Chapter 15: Chapter 14 Echoes Of Familia

Inside the Wailing Woods, the trees watched them with hostility as they passed. Krutak mercilessly tore apart the branches obstructing their path. With a grunt of victory, Helios affixed the obsidian dagger to the wooden stave in his hand, successfully crafting a makeshift weapon. Tsiyaha glanced at the weapon in his hands and then looked up at his face.

 

“Haha, I don’t know what you plan to do with that toy. As soon you stab something with it, that rock is going to be dislodged inside them. Maybe it’ll be better suited for use as decoration,” Tsiyaha mocked. Helios glared at her for a moment while thinking of a retort.

 

“A mage should have a staff. What do I need to stab anything for?” Helios asked, hefting the staff in one pair of hands, the other set gestured dramatically at his chest.

 

“Uhh, you both might want to see this,” Krutak interrupted. He stood motionless at the edge of a clearing.

 

Helios walked up beside him and leaned over to peer past his large back blocking the way. The thick canopy blocked most light but his demonic eyesight allowed him to see the small clearing. A strange entity hovered above the ground. It looked like a shadowy humanoid figure in ragged cloth. Scraps of fabric detached to float into the air and flicker out of existence. Despite possessing no face, Helios could feel its attention fixed on him. It appeared to be waiting for them.

 

“What is that?” Tsiyaha exclaimed, retreating a step.

 

“I don’t know. Be on guard,” Helios replied, pushing past Krutak to approach the entity. His expression turned firm while puffing out his chest as he hefted his staff. “What are you and what do you want with us?”

 

“What you see is my Echo, a form that we all possess. It cannot affect the physical but those rules can be broken. After an appropriate offering, of course… Relax, little Primus. You are not my prey this day. The Hellgate’s lightning of the Mass Hatching opened the door for me. I hunt a much more dangerous adversary. You will act as bait,” the Echo said.

 

“What if we refuse?” Helios warily asked, tightening his grip on the staff. His Soul Brand became more visible through his eyes as they narrowed.

 

“There’s no need to be so concerned. You have already been marked the moment you entered the Wailing Woods, she’ll be here soon. You’re fortunate for my presence. A Luminare is not something you’re capable of facing, mage or not,” the Echo answered with a dismissive gesture. The Phantom’s shadowed head turned toward an imperceivable disturbance. “She’s arrived.”

 

Helios instantly became alert after the Phantom merged with the shadows, leaving their group standing alone in the small clearing. He heard a twig snap behind them. They all immediately spun and were unable to uncover what caused it.

 

“Something’s there. Something big. How did I never detect it before?” Krutak asked in a panic. His intimidating image was ruined by his towering figure trembling with anxiety. 

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Helios ignored his cowering while on high alert, peering around them. He lowered into a crouch and slowly raised his staff into an aggressive position with all four hands on the shaft. His eyes focused on the direction in front of him. The trees became silent as an obscured figure shifted. It rose to its full height with a hungry growl. Knocking aside branches as it prowled forward on all fours.

 

The Luminare demon’s appearance was revealed. She had a starved feline shape with layered armour plates along her spine. Mottled stripes of various black hues over her skin allowed her to blend with the environment. Her human features had been abandoned to resemble something closer to a vulture on a spindly neck. Her front claws slightly differed from the rear ones, retaining their thumbs despite moving as a quadruped. 

 

Something flicked behind her, drawing Helios’ attention. A thin tail emerged from the darkness to poise aggressively over her head, a daunting spike at the tip. As she crept closer, Helios became aware of their difference in size. She dwarfed the trio, the large Krutak only reached her shoulder on all fours.

 

“It’s time for a snack. It's rare to find anything worth eating after that bothersome pest from the Tsun’tak Familia followed me all the way to the Birthing Pools. How was I supposed to know that the Mass Hatching would start as soon as I arrived? That wouldn’t be an issue, except he had fucking Abyss Anchors. I can’t deal with a Phantom assassin. Fuck!” the Luminare cursed. She was speaking to herself aloud, pretty much ignoring their presence. “It’s impossible for me to harm him in an Echo state.”

 

The trio cautiously backed across the clearing, inadvertently drawing the Luminare’s attention. She became silent while slinking forward and licking her grotesque beak. Helios turned to cover the other’s retreat, aiming an open hand toward the enormous demon. Intangible tendrils extended from his palm. 

 

Before they could reach her, there was a flash of red light as a slash erupted from the darkness. Helios caught a glimpse of a lithe bipedal figure. It had an upright lagomorph form covered in thick fur. Its face was covered by an exposed skull of a short-snouted creature extending into a pair of antelope horns. It also possessed a pair of much smaller secondary horns beside them. Large tufted ears extended from the skull. 

 

Helios noticed a multitude of metallic rods strategically embedded in the new demon’s flesh. Strange shadows danced across its figure, oscillating in different directions. The demon was only visible for a moment before red lighting flickered between the rods and it was gone. In its place was the mysterious robed entity from before. 

 

Not good! 

 

The Luminare’s spiked tail plunged through the Echo, dispersing it. It continued unimpeded toward Helios. He narrowly dived out of the way just in time to avoid being skewered. The spike pierced through a tree behind him. A yellow stain spread bubbling across the tree’s surface. The bark immediately melted, rancid acid dripping to the forest floor next to Helios’ face. The Luminare tugged her tail and it whipped across the clearing toward the Phantom as it reformed. Once again scattering it in the wind.

 

“Fuck, I’m going to be killed by only standing near them!” Helios cursed. 

 

He rolled to the side and regained his feet. He heard a crack accompanied by motion in his peripheral. Throwing himself backward, he caught himself with his second set of arms. The tail brushed past his nose. Helios rolled over and bear-crawled across the clearing to join his companions on the opposite side. He straightened upright and turned to observe the battle. 

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