The Union of their Wills (I)

"I trust you take the right, Sonic!"

"Don't blow it, Accel Force!"

We both rushed at him, each from a different side.

Rowen with his cane stopped the scythe, and with his free arm blocked my katana without even blinking.

"How can he have such reflexes?"

"How much power does this old man have?"

"Don't call me that, kid, he knows your place"

"Get back, both of you!"

Suddenly a woman's yell was heard from behind us. In that place was Corneria, standing with her book open on her left arm, in a pose that looked to me like she was casting some kind of spell.

"Sure!" I replied.

Both Zeke and I soon moved away as she said.

"Another World | Fearful Sphere"

With her right hand outstretched she finished gathering some sort of energy and threw it towards Rowen. It had a sphere-like shape, like a bubble that slightly reflected the sunlight. This impacted squarely on his chest making a slight explosion, although when the dust cleared it revealed that he had not suffered any damage.

What I have just seen confirms my ideas about her. Despite her normal clothes, there is no doubt that she is some sort of mage. That spell she cast by concentrating without moving. Is it due to her Object's abilities? Even though it's a book, I guess it suits her perfectly.

"M, me too!"

Maria had concentrated the air between her palms and after releasing it she made a gust of wind that directly hit our enemy. Unfortunately it was ineffective.

"So that's no good either, huh?"

Is that gala suit made of diamond or something? Even the magic didn't seem to penetrate their defenses.

"Whatever you do will be useless, your pathetic weapons can't handle me"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Meaning that suit is an Object after all" stated Corneria.

"So that's the reason. I was hoping it was some kind of strange ability. Ha, what a nuisance"

"Huh?"

"Asriel, you look like you don't understand. Let me give you a brief explanation"

"R, right. Thank you"

"You're welcome. In short, Objects can't be destroyed"

"... that was short"

"It is"

"So you mean, these are indestructible?"

"Indeed. All of them, no matter what shape, size, or material they appear to be, none of them can be destroyed"

"I see. I mean, if Rowen hasn't suffered any damage..."

"Yes, it's as you think. It's probably because both his clothes and accessories are Objects"

"Really? So he's covered with them?"

On second thought, it's not that hard to believe. He's a man capable of gathering 16 people scattered around the continent and bringing them together for a tournament. He must have a lot of various skills, not to be underestimated.

"What can we do Asriel?" asked Maria.

"It's obvious isn't it? We'll have to cut his head off" instantly Zeke raised his voice.

"Not that I like that idea. Still that sounds easier said than done"

"How much talk do you guys have with each other? If you think you have any chance of defeating me, let me show you how wrong you are"

His belt glowed red and immediately from Rowen's back came out some four species of tentacles, which transformed into arms. These did not appear to be human, but more like skinless demons composed of muscle, gristle and bone, with sharp claws.

"What kind of power is that?" I said out loud to myself.

"So my limit is 4... not bad, not bad. How many more will I get after feeding on your desperation? I can't wait to find out"

That reminds me of what he mentioned earlier. Isn't that one of the main reasons why he decided to organize this tournament?

"Are there really Objects capable of altering human form?"

"You'd be surprised Asriel" replied Corneria.

"Ughh, that looks disgusting" added Maria.

"Save the jokes for later" said Zeke. "Here it comes"

These arms expanded spinning and keeping the 4 of us away without getting any closer, while he stood still as if contemplating the situation. Maybe he can't move when using them, if so we could use that to our advantage.