Chapter 3230 Shadow Play (Part 1)
"How exactly?" Salaark wasn't supposed to intervene but curiosity got the best of her.
"Because that's how the Yggdrasill expects things to go based on their current information, but that's incomplete." Tezka replied. "The last time I infiltrated the Fringe to steal Yggdrasill wood I was much weaker than I am now and, most importantly, I was alone.
"The World Tree has no idea what the Organization by itself is capable of when its members act together, let alone if we have the aid of powerful white cores…" He pointed at Silvering and Surtr.
"A mage tower…" Tezka's finger moved to Baba Yaga. "A greed of Dragons…" Then it was Valtak's turn. "And a not-so-much esteemed colleague of mine who goes by the name of Orulm the Breaker. Have you ever heard about him, little brother?"
"No." Lith shook his head while Baba Yaga and Silverwing crushed the armrests of their chairs with the sheer strength of their grip. "Who is he?"
The tension in the room had become palpable. Young people like Jirni, Balkor, and Lith looked around in confusion as even Salaark knitted her eyebrows in a scowl.
"An Eldritch almost as old as me." Tezka replied. "He was the strongest member of the Organization before the Master turned us into hybrids and recently he has joined our ranks. I think he's the perfect guy to deal with our problem."
"He most certainly can." The Maiden looked at the Abomination-hybrids with renewed respect and a tinge of worry. "You see, Lith, Eldritches and white cores are close in power.
"Eldritches, however, are better than us at killing at destroying while we are better at everything else. Orulm is the most dangerous of them. His Eldritch ability, Break, is capable of dismantling both matter and energy beyond saving.
"If he destroys your arm, your life force loses its memory of ever having it. If you try to heal the wound, no new arm will grow from the stump and you need Body Sculpting to make the arm from scratch with all the problems it implies.
"In the same ways, if he strikes at an array or an artifact, the damage is permanent. There is no repairing it. You can only scrap them for materials and remake them from scratch."
"Which means we can establish a foothold in the Fringe with his help!" Lith said.
"And it also means we are dealing with a dangerous murderer!" Silverwing had a hard time sharing his enthusiasm. "The Breaker has killed more white cores than anyone else on Mogar. Even the Guardians are wary of him."
"Really?" Lith was both shocked and impressed.
"Indeed." Salaark nodded. "White cores still have a life force. If Orulm manages to destroy a vital organ, the boundless vitality and regeneration abilities of a white core are for naught.
"Guardians are no different, but thanks to our colossal bodies and great powers, dealing that kind of damage to us is hard, if we keep our guards up. That was before the Master turned Orulm into a hybrid. Also, you said he was stronger than you, old fox."
All eyes shifted from Salaark to Tezka again.
"What about now?"
"Things have changed." The Suneater said with a confident smile. "But he is still one of the most powerful members of the Organization, right below me and Xenagrosh."
"What?" The room went into an uproar that spared only those who had never heard about Orulm.
"Are you the Organization's number one or number two, Zor?" Lith had seen the Shadow Dragon fight but her strength was supposed to be leagues below Tezka.
If Zoreth's powers had improved so much, he had to adjust the role he had for her in her plans.
"I'm the number two in terms of stable strength but I can rise to the number one position for a few seconds." The Shadow Dragon stood up and released the aura from her black and troll core.
Lith could feel that her might had steeply increased, but he remained unimpressed until he perceived the spark of Spirit Magic in her. After seeing Guardians fight and witnessing Tezka's genius, the bar to amaze Lith was high.
Yet as the Shadow Dragon forced her twin cores to harmonize and fuse into one, she managed to jump way above the bar. The black and white energy swirled into one, growing into a power that was greater than the sum of the single part and went beyond the white core.
For a brief moment, Xenagrosh was an Abomination no longer. She was back to being a living creature overflowing with Spirit Magic and exuding enough mana to make the War Room tremble.
Then, it went all away, and Zoreth doubled over with her hands on her knees. She wheezed like a bellow, her skin covered in thick sweat and her cores depleted.
"It takes me focus to reach this state and lasts only for a few seconds." She half panted and half spoke. "But during that time, I'm unstoppable. The problem is that if the fight isn't over before I run out of mana, I'm screwed. I need time to recover.
"Breathing techniques and Abomination Touch can't remove the destabilizing aftereffects on my life force just like they can't heal the cracks in Lith's. It's a finisher at best and a last-ditch move at worst."
"Thanks for sharing that with me, big sister." Lith patted Zoreth's shoulder while ordering food for her. "With this and Orulm, we might stand a chance."
"I agree with you." Silverwing nodded and Baba Yaga agreed. "The situation has just gone from impossible to desperate. Yet before planning further, I'd like to take a break to ponder this information.
"I need time to adapt my personal spells to counter the Yggdrasill's defensive system and support the Eldritchs. Also, before coming up with our final strategy, we need to know exactly who and how many are coming with us."
"I can use a break to make a few calls." Valtak stood up, his face pale. "I'll return as soon as I'm done."
There was a rush in his pace that no one missed. The Father of Fire was still worried about Solus but now he was also concerned about Mogar, and he wasn't the only one.
To Baba Yaga, Salaark, and Silverwing Solus' kidnapping had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The balance of power had changed right under their noses and until that moment none of them had noticed it.
If not for the hybris volunteering to help Lith, Salaark and the others would have been unaware of the Master's progress in his research until it was too late. Sure, the Eldritches were friendly and willing to fight by their side, but that was today.
There was no telling what the Organization's goal would be tomorrow or if the Eldritches would turn hostile in the future. Yet the most upsetting matter was that they had not hesitated to unveil their powers and lose the element of surprise.
No creature could grow so old by being that careless which meant there was only one possible explanation. They had revealed their newfound strength because they didn't consider the powers assembled at the table to be a threat to their plans.