Ultimate Level 1 - 157 - Fighting as One (Patreon)

Max wanted to pass out, but his mind wouldn’t let him.  The pain was excruciating with every bone in his body feeling like it had been shattered.

Regeneration was working quickly, and tiny pieces of bone rejoined with each other.  A heal flooded over Max, and he felt air finally filling his lungs as he tried to breathe, then wished he hadn’t, as the pain of it almost made him black out.

Trying to lift his head again, Max saw the demon snarling. Its body was encased in quickly melting ice that still managed to hold her as his party raced toward him.

“Seth!”

Grateful his ears worked, Max nodded, wincing as he did so.

Tanila thrust a potion into his mouth, and he swallowed. The foul taste of the healing potion didn’t bother him as his body quickly accelerated the speed it knit his bones together.

Popping sounds could be heard as he felt his joints reattach and move back into place.

“Tanila!” Fowl shouted.

“On it!”

He could see her casting a spell but wasn’t sure which one it was.

“A little more,” Max groaned.  “Almost ready.”

The worst part came when his lower body joined back together, each socket, joint, and bone, moving to where they belonged.  He wanted to roar in pain but instead bit his lip, hoping that there was still time to be ready to fight.

“Its free!”

Max tried to sit up but couldn’t.  

A shimmer of light covered the group.

“Dome cast!”

The clanging of a sword and howling of a pissed-off demon filled his perception.  Max could sense the dome that Batrire had just cast, buying them time as he continued to heal.

Over and over, as the demon continued its assault on the barrier, Max realized she no longer had a shield.

Two final popping sounds came as his hip joints moved into place, and Max groaned. He stood up and watched the demon step back in shock, sword held out to the side.

“Impossible!” it shrieked. “You should be dead!”

[ Regeneration Expired ]

Max laughed and pulled two massive axes out of his dimensional storage, each almost as tall as him.  

“Ready for round two?” he asked.

“Five seconds,” Batrire said.

The demon hissed and shrieked again, backing up a few steps as Max moved towards it like nothing had happened.

He glanced over a few yards to the left and saw his halberd.  He needed it, but no one could bring it to him.  The perks and disadvantages of having a bound weapon. Ignoring that for now, Max began building up his Ice Nova spell.

A light shimmered around them as the dome vanished, and a few seconds later, Max’s ice spell went off.  As it did, the demon began to retreat through a portal that he could just barely sense with his sonar.  The more it used the ability, the sooner he was able to detect it.

“Shift right!”

The group moved without hesitation, staying close and keeping an eye out for the demon.  It appeared twenty yards away, looking at them with frustration and anger.

Max quickly stored one of the axes as he picked up his halberd.  Glancing around, he saw his shield was a few yards away, closer the demon.  Putting the other axe away, he motioned to their enemy.

“As a group. We’re winning… not by much, but we need to keep doing what we are doing.”

Grunts of acknowledgment came from everyone and they moved as a unit again, allowing Max to retrieve his shield.

“You going to keep hiding?” Max shouted.  “I thought demons were scary and never afraid.  Perhaps you should have been on the first floor of this dungeon.”

The demon’s eyes went wide, and every black tooth was visible when it snarled at Max.

As the demon charged at them, the group set themselves in preparation for her attack.

“Immobolize then hit!”

The charging demon blinked out of existence, and Max spun to the left, his shield out and his halberd swinging.  The demon had barely gotten its sword out of the portal before Max was on it, knocking its blade down and chopping at the demon’s wrist.

Unable to halt the momentum of its charge, the demon surged forward, exposing its forearm with its armored skin.  Max’s blade cut an inch into the demon’s forearm, blood pouring from the wound, as the thick protective layer shattered.

Howling in pain and anger, the demon exited through the portal and grabbed Max’s shield with its free hand. Max stored his weapon and gripped the demon’s clawed hand as it tried to yank his shield from him.

[ Weakness ]

[ Festering Touch ]

Fire burnt his skin where they touched, and searing pain shot through his fingers as he held tight, bestowing his skills on it.

[ Regeneration ]

The demon tried and failed to yank its left arm free, stumbling as it fought, weakened by Max's effects on it.

Ice began to form at the demon’s feet, locking it into place.

Letting go of the demon, Max stepped back, an ice spear forming and preparing to launch at the enemy they were slowly overcoming.

He sensed Tanila’s also growing an ice spear growing in the air near her.  Max nodded as his hand healed, so he could finally retrieve his weapon from storage.

Both ice spears flew forward simultaneously, and the demon woman raised its sword, blocking Tanila’s spell. Shards of ice pelted it and melted upon contact with its unholy, flaming skin.

Max’s ice spear hit, piercing her shoulder a few inches.

The demon’s sword sliced, breaking the spear off, and yanked the frozen piece of magic out of its body only to see Max’s weapon coming for its head.

The demon’s body flashed black, and its sword moved instantly. It parried his blow and forced the weapon to the side. 

Without missing a beat, Max used the momentum to strike back. The demon was trapped, so he spun and chopped down again at it again.  The fire sword clashed against his blade, deflecting the blow as the demon struggled to stay standing, held in place only by the ice that still restricted its movements.

Two more attacks came from Max, and each one was successfully deflected.  The ice of its prison was melting, but Max smiled as his weapon came around once more, wondering if he was right about the ability the demon was using.

The demon began to dodge, the ice cracking and falling away when it suddenly re-formed around it.

It took its eyes off Max’s blade as the weapon came down, glancing at the prison rising up around it.  The demon’s body flashed black again as the impact of Max’s halberd against the sword drove its arm down, leaving it exposed.

[ Rampage ] 

Max’s weapon moved quickly. The first attack struck the demon’s neck, shattering the raised skin that acted as armor. 

The demon groaned and as it was slammed down into the prison that was holding fast. Unable to get its sword up before the second strike hit in the same spot, Max's axe blade sunk through the armored body and cut deep into its neck.

Max roared as he struck a third time, wishing his Power Strike was available. Max’s eyes tracked his weapon as it sliced through the middle of the demon's neck. The blade connected with its spine, the impact sending the demon to the right, and forcing its body down.

Another icebolt struck, burying itself deep inside the demon's right shoulder. A cracking sound came as it tried to raise its sword but was unable to.

Max stored his shield and, both hands gripping the shaft of his halberd, swung like an enraged animal.  His blade connected once more, striking the same wound that was gushing black blood like a bubbling spring.

His voice echoed in his ears as he roared; angry, upset, pissed.

Like a lumberjack trying to fell a tree, his blade chopped over and over in the same spot until it didn’t, the head tumbling free of the body.

“Seth!”

Tanila’s voice reached him as he was about to strike again, not yet realizing he had already removed the head.

The colosseum was silent as the light in the demon’s eyes dimmed and then went dark. The body began to fade.

Max began to shake.  Cold power roared through him, and he couldn’t control the energy that filled him.

[ 5 Strength Consumed ]

[ 5 Constitution Consumed ]

[ 68 Demonic Essence Collected ]

[Consume has successfully Consumed a skill]

[ Skill does not match entity type ]

[ Consume is adjusting skill ]

[Would you like to learn [Demonic Teleportation]?]

[ Yes / No]

Yes… well done!

Max tried to ignore the voice in his head as he fought to breathe, his body still shuddering from what he had just consumed.

“Seth…”

He heard Fowl whisper his name as the demon’s body faded into nothing, small black particles floating upward before vanishing.

“IMPOSSIBLE!”

The shout caused Max to wince. The volume of it felt like it was tearing his insides apart.  

Every seat in the colosseum was empty. The audience that had cheered for their demise had vanished in an instant.

An overwhelming presence manifested before them as the lord of this area stared down at them, breathing heavily through its mouth. Blood dripped down its chest from where it had injured itself by chewing on its own face.

“How?!” it roared. “How can you be this strong?! Are you here to test me? Is this to make sure I still obey the rules?!”

Max put his weapon away and turned to face the massive demon, who took a step back when he approached it.

“And what if I am?” Max asked, trying to appear as if the battle had been nothing to them.  “Are you going to break the agreement and suffer the consequences?” 

The demon stared at Max and then Tanila until a cough from Batrire forced it to turn and look at her.

“You are not a party that should be here, and yet, you meet all of the requirements set forth,” it said, its voice no longer exerting the pressure it had before.  “I will not break the agreement set forth.  You four may claim your prize.”

Snapping its fingers once, a pedestal rose from the tile floor. The base seemed to be made of black flesh that pulsated as it formed.  Once it stopped moving, the demon lord stood near it and scowled at them.  It plunged its hand into its chest and pulled out a massive red gem, setting it on the black pedestal, and then took a step back.  

The blood that had covered the gem drained quickly into the base, leaving the red gem sparkling.

Moving toward it, Max slowly held his hand out.

Don’t! Something is wrong…

Max cocked his head, looking at the stone his fingers were only inches away from touching. 

Pulling his hand back, he turned and stared at the demon that was watching him.

“What is this?” Max asked.  “A trap?”

The faintest twitch of the demon’s eye caught Max’s attention.  

“Perhaps you are wanting to break the agreement and–”

“Enough!” the demon said, growling as it reached out, picking up the gem and drawing a rune on it.  Its color changed from red to a soft yellow, and smoke and hissing sounds came from where the demon’s fingers touched it.  Quickly, it set it down on the pillar and backed away.

“Forgive me… I will not interfere again.”

Max saw how the demon acted. It was nervous and scared.

Why is it behaving like that?

You defeated something it knows no average person allowed in this test could.  I then warned you of its trap, again something no one should know of unless they are something more than they seem.  Hold your hand close, and I will see if it is safe.

Max held his hand out, keeping it inches from the gem.

You may touch it.

“Tanila, Fowl, Batrire.  Come and touch the orb.  We will all do it at the same time.”

Max turned to the demon and shook his head.

When all four of them were close, and they all had their hands out, Max nodded.

Something flowed from inside the gem and into each of them, bathing them in a warm light.

[ Defense of the Demon Acquired ]

They all smiled, nodding that they had gotten the buff.  

Turning to Tanila, Max tapped his hair and then his eyes.

She nodded, her eyes going wide as she realized what he was pointing out. After working on her bracer, she adjusted her hair and eye color to their previous state.

Max looked at the demon, who had not taken its eye off him and pointed to the door.  It snapped its fingers, and the doors vanished, showing the portal awaiting them.

With a nod, Max motioned to the others, and they walked toward the exit.

When they got there, Max motioned for them to all leave and turned back, seeing the demon still staring at him.

“Do not try and cheat the rules again!” Max shouted. “There might be some consequences you don’t want to face.”

As he stepped back into the portal, Max heard a roar of anger and hate.

“I shall find you–”