Chapter 262 - Assassin Squad (part one)

[Gemini Bond Enabled]

Chain Lightning: Gemini Chain Attack

A small lightning barrier protects the

Gemini in battle. If five Gemini are in close

proximity, the discharge option is available.

Recharges every five minutes.

Semmi stood with her hands spread wide. She was standing in the middle of a transparent globe, the electricity within made her short blonde hair stand straight up. Small flashes of mini lightning bolts flashed randomly but she remained unharmed and smiling.

/Inferno: Semmi: Recharge is done! It's my turn, star us off Ronnie.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Fine, but I'm going next.

Ronnie, Semmi, Milat, Pon and Jun Li stood in a group facing the training grounds strongest practice dummy while Esta and Elune watched with captivated interest. All five of them had their lightning barriers activated.

[Lightning Barrier: Discharge]

Ronnie has discharged the lightning barrier that was protecting her.

A singular bolt of lightning moved outward from Ronnie's hand and struck Pon's barrier.

[Lightning Barrier: Discharge]

Pon has discharged the lightning barrier that was protecting him.

A bolt of lightning struck from Pon's hand struck Milat's barrier.

Esta watched the bolt of lightning grow stronger as it moved from Ronnie to Pon to Milat to Junie and finally Semmi. The chained effect took less than a second, if they missed the timing it would fizzle away into nothing.

Semmi's eyes glowed with the power of lightning, both hands were raised as she aimed at the target.

[Chained Lightning]

Semmi has delivered a killing strike to a Gemini Training Dummy.

The Training Dummy target was completely destroyed by the attack, leaving a large crater where it had been.

The watching Storm Singer shook her head in amazement. "That's a killing blow."

All five of the Inferno members were smiling widely. They had spent the better part of two hours working on the timing of Chained Lightning. The group had successfully cycled through the spell a few times each.

/Inferno: Semmi: Yep. That never gets old. Let's fill in the hole and try again.

/Inferno: Jun Li: We should test its range also. I think it would be too easy to interrupt, but it might make a good siege weapon or perhaps an ambush strike.

***************

A hand caressed his face, causing Nix to smile in his sleep. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to see Shae sitting next to him on the bed. It had been three days since the rescue, and Nix was finally back to his old self. He'd been up and around for a few minutes the day before but after a while had decided it was too soon and crawled back into bed.

Nix caught her hand in his, he could see the worry in the Salamander's eyes. "I'm fine now Shae. The last of the effects completely faded away last night."

Shae nodded and offered him a pepper. When he shook his head she popped it in her mouth instead. "I know. I also know that it has a permanent effect on you. "Let me see it please."

Nix nodded and displayed his new stats.

[Lightning Barrier]

[Chain Lightning]

[Nether Immunity: Shared]

Nether Immunity: Shared.

Your entire group shares your

Immunity to Nether-based

damage: Limit 5.

Nix whistled softly when he read the effects. "Isn't that interesting?"

"Nether Immunity?" Shae's pretty face frowned slightly. "Are there weapons or spells that do Nether Based damage?"

Nix shrugged and turned until his feet touched the floor. Unlike the day earlier, the action wasn't accompanied by a wave of dizziness. "I could eat."

Shae helped him to his feet, even though he didn't need it. She leaned against him and kissed his face. "Hyai is making lunch. You have time for a shower if you like."

Nix sniffed the air slightly. "Is that smell me?"

The redhead offered him a slight smile and left without saying anything else.

/Inferno: Shae: Nix is up and around. Feel free to stop by after lunch.

Nix frowned at the guild message. "I should have built a smaller house, maybe a hut with one big bed."

/Inferno: Semmi: Nix! I'm bringing over a keg of Semmi's Golden Draft, just for you.

/Inferno: Nix: Free?

/Inferno: Semmi: Um... No. You'll have to purchase it.

Nix chuckled while walking into the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and took a seat on the sink.

[Direct Contact: Leva]

Leva's holo appeared in front of him a moment later.

"Report Leva."

"My forces destroyed Overlord Belchi's Compound. I was able to recruit nearly half of his people, the rest were slain when they refused to take oaths."

"What about the Nether Basin?"

Leva shook her head. "We filled dozens of containers, but not enough to be noticed. It's still there beneath the rubble."

"That has a strengthening effect on your kind?"

Leva nodded. "From the size of Belchi's corpse, I'd say he had been soaking in it for a while."

Nix considered her words for a moment. "As Overseers go, how strong was Belchi?"

"I would say that I'm the weakest and he would have been a bit stronger than me."

"Would you have expected him to have a basin filled with Nether Liquid?"

"No Nix. That's the troubling part. Only Khan Azul, the Dark Emperor, would have something like that."

"That's the big Nether Boss?" Nix had never heard the name before.

Leva lowered her voice slightly, her fear was obvious. "He rules the sixteen Overlords. At least he did until you started killing them. He's not like the Overlords Nix, he has a power beyond ours."

"Send me a list of the Overlords, rank them strongest to weakest. Also, prepare a basin large enough to hold the Nether Liquid that Belchi had."

"Sending you the list now." Leva paused and used her hud. "Carrying that liquid by hand will take months Nix. The rest of the Overlords will discover it long before that."

"That's why you and I are going to take it all tonight. Also, prepare me a report on Khan Azul, everything you can find, even if they are rumors."

Nix closed the contact and examined the list that Leva had sent him.

[Khan Azul's Nether Overlords]

BarFy

Mediaz

NyCyndor

Ro'Sina

Cozshi

Genta

Arviette

Chog the Furious

Bele Zor

Cray the Bloody

Zedmuni

Orphil

Val the Dark

Noctur Dhahat

Leva

(Belchi: Deceased)

(Zylanex: Deceased)

***************

Later the same day, Nix sat in the Training yard with Alpha Team. Semmi was giving him the brief on Chained Lightning while Nix busied himself crafting Nether Rats.

"Are you paying attention Nix?" Semmi placed a hand on his shoulder, "you up for this boss?"

"Yes. So the five of us have to be within a 10 meter square in order for all the lightning barriers to discharge."

Semmi nodded. "The last caster has to be within 30 meters of the target."

"30 meters?" Nix nodded happily. "That's more than enough."

"Might squeeze it a few meters further, in the interest of time we used five-meter increments," the blond officer admitted.

"Let us put that to the test. Light them up." Nix put his crafting items away and moved a few feet away from the others before activated his lightning barrier.

He raised his hands, letting them brushed against the protective field. "Yeah... That's cool as f*ck."

/Alpha Team: Pon: Try not to f*ck up too badly your first time Nix.

/Alpha Team: Nix: It won't be like your first time old bastard, no money is going to change hands.

[Create Breach: Loki]

Nix opened a breach directly in front of him and waited.

/Alpha Team: Wind: What ya doing there boss?

/Alpha Team: Nix: Testing the range.

/Alpha Team: Fajii: I'll start.

Fajii discharged her barrier, in rapid succession, the chained lightning traveled from her to Pon, to Semmi and just before it came to Wind, Nix stepped through the breach.

Alpha Team watched the lightning flash directly into the breach from Wind's hands. A few moments later Nix stepped back through the breach, his lips pursed like he was considering something important.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: It's alright boss, worth a try.

/Alpha Team: Pon: Fizzled out didn't it? Heh.

/Inferno: Bali: I need a team to come to Loki! Something just blew a massive hole into the rock wall on the Northern beach.

Nix laughed at the old mage's expression. "Nope."