Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

•••

About ten minutes after he sent out the message to both Carleine and Ember, Evian sat on the ground and took deep breaths to recuperate any Eldritch energy he had already expended while also getting as much rest as he could for regaining near-perfect physical conditions.

Thanks to Astrid by his side, he had had free reign to gather Soul Points which allowed him to make the big Decadent jump that made him able to avoid injuries in subsequent fights that she did not get involved with.

The footsteps were getting closer and Evian groaned.

He was not foolish enough to think he could face the whole horde of Arkadae human/monster forces who were led by a powerful lieutenant at the Seventh Order and capable of flight.

He had to get away.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Astrid, maybe because she was now too preoccupied with battling Hernan Vron or because she truly wanted him dead, had not released him from the Chain spell that bound them together which meant he could not get too far away from her.

Currently, she was at least Thirty feet in the air, having an Aerial battle with Hernan Vron, and that gave Evian a small margin of maneuverability as far as the chain spell went.

"Okay… Fuck," Evian let out with a sigh.

He had his Spear laid across his lap and once the footsteps inevitably got even closer, he stood to his feet.

He might not be able to get too far away but he would be foolish to remain a sitting duck. So he went as far as his chain-linking spell with Astrid would allow him and there he took multiple deep breaths while clenching and releasing his Spear.

"Alright then, you fuckers. I'm ready," Evian said.

With his Soul Point balance having swelled even further following his recent successful kills, Evian was ready to use every bit of resource he had to his advantage but then he saw the advancing Arkadae forces begin to slow down as their previously gloating looks shifted into an intensity that made no sense if they were facing only one man.

And then Evian heard it…

Footsteps stamping over toward him from behind.

Not at all by design, the direction he had run in -the direction Astrid had been knocked towards by Hernan Vron's hammer spell attack- was toward the Verlice Kingdom's Western Fort which meant that, when the Combined forces stormed out, they had less distance to cover to provide their support.

Really, this should have been a part of Evian's plan. Meticulously prepared for his own good but it had not been and he had probably not been happier for a coincidence than he was right now. Especially with Astrid tethering him to the spot.

"ADVANCE!!!"

Multiple voices yelled that out but Evian recognized one of them above all. He recognized the voice of Zayda Vi'thar who held the seal Astrid had entrusted her with up high as she led the advance with the Lieutenants flocking by her sides all in command of their own battalions.

The Verlice Kingdom Arcanists had divided themselves into two. One group remained at the Fort, hoping to provide it protection in case the enemy still tried to strike down the barrier in the rowdiness that was about to occur.

The other group was behind the advancing Knights and quickly fired out their explosive spells that not only knocked Knights away and scattered the Arkadae forces' formation but also gravely injured their weaker bunch.

The eyes of the Arkadae Leuitenants widened and Vernon quickly took charge,

"HOLD!!!" he yelled in a booming voice. He of course did not have to tell the Knights and Arcanists to protect themselves from the Arcane strikes.

"We hold ground here!" Vernon ordered as he began to levitate calmly and powerfully, "Arcanists, FIRE!!!"

The Arcanists indeed fired and they fired towards the direction Evian stood, hoping to take him down while they took down his allies.

Evian phased through the ground and emerged within the Arkadae forces. He avoided the Arcane attacks and also surfaced close to an unsuspecting Fifth Order Knight who quickly had his Soul reaped.

Zayda had seen Evian while she advanced and frowned when he was no longer there but there were more important matters to worry about such as commanding the advancing forces.

Zauda felt in control. It was a feeling she was familiar with but never on this sort of scale. Marshaling the Verlice Kingdom Lieutenants had not been all that difficult for her. All she had to do was flash Astrid's seal in their faces and, although annoyed that Astrid would trust her over them, they got in line quickly.

Zayda also then became a deputed Lieutenant by virtue of Astrid's Seal which made her capable of standing in line with the actual Lieutenants and even practically running the frontline.

Zayda felt at ease.

From the start, she had never believed any one of the Lieutenants was truly beyond her. Had things been different, and had she been called to the Fort directly by the Martial Temple, she would undoubtedly have been made Lieutenant as well.

Anyway,

Only Knights at the Fourth Order or above were allowed to join the battle as for any others, it would undoubtedly be suicide.

There were not many Third Order Knights at the Western Fort but the ones that were available were in charge of weapon maintenance from within the Western Fort while also providing support to the group of Arcanists standing by.

Among the supportive Third Order Knights was Gryon who frowned while standing at the Battlement and watching others fight while he was stuck with miscellaneous duties. What made it worse was that, in his Squad, only he was here.

Gryon understood Gillert since the latter had been at the Fourth Order long before but was in shock when he realized Ember and Carleine had made a breakthrough into the Fourth Order as well.

Gillert had shared his shock but neither of the two ladies had cared to explain how they had been making their expeditious progress. Gryon also didn't know where Evian was but he made a guess that he was there too. Having fun…participating.

'This is fucking boring,' he groaned in annoyance, 'Fuck my life!'

What Gryon did not know was that Gillert was not having all that much fun either.

As a Fourth Order Knight, among the weakest currently on the battlefield, Gillert had to be smart and pick his moments to strike so he did not contend with someone who would lop off his head in a single move. It was an exhausting way to do battle and Gillert would have liked some solidarity in the moment only to realize, suddenly, that Ember and Carleine were no longer by his side.

Evian used a command he was granted by being master of the Seals currently stamped to the chest of the two ladies and 'called' them to his side. Which meant that their locations were forcefully changed, all by his command.

One second they were running alongside their fellow Knights and the next, they were by Evian's sides facing an angry squad of Monsters and humans.

"How—?" Ember started and Evian interrupted sharply,

"No time!"

Seal Link!

Seal Link was an ability that allowed Evian to share his entire Decadence level with those who bore his Seal, raising their strengths to his level temporarily.

For this to work, they had to be within Ten feet of him, hence the forceful location change. Also, they were of much better use for him here.

"~Oh!~" Both Ember let out as their bodies shuddered. Their Spiritual energies were shut off to one side when a stronger force took residence in their bodies as their strengths and Eldritch energy quality rose to the Wraith Lord level (Equivalent of the Fifth Order/Circle).

Evian could feel the improvements they had made and he was impressed. It was unfortunately not enough for them to be of much help.

Because there was no time for discussion, he flicked his wrist and retrieved a dark red bow that he handed to Ember while passing her the necessary information by instant transference that lasted all of a second.

Evian had gotten the bow from the Goblin Representative he killed before the arrival of Hernan Vron. He also cut off and kept away the scales of the Dogon Representative but that was a matter for later.

The bow was not the only weapon the Goblin had had. He also had a dagger stowed away in case of an inevitable close-range battle. Unfortunately for the goblin, it had been so unused to that sort of fighting that it had barely drawn the weapon before Evian ended its life.

Evian gave the dagger to Carleine and although it looked crude, it was long (for a dagger) and wickedly sharp. It was undoubtedly a Six-star weapon.

The Arkadae Human/Monster squad did not just stand idle while Evian handed out presents. They attacked but thanks to the instant transfer of information and details by Evian to the ladies, they knew just what to do.

Carleine oozed Eldritch Energy which chilled her enemies.

Ember grabbed the rise of the bow with confidence. It let out thorns that stabbed into her palm and drew her blood. The pain was stinging but she endured because when she drew the string of the bow, a dark red arrow appeared;

An arrow crystallized from her blood and imbued with Sixth star power by virtue of the Bow.

Ember raised it and with a smirk, she let the string go…

*Thwack*

… And fired her first shot.