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Audra
Larkinge was just a few miles north, just ahead of them on the other side of the plains. It felt as though the corrupted clouds overhead were gathering right over the city in the distance. Mud from yesterday's rainfall sloshed under their feet, the tainted rain had just begun to fall once again.
“Is everyone ready?” Liz asked. Audra could feel the pit of nervousness growing in her chest.
“It’s not like we have a choice.” She felt Faust enter her mind.
“Demons up ahead, don’t be afraid to let loose.” He claimed, tapping into his reserve of magic was like filling a waterskin in the ocean. Quickly relaying the info to Cabana and Liz she flicked her wrist and grasped at the quickly forming water in her hand as the mass turned to cold steel.
They began to run, though the mud turned it into more of a trot. When this journey began she would turn tail and hide at the thought of a goblin in her wake, now she was here with the last Amethyst, a powerful summoner, and the reserved energy of a Zenith Demon packed into her.
The black shape of a Hellhound entered her vision, leaping out at her. Its venom-filled fangs primed and ready to kill her. She countered by bringing her blade into its mouth and quickly slinging its body into the distance. Gathering the rain, she prepared four different blades behind her. She tried to hear anymore that might be approaching, but all she could hear was the rain beating down upon them.
“These aren’t normal, it’s like they’re camouflaged. Everyone, stay close to each other!” Cabana ordered.
Quickly grouping up together, Audra surrounded them in a large ring of water. She put magic into her eyes, and felt pure joy as the hounds just barely faded into existence.
“Three in front of me.” She claimed, shooting off three pinpoint accurate spears of ice. She quickly did a sweep, swiveling her head around to look around them and was relieved to see there weren’t more. But she did see more demons, a few flying ones, and one that seemed to glow in her vision.
“Anymore?” Liz asked. Audra nodded.
“No hellhounds, but definitely more demons.” A strike of lightning came from the distance in Larkinge’s direction.
Quickly glancing at the distant city she found the last branches of a purple bolt of lightning fading away above the city.
“That’s not good.” Cabana claimed, “the more powerful the storm, the stronger the demons.” Another bolt of lightning, quickly followed by thunder that made her heart skip a beat.
“I thought thunder was followed by lightning…” Liz trailed off.
“I don’t think this storm gives a damn about preconceived beliefs.” Cabana mentioned, as she let her dagger fade into the Rift, “Let’s go before we-” A roar echoed from the forest to the east, powerful, loud. It sent shivers down Audra’s spine. Cabana’s eyes went wide with panic, shadows began to form around her dismembered arm.
“Doom-bringer.” Liz claimed, emotionlessly, “Barakusr…let’s hope it doesn’t go to Larkinge.” The fact that she couldn’t see it, but she could hear it, was more than enough to get the fire in her legs as they all began to continue their bolt to Larkinge.
They made it maybe half a mile before screeches came from the sky, Audra stopped to look up only for Cabana to tackle her to the ground just before something landed hard where she had been standing. Looking up at the creature that attacked them, she found a black dragonic-like being standing on its spear-like tail.
“Drosuum. Don’t let it fly up!” Cabana ordered, holding her hand out, lightning bolted from her palm, and struck its tail as it began to fly into the sky once again. The same screeching sound got both of them to roll to the side, the shockwave of another Drosuum landing next to Audra’s head made her ears ring, still she stood up and slammed the tip of her blade into the creature. Now that she was standing she could see that the bipedal being was maybe two feet in height but standing on its tail made it slightly taller than her. Water shot out of her blade into the demon before she froze it from within the demon. Quickly withdrawing her blade, swinging it sideways, and slicing its head clean off.
Hearing another signature shriek she jumped to the side only for it to land further away. Liz let out a yelp. Looking back at the girl she saw the spear going through her calf.
“You bitch!” She screamed as the darkness of Erefus escaped from her and wrapped around the creature before swirling in a frenzy, the screams of the Drossuum started and stopped in mere moments as Erefus sawed the creature down to little more than gobs of muscle and flesh.
Grabbing on the spear she yanked it out of her leg while Erefus returned to her body. She screamed through her gritted teeth.
“Are…you okay?” Cabana asked, shocked.
“I feel so fucking alive!” Liz exclaimed, a twisted smile on her face, “Now let’s go kill my brother and his boyfriend.” She demanded, the hole in her leg closing up from inky darkness.
Onwards they went, not knowing what was happening within the walls of Larkinge.
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Vasuki
Screaming out in pain as Felix shot another bolt of electricity into him.
“Was that seriously it? I expected more from the Ascender of Boreal.” He claimed, annoyedly, “Like for real, your not even fun to torture.” Felix claimed, planting his elbow on the blood soaked desk then resting his head in his hand, looking out of the manor window. Vasuki pulled at the chains that held his hands around the wooden beam, but instead of being able to break them he kept feeling his muscles tense and ease at random.
The room was kind of small, at least not what he expected for the mayor of Larkinge to work in. A fireplace at one end of the room, opposite of the desk they would have worked at. A few chairs along the walls, a bookshelf behind where they would have sat. The beam that held Vasuki in place had fallen from the roof and planted itself in the floor. A knock came from the other side of the door before it was pushed inwards, revealing Zadkiel.
“The screams have died down, not sure if there’s anyone left in the city.” He claimed.
“Just us three then? Excellent.” Felix stated, standing.
“What are we going to do with him?” Zadkiel asked. Felix grew a twisted smile.
“We toy with our guests. His life is in our hands. And with all the chaos the storm has generated? I can practically feel myself crawling with power by now.” He looked down at Vasuki again, “Hey kid, you know what we’re going to do to you?” Felix asked, squatting in front of him.
“The fuck…do you want?” Vasuki breathed out.
“I’m going to make your friends watch as I skin you alive. Fileting you like a fish while they watch in helplessness. Then I’m going to make them suffer, one by one. Drinking up every last drop of torment they shed.” His eyes were flashing each color that Vasuki could imagine.
Felix’s hand wrapped around Vasuki’s throat and he felt electricity soaring through him again.
“Are you going to keep letting him do this?” Boreal asked. He had been enduring this pain since last night when he was captured. He wheezed out a response as lightning coursed through his veins. Then he felt a click. Something about the electricity began to make sense to him. He mentally reached out and felt it wrap around him, accepting him. He redirected the lightning from his neck through his arms and into the chain holding him captive. Vasuki felt the hand back away from his neck. Letting him catch his breath. Felix chuckled at him, Vasuki’s response was to spit in his multi-colored eyes.
“Ooooh.” Zadkiel said, chuckling.
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Felix claimed, bringing his fist back. Vasuki put the lightning from the chains into the beam holding him, causing it to explode from the force. They were both taken aback for a moment. In that moment Vasuki felt the cold wrap around his soul. He brought his hands forward, snapping the chain, as he slammed both of his hands into each side of both sides of Felix’s head.
Felix backed up, slightly off-balance. Bringing the cobalt chains of magic into his grasp he summoned a pillar of cobalt ice into Felix’s chest and pushed him through the manor wall. Zadkiel withdrew the pink blade from seemingly nowhere and began to swing the blade. He could see the air around Zadkiel slightly distorting itself but not quite changing anything. On such short notice he couldn’t quite call forth his own weapon so instead he put arm in the way, now ascended both arms were covered in scales. He grabbed the blade of the sword and released energy from his hands and watched as electricity forced Zadkiel to tense up. He reached forward, palming his face before tossing him through the hole in the wall but keeping the sword in his own grasp. The scent of rot and decay was thick in the air.
“You let him get the sword!?” Felix asked from outside.
“I didn’t fucking let him!” Zadkiel explained. He felt Etherea flowing through the blade, and focused on it. Yet the ability to make them hallucinate seemed just out of reach.
“I wasn’t the one that attuned him to lightning!” Zadkiel claimed. Vasuki looked down at his hand, summoning some of the new energy that flowed in him and watched as blue sparks shot from his fingertips. He let his attention go back to his enemies.
Closing the hole he made with ice he looked out of the window to the town around him, letting his ascension fall loose as to not wear himself out. Larkinge’s main source of building material was wood, was wood because now barely anything stood. Demons surrounded the manor, all of them seemed to exist in some sick unity and not a single one of them lashed out at Felix or Zadkiel. He saw Felix glaring at him through the window before making a motion with his hand. A Varulv with something in its mouth walked up to him before slowly placing the contents gently into Felix’s palm. A head, which was quickly spun to look at Vasuki. Izenia’s lifeless eyes stared at him from his hand for a few moments. Tossing the head back to the demon next to him it snapped its jaws around her head, and he could imagine the sickening snap of bone and flesh echoing from behind its teeth.
Felix pointed his finger at him through the window as lightning shot from his fingertip. Vasuki ducked under the window, expecting for glass to be destroyed, not for the rest of the wall to blow out and throw Vasuki to the other side of the room, knocking the air out of him.
Falling to the ground as his lungs tried to catch up he watched a boot gently fall against his right hand. A few scents hit his nose, that gave him some hope of survival.
“What’s the point of stealing an artifact if you don’t even know how to use it?” Felix asked before he began to put pressure on his hands. He could feel his bones begin to strain against Felix’s boots. He let his Ascension come out in full. A blast of cobalt shot from the floor around him. As Felix jumped away the strings of ice stretched themselves from Vasuki’s palm, penetrating into Felix’s arm. Lightning danced down the strings before blue flames destroyed the ice.
“We got company!” Zadkiel yelled. The sound of a yelping demon echoed through the air.
Vasuki jumped from the mayor’s office, penetrating a hellhound’s head with the artifact in his hands. Liz, Cabana, and Audra were just finishing killing a few Drossuum, they were all breathing heavily, no doubt tired from the drudge up here. Finally, the calvary had entered the fray.