Chapter 787 Chapter 786: Tza'Orbias (3)
I grit my teeth as I utilized my momentum to drag the Khopesh down from above me into the edge of the silver ring, opting instead to inflict some form of damage on the instrument that was making this fight far more difficult than it needed to be; after all, I wasn't the only one who was leaping towards the Fiend.
Satanya and Anput were flying through the air as well, their weapons aimed towards the Fiend's chest as they went high, while Jahi and Ronove hoisted their heavier blades and swung towards the Fiend's legs, going for the scales and getting an idea on those.
However, Tza'Orbias wasn't focused on anyone except me, those cerulean orbs glittering in the moonlight as the raven headed Fiend observed my attack closely, watching as my Khopesh descended down towards the ring at high speeds.
When my red blade covered in a sheet of ice made contact with the engraved silver ring, I noticed right away that what I actually hit wasn't the ring itself, but instead a thin layer of mana that absorbed the impact of my attack and then redirected it...
Straight back towards my blade, sending an immense amount of force up the length of the Khopesh and then straight into my arm, before enveloping my chest and throwing me backwards as the rest of the mana exploded outwards, catching me by surprise.
I flew away from the silver ring in agony, the bones in my right arm cracked and splintered thanks to the sheer force of that rebound explosion, making my mind go blank as I felt nothing but pain.
Shards of my arm cut through the muscles surrounding it and further damaged me, tearing through the compact tissues and severing them easily as I flew back towards Cali and the others.
White hot needles of agonizing pain were stabbed into my right arm, each one eliciting a muffled cry and tears from me as my arm was made lame, the structure completely deformed.
To add onto the wave of hellish heat that washed over my body, I slammed into the cobblestones and felt the air escape my lungs as I skidded back, my ribs cracking as my armor did little to absorb that impact either, the blunt force dealing even more damage to me as I was flung away like a used washrag.
Incapable of breathing, consumed by pain, my vision swam as I stared up at the moons, their simple brilliance blinding me as the tears amplified their light, while my mind couldn't comprehend what was happening or how this had happened.
That changed in a moment as somehow, someway the tattoo on my upper left arm began to activate, numbing my everything and sheltering me from the pain, even if my body was still mangled beyond belief; the pain was stripped away from me, allowing me to finally take in a breath and blink the tears from my eyes, those torturous 'needles' of hellish heat - my broken bone - no longer as unbearable as before thanks to me feeling... nothing.
No pain, no damage, no broken bones or serrated muscles... just... nothing.
Which, was both a blissful boon and a terrible bane as I laid there, taking a few breaths as I gathered myself before I raised my left arm, which had been left relatively undamaged all things considered.
Currently, I couldn't focus on much besides myself, the fleeting memories of that torment that had occupied only a few seconds yet had stretched for what felt like eternity stealing away my ability to think even when that pain was taken from me, meaning I couldn't hear the shouts of my lovers or the sounds of battle as spells continued to rain down on them, or the cawing of the raven as it continued to loom over the battlefield, watching everything unfold as it merely reacted to everything, watching, learning.
Shakily, I began to trace out the all too familiar runes of a healing spell from muscle memory, guiding my mana agonizingly out of my Core and up towards my left arm, before letting it trickle out of my fingertip and create the runes I needed to begin healing myself.
Well... as best as I could, anyways.
I sincerely doubt my arm will be brought back just that quickly, but... perhaps I can return to a fighting form before long..?
I needed to help them with this Fiend, after all... we are going to need everyone in order to stand a chance against this opponent; this is the first time that we don't have someone at the level of a Knight fighting by our side against a Fiend.
This is actually just the third time that we've fought against a Fiend, and so far they've been really, really varied in strength; Tza'Delira was stronger than Tza'Orbias, though that was becoming harder to determine by the second, whilst Tza'Inopia was a mere... 'appetizer' of a Fiend for us to fight...
When we fought Tza'Delira, we had the Marquess, Nirinia, Kolia, and Adelina at our sides, but now we have a host of Demons by our side, who may or may not amount to the combined prowess of the latter three women..?
Drawing in a shaky breath, I noted that the blue runes above me had flashed, signaling the beginning of the healing spell and allowing me to begin switching my focus from that to anything else.
The first thing that caught my eye was the shards of red metal that were scattered across the ground in front of me, my beloved Khopesh no more as the force of that blow destroyed it alongside my arm.
The next thing I noticed was the fact that the silver ring had stopped spinning, whilst the blue orb had closed once again, the rune inside its structure gone and leaving the silver instrument as little more than a piece of metal that the Fiend was swinging around to bat aside the blades aimed at its body.
After that, I took note of the fact that the Fiend's left arm - the one not grasping the silver ring - was covered in bony protrusions that glistened and dripped with a clear liquid, which it used to attack the various mortals around it through punches and slaps, hoping to pierce them with those spines.
Information flowed into my mind as I stabilized myself, the pain long gone now that the tattoo from the Arese had taken full effect, numbing my entire body from feeling any sort of pain or other stimulations.
I analyzed the battle as I took a few moments, easing the mana flowing through the tattoo and appraising my arm, which made me wince as I rose to my feet, my head spinning once more as the internal bleeding took effect.
Taking out a healing potion, I downed the reddish liquid and tossed the vial aside, letting it do its work as I continued to analyze the battle, looking for any sort of clues, any at all that might let us win this fight and kill this Fiend.
Anything was helpful, and I ignored the dull throbbing of my arm as I continued to ease off the effects of the tattoo, before my eyes widened as I found a nugget of information that might just be what turns the tides in favor of us.
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