light?"

"The light was one of our tricks, and it eliminated all traces of mana from your body. For a while, you will be able to rely only on your divine power" Sisna replied. "As for the injection... it's just one of the most powerful poisons there is, the venom of a hydra. And not just any hydra, but a calamity. Unfortunately we had to dilute it to make it liquid, since we certainly couldn't have injected you with gas... but it will still have its effects. Surely sooner or later you'll be able to get rid of it... but I doubt it will be that soon"

Thornag's eyes widened. A calamity was a monster created with divine power… which meant that poison possessed divine power. A hydra's venom, already terrible in its own right, was far more potent when tainted with it. Thornag was still able to fight it, but it would take a long time to get rid of it, and he had to use more than half his divine power just to keep it at bay. On top of that he was also unarmed, couldn't use mana, and was alone against three opponents he didn't yet know anything about. He was in a decidedly precarious situation.

Suddenly he sensed movement behind him and ducked away, but he did so much more slowly than usual due to the fact that he was extremely debilitated; two deep cuts opened on his face, a few centimeters from his eyes. Blood began to flow down his face and his skin burned, a sign that the blades with which he had been struck must be enchanted or dipped in some potion of fire. Under her concerned gaze, two other women appeared out of nowhere clutching daggers in their hands. They were Glausar and Jatara, the last two who hadn't yet shown themselves.

"It seems that you are now weak enough to be hurt" Sisna commented. "Though you still have enough perception to notice my sisters' presence. Well, that means it will be a nearly even fight!"

And with that sentence all the five women charged at Thornag, who could do nothing but get into a defensive position and prepare to fight them all.