Archmage Denayd grumbled as the wagon hit a particularly large rock making him lose place in his tome. He wished for the thousandth time he could just magically move all his belongings with him. The ‘fly’ spells he knew allowed for tremendous speed, but it only affected a small area around himself. He could extend the effect to a larger area, however it would require proportionally more mana. He had far too many books. Teleport had a limitation on how far it could reach without an empowered anchoring point. With no setup done ahead of time ‘teleport’ was limited to a line of sight effect. Even if he had an anchor point setup in another nation and somehow empowered it, the effect would still be limited. He’d have to abandon his tomes. Denayd rather see Deepmere burn than leave his precious books. So here was stuck in a wagon like some commoner. It was humiliating.
Resigning himself to his fate, Denayd had just found his spot again in his tome when the wagon jerked to a stop, making him lose it again. Denayd swore at the interruption, then to the concern shouts around. Why wouldn’t the fools be quite? He didn’t bother to look up. The small reprieve might allow for some uninterrupted study. That was when he was interrupted.
“Archmage, we need your help,” a whimpering man said.
“I’m sure a broken axle or wheel could be addressed by another mage. I’m busy.”
“No Archmage there are corpses on the road. Er, there’s a pile of them.”
“Then move them aside,” Denayd said turning the page. How hard could that be? If only there were competent mages around...
“Uh, it seems like a trap. We might have to fight.”
Why? Why must the world interrupt me? All I want to do is read. Why must that be so difficult? Denayd thought bitterly as he gently set his tome down with a sigh. From the way he handled the tome, one might have thought it was a fragile babe fresh from the womb. He’d been criticized for that more than once. What nonsense. His books were far more important than some simpering spawn.
Denayd was about to stand up when more shouting came from the front, followed by screams.
Alright, this might require my attention after all, Denayd mussed.
“ADAMANTIUM BODY.”
“SUPREME HASTE.”
“SUPREME LIGHTNING REFLEXES.”
It been awhile since he seen combat. One might guess from his behavior that Denayd was utterly incompetent in a fight. While it was true that he cared nothing for those around him, other than their ability to expand his knowledge, his spell casting prowess was never in question. He was an old Archmage. With that age came plenty of power.
Denayd emerged from the wagon to a scene of chaos. The pile of corpses was… moving. What? Many of the mangled bodies stood up dashing at the nearest mages. Their eyes were lifeless, but their hunger was rampant.
Undead? Was there a necromancer here? Denayd had experimented with necromancy before. While it was a distasteful art, it was effective. The only real problem was securing enough crystalized death mana to animate the corpses. From the dozen zombies he saw this must be the work of an old necromancer. No one else would have the capacity to get that much solid death mana.
Strangely only one or two mages were looking at the undead. The rest were focused on… was that a kin? A half badger kin if he wasn’t mistaken. The kin drew just as much attention as the dead mage she held with a single hand. Then she moved.
Denayd eyes went wide in shock. Even with all his enhancements active, the kin moved faster than he thought was possible. To the others she must have appeared to have teleported. She was suddenly before the nearest mage her fist ramming into his chest and out the other side. The man was instantly dead. The kin’s eyes tracked another target.
“TITAN’S FIST!” Denayd chanted. Fingers of stone erupted around the kin engulfing her completely before she could move. With a simply mental flex he squeezed. No doubt the kin was little more than paste.
The cheer that broke out turned to screams as the stony fist shattered. Chunks of stone the size of mugs flew in all directions. Many of the bystanders were hit collapsing in screaming heaps as the zombies fell on them. The rest took shelter behind a carriage.
“BARRIER!” A mage chanted as the rest crowded in for protection. None of them were talented casters. A strong fart could break that pitiful spell. Denayd didn’t care about them instead he focused on the kin. She was completely unharmed.
“TELEPORT!” Denayd called. He vanished only to appear high above the conflict.
“LEVITATE.” Denayd chanted halting his descent. The kin’s head swiveled left and right looking for him.
That power… Denayd reached out for the mana. It came to him filling his pool, however a large portion was drawn to the kin where it vanished. There could be no doubt about it. She was like the Magebane, but weaker. Denayd paused thinking as the kin killed another mage who attempted to run. He could just leave, but that would mean abandoning his books. So that wasn’t an option. That meant he’d have to fight. Perhaps he could take her prisoner and get the secrets to this new power out of her. Excitement bloomed in his chest. This was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to waste. Denayd began gathering mana for one of his greatest spells. It was powerful enough to harm a full grown dragon. He was confident that it would render the cultivator disabled.
His draw on the ambient mana must have alert the kin for she finally looked up at him, her eyes wide. It didn’t matter. There was no escape. Denayd now had sufficient mana for the spell. He just need a few more seconds to construct the spell forms. Unexpectedly the kin dashed to the huddled mages easily breaking their barrier. They screamed as she took refuge in their center somehow holding them in place.
“If you attack me you hit…”
“ULTIMATE CHAIN BALL LIGHTNING!” Denayd shouted as six large balls of condensed blue-white lightning formed above his head rapidly rotating. Jagged arcs of light bounced between each sphere powerful enough to disintegrate steel. Denayd didn’t hesitate as he hurled the spell at the kin… and her hostages.
“Oh…” The kin said in soft surprise gasp, a moment before the spell landed.
The kin screamed as the attack engulfed her. The mages didn’t scream. Their bodies had been instantly reduced to charred skeletons along with the undead. Lightening arced all around the impact zone as fires erupted and a cloud of steam obstructed his vision. A glance to his wagon in the back confirmed his precious books were undamaged. He let out a relieved breath. He almost lost something important there. Denayd was about to return to the ground when he stopped. A gust of wind had cleared the steam blocking his view. The kin… the kin was still standing. She was panting heavily as wisps of steam rose off her skin. Parts of her body had been charred which bled freely as she trembled in place, but stand she did.
“Impossible,” Denayd said. He was sure that would have incapacitated the cultivator. The kin stiffen as Denayd watched transfixed. Something thing was happening. There was a pull on something he couldn’t understand, by a force he couldn’t feel. The kin began healing. In seconds she was whole. No, not just that. She stood taller. Her exhaustion from before was gone and she seemed… stronger.
“What is this?” Denayd whispered. It was like she had found a source of power and was now stronger because of it. He’d heard that the Magebane had often used the blood of others to great effect. He assumed this kin would be the same. That’s why he made sure to remove that chance. His spell had vaporized all the blood from the hostages and the undead. What was he missing? It was almost like this cultivator drew her strength from a different source. One he inadvertently gave her. This was getting dangerous. His mana was less than half. That spell had taken much out of him. Well at least she wasn’t a threat to him up here. He could pull on more mana and just keep… The kin threw something at him.
“Aarrh!” Denayd screamed as a projectile struck his chest. The force of the impact was so great that he was thrown through the air like he was leaf in the wind. He only just managed to maintain his levitate spell so he didn’t plummet to the ground. A glance down showed fragments of … of stone embedded in his robes. Gently he touched the impact spot wincing in pain. The kin had thrown a stone so hard it bruised him through his adamantium body spell. For the first time a jolt of fear startled Denayd. He glanced at the kin who was racing at him her arm cocked back, another stone in her grasp.
“TELEPORT!”
Denayd instantly vanished as a stone missile broke the air as it sailed through his previous position. The kin looked around giving him precious seconds to get his terror under control. With trembling fingers he reached inside his robe grabbing a forbidden object. This was one of his greatest secrets.
Denayd pulled out a large pendant. It resembled a flesh covered plate that was warm to the touch. He had made it from the bones and skin of ritually sacrificed newborns. This artifact was his contract with a demonic entity. If any nation found out they would burn him on the spot. And it wasn’t just any fiend or lesser spawn, but a true demon. A creature powerful enough to destroy any mage. It was almost as powerful as an Eldritch Lord. Denayd didn’t care about such minor details. It had been worth the risk. The knowledge from the demon had propelled him to Archmage.
“Come Filazu! Protect me!”
A ring of fire formed it the air as a hulking shaped emerged. The demon was typical for its kind. It stood ten feet tall, its skin was a bright crimson that pulsed in the daylight. Two curved ram like horns rested on its head while bat like wings that span nearly twenty feet flapped slowly keeping it aloft. A long flexible tail jutted out above its buttocks and its legs ended in large hooves… and it was completely naked. Denayd was sure it did that to just to annoy him.
“Capture that kin!” Denayd commanded. The demon scrunched up its pig like nose in a sneer.
“You can’t even deal with a single kin?” The demon said its voice deep and resonating.
“Just do it,” Denayd said as he rose higher in the air.
“MANA VORTEX!” Denayd chanted. The spell would quickly draw in the ambient mana to refill his pool while he channeled it. The problem was that the spell took constant focus. Nearly all his mental power was used to keep the spell going along with maintaining his current spells.
The demon just chuckled before landing by the kin who took several steps back. Denayd watched with interest. Surely the demon could deal with the cultivator. There was no way she could… The kin punched the demon who went flying backwards crashing in a heap. Denayd swallowed and gathered mana quicker…
Filazu landed near the terrified kin. Of course she was terrified. He was an existence that was greater than she could comprehend. His body was composed of negatively charged mana given physical form. How could a lesser being compete with that? Although it was strange. The kin seemed startled rather than afraid. He also couldn’t feel any mana from her. None at all. Did that worthless Archmage summon him to capture a null? It didn’t matter. His orders were to capture the kin so that’s what he would do. Not that obeying such a mage mattered to the demon. Yet, it was in their bargain. Denayd, despite being the worthless human he was, had offered him many slaves over the decades. His private estate in the outer plane had all his favorite toys waiting for his affections. Beyond those he used for pleasure, the majority were tormented regularly. It was necessary to negatively charge mana, the very life force that all demons needed. The negatively charged mana could be used to increase his own power, which was directly proportional to his size, or as currency in the demonic kingdoms. Perhaps he could ask for this kin when he was done. She was a lovely specimen.
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Filazu grinned down at the much smaller kin. He flexed his body as he leered at her showing how superior he was to a mere mortal. He made sure to swing his member around in a loop to let the kin know her future fate. He gave the kin a leering grin as his hips swayed. Such a tactic usually produced a few responses. Some went pale and ran at the sight. Others dropped to their knees begging for mercy. A rare few seemed eager. This one did none of those. Instead her eyes went hard, deadly. What a joke. Like a mere…
The blow completely caught the demon by surprise. Pain radiated from his abdomen spreading to his entire body as he was hurled backwards like some unwanted bug. He crashed through a wagon tumbling for several more feet before coming to a stop. Filazu coughed up black blood as he stood up.
“HOW DARE YOU! I SHALL TORMENT YOU FOR…” He never got to finish as he kin dashed up to him raining down a fury of blows. His body was bashed from punches that were a blur before the kin slammed him into the ground. Filazu roared, releasing a wave of power. Everything around him was blown back… except the kin who had the audacity to sniff at him before kicking him in this demon-hood. The world went white as he was thrown backward again, his member mangled beyond recognition.
“ENOUGH!” Filazu roared drawing on his negative mana. He shrunk about a foot, but his injuries were restored. Fresh power filled his limbs. How dare such a creature strike him!
“CLOAK OF THE PIT!” Filazu chanted using some of his own body to engulf himself in black fire. He charged at the kin who finally learn her place as she leaped backwards. Filazu chased the kin who kept her distance. He lunged, did sudden turns, yet nothing could catch the kin. Worse of all was that she wasn’t afraid. The bitch was just looking thoughtfully at him, as if he was some puzzle to unravel. Then her face change to a confident sneer as she launched herself far away. Filazu wasn’t going to give her any reprieve. He followed, but he was too slow. The kin pulled her right fist back as a dark sheen completely encompassed it. It felt both familiar to Filazu and alien at the same time. That terrified him, an emotion the demon hadn’t felt in centuries. The closest he could determine was that it was the taint of death. Yet, if it was death mana he should have felt… something. What was this power? What had that fool of an Archmage dragged him into?
For now it would be best to avoid the attack. He would wait until… the kin punched. A wave of death engulfed the demon before he could move. Death mana would have irritated his skin. It would have caused some minor discomfort then passed by. Demons with their negatively charged mana were inherently resistant against all mana types. That was why mages such as Denayd contracted with them despite the costs. This was not that. Before Filazu could understand what was happening his body was dead. He fell lifeless as his mind screamed in rage.
HOW?! How could this happen!? His body was negative mana made flesh! How could he just… die? Filazu thought in pure rage. Naturally as a demon he was a true immortal. His body would soon disperse back into negative mana as he was returned home. However, to recover from such an attack could take years! His rivals would surely capitalize on his weakness. He would be lucky if he didn’t end up as a slave to a greater demon. This day couldn’t get any worse. That was when the kin knelt before him. She laid a single hand on his dead body. She smiled. Then, the true pain began.
Filazu screamed. He screamed as his very being was consumed. He was being pulled into the kin where a grindstone the size of a star imploded him down into non-existence.
Denayd save me!!! Filazu begged through their contract. It would have shamed him forever to beg a mortal for help. He didn’t care. This power would erase him forever!
PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING! JUST… SAVE…meeeeeeeeeeee …
Filazu last plea was crushed, along with his existence, into a small puddle of ki for the cultivator.
Denayd trembled as the cry for help came. His concentration on the mana vortex spell utterly gone. He didn’t notice as the spell dispersed. The demon was dead. The IMMORTAL demon was completely annihilated. He had felt it through their contract. That wasn’t supposed to happen!
“Hey floating man!” The kin called up to him. “Got any more of those? If you give me another I’ll let you live.”
Denayd just blinked at the kin… Did she become even stronger from that?! Or was this some kind of bluff? No… NO… NO!!! He wouldn’t die here!
“LIQUID EARTH!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
Denayd chanted two spells in rapid succession. The ground under the kin became like water. The kin chuckled as she leaped out. Or tried too. Denayd hadn’t spent the fight just watching. He’d formulated a backup plan. From his observations of Azura and now this new cultivator he had learn some important details. The cultivators could root themselves in place along with spreading force along a large area. That was how they could achieve proper leverage to perform such incredible feats. If he could take that away then…
The kin’s leap was only partial effective. A large patch of the liquid ground seemed to sink in, confirming Denayd’s suspicions. She was trying to leap off the larger surface area. Yet his spells were making that difficult. Over and over she leaped trying to get free but was making no progress. Denayd was sweating maintaining the spells. In this contest of attrition he was losing.
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
With each cast of the spell, the pull on the cultivator increased. Through his sweat soaked brow he could see real fear on the kin’s face as she struggled to stay above the ground. Her hand cocked back and Denayd knew she was about to unleash that wave of power that killed the demon. Quickly Denayd released all his other spells besides levitate.
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
The massive pull on the kin suddenly pulled her under the ground before she could unleash her attack. Denayd panted trembling as his mana got low. The kin’s head burst out of the ground her hands flaying around. Denayd lowered himself to the ground and fumbled for a mana potion. He quick drank it and continued his spells.
“GRAVITY WELL!”
“GRAVITY WELL!”
The kin once more disappeared under the ground. He only had to last a bit longer… The world began to tilt as his mana began bottoming out again. He needed help. As if his called was answered a mage, who must have ran off when the attack began, was running toward him.
“Quickly go to my wagon and get me some mana beast jerky!” Denayd called out before directing his gaze back to the cultivator. He had to make sure his focus was absolute until the cultivator was dead. He only needed…
Sudden pain caused him to stumble, but it was the mana shackles that truly caused him to fall. The abrupt canceling of his spells caused a feedback that sent him reeling his vision growing dark. He turned as he fell and saw the mage above him. His black eyes staring down at him in pure rage.
“HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY MASTER!?”
Those were the last words that Denayd heard before the darkness claimed him.
Gwen gasped as she broke free of her suddenly solid tomb. She could survive for a long time without air thanks to her ki empowered body, but she still needed it. If that had gone on much longer she could’ve died. Her. Gwen, a powerful death cultivator, had nearly died. The chill she felt had nothing to do the wet earth sticking to her.
She glanced around looking for the floating man only to see him unconscious with her pet above him looking concerned.
“Thank the gods above you’re alright master,” her pet said extending a hand to her.
Had her pet just saved her? The former mage? Gwen hesitantly took the offered hand. She wasn’t sure what to think. Not only had her pet save her, but the floating man had killed his own kind without hesitation. No kin would ever do that. These humans were vile, yet one had saved her. She was so confused.
What she was certain of was that this mage was too dangerous to let live. She raised her fist ready to finish him when her pet spoke.
“Master you’re amazing! Able to fight against an Archmage like that!”
Gwen paused. Archmage?
She lowered her fist as she looked at her pet. “How do you know he’s an Archmage?”
Her pet smiled. “With those spells he used, he could be nothing else. Who else could stand against you?”
That was true. It changed things. Gwen smiled as an idea occurred to her. She did want another pet after all. One that had knowledgeable about magic would be a considerable help.
“Would you like a friend? …”
Denayd head hurt. Such an occurrence wasn’t uncommon after expending a large amount of mana. It left him confused. He opened his eyes then closed it as the sun nearly blinded him. He groaned and tried to turn over. A viscous kicked stopped him.
“Wake up fool!” A voice snarled.
Despite his headache and confusion, a black rage filled Denayd. His eyes snapped opened. Who dares call him that?! He sat up drawing on his mana… or at least tried too. There was nothing. His vast mana pool felt like a damn was holding back his vast reserivors. He looked down and paled at the shackles on his wrists. Denayd swallowed slowly as he looked around at the carnage. The wagons were burning. The landscape was devastated. Bodies were everywhere. However, it was the kin that drew his attention. The half badger-kin he’d been fighting loomed over him. Maybe she would be receptive to begging.
“Are you an Archmage?” The kin asked.
“Yes…” Denayd said. He thought about lying but he was unsure if that would help. Perhaps she needed his help with something. Anything to save his life. The grin he got from the kin wasn’t reassuring.
“I, I can give you gold. Lots of gold if you let me go,” Denayd lied. He did have a small pouch of gold. It wasn’t enough for a ransom, perhaps he could trick her.
“I have a better idea,” the kin said as a dark speck appeared on her finger.
Denayd swallowed. “I, I, I know the Magebane. She even called me Grandpa before. You shouldn’t hurt me…” He trailed off as the kin leaned forward.
“Is that so… Okay. I guess I’ll let you go.”
The relief Denayd felt make his entire body relax. That was when the kin drover her finger with the dark speck on it into his stomach.
Denayd screamed. Immense Pain shuddered through his body. It had been a long time since the Archmage had to deal with such a base physical response. His focus quickly diverted from his flesh to his mana pool. A wrongness was approaching. That dark speck the cultivator had was marching toward his mana pool. Denayd had no idea what would happen when it arrived and he had no intention of finding out. He marshaled his will against the foreign intruder. This was his body. His mana. Here, he was supreme… or should have been. He could offer no more resistance than a child against a raging bull. The dark speck entered his mana pool drawing on his mana, changing it… to death mana. Denayd eyes went wide. Death mana… He was being tainted by pure death mana. If this continued…
Denayd looked at the kin ready to grovel, but the sadistic grin he saw chilled him just as fast as the taint within him.
“No…” Denayd wheezed as his vast mana pool was fully converted.
“Yes,” the kin whispered, then inverted his mana pool.
Denayd screamed. His screams of horror and pain only stopped when the death mana reached his brain. He only had time for one last thought.
I never got to finish my last book… Then Denayd the Archmage of Deepmere died… a minute later, he sat up.
Gwen looked down at the Archmage whose eyes were now pitch black. She felt a connection to the Archmage much like she had to her other pet. Gwen waited to see what this new undead would do. Her first pet, she had forgotten his name, had instantly fixated on her. Would this one do the same? This one however looked to his hands and then around the battlefield as if studying everything around him.
“Interesting. I’m dead, but not. I have retained my cognitive functions, yet I’m dead. There are no records of undead who retained their mental functions. How is this possible?” The Archmage said mostly to himself.
“Don’t worry about that for now,” Gwen interrupted. “Who are you? Do you know who I am?” The undead Archmage turned toward her in consideration for a long moment before answering.
“I’m Archmage Denayd and you are… you are… you are my master… How can that be? I’m an Archmage. Why do I have a master?” The undead seemed genuinely confused. Gwen felt the same. She had expected the undead to be like her pet. It appeared that her influence varied depending on who she reanimated.
“You have a master because I’m the reason you exist. I placed a piece of my ki instead you to bring you back. If you serve me well then you can…” She was about to say live, but it was a bit too late for that. “You can continue on.”
Denayd paused looking at her for a long moment. “I understand, master.”
“Good. I want you to answer my questions.” Denayd nodded at her.
“Why did you kill your fellow mages?” It had been bugging Gwen. There was no way a kin would ever kill another kin intentionally. Did the Archmage mess up? Did he think they would survive?
“Oh that. It was the most expedient way to get what I wanted. I thought you were like the Magebane and would grow stronger if you had blood. That spell was supposed to render you helpless while removing a source of power. I’m glad that I was wrong and that you’re alright master.”
Gwen felt sick and considering all she done, that took a lot. She felt nothing for non-kin. They all deserved what she did to them and more, but for their own people to turn on them… She shook her head. Kin would never do that. She looked to her first pet, the one who saved her. She recalled what she had him do to his own daughter. They were mages! And noble ones at that! They doubtlessly whipped kin or done any number of other horrendous things. They deserved all that and more… The thought of her pet saving her once again intruded on her mind. Suddenly she felt sick. The monster within recoiled sinking deep inside leaving her to shiver in the emptiness left in its wake. She, she needed to go home. Back home where everything made sense.
Gwen looked at her two pets. What should she do with them? She originally wanted them to keep hunting for her, but now… She wasn’t sure. Everything had become muddled. Without the monster inside urging her on she wasn’t sure what to do…
“Um,” Gwen started then licked her lips trying to think. It suddenly was very hard. “Uh, I’m going home.”
“Excellent master!” Her first pet said. “If you want to ride in a wagon I’ll pull it for you.” There was no way she could let the kin see her pets. She’d have to keep them out of Azure’s Rest.
“No! I want you to… umm…” What should she do?
“If I might make a suggestion?” Denayd asked. Gwen fixated on him. “I would like to study my new condition, in depth. I also have my tomes which I would like to secure in a safe position. Knowledge should never be wasted.”
Gwen frowned. This revenant wasn’t like the other. Was it because he was more powerful? She wasn’t sure she liked this. For now it was useful. If the undead Archmage could figure things out for her then all the better.
“Sure. Go ahead and do that. You help him,” Gwen said pointing to her first pet. “I’ll be back. Not sure when.”
“Very well master, I…” Her first pet began. Gwen ignored him already running off. She needed to get away from them. Away from all of this. Gwen headed home, to where things would make sense.