Chapter 119
We rushed through the next floor, and though it wasnt a labyrinth, it felt like one. It was simply a long, winding tunnel meant to slow our pursuers. Getting to this point, it was more about us buying time than anything else. There was a passage I created that was a one-use set of doors that would slam shut and fuse with the wall around them.
Theres just so many of them, Raven grumbled. I know you can raise them, but that only works if we dont get overwhelmed first.
I stopped right before passing through the first door. I need one of my necromancers. I turned back to the tunnel, connecting with them in the distance. I ordered the necromancer nearest the tunnel to come to me with all due haste.
What are you doing? Raven asked.
Something desperate. I just hope I have the time, I said.
The advantage of being living dead was that there was no need for breathing, though that did not mean the living dead wasnt a little haggard-looking when it got to me. After all, muscle still had to function, and constant combat took its toll. I could feel the battle on the previous floor wasnt going well. The fact it was still going was what mattered. I ordered the living dead to keep pace as we dashed through the doors.
The next two floors I designed the sameto buy time. On the fourth floor down, I ordered the necromancer to move to one side and stand in the corner as Raven and I rushed to the end. Then I accessed the terminal that allowed me to modify the floor.
When I first accessed the terminal, I was stunned, the amount of dungeon energy I had available was massive. The fight wasnt even over, and wed killed so many things inside of the dungeon, that despite my own losses, the pool was huge. I eyed an option that Id been wanting to use since I first saw it, but lacked the energy. Seeing no point in wasting energy, I began modifying the floor.
Guessing that with their trump card was already revealed, my enemies would see no reason not to continue pushing their horde down the rathole after me. With that in mind, I laid traps. Nothing complicated, and nothing somebody paying attention would not be able to avoid. But these nearly mindless possessed freaks would fall for almost all of these. Where the necromancer stood, I walled him off and added a hidden door that could only be opened from the inside. I gave the necromancer one last order before we headed off.
I could feel the fight on the harbor floor was all but done. Already the horde of white clad possessed were reaching the end of the first floor. It had been time well spent though.
The next floor I did the same, though admittedly I was more rushed, so the traps were even more obvious.
We entered the seventh floor, the one right above the forge. This was the floor I had turned into a jungle of stone pillars, rubble, archways, and collapsed buildings. There were also numerous hidden exits. Raven and I split up.
Id barely gotten myself ready when the first of a dozen inquisitors arrived. I watched the entrance from a shadow, my cloak flowing around me as I activated its ability to meld me in the shadows. It was just as good as a spell Raven or myself could have cast.
The group rushed in and stopped, looking around with instant unease. The white robed possessed werent among them. There were priests, clerics, and players. All of them sported the symbol of Olattee someplace on their armor or robes, or even engraved into their weapons and staffs. Several of their group had passed the first threshold of soul compression and were over level 100.
I made note of which ones were likely the most dangerous. There was a player in flowing white robes with golden runes embroidered into the pure white fabric. Around his shoulders was a stole made of purest black and embroidered with silver runes. On his head sat a priestly miter that matched his robes. In one hand he held a tall staff with the symbol of Olattee mounted in the center of two concentric rings, the outer of which had several golden rings hanging loosely around it. Around his hip was a belt with a scepter on one side and a book on the other. I didnt dare try to pull up a description. If youre in tune enough with the world, you could tell when someone was studying you.
The second of the three more powerful opponents was another player. She held a golden mace in one hand and a pure black shield in the other. Her armor was of white metal engraved with black runes. The power emitting from her generated an aura that I could feel even at a distance.
The final, and by far the most powerful individual, was a cleric. I was pretty certain they were an NPC. The players, four in total, operated together but apart from the rest of the group. The other eight opponents all focused on this cleric, listening to his words and orders. In one hand he wielded a silver sword, and in the other a scepter. His robes were simple, but as I had discovered with Friar Brown, that did not mean they were ordinary.
The group began to push onto the floor, spreading out slightly, but not as much as I wouldve liked. I touched an engraved rune on the stone next to me and began to speak.
Why cant you just leave me alone? I asked, my voice coming from another part of the room, echoing through the stony terrain. I have done nothing to deserve this kind of attention. My voice came from a different spot that time.
The group had immediately begun moving to where my voice came from the first time, but now they paused.
Tell that to Father Mathis, the head cleric sneered.
He deserved what he got, I sneered right back. Anyone who would so callously order the deaths of innocents deserves death. Every time I spoke, my voice came from a different spot.
Innocent does not mean pure, a priest snapped. That has been made very clear by Olattee himself.
I tried to keep an eye on the players to see if they were listening to this, though I doubted this would change the course of what was about to occur, but I wondered if maybe a seed of doubt could be planted. So, your god advocates for the wholesale slaughter of innocents? I let the incredulity and disgust show in my voice. And you have the gall to call me evil.
You are a Lich, the player priest said. For you to even exist means innocents had to be sacrificed. I heard grunts come from many of the others in the group.
I smiled. The distraction was working, they were beginning to spread out.
Not technically true, I countered. Yes, I was created with sacrifice, and its not an excuse, but there were many things I did not know at the time, and I deeply regret what happened. But theres nothing I can do about that now. I saw one of the NPCs stop and begin to cast a spell, I could guess what it was. For future information however, there are other ways to create Lichs, they are just far more difficult and time-consuming.
And what are those ways? The player priest was clearly trying to keep me talking.
I didnt mind. I watched the NPCs working on their spell, things were about to kick off anyways.
Weve heard some very interesting rumors about you as well, the player priest said. But they dont seem within the realm of something that could be real.
I think if you considered all of the possible implications of what Lichs are, you might reconsider that perspective, I said. I dont know much about the other ways, but from what I learned when going through the process, the other ways involved something similar to what happened to pharaohs when they died. Except instead of being dead when your organs are removed and your body is embalmed, youre still alive and conscious through the whole process. It makes things very difficult to gather materials and resources.
How? a player dressed as a cleric began to ask, as the NPCs completed their spell.
The group continued to spread out as the conversation went on. The clerics were in the center, while most of the rest had spread out far enough that they were in groups of one to three, the rough terrain having split them up. Silverlight washed out over the room. My cloak would conceal my presence, magically as well, but I was certain they would still get some kind of readout, even if it was just an empty space where there should be something.
Raven struck first. While my cloak was as good as her magic, her ability to sneak was far better than mine. She had remained hidden as the outer layer of the groups had passed around her. Now with the clerics focusing on what their spell was telling them, she attacked. Twin black daggers made out of bone slid into the back of one of the clerics. He gasped as the dark magic poured into him.
Raven yanked the daggers free and blurred as she used time magic to slash at the jugulars of two of the other clerics near her. I lost track of that fight as I acted myself. A player cleric, and a player zealot wielding a morning star approached my hiding spot.
I reshaped Mercy, splitting it in half and forming each of the blades into sickles. I struck from the shadows just as their backs had turned to me. My strength was already massive but was even further enhanced by my armor. The sickles reached around their necks and before they even realized what happened, I yanked backward, severing most of the way through their armor and necks.
As I ripped my blades free, their mostly severed heads rolled to the side, barely held in place by their spine. Blood gushed out as they were unable to scream and their bodies lost control, crashing to the ground. The magic infecting the wounds resisted the clerics feeble attempts to heal himself with a spell stored in a ring. I strode past them, my cloak melding me into the different shadows, so I looked like nothing more than a passing wraith.
While my attack had been silent, the collapse of their bodies had not been. There were shouts as nearby groups called out to confirm the status of those around them. I moved quickly. Mercy reformed to a single weapon, which I formed into a large scythe.
The beautiful thing about Mercy is it allowed me to use highly specialized weapons, things like the scythe, without all the downsides that came with it. In a duel where I fought multiple people, the scythe was not a good weapon, but in a one-on-one, or striking in an ambush, it was a very powerful weapon.
Rippling explosions of magic filled the room as the NPCs zealots and priests near Raven began to attack her with magic. The zealots were a hybrid magic and melee fighter judging by the one I just killed. In one hand they wielded some kind of melee weapon while the other held a scepter.
I flowed through the room, seeking my next target. I came across a loan NPC priest and brought Mercy down like the dissenting hand of the god of death. The tip of the scythe impacted the unsuspecting clerics shoulder right at the base of the neck. The razor-sharp tip bit through, the bone barely resisting the weight of the blow. The downward swing only stopped when the shaft of Mercy reached the clerics shoulder. He hadnt even gasped in pain the blow had been so swift.
Yanking Mercy back, the scythe severed the flesh and bone as Mercy sliced free.
There was a shout from nearby, and I looked up to see through a small gap in the rubble another NPC pointing and yelling. I rushed forward, finding another deep shadow and disappearing into it.
I didnt know how well Raven was doing, but I trusted her skill. This floor had been laid out in this manner by Ravens request and design. It suited her combat style perfectly. As the battle evolved into a series of ambushes, I periodically caught glimpses of Raven leaping between shadows, often trailing blood and entrails from her latest victim.
If it had just been the initial group of twelve, we might have succeeded, but more players and NPCs continued to arrive. Fortunately, it didnt seem like any of the possessed had made it, nor were there very many that were passed level 100, but increasing numbers made it harder and harder for me to stay hidden.
Staying out of any larger combat was the only way this fight could work. Pulled into a prolonged fight, I would be overwhelmed.
In order to avoid such a situation, Raven and I continued to fall back, utilizing the large area with plenty of space to retreat. I tried to focus my attacks on bringing down individuals or small groups that I could take out with a few blows.
The problem was, as the fight progressed, more powerful players and NPCs were beginning to home in on my location. I was certain they were doing the same to Raven. After all, the trail of bodies I was leaving behind did give a relatively good indication for my location.
Using Mercy in its split form as a pair of sickles, I tore apart a group of three zealots. As the last body hit the ground, a blast of searing white magic hammered me off my feet and into a pillar. My eldritch barrier absorbed most of the blow but some of the magic snuck through. I hissed in a breath at the pain.
I looked to the source of the attack and saw the player priest and his paladin bodyguard advancing on me. Instead of meeting them, I dashed around a corner, slipping into another shadow.
I sprinted across the floor, leaping from shadow to shadow. The power reserves of my armor were beginning to get low. I had quit using the ability of my cloak to suppress my magic, wanting to conserve my mana reserves, but I still enabled it to help me hide in the shadows.
I cycled death energy through my body to further speed up and repair the damage done. The magic coursing through Mercy did not create undead, instead it amplified the poison left behind so that it would quickly finish off anyone not killed outright.
My goal was to get far enough away from where Id been hunting them that I hopefully would buy some time away from the stronger individuals hunting me. My mana reserves were about half-full, and I still had two spells stored in my rings.
As I ran across an open area, shouts of dismay and anger rose. I glanced to my right and saw the NPC clerics over level 100 sinking to the ground with two daggers planted on either side of his neck. I thought I saw the telltale flicker of a shadow as Raven disappeared.
Fortunately, the large group of priests, clerics, and zealots that had been with the lead cleric were too distracted by the eminent demise of their leader to notice me. I diverted my direction, smiling to myself as I held Mercy in the twin sickle form in each hand.
The group was too focused on trying to heal their dying leader to notice me when I hit them. I didnt slow as I slashed out, Mercy ripping horrendous wounds in stomachs and throats as I dashed through the group. Not needing to keep Mercy in my hands, I threw it several times spinning through the group.
A spell came apart and backlashed into one of the clerics as I disrupted his casting. By the time I left the other side, every one of them had been at least scratched by Mercy. The poison coursing through their bodies would prove lethal for most.
I glanced behind me as I dove into the jungle of pillars and rubble. I saw to my own dismay the player priest and paladin hot on my tail.
Now that they had my scent, so to speak, I made a plan. Throughout this floor I had scattered several buildings that resembled old, ruined structures. I came across one that was two stories tall and leapt up to the second floor and disappeared into the shadows behind the crumbling wall. Reshaping Mercy into a scythe, I waited.
From my hidden position, I saw the priest and the paladin approach. They slowed when they reached the building, uncertain where I had gone. They had no idea I was nearby.
The priest was the biggest threat in the long run. If I got tied down fighting the paladin, the priest would be able to build a devastating ritual that would likely spell my doom, even if it didnt kill me. I built up power in Mercy, it began to glow with purple eldritch fire rippling along its edge.
I lunged off the second floor at the priest, bringing Mercy down, the razor-sharp tip aiming for his neck. I almost landed the blow when the paladin moved at a far faster rate than should have been possible and came between me and my target. The tip of Mercy slammed into his black shield and an explosion of eldritch fire blossomed out.
The attack hit with enough force to stagger the paladin, and I used the opportunity to push myself away from him. As soon as I landed, I reversed my direction and lunged at them. Mercy reformed into a more traditional blade staff with a tip meant for penetrating armor.
I was on the paladin before she fully recovered. Mercy snaked in like a vipers tongue, scoring the armor and finding chinks where it made shallow small cuts that festered with poison. Silver white light burned in the paladins Morningstar as she swung it at me. I easily sidestepped the blow and retaliated with a series of strikes that snaked past her guard.
Although my advantages with skill were greater, she was not unskilled either, and she possessed superior physical abilities to me. Lowering her head behind her shield, she charged as an attempt to bash me back. I took the blow and used the momentum to roll to the side where I threw Mercy like a javelin at the priest.
My aim was true, but Mercy encountered resistance. It broke through one barrier completely, but only penetrated part way through a second before it was stopped in the air. That was still enough for the razor-sharp tip to stab into the clerics stomach.
Seeing me disarmed, the paladin tried to grab Mercy. Before her hands could reach it, I summoned my weapon back to me. Pain distorted the face of the priest, but he did not lose control of his spell. The poison in him would disrupt his magic, but I doubted it would be enough. Since they had passed the first level soul compression and I had not, all of my magic was less effective on them.
The wounds in the paladin had begun to slow her, but before I could take advantage of this, she cast a spell of her own. Her entire body temporarily glowed with silver white light. The magic didnt cure the poison coursing in her body, it forced it out. Every wound seeped with a pitch-black tar-like substance that was laced with eldritch purple lines. As soon as the poison had been expelled, the wound flared brightly and seared shut.
The priest chanted something I didnt have the time to hear as he pointed his staff at me. The magic swirling around him gathered into a silver ball at the tip of the staff before it fired. The projectile wasnt fast, but I could sense its power.
I tried to dodge but the spell followed me. I looked at the priest, hoping he was still channeling the spell so I could disrupt ithe was not. He smiled at me before he filled his hand with silver light and clapped it over his stomach. The paladin roared as she charged at me.
I fled, the silver ball speeding up. I might have been able to take them on, but I wouldve been left all but defeated if I survived at all. It was time to leave this floor. The only trick would be getting there before the ball caught me.
No longer worried about staying hidden, I sprinted through the chaotic floor, vaulting over pillars and through small holes like a true master of parkour. I lost the paladin, but the silver ball continued to pursue me. Any pillar I tried to hide behind, the ball simply bored a perfectly smooth hole straight through it.
I finally saw what I was looking for as I reached the top of a particularly tall pile of rubble. Leaping into the air, I pointed my hand at the silver ball and fired both of the eldritch blasts stored in my rings. The two powerful bolts hit the ball, and the first caused it to waver, and the second detonated it.
A ball of blinding silver light erupted and expanded as I dove down the other side of the rubble. Everything it touched was vaporized. That wasnt my problem anymore, I had made it. I shot into a tunnel that had been carefully hidden under a slab, and my feet clipped a boulder that caused the tunnel to collapse behind me.
The tunnel had been smoothed and a lubricant applied, so I shot down it quickly, and soon found myself standing a little ways down from the closed off entrance of the main stairs. Raven was already waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she grabbed a rope and yanked on it. The rope had several cords attached to it, all of which displaced small boulders that caused the rest of the tunnels to collapse.
I pulled Raven into a hug. Glad you made it. She was looking rough, having not escaped unscathed, but she managed to take down one of the more powerful foes we faced.
There was never a doubt, she said smugly as we headed down to the next floor
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