Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2121: All’s Fair In War

Grey reached up and slowly removed the mask. The well-defined features beneath it were unmistakable, the same sharp lines and steady gaze that had already become legend among those who tracked his movements.

The only Gnome still accompanied by a puppet, Roherin, stared in open disbelief as his earlier suspicion hardened into certainty. Every Gnome present had heard the reports of what happened to Wilmot. The news had spread through their ranks like wildfire: a Peak Sovereign slain by a fighter who had still been only at the Ninth stage of the Sovereign Plane. That single fact had been enough to make Grey’s name a cautionary tale. Now they stood face to face with the man himself and finally understood how such a feat had been possible. The speed and completeness of the earlier mental assault had been nearly impossible to detect. None of them had even considered the possibility that Grey might appear in this remote stretch of desert. All previous confirmed sightings had placed him on the mainlands, far from this barren frontier.

”Thank you, Roherin.”

One of the other Gnomes spoke first, voice still tight with residual tension. If Roherin had not been immune to Grey’s mental pressure, the rest of them would have been finished. The Gnome Old Humphrey had chosen as his target had seen the incoming attack clearly yet remained completely unable to move. Only Roherin’s timely intervention had saved him.

The remaining Gnomes quickly added their own words of gratitude. Roherin felt a brief swell of pride at the recognition, yet he could not savor it. Grey’s calm gaze rested on their group from across the open air, and that quiet attention was enough to keep any sense of triumph tightly leashed.

Roherin forced his nerves under control and addressed the unmasked young man.

”You hid yourself carefully.”

Grey gave a slight shrug.

”It’s a shame someone like you happened to be here today. Without you we would have killed all six.”

Roherin’s lip curled.

”You humans and your shady tactics. If you ever dared face us like real men, you would be crushed into the sand like the insects you are.”

Blaire’s temper flared at once.

”As if you Gnomes ever fight fair. Without the corpses of dead humans turned into puppets, what would any of you amount to? I would have crushed you like the tiny bug you are if that puppet had not been shielding you.”

Roherin scoffed but offered no further reply. His attention remained fixed on Grey. The young man had been a subject of discussion among the Gnomes for years; seeing the legend in person held a strange fascination. The other four shared that interest, though in their eyes the fascination was mixed with clear residual fear. Unlike Roherin, they still carried the memory of that single frozen instant when Grey severed their connection to their puppets and left them utterly helpless. Watching lethal attacks race toward them while their bodies refused to respond had felt like the end of the world. None of them wished to experience it again, or to share Varg’s fate.

The five Gnomes remained motionless, unwilling to make the first move.

Old Humphrey exchanged a brief glance with the three women. All four pairs of eyes settled on Grey at the same moment.

”Leave the most injured one to me,” Grey said with quiet confidence. Void rested on his shoulder. ”The rest of you can handle the others.”

Odelia’s gaze moved from the cat to Grey. When Void’s body had turned into Grey’s form earlier, she had finally understood why Grey insisted she keep the cat with her during the fight. What still puzzled her was how completely Void had vanished before that moment. She had not even needed to tell him to hide; the cat had simply disappeared until the critical second when he reappeared, whispered the warning, and switched places.

”Odel?” Old Humphrey turned toward Odelia after Grey’s declaration.

”I can still deal with one,” she answered, deliberately shifting attention away from her ruined hand. ”You can handle that one and his puppet, correct?”

Old Humphrey understood the deflection yet allowed it. He gave a short nod.

”I am not certain I can finish him, but I can keep him from interfering with any of you. Go all out from the start.”

Those words supplied the final measure of reassurance the group needed. Aside from Roherin, every remaining Gnome carried injuries of varying severity. That weakness was an advantage the humans could not afford to waste.

Five humans and five Gnomes faced one another across the open sky. The pressure of their clashing auras thickened the air until the desert wind itself seemed to hesitate.

A second later the humans launched themselves forward.

The Gnomes had already lost the initiative. Most of them could no longer rely on their puppets, and the death of one of their number forced even greater caution.

Roherin turned his head toward a Gnome dressed in white and pointed at Grey.

”Handle him quickly so you can assist the rest of us.”

Although the Gnomes still feared Grey’s ability to freeze them and sever their puppet links, they believed his true elemental strength remained limited. In their view a Ninth-stage Sovereign should not be able to dominate Peak Sovereigns in a direct contest of power. They had heard he killed Wilmot, yet after tasting the helplessness of a severed connection they surmised that the only reason for that success was Wilmot’s complete inability to defend himself. No matter how powerful a Peak Sovereign might be, they were not insusceptible to the attacks of a Ninth stage Sovereign once left entirely defenseless.

The white-robed Gnome fixed his eyes on Grey. The earlier fear had already given way to a sharp, almost hungry delight. His injuries were the worst among the surviving Gnomes, yet that very fact now seemed like fortune. If he killed Grey Dawson, the Emperor’s reward would be substantial. He could barely believe such an opportunity had fallen into his hands simply because he was the most injured.

A confident grin spread across his face.

”Gladly.”