A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

The world slowed down as Erik rapidly analysed the battlefield.

Enkai was stuck about a hundred meters (~100+ yards) to his right, with two distant Arcanists pinning him down—one launching lava spikes, the other holding him with mud magic.

Intelligent enough, Enkai used his scorch affinity to heat and harden the mud, before smashing it apart with his clubbed weapon. It was obvious he wouldn't be stuck for long, but without his freedom, he couldn't properly defend against the lava spikes. Erik realized the werelion's defeat was a little too close at hand.

But his immediate problem was a murderous Lilith and a ball of shadowflame barrelling straight for his face. Inwardly, Erik snorted. "I was hoping to use this to deal a direct blow to Lilith, but it is what it is."

Light purple runes appeared on his skin. Lightning struck, and he appeared twenty meters (~21 yards) to the side, narrowly dodging Lilith's spell. This was about the maximum distance for his lightning flash, but it was enough.

Now, with Lilith briefly out of range, Erik turned his attention to the Arcanists attacking Enkai. They were still several tens of meters (yards) away from him, and there was no way he could reach them before they seriously wounded Enkai.

Fortunately, he was not out of tricks yet.

Raising his free hand, he pointed a single finger at them. Icy white magic bloomed at his fingertip, crackling with frigid energy. Behind him, Lilith scowled, realizing too late what was happening.
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A small magic circle appeared, and a thin thundersnow bolt shot from his finger. Fizzling, it barrelled through the air at extreme speeds. Like a flash, it tore through the mud Arcanist's shoulder, forcing him to release the spell holding Enkai.

Erik looked at the results of his spell with some satisfaction. This was the third ranked thundersnow spell he'd picked up after advancing. It didn't have the destructive power of his other attacks but possessed by far the highest range and accuracy. Relatively, of course. He'd aimed for the Arcanist's chest, but hitting the shoulder instead was not bad from this distance.

A roar shook him from his thoughts, and he glanced at Enkai. The werelion noticed the mud holding him started to crumble, so with a powerful swing, he shattered the remains and lunged back into the fight.

As Erik met Enkai's brief, grateful, yet frustrated glance, the remnants of Lilith's shadowflame crashed into his barrier, hissing uselessly against its surface.

But Erik had no time to respond. Quickly turning on his axis, he faced Lilith once again. With a stormy expression, she charged at him, already having covered more than half the distance needed to face him again.

Hefting his hammer with both hands again, Erik watched her approach with a sombre expression. Unfortunately, he could only use lightning flash after charging it up for a while, which is why he'd wanted to use it to attack rather than evade.

But in the end, he couldn't let Enkai or Ankhur go down. Both because they were now an integral part of his fledgeling empire and because of Naeku, but also for the very practical reason of not having to fight five people at the same time.

Wanting to be proactive, Erik roared and raised his foot. An icy blue magic circle appeared under it, and then he smashed it down again. Instantly, the ice maker spell conjured a row of ice spears sprouting out from the ground just in front of Lilith.

Unfortunately, Lilith's reflexes were good. With no pause in her movements, she jumped up and over the spikes before suddenly revealing her third-ranked spell.

Surprisingly, magic circles appeared on top of her dual knives rather than her body, instantly alerting Erik to the fact these were high-quality runic weapons, like his own hammer, that could channel their wielder's spells.

But he quickly refocused again, as this information told him practically nothing. They might still be an artifact of the past rather than recently crafted by a runesmith. Yet, the more inscribed items they revealed, the likelier the existence of a runesmith got.

With the activation of Lilith's magic circles, two whips of shadowflame suddenly extended out of the knife tips. With a wide, sadistic grin, the airborne Lilith lashed her two extensions towards Erik.

Erik barely had time to curse before the lightning-fast whips reached him and wrapped around his arms. He felt the power in those whips eat away at his armour, and he grew worried. "M— Master, I won't hold on for long with those clinging to me!" came Eira's panicked, slightly strained voice.

Snarling, Erik knew he had to get those whips off him, but it also felt like Lilith made a mistake. Without wasting time, he put his hammer back in storage and actually grabbed the whips with his hands. Using his superior physical power, he pulled heavily on the whips, forcing Lilith to crash down to the ground.

Or so he thought.

Instead, it was just the whip ends that came fluttering down, and Erik immediately grew alarmed. Looking up, he saw Lilith gently sailing down to the ground, a small distance away from him, with a ridiculing smirk on her lips.

"If you think you can fight me while still protecting your allies, then let me show you how wrong you are!" she chuckled before raising her arms.

With no idea what she was planning, Erik only knew he had to get those whips off him. Gathering thundersnow in his hands, he planned to destroy the whips by freezing them. Since thundersnow and shadowflame were both fourth-tier affinities, he should be able to overcome their power.

Yet, Lilith surprised him when the loose ends of these whips suddenly shot back into her hands. Instantly, she pulled with all her strength, surprising her unprepared opponent. Roaring, Erik was lifted off his feet and flung across the battlefield.

With a cry of pain, he crashed against his own barrier before sliding back down to the ground and sinking down to one knee. "Bitch!" he cursed while finally managing to freeze those whips and shatter them.

His armour was saved, but his body now suffered from several bone bruises that would take at least a few minutes to heal, especially with Eira focused on keeping her medium intact against Lilith's corrosive affinity.

Slowly, meticulously, Lilith approached him again. New whips were already hanging off her knives, and her expression was filled with sadistic pleasure. For a moment, Erik wanted to celebrate the fact she hadn't gone after his allies instead, but then he noticed why: both were already in trouble.

They would hold on for a while longer, but both were just as much on the defensive as Erik was and wouldn't hold on for long. While these Arcanists were newly advanced, they were clearly well-trained. At the same time, Runebound may be generally better in a duel, but there were two of them.

Thus, Ankhur and Enkai were losing…

"See? You never stood a chance, little Erik," Lilith grinned widely. "Now, come here, and let's have some fun together…"

Erik scowled. 'Perhaps it's time to get out of here…' he muttered unwillingly in his mind. 'I might still defeat Edda with enough time, but if Ankhur and Enkai go down, their opponents will turn on me, and that's when I'll truly be royally fucked. Perhaps my first attempt at revenge and founding an empire is doomed to fail before it truly starts...?'