Because standing tall over and around them was the joint essence shield of translucent silver in the shape of two clasped hands. The wooden floor around the shield was broken, the wood turned to splinters.

The old woman was still looking at them with surprise that made her whole eyes big. "A shield? One of your magic tricks?"

She growled and then started coming forward. The team moved away from their place, the shield still on them. The place they were standing earlier was destroyed; it wouldn’t do to be caught fighting there.

"Your shield seems strong," she said as she came even closer.

"That’s because it is powered by four cores," Stallus said.

The woman’s eyes widened. "Like combination techniques. I didn’t know you Inferno Legion magicians could do that." She sneered.

They kept a tight grip on their shield because as soon as she was within striking distance, her sword glowed white-hot, and she started to strike at their shield.

She growled in frustration as her first few strikes failed to make any difference on the shield. At least not physically, but the team felt a drain on their cores each time she hit them.

If this continued, all she had to do was wait them out and then fight them.

"We need to attack with this shield," Azaroth said. That was the only way he saw they could defeat her, and they had to be quick about it before their essence depleted.

She hammered against their shield again and again, the sound like metal on metal. And their essence kept draining.

"How do we attack with it?" Alex shouted.

Azaroth frowned. Crypt Master had explained it as simply using their will to attack and that one of them could take charge of it. He had a lot of will. Very strong willpower. "I’ll do it. Just supply your essence."

The old woman snarled as her attack didn’t go through. She moved back into the first pose of her technique and started to gather power to her sword. "This time, I will get you!"

Azaroth spread his will on the shield and took hold of it. He felt the four essences as they joined to make the shield, and he also felt the two hands that made up the shield.

"Come closer to me," Azaroth said through clenched teeth. The shield was heavy against him mentally; it was a difficult thing just to use his will to hold it. Moving it for attack would cost a lot of essence.

The team all moved closer to Azaroth just as the old woman lurched forward, thrusting her blazing sword. Then Azaroth moved the shield for attack.

The right hand unclasped, it moved like a swift cat, and then thrust at the woman’s abdomen with all its fingers pressed together.

They heard a crack as one of the woman’s ribs cracked and she flew backward. Her sword went flying, and the power gathered was lost.

"You..." She gritted her teeth as she stood. The left-hand shield was curled around the team while the right was still in the thrusting pose in front of them. "How dare you!" she shouted. She wished she had her full power still to tear them apart, shield and all.

"You will regret this," she said.

"No, we won’t," Stallus said firmly. They all could feel the power of the shield as Azaroth controlled it. This old woman was nothing in comparison.

"Do you think I only use my weapon for fighting?" The old woman stretched her hands forward and made a looping motion. She then guided her essence from her core and covered her hands, but only her fingers glowed with it.

"Gather your essence," Azaroth told the team. As the woman ran forward, the left-hand shield lifted and disappeared as its power was transferred to the right-hand shield.

With a push of will, Azaroth commanded it, and the shield moved faster than the woman. It slammed down, palm first, and smashed the woman down like a bug.

They heard the snapping of bones and the crushing sound of the skull as it was crushed between the wooden floor and the hand shield.

The shield disappeared with a pop that left them all staggering. That last attack had used up all their essence, but it was worth it. The attack focused on speed and strength.

Azaroth went to her sword to check it out, but all he saw was a cheap metal weapon. It was cheap, but she still managed to cause powerful attacks with it. As she said, she had lots of experience.

"That was something I want to try again!" Alex called from the floor. The strength and power of that shield had left him with an excited feeling.

"Yes. If only it wouldn’t take all our essence," Stallus said.

"I agree!" a voice shouted as the Crypt Master came out. "Meaning you can only use it for one powerful opponent at each fight or only when desperate. You can’t fight powerful opponents with it."

Azaroth nodded. Crypt Master was right. If they were fighting multiple opponents now, it would leave them open to death as they would jump them with their essence depleted.

"But still! I’ve never seen that type of shield before. Very dangerous!" Crypt Master smiled like a proud parent. "She didn’t have a chance! It’s like fighting another at her rank with that combination of essence core."

Azaroth had guessed it must be something like that. He raised the woman’s sword for Crypt Master to see. "Why’s she using such a weapon?"

Crypt Master’s face darkened. "Who knows where she got such a cheap weapon? It was something she should not have in my Crypt." Crypt Master growled.

He collected the sword and looked at it carefully. "I should have known. It was them. How did they get..." Crypt Master saw that the team was looking at him, and he stopped talking.

He tapped his head with the sword with a frown. "So how was it? She’s powerful, yes?"