Demoness 2 - Chapter 37 - Civil War (Pt. 2) (Patreon)

Distant musket fire and the crack of spells became a constant backdrop as the group picked their way through the empty hall. Elania frowned at several sections where spiderweb cracks had formed in the stone. The air was filled with the smell of burnt magic.

They paused at a shut door, Gaston leaning against it with an ear to determine if it was empty or not.

For the dozenth time, Elania glanced at Yolani, making sure she was still there and okay.

Well, nothing was ‘okay’, but the other girl was alive and still there.

“We need weapons,” Henri whispered. “One sword between the five of us isn’t going to get us out.”

“I can cast acid arrow,” Yolani said. “But only three times with no gear.”

Elania nodded. Lacking the artifice stuff limited their options greatly. She had brought a ton of things she had thought they would need, but...

During the fight with Elder Winx, she’d lost the bag of extras she had brought. Packing it all had been a waste of time.

“I’m mostly charged. As long as we don’t run into another Elder, I can handle a few martial monks,” Elania said.

“Good. There are some on the other side,” Gaston replied.

Everyone tensed automatically. Elania slowly nodded. “How many?”

Gaston frowned. “Not sure. More than two. Less than a dozen.”

“That’s not very helpful,” their guide muttered.

Henri tightened his grip on the piece of wood he had picked up, then glanced at Yolani. “I’ll cover the rear.”

Gaston grunted. “Elania, you’re up front. I’ll be right behind you to support.” His gaze slid to Henri. The young man nodded.

The Lieutenant’s eyes finally landed on Yolani and the guide. “You two, stay with Henri. Keep your spells in reserve unless someone is in trouble.”

“Got it,” Yolani answered. The guide nodded quietly.

Elania released a steadying breath as Gaston appraised her. She nodded, and he opened the door and she slipped inside.

A half dozen monks were facing away, but the sound of the door opening had drawn the attention of the closest one.

She wasted no time in leaping into a sprint, letting her [Power] flare into her arm and hand while spreading her fingers into four glowing claws of energy.

Who cared if she had finally lost Marcus’ dagger? There was still enough Darkwalker affinity floating around in her for her to know how to use her claws.

The monk finished his turn and shouted a warning just as she reached him. Gaston pounded into the corridor behind her, sword in hand, but still so very far away.

Her fingers dug into the hot flesh of the monk’s neck, and it took [Power] to keep her grip from slipping. She tossed him into his companion before striking at the back of the next man.

His spine slipped out of his back with a sickening squelch. The burst of speed had drained some energy and his death was fast enough that she initiated the essence transfer without even having to think about it.

The dead monk was still dissolving into a spray of golden light motes as she attacked the third monk.

His staff was already coming down at her, but she slid to the side and slashed his arm as she passed by to attack the rest of the group that still hadn’t focused on her presence.

She wasn’t worried about him striking her from behind because the scream behind her preceded his arm falling off.

The sound moved faster than her feet, and the monk in the center was practiced enough to raise up a large golden bell around him and two of his companions.

Her claws struck the bell with a clang before bouncing off, the energy she’d pulsed into her hands fizzling out. The defense was strong, but she’d already learned how to deal with it when fighting the Elder.

Thrusting her arms wide open, she released the wave of [Power] that was flooding into her from her first kill and spread it from one palm to the other.

Then slapped her hands together as hard as she could.

Her own energy crushed through the bell’s resistance like a battering ram against a thin wall of bricks, sending golden energy shattering in every direction.

A staff flew for her head, but Elania ducked under it and took out a leg, then bounced onto another man’s shoulders and grabbed his jaw and twisted. His body thudded to the ground as she pushed off of him to slam her shoulder into the lead monk.

He went down in a tumble with her, and she made sure she ended up on top, straddling him before linking her fists and thumping them into his chest. There was a crack as his sternum collapsed and blood exploded from his mouth in a spray that left her drenched.

Elania stood up to check the rest. Gaston finally arrived, shoving his sword into the still screaming monk that had lost his arm. The rest of the monks were down.

Everyone stared at her with varying forms of shock and fear, except for Gaston, whose expression never wavered from a stony determination.

[Power: 1542/1598]

It was low enough to handle absorbing another monk. Not having any mana shards to shove the excess into was a problem, but she didn’t have to leave the entire group behind either.

The first time she had set herself on fire and been coated in a flurry of excess [Power] motes had been before she’d learned to manipulate things effectively.

She had much finer control now.

There was enough blood from the dead monks to make absorbing the group of them easy enough without having to go to each body. The sudden shimmer of flesh into light took the others by surprise.

“Elania? What are you doing?” Yolani asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

Elania flicked her eyes to her friend. “I’m recharging.”

Yolani frowned. “You have a mana shard to handle the excess?”

“No.” Elania said. It was a bit more curt than she intended, but the edge of the fight hadn’t disappeared. Energy flooded through her. A small realization hit her as the [Power]gauge on her HUD ticked over her limit and the excess began to burn inside her.

“They don’t give skills,” she said.

“What?” Gaston asked.

Elania glanced at him. “Normally, I get skills from absorbing things. Monsters. People. The monks aren’t giving me any. No system message. Just energy.”

Yolani looked at her with a frown. “They should have skills just like everyone else.”

When more excess [Power]filled her than she thought she could stand easily, Elania raised a bubble around herself. The energy motes flickered and adhered to the thin layer of willpower she had put around her to block it.

The others kept a bit of distance. That was a good idea. She wasn’t sure what would happen if someone else touched the roiling energy.

“It’s going to be hard to sneak around if you stay like that,” Gaston said.

“I know,” Elania replied. “But this way we are way better armed.

Wood clanked as Henri tapped three staves the monks had left behind on the ground, passing them to the guide and Yolani. “At least we have something now.”

Elania glanced in the direction they were supposed to be going, in what they hoped would take them to the last remaining bridge. There were going to be more monks and maybe lightbringers. She was going to kill them.

The others just didn’t have the same combat capability she did at the moment.

A frown creased her lips. She should have felt something about that, but didn’t.

It was just something she needed to do, so she’d do it.

What was wrong with her?

Was her Darkwalker affinity affecting her more than she thought?

When she brought up her status to check, her eyes widened slightly.

[Soul Management]

[Darkwalker Core - 33%]

[Divine Core - 33%]

[Human Core - 34%]

[Essence Distribution]

[Darkwalker - 15.76%, Divine - 63%, Human - 16.24%, Other - 5%]

The monks weren’t giving her skills, but they were pumping her full of [Divine] essence.

She was becoming more divine. That would make Keswick happy, she supposed.

Why did she feel more like a monster?