"Haha, earlier you sang quite a different tune!"
Mehphre's grating laughter echoed through the island. He clearly didn't think much of Seytor's attempt at reconciliation. His eyes showed determination to kill.
"Fine! Then we will fight it out!"
Seytor's already prominent muscles bulged even more as he swung his flail with a roar, welcoming Mehphre's attack.
Simultaneously Repha attacked with arrows and vines, searching for the enemy's weak points.
But with the first clash Mehphre revealed absolute dominance. Seytor was thrown back, his body drawing a deep rut in the earth while Repha's attacks shattered upon contact with the dark scales.
"Hahaha, this is the power I should have! You know, I have always hated dragons. Not for creating my race but for not giving us more power! Dragons are the most powerful creatures in the world. How could we offspring get nothing of that grandeur?! Why would..."
Everyone felt strange as they watched Mehphre suddenly go on a tirade. Seytor dragged his body up, unsure if he should grab the opportunity to attack.
But as Mehphre spoke with fervour, getting louder and louder, an incredible pressure suddenly shrouded the battlefield.
The Draconian felt his heart flutter, stopped talking, and looked towards the sky.
At some point a black hole had appeared in the air, emitting a mysterious, unfathomable aura. Under everyone's incredulous eyes a person quickly flew out of the hole.
The prominent white and black wings clearly revealed the man's identity as a nephilim. There was no need to ask Liam. His friends understood that this pale, skinny man in a black robe was Taragal.
Seytor also stared at the sky, his eyes revealing complicated emotions as he spoke through gritted teeth:
"The tyrant himself..."
Although Taragal didn't do anything, his mere presence filled the air with negative emotions. Mana gathered around him spontaneously creating sparks of dark and holy magic.
Cyclone's eyes sparkled as she turned to Liam with a question:
"Expert, is that guy very powerful? How does he compare to the other NPCs we've seen? Who is the strongest?"
The question attracted everyone's attention. Even Silent Acacia who didn't like to dive into lore was curious, imagining how these powerful NPCs might fight.
But Liam shook his head, answering with a smile:
"It's difficult to rank NPCs. They might seem powerful when interacting with other NPCs but if players were to fight them, they might not be able to unleash as much power as you'd expect."
"Ok ok. But ignoring players, who is the strongest?"
"I don't know."
Liam's friends rolled their eyes in frustration. They would rather believe that he didn't want to tell them instead of believing that he wouldn't know something like this.
Yet Liam's words were the truth. Talking about power one would naturally consider devils and gods which were the obvious answers.
But the world of Crunaboul held many secrets. Some artifacts existed which could unleash incredible power in the right hands. Furthermore, there were some mysterious figures which never revealed their abilities and even in Liam's old life their identities had never been fully unravelled.
The figure of old man Meyhran flashed through Liam's mind. Covered in rags but able to travel all of Crunaboul unimpeded with no one able – or daring to – stop him.
However, Liam quickly discarded these thoughts as the show continued. Taragal finally spoke, his hoarse voice causing horror in all the inhabitants of the islands:
"You are already here. Why not show yourselves?"
Suddenly a figure appeared in the sky as if she had always been there. It was an incredibly beautiful woman. She was tall, clad in white armor and with eight large, white wings behind her back.
Her appearance was accompanied by celestial music as if the world itself was singing for her. The oppressive atmosphere created by Taragal was dispersed, his aura suppressed.
A flash of dread could be seen in Taragal's eyes as his face hardened.
"Who would have thought you godspawn would move personally for me. What an honour!"
The players were curious about the newcomer, but a quick check only revealed question marks. Thus, they could only turn to their expert.
Liam didn't even need them to speak up, their gazes were enough to guess what they wanted to ask.
"This newcomer is one of the 72 Adjutants. They are elite fighters among the godspawn. Blessed by the gods it is their job to quell chaos in the world.
However, it is indeed unusual that one of them would come for Taragal. Godspawn are busy defending against the void. Thus, in recent times even some holy nephilim have taken on the job to stop chaos, aided by divine blessings."
Liam's friends nodded along, staring at the celestial figure in the sky. The adjutant would inspire awe in everyone who laid eyes on her.
It was most players' dream to be like her. After all, they joined the game to experience a might that seemed unreachable in real life.
Especially Radiant Shield was engrossed in the heroic appearance, looking forward to the days when he, too, could save the world of Crunaboul.
Meanwhile Fortune eagerly recorded the spectacle while recounting Liam's words, naturally somewhat embellished. She only hoped that more NPCs would appear. For her the show couldn't be grand enough.
Unfortunately, the mage would be disappointed. The godspawn in the sky didn't engage in useless squabbles. Her words fell like a heavenly judgment:
"In the name of Norm, god of order, you, Taragal, shall be executed today!"
Instantly sword and shield appeared in the adjutant's hands as she dashed towards Taragal.
Light and darkness intervened in the sky. The mighty NPCs clashed hundreds of times in seconds, the shockwaves of their battle shaking the island and steering the waves. Their figures were barely discernible between all the attacks. Golden feathers, black swords, sacred shields dominated the battlefield.
Suddenly Seytor and Repha appeared before the players.
"We need to go, now!"
"What? No, let us watch a little longer. It's just getting interesting!", complained Cyclone unhappily.
"Do you want to die? Such a battle - a single stray spell would annihilate us."
"Won't the adjutant protect the island?"
"Only if she is powerful enough. But right now, it's uncertain."
The players followed the battle in the sky. They could tell that the adjutant was suppressing Taragal but the nephilim still had room to manoveur.
Suddenly they heard a strange sound. Glancing towards its origin they noticed that Mehphre had begun to move, obviously having similar concerns.
No matter who emerges victorious from the fight in the sky, the draconian wouldn't have a good time. Either he would end up as experimental subject or be executed as an accomplice.
Thus, Mehphre decided to escape as long as he could. He focused on the new power brewing in his heart, pushing it until dark, leathery wings suddenly sprouted from his back.
Black blood splashed, running down Mehphre's skin but he didn't care. He flapped his new wings, his feet leaving the ground. After a second of getting accustomed Mehphre quickly sped up. He stayed close to the ground, shooting into the distance.
"Damn, that guy ran so fast!", commented Cyclone watching the draconian's back. Just then, a shockwave coming from the battle above reached Mehphre, interfering with his flight.
Obviously, he still wasn't used to his wings. The little interference was enough to make him tumble. With a shout he crashed into the ground, leaving a long line in the soil.
The players didn't know what to say as they watched him drag his body up and continue to escape, this time flying slower as if each flap of his wings was done deliberately.
Suddenly Radiant Shield seemed to realize something. He rigidly turned towards Seytor, carefully asking a question:
"How… do you plan on getting us off this island?"
"The same way we came here, of course. Little Blue is quite clever. She landed as soon as the black air was gone."
Repha nodded but her expression was stern as she urged everyone:
"Now is not the time for talk. Let's go!"
Liam and his friends understood that the show was over. They stood up reluctantly leaving Taragal and the adjutant behind. Only Radiant Shield remained seating, his body frozen.
In his head the image of the struggling Mehphre replayed over and over, projected onto Little Blue. His body froze from the thought.
Bloody Edge sighed as he patted his friend's shoulder, saying:
"Let's go. There is no way around it."
"I… can just stay here."
"You might not survive."
"It's ok. I will respawn at a graveyard."
The rest of the friends also gathered around the two. They spoke warmly, encouraging Radiant shield to come with them. It took a few minutes until the man reluctantly agreed even though every fibre of his body shivered in horror.
But he also knew that his fear of heights was something he had to leave behind eventually.
Luckily the NPCs waited for the players despite repeated urgings. Finally, the group headed for the island's city where Little Blue had landed.
They climbed on the dreagle's back, leaving the island while behind their backs light and darkness continued to cross.