Deacon closed the distance rapidly to the oncoming wall of Tribesman, Crabtaurs, and what looked like very desiccated undead sailors. They had a dark purple energy suffusing their optical sockets. When Deacon was within ten feet, he switched his title back to The Mangler and triggered Dragon Claw Barrage. Gouts of sand sprayed on either side of his path distracting several of the enemy while those within the target area were ripped apart. This left Deacon standing in their midst, but luckily several of the remaining Crabtaurs and Tribesman turned tail and ran. The zombie sailors on the other hand experienced no fear. Deacon conjured up six Ice Sickles and made them orbit him like he was the nucleus of an atom. As the undead approached they were torn up triggering more of the living enemies to back away. Surprisingly, these bodies didn’t contain the same energy the other undead held. Deacon received no increase to his soul energy from this set of undead. Fortunately, the others he ran through at the start of combat began regening his energy.
“You will not stop me, champion. I will leave this place.” Came a strong feminine voice from one of the zombie heads on the ground. It practically dripped with venom. The sound of drums shook the trees and the remaining monsters all turned as one toward Deacon.
“I’ve got beef, lets fight.” Deacon said into the air clearly fed up with this place.
“You may have slaughtered my vanguard, but you are no match for Sumna mortal. Behold the power of the true gods.” Sumna said through her vassals. They all took one step forward before taking it back then switching their weight between each hip. Then they began to do some kind of samba mixed with a cha cha. They all fell into rhythm with the pervasive drumbeat. As the dance returned to the hip switch phase, Deacon was slammed off his feet and sent several yards back down the beach.
Sitting up he spit blood on the sand. Ralph ran over and whispered something into Deacon’s ear. That seemed to invigorate him as he got back to his feet. Ralph’s sword was out and gesturing to the dancing mob.
“What happened to you? You’ve got green blood running out of your nose.” Ralph asked as they charged the dancing line.
“My health took a twenty percent hit when they…danced at me?” Deacon asked out loud not understanding it.
“Must be some strange ability of Sumna’s. We need to hurry. Getting stuck on the beach is not part of the plan.” Ralph said cutting down a tribesman with greater ease now that his weapon was enchanted. It also helped that it was stuck in the middle of the performance and fall out of step. They both cut their way through the six deep line of enemies before the next hip switch smashed into them. This time they were too far away to be smashed back to the beach but instead flew further inland. Deacon could hear cracking of bones coming from Ralph.
“Shit! Are you ok?” Deacon asked ignoring his own pain to reach Ralph.
“My arm is broken. Whatever that is, we have to stop it before it kills us all.” Ralph said while Deacon pulled out another potion and fed it to him.
“It looks like she’s focused on us. We need to hold her attention.” Deacon whispered dragging Ralph by his good arm to the base of the temple in the middle of the island. His health was at sixty percent and rising thanks to his Triage perk. Hopefully, that plus the potion would help to get Ralph back in fighting condition. At the base of the pyramid was plinth. There was a crude drawing etched into the side of it that looked like a round person with one eye. He thought to himself this has to be it just before song hit the sweet spot again. Deacons face was smashed into the pillar in front of him as the doors at the top of the stairs swung open.
The temple itself was fairly simple with what looked like, to Deacon at least, Central American inspired design. There weren’t more than twenty steps with ten levels of platforms wide at the base but decreasing in size toward the top on either side of the stairs. At the top of the stairs stood a woman with a fancy tiara on in a ceremonial robe with sandals. She was beautiful but there was no white in her sclera. Just grey shifting clouds. The only reason Deacon could see her so well was all the light coming from the room behind her and a familiar triangular archway deep within.
“Ralph the exit door is in that room. Ralph?” Deacon spun around looking for Ralph who was now on the second platform dancing with the beat. He had a look of horror on his face. Deacon tried to stand grabbing at the flat-topped column in front of him.
“Don’t worry little one. Your friend will make a fine addition to my collection. He will join all his new friends dancing their way back from the beach behind you. I don’t know how you haven’t succumbed to my power just yet, but it doesn’t matter at all. Once I break free of this prison and return my father, the very essence of Avarice to the world, everyone you know, and love will be ours. You can’t fight the inevitable.” Laughed Sumna as she shook off her robe exposing a tight tank top and workout leggings. Her dark hair swirled around as she rotated her head back and forth with arms held at out. Deacon could feel a crescendo coming as well as the encroaching enemies dancing behind him, so he sucked in a deep breath and screamed.
“Now!”
The hand he had at the top of the plinth was grasping the minion idol. He placed it and felt a shock forcing him to pull back his hand. At the same time, light shot up from the plinth forming around the idol and creating the rest of the column out of light. At the top of the light column a beam of blue, white energy shot towards the open temple doors narrowly missing Sumna but hitting the gateway in the back. Ralph kept dancing but the line behind him was in disarray. The zombies launched themselves at the Sharkskin Tribesman while the Crabtaurs shuffled their way toward the water.
“My Unholy minions! No!” screamed Sumna causing additional damage to everyone in the area. Deacon clapped his hands over his ears, but that outburst reminded him that he picked up a resistance to Unholy a while back. That might explain how he was fighting off her influence.
Suddenly Ralph fell to the ground with the abrupt cessation of the drumbeat. This was shortly followed by an additional column of light coming from the left side of the temple from where Deacon stood up. The same light show followed shooting into the doors and striking the gateway. Sumna stopped dancing when she realized Ralph was on the ground. She couldn’t get the ability to activate and then she noticed Deacon charging up the stairs. The two met in a clash of strength that it looked like Deacon was going to lose. Then he extended his claws to rake along her forearm. She didn’t even flinch just sneering at him and palm striking his chest sending him tumbling back down the stairs. Ralph was on his feet now and his sword arm was in fine working order. He used a flurry of strikes to keep Sumna back but she just bare handed the blade with her defense. Deacon shook off ride back down the stairs getting to his feet.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Remember, it’s not time yet.” Ralph called out before Sumna grabbed his bad arm and began to squeeze. The scream coming Ralph was heart breaking. Just then two daggers appeared out of nowhere sparking down Sumna’s back. She turned her head not understanding what was happening. The daggers just appeared to be floating there.
That was enough of a distraction for Deacon to snatch Ralph away from her. Finally a third column of light shot up from the right side of the pyramid. The floating daggers scattered, and Deacon ran Ralph down the stairs as tree trunk thick bolt of lighting hit Sumna in the top of the head knocking her to the ground.
“You insignificant pests. I should kill all of you, but you finally opened the door.” Sumna said clutching patches of burnt hair from her head. Just then the doors to the temple swung shut startling Sumna as she got to her feet. The air felt colder, and she could see her breath. She started to shiver startled by the feeling of being cold in the tropics for what felt like forever. Above her she could see a tear in the fabric of the universe as a ghastly war galleon with tattered sails and a tiny captain birthed itself into reality.
“Return to the Roaring Tempest me hearties, shore leave is over, Captains orders.” Came the voice of Quartermaster Tibits. All the zombies exploded releasing the cursed souls within. The green and white souls floated up to the ship.
“Fire at will!” Commanded Captain Black Powder Pete for the first time in hundreds of years. The spectral cannon balls slammed into Sumna with such force chunks of the temple where she was standing fired off in all directions. Once the barrage was complete, the captain tipped his hat at Deacon who was protecting Ralph from all the fallen debris. Then the ghost ship was sucked back into the spit in reality but not before a gale force wind blasted out onto the island blowing down trees and swirling the still airborne chunks of temple. Ralph was feverishly pointing behind Deacon at a small grey disc that rotated behind his back before winking out of existence.
Amanda looked up from the top of the temple by the doors she just shut. There were large craters in the path down to where Deacon and Ralph waited. She was still invisible thanks to that potion Deacon gave her. In the back of her mind she believed it probably lasted a little too long. She would have to mention that to him later. Amanda couldn’t maintain her cover after she heard Ralph screaming. It broke her heart to see him in pain. She did feel better seeing the smashed remnants of Sumna’s body bloody and bleeding in the largest crater.
Deacon looked up to see the enemy was laying prone and not looking too good. Deciding finishing her off was best for the world he checked his status bars and made his way over. He was at two hundred and ten percent soul energy and forty percent health. That number was constantly rising thanks to his perk, but it would take time. He stumbled around the remains of the temple steps until he reached Sumna. She wasn’t breathing and her limbs were a mess. Deacon figured a few stomps to the head would seal the deal. Of course that’s when her eyes shot open, and her head turned toward him.
“What are you?! How could you do this?! I’m a demi-goddess!” Screamed Sumna as the ground began to shake and her body morphed into a bus sized slug from the waist down. The metamorphosis forced Deacon up and out of the crater. Riding it like he was sitting on a rocket. A mouth appeared on the front filled with serrated teeth. It bucked Deacon high into the air. High enough that he had time to use inspect on her.
Sumna daughter of Cathis, True Form-????? Level ??/Demi-god.
“That was not helpful.” He thought as he was hurtling toward her mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something shiny hurtling toward Sumna who was still screaming at Deacon. Suddenly she was encased in a large shard of ice. Without thinking Deacon triggered Strike of the Phantasm Knight throwing his right arm forward. The light distortion opened above his right shoulder split like a hot knife through butter. Through the new hole in the world came a gigantic translucent armored fist. It was quickly followed by a forearm, bicep, and all the way up to the shoulder. The fist contacted the frozen Sumna smashing it to crushed ice. It was like a shipping container being thrown through the front of your favorite coffee shop.
“Shut the fuck up!” Deacon screamed.
The force of the blow rebounded back to Deacon but since he was in the air at the time, he just looked like a yoyo bouncing up and down. He finally landed seeing a mandatory notification.
You have Defeated Sumna daughter of Cathis, Deposed God of Excess and Avarice. This Wode was meant to imprison Sumna but now will be converted to a standard dungeon with a difficulty of extreme. Proceed through the Wode Portal to receive your reward. As you are the first mortals to ever clear a Wode additional rewards will be given.
You have earned a new title- Wode Guardian. This title will allow you access to any Wode you may find. Beware that Wode prisons are not to be entered lightly.
New Quest-Path of Divinity. Defeating Sumna has placed you on the Path of Divinity. This quest will see you join a pantheon of your choosing after defeating ten demi-gods. Demi-gods leave behind a Shard of Divinity which is concentrated soul energy. These items are classed as legendary. Take care in how you use them. Rewards; Deities Mantle.
Notice: You have tapped the energies of five out of ten known hells. This is a feat accomplished by less than 2% of the population of this world. New Class Specializations will be available to you at level twenty.
Unholy resistance increased to ten percent.
Deacon pushed all the notifications away. Several of them were alarming. He decided to see if anyone else received that divinity quest. Looking down at his feet he found a crystal shard in the shape of a tear drop. When he touched it, he knew right away it was the Shard of Divinity. It went directly into his bag.
“Is everyone alright?” Deacon asked.
“Yes, yes. Did we, do it? I know the notification said we defeated her, but I wasn’t prepared for the second form.” Came the voice of Tantus out of thin air. Deacon looked left and right and remembered the invisibility potion. When they got here originally Deacon gave out the potions of invisibility to Amanda and Tantus. He figured those two would be the most effective from a hidden position. When Ralph scouted the island from the crows nest it gave him an idea. Since they were all the underdogs in this scenario and they had time to plan on the ride to the main island, they needed to tip the odds in their favor. Deacon volunteered to be the biggest loudest distraction ever while the two invisible team members went looking for where to place the idols. The only thing they weren’t prepared for was, whoever didn’t have an idol couldn’t cancel the effects. It took Tantus longer to finish because the drums hadn’t been placed yet. Amanda was really the only one immune to the music until she placed the idol. Deacon breaking her control over the minions helped them sneak around the temple.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Deacon said looking weary but just wanting to be free of this place.