Dregs

As Rethys rapidly descended back down from the top of the tower to where the human expedition was, Sevi took the time to brainstorm some plan on how to deal with the problem at hand.

"We will spin a lie." She began. "We will proclaim ourselves protectors of the capitol tower and Yvtari magical heritage, and that we were preoccupied with dealing with the invading daemon. We will then enlist that expedition's help against the legionnaire, both to atone for their transgression and to offer them help against the fearsome thing.

"It should help validate our claims of rightful belonging to Yvtar and offer them aid they desperately need. They will have no choice but to accept our help, even the weakest of the Terminus Legion are not to be trifled with, so a full-fledged Legionnaire is beyond their capabilities, especially so if they think it is a true daemon."

"Wow..." Rethys sighed sarcastically, witnessing her skills of lying and falsification at work. "I'm convinced already. You know-"

"Do not give me that, and not now of all times." Sevi retorted. "We have already gone over this, and in length too..."

"Okay, sure." He conceded. "But what do we do about our appearance. A daemon-looking guy and a disembodied voice won't be so convincing, and wearing this won't change much."

He had gotten a cloak that covered the entirety of his body and the fearsome spectacle of Blood magic that branded it. He couldn't wear magical armor of any kind, owing to the fact that they were still carrying too many artifacts, so the two settled for a slightly enchanted silken black cloak.

The enchanted cloth constantly enveloped his body and covered it yet still didn't impede his movement, making for a weak but very convenient tool.

"We're here." He commented, looking down at a lower corridor where the eleven mages battled the skeletal warrior.

The fight was more than a little fierce, and very chaotic. Yet only seconds after focusing on that chaos of battle, Rethys could spot the pattern of the fight.

The mages of Suthanis were powerful, their weakest was unbound and one, presumably their leader, was of the ascended level. Their magic was strong, the ether from it dense and surprisingly pure, and their cooperation even better. They combined all manner of spells and effects in tandem with one another to restrain the legionnaire, dodge its lethal charges while cleverly repositioning, and curb its spells of fire and ice.

Yet to Rethys' eyes, they were also disgustingly weak, too weak for this place.

Their cooperation was smooth, immaculate even, yet their movements and efforts lacked preparedness and purpose. Their magic was powerful and intense, yet also flawed beyond all measure. When they cast spells and commanded channeling, errant ether wafted left and right from their hands, their bodies and even their spells, belying what he thought to be unsound and unreliable foundation.

Their cooperation lacked the crude but efficient fury of Yvtar's damned, and their magic lacked the terrible but impressive efficiency of the cultists' spellcasting. These mages were skilled at magic, yet unskilled at violence.

Rethys instantly knew in his heart of hearts that, if they willed it, he and Sevi could run through these so-called "great mages" like wolves through a herd of cattle, leaving behind a veritable massacre.

Even the legionnaire seemed fully capable of decimating them given enough time, which it had in abundance seeing as it shrugged off everything the mages threw at it. It was using its magic to shield itself, combinations of Fire, Water in icy form, and Malice used to skillfully intercept spells and cover its form in protections.

Still, he brushed his disappointment aside, figuring that this specific group of mages was particularly unskilled, a fitting observation considering their apparent youth and the inexperienced way they opened Yvtar's most guarded vault.

'Is it just a bunch of rich heirs?' He thought, frowning at the sight.

He then moved his focus to the impressive aspects of their magic, as well as the seemingly completely different methods used by the mages of the other races.

The first Rethys turned his attention toward were the Iseruuf, tall, slender humanoids with beautifully exotic features and gray skin. He focused on their strange magic, as they did not use spells or channeling like their human peers, instead twisting and joining the fingers of their four hands together in intricate and graceful signs before magic gathered in them and shot out as any human spell would.

And though at first the process seemed completely incomprehensible to Rethys, it took him but a few examinations to figure out that the Iseruuf shaped their nimble hands and many graceful fingers into the shape of magic circles. And even from where he stood, he could even faintly sense runes briefly forming in the spaces between those circles and fingers before their magic was unleashed. Very interesting, he thought.

He then focused on the Kthans, a humanoid with dark red skin whose facial features, aside from their mouth, were so alien as to appear faceless. Their mysterious nature aside however, their magic was fairly simple. The robed figure simply outstretched their right hand, condensed ether in it until it gained semi-physical properties, and then lobbed it as one would throw mud or some other very viscous substance.

Rethys couldn't tell at all how the whole process worked, yet could tell that that ether was anything but simple, as it produced all manner of effects on contact. The Kthans primarily used the Fire and Wind elements to produce powerful explosions and bursts that kept the daemon at bay. Also interesting, he thought, even if he didn't understand the mechanism behind this kind of magic.

"We will play the role of master and disciple." Sevi explained, interrupting his examination of the mages. "My voice will seem to them projected from elsewhere, that of the master, all the while you, the disciple, would be going around fulfilling my will. You will leave the talking to me, and only speak when absolutely necessary. We will approach them once they drive the daemon away and reposition elsewhere."

"I see." Rethys replied uneasily as he felt the legionnaire's stare right on him.

The creature still knew where he was, yet thankfully allowed itself to be preoccupied by others. It would have been a real problem if the skeletal monster rushed them the moment it sighted them, which they half expected would happen the moment they got anywhere close.

Yet, beyond it all, Rethys felt that the group of mages would never be able to deal with the legionnaire, and he doubted helping them would get anywhere. Still, he differed to Sevi's opinion on the matter and let her handle this whole ordeal without too much protest. After all, he was confident that he could subvert the skeletal menace now that it climbed here and then find his way to the teleporter if things truly went wrong.

Eventually, after rounds upon rounds of fighting, the four Iseruuf somehow linked their magic circle spellcasting together, forming what was practically one big circle that they used to restrain the legionnaire in a prison of the tower's ivory white stone.

"That was well done." Sevi commented, and Rethys had to agree.

They had lured the legionnaire into a portion of the hallway where the stone was high enough in magical charge to contain it, while also being weak enough to still be manipulable by Earth magic.

The prison was solid, and the creature inside wouldn't be able to break through easily, as it had no room to wiggle around and leverage its strength. Still, it would eventually recover enough of its spent energy to Malice away any obstacles, so that was obviously a temporary solution.

The group of mages then quickly ran away, boosting their speeds with magic to put as much distance as possible between them and the fearsome monster.

Rethys then felt the full undivided attention of the legionnaire fall on him again, the expedition was too far to distract it, allowing it to focus on its true goal.

He knew what had to be done.

"We need to keep them between us and the legionnaire." He stated as he jumped down.

"Indeed. Let us catch up to them." Sevi spoke as she conjured solid blood around the improvised prison of white stone, fortifying it. "We will converse with them and seek information and reparations. If that does not work, our mutual enemy will surely persuade them."

Rethys could see her magic burrowing into the mound of stone, strengthening it and taking full control over it. She could now release the creature within whenever she felt like it.

He stared at the trapped creature for a while, his face indecipherable, and sensing what she perceived to be hesitation; Sevi spoke.

"Just as we play with their fate, they play with ours, Rethys. This is no time for misplaced sympathy."

"Yeah, don't worry." He responded as he began running after the expedition.

The mages had taken a route that took everything into consideration, their own speed, the daemon's own speed, size as well as its ability to navigate, and even ethereal signals as they tried to mask their own behind the tower's countless enchantments.

Rethys however had no problem catching up to them, and with his superior strength, reached where they had perched themselves quite quickly. They chose a tight, heavily enchanted corridor that would give them an advantage against the legionnaire, and Rethys chose an elevated balcony where he could observe them in detail without getting himself spotted.

He could see them arguing, yet couldn't afford to get close enough to eavesdrop. They didn't have Origin senses, yet didn't need them, as no matter how much Rethys and Sevi tried to mask their auras, the latter would remain too detectable.

"Approach them." Sevi said, to which Rethys jumped down, his cloak fluttering as he descended.

And as he landed behind the expedition, placing them between him and the legionnaire, they all instantly turned towards him, their spells ready to fire.

"Water user!" An Iseruuf girl yelled, seeing the glow of his eyes.

"Wait!" The ascended mage yelled, dismissing his magic and motioning to his companions to do the same.

Once everyone calmed down and saw that what had come was human, the ascended mage, a man with short, flaming red hair and seemingly in his thirties, stepped forward.

'Blue-blood...' Rethys thought, his mind growing colder than it already was, and colder than he ever thought possible.

Hair of such vibrant colors indicated nobility, something that he found himself having a hard time tolerating.

Yet before his thoughts could take a dangerous turn, and before the nobleman could speak, a soft, feminine voice resounded all around them.

"Petty thieves." The voice intonated, its gentleness only making it more ominous. "Impudent pillagers. Spurned by irreverent greed. Come to halls of forsaken light, to pilfer tombs of the damned."

Sevi's voice, heavy and measured, echoed into the wide, spacious, and thoroughly empty halls, while her aura flared in intensity, making all but the strongest of the Suthanis mages quake in their boots.

Some looked around to find the source of the voice, barely refraining from casting spells out of courtesy and fear, while others stared at Rethys, only for him to unblinkingly stare back, his expression blank and his face inexpressive.

'They really are just dregs.' Rethys thought as he stood undaunted, remembering back when this aura couldn't let him breathe.

He thought of releasing his own aura, yet decided against it, as it might reveal his actual element. In any case, Sevi's aura alone was enough to fully steep the room in a deluge of aggression and magical might.

Being an eldritch, or rather what was left of it, Sevi's aura was not only extremely heavy and powerful, but also completely horrifying. She was only a shadow of what she truly could be, trapped in the gem as she was, but even that was too much for the regular mage.

"I am Yvtar's caretaker, and it is you worms who had the gall to not only steal of ours, but also lead that unclean thing within these walls. I will have you return what you have stolen, and atone for your crime of marring these halls with your foolishness and filth." She continued.

Unlike the rest of his peers, the ascended mage remained composed, and Rethys couldn't wait to hear what reasoning he came up with.