The first two were an old man and a woman clad in silver armor with glowing markings on it. The woman had no weapon on her.
The old man wore a long robe, and he had grayish skin that showed his age. Behind his robe, a few golden rings floated, pulsing with light.
The third person to come out the portal was a man who looked like he was in his thirties. He was also smaller in size, but he was no less imposing than the previous two. He had a long silver robe with red symbols and silver eyes that seemed like they could see through anyone.
The fourth was a man wearing a blue coat adorned with gems. He had the most relaxed posture out of all of them, but he also released the most pressure.
The four of them were legendary-tier aura users sent by the Xoliti clan.
The elderly man spoke first. "The portal is stable, but it won't stay open for long. Move quickly."
With no hesitation, everyone started moving.
Bane also commanded,
"Everyone move, now!"
The Clan rushed in organised waves through the portal. Elena held Luis, Kale, and Lira's hand as she moved forward. They stepped through the shimmering gateway.
As Luis got close to the portal, a strong force pulled at him, and a sudden dizziness overtook him, and in an instant, he had disappeared from the cavern.
Back at the villages
Lanterns hanging on the wall cast a dim glow over a large room. There, a man lay on a large bed, his gigantic figure hidden by silk sheets. The room was filled with the smell of incense, and a few women laid beside the man, but he paid them no attention.
He had been fast asleep, but he woke up when he could feel it, a ripple in the air. A huge amount of aura was moving unnaturally, and he could tell when it was happening.
A slow, creepy smile appeared on his face. He had found something to end his boredom.
The man was none other than General Drazan, one of the sixteen mytical tier aura users of the allied empires.
He stood up slowly, taking his time putting on his armor.
Activating his blessing, he clutched the air in front of him. His hands being positioned like he was gonna open sliding doors.
He honed in on the aura he sensed from far away. Until he pinpointed the exact location.
Around forty meters away from the portal in the cavern, a small dot appeared jn the air. The dot grew in size until a gigantic man could step out.
As the second half of the Phoenix clan members were stepping through the portal. Intense pressure started filling in the caverns.
The sound of glass shattering was heard from where the pressure came from. Then a small rift opened, and through the rift stepped Drazan.
His giant form cast shadows throughout the cavern. His eyes shone, scanning the people in the crowd like a predator.
He took in a deep breath, causing mist to form in the cold air as he breathed out.
A smirk formed on his face as he spoke.
"You know,"
he said as his voice spread throughout the cavern.
"That portal is letting out a lot of aura."
Drazan rolled his shoulders as he stepped forward, opening and clenching his palms, which had gauntlets on them. His eyes burned with anticipation because he didn't expect to find his prey so easily.
Just as he was about to latch forward to attack, the ground beneath his feet glowed.
Blue markings spread beneath his feet, pulsing with energy. In an instant, chains erupted from the markings, wrapping around Drazan's legs, arms, and torso. The chains tightened, stopping Drazan mid-step.
Before he could shake off the chains, a blade made out of shadows came towards his neck.
The weapon was made out of a blessing.
*Death Scythe* it was made out of shadows, and the more aura it had embued, the stronger it was. The shadows in the scythe had an eerie glow to them.
Sera moved the scythe with a practiced motion, aiming for Drazan's throat.
Even though everything happened in a split second, he was able to react fast enough.
Ashy white thick scales appeared on his neck because of his blessing
*Partial Transformation – Dragon Neck.*
The scythe hit its mark. A crack could be heard throughout the cavern. The impact was strong enough to fracture Drazan's defenses, but no blood was drawn.
Drazan exhaled, feeling a slight sting because of the stone. He smiled. "That was dangerous."
Then, aura surged around his body his muscles tensed. The chains shuddered and then broke shattering at once in a violent burst.
Sera retreated after the attack, landing beside
Isabella, Freyheart, Bane, and the four Xoliti Clan members.
Meanwhile, Noah had wasted no time after Drazan arrived.
"Keep moving!" He raised his voice so all the Phoenix members could hear. Directing them so they wouldn't fall back in a panic. Making sure they moved with urgency and order.
Drazan cracked his knuckles as the scales on his neck regenerated, ready to fight the people in front of him. Drazan opened his mouth to taunt them first, but before he could Bane spoke first.
His eyes ignited in a deep crimson color as he spoke. His eyes ignited because of *Phoenix eyes* a blessing that allowed him to manipulate flames with unparalleled efficiency.
"You think we didn't expect someone to come because of the aura this portal is giving off?"
Bane's voice had a slight hint of amusement to it.
Bane titled his head, smirking in excitement. "Well I will say though… someone stronger than expected did arrive."
Drazan narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think you can defeat me?"
The old man from the Xoliti clan responded instead of Bane.
"Who said we are gonna defeat you?"
Without Drazan realising it, chains appeared from behind him. These chains were heavier, faster, and stronger than before. They couldn't even be compared to the ones from before.
More than anything, he didn't even notice them coming.
Just behind him, to the side from his peripheral vision, he noticed a woman.
Just five meters behind him.
She wasn't any of the four Xoliti clan members in the front. She had been here this entire time completely hidden, not even noticed by Drazans *Dragon Eyes* blessing.
His instincts screamed at him because he wasn't able to see her through the *Dragon Eyes*, which can see through any deceptions.
He only noticed because it seemed she had gotten closer to activate her blessing.
Worse then that he couldn't tell if she was legendary tier or higher since her figure was blurred, not allowing him to see through it.
While that was happening, Sera had brought out a dagger from her *Shadow Prison*.
It wasn't just any dagger. It was a dagger made out of flames. The flames on the outside of the dagger solidified while the flames still moved on the inside.
The dagger had been painfully made by Noah with Bane's flames over the last few years since the Phoenix clan's downfall. It was forged inside of Sera's *Shadow Prison* using his *Smithing* blessing.
A dagger made over so many years had so much aura in it that even a mystic-tier user would be in trouble when facing it.
The dagger materialised in front of Bane from his shadow.
The instant he grabbed and unsheathed the dagger, an explosion of aura flooded the cavern.
At the same time wings appeared behind Bane as he disappeared from where he was standing to infront of Drazan.
Drazan's instincts roared.
He couldn't hold anything back now.
He activated twenty blessings simultaneously.
Twelve of those blessings merged into one.
*Full Transformation Dragonoid.*
A shockwave erupted throughout the caverns as he transformed. His muscles expanded, scales appeared all throughout his body, thicker than before, wings appeared behind him, and his hands turned into claws.
His presence became suffocating.
But the chains still held firmly.
They restricted him more than they should have.
Still, he could move just enough.
The dagger descended upon his neck
Drazan raised his arms, reinforcing them with all his aura to block the attack.
The blade met the scales and cut through.
He couldn't remember the last time his body was sliced so easily.
But his hands had done the job; they slowed down the dagger enough so that he could break the chains and dodge the attack.
He didn't dodge unharmed, though
His right arm, the one he had crossed over his left to block, was severed.
Silence filled the cavern
Drazan turned to stare at the woman. Even with him using *Dragon Eyes*, not being able to see her obscured figure made her into too much of an unknown factor.
His tension grew.
For the first time in years, he was actually on alert.
Bane clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch. Even at full speed, you dodged."
The woman spoke next, her voice calm. "As much as I'd love to kill you… it seems we'll have to do that another day."
Drazan then felt it; three new black dots appeared around the cavern, which only meant it was one, two, and three his subordinates were coming.
The woman then added,
"Oh, and if you're curious where such a strong clan came from…"
She tilted her head, voice teasing.
"We live in the Underworld."
A lie.