Nosolus had beaten them to the cathedral, which was quiet and calm as Owin and the umbra ran up to the cemetery gate. Only Rattis stood outside, looking worriedly at the heavy doors of the cathedral.
“Owin, you’re alive! And a satyr? Incredible.” Rattis grabbed Owin’s shoulder and squeezed. “He’s performing the ritual now. Do you think we can stop him?”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to try. How many skeletons made it back?”
“Six, at least. I was more focused on the heart and gems in his hands. I swore you were dead.”
“What were you going to do if I was?”
Rattis looked back at the cathedral. “Play along.”
“We are wasting time,” the satyr said in his gruff, serious voice. He pushed the rusted gate open and ran across the gravestones. Owin followed, with Rattis a few steps behind.
“Before you charge to your death, satyr, give me a moment.” Rattis raised his staff and pounded it on the stone steps. A white light flashed, and a figure about the same size as Owin appeared.
A green-faced gecko-like lizard stared at Owin. It wore a robe with a high collar. The thin arms and hands that stuck out from the sleeves were hairy and clawed, and its legs were similar to satyrs. The lizard carried a staff that looked like a smaller version of Rattis’s own.
“Hello,” the lizard said in a high-pitched voice.
“What is that?” Owin asked, taking a step away.
“A familiar,” the umbra said matter-of-factly, as if Owin was an idiot for not knowing.
“A lizard or a satyr?” Owin asked, looking at its hooves.
Journeyman Familiar
Vrod
Summon of Rattis
Level 7
“Well, he’s a little of everything. This is what happens when you make your familiar at fifteen. Say hi, Vrod.”
“Hi.” The lizard looked up at Rattis. “I did already say hello.”
“Oh, right. Ready?”
Vrod nodded.
“What does a familiar do?” Owin asked. He adjusted his shoulder bag and readjusted his grip on the curved knife.
“It depends on the magus or wizard,” the umbra said.
“I have two spells,” Vrod said.
“Vrod is going to defend me. Get in there, and I will stop the skeletons from passing.” Rattis grabbed the door. “Ready?”
Owin nodded.
Rattis shoved the double doors open. They creaked as they revealed the candle-lit interior of the cathedral. The six skeletons stood in a semi circle around the door, ready to fight with their greatswords raised. Far in the back, Nosolus stood in front of the statue, facing the door. Both gems were already in the eye sockets of the statue.
“Ah, you have arrived.” His voice carried easily, echoing. “I see one of my followers has turned, and has brought his own familiar. Perhaps I will bring my own.” Nosolus pointed at the ground before him. A burst of green fire appeared, then vanished, leaving a demon about the same size as Vrod. It had red skin, curled horns, and crouched like a gargoyle.
“He can summon a demon too,” Rattis said.
“He did at my village. Owin killed it.”
“Good, good. That is limited to once per day. Remember, spells are limited to cooldowns.”
Owin hadn’t even realized there were cooldowns. For Power 1 spells like he had, the cooldown was so short he had never even noticed.
“I was hoping to have you witness the resurrection,” Nosolus said. “While you try to fight your way out of my guards, please keep an eye on the statue. You will not want to miss this.”
Rattis pounded his staff on the ground. A telekinetic wave exploded out, launching the skeletons away. They crashed into columns, a few dropped their swords, and the rest skidded across the ground.
“Go. Vrod and I will handle the skeletons.”
A skeleton was back up faster than others. Rattis pointed at it, throwing a pinpointed telekinetic wave that launched the skeleton even farther away.
Owin sprinted straight down the center of the cathedral. The satyr umbra was right beside him, hooves clicking loudly. Nosolus and his familiar watched them approach, each grinning. There was no fear in the cultist leader. He was excited for whatever was about to happen.
Nosolus lifted his hand with Kidibose’s heart and covered the heart in green flames. The eyes of the statue glowed brightly, then the heart was simply gone.
“Come and witness,” Nosolus said.
As Owin and the umbra crossed the last columns, Rattis yelled, “Halt!” A barrier appeared right behind Owin, covering the entire space between the walls of the cathedral. A skeleton, who Owin hadn’t realized had been chasing them, crashed into the barrier and was tossed backward like he had been hit by one of Rattis’s telekinetic attacks.
Owin spared a quick glance at the friendly magus, who smacked a skeleton with his staff as Vrod used his own Push spell on one, throwing it against a column.
“Focus,” the umbra said as he vanished.
Nosolus’s familiar grinned and dove at Owin.
Journeyman Familiar
Ozos
Summon of Nosolus Dindross
Level 10
Owin caught the demon with his knife, driving the curved blade into its neck. The weight of the familiar brought them both to the ground as it tried to savagely claw at Owin. it caught his shirt, tearing through the fabric and grazing his skin, before Owin kicked the familiar off. It landed on the stone floor and was promptly decapitated by the umbra. His flanged mace ripped the head right off and tossed it through the barrier.
“A satisfying distraction,” Nosolus said.
The statue behind him rumbled. Cracks slithered out from the eyes, passing through the entire body.
A Lord of the Abyss has risen
The Malignant Spirit - 25% Manifested
Level 20
The words appeared right in Owin’s vision, then disappeared into his journal, where he received another notification about a quest update. He was going to have to kill Nosolus and the spirit. It was obvious. He wanted to curse Ruvaine, but annoying the goddess more was likely going to cause Owin’s death.
“Stop it!” The umbra dashed at Nosolus, mace aflame.
The statue erupted, throwing shards of stone all across the room. A chunk even hit Nosolus, throwing the magus onto the floor. The umbra blocked a chunk with his mace, but was still knocked back. Owin, unharmed, watched as the Malignant Spirit’s eyes glowed in the dust. It roared and shook Owin’s bones.
They struggled in a fight against a level 16. What could he do against level 20?
Rattis and Vrod continued fighting the skeletons behind them. They were able to push them away with telekinetic spells, but the skeletons weren’t dying. Meanwhile, Rattis had several wounds on his arms.
The satyr umbra stood up, reignited his mace with dark purple flames. Nosolus was also back on his feet. Blood ran from the back of his head but he cackled anyway as the Malignant Spirit roared again.
It wasn’t at full strength. Something about the resurrection was wrong. Even if the umbra and Rattis weren’t real people, they felt real pain and real fear. He had seen it in Kidibose and Naxile. Naxile felt real sadness, real grief for Ponk, and Kidibose had been terrified and scared of death. Even if they couldn’t leave the floor, they had real feelings and in many ways, were real people.
The satyr was fighting as the last of his people, but in his mind, he was fighting to protect the last of them. Rattis was also trying to protect people, even if he didn’t know why. That was Owin’s reason. People didn’t need to be scared anymore. He would help them when he was able.
Owin sprinted over the exploded pieces of the statue and leapt at the Malignant Spirit before it could move from the pedestal. He drove the curved knife into its chest as he spun around it, crashing into the wall. The demon roared and ripped the knife out, throwing it back at Owin as it hopped off the pedestal.
The blood splashed on Owin’s face, getting in his eyes and mouth.
Strength +1
Strength: 116
Demon blood gave a strength buff? Owin shoved his knife into his belt and dove onto the back of the demon. The demon thrashed as Owin landed on its back and drove his sharp teeth into its neck. Owin tore at the demon like a wolf at a corpse. The Malignant Spirit flared its wings. One wing beat against Owin’s chest, but it hardly did any damage.
Notifications of increased strength continued popping up in the side of Owin’s view, overlapping each other as the blood slid down his throat. Owin tore another chunk of flesh off as the demon reached back and managed to grab hold of Owin’s shoulder with its stumpy arm.
Rattis’s barrier kept the skeletons out, but it wouldn’t hold anything inside. The Malignant Spirit, with its incredible strength, threw Owin right through the barrier. He landed on the stone floor and slid harmlessly after leaving a crimson smear of demon blood across the cathedral.
The Malignant Spirit stood just on the other side of the Halt spell and grinned an evil smile. To the side, the satyr umbra and Nosolus were locked in a close-quarters fight. The demonic magus was clearly overwhelming the lower level satyr, but the umbra held, despite being nearly covered in blood.
Owin supposed he was too.
The last strength notification finally appeared.
Strength +1
Strength: 138
It wasn’t as much as he had hoped, but every point was a point that made him stronger. And anything that made him stronger would help him crush Nosolus.
A skeleton berserker, having been launched away from Vrod, spied Owin and ran at him with a greatsword. Owin pulled his curved knife out and blocked. The skeleton brought Owin to his knees, but he successfully stopped the attack.
Rattis’s staff swung into view, taking the skeleton’s head off. Its bones clattered to the ground as the magus extended a hand to Owin. The old cultist was barely standing, especially when he wasn’t leaning on his staff.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Time to finish this.” Rattis tapped his staff and the Halt barrier vanished.
“Master!” Vrod blocked a skeleton’s swing with his own staff, which shattered as it launched the familiar away.
“Help him,” Owin said. He grabbed the greatsword and turned back to the demon, who was flapping his wings as he approached Nosolus.
“Great Lord,” Nosolus said, laughing. He shot a green and black blast at the umbra, launching the satyr against the wall.
The umbra still breathed, but he looked near death, with almost half of his skull exposed. One of his horns was broken off and the hair on his legs burned with infernal green fire.
“Summon your armor,” the Malignant Spirit said in a growl. Its voice almost sounded disconnected, as if the words formed a second after it spoke.
“Yes, Lord.” Nosolus clenched his hand. “Abyssal Armor.” Green armor formed over his body like an abyssal fire version of Cato’s armor from the last floor.
“Now, crush the mortal.”
Nosolus laughed as he strode up to the satyr. The umbra hadn’t moved since crashing into the wall. It didn’t look like he’d be able to.
Who was more important to defeat? The Malignant Spirit was the stronger enemy, but the demon was distracted and not attacking. Rattis and Vrod were still holding the skeletons back, even if they weren’t fully winning. Meanwhile, Nosolus was about to kill the satyr who wasn’t even able to fight back.
Nosolus had to go.
With his mana low and his wand out of charges, the only real strategy Owin had was to jump at the enemy. There were flaws, and it had backfired a few times already, most notably when Naxile nearly killed him with a shatter grenade. Unfortunately, it was the only option as the Malignant Spirit blocked the way to Nosolus, who was quickly approaching his victim.
Owin took two steps and leapt right over the demon’s head, lifting the greatsword above his head. Even with a helmet on, Nosolus would feel the attack as Owin swung down with all of his newfound strength.
The Malignant Spirit’s hand shot up, catching Owin by the ankle as he sailed overhead. Owin let out a cry as he was slammed straight onto his face. His own blood splattered from his nose, mixing with the demon blood still clinging to his face. One hit had brought his health bar down half way.
Owin didn’t stand a chance against the resurrected demon.
The ground ruptured, cracks slithering all through the floor around Owin. Purple fire burst from the ground, forcing both Nosolus and the demon to step back. The fire avoided Owin, but only barely.
The umbra was on his feet, hands shaking as the ground rumbled. Blood poured down his head, through a crack in his skull. He held up a hand and said, “Darkness.”
A black cloud burst out from his hand, covering everything.
Owin took the chance to get away from the demon and ran to the umbra, who had collapsed against the wall. Blood splashed as he landed on the stone floor. Everything nearby was difficult to see in the darkness, and more than a foot away was completely obscured.
“Use the cover to surprise them,” the satyr said quietly. He coughed up blood that splashed . “Do not let the demon escape.”
Owin looked inside his bag. “I’m out of healing potions.”
The umbra coughed up more blood over his bare chest. “Go. Fight.”
A green blast struck the wall above, showering them with stone fragments.
“Where did you go, you filthy goblin?”
Owin picked up his greatsword. If he couldn’t see Nosolus, the magus couldn’t see him either. Owin focused on his hearing. With such huge ears, he had to be able to hear better. The Malignant Spirit breathed in short, quick gasps, and its claws scraped loudly on the ground a dozen feet away. It was waiting for something.
Nosolus’s sandals slapped on the ground just out of view. The umbra slumped over, dead, but his darkness spell remained. Owin closed his eyes with the greatsword lifted in the air. All he needed to do was listen.
Nosolus’s step was close, and the magus took a sharp breath in. Owin swung without looking and felt the edge of the blade connect. He followed through, finishing the full swing as he opened his eyes to a spray of blood. Nosolus’s arm lay on the ground before him, while the magus groaned on the floor and reached for his severed limb. The abyssal armor still clung to the arm, but was sheared right off where Owin had hit. He used Examine on the greatsword.
Greatsword of the Malignant Spirit
Apprentice Magical Item
Standard iron greatsword enhanced with abyssal fire
Note: Magical item effects vary by user
It was only apprentice level and it could cleave through magical armor. The other sword Owin had picked up in the satyr village had shattered from Nosolus’s spell. It seemed that objects enhanced with abyssal fire were also weak to it.
Nosolus stood on shaky legs and blood spurted from his stump. Owin had cut the arm off just above the elbow, not even at a weak point in the armor. The magus groaned through clenched teeth. It was more embarrassing than menacing.
Owin stepped forward and swung again. Nosolus formed another demonic sword in his hand and blocked just in time. Owin wished he could examine Nosolus’s attributes. His strength seemed unnaturally high.
The satyr umbra’s darkness vanished, revealing the rest of the cathedral. The Malignant Spirit stood nearby, watching Nosolus with interest. Near the entrance, Rattis had collapsed in a pool of his own blood. Vrod still stood, as if guarding his master, now holding Rattis’s staff that was far too big for the small familiar.
Only two skeletons remained. The rest were scattered bones throughout the cathedral. Vrod had a gash down the center of his face, right between his eyes, that ended at the tip of his nose. It leaked green blood that clung to the familiar’s skin.
“Kill him, goblin,” the Malignant Spirit said in a deep, echoing voice.
“What?” Nosolus turned to the resurrected demon. “My lord, I am here to serve you.”
Owin spun all the way around. It didn’t seem like the greatest idea, but with a weapon so big, it seemed like perhaps the best way to swing as hard as possible. Nosolus still held his sword, but he faced the Malignant Spirit. The Greatsword of the Malignant Spirit sliced right through his neck and launched the summoned sword out of his hand, which quickly vanished.
The Malignant Spirit laughed as if seeing its devoted follower die was the funniest thing the demon had ever witnessed. Nosolus’s headless body fell to its knees, then splatted in the growing pool of blood.
It stalked over to the corpse, not even watching Owin, and grabbed Nosolus by the leg. It lifted the corpse, splashing viscous blood on Owin’s face. “If you wish to grow stronger—”
The demon interrupted itself as it unhinged its jaw and stuck Nosolus’s entire leg in its mouth and down its throat. It bit off at the thigh and swallowed the magus’s whole leg. Its eyes glowed bright red as the demon became a few inches taller.
“Devour,” it said, finishing its earlier statement.
Demon blood had made Owin stronger. Perhaps this demon had a real idea about him. Eating Nosolus or the unnamed satyr wouldn’t provide him any sort of benefit, except perhaps a full stomach. But eating the demon? Owin wouldn't need to rely on others to help him anymore.
Vrod smashed another skeleton against one of the columns. Bones flew across the entire cathedral. The small lizard turned and swung the giant staff and took the last skeleton's leg off. Cracks had already formed through the bones from repeated pushes. As it collapsed, Vrod smashed the staff on its skull.
The lizard looked up at Owin, who stood near the demon as it grabbed the rest of Nosolus. If it kept eating, it would power up. For now, it didn’t see him as a threat. Would Vrod be enough to balance the playing field?
The lizard was already rushing forward.
Owin lifted the greatsword above his head and swung it with all his might. The demon moved its wing to intercept the swing. There were two things working for Owin. The Malignant Spirit was only 25% manifested, and abyssal things were weak to each other. That meant the best way to counter a demon was a demon, at least as far as Owin had learned. The greatsword, empowered by Nosolus, wasn’t the best item in the dungeon. Owin already knew that. He hadn’t seen anything higher than artisan grade, but there were tiers of objects, and the apprentice greatsword wasn’t anything special. But as the Malignant Spirit was an abyssal creature, it was susceptible to abyssal damage.
Owin sliced right through the wing and lodged the sword into the demon’s back as it chomped down on Nosolus’s torso. It screamed in agony. The noise was loud enough to make Owin and Vrod cower and cover their ears.
The demon spun to face Owin with a mouthful of human. Blood ran from its thin lips. “You wish for your own death,” it said, muffled by the pieces of Nosolus. The greatsword remained lodged in its back. The demon lunged at Owin, but was blasted aside by Vrod’s Push. The spell knocked the demon back. It shook with laughter as it swallowed the piece of Nosolus and grew a little bigger.
“Weak mortals cannot overcome fate.”
Vrod ran up beside Owin. The lizard was actually about an inch shorter than Owin, but carried himself with far more confidence. He held the massive staff in both hands with it lifted just a hair above ground. “Say that again.” Green blood dripped off the tip of the lizard’s nose. His red eyes bore a hole through the Malignant Spirit.
The demon righted itself beside the corpse of Nosolus Dindross. It grabbed what was left of the cult leader and held him up. “You stand proud even after your master has fallen.” The Malignant Spirit looked past the familiar at the form of Rattis. “He died a fragile mortal, yet you stand as a true hero.”
Vrod held his staff still, ready to smash it onto the ground. Owin quickly used Examine on the staff.
Journeyman Level Staff
Spells: Repulsion Wave
1/4 uses remaining for today
Vrod confidently held it ready to throw the Malignant Spirit back into the wall. Rattis had used the staff to push all of the skeletons away multiple times, where Push was a single target. The familiar seemed comfortable with the staff and nodded when he noticed Owin watching.
“Kill it. I’ll keep it contained.”
The Malignant Spirit stalked closer to them. Drool mixed with blood ran from its mouth as its red eyes glared at Owin. The one remaining wing stuck out as if the demon wished to fly.
Owin brandished the curved knife he had taken from Naxile. The Malignant Spirit dove at him, claws bared, as Vrod hit him with a normal Push spell. The demon smashed against the wall, recovered quickly, and dove again. Vrod smashed the staff against the ground, sending a visible wave of telekinetic energy out that smashed the demon against the wall with more force.
Owin leapt forward as the blast hit the demon and stabbed it directly in the eye with his curved knife. It screamed unlike anything Owin had heard before. Owin kept his hands wrapped tightly around the knife and forced it deeper into the demon’s skull.
It reached for him with clawed hands, but Vrod hit only the demon with another Push spell. It smashed the demon harder against the wall and threw its arms behind it. Owin ripped the knife upward, throwing blood and demon skin through the air. He pulled out the wand, jabbed it in the other eye, and cast Bolt repeatedly until his health was nearly gone. Blood exploded across the wall again and again.
Owin fell back and felt weak as his health was nothing more than a speck of red on the bar. He pulled the knife free. The demon lay still with blood leaking onto the massive pool gathered on the cathedral floor. Owin crawled forward and cut away a chunk of demon flesh.
The Malignant Spirit burst into green flames. Vrod grabbed Owin and tried to pull the goblin back, but the little lizard was physically weak. Owin stuck the piece of demon flesh in his mouth and chewed.
Strength gain indicators flashed in his view as the demon blood slid down his throat.
Strength +1
Strength: 146
Before he could cut anymore flesh off, the green flames died out and left a solid obsidian statue once again. Vrod walked over and jabbed the oversized staff into the demon’s mauled face. It clinked against the obsidian.
“I think it turned back into a statue,” Owin said as he stood. The floor was all blood, so he fought the urge to lie down. Nosolus and the satyr umbra lay nearby, and Rattis was near the doorway along with the bones of six skeleton berserkers. All that was left was Owin and Vrod. The familiar silently walked away from Owin and crouched at Rattis’s side.
Quest Complete
Choose Your Reward
Journeyman Item
A list of items appeared in Owin’s view, just like when he chose his Power 1 spells. There were dozens of items, maybe more. Any item with a rarity attached to it was included. Wands, staves, swords, shields, armor, cloaks, potions, alchemy ingredients, and more things Owin had never heard of. Getting a more powerful wand would be helpful with how often he had been using the apprentice rarity Bolt wand. A journeyman greatsword would also be better than what he had been using. Other skeleton berserker greatswords lay throughout the cathedral, so Owin didn’t need to try to wrest the one out of the demon’s back now that it had turned to stone.
There were too many choices. A buff potion would be great, especially with how low his health was. It felt like most hits nearly killed him. A weapon would be great, but he could find those around. Same with wands. There were items to be found if Owin remembered to actually search the things he killed.
He selected a constitution buff to raise his health. The pain and damage hadn’t stopped Owin from using the Bolt wand, so instead of finding a replacement, he would just get more health to drain away. At least until he found a new wand.
Journeyman Constitution Buff
+20 Constitution
Duration: 3 Hours
The duration vanished as Owin used Examine. As always, it was replaced with question marks. He drank the purple, sweet tasting potion and immediately felt better, even if his health was still low.
Constitution +20
Constitution: 70
His health matched his constitution, growing his bar a little longer. He was almost up to half of what Cato had been on the first floor. Owin stuck his knife and wand into his belt, adjusted the bag around his shoulder, and surveyed the cathedral one last time. A lot had happened in a short time with so many people dead. Owin had liked Rattis. He had even grown to like the satyr. And now they were both dead.
Vrod had stayed at Rattis’s side, silently kneeling with his head bowed. Owin wasn’t sure what to do about that. In his short time of awareness, he had made friends with Kidibose and the others, and he had lost them all. It hurt, but it wouldn’t be anywhere on the same level as what Vrod was experiencing. The familiar placed his hand on Rattis’s chest for a second, then stood as Owin approached.
“What now?” the lizard asked. The gash down the center of the lizard’s face still leaked green blood, but it had slowed to a drip off the tip of his nose.
Owin grabbed one of the skeleton’s greatswords that had been pushed against a column. He let the flat of the blade rest on his shoulder. “I’m going to find the stairs up. Do you want to join?”
The lizard’s big eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what it is you’re talking about.”
“Follow me and I’ll show you. There’s only one way I haven’t gone.” Owin walked confidently out of the cathedral. To his left along the eastern wall, he could see the faint shimmer of the floor boundary. The only way he hadn’t traveled while on the second floor was straight north. There were undoubtedly other parts of the forest he hadn’t seen, but the stairs would be difficult to miss.
It only took ten minutes of hiking through the woods before he heard the river, and another ten before he saw a massive wooden staircase that led to a black doorway in the sky.
“What is that?” Vrod asked.
“The stairs to the third floor.”
Vrod made a small squeak.
“Are you scared?” Owin asked.
The familiar nodded. “What’s up there?”
“I don’t know. We can find out when we go up.” Owin pushed through the last of the woods into the clearing around the base of the stairs. They looked as if they were newly constructed from the pine trees of the surrounding forest. At the base of the stairs was a stone arch with a black doorway with a little sign that read ‘exit’ right above the doorway. Owin walked right up the stairs, turning around the bends until he stood right in front of the next floor’s entrance.
“Are you ready?”
Vrod clutched Rattis’s staff. “I think. What if it’s dangerous?”
“We will keep each other safe.”
“Okay.” Vrod looked back at the forest. The cathedral stood tall in the trees. Owin tried to imagine what the lizard was thinking, but couldn’t imagine the whirlwind of thoughts in his head. “I’m following you.”
Owin stepped into the doorway and vanished.