Halm's massive fists crashed into the wall of the palace violently, blasting a wide hole straight through it, "Let me go in first." He told them, crouching through quickly.
Twindil followed after him, tailed by Nolvi, Elum, and Alistair, Theopalu choosing to remain inside the pod. He really wasn't going to help them after all, it seemed. She didn't understand why he wasn't going to help them now, he had aided them in the escape from New Romai, after all. Did things really change so much now that he's accepted that he would guide them? She shook her head, it was no matter, the Coven had been defeated, three of the Twelve were no longer an issue. Soon Hrogni and Loga would be taken down as well, she doubted that Kid'ka and Jason would lose to them both.
The inside of the Spiral Palace was just as dark at the exterior, at least this chamber was. Curiously, it was very well lit, with a chandelier hanging just overhead, casting a gentle orange light. This room seemed to be the dining hall, with a massively long table stretching from end to end of the wide room, lined with smooth chairs of carved obsidian. How anyone would find such a seat comfortable, she had no idea. Twindil drew her blade, praying that Afina would guide their way through safely.
"No one's here." Alistair noted, immediately summoning Baomiel.
The angel lingered by his side as Alistair drew his warhammer, while Nolvi clutched her staff nervously.
"Someone must have heard us make our entrance." Nolvi said.
Alistair shook his head, "Not possible, I suppressed the noise. If anything they'd be coming to investigate why the building was shaking."
"Either way," Twindil cut in, "Stay on your guard, we still have Belaine, the Frunks, and Derga to deal with, not to mention Kazon."
"That's right." Halm said, "They could be anywhere, but I think Kazon will be on the top floor, Belain and Derga will be close to him most likely, so probably the same floor, if not the same room." He continued, "Please remember, I must be the one to put down Derga, he deserves a warrior's end by a worthy Tongue."
Alistair shook his head, "If it's possible, then I don't care. But if he goes after any of us and not you, don't expect me to run away."
Halm shrugged, "Fair enough, now as I remember it, this chamber is connected to the main hall-"
The sound of shotgun blasts reached her ears, coming from outside.
"That would be Jason." Twindil said, "He must be fighting right now, let's go assist-"
"We don't think so." A figure said, emerging from beneath the table.
He was a short man, but unmistakably a Fiend, he wore a loose dark robe that covered him from head to toe, leaving only his eyes visible. The flesh she could see was purple and covered in spirals, and considering that this one was conscious and so brazenly approaching them, that could only mean that this was one of the Frunks.
"I am Frunk." He said with a flourish, doing a strange little dance before pulling out a pair of daggers from his waist, "And me and my brothers are going to kick your asses."
Alistair sneered, "You're a fool for coming at us so brazenly," He said, forming a ball of Golden Flame in his hand before flinging it at Frunk, "Goodbye, freak."
The fire passed straight through the Frunk as if he weren't even there, right before impacting with the far wall. Frunk shrugged in response, right before disappearing.
"Did you really think that we would be so dumb?" Frunk's voice echoed from all around them, "We didn't get to where we were by being arrogant, not like you Pillar-Born. We'll tear you all down and present you to Kazon, who will rise as the new God of Death! We will save Ahkoolis from you monsters!"
Twindil was baffled; a Fiend calling her a monster when he served the Lord of Hate!? It was ludicrous, but she also couldn't really bring herself to argue with him. Twindil was a monster, after all. Suddenly she felt something wrap around her throat, right before she was tugged violently upward. On instinct she swung her blade over her head, severing the rope that had been about to snap her neck. She coughed, looking up to see the rope falling away from nothing.
"They're cloaked!" She croaked, healing the rope-burns on her neck.
Again she had been hurt by a Fiend, but it didn't seem that the curse was spreading from her at all… why was she immune? Was it because she was a Pillar-Born?
Alistair sneered, "Petty tricks are no match for me, reveal yourselves!" Alistair shouted, slapping Golden Flame onto the head of his warhammer before smashing it into the ground.
Raw Foundation spread across the chamber, inscribing itself into the ground before spreading across the walls, then the ceiling. They formed thin lines that hovered just above the surface, forming a wide gap around Halm, not to mention himself, Twindil and Nolvi. Then Alistair raised the hammer above his head before swinging it down onto the same spot he'd struck before, sparking a chain of exploding Foundation. The whole room glowed brightly for an instant, as the lines all exploded with brilliant gold.
When her vision cleared, she saw that the room remained completely undamaged, despite the power of Alistair's attack. However, she did hear something falling right behind her. She swung behind with her blade, cleaving through air. Not to be dissuaded, she lashed out with a kick, feeling something crunch beneath her plated boot before being launched away.
Another rope wrapped around her throat immediately after, being pulled back to force her to look at the ceiling. Her joints failed to move, almost like something had rusted them into stillness. Her vision began to grow dark, before suddenly she was able to breathe once again, Nolvi's temples bulging as she stared at where her stranglers had been. In that same instant though, Nolvi was knocked to the ground, letting out a cry of anguish as blood exploded from her shoulder.
To Twindil's horror, the girl's flesh immediately began to turn into a deep shade of purple, spirals etching themselves into her skin. She snarled, swinging her blade right over Nolvi to only once again hit air. She had failed Nolvi, she was cursed forever because of Twindil's weakness, doomed to suffer eternal pain for the rest of her days. The anguish that filled her nearly brought her to weeping, but she couldn't afford to do so yet, the Frunks were still about. Halm let out a frustrated grunt as some brown sticky liquid splattered across his eyes, effectively blinding him before a rope of green energy wrapped around his ankles, sending him crashing to the ground.
Steel needles began sticking themselves into Baomiel, the angel flailing its arms wildly to fend off his unseen attackers. Twindil herself was busy battering away rocks that emerged from nowhere, striking her armor and blade with such force that she felt her flesh bruising and blade shaking. Things couldn't go on like this, but thankfully Alistair had a solution. He let out a breath, drawing on as much Foundation as he was able, nearing the point of Singeing and coming to glow a brilliant gold.
Just like that, the Frunks became visible, their cloaking dispelled by Alistair, who maintained the Foundation he'd drawn upon, ready to dispel the cloaking once again. However, it proved to be unnecessary. Nolvi merely stared at one of them, the Frunk exploding into chunks of bloody viscera before she immediately turned her gaze onto another, blasting him apart as well.
"Frunk!" One of the Frunks shouted in despair.
That one sat by the entrance Halm had made, clutching his torso in agony. That had been the one she'd kicked earlier. Elum stood silently, just staring forward with a blank expression. He had apparently chosen not to help them with this battle, but why? He had just watched as Nolvi had become cursed, and had chosen not to do anything. Elum didn't even look over to the downed Frunk as he summoned a ball of acid, letting it fall on top of the Frunk without a care.
The Fiend screamed, but not for long, as the acid quickly ate through his skull, before his upper torso, the melting body slumping as it continued to turn into a puddle of foul-smelling viscera. Halm wiped the strange substance from his eyes, crawling toward another Frunk before grabbing him by the leg and squeezing. The bone shattered, sticking out through the flesh before Halm flung him off to the left, the Frunk's body exploding onto the wall and painting it in a coat of dark blood. Baomiel bore down on the final Frunk, who attempted to flee through the door of the dining hall.
Seeing this, the angel summoned a spear of pure light before hurling it forth, the spear colliding with the final Frunk's back and impaling him against the wall. The angels upper humanoid half then snapped his fingers, and the spear exploded into a ball of fire so bright that Twindil had to look away. When she turned back, nothing remained of the final Frunk, not even a scrap of cloth.
This scuffle had been dangerous, but it had ended far more quickly than she thought it would have. She rushed over to Nolvi, calling on Afina to heal the injury, her hands glowing with a warm light. Tears began welling in the corners of her eyes as she stared at Nolvi's purplish skin.
"I'm alright." Nolvi assured her, "There might be a way to reverse this, but we'll need to slay Kazon first. Don't fret."
"There's a way to reverse it?" Twindil and Halm asked at the same time.
"Maybe, it depends on what Grandmother will be able to do once her power is fully returned to her." Nolvi said, standing up, "Don't worry about me."
Twindil wiped the tears from her eyes, "Very well, we still have much left to do, Belaine and Derga still await somewhere within the palace."
"Do you think Hrogni and Loga are dead?" Alistair asked, "Well, as close to dead as they can be anyhow."
"Things have gone quiet out there." Twindil replied, "I think that Kid'ka was victorious, they may be inside right now for all we know."
"Well enough dawdling then!" Halm exclaimed, standing up, "I must defeat Derga swiftly, his suffering must come to an end!"
Kazon sneered as he scryed the Pillar-Born. He had no idea they'd gotten this much stronger than his Twelve already. They would have hardly gotten more powerful from such measly morsels, perhaps his greatest slaves, Belaine and Derga, would be more of a proper match. Yet, with all of them coming to the upper floors, those two would be swept aside with relative ease. If the Pillar-Born don't suffer through challenge, they won't get stronger, though in truth they may be ripe enough now as it is.
Better safe than sorry though, he needed to separate Jason from them. Halm would stand no chance against Derga, much less Belaine, so he wasn't worried about him, especially since he was insisting that he face Derga on his own. Kazon did not need to separate Halm from their little party, but Jason was too massive of a threat. Derga would not be able to defeat him, especially not with the Pillar-Born backing him up. He wouldn't be able to freeze Jason in place either, he knew Lithia's work when he saw it, and the Dragonling was under her protection. It would take far too long for him to Dispel Lithia's work, it would need all his concentration as well, he wouldn't be able to get rid of it in time before the Pillar-Born arrived. It didn't matter, thankfully Kazon knew the perfect way to draw Jason's attention away from his final two servants. He grinned, the hate generated from Jason would be quite the feast indeed.