The second snow wraith was standing on top of the first. It has the appearance of a massive albino gorilla with an extra arm that separates just under its right armpit. Unlike the centipede it did not have any bullet holes in its body and appeared to be unscathed. The ape reached down and ripped out the spikes of ice that grew from the centipede which caused it to yell in pain. It pointed at the town and screamed as it continued to pull and tear.
"I claim the head of kings." Ke'an says a spell under his breath.
Skill: Regicide 0.00%
Skill type: Active cooldown 2 mins
Magic Cost: Minor
Effect: Imbue your next attack or the attack of a selected targeted ally with the 10x kinetic force. If the attack is not physical in nature or the target is a spiritual entity with immunity to kinetic force, energy will be converted into magic disruption damage.
Transcendent effect: Increase magic cost to high to imbue yourself and one targeted ally at the same time or imbue yourself with twice the effect in your next attack.
Ke'an took his first shot at the creatures aiming for center mass on the ape-like monster. The flames that surrounded Ke'an became a torrent of fire that looked more like solid beam concentrated flame than the shot from a gun. To Ke'an's surprise the centipede lifted one of the segments of its long body to shield the ape from the incoming attack at speeds that Ke'an and the farmers thought impossible.
The bullet strikes the segment of the creature with the force of a cannon magnified by Ke'an's Regicide skill and the flame magic infused into his gun. The segment of the creature explodes on impacts which causes it to scream and thrash on the ground. As the ape continued to rip out more ice spikes preparing to throw them. Ke'an curses as he unloads his remaining five shots each far more powerful than the farmers' shots but none causing any significant damage to the ice centipede hard outer shell.
"Everyone get down!" Ke'an yells.
Ke'an ducks behind the makeshift wall as the javelin size ice spears come crashing down around them at the speed of sound. The makeshift wall is demolished and several more people are instantly killed in the barrage. Ke'an looks around for System who successfully took cover before the onslaught and appeared unharmed. More of the spears hit with explosive force sending debris and snow into the air. Each spear hits with the force of an artery shell dazing anyone close by the impact zone.
The ground shakes as the centipede starts to stomp its many legs as it begins to slowly move forward gaining more and more speed. Ke'an stands up and pushes his magic into his boots which have the stamp of rock on them. As he runs the ground itself rises out of the snow creating perfect foot paths to maximize his speed. He runs over to System who had not recovered from the hail of ice spikes. He grabs her and runs them to take cover in the orchard out of the line of sight of the gorilla.
"This is bad." Ke'an says. "I don't think I will be able to use my gun much longer. My magic is too powerful for it."
"Then don't use it." System says as she shakes her head. "I say we commandeer some of the ones left behind by the fallen. Your gun can be saved for the big boss. Right now we need to take out that ape. It is not made from the super tough ice so the centipede is protecting it."
"What do you suggest?" Ke'an asks.
"Run grab a rifle or two then after the apes' next volley. We take it out." System says with an assured smile.
"Can you keep up?" Ke'an asks. "We get one shot and we are going straight for it."
System nods so Ke'an holds out his hand in her direction.
"I claim the head of kings." Ke'an says.
Ke'an put significantly more magic into the spell this time allowing for both him and System to have their next attack's damage multiplied ten times. Ke'an runs out from the orchard towards the sound of gunfire that has now erupted inside the town's outskirts. The centipede is now rampaging through and crashing into homes and ruining fields. Anyone that gets too close to its sharp spines are turned into stone just to crumble away. The ape throws the ice spears at anyone that tries to run. Despite the uneven odds the villagers are doing a good job in keeping all of the destruction outside of the main settlement. The damaged building had already been evacuated so casualties were only from the defenders.
Ke'an picks up a loaded double barrel shotgun from the remains of one of the former village defenders and slings the weapon over his shoulder as he finds a hunting rifle still glowing with the heat magic. He pushes his own potent magic into the gun and feels the weapon nearly combust under the magical strain. The ape turns and notices Ke'an and System running at speeds closer to a car on the highway than a human. It quickly throws a barrage of spears in their direction. Ke'an stops and tackles System to the ground so he is struck through the chest with one of the spikes that send the two of them flying into one of the villager's homes. The small minimalist wooden structure nearly collapses from the speed that Ke'an and System hit the side.
You have been afflicted with Desecration of Stone. You are a transcendent entity which can not be forcibly altered without significant force from a being of higher transcendence. You have resisted Desecration of Stone.
Ke'an struggle to breath as he looks at the spike in his body. He looks over to System who was separated from him when they hit the wall and is happy she appears to be fine. Ke'an vision blurs and shock starts to set in. Then suddenly System stands up and walks over to him as his breathing becomes staggered.
"Get a hold of yourself!" System says as she slaps him across the face. "We are going to miss our chance!"
Ke'an is shocked that she is just telling him to shake off being stabbed through the chest by an ice spear nearly as long as he is tall. He wasn't even sure why he was still alive other than the pop-up menu in the corner of his vision saying he resisted the effects that turns people into stone. System sighs and grabs the end of the spike and yanks it out of Ke'an chest.
"Ah! What in the name of the Gods are you doing!" Ke'an yells as a sharp but brief pain rattles his body. "You are going to kill me faster by pulling it out."
"What are you on about? Why are you yelling at me?" System retaliates in confusion as she throws the ice spear away. "You are a transcendent, not a human, something like this can't kill you. Now get up, you are wasting time."
Ke'an looks down at his chest while feeling himself with his hands. There was a hole in his shirt and in his body but no pain. The blood that covered his hand started to disintegrate into beautiful flecks of scarlet light. He could feel the wound quickly closing up and the pain and heat slowly dissipated.
"I couldn't breathe." Ke'an says as he struggles up to his feet.
"Ke'an, you don't need to breathe. It is a benefit of transcendence. We will see about breaking the mortal mentality of yours later." System responds matter of factly. "Right now we just need to focus on the task at hand. I am right behind you. Oh and thank you for the save."
"Okay," Ke'an says in breathless words.
He picks up the hunting rifle which is still glowing with a fiery torrent from the magic Ke'an infused into it. The two step out of the partially collapsed home as the rock beneath the snow rises up to present a clear path for Ke'an and System to run across. The ape and the centipede continued their rampage and are still fighting against the villagers who are barely holding their own. The ape assumed Ke'an and System were dead so it is shocked to see them running towards it. This time however it is too late to throw spears to defend itself.
"System find me another gun!" Ke'an yells.
"I got you!" System says as she breaks off and runs away.
Ke'an fires the rifle and it explodes in a terrifying but pointed explosion. The round hits the centipede and blows a hole through its body causing it to writhe and scream in pain. The ape is thrown off of the centipede's back from the force which hits it like a tank shell. While in the air the ape throws one of the spears as straight as an arrow at Ke'an who dodges to his right as the spike grazes his arm.
The centipede slows down then comes to a stop as it struggles to regenerate such a massive wound. Ke'an turns his attention to the ape who seemed to be the most immediate threat since it still has a spear in two of its three hands. Ke'an wasted no time in pulling around his second rifle and focusing energy into it. He aimed at the ape and fired. He is surprised at the speed in which the ape moves despite its large size as the round misses and hit the forest and explodes with amazing force.