"TOM!" Cassi's voice pierced through the cacophony of screams and magical skills ripping through either faction members seemingly indiscriminately. Turning around, my towering ex-general stood about 50 feet away past the mines in front of a stone wall. She waved her hand to follow her as she ran towards the wall.
That's a fucking dead-end Cassi, what the h-
A vertically rectangular section of the stone slid open in the wall as she sprinted closer, her figure disappearing into as I chased behind.
Oh okay, fuck me actually.
Beelining for the hidden entrance to wherever Cassi went, I quickly made up ground dashing past the mines. As I stepped through the threshold however, my vision was consumed by complete darkness as a heavy gust flew past me into the room. The hidden sliding door slammed shut behind me as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting to find my Elysium squad standing beside Andolis. I went to greet them when I realized a seventh person was in the room with us, the same dark cloaked figure who attacked Hyphaelius and somehow started mutinies among both factions. Mana began surging through my arms preparing a Lightning Bolt for our uninvited guest when Andolis spoke up.
"Zeldrich?!" He asked with narrowed eyes, leaning closer toward the hooded figure. Our visitor removed his hood, revealing a bald, sickly man with black eye pigment around his pupils. His ears were long and sharply at the ends with incredibly high cheekbones. He smiled, revealing a set of sharp, yellow teeth.
"Hello, old friend. Tell me, was Phanthu and Hyphaelius's gracious support not enough for you to destroy what remains of our world? You brought 5 more poor spirits into your sick experiments?!" The raspy voiced figure growled, as wisps of dark smoke billowed from his body.
What the fuck is he talking about?
"I'm sorry, 'help'? I know you showed up a little late to the party, but Phanthu just massacred his en-"
"And how could his forces have tunnelled through their numerous winding mines without being found out?! Or the countless battles this coward has recklessly thrown Khotunn bodies at while he tucked his tail and ran? You have not seen what this man has done, but I've seen it ALL." Zeldrich snapped, angrily interrupting me. I glanced over at Korbin, who lifted his hand with a furrowed brow gesturing to back off.
"That's absolutely insane, Zeldrich?! I created their entire damn species with my own two hands! Why would I send them to the slaughter?!" Andolis rebuked, scoffing at the notion.
"You made them into giant fucking rocks. What better shield for a coward like you to hide behind? All you've done was disfigure your victims before feeding them to your master." Zeldrich shot back, taking a step closer to him. Derrick's leg raised to step in front of him, only for Korbin to beat him to it.
"Hold on, Zeldrich. You will have your vengeance, we just need to discuss some th-"
"There's no time for this. Every ground shattering spell and tremor caused by their bloodshed brings us all closer to our deaths." Zeldrich angrily said, attempting to shove past Korbin. Lonni immediately stepped in, shoving Zeldrich back hard, throwing him through the air. The pale man's body sunk into the floor as it landed, creating a shadow that rolled forward before popping to its feet. As the shadowy figure rose up, Zeldrich's head emerged from the floor. Korbin lifted his hand up as he addressed Zeldrich.
"You need to tell us what's going on before we let you k-"
"NO! He lies like his wretched father! Kill this bloody disgrace!" Andolis yelled from behind Korbin. Korbin's eyes narrowed as he turned to face Andolis.
"…actually nevermind. Tell me after." He said, stepping to the side and out from Zeldrich's path to Andolis. Zeldrich nodded at Korbin, brandishing two long curved daggers from his black cloak.
"Deal."
Androlis's eyes shot open watching Korbin move, raising both his hands at Zeldrich.
"Wait, don't. I know what you want, and I know where it is." Androlis beckoned, slowly backing into the center of the room before bumping into the rune-covered table.
"And you think I don't?" Zeldrich snapped back, pacing straight for the cornered future god as smoke slowly clouded the air around him, making it difficult to see Andolis.
"You don't understand, he'll awaken it soon if you don't let m-UGH" Darkness enveloped the center of the room, my eyes barely catching the thrust of Zeldrich's blades into Andolis's stomach. The black cloud quickly began swirling around, winding into a stream that slowly fed into Zeldrich's dagger still impaled in Andolis's belly. With one violent vertical rip upward, a dark shadowy copy of his arm sliced up the length of Andolis's stomach out of the top of his head with a dark replica of his blade. Only no blood was shed, other than from the wound from the blade in his stomach. Instead, a faint dark line from his belly to his scalp slowly exuded a tan smoke, as his eyes rolled back into his head before collapsing to the stone.
"What the fuck, guys?! We could've got more information out of him?" Derrick exclaimed angrily, scowling at each of us.
"Copy down his formula, what's done is done." Korbin sternly shot back.
"No, we must finish off the other two before it's too late." Zeldrich hoarsely replied, cleaning the blood from his dagger with his robe in the pit of his elbow as he headed for the exit. I stepped in front of him, feeling not at all satisfied with just alleging myself to him.
"Hold the fuck on, you need to explain this shit. What are you looking for that Adolis mentioned?" I demanded. Zeldrich's fists tightened around his daggers before he answered.
"This place. Below our very feet rests Titanus Gibslandris, The Insatiable. We cannot le-"
"The what?" I interrupted. Korbin chuckled, earning both our attention as he interjected.
"Tom…the fucking worm." Korbin said through laughs, rubbing the top of his nose and shaking his head.
"Oh…ohh shit." I said, realizing now what kind of monster Phanthu really was.
"But his soldiers, how did you get them all to start fighting?" Cassi demanded, though I was already heading for the exit myself.
"I am not the homicidal 'lone wolf' the other sons of heretics unjustly labeled me as. I only kill those unwilling to make peace, while others heed my warnings and shared my conviction. That doesn't mean they had to stay with me, only to be ready when the time was right to save what remains of our home." Zeldrich sharply explained through flared nostrils.
"What about Hyphaelius and his…monsters? They listened to you about this theory as well?" Cassi pressed on curiously. Zeldrich scoffed before marching behind me toward the exit.
"This is no theory, and I will not argue with you while my world d-" Zeldrich had just shoved past me and opened the door with his daggers drawn, when a deep, chest rattling rumble shook the stone underfoot. Outside, the Phanthu soldiers and Hyphaelius plant and mushroom-like abominations fumbled over each other, many falling into the massive fissure ripped through the front of the settlement. Rocks dislodged from the ceiling, crushing dozens of soldiers and monsters alike. Slowly, the rumbling subsided, in turn resuming the chaotic carnage. Zeldrich quickly clambered to his feet and started jogging forward, yelling to us over his shoulder.
"Want to help? Kill all the heretics' sons!" His words reverberated across the settlement caverns, earning a discordant clutter of cheers from the members of both factions killing their own. In a blink, his form sunk into the shadows, winding around the face of a stone wall out of sight. At the fissure, Hyphaelius stood back atop his largest monstrosity that was still actively killing its fellow natural abominations. His hand was extended towards one of its tentacles made of hundreds of smaller black strings, seemingly wielding it like a massive blunt weapon in fighting off Phanthu and his soldiers still loyal to him. I looked back at Korbin, who's fist sat under his chin with eyes darting from side to side under a furrowed brow. After a few moments, his posture relaxed as he sighed.
"Alright, we went off script for a bit there but, our objective hasn't changed. Cassi, Lonni, you're with me in dealing with Hyphaelius, along with his fucked up plants and mushroom people.Tom, you and Derrick go deal with Phanthu and his mages." Korbin commanded. I glanced at Derrick, who returned my gaze with a scowl before reluctantly nodding to Korbin. Everyone collectively began running past the mines, making a beeline for the fissure.
My eyes bounced from the shriveled little green rotting creatures, trying to run an identify on as many of Hyphaelius' numerous short little creatures running around the battlefields on either side of the fissure.
[Morelian (Level 8)]
[Morelian (Level 6)]
[Morelian (Level 7)]
[Morelian (Level 9)]
…
The majority of the fighting along the outside of the battle was utter chaos, with the towering dark fluid-leaking plants, mushroom creatures and humans who'd apparently joined Zeldrich's cause killed their own. The short little Morelian's stuck together in packs, crowding around humans and traitorous Merelian's. Dark, moldy globs flew from their hands, hitting one of Phanthu's mages in the face as I ran past. Instantly, his skin began rapidly shriveling in on itself, losing all color before flaking into dust and exposing the inside of his jaw that was also decomposing.
Panicked screams being cut short by a squelching crack brought my attention back to my path, spotting one of the three-headed plant beasts leaking a wretched fluid from its bulging dark green belly ahead. The sheer amount of sludge spilling from its mouth and pores reminded me of Haden's Undead Gryphon, nearly invoking a dry heave mid-sprint. Several torso's of bisected mages lay scattered under its feet, as their top halves quickly withered away in its snapping maw with teeth curving out from the side of its long mouth.
[Necropenthi (Level 9)]
After weaving through Zeldrich's forces clashing with Phanthu's and Haphaelius's on the edge of the battle, both factions started taking notice of Derrick and I. Plant races and deathly water mages alike let loose with their deathly ranged attacks at anyone that didn't look like them, forcing me to evade and deflect enemy opportunists as we passed. One of which included the 3 headed Necropenthi, along with several Morelians holding their hazel-glowing mycelium hands to its belly.
Globs of black ooze whizzed by while rogue opaque waves crashed around me as I serpentined through dozens of bodies and roots at arms separating me and the Necropenthi. The fissure sat roughly 20 feet behind it, with Phanthu and his soldiers battling Hyphaelius and his titan of a monster that looked a lot like a giant Necropenthi with thousands of long mycelium strings spindling together to form tentacles.
Breaking through a crossfire of dark water and viscous sludge flung aloft, the Necropenthi ahead started unhinging its top-heads jaw unnaturally open while leaning back. The sharp clash of metal on metal triggered a surge of energy through my blades, firing lightning into the Necropenthi's open mouth. The bolt ripped through the back of its neck, burning a hole that leaked with dark sludge. Immediately, the Morelians scampered up his body, where a brown hue began glowing from behind its head.
"Shit, Derrick! We might have to take this one ou-" my feet slid across the stone realizing he wasn't behind me anymore. I glanced from side to side, hoping to see him flying by from a different angle.
"Tom!" Derrick's voice came from behind me, far behind me. Not wanting to get caught looking, I peeled out of my crash course with the Nepenthi. As I neared the general area where I heard Derrick's calls, a rush of disappointment washed over me seeing him caught up with Phanthu's loyal soldiers and traitors alike near the edge of the battle at the fissure.
Oh, right. I forgot he's fucking slow.
Not willing to risk getting hit by one of the decomposing globs, I decided to carve a path through the Morelians having noticed they gave me the most issue the first pass by. Not willing to waste mana until I had my hands on Phanthu, Fluidic Fighter Stance was the only skill active while I carved through groups of shriveled, rotting little Morelians. Their bodies were incredibly soft, which made for slicing through their numbers like dicing sentient silken tofu. Some of the little mushroom folks rooted themselves into the cracks of the stones where they stood, leaving only a stump in the ground after I slashed and dashed by.
*ding*
*ding*
*ding*
Within less than a minute, I fully made my way back through to the other side of the massive crossfire. Behind me was a long closing line of dark fluid leaking stems and mangled mycelium strewn on the stone floor. I turned and headed towards Derrick, who was now surrounded by several Phanthu soldiers backing him into a smooth stone wall. One the soldiers spun around, no doubt hearing my heavy footfalls sprinting straight for them.
"Lord Galenthelos! I'm glad you're here, we caught the traitors sympathizer that wa-" his words were cut gutterally short as my sharp steel sliced through his carotid artery without breaking stride. The other soldiers leapt back, raising their heads nice and high for my blades to slide through Water Stepping between them. Derrick's violet mana dispersed behind me, reappearing next to a mage brave enough to try flanking me. The bottom of his polearm smashed into the mages nose, causing him to real back into the head of Derricks rune-covered halberd.
A chill crept down my spine at the squelching crack of Derrick's blade piercing through the back of the mages skull, forcing Derrick to press his foot on the mages back for leverage trying to free his weapon. One of the last mages who had him cornered rose from his cowering stance behind him, summoning a tightly packed thin blade of deathly water.
"DUCK!" I yelled, leaping to the side and blasting a Lightning Bolt into the mages chest. The bolt nicked the edge of his deathly water blade construct, sending a portion of its energy crackling in the air above him. The rest of the jagged electric energy burned through his stomach however, causing the soldier to stumble back. His eyes shot open wide looking up, watching as the electrified water construct dumped all over him.
Derrick quickly ran over, stepping carefully before finishing off the convulsing mage laying in a pool of his own opaque water. After cutting through another cowardly water mage myself, the final of Derricks' captors pleaded with me as he backed away.
"Wait, wait I don't understand?! We fight in your honor lord Galenthel-"
"There was NO HONOR in what you've done today!" I yelled in Phanthu's mage's face, sinking a blade through his shoulder and kicking out his ankle. The mage's head slammed into the ground, rocking him onto his back. Dropping all my weight, a second blade pierced through his throat, twisting and ripping a larger wound as it exited.
"Woah." Derrick said, glancing back and forth between myself and the mage's corpse. I wordlessly pointed to Hyphaelius atop his distended abomination, currently being double teamed by our squad and Phanthu's at center of the fissure in the distance.
"Keep. Up."