Merlynn spun steeped in rage locking eyes with a green haired man grinning sickly, his purple eyes fixated on hers. “Eddy…” Merlynn growled in seething hatred. “Good to see you’re doing well too love. Ah and looks like you’ve brought friends to our little play date.” Eddy waltzed in unfazed by the entourage surrounding Merlynn.
He scanned his twisted eyes over each of them tearing into sickening laughter. “This all you’ve got love? A paladin wet behind his shield, a dinky rabbit, and a tiefling are your merry band? Please love, give me a challenge sometime, or better yet, die. Then again, I do love our little meetings.” Eddy cackled into a forced yawn.
“You son of a bitch! I’ll show you a fucking rabbit!!!” Fyri cursed, drawing two curved swords from her sides. Before she could move the entire party felt a wave of crushing pressure wash over them nearly causing them to buckle aside from Cyrus. “Ooh feel that do ya? The boss must be growing bored for him to flex like that.” Eddy remarked with a peaked grin. “I believe duty calls scout, unless your god let’s you ignore such things. On you go now boy. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Eddy dismissed Cyrus as if he didn’t matter.
Cyrus looked back once and smiled as he left the inn, his feet bound in duty. “Kick his ass.” He grinned through pressed teeth before turning and walking out the door. A nerve-wracking moment later Cyrus’s voice boomed, and the sky tore asunder in a brief flash of light. A glance passed between Merlynn and the rest as they all heard a deafening crack, followed immediately by a drop in the pressure that held them in place.
“Showtime.” Eddy howled lunging forward in a fluid motion slamming a solid fist into Fyri’s face before spinning and throwing a kick at Gloria. The punch landed solidly, however Fyri was less fazed than he expected as she sliced her twin blades in a flurry backpedaling. She connected with her left blade as it cut deep into his shoulder yet drew no blood as her blade cleaved clean through him leaving nothing more than a ripple in a pool of water.
“Physical attacks won’t hurt him! He’s amorphous!” Merlynn yelled, stepping forward slamming a willed burst of fire into his side evaporating it away in a fit of steam. Eddy recoiled howling in pain. “Fuck you Merlynn, we were having fun till you went and started running your mouth.” Eddy cursed as he reformed his missing side in a near instant. Before another word could be said an ethereal chain whipped forward coiling around him. “Stay still!” Gloria screamed as she willed her chain to instantly tighten wrapping Eddy up tight. The chain continued to dig into Eddy as he howled again in agony. “What the fuck are you!? Your no tiefling!” Eddy screamed spitting viscera.
“I’m her fucking daughter asshole!” Gloria chimed triumphantly as she willed her chain tight as she could, literally popping Eddy like a water balloon. Gloria wiped her chin grinning in pride. “That was easy!” Gloria cackled. “This isn’t over!” Merlynn called out scanning the area over and over brandishing her called staff, willing a white aura in her off hand.
“You filthy bitch! That hurt, it’s been years since I’ve felt pain! You will be the first to die! YOU ALL WILL DIE!” Eddy’s voice echoed in a deafening crescendo till finally he reformed from a spout of water reaching for Gloria’s throat. Gloria screamed throwing her hands up in defense then felt a wave of cold air bombard her. She pulled her hands away to see Eddy struggling in fetid rage as his body forcibly froze and broke every time he struggled. Deafening cracks of ice fired off as Eddy turned his head to Merlynn, who was chanting with her hazel eyes fixated on his.
Gloria ran past Eddy to Merlynn’s side as he screamed, trying in vain to grab her. “We’ve done this dance before Merlynn! Fire, ice, lighting it doesn’t matter what you throw at me! Nothing will stop me from getting what I want! Nothing will stop me from killing you and your friends! Once your mana is spent and your attack is done, I will kill your precious daughter first, then the red rabbit there next! Then finally Merlynn, too weak to fight back, I’ll kill you.” Eddy spat seething anger as he fought harder against the ice holding him.
Merlynn released her chant, willing a force of energy outward in a semi-transparent dome with rotating runic markings. The dome grew larger till it vanished moving outside the boundaries of the room. Eddy screamed as he freed one of his arms, slinging it and a massive chunk of ice at Merlynn. Without as much as a word Lorilye lunged forward with a kite shield bashing the chunk of ice aside with all her force. She heaved a cough dropping the shield with a loud clamber.
“Grant Access Fyri.” Merlynn softly spoke before turning to Fyri. “Take this and press it against the wall!” Merlynn called out, tossing the brilliant ruby doorknob she had squirreled away before leaving Earth. “Which wall?” Fyri asked, easily catching the doorknob. “Any wall big enough for a door then afterwards turn the knob!” Merlynn called out spinning again to face Eddy who managed to free his other arm. He slung dagger like shards of ice as he freed a leg and took a large step forward.
Merlynn poured more energy into her spell, reaffirming her concentration. Sheets of ice ripped from the tip of her staff catching Eddy’s free limbs. Fyri looked puzzled at the gorgeous ruby doorknob in her hand but did as Merlynn instructed and placed it on the wall. No sooner than the doorknob flushed against the wall archaic runes flickered to life forming a rectangular outline the size of an average doorframe. Her eyes trailed along the runes which she had not a clue to what they said or meant then her eyes fell again on the doorknob which was now glowing with a vibrant hue.
Fyri felt warmth as she quickly grasped the knob and turned it. An audible clunk was heard by everyone as the door opened inwards on itself without intervention. “Lori!” Merlynn shouted as she slammed more ice into Eddy, who was visibly running out of patience. “Get out of here! I’ll come back for you after it’s safe!” Merlynn shouted. Before Lori could contest, Fyri wrapped Lori up in her arms with a tug then slung her inside the runed doorway and shut the door behind her. The once vibrant glow of the knob dimmed to a kindling flame then vanished completely doorway and all, with the knob reappearing in Merlynn’s outstretched hand.
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“Enough of this bitch!” Eddy screamed, as he ripped himself in twain, blowing off half of his body leaving one half still frozen in place while the other half rapidly reformed itself to whole. He yelled again as he whipped both of his fists in a congealed watery mass shattering his frozen remains in an explosive hail of icy shrapnel. Without a word Gloria charged forward squeezing the triggers on her pistols as fast as the enchanted metal would endure shattering several of the icy glaives into harmless chunks with Merlynn batting away the rest with well timed spins of her staff.
Gloria spun firing off more rounds before hearing clicks. She dove to the side cursing to reload as Fyri gracefully leapt over from her distance with ease blocking a wild slash of water from Eddy. Gloria smiled in thanks as she clicked in two more clips. Eddy raged clapping his hands together forming a rapid moving wave of water that crashed into everyone else knocking them down, aside from Merlynn who stood fast anchoring herself with her staff. The wave was so intense the whole building buckled as streams of water fought to escape the boards and nails holding it together. “Your deaths would have been quick, now you all drown!” Eddy screamed in bloodlust as he slammed his hands together again sending out a second larger wave. Merlynn braced herself as the second wave hit her, not moving an inch aside from her lips as the water level in the room quickly rose.
The inn moaned in agony as nails flew astray haphazardly, the windows burst open dumping immeasurable gallons of water, antique furniture and dinnerware scattered in chaotic turbulence. As the water emptied quickly from the windows and newfound openings the crest of the water fell to just below Merlynn’s breasts. “Is it so much to ask for people to die properly!?” Eddy roared gliding through the water unimpeded.
“Didn’t I tell you to drown? Here let me give you a hand!” Eddy growled as he wrenched his hand forward clutching for Merlynn’s head. Before touching a single strand of hair both Fyri and Gloria erupted from the water flanking him with each of them landing their own empowered haymaker into his face. In that moment Eddy was caught off guard as a blazing right hook and a searing white left hook lifted him out of the water and slammed him into the ceiling.
He raged again as he flung himself from the rafters and into the water which rapidly withdrew into him bulking his size temporarily then normalizing again as he adjusted the odd-looking tie on his shirt. Despite all that had occurred Eddy looked no worse for wear while Merlynn felt the taxation on her body start to creep up, the breathes Fyri took were deeper and more intentional, lastly Gloria seemed in good health however panic was growing ever apparent on her face.
Gloria and Fyri regrouped beside Merlynn who hadn’t moved nor raised a single hand from her staff. “What do we do? We can’t keep this up forever!” Gloria asked, leaning into Merlynn. “Seriously! My reserves are fine but I’m starting to worry about Cyrus. That sickening pressure earlier was stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. We need to finish this now!” Fyri angry whispered drawing her twin blades lighting them ablaze.
“No what you need to do is die! Isn’t that right Mer-Lynn! We’ve done this game before, and it always ends the same, however this time will be different! This time you’re not running away! You’ve muddled in my affairs for the last time!” Eddy screamed as he shot forth needled tendrils far too many to count. “Double Bubble…” Merlynn’s voice boomed as she lifted her head till the brim of her hat rose above a ruby rouged smirk. The tendrils slammed against an invisible field of energy made only visible by the striking lashes of the tendrils.
Eddy’s voice grew louder as more tendrils bombarded the field of energy. “This is your great play!? I’ll be through this field soon enough!” Eddy roared throwing everything he had into his attacks, however the energy field held without a single crack or strain. The relentless assault suddenly stopped as Eddy slammed into the field himself beating against it with his fist.
“You think this will save you!? You forget that we have history! I know how your power works wench, once your power runs out then your nothing more than a scared woman crying about her dead mate! You…!” Eddy cut himself off as he focused in on Merlynn’s face, watching her lips moved faster than he’d seen before as the fire opal ring on her finger began glowing.
Above them the sky suddenly ripped asunder. Lightning roared and thunder boomed in sporadic fashion shaking the inn like a child with a rattle. “The fuck are you doing!?” Eddy cursed as he began to back peddle only to back up into a second barrier.
“O’ flame of life, fire of death.
Come forth, your debt I call fulfilled, your oathen vow I now beseech!
Burn away my foes to cinders, cast my enemies into ash against the wind.
Melt the soul…EXHALTED SUMMONING…SALAMANT!”
Merlynn’s voice exploded echoing off the walls as her spell completed, the opal ring shattered into hot ash. “What game are you playing at this time bit…” Eddy’s voice was drowned out as colossal talons of living flame seared through the thatch roof then raked it off into mere ash. Towering over the inn in blazing glory, the colossus of fire, the Prime Flame Elemental Salamant burned brighter than a star. It's billowing body of flame dwarfed even the vast forest that clung around the inn. Searing eyes of obsidian fell upon Eddy and for the first time in his life he felt true fear.
“Shit!!! Fyri run!!!” Gloria screamed in panic as she charged at Fyri trying to urge her onward. “She summoned a ‘big one’!” Gloria shouted as best she could over the nearing roar of the living flame. Moments before Gloria collided with her, Fyri couldn’t shake the feeling that Salamant winked at her. The moment was short lived as Gloria wrapped her arms around Fyri diving into a shadow, teleporting them to safety.
As blood trickled from Merlynn’s nose her knees began to buckle and shoulders droop. She knew she was seconds away from passing out, however her eyes would not leave Eddy, not while he still drew breath. In her last waking moments, she watched as Eddy’s form rapidly evaporated within the grasp of the Prime Elemental and heard his death cry echoing off the heaps of burning debris followed by the shattering of his soul bead.