“Battle is more than a contest of power; it’s an equation of economics. Who can take more space with the least amount of effort. Sometimes battles are about overwhelming strength and other times it’s a matter of waiting for an opportunity to turn the tides. Bide your time, and wait for the right moment, cadets!”
~Textbook from the College of War Magicks
“You think you can look away from me?!” The transformed Lenny yelled with his ax raised high above his head.
Despite the burning, wrath-fueled power coursing through his veins, Devin shuddered. Fear wormed its way into his rage-addled mind just from looking at his opponent’s devil-like form.
Which was a blessing in disguise because Devin didn’t hesitate to shy away from the ax head, rolling underneath the thug’s swing.
The air parted with a whistle, yet it was an unceasing blade of light that caught Devin’s attention as it zipped overhead. It sliced through several cars like they were made of paper, not stopping until it flew nearly fifteen feet.
Devin gulped at the sight. Deadly, for sure. He turned back to his enemy, ready to defend himself from his opponent’s assault. Yet, the expected follow-up never came.
Lenny stood, unbothered by the nearly-closed wound in his chest and death battle he was currently engaged in. Instead, he was busy observing every inch of his body.
“God, this feels like when I first ascended after I killed that bitch who thought she could spit on me.” The transfigured arcanist shuddered with pleasure. “I thank the Boss for his gift.” He held a palm in prayer towards the explosions reverberating on the far side of the wooded landscape.
The devilish super shifted to Devin, staring at him without a hint of trepidation, as if he was nothing more than an ant. It would’ve infuriated him to no end if Lenny’s grimy, disgusting aura began to press down onto his shoulders with the weight of the world.
“What the hell did you do?” Devin said between gritted teeth. “You turned yourself into a monster.”
“You gotta be a monster to live in this age.” Lenny said as two purple magic circles shot from his body, transfixing themselves between Devin and their owner. “Don't bitch at me ‘cause you’re weak.”
One aligned itself with the blade of his axe, while the other created sparks as it sucked a massive amount of aether into its center. Two cards shot from Lenny’s chest into the circle, summoning a patchwork wolf twice as large as the prior two, and thrice as rabid.
Its elongated snout sniffed the air as its beady, bloodshot eyes shot towards Devin. It bared its teeth, growling as it creeped towards him.
Come on. Damn it, move! Devin commanded his body, but struggled to take a single step as Lenny’s foul aura continued to press onto him.
“Move!” Devin shouted.
The twitch in the devilish arcanist's shoulders was the only warning Devin got—he dropped to the ground as the ax wielder swung his weapon fast enough to leave behind an afterimage. A ray of light extended from his blade, bisecting anything that stood in its way.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Devin didn’t spare a glance at the rumbling destruction behind him, entirely focused on the relentless assault. The devilish arcanist swung his ax incessantly, weaving so many blades into the air that Devin could hardly see anything amongst the light waves, but Devin didn’t need his sight.
With his meta-awareness enhancing his sixth sense, Devin was able to perceive the light blades, and with his strength increased by Rage, it was child’s play to dodge everything that Lenny threw at him—
Warning!
Stamina and
Arcanium below 50%
—Yet, he couldn’t sense the hideous wolf that pounced on him from behind, and tackled him to the ground. Devin screamed as teeth sharper than needles sunk into his shoulder and claws sharper than knives tore into his side. The wolf chimera jerked its head back and forth, ripping further into his flesh and painfully scraping into bone.
His sight funneled between Lenny’s legs as he invoked {Gap Slip} to escape, but it was too late. The damage was already done.
His ankle was shredded to the bone.
Devin’s screams of pain morphed into roars of righteous fury. He pulled on Rage more than he ever had before, pouring rivers of arcanium, stamina, and even life into the card. His skills revved and flared through his will, propelling his power even further with more refined, concentrated power. Devin leveraged that strength, putting all his might into standing straight—
—straight into the lackey’s balls.
Devin thought he might’ve heard someone wince behind him, but the wrath coursing through his mind made it impossible to see anything or than his prey. He growled, more beast than man at this point, as he pounced on the kneeling thug.
His blows shook the ground as he pounded the man into the dirt, until his limbs snapped into odd angles, his chest caved in under his boot, and his face was painted black and blue with bruises.
Even then it wasn’t enough. Fury continued to swell in his heart, urging him to keep killing, hurting, and destroying.
“You think you can kill me?!” Devin screamed, about to go back to smashing the ugly bastard’s face in when two people threw themselves at Devin. He almost punched through their bodies, on instinct, he almost lashed out even harder, but the sight of the boys fearfully holding back his bloody fist made the fury dissipate. He felt the flow of his resources into the card extinguish while the card slid out of his main deck into his vault, joining Boar’s Charge on cooldown.
It’s going to be awhile before I can use either of those. Devin sighed, feeling a migraine come along.
The twins didn’t let go of his arms until he stopped struggling, and even then, Ben of all people wouldn’t stop despite his reassurances. “You can let go now. I’m alright. Everything’s fine now.” He droned on uncomfortably.
“I don't want to see you kill someone.” Ben said, muffled against his burnt sleeve.
Devin sat stunned, unable to say anything. He wordlessly left his motionlessly body—
—everything had hit him at once; almost dying to the elite boar, awakening, finding his sister, and even killing the lackeys of Bateman lackey; nothing was worse than the scene spread out before him right now.
His childhood home, which had survived 40 years of shit owners, and the freaking apocalypse was now engulfed in flames. A hole bigger than three men put together was blasted into the side of the house, letting the fire wreak havoc with unlimited air, and plenty of fuel. The smell of burnt trash pervaded the property, but Devin couldn’t bring himself to move.
This doesn’t feel real. Nothing did ever since shards rained from the sky.
A roar more angry and ghastly than anything he had heard echoed across the burning tree line at the edge of the property, followed by a series of explosions that rapidly closed the distance between them.
“We need to get out of here.” Ben said, fearfully looking in the direction of the booms.
“You definitely do.” Devin agreed. “Take your brother and get out of here.”
“But we’re Supers now.” Ken protested. “We can help.’
“No. This isn’t a place for kids.” Devin shook his head, then pointed at the crater that held the transformed arcanist. “These people won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“We’re not kids!”
Devin shut down his protest with an upheld palm. Surprisingly, the teenager actually listened, being quiet for once. “Just do what I say. We can’t fight if we have to worry about you guys.”
The boys looked mad to hear Devin say that, but Ben nodded in understanding. “Come on, Ken. Let’s find a place that’s safe and isn’t on fire.”
“Ah man.”
Devin cut the brothers out as he noticed the wolf amalgamation summon still lurking nearby. The summon had stopped attacking the moment Lenny went down, so he thought it had disappeared but the beast still existed, now lacking any hostility.
It approached him pitifully,
I wonder. Devin approached the ghastly beast, who growled lightly, but otherwise let Devin come near. “I don’t know what’s your relation with your master, but I’m willing to take you in.” Devin said, holding his hand out while slowly getting closer
The wolf chimera whined at his word, but allowed his palm to graze its nose. It was surprisingly wet, and full of life. “Be mine.” Devin commanded, [subjugate] rising up to conquer. What little resistance met his arcanium disappeared upon contact.
The summon transformed into light, condensing into three cards; two gray and one purple, each one glazed in an unfamiliar crimson gloss.