Chapter 50 - Battle and Break (Patreon)

Echo finished sparring with Fumi in the large town square at the center of the Xulatar Clan stronghold. The two had been testing their improved weaponry, and to their satisfaction – and Echo’s pain – they learned that the Blightsteel only temporarily stopped regeneration. Two seconds of deactivation.

More than enough time.

Fumi walked over with a grimace on her face, “You held back that time.”

Echo smirked, “I mean, I don’t want to accidentally kill you.”

She punched him in the arm – hard, “Mmm. Fine.”

Both turned as a scout ran into the center of town, dashing past the two and towards the main castle where the Overlord of the Clan lived.

“That can’t be good,” Echo commented.

His suspicions were confirmed as, a few moments later, the Overlord came out with his retinue of wives, and he went up to the top of the wall, wrapping his lips around a massive horn, and blowing into the instrument.

Fumi glanced at Echo, “The call to war.”

The duo was joined by the whole of the Xulatar Great Clan in the enormous town center. Rose found them and stood just behind them. “What is it?”

Fumi explained and then the crowd went silent as the Overlord raised his hands.

“A foe is on our doorstep! A horde of monsters, descending upon The Eternal Battlefield! They dare disgrace the ancestral battleground.”

“Worst place for Tiberius to choose, that gives me a whole army to raise,” Rose whispered.

The Overlord continued after the few hushes and whispers faded. “We go to defend, as is our sacred duty!”

Fumi walked forward and raised her fist, “Overlord! Do not send your warriors. These are my former clan, turned into monsters. Allow me and my servants to destroy them on behalf of the Xulatar!”

There were cheers and applause from the surrounding crowd before the Overlord raised his hands for silence once more. “Maven of the Blade, I thank you for your honorable heroism. But would you deny our warriors the opportunity to face such foes? Deny them the glory at hand?”

Fumi shook her head and raised her voice, “No! None should be denied honor!” There were cheers once more before she continued, “But, you must let me lead the vanguard. Echo – my loyal bed-servant, and Rose – my mage-servant, shall break their line.”

The Overlord stroked his long beard, “You speak sound strategy. Very well. We prepare! Xulatar! My brothers! To arms!”

The Gori gathered in the square let out battle shouts and turned to say goodbye to their family and friends, knowing some of them would not come back.

Rose tapped Fumi’s shoulder, “You realize that bringing allies to a battlefield means that they’ll be caught in the crossfire, yes?”

Fumi nodded solemnly, “Yes. But as you said, you’ll be busy with Tiberius. Echo and I can handle the rest of them.”

The preparations finished by midday as the two monsters and Rose left the Clan stronghold alongside the Overlord and an army ten-thousand strong.

Tiberius finished channeling his Quintessence as he slammed his palm into the ground. “Return from your rest, Raise Undead – Necropolis.”

The ground shifted before rising. Every corpse in The Eternal Battlefield, from millennia of conflict, crawled out of the ground as the land shifted downwards several meters. Billions of slain warriors – bones that converged and formed into a lattice structure that ascended into the sky. An enormous citadel of corpses towered into the sky – and Tiberius sat atop it with the monster that used to be Rickard.

“What do you think, my pet?” Tiberius chuckled. “A living fortress of the animated dead.”

Rickard grunted.

“Ah, right, you are just a hulking brute now.” Tiberius stood up and dusted himself off. “Remember, when you see Echo-”

As soon as the name left his lips, Rickard unleashed a scream and brought all of his weapons to bare, his wings flexing.

“Now, now. Calm.” Tiberius ordered as Rickard stopped, wings folding back once more. “When you see him, you are to attack him. But not kill him. Understood?”

Rickard grunted.

“Good boy.” Tiberius tossed a scrap of jerky in the air as Rickard snapped forward, scarfing it down greedily before shrieking as spikes grew out of his back and his muscles bulged under the skin.

“And now, we wait.”

The army took two days to exit the Xulatar Forest. The whole time, the trio of adventurers were pouring their Quintessence into their Brightsteel rings, stockpiling the power for the impending battle.

The Overlord – at Fumi’s insistence – listened to Rose’s plan. He acknowledged the wisdom of it and instructed his captains to follow Rose’s strategy. To that end, she provided each captain with a complex set of battle plans that were laid out with painstaking perfection on parchment.

Eventually, they broke the tree line. Rose cursed loudly, “That son of a whore!”

The outrage was felt across the amassed army as they saw an enormous structure – made of bone and bristling with weaponry from various eras of the Krekyo Dominion’s history.

“What madness is this?” The Overlord asked. “He desecrated the whole battlefield?”

Rose muttered just loud enough for Echo and Fumi to hear, “Every damn corpse since this place was used. Easily billions. There goes my army idea.”

Echo glanced at Fumi and saw the expression of wrath upon her face. She strode up to the front of the army alongside the Overlord – her companions a step behind. “Tiberius did this. The man who destroyed my former Clan.”

The Overlord was seething. All Gori and Ogo respected The Eternal Battlefield. To dishonor it in such a way was dishonor of the highest order. “There is no calm! They dishonored the ancestors!” He roared and his men roared alongside him. As one they surged across the battlefield, their various colored Quintessence flared up around them as they activated their Gori Rage Ability.

A pair of winged figures launched themselves from the top of the citadel and began to fly above the army. Thanks to their Far Sight, both monsters could make out the two creatures. One was a horrid facsimile of an angelic being, wielding several weapons with multiple arms, covered in a variety of spikes, and with an elongated, deformed torso that bent forwards to allow for more appendages down the back.

The other was Tiberius. Echo could not forget those eyes that stared at him as he was tormented.

Fumi looked between the two up above and her allies. “I must fight alongside my Clan.” She pulled Echo down for a kiss, “I trust you. Kill him.”

“I promise,” Echo replied.

Fumi activated Alacrity and dashed to join her new Clan in their rush towards the citadel of bone that had begun to move towards the encroaching army, spilling forth monsters from the enormous front gate.

Rose frowned, “I can take Tiberius, but I don’t know about that other thing.”

Echo gritted his teeth, “You keep Tiberius busy; I’ll handle that thing.”

He began running into the air using Immovable Object as he flickered the Ability on and off in between leaps – ascending into the sky.

Rose activated the choker and flew up alongside him, lifted by a small zephyr.

Tiberius smirked as he saw the two figures ascending towards him. He recognized both.

“Go get him, boy.” He said as he gestured towards Echo.

Rickard went dashing downwards towards the adventurer that was hopping in the air, making large strides as he ascended.

Tiberius turned his gaze to the figure that was moving away from the approaching desecrated-angel. White Rose.

He angled his flight towards her and stopped, hovering in place as his wings beat and she ascended to his level. He pooled his Quintessence, the reservoir of energy building up and bubbling within as he pointed at her.

She rose to his level, her staff pointed directly at him, as icy-blue energy swirled around her in a torrent.

Echo ran his shield-hand across his blade, uttering several spells in rapid succession. “Bolt Blade, Flame Blade, Shadow Blade.” The silvery-crimson Quintessence flowed over the blade as a miasmic shadow covered it, silver fire limned the blade, and arcing blue electricity jolted up and down the blade.

As long as they’re not opposed Affinities, I can combine effects.

The cursed-angelic figure swooped down towards him, and he turned off his Immovable Object to suddenly drop down as he slashed upwards. The creature countered with several weapons and tried to attack Echo back – which he easily blocked.

The monster hovered in front of him, screeching.

Kill.

Consume.

Evolve.

Echo took several leaps forward through the air, closing with the monster as they exchanged blows. The multiple arms of the creature stabbed outwards – some wielding weapons, and some simply the claws themselves – and Echo deftly dodged, parried, or blocked the blows.

But there was something familiar about the monster. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he knew it from somewhere.

The creature flapped backwards for a moment as golden-yellow energy coursed through it and the blades it wielded became covered in holy radiance. A voice croaked out of it as the spell took effect, “Light’s Wrath.”

This caught Echo off guard. He hadn’t met another monster – except Fumi – who had perfect casting. Nor had he seen one with light Affinity. The winged monstrosity re-engaged with Echo, and began to move faster and faster as if it had activated Alacrity – Overcharge.

Echo turned his Overcharge on to counter it as they continued to trade hits, back and forth, over and over again. He would score blow after blow and the creature began to bleed golden ichor. But Echo was not unscathed as he suffered occasional blows – and the divine energy seared him.

That feels familiar.

Echo knew that feeling of holy radiance.

Was this a cleric?

Fumi overtook the Gori warriors and advanced, unleashing an iaijutsu strike as she yelled, “Spatial Sever!” The black line of distorted reality ripped outwards and slashed into the oncoming horde of monsters, most of which shook off the effect.

They were not just amalgamations of Gori and Ogo that she had fought before. They were entwined with rock and stone, with bark and wood, with the very land itself. A monster born from the fusion of not just flesh but nature.

Kill.

Consume.

Evolve.

Fumi gritted her teeth as she continued her headlong charge, raising her blade as she activated Waveblade to give her attacks a better chance of carving through large swaths of enemies.

To her surprise, the Overlord bounded up alongside her, releasing a battle cry as he took several large jumps before blasting off into the sky and flinging himself into the center of the enemy army, causing a shockwave.

She reached the line of monsters and performed a large, graceful horizontal slash as she parried the various weapons and claws that reached out to her. Raising her hand, she deflected several arrows that were launched from the enormous moving citadel of bone – a siege tower of unimaginable size that rained down a flurry.

I have to destroy that.

“Unseen Predator,” she muttered as she vanished from sight, pushing the evolution instinct aside. She had to protect her new Clan. She couldn’t risk losing another one.

Within seconds she passed the Overlord who was carving away large swaths of monsters with an enormous ironwood axe. She reached the base of the citadel and saw to her disgust that it was propelled along by billions of skeletal legs.

“Spatial Sever!” she shouted as she cut horizontally once more. She severed all the leg-bones as the structure fell and stayed put. Pulling her blade behind her into a hidari gedan no kamae stance, she shouted once more. “Voltaic Slash!”

And she jumped, using her immense strength she launched herself up the citadel as she carved into it, the electricity jumping to nearby targets. The perfect target to use the Ability on – a conglomerate of enemies all grouped together.

The skeletal stronghold glowed bright blue as the electricity coursed all through it, chaining across every single one of the creatures.

Then, the structure exploded. Fumi willed her Immovable Object Ability to turn off, and let the shockwave launch her back before she deftly cast a Flight spell to softly land alongside the Overlord once more.

Then, the rest of the Gori broke through the line. Her fellow warriors charged into the monster’s ranks – no longer pinned down by archer fire and suffering casualties, they tore into the army’s lines and began to carve away.

But they were not evenly matched.

Fumi racked her mind for how to even the battle. Glancing up, she saw Echo jumping around a flying creature – hard pressed and barely keeping up with the withering assault. His blade limned with flames, shadow, and sparks.

She jumped once more, gaining height, before activating Overcharge to slow down her perception of time. She used the glowing Quintessence of her brethren to identify each of them, before she raised a hand outward, “Flame Blade – Mass!”

All of the Gori weaponry suddenly sparked with bright, green flames that crackled and left their targets burning – not effective against the earthen-imbued monsters, but against the ones imbued with wood – they carved a bloody path.

She let herself fall once more to the battlefield and joined the fray.

Rose ascended to face Tiberius. “You bastard!”

“White Rose, my long-lost ice queen. It has been too long.”

Rose leveled her staff, “Feel the fury of ice, Glacial Blast!” The enormous icicle that formed from the tip of her staff and launched was easily the size of a small house.

Tiberius took the hit straight to the chest as the projectile ripped him in half. Moments later his two halves extended like jelly to reach each other and bring him back into one piece. “Is that how you greet your old lover?”

Rose growled and prepared another spell.

“Oh, come now.” He snapped his fingers, “Paralysis.”

“That won’t work on me!” Rose continued to channel her Quintessence into the staff.

“Worth a try. Then I’ll do this instead!” Tiberius’ brown Quintessence – hidden behind him from her view – suddenly billowed forward. “Return to the living once more, Revival!”

Rose took the spell head-on as the greave hidden under the folds of her dress deflected the spell before the item was discharged for the day.

Coming back to life right now would be inconvenient.

Rose’s Quintessence was finally ready, and she countered. “Wither before entropy, Death Touch.” The icy blue turned to an inky black as it began to arc towards Tiberius.

“Return to the living once more, Revival!” Tiberius cast his spell again.

And the two spells collided, sparking as the Quintessence flared. They were polar opposite Affinities, death and life. At this point, it was a contest of who had the most Quintessence, a test of their reserves. Their Magic Potency was easily matched.

I will kill you.

Rose focused her will on overwhelming Tiberius’ spell. Her Quintessence flaring and surging as the beam-struggle continued.

Echo was struggling to fight off this creature as it continued to go faster and faster, seemingly surpassing the limits of Overcharge, and reaching a new threshold. He began to suffer injuries all over his body.

“CRAWK! ECKO! DIE” The monstrous form continued to creak out words in a blind, furious rage.

Echo growled and poured even more Quintessence into his Overcharge, trying to meet the same level as this monster. He felt time slow even further as he unlocked a new upgrade to the skill. Achronerate. Their furious exchange grew even faster as, to an outside observer, there was simply a blur in the sky.

Echo carved gashes across the monster, lopping off arms as he sped up faster than this creature could keep up with. The arcing electricity shocking its nerves as the silver flames burned and licked at its flesh, whilst the black, necrotic shadows ate away at its form.

The monster screamed and flew at Echo, impacting him in the air and pinning his arms to his chest. The arms reaching up and over him, stabbing continually into his back.

“Back off!” Echo shouted as he shoved as hard as he could, gritting his teeth as he continued to be stabbed, over and over, as his lungs kept emptying from air before he could take a breath. He was suffocating.

Gori Rage!

His spells turned off – his blade no longer covered with sparks, shadow, and flame. But his Magic Potency amplified his physical stats to the point where he easily overpowered the monster. He reached up with his shield hand and grabbed the creature’s head protrusion, snapping its neck.

It continued to assault him, but Echo was pushed to the point of desperation – he couldn’t breathe, and under the influence of this rage, he stabbed into the creature’s torso over and over, his blade carving deep gashes and incisions. When he had a large enough hole, he reached his shield hand into the creature’s torso, ripping out its heart.

The monster screeched and struggled for a moment, then fell limp. Echo ripped the heart out the rest of the way as the monster fell into the roiling chaos below. He deactivated Gori Rage and pocketed the heart in a pouch, turning his attention to the mage duel going on above.

Rickard once more stood at Last Light Temple at the back of the queue. More souls popped into being behind him as the line slowly shuffled forward.

A drone came floating over, and again, the bored but youthful voice emitted from the device. “Oh, you’re back. That’s odd. Spirits dying in an Afterlife is rare.”

I can’t go back to Lux.

The voice became disappointed. “Aww, giving up on your Goddess?”

Just let me try again. A new life. Like what he had.

“Not every soul deserves reincarnation or rebirth.”

What? Why? You let others reincarnate?

The tone remained disappointed. “Your soul is marked. I have to send you on to her. Those are the rules.”

Please! No! I can’t.

The tone shifted once more to apathy and boredom, “Very well. We’ll scrub your soul clean. You won’t have a chance of remembering anything from any of your past lives.”

Rickard felt peace wash over him as the drone lifted him up and he was ferried over to another line and gently deposited on the ground as the queue shuffled forward.

Thank you.

Fumi carved her way across the battlefield alongside her kin, tearing a swath through her foes. The wooden-imbued monsters had been dealt with, but her army were struggling with the ones formed from earth itself. Several of her brethren were smashed to bits under the gargantuan forms of fists covered in rock.

Fumi took several hits herself – unable to parry the full weight of the attack – and her Regeneration took over, quickly healing her wounds.

A change of tactics.

She once more jumped into the sky and noted with satisfaction that Echo had defeated the flying creature as it plummeted downwards before he turned to Tiberius.

Go get him.

She looked out and once more activated Overcharge, identifying all her remaining allies. Cancelling the Flame Blade, she raised her hand and invented a new spell. “Abyssal Vortex.” A black hole appeared in space as reality tore asunder, her green Quintessence outlining the hole as red sparks crackled across it.

Focusing her intent, she excluded all except the monsters on the battlefield below. They lifted upwards and were sucked into the space, crushed against one another as the immense gravitic pressures bore down on them.

Her hand trembled and she had to cancel the spell as all her equipment’s stored Quintessence was used up. Space Affinity spells were notoriously draining – a tradeoff for the immense power of the Affinity itself.

She stayed aloft, panting heavily, as the Gori cheered below. Glancing up, she saw the two mages fighting as Echo advanced towards them.

Rose continued channeling her Quintessence as she felt her own reservoir tap dry and she began to access the amount stored in her Brightsteel ring.

How powerful could he be?

He seemed completely unphased. She was shaking and trembling from the expenditure, but he was still flapping his wings, unperturbed.

I can’t keep this up!

For the second time since becoming undead, she felt fear. If that spell impacted her, she would become living once more. That meant no phylactery. That meant feelings and emotions once more being able to affect her.

And that terrified her more than anything.

A bolt of silver light shot up from below in jagged arcs.

Echo surged upwards, still under the effect of Achronerate as he jumped into the sky over and over, toggling his Immovable Object to ascend at a speed rivaling jets back on Earth.

He brought his blade up vertically along Tiberius’ body, splitting the mage in half as he gasped in pain.

Tiberius’s vision flickered for a moment as his body attempted to repair itself. But the Ability was not responding.

Blightsteel. You bastard.

In the last moments of his life, he turned the spell that he had focused on Rose onto himself, suffusing himself with the potent life energy as he healed his wounds.

Then, Rose’s blast impacted him. But it was not filled with the same amount of Quintessence as when she first launched it, and his healing outpaced its devastating effects. To his satisfaction her body began to fall back to the ground below, and he turned on Echo, forming a blade of bone from his arm.

Fumi saw Rose falling and used her flagging strength to jump up to the falling mage, catching her before deactivating the ability and descending rapidly. She set Rose down and looked to the Overlord, whose eyes were fixed on the combat up above.

“Watch her,” Fumi ordered, catching his attention. The Overlord glanced down, nodded, and picked up Rose as the gathered army turned their gaze upwards.

Fumi rapidly ascended once more.

I’m coming, Echo.

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