The unknown plane Elijah and Niko had arrived in was not affected by time by any means.
The moment they were both shoved back into reality, they found themselves surrounded by an uncountable number of Astraean hunters, and even a few judges.
"Elijah? …Where are we?" Niko was slowly raising himself off his back to a sitting position following the actions of Elijah.
If there wasn't an adjustment period of his mind or soul being transported from one place to another, Niko would have already started a commotion. Although, he had no sense of how to use the power of illusions he stole from the Master of Deceit.
Not so much of a master any more…
"In a cave surrounded by people who want to kill us. Don't move." Elijah responded while looking at Abel who was tied up by a rope and sitting on the floor.
"Well well, it looks like all the hard work was done for us. I had just received a call from Graywood about two children falling into the whirlpool… Apparently one of them is the King's new vessel." The man walked from behind the crowd of hunters wearing a long black jacket with gray garments underneath.
"Kill them, but keep the white-clothed boy alive!"
Niko was surprised by the man's words. He was most definitely a judge, one that ventured into the deepest parts of The Catacombs alone.
Arin, Judge of Fire!
'Why keep Elijah alive?' Knowing it has something to do with his power, Niko dove deep into his soul while feeling the new power lingering within.
An understanding related to illusions sparked dormant neurons to life, resulting in illusions extending from the bodies of the hunters surrounding Arin.
Unfortunately, it looked like the illusion only took root in Arin's mind, which clouded his vision to an extreme degree.
Almost two dozen realistic and ethereal illusions were walking in random directions, swinging their weapons in random directions.
It was obvious they were brainless, without a motive.
"Elijah! I just did something that blocked the view of the judge! GO!" Niko yelled while creating a slow wall of fire that he shot forward.
'Of course we get thrown into action the moment we get out of it…' Elijah sighed. He wanted it to end.
Either his life, or the danger so he can stare into the redness of the sun as it passes the horizon.
Elijah's body began to emanate the newly acquired ethereal glow. Its barely noticeable presence caused not a soul to bat their eyes.
The ground underneath his feet became indented from the force of his blast off, resulting in the first blow directed at the fire judge.
Boom!
Arin had been far too over confident. In combination with his vision being blocked by barely see-through illusions, his palm attempted to catch Elijah's fist.
Elijah's eyes bore a hole through Arin's soul. Millisecond by millisecond, he witnessed his arm transform into a pile of flesh below his ankles.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Arin's scream grew from a measly child's cry to a deep and deafening roar mixed with the flames of fire.
Elijah was forcibly pushed back from the heat, and knew that this fight would be nearly impossible.
Out of the corner of his eye, he witnessed Abel's body being engulfed into a tide of water.
Its pressure created indentations into the ceiling above him, and later released his arms from the rope constraints.
SPLASH!
The fire of one-thousand mages instantly evaporated the water not controlled by mana forcing Abel on the defense for now.
"YOU ALL ARE WEAK!" Arin declared as he stood in front of his trembling hunters.
"GO ELIJAH! KILL THEM ALL!!"
Blinding lights from a radiant fire flickered through the small cavern, causing tremors and rocks to fall from the broken ceiling.
Abel was facing off against the fire judge with water that not only evaporated his water but turned his own water against him.
Boom!
Elijah exploded through the side of the cavern as soon as the Hunter grew their own pairs of balls.
An amalgamation of different element spells caused each element to interact with each other. Elijah knew it was pointless to try and push through it, and dragged Niko behind him to safety.
The familiar stone archway maze was soon revealed. Not a soul thought to enter the maze, but instead focused on Abel who absorbed hit after hit.
Several currents of lightning from one of the hunters was the most damaging aspect of the battle as he soon began to absorb the heat of Arin's fire.
Each beam would be released in the form of boiling water, spraying against the ceiling, and dripping into the large group of hunters.
Meanwhile, outside of the entrance of Abel's cave, was Elijah quietly peeking his head out.
It took no more than a second to discern a plan, mostly because it involved punching with intense amounts of mana focused in his arms.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
After the fourth head was catapulted into the opposite side of the cavern, all eyes suddenly shifted towards him.
However, this brought Abel the perfect opportunity to unleash a high pressured blast of water — one that indented each body into the stone wall.
SPLOOSH!
Niko witnessed every body turn into nothing more than pulp, with many of them succumbing to the pressure of Abel's water hose.
One fact was obvious, Abel had used a good chunk of mana to create and release as much water as he did.
Perhaps there is a secret to his methods, one that involves the pressurized water being filled with air.
Elijah soon stood over Arin's body, and watched as he bled out into the puddle. His fists were grasping onto nothing as if the judge had not yet let go of his ego.
Bam!
"Because of people like you, I'll never see my friends again…"
At this point Elijah knew he was alive and kicking. The peace that came with Arin's death allowed the three to begin their path of escape.
"Elijah's ethereal glow within his arms slowly disappeared. "Was that you? The clones?"
"Illusions. Let's just say I had a tough conversation with the god who brought me here." Niko had thought he was the only one that saw them, but maybe not.
Elijah did not look very surprised, and replied with a shallow tone. "Good… and same… Abel. Let's get moving. I have no doubt they are sending more."
"I waited for so long, lived off the random beasts I found within The Catacombs, then returned to my cave to find out it was being stalked."
"I knew it had to be related to you. They must've found out what happens when you jump beneath the whirlpool." Abel explained as their steps quickened through the maze.
Many glances were taken towards the walls and ceiling. The markings Elijah had made almost a month ago were still visible, and noticed by not a soul.
Niko voiced how he thought the man's name was Arin, the fire judge – someone with close ties to the Trident family for obvious reasons related to fire. The Trident's has always had a long line of fire mages alongside the Ruby family.
"I guess it's impossible to save my friends…" Elijah signaled to both Niko and Abel while walking through the complexity of the caverns.
Each cave was littered with different amounts and types of beasts. Abel quickly dealt with each beast by submerging the entire cavern in massive amounts of water.
Within a long and slightly inclined tunnel, the group of three heard a cacophony of noises indicating danger.
More than likely, they had followed the trail of corpses.
"Looks like we have trouble. Abel, are you ready for a deadly plan?"
"Woah! Didn't know you would turn into such a battle freak. I hope this doesn't involve me staying inside this small tunnel." Abel said with a hint of grief on his face.
"Huh? Are you some kind of claustrophobic geezer? Start compressing water and hold it in place. I am going to punch it through the tunnel."
"Won't that just create ice?" Niko asked.
"No, the water will just be many times heavier and viscous. You can't create ice just by compressing water. Although, it would eventually happen. But I'm not sure magic has the strength to emulate the pressure of the…" Elijah suddenly realized there was no Kotun word for what he wanted to say.
"Atmosphere." Still, it came out of his mouth in the English language.
They both had never heard of condensed or compressed water to the lengths Elijah was explaining it to. The nature of this type of water only appears at the very deep parts of the ocean. The pressure and amount of friction it takes to move through the water is immensely stronger than the water at sea level. However, the water at the bottom of the ocean is not much denser than sea level.
What Abel is about to do is going to break the natural laws of this world, or break what is simply impossible without human intervention.
A pulsating ball of water began to materialize in front of the hand of Abel while standing on the edge of the tunnel to paradise.
After growing to the size of the tunnel, it continued to be compressed – turning a darker shade as light had to work harder to pass through it.
After just two minutes, Elijah and Niko were looking at a carbon black ball of pulsating water akin to metal. A slight tinge of blue reflected off the ball depending on which way the light from the cavern behind them was hitting it.
Theoretically, this ice would eventually form into an unnatural form of ice known as "Ice VII", or maybe something even stronger!
Sweat was dripping down Abel's face, which was surprising considering he was a cyan core mage. Maybe spell to you degree was difficult to manage at even a cyan core!
"They are through this tunnel! Start creating spells and ready your swords!" The words of a man born for action echoed from the other side of the cavern. Unfortunately, the troops were unable to see the group in front of them — their bringers of an instant death.
"Tell me when they are close. I know you can sense mana in front of you." Elijah's tone and demeanor made him feel like a seasoned veteran from the most vicious and dramatic wars of the world.
"Haha, I am kinda having trouble holding onto this spell. Let's just use the sound they give off…"Sweat was dripping down his face, especially his neck. Combined with the slight tremor that began to develop on his body, he made a decision of trust.
Elijah's body began to emanate a glow that only intensified.
Around the borders of the wall, a bright white hue began to form. The sight was akin to an eclipse, forcing Abel into a staggered stance for good measure.
Donning a thick leather and white robe and a head of hair that glistened even in pure darkness, was revealed alongside bright white eyes with an electric flicker. Signifying his beauty, a blonde braid flowed down to his hip."Look! There is some light!" Harold, the Judge of Lightning was already releasing small tendrils of lightning, and made his way through the tunnel.
6…
5…
"Wait! Don't move any closer!" Harold Pleaded as he stomped his heels into the stone and dirt ground.
4…
3…
2…
"STOP PUSHING ME FORWARD DAM—" To no avail, Harold was forced to release an electric current to temporarily paralyze his subordinates.
1…
BOOOOM!!!
An ethereal glowing fist struck the water ball made from pure concentration.
During the time of the build up, six translucent and pearlescent rimmed portals opened up near different parts of his body.
The impact caused anything within a twenty foot radius to disintegrate into thin air. Meanwhile, the black and slightly pulsing ball of water shot at lightning speed splitting the air, stone, and anyone unfortunate to be caught in its path. What Elijah was not able to see was the face of the spell turning into an unnatural type of ice.
Any spell, no matter how powerful, was nothing in the face of a tactful spell created from just beyond the clouds of Elijah's imagination.
Small embers and gusts of air wisped around the aftermath of destruction. There was not a single drop of blood, torn piece of flesh, or splinter of a bone.
Everything… had been decimated…
Even after the spell had wiped out anything with a sign of life, the ball of water continued moving without stopping for anything. Cavern after cavern, and beast after beast.
After one full minute, the tremors halted signifying the end of one of the most horrifying and destructive attacks this world may have seen.
"You are a monster!"