"Follow us!" Tark ordered with a friendly smile. "We need to go to Tissling as well, so we can gladly take you there."
Nero nodded while pushing Eleanor forward ahead of him.
Isabella cast one last look around the clearing before jogging briefly to catch up with the three.
"So you are brothers?" she asked curiously, not the slightest bit out of breath. Nero nodded. "We have the same father but two different mothers. That is why we look so different. My older brother, Eleanor, has the same hair as our father, but he got his eyes from his mother."
Eleanor nodded with a smile. "Correct, and Nero takes after his mother entirely, as our father has pointed out far too often."
Isabella nodded thoughtfully. "And you said you are from Shergien?"
"Yes," Eleanor confirmed. "But our hometown lies even farther south than Shergien. We only moved to Shergien a few years ago, hoping to build a better life there."
Eleanor scratched the back of his head. "Though as you can see, that did not work out in the slightest." He was referring to his and Nero's poor clothing.
"And what is taking you to Purtal?" Tark joined in, having listened in silence until then.
"We joined a small trade caravan that was on its way there. For a good sum, we do not have to do anything except help load and unload the goods. On top of that, we get delicious food for free every day."
"And where is this caravan now?"
This time Nero answered. "We separated from the caravan a few days ago because we wanted to make a stop in Tissling, since a relative of ours lives there. So we, along with a few other men who had business there, set off for Tissling. Unfortunately, we got caught in a rather terrible storm, and while searching for shelter, we lost our way."
"We are hoping to meet our companions in Tissling, though it may be that by the time we arrive, they will already have moved on. You have not happened to hear anything about merchants visiting the town, have you?" Eleanor asked hopefully.
Nero could not help but look at Eleanor in a new light. This young man was a rather good actor, not much worse than Nero. It made sense, after all, since Eleanor had spent years blending in among his enemies, and that required a certain measure of talent.
Tark shook his head. "Unfortunately, over the last few days, we have been far too busy searching for... our friend. We only went to Tissling rarely, and then only to sleep. So no, my friends, we have heard nothing about any merchants."
Eleanor seemed disappointed, but said nothing about it. He merely let out a heavy breath. "What a shame."
"Cheer up," Nero said, nudging Eleanor in the side. "After all, this way we got to meet two new friends. Before you know it, we will be in Tissling, and surely someone there can give us directions to Purtal!"
"You are, of course, right, little brother," Eleanor said, forcing a smile. He patted Nero on the head in a brotherly way, and Nero turned away in feigned annoyance. He glared at Eleanor. "You really need to stop treating me like some fragile little chick!"
Eleanor laughed heartily, but said nothing in return. Deep down, he felt rather strange, because he himself had seen this 'fragile little chick' kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people without batting an eye.
Yet Nero played the small, sickly younger brother so well that even experienced hunters like Tark and Isabella were completely fooled. Of course, some of that was thanks to his appearance: that unnaturally pale skin, two deep circles beneath his eyes, starved down to the bone.
Eleanor shook his head inwardly. He knew by now that Nero was not an actual monster, much less a god, but he was still terribly afraid of him. He feared that Nero might change his mind at any second and kill them all.
Tark and Isabella, who silently listened to the brothers' conversation, had by now dropped almost all of their caution. They had moved slightly ahead and were speaking quietly to one another.
"I think it is time for us to accept our loss and return to the capital... We must answer to the council."
Tark furrowed his brow in stress. "If we go before the council with almost a dozen losses and no results at all, they will execute us in public."
"But we still have the severed limb. They will understand once we explain exactly what happened."
Tark clenched his fists, and his metal prosthesis let out a disgusting squeal. "They will understand nothing. It was my duty as group leader to ensure my people's safety. You will get away with it, but I will pay dearly for my failure."
Isabella gently placed her hand on Tark's arm. She looked at him lovingly. "I will not allow that."
Tark looked at her, and he immediately felt much better. "Thank you..." He placed his good hand over hers.
Nero observed the behavior of the two closely, and when he thought the perfect moment had come, he nodded to Eleanor. "It is time!" he said.
Eleanor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he looked at Nero firmly and, with a nod, let him know he was ready.
Nero raised his hand. He pointed directly at the back of Isabella's head. Eleanor did not even need to look to know that Nero's aura had just increased tenfold as he poured a great part of his magic into this attack.
At once, cracks formed all across his palm, spreading up to his wrist. Red blood flowed from them in streams, and Eleanor could have sworn the entire world held its breath.
Of course, Tark and Isabella had noticed it as well. They spun around in shock. "What..." Tark began, just as Nero attacked. A small arrow, no longer than four centimeters and no wider than one, shot from his palm with such tremendous force that it seemed to cut through space itself. And yet it was completely silent.
It was fast, extremely fast, but Isabella was a mage trained over many years, and her instincts reacted before her mind even realized what was happening. She ripped her hand upward, and a thick wall of wind formed in front of her. The black arrow pierced the wind wall like a spear through paper, as if there were not the slightest bit of resistance. It was not even slowed down. But unfortunately, the wind wall deflected the arrow a few centimeters downward, so it did not pierce Isabella's brain, but only her mouth.
A gaping hole now tore through it. The arrow flew onward, pierced several more trees, and then dissolved.
Nero grunted and was already preparing the next attack. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Tark roared. He raised both hands. The ground trembled. Nero clicked his tongue. Two pitch-black wings grew from his back, and he lifted into the air. Eleanor saw Tark's aura sink into the ground. He focused while allowing Nero's darkness to pull him up into the air as well.
Then he stretched out both hands, and not a second too soon, because two gigantic pillars of silver shining steel shot out of the earth directly toward Eleanor and Nero. Prismarine light burst from Eleanor's palms and struck the pillar beneath him. Tark frowned as he felt control over his metal being taken from him. 'Another metal mage?' he thought to himself.
Nero darted to the side, turning elegantly in the air. He spread both arms. His aura exploded out of him and formed a gigantic black dome that cut off all light from the outside world.
Eleanor could no longer see anything, yet he could still make out the two glowing auras of the mages. Tark cursed. "What kind of magic is this?"
Isabella was no longer able to speak because the spear had destroyed her tongue and lower jaw. She could only make incoherent sounds. Even so, she activated her magic once more. She hurled a pillar of wind against the outer wall. It was a mighty attack that tore trees from the earth, yet even this only managed to create a small hole in the darkness, which immediately closed again.
Nero shot down toward the two. He raised both hands and spread his fingers. He crossed his arms and forced the darkness to crash down upon the two mages like a tsunami. Tark could not see anything, but he could feel the attack. He spread his arms apart, and meter-thick metal walls shielded the two of them from every side. Isabella grabbed Tark and lifted him into the air. They flew straight ahead, trying to escape the darkness, but it seemed to follow them.
Darkness struck at the two mages from all sides without pause as they desperately tried to get away. Tark punched directly into the air, and a wave of liquid metal spread out from his palm and multiplied within seconds. It streamed across the ground, tearing away everything it touched. It was like a river made of millions upon millions of millimeter-thin needles. Meanwhile, Isabella read the air, just as her master had taught her. She sensed movement directly behind her.
She hurled a fountain of wind backward that actually nearly struck Nero. But he evaded it with a rolling motion to the side, his wings beating wildly as he raced after the two. Ever since he had absorbed the last Chaosshard, he had grown far more powerful. In the past, the two of them together might perhaps even have threatened him, but now Nero used the opportunity to test new attacks he had come up with on them. Like the dome of darkness, for example. Unfortunately, it consumed a great deal of magic with every second it remained active, but for now, it was definitely manageable.
Still, Nero knew he had to end the fight quickly, because the longer he waited, the more likely it became that someone would see them. He sighed and stopped in midair, which Isabella sensed at once. She used the opportunity to hurl a dozen targeted blades at Nero, but darkness deflected them long before they reached him. Nero took a deep breath and once again raised his hand to charge his strongest attack.
This time, he would not miss because he did not need to rush it. Darkness gathered in his palm. The entire dome collapsed inward and was drawn into Nero's fingertip. Isabella's eyes widened as she once again sensed immense amounts of power pouring from Nero. They had no chance. They had never had a chance. Tark turned around and ripped his hand upward, and Isabella did the same. A wall of both wind and metal formed. But Nero did not let that stop him.
He fired. Once again, the tiny arrow shot from his fingertip. It broke effortlessly through the wall. Isabella forced her magic to throw them both to the side, but the spear was simply too fast. This time, it struck Tark in the chest first before hitting Isabella in the forehead.
She froze instantly. Even from a distance, Eleanor could see the young woman's aura contracting and gathering within her body, like water returning to the sea after a great wave. Then the two of them fell from the sky, like two birds whose wings had been cut midair.