Chapter 136: Seven, Five and Four (1)

Chapter 133 : Seven, Five and Four (1)
*Oliver!* No one knew who transmitted the thought, just that it was full of concern. To their eyes the elven mage was there one second and gone the next, his entire body seemed pelted away like a human swatting a fly. The culprit was a large, thick column of miasma which resembled a functioning tentacle more than anything. This mass receded back into the vortex even as ominous movement began to ripple along the surface of the smoky mass.

They were, all of them, completely unprepared for what came next. For Agni she wasn’t sure what made her glance upwards, perhaps it was her intuition. Maybe it was the hours she’d spent honing her Mana Reading ability -- her sphere of influence widened to its limits the moment Oliver had been struck down. What she perceived was enough to fill her with a sense of dread. Overhead something fierce was coming, and taking it head on might be deadly if not foolhardy!

“Shula!” She shouted, failing to conceal her voice, for the situation was just that dire. She reached out and grabbed the nearby imp by the back of her collar and yanked, hard.

*Above!* Agni transmitted as she hopped backwards, moving as quickly as her movements would allow. Seconds later a billowing mass slammed down onto the ground. The sound of the impact was heavy and resounding, as if a tree had suddenly fallen. Flowing folds of smoke rolled outwards from the point of impact, covering the ground with a rolling mist of miasma.

There was an accompanying crack as wood splinters shot up and filled the air, fallen trees were easily smashed by the force of the blow. This occurred twice more in rapid succession, each time the ground shook, downed trees snapped.

Each of the blows were calculated strikes. Because of their positions multiple people would be struck by what was almost akin to a falling tree if they didn’t tread carefully.

A one suck blow landed in a way that would have easily struck Shula, Agni and Gates altogether. Thanks to the succubus’ warning everyone managed to evade the strike deftly. The rescue group scattered in many different directions, abandoning their formation to claim safety.

Each of the mist like tentacles pressed deep into the soil, which was richly covered in decaying grass stalks. The earth groaned ever so slightly as the tentacles receded, dragged back towards the sphere-like vortex. They could only assume it was part of some kind of --

*Grimlock.* Ryo grunted as he stepped forward, allowing a measure of magical energy to run wildly. His focus was the large mass of living miasma which seemed to ripple and sway impossibly. This was due to the fact that there seemed to be several of these tentacles and they appeared to function in tandem.

The way the surface of the vortex shifted reminded Agni of one thing -- chaos. To her it resembled a spinning mass of smoke mingled with a dense mana near the core -- and she wasn’t very far from the truth.

*Watch out!* Vivian transmitted as she sprung into action. The tentacles were, once again on the move. Three more of the long, smoke covered tentacles split the air as they moved towards the adventurers. This time the blow was horizontal in nature, designed to take care of anyone caught lacking and catch up at least half of them in the process. To make matters worse, two more tentacles closely followed as if to catch those who were unwise enough to duck or jump.

A perfect gambit, one that would stalemate any adventurer who lacked preparedness or resolve.
Ryo, who stood a few meters to the front, lifted his right arm and created a cross block to brace himself. The first blow was so powerful that the echoing impact filled the air -- the strike was fully neutralized but not without cost. Ryo gritted his teeth, having been forced several meters from his original position before he could fully nullify the momentum of the blow. Seconds later another tentacle smashed against his hip, but luckily the momentum was slowed by his previous action. This act alone was enough to provide everyone else the means to escape unharmed.

Not one to pass up the opportunity, Vivian quickly lashed out with one of her blades. She leapt forward and brought it down upon a nearby tentacle. Her blow was solid and true, but she was surprised to find that the smoke-like substance was less misty and more armor-like. As her katana cleaved downward Vivian felt something she’d not experienced in a long while, resistance. It was rare that anything sliced by her would not fall apart or bleed.

*Interesting.* She thought to herself.

The surprise lasted only for the briefest of moments however. When the strike failed, Vivian tried again, this time cleaving diagonally downward as hard as she could. With her second attempt foiled she could not hide her disgust -- for her blade sliced shallow. The cut was more like a scratch than anything but it revealed a spurt of purple blood. This made it clear to the kitsune that they were dealing with a Grimlock rather than a sentient force of nature.

Meanwhile the third tentacle sailed over the heads of Ryo, Vivian and Bracha who were at the head of the formation. It was as if the creature expected to catch at least one of its prey in the gambit, when it didn’t happen the tentacle’s trajectory quickly shifted downward. This resulted in an unexpected diagonal strike, putting the nearest person in peril -- the Spirit Mage Bell Gates.

Having scattered at Agni’s earlier request, Gates immediately conjured several spirits with a wave of his staff. The earth spirits spouted from the grey and black soil, one, one and one again. Soon three creatures quickly floated upwards above the battlefield with the intention of offering support fire. It was at this moment that Gates’ caught motion out of the corner of his vision. As he turned his head to look, he was forced to lift his staff at the last moment in an act of self defense.

*Shit!* He thought to himself as he braced for impact. He felt the force of the blow pushing against his body, yet he thought something was strange. A split second later he opened his eyes to find Bracha. She used her own body as a shield to take the brunt of the blow, furthermore she seemed relatively unharmed as well. Due to the changing trajectory as well as the hastiness of the creature’s attempt, most of the power dispersed. Bracha shrugged the tentacle away from her and lifted Gates by the hips with ease, pulling him along as she hopped further away from danger.

*Are you okay Bracha?* Gates asked. It was all he could think to offer while being carried to safety, but secretly he cursed his own lack of awareness. He’d purposely made his earth spirits smaller so that he could sustain both Mana Reading and his spirits. But the casting time pulled his attention in a single direction, causing such a mishap to occur in the first place.

*This is nothing.* Bracha said as she landed and placed Gates on his own two feet.

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*No way. That’s..* Gates transmitted as he grabbed her forearm. Her body suit was damaged, corroded completely by the creature’s attack. Furthermore Bracha’s back was in the same condition -- at every place where contact was made by the miasma tentacle.

*Rescue team, fall back. Bracha, support.* Vivian’s voice rang out through the alliance telepathy link.

*You heard the woman.* Ryo also added. Gates couldn’t help but notice that he too seemed to have been affected by taking the blow of the creature head on. His gear was ripped in several places and what looked like a black acid still lingered along his side as well. This acid busily ate away at his cloth gear, causing his body to turn red as it assaulted his skin.

“No way. Is that miasma? There’s no way it could be that strong, could it?” Gates couldn’t help but voice his concern this time.

*Gates. Remember, use the link.* Bracha corrected him.
*And don’t worry about us. Avoid getting too close to this creature while we deal with it.* Bracha instructed, she offered up a smile of reassurance and motioned for everyone on the rescue team to take up a support position at the rear of the battle.

*I can help.* Gates offered as he motioned towards his earth spirits which were drifting slowly towards the vortex.

*No. Keep an eye on the perimeter. Make sure we aren’t attacked by any other Grimlock. The second you see anything--let me know.* Bracha ordered. She then turned and leapt forward to join the fray.

Vivian and Ryo were busy dealing with a flurry of tentacles which seemed to move faster by the moment. In an effort to overcome their ability to dodge, the Grimlock abandoned power in favor of speed. This resulted in Ryo being struck more consistently, even as he put up his guard. Vivian on the other hand was able to avoid blows, even if she needed to use her katana to deflect them. To compensate for this Vivian shifted the shape of one of her katanas to better match that of a thick bladed cleaver. This was partially to give her more defense options but also to help her mount a counter attack.

This time when she sank her blade into the creature’s tentacle it cut much deeper. Still it wasn’t enough to cleave it completely in two.

*Tsk. How thick is this thing?* She thought privately to herself as she dodged an incoming tentacle.

*Things just got really crazy didn’t they?* Gigi commented. She held her runeblade, a specialized weapon of her Spellsword class, at the ready. Agni could tell that she was itching to take action, it was no doubt due to the incessant rebukes of the team leaders that Gigi managed to repress this urge.

*Oliver! Shit. What about him?* Dealla suddenly chimed in.
*He’s...he’s dead.* Gates swallowed hard as the thought settled in amongst the group of adventurers. At that moment the memory of Oliver being wiped out of existence with a single strike was enough to make their blood run cold. Even Agni couldn’t help but feel tense as a sensation of dread took hold.

*Who’s dead?*

The group of adventurers perked up, ripped from their delusion as the voice of Oliver echoed through the alliance link.

*Something like that wouldn’t take me out.* His voice sounded...different from normal. It wasn’t until Agni heard the sounds of rumbling, the faint sensation of shifting air currents drifting upwards, did she understand.

High above the heads of everyone involved the miasma was being burned away or displaced in equal measure. The sky swirled as magical energy condensed and began to charge and crackle. In the next instant a rain of lightning strikes began to arc downward, each more powerful and frightening to the next.

The attack was fast, precise and furious. That tone, one that Oliver tried to hide due to pride and composure, was the sound of anger.

 

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