I swerved as hard as I could, swinging the tree around so hard if everyone was in physical form, many probably would have been flung clear. The move helped dodge many of the first volley of spells, but also swung the back of the tree and the hapless folks clinging there into the path of a few.
A wave of fire splashed across several people clinging to the middle of the back half of the tree, and although we were immune to physical attacks, magic carried a spiritual element that still punched into the group like a sledgehammer.
The tree rocked on my shoulder just as a pair of ice bolts slammed into the same spot the fire just had. The energy from the magic rippled all up and down the pillar. When it hit me, Soul Feed captured a fraction of the power, which then radiated out to the entire group since we were all connected. That helped some, but not enough.
We spun faster, the long lengths of the tree whipping around me, people screaming, some still shouting uselessly for the other survivors to stop. Then a wall of golden force appeared in front of me as I took a side step, and I bounced off. That shook the tree hard, the movement magnifying as it rippled down the long lengths. The last few feet shook like a whip.
Burns shouted something about an apple as he lost his grip and somersaulted away. As soon as he left the group, he phased back into the material world and tumbled 30 feet before crashing to the ground. More people followed. It must have looked like people appeared out of thin air as men and women tumbled off the long, ghostly length of the tree. Soon everyone toppled free except for Hector and Jane, both clinging to the trunk close to my head.
“Stop!” Tony’s voice cut through the din of shouting people and sizzling spells, and the barrage slowed. I managed to right myself and orient back on Tony.
He was approaching Burns, who had leaped to his feet, despite an obviously injured leg. Burns was speaking fast, and Susan limped to join him. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it helped ease Tony’s worry. I spotted several other defenders visibly relaxing.
Scanning the area, I noted a lot of our people rising with wounds or burns, but a few of them remained writhing on the ground in obvious agony. Within seconds, Burns and Tony got everyone organized and people rushed to help the wounded with potions or spells of healing.
“I think you can get off now,” I told Hector and Jane, but did not cancel Phase Walk. I still had more than 2 minutes left and would not waste it.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Hector said, giving me a ghostly shoulder bump before jumping free.
Jane hesitated, holding my gaze. In ethereal form, her eyes blazed as bright as lanterns. “You used to call me crazy. That was insane, Lucas!”
“You are crazy, especially on a bike. I’m clever.”
She laughed, then added, “Thanks.” Before dropping free.
I tossed the tree aside, then floated over to join Burns. At my approach, some of the crowd around them tensed, but Burns said, “Relax. He’s one of us.”
Trotting beside me, Jane added, “Lucas is the one who called the herd away from you and saved us from them.”
“Lucas?” Tony asked, peering closer.
Steve laughed with joy. “Ha! I knew you’d make it.”
Ruby stepped around him, and her bright smile lit up the world. How could the sight of her trigger such powerful emotions in me?
‘You’re getting engaged to Isabella as soon as you get back to Earth, remember?’
I floated up to them and said, “I’m glad we could help, but we don’t have time for long reunions.”
A bellowing roar from Tecton Earthwarden punctuated my words and I turned. Unfortunately, my attempt at stealth hadn’t fooled him. The minotaur was charging toward us at the head of his herd, ax held high. The rumble of their hooves was growing in intensity.
“I really hate those guys,” Tony muttered.
“Looks like all you managed was a temporary reprieve,” Burns stated.
“We’re stronger together. Get the defensive line re-formed. I’m going to see if I can keep him distracted.”
“Wait!” Tony shouted, but we didn’t have time for a debate.
In ethereal form, I was still immune to most of their attacks, and without 20 people slowing me down, I planned to find out exactly how much damage I could do.
I flashed across the field toward the onrushing herd while Burns and Tony started shouting orders. Tony’s group had faced the herd once, so they knew better what they were facing. Their lines would hold if I did my job.
I shot straight for Tecton, flying barely 6 feet off the ground. This time, Tecton ran at the front of the herd and he spotted me instantly. He bellowed again.
So I rang the bell and pushed out my will, telling the herd to turn south. I hoped it might disorient some of them, but Tecton slammed his will over my connection instantly, disrupting it before I could do any damage. That was okay, the real reason I rang the bell was to tick him off.
It worked.
He snorted with anger and increased speed, lowering his head to ram me with glowing horns.
I dodged.
At the last second, I swept to the left, diving into a barrel role. Tecton snorted so deep in anger it sounded like he’d swallowed a giant bass speaker, and he dug in his hooves to turn.
I expected to see the giant minotaur slide for 100 yards before slowing, but the ground bunched under his hooves and his speed bled away in a second as he triggered some kind of earth powers.
That was still a second too long. I flew into the mass of bulls stampeding behind Tecton, Soulrend flashing. Their spirits rattled me like I’d been dropped into a giant soda can and shaken by a god, but I pressed through, severing spiritual spines and necks and anything else I could reach.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I left a trail of destruction behind me as bulls collapsed, dead or dying or crippled. Their cries of pain and rage filled the valley and echoed from the mountains. I couldn’t smell them in ghost form, which was a relief. I’d been on farms and I knew how bad a mass of bulls could stink.
Tecton gave chase, leaping through the herd with his long legs, but I moved faster. In seconds, I swept a half circle through the herd, Soulrend never slowing before I banked around for another pass.
Tecton intercepted me. As bulls scattered out of the angry minotaur’s path, Tecton brought his huge ax down with an overhand chop that could sunder a mountain.
I didn’t even bother trying to meet the attack with my blade. I was strong, but in ethereal form, I lacked the physical might to counter his. Instead, I dodged, allowing the blade to slam into the ground. I expected it to sink out of sight, but the ax bounced off the ground without leaving a mark and Tecton swept it in a horizontal arc.
I wasn’t expecting the move and barely pulled Soulrend around in an attempt to block. It didn’t help. The flat of the huge ax caught me like an avalanche and hurtled me halfway to the western mountains. Definitely contained a spiritual power.
The glowing black iron seared my spiritual body and it was my turn to bellow like a bull. My health dropped by nearly 30% and my mana plummeted nearly 40.
“What was that?” I groaned as my Tesla Coil bracelet poured energy back into me, quickly healing the damage. It had been growing warmer on my arm through my entire rampage, and now I gratefully drank that stolen energy back in.
Amazingly, Eva answered. “Tecton Earthwarden hit you with Nether Strike.”
“Nether Strike. Spell. Rare. Deal direct soul damage to any target struck by Tecton’s ax. Effect: Target both health and mana.”
“When did Identify start working like a help menu?” I asked as I flashed back toward Tecton.
I’d made a mess, but most of the herd was still closing on the re-formed human lines. A small group of people was charging the minotaur in the center, protected by that glowing wall of force. This time I recognized Tony in the center, with Burns and Hector flanking him on one side, and William and Scott Mortensen, the shirtless guy from Tony’s team with the Hulk powers, on the other. Tony blazed with that same golden light. It must be a new ability he unlocked since I’d left.
Tecton had started to turn toward Tony’s group so I rang the cow bell again to pull his attention back to me. As expected, he immediately swung back around, snorting steam in his fury. I accelerated toward him and he beckoned me on, huge ax raised.
I definitely didn’t want to take another hit from that thing. Even though the physical blade couldn’t hurt me, I bet if he connected edge-first if I’d take even more damage.
So as I closed the distance, I threw 2 of my silver-tipped steel spears I’d taken from the cow herd. Even in ethereal form, my throwing arm was good and I reinforced the throws with my will.
The spears seemed to leap the distance between us, shifting from ethereal back to physical as they flew. Tecton didn’t block with his ax like I had hoped he would, but earth flowed up his torso and covered his chest. The spears struck true and sank 3 inches into the earthen armor before dropping back to the ground.
They might have punched through enough to scratch Tecton, but nothing else. I felt a minor rush of energy into my bracelet. The minotaur leaped at me, flying 40 feet, his ax blurring toward my head.
I twisted, barely managing to slip the blade. It passed so close, I felt its magic like heat scorching my skin and actually took a minimal amount of damage. In turn, I lashed out with Soulrend at Tecton’s left hand on the haft of the ax, but only scored the thumb.
At the same time, I cast my scroll of Binding.
Tecton bellowed in rage as his hooves suddenly slammed together, bound by glowing cables. He wobbled but did not fall, and even swung the ax in a backhand stroke with his right hand as I slowed behind him.
It lacked power that way and I brought Soulrend up to block. My blade couldn’t do anything about the physical attack, but that wasn’t what I was worried about. Soulrend could interact with that spiritual Nether Strike.
The two weapons crashed together and the impact still knocked me back. Thankfully, the move kept me from taking another hit from Nether Strike, and I recovered instantly from the knockback.
Shouting in rage, Tecton spun. Earth flowed over his hooves and the ground pulled him around to face me while keeping him locked in place and upright.
I’d wanted to try binding his arms, but the 20-foot minotaur was enormous. He dwarfed me, the perfectly sculpted muscles of his humanlike torso bulging with impossible proportions. I wasn’t sure the binding spell would work on his swollen arms, but had hoped he’d have a harder time separating his hooves with enough force to snap them. I’d hampered him with that move, but not incapacitated him like I’d hoped.
“You are now the prey,” Tecton growled, his deep voice sounding like he was gargling thunder as he lifted his huge ax.
“Says the cow. Do you have any idea how many steaks I’ve eaten?”
Roaring with fury, he swung a mighty blow, but I rolled around it and swept in before he launched a backswing. He thrust the butt of the weapon at my face in an impressive display of mastery of his weapon, but he moved so slow compared to what I could do as a ghost. I dodged around the blow and slapped an emoji sticker that looked like a melting disco ball against his long snout as I shot past.
“Toxic Blind. Emoji Trap. Blind a target for 5 seconds with a dazzling burst of lights while surrounding them with a cloud of toxic fumes that can melt flesh and erode steel.”
Tecton froze, then bellowed so loud it hurt my ghostly ears. He thrashed in place, kept upright only by the earth holding his bound hooves motionless. Intense light blazed in the minotaur’s eyes, shifting through all the colors of the rainbow in an instant. It hurt my eyes to look at, and must be truly blinding to him.
At the same time, a cloud of sinister green gas billowed out of the little emoji sticker, flowing over Tecton like a visible plague. His fur singed, curled, and fell away while the flesh underneath blackened. His angry bellows turned to shouts of pain, and my Tesla Coil bracelet grew warm again.
He swung his ax wildly in every direction, but the blows lacked direction and I easily dodged as I circled him. With careful timing, I slashed each of his elbows with Soulrend. His ax tumbled away to the grasses and his hands fell limp to his sides at the ends of his enormously muscled arms.
Earth boiled around Tecton, rising in protective rings around him, but that only sealed the toxic gas against his skin, making the poison effect worse. The minotaur bellowed again and the earth extended like a spherical, full-body shield.
Earth hardened to stone, then began spinning around the monster. Spikes of stone sprouted all over the sphere and exploded outward in waves. Dozens of them punched through my ghostly body before I could react, but passed through with only the tiniest tugging stings.
On the other side of Tecton, multiple voices screamed in pain as the tall grasses were shredded. Other people had gotten too close.
I dove forward, leading with Soulrend, and crashed into the spinning earthen shield. It felt far more solid than it should, like trying to dive through Jell-O. Tecton must be filling it with a lot of spiritual energy somehow. It made a daunting physical barrier, and I had to fight to drive my blade and arms through.
Grunting with the effort, I slashed Soulrend wildly through the shield. My face was still on the outside so I couldn’t see, but it was hard to miss a 20-foot, hugely-muscled minotaur.
I connected with something and Soulrend slowed as it rent spirit. Tecton bellowed again and the entire stone shield exploded outward, devastating the surrounding area. One of Tecton’s arms hung useless at its side, but the lights of my emoji trap were starting to dim. Tecton blinked blurry eyes at me and raised his other arm to bludgeon me with a limp fist.
Burns hurtled out of the grass behind Tecton, boar spear burning with white-hot fire. His face was bleeding and a stone spike stuck from one thigh, but he jumped 10 feet and plunged his spear deep into the minotaur’s back.
The mighty blow caught Tecton totally by surprise and he roared in pain as the impact overbalanced him and slammed him face-first to the ground.
Tony arrived, surrounded by the golden halo of his defensive shield just as I swooped down to swing at Tecton’s neck. Tony had picked up the minotaur’s huge ax and jumped forward, bring the enormous weapon down on Tecton’s throat at the same time I slashed with Soulrend. The huge blade passed so close to me that again I felt the searing heat of its magic.
The ax severed flesh as my blade severed spirit. The double strike removed Tecton’s huge bull head in a spray of gore.