Arthur turned toward the portal after hearing a deep guttural roar. A creature nearly nine feet tall stood upright before Fenric.
Its slender body was covered in pale white skin as if it had never seen the light of day. Long spikes of bone jutted out from its back like an oversized porcupine. The creature's arms appeared far too long for its body, with its eight-inch claws resting nearly a foot below its knees.
It didn't appear to have eyes. Instead, its head looked like a helmet carved from a triangular prism of bone, with its fang-addled mouth lying deeply concave from its pointed nose and chin.
Two pairs of horns crowned its head, with the first pair bulging out and running parallel to its face as the second pair flared straight toward its back. The creature was one of Minaan's kin, a mindless beast intent on devouring anything that moved, known to the people of Nithe as an abyssal.
As soon as Arthur saw it, his fear made it feel as though someone was grasping his heart, slowly increasing the pressure with each breath he took. And before he could acclimate, another abyssal stepped through the portal, followed by another a moment later.
"I don't mean to rush you, lord, but the captain is probably going to need help. So..." Alan announced as he knelt before Arthur, breaking him free from his frozen state.
Arthur quickly unlocked his collar, and the lieutenants ran off toward Fenric in a flash. He turned to Foster and unsheathed the slim sword he kept on his hip before handing it to him.
Foster hesitated after receiving it. "Young master, what about you?"
Arthur shook his head and raised his hand. "Just take it and make sure that we don't die."
He never intended to use the sword in the first place, at least not on his trip to The Cat's Cradle. Instead, the sword was an extra layer of security meant to act as a diversion for his captors if he got captured. If they saw a kid with a sword, they'd take it away and not think to check Arthur beyond that.
At least that's what Arthur had planned for, yet his little diversion went somewhat unused this time as the fake barkeep Ivan didn't seem concerned with it, and Ponn likely had no intention to search him in the first place.
His sword skills were lousy anyhow. Like most modern men, Arthur had little occasion to learn swordplay on Earth, and on Nithe, the entirety of his focus was on magic. So outside, the few times he swung it around like a fool while alone in his room, it remained in its sheath.
Arthur glanced back to the portal. There were now five abyssals fighting the three mercenaries. Some stood upright, swinging their lanky arms like flails, while others dashed around on all fours, attempting to flank them.
He watched as Fenric and his two lieutenants launched explosion spells in rapid succession, but any damage the abyssals took seemed to heal by the time they cast the next attack. Of course, their self-healing wasn't instant, but it was quick enough for Arthur to observe flesh regrowing in real time.
They didn't appear to fear using their magical self-healing ability either. On the contrary, the abyssals seemed unfazed by the damage, running right through the inferno of flames as their burnt flesh sloughed off their bones, only for it to be regrown a few moments later.
The trio didn't seem interested in destroying the abyssal's mana core, opting to use the method Kyren had described of hitting them until they couldn't heal anymore.
As another abyssal stepped through the portal, Arthur stopped watching the intense battle and ran to the nearest occupied cage before unlocking it.
He wasn't sure if it was much safer outside the cell than inside, but at least now, the prisoners had a choice. So, after explaining that the only secure tunnel was the one that led to The Cat's Cradle, he dashed to the next locked cell.
As he ran, Arthur glanced back and noticed the freed prisoners following him closely. They seemed hesitant to run past the raging battle ahead, and he couldn't really blame them, so he didn't mind that they followed him.
"The kid ain't here." Kyren announced as Arthur reached the next cell. "I checked all the cells, and I even checked the bodies near the altar."
Arthur stopped trying to unlock the cell as he processed what Kyren had told him, much to the panic of the people within. If Harkon wasn't here, then where the hell could he be? There was no way Arthur beat him to the tavern; even if he did, surely he would've realized the situation by now and entered after Fenric.
So far, his new personal guards brought him nothing but trouble, and the worse kind of trouble at that, the deadly kind. They were meant to keep him from danger, not put him into it. Yet, in less than twenty-four hours, he had endured an attempted sacrifice and now an abyssal attack.
"Do I need to put bells on them?" Arthur mumbled in irritation as he tried different keys on the cell.
Foster looked away from the fight back to Arthur. "What was that, young master?"
Arthur sighed and shook his head as the cell's lock finally opened. "Nothing, don't worry about it."
He told the prisoners where to go, same as last, before moving on to the next cell. However, most decided to follow him instead, and a small crowd began to form behind Arthur.
The following cell only had four people within, likely because it was the last one the Agelians were drawing people from before Arthur arrived.
"Heads up, kid." Kyren muttered from behind as Arthur tried to find the keys to the cell lock.
Arthur turned around immediately and followed Kyren's gaze. The good news was the portal was gone. However, he counted nine abyssals now, and one had seemingly discovered easier prey in Arthur and the prisoners huddled behind him.
"Young master, stay behind me." Foster declared valiantly as he stepped toward the abyssal and took up a defensive stance.
He had been careful not to use any real magic until now because too many eyes were inside the chamber. So, despite the prisoners seeing Arthur kill the Agelians, it was too dark, and their cells were too far from the altar for them to have gotten a good look at how he did it.
Even if they had a clear view, the Agelians were killed so quickly that the prisoners likely wouldn't have known how they died or assumed Arthur had used a hidden knife in his sleeve to kill them.
As for the final blow on the man in crimson, he believed he was quick enough with the attack and felt confident that no one saw the matte blade levitate.
However, without using the few spells Arthur was able to learn from the Revan library, he'd be as useless as the child he appeared to be against an abyssal. His chances were slim even with spells due to his limited mana pool.
Since telekinesis used a proportional amount of mana according to the mass of an object, he could practically use his blades all day thanks to their lightweight. But they would likely only piss the abyssal off unless he targeted the mana core, and according to Kyren, that was difficult even for him as a ninth circle mage.
Arthur looked toward the freed prisoners behind him, nervously gritting his teeth before returning his gaze toward the charging abyssal. Fenric and his lieutenants seemed to have their hands full, yet a tiny spark crackled before the abyssal closed half the distance to Arthur.
An explosion rang out with a thunderous boom, knocking the abyssal a dozen feet back by the concussive force, giving Arthur the much-needed time to make a decision.
After a moment of thought, Arthur turned toward the freed prisoners once more. "If you are grateful to me for saving your lives, you'll never tell a soul about what you saw here today."
Arthur didn't bother waiting for a response. Whether they told anyone after today, their words now wouldn't hold any merit as Arthur and Foster were all that stood between them and a charging abyssal. Still, he needed to at least say it.
Most of them probably weren't aware of who Arthur was, as he had only left Revan Manor a few times. But between Mara calling him a noble and Foster calling him a young master, it was certainly possible someone had or would make the connection eventually.
As far as the trio of mercenaries was concerned, Arthur just so happened to require competent soldiers for his new territory. So their lips should remain sealed as long as they were paid and stationed in Helagaust with him.
Of course, he didn't have any money to spare at the moment, but assuming they all survived today's encounter, things like land and rights could be used to barter a temporary deal. So he wasn't too concerned about a leak sprouting from them.
"Foster, can you trip it up?" Arthur asked quickly as the abyssal rose to its feet.
Foster nodded without turning around. "I can cast a spell to make a small hole. Will that work?"
"Good, do it." Arthur said as he lifted his arm and prepared to cast a spell.