Raagu had no time to waste and fighting three Emperor Beasts while under the Hexagram was suicidal, so she grabbed her disciple and ran like the wind. The situation was spiraling out of her control, forcing her to take action before it was too late.
Raagu's purple core and her mastery over fusion magic allowed her to escape the encirclement before the kings of the woods could react. They immediately gave chase even though they were well aware that the newcomer was beyond their level.
Strength wasn't everything when things had been long since planned out. Besides, no creature willing to back down so easily would have earned the title of king. They started weaving both spells and arrays while emitting a powerful roar to warn Lith of the impending danger.
Meanwhile, Gaaron was on his literal last leg. Lith had wasted no time talking, removing one by one the limbs that the opponent had used as shields to prolong his existence.
'If you kill me, you'll anger the elder who sent me here. You should stop if you value your family…' Those words were his last mistake. Lith usually obeyed the laws of the Griffon Kingdom because it was the place his parents loved, their birthplace.
The Kingdom had done him no favors, but it hadn't tried to blackmail him either.
'If your Council is willing to sink so low that they would threaten normal humans, maybe you guys need your own Balkor!' Was Lith's reply as Ruin cut Gaaron asunder. The moment he died, the self-destruct mechanism of his equipment activated, turning them into dust.
Lith would have liked to keep the Awakened alive longer, to squeeze from him more spirit magic spells, but after hearing Reaper's warning he knew he had no time to waste. He started to use Invigoration and broke the second seal in his pocket.
The first had been shattered after meeting the group of Awakened, so that the kings would meet him at the agreed-upon location and put his plan D in action. Yet now the four of them might not be enough.
Someone capable of scaring Reaper couldn't be underestimated.
When Raagu appeared in front of him, Lith regretted not to have the means for a plan F.
She looked like a woman in her late fifties, but she had lived for over five centuries. Her long black hair had partially turned into a silvery-white color and was held up in a chignon.
She had delicate features, but her expression was devoid of any warmth and her eyes were looking at the scene in front of them as if she had stumbled into a garbage pile. She was barely 1.6 meters (5'3") tall with a frame thin enough that a casual onlooker would have been worried that a sudden gust of wind might blow her away.
Yet both Life Vision and mana sense begged to differ. Her vitality was something that not even Scarlett possessed and her mana core was bright purple. Lith was so intent keeping watch on her every movement that it took him a while to notice that the oddly shaped handbag she carried was actually a person.
"Do you know who I am?" Raagu asked after taking a long look at Gaaron remains. His death meant she would have a lot of paperwork to fill. Even though he was just a local Lord, he was still a full-fledged member of the Council.
"No." Lith shrugged while casting more spells and one of his best arrays. "But I guess you are a member of the Council, just like that guy."
He pointed with Ruin at the corpse at his feet while the three kings joined the fray, surrounding the two women in a diamond formation with Lith at one of its edges.
"If you knew who he was, why did you kill him?" Raagu didn't sound angry so much as curious, which made Lith worry. He had slain six Awakened yet she seemed to consider the matter a minor inconvenience.
"He and his goons came to my turf, near my house. Why should I justify myself to you? I don't care who you think you are, if someone attacks me, I reply I kind." Lith said.
"Aren't you afraid of the Council?" Raagu tilted her head, a soft smile too similar to Jirni's to not being creepy appeared on her face.
"What's to be afraid of?" Lith was unfazed by her not-so-veiled threat. "You are just a bunch of people who never did squat for me when I needed help and now you dare to send people to tell me what I can or I can't do?
"I'll tell you this only once. I've got nothing to gain fighting you, but that doesn't mean that you can order me around. Your friend here has just learned the difference between a bully and a predator.
"A bully is a coward who only preys on the weak, whereas a predator is not afraid to fight even against a stronger opponent."
"Agreed." Raagu nodded, surprising all those present. "I assure you that despite his crude methods, Gaaron wasn't sent here to kill you, but only to put you to the test. A test that you brilliantly passed."
Suddenly Lith realized to have been used all along. Raagu was calm not because she deemed him important, but because she had used him to do her dirty work. Unbeknownst to Lith, she had just committed the perfect crime.
By killing Gaaron in self-defense, Lith had freed a spot in the Council for Athung, whereas if Lith would have died at Gaaron's hand, she would have had the perfect excuse to kill him for disobeying a direct order.
No matter the result of the fight, she would achieve what she wanted and no one could hold her responsible. Lith had already proven to be a useful means to an end, the only thing Raagu wanted to check was how useful he could be.
"You should remember Athung, my disciple." The young Awakened ignored the nonsensical conversation happening in front of her and focused on the beasts. Several miniature arrays had formed on top of her staff and were ready to be unleashed.
'What the heck is Raagu thinking? She might be strong, but we are two against four and those beasts only need one hit to take us down.' Athung was worried, looking around for traps and arrays that might be hidden under a cloaking spell.
She wouldn't repeat the mistake of underestimating her opponents ever again.
"I'm Raagu Drerian and I'm the human leader of the Awakened. Now, we can stay here and glare at each other all day or you can follow me. You have no idea how much time you have wasted in this backwater village.
"The Council is more than just those idiots you've faced in the past. There's plenty of knowledge that we are willing to share."
Her words would have made Athung laugh if their situation wasn't so dramatic.
'Yeah, right. Like all the things you've shared with me. I've seen his house. Maybe I'll be able to afford it in another couple of years!' She thought.
Lith was intrigued at the idea, but taking a stranger's words at face value was out of the question. Being powerful and being trustworthy were two entirely different things.