Ke’an is surprised by the display in front of him as the sudden save and subsequent notifications all temporarily overwhelmed him. He mentally accepted the party request not knowing what it meant, but seeing that System sent the request deciding it has to be a good thing. The notifications all finally come to a stop as System throws him a piece of the cloak.
“See if you can take its power you need to be as strong as possible.” System says as she gives him a thumbs up. “I will chase him down.”
Ke’an looks at the shredded fabric in his hand. It is cold to the touch and feels no different from fine silk. He looks at his mini map and sees that Azeraath has begun running towards the town with System not far behind. Ke’an surges some of his magic to activate the skill Usurper to steal one of its abilities. The ghostly hand reaches into the peace of fabric pulling out and stockpiling a new skill into Ke’an’s abilities.
Ke’an did not want to waste any more time and ran after System and Azeraath. He now has three skills whose description he has not read. Thanks to his ability even without looking he has a general understanding of what the skills are and how to use them. His attention needs to be on the task at hand. One on one Azeraath has the advantage and Ke’an knows if System had not stepped in on both of their exchanges he would be dead.
Ke’an stops at a tree off the side of the road and reaches around the trunk pulling out two rifles brimming with magical energies. He swings one over his shoulder by its strap as he takes the second and continues down the road. After checking his mini map he verifies that Azeraath has finally reached the town with System not far behind. The world itself seems to shutter as an unknown magic explodes from the direction of the town. Fire and smoke billow out from the destroyed building as the ground beneath his feet changes from dirt to cobble.
The orange flames from the burning buildings were the only color since Ke’an’s unnatural magic white fire bleached all other colors monochrome. The sound of explosions and the dance of battle led Ke’an to System as she engaged Azeraath. The section of the town looks as if it has become a warzone. Destroyed buildings, blackened brick as if charred from explosions or cut clean through by impossible forces are all Ke’an need to see to know that the battle is far from over. The clash between the two is fierce and it seems that System and Azeraath are fighting on even playing fields. The problem being that System is simply not strong enough to do any significant damage. In the briefest of moments Ke’an realized that throughout their entire fight so far System is the only one that has landed any attack against Azeraath.
He watches their fighting style as he aims the rifle looking for an opening to take his shot. They move like nothing he had ever seen before. They leverage every bit of their inhuman strength, speed and skill in a beautiful fight that looks more like a performance. Ke’an still had a few seconds before he could use Regicide again and needed a clean shot, otherwise System could get caught in the explosion. Ke’an tightens his grip on the rifle knowing that if he misses his opportunity System will die. Ke’an trusts that she will give him the opening he needs and he cursed under his breath as he waited to take the shot.
Azeraath’s sword brims with magical energies as his own power forces out the full pained ire of the Greater Snow Wraith. The mixture of Azeraath’s foreign magic, which follows the rules of another reality, and the demonic nature of the wraith cause waves of emerald green energies to manifest. The waves follow the blade like an extension that flows in wide arches outward slicing deeply into anything unfortunate to be in the way before erupting into flames.
The situation only seems to be growing more and more dire as System dodges one of the slashes only to be caught by a devastating kick to the side that hits with a sickening crack as several of her ribs shatter. She is sent flying into one of the flaming buildings, her body crashing into the brick wall and slumping over before falling motionless to the ground. Ke’an does not miss a beat as he says the short incantation for Regicide overcharging the rifle in his hands with enough power to hopefully end the fight in one shot. In the split second before Ke’an fires several gunshots ring out causing Azeraath to turn and avoid the hail of gunfire. He deflects many of them with his sabre in one smooth motion.
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Ke’an fires but it is too late. Azeraath is already on guard and prepared for more projectiles. He dodges the bullet which trailed through the air in a stream of white flames before hitting a building in the distance and exploding in a brilliant eruption. The rifle in Ke’an’s hands explodes causing him to lose track of Azeraath in the fireball as he throws the remaining stalk of the gun to the ground. Ke’an slings the second rifle around and takes aim but Azeraath is nowhere to be seen as the smoke clears. Manny and the rest of the ambush party rushout from an alleyway opposite System. Ke’an with his inhuman speed reaches them before they can check on her. Anger boils over as Ke’an realizes that Manny and the three other men left their post and cost them finally putting down Azeraath.
“Ke’an?” Manny exclaims and comes to a stop directly in front of him.
“What in Batri’s name is wrong with you!” Ke’an says as he punches Manny in the face knocking him to the ground. “Do you know what you have done? I had one stipulation on you four helping! You don’t shoot unless I say!”
“We didn’t see you and saw the battle going on from the ambush point.” Greh says as he helps Manny back up to his feet. “What were we supposed to do, let System die?”
Rallie steps up in between the others and Ke’an. The big man dwarfs Ke’an in size not in strength but he did not step up to fight only to split everyone up to lower tensions. Ke’an switched his glare up at the big man who returned the stare with one of his own. The men stair at one another for another few seconds tensions becoming higher. Ke’an clenches his fist but turns to check on System instead of continuing any further with the group.
System spits out an alarming amount of blood before gritting her teeth. She punches the ground in frustration the cobblestone giving way and heating. She has to use her closed fist to push herself off the ground while resting her back against the wall. She slides one leg then under herself then the other, pushing magic and might through her body to keep herself conscious as endless agony throbs in her chest. In a moan forces herself to stand using the building behind her as a brace.
System’s voice is weak as she holds her side. “I could not help but notice that you missed the shot.”
“What?” Ke’an questions.
System says between labored breaths. “All of that training you have had with guns and you miss.”
“I can do without all of the sass. Are you alright?” Ke’an responds
“Oh yes, I am just korially can’t you tell?” System says sarcastically while holding her side. “Where is he?”
Ke’an looks at his mini map watching the red dots indicating Azeraath running around the town destroying buildings and likely looking for the townspeople. He is getting dangerously close to the Temple and if he reaches it first he will likely kill everyone. Ke’an informs everyone of Azeraath’s position and tells Manny and his group to return to the temple and help fortify.
“Take System with you.” Ke’an says.
“Oh no. I am going with you, Ke’an.” System says with determination. “You will need me to help you take out that guy.”
“You are in no condition to continue fighting.” Ke’an says.
“I will be fine.” System assures. “You know what I am. You think something like this can stop me?”
Ke’an thinks about how much more durable his body is now. He survived being impaled by a spike through the chest with little more than making it harder to breathe. System may not be a transcendent but she isn’t human either. She is a fallen and Ke’an doesn’t fully understand what that means for her limitations; this may be the equivalent of her just getting the wind knocked out of her. Ke’an looks her in the eyes and sees someone ready for a round two, not someone that needs to be benched.
“Fine.” Ke’an sighs. “But you better not die on me.”
The two groups split up Ke’an and System tracking down Azeraath while Manny and his team return to the temple.
“Did you get any skills that will help out?” System asks as they jog down the street and cut between alleyways.
“I haven’t read the descriptions of the new ones yet.” Ke’an admits.
System screams as she grabs his long coat stopping him in his tracks. “What? I can't believe this… you're actually unbelievable. Stop and do it now! Are you a damn fool? Open the menu right now, what do you have?”
Ke’an trys to shake her off and keep running. “We don’t have time.”
“Make time.” System screams while boiling with anger steps in front of Ke’an. “I would prefer to not have to kill myself fighting that thing if you gained an ability that could make this fight easier.”