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Goblin and Lynx barely made it out of range in time. Well, itÆs more like they were spared, but they had no way of knowing that.
They were both on the ground, having literally lunged for safety. TheyÆd both broken down several walls just to get out in time. And now they looked at what had been Sheol Prison.
Now, it was just a crater; a perfect hemisphere that looked like someone had carefully cut it out of the world. It was an amazing feat; annihilating even such a small area without leaving even a trace behind.
But the impressiveness of the spell theyÆd only just escaped was not what they were focused on.
They knew what this meant.
ôMy, myàGleipnir is as impressive as legend tells.ö Archangel said, levitating towards the edge of the crater, solid land, and, most importantly, them.
Lynx and Goblin quickly lifted themselves to their feet.
This was bad. This was very, very bad.
ôLynx, stay calm.ö Goblin said, taking control even though it was obvious he was a scared as his partner. ôThat spell must have taken a huge amount of power. He had to take down the wards and seals and then destroy the entire area. Even if heÆs a superior opponent, the two of us are both fresh while heÆs used a great deal of power.ö
Archangel reached solid ground, allowing the partners to take a good look at them. He was basically unchanged. He still wore his prison garb; a tight, formfitting white outfight. It was tight enough that it must have been uncomfortable, but that was just a bonus; its main purpose was to make it obvious if he was hiding something underneath it. HeÆd been searched heavily prior to his imprisonment, butà
There was one change to it, though. The seals and ruins that had glowed upon it before were gone, leaving it a normal piece of cloth.
Other than that, he had only one other thing. The chains of Gleipnir were still wrapped around him tightly, though without anything to bind him too, they did little good.
ôMy Damnation erased all the seals, butàit seems even it couldnÆt break this chain. HmàI must admit; IÆm very impressed. The Wolf this was made for must have been something else, huh?ö Archangel said looking at them with calm eyes. ôButàno matter how strong the Chain; without anything to chain me to, itÆs worthless.ö
His deft hands slowly unwrapped the chain from his body, dropping loop after loop onto the ground.
ôI am not without mercy; IÆll give you until IÆm finished to prepare yourselves.ö He said, looking at the chain and ignoring them entirely.
Goblin and Lynx shared a glance, coming to a mutual agreement.
ôBakemono!ö Lynx cried, summoning his familiar.
Flames gathered in his hands, hand he immediately cast it to the earth. It spread with unnatural quickness, washing over the area like spilt water. Lynx consciously avoided his partner, sparing him from the flames.
Archangel, for his part, simply stood in the flames and ignored them. He continued to untie himself as if nothing was happening.
That didnÆt mean he wasnÆt paying attention, though.
The flames began to writhe, forming a skeleton of pure white flames. It was feline, based on the dentistry, skull structure, and tail; the fact that it was a vertebrate and bipedal helped narrow it down, but a lot of things fit both of those criteria.
Moments later, a musculature of red flames began to grow over the skeleton, settling only once it was completely covered. Finally, a hide of orange flame grew over it.
ArchangelÆs hands paused for a moment as he looked at the feline curiously. If, as he suspected, Lynx079 drew his name from his familiar, then it was probably also a lynx. Cat biology wasnÆt his specialty, so he couldnÆt say what that meant, if anything.
Magic, howeverà
ôYour familiar is a Bakeneko, a monster cat. ItÆs an animal spirit that belongs to the Category of æMonstrous Beasts.Æ Its aspect is Fire and its color is Red, much like yours. However, a Bakeneko shouldnÆt be able to manifest powers of this scale unless it was a member of the æMythic Beasts,Æ which yours is not. Therefore, it is able to manifest in this form because of you, Lynx. IÆm impressed, I must admit; I didnÆt think youÆd be able to do something like this. HmàyouÆve combined two of the Asian Systems with the European System? From a glance, IÆd say youÆre using the Chinese Elements in conjunction with the classical Japanese Shikigami, but using the European style of Elemental Manifestation. ThatÆs pretty complicated.ö Archangel said, quietly clapping. ôHoweveràcomplicated doesnÆt necessarily equal effective. Shall we put it to the test?ö
Lynx was unnerved by how his entire spell was instantly dissected, but he had no intention of starting something if their opponent was literally giving them time to prepare.
Archangel noticed that and simply smiled. He looked back to his chains and continued to remove them as the pair went back to preparing.
ôGoblin.ö 033 spoke.
His display was less visually impressive; he summoned a clear substance, ectoplasm, and animated it with magic. It quickly formed itself into a small green creature with faded brown clothing and a large but simple club. It was the traditional British familiar summoning.
Boring, yet practical, Archangel noted, a technique honed to perfection over about five hundred years.
The pair watched him with cautions eyes as he undid the last of the chain. They hadnÆt attacked yet only because they were still preparing; it was just less visible. They were probably aware that while Gleipnir was a powerful chain, it didnÆt restrain anything in its current situation; Archangel was simply removing an annoyance.
He dropped the chain to the ground and stretched, free in every way.
ôThatÆs better.ö He said, satisfied. ôYou guys ready?ö
That was apparently the signal, as both of the familiars immediately rushed him. The two magicians stayed back, but they were hurling spells; fireballs of various shapes and sizes flew towards him before he finished talking.
He smirked.
ôItÆs my turn, then. Guile!ö