After thirty minutes, Tethys and the rest of the group woke up with headaches. Athos explained what had happened with Ninian and a little bit about the Charm sphere to explain the hangover-like effects they were feeling. Once they recovered a bit more stamina, they got up and sat around Emory to help channel magik into her as well. It felt like holding a live wire as she drew in more and more magik. Ellen, Wolt, and Zeiss were barely clinging to consciousness after an hour though Tethys wasn't much better and Athos had used half his mana up. Just as Ellen's head drooped, Emory's eyes fluttered. Immediately, everyone released their grip on her as she awoke and slowly sat up. They were all breathing heavily as she looked around at them.
Emory furrowed her brow, "What happened? Why do I feel so strong? And why is everyone here?"
"What do you remember last?" Athos heartedly chuckled, "You were conscious for some parts."
"I remember creating all those bolts in frustration. Then a blinding light and a woman talking to me. And then I woke up here," Emory stretched and scratched her head as she tried to recall the last few events.
"When you created all those orbs, you crossed the threshold and made it to one hundred percent pure," Athos explained, "Your body has grown to adulthood now, unlocking all your latent gifts. The woman said the process would normally take days, but we sped it up because your friends are in trouble."
Tethys interrupted, "This morning, Nephenee's team said they picked up a cruiser on their sensors. I was actually using the RRS when the pulse of magik you released knocked out the power."
"You mean I released so much magik when I reached the next level that I disrupted the RRS?" Emory exclaimed, "How long ago did Nephenee call?"
"Several hours now. We need to get there soon," Tethys pressed.
"I agree, but you four are in no shape to go. Thank you for your help; please rest now," Emory ordered as she turned to Athos, "Please send them home. We'll only need the two of us." Athos smiled as he snapped his fingers, instantly teleporting the four and their vehicles back to the base.
"What's the plan, Emory? I don't have much magik left, and you just transformed," Athos asked as he got to his feet. Emory stood up as well and put her hand on Athos's shoulder. He felt a surge of power run through his veins, nearly filling him back up.
"Take us to my friend's planet," Emory instructed, "Protect the base from any stragglers; I'll take care of the rest. No one hurts my friends." Her eyes turned golden and magik waves rushed off her as she said these words. Athos bowed and took her hand in his as a bright light surrounded the two for an instant. The next moment, the light dimmed to reveal a much different landscape than they had just seen. Ahead of them lay a ship several times larger than the ships the four squads, and behind them. Then she turned around to see Nephenee and said, "It looks like we made it just in time."
"Emory, is that you?" Nephenee gasped, "I hardly recognize you with those golden eyes."
"I knew you would make it. What's the plan?" Innes grinned.
"You two, come with me. We'll take out the army," Emory explained, "Athos, can you please stay here and protect the base?"
Nephenee's jaw dropped, "Emory, you realize there's probably two hundred Mantoan or others on that ship. You may have gotten stronger, but I highly doubt just the three of us can take on the whole platoon.
"Honestly, you two will just be the first line of defense against the stragglers," Emory beamed with a glint in her golden eyes, "I imagine they might try to run in the face of overwhelming power."
"Emory, even legendary figures like the Supreme Commander would have difficulties with this many Mantoan, and you were just tied with him a few weeks ago," Innes emphasized. But despite the seriousness of the situation, Athos continued to smirk bigger by the second.
"You two are comparing your friend to her former limits," Athos smiled, "Emory, give them a taste of your power." Emory nodded and instantly created a prismatic orb in the palm of her hand that shone like a star. She turned towards the ship that was spilling its forces onto the ground below and casually flicked her wrist, causing the orb to fire through the air like a missile. Even the air pressure of the projectile caused the group close by to feel the force and speed of it flying away. Though the distance to the enemy was a quarter mile away, the orb closed the distance in a second. The ship exploded with such force that debris even flew back towards them but bounced off a large shield Emory created in the same instant. Innes and Nephenee froze in shock at the scene before them.
Innes let out, "What are you, Emory? Have you become a god?"
"Details later; for now, let's deal with the enemy before us," Emory grinned as she charged forward. Still in shock, it took a moment for Innes and Nephenee to react and run forward as well. Still recovering from the initial attack, the two hundred or so Mantoan didn't react right away to the three people running towards them. From the wreckage a man a foot taller than the Mantoan emerged with a large axe in his hands. His muscular body was revealed to be on the body of a scorpion as the debris was shaking off him.
He roared, "Stop gawking and get them, you fools!" Shaken from their confusion, the Mantoan hissed and ran to meet Emory, Innes, and Nephenee. However, Emory had already closed half the distance as her hands and feet were cloaked in prismatic magik. She had already donned the gold and silver gauntlets, and with her magik coving them, they looked like fearsome spirit claws. The two forces were closing in on each other a couple hundred feet from when the Mantoan ship landed as a couple sprang forward towards Emory. What they weren't expecting was Emory to jump as well. In a single, swift motion, she used one claw to the head off one and chop the other one in half like butter before landing on the ground in front of the rest of the platoon. Everyone froze as she looked up at them with her glittering golden eyes.
"This is your one warning!" she yelled, though it sounded like a dragon's roar, "Surrender now and you will be spared."
The scorpion man, still escaping the rubble, called, "The one who brings this one to me will be rewarded handsomely." Emory shook her head as several Mantoan surrounded her, preparing their blades to strike. When the first one charged in, she dodged it without much effort and used a magik-infused spear hand to spike through its throat. The next one tried to hit from her blind spot, but like a phantom, she lifted her back leg and kicked straight through its chest. Two tried attacking at the same time with the same result as she ducked, causing the two to run into each other. As they fell to the ground, she dropped twin knife hands, severing both the heads from the bodies. Quickly the fight divulged into chaos since none of the Mantoan could even land a scratch on Emory. She was tearing through them like a shredder.
While the vast majority piled onto her, fear was beginning to creep into some of the weaker Mantoan. A couple, seeing their inevitable death by facing the red-haired powerhouse, turned tail and ran towards Innes and Nephenee, who had stayed back from Emory. The pair of humans quickly covered their bodies in fiery and clear magik respectively. Nephenee extended her spear and ran towards one of them. She leaped into the air and brought down her spear severing two of his arms clean off. He swiped at her with his other two bladed arms, but she pushed off her spear and kicked its arms, deflecting the blow. Spinning the lance, the three blades collided as Nephenee came face-to-face with a Mantoan. Neither side seemed to be stronger than the other as they pushed against each other. Then she stomped down hard on the Mantoan's foot, and a cracking sound could be heard. It winced for a moment, but that was all she needed as she overwhelmed it and sliced through its neck.
At the same time, Innes engaged with the other Mantoan who had approached them. Using Growth, Innes stood over the Mantoan; combined with the fire cloak and bulging muscles, he looked like a true behemoth. When it got within range, he grabbed all four elbows, two each in his enormous hands, and pulled the enemy close before slamming it down into the ground like a barbarian, The impact caused a crater as the body sunk into the ground. Innes leveled blow after blow as he drove his fists down onto the Mantoan's chest harder with each punch. With a solid stomp, he thoroughly crushed its head just as the one fighting Nephenee dropped to the ground as a headless thump.