*Boom*
The entire dome shook and The Slayer’s arm stilled as dust and debris fell from the ceiling. His gaze left the bodies of the dying and the strange sphere of space mana to scan the space above him.
Dark stone shook again, releasing more debris but The Slayer’s gaze barely noticed as it locked onto something beyond. His killing sight flared to life as hundreds of pale pathetic lights entered his fear aura. Even without seeing them directly, he could tell they were the weakest and most pathetic of the corpses here.
But then he saw something else. Chasing after the weak were others, their killing intents and souls tainted by golden light. The Slayer felt his soul explode into an even greater rage and his face twisted into a snarl.
“Dhinir…”
The Slayer left the dying behind. They would die regardless.
He had others to kill.
The Slayer surged through the tunnels, with every step more and more people fell into his fear aura and soon the screams became audible, echoing through the many halls and passages in the place of His return.
----------------------------------------
Elendria groaned with relief as The Slayer left the chamber. Her heart still pounding with terror from what he was about to do. She had no doubt he was about to kill everyone in the room but had stopped at the last moment.
“Elendria! Let me out now!” Volan shouted, even though he was just as terrified as her.
Elendria grimaced but nodded and the bubble popped with a flash of white and purple light. The instant the skill ended she fell to her knees exhausted. Volan stumbled slightly but immediately ran to Jaliete and Dalen. Dalen was worse off by far despite the location of Jaliete’s wound so Volan focused on him first.
While Volan did what he could Elendria tried to use her scouting skill Spatial Scope.
Error: Spatial Scope has failed
“What!?” Elendria gasped, a lance of pain shooting through her skull.
She was tired but not that tired. She tried again.
Error: Spatial Scope has failed
Warning: [Kalum Lesta | Slayer of Fate 75 | Human] Has been notified of your attempt at scrying his location.
Elendria’s eyes widened, “Gods! He can’t be scryed!”
She felt the urge to try and reactivate her Warden’s Domain again but she could still feel his presence moving away from them and the fear aura slowly lessening.
Amazingly Jaliete had managed to remain conscious throughout the last few minutes but just barely her vitality kept her alive but not in any condition to use her skill the moment Volan turned from Dalen to heal her she spoke, “Gods! How is he so powerful? Ugh! Never mind that we must protect our people! I can’t scry them either but I can hear their thoughts. Empire soldiers are storming the place as we speak. To think Alansu would go this far!”
Volan didn’t comment as he darted around the room casting as many healing skills as he could. Dalen was healed as much as Volan could manage but still, he didn’t awaken. Melisia was in a similar state but Volan seemed confident she would live at least until they got out of this situation.
“Is he truly the monster the prophecy spoke of?! Did Dalen deceive us?” Jaliete said.
Elendria frowned, “He was about to kill all of you. You saw it.”
From the central platform, the woman who had arrived with The Slayer dragged herself into a seated position, “No! He isn’t a monster he saved us! But if he has lost control you must avoid him!”
Jaliete frowned but nodded, “I am glad to see you live Daughter. He has done this before?”
Nyx grimaced from the pain of her still broken legs before Volan knelt down beside her, “Not like this… This is different but the other times it was based on his resources. If it runs out he will regain control.”
“How long does that take?” Jaliete urged.
Nyx paled, “Last time he vented it and avoided killing. He has to stop killing.”
“Lisette said something about the defenses being reversed. Perhaps he will trapped inside with us-”
*Boom*
*Boom* *Boom*
The roof shook and a large crack wound its way across the ceiling and Jaliete’s face darkened, “He has already arrived at the barrier, and the empire soldiers have made it into the first chamber!”
----------------------------------------
“Retreat! Fall back to the lower passages!” Eliza called over the chaos. With most of their combat-focused people going to assist First Elder Kaydan they were left with barely enough men and women to cover their retreat let alone fight off their attackers.
Worse yet, The Vault’s defenses had somehow been almost completely circumvented. The Empire’s soldiers virtually strolled into the courtyard and began their slaughter. Eliza had stayed behind in the hopes of seeing Ander the moment he returned but now she was shouting commands to the non-combatants while hurling as much burning hate into the passages behind her.
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Not that it did any good. Each ball of fire slammed into mage-wrought shields and a volley of both mundane and arcane death returned for her efforts. No matter what she did, people fell. The only advantage they had was the few illusionists still among them.
Their pursuers constantly found themselves chasing phantom civilians down empty passages while the true retreating people appeared to be fellow empire soldiers charging down side passages. The ploy wouldn’t last forever but what else could they do?
The retreat continued and grew more and more desperate as they were forced deeper into the vault. Eliza urged the nearly two hundred men, women, and children down one last corridor. The illusionist with them took an arrow to the chest before she could divert their latest pursuers.
There would be no more running soon. As they ran down the passage the pace suddenly slowed to a crawl and screams echoed from the front of their group. Eliza’s heart fell, “How did they get behind us?!”
Eliza started shoving her way through the mass of people but before she had made it even halfway she felt it. Paralyzing dread washed over her making her freeze up and groan like the people around her.
“Gods! What is that?!” She shouted.
Several of the pale and shivering people noticed her for the first time and parted, giving her room to push through the crowd. Every step the feeling got worse and the people around her would increasingly terrified states.
“What in the pitts!...”
She reached the edge of their group and immediately saw why they had stopped. Just before the next intersection of the passages a wall of pale white light barred their passages but her eyes barely registered the barrier as the fear threatened to strangle her as she saw what was on the other side.
A tall domineering figure stood. His bodily rippling with muscle barely covered by the remains of black scale-mail. His burning gaze met hers and she staggered away from the barrier, struggling to breathe under the weight of his sight.
“It’s Him…”
The people all around her continued to scream, rocking back and forth and Eliza didn’t blame them. The Slayer was here.
Eliza could hear the sound of arrows flying and swords meeting flesh behind her but she couldn’t look away from the man in front of her. The barrier blocked their retreat and yet if it fell they would all die.
For the first time since the attack started Elder Jaliete’s voice suddenly echoed through her mind, “The Bearer has returned. He who kills walks among us! Lay down your arms and prostrate yourself before him. Pray that you fall beneath his notice!”
As Jaliete’s voice faded Eliza felt a hint of command press down on her mind. It was the first time she had ever felt the sensation from her cell leader but she didn’t even think about resisting. Eliza flung herself to the ground shouting, “Do as the elder says! And make a path!”
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The semi-transparent barrier pulsed in front of the Slayer’s fist. Its perfectly smooth surface thrummed with dense mana. He struck it again his Flesh of Iron enforced fist shook the passage with its force as the barrier dampened the attack.
Behind it hundreds of corpses screamed in terror, frozen in their pathetic fear. His sight filtered out the obfuscation of the barrier and his gaze locked onto the eyes of the corpse, its pale light flickered but less severely than the rest.
“Brave but still pitifully weak… It would die as well.”
The Slayer withdrew his fist and gathered his will tendrils around himself. Strength alone would not bring him closer to his purpose. The will tendrils swirled and surged together, condensing into a blade along the edge of Exterminator’s Regards. The Slayer raised his blade in a smooth precise motion, his will blade following in perfect sync. A slayer’s will was absolute.
The blade fell and the barrier parted with an ear-piercing scream like a thousand death wails, shedding blinding white light into the passage. The Slayer stepped through the screaming tear in the barrier and his gaze scanned the passage filled with broken souls.
Hundreds laid prostrate in long lines against the walls of the passage and shaking in terror, their wails echoing through the hall.
“Pathetic…”
The Slayer raised his left hand to summon an inferno of wrath to burn away the corpses but then his gaze fell across those who still stood. Behind the rows of the weak, the flickering crimson lights of killers moved through the weaklings who had thrown themselves to the ground.
Within the lights flickered the pale souls of the weak but among them was also the golden corruption of the Guilty. A snarl returned to The Slayer’s face as his blade burst into crimson flame before leaving his hand in a deadly spin over the bowed heads of the weak.
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Hunter Edwick chuckled as he speared the chest of a cultist as they threw themselves to the ground, “Stupid bitch! Do you people have a death wish?!”
Ahead other fighters and warriors of the empire continued executing the cultists with abandon but as then a flash of blinding white light pulled them from their work. One of the leading soldiers staggered backward releasing the smith he was about to kill and in the same instant, a shiver of fear ran through Edwick.
With all the cultists bowing down they got a glimpse of a lone figure standing at the end of the passage where the barrier was supposed to be, “How?-”
The figure’s face twisted into a snarl and its sword soared through the air toward them. Two of the lead fighters didn’t react in time and the blade took one’s head from the shoulders and hacked the second in two at the waist, their combined gore spraying into the air. The blade continued eerily stable even after carving through two armored warriors, one of the shield-bearers not caught up in the slaughter stepped his black and gold shield flashing green as he activated several skills.
The blade struck the shield and kept going, its end hacking through it, the man’s arm, and deep into his chest. Blood splattered from the shield-bearer's chest and he fell to the ground, the figure's black blade still buried in his chest.
Edwick Identified the weapon by reflex as he staggered backward as his unit’s shield-bearers formed up in response to the new threat.
Exterminator’s Regards [Rare]
The same moment he read the sword's name the shiver he had felt moments ago became an unbearable weight and he felt himself freeze up. Four rows of shield-bearers formed up all activating their skills and the combat mages prepared their offensive skills.
Even as he paled Edwick looked back toward the figure and scoffed at the man’s level.
[Kalum Lesta | Slayer of Fate 75 | Human]
At level seventy-five what did the man hope to accomplish? Sure he had been lucky with that throw but now he didn’t have a weapon.
Edwick drew his bow with the other archers and activated his homing skill in case of an opening but he doubted he would even need to fire.
The figure moved, each step faster than the last and as he passed the groveling cultists their screams grew louder and didn’t stop. The mages fired their first volley of homing bolts filling the corridor with arcane death but despite the blinding blue light two burning orbs of crimson and gold pierced the gloom.
Warning: You have been marked for death by [Kalum Lesta | Slayer of Fate 75]