Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Why didnt you warn us about the dire wolves? Father Mathis shouted. And why didnt you help us fight them off?

Its simple really, I said evenly. You didnt ask about any dangers, and you didnt ask us to help. Though I honestly didnt expect the pack to attack a large group of humans.

I thought Mathis was going to give himself an aneurism with how angry he became after that. He screamed some rather choice invectives at me and Maxwellwithout his robes, youd never have believed he was a priest.

That was a real dick move by your friend, Tyler said to Maxwell. Half my troops have severe injuries and I even lost a few men.

Youre forcing us to do something we dont want to, Maxwell glared. And thats after you spent a night confining us to a small, dark cell. For me it wasnt bad, but for Zeke it was literal torture.

That just means he is an evil doer. Tyler shook his head. You would be better off without him. Last night just proves his evilness.

If evilness is watching fanatics like youon your way to murder a bunch of people because they dont agree with youget torn apart by some wolves I shrugged. Then I guess I am evil.

Tyler huffed derisively and stormed away. The rest of the night passed quietly and the next morning, we moved out.

When we left the enclave the last time, wed seen the correct way to leave the grove. Id debated not showing the fanatics, but it wouldnt matter. They would have eventually found their way here without our help. As we entered the grove, I told Father Mathis that the path led directly to the enclave.

With their goal in sight, Father Mathis and Tyler all but forgot about Maxwell and me. As they raced ahead, the two of us fell behind.

Please tell me youve got some kind of plan now? Maxwell whispered.

I dont know. I was conflicted. Part of me was still stuck on the idea that I was evil and needed to redeem myself, but a larger part rallied against that idea.

Shouting started coming from the front of the fanatics, but we couldnt understand it. Later I found out Father Mathis had shouted something that amounted to Let us come in and murder all of you for the glory of Olattee. I didnt blame the enclave for firing the first shot.

The sound of conflict erupted from ahead, and Maxwell and I pressed forward. We watched the fight from the platform where the wall grew off the cliff. Still along the narrow path that cut into the side of the cliff, we had a unique vantage that allowed us to see both sides. Dwarves and elves fought against the human fanatics. The fanatics were by far the more powerful force. The corps of clerics led by Father Mathis provided Tylers knights with powerful buffs and protections.

A blur rocketed at me and I tried to dodge, but failednothing hit me and I continued to move unobstructed. A moment later, a bolt from a cleric shot through where Id been a moment before. It was my precognition ability.

Reaching my hand out toward Mercy, I summoned it back to me and let my illusion spell dissipate. Before Mathiss stunned eyes, my human form bled away, revealing a black skeleton covered in strands of emaciated black flesh. I drank a mana potion with one hand as I caught Mercy in the other. Spinning it in a deadly arc, I cut down the cleric whod fired on me.

Music from Maxwell filled the air and transformed to the sound of the Imperial March from Star Wars. The rest of the clerical corps slowly turned toward me, but it was too lateI was already amongst them. I kept Mercy moving, leaving a trail of festering wounds behind.

Some thought all clerics were melee fighters, but thats just not the case. War and battle clerics could be, but cleric NPCs especially were pure casters and therefore squishy. As I cut into them, Maxwells magic began to debuff them. I was certain I was scary enough as is, but true terror started crossing many of the clerics faces.

Nearby clerics drew weapons that were heavily enchanted with holy magic and turned them on me. With my abilities to see many attacks coming before they landed, I was able to more than match them. I cut a path straight to Father Mathisthe parasite was being healed by a pair of clerics. The wound in his chest was severe, but clearly not enough.

My mana was still depleted from the illusion spell, but it was recovering quickly. I was being careful to conserve it, but I cast one spell Id recently unlocked again. Mercy began to emanate dark tendrils of magic that turned into streaks as I rapidly moved the blade. The spell was a powerful necromancy spell that would raise those killed by the blade into weak zombies.

It cost most of the mana Id recovered, but it was more than worth it. The undead it created took some of the clerics attention off me. The spell also seemed to be interacting with festering wounds left by the blade, accelerating their effect. I ran a cleric through and she gasped in pain. The necrotic festering spread rapidly from the wound in her stomach, and before she fell to the ground, her eyes glazed over and she stumbled toward her former allies.

They recoiled in horror. As the weak zombie attacked, one of the more experienced clerics turned on their former allys body. The level ten zombie was torn apart in moments, though not as quickly as it should have been. Their holy weapons werent nearly as effective as they normally were against the undead. And with each additional one I created, I pushed deeper toward my target.

Just as the festering wound in Father Mathiss chest was finished being healed, I reached him. At the same time, Tyler pushed through fleeing clerics back toward me.

You are a monster! Father Mathis snarled. I knew it. Rhea was just blind!

The two clerics whod healed him were exhausted and barely had time to react before I cut them down. As they rose again as weak zombies, I glared at Mathis. Fuck you, I growled, ramming Mercy through his chest once again before he had a chance to fully recover.

As the festering wound spread rapidly through his body, I pulled out one of the death cores Id taken, shoved it in his open mouth, and delivered a sharp uppercut to his jaw, slamming his mouth shut. Magical cores were normally not easily broken, and that was a good thing since they released an explosion of magic based on what type of core they were. Except this was a special core created by a Lich, and wasnt nearly as stable as a natural occurring death core.

An explosion of death energy washed over me, not affecting me in the slightest. There was a special satisfaction in seeing Father Mathis wither, and many nearby clerics were instantly killed. I snorted. It spoke of the weakness of these clerics that so many died.

Tyler stood not far off. The explosion had cleared the way for him and another knight to get to me. I pulled out the other two death cores Id brought with me and smiled a skeletal grin.