Guinevere and I portaled into a thick jungle on the opposite side of the world as the Ancient Forest or well I had no idea what they would call that wasteland now, it would be more of a grassland once plants grew back than a forest for at least a millennia or two. I was glad I hadn’t started in this forest because the swarms of insects and heat probably would have killed me before a monster did. Now no insect could get through my skin and I simply let a short charge of Abyssal Magic chain lightning the pests when they congregated on my skin, the heat was nothing my superhuman attributes couldn’t handle and Guinevere’s frost aura would have made it bearable even if I could properly feel it.
We’d been portaled here by the Magi for several reasons, one there were several dungeons in the area we were going to raid soon, two the area was absolutely infested with monsters just like the Ancient Forest had been. Third and the most important, there was a Champion of a god here who ruled over a city that the Magi wanted me to handle. This was something that served both our goals so I was more than happy to handle it.
Guinevere and I moved through the forest at what was for us a light jog but to a regular person would have looked like we were chasing down some beast or fleeing some terrible monster. We came to stop at the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley where the city rested. It reminded me of some cross between an Aztec and Egyptian city, aqueducts funneled water and a massive ziggurat rose from the center of the city, it was nothing compared to the mountain of Avalon but it was still impressive.
Guinevere glared down at the city, she was the reason we’d taken this job. The man we were after was named Cha’xecal, Champion of Jas’notu, God of Labor and Mining. Not a very omnisous or threatening sounding sort of god but the labor he encouraged did not have to voluntarily and this city was apparently the slave trading capital of the world. Others had tried to rescue the millions of slaves there in the past but any attempts to save them resulted in the guards immediately beginning to massacre the defensless ungifted people.
“How do you plan on killing Cha’xecal without getting all those people killed?” Guinevere asked.
“I’ve given it some thought,” I said with a shrug.
Then I stepped onto the edge of the cliff and grew in size, my skin covered in black smoke only the my eyes and glimpses of my armor visible through it. My voice echoed across the city as Voice of Tartarus projected it so everyone could hear me.
“I am Mordred, god of Sacrifice and Heros, some would come to save you fight your guards and rescue as many of you as they could. I have not come to do that, that is not what it means to be a hero to me. If I were to save you today, I would only have to save you again tomorrow. Instead, I give you this the power to save yourselves, any who are as slave or wish to throw off the shackles of their master and are willing to swear my oath I will give the power to save themselves.
Retake your lives, take this city, take weapons, take armor. Do unto your enemies as they have done unto you, do not show mercy for they would not show you any, only spare the children for they are not guilty of their fathers sins. Go forth my Knights of the Void, the age of the gifted, of champions, of the gods is over, this new age belongs do you.”
There was silence as the city froze, millions of people received notifications from the System for the first time in their lives. With my keen eyes I could see guards rushing slaves with weapons drawn, then the slaves shattered the chains around their hands or legs as black armor covered their bodies. The men who had seemed immortal to them before even though they were barely Mortal rank were slaughtered. I couldn’t grant abilities but the few hundred thousand guards could not hope to match the millions of suddenly empowered slaves.
Guinevere and I kicked off the cliff and appeared seconds later atop the ziggurat. Cha’xecal rushed out of the darkness of the ziggurat surrounded by ten other people the same rank as him and armed for battle.
King Cha’xecal the Diamond Skinned, Gifted- humanoid/kasatron, Hierophant: 1301
“What have you done?” the champion snarled.
“I’m become what you and your fellow champions claim to be,” I said striding forwards uncaring, no weapons had been drawn yet. “A hero, now are you going to draw those swords or whistle Dixie?”
“What’s Dixie?” someone asked confused.
I whistled using Voice of Tartarus, to amplify the sound. The champions screamed clutching their ears as blood rand down their faces from their eyes and ears. Guinevere rushed forwards but to their credit they didn’t go down that easily.
Cha’xecal blocked Guinevere’s sword strike a heavy shield appearing in his hand and a vicious looking flanged mace in his other hand. He swung it at her head the weapon whistling through the air, it created a gale of wind which lifted up Guinevere’s veil. The onrushing Champion and his party froze as they beheld Guinevere’s beauty, I didn’t need Voidra to tell me of their lustful emotions as they beheld her perfection. Scarlet lightning scorched their bodies as frost crept up the walls.
I bisected one of the warriors with Clarent.
621 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Guinevere had gained several various support powers, they didn’t so much as do damage as made everyone susceptible to damage, combined with my damage amplifying abilities we could take out gifted twice our rank in a matter of seconds.
My weapons spun around me as I waded into the midst of my enemies. Attacks landed on me from all directions but I let nothing hit that would seriously injure me. The damage to my body only served to empower me as Guinevere put her back to me and the ten remaining combatants surrounded us. I summoned a twisted horn to my hand and blew, black mist crept across the ground as the Teeth in the Dark emerged from whatever NetherRealm they dwelled in.
I’m going out, Voidra said.
My Herald of Change emerged out of my spirit and moved up into the sky. I lost access to four of my abilities but me not being able to use them wouldn’t hamper my combat style, if the Shadow or Karnen went into play it would be a different story as their abilities were core to how I fought. The land was cast into darkness as a black star appeared above us.
Light bloomed from the warriors as they pushed against the darkness, these were no weaklings I was facing but were paragons and had spent every day since the god had started their game getting stronger. It was not enough to face me.
602 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Voidra crushed one of them under a massive, compressed boulder, his blood spraying out across his companions.
Ability Gained! Hail-Storm: (Rank 1); You create clouds above you in a 100ft radius raining down golf-ball sized hail dealing Moderate bludgeoning damage to all creatures in the area for the next 30 seconds.
Cost:
100 mana
Casting Time:
30 seconds
Rank up this ability to increase the damage, area of effect, reduce the casting time and increase its duration. Each rank increases your Power attribute by 1.
Dismissing the notification I blocked Cha’xecal mace and retaliated, to my surprise he managed to not instantly die. Some sort of restorative power flashed, it had to be some sort of defensive ability that restored him when he got close to death. He paled as he looked at where Clarent had struck him a viscous burn still there despite whatever restoration he had undergone.
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“How can you do all this?” he asked.
“I don’t hide behind others,” I said with a shrug. “You have…had ten companions, they stood beside you through your battles but you never really faced death. Now in the end you as you look upon death you have no idea what to do.”
I shrugged and batted away one of his companions who tired to take advantage of what he perceived me being distracted. His blade of pure darkness slid off my skin and he fell as suddenly the ground beneath him turned to liquid trapping his legs. He began to push off and might have done something to break free but Guinevere finished him off and a specter rose from his corpse as she called upon his shade with her ability, Cursed Crown.
632 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Cha’xecal spat on the ground. “You talk like a bard, you aren’t death.”
“Perhaps not, but I do speak for them,” I answered. “So many have died here, not beasts, not even gifted that you killed to gain power, only those who you could exploit.”
I strode forwards my weapons spinning blocking, reposting and parrying attacks that came my way as the seven remaining warriors tried to protect the Champion and their King.
“Stop doing that!” Cha’xecal said wincing his face going cold as my words struck him like the blows of a hammer.
“With the same mercy you have shown others I will extend to you,” I said paying him no mind.
Lightning flashed from overhead and the silver bands of electricity arced between everyone but ignoring anyone that Voidra deemed not an enemy. Cha’xecal didn’t seem overly phased by the lightning rushing to meet me in direct physical combat. Voidra tried to trap his legs with World Forge, but she was unable to effect the ground in a five foot radius wherever Cha’xecal walked.
“Labor of the Gods,” Cha’xecal said.
His body swelled in power and size.
I laughed. “You think your power special?”
My own body grew in size to match his. I casually kicked out and stepped on another of the warrior pinning him under my boot. Guinevere slashed down cutting off his head and another specter rose up.
611 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Cha’xecal began to move faster and faster as he activated a boosting ability of some type. I matched his attacks, I roared but his feet remained firm as he managed to avoid getting blown back from the sonic attack. He managed to land a solid lethal blow against my neck as he moved faster and faster. Blood and vertebrae sprayed as he nearly look my head off. With an activation of Void Shield the damage disappeared and he looked at me in shock.
“Didn’t you hear about that trick already?” I asked. “I figured word of Arthur’s failure in his duel against me would have spread far and wide; your going to have to do a lot better than that.”
He snarled as my taunts empowered by Voice of Tartarus lanced through his soul, it also served to keep all the focus on me and off Guinevere. Her blade and specters struck another of the bodyguards from behind taking him down and raising up another specter. The specters might not have been to powerful their only advantage had been numbers and they were already down by half.
609 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Ability Gained! Acid Spray: (Rank 1); You spray a mist of corrosive acid gathered from the corrosive nature of your blood out from the pores of your hand in a 30ft cone, dealing Moderate Acid damage to all targets in the area of effect and reducing their armor’s hardness by .5 for every second they remain in your acid spray.
Cost:
25 mana per second
Casting Time:
Instantaneous Channeled
Rank up this ability to increase the range, damage and armor reduction of the spray. Each rank increases your Endurance by 1.
“My lord we need to run!” one of the remaining bodyguards shouted.
I turned my attention on him pouncing like a lion, Cha’xecal might have had an ability to save himself from instantaneous death but this man didn’t. I expended the damage charge I’d accumulated from all the damage I’d been taking and the man disappeared into a cloud of red mist.
“There will be no escape for any of you,” I said. “My judgement is final, the verdict is death.”
“You were not place above me!” Cha’xecal snarled.
The stones warped under my feet as he trapped them with some earth molding ability similar to Compress Earth. He struck at me moving around me in a circle attack me from all sides. I stood my ground and defended against the barrage of attacks unconcerned about my current inability to move.
The Teeth in the Dark continued their attacks, one of the bodyguards was in battle with Guinevere she pushed him just a bit off balance it was enough. Something out of the darkness reached out, the flash of something’s jaws was all you could see for an instant before the man was dragged into the cloud of shadows. Screams of unimaginable pain filled the air for a few seconds before a horrifically mangled corpse dropped to the ground.
614 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
“And then there were four,” I said.
I cracked the ground as moved forwards. Chunks of heavy stone came with me but with Stomp that sent cracks throughout the ziggurat I shattered the stone clinging to my sandals.
“Enough of the games, let me show you a trick.”
I teleported behind one of the remaining bodyguards grabbing his head with the arms from the Shadow, the claws created by Beast of Hades dug into his head but his helmet protected him. My head moved forward and morphed as I bit into his neck. I shook my head like a dog and his head was left hanging on by a strand of sinew which snapped as I tossed the body aside.
629 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors.
Ability Gained! Swarming Locusts: (Rank 1); You create a swarm of 1000 locusts to devastate 320 acres of land, stripping it bare of all plant life and edible non-living organic matter under hardness 5.
Cost:
300 mana
Casting Time:
1 minute
Rank up this ability to increase the size of the swarm, area effected, and what will be destroyed. Each rank increases your Mind attribute by 1.
One bodyguard and Cha’xecal remained, there will to fight was broken and they tried to flee. Guinevere took the bodyguard from behind; her sword punctured through the armor of his shoulder blades paralyzing him as she cut through his spine. With a twist and jerk of her blade she finished the job.
621 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
I cought Cha’xecal by the neck as I teleported in front of him. I slashed out with Clarent cutting off his hand holding his mace. A portal opened and I dragged him through into the Void.
“Your sins are to great for only your death to be your punishment,” I said. “You’re soul will not rest with your god, I will not bring you back as one of my angels you will be tortured here in the Void until your soul is an empty husk and you no longer remember who you were.”
I dragged my claws along his throat spilling his blood across the temple steps. The blood poured into the grooves and fed into the bases of the silver trees which eagerly took the sacrificial offering.
650 rank points gained, split between surviving contributors
Ability Gained! Spirt Avatar: (Rank 1); You can step outside the confines of your flesh to battle as a true spirit, you gain the powers of a specter or phantom but also the weaknesses making you immune to non-magical physical damage but vulnerable to Holy, Soul and Psychic damage. All damage while in this form is converted to Soul damage.
Cost:
100 mana per second
Casting Time:
Instantaneous
Rank up this ability to increase its effectiveness and reduce the risk to your spirit. Each rank increases your Spirit attribute by 2.
The ability was very similar to Phantom Form but it implied I left my physical body behind rather than transforming, it didn’t matter to much what it did since I would likely just merge it with Phantom Form at some point. Voidra returned to my spirit.
The battle in the city is finished, she said. Only the children of those who enslaved the people remain alive.
I nodded. “They don’t need refuge here, tell them to take the city as their own and appoint their own leaders.”
My heralds left my spirit to go pass on my message. I had no interest in ruling over those people as some king, nor did I even need their worship though I felt a source of connection and power coming from the millions who had pledged themselves as my knights.
Guinevere stepped through the portal, she looked down at the body of the dead champion.
“It is done,” she said with satisfaction.
“Not quite,” I said.
The spirit of Cha’xecal rose up from his corpse he looked far less impressive in death. My angels swooped down like vultures and snatched up the lost soul. They carried him down below the city, there was nothing below ground but a vast emptiness they tossed the soul into a cage and left him to dangle above the endless abyss. His god was not like the goddess of the moon, he did not come to beg for his champions soul, he had failed and so was of no worth to anyone now.
“Come,” I said to Guinevere. “We have dungeons to raid.”