and me. Why do you take his side?”
“This has nothing to do with your feud with Feliath!” Auphora shouted. The front line of his army started getting restless. Some raised their spears. “You have taken things too far in your search for the Red Elixir, even though it will not give you the power you crave. Its true power is unknown to you, and yet you are willing to kill billions to acquire it. This is far past your feud with your brother. It is blood lust. You want to take my place.”
“How dare you stand there and speak these words to me?” Baran began to charge forward, but Eclipse held him back. Following a deadly stare at his son, he took a deep breath and retreated. “You forced my hand, Father,” he continued. “None of this would have happened, if only you sympathised with my needs. Is it so wrong to have a legacy? After all, you have.” He spared a glance at all three of his children before returning his gaze to Auphora. “I sought the Red Elixir not for evil, but to ensure the survival of my own children. You forced me to conquer your planets to acquire what you could have given me.”
Feliath abruptly raised his hand, as Auphora opened his mouth to talk. “Please, Father, let me speak,” he said. “I think there are things to be said here.” Feliath folded his arms. “For too long Baran has masqueraded this as a feud between us, but his greed knows no bounds. This must be where it ends. I speak not only for Earth, but for people everywhere yearning for freedom and peace.”
Baran’s face turned bright red at Feliath’s words. He took a few steps backward, toward one of his Akarai warriors. The number of people around the Red God made it difficult for Auphora to see anything. A flurry of movement ended with Baran charging forward, holding a spear. With a forward thrust, it left the Red God’s arm, flying through the air before landing a few feet away from Auphora, lodged in the chest of one of his generals. Death came instantly for the unfortunate human, and Auphora could not hide his disgust at Baran’s actions.
“You dare kill one of my men, while I stand here trying to solve our problems diplomatically?”
“The time for talking is over, Father.” Baran lifted his hand once more, holding on to another spear. “Since you choose not to leave my planet, you are forcing me to do whatever is necessary to defend it.” With a sudden swing of his arm, the second spear sailed through the air, headed directly for the God of Gods.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Auphora opened his robe, pulling out his cane at the same time. The tall, crooked staff emitted a bright, green glow that materialised into a shield of light around his body, shattering the spear to pieces upon impact.
The attack on Auphora caused a frenzy at the front line of his army, as they all drew their swords and edged forward. The Noboros became harder to control, and they continuously tried to wriggle free. Auphora knew that the battle was now imminent. Following a nod of his head, he descended toward the rear of his army, closely followed by the rest of his children. Aware of what Auphora’s actions meant, Baran quickly did the same, with his children and their hyper lords trailing behind.
With the Red God now a relative distance from the front line, a number of his human generals lunged forward on their horses. “ARCHERS, attack.” They repeated the command several times, and a sea of arrows rained down from the height of the towers of Semsena.
The shields of Auphora’s army offered little protection from the massive volley of arrows, and many fell to their deaths. A second wave was enough to trigger the commencement of their own attack, led by the Monoroi and humans in the front line, who charged in with their swords and spears. Multiple waves of arrows continued raining down, killing many, but with each step, they edged closer to Baran’s warriors, who stood with their swords drawn, waiting for impact.
For