Chapter 3858: Redundancy (Part 1)

"An Eldritch?" Bytra read the report out loud. "And much stronger than me and Zor? Are you sure that’s not just a spell? With a mana geyser at their disposal, a Horde could have taken their time and weaved a powerful array to knock us down."

"I’m sorry, Bytra, but there’s no mistake." Solus replied. "These are the movements of the Eldritch." She pointed at the jet-black strokes that painted the air. "And these are his spells."

She zoomed out on the hologram and removed the filters, revealing colossal black pillars that blot out the entire area.

"Lith filtered out the energy signature of the Eldritch’s spells to follow his movements. Otherwise, with that much interference, we would have never noticed that after defeating you and Zoreth, he opened a Chaos Steps headed north."

"How can you tell he moved north?" Bytra asked.

"It’s just an assumption, but a reasonable one." Lith replied. "People always instinctively open a Warp Steps in the direction they are moving towards. It helps them remember the dimensional coordinates and gives us a starting point for our research."

"Wait a second." Bytra felt the tower powering up with world energy for a Warp and raised her hand to stop it. "Something is off. Are you sure that this Eldritch is stronger than me?"

"Just as I’m sure you are stronger than me." Solus shrugged. "Why?"

"Because it’s impossible." Bytra replied. "I am one of the youngest among the members of the Organization, but even I know there’s a limit to the strength an Eldritch can reach.

"We are no white cores. We have no apex form, and without a physical body, there is no possibility of developing new bloodline abilities. We can’t use most pieces of equipment, build ourselves mage towers, and there’s no possibility for further evolution."

"An Eldritch is a dead end, a disaster-level scavenger, but that’s it. People like Tezka, Orulm, and Nelia reached that limit millennia ago and failed to surpass it until they met the Master, or they would have never joined his side.

"The only differences between them were their spells and Eldritch abilities. It’s the reason Orulm was even stronger than Tezka before they received their monster cores."

"Tezka wasn’t the strongest?" Lith echoed in disbelief.

"No, he wasn’t." Bytra shook her head. "With identical black cores, Orulm’s Break ability gave him a much greater destructive power. He could have killed any of us and most white cores with a single spell.

"But who cares about this? Focus on saving Zor, please!"

"I am focusing on it." Lith replied. "I’m looking for an explanation for this Eldritch’s strength. I won’t take part in the rescue operation, but unless we understand who we are dealing with, there is no telling if you can save Zor before he kills her."

***

Lith and Solus reached the other two mana geysers and conjured the tower again.

"He’s come here in the recent past, but there is no trace of him." Solus said while on the geyser to the west of Zalma. "He was probably looking for the best spot to ambush you. The only trace I can find of the unknown Eldritch points to our earlier position."

Once they reached the mana geyser north of Zalma, the Watchtower’s readings confirmed Lith’s hypothesis.

"He’s headed north." Solus said. "I can perceive a faint trace in the distance. I think he opened another Chaos Steps there."

"Only one way to know." Lith moved to the Warping Mirror and opened a dimensional corridor going as far as the tower could make it.

Then, he leaned past the threshold of the Steps while wearing the Eyes, doubling their range.

"Confirmed. It’s the Eldritch’s energy signature, and there’s even Zoreth’s." Solus said. "Do you know of another mana geyser in that direction?"

Bytra didn’t reply for a second.

Most of the mana geysers were hidden from Life Vision by the Elders of the Awakened Council who owned them. A few of the geysers were unknown even to the Council, and the Organization used them as safe houses for their dealings.

Revealing their existence to an outsider was an act of treason that might have gotten Bytra killed or at least shunned by her newfound family.

"Yes. There is a mana geyser just three hundred kilometers north-east from there." She pointed at a location on the world map near the Wegan region.

’I’ll worry about the Organization later. If something were to happen to Zor because of me, I’d never forgive myself.’ She thought.

"Stay where you are." Lith said. "I’ll fly at Dragonspeed and summon the tower after I imprint the geyser."

***

Tower Warp after Tower Warp, Lith and Solus found themselves at the borders with the Gorgon Empire and then crossed them.

"We are on the right path." Menadion said. "The energy signature is getting stronger, and its lingering traces fresher. This guy has travelled a long way to capture Zoreth. Do you have any idea why?

"No Eldritch would be so stupid that they would make an enemy of the Organization without a very good reason. Just studying your habits and routes must have taken him months."

"I have no clue." Bytra replied. "An Eldritch has no use for Zor’s artifacts, and she would never betray the Organization. If she has captured her for information, she’d rather die than talk."

***

Somewhere in the Gorgon Empire, at the same time.

"I have been a fool." The Eldritch known as Raum the Wonderer said. "I’ve wasted so many years, so many precious specimens in amateurish experiments doomed to fail. Now, however, I have succeeded, and the path in front of me is clear.

"As much as I loathe to admit it, I need to steal the secrets of the work of this so-called Master to further my research. How many hybrids are there in the Organization?"

’I’d rather die than talk.’ Xenagrosh thought.

"Fifteen." Yet she answered the question.

Her enslaved mind had no care for honor or loyalty, only to follow the orders of its master.

"How many of them can use Life Maelstrom?" Raum asked.

"Two. A Griffon and a Garuda."

"Redundancy." He nodded. "A wise principle. I can tinker with the first as much as I want if I have a spare. What about Elemental Flow?"

"Still two, but different hybrids. A Fenrir and a Leviathan." Xenagrosh replied.

"Excellent, but that will come later. First, I need the Fourth Ruler of the Flames. Where can I find her?" Raum said.

"I don’t know." She replied.

"What do you mean, you don’t know?" The Eldritch’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"In a case like mine, the Organization’s standard procedure is to suspend all operations, regroup at a location chosen on the moment by the Master, and enact a full lockdown." Xenagrosh explained.

"I am strong and know too much about the Organization. Since you’ve managed to capture me despite our buddy system, the Master won’t offer you an easy prey. He’ll focus on identifying the threat, finding it, and eliminating it."

"Again, a wise man." Raum emitted a low growl. "I lack the strength to take on the entire Organization in its own home. For now. If I contact Bytra and threaten your life, will she come to me?"

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