I could see the gate up the block, at least five people were patrolling it.

"Ahem."

I spun around to face the voice. Jacob stood there with a smirk on his face.

"One of these times I'm just going to stab you and I'm not going to feel bad about it one bit."

"Probably, but that time isn't now."

"Just, tell me what you want?"

The man rolled his eyes, "You're no fun. I just came to let you know we can't take the gate."

"What do you mean you can't take it?"

"Just like I said."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "why can't you take it?"

"Too many guards and at least two have detection auras going."

"Are they all sect members?"

Jacob leaned out past the building to look before shrugging. Well, he was no help here. I looked at the surrounding buildings.

"Fine... I'll do it my way."

I pushed past the man and circled to the building on the opposite side of the street that the gate was set on. I climbed the building's stairs to the roof. This was only a five-story building so it didn't take very long. It was time for human meteorite again. I readied myself by double imbuing my staff with earth and fire elements. This combination worked spectacularly this way. I tested my run-up, trying to judge the distance correctly. The spell I wanted to use for this stunt had a shorter range. I decided to add Impact to my staff as well.

The staff vibrated with the power of three spells but it held. That made me remember, I still had to get around to rune crafting my weapon. I took a deep breath and sprinted, activating Blink Step. My surroundings blurred as I zoomed across the roof. Just before the edge of the wall, I cast Area of Denial. I didn't even bother jumping over the short wall at the end of the roof. With my spell active, I just barreled through.

The noise and falling debris caused all the guards to look up. Some screamed as they recognized me. A few spells and projectiles flew my way, bouncing harmlessly off my shield. I realized I overshot the position I wanted to land. I tried to redirect my impact point even as the sect members jumped from the wall to avoid my strike. Others were attempting to run away from the wall. It was too late for those people.

I slammed into the bottom of the wall, tearing through it just before my staff struck the ground, activating Disruption.

Have you ever seen a volcano explode while standing on the rim? Yeah, that's what it looked like. The ground in front of me exploded into the air as it was superheated. The few poor saps that were caught in the range of my spell screamed as they sunk into the molten asphalt.

The molten material that was ejected from my attack fell across the street and into buildings. Another fleeing man was struck by one of the falling globs. He screamed and rolled around on the ground trying to dislodge the material.

Meanwhile, the three that had jumped from the wall were running away. I quickly stepped out of the small crater I made, the molten rock sliding from my barrier. I decided to run after the trio of fleeing men as opposed to the single man. I wasn't about to let them escape my wrath.

***

Duncan ran as fast as his twisted ankle would allow him. He was aware of the rumors about the Black Queen's pet, Paul, and he wanted nothing to do with it. That's why he jumped off the wall instead of retreating inside. He was only level eight for god's sake. He looked back and saw the devastation, then he saw the man's eyes. They were soulless and without mercy. He found an extra gear and ran a bit faster.

He heard the man next to him scream as he looked backward. They both threw spells and projectiles at the deranged man, trying to slow him down. It didn't matter. The man didn't even attempt to dodge or block the attacks. He just continued to chase them and was quickly catching up.

Duncan tried to plead with the man. It was no use, he would have been better off bargaining with the devil himself. The last thing Duncan saw was a white-hot blade piercing his chest.

***

I finished off the last man. The idiot thought he could plead for his life, they chose their fate when they joined the Black Dragon sect and there would be no mercy. Scum like him didn't deserve to live. I looked down the street where the last man had run off to. Jacob sat there, waving at me. 'At least he didn't let the man get away,' I thought.

I stripped the bodies of anything useful and headed back to the obliterated gate. The area I turned molten was starting to cool. You could hear the hisses and pops as the area around it tried to adjust for the massive increase in temperature. The part I found most telling was the lack of any reinforcements.

Usually, there were at least ten people stationed near a gate, in case they needed backup. They should have been here by now. I smiled. This meant the Black Dragon was low on trusted members.

Jacob strolled up as I watched the cooling street, "Bit overkill don't ya think?"

"No," I replied simply.

Jacob shrugged and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I walked through the wreckage of the gate, making sure to avoid the liquified area. I stabbed the last survivor in the back as I passed. He had passed out from the pain. It was time to hunt the head Dragon.

The streets were mostly vacant as I made my way farther into their territory. The cold was keeping most people inside it seemed or more had fled than I was led to believe. It worked for me. With my hoodie pulled up, my staff put away, and the armband clearly visible on my sleeve nobody gave me a second glance. I guess the racket I made at the gate hadn't traveled this far. Occasionally I would hear an aborted cry from an alley as I passed. Jacob and his men were doing their job.

I stopped a block and a half from the building Harold Cotton used as his headquarters. It looked like at least fourteen people guarded the entrance. One man stood out, his red and yellow accented robe blowing in the wind. His gaze fixed squarely on mine.

"Obidiah," I growled.

The man was down one arm but otherwise seemed to be healed. He walked towards me at an unhurried pace, the rest of the sect members left to guard the building. It seems they didn't trust slaves to help guard anymore, other than Obidiah. I smiled at that.

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I produced my staff, imbuing it with ice and lightning. I didn't utilize the ice element very often, but it came in handy to slow opponents down as it caused frost damage. The lightning-sparked inside the ice as it coated the ends of my staff. Obidiah stopped half a block away. Too far for me to Blink Step to him. I got into a combat stance as the face-off began.

Then I heard him talk, which was rare, "Are you satisfied with the damage you have wrought? The lives you have taken? The lives that you will cause to suffer going forward?"

Was this guy for real, of course, I was. Then I noticed something. Obidiah wasn't wearing a collar anymore. My eyes narrowed at this revelation. Nobody would have been stupid enough to give this man the keys to his collar.

"Did you enjoy pretending to be a slave?" I replied back.

The man's face was stone, except for the faintest hint of a smile that faded almost as fast as it formed. That helped explain some of the inconsistencies I had noticed. His extremely high dual class level, his ability to place his hands on his master on the roof. He had been a trump card for Harold. But, why? What did he get out of the arrangement?

We continued to stare at each other as four men dragged two people out from alleys to the side. I recognized them. It was Moana and Sheila. It looks like they had been beaten pretty thoroughly.

"It wasn't too hard for us to figure out it was these two that started your little rebellion. Perhaps you will sacrifice your life for theirs? I hear it's what you like to do."

The man was trying to get a rise out of me, the anger stirred but with my skill I had more control over it now.

"No? Pity."

Obidiah strode over to the captive women and grabbed Sheila by the neck with his remaining arm. He cocked his arm back and forcefully threw Sheila face-first into the building. There was a wet smack as her head exploded on contact with the wall. Moana screamed and tried to struggle free, looking at me, her eyes pleading for me to help. I couldn't help even if I wanted to. I would be lucky enough to win this fight on my terms. Obidiah calmly walked back over to Moana and tore her throat out with his bare hand, tossing the bloody lump of flesh to the ground as she gasped and choked on her own blood.

I fought down the urge to vomit. I wouldn't give this man the satisfaction.

Obidiah faced me again and the other four walked off, leaving the dead bodies in the street as a sign of their disdain.

"Two cockroaches dealt with, one more to go," he said as he stalked towards me.

I was as ready as I could be. As he closed the distance he started sprinting. Then he screamed and his whole body blurred and stretched, leaving afterimages, like still frames in the air behind him. I got my Area of Denial up just in time as he slammed into the dome. It cost me almost my entire mana pool to cast it using Multicast, but it was worth it. The impact shattered the street and every window within fifty feet. Hell, even I staggered back a step as the dome, an invisible magical construct now sported a clearly visible crack.

I counter-attacked using Blink Step, adding Aura Strike to my weapon as I stabbed forward. This left me with only about forty mana. He slapped my staff away with a contemptuous swipe of his hand. The force was enough to deform the blade at the end. He did take a bit of damage from the elemental effects. I could see his muscles tense up and ice frosted his hand. This didn't seem to slow the Monk/Juggernaught down much as he performed a sweeping roundhouse kick to my shield.

Again the air rang from the powerful blow, my shield cracking yet again. I stepped back to avoid another follow-up kick and let loose with Banshee's Wail. He staggered backward but was not stunned by the attack. I realized his class must give him some resistance towards stuns. I used two of my mana injectors bringing my mana back up to three hundred and I hit him with another Banshee's Wail. He staggered again, this time with a surprised look on his face.

That look didn't last long. He clenched his fist and punched the air towards me. Literally, he punched a wall of air towards me. My shield groaned in protest as the compressed air slammed against it, adding another crack.

I pulled out and injected two more mana injectors to top off my mana.

I struck out at the man again with my staff. He ducked under the attack and reached out to grab my staff. I let him grab it and quickly pulled out my backup staff. My shield forced the old staff out at high speed, wrenching him off balance long enough for me to hit him with a Calcifying Strike on his leg. Enraged by my ploy, he used my own staff against my shield. The staff impacted my shield and cracked in half from the force. My shield crumbled under the blow and fell to the ground with the sound of broken glass.

I retreated backward as he whipped the remaining portion of the staff at my head. It barely missed. His aim must have been affected by the slowing effect of the ice and calcification. He glared daggers at me as heat poured from his body. The ice and surprisingly the calcification melted way.

"Time to die, bug!"

I always knew it would come down to this. I cast Aura of Rage, followed by Regenerating Rain, Rejuvenate, Protection, Godly Might, and Blink Step, using Multicast. This left me with seventy mana. The world turned red and pulsed in time with the beat of my heart. I could see Obidiah's steps falter for just a moment as the effect of my aura slammed into him. I was losing health even with both my healing effects active so I had to make this fast. I blurred towards the man and slammed my staff down with an overhead strike.

Obidiah barely managed to avoid my blow, countering with another kick. I ducked under it, slashing at his leg as it passed by. I managed to score a grazing cut as the man pivoted like a damn cat to avoid most of the damage.

His hand snaked out like a viper and grabbed my staff. He used this leverage to force my staff to the ground, bending the blade as he somersaulted over me. He managed to kick me in the shoulder as he flipped by, leaving my arm numb and taking 84 health off of me. I stumbled away to try and recover. He wasn't having any of that. He came at me with a swift punch, followed by a twin roundhouse. I avoided the punch and the first kick. The second sent me flying backward. I scrambled to my feet and used a health injector. That attack had shaved over 200 health off, even with my armor absorbing a significant portion of the attack.

I ran forward and thrust my weapon towards the man, he tried to grab my staff again but I was able to reverse my strike, cracking him in the side with the blunt end of my staff. He staggered to the side with a hiss of pain. Blink Step ended then, causing me to stagger. It was all the opening the man needed as his hand lashed out and grabbed my throat in a vice-like grip. I tried to swipe at him but he head-butted me, causing my vision to swim.

My Aura of Rage fizzled out as I lost concentration. Obidiah kneed me in the groin and my hand nearly dropped my staff. Somehow I still held on to it, but I had no leverage to use the weapon at this range.

"This is how you killed her, my niece? How does it feel? Hmmm, how does it feel to have the life choked out of you?"

I struggled to try and free myself, hitting him with the staff, I even tried to stab him in the foot a few times. My healing spells faded, their magic spent. I started to lose consciousness. Somehow I always knew this fight wasn't going to end well for me, I struggled to the bitter end.

You have died

I felt my body sliding to the ground as he released me; I got the next message as Obidiah was turning around.

Second Chance has activated

I thanked the system for this skill and wasted no time, activating Flurry. I lurched forward, Obidiah already turning back towards me as he sensed something was wrong. It was too late, and I was too close for him to react. The blunt end of my staff struck out, hammering at the man's good side, along with his torso. He still managed to get his arm up to block many of my strikes. I heard snapping bones as my attacks rained home, sixteen in all. Obidiah stumbled back and fell. His arm had been reduced to a crushed mess, his ragged breathing forming pink foam on his lips from his punctured lung.

I pulled out a health injector and another mana injector. Already I could see the guards racing to kill me before their leader fell. I cast Shroud, covering the area in a heavy blanket of mist. The cold made it all the more miserable to be in, but I endured.

*Cough*, "You think this is over? Our family will hunt you down for this."

I didn't answer the man; instead, I circled around behind him. He tried to track me, using his legs to twist and keep me in view. You had to admire him for his tenacity if nothing else. Once I got clear of a possible attack from his legs I smashed the staff down on his face. He let out a wet gurgle. I repeated the action until I got the message I wanted to see.

Lethal damage: You have killed Obidiah Kooth

The battle was a near thing. Even with the man being partially crippled and without his main ability to teleport he still managed to kill me. If it wasn't for Second Chance I would be just as dead as Sheila and Moana. Hell if he had destroyed my head my spell wouldn't have been able to save me anyway. I got extremely lucky that he choose to strangle me. I looked away from the corpse and to the mist blanketing everything around. Even I couldn't see through it, I activated my talisman and swept my gaze through the fog. Some of the men had gotten within fifty feet of my position before the fog engulfed them. They were wandering around slowly, trying to make their way farther in. I firmed the grip on my staff and waded forward.