Book 2: Chapter 62 — The Big Bad Ugly Pt. 2

Book 2: Chapter 62 — The Big Bad Ugly Pt. 2

Vix looked up at them in surprise, struggling against Shadow, but the wolf kept her pinned to the ground. “How did you—“ her eyes went to Snow, realization following a moment later. She noted the lack of a collar on the girl’s neck. Even with her appearance vastly changed, it was difficult not to recognize her with the distinct horns, and the giant void wolf standing next to her.

“You,” Vix growled in anger. “I gave you a home, I fed you, I took care of you. And this is how you repay me?”

“Don’t even try that,” Noah spat. “She was your slave. Whatever you did was for your own benefit. Do not try to make it look like a favor. You took a girl and made her fight day in and day out, treating her like a disposable object.”

“It’s okay, Noah, you don’t have to stand up for me here,” Snow said, walking closer to Vix. She leaned closer. For a long moment, Snow stood there, waiting to see if she felt anything. “I did repay you, Vix. I repaid you by telling Shadow not to tear you limb from limb the moment he set his eyes on you.”

The wolf growled in response to Snow’s words, bringing its face closer to the woman’s neck.

“I have repaid you by being more merciful than you ever were towards me. So don’t try to make it seem like you did me a favor,” Snow said, leaning back from Vix. “You are better than the cultists, I will admit, but you were better in the same way Poison is better than Rot. Ultimately, both kill you one way or another,” Snow said, magic swirling in her eyes as she looked down upon her tormentor, her former master, and found herself truly free.

“Who put you up to this?” Aurelia asked. “Was it Lord Krios?”

Vix snorted. “You can prove nothing.. I don’t know how you broke her chains, but this girl’s words mean nothing.”

“But yours will,” Noah said, grinning cheekily. “I have a friend in the guild. Her name is Nae. And I’m sure she’d love to make you talk.”

Vix looked up at Noah, before her growl shifted into a smile. “You’re an idiot,” she spat as her body dissipated into mist.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

“Seriously?” Noah groaned. “You’re really going to use the same trick we used?”

Mist rose in the arena, filling the chambers. “You may think you're smart to get through the trap. But you're still stuck here. And I intend to finish what I started,” Vix said, her voice echoing through the chamber.

“Reinforcements!” Erwest warned, raising his blade.

Bun Bun crackled with lightning, sensing the presence of enemies around as well. The mist continued to flow, quickly drowning the arena in a thick fog that even Noah’s senses struggled to pierce.

Chants echoed from around the arena, voices of the cultists mingling together as a spell began to form.

“I’ll handle the cultists. Make sure Vix cannot escape,” Aurelia said, smacking her gauntlets together as fire and ash circled around her.

“Bun Bun, you help her as well,” Noah said, as the dragonspawn followed behind the woman.

“You are fools,” Vix's voice echoed through the chamber. “And I'll make sure you don’t step out of this place.”

Noah's senses warned him of incoming attacks as he teleported, jagged daggers flying past where he had stood. The mist moved around him, figures in the fog dancing as they lashed at him with shifting weapons, solidifying for just a moment and striking from different directions.

The fog swirled, drowning his senses, blinding him, and slowly pulling him away from the rest of the members. Noah continued to move, trying to focus on Erwest and Snow, but found himself drifting away like a log being carried by the torrents of a river.

Magic swirled around the arena, distant flashes of fire and lightning piercing the fog for moments before fading away. Noah could hear the cacophony of dying screams from the cultists. Vix's voice hummed through the fog, a gloomy song playing through the mists, as they began to dance to its tune.

You hear the [Gravesong].

You’ve become [Disoriented].

You’ve become [Hopeless].

All attributes reduced by 25%.

Noah felt the magic filling his mind, coursing despair into him. Shadows moved, monstrously forming like a twisted nightmarescape, and began to attack Noah and his body, drowning the arena in its effects.

Noah's senses warned him of every shadow that moved, the things that lurked at the edge of his perceptions, as he jumped and ran and twisted, dodging unseen attacks that faded into mist as they had come.

My senses are working against me.

Noah tried closing his eyes, yet the attacks only worsened, scratches and cuts of knives digging into his skin. He felt the poison within them, felt it coursing through his body. But his resistances stood strong. Though they would not last forever.

“You should have just died. All your presence has ever done is bring suffering,” Vix's voice came from within the song, like a haunting echo in his mind. “All those people in Heartillia will die now because of you.”

“Shut your damn mouth. I am not the one killing anybody,” Noah said, before clamping his mouth shut. She was trying to anger him. And he was falling for her tricks.

Noah closed his eyes again, letting meditation kick in as his focus sharpened like a honed blade. He let out a breath, listening to the song play. The attacks increased in intensity, like a flowing tide the misty struck him, drawing blood. He felt the poison now, strong enough that it bypassed his resistances, chipping away at his health. Yet Noah did not move. He simply listened to that haunting music playing in the background.

Vix thrashed, pushing her sword further into Noah’s body, but he simply held her tight, keeping her clasped in his arms, as the runic chains around his elbows wrapped around her neck.

His friends descended upon her immediately, Erwest placing his blade above the woman, while Aurelia grabbed Noah’s chest, trying to make sure he was alright. Noah ignored her concern, his eyes focused on Vix.

“I know you won’t speak so easily. But here’s something funny. You see, I have just learned that breaking slave collars requires magic very similar to what’s involved in making them,” Noah said, as Vix’s eyes widened. For the first time, he saw genuine fear reflected in the woman’s eyes.

Void mana pulsed, Tony spreading through his body to patch the worst of his injuries. He could see his health dipping below 10%, but he kept a hold on the woman. Lifeblood was keeping him alive, even if just barely.

The chains wrapped around Vix’s neck, the magic flowing into her. “Who do you work for?” Noah asked.

The woman opened her mouth, her eyes bulging as if they would pop out. Her hands continued trying to pull away from Noah's chains.

“Speak,” Noah commanded, putting the weight of his will behind his voice.

“You...” Vix groaned, tears welling in her eyes. “You... don’t understand... I could have...”

“Speak,” Noah commanded, with everything he had.

“I was... following... the orders of...” Runes flashed around the woman’s neck, her body jerking, tensing as if something was trying to rip her apart. She shuddered, shaking for a long moment, before her body turned limp.

You have killed [Grave-song Illusionist (Epic) - Lvl 217].

[Exsanguinator] has reached Level 100.

[Astralwalker] has reached Level 100.

[Void Hunter] has reached Level 100.

You can rank up.

Noah ignored the notifications, feeling disgusted at the woman. He spat, a bitter taste filling his mouth as he stepped back from the woman’s corpse.

“What in the world...” Aurelia said, watching the now-dead woman.

“Some kind of spell. Likely what the cultists were also under. And if so, she must have known that she would die. It’s likely why she was so scared to speak,” Erwest said.

“What should we tell the guild now?” Aurelia asked.

“We'll just tell them what we found out,” Erwest said. “Let’s get out of here first.”

“Wait. The shard is still within that pillar of light,” Noah said. “I need to figure out a way to get it out. Zax should know a way.”

Before Noah could try to reach the dragon, he felt a shiver run through the castle arena. A moment later, the dragon’s voice spoke in their heads.

“What happened? Something just initiated the blood ritual,” Zax asked them telepathically.

The ground continued to shake, shivering as mana began to gather. Dark runes lit up around the arena, the bodies of the cultists alongside Vix floating up in the air.

“Shit,” Noah cursed, dashing towards the Shard.

A blinding light flashed, magic grander than any they had ever seen before activating, as the spell tied to the entire astral realm began to pour mana into this location. The world shook around them, sending Noah stumbling, as dark light permeated from the ground. From beneath the shard, the ground turned black, a rift into the abyss opening up.

“We need to get out of here,” Erwest shouted.

But before any of them could move, the pillar of light shattered. The tendrils moved, grabbing the corpses floating around the arena along with the shard. Noah blinked, teleporting closer to try and wrestle the shard free, but one of the tendrils struck him, slamming him back onto the ground, leaving only a sliver of health left.

A giant creature crawled its way from beneath, rising through the rift, its body long, with giant teeth lining its mouth. Yet, the real mouth opened from beneath its belly, showing a gaping maw lined with rows of teeth from where the tendrils came. In a single tug, the creature devoured every corpse nearby, including the shard as it pulled its way out, filling half of the arena just with its body.

Noah pulled himself up, drinking one of the potions, as he felt his injuries begin to heal. Slowly he looked up at the giant creature and found himself laughing as he used Identify. “You can’t be serious.”

[Abyssal Maw (Legendary) - ???]