Milith was approaching the city, she never bothered to learn its name. She was not going to land, but attack the temple from the sky. She was currently going over her plan that she made on the way over. She wanted her first attack to be both big and flashy to help break the morale of any defenders. However she was going to hold some cards in reserve for her battle with Aurous, One of which was her clan trump card, a spell created by her clan and kept within. It was the ultimate buff spell, called Aura of the Supremes. The spell enhanced the user well beyond their physical limits for a couple of hours, but in return when it wore off they were greatly weakened.

Aura of the Supremes: For three hours after casting the user’s stats are increased a thousandfold, spell costs are reduced by eighty percent. Spell power is increased by an extra thirty percent. When spell wears of user is inflicted with conditions Mana burn for one month, Severely Crippled for one month, Severely Weakened for one year, Overloaded for one year. Spell cannot be recast for one year.

Mana Burn: Overuse of spells beyond your means has burned your mana pathways preventing the use of spells

Severely Crippled: Due to severe physical injury, your abilities have been greatly impaired, all stats reduced to one percent. All regeneration effects reduced by ninety-eight percent

Severely Weakened: You have been severely weakened and your stats have been reduced to 20% of normal. Regen effects have been halved

Overloaded: You have cast spells beyond your means, damaging your mana pathways until they recover all spells are reduced in power by 75%.

She didn’t really want to cast this spell, she had only cast it once before but the side effects are terrible. Still, she didn’t have much choice, she knew Aurous to be stronger than her, much stronger in fact. This spell would even the field enough, that her battle experience will shine. Like most gods, Aurous wasn’t used to fighting, and had less experience in battle than she did. Something she had the Swarm confirm for her.

Reaching a point above the city, she pulled herself from her thoughts and focused on the task at hand. She observed the temple for a moment before she began channeling her magic. Suddenly eight massive glowing stars appeared in the sky of the setting sun. Each glowing brighter and angrier with each passing second as she channeled more and more magic into the spell. Below the people were beginning to panic at the sight. Then she cast her spell, an ancient spell of great power called Fury of the Eight Stars. From the eight glowing new stars, angry red beams of light rained down on the city and carved a path of destruction straight to the temple. The temple was made of enchanted white stone that shone in the sunlight to inspire the masses below. Those enchantments made the temple almost impossible to damage, but to the shock of her citizens. The rock simply disintegrated as the beams passed over.

She had limited the damage to the temple district, but it was still impressive. Many of the buildings in the temple district were gone, fires were rampant and dead bodies everywhere. Rifts were open in the ground and heat spewed forth from the rips in the ground. Above the eight stars still glowed an angry red, and smaller beams rained from the sky on any unfortunate temple priest or soldier they found. Reducing the poor men to ash. Her excellent hearing let her pick up a few cries about the impossible happening. Some from excited spellcasters, who were more interested in the spell than the fact their lives were in danger. She wasn’t entirely surprised as she had met people like that before. There were always a few like that in any society. She could even hear a few of the spellcasters debating the level requirement of her spell. She simply shook her head and ignored them as best she could. For a new threat was appearing, some of the churches soldiers were forming ranks from the damaged barracks. These soldiers were also better equipped than the ones she had been killing so far.

In his divine realm, Aurous was angry as he witnessed what was happening at his temple. The brazen attack was one he had not expected. He also didn’t recognize the spell, being used to attack his temple. So he had asked one of the subordinate gods under him to come to him. The attacker was just now engaging the temple troops when his subordinate arrived. The subordinate took one look at the divining waters, and said, “Fury of the Eight Stars, haven’t seen that spell in a long time.”

“What can you tell me about it? And more importantly how to counter it?” asked Aurous.

“It's a ritual spell, that normally requires a dozen level six hundred mages. Which is why it hasn’t been seen in millennia. It remains in continuous play after being cast until either the user runs out of mana or the spell is disrupted. To be able to control the spell-like that on her own, that girl must be at least level eight hundred, I suspect she is closer to nine hundred, though,” said the subordinate god.

“She is a young lordling controlling magic is in her blood, so stop trying to guess her level, and tell me how to counter that spell,” said Aurous.

“The spell is hard to defend against, the best defense is to destroy the magical stars that it created. The other option is to use elemental barriers, they won’t last long but they can buy time. Ideally, you should use divine elemental barriers they will hold against those beams much longer than normal ones, and watch out for the siege beams, they are much more powerful than the normal ones and can harm even you,” said the subordinate. Aurous turned his attention back to the divining waters. He could see the church’s soldiers struggling against her. Their armor had been enchanted specifically against magic, but her spells were so powerful the armor couldn’t fully stop her attacks.

She was dancing in the sky, avoiding their spells and arrows with a grace that could only be explained by precognition, while directing the fury of the eight stars spell against them. Each blast of angry red light struck a soldier dead center. Their magic armor would glow absorbing the brunt of the blow, but some of the energy would get through and burn their flesh. Some soldiers managed to block the strikes with their shields, which helped reduce the damage they took. Still, the soldiers that were burned marched on, and continued to chant holy mantras, while either casting spells or firing arrows with their crossbows at Milith.

Still their determination to fight only helped so much, as they could only take so many hits before they were truly down. Some of the soldiers in the rear were unburying the chest containing the artifacts that Aurous had given them. The first attack had buried the chest under a pile of rubble. Milith, however, was not letting them dig in peace, as she focused the majority of the red beams at the digging teams. Which was forcing other soldiers to defend them so they could dig. Just under a minute before she could fire the siege beams at the site, the soldiers finally reached the chest and pulled the collar and suppression ring out of the chest. One of the soldiers an older man, put the ring on and cast the spell it contained.

Only to miss, and before he could try again Milith counterattacked as three beams slammed into his chest one after the other. The energy of the attack killing him almost instantly. Another man dived for the ring, and put it on. Milith recognizing the spell it had as dangerous didn’t let the man cast the spell, and focused the siege beam part of her spell on the site. The eight stars focused on the rings and another superbeam fired from each of the stars and bored into the location of the ring. A small wave of magic rippled out from the spot disrupting any spells in a five hundred meter radius of the site. Her spells origin was outside this effect and was left mostly unaffected. Almost instantly the church troops broke formation and began a retreat, but it wasn’t disorderly or panicked. They reformed into small orderly columns and retreated from the line of battle.

Aurous didn’t like what was happening and chose to physically manifest on the field of battle. The instant he did he summoned a dozen bolts of light aiming four of them at Milith and the others at her magical stars. She managed to dodge three of the bolts with one, slamming into her chest. Half her shields vanished in an instant, as for her magical spheres he destroyed half of them with his opening move. She had managed to protect half of them from the lances, by channeling a barrier spell through the spheres.

Using the remaining spheres she counterattacked with a volley of angry beams. Aurous channeled his own light and shields of pure light sprang into existence to block them. The solid magical barriers absorbed the volleys, while he prepared another volley of magical lances. The moment they were ready he used them to destroy his opponent’s magical spheres. While sending a few of them to keep her occupied. This time she didn’t just dodge, but channeled a spell to the shocked witnesses below. Many knew she wasn’t a god, but she cast a spell that was mistakenly believed only gods could use. In reality, it just required a high level that most never reached. Just like Aurous, an active elemental shield sprang into existence to protect her, but unlike his, hers was dual elemental. As she had woven plasma (advanced version of the fire element) and lightning together to create a near-impenetrable barrier against her foes attacks.

His light lances crashed into her active shield one after another each one weakening the shield until it finally collapsed. None struck her, but her ritual spell had been taken out of play.

“Oh, I am so glad you came to me. Now I can make you submit to me personally,” laughed Aurous as two new groups of lances materialized around him.

“No member of my kind have ever submitted to a god, I will not be the first,” said Milith as she channeled a new spell. Her wings beginning to glow with the energy of a spell; greater enhanced flight. A buff spell focused on enhancing flight speed and maneuverability in the air. It lasted only an hour and has a cooldown of three, but it will increase her movement in the air tenfold, its more general counterpart greater enhanced agility only increased movement eightfold. Then she burst into movement, he fired the lances he had formed at her. With the grace of a born flyer, she dodged most of the lances using active plasma-lightning shields to block those she couldn’t dodge.

Swooping down on his position she attacked with her dragon breath. Bluegreen flames washing over him. He was still there when she passed him. Her breath was hot enough to incinerate most foes, but he wasn’t even singed. He laughed a bit, knowing that like dragons, her most potent weapon was her breath. Sure she had spells more powerful, but those all took far longer to cast and were easier to disrupt.

“You are a few millennia to young to challenge me, why don’t you surrender now and I’ll treat you nicely,” said Aurous confident in his power. Milith ignored him and began to chant her trump card, she didn’t want to cast it and was hoping to wound him with her ritual spell. She had also been hoping in his overconfidence he wouldn’t shield against her breath in time, but he had. A powerful aura radiated out of her as her spell completed. Everyone below, be they cowering in panic or running dropped to the ground and began to knell looking up in awe as she loudly spoke the final words of the spell.

“I am of the blood of the supreme’s the rulers of the endless sky. Now witness the true might of my blood, as you are burned by my flames and torn by my claws. Feel the wrath of the supreme’s and my clan,” yelled out Milith as her wings and talons became wreathed in blue-green flames. As she made a spin in the air she channeled lightning from her hands to strike Aurous with. The pair of bolts she flung his way were far more powerful than any of her previous attacks and smashed through the barriers he erected and slammed into his stomach. Leaving a minor burn on his skin, and charring his outfit.

He responded by throwing more powerful spells at her. Instead of his favored lance spell, he switched to beams of pure light. A powerful ray of light was shot from his palms towards her position, which she dodged with a graceful roll. Then she flung lightning at him from her wingtips as she maneuvered for another breath attack. For the first time in the entire battle, he actual dodged her attack. He wasn’t as fast or as graceful in the air as she was so, it looked clumsy compared to her and he dodged only by the slimmest of margins. He cast another beam spell, while cursing the sudden increase in her abilities. This time he managed to hit her with the beam, his beam punching through the barrier she erected and her shields. The beam was grazing hit and damaged her wing and disintegrated her left arm. Both of which started to rapidly regenerate. Not as quickly as they would in broad daylight, but the rate of healing was quite visible. In a matter of seconds were wing was back to normal.

While she was still regenerating she used her breath attack again.  Unlike the first time, Aurous actually burned under its power. He responded by quick casting a number of lances at her in quick succession, the distance meant she had no time to deploy any barriers and with her shields already gone, she took the hits directly. Four lance struck her in the chest and stomach dealing wounds that for most mortal races would be fatal. For her, that wasn’t so, as her body naturally stopped regenerating her arm, and focused on rapidly restoring her vitals. Pulling on her magic to accelerate the process. In mere seconds, as she was flying past him, the wounds were almost gone.

Aurous had taken a fair amount of damage from her breath attack. It wasn’t fatal, but his own shields were completely gone as well, and his skin charred black. He used some of his own mana to repair his damaged body. Before launching his own counterattack several beams of light lanced across the sky to strike at Milith. She dodged most of them, and blocked those she couldn’t while returning the barrage with one of her own. As she sent a volley of blue-green bolts of fire his way. Along with the occasional lightning bolt, each one had unerring precision which forced Aurous to dodge or block her attacks. Soon the two were dancing a hauntingly beautiful dance in the air where the slightest mistake will lead to their death. While stray magic rained on the city, and the surrounding fields.

Farmers and some mages that came from the city were struggling to save the fields that were burning from the stray magic that had light them a flame. In the city, Leatia and her sisters of the Swarm were evacuating the woman and children they could find to the safety of their nest under the biggest brothel in the city. Leatia had been really happy when her sisters showed her the site and began building her nest in the basement. Which was actually rather large, since the basement catered to the more unusual tastes of her wealthy clients. Having areas for both business and storage, along with a wing for living, it wasn’t hard for her to find an unused room to build the beginnings of a nest in. A couple of her sisters were reinforcing the room to further protect the eggs she had laid in there. The basement was a good place to hide and provided some protection against the battle going on above their heads.

As for the men, she didn’t trust full-grown men near her eggs. This was something instinctive. As for the women and children she trusted them more, but she kept them away from the room her eggs were in. Especially the children, since they might harm her eggs by accident. Fortunately the pheromones she and her sisters were producing made it easier to manipulate those around them and keep them from her eggs. The men they inevitably ended up, bringing with them to the nest, were kept out of the basement. She and her sisters flirted with them a bit, and suggested that it would be greatly appreciated if they kept shady people out of the building.

In the ruins of the church, some people were digging themselves out of the ruins. While keeping an eye out for the occasional bolt of stray magic. Among those who had survived the destruction was the high priest, who was busy cursing the gods fighting above his head for deciding to fight in the skies above his city. He cursed even more strongly when a beam of light whizzed by his head and incinerated his favorite aide. Fortunately in the process it also disintegrated a few of the rocks, preventing them from digging out his other priests and more important to him his favorite slaves.

His slaves and inner circle free of rubble, he signaled them to make their way out of the temple. Every once in a while they would be forced to take cover when stray magic came their way, and they were often slowed by collapsed corridors and fires. Still, they made it out of the temple, where they could see a rather beautiful battle in the night skies. Well, it would be if it weren’t for the rather powerful stray magics that occasionally struck the city. From their vantage point they could see hundreds of buildings had been damaged. Fires were all over the city, the streets were in chaos, and the defensive walls were breached in a number of places. He even saw a bolt of blue-green flames hit an unbroken section of the wall and explode. When the dust cleared the section had crumbled and there was yet another hole in the wall.

Taking the road to the left of their exit, he started leading his way out of the city. It wasn’t long before they met some soldiers using a building for cover. Who they convinced to escort them out of the city. A good thing too, since there were many who were taking advantage of the chaos to pillage and rape as they please. Apparently unconcerned about the deadly bolts of fire and beams of light raining from the sky. Fortunately, none of them were particularly skilled with a blade or magic. The highest leveled pillager they ran into was a level 23 thug and his skills were below average for the level. Which is why they managed to get out of the city with only minor scratches.

In the skies, Milith and Aurous were continuing to go at it. Both were showing signs of weakening if you knew what to look for. Aurous cast another beam of light at Milith, which she dodged and she responded with a bolt of lightning. The bolt ripped right through his barrier like paper since he wasn’t able to strengthen it like he was earlier. The bolt struck him dead on, charing his flesh and burning his organs. Along with removing a third of his health pool in the attack. He was starting to get worried since he was running out of gas, and he didn’t see any sign that she was weakening. Worse he knew he was stronger and yet she was winning. Even with the boost that spell she had cast he should be winning as he was the stronger. Yet he couldn’t score enough hits to do more than wound her for a moment, much less overwhelm her like he expected.

Milith smiled a bit when she saw the damage she had inflicted didn’t instantly regenerate. Still, she had other worries one of the big ones was that the Aura of Supremes spell was starting to wear off, the other was that some clouds had moved in and were blocking the moonlight which in turn was reducing her regen even further. Which really sucked since he managed to cripple her right-wing and put a hole through her left. She was using her biodrive to stay in the air, but the effort was exhausting. She couldn’t risk this going on much longer so she decided to play a card she hadn’t played yet. She began channeling as much power as she could to cast one of the largest single-target spells her mother had taught her. The spell was one she had not fully master so it required quite the lengthy chant. The spell was called the Glaive Missile it fired a massive pulse of plasma and lightning elemental magic at the target that cannot be evaded since it tracks the target and travels at near lightspeed.

Of course there was no way that Aurous was going to just sit there and let her cast the spell. He bombarded her with a volley of lances and beam spells. Forcing her to cast a barrier to protect herself. Something she could do without interrupting her spell, but both Aurous and herself were at the level where they could cast different spells simultaneously. Which is why while Aurous was bombarding her position, he was also layering his defenses and building up multiple barriers of pure light to block the spell. She wasn’t quite finished with the casting when her barrier broke, and she started taking damage. Mostly from his lance spells which could track her movements. Finally, she completed her spell and the glaive flew from her palms like they were shot out of a cannon. An instant later it slammed into Aurous smashing through his multiple layers of active barriers and smashed into him. It did massive damage to his physical form and his internals but he was still smiling.

At the same moment Milith’s Aura of the Supremes spell ran out and her strength left her. Forcing her to land on a rooftop. Where she stumbled and fell on her butt. Aurous quickly cast a barrier with what little mana he had left, since it was the better choice in case she did something. Then he started to lower himself, while pulling a collar similar to the one he gave to the temple out of nowhere.

“You did well little lordling, but now your mine,” said Aurous thinking he had won. However, Milith had one last card left to play, one not entirely affected by her practically crippled state. Her right arm opened up revealing the defense cannon literally growing from her flesh, and she aimed it at him. Then she fired it into him until the power cell ran dry. Aurous was so close when she fired he didn’t really have time to react in his weakened state. The bolts tore through his barrier and ripped him apart in under a minute. She didn’t really have the energy left though to read the notifications that popped up. Instead, she sent a telepathic message to the nearby Swarm before she passed out from the pain and exhaustion.