Jahi PoV
Wrenching the sword of bone free from the cracked tile ground, the Necrotic Lord glared at me, the green flames in its eyes flaring hatefully as it wetly growled "Disgusting... Light..! I'll kill you... first..!"
The miasma gathering around its body pulsed before shooting off into the sky, seeking out new corpses to resurrect into undead.
The barrier around the Necrotic Lord burst outwards, pushing me back a few steps, before my eyes widened as the corpse once more moved with an unearthly speed, appearing before me.
Raising my sword, I blocked the bone blade that arced towards my neck, intending to decapitate me in one fell swoop.
Grunting, I withheld under the Necrotic Lord's immense strenght, surging my Light Mana through my veins to grant me increased strength.
"Horrendous... Light Magics..! Repulsive... Demon..."
The Necrotic Lord growled as it leaned closer to me, its breath putrid and hot as it brought its skull closer to my head.
Pursing my lips, I pulled my head back and slammed it forwards, cracking my brow hard against the creatures skull, making it grunt in pain as one of my horns dug into its flesh.
Channelling my mana to my arms, I pushed the blade away from me and created some space, ignoring the dripping, acidic blood on my gold tipped horn.
Reaching up, the creature tried to inspect the deep gouge that I had created in its cheek with my horn, only to have a dark blue fist slam into its jaw, unhinging it and spinning the Necrotic Lord around.
"I don't think you have the room to talk about repulsive, you damn undead. Let alone about my daughter."
Walking towards the Necrotic Lord, Mom parried the creatures hasty swing as it tried to create some distance between them, its movements erratic as it saw Mom's dark scarlet flames licking at her flesh.
Raising her claymore, Mom cleaved down towards the creatures arm, splitting the bone cleanly in half with a sickening pop as its flesh burst under the blow, oozing from the wound.
Crying out, the Necrotic Lord raised its remaining hand and sent a wave of that sickly green miasma towards Mom, the roiling gaseous cloud attempting to envelope her bulky frame.
However, the gas began to burn as she flared her mana once more, the flames embroiling her flesh intensifying with a harsh light as it burnt the very air around her.
"Nua'Morte. Where is it? Where is your Fiendish master, undead? What does it know about the Gates?"
The Necrotic Lord weeped - though no tears left its empty sockets - and it raised its hand once more, this time in surrender.
The undead around us continued to claw and bite at the legionnaires, trying to overwhelm them with number, but they were just basic undead, incapable of much harm to a trained warrior.
Our legionnaires cut them down as they kept an eye on Mom and I, while Nirinia, Adelina, and Leone all waited to give their support to whoever needed it most, their weapons raised in preparation.
"I... I don't know..! I was... just raised... like this..! Alone... all alone..."
Hearing its nasally, grotesque voice, I frowned as it tried to make itself look pathetic, all while a calculating light gleamed in those flames.
"Mom..."
"I know. Last chance, undead. Tell me what you know of the Gates. What opened them?"
Shaking its head, the Necrotic Lord muttered "I... have no idea... but..."
Looking towards the ground, the Necrotic Lord grinned as it said "I do know... what lies under... the mansion... under this hill... Another being... left to slumber... Nua'Morte told me... about it..."
Mom stepped forwards, her claymore raised as she said "Nuh-uh, not happening."
The Necrotic Lord looked up towards her, grinning madly as she sliced through its neck, severing its head from its body.
Even in 'death', the Necrotic Lord began to cackle, its flames dwindling as it muttered "Enjoy... Demons... My parting... gift to you..."
Its torso slammed into the floor as it died a final death, but not before the green glow inside its chest flared one last time.
Bursting from the creatures corpse, the miasma burrowed into the ground, and Mom growled in anger as she tried to burn most of it, only to wince as a second nasally voice echoed around the chambers.
"A worthy sacrifice warrants a prize... Ascend from the depths, my child... Spread pestilence once more across this vibrant land! Sully it in the name of Nua'Morte..."
"EVERYONE OUT! NOW!"
The Necrotic Lord's corpse exploded, more and more miasma seeping out of its shattered body and seeping into the ground.
Above where it had perished, an elaborate symbol flickered into existence, and I felt my stomach roll as it began to shine.
"LOOK AWAY! RUN, NOW! GO!"
Yanking me back, Mom pushed me towards the open doors, and I felt nausea overtake my system as I spun around, the room spinning.
Gritting my teeth, I balled my fist and cut into my palm with my nails, the pain overriding the nausea and letting me move freely.
Leone was vomiting profusely, specks of blood joining the mess below her, while Iaso was twitching on the floor, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.
Liga was on her knees, staring at the symbol with blank eyes, her breathing uneven.
Grabbing Leone, I dragged her away, while Nirinia scooped up Iaso and Adelina, who was reacting similarly to Liga.
Letting out a roar, Mom's mana surged over the room, and most managed to snap free from the spell that the symbol placed onto them long enough to look away, scrambling to their feet as they began to run.
The mansion began to shake violently, the tremors causing the paintings and mirrors to fall to the floor, while the ground trembled, the tiles coming loose.
Cracks began to splinter up the walls, and everyone began to stumbled towards the entrance, avoiding the undead that surged towards the symbol.
Anput ran beside me, her face pale as she led the way out, her blades singing in the air as she cleared us a path through the hordes that began to surge inside.
Thankfully the mansion wasn't that large, so we managed to rush out of the building before it finally came tumbling down, the violent earthquake shaking the foundations and destroying them.
Most of the legionnaires managed to get out with us, but I could hear a few inside screaming as they were buried under the rubble, and I grit my teeth in anger as we continued out into the city of Huran, where the tremors subsided.
Turning, Mom growled "That Necrotic Lord was a catalyst?! A fucking catalyst?! Seriously?!"
We watched as the mansion continued to crumble, before the hill the mansion was built on began to crack apart as well.
"Catalyst?"
Glancing at me, Mom snarled "A creature meant to summon another. Something that weakens the catalyst by a large amount, but it gives that strength in exchange for whatever it tries to summon! In this case, some kind of undead creature... One 'blessed' by a damn Arch Fiend! Nirinia! Come here!"
Releasing Leone, I glanced at the Vampire in concern, her breathing still shaky.
"You okay? Because I don't think we have long, Leone."
Nodding, she took a deep breath before wiping her lips clean; though, her face was definitely paler than normal.
"Yeah... I... I'm fine. That symbol... felt so wrong. So... very wrong to look at. You felt it too, right? That nausea, the sickness? The world spinning round and round while your head feels like it was about to split open? The tightness in your chest, the inability to breath?"
"I felt the nausea, yeah, but... that must have been the thing that the rest of the mages were feeling earlier; I only felt the nausea..."
Leone stared at me in silence, before focusing on the hill that continued to crack.
"Well... I'm better now... Let's just focus on getting through this, alright?"
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