I was frustrated. Monsters of granite stone all around me fat with rank points but I was cock blocked by having to maintain my disguise. Oh, and my life was in peril as I had to suppress my power. Screams came all around me as the winged monsters landed on the ground or carried common people up into sky to feast on them on top of buildings letting their blood fall to the ground.
My hands twisted as I created a shield dome around the entrance to the restaurant.
“Stay in there,” I ordered Aisha as I walked into the middle of the square.
Due to the high number of champions in this city you are being tested by a monster wave. For the next hour monsters will spawn inside the city to test your champions’ heroism and give them a chance to prove themselves. Fight well champions.
I held thorn in my right hand and pulled a nemean club in left. A gargoyle pounced down beside me and I caved in its skull with my club. Rock sprayed out as the creature crumbled into a pile of gravel. I ducked down as another gargoyle flew over my head.
128 rank points gained
I shoulder checked the gargoyle sending it into a spin and crashing against the stone wall of the building next door crashing through the wall. I dropped my club as I spun and caught another gargoyle lunging for my throat. I looked it over as my hand clenched as I stomped on its tail and yanked up.
Serpent Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Veteran, Rank: 250
Its head held on for a moment before being ripped free from its body and it crumpled into a pile of gravel.
125 rank points gained
Another gargoyle, this one shaped like a wolf rushed me and bowled me over and we rolled across the city square. I slammed my head into it the skin of my forehead cracking and blood rushing down staining the snarling granite jaws of the elemental. Cracks spread out and on the fourth head, but it shattered. I stood and was surrounded on all sides by gargoyles as they dog piled onto me.
“I need options,” I snapped at my spirit collective as claws and fangs ripped at my armor.
You’re going to need to go all out, Voidra said. I couldn’t sense these things when they weren’t moving but they’re everywhere now. The system knows who you are and these things have been sent to test you; every monster in a two mile radius is converging on this point.
“Not possible,” I said. “Even if I block scrying there are too many witnesses here.”
Then make it so no one can witness anything, Karnen said.
“I’m not killing everyone here,” I told my murderous spirit.
I didn’t say get rid of the witnesses I said make it so they can’t see anything, Karnen said. If they can’t see what happens then no one can report what you’ve done.
“Fine,” I agreed.
With a roar infused with Voice of the Chasm I blasted the gargoyles swarming me. They were made of stone, so the force shattered any of them directly hit by the blast. My hands twisted as arcane words spilled from my throat.
Everything for a mile around me was plunged into pitch darkness. The screams of fear were now tinged with panic as no one could see. I couldn’t see through the darkness either but Tremor Soles let me know the location of everything around me.
I summoned Clarent into my hand and cut through. Thunder rumbled through the darkness as I unleashed Chain Lightning for the first time in several weeks. The gargoyles had some other method of locating targets because they were all still converging on me. Stone rained down around me as they swooped down to crush me into the pavement.
Activating Void Asura, I howled my rage into the sky. The gargoyles answered my call with their own hunting calls as they eagerly rushed towards me to do battle. My weapons spun about me like a cyclone as gargoyles launched at me from every direction. I recalled the battles Guinevere and I fought against the shadow beasts in the tunnels under the Ancient Forest and felt a momentary twinge of nostalgia for a similar time. Pushing that thought to the side, I kept killing, the notifications for my kills scrolling past the corner of my vision.
---
Vone stood in front of the crowd as the wall of stone rushed her like a the side of a mountain coming down. She caught the claws of a bear like gargoyle on the shaft of her glaive and slashed out taking off its head. An arrow flew past her head from Mira’s bow exploding another gargoyle to dust. Lancelot was taking the brunt of the attacks releasing an enraging aura that caused the gargoyles to ignore the commoners and focus their attacks on him.
A dark shadow popped into existence, and they looked to see a massive dome of darkness. I extended up into the sky the tops of the massive skyscrapers barely clearing the black dome.
“What is that?” Vone asked.
“I don’t know,” Mira said. “Some monster probably made it, we can’t worry about it yet we need to get these people to safety.”
A column of soldiers crashed into the gargoyles from behind. Their officer was Veteran rank but the soldiers under his command were only Mortal. One soldier was carried off screaming landing on top of fountain where it ripped open his belly with its fangs and claws.
Lancelot raised his shield, the armor and shields of the soldiers suffused with gold and silver light from the enhancement from his ability.
“Sir,” the officer said to Lancelot. “We’ve got this, we need you to head away from people all the gargoyles are headed in towards the champions in the city.”
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Lancelot nodded. “We’ll lead them towards the walls.”
---
Arthur swung Excalibur carving through six of the stone elementals in a single swing. He ran towards the wall skidding past dozens and dozens of gargoyles. He spun and hit the wall as gargoyle designed like a winged bull hit him. Rolling to his feet he defended himself from four attackers cleaving them in two but more and more were coming.
He berated himself for being out of armor. It would take him a minute to summon and equip it from his chambers back in the palace but every minute he remained in the city would cause more death. He hadn’t realized just how many champions were in the city until now. A set of hooves hit him from behind and he staggered and hit the ground again.
Golden light suffused his body as he pushed himself back up and spun around him cutting down the gargoyles that surrounded him. Heavy footwalls struck the ground as something massive landed behind him. He turned and sighed as he saw the beast.
Basilisk Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Hero: 650
He felt his limbs tighten but he resisted the petrifying ability as he took up a guard stance. The gargoyle staggered as someone landed on its back and stabbed a blade from behind. Arthur didn’t hesitate to take advantage of its destruction, his sword carving through the stone and removing its head. It collapsed to the ground and the woman on top of it landed on the ground.
Arthur took a step back when he saw her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Amarilla removed her mask and smiled. “Not happy to see me?” she asked.
“Not really if I’m honest,” Arthur said. “Now once again, what are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for the Warlord to show up,” Ammerila said.
“He’s on the border of the easten province,” Arthur said. “You should look elsewhere.”
Ammerila stepped forward running her hand along Arthur’s arm and up his chest. “Oh no sweet prince,” she purred. “You are mistaken, his army is there but I’ve already searched for him there. His lieutenants are there but the Warlord hasn’t been with them in weeks.”
Arthur froze. “Then he will be coming here, for Guinevere.”
“Yes,” Ammerila agreed. “His army is preparing not to assault your province but the heart of your kingdom. I’ve seen their weapons, their armor; you have the largest most advanced army in the world but this army though much smaller makes yours look like tin soldiers.”
“Why do you care?” Arthur asked, looking around knowing they didn’t have much time.
“Because he is a threat to us all,” Ammerila said. “He isn’t like you; he isn’t like me. My goddess has foreseen it, so has yours I suspect. If he is allowed to grow in power, he will shake this world to its core. It won’t be the hundreds of thousands dead like with the Warlords of the past it will be millions killed for his cause.”
Arthur hesitated then extended his hand taking hers. “Then we mustn’t let him.”
---
My footsteps were awkward as I mounted the steadily growing pile of rubble. I gripped a commoner hiding in the darkness with my Telekinesis and yanked them out of the way of a charging gargoyle and threw them into building where I’d been gathering survivors.
Luckily the gargoyles were almost entirely focused on killing me. With everyone of them I killed they seemed to grow only more intent on ending my existence. I had lost count of my kills after a hundred. I could sense little balls of light in the darkness as abilities fought against the spell I had cast and soldiers there fought the gargoyles disrupting them from focusing on me entirely.
I couldn’t care about these people. I wouldn’t just let them die but I wasn’t their hero in there eyes I would always be their enemy no matter my actions.
More and more enemies assaulted my position, the mountain of gargoyles under my feet growing by the second. Voidra, Ares and Karnen attacked with abandon as we moved in concert a hurricane of flesh, bone, and steel.
“Do these things have souls?” I asked Voidra.
Hmmm, yes, or at least something equivalent, she said.
“Good,” I growled as I pulverized another gargoyle climbing the mountain into gravel.
I winced as something hit my spell. “Something is removing the darkness,” I said. “I need you to disable my passives again.” I disabled Void armory and hid Clarent taking up thorn and my club again.
You’re already at your limits as it is, Ares said. These aren’t raid monsters, they’re all fully gifted monsters.
“I’ll just have to find new limits then,” I said.
Black Rage, Magma Heart and Regeneration all ended just in time as bright sunlight hit my face. The mountain I was standing on was at least thirty feet off the ground. There was the clanging of armor and I turned to see a column of solders rushing towards my position. They were all gathered around Guinevere who was clad in full armor. The soldiers trying to protect her was laughable considering most of them were only Mortal rank while she was Hero.
“Get these civilians to safety,” Guinevere ordered.
“We should be getting you to safety,” their officer said. “My lady the entire city is under attack.”
“Then this is as good a place to be as any,” Guinevere said. “My father is dispelling the monster’s darkness and destroying most of them. Besides my champion is here, he can protect me.”
The soldiers turned to face me as I swung and took off the wings of a gargoyle. It hit the side of the hill of stone, and I stomped in its head.
“My lady he isn’t one of the royal knights we can’t entrust your safety to…” the officer argued.
“That was an order not a request Sir. Marris,” Guinevere said firmly. “Get these people into shelters.”
Guinevere moved up beside me drawing her sword and lowering her voice. “Be vary careful how you fight, my father was the one who dispelled that darkness which I assume was your doing.”
“I gathered that,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
“You can’t use your abilities,” she said. “Someone needs to watch your back.”
A roar cut our conversation short as a massive shadow fell over us. We rolled to the side as the monster struck the hill of gravel sending the shards of stone flying in all directions. I spun to face it looking at the dark grey scales and spines as it beat its wings.
Dragon Gargoyle, Gifted- monstrosity/elemental (gargoyle), Hero: 700
“Not good,” I said and rushed it.
I think you and I have very different plans on how to handle something that is I quote “not good”, Karnen said.
There was no time to respond as I ducked under the tail swipe of the dragon. Pushing off the ground I launched myself at its chest. Its jaws snapped forward closing around me. My feet and arms braced as I held its jaws open. The Dragon Gargoyle was not alone and more of its lesser brethren still swarmed towards us. I couldn’t move as I held the jaws open to keep from being pancaked. My knees were at my chest as I strained to push against its strength.
I heard Guinevere shout but couldn’t hear what she said and there was no time to focus on her words. A growl grew at the back of my throat growing into a roar as I pushed up. Slowly the jaws of the dragon began to widen, I didn’t stop my roar as my back straightened. Claws of lesser gargoyles pierced my armor cutting in deep rents from where they’d already gotten in hits before. My blood was dripping out of me with every wound I took but I couldn’t activate my Regeneration or drink a potion.
With a final surge of adrenaline and strength my body straightened out and my arms went taut as I extended them out fully. There was a crack of stone as I broke the jaws of the gargoyle dragon. I’d lost hold of my weapons except for my gauntlet sword and lashed out smashing through the stone gargoyle currently savaging my back.
My vision was blurry from rage and blood loss as I started tearing into the hero rank gargoyle. My fist and sword hit it again in a mad frenzy. Finally, the battle seemed over, and I staggered backwards.
Living Stone (Rank 1): You animate up to 3 pounds of stone you shape to move and act as it were a living creature. The constructs will not take any actions unless you command them too.
Cost:
10 mana per pound of stone
Upgrade this ability to increase the abilities of your living stone and its abilities. Each rank of this ability increases your Mind Attribute by 2.
My vision darkened and I collapsed.