Chapter 91: The Deacons

The two deacons advanced.

Eider moved first, closing the distance between himself and Voss with surprising speed. His right fist was drawn back, and a faint distortion gathered around his arm. Voss raised her hand to intercept him, but just before their attacks met, Eider’s body shifted sideways. Her strike passed close to his shoulder, missing by a narrow margin.

Eider’s fist connected with her ribs.

The impact produced a dull crack. Voss slid backwards, her boots digging into the soil, but she remained standing. Before she could retaliate, Eider followed with another punch aimed at her face.

Voss tilted her head aside. Her hand swept towards his chest, forcing him to retreat, yet his movement changed midway through. Instead of moving backwards, he was suddenly carried diagonally out of her reach.

Thomas narrowed his eyes.

Something was interfering with the direction of their movements. He had seen Eider’s first attack change course just before it connected, and the same thing had happened when Voss tried to strike him. It was not simply an increase in speed. Eider seemed capable of altering the path of his own movements and the force behind them.

A thin glimmer appeared near Voss’s wrist.

Thomas shifted his attention towards it. The Eye of Khepri revealed a faint trace of mana extending from her arm towards the trees. More strands appeared around her legs, stretching across the clearing. They were difficult to notice with the naked eye, but the mana running through them made their positions clear to him.

"Behind her," Thomas muttered.

Mina glanced towards him. "What?"

"There’s something around her."

Before he could explain further, the strands pulled tight.

Voss’s arm jerked backwards. A second set wrapped around her ankle, restricting her movement just as Eider rushed forward again. She twisted her body to avoid his fist, but the threads held her in place long enough for his attack to catch her shoulder.

The dark plates covering her arm absorbed part of the impact. Even so, the force pushed her several steps sideways.

Seth stood behind Eider with one hand raised. His fingers moved in a careful sequence, and Thomas could see the thin threads responding to each movement. They stretched and shifted through the clearing, connecting Voss to several points around them.

Eider was keeping her occupied while Seth restricted her movements.

The two abilities worked together far more effectively than Thomas had expected. Eider’s attacks forced Voss to defend herself, and every time she tried to move, the threads caught her from another direction.

Voss pulled against them. One strand snapped, but several others remained.

"Interesting," she said, looking towards Seth.

The deacon did not reply. He brought his hands together, and the mana around him began to gather. A circular formation appeared beneath Voss’s feet. Golden symbols emerged one after another, spreading across the ground until they formed a complete pattern.

Thomas felt the mana pressure increase.

He recognised the nature of the formation. It was rune magic, similar to the spells Julian had used during the battle against the Swamp Thallophyte. However, the structure was different. The runes were arranged in a way that suggested the spell was meant to contain rather than attack.

"Move back!" Julian called.

Thomas immediately retreated with the others. Mina stayed beside Lina, shielding her as they moved further from the centre of the clearing. Ryan followed with his injured arm held close to his body, while Julian kept his attention on the forming spell. Thomas continued watching the formation as its golden symbols began to rise.

Four walls of light emerged from the ground, surrounding Voss. They connected above her, forming a cage that sealed her inside. The threads Seth controlled spread across the structure, weaving through the gaps and tightening around Voss’s limbs.

The cage gave off a low hum.

Eider stepped away from it and raised his hand.

The walls began to contract.

Thomas felt the pressure from where he stood. The golden light grew brighter as the space inside the cage narrowed. The threads pulled in different directions, restricting Voss’s arms and legs while Eider’s ability seemed to increase the pressure exerted by the formation.

Voss raised her arm, but the threads pulled it down.

Eider moved again.

His fist struck the cage, and the force travelled through the formation. The golden walls flashed, sending a pulse of energy towards Voss. She turned her body to avoid the worst of it, but the threads prevented her from moving far enough.

The attack connected.

Thomas watched carefully. The deacons had not managed to overpower Voss directly. Instead, they were using their abilities to limit her options. Seth’s spell restricted the area she could move in, while his threads kept her limbs restrained. Eider then used the openings to land attacks, changing the direction and force of his movements whenever she tried to counter.

It was a well-coordinated combination.

"Those two have fought together before," Julian said.

Thomas glanced at him.

"Look at their timing. Neither of them is wasting an opportunity." Julian kept his eyes on the cage. "The spell and the threads are being controlled together. Eider only needs to create an opening, and Seth makes sure she can’t use it to escape."

Thomas turned back towards the fight.

Voss had stopped trying to pull against every thread. Instead, she was watching Eider as he approached. Her expression remained calm, but the dark haze surrounding her body had begun to move more rapidly.

Eider noticed it too. He slowed for a moment before stepping forward again.

"You should have remained hidden," he said. "The Church would have dealt with you eventually."

Voss looked at him. "You speak as though you have already won."

Eider’s expression hardened. He thrust his hand forward, and the force inside the cage shifted. Voss was pulled towards one of the walls. Before she could regain her balance, Eider struck her in the stomach.

The impact forced the air from her lungs. Her back hit the golden barrier, and the runes flared.

Thomas’s fingers tightened.

He wanted to intervene, but there was little he could do. His mana reserves were nearly exhausted, and the same was true for the others. Even if he attempted to use his gaseous form, he could not be certain it would help against the threads or the rune formation. He had no idea whether Seth could restrain him in the same way.

Charging in without understanding the spell would be reckless.

Voss lowered her head for a moment. The threads around her arms pulled tighter, and the golden cage continued to contract. Eider took another step towards her, preparing to attack again.

Then Voss raised her face.

A thread snapped.

The broken strand recoiled through the air, but Seth immediately moved his fingers. Several new threads formed and stretched towards her wrists. Before they could tighten, another strand broke.

Eider rushed forward.

Voss lifted her hand, and the dark plates covering her fingers struck his forearm. The sound of the impact echoed through the clearing. Eider’s attack was knocked aside, and his body shifted unexpectedly as he tried to redirect the force.

Voss followed with a second strike.

He was forced backwards, his boots scraping across the ground. The threads around her continued to snap, one after another, while the golden cage flickered.

"Deacon Eider!" Seth shouted.

He changed the movement of his hands. The runes on the cage rearranged themselves, and the golden walls brightened. The remaining threads pulled taut, forcing Voss’s arms away from her body.

Eider regained his footing and moved in again.

His fist came from the side, but its trajectory changed just before reaching her. Voss managed to block it with her forearm, though the impact still drove her backwards. The cage flashed as her body struck the barrier.

Thomas watched the deacons closely.

They were still dangerous opponents. Even after Voss had broken several restraints, Seth had managed to reinforce the formation, and Eider had continued attacking without hesitation. Their coordination made it difficult to find an opening. If either of them had been fighting alone, the situation might have been different.

But together, they were forcing Voss to deal with several threats at once.

Ryan shifted beside Thomas. "Can she break out?"

Thomas kept his gaze on the cage. "I think so."

"You think so?"

"I’ve seen what she’s capable of. This won’t be enough to stop her."

He did not know how long it would take, however. The deacons had managed to hold her in place for longer than he had expected, and the strain of maintaining the formation was beginning to show. Seth’s movements had become sharper, and the golden runes flickered whenever Voss broke another thread.

Mina looked towards Thomas. "Should we help her?"

"Not yet. We don’t know enough about that spell. If we get caught in it, we’ll only make things worse."

She nodded, though her attention remained on Voss.

A sudden pulse of mana swept through the clearing.

The golden cage trembled.

Thomas felt the change before he saw it. The mana surrounding Voss had begun to gather closer to her body, and the dark haze that had been moving around her shoulders was spreading across her arms. The markings on her skin appeared darker than before.

Seth’s incantation faltered for a brief moment.

Eider stepped back, raising his guard.

Voss slowly straightened. The threads around her wrists tightened again, but she no longer seemed to be struggling against them. Instead, the darkness around her fingers began to gather into a denser mass.

Thomas watched the change with growing interest. He had seen the first transformation when Voss whispered the name of her Talent. The horns, crimson eyes and dark plates had appeared almost immediately, but this felt different. The mana pressure was increasing, and even the golden runes seemed to react to it.

He could not tell what she was preparing.

"That’s enough," Voss said.

Her voice was quiet, but Thomas heard it clearly.

The darkness around her hands spread further. The threads began to tremble, and another one snapped near her shoulder. Seth moved his fingers rapidly, attempting to reinforce the restraints, while Eider kept his distance.

Thomas took a step back.

He had no idea what the next stage of Hellspawn would look like, but the deacons seemed to recognise that something was changing. Their earlier confidence had given way to caution.

Voss raised her head, her crimson eyes fixed on the two men outside the cage.

The golden walls flickered once more.

Thomas watched as the darkness gathered around her entire body.