The fight over the G.o.ddess"s Sanctum had been actively witnessed by thousands of individuals, as no steps had been taken to hide it from the view of those who had reached a certain level of power.
Hence, even after leaving the airs.p.a.ce above the sect, the three women who were the reason behind it beginning, in the first place, were able to watch it while waiting in the place that they knew would be where their target would retreat to, after she was routed by her enemies.
Each and every instant of the fight had been closely witnessed by the trio, with the weaker two of the three being the most fascinated, as they longed for the time when they could also display that level of power.
The Matron was also paying close attention, but from the way her eyes kept darting to the cavern they were in, it was clear that her mind was on other things, too.
Up until the moment it had seemed that Hero Northstar was invincible, all three of them were tensed up, as they knew that the tables would turn, but they needed to see it to a.s.sure themselves of the fact that their enemy was not so absurdly powerful that it was a pipe dream to even want to target her.
Thankfully, when the Hero who had taken on the leader"s role took out that golden s.h.i.+eld and stopped Northstar in her tracks, all three heaved a sigh of relief, and Eloise spoke.
"She"ll be here soon. What is it, Matron? You said you were sure that she would use this place?"
Seeing that Eloise had noticed her apprehension, the Matron sighed and replied.
"Yes, she will. Creating a secret lair is no easy feat - with the Order always keeping a close eye on everything going on in the continent, it"s quite hard to undertake the construction of a place that one can truly trust to be concealed no matter how much time pa.s.ses. Most Heroes don"t even succeed in creating one, but she… Is different. The only reason I even know of this place is that she had to bring me here when we were attacked, once, by some of her enemies. She thought I was unconscious, then, but I was awake enough to see how she located the place, and how she unlocked it. In all these years, she has never mentioned it. Even if she has others, this is quite close to the sect, and she would definitely choose to come to a place where she can arrive the fastest. Still… My heart is disturbed. Maybe it"s just my nerves - I can"t imagine what the other sect members would say if they saw that the respect Matron is so panicky. I always did advocate that the icy coolness of a G.o.ddess should be maintained no matter what the odds are - and I think I"ll take my advice."
The Matron said the last part while chuckling to herself, and on hearing it, Eloise and Xuan could not help but share a look between each other.
Before they could say anything, though, the battle reached the point where the transformation of that heavenly body began, and seeing it, the Matron snapped to attention and said, "Get ready - this is it. I was hoping it would happen. She spoke to me about it, once - it"s an all-out gambit which severely damages her, but it allows her to strike with enough force to break through even the toughest of restriction formations."
No sooner had the last word left the Matron"s lips, all three of them felt a change in the atmosphere that they were in.
They had taken up their positions inside the statue which, apparently, was an experiment by the Hero to create something similar to the amalgam that had given the King of Lanthanor such a tough fight.
As they realized that what they were feeling was the sign of someone opening the formations of the cavern they were in, all of them fell silent, and activated the spells that they had cast before which significantly slowed down their heartbeat.
Even their body heat was reduced so that they wouldn"t attract any attention, at all, and as they saw a beleaguered figure appear right in front of them, perceptible excitement could be seen in all of their eyes.
However, as they had discussed before, they made no moves until the Hero was right in front of them, and just as she flipped on the lights… They attacked.
The G.o.ddess"s statue, which looked exactly like one from the sect sprang forward, and as a crescent blade appeared in one hand, it struck down with the force of an Eminent Hero on the one who had escaped, miraculously, from the onslaught of 14 Peak Heroes.
Alas, unlike before, the Hero"s senses were in an extremely heightened state because of the fight, and hence, although surprise initially appeared on her face, it was swept away in barely a moment as she raised a hand to stop the blow that could easily have cut her in two.
BANG!
With a loud sound, the barrier that she hastily made broke.
Using the counterforce, Hero Northstar hastily retreated, but her eyes were fixed on the statue in front of her - and the people that she could see within.
"You! Hahahahahaha- this is rich! Rich, I tell you! My daughter and granddaughter, scheming together to kill me! Well, everything is absolutely clear now - it was you who set up everything in the sect before. Not a bad plan, I admit, but it wasn"t enough- and neither will you be. And you- aren"t you that wench who belongs to that bratty King? Ah… You must be the planner! I raised these two, so I know what they"re capable of- they couldn"t have thought of something like this. Well, now I know who to blame, but how can you be so foolish? Why didn"t you just wait here with his Heroes, which would definitely have killed me? Instead, you"ve delivered all of you heads into my hands!"
It seemed that all of the surprises that the Hero had had to undergo in such a short period of time had slightly unhinged her, as she began to cackle after saying this.
Instead of responding to her words, though, the G.o.ddess"s statue simply… Raised her hand.
In a scene that would definitely bring up a lot of bad memories if Daneel was here, a globe of light formed in front of that hand which shot forward in barely a second.
And with that, it became clear just how much damage had been done to the great Hero Northstar in the fight that she had just had to undergo.
Due to all the time that she had taken, and by using many of the resources left behind by the first G.o.ddess, Hero Northstar had been quite successful in creating a replica, even though it was a fact that it wasn"t as effective at unifying the power of all those who were inside it as the original one which stood as the guardian of the sect.
The globe of light that had flown forth did so with a speed which would have made it miss if it were up against any Peak Hero.
Yet… As it whizzed through the air, Hero Northstar could only stare at it with dread visible on her face, before she was finally able to jump aside at the last moment and barely miss the radius of the explosion by a small bit.
Seeing this, the face and the statue of the G.o.ddess smiled, and a strange voice which seemed to be a mixture of three individual ones rang out in the cavern.
"It seems that all you"ve done today is bluff, Hero Northstar. You"ve been extremely weakened by the fight. This place is completely on lockdown - there is no way out. Now, it is time for revenge. You do not deserve to even say the words "daughter" or "granddaughter"- you only used us as you saw the potential that we had. In your daughter"s case, you ma.s.sacred her entire family secretly and then pretended to be pa.s.sing over the location where she was, so that you could adopt her into your care, and magically discover that she was so talented. And in your granddaughter"s case, you made her entire village turn against her and give her such a horrible childhood that she was ready to accept anyone as long as they showed her even an iota of love. Everything you"ve done in your life has been to benefit you, and only you, and today, you shall pay."
While the statue spoke, it wasn"t idle - both of its hands were raised, and as globes of dense Energy gathered in front of them, Hero Northstar hastily scrambled to her feet, as she had fallen down when she had escaped the attack before.
The attacks were shot forth as soon as they were ready, and as they zoomed through the air while illuminating the cold, hard surfaces of the walls of the cavern, it looked like those same walls would soon be covered by the blood of their target.
Hero Northstar even began to pant as the attacks came nearer and nearer, and this time, it seemed that she would not have enough Energy to escape. What she had done before was essentially an act of self-destruction, and hence, it was a given that she would be extremely fatigued.
With bated breath, the three women watched as Hero Northstar really did not manage to do anything as the two attacks came within an inch of her, and as they took in a breath of antic.i.p.ation while thinking that their plan was a grand success… The Hero finally moved.
She raised her own hands, but seeing this, Xuan scoffed as there was no way that she would be able to do anything.
However… That scoff stopped midway, as the two globes of energy suddenly stopped in front of her.
Hastily, Xuan used her elementary vision to see what was happening, and as she realized just why they had stopped… Panic and disbelief filled her mind.
The elementary particles that belonged to the globes of energy were not being controlled by the Hero. No, they had stopped because someone in a different direction had stepped in, and as she saw just who that was, she screamed, "NO!"
At the same time, she felt a hand catch hers and pull her to the side, and as she was too caught up in the nightmare that she had just stepped into, she didn"t resist.
With a loud sound, the G.o.ddess"s statue suddenly broke apart, and through the dust and smoke that resulted from it, three figures darted out in different directions.
Two were headed in the opposite direction of the other, and as they ground to a halt a few feet away, Xuan had to find the courage to look up and confirm what she just sensed.
Indeed… It was the Matron.
With a dead look in her eyes, the Matron stood in front of the extremely weak Hero Northstar.
Even though she was bent over with exhaustion, the Hero started to laugh gleefully when she saw the expression on Xuan"s face.
As Xuan"s eyes began to fill with the same pain that she had just managed to put aside after finding out that her entire life had been a lie, tears started to leak from the Matron"s eyes, and using this opportunity, Eloise spoke.
"My suspicions were right… you did much more than just taking promises from her, didn"t you? But then… Why didn"t you do the same with Xuan?"
This finally made vexation appear on the Hero"s face, and as she answered, it was in a voice filled with spite.
"It"s because of her, of course! She knew what I had done to her, so she tried her best to make sure that I wouldn"t do the same even though I tried on many occasions… Of course, the problem is also that I did not find another baby that I could exploit right away. Well, I thought that I would have a chance later, but look where that brought me…"
Eloise looked to the side with the hope that this answer might have brought solace to Xuan, but instead, she had crumbled to her knees, while all the agony once again began to turn into the same mindless rage that had almost made her begin a suicide mission, instead of going about with a plan like they were doing now.
Eloise wasn"t even sure whether Xuan had heard the answer, as she had had to take another wound in the same place which was still bleeding.
Seeing this, the Hero shrugged and said, "Your heart was always weak. Now, it will kill you. Go- end this quickly, so that I can rest."
Saying so, the Hero smiled and waited for the tables to completely turn on her opponents.
Yet, strangely… The Matron did not move.
This time, it was the Hero"s turn to feel surprise.
As she walked forward to see what was wrong, Eloise"s voice rang out confidently in the cavern, and on hearing it, the Hero could only stare at her with her mouth ajar.
"Did you really think that I wouldn"t act on my suspicions? Your skills lie in gathering power more than planning, Hero Northstar. I knew the Matron might still be on your side due to some or the other hidden mechanism, so together, we created an insurance policy - self-destruction. She was the one who suggested it, because she hates you so much that she is ready to die rather than attack her daughter, whom she loves with all her heart. Get ready to perish at the hands of your own sins, you worthless piece of sc.u.m."