The strike hit Nero with full force, who tried to create a small layer of darkness, but the damn song of the Lizzian made this much more difficult. Normally, it felt to Nero as if he were moving an extra arm when he used his magic. He had complete control, much of it even ran on instinct, but now it felt as if someone had tied a weight to that arm. Because of that, while he threw Eleanor away and had to keep himself in the air, Nero only barely managed to create half of the barrier.
The sound wave hit him hard and hurled him backward. Nero used this momentum to escape as well; he had never planned to fight the Lizzian. In hindsight, he could only curse his own curiosity for not leaving earlier. He had underestimated the Lizzian. He thought he was not even close to being as strong as Gerald or Luis, but the Lizzian had hidden his true strength during the fight. Nero assumed that he had already noticed their presence very early on and had been waiting for them to make a move, but after they never moved, the Lizzian had lost his patience.
Nero clicked his tongue as he retreated. Since he had started conquering planets, he had never been in such a situation. He had often mixed among humans, but he had always been the strongest person by far. He was not used to being cautious, since he had always had the upper hand. Only on the planet Scur were there mages who were equal to him, but there he had not hidden; instead, he had sought open confrontation from beginning to end. Now, however, the Lizzian had the upper hand over him, because Nero had believed the Lizzian was unaware of his presence, but in reality, it was Nero who had been outplayed by the Lizzian.
Now he had to try to make the best out of the situation. He could not simply run away anymore, since Morch and Kia clearly had no chance against the Lizzian. Nero would have to escape the city and try again in the next one, but he simply did not have that time. On top of that, Kia had now seen him, looking up at him desperately. She formed "help" with her lips.
Nero's expression darkened even further. If he left now and Kia somehow survived, she would, in the worst case, brand Nero as a traitor to humanity because he had not helped her. Then they would surely search for him. In a world like Noira, Nero could not simply disappear and hope not to be discovered. Units like Tark's would hunt him, which would reduce his chances of staying hidden to almost zero, especially in Tissling.
So Nero stopped his retreat. The first thing he had to deal with was this terrible song of the Lizzian, because as long as he was exposed to it, Nero could not use his magic at one hundred percent. He pulled back his magic, and the black wings on his back suddenly dissolved. Immediately, gravity took over, and Nero plummeted toward the ground. The Lizzian ran toward the point where Nero would land, his song only intensifying. Meanwhile, he snapped his fingers, stomped on the ground, and clapped his hands, sending wave after wave of sound toward Nero. Nero used all his focus to create a dark shield in front of himself, which withstood the Lizzian's attacks. While falling, he opened his bag, from which he pulled out a black bundle, then he simply let the bag go.
More attacks struck the black wall, which, however, did a good job of protecting Nero. He spread out his cloak and put it on. Immediately, the symbols on the cloak began to glow, connecting their effects like vast star systems in the night sky. The pressure of the Lizzian's song decreased. It was as if Nero had been trapped in a burning room filled with smoke, but now had stepped back into fresh air.
Nero looked downward; the ground was only a few meters away. He spread both hands. Dark wings burst from his back; the night itself grasped his form. Centimeters before he hit, he managed to redirect his path so that he no longer fell straight down, but instead glided along the ground. Yet he kept all his speed as he rushed toward the Lizzian. The Lizzian sang even louder, trying to break through Nero's cloak.
Unfortunately, it had no effect, so Nero rushed toward him unhindered, while the Lizzian hurled attack after attack at him, which Nero simply blocked with darkness. A black sphere spread around him, pushing the Lizzian's sound-suppressing dome outward like a single island in a vast ocean. Nero grabbed the darkness with both hands and accelerated even more. He raised his right hand, and his aura swelled as he created a gigantic spear of darkness. He held it forward, intending to simply impale the Lizzian.
The Lizzian grunted and finally ended his song. "Stop," he said in a completely monotone voice. The command hit Nero like a hammer blow, suddenly slowing him down significantly, but he forced himself to continue flying toward the Lizzian. The Lizzian frowned. "Stop!" he commanded again, louder this time.
Nero's cloak flared wildly as it resisted the attack. The Lizzian growled, but by then Nero had already reached him. He thrust with the spear.
The Lizzian responded by simply knocking the spear aside. A clap echoed as sound waves exploded outward from the point, throwing Nero back and destroying the spear. Nero was pushed back and spread his fingers.
He closed them, and the shadows obeyed, collapsing onto the Lizzian. The Lizzian let out a piercing scream that pushed the shadows back. Even Nero was hit, who defended himself with a shield of darkness. He hurled a gigantic spear of darkness at the Lizzian while simultaneously grabbing the shadows of the lizard man himself. He held him in place.
The Lizzian growled as he felt himself unable to move. The dark spear rushed toward him. He began a new song, which emitted a golden light that destroyed every shadow he cast. He struck the spear aside, then began a second song. Nero frowned because the Lizzian was now singing with two different voices. But he did not dwell on it for long; instead, he pulled at the darkness surrounding him.
The Lizzian stopped in his tracks as Nero suddenly vanished. He looked around while continuing to sing with two voices. He did not stop; instead, he flew high into the air, and the further he progressed in his song, the faster he became. Suddenly, Nero reappeared directly in front of the Lizzian, because his light burned away the darkness from him. Still, Nero stepped into the light. He pointed at the Lizzian as his aura surged. A small arrow of darkness shot from his fingertip. The attack was too fast to dodge, so the Lizzian struck at it again, but this time he could not destroy it; instead, the arrow pierced his hand, flew straight through his arm, and exited through his elbow.
Nero slammed his hand against the Lizzian's chest, which immediately began to burn, but Nero ignored the pain. The Lizzian screamed as Nero tried to drive a dark spear through his opponent's heart.
He had broken off both songs. Nero defended himself as he was thrown back by the scream. He could not recover in time as he crashed into the ground. The Lizzian began a new song as Nero shot out of the crater again. At incredible speed, the wounds Nero had inflicted on him healed.
He saw Nero rushing toward him again, launching one dark attack after another. The Lizzian was falling from the sky, but he began a second song again, which formed a light shield around him. Nero swung widely as a gigantic tentacle lashed against the sphere.
He hurled the Lizzian away at nearly the speed of sound. The Lizzian crashed through the house walls as Nero shot after him again. The Lizzian landed, sliding along the ground, as he slammed his foot firmly into it. Nero rushed toward him, but then the Lizzian was blasted upward by a sound wave. He grabbed the little finger of his left hand with his right. With a disgusting sound, he broke it. The noise unleashed a sound wave stronger than all the previous ones.
Nero stopped his pursuit and raised both hands. He focused the sphere of darkness only in front of himself as the sound wave hit him. Dark chains held Nero in the air, and cracks formed on his fingertips as he defended himself against the extreme attack that passed him like a violent storm. The sound wave was so powerful that it tore apart the ground behind Nero and created a massive crater, but Nero held his ground.
His dark eyes gleamed dangerously. It was time for him to get serious.
He spread his arms, and with them, the darkness spread, swallowing everything around them.