Chapter 28: Melee

Chapter 28: Melee

Zac was a bit unsure of how to proceed. He knew that one should maintain the initiative in a battle, but he didnt want to just charge over like a stupid barghest.

His enemies made the choice for him. The leader started advancing on him, anger smoldering in his eyes. Both his hands gripped the great sword, which was angled down toward the ground.

The other man was stationary, but mumbling something in their own language.

Zac could only put his game face on. He was still hurting all over from the dark lightning, but he pretended he was fine. With his axe in his hand he got ready for round two.

Zac really didnt want to meet the great sword straight on. The leader seemed to have roughly the same level of strength as he did, and even if he managed to parry the strike, he was afraid that he would be shocked again from the skill. He would have to fight around it somehow.

Luckily a weapon of that size was unwieldy, and the trajectories would hopefully be telegraphed.

Zac took out a second knife, leaving him with only one remaining. He launched it at the weaker enemy, and started to rush forward.

The demon deflected the knife with a couple of roots even though the force from Zacs throw was immense. The demon obviously was some sort of earth- or tree-mage, and the roots were far sturdier than something coming from a normal tree.

The demon was interrupted in his chanting though, which was Zacs main goal. If he actually had managed to hurt him, all the better.

Wasting no time he rushed toward him, trying to avoid the leader and his great sword. The great sword whizzed in a wide upwards arc, seemingly trying to cut Zacs in two.

Zac pushed forward with his legs and jumped forward into a roll to avoid the swing, but somehow the leader changed trajectory mid swing, and still managed to nick Zac in the side. The cut drew blood but wasnt too deep, and fortunately the black lightning didnt emerge again. It seemed the leader couldnt continuously use the skill.

Zac ignored the pain and quickly got on his feet and charged at the underling. The leader was right behind him, so he quickly swung his axe downward, hoping for a quick kill.

A thick group of roots shot up in front of the demon, and meshed together into a wooden shield to intercept the swing. Zacs stats were overpowering though, and he slammed through the roots easily. Wood chippings flew everywhere like small projectiles from the strike. Unfortunately for Zac, the brief pause in the swing had allowed the demon to reposition and he could avoid the swing.

Zac refocused and started another swing, but the leader was fighting back. He punched Zac straight in the face and tried to push him away. The fist had the force of a wrecking ball, and a loud thud echoed out.

Zac got even groggier, but his constitution was no joke so he could endure it. He also had been swinging an axe constantly the last month, and muscle memory helped him. The half-moon edge swooped down toward the demon with superhuman force. As he had been pushed away he couldnt reach the head, and instead aimed for the heart.

Zac noticed a surge of cosmic energy entering the armor from the demon mid-swing, and the runes on the chest plate lit up. The wheels were already in motion, so Zac could only bear down and hope for the best.

Just as the edge was about to slam into the armor, a golden sheen enveloped the leader. The axe hit the barrier, and it felt like he had slammed axe into himself rather than his enemy. The armor had somehow redirected the force back toward himself, and he flew up in the air from the rebound.

He slammed down right next to the demon, arms and legs akimbo. The demon quickly whipped out a dagger and tried plunge it in Zacs lungs just as he landed. He managed to barely edge away in time, but the dagger still drew a nasty gash along his ribs.

The demon kept stabbing down at Zac, trying to turn him into a sieve. The second stab hit straight into his arm making Zac scream out. He tried to push down the demon again and wrestle the knife out of his hands with his own free hand, but the demons strength was at least equal to his.

In a last desperate attempt, he could only pray his constitution wouldnt fail him. He let go of the demons hand holding the dagger, and intercepted the hand that was holding back his axe.

The demon immediately plunged the dagger into his gut, once more unleashing the black lightning. The blazing pain once again erupted in Zacs body, but by now he had somewhat acclimatized to the attack.

He ignored the spasms in his gut, and ripped away the demons hand and finally managed to swing his weapon down full force at the demons neck.

A loud bang was heard as the axe slammed into the ground, creating a large crack. A second, smaller impact was heard as the demons decapitated head fell down onto the ground a few meters away.

Another arrow whizzed down from a nearby tree toward his head. But Zac had expected this, and dodged the attack. The ranger had shot a steady stream of arrows at him during the melee, most at least grazing him. Luckily he had been in such close proximity to the demons during the fight that she had only dared aim at his extremities.

He finally saw where the arrows came from, and as all the other demons were dead he finally managed focus and locate the elusive ranger. He spotted here up in a tree not far away from the fights.

With a steely gaze that spoke of death he got on his feet and started running towards her.