Chapter 49: Indulgence
As one, the creatures surrounding the barrier turned away, bolting into the distance with bellowing roars, their silhouettes brimmed with fury. They clambered over one another, a writhing mass in their relentless quest for distant quarry.
Vina, too, pivoted toward their mutual target, embarking into the gloom, from the safety of Trina’s refuge, with resolve. Trina’s blood lingered on her palate, tart and metallic, yet oddly devoid of the expected vigor she had grown accustomed to when invoking Hemovore. Confusion etched her brow as she tailed the horde, the anticipated enhancement reduced to a scant surge in her stats, just enough to use Selenia. However, as she hastened, a metamorphosis commenced within her. From her heart radiated an excruciating blaze that seemed to ignite in concordance with her smoldering ire toward Trina, Stine, and others. She bulldozed past an obstructive creature, thrusting Selenia forward in a fluid motion to dispatch the dawdling abomination.
The others pivoted toward her, their collective gaze locking onto her before they parted, forming a path that allowed her passage to the distant fray. Her pursuit was short-lived, as a pulsing power ahead swiftly approached. An aureate glow, blemished by amber hues, heralded Zel'alor's approach. Encircled by a platoon of adventurers, they pressed on, steadfast against the relentless shadowy bombardment overhead and terrestrial onslaught by Stine's minions. The adventurers flanking Zel'alor grappled valiantly with the creature swarms, while Zel'alor itself was preoccupied in quelling the shadows that assaulted them from above. Its hollow countenance, a glowing ember in the gloom, was fixated skyward while a constellation of glowing stones orbited the party from above, an intricate network interlinking them. The shadows, seemingly drawn to the radiance, met their demise upon breaching the network's luminescent connections, the stones ablaze with vibrant hues as they tirelessly countered Stine’s shadows.
Snuffing out her lantern, Vina's mind conceived a strategy. Reaching for a diminutive creature, she skewered it with her blade, drawing forth its black blood with her borrowed power before it could seep into the soil. "Bleed for me," she intoned softly. The blood crystalized at her desire, hovering ominously as other creatures willingly martyred themselves to her cause.
"Let's go, Stine!" she declared, launching the first sanguine crystal. The black blood crystal sailed through the air faster than she had expected, detonating with a paint burst amidst the front line. The impact was lost to her sight, but the aftermath was unmistakable—adventurers toppled as the creatures pounced.
She threw the next crystal at the back of the line, hoping to destabilize their defense, but it exploded harmlessly off the shield of a man who activated an ability to intercept it. The shards, however, peppered the sides of his allies who recoiled from the wounds she inflicted, providing just enough of a distraction for Stine’s creatures to press harder. Gritting her teeth, Vina grabbed two more of her globes, throwing each high into the air, aiming to land them in the middle of the circle and exploding them from behind the line.
As they fell, however, a figure quickly stepped back from the line and held a scimitar up. A flash of grayish, white light shone down from the sky, momentarily cutting through the gloom. A second later, a focus beam of the same grayish light struck the ground, completely vaporizing her projectiles midair. There was a flash of black hair and the outline of feminine silhouette, momentarily illuminated by the destructive ability.
Undeterred, Vina moved around the circle, pushing her way through the mass of creatures. She swept blood across the barren field, feeling the cold dry ground sucking at her resources, until a pool was formed in the path of the invaders. She casually tossed more blood bursts until finally the moment came. Once every foot was stepping into blood, she activated Blood Trap repeatedly. Chaos broke out as adventurer’s weak and strong screamed out in surprise. She felt some were wounded while others were merely inconvenienced by the spikes suddenly erupting from beneath their feet. Those that fell, clutching at their feet, were killed immediately by Stine’s creatures, while Vina threw yet more blood bursts into their ranks, trying to take advantage of the chaos.
Zel'alor, however, suddenly raised a finger, pointed directly at her. Vina felt her heart skip a beat. It felt like it had actually pressed a finger into her chest.
You are afflicted with otherworldly affliction. Unknown.
A flare ignited at Vina's feet and a gray light shone overhead, her body was hastily shoved aside by a creature as a lance of searing white cleaved the air she had just vacated. The beast's cries, laced with anguish, diminished to a whisper as it burned in the beam's unforgiving light. Vina, steadying herself, felt the echo of Zel'alor’s touch, a constant pressure against her chest even with the distance between them.
Lowering her scimitar, the woman with raven hair now brandished a thin silvery sword that pointed accusingly at Vina, who winced under the weight of an unexpected guilt. "Amaya?" she murmured in disbelief, still unsure if she recognized the woman from this distance. As a pinprick of gray light darted from the sword toward her, Vina’s reflexes paled against its speed; the light struck her, carving through her armor and flesh with ruthless precision. The heat of the beam suffused her being, prompting her to quickly move aside, even as her armor suddenly absorbed the brunt of the sizzling heat.
Vina, clutching the searing wound across her chest, could only afford a fleeting glimpse at the combat log before returning her focus to the fray. She pulled the log from memory as she ran, circling to the back of the group of adventurers.
You have been hit with 91 points of Lunic Damage. Your armor did not block this damage. Damage spread detected. You have been struck with 413 points of additional Lunic damage across your body. Armor reduced damage by 99.9999%.
In an attempt to call forth blood aid, her hand found the scorched breach in her armor, but the wound had closed unnervingly fast without the use of her ability, leaving her decidedly confused. Across the melee, the woman cut a swath through the lessening ranks of creatures, her sword a harbinger of another devastating beam. This time, as the beam lanced towards her, Vina used a creature as a shield, feeling a pang of something – regret, perhaps, or guilt – as the beam slowly consumed it.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Her actions veiled behind her dying shield, Vina activated her blood cloak with urgency and formed two heavier than normal black blood crystals in her hands. As her living cover succumbed, a narrow window of opportunity opened. Vina sprang into action, rolling out from her ephemeral cover. With precision borne of desperation, she hurled the crystallized globes of darkness high into the sky and over the conflict. Then she stepped out into the open, covering her face and an exposed section of her armor with her scale gauntlets as another beam sought her out. This time only a faint tremor coursed through her, her armor having fully adapted to the attack.
She walked forward with the creatures in front of her just as she felt her blood crystals land inside of the pocket. She smiled, knowing the woman had been so focused on killing her that she hadn’t noticed the overhead bombardment. Vina activated the first paint burst and felt it explode in a dark maelstrom of black crystals. Shouts of alarm and confusion mingled with the roar of battle as the second crystal found its mark at the feet of the stalwart guardian who had blocked her earlier attack, his shield now a useless defense against the torrent of shadow that surged outwards from beneath his feet.
The frontline's collapse was not a fracture but an obliteration. The relentless gray beam faltered as the woman pivoted, now compelled to bolster the disintegrating front. The rear guard constricted protectively around Zel'alor, which, for the first time, betrayed signs of vulnerability. The stone entity’s concentration wavered, its amber-red gaze flickering down from the heavens to the pandemonium below. The stones overhead unbalanced ever so slightly as their lightshow dimmed.
With the defensive perimeter compromised, the remainder of Stine's creatures, sensing weakness, surged forward with renewed fury. Vina's lips curled into a grim satisfaction as she watched the tide turn. Zel'alor's guardians ahead fell into disarray, their once coordinated movements were now desperate attempts at survival. Their cries of fear and desperation seemed familiar to Vina in a somewhat distant, yet distressing, manner. Trina’s barrier loomed but a dozen feet away, and yet Vina knew this was it — her path to victory. With Zel'alor's attention divided and its line in shambles, she could press forward, they’d never reach Trina’s sanctuary, they’d…
Zel'alor suddenly intoned an order like a ringing bell. What remained of the front line dove to the side. The stones, once a celestial canopy, now swooped down as an impenetrable bulwark. Silent and swift, they swept through the creatures ahead, which vanished upon contact, as if swallowed by the void itself. The stone array advanced, shepherding the adventurers toward Trina’s barrier with newfound momentum.
Above them, Stine’s shadowy barrage resumed its onslaught, scorching any flesh not bathed in the robust glow of the torches. Amidst the havoc, the woman stood resolute, her weapons aloft, cleaving the sky with a light that scattered the shadows overhead. One of the adventurers grabbed her and ran as she maintained her upright posture. The light followed her, giving the ragtag group some measure of protection as they reached the edge of Trina’s barrier, which surprisingly blocked their entry.
With the gray light overhead and Trina’s glowing barrier at their backs, the adventurer’s once again found a semblance of balance against the creatures. Zel'alor placed a hand against the barrier, and soon Vina could hear a familiar keening noise as it struggled against Zel'alor’s assault. A moment later it moved its array of stones toward the sky once more, angling away from the barrier to block the shadows from above, while torches blocked the sides.
Amidst the chaos, the twin-bladed warrior was a storm of destruction. No longer preoccupied with the shadows, she wielded her fine-edged sword with lethal precision, its beam carving through the creatures at the sides, while her scimitar danced a deadly arc against those attacking their new front.
Abruptly, Vina's arm was seized by an immense creature, its grip dragging her down. She wrestled free but not before its talons raked through her armor and flesh. "Stine!" she spat, her voice a razor of fury.
You have been hit with 28 points of Piercing Damage. Your armor did not block this damage.
The creature's size was remarkable, armored in metallic plates, its health nearly a thousandfold. It skittered and hissed, its voice a serrated whisper “Must I teach you everything? Trina may well have enabled our victory, but my legion dwindles. Engage Seassa and kill the adventurers before you exhaust my assistance. The Gloom can contend with Zel'alor if it is forced to focus solely on it.”
The mention of Seassa struck Vina with the force of a gale. "Of course, Seassa..." she murmured. Her blood surged into the gash on her arm, sealing it prematurely, her healing powers continuing to act without her command. Puzzlement furrowed her brow. Her Hemovore affliction had also vanished, but she was still wielding Selenia without issue. “I… tasted Trina’s blood, but I don’t have the proper affliction. What is happening?” she asked after a moment, looking at the creature.
The beast ground its claws into the soil and scurried toward the fray. “Go, and learn!” it spat back at her before vanishing into the tumult.
With a flicker of doubt, Vina surged forward, her speed astonishing even to herself. “What is happening?” she wondered as concern and worry filled her. She tried to open her character sheet to view her attributes but absolutely nothing appeared. But then she was suddenly near the front and the eyes of the stigandorian adventurers locked onto her.
Vina initiated a charge, emulating the battle tactics she had seen deployed against her. As she advanced, time seemed to dilate, each step resonating with the rhythm of her heart. A beam of gray light hurtled toward her from the side, but with Agile Charge, she veered just so, letting it hiss past her shoulder. The Stigandorian before her, armored and grim, brandished his greatsword in a sweeping arc. Vina discerned his intent and, with another deft maneuver, she slid under the blade and pushed off the soil once it had passed, driving Selenia into the soft vulnerability of his exposed visage.
The tempo of battle quickened as she withdrew her blade from the fallen man’s cranium. Even as the first kill was secured, her other hand conjured blood knives, launching them with Riza’s taught technique. As the first knife struck true, she triggered Paint Burst, reveling in the detonation that rocked her next adversary.
Mobility activated suddenly, her senses alerting her to a lurking strike from behind. She pivoted away, narrowly evading the gray beam that instead found another victim just beyond her. The beam's distraction allowed a beast, all claws and fury, to overwhelm an adventurer, bringing them to their knees just before they were ravaged.
Vina spun, seeking Seassa, but a spotlight of gray light obscured her vision. Her Mobility sense activated once more, a warning of a skyborne threat which Vina dove to avoid. However, in the melee, her blood sense faltered, overwhelmed by the press of bodies, her mind no longer capable of tracking everything simultaneously. Quickly regaining her footing, she scanned the battlefield, trying to orient herself. A flash of paliternian vibrance surged toward her, and Vina parried reactively, her blade meeting a white scimitar with a ring of metal.
Then, agony—a blade penetrated her chest. Vina's eyes locked with Seassa’s, a mirror of pain reflected in her gaze. "You shouldn't have come, Vina," Seassa whispered, a sorrowful lament in her voice. Vina's breath hitched as the hot sting of the blade coursed through her, an inferno burned from within and then out her back.