[Book II Chapter 113] LIGHT: Sekken

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In the basement of an old farmhouse, Light carefully etched out a ring of six interconnected orange circles. The wall wasn’t height, so he’d had to shrink everything to make it fit.

<> He thought. <>

He felt the shadow wolf detach himself from his arm and disappear into the darkness. It wouldn’t be a disaster if he was discovered, but he preferred avoiding explanations. He gotten enough grief about his curse.

<> Kuro appeared next him, glancing apprehensively at this work. <>

<> Light bit his thumb and finished the last few symbols in blood. His magic activated, and the stone in front of him bent backwards, collapsing into a misty passage. <>

The mystical formation he’d used was from Salazar’s Book of Curses. It allowed those with the affinity to open a portal to a specific place in the Elemental Plane of Earth. Or rather, to a specific individual.

Light exited to a grand hall. Orange runes blanked the walls like beautiful tapestries, the glow of their power lighting the space. Opposite him, a black-haired man in impeccable velvet attire sat atop stone throne. His reptilian eyes studied him with hungry interest. Dorakun, one of the oldest reigning sovereign and a supreme master of maledictions.

Light knelt. “My lord.”

The first time he’d come here was after performing his ritual at the Transcendent Altar in Messanic. Fortunately, the act of cursing himself had caught the immortal’s attention, and Light was able to pledge fealty.

Dorakun smirked. “You’ve come bearing tribute.”

Light nodded, withdrawing a pouch which flew from his hand and stopped above Dorakun’s extended palm. Hundreds of small orbs spilled out and orbited each other in one big mass.

“Good, my vassals will enjoy feasting on these.” Dorakun grinned, directing the demonic beast cores into chest. With a flick, the pouch was returned to its owner.

“It’s an honor to serve.” Light replied.

“Keep this up, and one day I might grant you your fondest desire.” Dorakun

“I’ll strive to do my best.” Light responded, getting up.

As he left, Dorakun called after him. “I told Salazar about you. That a young boy had read his book and come to me. He was pleased. He always appreciates his knowledge being put into practice.”

Light was unsure how to react. “I didn’t realize that you two were still in contact.”

“We share a passion for the same hobby.” Dorakun let out a low chuckled. “He frequently visits whenever he returns. Anyway, he wishes you the best. Me too. We look forward to watching your struggles.”

Light gave a curt bow and withdrew.

<> Kuro asked upon noting his expression.

<> He responded glumly.

Light hadn’t just been fetching snacks for Dorakun’s underlings. He’d also agreed to share his eyes, and everything he witnessed the sovereign did too. He holds no interest in Enera’s power struggles, so I judged it a costless means to win favor. Now that I know who he’s in regular contact with… At least I doubt Salazar cares what happens in this far off place.

<> Kuro reported.

Light’s heart sank. “Did she see the portal?”

<> Kuro explained. <>

<> He replied.

A large crowd was gathered outside the manor which served as their headquarters. Light spotted his teammates on the side.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“We don’t know yet.” Haron replied. “They ordered all saints to assemble saying a major assault was immanent.”

“It doesn’t look good.” Arika added, watching lord Yohan exit the building, followed by Jayden, Leucothea, and Sarah. The stiffness in their expressions betrayed the gravity of the situation.

“The next rifts will open north of here in two hours.” Yohan announced. “Three sovereigns will come through: Turok, Saeen, and Sekken, the Red Hound.”

Light frowned as whispers exploded around him. Yohan held up a hand to call for silence. “As you know, Sekken is the one who killed the immortal Andrew Godspeed when Rosaria fell. He’s unlike the threats we’ve faced so far. Thankfully, we have Leucothea with us. She and Jayden Zuto will tackle the sovereign together.”

“Saeen will be handled by team Necessity who took the snake down in Livra.” He continued. Light glanced over at Free and her group. They won’t have my help or a city to hide in this time. “Turok will be handled by Gladiator, the ninja group from Hearth. Jordan Seers will assist both parties from a distance.”

“The rest of you will tackle the demonic beasts, which won’t as simple this time.” Yohan continued. “In addition to the quantity expected from the rifts, you will also have to contend with one of Sekken sublime vagaries, ‘hounds of war’, whose passive constantly spawns demonic dogs in the land around him. Tonight will be our toughest challenge.”

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Once the others dispersed, they approached their leader for further instructions. “You are all intimately familiar with Turok, so I have no additional advice for you.” Jayden shook his head. “Sorry to thrust this battle upon you.”

“It’ll be fine.” Haron joked brazenly. “We just need to hold out until you and Leucothea deal with Sekken.”

“Sadly, that prospect is doubtful.” Jayden sighed.

Haron frowned, turning serious. “I heard he was tough, but is he really that formidable?”

“Sekken has not died once since returning to life,” Leucothea said, walking over, “and he doesn’t wear a severing collar. Including Rosaria, all the major massacres carried out by Mount Gull were spearheaded by him.

“He is a different breed from his revenants comrades. Unlike them, he took on human form upon becoming a sovereign. The story is he fell in love with weapons. Compared to claws and teeth, they offered so many new possibilities. In his new guise, he traveled Enera, participating in conflicts in every corner of the globe. The senseless violence of our wars was an opium to him, satisfying his primal need for dominance and brutality. He particularly reveled in the spoils afterwards, and the atrocities he committed against his vanquished foes were monstrous.”

“His history is long and bloody.” Jayden agreed. “The only bright spot is that he’s more cautious than the others. Several weapons auctioned off at Chancel’s Platinum Hall have ended up in his possession, and he dreads losing them. If we pressure him enough, he might retreat.”

“And if he doesn’t, what exactly is our plan for victory?” Akira asked.

Jayden shrugged. “We hold out until some form of reinforcements shows up. Varus has messaged the Adventurer’s Guild about our plight.”

According to Sarah, the rifts would open in territory already under demonic beast control. Attempting to prevent them was useless, as the fang ninjas would simply swap to another spot.

Outside their fortifications, Light spend his remaining time crafting another magic circle. From it materialized the towering figure of a scarred and grizzled mole bear, one of Dorakun’s subordinates eager for experience. Summoning him was also a means to curry favor. As long as he doesn’t get killed.

Looking around, he noticed he wasn’t the only one who’d been busy. Between the gnarled root-trees Free had conjured were army of giant crabs from the generators. Behind him, the defensive walls were lined with magical weaponry relocated from elsewhere. Everyone had prepared in their own way.

In the distance, Lightning shot out of a forest. Soon, twirling mists of shadows sprung up in the fields around them. Out of them came over-sized canines with glowing red eyes. Their numbers quickly grew as they paced back and forth impatiently.

A man in red emerged from the woods, swords and axes hanging from his belt and back. He walked confidently wearing a wild grin. This smirk only widened when enormous bubbles of water dropped from the sky, exploding like bombs when they hit. Sekken somehow raced forwards while avoiding these blasts, but was stopped by a string of gemstone stakes which impaled the ground in front of him.

Light had only moments to spectate the clash between the immortals before more demonic beasts poured out into view. Among them was a gray wendigo and a colossal snake.

Turok hollered with joy upon seeing the trio of ninjas. <>

Watching him charge, Light was relieved. If the sovereign had decided to ignore them and break through their defenses, he wasn’t sure they could stop him.

There was a thuderous impact as the wendigo clashed with Dorakun’s mole bear. Unfortunately, Turok’s strength was greater, and it took everything Light had to keep his summon alive. Even with the web of iron sand cables tying down the sovereign, it wasn’t long before the mole bear was knocked senseless. When Turok gathered ice energy in his hand to finish off his downed foe, Light jumped in to take the attack. Despite shielding himself from the blast, he felts his midsection stiffen and freeze solid, forcing him to use a substitution.

Watching his form collapse into sand, Turok raged. <>

“That’s rich coming from a revenant like you!” Light couldn’t help shouting back.

Turok turned to follow his voice, but, before he could attack, a flurry of red lances forced him back. About time, Light thought. Haron’s entire body was covered in crimson armor made of blood. Behind him the withered remains of his enemies were being combined and reanimated as hulking carrion undead by Arika. The two were a gruesome pair when they worked together.

The frantic battle resumed, with its outcome increasingly obvious. The three of them were overexerting themselves to match the sovereign. Turok knew this and was happy to play along, confident in his victory.

Light was rushing the wendigo to stab him with his Fang ninjato when his foresight went crazy. Not hesitating, he formed a sand bunker around himself. Haron, Arika, and even Turok took similar defensive measures. A second later, a enormous shockwave tore through the battlefield, sending everything in its path flying and tearing a huge hole through their fortifications.

A huge hound with a man on its back raced through the breach. “Don’t be late to the feast!” He called back mockingly before disappearing.

As one, all the demonic beasts around them howled and chased after him. Watching this, Turok smiled and laughed. <> He joined the tide surging through their broken wall.

Shacking himself from his stupor, Light grinded his teeth. “We must go after them!”

On the other side of the wall, he spotted Free with her group running ahead and approached them. “What happened?”

“No idea.” Free replied. “We were fighting Saeen then all hell broke loose.”

“Jayden was injured.” Sarah Godspeed explained, catching up with them. “Leucothea took him to safety. Instead of going after them, Sekken did that.” She pointed to the gap in the wall where beams of lights were struggling to thin the herd squeezing through.

“What now?” Light asked.

“I don’t know…” Sarah responded despondently.

He grimaced. Did we lose? While they were killing some beasts as they moved, hounds with glowing eyes continued to appear from nowhere replacing them. Besides the real threat were the revenants. Sekken could lay waste to Torris all on his own. The refugee camps are outside the capital in the open. It’ll be a massacre.

Light’s internal alarm bells went off, and he braced himself again. A second shockwave exploded at the front of the enemy column. Less focused than the previous one, it spread out in all directions, uprooting trees with its power.

“That was Garreth Black!” Sarah exclaimed, her voice cracking in relief. “Thank god.”

She turned to them. “Can you stop Turok and Saeen? I’ll send Leucothea over as soon as I can.”

“Understood.” Light said. Without the presence of the sovereigns, the stampede will be force to halt. We can salvage this.

They found Turok spectating the duel between Garreth Black and Sekken, nervously searching for a chance to step in. He seemed almost relieved to notice them. <> He shouted.

Surrounded by hordes of enemies, the battle was even more one sided than the first. Light, Haron, and Akira had to resort to multiple substitutions in quick succession. Thankfully, before they ran out, help arrived. However, it wasn’t in the form they expected.

A host of figures shimmering swept through the army of demonic beasts, slaughtering everything in their path. Even at a distance, they gave off an otherworldly aura.

Light had no idea who they were, but he welcomed the reinforcement. Distracted by the strange arrivals, Turok’s offensive was dulled, and they were able to catch their breath.

<> The wendigo suddenly muttered, freezing in place. <>

Light turned to see what the revenant was looking at and gasped. In the moonlight, the figure of Nephrite danced through demonic beasts, slicing them apart with her scimitar.

Turok launched himself this new foe, roaring. Fear shot through Light. Not again! With a panicked strength, he sent out whips of iron sand to tie down the sovereign. Webs of blood and barriers of bones similarly ensnared and slowed the wendigo.

Noting the approaching enemy, the figure of Nephrite lifted her blade and leaped at a harrowing speed. Turok was too surprised and encumbered to react, and his head was lopped off in one swift motion.

Stunned, Light stared at his former comrade. That was when he realized he could see right through her.