Chapter 153 - The Ritual (Patreon)

Zeke reached down, offering his hand to Talia, who took it. As he helped her to her feet, he looked into her eyes, and he saw more humanity there than he’d seen in the past. Even with her body reforming right before his very eyes, and with blood dripping down her chin as she chewed a human heart, she seemed less monstrous than ever before. Alien, perhaps, but not a monster.

Aside from Talia’s clash with the demon lieutenant, whose pieces and parts still littered the obsidian ground and hung on the jagged edges of the stalagmites, the battle within the cavern had gone surprisingly well so far. Mostly, they had encountered the possessed miners either by themselves or with small groups of two or three, so they hadn’t posed as much of a threat as the mob that had attacked them before. The unattached lesser demons were a little more troublesome, but Tucker’s potions had enhanced the group’s wisdom to the point where the creatures’ mental attacks did little more than cause a splitting headache. The trouble with the human-faced, bat-like creatures was that, when their attacks failed, they could simply detach and fly away. Abby did her best to take them down, but their flight was erratic, unpredictable, and jerky, which made aiming almost impossible. Even so, she managed to down one in three – a testament to her archery ability if ever there was one.

Stupid bat-men, Pudge thought angrily. He’d been incredibly annoyed by the flitting creatures, and though they didn’t hurt him very much – his wisdom, if beasts and monsters even had quantifiable stats, was much higher than average, likely because of his bond with Zeke – but they were irritating enough that the dire bear kept his eyes on the ceiling in hopes of eviscerating them before they had the chance to latch on to his face. He had yet to be successful, which only furthered his annoyance.

“They’re lesser demons, Pudge,” Zeke said with a slight smile. “Not bat-men.”

“That’s what he reminds me of!” Tucker said, raising his finger and glancing at Carlos. “I bet he perches on tall buildings and usually wears a cape.”

“I don’t wear a cape anymore,” Carlos muttered.

“So you did, huh? Did you try a pointy eared mask, too?” Tucker asked.

Carlos turned away, but even in the darkness of the obsidian cave, Zeke could see the slight blush on the man’s cheeks. He also heard a barely whispered mutter coming from Carlos’s lips, saying, “It was a cowl.”

If they hadn’t been literally surrounded by demons and the poor people they’d possessed, Zeke would have laughed out loud. Certainly, he’d made the connections between his own superhuman abilities and the comic book heroes of Earth, but he had never really been into that whole world, save for watching a few of the movies. However, it seemed that Carlos had taken those heroes as role models, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing even if it was a bit silly to Zeke.

“Moving along,” Zeke said, bringing everyone’s attention back to what was important. “I’ll stay in the front. Talia, be ready to jump in and do your thing. Tucker and Abby, stay behind me. Pudge, take up the rear and watch out for anyone attacking that direction. There are more of the big demons around.”

“You didn’t inspect it, did you?” Abby said. Zeke shook his head, and she sighed. “You really need to break that bad habit.” She knelt down and picked up one of the larger pieces of the demon, saying, “This guy was a demon lieutenant named Gregor. The ones in the lava are demon grunts. They’re smaller and probably weaker, but they have proper names. The lesser demons don’t.”

“What does that mean?” Zeke asked.

Abby answered, “I have no idea. This guy was probably as strong as an elite, though. At least.  But he didn’t have any designation by his name. I think they’re people. Or they used to be.”

“Do we know if there are more of the lieutenants? Or worse?” was Zeke’s next question. Even as he asked the question, his mace whistled through the air, catching a lesser demon before it could finish its diving attack. The creature crumpled, flying off into the distance. “We should probably move soon. They’re probably staying back right now because we just killed the big one, but that won’t last.”

“Probably right,” Tucker interjected, looking around. “To put it succinctly, lieutenant implies that there’s probably a captain somewhere around here. Maybe a king or something. I don’t know. I know a little about demons, but this is all new ground for me. My point is that we should expect heavier resistance the closer we get to the portal.”

“This is new for all of us,” Abby said. “What was that grenade, by the way? I’ve never seen that one.”

“Oh, you like that, huh?” Tucker asked. “I’ve been working on more localized effects. You know, so y’all don’t die in a fiery inferno once I get serious. That’s one I whipped up a few days ago. I haven’t thought of a name for it yet, but it kind of implodes, shrinking down to nothing and penetrating whatever it hits. Then, an instant later, it explodes. Shame I don’t have any more, because it really worked well on that one.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Carlos said, glancing back at the others. “If we stay in one place, we’re going to be overrun. Remember why we’re here.”

It was a sobering reminder that they weren’t there to kill demons. Certainly, that was part of it, but their main purpose was to destroy the portal before it became permanent. To do that, they needed to go deeper into the obsidian cave and interrupt the ritual the demons were using.

“Okay, let’s go,” Zeke said. “Carlos…stick with Abby and Tucker.”

“With all due respect, I think I’d be better served as a –”

“Fine,” Zeke interrupted, massaging his forehead in annoyance. “You want to go running off and die? Do what you want. You’re not my responsibility, so I don’t care. Just don’t expect us to come running after you if you get into trouble.”

For a moment, Carlos looked as if he was going to argue, but then thought better of it. Instead, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared, presumably using his shadow teleportation skill. Zeke had no idea what its limitations were, but he knew it was an impressive ability. In truth, Carlos had proven himself to be a valuable asset whose power was at least on par with the rest of the group. But he wasn’t a part of it – not yet, at least.

“You know you’ll save him if he needs saving,” Abby said, her voice quiet.

Zeke ignored her. He was well aware of his own hero complex, but he didn’t want to discuss it. Nor did he think it was a bad thing. With the kind of power he had, not using it to save innocent people was borderline evil. Not everyone thought the same, though. Plenty of people would call him insane or moronic for making the decisions he did, but it didn’t matter. He was who he was, and he didn’t think he needed to change.

Without further discussion, the group set off through the forest of obsidian stalagmites, and Zeke couldn’t help but notice the tiny veins of blood mithril ore embedded in the black rock. The pattern almost felt organic, like it had grown there. He very much wanted to investigate it, but there was too much at stake to stop and smell the proverbial roses. So, he pushed the curious ore to the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand.

As they wove through the stalagmites, Zeke caught a few glimpses of Carlos in the shadows, but, if nothing else, the man was extremely stealthy, and for the most part, he managed to evade Zeke’s attention. The same couldn’t be said for the scattered miners, whose presence was ubiquitous. The group could barely travel more than a hundred feet without encountering a group, which they handled with ruthless efficiency. The miners were extraordinarily durable to the point that Zeke wondered if it wasn’t some innate skill granted by the possession rather than the result of endurance, but so long as there weren’t dozens of the poor people, they didn’t pose much of a threat – especially when confronted by the entire group’s combined skill.

“We’re getting closer,” Zeke muttered. “I can feel it.”

“You can feel the portal?” asked Abby from a few feet behind.

“The runes,” he clarified, stepping around a particularly large obsidian spike. Indeed, the runes associated with the ritual were powerful enough that, because of his artisan’s path, he was capable of feeling them from quite some distance. The closer they drew, the more blindingly obvious the runes became. It was just a feeling – almost like a sixth sense – but it was more than that as well. He felt a connection to it. Just as he was about to explain as much, they rounded the huge stalagmite, where they were confronted by a trio of possessed miners and one of the demon grunts.

The possessed looked much like the hundreds of others Zeke and his friends had encountered so far, but the grunt was quite a bit different from the lieutenant or the winged lesser demons. In some ways, it was similar, though. Like the lieutenant, it was bipedal and humanoid, with red skin and horns. However, unlike the bigger demon, it was only about seven feet tall, and its horns were barely more than a handspan long. It was naked as well and possessed the same golden eyes, albeit without some of the luster of the more powerful creature. Finally, it had a pair of atrophied wings that, unless Zeke was wrong, would be incapable of holding it aloft. In short, it looked something like the evolutionary missing link between the lesser demons and their much larger and more powerful brethren.

Before Zeke could react, Abby cast [Earthen Bonds], and a multitude of obsidian hands erupted from the ground, grasping at the surprised group. A couple of the possessed tripped as the reaching hands threw them off balance, but most of them were too powerful to be thrown off for more than a second. That was all Zeke and his companions needed. A glittering ball flashed by Zeke’s ear, hitting the demon in the chest. It broke upon its red skin, erupting into waves of clear water that doused the group. An instant later, one of Abby’s arrows hit the demon in the abdomen, and a bolt of lightning followed. Thunder echoed through the cavern as the lightning descended upon the demon, then arced to each of the possessed. It wasn’t enough to kill any of them, but their muscles seized, further impeding their reactions.

Zeke hefted his shield and sprinted forward. Even as he ran, another arrow flew past him, and yet another bolt of lightning crashed into to the demon. Talia darted in from the shadows, a pale blur amidst the obsidian backdrop, her poisoned claws flashing as she inflicted tiny, almost inconsequential wounds onto each of the possessed and infecting them with her slowing skill as well as the disease that would slowly spread from the small injuries. When she reached the demon, she paused long enough to eviscerate its hamstrings, further hampering the powerful monster. Just as she darted away back into the shadows, Zeke reached the group. With a mighty swing, he activated [Life Scythe], sending a blade of red energy to cut through the enemies. As it did, Zeke could see the effects as flesh shriveled and shrank, the life sucked away so quickly that it looked as if the possessed miners underwent a rapid mummification. Even so, they still managed to rip free of Abby’s [Earthen Bonds] and charge forward. Zeke met the first with a shield bash that flung it backwards, followed by an arcing overhead blow that destroyed the next one’s entire torso. As it was pounded into a puddle of brittle bones, dried flesh, and already congealed blood, Carlos acted, and a series of black spears erupted from the shadows, impaling and killing the other possessed miners.

Zeke stepped forward, swinging his mace at the demon who, despite being hit by a bevy of attacks, was largely unaffected, save for its limited mobility. Zeke used that to his advantage, dipping low and targeting the creature’s legs. He hadn’t missed the dark patches that had expanded from the site of Talia’s attacks, and he fully intended to take advantage of the resulting weakness.

With a sweeping, knee-high strike, Zeke’s mace crashed into the monster’s legs, and he was rewarded with the sound of bones breaking. But he wasn’t finished, and his attack flowed into a vicious uppercut that sent the huge demon a few inches into the air. It felt like hitting a brick wall, the vibrations stinging his hand into numbness. He ignored it, and with the demon still in the air, he rushed forward with a shield bash that sent it flying into an obsidian stalagmite. The brittle, black rock shattered under the force, pieces slashing into the demon’s tough skin as it sprawled on the ground, its wings broken and its useless legs twitching.

The demon snarled, more angry than agonized as it tried to lever itself back into a fighting position. Zeke was so surprised by the thing’s pain resistance that he hesitated for a brief instant, which the demon used to its advantage. Its golden eyes flashed with black fire, which began to spread. Recognizing it as the skill that the lieutenant had used to heal itself, Zeke leapt forward. He knew he’d be too late, though. Zeke’s shield bash had been far more effective than he’d expected, and the demon was almost twenty yards away. If Talia’s fight against the lieutenant was any indication of the skill’s effectiveness, they’d have to fight the thing over again – only this time, they wouldn’t have the element of surprise working in their favor.

Suddenly, a boulder-sized ball of fur erupted from the shadows, and a pair of vice-like jaws clamped down on the demon’s head. It resisted for a moment, and the demon screamed, using its own claws to rake against Pudge’s fur. The dire bear ignored the weak attacks, letting out a low growl as he increased the pressure of his jaws. A second later, the demon’s skull gave way with a gruesome, wet cracking sound, and Pudge’s jaws closed. The demon fell limp, whatever skill it had begun incapable of dealing with an entirely crushed skull.

“Good boy,” Zeke breathed, and Pudge returned a wordless sensation of pride. Zeke turned back to see that the others had already finished off the group of miners with ruthless efficiency.

Tucker approached, saying, “I’m glad those things don’t travel in packs. We’d be in trouble if they did.”

Zeke groaned. “Why did you have to say that?” he breathed. “You’ve jinxed it.”

“What?” the big alchemist asked.

“It’s like when a pitcher’s throwing a no-hitter,” Zeke explained. “You never acknowledge it, or as soon as you do, someone’s going to get a hit. You just pretend it’s not happening, otherwise you jinx it.”

“That’s stupid,” Tucker stated. “Superstitions aren’t real.”

“Are you sure about that? Because a few years ago, I would’ve said that demons weren’t real,” Zeke said. “Or talking trees.”

“Or giant, adorable dire bears,” Abby supplied, having joined them. Her hands were shaking a little, but Zeke didn’t point it out. She was struggling with having to kill what amounted to innocent people. Regardless of the fact that they didn’t have a choice in the matter, it still cut right through her empathetic nature, and she was using the good-natured banter to distract her from the reality of what they had been forced to do. “For all we know, superstitions like that really do have an effect in this world.”

Tucker narrowed his eyes. “Skills and magic are quantifiable by science,” he said.

“Sort of,” was Carlos’s contribution. “There’s plenty we don’t understand.”

Tucker gave a harumph before saying, “We didn’t understand everything on Earth, either.”

“So, you’re admitting that Zeke’s superstitions might actually be real, even if the underlying causes aren’t observable, yet,” Abby said with a smug grin. “Thank you for proving my point.”

Tucker opened his mouth to retort, but he clearly didn’t have a valid argument. That wasn’t to say that there wasn’t one. Despite Zeke’s habitual study of runecraft, he was no scientist, so he really didn’t have a contribution to the exchange. Nor did he really think it was the time or place for such a discussion. So, after making sure that none of the dead miners or the demon had anything of value, Zeke said, “Let’s move. We’ve still got a long way to go. This cavern is huge, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to see a lot more of these things.”

Indeed, Zeke’s initial assessment of the size of the cavern seemed woefully inaccurate. When they’d first entered the huge cave, he’d thought that it was only about a mile across, but they’d already covered that much ground, and there was no end in sight. He didn’t feel qualified to guess how big the place actually was. Not that it made a difference. He could feel the runes associated with the portal, which was all that really mattered.

The group set off, and soon, the minutes turned to hours. Even so, they didn’t reach their destination. However, they did find dozens more encounters with mixed groups demons and the possessed. Most of them went the way of the first, but when there was more than one demon in a group, things got tricky. It pushed them to the limits of their abilities, so, by the time they finally crested a rise and saw the portal, they were all exhausted to the point of collapse.

“Jesus,” Abby muttered from one knee.

“More like Lucifer,” Tucker said, kneeling beside her. Everyone was there, staring out at the basin that held the portal. He glanced at Zeke and waggled his thick eyebrows as he said, “Right? Lucifer because they’re demons.”

“That’s terrible,” Abby said. “Who throws out a dad joke in a situation like this?”

“I was…am…a dad,” Tucker said. “So, I’m rolling with it.”

Zeke ignored the two of them as he took in the scene before him. The lava river flowed into the basin to create a lake that took up most of its area.  Around the perimeter were hundreds of possessed and dozens of demons – some of which were lieutenants – and in the center of the lake was a small island that blazed like a beacon in Zeke’s sight. The island itself was made of the ubiquitous obsidian, but there were no stalagmites jutting from the ground. Instead, an intricate, red-and-white rune blanketed the area. It didn’t take pristine investigative skills to recognize it as blood mithril, likely poured into a mold to create the appropriate shape. At the cardinal points of the rune, there were altars, upon which were huge, silver chalices that contained blood. A robed and hooded figure the size of a human knelt beside one of the gleaming, blood mithril shapes, apparently making minute adjustments.

How many people had been sacrificed to supply so much blood? Hundreds? Thousands? How long had the demons been planning this? Zeke didn’t have any answers to his questions, but what he did have was unbridled fury that kept building upon itself until he could barely think straight.

A hand on his forearm shook him out of it, and he glanced Abby, who said, “We can’t just charge in there. Two or three of those demons is one thing, but there are too many down there for us to take.”

“I know,” he said, albeit reluctantly. “We need a plan, don’t we?”

“Yes,” Abby answered.

Zeke backed away and started pacing. His original plan to disrupt the ritual wouldn’t work. It wasn’t that it was a bad idea, just that he’d never get through the sea of demons. He’d be ripped apart in minutes if he tried. So, he needed to do something other than simply rushing in, which was, admittedly, his normal tactic. He’d yet to meet anything that could really stop him, so he hadn’t needed to change things up. But this was different. He wasn’t so prideful that he couldn’t admit when he wasn’t up to the task. Even with the whole group, they couldn’t take more than a quarter of the demons and possessed around the lake of lava.

So, as he paced, Zeke set his mind to the problem, hoping that an idea – preferably one that didn’t hinge on him sacrificing himself – would present itself.