"You're just a thing, a tool meant to serve Terna in all her glory!" Commander's voice shouted in his ear, "You are a traitor, scum of the Earth!"
Jason rolled his eyes as he continued to push the pod. He didn't like hearing Commander's voice, true, but the knowledge that all of this was fake made it merely annoying. The Coven would need to be taken out first, as Halm had suggested, the only problem was locating them. Halm wasn't even sure where they were exactly, only recalling that they were definitely somewhere within the Spiral Palace. They had to be in proximity of it now, so it was only a matter of time until they arrived.
Sure enough, five minutes later, the Palace was in sight. It was massive, the fog broken around it to reveal its entirety. The palace itself was shaped just like the mesa it was built upon, a solid square, with a wall of barred iron surrounding it. Towering spires pierced the sky at each corner of the facility, each one topped with a decorative spiral. The palace itself was massive, though not ludicrous, as he had suspected it would be, he could see the entire thing clearly. Rather humble, compared to how Lithia had acted. The roof was composed of three dark domes, with one dominating the center. Another massive spiral hung over the roof, seemingly suspended by nothing. It was cyclopean in scale, slowly rotating in the sky. Before, Hoplite would have tried to rationalize this as being due to anti-grav generators, but Jason knew better.
It was just magic.
Strangely enough, the gates that led into the courtyard were wide open, but it wasn't empty, far from it. At least five-hundred of those same kinds of guards he'd seen before were patrolling the grounds or standing at attention at the entrance. Why had the gates been left wide open? Jason slowed as he heard Commander scream in his ear again, bringing the pod to a stop just before entering the Palace grounds.
It made no sense for the gate to be open, this was a trap, clear as day.
He bumped his chin, "Alistair, how is everyone holding up?" He asked.
"I am fine." He grunted, "It helps to know that it's fake, but it is unpleasant regardless. Why have you stopped?"
"The gates are wide open." Jason said, activating his thermals only to see that the guards had no heat signature.
Either these guards had no body heat, or they weren't real.
Alistair paused for a moment before saying, "I understand. But where else can we enter from?"
"From the sides, we'll repeat what we did before, suppress any noise and cast an illusion, then Nolvi will bend us through." He said, "The Coven could be altering the appearance of the palace as well, for all we know those guards aren't really there, or that gate is actually closed."
"Good point, and dispelling it isn't an option either. Any outside observer would be able to see that the illusion was gone, not just us."
"Exactly." Jason said, adjusting their course, "So let's go through the back."
He pushed again, rounding the complex until they were on the other side of the palace. There were guards posted here as well, wielding those same glowing halberds. Jason positioned the pod right before an ideal section of the wall, and just as planned, Nolvi and Alistair helped carve a way through. He bumped his chin, enabling his thermals only to see that the guards were indeed real, albeit a bit colder than standard body heat. Jason pushed it through gently, making sure to keep a good distance away from the guards.
"Alright everyone, we're in. Arm yourselves and get ready to fight in case I get discovered." Jason said.
"Thirty-Seven." A deep voice rumbled from behind him.
He opened his eyes… seeing a false Lord Jyn standing behind him, clad in his dark power-armor. The skull shaped helmet peered down at him, the eye sockets glowing crimson. Aside from the decorative tendrils carved into the suit, Jyn's armor was practically a mirror image of Jason's own, right down to the red trim. A long dark cape bearing the symbol of Terna was draped across his shoulders, falling down nearly to his ankles. He didn't acknowledge the specter.
"You would ignore your lord?" Jyn asked, somewhat baffled, "Twenty-Five's poison is strong indeed."
"I know you aren't real." Jason said, shutting his eyes before he began pushing the pod.
"I'm more real than you might expect." Jyn said, "I am in your very veins, boy."
"And if I have it my way, that'll be the only connection between you and me. I am not your slave any more." He said, bitter.
Why was he wasting breath on this illusion? He knew it was fake because it could hear him, even through the Sound Suppression, best to just move on and ignore it.
"I'll be coming to correct you soon." Jyn said flatly, "You were born to serve, nothing else. It's not for you to feel, not for you to live as humans, do you understand?"
Jason's jaw clenched as he attempted to bite back a retort, but he was unable to control himself.
"I didn't ask to be born!" He yelled back as he pushed, "You forced this onto me!" His blood boiled, "Why is it not for me to be human, not for me to enjoy life, not for me to appreciate nature, not for me to love!? Why do you get to enjoy all humanity has to offer, but you deprive your own children of it? You made us just to suffer and die for your will, well I don't live for you any longer!" He spat, skin beginning to steam, "I am free now, free to make my own life, and you will never take it from me again!"
He huffed and puffed, still pushing the pod away from the illusion. Thankfully the false Jyn didn't follow after him, but the Coven had managed to pull something out of him that he hadn't ever wanted to face. Maybe it was because they were closer to them now, maybe the effect was intensified the closer they got? Well in any case, they needed to be neutralized first. He could keep up his cloaking and scout around until he located them, but he also ran the risk of being discovered. If that happened, he'd be on his own against potentially all twelve of the Head-Fiends, and perhaps even Kazon himself.
They were wanting the squad to come through the front gates, that was for certain, so there had to have been at least a few of the Twelve waiting to emerge there. Well, he had learned new tricks since his time in New Romai, he'd not play into their plans. Jason rotated the pod until it was facing away from him, opening his eyes before pulling the pod as close to the back wall of the palace as possible.
"We're going to infiltrate through a breach I'll make in this wall." Jason said, "It's risky, but this is more ideal than simply walking through the gates."
"W-wait." He heard Kid'ka crackle over the radio, sounding distressed, "You could be punching a hole straight into where Kazon is, l-let me and Lance go scout ahead first."
Him and Lance? That's right, she did say that Kid'ka fought as if he'd had Watcher training before. Still though, such a plan was hardly optimal, it put Lance in far too much danger.
"Negative Kid'ka, I'm going to make the breach-"
"Jason," Lance came on over the radio, "If I'm going to do anything during this fight, this should be it. All we'll be doing is heading inside to scout, no fighting."
"There's too many unknowns, it's not safe." Jason shook his head, "Even just walking inside could get you killed."
"On my honor," Kid'ka said, "As the Son of Zodd, I will not let any harm come to Lance, but I need a second pair of sneaky eyes."
Jason opened his mouth to object, but paused. Ideally, it would be preferable to know what lay inside, but Jason himself could scout ahead, all he needed to do was maintain the Invisibility and Sound Suppression, there was no need to risk Lance or Kid'ka… though as he thought on it, he realized that if it had just been Kid'ka to ask, Jason would have let him go. He was letting his emotions interfere with the mission, Lance was competent and if Kid'ka was sure he needed her help, who was he to say different? If they were both cloaked, there may not be any issues, aside from the illusions they would face. Halm had said that the illusions inside the Palace would make it nigh in traversable though. They could get lost and unable to find their way out, it just wasn't a good idea.
"Negative. Remember that there are illusions inside the facility, if you both get lost you may not be able to find your way out." Jason reasoned.
"Then let's not go in." Lance's voice crackled back, "But we can at least scout the rooftops to see if anything is there."
It was true, there could be something up there that they couldn't see, but how would they scale the wall here? It was smooth all the way up, and they had no climbing equipment to speak of.
He explained that to them, but Lance countered, "My blades can help us upward, they have no trouble supporting my weight and they can puncture solid stone with no issue."
As much as he wanted to refuse the idea, Jason would like to get a read on what's up above. If he tried, he may be able to jump up to the roof himself, but if he was wrong, he'd fall right back down to the ground. If that happened, the shock of the fall may resonate through the ground and alert any nearby hostile forces. It shouldn't take them too long to see what lay above. He was just being overprotective of Lance, that was the simple truth of it.
"Very well." Jason said after a moment, "But if you see hostile forces, pull back and rendezvous with us."
"Yup." Kid'ka replied, the pod door sliding open behind Jason.
Lance and Kid'ka immediately moved forward, but Jason held up a hand. Upon realizing that they couldn't see him, he opted to speak.
"Hold on." Jason said through the radio, as his voice couldn't currently escape his armor due to the Sound Suppression, "There are guards patrolling the perimeter here, let me neutralize them first."
They nodded, shutting the door once again before Jason set off. There were eight of the halberd wielding guards here currently, but it should be no issue for him to take them out. Jason approached the back of the first guard. He needed to make sure they couldn't scream nor move afterward, as killing them was impossible, Jason was certain that these were Fiends.
He grabbed it by the throat, lifting it into the air whilst also crushing its windpipe. With his free hand, he made sure the halberds could not fall, dragging the Fiends back to the pod before driving the Sectis straight through their helmets. They continued to twitch violently, but they were unable to move, both because their brains were destroyed and because, as a precaution, he'd sawn off their limbs with the Sectis. It was a macabre sight, with all eight of the guards stacked in a pile before the pod door, out of sight from anyone who might see them.
Jason opened the pod door, seeing Lance and Kid'ka standing there. They both saw the pile of corpses, Lance immediately going to put a hand over her mouth in shock.
Kid'ka however, simply nodded, "Can't be letting them making the moving-moves I mean." He stumbled, "Alright, let's go scout those roofy-tops."
Lance supposed that to deal with Fiends, one had to be overtly brutal to ensure they could cause no more harm. Still, it was hard to deny how sickened she felt seeing the writhing pile of corpses, their limbs removed and their skulls destroyed by Jason's Sectis. She emerged from the pod, stretching before drawing her hood over her head, Kid'ka emerging beside her. She had been shocked that he wanted her to accompany him, but he was right, another pair of sneaky eyes was good to have.
She couldn't see Jason, the man still cloaked from sight, though he must have been standing right before them.
"Retreat if you're discovered." His voice crackled from her radio, "I won't be making contact with you unless it's an emergency, I don't want the radio giving away your positions, but feel free to contact me if you feel it is needed."
"Got it." Lance nodded, "I have the guns you trained me in as well, if I cannot contact you with the radio and need your help immediately, I'll fire off a shot."
"Try not to do that unless absolutely necessary." Jason said, "But now that the pod is motionless, I'm going to lift the Suppression on it, and apply it to your Visus rifle. Only use it if you're sure your target won't be witnessed being shot, affirmative?"
Lance gave a thumbs up.
"Kid'ka, you have your pistol as well?" Jason asked, "You remember the basics I showed you?"
"Byeah- I mean, yeah." He nodded.
"Good. Lance, I will remove the cloaking from myself and applying it to you-"
Lance shook her head, "You need to keep it on, how about one of the others cast it on us?"
"Alistair," Jason's voice crackled, "Can you cast Invisibility?"
"No." He said, "Nolvi can though, but be careful, I guarantee you that the Coven, maybe even the other Greater-Fiends can see through it, so don't rely on it."
"There's a spell for that?" Lance asked.
"Not exactly for that purpose." Alistair replied, "Sharpen Vision elevates sight to supernatural levels, they may be able to pick you out based on how Invisibility reflects light. It isn't an easy spell to cast, even for the greatest magicians, but these Fiends might just be able to do so." He continued, "If that happens, they will Dispel your cloaking immediately, then you'll be sitting ducks. Act as if you're still visible once you go up there." He finished, right as Nolvi emerged from the cockpit, staring at Lance and Kid'ka a moment from the doorway.
Nolvi looked nervous as she put the spell on Lance, the elf looking down to see that her body had become invisible. She then looked to Kid'ka, who seemingly flickered in and out of reality before finally solidifying. Nolvi shook her head, averting her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I just can't concentrate-" She gasped, tears budding in her eyes, "I'm seeing my mother, she's screaming for me to help her and-." Her voice caught, hand going to cover her mouth as she shut her eyes tightly.
Kid'ka's face darkened, "Do not worry then, I will be fine. Just remember she's not there, and that we'll save her."
Nolvi simply nodded, not saying anything in reply.
"Let's get going, Lance." He said, turning toward the wall.
She nodded, "Alright, do you need me to help you up or-"
Kid'ka shook his head, "I think I got it. Theopalu taught me a spell I can use. I haven't tested it out yet, but if it works then I'll be fine. If it doesn't, well then yes, I'll need help."
"I thought he said he wasn't going to help you?" Lance asked.
Kid'ka nodded, "He isn't helping me. He t-taughtled-taught me how to use it, but he isn't casting it for m-me." He stuttered, his former steady tone evaporating as he approached the wall, "Focus the Foundation into my feet and- woah!" He exclaimed in a hushed tone, right as he began walking up the wall, "It really works!"
Her mouth fell open as Kid'ka began to defy gravity, walking straight up the wall as if it were flat ground.
"I will add that to my repertoire when I get the chance." She heard Jason say, "But you need to go after him. Please be careful, I don't want to lose you."
Lance smiled, suddenly feeling a lot lighter on her feet, "You won't." She told him, "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She said, launching her blades into the palace wall.
She felt herself being pulled forward by her blades, the chains moving from her arms to instead wrap around her waist as the daggers pulled her ever higher, matching Kid'ka's pace. That was new, her will could change where the chains could attach themselves, that would make life slightly more convenient going forward. It was strange to not see where the chains were, or even herself for that matter, but she instinctively knew where they were, though she couldn't see them. Eventually, they both reached the roof, but didn't climb onto it just yet. Lance lifted her head up halfway over the edge.
Her eyes widened when she saw a hunched figure, wearing purple robes that matched its warty skin. A long nose stretched out into a partial hook over a wide gaping mouth, filled with needle-like teeth. Thankfully it wasn't looking this way, just sitting there out in the open. That must have been one of the hags, but why was it sitting out here by itself? Something wasn't right, this was too easy.
"Feel the fear." It muttered to itself, lightly cackling, "Feel it good, that's it…"
Lance sneered, it certainly sounded like it was there. Currently she was being protected by Theopalu from their illusions, did that include just the fear-based ones, or would she also be safe against normal illusions?
"Kid'ka," Lance asked in a whisper, "Do you see that hag?"
The Pillar-Born lifted his eyes over the edge as well, his brow furrowing. "No?" He asked, confused.
"I see." Lance said, "That may be one of the real hags I'm seeing then, Theopalu's currently protecting me from their magic, maybe that includes their illusions?"
Kid'ka shrugged, "I don't know, should we try and take her out?" He asked, "She's just right there."
Lance shook her head, "We don't know enough yet. This still feels wrong, let's just keep scouting like we planned."
"Alrighty," He said, turning away from her, "Let's head this way and climb up out of sight."
Lance shook her head, "Not that way, she's facing that direction, follow me." She said, her blades guiding her to the left.
Kid'ka corrected his course, turning back to her before following right after.
"...I have a question for you." Lance asked, "Your largest secret is out. I want to know who trained you. You clearly have Watcher training."
Kid'ka sighed, "Okay fine… I don't see any real harm in telling you about it, ." He said, words suddenly steady, "Once we escaped Umant, I got lost, so badly that I ended up near the Shot that splits the Fiend and Fae woods. I met a half-elf there named Pergy, he's the son of a Watcher that taught him everything he knows. I won't tell you who trained him, and you elves aren't going to find Pergy either, he's long gone."
"I see." She said.
A half-elf named Pergy had trained him, the son of a Watcher. So Kid'ka had received the training second-hand essentially. It was still against their laws, this Pergy shouldn't have been taught anything either, considering he was only half-elf. For some reason though, she struggled to imagine pursuing justice for these wrongs. Part of her just didn't see the point in it, the world was going to have bigger problems than just Watcher secrets being exposed.
Her heart fell to her stomach as realization hit her. If she really did become Jason's woman, could she even still be a Watcher? He couldn't have been more of an outsider to the Faewood and her secrets… if she chose to be his, then she couldn't return to the woods, not as a Watcher anyhow, and not as a citizen of the Bastion. Why had she not thought about this before? She was too damn lovestruck to think clearly, obviously. A slight sense of dread filled her as she made her choice between Jason and The Bastion, right then and there.
"Lance?" Kid'ka asked, "Is something wrong?"
She wiped away budding tears, "It's nothing." She sniffed.
She had to focus on what needed to be done. Just scout the roofs, then come back to Jason. They both rose over the edge, the hag still not looking in this direction, continuing to cackle. Kid'ka still didn't seem able to see her, his dark eyes scrutinizing the area but passing over the hag several times. She sat right at the foot of one of the three domes that dominated these rooftops, rocking back and forth with apparent glee.
"Let's round the domes," Kid'ka said, crouching down, "Let's stay low."
They both then began a sweep of the rooftops, Lance seeing that the courtyard was mostly empty… save for a few guards and two Fiends that towered over them. Those two must have been Hrogni and Loga. They were both nearly the size of Jason out of his armor, bare-chested and as wide as a barn door. All they wore for clothing was old ratty fur, which hung from their shoulders and covered their legs. Long beards stretched down past their chests, indicative of their dwarven heritage.
She'd heard that the men that dwelled in the cold wastes beneath the blastlands were robust, descended from humans and dwarves… So why the hells were they so unbelievably massive!? Hrogni, the older brother, sported a massive double-sided dark greatsword, whilst who must have been Loga had a shield apparently made of the same material. That 'sword' was more like a heap of raw iron, massive, thick, heavy and far too rough. It was a few inches taller than even Lance herself, and nearly twice the width. The shield that Loga wielded was big enough for her to use as a sled, a roomy one at that. Both it and the greatsword glowed crimson from the runes etched into their surface. What they meant, she had no idea. The runes lined the rim of the shield and ran vertically up the edges of the blade.
Hrogni let out a bellowing laugh before slapping his brother on the shoulder, "Old Father Chakka provides us with a challenge this day, a glorious gift from him and Darax!"
Loga nodded, "Let us just end the Pillar-Born quickly, if Lord Kazon is to ascend to become Death, then he will need their souls. Do not toy with your food this day."
Hrogni frowned, leaning on the handle of his sword, "Must you be so serious all the time? We're saving Ahkoolis from monsters, your dour mood will spoil the taste of our battle."
"If the battle ever comes." Loga sighed, "It has been far too long since the Great Owl has seen them, what if they snuck in somehow?"
Hrogni shook his head, "Not likely. They'd have to go through all of the city of Blackgaze before reaching the Spiral Palace, the Great Owl would have seen them if that were the case."
"You would underestimate the children of the Pillars?" Loga asked, baffled, "Mother was right, you are a fool."
Lance flinched as Hrogni rose his black blade high over his head, right before swinging it down at Loga. Instead of raising his shield to block the blade, Loga instead backpedaled out of the sword's path. It bit into the stone deeply, red lightning shooting out from the runes as Hrogni let out a growl.
"Don't call me a fool." He glared, veins on his forehead bulging, "Or else."
"You are a fool." Loga countered, seemingly unafraid, "Your sword and my shield are the only things that can damage one another, they're Artifacts, or have you forgotten?"
Hrogni blinked before laughing, "I suppose I did, it was in the moment, you would have to have been there to understand what I just went through."
"I was here." Loga grunted angrily.
"Ah who remembers?" Hrogni asked, pulling his sword out of the ground, "It seems like it was so long ago now that I swung at you."
"You mean ten seconds ago." Loga said flatly.
"That's a long time for a Fiend." Hrogni grinned, stroking his beard.
"I hate you." Loga grunted, turning back toward the gate.
"You don't mean that." Hrogni said, sticking out his lower lip before wiping away an imaginary tear, "Your dear older brother, how could you speak to him like that?"
"Easily." Loga said, maintaining his deep frown.
Hrogni continued to bother and prod Loga, Lance turning her attention to the rest of the courtyard.
The gate, contrary to what Jason had claimed earlier, was shut, but despite what she saw, Kid'ka said, "Gates open and there has to be about… five hundred guards here?" He asked silently, making himself as small as possible.
"So you don't see Hrogni and Loga?" Lance said, turning to him.
"No." He said, "Do they look strong?"
"Very. I think it's safe to say that I can see through the Coven's illusions, thanks to Theopalu." She said.
"Meaning that hag we saw earlier-" Kid'ka began.
"Was probably real." Lance finished. "All three of them might be up here for all we know."
"If we take out one, do you think the illusions w-will go away?" Kid'ka asked, gently swiping at his cloak, "I've been covered in spiders ever since we got started."
"Maybe, but what if that alerts the other hags that something is wrong?" Lance asked, "And how have you been so composed?"
Kid'ka shrugged, "I got used to all the crawling legs but I'm still n-not fond of it."
"Let's radio back to Jason and see what he thinks." Lance said, pulling away from the edge of the roof.
Kid'ka followed, straining his ears to hear her footsteps. She felt for the radio for a moment until finally she found it, unclipping it from her belt, "Jason, we found the first hag." She whispered, "As well as Hrogni and Loga, who have Artifacts, so if you fight them be careful, those won't just bounce off. Also you were right, the courtyard was trapped, I can see through the illusions, that's where the brothers are waiting."
"Affirmative, can you get a read on where the other two hags are?" Jason asked.
"I think the other two might also be on the roof, but we haven't explored the entire thing yet, I'll radio back once I find out. If we do find all of them, should we take them out?" Lance asked, hand tightening on the invisible radio.
A short pause from Jason allowed her to ponder why the radio was still invisible. It had been attached to her when Nolvi had cast the spell, but now it was removed from her belt, but still in sight. Was it because she still had physical contact with it? If she put it down, would it become visible?
"Affirmative, as long as you're certain you can do it without being spotted." Jason said, "Even just killing one of them might break the spells they have active if they're all funneling Foundation into them."
She was almost surprised that he would be willing to let her risk herself, what with all that 'I can't lose you' talk earlier. This was important though, if they had a chance to remove three of the Twelve, they couldn't miss it. The Visus rifle she had slung across her back may be all that's needed for them as well, and it was silenced as well. She was tempted to blast a hole in that hag's head they'd just spotted, but the other three would likely notice that they're spells had weakened.
Meaning that they would need to take all three of them out at the same time to stay hidden. Even then it wasn't likely it would work, the other Fiends would be able to see the illusions go down, but it would cause confusion and ruin whatever plans they might have in store.
"I overheard Hrogni and Loga talking about something called the Great Owl. Apparently they've been tracking our movements with it, but looking at the sky now, I don't see anything flying about." Lance said, "I haven't seen anything like that this whole journey in fact."
"Meaning that it might be cloaked." Jason pointed out, "Halm, what is the Great Owl?" She heard Jason ask, the Fiend giving a response Lance couldn't understand. "It's an unknown, Halm doesn't have the intel. If it's a giant owl, like I suspect, then you both are out in the open and easy prey, especially Kid'ka. Tell him to get back down-"
As soon as he said it, Kid'ka was whisked away by nothing, jerking away suddenly as his shoulders exploded with blood. Lance immediately drew her Visus, aiming right above Kid'ka's head before opening fire. She hadn't even thought about it, operating on pure instinct as she dumped several rounds into the invisible beast. Kid'ka did not scream, but the owl sure did, the bullets striking its invisible form and eliciting a shriek of agony from the owl. Lance winced as Kid'ka began to fall straight into the courtyard, a red smoke coming from his wounds. She didn't have time to think about that now, Lance grabbed her radio.
"We've been found!" She said, "Kid'ka's landing in the courtyard with Hrogni and Loga, we need to help him-"
"A little bug, trying to cut in on our fun." She heard a raspy voice say from behind her.
Lance darted forward without looking back, hearing the spot she'd just been standing in explode. Warmth heated her back and sent her flying forward off of the roof, but Lance willed her chains to stab into the wall, preventing her from falling in. The chains adjusted her to turn around, where she saw the cloak wearing hag, cackling.
"You're a fast one, aren't you deary?" She asked.
"Fast, but with a loud mouth." Another, scraggly woman's voice added.
Lance frowned, that voice had sounded like it was from the same position.
"You don't need to be rude." Another, lighter voice said meekly, "Let us dispatch her quickly, there is no need for anyone to suffer."
"Quiet, I am the one with the body for today." The hag spat, "We will go about it my way, it's the weekend, meaning it's my time."
The hag then snapped gnarled fingers, and just like that, Lance's chains became visible once again. She cursed, raising the Visus and aiming it straight at the hags center-mass. However, when she pulled the trigger, she was shocked to see the round pass straight through the hag, as if it weren't there. Wasn't she immune to their illusions? Then her eyes widened, realizing that they had not only dispelled her invisibility…
A horde of wasps emerged from behind the hag, all heading straight for her. Lance had to steel herself as the insects began to swarm her, reminding herself that they weren't real and couldn't hurt her. Still, being stuck inside even an imaginary swarm hardly seemed ideal, so she swung around, using her chains to propel her into the air and toward the top of the dome. She landed cleanly on her feet, seeing the false hag below as well as the fake swarm pursuing her.
Jason was probably on his way up here now, likely climbing the wall with his ludicrous grip strength. Still, she needed to last until he could arrive, either that or she needed to escape back to the ground. The hag cackled again, pointing directly at her.
"Fool!" She screamed, apparently thrilled, "I have you now!"
Suddenly, Lance hands grabbing at her, and the chains reacted on their own, the blades slicing into something unseen. The illusory hag let out a cry of agony, falling to one knee as Lance turned to see what had assailed her. The blades had sunk themselves deeply into the flesh of another hag, but this one seemed to be the real one. Black blood seeped from the fresh wounds, staining the spiral-etched flesh and soaking the hag's purple robe.
In one of the hags hands was a mote of pure fire, in the other was a wavy dagger, "Damn you Clio!" A voice shouted from beneath the robes, "This one is not worth tormenting, just kill her so we can move on!"
Lance took aim at the hag again, the robes she wore bulging outward, "It's my weekend! It was a small mistake, one easily corrected and thoroughly enjoyed afterwards!"
The hag then threw the ball of fire straight at Lance, right at the same time she pulled the trigger- but the gun simply clicked, completely empty. She cursed, quickly ducking under the fireball as it soared over her head, singeing her cloak and some of her hair as it passed. Lance ejected the magazine in the same motion, realizing that fake wasps were emerging from her cloak.
Her skin went cold, and she lost her footing as the buzzing began to fill her ears. She rolled down the dome, losing hold of the Visus as she fell. Lance scrambled wildly, her blades leaving the Fiend to slice into the surface of the dome. Disoriented, she felt herself being suspended in the air, more wasps crawling out from her mouth and ears.
They aren't there. Be brave.
Lance drew her pistol, taking aim at the hag once again, who removed her robe with a sigh. Her eyes widened as she saw two other, smaller bodies sticking out from the center of the hag, with their own shriveled limbs and heads. Wispy white hair covered all three heads of what Lance now knew was the Coven, their long warty noses matching one another perfectly.
"Sweet air, sister Pwea, heal our body, this pain is nearly numbing my mind." One of the other hags asked.
"R-right." The other replied with a stutter, holding its spilling guts in two tiny hands.
Lance didn't give her the chance, firing off a shot that punched straight through Pwea's skull. A dark mist exited her temple, and that part of the hags body slackened, falling to one knee. Lance had to end this battle quickly, waiting for Jason would only end with her getting cursed or killed.
"You shouldn't have done that!" The main head shouted, "Your agony will be a thousand times greater than you can ever imagine!"
She was dangerous, but she was only an illusionist, that was the Coven's strength. In a head on fight like this, they were at their weakest. If Lance retreated now, she ran the risk of losing the Coven's location. She would either eliminate them now, or retreat and leave the party to her tender mercies, facing off with their fears and illusions. A bolt of pure light emerged from the hags hand, the other sister preparing another spell to throw her way as brain matter seeped from Pwea's slackened skull. Lance launched forward to meet it, not retreating as she used her blades to quickly zig-zag up the dome, firing off a few shots toward the hag.
Most of the bullets missed, but a couple found their marks in her center mass, dropping the hag to her knees. However, that was not the end, as the two remaining hags fired off their spells. The blue beam of light came straight for her head, slicing a lock of her hair clean off as the follow up spell approached. It was a large ball of flame, aimed not directly at her, but the ground at her feet. Thinking quickly, Lance zoomed past the fireball, the chains aiding her ascent as she ran up the dome.
The fireball impacted with the dome, blasting the stone inward and leaving a massive hole where she had just been standing. Lance took aim again, firing another shot off that struck the other head sticking out of the main body. The pistol clicked empty, so Lance holstered it as she charged, taking her blades in hand as the ground became more even. Clio, the main head, gasped in terror as Lance approached, ignoring the thousands of wasps that buzzed around her, that crawled across her skin, readying to take the final strike.
Only for Clio's head to transform into Muro's.
"Don't kill me!"
Wrath filled her, and Lance roared as she flung her blades forth. The edges bit into Muro's skull, slicing the upper half and lower half into separate pieces that flopped onto the ground in a wet heap. Just like that, the illusion was gone, Muro's head turning back to Clio's in an instant. The wasps vanished as well, though in the heat of the moment she had forgotten that they had even been there. How dare this mere Fiend wear the face of Muro!?
These illusionists didn't know about their fears, about who was important to them, it was all at random… but she still wouldn't forgive this. Lance sliced the corpse to pieces with her blades, ensuring that there would be no way for the Coven to return to the fight. She turned her attention back to the courtyard, seeing that Kid'ka was facing off with Hrogni and Loga, though strangely, they hadn't begun fighting yet.