Chapter 63

Chapter 63

What was it that man had? I asked Raven.

You mean the coward who ran away? She was picking at one of her nails with a dagger she had taken from the acolytes.

Yes, him, I said. After the fight, we all sprinted for several hours to try and put as much distance as we could between us and the battle. Id used enough death magic that they would be able to home in on that location, even if no one else had survived.

Im not sure. Raven shrugged. Though they did keep looking at it as they headed for the grove.

Oh, I sighed. I guess that makes sense.

What makes sense? Maxwell was quietly strumming a tune that passively increased our movement speed.

They have some kind of map that can track me, I explained. They mustve found something in the ruins of my home that was bound high enough to me that has allowed them to create a tracking ritual.

We should steal one, Raven said eagerly. Even if it just shows us what they see about our location, surely that will be useful.

I smiled. Raven was my little predator, she had killer instincts. My quandaries about killing the priests were long since passed. If they came after me, I would kill them. After all, they would do the same to me. The only one I was hesitant about was Rhea, shed showed me kindness, making me wonder if she had questions and doubts of her own.

As we trekked on, we began to discuss a plan.

***

This way, I heard Ravens voice nearby. The monster chased me in here.

I was hiding on an outcropping of stone high above. I heard the snapping of branches and the stomping of feet as the acolytes and clerics followed Raven into the box canyon.

Raven had discovered it near the end of our traveling the previous day. We decided it suited our needs well. I had been meditating, attempting to suppress my presence. The biggest danger of this plan was that the clerics would detect me, but they hadnt.

The sound of passing feet disappeared in their pursuit of Raven. While the canyons entrance was thickly covered with trees where the stream made its way out, the entrance was small. The canyon itself opened to a sparsely wooded meadow where the stream ran through it.

Shouts of confusion and alarm came from deeper within the canyon. They were far enough away that I couldnt make out what they were saying, but I could guess. Raven had no doubt slipped away from them, as was the plan.

There came a mighty roar. Smiling, I opened my eyes. Theyd stumbled into the midst of my newest minion. When we had found the canyon, Raven smelled a mighty mountain bear living there. The tracks leading out indicated that the creature was huge. Fortunately for us, it had also been asleep. Id been able to sneak into its lair and plunge Mercy deep into the creature. The blow didnt kill it but the poisonous effect I had further enhanced with large amounts of mana and death energy left behind inside the creature finished it off.

I then used all of my collected death cores and most of my death energy reserves to create a powerful minion. Raising the mountain bear into an undead version of its former self had one major advantage: I did not have to focus the energy on creating a new monster, and could use the excess death energy from the cores and mana on enhancing the already powerful creature.

The results were beyond impressive. Normally I was limited by my own level on how powerful of a creature I could create. But being a Lich with a death core, I was able to surpass my own level and create creatures more powerful than I was, admittedly at a more expensive cost. Now the level 66 undead elemental death bear was tearing into our pursuers. The hunters had become the hunted.

The priest wrangled Mercy out of his chest with a grunt of pain, his glare baleful. He swung it around, preparing to throw it into the distance. I reached out and summoned it back. As soon as the weapon hit my hand, I reformed its blade and slid forward on the slick grass, striking out in a long sweep that bit into the legs of the clerics standing between me and the priest. Their robes provided little resistance to the sharp blade, and a spray of blood covered the grass.

With the priest in reach, Mercy twisted around, severing the arteries in his legs. A guard rushed at me with a hammer, which I deflected to the side. The ground cratered from the impact. I slashed at him with Mercy, and he landed a gauntleted fist into my chest. The bludgeoning blow sent me staggering, but my armor absorbed it. The padding compressed even as part of the armor cracked to distribute the force.

I channeled death magic into the armor to repair the damage even as I built a spell in my off hand and blasted the guard. As he backpedaled from my attack, Mercy found a gap in his armor, cutting deep into his left shoulder. The man snarled in pain, and with one hand, lifted his mighty Warhammer and swung it at me again. The priest was recovering and building a spell around himself, but I did not have the time to engage him.

The Warhammer came down and I interposed Mercy, deflecting the shaft of the weapon so the heavy head missed. Inside the mans guard now, I was unable to use Mercy to its greatest extent, since it was a longer ranged weapon. Channeling death energy into my hand, I plunged my fingers into the wound I left in his shoulder. The festering magic already inside his body was enhanced by the death energy and the infection spread.

Suddenly, a golden light infused the man, and I could feel it burning away at the very nature of my being. Despite my resistance to holy magic, it was still my greatest weakness. The holy magic inside the man began to push back against the death energy I was channeling in. A battle began inside his body, and he screamed in pain as the two warring energies clashed.

Part of me pitied him. I doubted the feeling of constantly being healed and rotted from the inside was pleasant. It was too bad I didnt have a death core to use. With a powerful enough core, I could no doubt overwhelm the energy in a solid rush and drop the man. Instead, I struggled against it just long enough to hold the priests attention while my other arm cocked back and threw Mercy at the priest once again.

Mercys blade was shaped for slashing and was less effective at penetration than the previous time. But when the powerful weapon pierced the ritual circle in front of the priest, the spell collapsed. Holy light flared in a small explosion as the priest redirected it away from him.

The explosion lifted me up and tossed me back even as I summoned Mercy back to my hand. There was a deafening roar from the bear and black miasma filled the area.

Maxwell, Raven! Get back! I called.

The cloud was filled with death magic, and while I was immune to it, my friends were not. My zombie minions thrived in the death magic, whereas the acolytes coughed and gaged. The clerics Id torn through had recovered and were beginning to build a spell. Holy light began to push the cloud back, and the priest added his own effect, a bubble formed around him and his guardian, holding back the miasma.

With the concentration briefly taken away from me, I took the moment to build my own spell. Instead of a bolt or direct attack I shot a beam of death mana into a nearby badger minion. Already big for a badger, near the size of a lab, the death magic filled it, and it swelled in size. I could greatly enhance an undead minion at the cost of its longevity, but it was more than worth it.

With a mental command I ordered the creature to attack the guardian. With rabid ferocity, the creature pulled away from the acolyte itd been tearing into and jumped for the guardian. A brawl between the undead badger the size of a deer and the guardian unfolded.

The priest glared at me, focused on keeping the barrier up that held back the cloud of death. The priest was in troublehold the current barrier steady, or rework his focus to attack me. I gave him a mock salute with Mercy before I lunged. As Mercy whistled through the air, I shaped its blade to that of a heavy axe.

The sharp blade slammed into the priests shoulder, cutting through a hastily raised barrier. It bit deep, and I channeled death energy into the blade, and the malignant power ravaged the priest. He grit his teeth in pain, but even as he tried to resist it, tendrils of infection and rot spread up his neck. A moment later, his brain was consumed, and he went limp.

As the priest fell, the magic enhancing the guardian faded, and the badger tore into him. Ignoring the guardian, I rushed toward the priest and began to rummage through his belongings. I found what I was looking fora rolled-up scroll giving off more magic than was normal. I pocketed it along with a few other valuable items. I also took the time to rip the death core out of his chest.

By the time I was leaving, the guardian had slain the badger and was turning toward me. But as he did, a great clawed paw from the bear grabbed him, and with a scream, the man disappeared beneath the weight of the monstrous bear.

The bear loomed within the cloud it generated, and I briefly made eye contact with it. The bear recognized me and snarled. I stepped back, trying to project that I wanted no part of controlling it.

My intent mustve been understood, since the bear snorted and turned away, picking up the priests body in its massive jaws.

Evidently, we had no need for cleanup.