When the magic of the pylons pulled him through the fabric of reality, in that half of a second washed in unearthly purples and void-like darkness, Ethan didn't know what he was about to find. His guts churned. He didn't know whether he was about to find the settlement completely fine or completely razed to the ground. Or anything in between. He frankly didn't care about buildings. He just hoped everyone was okay. Buildings could be rebuilt.

Then his talons landed at the foot of the pylon, and the acrid smell of burning and smoldering wood filled his nostrils. A quick look around showed homes and new building still burning, sending dark smoke up in the air. Not all were on fire, but enough. People were shouting and screaming, faces ashen and burned as they tried to get away from the flares of lights a few buildings over. Some were weeping, some just staring vacantly as they followed those who'd taken lead. And some had to be pulled away from the wreckages, screeching and crying lest they get caught by the crossfire before someone stronger could get back in and rescue whoever was left.

Most of the people he was seeing hadn't even hit level 30. Some were even weaker. Civilians.

Immediately, a whine began ringing in his ears, but he quickly stamped down the anxiousness as he spread his wings and flew up, quickly taking stock of the situation while ignoring the flurry of notifications that flew in the corner of his vision.

Worrying wouldn't help anyone. So Ethan began scanning the ground below him, and he only had seconds to do so.

The first ongoing commotion he caught was a fight in the park. He watched Gerald get sent flying with a kick, skid to a stop, then rush back in, face all red. With him Amelie and Diego were keeping a tall and wide man busy. He had a mace in hand, and as he looked more into him, Ethan realized that neither the skin, muscles, nor hands looked human. They were all too calloused and disproportional, and the bald, bearded face didn't match.

[Human (II) - Level 77]

The next commotion that caught his eyes happened right as a massive detonation sent flaming, flying debris flying in the air like some sort of morbid fireworks. In the fire, a woman in burning robes cackled for a second before her laughter temporarily cut off when she dodged an orange, burning missile in the form of Ember, then raised a hand to summon what looked like a smaller [Wall of Fire] to catch two concentrated sprays of water. Two individuals that Ethan had seen before were there, standing behind a sweating and smoking Audrey. Her scales shone in the burning light as she shielded the duo so they could contain the fire user though considering the state of the settlement, containing the flames was easier said than done.

[Human (II) - Level 75]

Those two seemed to be the most powerful as far as he could tell.

Two intruders who managed to break through the shield, he thought as he continued his observation. Less than ten seconds had gone by since he'd arrived, and his hands were still shaking as he now turned his attention to the flashing lights near the entrance of the settlement, at the edge of the main road.

The rest of the attackers were being held up by the barrier and by the warriors led by Amanda and from the look of things, it didn't appear like they were in a rush to break through. They seemed to be content to harass and tire the defenders out. They were taking things easy, though they did cause damage whenever the barrier failed, if the rows of passed out defenders and demolished buildings were of any indication.

One thing was clear though. None of them had gone for the pylon. They were just here to inflict as much damage and pain as they could.

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Ethan let out a shaky breath but he didn't dwell on the boiling, dark, rage twisting in his guts. Instead he flew higher and swerved toward the fires. The trio at the park were holding up okay. But the water casters were at risk.

Ethan flew a little higher, hearing some of the alarmed shouts from beyond the pylon's barrier as his presence was noticed, and then he dropped down in a dive right on top of the pyromaniac, urging his wing to accelerate his fall as he bared his teeth toward the cackling woman as she blasted Audrey and laughed as the two younger casters recoiled from the heat.

The notification came at the same time as the vibration of crunching bones traveled through his feet and up to his ears.

"Go and help Amanda," he heard himself say as he looked at the rumbling clouds above. Claws and knees drenched in blood and viscera, Ethan shot up in the sky again, dragging a clump of bloodied dirt and stone in his wake from the hole he had pulverized into the ground before he tore through the air toward the park. Stealing a glance toward the barrier, he saw the assault intensify and for a second, he considered heading toward those first, but he didn't want them to die just yet.

He had work for them.

Unlike the pyromaniac, the giant of a man noticed him coming, especially considering Ethan was flying in a straight line toward him. The man's bored expression melted away. His skin began to glow while his gaze sharpened, and he raised both elbows in a defensive stance.

Ethan twisted midair and dismissed his wings, jutting both of his bloodied, clawed feet out as the winds whistled in his ears. His talon slammed into the towering man, sending him skidding, but unlike the other one, no bones broke from the impact.

Not yet, anyway.

With the momentum still carrying them, Ethan jolted the man and watched as his face twitched with pain. Ethan didn't know how effective the lightning channeled by the harpy's claws, but he wasn't about to wait and see.

"Go help Amanda," he called out to the others as the park lit up with an intense surge of scorching flames, completely enveloping the man as they flew out of Ethan's scales. With his feet back on the ground, Ethan began channeling the fireballs and barely noticed when Diego's legs gave out a few paces to the right. He couldn't afford to look away for long, but the fight might have taken a lot out of him. And he'd bet Diego wasn't the only one at the end of his ropes.

Pointing a claw forward as his concussive fireballs charged, Ethan ignored the large black shield the man had summoned and aimed a spray of thin, pressurized flames right at the man's feet. He heard him curse, and he believed he was saying something else, but Ethan's ears were still buzzing.

Plus, he didn't really need to hear the words of dead men. And when Gerald finally helped carry Diego away, Ethan sent the first fireball at the shield, then immediately sent all other three after it. The first made the man reel back behind his shield. The second knocked the shield to the side and the third slammed into his stomach, forcing the man down to his knees as blood poured out of his nose and eyes.

The lance dropped in Ethan's open palm, half a second before he lunged at the bald man, only for the latter to surge up and deflect the lance with his dark tower shield while a fist of sickly, glowing orange light flashed toward Ethan, hiding the man's bared teeth behind it.

It was almost as if a mountain had just punched him. But by now, actual mountains could drop on top of Ethan's head and he frankly believed he had a decent chance of survival. The impact only sent him skidding a few yards back considering the grip of his talons and the weight of his bones, but the magic that tried to seep into his scales was a little worse. It seemed to be trying to lock-up his muscles and freeze his limbs somehow, but his scales weakened most of the magic, and his resistances brushed off the rest.

"What the—"

The words reached his ears as he lunged forward once more, and this time, the man had been too slow to react.

The lance punched through the hide and punctured through his chest. Ethan detonated it, dismissed, then he jumped up toward the giant's neck, claws extending as they tore halfway through his neck. The man clamped up his hand on the wide gash, trying to swat Ethan away, but with a flare of his wing, he quickly swung around to the other side to slice deep with his claws.

The man was cursing as he stumbled down to his knees, and the only response he got was a face full of both a pressurized [Gout of Flames] along with as much fire he could channel out of [Scorching Enhancement]. Between the torn throat and the flames, Ethan couldn't hear anything for nearly ten seconds, until there was a ding in his ears.

Cutting off the flames and making sure the man was dead, Ethan kicked off the ground and flew toward Amanda and the others.

The barrier had broken, but this was almost over.

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