"Shit..."
Aubrey sidestepped away from them just in time to avoid one's grasping hands as it reached out toward her with its mouth open wide in anticipation of its meal, revealing a dark maw full of jagged teeth and tattered remains of a tongue hanging limp between cracked lips.
At the same moment, the ghouls behind these newcomers stirred from their torpor too, drawing themselves upright until they stood erect like people awakening from slumber. They stepped forth in slow steps, but gained in speed with each stride until they joined the others in charging toward Seraphine and Levy.
The latter raised his athame defensively in one hand while reciting another incantation under his breath, chanting softly while waving a lit ofuda over his head. He then tossed it towards the nearest pair of ghouls that came within range, causing an explosion of bright flame that sent both undead flying off their feet and crashing into the wall.
Seraphine danced around them, ducking beneath flailing limbs and weaving between grasping claws with the grace of a ballerina. She slashed at legs and cut down reaching arms whenever possible, though none of those attacks slowed their advance at all.
Meanwhile, the first attacker—the thing with chains, let out a muffled scream as it threw itself forward at Aubrey, its body contorting into strange angles.
[Harmonic Synesthesia activated]
Aubrey felt her senses heighten in tandem with an internal music beginning to play in her head, drowning out everything else around her and pulling her mind into focus. The melody sounded akin to Mozart's "Don Giovanni Overture," with strong brass and strings dominating its crescendos.
With the music came clarity. She saw the creature's every move before it could reach her, dodging every chain flung outwards and sidestepping away from each lunge as though she could see its entire trajectory in advance. Its speed and strength seemed to be increasing as the fight went on, but she could still match its pace with ease.
[Ability: Veil of Dispair Activated! Duration: 24 seconds; Cooldown: 60 seconds]
[Creatures within two meters will take necrotic damage every 6 seconds]
Its body twisted into impossible shapes, whipping around in circles so fast that its chains acted like living ropes. Still, Aubrey managed to avoid them all, spinning around on her heels and crouching down low before dashing to the side and rolling out of its attack range.
As soon as Veil of Despair took effect, dark wisps of smoke rose from the creature's skin, seeping upwards through the gaps in its manacles like thin strands of blackened vapor. Its movements slowed slightly, no doubt feeling the pain from the necrosis afflicting it.
It twisted itself upright once more, raising its head enough for them both to gaze into each others' eyes. She met those cold, lifeless things without flinching. They looked dead—like empty mirrors with nothing reflecting within them, only voids staring back. But beneath their surface ran currents of emotion, swirling endlessly within their dark depths: hatred... anger... desperation.
Help me!!!
Its mouth moved, although its lips remained sewn shut. Aubrey knew she heard it speaking though—felt its thoughts pressing against hers as though trying to pass through some barrier blocking it from entering further. Its voice sounded female; however, its tone sounded hollow and devoid of life, as if spoken through a veil of mist shrouding its originator.
The whispers grew louder as it advanced toward her.
Help me!! Free me!!!
It threw itself at her again, twisting through the air into a spiral while snapping out with both arms. Meanwhile, two ghouls came running toward Aubrey from the other side, reaching out to grab hold of anything within reach with their clawed hands.
"Oh no, you don't."
[Ability: Dance of the Marionette Activated! Duration: 15 seconds; Cooldown: 45 seconds]
Aubrey belted out a note, its timbre piercing the air like a blade. Her hair flew back from her shoulders as she raised both arms above her head, clenching fists to focus her will. The two approaching ghouls immediately responded to her mental commands, pivoting around on the balls of their feet until they faced off against the chained horror.
They intercepted its charge, blocking its advance long enough for Aubrey to check on Seraphine and Levy. The former had downed the last of the ghoulish patients, leaving their bodies strewn about the floor. Meanwhile, Levy still struggled to fend off two other undead, dodging their wild attacks while slicing at their legs with his athame whenever an opportunity presented itself.
"Hey guys! Need a hand?" she shouted before letting out a second note that caused another change in their movements: the two puppets under Aubrey's influence began swinging their limbs in perfect sync with each other's rhythm. Each step matched the beat, creating a symphonic tempo for her magic to manifest as she directed them against their attacker.
The creature bent its frame into grotesque contortions, twisting out of reach just enough to avoid most strikes. It retaliated by flinging out two lengths of chain that whipped through the air like living whips, lashing out repeatedly at her puppets. Every blow that struck flesh tore away large strips of decaying flesh, leaving behind gaping wounds that oozed black ichor and necrotic rot.
[Puppet "D" and Puppet "E" are damaged beyond use.]
[Unhallowed Creature "Frenzied Patient #417 (Chained Whisperer)" resisted damage from Veil of Despair!]
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Her attack hadn't done nearly enough damage to bring it down yet, but it definitely looked worse for wear since their encounter began.
Its chains shimmered with magical runes, giving off the impression of molten metal flowing over its body like molasses dripping onto concrete. Those same runes seemed familiar to Aubrey somehow... though she couldn't quite place where or when she'd seen them.
Suddenly, the cadence of the music within Aubrey changed abruptly; a discordant dissonance added to its melody, disrupting the rhythm and throwing off her concentration.
A ghastly chain shot out, aiming directly towards Aubrey who lunged to her right, barely ducking beneath the attack.
Something struck her square in the back mid-roll, sending her sprawling onto her stomach onto the floor with a gasp escaping through gritted teeth. She scrambled up onto all fours, glancing behind herself at the offending thing that hit her.
One chain had curled itself around her ankle and began tightening around her leg tightly. Its barbed ends dug deep furrows into her flesh while dragging her across the stone tiles beneath until it pinned her flat against the ground.
She grabbed at its links with both hands, fingers digging into their rough edges until they bled freely down her hands and wrists. Her muscles burned in protest as she tried pulling herself free while simultaneously attempting to prevent it from reeling her in any further towards the waiting monster.
"Hey! Someone! A little fucking help here!"
Seraphine immediately leapt into action, darting forward toward Aubrey while swinging her sword with all her strength against the length of chain connecting them both. She struck it repeatedly, breaking pieces away with each impact until its barbs released their hold from Aubrey.
The chained horror let out a muffled growl, turning towards her instead of finishing off its original target. It threw itself through the air, chains snapping outwards on either side like ropes swinging out towards an anchor point.
Aubrey felt Seraphine push her aside as she lunged underneath its attacks, rolling across the floor before leaping into a graceful pirouette. She swept one foot forward in a smooth arc across its stomach, kicking it back hard enough to force it staggering backwards several steps.
A second later, Seraphine's blade arced overhead before coming down onto its shoulder, biting deep into its flesh as she pulled it free with an angry hiss escaping her lips. Then she twirled once more, spinning about on the balls of her feet again before launching another attack with her sword held diagonally across her chest—only to be met by several chains lashing out in unison against her body.
Their combined impacts sent her sailing through the air, smashing through an office desk behind them and crashing into a heap atop broken wood splinters.
She lay still for a moment until Levy rushed past Aubrey without a word, running straight towards the downed huntress and kneeling down beside her. He reached into his coat with one hand as he examined her injuries. After a moment he produced a small silver flask and uncorked it with his teeth before tipping its contents down Seraphine's throat.
While Levy tended to his partner, Aubrey set her sights upon the enemy before her and belted forth a note, its pitch reverberating deep within the stone walls surrounding them and shaking loose dust and debris down upon their heads.
[Skill: Mirage of the Elusive Motif Activated! Duration: 15 seconds; Cooldown: 40 seconds]
Three phantom doppelgangers manifested by Aubrey's side. Each wore a grin on their faces identical to her own as they advanced towards their enemy, swinging their arms and legs in mock battle stances.
"Let's fucking go!" Aubrey yelled as she charged the creature too, dodging beneath its slashing manacles as they whipped past her face, grazing against her skin. The cooldown on her Veil of Despair ability had expired at last, allowing her to use it once more. With it, the creature's movements slowed considerably from the necrotic poison sapping its strength while her illusions continued pummeling away at its frame.
[Ability: Echoes of Anguish Activated! Duration: 20 seconds; Cooldown: 45 seconds]
A dark aura wrapped around her clawed hands as she lunged outwards in a flurry of blows aimed at the creature, its chains striking against her forearms with enough force to bruise flesh beneath but failing to break bone. Its maimed mouth twisted up into an expression resembling a maniacal grin as the pair of adversaries engaged in this deadly dance of death.
Let me free!!! Help me!!!!
How the fuck was she supposed to do that when it's trying to rip her goddamn arms off?! Aubrey mentally screamed while evading another chain swung towards her head.
She threw herself sideways onto all fours, landing heavily as yet another impact hit home against her ribs—this time hard enough to draw a gasp from her lips followed immediately after by blood spilling down between them.
The creature loomed over her with both arms raised.
Something flashed past Aubrey's vision—a streak of bright green light as Seraphine's blade streaked through the air before connecting solidly into the creature's chest. It stumbled back with a guttural groan before turning back towards Aubrey's phantom counterparts instead.
"Looks like you could use some help," Seraphine said dryly, still looking slightly dazed from her earlier assault.
"Thanks for joining the party!" Aubrey retorted as she quickly pushed herself upright with one hand pressed firmly against the cracked floor beneath while the other wiped away blood leaking from one corner of her mouth. "I don't suppose you know of any exorcism techniques, do ya?"
"What do you mean?" Seraphine queried with arched brows as they advanced together towards the enraged creature still focused on Aubrey's decoys. She raised her rapier in readiness for combat despite her battered appearance and obvious fatigue.
"Can't you hear it? Those pleas for help, those whispers..." Aubrey asked before trailing off, realizing how that statement probably made her look crazy. "It's... it's saying that we need to set it free."
Seraphine looked at her as if she had just grown two heads. Her tone sounded unconvinced as she replied, "N-no. I haven't heard anything like that at all. Levy?" She glanced over to him. "Did you happen to notice anything strange while fighting this thing?"
Levy shrugged from behind his glowing talisman. "Just that it looks absolutely pissed off... I've never heard of an Unhallowed asking to be saved though..."
"Okay. Great," Aubrey sighed heavily while shaking her head. "Looks like I'm stuck in a bad movie trope of hearing voices only to get myself into more shit."
Still, though... something about the situation nagged at Aubrey. Those thoughts repeated themselves over and over within her head—like an itch that wouldn't go away until she scratched it hard enough to draw blood.
Aubrey's gaze narrowed as she watched the creature flail against her illusions who were beginning to fade with each second.
If that thing really thought that she could simply set it free... then there must be a way for her to accomplish such a task with her current abilities. Maybe it didn't require some fancy incantations or ritualistic gestures either—just sheer force of willpower mixed with a dash of cleverness thrown in for good measure.
But most of her skills and abilities cursed or harmed others, not granted them mercy! So what if... well, perhaps if she combined a few together in combination with something else entirely then perhaps....