Rising from a mound of rubble, Salith instinctively assessed her situation. Once it was deemed safe, she removed the large piece of debris above them as Lily poked her head out to examine the ruins.
They commended members of Silver Cry for their unwavering determination to stall them. Unfortunately, the raw strength of the Giant race outclassed their vanguards. Lily’s unmatched archery and trickery rendered the enemy’s tactics useless.
As a last ditch effort, the crew of Silver Cry collapsed wooden beams holding up the burning guild onto them and successfully bought extra time. For what?
“Yer da Giant and Devil Folk I met before, ain’t cha?”
A heavy aura assailed Salith and Lily. The two immediately dropped into their stance, staring down the Silvered Lycanthrope slowly treaded towards them.
“Ya two gave a good beating to my crewmates.”
“Silver…”
“Rest easy, Pilus. I’ll take care of da rest. Ya did good.”
A weary smile formed on the Mixrel’s face before going unconscious like the other crewmates.
Douglas drew [Tyrant Fang] and faced the two. He sucked in as much air into his lung as he could, focusing his voice into a projectile towards Lily and Salith.
“Get behind me!”
Salith lifted a nearby steel door and anchored it to the ground to shield against Douglas’ [Howling Cannon]. The rushing gust of wind hammered against the buckling door, violently shaking her hold on it. The vibrations made it difficult for her to properly grasp the edges and if she were to lose her grip, their only cover would be sent flying.
Neither Lily nor Salith could move. Douglas’ ear piercing howl forced his foes to cover their ears to prevent their eardrums from bursting.
“[Tyrant Fang]!”
Upon speaking the named equipment’s name, a ghastly beast emerged above and snapped its fangs down at Lily. She realized it was an illusion as no pain coursed through her body, but quickly noticed she couldn’t move a muscle on her entire left side seized by the beast’s jaws.
Douglas was seen trailing behind it. He raised his weapon, aiming straight at Lily.
“Not on my watch!” Salith roared.
She slammed the steel door at Douglas, sending him flying through the air and broke his concentration to keep [Tyrant Fang]’s skill active. Once Lily was freed from the skill hampering her movements, she loosened several arrows towards Douglas.
Her projectiles erratically zipped between her [Trick Orbs] positioned in the sky to change the direction of her arrows. They blinked in and out of the Lycanthrope’s view. Not even Douglas’ superhuman instincts were able to fully predict Lily’s flurry of projectiles flying at him from all directions.
Unlike Aten who could move beyond an arrow’s speed, Douglas only needed to study the Dragonfly insectoid’s habits and used his keen senses to predict the next attack. However, arrows do not show any characteristics or behavior. They fly straight and true from the archer launching it from their bows. If projectiles were to suddenly change direction on a whim, it was extremely difficult to dodge even if Douglas reflexes were considered godly.
Thankfully, the massed produced, cheap arrowheads bounced off the magical protection of his [Night’s Blessing]. It was until he felt a sharp pain and discovered broad head arrow left a bleeding cut on his snout. He concluded Lily mixed arrows of bad quality with good ones forcing Douglas to no longer rely on his Night’s Blessing to protect everything against him.
Douglas’ face felt numb. He caught whiff of a familiar scent on the arrows flying all around them and suspected they were coated with the same toxins Kihet previously used on him. It was more evidence his blessings were wearing off.
He spotted more projectiles raining down and thrashed [Tyrant Fang] around. He diced and sliced dozens of arrows converging on him.
A second wave of arrows rained at him but was immediately dismissed by his [Howling Cannon]. He dodged Salith’s right hook and crashed through an opened window.
“Tch. Ya mutts are forcing my hand.”
He struck his fist out, aiming it outside the window.
“Starry might, fer I became the singular shine of the night. Dis is the prayer I give through dis life I live. Unleash your brilliance, dismantle their existence. Tonight, I stand as starlight to illuminate the world under yer might!”
A radiant pulse of starlight formed a bubble of magical aura expanding outwards. Small pebbles and rocks floated upwards while a burst of soft light condensed within Douglas’ fist.
Right when he was about to unleash the stored energy, he saw Salith and Lily hiding behind the Silver Cry’s unconscious bodies.
“What’s wrong? Not going to shoot?” Salith remarked.
“Yer pitiful. I’ve already said my farewells ta my crew.” Douglas extended his claws, activating the magic in his hand. “[Grand Star: Nova]!”
A shooting star blinked in the night sky. At first, it was only a speck among the stream of stars until one gradually increased in size in the starry night. A massive ball of white flames dropped down, illuminating Navargzan and Pamalyra’s desert in a blinding light.
“Look up there!” Lily pointed.
Salith and Lily knew they wouldn’t be able to outrun the ginormous burning star. Moreover, if it landed in the city the result would be catastrophic. However, there was nothing they could do against the infamous Pirate Slayer’s grand spell.
Before Salith activated [Wars Blood] to stop the falling star, a hand tunneled out of the ground. Silver fire enveloped it and faced Douglas’ spell. Its flames spread like wildfire across the city ground, running rampant over everything it touched but it would not burn.
From below, Kihet dug himself out and was greeted by a shinning bright star falling towards him. A bitter taste washed in his mouth as he was reminded of the spell similar to the Shadowed Wizard’s variant of falling stars. This time, Kihet knew he had the power to negate it.
“Kihet, where did you come from?” Lily asked.
“I’ll stop his spell. Stand close to me.”
She couldn’t see him within the bright flash of light, but his voice refilled her confidence. “En!”
Kihet was aware the Oracle’s Flames wouldn’t be able to dispel such a large quantity of magic hurling down at him in an instant. He can fortunately summon curtains, pillars, blasts and enchant equipment with its power. It also meant he could manipulate the form for different situations.
Right now, he wanted something to target the core of the burning star.
Kihet pressed his hand against the ground, drawing in the Oracle’s flames he released. He compressed the otherworldly power in his hand. As a drawback, his right arm was inflicted with the feeling of an intense burn. Once he saw the shape of a spear of concentrated Oracle’s flame emerge from his palm, he launched it at Douglas’ [Grand Star: Nova]. A thin trail of light penetrated the burning star.
Unsure whether he succeeded or not, he deployed [Quagmire Sphere], a magical field of slowness to protect him from stray debris.
Seconds later, the burning star emitted black light. Its size converged into a singularity, flickering like the last bit of embers on a burning log. It attempted to hold its large form until it inevitably imploded as the Oracle’s flames reaped its core of magic used to sustain it.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Stardust sprinkled from the skies like gentle snow. The sight was to behold, but the battle wasn’t done.
“Salith!”
Kihet lunged at the dumbfounded Douglas, calling for the Rozzalian’s name. His body was suddenly enveloped with a flash, then Salith replaced where he once was, bulldozing the entire building where Douglas took cover.
Douglas received an impact at his torso and was sent tumbling back. He got on his knees and watched the sky, unable to comprehend how the starry might was dismissed.
“What did ya do?!”
“Was that your trump card? It doesn’t seem like you can use it again.” Kihet waved his arm, striking a curtain of fire to close off Douglas’ escape. “Look, I already know why you’re attacking the city and it’s sad. Did you think you were only one who suffered like that?”
“No, but unlike others I have the power to get my revenge. Step aside. The Merchants are mine to kill.”
“He’s not listening.” At Kihet’s signal, Lily drew arrow after arrow until the skies were filled and it was raining at Douglas.
Douglas scattered the barrage of projectiles using [Howling Cannon]. Once the night skies were cleared, he looked down to find a large boulder rolling at him. He instinctively slashed it in half then found his stance and balance off before he was suddenly sandwiched between them.
“What-?! Kuh! Damn it…!”
Within the confide space, a titan lifted the boulder with him trapped in between into the air.
“If you stop struggling, I won’t squish you.” Salith warned.
“I ain’t… gonna… break!” Douglas howled.
He pushed with all his strength that was growing exponentially under the bright moon hanging above him. Once he gained enough space, Douglas pushed himself forward and flew towards Salith’s face with his weapon drawn out.
“[Tyrant Fang]!”
“[Coiling Dragon]!”
Douglas shot forth the phantom beast from his blade when suddenly the illusion was cut down by aura whip extending from Lily’s sword. He saw Lily running up Salith’s armor with squirrel like agility without gravity hindering her movements.
There was a film of magical veil enveloping her. The dark tinted outline suggested it was Kihet’s work to allow Lily to ignore gravity and move freely.
Lily reached him in a matter of seconds and brandished her named weapon at him.
Named weapons possessed heightened durability and sharpness no ordinary blacksmith could create. If it had been any weapon other than [Coiling Dragon], it would shatter upon clashing against Douglas’ [Tyrant Fang].
“Shit…!”
Douglas realized his blunder as he batted Lily away. The attack he received was lightweight, almost hitting a leaf floating down from a tree. He mistakenly threw Lily further into the air and was punished by a flurry of arrows raining down on him.
Immediately after, a large fist covered his entire view and pummeled him into the ground. A cloud of dust carried by a rush of wind dispersed from the impact, masking Douglas’ condition.
“Did we get him?” Salith asked.
“Don’t make light of me!”
“He’s after Kihet!” Lily warned.
Even though Douglas received many attacks head on, his body was uninjured. He dug himself out of the crater and saw an opportunity to beeline towards Kihet. Neither Salith nor Lily were within position to intercept Douglas at the frightening speed the Lycanthrope moved.
“Hey man! Not cool targeting my crippled friend like that.”
Suddenly, Douglas outstretched forearm was covered in cuts. A hurricane of slashes traveled up his arm and towards his neck. He was forced to twist his body away before a pair of enchanted knives slit into his throat.
His snout pointed him to the direction of a new scent opposing him. A new contender, an Enui, stood proudly against him and twirled his weapons with incredible dexterity. There were numerous faint scents to which Douglas was able to identify two were Merchants of Vike and Fatilda hiding nearby.
“You’re quite fast, but you got nothing on me.” Vol smirked.
“So da Holy One’s also here. Heard ya became da champion of the Colosseum.”
“And you must be Silver. Everyone’s been hiding such a famous dog like you from me. Can’t believe there was someone like you in Pamalyra since my decade long stay and I didn’t know until now.”
“Vol.”
“Took me a while to guide everyone out of the tunnel.” Vol shot Kihet a troubled sigh. “Don’t worry. The Scalemen you brought are keeping them safe. So, this Silver. You want him alive, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, this gives me the opportunity to show off my good side to Tomoe and Salith.” Vol said as he shot a wink towards the girls. Unfortunately, he was returned with looks of disgust.
Vol sighed as he spun his knives, taking bold strides towards the Lycanthrope. Once he moved within range, Douglas’ weapon whipped at Vol’s head. The blade cut across Vol’s neck, but Vol continued his confident walk to Douglas as if the attack phased through him.
“Too slow!”
More cuts emerged on his other arm. When had Vol struck him?
“Then how about dis?” Douglas launched a [Howling Cannon]. The wave of intense vibrations rippled through the air, tearing everything in its trajectory.
In response, a wide curtain of silver flames clashed with his raging voice veiled by destructive magic and negated it.
Vol wasn’t Douglas’ only opponent. From his left, a hail of erratic flying arrows demanded his attention. From his right, a threatening fist of a Rozzalian in her [Wars Blood] hurled towards him. Supporting the three was the Oracle who casted an unknown elemental and his flames could dispel any spells threatening the three attackers. It was obvious he would lose if this dragged out longer. Before that, he must kill at least one of the Merchants.
Under fire, he prayed to the lunar moon in his bated breath.
“Goddess of the Night, Prominence of the Stars, Mystical Lunar Night! Heed my prayer!”
He adopted a low stance as power of the moon welled in him for his final gambit. He dipped his body inches from the ground, stretching out a claw that aimed where he would breakthrough his foes. [Tyrant Fang] sat snuggly on Douglas’ back while he gathered his strength into this blitz.
“Get outta my way!”
“Not happening-!” Salith declared.
A keening sound of metal reverberated followed by a shockwave shook the core of their bodies.
Douglas broke through their assault with absurd speed in form of a comet. It was magic, but it bestowed Douglas with godspeed to which Kihet and Vol were unable to react to. A white streak of light shot past Vol and Kihet, leaving his foes in the dust. He spotted Fatilda’s ears poking out from behind the ruins.
Beside her, Vike was also present. The Scalemen surrounding their valuable personnel were blown back from air pressure created by Douglas’ arrival.
“Shit! He’s fast!” Vol shouted.
“I see you two! Vengeance is mine!”
“Douglas, that’s enough! Stop!”
The Mixrel’s voice halted Douglas in his tracks. [Tyrant Fang] hovered inches from Tama’s neck who threw herself in front of Fatilda.
Tama’s face was drained of all colors from that frightening gamble. She shortly regained her composure and confronted Douglas who showed hesitation to inflict any violence towards her.
“Just what in the world are you doing?! You destroyed half the city and nyow you’re about to kill an important client of mine!” Tama scolded. “Seriously. You and Rogus can’t stop causing problems for one second.”
“Move, Tama! Don’t get caught up in my mess.”
“I’m sorry, Douglas. It’s because I asked you for a favor, your family got caught in something big. The Merchants were only carrying out orders.”
“Are ya saying the damn merchants are not to blame? Nonsense!” Douglas shoved Tama aside and violently reached for Fatilda’s neck. He stomped on Vike’s chest and raised [Tyrant Fang]. “I tolerated dem when dey isolated my family and me from the rest of Pamalyra!”
He tolerated the criticisms after freeing Pamalyra from the King of Pirate’s grasp. After everything, all the blood grueling battles he prevailed for Pamalyra’s peaceful future. After all the friends and comrades sacrificed to bring the era of plundering and tranny to an end. After all that, the merchants dared to lay their bloody hands on his family.
Ma was murdered. Who’s to say Rogus wouldn’t be even after his current bounty was pardoned?
Pamalyra was a country of lies and deceit. If he did not show the country there weren’t consequences of the actions from those abusing power, history would certainly repeat themselves.
“If those scums aren’t responsible, then who-!”
Only one person came to mind. Douglas thought the reason the Merchants were after him and his family was because they were hiding Teach. He was reminded of Rogus’ claim that the Merchants did not act out of their own.
Douglas read Tama’s grieving expression and finally recognized the identity of the mastermind.
“Was it Teach-?”
As soon as the name left his lips, a piercing cold wind struck him from the side and slammed him flat on the floor. He felt weak but wondered what the stinging sensation was until he touched the warmth scattering from his body. He looked to his side to discover a gaping hole from his right rib through to his left waist. Blood profusely poured out like a facet.
The attack came from nowhere and was silent. After everyone on scene registered what happened, a deafening crack split the air. It sounded awfully similar to Kihet’s firelance when the loaded cartridges ignited but sharper, crisp and more powerful.
“Salith, put up a cover for us! I’ll cast a spell on it!” Kihet yelled. “Lily, launch a flare to warn everyone to take cover! Tama, get down!”
“But… Douglas!”
“Don’t move. We don’t know where the attacker is.”
From Kihet’s understanding, the [Night’s Blessing]’s defensive capabilities were less than that of Alc’Bruk’s [Crimson’s Blessing]. However, it granted Douglas an increase in magical power and speed boost greater than Alc’Bruk’s.
Not even Lily’s strongest projectiles could inflict such damage onto Douglas with his [Night’s Blessing] at full power. The ambusher was able to pierce him, which solidified the identity Teach as an Acolyte.
At the moment it was quiet. After the initial shot which mortally wounded Douglas, there was no more signs of another attack. Perhaps its aim was stilly aiming at them, patiently waiting for them to drop their guard.
“Did it stop?” Salith asked.
“I don’t know but we need to treat Douglas now.” Kihet fetched Tama’s baggage. “It’s a miracle he’s somehow alive.”
But how was it possible for Tama who claimed to have met and traveled with the Acolyte known as Teach before the apocalypse? Unlike Xu’s situation against the Tyrant Emperor who may have been mind controlled before the fall, the entity also known as an Acolyte once roamed the world freely.
But for now, the Silver Cry and its besiegers had been subjugated. It wasn’t to say the defender’s victory was flawless as Navargzan sustained heavy damages throughout its city.
Unfortunately, a bigger issue stemmed from this situation. The Acolyte’s attack could reach Navargzan or potentially anywhere in Pamalyra.
Nowhere is safe.