Chapter 126

Riley shook her head, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, all while a mournful roar ripped through the peace of the night.

Terrox had tilted back their head, emitting a call that echoed for miles, which sent Riley to the dirt, her paws slapped over her ears in a nearly useless protective action.

Even Tobias gripped his ears in pain as the killer smiled all the wider.

"No fair! No fair. If you're calling for your clan, I'm calling for my friends," the fiend demanded, stomping his feet like a child.

Riley forced her eyes open, sounds sounding distant and different after the audio assault, only to watch the man act like a petulant brat.

She shook her head, still not trusting her eyes, "Tobias... am I losing it? Do you see that?" she cried, doubtful of her current reality.

The man quit stomping in a tiny circle only to rub his hands together gleefully. Next, he bowed.

"What do you see beyond the antics of this idiot?" Tobias had drawn his sword as Terrox's eyes locked on her one target.

"Smells strange. Other creatures. Infernal beings," Terrox sniffed at the air, holding her position in defense.

"There's coalescent shadow everywhere, moving like it's a ritual. One's behind him, puppeteering him like a marionette," she said before casting analyze.

Wigstan, Faeblind Human, Infernal Servant, 2-10

Necromancy, Immune to Poison, and Status Effects, Detects magic, Unholy Speed

Terrifying ghouls, in search of blood, terrorize your neighborhood.

"And I'm bored," he let his hands hang down in front of him dejectedly.

"Oh! I know what to do. I'll take your head, capture your companion, and eviscerate this idiot for calling her friends."

Terrox, tired of waiting, charged as the shadows seemed to thicken around them as if the night was actually closing in.

Wigstan yawned dramatically before rolling out of the way, letting his hands drag behind him, breaking and tearing open fingers in the process.

Black blood streaked then seeped across the ground as his hands erupted in a pulse of black magical energy.

"Stay still!" Terrox charged again as Wigstan ragdolled up at the waist, his hands hanging as if naturally unanimated.

With an action that started at the shoulder, he forced his hands to shake; the fingers snapped back into place, sending more droplets of blood everywhere.

That's when Riley realized the head of Birch's mouth was snapping in her direction.

"Gah! Son of a bitch!" She quickly jumped back as Tobias began to run forward, only for an arm to erupt out of the ground and catch his heel, sending him flying towards Wigstan in an uncontrolled fall.

The fiend's arms found their strength and, balling his right into a fist, brought it up in a vicious uppercut, striking Tobias directly in the solar plexus.

Riley heard ribs give way as he groaned in pain while ancient Dracovani and human skeletons began to pull themselves up from the ground.

"Gotta love the old haunts. Long, long ago, people like me were worshipped. Reve...!" He was interrupted by a vicious swing from Terrox that almost took off his head.

He pulled back in the nick of time but still lost his nose. It went flying and hit a tree as Riley pulled at her power, buying time for Tobias to roll away with a muffled scream, one hand holding his sword, the other holding his aching rib.

"Would you shut the fuck up!" She cried.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The magic found its purchase in roots and fragments of seed, long dormant within the compacted soil. Animated by her life magic, brambles sprang forth, tying down the skeletons that had just made their way up from the hard-packed dirt. Their ancient bones mired in hard, dry clay from countless years of being sequestered underground.

Righteous Flame, Flame Wall

The bramble immolated in celestial fury as the skeletons flashed to dust.

"That was not nice!" Wigstan complained.

Terrox leapt through the flame, trusting in her scales, cutting with her massive claymore it moved with the agility of a rapier in her enormous claw. Holding it one-handed, the easily thirty-pound blade moved with grace and finesse, slicing through the air with an audible whump.

Wigstan moved in a circle, with cat-like speed, just out of reach of the blade. The cavity that held his nose leaking black-tainted blood down his throat, covering his face and armor and darkening the golden torc around his neck.

Tobias downed a health potion, his face a masque of pain as the ribs snapped back into place.

Ashen-faced, he used his sword like a cane, pulling himself up before pausing to take a few moments to breathe.

Terrox was keeping Wigstan harried, still in hot pursuit, allowing Riley to rush over to Tobias' side.

An ominous rustle and the snapping of branches from the jungle brought grim tidings.

"That does not sound good," Riley said, challenging Captain Obvious for the crown.

"He's way more powerful than he should be," Tobias gasped.

Wigstan drew his sword, and instead of stepping back, flanked to the right.

Terrox fell for the ruse and drove right beside him.

Wigstan thrust his sword expertly between the armor plates. Terrox cried out in pain, countering with a whip of her tail.

Wigstan went flying, his body breaking and folding like a shut book as it split a tree in two, the action heralded by the snapping of a myriad of bones.

He congealed in a broken mass, bloody and torn, eyes still sparkling with menace, cackling in either pain or delight.

"By the dead Gods, how is he still alive?" Riley boggled.

The bubbling stream of laughter roared to a cascade of cackles as a mass of shadow coalesced down to one point; a red lion materialized with glowing black eyes, shining like obsidian jewels wreathed in purple fire, all as a host of the dead emerged from the murky night surrounding them.

Terrox, with blood dripping from her armor, flew in a mighty leap, sailing over Tobias' head, and began cutting down the dead behind them in fluid, pulverizing motions, cleaving the undead like tearing paper, ignoring the blood dripping down her armor.

"Wigstan quit dawdling. Stand up," The lion ordered, pausing to lick a paw.

As if the words themselves were a healing spell on shattered legs, Wigstan moved like the cat was pulling him by invisible strings, the writhing mass animated and straightened while the zombies and skeletons shuffled forth.

"I'm really beginning to hate this case," Tobias remarked with a weary sigh as four vials appeared interspersed between his fingers.

With a downward casting action, he hurled them in the direction of the zombies surrounding them in a half-moon arch, closing in on them in a 180-degree line.

Four massive explosions soon followed, peppering them with dirt, rocks, and burning bits of still-smoldering bramble, followed by arms, limbs, and pieces of bone.

One shard zipped across Tobias' cheek, crossing his scar from his trials.

Fresh red blood leaked down as his face twisted into a grin. "Successful test!"

"Expensive test," Riley countered.

"You say this now? Fight!" He drew his sword again and began to charge for the lion, who braced his paws and roared.

Instead of striking with sound, they hit with the force of a gusting wind, knocking Tobias back and sending him cartwheeling into a bush.

"My arm!" He cried.

"Hold on!" Riley shouted, casting healing halo, followed by analyze.

Leon caipín dearg, Level 2-10, Infernal, Elite

Kinetic Mage, Unholy Speed, Bloodthirsty.

Murder as an art form. He's ready to paint his masterpiece.

Terrox's wound stitched closed as Tobias' arm snapped into place, causing him to stifle another scream before a stamina potion appeared in his left hand.

Doubt flooded his mind as he stumbled up, the pain ringing through his abused body.

"All of my training, everything I've done, and we're just barely holding our own..." He whispered quietly as the world seemed to draw in around him.

"Focus through the fear! The lion is the key to all of this!" Riley shouted.

"How perceptive. Normally celestials are damnably blind," Leon critiqued, idly examining his claws.

Tobias heard the shuffle again, and more dead erupted, drawing his focus while Riley stared down the lion and Wigstan whispered his spells, his hands glowing black, and his eyes closed, defended by his master.

An occasional childish giggle suffused his casting as he worked his infernal magics, calling the dead to his aid.

"I'll show you how blind I am!" Riley countered.

"Such bravado, you bore me, but if you want death, who am I to argue?" The cat yawned, arching back into a pouncing position.

Righteous flame/Chaos Cracker

The magic sailed true and hit exactly where the lion had been, one second too late.

A red line sparked across the battlefield, appearing behind Riley.

With a swish of his tail, wreathed in black burning magical power, he tapped Riley as he went by.

Her shield bracelet glowed as a bubble of force snapped around her before shattering, hitting with the full force of a club, knocking her to the ground, smacking her muzzle hard.

"Kumquat..." She sputtered, as the stars danced in her vision.

"Fae armor! Thief! Usurper! Celestial Filth!" Leon spat, swishing his lethal tail in annoyance.

"You want it back? Come take it, bitch." Riley replied, stumbling up on her paws.

Tobias, enraged, jumped between her and the lion, disrupting his focus.

The twisted creature drew his muzzle to the ground and growled, his tail swishing with dangerous intent.

"I'll say this once. Leave here, take your wounded reptile, and abandon the celestial. Do this, and you shall live. I'll even see you have a comfortable place in the new order," Leon offered.

"Whatever you think you're about to accomplish, I'm going to burn it to ashes," Tobias retorted.

"Oh such bravado," The cat yawned. "This is tiresome. Oh well, I suppose you both die then."