[Pyschokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 228 (Patreon)

Crackling blood charged with electricity dripped from Lord Sinwen’s shoulder. It moved downward, pooling at his fingertips, only for it to drip onto the red drenched green below.

Drip, drip, drip.

“The mighty Lord Sinwen. So bloody. Is this all you amount to?”

The voice came from a man wearing a golden mask. Clad in gilded robes, he had a gaudy appearance. But his mana wasn’t for show. To the left side of the Leviathan were six men and one woman. They had varying appearances, but the one thing in common was the golden pauldrons adorned to their shoulders.

To the right, were those of the Order. Masks covered their faces and black robes obscured their figures.

Behind Lord Sinwen were the grand elders of Rebirth. Beneath his feet, was a traitor. The grand elder Faris. The stench of booze wafted through the air, but it was settling back into the sombre smell of copper.

“Outsiders. Betrayal. Leviathan. Still you can not kill me,” Lord Sinwen said with a terrifying calm.

The gilded man’s fingers twitched. “Yes, well the Sinwen family has always been a collective of undying cockroaches. But this is where it ends. You can not escape.”

Lord Sinwen shifted his eyes to his troops. Behind him was his son; Tennyson. Along with his team, and the leader of the various family guards. He had a terrifying fighting force. The likes of which the world had never seen before. Yet he was being pushed back.

Me, Lord Sinwen thought. His lips curled.

Eli was finding an escape. It was only time until she discovered an exit. She had to. Astrid was here, and if they didn’t find it soon, he wouldn’t be here long enough to protect her.

Lord Sinwen tried not to, but he couldn’t stop the thoughts of years gone to flutter within his mind. Astrid was nought but a child. She had little stubby arms, peg-like legs, and long flowing golden hair. One moment she was crying up a storm, the next she was terrorising her brothers, and the household servants.

Astrid would steal Kaylan’s toys, only for him to cry. He was scared of his baby sister. The little demonling cared not for tradition. She was free. She was wild.

Christian chuckled.

“I admire you Lord Sinwen,” The only woman of the seven said. She was wearing tight blue jeans. A white tank-top. Her cape was attached to the golden pauldrons. “We thought our home world would be ravaged. Destroyed by the countless primal beasts of the Void. I hear that it’s because of your family that humanity still stands. And now, when you face death, you can smile. I wonder what is so funny?”

“It’s not for you,” Lord Sinwen said. His fingers crackled with lightning. He was ready for a fight. Despite that, he waited. He needed time.

Eli, hurry.

“For what reason have you come back after all this time?” Lord Sinwen asked. “Could it be that the great space and beyond is just a wasteland of nothing? Just like our ancestors warned.”

She laughed. Hands on her stomach, she laughed until tears oozed from the corner of her eyes. “No. The universe is vast. It stretches further than you could ever believe. Describing it would be a waste for someone that only knows… This.” The woman stretched out her arms.

“Yet you have come back,” Lord Sinwen said.

“We have,” She said. “There is something here that even the wide universe craves. It’s such a waste for it to be here.”

“The black lifeform,” Lord Sinwen stated.

“Victoria. You have said enough,” A man of the seven said. Her was wearing a navy uniform with golden pauldrons. He had a deep scar etched across both of his eyes, from ear-to-ear. “Enough of this.” He looked over to the gilded man atop Leviathan’s head.

He nodded. Leviathan screamed. It was so loud that the air groaned in protest. Thousands of offspring shot out from the gaps in the sea monster’s scales. Like locusts, they approached, screeching with fangs bare.

Then the Leviathan moved. It lurched its head back and opened its enormous maw. Red light appeared, blotting out any colour from the surrounding area. The mana turned savage as the light fired at Lord Sinwen.

He grunted. Electricity flickered within his eyes. It crackled outward, falling down his bloody arms, and into the palm of his hands. Lord Sinwen stepped forward, shooting the beam of screeching electricity directly at the oncoming light. For a moment, time stopped, only for it to continue in the next instant. The entire world seemed to tremble as golden electricity met with scarlet red. It sounded like metal plates screeching together with enough force to topple mountains. Both energies slammed into each other. Ground against each other.

The golden light was creeping forward. Inch by inch, Lord Sinwen was winning.

The pope made a move. Holy light emerged from his hands. It was an energy for healing, but the gilded man had no desire to heal.

Then the Rebirth Elders moved. In a clash of myriad lights, the situation turned chaotic. With the strongest of humanity against each-other, the fight rivalled a battle of the gods.

Lord Sinwen moved, dodging an incoming boine spike from one of the Seven, then shouted an order to Tennyson:

“Take the offspring away. We can’t have them interrupt us. Find your sister and make sure she escapes.”

Tennyson grit his teeth and slammed his fist into a giant offspring. The entire body of the monster exploded into a mangled mess of gore. Without speaking, he nodded.

He raised his team and charged straight into the army of offspring. Blue explosive energy blasted from his gauntlets. Wherever he moved, corpses would follow. However, he didn’t manage to escape unscathed. Neither did his team. There was too much of the spawn to dodge, and there was too much to kill. The Bloodhound of Rebirth took the spawn away from the battlefield by force, corpse by corpse.

Lord Sinwen had sent Tennyson on a suicide mission.

However, for his battle, there could be no distractions. No insects getting in his way.

Lord Sinwen’s blood turned hot. He laughed once more. This time it was more sinister. He knew they wouldn’t all escape here alive. He himself may die. His dear wife may die. Even his sons may die. But Astrid had to live. For the future, she had to.

Fight, bleed, and die.

Lord Sinwen roared. Dark clouds formed above, each of them crackling with intense thunder. They boomed throughout the bubble, striking fear into the denizens' hearts. Even the Seven and the Order held grim expressions.

They had awakened the Lord of Thunder.

***

Astrid gazed at the dungeon entrance at the bottom of the crater.

“Where’re the spawn?” Havel huffed.

“There’s not one down there,” Kaylan said.

“Astrid?” Eli asked.

“The signal is coming from down there,” Astrid said. “From the dungeon entrance. Whatever is controlling the barrier is within.”

“Shit,” Brett spat. “We don’t know what the hell is in there. If they were smart, pointy sticks and blazing magic would meet us as soon as we open our eyes.”

“And yet we need to enter,” Daniel said. Lines flashed within his eyes, but they weren’t leading to the dungeon. Astrid looked closer, then tilted her head toward the towering Leviathan. All lines lead to the monster.

What is he thinking? Astrid wondered, but she had to focus. It was obvious that a trap was waiting for them on the other side. Why else would it be unguarded unless the Order was extremely confident in no-one being able to enter alive.

After all, whatever, or whoever, was creating the barrier around the bubble was key to the mission. If it fell, they could escape. Rendering the Order’s immense preparations useless. It would pose a threat to Rebirth…

The thought caused Astrid to waver. If they dropped it without eradicating the Order and the Leviathan, then they would also be free.

One step at a time, Astrid thought as she looked at her mother.

“It doesn’t matter if there is a trap or not,” Eli said. “Prepare yourselves. Equip any defensive treasure you have. We will enter.”

With her words, they ran as fast as their legs, or skills, could take them. Powerful spawn offspring chased behind them, each one capable of ripping them apart if they got close enough.

Astrid tried her best to keep those slower than her alive, but it was too much for her to do alone. A man in scored leather armour was about to be cleaved in half by a spawn swordsman, when Rob took action. He moved faster than Astrid could see, but she could still feel it. An attribute of her high Intelligence.

Rob blinked in front of the warrior. He met the spawn’s devastating attack head on. Even if the monster wanted to pull back its strike, it was too late. Rob had acted at the exact moment of a point of no return. Metal struck metal. Mana surged. With it, the spawn was severed in half.

Split from shoulder to hip.

Immediately following was another blade strike directed at rob’s throat. The blade was curved like a sickle. It arrived fast.

Astrid smashed it away with a blast of psychic energy. Rob used the moment to join the team.

The rearguard defended against the oncoming attacks, along with Astrid. Astrid didn’t spare her mana. She built up barriers by the layer. Yet they were destroyed after two or so attacks. With the speed and amount of spawn they were chasing them, her barriers were like paper.

Thankfully it didn’t take long for them to reach the dungeon gateway. Astrid’s mother, Kaylan, and Havel and his men didn’t hesitate for a single second. They disappeared from the city into the unknown.

Brett and the others were next. With a quick look to see that Daniel and Astrid were following them, they also stepped into the darkness, vanishing.

Then just as Daniel was about to follow, he stopped. So did Astrid. She looked at him in confusion.

“What are you doing?” She asked, a sinking feeling pitting in her stomach. “We need to go.”

“I thought I could fight back the desire,” Daniel said, looking at the Leviathan. All paths led straight to it. “But it seems that I can’t. It’s because of the spawn–because of the Leviathan that my parents are dead. Rob, Losef, Chloe, Rachelle, Brett. All their parents are dead. Go on.”

He smiled, signalling to Astrid to enter the dungeon with his head.

“You’ll die. Don’t you think I also want to go over there and help my father?” Astrid said, her volume increasing. She shouted, “of course I do! But I have a responsibility to get everyone out of here. Have you forgotten that you’re the team leader?”

“Aye, I am. I never said I was a good one, did I lassy?” Danel laughed. “Take care in there. Destroy whatever is bolstering the barrier.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Astrid pouted. It felt like there was a stone lodged in her throat. “You better be waiting here when we get out. Or else.”

“Or else you’ll sick your battle-maid on me,” Daniel said with a smile. “See you around, princess.”

Daniel bolted at high speed toward the Leviathan. The spawn tried to catch up, but everytime they neared, a sword would end their lives.

You better live, Astrid bit her lip. She was still confused. Confused as to why he would leave them when they needed him.  But she couldn’t wait any longer. She stepped into darkness.

Horror waited for her.