Cole smacked himself in the face, cursing his idiocy.
‘How could I have been so stupid?’
Thesta was right of course. His new abilities were stronger, that was certain. But he’d never really considered why they cut through the Infernal creatures so easily, why they were almost ripped into by the golden energy.
For something to be hallowed it was consecrated. Holy. Divine.
And what was the antithesis of the divine? The very polar opposite?
The Infernal.
Cole’s memories from playing Vestria Online seemed to flood back in to his brain. The developers had designed the gameplay for the ‘King of Hell’ DLC to revolve around portals in hidden dungeons, which allowed one to travel across to the Infernal dimension. The new type of Infernal monsters were incredibly resilient, resistant to all kinds of damage. But a certain type of magic became part of the meta during the expansion’s run.
Holy type classes, [Paladins] and [Clerics], became incredibly sought-after during raids into the Infernal dimension, for one simple reason. Their gods-given magic was like poison to the monsters of Hell, and it seemed like that was still the case even now, more than a hundred years later.
Cole shot up, borrowed spear still clutched in his hand. “I can close the Gate!” he exclaimed, ready for action once more. He knew exactly where it was, all he needed to do was get there. He turned out towards the wilderness, ready to leap over and rush straight towards the source of the Surge, and just as he looked up, he paused.
The Infernal Drake stood directly in his way, slowly but ever so surely crawling towards the village. The [Ronin], was still Flash Stepping around its feet, but his previously rapid, concurrent strikes were now much slower. He wouldn’t be able to bring it down in time.
Cole sucked in a long deep breath. There was no point in him rushing off to the Gate if Venture was a smoking ruin. While it was possible Argyle may be able to defeat it, there was likely other threats that required the man’s attention, and he wasn’t going to take that risk. Not when he had the power to stop the Drake right here and now.
He let out the breath, forgetting he’d been holding it so long, and then turned to Thesta. “I can kill the Drake.”
She regarded him with her sickly gaze, sweat shining on her brow. “Then kill it.”
Cole nodded, and turned back, before leaping over the palisade for what felt like the hundredth time that day. As his feet crunched into the dirt he thought back to his fight with the Direwolf. The basic Runic Blast had absolutely shredded the internals of the creature, his first monster kill in his new life. Judging from the damage the Drake had taken from Thesta’s spear of energy, it seemed a similar strategy using his Hallowed Blast would work just fine. There was just one problem.
As the enormous, half ruined head of the Infernal Drake swayed back and forth, coming closer and closer, Cole was reminded of exactly how far it was off the ground. 5 meters up in the air, the young man had no chance of getting anywhere near it. He couldn’t even trust himself to leap towards it, the monster’s quick movements already having been proven. It was likely he’d merely just be picked out of the air, and it was important for him to remember that as magical as he was, he wasn’t immune to being smacked to the ground like a fly. So how would he deliver the Hallowed Blast into the open throat of the monster?
Stolen story; please report.
The [Hallowed Knight of Runes], stood still for a moment, paralysed with his apparent lack of options. He knew he didn’t have the time to try and find help, every second wasted shortened the distance between the town and its doom. What was he meant to do?
‘Pull yourself together’, he thought, rebuking himself. ‘You didn’t become the Magus Supreme by giving up! If you came to a problem you couldn’t fix you didn’t wring your hands and say “Oh well, there’s nothing to be done”, did you?’
He tightened his grip on the spear.
‘No! You thought outside the box. If there wasn’t a path you cut one out! If there wasn’t a solution, you created one! If you faced an unbeatable foe, you defied the odds!’
Cole was invigorated, given new energy by his self-aimed pep talk. His mind raced with possibilities, scheming to create a new plan, something that would let him blow the head off that Infernal beast.
His mind went to the first Gargoyle he’d killed, where he’d punched the Hallowed Blast rune directly into its flesh. While his fist was a part of his body, he’d been able to attach a rune to it, giving the ability motion. Maybe he could apply the same concept to somehow transport the rune to his enemy, without bringing himself along for the ride?
If anyone had been watching Cole’s face during this time, they would have seen it shift from dejected, to thoughtful, and now to lit up, eager to test the idea that had just popped into his brain. He stared at the spear in his hand, thinking back to when he’d thrown his own at the Infernal Boar. That hadn’t ended so well, as the flimsy wooden weapon had been swallowed up by the inner furnace of that beast. But what if this time, the spear wasn’t the weapon? Instead, merely a vehicle, carrying something much more dangerous. A Hallowed Blast payload.
He steeled himself, looking back up at the approaching head of the Drake. He would only get one shot at this. One opportunity. To seize everyth-
Cole shook his head. His mind had an unhelpful habit of replaying random things he’d watched or heard during the heat of battle. But there was no time for it. He needed to focus. The young man dove into himself, reaching out for the stray connector he’d removed from Hallowed Blast earlier. He grafted it back on, wincing slightly at the pain it caused. He would need the extra power.
Returning to the physical realm, he began to carve out the rune with his left hand, angling it down over the shaft of the well-crafted spear. He supposed the [Spearman] would have to forgive him. As the rune neared completion, he concentrated even harder, wrangling the divine energy that he was bringing forth into the world. The rune’s final stroke was completed, but through sheer force of will, it didn’t activate. Pain, like he hadn’t felt since entering this world, shot through his body, and he knew it was coming from his soul. He wasn’t meant to stop the flow of mana like this. One man could not contend with the light of heaven.
But he held it back anyway, leaving it floating in the air. He opened his hand and began to push it onto the spear’s glossy wooden shaft. It curled, wrapping around and stretching out. It almost resembled an Enchantment, albeit incredibly bastardized.
The pain only increased, and Cole wanted to scream more than anything, but he grit his teeth in defiance. He’d felt much worse in his old life. The spear began vibrating with energy, and for a horrible second he thought it was going to shatter into pieces. But then there was a snap, like a rubber band stretched to its limit finally giving out, and the vibration died down.
A powerful hum still emanated from the weapon. He could feel the divine energy leaking out, and he knew his strange method of enchanting wouldn’t last. It was now or never.
Despite the headache pounding once more, he knew he needed to cast one more spell. His arm would never be able to make the throw. Not without some help. Purple light flashed out from his Runic Strength symbol, and the arm holding the spear was imbued with a glow.
Cole raised his arm, drawing it back, ready to throw. He sighted his enemy, the huge hanging mouth of the Infernal Drake, and squinted. Target acquired. A few steps forward, a swing of his arm, and the humming spear released from his strengthened fingertips.
The divinely imbued weapon streaked across the moonlit sky, a trail of gold following it. It seemed so small in comparison to the huge Infernal Drake, but its path was true, propelled by his supernatural strength, it rocketed straight into its gaping maw.
Nothing happened.
Then the Drake’s face disappeared.
A huge golden blast swallowed the monster’s head, blinding Cole once more. His eardrums were subsequently battered by the *BOOM* that followed, leaving him seriously worried for the health of his ears after the day’s events.
The light faded into a symbol, the Hallowed Blast Rune hanging in the sky for a moment.
Then that too faded, and the headless corpse of the Drake crashed to the ground.
The ground rumbled, and then there was silence.