Chapter 100 – Floor 9: Part 21
Yule was out of breath when she finally reached Mathew and the others. The army had pulled back slightly from where the Demon Lords made their excursion, and no matter how hard she ran, she couldn’t keep up with them.
By the time she saw Mathew once more, he and the Upper Ranked Demon Lords were facing off against an equal number of Lords and Ladies of the Lightmore Lineage. The army formed a half circle around them, cautiously waiting for the outcome where they knew they would have no hope of interfering.
Clearly, the Demon Lords were out of the league of the regular troops. Yule had witnessed the army falling whenever they encountered them, with Mathew leading the charge with his strange Blessing that caused terror and panic throughout the ranks.
Mathew himself stood with the others, their unimpeded rampage through the army finally halted by the cluster of Lords and Ladies. One, showing a bruised face and bloody lip, glared at Mathew with hatred.
Yule whispered a quick prayer to the god of Accumulated Knowledge that she was here to witness this and pulled out her notebook to take notes. The other Chroniclers, all older than her, were still making their way toward them.
“I am Miriam, Paragon of the Lightmore Lineage.” A tall, heavily armoured woman introduced herself from the front of the pack of Lords and Ladies. She had a sword held in one hand. The blade was as long as her body and curved slightly upwards.
Rather than having the silvery metallic surface of steel, the sword was pure white, and Yule could hear it thrum with the power of mana.
The woman was older, in her fifties or sixties, although appearances could be deceiving with those of the Lineage. Yule knew who this woman was; Miriam was mentioned in the chronicles. She was the founder of the Lightmore Lineage and had faced the original Demon Lords centuries before.
Yule felt an icy feeling creep through her body at the thought of Mathew facing such a person. The stories about Miriam spoke of a cruel person who would excise anything she thought was evil with brutal force.
She had destroyed cities in the original conflict for the crime of merely coming into brief contact with a Demon Lord. Her justification had been that the light of good must always cleanse the dark, but Yule had seen paintings and read descriptions of the slaughter.
Nothing could justify it to her.
“They always are so polite. Let’s get this over with and move on to Mercy and the others.” Mathew muttered, holding out his hand to pull something from his inventory. He was stopped by the sightless prophet, Kristen.
“That is not the way to handle this. You have done your part; it is time for someone else to step forward.” Kristen turned toward the Illusionist, Joseph, who seemed momentarily taken aback by being called upon.
“Are you sure? Shouldn’t we just attack all at once? We have the numbers.” Marvin offered, and Alivia nodded her head in agreement.
‘Ding!’
Before anyone else could speak, the sound rang out, and Mathew let out a sigh as he checked the message.
Bonus Objective:
Defeat the Lightmore Lineage in single combat.
Reward: 500 Reputation.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Great. Looks like single combat it is. Good luck.” Mathew said the last part to Joseph, who was shaking his head after reading the notification from the gods.
“Fine. Watch how it's done.” Joseph said, straightening his jacket with a flourish. He twirled his cane dramatically as he stepped for and gave an extravagant bow to those assembled.
“I am Joseph, Illusionist extraordinaire of Las Vegas, Nevada.” Joseph introduced himself after straightening from his bow.
“You are well mannered for a Demon. Your death will be remarked upon in the chronicles of my life.” Miriam said, sweeping her sword forward and taking a stance with both hands on the hilt. Joseph shrugged in response and pulled the blade from his cane.
“I must admit, I’m not much of a fighter. I’ve always been more of an entertainer myself. But I picked up a few tricks during my time in the Tower. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not drag things out. I only put on my best performances when I’m getting paid; I’m sure you understand.” Joseph said.
Rather than respond, Miriam dashed forward. Her strength propelled her across the ground, and a cloud of dust exploded from the earth where her feet had been. The blade of her sword was steady as it pointed directly at Joseph’s heart.
“Fatal Moon, Leaping Needle.” Miriam commanded, and her blade glowed with a bright, inner white light. Mathew recognized the attack as the same that Alfred had used. It made sense; they were from the same lineage after all. It was undoubtedly some technique shared between them.
Joseph was unfazed by the oncoming attack. As quickly as Miriam was moving, Joseph was faster. He moved his cane in a large circle, starting from the ground at his feet and clockwise around himself. At the end, he stated the command word for his Blessing.
“Invisibility.”
Joseph disappeared from sight, and the Blessing took Miriam off-guard. Her sword, which had been aiming for the illusionist's heart, stabbed into nothing, and she came to a stop where Joseph had been standing. Immediately, she struck out in a wide arc, hoping to strike him before the Demon Lord moved too far.
Her sword made a piercing scream as it cut through the air but failed to strike its target. Just as she was about to try again, Joseph reappeared in midair with the blade from his cane already striking downward toward her.
Miriam leapt backwards to avoid the thin sword, and Joseph landed back on the ground where she had been only moments before.
“Shoot. I thought that would work.” Joseph muttered, straightening from his crouch and returning the blade to his cane with a ‘click.’ He didn’t see too upset by his failure; instead, he raised his cane and twirled it once more.
“Demon, your tricks won’t work on me.” Miriam replied, redying her sword for another attack.
“Sure they will! I’m just warming up. You know what they say if at first you don’t succeed.” Joseph smiled as he removed his top hat and gave it a shake.
“For my next trick! Observe, an ordinary hat.” The Illusionist held his top hat horizontally to give Miriam and the others on her side of the battlefield a better view. Rather than play along, the Lady of Lightmore was already moving.
In a moment, she was standing in front of Joseph, her blade streaking toward his neck. Yule let out a gasp at the unexpected movement.
‘So fast!’ Yule thought. She had never seen such quickness from a person before. She fully expected to see the Demon Lord’s head removed from his body when the blade passed through his body as if it weren’t there at all.
‘An Illusion!” Yule gasped out loud and blushed red in embarrassment when she noticed the other Demon Lords look at her. Joseph laughed as Miriam cautiously retreated from the illusory figure.
“Ahh! You fell for it. I guess my tricks do work on you.” The illusion faded, and the Illusionist reappeared on the other side of the battlefield. It had been an illusion that had attacked Miriam; Joseph’s real body had been invisible the whole time.
The real Joseph held his hat in a similar manner as his illusion had. With a grin, he tapped on the back with his cane.
“And now, for my next trick. Abra Cadabra.”
From the opening in the top hat, a clawed hand emerged. Gripping the velvet sides of the hat, it dug its talons into the fabric as it hauled itself forward.
A figure of fire and shadow emerged, its body made of stone and obsidian. Beastlike and larger than a horse, Yule was stunned that such a creature could be contained within a hat, no matter what magic the Illusionist employed.
“I must admit, this trick is a bit of a cheat. I couldn’t pull this off in the past. Well, I could, but it was only birds and bunny rabbits. And I don’t think a bunny wouldn’t have been enough. But, thankfully, I learned a bit of Conjuration magic to pull it off.” Joseph said while watching in satisfaction as a monster emerged from his hat.
When the beast stood before him, growling and spewing flames from its mouth, Joseph placed the hat back on his head.
“So, go do your thing, Fire Elemental.” He paused and then slapped his palm over his forehead as if he had forgotten something important.
“That’s right! I almost forgot!” Joseph drew in a deep breath and shouted.
“Ta-da!”