Elsewhere, the Zeta Squad began their struggle against the wizards with mixed results. While Vincent, assisted by Camille, was content with testing his opponents, disorienting them using his abnormal speed, the other groups were far less composed.
Under the canopy to the left, Marcus and Ella were already locked in their own storm of fists and sorcery, wizards swarming them like wolves in the dark. But to the right, Neil had pushed the wizards into a defensive mode. His brute strength, just like Marcus's, was on full display. However, where the fire-breathing Bernthal was being assisted by the Mystic, the young Zaatsu was carrying some inexperienced aides.
Riley charged at a wizard. His senses were not sharp enough to recognise the body as a clone. By the time Gina screamed to warn him, his fist was already stuck. The clone had sucked the Sokidu's fist inside.
"What is this?!" he exclaimed, trying hard to free himself.
The clone quickly turned into mud and dragged Riley down to the ground. He was trapped. Neil was already surrounded by five wizards. Gina tried to help but was stopped by four of them. Ben was engaged by the remaining two.
Very soon, one of Neil's opponents backflipped onto a tree branch and turned to face Riley lying in a puddle of sticky mud. He extended both arms out. A bow appeared in one and an arrow in the other.
Ben shouted, "Riley!"
The wizard took aim and chanted, "KARAMASH-TEFAM…"
The arrow began to glow.
It travelled fast.
Neil shot a Ki blast at it mid-battle.
It missed.
The arrow pierced through Riley's heart!
Ben shrieked in anguish. Neil unleashed a Ki shockwave with extended arms and finally pushed the wizards away. But it was no use. The young Sokidu was already dead. He could do nothing but re-engage his opponents.
The tactics were odd. Gina was experienced. She had worked in the field for some years now but had never heard of a group of Cultist wizards who preferred close-range combat. These members of the Devil's Hearth were not just willing to trade fists; they were actually quite good at it. They were matching the Zeta Squad members move for move. And whatever they lacked in strength, they were more than making up for in numbers.
Finally breaking free from the tight grip of her opponents, she whispered, "MASAYA-NUMA-POL…"
Her body became transparent for a few seconds, allowing her to slip past the wizards. She rushed towards Ben. Grabbing him by the arm, she dragged him back and blocked a witch's blow.
"Conserve your strength," she said. "You cannot defeat them like this. Do not engage them alone."
"I'll kill them!" he screamed. "I'll kill them all!"
"Back us up! And you just might get the chance."
Thereafter, Neil and Gina decided to try and converge the two battles into one. Only then could they think of inflicting any damage.
Vincent's eyes crackled with electricity. Then, static bolts began to shoot out of his body. He had his back towards Camille.
Without looking, she asked, "Should I be worried about the current?"
All eight wizards surrounding them moved back a little and observed the Martial Artists standing atop the water in the stream.
"The current makes temperatures rise," he told Camille, telepathically via Faris's mind link. Steam began to rise from the stream. "Visibility goes down and we attack. Got it?"
"Understood." Camille pulled out a glaive from her umro-bag.
"Nice," the White Bolt said. "Do you have a katana in there?"
She gave him the sword and within moments the battlefield went blind.
The wizards had lost their line of sight. They moved to surround the steam-covered area.
"Watch out for the bounty hunter," one of them said. "He's fast."
The White Bolt had been showing glimpses of his pace in short bursts to disorient his opponents and keep them at bay. But now, it was time for an all-out attack. He charged. Camille was stunned for a moment then thought, 'Yup. That's how I remember him… at his terrifying best.'
Two wizards saw a blur move past them. A witch felt a gust of wind. The man farthest behind, standing on a tree branch, noticed a blade protruding through his body.
He looked down.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade…
That was when he realised – Vincent was standing behind him and his katana had gone clear through the wizard's belly. He grunted. All the wizards looked over, but before they could move to him, the White Bolt cut their ally in half and vanished once again.
"They don't call him the White Bolt for nothing!" a wizard exclaimed. "They may have given him a rating of low 2000s but even Zaatsus couldn't bring this man down alone. Keep your guard up!"
Battle Ratings were one of the most effective systems the Eye could ever develop to rate an arcanist's battle prowess. High-level Zaatsus like Hugo achieved ratings of mid to high 2000s. But people like Vincent broke the system because his rating on paper was not very flattering. In the field, however, it took the combined might of two Zaatsus, three Sokidus, and one Mystic to finally bring him down.
A witch screamed, "He'll stay in the steam and attack suddenly! Charm the cloaks!"
All of the members of the Devil's Hearth reinforced their defences by charming their cloaks using strange orbs. Neither Camille nor Vincent could recognize what they were.
'Time to test them again,' the White Bolt said.
Some of the Cultists slowly began to move into the mist. The glaive halted their movement first. Many of them were struck by Camille and were pushed back. However, because of the charm on the cloaks, they remained unscathed.
Vincent too then struck a few of them but to no avail. He came and stood pressing his back against Camille's.
"Any ideas?" he asked, through the mind link. "They're moving inside to undo the steam and force us out into the open."
She shook her head. "I think the defensive charms are a slightly bigger threat than that right now. Do you have a way of undoing them?"
"Not really. I can attempt a break, but it will use too much Ki."
"Not worth it…"
Through the thinning steam, the enchanted cloaks began to glow.