Demons swarmed through the cracks of the dome as Kal leaped between the spires and huge boulders tumbled from above to crash down onto the stone floor.
Kal moved with all the speed he could muster to avoid the falling stones as he charged toward the nearest opening in the dome’s ceiling.
Kuroxet and garghounds landed all around him. Luckily most appeared to be the middle strength variants he had come across during his time in the trial so they posed little threat to him as he carved through them with Exterminator’s Regards as he continued his sprint to the exit.
Landing on a falling spire, Kal charged up its side as more and more of the demons risked their lives in the chaos of the collapsing dome just to reach him. A dozen were splattered against the side of the spire behind him as a boulder crushed them and changed the angle of the spire's fall, taking Kal further away from the closest exit and forcing him to leap to another spire as kuroxet variant he recognized landed in front of him.
Kal hadn’t deactivated his Eyes of the Slayer so the demon practically glowed to his eyes as all of its skills made themselves known to his perception.
[Kuroxet Bonedrinker | Abyssal Spawn 74]
Kal felt the demons continuing to enter his fear aura dropping the cost of Wrath Incarnate so he didn’t waste any time activating it as he moved.
The bonedrinkers were smarter than their weaker kin but not by much. Without the amplification of its skills, this bonedrinker barely had time to react before a burst of savage speed and strength hacked deep into its chest before a bone-shattering kick to its abdomen sent it flying from the spire and out of Kal’s way.
Kal hacked his way through several more slaughters and nobles before leaping for the exit and into another pack of much weaker garghounds that froze in terror as his fear aura amplified by Wrath Incarnate washed over them. Kal’s stamina was flagging so he moved through in a flurry of blade and fire, each kill bringing his stamina to more appropriate levels.
He could still sense the presence of the lumixet nearby. Kal was pretty sure that intimidating presence was the only reason the weaker of these demons were even willing to move against him.
Blood already soaked his new armor as he hacked his way clear of the last of the garghounds. The mana storm raged to new heights as the dome and from what Kal could tell, most of the mountain began to shudder and collapse.
Finally, with the space to scan his surroundings, Kal found himself not too far from where he had started his climb up the mountain of the Forgotten One. The abyssal flames continued to burn overhead as they did the last time he had been on the surface. Too bad the air here stank otherwise it would have almost been refreshing.
Kal felt more and more demons enter his fear aura, some climbing up through the remains of the crack he had just exited or from over the surrounding rocky terrain. He was expecting another skirmish but then he felt that intimidating pressure intensify. Several demons that had gotten close enough to be visible making their way over the terrain tumbled to a halt and fell to their knees or lay down flat in the case of the garghounds.
Clearly, this lumixet had more sway over the demons than Kal would have expected at first. Kal deactivated Wrath Incarnate and marked a few bone drinkers he spotted at the top of the hill he was approaching to generate some more wrath for what was coming.
Health:
3453/3870
Stamina:
5423/7240
Wrath:
6232
Kal continued up the hill and was both surprised and slightly disturbed as the demons parted for him as he moved towards the location where he could feel the lumixet. When he finally made it to the top he looked down on a valley filled with countless demons far more even than what he had seen inside of the trial.
From the look of it, only kuroxet and garghounds remained. Kal immediately spotted several other bonedrinkers of various levels along with several garghound royal guards. Their levels were not as high as those he saw in the trial but their numbers weren’t ideal. With Flesh of Iron and his other gains, he was confident he could defeat them if he had to, but they were his quarry this time. Their presence would only help him as long as he wasn’t overwhelmed.
At the center of the insane horde was a small platform clearly constructed from the bones of several hundred kuroxet judging by the shapes. Atop the platform was a large skeletal throne occupied by a huge demon that was at least as large as the bonedrinker after it had entered its death rage. This demon however sat with casual grace, leaning deeply into the grotesque throne with one leg over the other while its fiery purple eyes gazed across the valley at him.
The lumixet’s face was similar to the kuroxets but instead of dark scales, it looked like a mask of bone that sprouted from its face before curving above its brow into several twisted black horns. Its body was muscular but not overly so like the death-raging bonedrinker, seeming to be at a balance of both strength and dexterity.
Under the palm of its clawed right hand was a crystalline sphere that flickered with barely visible light. Kal frowned at the sight of what must be Mira. Even from this distance, he could tell that she wasn’t in good condition. He would just have to figure something out if he had the chance.
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He spotted Soul Devourer immediately, a perfect duplicate of Soul Maw the demon’s left middle finger. Now he just needed to get it.
Kal’s Eyes of the Slayer made the demon glow to his sight with the different skill channels moving throughout its body. It was hard to tell with Kal’s limited experience with the skill but just looking he could feel that none of its skills were active yet. The demon’s intimidating presence was purely a result of its power or maybe its tier. It was the first tier-two entity he had met, at least that he could remember.
A deep rasping sound echoed from the demon’s throat. The sound reverberated strangely and it took a moment for Kal to realize that it was laughter.
[Lumixet Vorayx | Tier 2 Abyssal Spawn 105]
“Impressive… Truly impressive,” several demons shied away from the lumixet as it spoke, “A level sixty-six mortal accomplished all of that,” Voraxy chuckled, gesturing towards the remains of the trial zone.
“It was simple enough,” Kal shrugged, “Let’s get this over with, I have somewhere I need to be.”
Vorayx chuckled some more, “I see your will remains strong, that is impressive on its own but your intellect must have taken quite the hit to allow you to believe you could face me.”
Kal sighed, he really wasn’t interested in talking to this thing. Speaking with demons was a waste of time and judging by the inferno of his raging soul it agreed with him. The sound of the mana storm once again sending bolts of destruction across the rubble of the dome reached him and he felt the sudden drop of his mental attributes as Soul Maw took another day’s worth of the points.
Kal was sick of timers. Ever since he got to this demon-cursed place he had been on a timer. First, it was hunger and starvation, and then it was sleep. Then he had started the trial which only controlled him further but worse of all was that damned ring.
If he didn’t need to remove it he could have simply ignored this bastard and gone straight for the mana storm. Odds are it wouldn’t have let him anyway but at least he would have had the choice.
Kal wasn’t interested in any kind of display. He would kill this thing, no matter the cost then kill the rest of them. He knew his soul was affecting him again but he didn’t care. In this, his goals aligned with the savage aggression his soul radiated.
A group of five bonedrinkers must have sensed something as they suddenly darted towards him as one. Kal turned to fend them off but before they were within ten feet they all fell to the ground writhing in agony. Bursts of dark blood sprayed from each of them as sharp spikes slowly began to protrude from their bodies.
“He is mine!” Vorayx roared across the valley, his voice seeming louder than it should have been forcing hundreds of demons to the ground, even Kal’s hackles rose at the sound.
Vorayx had risen to his feet as he stared down the bonedrinkers who had tried to attack him, “The usefulness of this filth has come to an end. Now they will be the decor of your grave.”
Kal saw several of Vorayx’s skill channels light up as he raised one hand to the sky. He didn’t need his mana sight to see the light gathering in the demon’s hand. Kal activated Wrath Incarnate and Flesh of Iron as he charged towards the demon.
The tier one demons didn’t even try to stop him as he sprinted between them and leaped towards the platform of bone. One foot landed on its edge before propelling him the final ten feet as he brought Exterminator’s Regards down on Vorayx as he channeled his skill.
His sword stopped dead as Vorayx raised his left hand and caught it by its edge. The sudden stop almost jarred the blade out of Kal’s hands. Vorayx’s fang-filled maw twisted into a sneer before he slammed his foot into Kal’s chest.
Even through the protection of both his Abyss Scale Cuirass and Flesh of Iron, he felt his ribs crack as he was sent back into the stone of the valley with bone-shattering force.
“Pathetic…” Vorayx seethed, “Now join this filth in death!” Voraxy’s right hand closed into a fist as the light gathering in his hand spread out in a pulse that covered everything within the valley. Kal had barely gotten to his feet as the wave hit him and pain forced him to his knees.
Demons all around him screamed or howled in agony as their bones pierced their own flesh, vertebrae became serrated and skulls became twisted spines while Kal groaned as he brought his perception inwards to find his own bones vibrating with the urge to expand.
His shins were the first to sprout thorns, slowly digging their way to the surface. Then it was his ribs and shoulder blades. Wrath Incarnate kept the worst of the pain at bay but it was still excruciating. He could feel Flesh of Iron holding his bones together as they tried to squirm.
Kal’s mind raced as he tried to find a solution. It was almost like the demon’s skill had overwritten his skeleton’s default state. Kal didn’t need any more encouragement to activate Wrathful Regeneration and the moment he did the pain doubled but his health stabilized.
The pain came from his regeneration’s guide construct trying to reinforce its instructions, too bad the only way it could do that was by altering his bones just as much as the lumixet’s skill. Kal gritted his teeth as the demons around him were torn apart by their own skeletons and Vorayx laughed at the carnage he had created.
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Atop the platform, Vorayx laughed while the valley became a mess of twisted bone and flesh as the filth that had irritated him for weeks finally died. It was a beautiful thing.
The mortal writhed in agony as it should. Vorayx had waited far too long to not take the chance to enjoy tormenting the pathetic thing. It was strong, for a mortal. But compared to him it was barely worth acknowledging.
Vorayx smiled as he watched the mortal brace itself on the ground, “Its brain should be pierced at any moment…” The mortal continued to groan. Vorayx sneered before focusing his skill on the mortal. Piercing Bone was an expensive skill to use but its effect was just too exquisite to avoid using.
There had never been a tier one demon or mortal to survive the skill, “Any moment now….” The mortal stopped groaning and blood began to trickle from its face, “Yes… Di-”
The mortal rose to its feet as blood continued to pour from its face and began to trickle from its limbs. Then its eyes focused on him and it was only then that Vorayx noticed the burning fire within them, crimson, and embers of something else.
Crimson flame spread from the mortal’s left hand to cover his sword even as a shard of bone punctured his right forearm.
Warning: You have been marked for death by [Kalum Lesta | Slayer of Fate 66]