image [https://i.imgur.com/zweWNHT.jpg]
Screams linger in the distance. Shouts and cries around pierce the warrior's heart. A warrior jumped high. Stars flicker at her back. Her hair blows wildly in the wind. Two calloused hands grip a silver-hilted sword. Above her head, moonlight shone on her blade. Her sword went down as she descended. Green gushed as a long, hundred-limbed insect was split in two from head to tail. The minion died by her hand before he landed on the cobbled street below. Thousands of insect minions screeched around her. Aura leaked out of her armour, and the monster kept their distance. A swing destroyed minions, and another gave her way out. A sword kills hundreds as her mind wanders. How many are there? Why attack Heartbrook?
A crescent light flew out of her sword. Where is Fergus?
An impatient Gaurdian stands alone, surrounded by carcuses. A leap, and she's back in the air, searching.
Last one.
Aura flared out of her back as she flew towards her target.
An amber light illuminated the street below. Brenna flew closer, and a large figure stood proudly in the middle of the light. A great sword coated in holy energy slashed at the belly of the large monster. Its black carapace broke apart with each heavy strike. Brenna flew closer and saw a hooded shadow dance in the air with platforms of blue Murus. A strange ripple of aura emitted from their soles as the shadow dodged pincers. Another ripple of energy, and the shadow launched at the insect. Their blade picks apart the centipede with speed and precision, carving their sword between the insect's armour. Their jian glowed with a bright, condensed aura, sliced into thick armour. Fergus’s helper is quite good for his age.
But it is not enough. Each strike does less damage. Each movement was slower. Brenna flew in faster. The centipede moved like a whip and knocked the young man away. Hood regained his balance with a platform and dodged pincers once again. Down below, a large man gathered an amber aura around his greatsword. Brenna saw the monster creep behind the Paladin. Ants hide in the shadow of the large man, ready to pounce. Brenna crashed on the cobbled road between them, and with a wave of her sword, the nuisance was gone. Unhindered, the large man brought his great sword back. From up close, its edges were chipped from use. On its hilt, a woman prayed. Bob stomped, shaking tiles from roofs. And with a roar, holy energy decimates all demon minions before him.
No window crack, no road destroyed. Creatures turn into ash and break apart in the soft wind.
Bob exhaled and turned to Brenna, stone-faced. "Ah, miss, you surprised me. What brings you here, Guardian?” Holy energy still lingered off his broad body. His voice deep and soft brought her shyness back. Bob stabbed his great shield into the ground. The same shield protected the slaves on the bridge. Scratches on a Sari shield for hundreds of battles fought.
“I was almost finished cleaning up the mess till I saw you, Sir Paladin.”
Bob shook his head. “Paladin no more. Just Bob.”
A shadow sauntered up. Sweat dripped from underneath his hood, and haggard eyes peered from underneath as the boy heaved.
“Good job, big man, let’s go-” Hood froze, then turned to Bob.
“At the Wildflower Inn, come now. Marina’s hurt.” The copy fades into flecks of white light.
Brenna tightened up as she saw the Paladin's face turn frightening. Amber aura flared around the giant as he picked up his shield.
“Show me the way.”
They took too fucking long.
A wave of aura hit the beetle man. He blocked with two arms struggling as the energy dragged. him an inch back. With sheer strength, the beetle dispensed the wave. An evil smile crossed the obsidian's face. The monster rushed at his new enemy.
Quick! While he is distracted!
With energy regained from the quick rest, Drac pulsed over to Fergus, who lay beaten on the ground. Drac picked up the unconscious noble, and something black flew in front of him. The beetle crashed into a building at the end of the street. A creepy smile was still on his face.
With Fergus in his arms, Drac ran towards the inn, passing a furious warrior.
Safely in the wildflower, Fergus was laid down beside Marina. Bandaged and healed with healing paste, her breathing was soft. One less thing to worry about.
The building shook. A great battle could be heard through the walls. The elderly healer looked at Drac with wide eyes and a slack mouth.
“Don't worry about outside.” Drac ran outside to help. A Drac sat in the corner with laced fingers and spoke. “Just heal my friends.”
A silver sword hit an obsidian arm with a thunderous clang. “You dare hurt my brother!” Ground broke away under the beetle-man’s shoeless feet. Black smoke covered its whole being. An upward slash hit the arm away, and the beetle was open for a two-handed lunge. A right arm dropped to block his chest from the attack. Bob surprised from the back with a shield bash of amber light, pushing the creature towards the sword point.
Brenna's sword broke the black carapace from the inside, and a corpse fell deeper into her blade.
Drac saw a smile.
“Guardian!!”
The beetle’s horn twitched, and the ground shook. White streaks of light pass. More and more came until it became current, flowing in one direction: the hole.
“This was fun.” Black, inky flames burst from the beetle, forcing the guardian away. The strawberry warrior was on guard with fear in her eyes. The beetle man stretched as his wound healed until no mark was left.
The beetle turned his horned head and looked directly at Drac. “My job is done for now. But you… I will see you soon.” A long tongue licks sharp teeth.
“You’re not going anywhere, demon!” Brenna launched a wave at the beetle who swatted away with a single black hand.
“I pity you, guardian. I really do. You're too strong to be stuck in the backwoods.” The beetle raised his fist to punch the ground. The street exploded, and a beetle disappeared into the new hole underground.
The last of the white flecks flowed into the hole. And all is finally quiet. Brenna stabbed her sword into the street as she kneeled to rest. Bob rushed to the inn, meeting Drac on the way to Marina.
“Is she-”
"She's good, but she could be better with you by her side.”
Bob stared at Drac for a moment. Large hands grab a weary Drac's shoulders, and holy energy flows. Drac's injuries healed, and his exhaustion almost completely faded.
“Thank you… I am sorry.”
“I know you. You plan to be rash. Come back well.” And the big man hurried into the inn, leaving Drac replenished by amber light.
Those were…
Yes, souls.
A copy exited the inn and threw a case at Drac for him to catch before dissipating.
He will come again.
Teneos were put in his jacket.
Drac! What do you think you could do on your own?!
Arrows were put on his back. A loaded pistol was hidden away. Ready, Drac walked to the hole with his blade unsheathed.
Brother, are you sure? Just wait for help.
Smoke pellets are hidden in pockets.
Leave it. The fool has made up his mind.
Drac stares into the dark abyss.
The guardian shouts at Drac, “Where are you going, Hood?"
“Help your people, I will be back.”
I am not letting this go.
A pulse step and Drac dropped into the hole.
Drac traversed in the dark, feeling refuse on the walls.
This is disgusting!
I thought you would be used to cold, dark, damp places, caveman.
Yes. but not with those bugs.
With levitation, Drac travelled the long tunnel with huge bounds. Ignis lights his way, and his aura sense warns him of danger. How far he has travelled, he is unsure. Maybe a few miles.
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Drac tuned Auditus. The sound of a thousand insects came from deeper inside. Drac moved faster.
A light at the end of the tunnel, and Drac slowed down. Silent Rune Boots kept his approach quiet.
The tunnel ends in the middle of a thick forest. Hundreds of insects, tired and marked by battle, lie in the warm fire. Auditus overhears.
“Master. I have come with a boon to satisfy your needs," the beetle's voice echoes.
HALEN, MY DUTIFUL SERVANT, YOU HAVE DONE ME WELL. WHERE ARE GOK AND HAV SO I MAY CONGRATULATE THEM.
“Master. They were weak.”
The room became quiet.
THEY… WERE WEAK. WE SHALL MAKE MORE. KIDNAP STRONGER, TOUGHER ADVENTURERS.
Drac peeked out of the entrance. The beetle man bowed in front of a gold-framed mirror. On a large beetle was a large crystal glowing white, covered in vines to be easy to carry.
That's a soul-capture device. That's what Cal used for his experiments.
The Cal guy sounds more and more like a right bastard every time you mention him.
We destroy it and leave as fast as we can.
WHAT A STRONG SOUL! IT’S NOT GOOD TO SPY, LITTLE MOUSE.
An obsidian fist careened for him. Murus was tuned. A left fist hit the blue shield, and a pulse bounced it off.
That worked?
Another pulse propelled him towards the crystal. A right fist attacked Drac from behind, blasting the air apart with its speed. A copy unsheathed Heilong, reverse gripped, and intercepted the fist. Pulsing the fist away with precision. Drac ran towards the Soul Capturer while his copy rushed at Halen with a sword point. With a smack of black fire, a Drac was batted to the ground and dispersed.
Drac sent two more copies to distract the minion. A scorpion attack was deftly evaded, and a tail was cut off. Drac continued moving. Three ants scamper towards him gnashing their teeth. Three heads fly trailing green blood. The crystal glowed brighter. A mantis blade missed Drac's head. The Hood went low and struck with a wave, killing dozens in his way. Drac felt a copy disappear.
Drac flared his aura. Hot energy coursed through his muscles. He took a heavy step, destroying the ground below. Levitation lightened his weight, and he pulsed forward, becoming a shadowy blur in the orange light of the fires.
HALEN! HE IS AFTER THE SOULS AFTER HIM!
Drac felt another copy disappear.
The ground rumbled behind Drac. Three copies split from him to Block and incoming fist with Murus. Black aura shattered the barrier, and the copies were blown away in a mess of blood and meat.
Almost there.
The crystal of souls hung on the insect’s back only a few yards away.
“I am almost sad to end this so quickly,” Halen said with a creepy grin. He pulled back a fist enveloped in a black flame. And with a snap, it heads towards Drac.
FOCUS!
Drac spun on his sole to face the beetle. Nerves run hot with aura. Eyes strained with glowing white iris. A black carapace fist pushed air slowly. The colours around Drac exuded a brightness that was almost too harsh for his eyes. He could see the finger grooves on the incoming fist.
Drac grasped his sword, Heilong, with two hands. The blade hit the side of Halen's right fist, sparking as it scraped the armour. With all his might, Drac redirected the fist away. Aura collected around his blade, growing longer.
Then a slash.
The beetle scurried backwards, holding his face as he screamed in pain. Red blood leaked from his eyes. A black aura hastily healed one eye before the other.
“You bastard…” Halen stopped as he saw a white fleck float by his face. “No… NO!”
A copy stood by a dead beetle, holding a cracked crystal with a grin. Like a dam burst, souls scatter.
“All that work was wasted…” The beetle looked resigned as his hard work floated away into the night.
A black aura engulfed Halen. His crestfallen face became full of wrath. Insects flee into the forest in fear of the master.
“I was saving you for later. As a reward for a job well done.” The beetle sucked in deeply, and flecks of white flowed into his mouth.
Finally full, the minion roars as his aura climbs to the sky.
“I WILL PULL YOU APART, LIMB BY LIMB! AND ONLY AFTER BEGGING, I WILL OFFER YOUR SOUL TO MY MASTER!”
Time to run.
A copy dispersed, and Drac flipped his sword to his stance.
DRAC!
Is this bravery or foolishness?
Drac flared. White aura reached above the treetops in the starry night above.
I need to know.
With a gold pommel to his face and his left hand low, a rhythm moved Drac’s body.
I want to know how I fare in this Great forest.
Halen vanished in an explosion of soil and dirt. An uppercut destroyed the ground, meeting two swords. Pulse deflected the fist to the ground. A jump and twin Heilongs became blurry as they stabbed at a blocking monster. Drac's attack rebuffed, he lifted both feet up in the air and kicked. Ventus and Ignis tuned around his boots and burned at Halen’s face as Drac flipped away.
Incoming!
Drac rolled to the left as a blast of black aura missed him. Another, and Drac stepped back. More come, and Drac zig and zag between.
I want to try something.
The beetle man appeared above, hammering down. The black fist missed by an inch, and Drac rushed in with a pulse. A wide left punch connected, and the dust and dirt were blown aside.
The beetle looked down.
“Don't overestimate yourself.”
A large obsidian hand dropped on Drac. Saved by a copy, Drac finally pulsed from his fist. Halen's abdomen rippled and cracked. The large monster blew away to the end of the wood, crashing into rocks. Black carapace already started healing.
Give or take 3 seconds before he finishes healing.
Are you experimenting?!? Just kill him!
Hahahaha! Crazy bastard!
A blast of black aura was sidestepped. Halen appeared behind Drac, smouldering in a black aura. His large, carapace hand formed a knife and slashed. Drac's eyes glowed white, and he dove under, slicing at the monster's legs. Irritated, the beetle chopped downward. Several pulses brought him around the large insect. Drac saw his chance and attacked with a blade coat in bright white energy. Halen groaned as blood leaked from his back. A flick of the fist flung a blast. Drac split into two and a black aura destroyed the ground between. A copy unleashed a wave from the right as Drac sliced from the left. Halen put up a black wall of aura, and the copy's wave was blocked. A backfist swiped at Drac. A copy blocked with its blade and flung yards away, dispersing in white specks.
Mmm…
Drac cut behind the right knee, and the giant fell with a wail. Drac brought his sword up to decapitate the insect. A roar and aura burst from the beetle, forcing Drac back. A sword in the soil stopped him before he collided with the rocky wall behind him.
A leg healed, and a beetle got ready to rush. Halen leaned back. An arrow grazed his nose bridge. The minion turned to see the copy loading another arrow into his crossbow. An aura-imbued arrow was shot and swatted away with ease.
“Annoying gnats,” said Halen while firing a barrage at the fleeing copy.
Pulse technique got Drac closed, and with a concentrated aura, he dragged his sword along the ground to cut down the giant.
“I didn't forget about you.”
A bare foot covered in a black carapace connected with Drac’s Heilong. Aura saved his bones from snapping. Coughing blood, the man in black was sent tumbling down before stopping at the wall.
“So you're the real one. Didn't disappear like the rest.”
Drac stood up, gripping on a crack in the wall, struggling to breathe.
The beetle caught an arrow aimed at his temple with his fingers.
Drac grinned under his mask.
“These toys won't work any mo-” the Tenoe arrow explodes. Meat, blood, and carapace paint the floor.
Halen rushed out of the dust with a furious expression. As his left hand healed in a black flame, his right formed a claw and slashed a large wave of black aura at Drac. Drac pulsed upward, and Halen awaited him.
“Did you really think,”
Halen smacked at Drac with a black flaming hand. A copy protects and crumpled into a mess of broken bones before disappearing.
“You could win, young man!!”
A healed left fist was raised up and the beetle hammered down on Drac's blocking blade. The young fighter bounced on the stone floor, spitting out blood.
Get up, Drac!!
Drac felt a few ribs cracked. His muscles were worn and tired from a night of fighting. Above his enemy, a demon spawn from the ugliest part of hell gathered his strange black aura. Lacing both hands, the beetle dropped for a final hammer attack.
The ground gave to the power of Halen's strike.
Sparks fly as a blade ground on hard insect armour.
A copy protected a kneeling Drac. Its eyes, white, and lightning trace their way down the Drac’s dark skin.
Shock showed on the beetle's face, surprised that the copy survived his blow.
What is this?
When used by the unsuited, surge has harmful effects on the practitioner.
Aura flowed faster around his sword. The copy’s Heilong sear deeper in the halen arms. With a final push, the beetle's large hand falls, and the monster screams in agony.
But why does that matter to a copy?
Of course, you thought of this, hahaha!
The hand-less insect fled, giving himself time to heal.
DON'T RUN! GET ME MY SOUL!
Halen ground to a halt and used his black flame to regenerate his missing hands.
Drac noticed the beetle’s chest rising.
Drac. Attack until he loses the energy to regenerate.
Or cut the fucker’s head off.
Drac leaned on his sword to get up. Broken ribs rubbed together as he felt the lightning in his copy's body.
Drac unsummoned his copy and walked forward alone.
Fuck sake. What now?
Shut up. I am trying something.
Burning energy arises from his heart. Aura flowed through Drac’s veins. Muscles swelled with unrestrained vitality. His soul was set ablaze.
Drac walked forward as his soul flared far and wide. The ground cracked and broke apart with each step. Fleeing insects bathe in white light.
SoulFlame…
I think I can handle this much.
The beetle pulled back his arms and launched an aura blast. A swing from Drac’s aura-coated sword divided the blast, and a wave cut its way through the black aura, missing a perturbed Halen, who looked at Drac in shock.
The potency…
Drac tuned Levitation and pulsed in a blitz, spanning hundreds of metres in a single bound. Drac slashed down with a sword bursting with white energy. The beetles arm guarded and the ground below was destroyed. A copy split from Drac and lunged. Its blade pierced. A cone of aura shot out, boring a hole in the Halen side. A right arm dodged as the copy slipped underneath. Lightning marked the copy skin from its white eyes. Its sword turned into a saw, cutting off the beetle man’s right leg. The giant dropped on a bloody stump, about to roar. Drac dispersed his copy while stepping backwards, flinging small crescent waves of aura at the injured monster. Avoiding the black blaze, Drac pulsed back in with eyes white with aura. Drac redirected an attack arm to the ground. His Heilong became a saw, and the Bettle arm was sliced at the forearm. Black Flame hurried to heal, and Drac flipped over a left fist hammering down.
“BASTARD! I WILL GRIND YOUR BONES TO DUST!”
Levitation halted Drac in the air. A platform of blue Murus shattered with a pulse and Drac bolted towards Halen's head with a blazing sword.
Horn covered in black flame. Clash with Drac blade. Sparks fly as they grind together. The beetle used his absurd strength to bash Drac away. The beetle's arms and leg healed, and the monster attacked with a hail of blasts and fists. Two copies split from Drac and pulsed Halen's arms away. Drac's legs burst with energy as he pounced between his copies. Lightning was marked around their eyes, and both arms were cut once again. The beetle screamed in pain, his arms healing slower. The beetle’s eyes widened in fear and he tried to run. The demon spawn found himself tugging on something. Blue lines of Murus were tied around his still-healing stumps. Drac launched a wave, cutting through the beetle's dirty trousers and severing his legs from Halen’s thighs. The obsidian giant falls to the ground, trembling in agony.
HALEN!
Three Dracs stare down at the insect. Drac levelled his glowing sword at the beetle's thick neck.
“Answer my questions, and you die quicker.”