The Aurors who possessed the Earth Element literally folded the ground on Keith, trying to bury him alive.
Next came a sea of flame, which crashed into the waves of water, filling the air with superheated steam that made it hard to see and breathe, the scalding mist stinging eyes and skin and carrying the acrid taste of ash. Or so they hoped.
Unfortunately for them, their tactics were useless against Keith, because as soon as their Elements reached him, his Darkness devoured everything, leaving behind only silence and a faint chill, as though the world itself recoiled.
What came next were ranks of Aura Soul Beasts, who attacked him from all directions, and the Aurors these Soul Beasts belonged to took advantage of the situation and pulled back, creating a safe distance between themselves and him.
Hundreds of glowing arrows of all colours were sent his way from the sky, and to his surprise, these forces were very well trained in tracing their enemy with these arrows. The faint hiss of their flight filled the air, mingled with the low creak of bowstrings.
Keith did not want to stall for time, as there were simply too many people, and allowing these forces to recover their strength was going to make things harder on them.
Narrowly avoiding the claws of a raging bear, he leapt high into the air, leaving himself exposed, and sure enough, when he blinked next, not hundreds but thousands of arrows made of Aura and Mana came his way.
The Second Disc of Demise: The Reverse Mirror!
Nine large and transparent discs suddenly appeared around him, and the arrows that crashed into them soundlessly disappeared, leaving behind only faint ripples in the air.
When the barrage of arrows subsided, everyone stared at him dumbly, but when they saw the discs begin swirling in a clockwise motion, their hearts thumped hard in premonition.
Something awful was about to befall them.
And indeed, it was the case.
The thousands of arrows that they had sent at Keith now escaped from those swirling discs and came back at them, faster and stronger than they had been released. The sky seemed to scream with their sharp whistle, like a storm of blades cutting through air.
Their shields and armour saved most of their lives, but those who were completely spent died miserably under the rain of arrows.
Droga, being the most talented person on his side, could easily tell that the Battle Art Keith had just showcased was of an extremely high grade, outclassing everything he knew.
A cold sweat rolled down his forehead when he did not see a single trace of exhaustion on his enemy's face, but when he heard a click in his head, he relaxed immensely.
The metallic disc that he was holding in his hand was now ready, and brilliant light escaped from it, forming strings that reached Keith and knitted around him to form a cage. The air vibrated faintly with its strain, humming like taut wires about to snap.
"You are dead." The Tyrant smiled as he crushed the disc in his hand, sacrificing it, and as soon as it shattered, the cage of light started shrinking around Keith.
A wave of relief washed over Droga when he saw that the enemy had no way out, and when the cage of light turned into a miniature sun before it exploded, a smile formed on his lips. The explosion left a harsh glare that burned spots into the soldiers' vision.
"One down. Two to go." He said as he glanced at his forces, who were shocked at what they had just witnessed. "Pull back and recuperate. Only the Masters will stay behind!"
As soon as he gave the command, he glanced at the sky where the light was subsiding, and seeing that no trace of his enemy remained, he decided to deal with the white-haired girl next.
However, as soon as he turned around, he felt his chest burn, and his eyes widened in horror as if he had seen a ghost.
The enemy he had just killed was standing there, looking indifferently into his eyes, and as he lowered his head, he found a hand sticking into his chest, clutching his heart. His skin prickled with unnatural cold around the wound.
"How..."
The word had just escaped his lips when he felt everything inside him burn.
He tried to protect his remaining organs, but despair flickered in his eyes when he realised that several of his Death Nodes had been obliterated. He could not channel his Aura at all.
But thankfully for him, the pain became so intense that his senses could no longer grasp it. He became numb, and under the eyes of his soldiers, his body turned into plasma, disintegrating out of existence with a hiss.
As soon as Droga died, the Dread Formation flickered, and Keith sensed that the countdown had begun.
They had a little over an hour before it would stop working. So, he had to finish everything here as quickly as possible.
Calling out his Aura Soul Beast, he left it to deal with the Martial Warriors and Knights and teleported himself to Avriel's side, who was surrounded by a group of Martial Masters.
"We have an hour," he informed her, and his wife smiled at his words.
"That's plenty of time."
"Indeed." A smile formed on his lips as well.
Suddenly, a sea of darkness burst out of their bodies, expanding hundreds of metres every second, and soon, the entire Golden Army found themselves in a cold and dark world where their senses were rendered useless. The air froze, heavy and sharp, suffocating sound, while the smell of iron filled the void.
Tired and spent, the 9th Platoon of the Golden Army of the Empire of Elysia, which had earned a resounding victory only a short while ago, died so miserably that not even their traces remained.
Exactly thirty minutes later, the Darkness receded into their two bodies, leaving behind a clean battlefield, and then the two Eldeilyon stared at the Sphere of Darkness, where the three Tyrants had been caged by Rebecca.
Just when Avriel was about to rush into it to check on her sister, the sphere collapsed, and they saw all three Tyrants unconscious on the ground, taking their last breaths.
"What's wrong?" The Princess asked when she saw the frown on Rebecca's face.
"They have Mind Seals. We can't read their souls." She expressed her displeasure.
"I have a way," Keith informed her, taking both the girls by surprise, and then he transferred the three bodies to Aerzar before teleporting away to collect the Magical Beasts he had spared.
Minutes later, he arrived at the camps where the captives were being held, and his two wives were already busy checking on everyone and gathering information.
Just as he had guessed, the Golden Army had come here to eradicate a tribe called Zurks and the forces under them, who had fallen out with the Emperor and had been declared traitors.
Every boy and man over the age of ten had been killed. Only the old Patriarch of the Zurks, who was several hundred years old, and two Princes, twins in their early teens, were left alive to witness the women of his clan get raped and bred by the Golden Army.
The Zurks were a barbarian tribe, known for their physical prowess, tall statures, curly fiery red hair, and blue or green eyes. They were beautiful people, and even the old women had not lost their beauty over the hardships of time.
And even though the women, who now held their children in their arms, repeatedly thanked them for saving their lives, the atmosphere was very tense.
There was an unmistakable fear in every Zurk's eyes, and their minds were numb as they looked at the three people, who appeared more beautiful and noble than anyone they had ever seen, and who had eradicated the entire army on their own. The silence was broken only by the occasional sob of a child. A woman pressed her child tighter to her chest, whispering a prayer under her breath.
Even the Patriarch, who was almost on the verge of death, was pensively looking at them, awaiting their decision. One of the older women sank to her knees, her hands trembling as though torn between mourning and worship.
He was sure that these three people did not belong to their allies, and by how diligent they were at cleaning the battlefield, removing every trace of their presence, he was certain that they did not intend to leave behind any witnesses.
"Shall we kill them or save them?" Rebecca lightly smiled as she asked Keith, right in front of the Zurks, whose bodies trembled at her question.
"Let's ask them." He replied, and both his wives smiled.
"Do you want to live or do you want to die?" Avriel asked the women, ignoring the Patriarch and the two Princes, and smiled when no one begged for their life and stayed silent, waiting for their Patriarch to make a decision.
Despite having suffered the worst of nightmares, and having lost their loved ones, they were all still incredibly loyal and brave. The sob of a child cracked the silence, raw and piercing, and for a heartbeat the Zurks dared to believe deliverance had come, only to shrink back when Keith's cold gaze swept across them.
"Please, let my clan live." The old man, who could not even stand, forced his body to prostrate before them, and he begged them on behalf of his tribe.
As soon as his words fell, the three hundred and fifteen expectant gazes turned their way.
"There is a price for everything, old man. If we let you live today, your lives will belong to us from this day onwards. Are you willing?" Keith asked, curiously watching the old man, whose body trembled but who did not raise his head.
"Yes."
It was a clear and decisive decision, which was quite admirable.
The man had not allowed his pride to get in the way of his clan's survival, and he was wise enough not to speak too many words or ask questions, which showed that he understood his position very clearly.
"Very well. Drop your mental shields and sleep. The next time you wake up, you will find yourself in a safe place." He told them, and then he unleashed his Spiritual Force, forcing the Zurks to lose consciousness.
Even if some were scared and wanted to guard against it, they were simply too helpless and tired to resist.
Keith sent all 315 Zurks inside the Steele of Time & Space, onto a large island in the middle of the sea. Afterwards, he sent his two wives back to the palace and got to work.
He cleaned everything, made sure that every trace of their Aura and Mana was erased, and waited until the Dread Formation stopped. He was not going to leave behind the Formation Discs that had been used to construct the Dread Formation, and he had to gather them as quickly as possible.
Minutes later, he was running off, utilising the Movement Art to its limits, keeping his body cloaked in Darkness, and he finally paid attention to the rich Aura and Mana of this world.
The gravity here was ten times that of Gaia, and the Ashaya in his family were going to require several days to get used to it.
He glanced at the sky, just before he disappeared into a forest, and he caught sight of the sun, which was high above, bearing a reddish tint. He observed that the colour of the sky was a darker shade of blue compared to Gaia.
What was interesting was that he saw a moon in the sky as well, massive and silver.
"How does time work here?" He asked the System as he kept going further and further away from the barren wasteland.
{14 Months, 28 Days each. A total of 56 Weeks and each day lasts for 36 Hours.}
"So, I am twenty-three and a half years old here." He smiled.
{Yes.} The System affirmed it. {The development of Ashaya is much slower here, and they reach adulthood between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. If you just look at the years and not count the longer days compared to Gaia, the cycle would appear much the same. Except for Helena, no one else would rouse people's curiosity.}
"I see." He smiled and enjoyed the feeling of much purer and richer Aura and Mana, even compared to Aerzar.
Keith kept running as far as he could until tiredness started creeping in, and then he disappeared inside Aerzar to check up on the three Martial Tyrants.
Far away, on a desolate and barren land, two figures appeared in the sky atop beautiful winged horses, and they raised their hands to send out two metallic balls, which began scanning everything.
"What happened here?" The woman, who appeared to be about forty years old, questioned herself, and she clenched her gloved hand to hold back her anger.
Her beloved son, Droga, was dead, and his entire platoon was gone as well.
"The Emperor is waiting for our report, Lady Mirka." Her companion broke her from her thoughts, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Call for the scouts, scan the surroundings, check on the allies of the Zurks, and contact the City of Sin. I want to know what happened here today."
"Yes, My Lady."