"Down here you low class asshole!" Alberto shouted from somewhere on the street below. I walked over to the edge of the roof and peered over to see Alberto covered in rachnid guts and blood, standing in the center of the street.
"Low class asshole, haven't heard that one before…" I said.
"It fits." Astrid said as she walked beside me.
"What next?" Iris asked.
"Depends on our opponents. However if I was a Paragon and my massive rachnid was surprisingly destroyed i'd be pretty mad." I replied.
"BO!" Iris shouted. As a crystalline structure shot out of her crystal and landed on the ground below a few feet away from Alberto.
A Croyan emerged from the structure. The small bi-pedal reptile covered in black and blue scales stood waist height, carved razor sharp talons tipped the ends of its smaller curved fingers and the toes on each of its feet. It's large rectangular head and sleek body reminded me of the dinosaur fossils I saw a lit of as a kid, particularly the ones marked raptor.
This was no long dead fossil however, it was a croyan. A truly lethal evo who's toxicity was only matched by the hivdrix. The ferocious gleam in its eyes was tempered by a iron clad restraint, this told me that Iris had trained it well.
"Kill them quickly." Iris ordered. Bo and Jangles set off instant racing through the streets towards their targets.
I've seen a few croyans before but have never gotten a chance to see them fight. Morbid curiosity got the better of me as I channeled volt attribute mana into my legs and raced after the evos, following them from the rooftops. I sensed Bone-lasher and Iris and Astrid following after me, the later two probably using utility spells to enhance their agility.
Bo and Jangles quickly zeroed in on the soldiers who were rushing down a side street in a small arrow formation. They attacked without warning, Jangles approached from the sky, attacking the soldier in the rear. He let out a loud scream which alerted the others that he was attacked. They all turned about face to face the new threat and in that instant Bo attacked. He pounced on the back of the closest soldier, seeming to just appear from the shadows and bit into his neck. It was a shallow bite but with croyan poison that was enough.
Bo and Jangles attacked the remaining soldiers in a well practiced formation, neither leaving the other in a vulnerable position, always having the others back before they went to attack. In the pale light of the moon it didn't seem like a savage and bloody attack but rather a morbidly beautiful dance. It only last a few moments but I found myself transfixed the entire time.
[They're good…] Bone-lasher said as he sat beside me on my spot on the roof.
[Yeah…] I muttered.
As the last of the soldiers fell Bo and Jangles immediately returned to Iris, Bo using Jangles as a kickboard to reach the roof we were all standing on. Once on the roof Both Bo and Jangles returned to Iris' crystal.
Baset said.
I looked towards the tower and frowned. The black aura that surrounded the top seemed thicker for some reason.
"Hello…hellooooooooo? Anybody there?" A voice called out from one of the dead soldiers. The girls and I flinched as I scanned the bodies to see which one the voice was coming from. I jumped down from the roof and walked over to the corpse of the solder taking point. On his tactical belt was a small cube that looked out of place from the rest of the rest of his equipment. As I picked it up I realized it was covered in runes.
'Imbue, transfer, voice…' I thought as I looked over the runes. There were close to a hundred etched on it but I could only make out a handful. The girls and Bone-lasher jumped down just behind me. Iris walked over to me and peered over my shoulder.
I replied
"Hello…?" I said into the cube. Iris slapped me on the back of my head.
"Oh! Someone actually answered." The voice said. "I assume that you are the one that killed my soldiers and my beloved rachnid?"
"Yes, I assume that I am speaking to Anasi paragon?" I replied.
"Oh so you already know who I am, I must say I respect a well informed opponent. Judging by the ease at which you dispatched my soldiers and evo you must be a member of the village…no…you must be the blessed star keeper that Raziri warned me about." Anasi said. I sensed a lot of sarcasm coming from him with the last few words.
"How about you drop the eccentric and aloof villain act, I know you plan to use all the villagers in some human Splicing ritual." I replied.
"This isn't an act, however I am impressed that you figured out our plan. Not that you can do anything to stop it. No matter how many of my soldiers you kill everyone in this village will die for what they did to me! " Anansi exclaimed.
"What they did to you? Gods above another fucking revenge plot! All I've heard since I got here was revenge against the village for this! Revenge against everyone for that!" I shouted into the cube and stomped my foot into the ground. "So many people have died already and for what? Your stupid ass petty revenge! Hey pro tip: grow the fuck up, get some therapy, and move on with your life!"
"Move on…with my life? AFTER EVERYTHING THAT I WAS PUT THROUGH!" Anansi roared.
"Oh woe is me! My childhood was shitty so now I have to take it out on everyone?" I said mockingly. "Oh take that tired fucking cliché and shove it up your ass! I've seen Raziri's lab and the test tubes filled with men, women, and children that the two of you experimented on! One shitty childhood doesn't give you the right to fuck up so many other people's lives!"
"What would a pampered star crystal keeper know about my life? What would you know about any sort of hardship?" Anansi snapped.
"I know you left the village, became a fucking Paragon and had the world at your fingertips! You had power, respect, and a life outside of all this! You're the one that's looking back on the shittiest parts of your past!" I snapped back.
"Plan's changing! I'm kicking this punk ass bitch's ass!"