Empyrean 28: Searching For Revenge (Patreon)

Amelia, here! :) Please enjoy another chapter of Empyrean's Flight.

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“Elana…”

“What is it?” I asked Adalinda, who I noted had been unusually quiet.

“You did not have to be so harsh with your brother,” she said plainly.

“I did,” I argued. “Soren has a hero complex. He needs to let me do my work.”

“That’s unfair,” the celestial said, a little harshness in her voice. “You know he’s also hurting.”

“He will die if he comes with this time,” I said. “I could barely breathe before, not knowing where he was. I can’t worry about his safety and carry out this task.”

Adalinda said nothing more, letting me walk through the Raccoon safehouse and back out into the poor quarter. Odenna and I had taken most of the day to get back, and so I had darkness on my side to travel to Cantos’ home. According to Eoman, it stood out from the rest of the buildings in the quarter. I would not only know it from the high fence that surrounded it, but also the unusual number of guards that usually kept watch outside and inside.

I would have to be careful, and thankfully, I still had the invisibility potion from our first fight with the Devils—when this all truly started.

The journey to Cantos would take me past the city hall again, where this time, no sounds of battle could be heard. I walked across the courtyard among the bodies of the Devils and Raccoons, looking around to see any faces I may have known before. But there were none, save for Vigil’s.

I took a moment to kneel next to the man who originally introduced us to Eoman and held my hand against his chest. Looking up, I felt a cold breeze washing in across the battlefield, almost as if the ghosts of the dead had come to claim their land.

Shivering slightly at the thought, I broke away from Vigil’s body and walked away quickly, returning on the path to Cantos. As I neared what was previously only the Devil’s territory, I slinked into an alleyway where no one could see me.

“Ada,” I called to the celestial.

“What is it?” she snapped, clearly still irritated with me.

“I think you should manifest now,” I said. “We are getting close to Cantos.”

Adalinda has taken the form of a Komodo dragon. She has 80% psi remaining.

“Can we talk?” she asked as she took her physical form.

“About what?” I asked.

“I don’t think we should go into this on bad terms,” she explained. “We need to be on the same page.”

I sighed, knowing that she was right. Not that we were on bad terms, but I knew my loose grip on my emotions were making things a little more challenging for her.

“Okay,” I said.

“I just want you to have a clear mind,” Adalinda said. “I want you to understand what kind of space your brother is in, and I need you to get a better hold of your emotional state.”

“I know,” I said prudently. “I just want to get this done. Once Cantos is dead, everything can go back to normal.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said.

“And you’re right, we need to be on the same page. Let’s do this,” I reassured her, stroking her back a little.

I peeked around the corner of the alley to check for any Devils, and when I saw no one walking around, quickly moved down the street. As we walked further toward the Devil’s lair, I did this manoeuvre multiple times. Quickly down the street, slipping into empty alleyways, and checking for any enemies before moving forward.

This got more challenging as we neared Cantos’ home, as more Devils were walking around. But, to my surprise, most of them seemed to be drunk. The night was obviously one of celebration, and it gave me a lot of space to move closer to my target without having to fight any of them.

Thankfully, there was a last alleyway we could hide in when we finally reached Cantos’ house.

The spot was just across the street, and I could scope out a pathway into the building from where we stood in the darkness. The house was very well lit, with lamps lining the fence Eoman spoke of, and larger ones seemed to be inside the courtyard that led into the front door.

But I could not see a viable way past the guards.

“What’s the plan?” Adalinda asked from behind me.

“I don’t know,” I said worriedly. “I can’t see a way in that isn’t just through the front door.”

I stood watching the gate where two guards took space for a few minutes before I noticed they had also been drinking. The one on the left was swaying slightly, while the other was leaning on his halberd, trying not to fall asleep.

There were no other Devils in the street.

“I have an idea,” I said to my companion. “Just follow my lead.”

I searched the floor for a stone and, after finding one, threw it toward the swaying guard. He looked around, slightly confused at what just hit his leg, and started walking slowly down the street. Picking up another stone, I threw it again, this time hitting his head.

“What was that?” he shouted, waking his half-asleep companion.

“What are you on about?” the second guard demanded.

“Someone is throwing stones at me,” the first said.

The second guard shook his head and continued leaning on his weapon, ignoring the plight of his companion. The first guard continued walking down the street in what almost seemed like a drunken stupor, disappearing into a second alleyway further away.

I dipped my hand into my bag and reached for the invisibility potion.

You have turned invisible, completely shielding yourself from sight. Duration: 60 seconds. Note, taking any hostile action will dispel the potion’s effect.

“I am moving to the gate,” I said to the celestial, who I guessed couldn’t see me either. “Come.”

I creeped out of the alleyway Adalinda and I were standing in and quickly walked toward the sleeping guard. As I approached him, I heard a faint sound of snoring. I continued forward, slowly, toward the gate that was just to his left. I gave it a push, but it didn’t budge.

A hostile entity has failed to detect you!

I looked at the guard’s leg and noticed a key hanging from it.

As carefully as I could, I reached toward the keys and grabbed them together. Cautious not to touch the guard, I pulled the keys out of his belt. Clutching onto them, I stared at the guard, searching for any signs of awareness.

But he didn’t move.

Suddenly, I heard mumbling coming from behind us.

“Elana, he’s coming back,” Adalinda warned. “We have to be quick.”

Letting out my breath silently, I turned the keys in the gate and opened it. I held it open for the celestial to walk through, and as she did, I closed the gate and threw the keys in some nearby bushes. By the time they hit the ground, the second guard had returned to his post.

Standing up quickly, I moved to a wall that had a broken light handing above it and stood against it. I only had sixty seconds on the invisibility potion, and I had no idea how many guards would be inside, nonetheless, where to find Cantos.

“Ada, I am here at the dark wall,” I called to my companion. As long as this potion stayed active, she would need guidance from me.

I moved silently along the wall to the right of the building and peeked around the corner. No guards were in sight, but there was a staircase leading up to a balcony. If Cantos would be anywhere, it would be on the second floor.

I pushed forward quietly and walked to the steps, calling Adalinda to follow along the way. I looked up to a well-lit corridor. The stairs twisted left into a corner I couldn’t see, and I had to move quickly to make the most of my invisibility. I leapt up two steps at a time, hoping I wouldn’t bump into any guards, and reached the top without any troubles.

But then I found myself on a large balcony.

Here, there were four guards standing alongside each railing, facing different directions. Each one was holding a sword, and they seemed more aware than the two who were at the gate.

“What now?” Adalinda asked in a hard whisper.

“I don’t know,” I said. She wouldn’t be able to move through undetected as I did, and I needed her with me if we were going to make it through the building.

“Elana,” she said, panicked. “I can see you.”

Your invisibility potion has worn off.

I held my breath and looked at the guards, who hadn’t seemed to notice me yet.

There was only one thing left to do.

With the time I had, I started chanting silently, readying a spell to release an elemental. My hands glowed a slight blue and, with any luck, I wouldn’t be seen until I was ready.

Adalinda sat with me, and we waited. After some time passed, I managed to finish my spell without being noticed.

You have summoned an air elemental.

In front of me, a twist of visible wind pulled into the ground, waiting for my command. “Kill them,” I said simply, pointing to the four guards in front of us.

In a swift motion, the elemental tore through the balcony and knocked a guard sideways over the railing.

“What in the—” another guard started before being slammed down by a punch.

I pulled myself out of the stairwell and held arrows ready. “There she is!” I heard someone shout, and I started shooting at the first guard in my sight.

You have failed to injure a hostile entity.

As my arrows struggled to pierce his armor, Adalinda leapt forward and stood on her hind legs. She opened her mouth to release fire onto the same guard I had been shooting.

The other two marched to the sides of the celestial, who had melted the first guard’s armor slightly, and started swinging wildly.

I smiled a little, knowing they had been taken by surprise, and that they had chosen to ignore the elemental behind them. A gust of wind pushed them forward, and one of them was knocked to the floor.

I shot my arrows toward the guard with melted armor, now able to pierce through to his flesh.

You have critically injured a level 25 human!

Looking down at the celestial, I saw her clawing rapidly at a Devil who had not been knocked down. I turned my attention back to my target.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, I noticed a metallic color approaching me. I turned toward it and saw the guard had pushed toward me.

You have been critically injured! Your health is at 60%.

The guard with melted armor dragged his weapon across the air and slashed me in the gut. It was not too deep, but I staggered back, tripping over the guard who had been knocked to the ground by the elemental.

Who, in the meantime, had slammed down itself to the ground where Adalinda’s enemy was standing. After the attack, the elemental disappeared into thin air.

Your summoned elemental has dissipated.

Now down to the two of us, I gasped and looked back at the guard who was closing in on me. I was able to quickly roll to the side before he stabbed his sword into me, settling on my knees and shooting more arrows toward him.

You have critically injured a level 25 human!

You have injured a level 25 human!

You have killed a hostile entity.

It took three arrows, one to the head and two to his chest, to finally kill him. I rushed toward Adalinda, who was still struggling with the last Devil, and cast light’s fury into my hands.

I held them toward the guard, blinding him momentarily, and giving me space to grab his neck.

You have killed a level 24 human.

As the light pulsed through his skin, Adalinda and the elemental had done enough damage to make this is final breath. As he dropped to the floor, I looked at the guard who had been knocked out.

“Do you think he’s dead?” I asked my companion.

“Better make sure,” she said.

Shrugging my shoulders, I walked up to him and simply drew my dagger across his neck.

You have killed a level 24 human.

Wiping my brow, I smiled at the celestial. “That wasn’t too difficult,” I said. “Come, let’s go.”

But as I looked forward across the corridor, I saw a fire moving quickly toward us.

“They were here!” someone shouted.

And before we could move away, we were faced with the guards from the gate. Behind them, a dark figure emerged, clapping her hands together sarcastically.

“Well done,” she sneered. “You got rid of the rabble.”

She stopped next to the guards accompanying her. “Now it’s time to face me.”