The brown hair and beard of the Golden Griffon's Headmaster had lost all trace of grey and its red streaks burned like flames under sunlight.
Lith took out War and aimed for the head. Hystar slapped the blade away and then Lith, sending him crashing against the wall.
"Come on, put in some effort. If you bore me, I'm going to call-" The room went dark as Vladion conjured a tier one darkness spell that blackened the ceiling and the walls.
The Firstborn had hidden under Hystar's desk to escape the cruel bite of the sun and plan his counterattack. His wounds closed at a speed visible to the naked eye and he jumped at Hystar while unleashing several spells at the same time.
The golden robe of the Headmaster flapped as he raised his arms and conjured a wall of enchanted stone that blocked the barrage of attacks.
"That's it? I was expecting more from one of Baba Yaga's Firstborns. I heard that you guys are supposed to be stronger than Elder Dragons, but you're way weaker than that. Either the rumors are exaggerated or daylight weakens you."
Hystar had the floor go back to its place and then punched at Vladion so fast that there was no time to dodge. The Vampire managed to block thanks to his millennia of battle experience but the impact sent him flying toward Kalla.
The Wight managed to Blink away only because she had kept herself at a distance.
The Headmaster played with his prey, trying to understand their worth for the human experimentation department and the True Queen.
'How can Hystar be this strong? Based on our readings, the Golden Griffon is bonded to a human.' Lith thought while getting back to his feet with a kip up.
'My guess is that he's like me. He retains part of the mass of his artifact half and he's empowered by the mana geyser below us.' Solus replied without ever stopping to work. 'Yet his vessel is still human.'
Lith nodded and unleashed his tier four Battle Mage spell, Shattered Winter. It generated a shockwave of cold wind that would stiffen the muscles of its victims while also making their bones vibrate.
Even if the Headmaster felt no pain or used darkness fusion, Shattered Winter would cripple his strength.
"Smart, but not enough." Hystar's eyes flared up with mana and the academy's walls came to life, spawning human-sized stone golems.
The constructs were unaffected by the spells and stood on Lith's path long enough for Hystar to recover. He intercepted War with his arm, suffering nothing but a shallow wound.
The edge of the angry blade felt like it had struck a block of Adamant.
"What an amazing artifact! Only the Sword of Arthan has ever managed to hurt me. What else have you got?" Hystar's flesh and his golden robe healed instantly as he moved on the offense.
Lith was heavy but the Headmaster was heavier. Every time they clashed, he was the one who kept being pushed back. To make matters worse, no matter how many golems War destroyed, more kept spawning.
"Enough of this!" Vladion shattered the constructs restricting his movements by flexing his muscles and unleashed the tier five Blood Magic spell, Cursed Life. Awakened undead could use Spirit Magic, but being born from their blood cores it was red instead of emerald green.
A crimson mist spread throughout the room, working akin to a powerful acid against inanimate objects and like both acid and venom for the living.
Cursed Life used the water aspect to slip inside every nook and pore of its victims, fire to burn them, earth to tear them apart, air to cut them open, darkness to eat their essence, and light to fasten its own spreading.
The golem turned into sand and the Headmaster melted, yet they all reformed an instant later.
'Don't give up! The moment his body was destroyed, the academy's power core weakened and its cloaking spells faltered. The scan is going faster.' Solus said, making Vladion wonder who the heck the feminine voice talking belonged to.
"Very good! Yet unless you explain to me why the woman is sitting there like an idiot, I'll end our playtime." Hystar said, receiving a double stab in reply.
Lith had pierced his heart while the Vampire his head, but neither of them seemed to bother him.
"You asked for it. I'm tired of your shenanigans now." Hystar snapped his fingers to activate the alarm, yet nothing happened.
Solus had countered his spell by mixing a few runes from the Sage Staff with those of the surveillance arrays, making them short-circuit.
"This is impossible. How can you-" Agonizing pain cut Hystar short as Lith and Vladion jumped back, leaving their blades inside his body.
War's Counterflow ability was negating the Headmaster's defensive enchantments, allowing Primordial Thirst to unleash all of its spells inside of him without encountering any resistance.
Lith hurled a jet stream of violet Origin Flames while Vladion activated his bloodline ability, Blood Steal. Hystar started to bleed from every orifice and pore as his blood willingly left his body and entered the Vampire's.
The many open wounds made the process faster and easier, filling Vladion with new mana and vigor.
The Headmaster's body crumbled again and the scan of the power core progressed even faster.
"Enough playing!" When Hystar reappeared, the whole office came to life.
Lith, Vladion, and Kalla sunk into the floor which trapped their legs like a vice. They tried to Spirit Blink, but the Headmaster had activated a Dimensional Spell that Solus had never seen before so she failed to counter it.
Static Field didn't seal an element so much as it used gravity to compress the space around its caster, making it hard to bend or deform. Since the spell didn't affect the world energy but an area, even Spirit Magic was affected by it.
Usually, the victims of Static Field just had to spend the same amount of mana the caster had employed to weave a single dimensional spell or retrieve something from a dimensional item.
Hystar, however, had the power of a mana geyser and he used it with extreme prejudice.
Lith gave up on keeping his identity a secret and conjured Void Flames from his body. Vladion activated his bloodline ability Life Aura to erect a defensive wall of life force and break free.
Kalla used her link with the semi-phylactery to add its mana to her own and reach a magical prowess on par with a bright violet core.
All of them failed as the enchanted stone of the Golden Griffon wrapped around them, using its raw mass and power to overwhelm them.
"Welcome back, Verhen. The Queen wanted to meet you for a long while. You have annoyed her greatly so she'll be as grateful to me as she'll be cruel to you." Hystar said while smothering the Void Flames.
"Since we have time before Her Majesty returns, I'll make sure to break you." A punch to the gut made Lith double over in pain. "This way, she won't have to stand your pointless bravado and my glory will be even greater."
A slap twisted Lith's face by over 90 degrees and it would have broken his neck if he still had one.
