It happened so quickly, in the proverbial twinkle of an eye.
First, an exchange of looks, accompanied by an exchange of attacks.
Alas, at this point, Alex was well-versed on how to take care of Thera, who, for some reason, didn’t seem all that eager to fight, and as long as he struck first, there was no way he would lose.
He didn’t even bother snapping more than once, utilizing the short window of opportunity provided for him to conjure a terrifying white hole that devoured everything in a blinding light.
By the time the light ceased, a crater stood where the council hall building once was, a testament to the destructive capabilities of White Hole.
Azazel, seemingly destroyed in the explosion, once again materialized next to Alex, prepared to make a move the moment his Master said the word.
Though the fight was over, Alex couldn’t remain calm as he felt like something was wrong.
Save for the fact that Arwen was still out there, he had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something.
What it was, he couldn’t quite figure out.
Just then, there was an audible crack overhead, drawing his attention to the dark ice barrier he’d placed over the portal leading to the Abyss.
He watched with a perplexed look as the portal widened and the barrier broke, allowing even more odd things to enter Eventide.
"What’s going on?" He breathed out as he struggled to understand why the portal was still spreading.
He had dealt with Thera and her supporters and ensured that no other person was killed, yet... for some reason, the portal continued to enlarge.
Jolted from his thoughts, Alex shook his head to clear his mind and in turn, focus on what was important.
"Charlotte," Alex remarked. "Use Excalibur."
Immediately, the shadowed Silver Captain returned her blade to its sheath before reaching into Alex’s shadow and pulling out Excalibur, which had found a home there.
She unsheathed the GodKiller and prepared for what was to come.
"Humphrey!... Focus on closing the portal, Azazel and I will deal with the monstrosities!"
The flames blanketing the skies ceased in an instant as Humphrey shifted his attention to closing the portal, which was rapidly expanding, mere inches away from being large enough for the Timeless Serpent to emerge.
Humphrey could already feel a great force pushing from the other side and its Authority had already begun to affect Eventide as the area directly underneath the portal began to experience an endless cycle of rot and rebirth.
Alex and his Knights avoided the portal range as they went about their tasks.
Azazel, utilizing his Master’s Ability to fly unimpeded, soared into the sky and began to slay the odd things, though, unlike Humphrey, he was not as proficient, only able to deal damage, one thing at a time.
As for Alex, he snapped once and utilizing Night Dwelling, conjured several winged creatures to handle the odd things.
Then, he snapped a second time, conjuring another layer of ice over the portal to prevent the entry of more Classless monstrosities.
Soon enough, the Incursion stalled, at which point Alex thought the fighting was over.
Only for there to be a sudden explosion of energy in the aether directed at the portal, a phenomenon that caught him and his Knights off guard.
Almost immediately, the portal expanded to its greatest extent and following that, an Authority, one so twisted and corrupted it went against everything within Eventide, spread across the entirety of Sklaviunt, halting Alex and his cohorts in their tracks, after which its owner revealed itself.
It appeared as a ridiculously long and humongous serpent with pale white scales.
Its tail was in its mouth and as it slowly spun in a circular motion, it appeared to fluctuate between death and rebirth constantly.
This odd phenomenon was not only restricted to its body as it spread across the entirety of Sklaviunt in the form of an invincible wave.
A moment later, everything went blank.
Two women stood within a translucent golden box-shaped barrier at a vantage point, overlooking what appeared to be the ruins of a city in a nearby valley.
The sky above this particular area was tinged purplish red and radiated an otherwise repulsive aura that left both women with sour looks on their faces.
The area around the ruins was covered with rocks one moment and dust the next, with the odd process moving without pause.
As for the two women, one was a young lady who appeared to be in her late twenties with red hair and fair skin.
Her irises bore the same color as her hair, and she was dressed in an expensive purple silk dress with minimal jewelry, while the other lady was blonde with a piece of clean bandage placed over her eyes.
The blonde wore a green garment and was also with very little jewelry, similar to the first lady.
Save for the ruins ahead, there was nothing else around the area for as far as the eyes could see, and as for people, these two peculiar ladies were the only ones around, a circumstance they were more than happy with.
"What do you see?" The redhead asked as she glanced at the blonde while holding a rock.
The blonde, with one hand placed atop the other in front of her, didn’t immediately respond, instead taking a moment to meditate.
After a beat, she replied. "Something happened here. Something.. horrible."
"So same thing I saw." The redhead intoned as she flicked the rock she was holding only to catch it again.
"What do we do?" The blonde inquired. "We have to help them."
"I’m aware." The redhead replied. "But it’s not something we can easily deal with."
As she said that, she made her way toward the ruins with the blonde following closely behind.
Once they were close, the redhead stopped, prompting the blonde to do the same.
Then, the former reached a hand out only for her hand to stop midway as her palm was pressed against a barrier.
"No." The redhead grimly replied. "Something worse."