Limits

Others charged as well, especially the Furians at his side. Humans, Lizards and others readied their weapons as well, but I stopped them again. "You want to stop an entire army alone?", one of them asked. "Just stay back", I replied while taking a step forward. "You think you can face us alone Human? What arrogance!", the Eterian leader shouted, and split into five. A smile appeared on my face, but the mask obstructed it. "I was surprised that you'd want to fight head on. An Eterian who specialises in close combat, that's a first", I said, while my copy appeared next to me.

"Sadly, you are not the only one", I added before both me and my copy bent down, and accelerated towards them. "BOOM!"... "What speed!", the people behind me exclaimed. I quickly arrived in front of the Eterian and his illusions, but he wasn't my target. "Art of War: Warlike Combat", "Boom!, Boom!, Boom!", the three Furians behind him flew into the air, as my Aura resurfaced underneath them. The Eterian and his copies tried attacking my copy, whereas I made another move.

"Bam!, Swoosh!, Bam!", another two Furians got punched into the air, while I left my back exposed. "You loose", the Eterian claimed. I smiled but didn't turn around, "Did I?". "Pak… Huh?", one of the Eterians tripped over a rock I concealed with my Aura. The other four tried slamming their swords into my back. While my right arm was concealed from their view, I condensed a ball of mist, ready to be released anytime.

Just as the blades arrived, I used my Blink Formation, and appeared a few metres above them. "Shing!", the whole area froze, while an ice pillar rose into the air. The other four copies disappeared due to damage, while the "real" Eterian tried to find his footing. "With just one copy, I don't think you can make it", I said to him. The fifth copy smiled, and disappeared into nothingness. A voice travelled from the crowd of Eterians. "For you to see through it, not bad. Being able to resist that many illusions, you really are a monster". An Eterian with a long slender sword stepped out of the crowd. This was their leader, a mastermind in a way.

The reason I was able to resist those illusions, was rather simple but amazing. The Aural domain didn't affect only physical attacks or Formations. It was able to disrupt illusions too. That was something I found during the whole battle, otherwise I wouldn't be so easy going. Thanks to Grey Lizards and the training, my Auras became much stronger, but also my control because much more fluid. The Aural domain didn't require as much Auras as it did in the past, especially if I enveloped my body alone inside that domain.

I decided to try something else. "How about this? Let's have a bout. If I win, you will help us defeat Bramans. If you win, I will join you and do whatever you want. We can do a Blood Pact, which will prevent any cheating. I will even allow you to choose a few Furians as your aids, just to make it more interesting. Up for it?".

He laughed, "That confident? How about, I refuse?". "Grip", "Gah!". I used the Blink Formation to appear in front of him, and grabbed him by his neck. That was the occasion I was waiting for. He lost focus for a second, and that was enough. "You are mistaken Eterian. I can kill any of you as I please. Destroying you can be this simple, yet I…", before I could finish, a dagger appeared in his hand. He thrusted it towards my heart, without a second thought. I smiled underneath my mask, and activated the Formation. "Clang!", his dagger stopped on the armour, unable to make as much as a scratch. I grabbed his dagger, and took a look at it. "Poison? I already went through this once. Not going to work this time though". I hid the dagger away, this was a good opportunity to actually try and find a cure later.

"Let… Me… Go", he squeezed out. Others surrounded me with their weapons ready, but no one moved. I could feel other Eterians trying to influence me with their illusion, which meant I didn't have much time. "I wonder whether others would change their minds, if I got rid of you. One guy for a whole race, not such a bad deal, don't you think?". Before he squeezed out anything else, I heard a familiar voice. "Wait, don't kill him!". It was Nick's voice to be precise. I lost focus for a split second, but that was enough for him to escape my grasp.

Others immediately attacked, while I stomped on the ground, and launched myself backwards. Fortunately my reaction was well timed, otherwise I might've gotten injured from all the Aural attacks. At a much safer distance, I spoke once more. "So, we meet again Laly. It wasn't nice of you to betray me back then, in the Great Forest". The familiar Eterian appeared from the group, but her face revealed a deep shock. "Yes, I still remember you. Yes, it was me back then. Seems you grew up well. Your skills improved", I said. She didn't reply, but a hoarse voice of the Eterian leader sounded from the backlines instead. "Kill him!".

The Furians advanced again, while Eterians tried their illusions. 'I need to break their control over Furians. If Furians wake up, we might have a chance', I thought while backing up. Arrows and even Aural skills were flying my way. 'Turns out they didn't seal all Furians' Auras. Those guys must be controlled more thoroughly then. If I can wake one of them up, there might be a chance', I thought. The display of my strength didn't work, which meant I had to strike a different spot.

I stopped abruptly, before advancing towards the Furian army chasing after me. I wanted to grab one of those Furians, and test something out. Just as I appeared in front of a Furian, a few attacks headed my way. With the Natural Path skill and my intensified Domineering Aura, I appeared and disappeared like an illusion. This was no longer some simple Natural Path skill, 'Art of Stealth: Illusionary Path'. All their attacks missed, while I grabbed the Furian who was able to use his Aura. As soon as he was in my hands, I increased the range of my Aura domain to encompass both of us, before retreating toward the allied troops.

"You should've killed him, when you had the chance", one of the Humans spoke quite annoyed. "I might have a way to bring Furians back on our side", I replied while letting the Furian go. He was still inside my domain, which shielded him from illusions. My domain wasn't there to just attack, I could also protect others as long as they stayed within. "Crow, Atols and Lizards, gain me some time. I need to test something. Harlin, you stay here with me", I said. Crow appeared next to me, and motioned for others to follow.

The Furian was disoriented, unsure what to do. "Can you hear me?", I asked. He looked at me confused, "Who are you?", I pointed at his race, "You were controlled, like others. Some of you are controlled directly, some of you follow the lead of those who are controlled. I'm not your enemy Furian, I want to stop this war". He grabbed his head, screaming in pain. 'Serelis!', I thought and gave him some. "Drink this, you will feel better". He grabbed the bottle, and drank its contents without a second thought.

A while later, he stopped grabbing his head. "We… aren't we enemies? You want to help me… us? A Human?". I nodded, "I know how it is to be owned, to do whatever someone tells you to do, to obey. You are not a slaves Furian, you should dictate your own path in this world". He shook his head, "I no longer… I don't know what to think anymore...". I replied, "Help me, help me free your people". He grabbed his head again, "How? How can I do that?". I smiled, "Just stay here, and wait for my sign. I will try to help your people, and when they wake up. Speak to them, tell them the truth". He nodded, while I called Harlin over. "Watch over him, don't let Eterians make eye contact with him anymore. Make sure he is in no danger", I said before rushing towards the battlefield.

"Crow! Tell your guys to retreat! You will aid me! Atols and Lizards, you retreat as well!", I shouted. Crow did as I said, and all the Shades as well as Atols and Lizards retreated. "What do you have in mind?", Crow asked while appearing next to me. "I need to free all the Furians. Without guards, Eterians are quite defenceless. They rely on Furians to keep an enemy busy. If Furians wake up, we can stop this war".

I grabbed him, and jumped to the side. A few attacks landed in the place we used to be at. "We will round up all the Furians, and then I will try something out. Your task will be to make sure I don't die", I added. He nodded, and looked behind. "Lira, you retreat too!". She refused, and persisted to follow us. "Let her be, we don't have time for that", I said as we got closer to the Eterians.

"Kill him! All of you, kill him!", the leader of Eterians shouted once more. All the Furians charged at us, their whole army comprised of hundreds of soldiers, created a wall between us and the Eterians. 'Good, here goes all or nothing', I thought and used the Blink Formation. As soon as I appeared in the middle of the Furian army, I released my Auras to the maximum. 'Come on, a bit more!', I screamed in my mind, as the Aural domain began enveloping all the Furians.