"Dimension magic!" Ashar said grimly, following her gaze. "Once they're outside the city's wards-!"
Before he could finish, each of the three remaining demon-driven carts flashed with a brilliant cerulean light and vanished, melting away in a burst of magic strong enough to leave tangible ripples in Jade's arcane senses.
"They got away." She growled, clenching her hands into fists and slumping back on the bench. That she'd anticipated this outcome didn't make it any less bitter. At least she'd stolen the papers Malice had tried to keep out of their hands.
"Worry later." Luis said, giving her a firm shake on the shoulder. He vaulted over the side of the wagon, landing heavily on the debris-strewn street. "That blast hurt a lot of people. They need help!"
Jade shook herself back to the present. Luis was right, the explosion had thrown people, guardsman and townsfolk alike, to the ground. Many of them had burns, or even shrapnel sticking out of them. A swirling mixture of pain and fear hung in the air, clouding her senses like a sweet fog. Jade had been so distracted by Malice's escape that it took Luis's words for her to realize that she'd been inadvertently enjoying the misery of the wounded, tasting it as she would a fine wine. Feeling sick, she immediately rejected the cloying cloud of negative emotions she was instinctually drawn to.
Fenrin finally pulled the cart to a halt and the rest of them joined Luis, running to the aid of the dozens of wounded men and women scattered near the gate. Almost all of the Silver Shield guards were down, most of whom had been lined up in front of the portcullis to intercept the demon convoy. No doubt more would arrive any minute, but for now they were the only people in any state to help.
"Over here!" Fenrin said, assisting Jade as she pulled an armored guard to his feet. His leg was blackened and burned. "Naomi-"
"On it!"
The bard began strumming a calming melody, suffusing the area with healing magic. Her area of effect healing spell wasn't as potent as her individually targeted one but, with so many wounded, it was the best option. Some of the pained groans began to ease as the magic took hold, beginning the slow process of closing wounds and restoring energy.
"We have to get them out of here!" Jade said, leaving the man to Fenrin and running back to dig a groaning woman out from a loose pile of debris from the gate. She had a large gash on her head, but stirred as Jade reached her. A crash came from nearby as more masonry fell from the unstable, damaged arch above the gate. For all Jade knew, the whole thing was about to collapse.
She finally got the woman, a fellian civilian, free and helped her to her feet. She could walk, so Jade sent her over to Naomi to check on. Then, she resumed searching for anyone else that was trapped with the rest of her party. Another guard stumbled through the smoke nearby, moving away.
"Hey!" Jade called to him, beckoning. "Are you okay? Can you help us?"
The silhouetted figure changed course, making its way towards her. Belatedly, Jade remembered that she could use her aura senses to locate other survivors in need of help. She extended her presence, sweeping the area in search of more wounded. The strength of the guard’s own aura didn't surprise her, the intense bloodlust she tasted from his mind did.
The guard lunged, reaching for her with long, curled hands. Razor sharp claws exploded from the tips of his fingers as he tried to rake across her seemingly unprotected chest. Even Jade's incredible reflexes and a moment's warning weren't enough to evade the blindingly fast strike. Her armor, in combination of the defense boost her 'Seducer's Mantle' ability gave her, saved her. The protective ward covering her body shattered, blunting the force of the man's… creature's? Blow. It still scored against her skin, but her flesh was far more fortified than it had once been. A slash that would have eviscerated any normal human merely left a trio of ragged scratches across her stomach.
Jade let out a gasp of pain, but her training with master Rhysten paid off. Before her mind had even processed the attack she'd already leapt away, drawing her weapons and dropping into a defensive stance. She locked eyes with her assailant and immediately could tell that this was no city guardsman. He wore the armor of the Silver Shield, but his face was wrong. It was unnaturally pale, skin stretched too tight across his cheeks. Crimson eyes burned like glowing embers from sunken sockets, and a too-wide mouth grinned with malevolent intent as the creature returned her gaze.
"So… much… blood." The creature rasped, its creepy grin stretching wider to reveal jagged rows of sharp teeth. "So much wonderful blood."
The deranged words sent a chill down Jade's spine. She didn't need to pull up the creature's status window to know that this was something they needed to kill. She did it anyway.
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Name: Kellak
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Level: [Unknown]
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Race: Blood Demon
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Class: None
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Origin: [Restricted]
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Warning: Labyrinth systems are unable to properly interface with this creature.
Jade blinked the window away, calling her companions over to help. This creature had clearly played a part in the death and destruction surrounding them, and her anger spiked as she beheld its bloody lips.
"Feed..." It croaked, rushing Jade with supernatural speed.
The demon's claws flashed like striking lightning. Jade barely avoided one, only to run straight into the other. A burst of magic deflected the attack at the last moment, Luis's bubble shield forming around her as her friends arrived to help.
"What the hell is that?" Naomi asked, skidding to a stop at the rear of the group.
"Blood demon." Fenrin hissed, eyes hard. "Don't let it get away."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kellak cackled, taking a hopping step back and throwing his arms out wide. The demon moved in jerky, unnatural motions. It was as if Jade were watching a recording that was missing random frames, causing the subject to jerk chaotically from one position to the next. "Not when there's so much to feast upon…"
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The demon sucked in a breath, lines of blood rising into the air from nearby corpses. They formed into swirling rivers that twisted and spun, spiraling into his body, which began to grow in size. A series of loud pops and cracks accompanied the creature's armor bursting off his form, like a second skin that he had outgrown. What remained was a twisted, dark mass of leathery flesh in a vaguely humanoid shape, covered with black bristles that looked more like spikes than hair.
The entire transformation took less than a second. When it was done, the blood demon's smile widened. Jade watched in horror as its face split along a horizontal and vertical axis, skin peeling back into four leaves that flapped open to reveal a large, circular maw where its face had been a moment before. The mouth was ringed with rows of teeth that undulated as the abomination spoke.
"Malice wants you alive." It said to Jade, the words barely comprehensible spoken through its alien face. "But I… need to feed."
It rushed them with a gurgling screech.
Luis stepped forward to intercept the monstrosity's charge with his shield raised, but no attack came. The demon spun around him in a blur of motion, deftly sidestepping him before slipping between Jade and Fenrin to dive straight onto an unprepared Naomi.
"No!"
A surge of fear and anger erupted from Luis's soul. He had suppressed it so far, pushing down the emotions that the sight of so much death and suffering brought upon him. His team needed him to keep a clear head, no matter how bad the situation became. The sight of the blood demon tackling his friend to the ground and tearing at her with razor claws and snapping teeth was enough to crack the dam, letting his pent-up emotions spill through his body. He was the first to react, raising his sword and casting 'Frost Hook', tethering the demon with a cord of ice energy. Luis heaved it away from Naomi, pulling it towards him and leaving her coughing and groaning on the ground.
The demon didn't skip a beat. It was already breathing in another stream of blood, this one coming from a jagged wound on Naomi's torso. The creature's steps were getting faster, its form growing stronger and more muscular with every new drop of blood that it consumed. They had to end this now, before it grew too powerful.
Luis yanked the creature towards him and swung a mighty strike with his sword. It flashed through empty air, the tether between them dissipating as the demon pulled free and leapt skyward. The leap sent it arcing over him and he stumbled as impacts slammed into his back. Before it landed, twin spikes of ice slammed into the demon's side, knocking it off course and giving him time to bring up his shield to deflect the next attack. Tara stood nearby, weaving her wand in a complex pattern and summoning more foot-long icicles to fling at their elusive foe.
Jade was on the blood demon before it could recover, warping in to strike it from behind with a flash of blonde hair and silver steel. Despite her incredible speed, she only managed to land one solid blow on Kellak's back before the demon whirled on her, throwing itself onto her as it had with Naomi, grasping arms seeking to pin her to the ground so its clover mouth could tear into her flesh.
Not this time!
Empowered by 'Guardian Dash', Luis charged forward and crashed into the demon's side, knocking it to the cobblestones. He followed up with another powerful strike but, again, his foe was too quick. Jade pulled herself to her feet beside him, stepping back and dropping to one knee to plant one of her traps. Luis gave her a shallow nod, gaze not leaving the demon as it turned its attention towards Ashar and Fenrin, who were harassing it with bolts of arcane energy and electrified arrows. Jade was right, they needed to slow it down. The trap flashed, armed. Now they just had to lure it in.
Tara went down next, unable to evade the demon's raking claws. The mage gasped, ice magic sputtering away as she dropped to her knees, but somehow managed to maintain enough focus to send one of the projectiles straight into the monster's chest. The demon hissed, enraged, the icicle sticking out of its body like a spear. Before it could finish her off, Fenrin grabbed her and leapt away, propelled by a burst of wind that carried them to safety. Capitalizing on the distraction, Ashar threw a handful of glimmering powder over the creature. Luis couldn't make out exactly what it was, the battlefield was still covered in burning debris and a haze of smoke, but there was a purple flash. The demon immediately slowed, its movements becoming lethargic.
"Get it!" The enchanter called, using his wand to send another blast of energy into its side while scrambling away from its grasping claws.
Luis didn't wait for an engraved invitation. He charged forward, finally landing a solid hit on the creature's flank and used his shield to bash it towards Jade's trap. She joined him a moment later, appearing out of the fog like a deadly phantom, slashing and hacking at its other side. For a moment, Luis thought their momentum would be enough to force the blood demon into the trap. Then Ashar's magic faded, the slow effect melting away as quickly as it had manifested. The demon's form fuzzed into a blur of motion and the next thing Luis knew; he and Jade were lying on their backs several yards away. Blood seeped from a rent in his breastplate, and he found it hard to breathe. His mana shield crackled and flickered around him, the ability unable to keep up with such a rapid succession of powerful hits.
How… strong is this thing?
He tried to struggle to his feet. His team needed him. It was his job to stand between them and the dangers of this world. His legs weren't working properly. They felt weak, sluggish. Using his sword for support, he slowly hauled himself back upright.
The demon was standing over them, hissing, drinking in a stream of his and Jade's blood as it regarded them with eyes like burning coal. Shouts rose from nearby, pounding footsteps approached from outside the cloud of smoke. Reinforcements? The city guard? They wouldn't make it in time. Luis could barely raise his sword. Notifications flashed before his eyes, alerting him that a strength and fortitude draining debuff was stacking as his blood was consumed. Even still, he stepped in front of where Jade lay clutching her side, interposing his body between his friend and the enemy that was bent on destroying her.
"You're not…" he growled, all traces of levity gone from his voice. "Getting past me."
"Then I'll go through you." The creature hissed. It took one step closer, raising its wicked claws. Luis blocked the first blow with his shield but was too weak to intercept the second. It caught him in the side, scoring another wound through his depleted armor. More pain. Another line of blood for the demon to consume. His strength was fading faster, but he remained on his feet. With sheer willpower, he thrust at the demon, forcing it back. One of Fenrin's arrows flashed past him, but the demon deftly dodged. It came back in at Luis. He gritted his teeth, prepared to feel it rip him apart.
A blast of sound surged past Luis, so loud that it momentarily deafened him. The sonic boom caught the demon by surprise, flinging it off its feet and sending it sprawling. It landed right on Jade's trap, which erupted in glowing chains that wrapped around its struggling arms and legs, binding it to the ground. Naomi swayed on her feet nearby, blood streaming from multiple tears in her armor. Her face was pale, but her eyes were bright and firm.
"Go!"
Luis staggered forward, slowly regaining strength as the first notes of Naomi's healing melody reached him. He made it to the edge of the trap, raising his sword. The demon hissed and snarled, tearing the chains apart one by one. It was too strong to be held captive by this type of magic for long, but that didn't matter to Luis. All he needed was a single, perfect, strike.
Sword held high, he activated 'Avalanche'. It was a simple weapon talent. One, high damage attack with a hefty mana cost. The more mana he pumped into it, the more damage it did.
He used it all.
Luis's longsword fell with the force of a stick of dynamite, crashing into the blood demon's head. The attack didn't sever the monster's head so much as obliterate it, leaving nothing but wet paste marring the scorched cobblestones beneath his feet. He gasped, finally letting himself feel the pain wracking his body, stumbling back and falling to his knees.
"Thanks…" Jade groaned from behind him. She was on her knees now, greedily drinking a potion. She tossed him one, which he barely caught. "I owe you one."
"Nah, we're a team." Luis grunted, chugging the healing elixir. Warmth flooded his body, the magic combining with Naomi's gentle melody to provide blessed relief. He glanced at the mangled, disgusting corpse of the blood demon. So much death. So much pain. Luis's emotions almost overwhelmed him. In that moment, all he wanted was to be back home with his family. To see his sisters again. To go back to how things were.
But that wasn't his role. Everyone else was suffering just as much, if not more, than he. Luis's job was to ground them. To ensure they didn't get mired in the murky depths of hopelessness and pain. He'd done it when his family was faced with poverty and hardship, and he did it again now for his team, in the face of a different kind of pain.
He forced a grin, giving Jade a shrug.
"Damn amiga, I'm glad you didn't turn into one of those."
Jade followed his gaze and snorted a laugh. Her eyes, so dark a moment before, appeared to lighten a shade. A little of the tension bled away.
"No kidding."