My Servant System

Holding the silver ring above our protective barrier, the raven headed Tza'Orbias cackled maniacally as it began to absorb the mana around us, though as it did so I was counting down the seconds, timing the duration of the rune's appearance and mentally noting just how long it lasted, before starting a new time as the blue orb began to sputter out.

The barrier held thanks to the sheer quantity of mana around us, the work of Ammit, Leone and Cali anchoring it with such potent magics whilst the other Cimeriesa mages aided as well, creating a veritable lake of mana that the Fiend tried to eradicated with ten seconds of absorption.

If I had to quantify how much mana was taken, I would say around a third was swallowed up, but it was being replaced swiftly as we all restored the barrier, staring at the Fiend silently, whilst I mentally counted down towards the next activation.

"You lot are a tougher set of nuts to crack than I gave you credit for..."

Tza'Orbias stopped cackling and stared at us closely, before blinking back to its original spot and turning to grab one of the Cultists that had managed to survive till now; not for long though as the Fiend lifted them and threw them towards its beak, gulping them down in a shower of blood and bones as it swallowed most of the Cultist in one bite.

"But, even the thickest of shells have a weak point, and that weak point is obvious. Duration. How long can you sit there and fuel this barrier? Hmm? Not for an entire day... Even if you have an Arch Fiend on your side, that doesn't matter now does it?"

Tapping its silver ring a few times, the Fiend cooed softly in amusement as it stood there, before blinking forwards again and revealing the blue orb, which cracked apart and displayed the same rune as before, which began to ravenously devour the mana in the area once more.

I had to hold back a grin as I began a new mental clock, the times of everything starting to make sense as I looked back at the beginnings of the battle, when Tza'Orbias had absorbed our spells and capitalized on that shock to speak, distracting us so that this orb could recharge.

Ten seconds between activations, ten seconds of an active rune.

So, if we were to attack him and force out a desirable rune, like that one that cast a myriad of normal spells, we would have twenty seconds to damage this Fiend before retreating as it used this absorption rune to scare us away... or perhaps a healing rune was stored inside that orb as well...

That meant we needed to attack hard and fast, not letting Tza'Orbias retreat and heal, so... Jahi would be crucial in more than one way, since her Light Magic was what would kill this Fiend, but also... it was what could contain this Fiend, and prevent it from fleeing.

Not only her though, as Cali's Lust Mana could do the same; something that I was angry at myself for not going out of my way to obtain now that I saw just how invaluable that would be for us.

And maybe Leone's Moon and Blood Magics would be of use as well; her True Vampire Form most certainly would be.

When the ten seconds were up, I took a deep breath, drained the entirety of a Mana potion, and said "Leone, transform. Jahi, gather your mana. Everyone else, barrier."

My orders were rapid fire, which surprised everyone, including the Fiend as it stared at me, before those cerulean eyes narrowed as it clicked its tongue, muttering "So she was a clever little puppy... no matter."

Cali drifted over to me, before leaning closer and chuckling as her snakes licked my cheek, the Arch Fiend whispering "Oh, you really are~ a clever little thing... That makes you even sexier, my Masque..."

"Yes, or..?"

I glanced at Jahi and saw the beginnings of a Ritual Circle in front of her, one that had no real purpose just yet and was - as such - indecipherable to those who weren't Soul Bonded to her; the question was offensive or defensive magics, and I could tell which one was 'yes'.

Giving her a nod, I turned back and continued to count down, before smiling as Tza'Orbias blinked forwards again and raised the silver ring, the Fiend no longer as amused as it snarled "Don't get conceited now, you insignificant mortal! You think you know of my power?! You know NOTHING!"

The rune for absorption appeared again, but this time the Fiend let the silver ring go and allowed it to float above us, instead coating its now empty fists in raw mana as it began to punch forwards, slamming them into the slightly weakened barrier as Leone was taken from the equation to shift.

But, as we saw the rune appear yet again above us, we all drew out the mana from our Cores and began to empower the barrier, maintaining its state even as Tza'Orbias rained punch after punch on the solid pinkish shell around us.

Each punch sent tremors through the earth, the towering Fiend displaying a strength that was a complete dissonance from what its scrawny, thin form would suggest, but each punch - while they did tear away some more mana - wasn't strong enough to break open the shell, even with the rune above.

When it disappeared, Tza'Orbias growled and blinked back, not wanting to remain close to us as its primary weapon recharged, which caused Satanya and Ammit to gasp as they both said ""It's on a time constraint!""

I looked towards the two Demonesses and smirked, replying "Took you long enough. Ten seconds in an active state, ten seconds to recharge. Got that?"

They both nodded, and Satanya looked back at Leone, who was standing still with closed eyes, the Vampire frowning as she tapped into the power of her blood, which made my smirk widen as I felt the explosion of mana erupting from her Core, the transformation taking place.

Beside her, Jahi continued to funnel her own mana into a Ritual Circle, which shone brilliantly in the dim street, a golden light illuminating the surrounding area.

A True Vampire, Light Magician, and an Arch Fiend...

That was one hell of a lineup to go against, and I turned back to Tza'Orbias with a grin, wondering if this imbecile would stick around to find out just how broken that lineup was...

Especially when you added a contingent of Cimeriesa's, a bunch of angry Beliali's, a pissed Jackalkin, and of course...

Me~!