Mythshaper

At once, everyone's eyes flashed upwards as more light flared, igniting the whole channel in glaring illumination. That wasn’t all. Immediately, Jinn became aware of the contrasting aura and the weight of essence permeating the stale air.

Then came the scream of a man on his left.

“Wards!” shouted Quintus Septimus.

A force shield flared up, obstructing the dozens of corpse flies from zeroing in on them. Regrettably, they only had three Shapers—two at Noble Class, whereas the third, Guildmaster Rowin, despite being of the Prestigious Class, was clearly far from his peak. Needless to say, their cumulative effort was not enough to shield all thirty-odd fighters, even for a couple of seconds.

Thankfully, they didn’t need to. They were here to clear the rift, not hide from the suncursed creatures. Within a split second, all the augmenters pulled themselves up, shields raised and weapons drawn.

Even the adventurer who had screamed seemed to be all right. He had merely been beaten to the ground by a corpse fly crashing into his chest. The members in his formation managed to pull him back in time. Gulping down a nervous breath, he, too, mounted his shield.

Jinn sliced through the first corpse fly that shot at him. It was about three metres long—not the largest, but definitely a sizeable one. Yet his blade, Ouroborus, had no trouble slicing through its rough exterior, cutting it clean in half without him needing to employ any of his power or aura.

Purple and black gooey ichor sprang into the air, about to smear onto his body, but his aura obstructed it.

Unfortunately, not everyone was having as easy a time. A soldier on his right was caught off guard by a couple of those corpse flies. His shield protected him, but before he could deal a significant blow, the creatures evaded him and attacked someone adjacent.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. Most of the combatants had to battle defensively, obstructing the attacks of those aerial creatures with their shields. Only Quintus Septimus and a select few were dispatching the monsters in quick order.

Although the Shapers had failed to form a barrier that shielded them all, they still managed to create large blocks of ward overhead. Not only did this ward off the large number of packs, but it also channelled the tainted monsters through specific directions. Although this didn’t nullify all their aerial advantages, at least all the augmenters had an easier time keeping up with their attacks and flight.

Quintus Septimus stood protectively between the two young Shapers as they worked their magic.