Chapter 43

The large, grotesque beast pulled its head back and let out a trill-like sound. The pitch was high, and the sound was so loud we all had to cover our ears. Ilthvana dropped to the ground, crying out in pain as blood began to slowly seep out of her ears. I glanced at the others and all of those from both Pact Houses were still wincing from the pain the noise had caused. As the echo of the beast’s cry slowly faded, it was replaced by the laughter of Silvia.

“What’s the matter?” She asked, laughing. “Did my little pet’s cry hurt your sensitive ears?”

Though she didn’t say a word to it, the beast lowered its head next to her. We watched as she lovingly ran her hand along the rocky skin of the creature.

Turning back to us, “His cry is the least of your problems! You are all going to feed my beautiful boy and make him stronger.”

The Minotaur stomped forward and yelled, “We won’t be feeding that thing shit! We are going to kill it! Even if we fall, we will be teleported from here!”

“Oh, really?” Silvia asked, glancing towards me. “You have no clue of the truth, do you? Well, let me explain it to you. The red crystals in my beauty here, as well as the one in my circlet, negate the power of your exit stones. Along with removing the safety of your crystals, it amplifies the power of the person or creature it is in contact with. So, that means that my power is beyond yours and my beast is more powerful than anything you have ever faced before.”

The Minotaur shook his head and said, “I don’t believe you! You are simply lying to try and get in our heads!”

She cocked her head to the side, “If you don’t believe me, just ask Pathios over there. He has killed numerous creatures that had been made stronger by our crystals, just out of pure luck. He has seen first-hand how these crystals stop you from leaving a fight.”

“It’s true,” I replied, not taking my eyes off her. “The crystals do stop the emergency exit crystals from working. They also amplify the power of the beast, such as the dragon that had been injuring and killing people that challenged it. The crystal didn’t always work, which is why only some cases of battle led to the challenger’s death. The fact that the creature has so many on it means it is a serious threat.”

The Minotaur snorted and said, “Even if that is true, the Council will not allow you to attack us in this fashion!”

Silvia again began to laugh, though this time it was a bit hysterically. She grabbed her sides as she tried to control her laughter.

“What is it you think that they can do?” Silvia replied, with a hint of irritation. “They can’t stop our crystals and they can’t even come down here. We have placed a field around this place that is controlled by us. By the time they figure out a way to come here, you will all be dead, and I will be long gone.”

The Minotaur roared in anger and began charging towards Silvia. She smiled and snapped her fingers, causing the beast to charge towards its target. I was surprised at the speed that the creature could move but figured that it was due to the crystals.

“Everyone, be careful and aim for the crystals!” I yelled to everyone, as I began charging my blast. “We need to damage and shatter the crystals! It will weaken the creature and give us a fighting chance to kill it!”

I let go my charged blast towards the thing, hoping that the charged Divine Blast would have some effect. I just hoped that it would distract the creature enough to ensure that the Minotaur could get out of the way of its charge. I watched my blast travel towards its intended target before it struck an unknown field.

“Ah, I’m afraid that I can’t let you hurt my baby!” Silvia yelled, as her hand outstretched towards me.

A second later roots burst up from the ground and tried to block the beast, as the Minotaur tried to jump out of the creature’s way.

“Dilbar, Katie and Ilthvana,” I called out. “I want you to focus on the beast. The rest of us will try and deal with Silvia. We will do our best to distract her long enough so that she won’t protect the creature.”

They simply nodded as Darius, Grishta and I began moving towards Silvia. She smirked and raised her hand to cast another spell towards us when a bolt of lightning struck her in the back. Silvia screamed in pain and turned to find that the Enlil spell caster had attacked while she had been distracted. He glanced at us and nodded, before he had to bring up a shield of arcane energy to absorb the blast of her fire attack. It took all my willpower to not try and focus on the beast, but I knew that they could handle it. While Dilbar and Katie’s ranged attacks would be an asset towards dealing with Silvia, their weapons would be needed to deal with the crystals. The Minotaur had tried to dodge the worm as it barreled down on him. It was caught in one of the barbed tentacles near the creature’s maw, causing him to scream in pain as the barbs sank into his flesh.

The head began to raise up, pulling the Minotaur up with it when a small explosion slammed into the face of the creature. It cried in pain, and when I looked, the smoke cleared and part of the stone-like skin crumbled away, revealing glowing orange flesh beneath. It looked like the impact was just a little too low to damage any of the crystals, but it did significant damage. I turned my focus just in time to bring up my shield as a blast of fire slammed into my shield, knocking me on my back and causing the shield to fly out of my hands. Silvia cackled and I fired off a quick bolt of energy at her as I scrambled to get back on my feet. I wasn’t sure if it worked, but, a few moments later, I felt the impact of another blast of fire. The heat was intense, despite the protection that my armor gave me, and I was knocked prone again.

“What’s the matter Pathios?” Silvia asked, her anger pouring out of each word. “I thought that you were such an amazing fighter! Seems to me that you were nothing but an overrated piece of shit that needs to be put down!”

Taking a gamble I turned onto my back and replied, “Then who is going to put me down? I mean you’re so weak you needed enhancement just to give me a challenge. I mean, if you were going for enhancements, maybe you should have gone for bigger tits. They would have distracted from your plain face and shitty personality. No wonder Darius picked Cassandra!”

Her eyes widened and she screamed in anger as she began to assault me with fire attacks. I crumpled into the fetal position, hoping to prevent any exposed skin from getting hit by the flames, while I drew her ire. I could see my health slowly ticking down as she continued to assault me in her fiery rage. I hoped that they would take the opening that I gave them but wondered if my health would last long enough. A minute or so later, she let out a different scream and I glanced over to see smoke rising from her back and an arrow in her shoulder. Taking the chance I had been given, I ran over to my shield and grabbed it before she could turn back to attack again. I heard another explosion and a trill from the beast as another section of its face had been blown off, though this time it was higher, and it looked like it had cracked a corner of one of the crystals. The Minotaur was still in its barbed tentacle, hacking desperately at it to try and break free.

I watched in horror as the beast growled and with a flick of its head, tossed the Minotaur into the air. The rest of his group screamed as they watched him fall into the open waiting mouth of this grotesque worm. Katie tried in vain to try and get some vines up near the creature’s mouth, but they burned up before they got close enough. It was as if its core was made of magma and its skin was the cooled, hardened lava. I glanced over in time to brace myself and take the brunt of the blast that slammed into me. The force was enough to dent the impact point inward. I began to run towards Silvia, drawing my blade and readying it to strike. I tried not to listen as the Minotaur fell into the beast’s mouth and the beast began to chew on its new meal.

“There goes the first of you pathetic maggots,” Silvia screamed. “Once it feeds on all of you, it will be ready to deal with more challenging prey!”

Undeterred by what they witnessed, the rest of the group continued their attacks. Katie was choosing her moments, but those high impact bolts were possibly our best chance of dealing with the crystals the beast had embedded in its face. I glanced over and saw that the Enlil fighter in scale mail was assisting the others in attacking the worm. I turned my focus back to Silvia in time to block another one of her blasts, but I noticed that it was not as impactful as it had been in her previous attacks. I glanced over the edge of my shield and saw the Enlil spellcaster smiling as he prepared another spell. I could see that he was charging it, increasing its possible damage, when I got a shock. Silvia quickly turned to him, raised her hand and I watched as an impossibly strong torrent of flame exploded from her hand. The spellcaster didn’t have time to defend himself before he was engulfed in the flames. There was a sadistic glee in Silvia’s face as she watched her victim being burned alive, relishing in his screams of pain. My feet moved automatically, as I rushed to close the distance between us before she noticed. Before I could get into range, she raised her hand towards me and turned to smile at me.

Again, it was as if my body just knew what to do. I activated all three charges of my blade and sent my own torrent of dragon’s fire at her. Right as she let loose her attack, mine arrived in time to collide with the blast, resulting in an explosion. As soon as I had unleashed the sword’s fire attack, I crouched and tried to cover as much of myself as I could with my shield. The resulting blast was stronger than the first attack she had launched at me, and I was hit hard by the concussive force. I was knocked into a tumble that took me a moment or two to stop, before I got up on uneasy feet. I glanced over at Silvia and saw she had been knocked back farther and was laying prone. Grishta took the opportunity to try and charge her. Her hand was reaching out as she closed in on Silvia, but the blonde’s hand raised up and a wall of energy appeared. Grishta ground to a halt and was able to slow down enough that she wouldn’t hurt herself. I glanced over at the spell caster and saw charred remains. I shook my head at the unnecessary loss and felt my resolve strengthen.

Working out of instinct, I watched as Silvia started to get up, but her focus was completely off of me for the time being. I heard a scream of pain from the beast and glanced over to see that two of the crystals had been destroyed by a volley from Katie’s crossbow. Dilbar had a tentacle tip piercing his shoulder, but he grabbed an axe and chopped it off, causing the beast to cry out again. I watched as Katie drew her other crossbow, holstering the first and shooting Dilbar. It took a second for me to remember that she had the other new set of tips loaded. He had been favoring his shoulder and had one eye slightly closed in pain. When the bolt struck him, I watched as the fatigue and damage seemed to ease and he looked a bit better. She then turned to me and fired two bolts. I had to fight every instinct not to deflect them or dodge them as they slammed into my chest. I felt the aches of my body lessen and looked at my bracer to see that my health, which had fallen to a quarter of my full amount, was now at two thirds full.

I smiled at Katie and turned to look back at Silvia who had noticed the exchange with both interest and rage. She gestured with her outstretched hand and the wall of energy sped towards Grishta, slamming into her, and knocking her down.

“So you have learned even more new tricks,” Silvia sneered. “Let’s see how useful your tricks are when your little pet is deep in the stomach of the worm.”

Rage boiled up in me, that I hadn’t felt since the fight I had with Jonta, after what he said he planned to do to Amenthia. It was primal and possessive, which was something not normal with me. All I knew was that Katie was mine and no one threatened what was mine. I charged my energy, preparing a blast, but I didn’t release it as one would expect. I spun around and launched my shield at her, hoping the dent wouldn’t mess with the aerodynamics of the design. At the same moment, I released as much energy as I could muster for my Divine Blast. It was as if the blast and the shield had merged as they traveled towards their target. The shield seemed to have a glow about it as it sailed towards Silvia, and I watched as her eyes widened in shock.

“You fucking piece of shit,” She screamed as she reached out with two hands and counterattacked.

I watched in hopeful desperation as a torrent of flame barreled towards me, enveloping the shield and I worried the power of the attack would stop my attack. Soon all I could see was flames, and I jumped to try and get out of the way. I felt the blast slam into my legs and felt one of my legs shift in an unnatural way. Pain erupted from my leg, and I landed with a hard thud. I fought to not scream and give that blonde bitch the satisfaction. I looked over and saw that she was on the ground and my shield was a foot or two behind her.

“Grishta!” I yelled, trying to mask the pain I was in. “You need to destroy the gem in her circlet!”

Grishta nodded and turned towards the shield. A quick, but brutal strike near it, caused a crackling of energy to be released into the air. Silvia slowly began to get up, as she had apparently been hit by one or both of the projectiles that had been launched at her. She placed her hand on her head and I watched as she realized the circlet was missing and looked over to see a smirking Grishta with her shield up in preparation of a pending counterattack. Silvia lashed out, but compared to her other attacks before, this one seemed paltry by comparison.

She screamed out in frustration and said, “KILL THEM ALL, my pet! Rip them asunder and make them all pay!”

The beast turned towards her and trilled in response. Then it did something I didn’t expect, it lashed out at her and slammed into the ground where she was lying. There was no mistaking what had just happened and what it meant. The beast apparently had been controlled by the circlet, and, now free, it decided to end its oppressor. The beast burrowed down into the ground, and we all looked around in worry as to where the creature would appear next. We knew that the threat wouldn’t end here, because whether controlled or not, we have done some serious damage to it.

“Everyone spread out,” I yelled, grimacing in pain. “We need to limit the risk to us once it emerges.”