Three volleys of spells rained down on the gathered Stalker-Hounds. Thousands of stone needles pierced the lower level monsters. Orbs of poison fired by Vel created large clouds of deadly substances. The salvo was completed by massive explosions of fire from Elyssa. Once the air cleared, half of the gathered hounds were dead and most had been wounded. Even the Elder had received a few wounds.
Vel was already near me as I sent the last salvo with my second phantasm. I rained a last barrage with Arcane Artillery before the last of the catalyst mortars crumbled into nothingness. The drain on my mana lessened significantly. I sent my two phantasms ahead to support the group while Vel and I stayed at the back line to provide healing and try to dispel the curse.
I watched through my magical sensors and phantasms as the monsters charged our position. Only the toughest among the group had survived our concerted assault. Unfortunately, this meant that it was composed mostly of Alphas. Elyssa, Hamak, and my two phantasms continued to fire as they came at us and downed half a dozen more. We were still outnumbered two-to-one but it was better odds than I had expected.
Inside of me, the Curse of Agony continued to extract its toll and the pain continued to mount. I could see on the rest of the group that they were not much better off. Even Katherine, her usual stoic face had started to break slightly from the pain. Most of my considerable mental resources were dedicated to cracking the curse. I cast Remove Curse again, modified by several runes to hopefully improve the result. Vel did the same with another combination. The curse weakened ever so slightly.
We were on the right track.
The problem was, we were short on time. I fired a volley of small stone darts primed with Arcane Mines ahead of the group. Every second and slain enemy tilted the odds in our favor ever so slightly.
Two more of the monsters died from the mines as they bulldozed over the last of our defensive lines.
'Now!' Gwynn shouted.
She jumped into the air and with a quick application of gravity magic, I sent her soaring much higher than expected. The next few spells Vel and I cast wrapped a protective shell of magic against the dwarven warrior and imbued her weapon with as many enhancements as feasible. As the final act, I reversed gravity around her and sent her soaring down towards the Elder like the angry hammer of the gods. The increased pull of gravity also slowed their movement down ever so slightly. Enough for Gwynn's hammer to hit the Elder right on the head. The impact created a wave of air and mana that sent both us and the rest of the Stalker-Hounds reeling a few feet back.
The force of the strike had slammed the large monster's head into the ground and created a small crater.
'We can do this!' Darrel said.
His knightly inspiration skills washed over us once more. I cast Divine Circle around us and Divine Armor on our two tanks. Darrel's taunt skill took the attention of most of the pack on himself. Hamak and his animal companion jumped into the fray as well. Two of my phantasms, one mage and one knight, joined to support them. The rest were ready to engage the Elder.
'Vel, heal Darrel and run crowd control.' I said. 'I almost have the curse down.'
She let go of my hand and dashed towards the battle, a conflicted expression on her face. I sent her reassurance through our telepathic link. We would win this.
Gwynn, despite her more offense focused build, had the full attention of the Elder. A massive paw swiped towards the small dwarven woman but a perfectly timed swing of her hammer deflected the paw upwards into the monster's face. Elyssa took advantage of the small opening to fire her ice lances straight towards its eyes. They didn't hit dead on, the Elder tilted its head just enough to make them into grazing shots instead.
Its eyes locked in on her and I felt the mana gather in its horn. I used Spell Synthesis to combine Mana Burn and Dispel Magic into one spell, further increased by metamagic, and the Elder reeled back in pain.
"I have my own tricks too furball," I grinned.
The monster focused on me next. I felt the build up of mana again and it had the distinct taste of a skill. I was almost certain it was the curse again. If it could stack, we were done.
"BRACE! SHATTER!" I shouted the warning.
I still had a few catalysts around just for this situation. The Elder was right in the middle of my trap. The pyramidal stones blazed with bright blue light and a shimmering dome appeared over the Elder. The buildup of mana inside the Elder warbled and the skill failed to activate thanks to the combination of Anti-Magic Field and Mana Burn.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
I released the field just an instant later to allow Elyssa's spells to land. Her razor sharp icicle shredded the outer layers of skin from the Elder's left shoulder. My own weren't far behind. The two obsidian lances, accelerated just shy of the speed of sound by gravity spells, and loaded with hexes of my own, sunk into the Elder's rear flank. The spells weren't as strong as the curse of agony but they'd hopefully slow the beast down.
Gwynn jumped in from one side while my phantasm came from the other. The hound managed to block the hammer blow and knocked my phantasm away with a kick. I took the brief opportunity of an extended paw to wrap it in cutting thread anchored to a nearby stone. They snapped from the force but wounded the leg nonetheless.
Our fight continued for a few more exchanges. Neither side managed to gain a meaningful advantage. We had good coordination and managed to counter most of its tactics. But at the same time, while the Elder was cut and bruised, it wasn't by any means dead. Further away, the group of Alphas had been whittled down to just a few and those would fall soon.
The problem was, I was running low on mana and I suspected that Elyssa was not far behind. The curse had taken its toll on us. I still hadn't found the right combination of runes but I knew I was incredibly close. The last attempt had even reduced the debuffs by more than half.
'Kat rotate,' Darrel ordered.
The rogue vanished and reappeared atop the Elder, her daggers already falling towards its flesh. The large canine tried to twist the foxkin woman off but she struck true. Gwynn was already swinging her hammer straight at the leg of the monster, left vulnerable by its attempt. Elyssa and my phantasm fired into the other side.
I cast Remove Curse once again.
The pain vanished. A weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
'I have it,' I sent the required runes to Vel.
I was still dangerously low on mana but I was regenerating now.
'I need to drop some clones,' I warned Darrel.
'Go, we can handle them,' he replied.
Two of my phantasms disappeared and my regeneration picked up further. I would be back to full in less than three minutes. If the fight lasted that long.
Of course, things can take a turn for the worse at any time during a fight. Gwynn avoided the first swipe from the Elder hound and retaliated against the bite but she was caught by the tail. The dwarf was punted several meters away into a wall. Vel immediately moved to her side.
That giant opening in our formation gave the Elder free reign to attack us. My phantasm jumped in and managed to buy us ten seconds before it was crushed like a bug. Not enough health to be a proper tank. But it was enough for Darrel to jump in. The last two Alpha were following after him.
I intercepted them. The first one found itself under my fangs. My front legs and pedipalps kept it in place long enough to deliver a dose of deadly poison. I wasn’t entirely sure of the effects, I hadn't used Poison Synthesis all that much, but from the way it slumped in my grasp, it was very potent. I had received several scratches to my underside in the process but I wasn't too worried.
The second one, I wrapped in cutting threads. Some of them snapped but not before I added more. As I had looped them around columns and other stones, I pulled with three of my arms and the stalker-hound whined in pain. Hamak delivered the killing blow with an explosive arrow to the monster's head.
There was only one enemy left.
I dropped the dying monsters in my grasp and turned towards the Elder.
Vel had managed to get Gwynn back on her feet. Darrel was in good health and had the full attention of the monster.
'Let's finish this!' Darrel proclaimed.
With our entire team against the Elder, the scales had tipped. Vel had removed the curse on herself, Gwynn, and Hamak. My construct had taken care of Katherine and Elyssa. Only Darrel was still affected though not for long, I could see Vel casting the spell again.
The Elder had slowed down as well. We were close.
Would it flee? It would be the smart thing to do.
The battle had a lull. Darrel and the Elder were circling each other. A low growl came from its throat. I felt the surge of mana and the stalker-hound's eyes blazed a deep red. I had a feeling this would be a fight to the death. We knew it, the Elder knew it.
The massive monster charged at Darrel. Gwynn jumped and we repeated our little stunt from earlier. It wouldn't be as effective but with enough avenues of attacks, it was impossible to defend against all of them. Catalysts appeared around me already charging with a myriad of destructive spells, fire, ice, lightning, lava, and more. Hamak's bow glowed an angry red color, he had summoned both of his companions. The bear was barreling down like a freight train towards the Elder. Katherine appeared atop the monster just as Gwynn delivered her blow, her daggers sank into its haunches and dealt enough damage to make it falter.
Its charge interrupted the bear slammed into the Elder's side and they tumbled to the ground. Hamak's companion rolled away from the monster with surprising agility and left the stalker-hound fully exposed. A volley of spells hit the beast with a rainbow of colorful effects and didn't let up for ten seconds straight. Half of my current mana vanished into death and destruction.
After a few seconds, dust and debris cleared away to reveal the mangled body of the Elder. It was still alive but only by a thread. The ominous glow was gone, replaced by resignation. It had lost and accepted it.
Darrel tried to approach but I raised a hand to hold him back.
"It's over," I said. "It deserves a painless end."
"After all this?" Katherine said, perplexed.
"Yes." I said. It brokered no argument.
I approached the Elder slowly. I knelt before it and gently stroked its fur.
"May Gaia watch over you," I said in elvish.
I injected a cocktail of much gentler poisons with my fangs and, after a few seconds, the Elder closed its eyes for the last time.
You have laid to rest [Elder Stalker-Hound (Level 236, Rank 6; Apprentice Shadow Mage)]