3001 Ears of Menadion (Part 1)
A black pillar erupted from Lith's body, quickly followed by Bytra's and Zoreth's. The resonance effect between their Abomination halves amplified the Eldritches' powers without disrupting their focus since Lith took the burden on himself.
"Thanks, lil bro!" The Shadow Dragon laughed and released a blast of Origin Flames from all over her body.
It incinerated the undead, ate at Maergron's spells, and coursed through the ground, burning the foundations of the permanent arrays. Hundreds of years of painstaking work and preparations crumbled into nothingness.
The din of battle disappeared in an instant, replaced by stony silence.
Without the arrays, there was no point in continuing to struggle. The Redcap couldn't risk the Eldritches destroying the temple and its priceless machines with one of their Chaos spells.
The undead army was equally useless now so Maergron dispelled them and used what time he had left to recover his full strength. Running away was no longer an option. He would need more than a few seconds to pack what he needed to build himself a life somewhere else.
"Even with the help of the Ears, Warping away is too risky." He told himself with a bitter laugh. "They've played me like a fool until now. With my luck, they have a dimensional mage ready to collapse my Steps and kill me with my own spell.
"Even worse, I've already lost master Pharek. I won't leave everything behind for the Council to plunder. I'd rather die here than spend centuries rebuilding what Pharek left here for me.
"I still have one card to play."
Meanwhile, on the outside, Bytra and Xenagrosh used the Maw to make sure there were no more hidden traps. They found the remains of the undead and destroyed them for good measure.
Even if Maergron changed his mind, there was nothing left to raise from the dead. Only when they were sure that the path to the Garden's temple was clear did they remove the Decay Bastion and let the rest of the team in.
"Amazing work like always, big sis." Lith waved at the luscious green that had suffered no damage during the fight. It was a testament to the Eldritches's control over their powers."Just one question. Why didn't you use the Annihilation to get rid of enemies and barriers in one fell swoop?"
"For the same reason the Council doesn't use it often, lil bro." Zoreth poked at his nose with her finger. "Because it's too powerful. Once unleashed, it would have also destroyed the temple and everything it contains.
"I couldn't risk killing our quarry and destroying the magical wonders hidden in that green pyramid."
"It looks like a pyramid because of the hanging gardens but it's a ziggurat." Bytra corrected her.
"On top of that, you've seen how spells behave weirdly inside the Garden." The Shadow Dragon ignored her wife. "If the Annihilation was amplified or its Chaos element spread throughout the clouds above us, we'd be all dead."
"Thanks for your kindness." Strider and Ryka were both moved by her words even though for completely different reasons.
The Zouwu was astonished by the restraint shown by the Eldritches. They were following the Council's orders and had proved to be willing to shoulder the most dangerous part of the mission in order to protect those weaker than them.
To him, it was an eye-opening experience that upended everything he believed to know about Abominations.
The Titania couldn't care less about taking the shadow disciple alive for interrogation. What struck her chords was the care the Eldritches had shown in preserving the beauty of the Garden.
It was one of the most sacred places for her kin and until that moment, Gardens had been considered myths. Protecting the Garden and sharing it with the other Fae and plant folk was much more important than catching any murderer.
"Don't mention it. We are all on the same boat and can benefit from the content of the pyramid." Zoreth lied through her teeth.
She was there to retrieve the Ears, give Bytra a chance to patch things up with Elphyn, and give Lith a useful gift. In that order. An Annihilation might have destroyed the priceless artifact and made the whole trip a waste of time.
'Also, once we are done, I can bring Father here and let him and Nandi study the Garden. Based on what Ryka said, other places like this exist on Mogar. If it turns out useful to the Organization, we can find another Garden and keep it to ourselves.
'First, however, we must make sure that the juice is worth the squeeze.' She thought.
"Say it with me. Ziggurat." Bytra held Zoreth's face in her hands and moved her lips.
"Fine! It's a ziggurat. Happy now?" The Shadow Dragon said with a scoff.
"Very." The Raiju replied with a giggle that was hard to associate with a heartless monster, making another bit of Strider's convictions crumble.
"Everyone, prepare your spells." The Zouwu said. "Let's not give our mark the time to strategize. And remember that it's the external arrays that have been destroyed. There might be more on the inside."
The Eyes of Menadion proved his fears wrong. According to the artifact, everything inside the temple had been modified to be part of a large complex of Forgemastering labs.
Some floors reminded Lith of the tower, but they were all weaker and lacked the ability to connect between themselves and enhance each other powers. There were indeed arrays inside the ziggurat, but their purpose was to shield the labs from external energy and contain the results of failed experiments.
They were an amazing tool for a Forgemaster, to the point that Lith wanted to copy them, but they were useless in a fight.
"What if our mark has run away? Can you chase him?" Strider asked, his short swords unsheathed and humming with power.
"He's still here." Lith and Xenagrosh said in unison but only the Shadow Dragon had more to add. "Even if he tries to escape, this time we'd have a fresh trace. But I don't think he will.
"He killed his master because of greed. He murdered the other Elders of the Council because he preferred risking it all than putting in the hard job necessary to get access to the resources he needs.
"If he runs away, he'd be left with less than nothing and everything he has done so far will be for naught."
"He'd still be alive, though." Azhom shrugged.
"He still has the device." Unanna pointed out. "It gave him a huge advantage while we were kilometers away and now that we are in front of him, it could be even more powerful. Also, he still has the home advantage.
"He has trained here for decades whereas we can barely use our skills without harming each other. This is the only place where he stands a chance against us and he knows it."
The Naga wielded his six weapons, each of a different type and with a different kind of elemental crystals. He wielded one blade, one mace, two shields, one staff, and one dagger dripping a thick, greasy transparent substance that was likely to be poison.
The walk to the top of the Ziggurat was uneventful and they found the door open.