A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Without another word, Erik roared as he charged another thundersnow blast and launched it at the general direction of his attackers.

Boom

He both heard and felt the explosion followed, as well as the rain of thundersnow grains that should be peppering the area. He didn't have to wonder long how his attack had fared.

"Hah!" the recovered Zohran barked with the excitement of someone who enjoyed a fight. "I'll admit you're powerful, kid. I can see how you turned the Enkarian's struggle around, but you still don't stand a chance here!"

A sombre Nasir followed up as Erik heard them approach. "However you came by all this power, I have no doubt you'd be able to beat any one of us in a fair duel… but this is not a fair duel. You're outmatched and blinded. We've come to make sure you don't pile onto our existing problems, even if we have to kill you dishonourably."

Zahra's strained cry suddenly filled the air. "Stop talking and kill him!"

A small smirk instantly spread across Erik's lips. Although she was avoiding the words, Erik knew why this illusion Arcanist was impatient: keeping him blinded and suppressed had to be rapidly draining her aetherium storage.

Erik heard no more words from Nasir and Zohran, meaning they'd likely taken Zahra's words to heart and focused on the attack. Erik didn't mind this; he was even looking forward to it.

Truthfully, they were right. Although powerful, Erik was heavily disadvantaged here, and his chances of actually beating them in this situation were low. But that's exactly the way he liked it…

'I need moments like this to keep me sharp,' he chuckled to himself, his ears perked up for any movement. 'Besides, I only need to outlast them. They're the ones on a clock, not me.'

Within moments, he could hear the swishing of approaching weapons. Discarding any useless thoughts, Erik also focused on the battle and readied his weapon. Crackling with lightning, he swung wide to deflect their attacks.

Suddenly…

Bang

Something loud and of unknown origin exploded next to his ear, making his head ring.

"Fuck," he cursed, as suddenly, his hearing was impaired as well.

For a moment, he became limited to smell alone, but he could still guess the location of his assailants. Roaring, he adjusted his hammer a little and deflected what turned out to be a pair of swords as they clinked against his weapon.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to the second weapon in time. A spear penetrated his defences and pierced his armour on the left flank.

"Ah, Master! I'm sorry!" Eira immediately apologised in a panic, still a little traumatised from the last time she'd failed him. Unfortunately, she could only share Erik's senses in her current state. This way, she boosted them, but also shared any impairments with him.

Fortunately, the armour held long enough for Erik to grunt and stagger from the impact force, reducing the remaining force in the attack, and making sure it never reached his fur. Erik remained unwounded, but he grew a little more serious as he realised how vulnerable he was right now. Fortunately, his hearing quickly recovered.

Ignoring Eira's consternation for now, Erik one-handed his hammer and raised his left fist. Lightning sparked as he smashed down at the spear with a thunderous momentum.

Whoosh

He hit air. Cautiously, Nasir had pulled his spear back just in time.

"That armour's tough, but not unbreakable!" Nasir shouted at his allies. "Try to keep hitting him in the same place!"

Yet, Erik was finally getting really serious and activated many of his abilities at the same time. A layer of icy armour covered the metal encasing him, as lightning coursed through his muscles and a localised thundersnow storm picked up around him.

"Forget it!" he roared, and charged another thundersnow blast—this time on his weapon. With incredible force, he smashed it against the stone in front of them.

Boom

Another explosion, as icy lightning and grains of electrified snow burst forth in a show of pure power. He heard Nasir and Zohran grunt and stagger, but rather than press the attack on them, Erik lifted a single finger and pointed it at where he presumed Zahra was located.

A tiny magic circle appeared on his finger, and a lance of thundersnow pierced through the air.

"Oh, frick!" Zahra cursed, but released no groans of pain, causing Erik to complain under his breath. Her cursing came from a slightly different position, causing him to realise she'd very wisely moved since speaking last.

Erik wasted no time in sending another lance at the new location, but it hit air once more. No other sound entered his ears. "Hmpf," he snorted. "Smart girl."

Meanwhile, Nasir and Zohran had recovered and quickly resumed their assault. Once more, Erik was forced to focus on them. With Zahra staying silent, he could only wait for her aetherium to run out.

Explosions and the sound of metal hitting metal resounded as their battle continued. As Nasir and Zohran unleashed more of their abilities to try and deal with him, Erik eventually realised their affinities.

Nasir possessed magma, and Zohran likely possessed shadow. He couldn't be sure with the latter, because it wasn't as obvious without sight. Either way, he knew these were both third-ranked affinities, which meant this was a rather powerful trio.

It was then that he remembered something, and suddenly realised who these three were—Seraphina talked about them once, a long time ago. Unfortunately, he still had no time to think about it.

The battle raged on, and it became increasingly precarious for him. Despite his initial successes, the trio fighting him were powerful and their teamwork was smooth. After getting to know Erik's fighting style and abilities, they became increasingly proficient in exploiting his suppressed senses to sneak through his defences.

Eventually, blood was drawn. More and more wounds appeared on Erik's body as he fought them with a kind of focused excitement. Despite obviously being on the losing end, this was the kind of fight he loved the most: the kind that challenged him.

At least, he loved these kinds of fights under certain conditions…

"Erik…" Elora's voice suddenly sounded in his head, a little exasperated. "I love that you're enjoying yourself, but if this continues, they might start hitting vital spots soon."

Feeling the ache of improvement he loved so much, Erik laughed out loud at Elora's exhaustion with his antics. Yet, he knew she was right. "I suppose you're right, my love. I've had my fun. You can act now."

Whoosh

As if out of nowhere, the darkness blinding him was lifted and the view he'd been denied unfolded before him.

He saw his three attackers, as well as Enkai, Ankhur, and Astrid, the latter of whom had lifted a struggling woman into the air by her throat.