Atheline stepped forward.

"Can it still think?" He murmured.

She didn’t respond, but her gaze never left the corrupt.

Then the most unimaginable thing happened. Its arm split open, and from within, jagged black and silver crystals pushed out, forming a blade as long as its forearm.

’Moon crystals?’

The surprise didn’t end. At the same time, the air around its body shifted, subtly, but unmistakably.

Wind.

"What.."

"Interesting," she said at the same time as him.

Then it moved. It vanished from its spot, reappearing in front of him directly, blade already descending.

He reacted instantly, raising his dagger to block. Before the strike could land, she stepped forward.

Lilith’s arm slightly lifted, and it was as though the world had stopped. The corrupted stopped mid-motion, its blade inches away from his dagger.

"Slow," she murmured

Her fingers brushed the side of its arm. The crystal shattered on contact. The force travelled upwards, splitting the rest of its body in a clean silent line.

For a moment, it remained standing; then it fell apart into two perfect halves.

Atheline blinked.

"That was..."

"Basic," she said nonchalantly, already turning away.

But the island didn’t let the moment end. More figures began to appear.

One... two... then five ... then ten.

They emerged across the uneven terrain, standing on different levels of stones like predators claiming the most advantageous vantage point.

A beastkin crouched low, its limbs slightly warped but still powerful, faint embers glowing along its back.

An elf stood further back, her expression empty, a bow of dark crystal forming in her hands.

Another larger figure dragged itself forward, its body layered in hardened stone, each step grinding against the surface.

Atheline exhaled softly.

"That is not normal, " he said.

In the many books he has read, he has never heard of this type of corruption.

"No," she agreed softly.

Lilith’s eyes narrowed across them, taking in the details.

"Elemental corrupted are manipulators were integrated with corruption... " a smile formed on her lips," but failed to control it. They were eventually refined."

The attack came all at once. Fire surged forward, wind cut through the air while more stones erupted from beneath their feet in sharp strikes.

Atheline moved instinctively to intervene but she didn’t let him.

She took a single step forward placing herself in front of him.

"Stay," she said gently.

Atheline stepped back, giving her enough room but his eyes observed the other corrupted.

The wind blades were the first to reach her. They shattered before they could touch her.

The beastkin lunged next, flames roaring brighter as it closed the distance.

Shadows sprang up from beneath it. The fire was snuffed out in an instant.

"No," she said softly.

The beastkin flattered midstep her shadows holding it in place. Her hand rose, her finger pressing lightly on its chest.

And then, it collapsed inward. Its entire chest caved in as if crushed by an invisible force. The crystals inside it burst outwards as its body was thrown back across the stone, shattering on impact.

Behind the beast, the elf released her arrow. It broke midair before it could even reach her.

Her head tilted slightly.

"Annoying. "

She was already in front of her. Neither Atheline nor the elf had seen her move.

Her hand rested briefly against the elf’s shoulders.

"That weapon doesn’t belong to you."

She pushed her. The elf disintegrated on contact with the stone behind her.

Atheline lowered his weapons slowly.

"You look beautiful when you fight, " he said, half-amused.

She glanced back at him.

"I know."

Another charged towards him from behind. He didn’t need to turn, shadows rose from the ground splitting it apart before it could even reach him.

"You’re distracting me," she added, almost absentmindedly.

There was no irritation in her words, just something that slipped out.

Atheline let out a quiet laugh.

"Right."

They kept coming. More shapes emerge from the stone fields, their movements were coordinated with their elements and abilities still intact but warped just slightly.

Any normal group would have probably been overwhelmed. Any normal fight would have turned into a struggle but this wasn’t a fight, it was a massacre.

More of a collection in Atheline’s opinion.

Her shadows dominated the fight. Every corrupt that approach didn’t make it far before defeat.

Magic circles were littered everywhere, collecting the dead bodies, storing them.

To join the shadows.

Her smile showed how much she was enjoying it, a free harvest of manipulators and body straighteners’ corpses was one of the best.

Eventually, the movement stopped not because she had killed them but because the ones further away had stopped advancing.

They were all watching waiting for her next move.

Her gaze lifted towards them, and a faint smile returned to her lips.

"How disappointing."

She turned again, this time her eyes finding Atheline again.

Her expression softened the moment their eyes met.

"They’re weaker than I thought."

She walked towards him, careful despite the uneven terrain as if the sharp stones were beneath her concerns.

Her hand reached out, brushing against his sleeves lightly, instinctively checking.

Just a form of reassurance to herself.

"He’s fine," she murmured to herself.

Behind her, in the distance, more corrupted figures began to gather along the higher stone formations, their silhouettes forming a dark line against the horizon.

Her smile deepened.

"Good," her fingers curcled loosely at her side," then they won’t get bored too quickly."

This time, she was the one who stepped forward first.

Behind her Atheline was left with nothing to say. He watched as she fought, collected, and smiled her way around as she toyed with the corrupted.

At some point, he felt it, the island shaking just like the former one.

His gaze went to the barrier. A crack.

The first crack had deepened but it still wasn’t passable.

His eyes moved back to Lilith, who was standing on the highest stone, looking down at the one-sided war.

He really wanted her to enjoy her time but he knew they didn’t have time.

"Lily, we should get going, " he said.

She turned to him, her gaze softening.

"I was thinking about that too."

She appeared next to him, her lips curved.

"Okay, we should find the crossing point," he said quietly," I might know which side it is ."