Chapter 4556: Lost and Found (Part 2)

"How in Mogar’s name did I end up in the Langharn plains?" Tezka found it hard to believe the map, but the peculiar shape of the Clawstone brooked no doubt about his position. "I missed my target by a hundred kilometers and then some."

The tall piece of rock was shaped like a spindly clawed finger pointing east. The local tribes believed it to be the remnant of a lost species of Divine Beasts, but anyone with a sensitive nose or a breathing technique knew better.

The Clawstone was not a fossil, just an unusual consequence of prolonged erosion, if not even the stupid prank of some forgotten mage with earth magic. Animals ignored it, and the superstitious monsters avoided it, leaving the Clawstone as the only natural landmark left in the once lush Langharn plains.

The monster tides had uprooted the trees, devoured the grass, and destroyed the natural stone formations to craft weapons and tools, turning the plains into a barren wasteland.

"I’m way off the mark and in Zagran’s turf at that." Tezka knew lingering in the Lord of Might’s territory was dangerous, but he couldn’t help himself. "Just a few thousand kilometers in that direction, there’s the Zima Continent and my Summoner Clan."

The Suneater was tempted to take a further detour and ask the local Awakened for information, but then what? Even if the inhabitants of Zima didn’t recognize his energy signature and he found his descendants, how could Tezka approach them?

"My arrival would be welcomed like the return of the boogeyman of their legends." He said. "I would shatter their peace and make them feel unsafe in their own home. Nothing I say to apologize would sound more than empty words, and I can’t do anything to prove my sincerity.

"It’s not the right time. I have waited millennia for this. A few more years will change nothing. I won’t make my people suffer because of my selfishness again."

"How noble of you, old fox. You’ve moved me to tears." The sky went dark as something colossal fell to the ground.

It was so large that it eclipsed the sun and so heavy that the impact produced a localized quake that would have destroyed the Clawstone if Tezka hadn’t promptly conjured a protective barrier around it.

"Auros?" The Suneater recognized the Bringer of Unity in the pile of rubble that was quickly rebuilding itself. "What are you doing here?"

"Beware! Z-" A colossal taloned foot crushed the pseudo head of the lost city, cutting it short.

"He got lost. Just like you, old fox. The monster tides and the gods-damned lost cities made a mess of my turf." Zagran the Garuda snarled, her cold blue eyes turning red in anger. "I won’t let you, Auros, and your Eldritch friends ruin what little of my land I managed to protect and restore!"

The Guardian looked like a gigantic female humanoid about 50 meters (164 feet) tall with three sets of wings on her back and talons instead of hands and feet. Her blue feathered limbs worked as support wings, allowing her to feel and manipulate even the slightest air current.

Aside from the plumes that came out of her scalp in place of hair, forming seven colored tresses, and two small wings that came out of the back of her head, the Garuda’s face was no different from a human woman’s.

"That’s not my intention, young squirrel." Tezka replied with a calm voice. "I’m on a scouting mission. I have no reason to mess with your turf, and I’m not here to harm anything or anyone. You have my word on that."

"And you seriously expect me to believe it?" A flick of Zagran’s fingers conjured her Honor Colosseum array sequence. "This is just like the time you tried to capture Fenagar and Roghar.

"You send Auros as bait to bring the local Guardian in the open, and then you and the rest of the Master’s hybrids strike the little cowards you are. Where’s Orulm? Where is my little Eycos?"

The magical formation gave Zagran no advantage. It simply sealed those inside its boundaries from the rest of Mogar, allowing for a one-on-one fight without the possibility of external interference.

"I may have acted cowardly in the past, but have I ever lied to you? To anyone?" Tezka replied. "I’m here alone, young squirrel, and I’d rather not fight you. I have nothing to gain and everything to lose."

"On that we agree." The Mother of All Garudas unleashed her full might, making the ground tremble and the sky rumble with thunder as storm clouds converged over the Honor Colosseum. "You’re not a liar, old fox, and I believe you when you say you’d rather not fight me.

"Yet I have a lot to gain from this. I can protect my people, avenge my comrades, and scratch the itch you gave me ever since you sparred with Sally." Her mouth twisted into a savage grin. "I’ve waited all this time to see if you’re as strong as you appeared back then. On your guard!"

"Do we really have to do this?" Tezka didn’t move. "The young sparrow had an entire lineup of her hatchlings to protect her turf. Where’s yours?"

"I don’t need assistants." Zagran noticed that Auros had almost finished rebuilding himself, but she didn’t care. The lost city was slow and couldn’t escape from her even if he tried. "My arrays can do much better than a bunch of weak children."

"Even when you’re fighting for your life?" The Suneater asked. "We both know that keeping so many magical formations up takes a toll on your mana and focus. If you drop the Honor Colosseum even for a second, Auros might die.

"If that happens, Jiera will be devastated, and countless innocent people will die. Please, stand down. Do it for your children and everyone you claim to protect."

"I’m getting tired of your blabbering, old fox." Zagran shifted her weight forward, her bird feet ready to charge and her clawed hands raised to block and strike. "You got five seconds before our fight starts."

"Thanks, but I need none." Tezka assumed a standard boxer guard.

His left foot and arm forward to block or jab, his right foot and arm back to protect his dominant side.

"I’d rather not do this, but you’ve forced my hand. Never forget this is all your fault!" Tezka released his black golden aura, sending it crashing against Zagran’s.

The Guardian of Might bristled as a familiar yet unsettling feeling rose from her gut. The number and frequency of thunders increased, and the trembling of Mogar grew in violence.

Then everything stopped as quickly as it had begun. The world energy surrounding the Guardian and the Eldritch became thick and dense enough to affect space itself and form a Fringe that spanned hundreds of kilometers in every direction.

The storm clouds disappeared, leaving a clear blue sky. A sea of green punctuated by tall trees of different species from all over Mogar replaced the desolation of the Langharn plains, and a wild river ran through the grassland.

The Clawstone and Auros disappeared from sight as well, leaving the flabbergasted fighters staring at each other.