"Your illusions mean nothing to me, Illusory Ersta'la" the Watchful Ersta'sol made a small hand gesture, and sent a wave of his vapour outwardly, dispelling the illusions Cheops had created and even those that he had been planning on manifesting later.
The man in pale blue robes rushed toward him, the trickster hastily raised his blade, blocking the kick, and yet was still taken off his feet and sent barreling into a house, the sandstone stopping his momentum and knocking the air out of his lungs.
"Now, if you value your life, tell me what those strange, corpse-like beings are" the Ersta'sol approached with a casual step, his presence seeming to physically bear down on Cheops, never had the illusory follower thought that the difference in power between an Ersta'la and Ersta'sol would be so immensely vast, though that one seemed stronger than average, it didn't change much for Cheops, to begin with, worshippers of Illusory Undeviginti were weaker across the board in direct combat than all of the others.
The vapour they wielded was more suited for illusions and playing tricks, even if physical enhancement and projectiles were possible, they would remain weaker compared to that of any of the other four faiths, so the instant their mirages were useless, they basically stood no chance.
"My bad, friend, but I quite literally can not tell you anything you want to know, I basically sold my soul, I barely can even think about betraying the contract" he simply responded after catching his breath and hoisting himself up to his feet, noticing his opponent's brow rising quizzically.
"You signed a contract? With who? The cleansing or sanguine worshippers?" the Ersta'sol seemed convinced that the three faiths were controlling the undead and not the other way around, well, he was not to be blamed for being completely wrong, it just didn't make much sense to imagine otherwise from the perspective of the realm's inhabitants.
"I can't answer that-" Cheops was grabbed by the throat and pushed against the wall.
"Do not think that you can fool me with such a pitiful excuse, you signed a contract, and so what? A contract does not bind your tongue or can compel you to do anything, it's just a contract…"
Cheops had almost forgotten that the way Ir'Houwl turned them into loyal soldiers actually was not something that was common knowledge, contracts that could actually force one to respect them weren't a thing in the desert, until she and her soldiers appeared.
The Ersta'la attempted to find a better excuse, as a trickster, justifying himself was like second nature, back when he hadn't even been an arm-bearer and had just been roaming the streets and stealing from people, he would often claim that he was of another faith than that of Illusory Undeviginti, and invent awfully elaborated lies that were as confusing as they nonsensical, but he had always gotten away with it.
'Hopefully I haven't gotten rusty…' he cleared his throat and held his hands up, as though miming, 'you caught me there'.
"May you stop constricting my throat, so that I can speak freely?" he asked with a wry smile, the Ersta'sol giving him a look that clearly demonstrated a total lack of trust, but still left him, Cheops's feet returning to the ground where they belonged.
"The truth is… That I, Cheops, Illusory Ersta'la, servant of Illusory Undeviginti, have been enthralled in a most intense emotion, that has led me to convincing my people to join hands with the followers of Cleansing Undeviginti, which soon enough, resulted in the worshippers of Sanguine Undeviginti joining us as well!" he began, his interlocutor, whomst held the authority to end his life right now, did not look amused.
"Good sir, have you ever been in love?"
"Then perhaps you will understand me- My heart, my very essence, has been captured by a woman whose beauty is simply unrivaled, at least in my eyes! It might sound insane to you, but I am deeply infatuated with an arm-bearer of Cleansing Undeviginti, and together, we united the faith of the illusory and of the cleansing" exclaimed Cheops with all of the theatrical capabilities he could muster, which turned out to be overwhelming.
"Alright, I have a hard time believing this, but you are still stalling, just tell me what the cadavers really are" the Ersta'sol seemed mildly disturbed by the fact that Cheops was claimed to be in a relationship with a butcher of all things, that seemed implausible, in fact, it would have been more believable had he claimed to be in love with an orc or molochite.
"Oh… These guys? They are just the next generation of corpse-puppets" he lied as easily as he breathed.
The Ersta'sol did not seem convinced.
"I don't sense any sanguine vapour, or any vapour for that matter, from them at all, are you claiming that the sanguine worshippers have managed to accomplish creating corpse-puppets that are not only stronger, more intelligent, but can also perfectly conceal the vapour animating them? All the while finding the corpses of dozens of creatures that have never been seen before? And also, you want me to believe that the worshippers figured this out before Sanguine Undeviginti itself? Do you think of me as a cretin?"
"I mean… You're actually asking a follower of Illusory Undeviginti for facts and truth, shouldn't you know that lying and messing with people is how we have fun for the most part? Honestly, do you really need to ask? Of course I take you for an idiot!"
"You little-!" the Ersta'sol raised his fist, ready to crush Cheops's skull, but in his hasty motion, failed to notice something rushing at him from the side, tackling into him and launching him into a nearby house.
It was the same abomination made of rotten flesh and sand as before, it had taken quite a while to come back, proof that it had been hit freakishly hard, and had either been sent very far, or had suffered too much damage and had needed to spend some time putting itself together.
But it was still standing, and just as eager to murder the living as before.
That sneak attack had not been enough to put the Ersta'sol down however, that guy truly seemed to be a notch above the rest of his fellows, he had been bruised, but had not suffered great damage, seemingly maintaining some sort of defensive solar spell around him at all times.
The corpse atrocity opened its maw, which revealed that its head was literally just a maw that opened like like a flower with four petals, only abhorrently disgusting, it puked a sort of black, mud-like liquid, which did not appear corrosive or toxic, but stuck to everything it touched before rapidly hardening, which Cheops did not think was due to the heat, and was instead by design.
The Ersta'la stood up, and channelled his vapour, with an ally of this calibre, he should be able to play around with his illusions…