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Chapter 5.10 - Richtor the Rogue / Athena

Richtor wasn't used to being surprised. As a Rogue of the Black Order, he was used to melting into the shadows and getting the drop on his foes. The magic of his order had been refined over seven hundred years to make the user invisible and undetectable.

Only skilled diviners or those gifted with aura sight from an ancient bloodline had a chance of seeing through the Black Order's veils.

So when the blue-scaled artificer saw through his magic, needless to say, Richtor reconsidered his tactics.

Despite his blessings of speed, the artificer had counterattacked with their palm blast, catching Richtor completely by surprise. The blast itself hadn't hurt him so much as it hurt his pride. Getting flung across the subway station and into the far wall had hurt. So had the fall onto the tracks.

Richtor stumbled to his feet. Thankfully, he'd managed to hold onto his heirloom daggers. He gripped them tightly, then wiped a sleeve across the nervous sweat on his brow. He quickly climbed back up onto the platform. He stayed crouched and small in the darkness.

Across the platform, the rest of Richtor's temporary allies weren't faring much better than he was.

Zindon, a Monk of the Risen Circle, exchanged blows with the blue scaled artificer. Most of the fight was too fast for Richtor to follow. Monks of the Risen Circle were masters of their body's inherent magic and used it to bolster their bodies to superhuman levels.

Richtor had looked into the abilities of each of his allies, and knew that Zindon was at the pinnacle of Class 2. All of them measured similarly, with Magus Rollan claiming to be Class 3. Not only that, they'd been chosen based on their complementary abilities and the likelihood of running into a biomech patrol.

None of that seemed to matter now. They'd run afoul of a powerful and coordinated team of supers. Two artificers and a telekinetic.

Richtor hoped at first that they'd been working for the Summit, but that hope died when the telekinetic asked for Magus Richtor by name. That did not bode well.

As quickly as the fight began, the blue scaled artificer had switched with their leather-wearing partner. Richtor hadn't heard them exchange words, which made their coordination all the more concerning. Richtor and the others had complementary powers, but they'd never met before today, much less fought together.

Richtor schemed from the shadows while Zindon and the Magus tried to coordinate. Zindon leapt after the blue scaled artificer, leaping from pillar to floor to ceiling. Gravity held no sway over him as he pursued the artificer relentlessly...

There was a brief moment where the blue scaled artificer was caught between the Magus and the monk. Lightning was one of the go-to elements against artificers. It should've sought out their armor, striking without fail... But now lightning bolts sailed across the subway station, casting fierce shadows everywhere except on Richtor. The artificer avoided them all.

Richtor's jaw hung open as he watched the blue scaled artificer leap from the pillar, dodge a lightning bolt, and then cling upside down to the ceiling to fight off Zindon.

For once, it seemed like Zindon might have the advantage. Richtor saw the thrusts of energy from the artificer's shoulders. That was how they kept themselves aloft, but it must've taken concentration to do so. It hampered their abilities, if only slightly.

Then Zindon was thrown backward as the telekinetic engaged them. The monk leapt from invisible barrier to invisible barrier. But no matter how fast they moved, the telekinetic kept them bottled up and trapped.

Magus Rollan was forced back now by the blue scaled artificer. He was forced into hand-to-hand combat using a shroud of lightning and force to keep the artificer at bay.