Zeke tore himself free of the Knight’s blade, and quite a bit of his rocky flesh came away with it. He stumbled to his knees as a dozen runes latched onto his mana, draining it with every passing second. More, he could feel it dragging down on his stats, impeding his attributes. He dragged himself forward, feeling as if a hundred iron bands had been wrapped around his lungs. He coughed, sending a cascade of metallic blood to the ground.
As he tried to comprehend what was happening, an enterprising Knight shoved another sword into his back. Normally, that wouldn’t have done more than annoy him, and yet, with those runes weighing down on his endurance, the blade slid into him without issue. He let out a scream of pure agony as it felt like his organs were boiling inside him. He lashed out with a backhand, sending the Knight tumbling to the ground.
Yet, that blow normally would have killed him.
Before Zeke could think further, a boot connected with his side, pushing him to the ground. He fell over, writhing in pain that had little to do with the kick. The runes continued to assail him as his body went into convulsions from the searing pain in his stomach.
“You are pathetic, monster,” growled Zari Telmonti. She stood over him, her blade poised to fall. “Perhaps you will fuel my rise.”
The blade fell.
Zeke activated [Shifting Sands], and time slowed. He slipped into the ground, and staggered through the earth far more slowly than normal. Usually, the skill could take him more than a hundred yards away, but this time, he was forced to surface after only two dozen feet. Still, it was enough to let him avoid the Knight’s falling sword.
With a gasp, Zeke climbed out of the ground with none of the usual explosion of power. He gasped, unable to rise from his knees. However, that brief moment gave him enough time to wrap his mind around the situation. When he did, he recognized the solution. Embracing the Runebreaker technique, he wrapped his Will around his various attunements and forced the different types of manat o intertwine. Then, he shattered the runes that had been draining his attributes.
In the process, he seared his soul. Yet, it was a small price to pay to gain access to his full stats.
Even as strength surged through him, Zeke felt his Will tearing across his body. With his endurance having been drained, he had no defenses against the powerful Path of Arcane Destruction, and it wrought havoc on his body.
Zeke knew what he had to do.
Yet, he also knew the cost of going down that road. But it was a price he would have to pay.
So, he embraced the store of demonic mana at his core. There wasn’t much, but it was enough to supercharge [Cambion’s Awakening]. However, an undeniable rage came with it, suffusing his entire mind with a need to destroy.
He obliged it, letting out a roar of pure anger as he embraced [Unleash Momentum]. He hadn’t used the skill in a long time, so it carried with it the force of thousands of swings. He let it loose, twining his Will around it as he swung his hammer with every ounce of strength he could muster.
Power exploded out of him, hitting anyone unlucky enough to be in front of him. That included Zari Telmonti, who was thrown backwards with such horrible momentum that her armor was crushed like an aluminum can when she hit the keep. But the power didn’t stop there. It swept through the keep, hitting with the force of a bomb. The ground erupted, and hundreds of Knights were instantly killed.
Dozens of kobolds, too. But in his demonic fury, Zeke couldn’t spare any thought for those casualties. Even as his body was torn asunder by his Will, it was rapidly rebuilt by the power of the demonic mana-fueled [Cambion’s Awakening]. That same corruption infected [Triune Colossus], and his form shifted, becoming slimmer, darker, and far more jagged. He bounded forward with unprecedented power, leaving nothing but cracked Earth behind him.
Miraculously, Telmonti was not dead.
Though, judging by the pained moans coming from within her crushed armor, she probably wished it was otherwise. As the castle fell in on itself, crushing everyone inside, Zeke brought his hammer down on the prone Knight who’d forced him to such dire straits. It hit with a loud gong that echoed throughout the grounds, and yet, she persisted. So, he hit her again. And again after that. Over and over, like an unthinking beast, he pummeled the Knight until, at last, he felt the influx of energy that signaled her death.
Spreading his arms wide, he let out a roar of triumph.
Then, his store of demonic mana ran dry.
He shuddered as everything went white, and he fell over. For a few moments, he seized, his muscles contracting of their own volition. Then, he managed to shift back to his pure, unattuned mana. [Cambion’s Awakening] flowed through him, soothing the damage his unfettered use of demonic mana and his Will had left behind.
Grunting, he forced himself upright, and for the first time, really saw the utter destruction he’d caused.
The keep was gone, and only a pile of rubble remained where it had once been. More, the acrid stench of sulfur suffused the very air. It wasn’t demonic mana – not exactly – but rather, something more akin to the waste it had left behind.
Finally, pieces of bodies – both kobold and the Knights of Adontis – were scattered before him.
“Oh, God…”
“There weren’t many,” Eveline said. “Just twenty or so. You aimed it well.”
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Twenty or so.
People who’d depended on him. All dead. Sure, he’d killed the enemy and he’d saved his own life. But he’d done so at the cost of all those people he was supposed to protect. Zeke sighed. He knew it had been necessary. If he hadn’t done what he’d been forced to do, the Knight would have killed him. And if that happened, it wouldn’t be long before the kobolds were wiped from the face of the Eternal Realm.
That was the grim reality he had to face.
And yet, despite that justification, he couldn’t escape the guilt. They had died so he could live. Sure, they’d have all given their lives willingly. That was unquestionable. But to have that snatched away – that was something entirely different.
He hated seeing at what he’d done, but he wouldn’t force himself to look away, either. It was the inevitable cost of war, and one he would have to accept going forward. Not because of personal progression. That was easy and, ultimately, worthless. No – he would accept the price of war because the cost of doing nothing was so much higher. Zeke had seen the sins of the Knights of Adontis, and he knew that those misdeeds would come for him and his people, even if they shied away from battle.
With that in mind, Zeke marshalled his mettle and turned back to the still-raging battle. There were hundreds of Knights still among the living, and, for better or worse, that would change by the end of the day. So, he waded into the fight with determination raging through his mind.
* * *
“What is he?” asked Adara, looking out at the ruins of Montcastle. She had just seen a single man destroy it. At first, he’d seemed to struggle in the battle against one of the top Knights in all of Adontis, and for a few moments, it had seemed as if he was going to lose. Then, chaos erupted, and the man – or demon – had come to the surface. Seconds later, Zari Telmonti was dead, and Montcastle had fallen. Now, only a massive pile of rubble remained where the once-mighty fort had once stood.
Her escort, one of the lizard-like humanoids that seemed to have some degree of power within the magical city in which she had been confined, said, “He is Ak-Toh.”
“What does that mean?” Adara asked, glancing at the creature. Her name was Kianma, and she’d been Adara’s constant companion since being taken into custody. Since then, her entire world had been turned upside down, not only by the fact that she had abandoned the duty she’d spent most of her life embracing, but also because of the things she had seen.
The tower, which seemed more like a self-contained city, was magnificent, and it rivaled any settlement she’d ever visited. More, it was absolutely full of kobolds, centaurs, and beastkin, all living in relative harmony. She had seen their living conditions, their arms, and, most distressingly, the jails.
“Savior,” Kianma stated. “Do you know our story?”
Adara shook her head. “No.”
“We are kobolds. Monsters,” the spiritweaver said. “We were ushered to the edge of sapience by a mighty wyrm who gave us the chance to become more. But she could not push us any further, and what’s more, we were threatened by another powerful foe. That is when Ak-Toh came. He saved us from certain annihilation and guided us to the surface. He gave us the tools we needed to take the next step forward. Some of us have not progressed to that point, but more and more reach sapience each day. Soon, we will be an evolved people. That is Ak-Toh’s influence.”
“He wanted an army,” Adara reasoned.
“No. Initially, he did not want us to fight at all,” Kianma explained. “He protects us. We have chosen to protect him.”
“But you haven’t said what he is,” Adara pointed out. She had seen the man in his natural form, and he looked like a normal human. He wasn’t. She could feel that much. He radiated power in a way that made her uncomfortable. Of course, categorizing him as normal was a bit of a misnomer, as well. There was none of that pretty perfection for which so many of the Knights of Adontis strove. Some had even gone to foreign {Flesh Shapers} for cosmetic adjustments. Ezekiel had none of that, but there was a rugged handsomeness that Adara found attractive nonetheless.
She blamed her orcish heritage.
“He is a being of twin heritages,” Kianma said. “But that is his story to tell. I will not break his confidence for a prisoner.”
Adara’s shoulders sagged.
“Or you could join us. You are a creature of two worlds as well, are you not? Surely, your…countrymen do not accept someone like you,” the kobold said. “We do not judge a person based on their heritage. We accept people based on merits.”
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adara lied. She had long feared that someone would recognize her orcish characteristics for what they were. Or that someone would be able to read her status. There it was, plain as day – Half-Orc. It accused her of impurity every time she looked at her status.
“You do. I can sense it.”
“And…you don’t…you don’t think I’m a monster?” Adara asked. Most people did, from her experience. Orcs were people, and yet, in Adontis and every other civilized nation, they were little better than beastkin. It was even worse because orcs were often very warlike and primitive.
“Of course not.”
Adara shook her head. “No. I can’t,” she said. “My people –”
“They hate you.”
“No…”
“They do,” Kianma stated, her hands behind her back. “We have questioned them. They do not accept you. They will turn on you the moment they are released. You know this, and yet, you still want their approval. Why? What do you get out of it?”
“I…”
“Imagine a world where you do not have to overcome your heritage. With us, there is nothing to look past. We see you as you truly are – a fierce warrior and a loyal commander,” Kianma stated. “You have seen us. We do not discriminate. We only ask that everyone contribute. Do that, and you have a place with us.”
“But I would have to kill Knights.”
“No.”
“No?”
“We would not ask you to fight former colleagues and countrymen,” the kobold answered. “You would have a different role. Once Adontis is conquered, you could join the armies and fight our enemies.”
“To what end? What is the goal?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kianma responded, “Ascension for all.”
“Ascension…”
“For all of us,” Kianma repeated. “This is Ak-Toh’s goal, and so it is ours as well. Many will attempt to bar our way. They will try to stop us. Yet, it is our fate to break through any obstacle and ascend to the realm of gods.”
“And become gods yourselves?”
“No. We will serve one, though,” she stated. “And we will defeat the deific enemies as they come.”
That was a little much for Adara to take in. Ascension wasn’t something people simply did. It was the domain of a select few – the best of the best – and though many stated it as a goal, few actually believed they had a chance to reach those lofty heights. Even reaching level seventy-five was an unattainable dream for most. But to progress another twenty-five levels past that? In all of Adontis’ history, only three had managed the feat.
None of them had ascended.
They were too afraid of the challenge.
Adara wasn’t, though. If she was ever afforded such an opportunity, she would grab it by the horns and wrestle it into submission.
But then again, wasn’t that precisely what Kianma had offered her? If it was real, she owed it to herself to take it. Even if it turned out to be false bravado, she needed to give it a shot.
Still, she resisted. “I can’t.”
“You can. But I see that you are not read,” Kianma said. “Come. Let us return to your cell.”
Adara’s heart fell. The Jail was not uncomfortable, but it unnerved her in ways nothing else could. She wanted nothing more than to avoid going back. Yet, that was her fate. For now. Perhaps after a few more days, she would take Kianma’s offer, if only to avoid returning to the Jail.