A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Everyone looked at the result with surprise and shock. Everyone that is, except for Erik, who looked at it sombrely. Even Lilith couldn't hide her surprise as she blinked rapidly. Truly, she'd thought this might have been the end. Strangely, she'd felt a hint of relief…

But it wasn't long before realization struck, and morbid, confused relief was exchanged for sadistic glee. Instantly, before anyone could stop her, she jumped up and over their still-shocked heads, before landing just beside the barrier.

Following her with his gaze, Erik noticed a young Indian man had entered the battlefield sometime in the last few minutes. That, in itself, didn't surprise him, however. He'd created this barrier to keep people inside, not stop others from coming in, as doing both would just waste energy.

Besides, he wanted this person to come in…

"Looks like they've finally revealed themselves," Elora muttered in his mind, her eyes staring intently at the newcomer. Despite her excitement over Elorium, this was the first time she truly felt the loss of her space in Erik's soul, as she'd give anything to inspect this man using her own omnisense.

The young man looked around the battlefield with a small smile. "I do hope you don't mind my interference. I couldn't just watch as you killed one of my ascended, after all." His tone was dripping with casual confidence as if he was simply looking at actors in a play directed by him.

"I'm sorry for failing, Primarch," Lilith spoke, her head bowed as she stood a step behind the man. Her voice respect, reverence, and obedience, but it was all overshadowed by the hatred and glee she clearly directed at Erik and the others.

"It's quite alright," he said, surprisingly amicably, but without looking at her. Instead, his intense gaze bore into Erik as his smile turned a little creepy. "I do believe the odds were not in your favour."

Meanwhile, Erik and his compatriots didn't say anything. Emily and Astrid quickly flanked Erik, a cautious eye on the intruders. Beside them, Ankhur and Enkai also stood next to each other, with Ankhur putting himself in less of a prominent spot than Erik did.

Yet, even this proud king knew this newcomer had no care for any of them except for Erik, and that interest clearly went both ways. Erik's eyes and senses, including omnisense, were thoroughly inspecting this man from top to bottom, who did nothing to stop him.

Likely, because he couldn't. This man was only a second-ranker… and remarkably unremarkable. His eyes were red, but otherwise, there was nothing special. Black hair, a simple Humanitas Sangh soldier's robe, and a face that was just okay. Yet, neither Erik nor Elora dared underestimate him.

"Nice of you to join us," Erik finally spoke, his tone solemn. "And no, I don't mind your interference. Edda will die by my hand eventually, but I can postpone my vengeance for a few minutes if it means uncovering some more information about you."
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A curious glint shone through the man's eyes. His tone became threatening. "Do you really think you can still harm her with me here?"

Scoffing, Erik raised an eyebrow. "I won't deny I'm curious how you created that shield, but you don't really think you can defeat us in that squishy second-ranked body you're possessing?"

Still smiling, the man shrugged, "Perhaps not. But, to counter," he waved at the shimmering thundersnow barrier around them, "do you really think this dome of yours can keep me from leaving with her?"

Erik growled, almost tempted to simply charge again, but Elora stopped him. "Don't! Who knows when we'll get a chance to learn more about them?! Just endure it for now, please."

But Erik's turmoil didn't go unnoticed by the man. A ridiculing smile appeared on his lips. "Hehe, I'm obviously talking to the host, but I see you're being kept on a short leash. That's good."

Surprisingly, Erik didn't react to this comment. He was confident in his relationship with Elora and felt no shame at the insinuation that Elora had him leashed simply because it was a ridiculous thought.

Instead, he forced himself to calm down again. "Since you're the one who so rudely interrupted my fight, why don't you introduce yourself?"

For a moment, the man eyed Erik curiously, seemingly surprised his last comment got no reaction from him. But it wasn't long before he simply chalked it up to the short leash.

Instead, he chuckled indifferently. "A crude attempt to move the conversation to a place where I'll reveal more about myself, but that's alright, I'll tell you." Theatrically, he spread his arms wide. "I am the Primarch of the hunters and soon-to-be ruler of the world! You may call me Primus."

Erik blinked and cocked his head as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "I'm… definitely not calling you that. If you're not willing to provide a name, I'll just call your corpse. You'll be one soon enough, anyway." His voice was calm and even, as if simply stating a fact rather than making a threat.

Corpse looked surprised. Erik was even sure he could see a glint of anger passing across that expression of indifferent amusement. "You really are an insolent one. Has your mistress not taught you any manners?" he asked, a barely perceptible strain in his voice this time.

Around them, those who were witness to this conversation looked confused. Lilith, in particular, had her gaze panning between Erik and her master with utter bewilderment. She'd never seen her primarch converse this way with someone else, and it unnerved her a little. Was there something about Erik she didn't know?

Suddenly, her superiority complex started to tremble just a little.

The others were a little less surprised. They obviously knew about Elora, and Ankhur was confident enough in his character assessment to say that Erik and his first wife did not have a relationship like that. Yet, they were all curious to know why this man assumed they did.

Meanwhile, Erik simply stayed quiet. In moments like these, it was best to wait and see if the other party had anything more to say. It was always better if information flowed out freely, over having to be pulled out.

Silence reigned for a moment, and Corpse was quickly becoming impatient. He shot a glance over his shoulder, at the massacre happening outside their dome, and knew his time was limited.

Turning back, he looked at Erik with a raised eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to meet your kin, or what? It's been far too long…"