It seemed that Ardur was lucky that the blight crystals had the property of exploding when absorbed by each other. To some extent, this was true, but he was sure that he could find another way to strengthen his position without the crystals.
The blight crystals were just a convenient and preferable option for the current situation, but Ardur had a few more ideas based on what he already knew about this place.
In fact, the people of the chain villages themselves were to blame for everything that was happening.
"They had so many opportunities, and they didn't take advantage of any of them," Ardur thought as dozens of bright blight crystals reflecting falling meteors reflected in his eyes. "Maybe I should be grateful to them? Yeah, maybe..."
Hanor's eyes widened in horror as he spun around and ran towards Elyra.
At the last moment, he pulled an amulet with a large blue crystal from his pocket before covering Elyra with his back.
The Bone Watcher had no choice but to cover himself with his hands in the hope of surviving the countless explosions.
BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!
In an endless chain of explosions, one blight crystal after another burst into a fiery blast, turning the village area into ashes, with the Bone Watcher at its center.
The creature summoned by the Norx Type Catalyst was capable of acting autonomously, without direct orders from its Origin, as long as its owner remained alive and conscious. However, when an Origin controlled all movements, efficiency increased significantly.
Thus, while Hanor was busy saving himself and Elyra, the Bone Watcher suffered in fiery agony.
Still... Ardur was in no hurry to celebrate his victory.
He shielded his eyes from the gusts of wind with his hand, watching the aftermath through the gaps in his fingers.
The blue dome covering Hanor and Elyra shattered into pieces, as did the amulet. He could only use this artifact once, and he found the best use for it by protecting his and Elyra's lives.
Thump.
The Bone Watcher collapsed to one knee, its bones charred at the edges, and two of its three heads melted, but the summoned guard was alive and ready to fight.
"N-No!"
One of the men stepped back in horror, staring at the Bone Watcher.
"It... That monster survived even after the explosions! Our plan... has failed!"
He was understandable, as long as their Origins' powers were blocked, this was their only chance at victory.
Moreover, the golden orb still hovered over the village. It was too high to throw the blight crystals at it.
"Hahahahaha!" Hanor exclaimed in wild laughter as he stepped on the fragments of the broken amulet. "It seems your people have realized that you have led them to their deaths! Who will believe in your plan now?!"
He was not mistaken.
The villagers looked at each other nervously, not knowing what to do next. What could they possibly do against one of the Servants?
The fear of the Golden Light was deep in their hearts. Just this morning, they were not ready to go against a regular light guard, and now they had tried to kill Hanor himself!
And... they had failed.
"What can I say?" Ardur shrugged. "You have to earn people's trust. I don't blame them, it's hard to overcome your fears, but..."
"Hmm?" Hanor frowned.
Ardur arrogantly raised his chin, looking down haughtily at Hanor.
"Soon they will realize that they are all wrong and that I am the only one who is right!"
Hanor's eyebrow twitched.
"Such arrogance. You really are a madman, but... It's time to end this farce!"
He had already shown weakness by losing the artifact and nearly losing the battle. As one of the Servants, Hanor had to remind the people of Iron Chain Village, no, every village, of their place.
He was going to instill fear in them.
But something was wrong.
'Agh?' Hanor stared at Ardur. 'Why did he look away? Where... Where is he looking?'
Soon, Hanor realized as he abruptly turned toward Cobalt Chain Village, where a blue flame suddenly flared up.
Gador's people had done their job. They had agreed with the leader of Cobalt Chain Village, with their Origin – Frida.
But first, she wanted to see how serious they were.
The attack on one of the Servants and the devastating explosion were more than enough, especially the golden orb covering Iron Chain Village, which showed that the Golden Light took this threat seriously.
"Come on, do it," Ardur whispered as his vision went far ahead as if he could see the scene at Cobalt Chain Village.
Step.
The girl with long azure hair and eyes of the same color climbed to the tower, the highest point of Cobalt Chain Village.
Her expression was cold, full of unwillingness to follow someone else's plan, but her hatred for the Heaven Dwellers was a hundred times greater.
"You will see the red apple. Tsk, who even calls that an explosion? Ardur, huh?" Frida frowned. "I don't know what you want, but you're the only one who started acting. This time, I'll acknowledge you."
She stretched one arm forward and held the other to her chest as if she were preparing to shoot a bow.
At the same moment, the massive spirit wolf made of frosty energy appeared. It seemed to be a summoned creature, just like Hanor's, but Frida did not possess the Norx Type Catalyst.
Whooooosh.
The spirit wolf transformed into streams of energy, filling Frida with power. Her eyes flashed, her hair shone and rose up, and a great bow woven from blue energy appeared in her hands.
The Syrax Type was the fifth Catalyst Type, allowing the user to use the power of the summoned creature themselves rather than controlling it like a puppet.
In a way, the Syrax Type was something between the Norx and Veyr types.
"One shot is all I can offer you, but..." Frida exhaled cold breath as the arrow, trembling with power, appeared in her grasp. "I won't miss!"
At the same moment, the arrow flew from the bowstring, streaking across the sky like the morning star. Every person in the chain villages could see it, a symbol of the beginning of their rebellion against the Heaven Dwellers.
Cold gusts of wind rushed in all directions as panic welled up deep in Hanor's eyes.
"Fuck! The Bone Watcher, kill him!!!"
Thump!
The Bone Watcher stepped forward, approaching Ardur, who, despite the threat, did not take a step back.
The great skeleton towered over him as a bright blue light reflected in his eyes.
BLAST!
The frost arrow struck the golden orb, destroying the precious artifact that was supposed to be the trump card against the rebellious Origins.
[Orb of Righteous Control has been destroyed. Restrictions have been lifted.]
Ardur didn't need to hear that, as his Catalyst had already appeared in his hand.
'Now that we have allies above, it's time to think about below, isn't it?
He smirked.
'But first, we need to deal with them!'