Ysevel and I turned toward Balgrim, who was still lying behind Athar and Irun entirely unconscious.
Ed was already trying to wake him back up, but none of us knew why he'd fainted to begin with. "Is he alright?" I asked, sheathing my blade as I walked over. "I feel like I should be asking you that. How the fuck did you pull that much mana?" Ed asked as he looked up at me from his kneeling position.
I can't tell him that the fight would have been much easier if I could use my Wraithborn abilities, I mentally sighed.
"I just did what I had to do," I shrugged, moving to kneel beside him. Mom walked over to us with a concerned look written clearly on her fine features, but I didn't have to ask why. She knew, just as well as the rest of us, that Balgrim was hiding something, but exactly what we couldn't tell.
"Wake him up," she began coldly. "W-What?" Ed stammered, the color flushing from his face. "Wake him up, or I will," she said, keeping the same tone and tightening her grip on the hilt of her blade. Ed blanched, but he did as she commanded. He started with a light shake, then gradually increased the force to where he was smacking him across the face. When nothing else seemed to work, he undid the latches on Balgrim's armor and rubbed his knuckles firmly along the dwarf's sternum.
"Wake up, you old fuck!" Ed shouted, drastically increasing the force of his rub. Still, Balgrim didn't wake up, and that was when I noticed it wasn't just his concern that was growing, but everyone else's as well.
If he doesn't wake up soon, we might have another problem on our hands, Kalia sent, looking over her shoulder. What do you mean? I asked, prompting Ysevel to turn to look at it as well. "It's becoming unstable. The aftershocks of our fight might have done that to the old device," she said, watching tendrils of Leech mana beginning to grow.
"If the device loses its hold on it any more than it already has, it might end up acting as a beacon for the others who are searching for it," she continued, but Ed could only offer her a worried look. "Others? What do you mean by that?" he asked, turning to me for an answer.
"Those wardens I told you about? Let's just say not all of them are on our side," I explained loosely, making his eyes widen. "Oh, fuck," he said, realizing the gravity of the situation. "If this device loses its grip on the orb, the explosion of mana will race out of that hole up there," I said, pointing to the circular hole in the ceiling from the attack the obcasus had initially aimed at Irun and Athar.
"If it hasn't done that already," Irun added with a shrug. "It's only a matter of time, but we need to do what we can to stop them from coming here. Athar and I can help protect Ed and Balgrim, but that's about all we can do at this point," he continued, giving Ed a subtle glance to gauge his reaction.
It was evident that Ed felt a slight amount of shame at the suggestion, but I knew Irun didn't mean anything derisive by his comment. "T-Thanks," he said, lowering his head a little.
"I'll be counting on you, then. I can try to hold it, but I don't think I can do that alone," Mom said, giving Kalia a concerned look. "I'll do my best to help you any way I can," Kalia said, giving her a firm nod.
"Devyr, we'll need you on standby to put up a barrier in case this goes to shit," Mom said, turning to face her. "I'll be honest, Commander, I don't know that my skills can hold up against that," she said with a tone that suggested she was being realistic.
"You survived ten thousand cycles with Nexis, didn't you? I think you'll be alright. I have full confidence in your abilities," Mom said with a cheeky smile. "Thoma, you and the others stay here. Use whatever means of protection that you can if this thing blows up," she said, turning to face the others and I. "Better not let it go to shit, then," I replied with a grin, prompting her to chuckle. "No promises," she said with a wink.
As the three of them moved into position, we cautiously awaited the signal to put up our barriers. Mom stared up at the massive orb floating a few meters above the platform in front of her and rubbed her hands together. "Are you ready, battle-sister?" Mom said, catching Kalia off guard at her use of the term. I felt a flush of relief, fear, and anxiousness flow through our connection.
I think she liked that, Ysevel sent me with a grin.
"O-Of course," Kalia said, regaining her composure much more quickly than I'd expected, though I could have chalked that up to her ample experience in hiding her emotions. "Good, then let's get this over with. The longer we wait, the easier prey we'll become," Mom said, furrowing her brow in concentration.
I could feel a swell of mana radiating from her position and noticed a glowing sphere of pure, golden light forming in the palms of her hands. I could see them working their way around the orb, as if meticulously laying each tendril or particle of mana individually. Kalia did something similar, though hers emitted a deep violet hue that pulsed around the room. Devyr stood just behind them, producing an ample amount of her own kataki in preparation.
"Ready?" Mom asked, her voice distorted by the sheer amount of mana. She got a nod from Kalia, and the two of them moved to cast their spells. Their spells shook the foundations of the chamber, causing a deep rumbling to resonate throughout it.
"Waaaaait!" a thin voice called out from somewhere, but it was too late. They'd cast their binding spells, supporting the structures already in place, and enveloping the orb entirely.
Meliss? I wondered, thinking I'd recognized the voice.
The sheen of Ethereal and Vexing mana clashed and mixed around it, dimming the green hue to a faint remnant of what it was before. "Hold it!" Mom said through gritted teeth, pouring an immense amount of mana into her spell, while holding the structure's pillars in place with her other hand. Devyr's quick thinking sent out a bit of her kataki to fill in the gaps of the now-cracking pillars.
"Stop, you're going to break it!" Meliss's voice came from behind us. I hadn't even noticed the doors had opened again. When the hell did that happen? I asked, but not even Ysevel had noticed them opening. "Meliss? What the fuck are you doing here?" Athar asked roughly. "Commander, please! I'm begging you to stop! You're all going to die," Meliss shouted, running into the chamber as fast as her abilities could carry her. There was something in her hands that I could only assume was a scroll, but what it said, I didn't know.
Mom glared at her with glowing eyes over her shoulder, but when she saw that there was seemingly no lie in her eyes or words, she signaled for Kalia and Devyr to release their spells. Do you really trust her? Kalia asked with an air of caution. No, but we don't know enough about this device to know that our decision was the best one. Let's see what she has to say, Mom returned, signaling to the rest of us to be on guard through our connection.
As the spells retracted, the sickly green glow filled the room once more. "I hope you have a good reason for this, Meliss," Mom said, her stare conveying the sheer lack of trust she still had. "I do, Commander. I apologize for disobeying your orders, but I knew this couldn't wait," she said with a low bow.
Mom looked at her and curled an eyebrow. "What's this?" she asked, gesturing to the rolled parchment in Meliss' hand. "It's the reason I disobeyed your order. Look here," she said, raising her head and unfurling the parchment. Ysevel and I moved in for a closer look after a subtle gesture from Mom, but what we saw on the page was unlike anything I'd ever seen.