Luke placed the bond on the body of a chattering imp. It spoke in an unintelligible demonic language. The unlucky imp happened to be in the perfect position to spread his debuff to the rest of the disturbing demons. The two behemoths in the far back of the chasm this unholy feast was held in were still grazing far away. Their occasional looks of interest betrayed their eventual intentions.
“Come then.” Luke declared.
Being inside the mirror realm, the fire and brimstone around Luke were omnipresent. Demons were in each direction except behind him. Dark clouds covered the red sun. His cloak furled. Taking his foot on the head of a screeching wraith, he pressed down. Xera was pointed forward into the center of the group of demons.
An Essence Lance came out of the wand, Luke's most powerful one ever created. The lance fragmented and fell like shooting stars over the helpless demons. Sooty let out her Essence Screech in tandem. The two powerful blasts of AOE had the imps all turn to ash, melding with the barren wastes around them. A frost pushed back the heat, causing a freezing plane to appear beside a burning hellfire of a den. A degrading aura against magic emanated from the wand, the effect of Xera’s new echoing strike passive. The ability synergy had made Essence Lance far more deadly than it was ever intended to be.
Looking at home in the newly appeared freezing world, Luke switched Xera back to her sword form. His Infusion had long been applied to the group during their previous planning phase. He targeted the Infernal demons, slicing the throats of three before they began to struggle to their feet.
Sooty was ready and waiting, her Reaver Beak ripping apart the first Infernal Lord to recover. A Talon Strike followed suit to the second demon in a hurry to rise. Not letting the bunched-up monsters have a chance to spread, a shadow appeared behind her, letting its screech go wild. The triple attack had rendered even some of the fire wraiths back into the cycle of the netherworld. With Sooty’s Shadow Wing ability and her teaming up to pick off the demons as they rose, the rapid fire of their skill set decimated the realm.
The newly upgraded Xera sliced through the demon’s hide and flesh effortlessly. Xera was enjoying herself as usual. “Sword time is the best time! So much more up close and personal. Hacking things to pieces is truly entertaining.”
“Your first round went about as well as we could hope, lad. Have that shadow take the heat for you until it’s gone. Press the advantage. The tides will turn quickly if too many of the trickster Infernal demons live.” Wayfinder stayed grounded in the situation.
A pair of hands and two pairs of nails were gouging out a large chunk of the demons who had been laughing just two seconds earlier. The focus on the more presumably deadly Infernal Demons left most of the fire wraiths alive, minus the ones that perished to the triple AOE attack combo.
Luke was skewering demon guts with ease. Essence Bond gave an incredible boost to Xera and even a moderate boost to his strength. Add on Infusion, increasing the damage and speed further, and the excitable sword even managed to get a two-for-one in a swing.
“A new record for the fight! We’re getting good at this!” Xera cheered herself on.
Our momentum’s dying down. Luke observed. At least the imps were all taken out.
The bloodied Infernal Demons that had managed to survive to this point rebuffed the deadly duo in a burst of fiery power. Using Reaver Link, Luke had Sooty try to take down the flame wraiths with the shadow, just asking for its Iron Feather as assistance. A shadowy feather floated around Luke, and he unsheathed Whispering Edge. Using its ability, another demon stood in horror, with the rest slowed.
He reaped the life of that demon in its moment of vulnerability. Reducing his number of opponents yet again. His momentum finally came to a stop. Whispering Edge was put back in its holder. The remaining demon’s searing flame bursts rushed toward Luke. Even with his speed, he still caught a hit on his shoulder. The shadow’s Iron Feather burst into pieces, halving the flame’s damage.
Then, the trickery of the demons came into play, and their mocking smiles returned. Luke began to feel a mental slowness reflected in his swings. While he still managed to land his blow, it was imprecise. It was only due to the absurd sharpness of Xera that the cut was deadly regardless. The strength in his swings felt limited. His body felt delayed in every sense. When he wanted to swing Xera, the command would slowly leave his brain. This applied to every action of his.
“Too slow! Swing faster! Are you listening?” Xera quickly caught on, however. “A mental skill of theirs? Let me alter your swings then.”
Luke diced an Infernal demon before him. Xera guided his arms to block the Infernal demon’s claw, aiming for his stomach.
Sooty was busy trying to tag team with her shadow to help Luke. Still, she sent an Iron Feather over after giving a worried click. The extra protection would allow Luke to take an aggressive measure against the remaining Infernal demons. The shadow would dissipate when it reached Luke. Instead, she used its cover to end more fire wraiths prematurely.
A new Infusion empowered Xera; his swing’s unexpected speed caught two demons off guard. The blade cut through two torsos with ease. Those demons would laugh no longer.
Feeling the blood healing of his two rings, Luke flashed forward, thrusting Xera through the chest of an Infernal demon. The demon lived and kept its hand around Xera, trying to use itself as a trap.
The gesture was useless. Luke used Whispering Edge while changing the form of Xera back to a wand. Whispering Edge ended the foolish demon, and Xera was free again. Jumping back, a blaze enveloped the devil, the worst of the damage missing Luke.
Using Whispering Edge to take on another demon, Luke had a more challenging time avoiding the flame abilities of the Infernal Demons. Sooty’s Iron Feather only allowed him to take that last demon out with relative ease.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The two behemoths were slowly making their way over, fixated on Luke.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Lad, you’ll be flattened into a meat pancake by those beasties sooner than a fly’s life if you can’t take these demons down. Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Use me ability, you numbskull. You’re not leaving me to rot here in some demon realm,” Wayfinder yelled.
Luke heard him, but the mental slowness was getting worse. He could barely nod. A fireball hit him directly, and he crashed back on the feasting table he had ruined. Blood leaked through his chest. He looked down at Xera, still in her wand form.
"I guess now is the time; damn, I was hoping to save the backup for the behemoths." Luke's voice came out slowly.
The demons had made the mistake of grouping up, ready to unleash another volley of flame spells on Luke—something they’d have to do in the next life. Activating Temporal North, an Essence Lance once again swirled around Xera. The smiles on the demons froze before the entire group was wiped away under the following blizzard. The lance had wiped away any remnants of them.
Using the feedback of healing from the rings, Luke managed to make the bleeding manageable. The two behemoths were almost on him. He had Sooty rush off to slow one down. Walking away from the war-torn scene around him, Luke worked on creating distance. Essence Bond faded from Xera. The Interface had come up for the two as he focused on them.
[Infernal Behemoth] (Elite)
Level: 19
HP: 930/930
They eat flames for breakfast. Their favorite flavor is roughly 3,500 degrees Demon. Whatever that means.
The behemoths continued to shift their trajectory wherever Luke would walk. While Sooty annoyed the other one to slow it down, one still came toward Luke unimpeded. Sooty was about to fly over and assist Luke, but using Reaver’s Link, he instead had her occupy the other Infernal Behemoth. Once she lured away one enough, she could use her speed to help him against the other one. In that situation, they’d at least have half a minute to take one down before the other caught up.
Observing the environment around him, fire and brimstone were all he saw. The lands were flat, with nothing else for the entire distance his eyes could see. To his mind, there was no way to turn this environment to his advantage.
“Looks like we’ll just have to dance then, you overgrown elephant.” Luke spat.
The behemoth hardly looked like an elephant with its red and gray color pattern with two tusks. Even if you mistook it somehow still, spikes on its back would very much give it away. Flames rolled out of its maw, spewing down onto Luke. Reacting quickly, Luke dived to the side, avoiding the worst. The broiling flames still left a sear on his left leg.
Ignoring the pain, he got up. The thing was about to make him into a meat patty. Swerving around the massive hoof, trying to flatten him, Luke thrust Xera into its leg as hard as he could. Then he took out Whispering Edge. Repeating the motion of taking one sword out and then stabbing the next in, Luke haphazardly climbed the Behemoth up its leg.
Not expecting its food to be able to resist, the Behemoth roared to the sky covered in dark clouds. The red sun was laying dim light just above its figure.
“Aye, using its size against the beastie’ is clever lad. Get to its skull before it wises up and tries to roll with you on it.”
“I’ve never been used as a climbing tool before. This is fun!” Xera found enjoyment in everything.
Skirting up the behemoth quickly, he twisted Xera out. Keeping Whispering Edge in the upper shoulder of the behemoth, Luke vaulted himself onto the neck of the beast. Gripping Xera in both hands, he thrust the sword in deeply, landing a critical strike. The behemoth droned to the sky. An elephantine noise erupted into Luke’s ears.
“You can cry some more in hell; hurry up and become my experience points.” Luke’s eyes began to flow with essence. A more visceral cry interrupted his following action. Looking over, he saw Sooty caving in the skull of the other Behemoth. It was helpless against this flying bird of death. The scene reminded him of when Sooty made the archer living armor helpless. She was far more powerful compared to back then.
Taking the windfall of Sooty being able to take one of these things on by herself, Luke stacked Infusion and Essence Bond onto Xera. First, he switched her to a wand, then let an Essence Lance coalesce around Xera. Letting it charge fully, the lance drilled into the behemoth’s back skull. The frost prevented excess bleeding. Waiting to switch Xera back, Luke held the sword to the dark sky.
Guiding Xera with both hands to his side, Luke gripped her with intensity. He let out an inhuman roar and slashed the blade down. Xera sliced through the thick skin. The resistance was nonexistent. He continued to aim in the gap his Essence Lance had created for him.
Xera was meant for much tougher armor than this, after all. The skin of a tier-less being would never stop her blade. Luke continued to cut, each slash going deeper and deeper. The behemoth desperately tried to reach back with its trunk. Only to have it cut off. An additional swing found purchase in the behemoth’s brain. The gigantic body shuddered and fell to its side. A flood of blood cooling the fire plains around its body.
Bigger was not always better. Stealing Whispering Edge back from the behemoth’s shoulder, Luke saw a similar sight playing over where Sooty was. The bird had killed the beast differently, however. She used Talon Strike through its eyes, making the creature blind and bleeding. The behemoth became helpless, dying to a thousand cuts of her talons or beak.
A short pause later, and the crow was back on Luke’s shoulder, the two made their way out of the hellscape behind them. With their fire resistance, the environment hadn’t been too hostile. Still, it was far from a pleasant place to stay.
Taking one hand, Luke felt the rough wooden frame that once held the mirror sealing this realm. Making sure neither he nor Sooty accidentally looked at the siege beast mirror, the group walked to their original summoning spot. Luke decided that now was a decent time to take a breather.
“The mental skill was the most dangerous point of the entire fight. There’s got to be a way to fight against that sort of thing in the future.” Luke said out loud.
“Aye lad, but you won’t find an answer to those rarer kinds of skills in this here tomb. Best you don’t worry on it too much for now. You’ll have to find yourself a skill book or the like if it’s a real bother to you. Or specialized training.”
Both ideas caught Luke’s attention, especially the skill book. This world had something like that?
Unable to suppress the bubbling question, he asked Wayfinder. “What’s a skill book, then? And specialized training?”
“I can’t say much on the subject of training. Just take it as rumors your grand Wayfinder has heard over the years. As for skill books, lad. Did you grow up under a rock?” Wayfinder was in wonder; this was common knowledge, after all. “These are where you pad out your remaining skill slots, especially the passive kind. As you gain more slots, your class abilities won’t keep up. Gaining the proper skill books can help you cover a critical weakness or enhance your greatest strengths, all up to your style.”
Luke's mental fatigue had him end the conversation early. A part of him wanted to move on to other subjects for now. The tomb didn’t seem to drop skill books, so the basics would be all he needed to know. Giving himself a few minutes, his body regenerated against most of the damage he took in the previous fight. The challenge of the Infernal Demons wasn’t as dire as he thought it would be. Xera, indeed, was the deciding factor in that. The behemoth would’ve been a much more difficult problem on his own without her. That didn’t even touch on the fact her wand form pushed the limits of all his spells.
Ending that line of thought, a knowing smile bloomed on his face that couldn’t be wiped away even with burning sensations all over his body.
“And what are you smiling at, lad? All these fancy upgrades, yet the birdie damn near took down the big beastie before you did! Me needle's more deadly than you. And would you look at the feathery lass already?” Wayfinder said—his way of making sure Luke didn’t get comfortable.
Seeing Wayfinder’s unsaid intention, Luke instead began to talk to Xera.
“Xera,” Luke asked, “how does it feel to be the same level as your Reaver now?”
Before she answered, he asked a different question, this time to Sooty. “When did you start glowing like that, Sooty?”