To Rule In Shadow

"We have a problem." Came the gruff voice from the radio, static making it difficult to understand.

Robert resisted the urge to sigh. Of course the mercenaries had a problem. They were the distraction, meant to draw the attention of the one enemy the Liberation Front did not want to get directly involved with.

"What's the situation?" He asked.

"I've lost contact with three of my guard stations and that specialist you brought in. So, I can only assume that we are under attack." Came the slightly sarcastic reply.

[I'm surprised. I thought Derek would have lasted longer. Unfortunate. He had a useful Knack. It will be somewhat difficult to replace him.]

"Is the puzzle box I gave you still glowing?"

The voice on the other end of the line hesitated before answering, a little unsure. "...Yes? But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Excellent. So long as that box remains active, it will be difficult for the Ruler to find his consort. Make sure you protect it from him as long as possible. The longer you keep him occupied, the better." Robert replied, no longer bothering to hide the truth from the mercenary leader.

"Ruler? What? What the hell are you talking about?!" The voice growled from the radio.

"It is nothing you need to concern yourself with. Your mission from this point onwards is to simply buy as much time as possible. Not that you have much choice at this point. Once the Teferni Puzzle Box has been activated, there are only two ways to escape its confines. One, wait for its time limit to expire, or two, navigate the realm it creates and locate it's hidden exit. As the latter of the two is probably beyond the capabilities of you and your men, I'd strongly suggest that you settle in and wait it out. If you are lucky, the Ruler will be merciful, but seeing as you are currently holding his consort captive, I wouldn't put my money on it."

"...." The static of the radio crackled quietly for a few moments before the mercenary leader began yelling. "You set us up! You son of a-"

Robert switched the receiver off and discarded the device in a nearby trash can, before walking back to rejoin Lothar. His comrade was observing the battle line, waiting for combat to resume.

The small statured, bespectacled man gave him a brief nod without looking at him. "Have you concluded your business, Brother?"

"Indeed. Hopefully, those Mundies will keep the Ruler occupied until we've completed our mission." He paused to look over the defensive line. "How is the battle going, Brother?"

Lothar adjusted his glasses, which caused his illusory disguise to flicker briefly, giving Robert a momentary glimpse of the chitinous horror that lay beneath.

"It goes well. Thanks to our friend in the Order, we've not had to contend with the majority of their strongest experts. As it stands now, we should have more than enough combat power to hold the line until the infiltration team does its work."

Robert nodded, "How many have escaped?"

"Unknown. When the attack began, the Bazaar was still in operation, and they were quick to disconnect from the convention center, taking a sizable chunk of the guests with them. Additionally, we have no means of preventing those with natural realm walking abilities from simply leaving, so it is reasonable to assume that many of the guests have long since abandoned the convention center."

"That was all well within prediction."

"Indeed."

"What about the Bureau? Have they tried to interfere yet?"

"My children tell me that the local office is mobilizing a strike force composed of their local allies. It will take them time to arrive here, at least a half-hour, but I strongly suggest that we leave before then."

"Agreed. I would not want to face their section chief under normal circ.u.mstances, let alone at the head of a small army of local experts. What of their agents in the convention center? I was told there were two attending with the Ruler in tow."

For a second, the cold and indifferent expression on Lothar's face changed into one of annoyance, before returning to its normal state. "...They are currently unaccounted for."

Robert blinked and glanced over at his comrade. "Didn't you have your children following them?"

"I did...they were murdered..."

"I see...I'm sorry for your loss." He offered as sincerely as possible, sensing that Lothar was taking the deaths hard. Hopefully, it was convincing, since he had trouble feeling sympathetic considering the nature and sheer number of the creature's 'children.'

"As always, Brother Robert, you are a credit to your race. Not many would offer me condolences, and I can tell that you don't fully understand the depths of my suffering, but I greatly appreciate the effort nonetheless. In any case, the Bureau agents succeeded eliminating all forty of them within the span of a single second, ensuring that I could not respond in time to pick up their trail."

Their conversation was momentarily interrupted by a titanic roar as a bulky creature that looked to be made entirely of stone burst through a nearby wall and began attacking the Liberation Front's defensive line.

Screams filled the air, followed swiftly by bodies as the elemental tore into the formation. It wouldn't take long for the Front's more powerful combatants to bring the creature down, but the damage it did in the meantime would be quite severe.

"It seems that the Order's druid has recovered enough to rejoin the fight." Lothar commented dryly.

"Should we join as well?" He asked, deferring to his compatriot's understanding of the situation. Ordinarily, taking his orders would be deemed unseemly by most members of the Front, regardless of Lothar's long history of contributions to the mission. However, Robert prided himself on his tolerance of the more disturbing members of the alliance, and valued the creature's insight in the heat of a chaotic and complex battlefield.

He just had to suppress a momentary shudder of revulsion when the bespectacled gaze turned his way.

"Not yet. Gavin Maldris is a talented fighter who's spent a lifetime mastering the art of the duel. It would be uncharacteristic of him to launch a frontal attack without having something else planned."

"A feint you mean?"

"Indeed...ah, and here comes the big reveal. We'll need to step back a little."

There, before they had a chance to make sense of what was going on, they were mobbed by a group of the Order's practitioners.

"I suppose now is the time?" He asked dispassionately while watching the Front members being slaughtered.

"It is." Lothar replied with a smile, before a wolfish grin spread on his face, causing his disguise to begin to crack. "Let us teach these hypocritical fools the meaning of suffering."

With that, the monster dropped into the hole, assuming it's natural shape in the process and eliciting a chorus of screams from the combatants on both sides of the conflict.

Sighing Robert summoned his sceptre and followed after. Hopefully he could avoid getting too much blood on his suit. The dry cleaners always charged extra when he did.

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Kalthas the Unhallowed, Magister of the Unseen Hand was at a loss. Through his arts, he'd succeeded in leading his team through multiple layers of security, past a veritable tidal wave of convention goers trying to escape, and all the way up to the secret chamber which housed the Seal of Confluence binding seven realms to this site. All the while avoiding detection from the most accomplished guards and protective spells the Esoteric Order had to offer.

Yet here, at the last step, his spells had failed. They had barely even set foot within the large entry chamber containing the doors leading into the seal vault, when a voice had called out to them.

"You can come on out now." A young woman in a hoodie called out while walking around one of the support columns. "That stealth spell won't help you, and I imagine it's quite uncomfortable standing in a cl.u.s.ter like that."

Thus, we confronted with the obvious failure of the spell, and lacking an obvious command from their nominal leader, it was therefore not surprising when his frustrated team members took this opportunity to free themselves of the onerous situation. Even though that was exactly what the woman wanted them to do.

"Shit!" Carmen growled as she slid away from the group, dispelling the haze in the process. "It's about damn time. If I knew I would have to cuddle up with a bunch of muscle headed assholes for so long, I'd never have signed on for this mission."

His fiery red hair actually sizzled a bit, as her Knack summoned a wave of heat in response to her anger.

"You think it was pleasant for the rest of us? You are like a f.u.c.k.i.n.g radiator! I probably have second degree burns just from being next to you." Lester hissed in a sibilant whisper that nevertheless carried throughout the chamber. As the tech expert of the group, he lacked the combat skills of the others. Add to that his small and slender frame, and by all rights, he should have been less vocal in front of individuals that could kill him with ease, but that did nothing to stop his mouth.

Thankfully, the last two members of the group were quieter. A pair of bald headed, muscular men that practically looked like twins despite having different names, they were skilled martial artists and cultivators dedicated to the Seven Buddhas Enlightened Principle path. While they were not the most deadly fighters within the Liberation Front's arsenal, Kalthas had worked with them before, and had personally requested them for this mission for the simple reason that they were consummate professionals that always put the job first. Something that set them apart from the fractious youths who'd been tacked on after the fact.

At the moment the pair were waiting for his command like disciplined soldiers, and their reassuring presence calmed him down.

[Alright, pull it together. The team is counting on you.] He thought to himself before issuing his orders.

"Banyu, Bolin. Deal with her. Carmen, take Lester and watch our backs."

The redhead glared at him. "What? You don't want me to take care of this? Don't you think I can handle it, Kyle?"

"As I've said before, my name is Kalthas the Unhallowed, and I've been put in charge of this team, so take Lester and watch our backs. That is an order."

She huffed, but glanced over at the two cultivators standing at his back. They'd yet to move, and were obviously waiting to make sure that Carmen would be following his commands.

"Fine. Whatever you say, Kyle. Come on, snake boy. Let's go sit in the kiddie corner."

Lester sneered at her, but followed along, evidently sensing that the mood had taken a turn.

[So he can hold his tongue when necessary. I'll have to remember that for the future.]

Banyu and Bolin watched them leave before stepping in front of him and advancing on the hoodie wearing woman.

As they did so, she gave them a big smile. "You finally ready to dance? I was about to fall asleep."

At some point she'd pulled out a small bladed instrument and was now holding it loosely in one hand. Kalthas was a little confused, since it looked a bit like the modeling knives he'd seen used by hobbyists. While sharp, it lacked the length or depth to really be a weapon. If she planned on fighting with it, she wouldn't last long against the monks.

Or so he thought.

Banyu charged forward silently, swinging a qi shrouded fist at the woman. The blow was aimed at her head, but she simply leaned to the side with the barest minimum amount of effort, allowing his attack to pass by. Then with a casual gesture, she slipped past his follow up knee-strike as well, and trailed one hand along the length of his arm while stepping around behind him.

Blood began flowing down the side of Banyu's neck from a precise vertical cut. For the first time since he'd met the man, Kalthas saw him look surprised as he clamped one hand on the injury in an attempt to halt the flow. Such an injury wouldn't kill a true cultivator, but it would leave him weakened and distracted until he could martial his internal energies to repair the damage. This meant that he was essentially out of the fight for the time being.

The woman, who impossibly didn't seem to have a speck of the crimson fluid on her raised her free hand and waved them forward. "Come on, who's next?"