He focused on that with such intensity that he forgot his fear of the Dreadgods. Their situation faded into the back of his mind.
It was all about breaking bloodspawn.
He crushed a few more, but others already rose. If he really wanted to win this game, he would need his Path.
He poured himself into Forging a green rune, bigger than his chest, complex and intricate. He threw it hundreds of yards away, but it would only hover as long as he didn’t quite complete the Forging. So he had to hold the technique as he Forged more and more.
As he did, the Kazan clan gathered around him. They fought the spawn of the Bleeding Phoenix, covering Ziel, apparently realizing that whatever he was doing, it would win them the day.
But the bloodspawn realized something too, pushing against the human barrier around Ziel. One of their necks stretched, carrying its featureless head close to Ziel. A mouth stretched across its blank crimson face, cracking into a maw full of teeth so it could take a bite out of Ziel’s flesh. His body was stronger than the others here, richer in blood aura, so it was the most tempting treat.
Ziel didn’t care.
He was solely focused on breaking as many of these spawn as possible. It was the only thought he still had room for.
The bloodspawn’s jaws snapped down on him, its upper teeth scraping his horns.
Then he triggered his boundary field.
Every one of the bloodspawn exploded.
They sprayed liquid blood madra—and in some cases, actual blood—over everyone around. Ziel stood in the center of seven orbiting green runes, and the circle was perhaps three or four hundred yards wide. He had caught hundreds of spawn.
Or so his spiritual sense told him.
His face was covered in blood.
He wiped his eyes clean with his fingers and glanced around, finding the Kazan clan packing in close around him. A cheer rose from among them as though of its own accord.
The Patriarch slapped Ziel on the back. “Gratitude! But you should warn us next time. We thought you were leaving us.”
The state of unnatural focus passed, but it didn’t leave the fear in its wake. Instead, Ziel felt like himself again.
He sighed.
“What would be the point of that?” Ziel said. “Not like I have anywhere to go.”
That wasn’t true, and he knew it. Akura Malice was here, and she wouldn’t let her daughter face down a Dreadgod without giving her a way out. If he could get to Mercy, he could still escape from this mess.
But that would mean leaving these people behind.
The one good thing about the arrival of the Bleeding Phoenix was that it had scared off the people trying to leave through Heaven’s Glory. The crowd pushing their way up the side of Mount Samara had scattered, fleeing in every other direction.
Ziel pointed. “Hey, look at that. Line’s shorter.”
Lindon felt his eyes change to blue as pure madra flowed through him.
He grabbed Yerin’s wrist, pulling her off-balance while he dropped low to drive his left palm at her core.
A Forged blue-white imprint of his palm covered her midsection as his Empty Palm landed, driving madra from her core.
But he didn’t know how the Empty Palm would affect a Herald.
Combat report! Lindon called desperately.
[Call me naïve, but I think we should save that for an actual enemy.]
Yerin grunted when the technique landed, but she gave him a reproachful look afterwards. “Still me. Phoenix doesn’t hold my leash.”
“Apologies. I wasn’t certain.”
Yerin waved a hand casually behind her, and a pulse of blood and sword aura tore the half-formed bloodspawn to pieces as it tried to emerge from the girl’s bandage.
The girl shrieked and tore off her wrappings, crawling as far away from them as possible. Lindon admired her appropriate reaction.
“More spawn rising,” Yerin reported. “I’ll take care of them. Just get us away.”
Another cry came from the north, and this time Lindon could see something slowly flapping great wings. Something that covered the northern horizon like a bank of clouds.
Kelsa walked up behind him, her mouth open in horror. “Is that…”
“A second one,” Lindon confirmed. His stomach churned.
“…what about the people who haven’t made it out?”
That was what he wanted to know too.
“We’ve done everything we can,” he said, voice tight. “We just have to hope the Phoenix leaves them alone.”
[And doesn’t follow us,] Dross put in.
Kelsa’s face twisted in pain and concern, but she nodded. As Yerin made her way out the door to deal with bloodspawn, he focused entirely on