Cries of terror and agony filled the air as Odwin’s paladins ransacked a noble’s estate. Not all had fallen under the Duchess’ wiles yet. Clusters of lone schemers still remained, banded together to fend off the inquisitors, only surviving through the unjust fortune that the hounds had not set upon them in larger numbers.
His goal was plunder. Wealth, weaponry, women. Anything he could use to strengthen the loyalty of the soldier sunder him. Nobles and peasant alike fell victim as his forces ran through them like bandits. But as directed, he left the bulk of their might enough room to escape, doubtless to seek refuge with either the rebel Sunlight Company or the Duchess’ faction.
And while Odwin conserved his strength, focusing on the scourge, those wretched forces would be free to exhaust themselves upon one another. And when they were weakened and low, his army would appear to reap the spoils, and the papal throne would be his at last.
“Show no mercy to these heretics!” He bellowed, inciting his soldiers more radical and ruthless with a smile upon his face.
---
Shin sat in the quiet of night, finally having found the souls he wanted. He drew a Redcap elite and vestiged Quicken then drew a Skraeling and vestiged Greater Agile. A rare tier Drude elite emerged from the fusion and was swiftly killed and harvested, Shin vestiging the Hawkeye it now possessed.
Next he took a hobgoblin with Greater Flex and a lizardman with Greater Rebuff, the same spell deflection Yen used to make Armament, and fused them together into the soul of a Grendel. Without hesitation he chose the Regeneration is naturally obtained, and fused it with the drude to create and elite troll.
Shin summoned Kong who emerged without fuss this time and vestiged Greater Mana Eater. From the troll he chose Survival State and fused the two together. The battle was swift and lopsided, with Kong dominating his opponent without issue. A great ape emerged, leathery gray face, chest, and hands, and shaggy black fur, he stood ten feet tall now, upright with limbs as thick as trees, with piercing green eyes aimed directly at Shin. Shin sent him an offer and Kong accepted.
[Yeren Magecrusher (legendary elite) - Greater Lord]
Strength - 3500
Agility - 1890
Constitution - 2397
Vitality - 2548
Dexterity - 1555
Perception - 2101
Force - 526
Spirit - 1041
Control - 1189
Willpower - 1253
Skills:
Crush lvl. 1, Anti lvl. 1, Greater Haymaker lvl. 7, Greater Rebound lvl. 1, Greater Thunderclap lvl. 1, Greater Momentum lvl. 1, Greater Shift lvl. 1, Greater Swiftness lvl. 1, Greater Overpower lvl. 1, Greater Agile lvl. 1, Greater Barbarism lvl. 1,
Traits:
Mana Devourer (mythic), Unfettered (mythic), Rapid Regeneration (legendary), Greater Hawkeye (legendary), Greater Leather Hide (legendary), Greater Weakness Resistance (legendary), Greater Nightvision (legendary), Diamond Body (legendary), Greater Poison Resistance (legendary), Greater Disease Resistance (legendary), Greater Curse Resistance (legendary),
A physical powerhouse by stats alone, but his abilities had greatly improved to match. He had lost Blink but Shin had plans for that, and what he gained made up for it. Spellbreak had become the mythic tier Anti, affording Shin a soon to be much needed defense against magic. Maintaining Greater Barbarism was a bonus, and the combination of Rebound and Thunderclap provided much in the way of utility.
Haymaker had not become Dynamic but instead it seemed his type of yeren naturally gained the same Crush skill Karla wielded. And with the buff skills to Strength, Speed, and Agility, Kong could now be a threat on his own. A threat that would persist by virtue of Unfettered and Rapid Regeneration. Shin called Mara but Kong remained in silence, and he turned in wait.
“...you should have chosen Blink…” Deep rumbling words whispered from the towering ape. “I am too slow. Even still I will not be able to control my speed. Eyes… fast enough for me… but not for others… No reflexes… No senses in place… You have made me a witless brute.”
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“How dare you complain.” A terrifying presence came over Mara as she lorded in the air. “Ingrate.”
“I’ll fix it next time.” Shin promised.
“Let me roam, you bastard!” Vicious shouted from within. “I am sick of seeing through your eyes!”
“I’ll fix that too.” With that, the garm held his tongue with hatred still on his mind, and Kong returned to his soul after a silent pause, and Mara turned her focus entirely to Shin.
“Do with me as you wish.” She implored.
Shin pulled out a jackalope with Condense and a harpy with Strong Mind fusing them into beast type wolpertinger, an antlered winged hare now with the Vector skill. He drew the souls of a sylph with Greater Disperse and a yeth with Greater Befuddle, forming them into a short lived barghest from which Shin vestiged Blink.
And with those two, he fused them carefully into a new spirit. An emancipated bull with a ghastly face pointed directly to the ground. It died as swiftly as the others, but Shin paused a moment on its skills. It possessed great magical stats, despite it appearance, along with the Greater Pressure skill, which seemed a lesser to controlling gravity itself. But still, there was another far more useful ability and Shin vestiged Premonition without further delay.
He selected Mara’s Greater Protector and she consumed her opponent even faster than Kong. A majestic and intimidating creature emerged. The body of a bull with dark brown hide and powerful wings and the large head of a beautiful woman, a golden capped crown over long royal red hair, two horns curving up above haunting yellow eyes. Fine jewelry adorned her body with the prestige of a ruler. Like Kong she accepted a return to him and like Kong she remained out, though for a different reason.
[Lamassu Gatekeeper (legendary) - Greater Lord]
Strength - 733
Agility - 952
Constitution - 1015
Vitality - 829
Dexterity - 791
Perception - 1984
Force - 4201
Spirit - 3187
Control - 2048
Willpower - 2160
Skills:
Sanctuary lvl. 1, Mana Barrier lvl. 1, Aurora lvl. 1, Greater Vector lvl. 1, Greater Mindfray lvl. 1, Greater Bewilder lvl. 1, Greater Fly lvl. 1, Greater Channelling lvl. 1, Greater Blink lvl. 1, Greater Disruption lvl. 1,
Traits:
Guardian (mythic), Greater Psychic Mind (legendary), Premonition (legendary), Greater Nightvision (legendary), Diamond Mind (legendary), Greater Poison Resistance (legendary), Greater Disease Resistance (legendary), Greater Curse Resistance (legendary),
Greater Protector had upgraded to Guardian as he had hoped, and even better was that the two defensive skills had risen to mythic tier with it. A most reliable warder she had become, and beyond that, she had obtained much needed supplementary skills. Disruption could allow her to cancel the spells of others when inconvenient to defend against and Blink afforded a much needed defensive movement skill. Mindfray had improved and now she gained Bewilder, which would work on those with Indomitable but no immunity to charming.
Above all, Premonition gives her a way to sense danger that she otherwise had no way to detect and Psychic Mind was a pleasant bonus. But even more notable, was the emergence of a skill Shin had not seen before. Aurora, an offensive skill native to Lamassu, produced a dense beam of the energy of stars.
Shin looked to Mara and she did not need words to understand. Her mouth opened as she turned to the side, a ball of white intensity swirling within. And she fired. The beam of white ripped through everything and anything in its wake, leaving a melted path through trees and dirt.
“The fuck, is that plasma?!” Yen exclaimed.
“Yeah.”
“The fuck!”
“Nukes not enough?” Donny quipped.
“I was looking for plasma too. What tier is it?” The frustrated mage turned her focus back to Shin.
“Mythic.”
“Figures…” As Yen sulked, Mara lowered her head down in front of Shin, piercing eyes locked on his in adoration.
“You’re strong now.”
With a smile bordering on ecstasy, Mara vanished, retreating back into his soul, though her joy was still clearly felt.
“Don’t do it.” Yen called out, half sarcastically. “It’s even weirder now.”
“It is likely monster can take human form in godhood…” Kamala informed her from the focus of her skill.
“...what?”
---
Luther left the chambers of an exhausted and satisfied ranker, shifting form with immunity from prying eyes to one of his many. He crossed paths with a paladin captain waiting away and deftly handing him a spatial bag. All across the city he walked, in various forms, bribing, charming, a seducing loyalty onto himself. Influence within the capital came in many forms, and his was bought with pleasure.
Along the way, he noted the distant expressions of blissful relief. A product of his as well. The potions he had made were not poison so poison immunity had no effect. They gave a great deal of euphoria and ecstasy, which was in high demand in these troubles times, with no true negative effect aside from addiction.
That could easily be cured by one of the many healers still available, but his clients did not wish to be rid of the feeling it provided, thus his pleasure spread widely and rapidly with the church unable to do a thing about it. For every underling of his captured that portered those potions, two more would take their place. Even a number of cardinals partook. And when the time was right, he would take it all away and throw the capital into chaos.
“We have failed…” Vestra, the shadowdancer, strongest of her world, rose in the shade of an alley to report.
“A small setback.” Luther dismissed with a smile. “There are more pressing targets within the walls of the capital now. A few bricks at a time.” He mused as he continued on. “That is all it takes to make a castle fall.”
---
Hans stared at a letter in his personal study, concern may not have reached his wide eyes but it was obvious on his face. Unable to ignore his fears, he investigated deeper and wider, and the more he found the more added to his fears. And this letter was the final straw. Anonymous and for good reason, Hans could understand.
The wicked are infiltrated the ranks of the cardinals. Corruption had many forms, and vampires and heathens had blinded him to the newer possibilities. Evil was within the church and he could not wait. With a burst of motivation, Hans walked briskly towards the Pope’s study. This could wait not a moment longer, lest the church succumb entirely to heresy.
“Your Holiness…” Hans spoke as he entered, and stopped in his tracks. Besides Pope Gregor were all the cardinals whose names were listed in the letter, the look in their eyes instinctively apparent, as it was in the pope himself.
“Oh…” Hans realized. “Sol is dead.”
And the mouths of fiends set upon.