"Was this you…? Did you do all of this?" Drake asked in a low voice, still holding on to a desperately struggling Kalik.
"But of course! I have a duty to keep my word to you and my master. I told you that our armies would be massive and they are! Growing day by day! Just look at the small number I've brought with me thanks to this city!" Adam replied, spreading his eyes.
The walls were suddenly infested with undead. Ghouls, banshees, vampires, and other things Drake previously thought were just cryptids and legends. Pale faced monsters with multiple limbs, some with cloaks and masks, others in the forms of pure black shades, too many to count.
And that wasn't the worst of it. On the wall were several other E-Rank Amalgamations with characteristics he hadn't seen from the previous ones.
[Stitched Manipulation Amalgamation Level 35]
[Stitched Hardened Amalgamation Level 35]
[Stitched Shadow Amalgamation Level 34]
[Stitched Elemental Amalgamation Level 36]
[Adam Savage Level 19]
Drake looked down, Kalik suddenly becoming still in his grip.
"P-please… Please cut her down…" Kalik mumbled.
Without answering, Drake released Kalik. Sah Ul' moved to replace Drake to restrain Kalik but was waved off by Drake.
Drake looked upwards, moving forward without hesitation or care for the massive army that appeared on top of the wall and even the many more he felt behind it, waiting for the command to flood the area.
He flicked his wrist, a bright green magic circle manifesting and conjuring wind. The spell quickly condensed into a blade, cutting the rope that held Kalik's mother high above and just as quickly forming a wind below her carrying her down.
Drake never let his eyes wander from Adam, as did Adam never let his egotistical triumphant smirk leave his face.
After some time, Kalik's mother, Batkh Tu', floated down into Drake's arms. And he turned, breaking his gaze from Adam.
"You really going to turn your back on me? When I have this many servants at my beck and call?! The number of pawns I have has swelled well beyond what I had in the tutorial you maggot! My army! Will blot out the sun!" Adam jeered.
Ignoring him, Drake continued to walk, uninterested in having a back-and-forth. His priority was bringing this lost woman, the mother of his student, back to her family.
The rain fell and the droplets let off a rhythmic sound against the surroundings, making the night somber, a small mist beginning to form above the ground.
Drake reached Kalik and Sarah finally. Kalik's face was unreadable as he looked down at his mother in Drake's arms. Charlotte, Mordred, Glen, and Lucium standing a few feet back watching intently.
With a flick of his wrist, Drake summoned a small platform and placed Batkh Tu' on it.
Kalik's hand went to his mother's face, and Drake could hear the cracking of the boy's jaw.
"I will kill him…" Kalik muttered.
"No," Drake said coldly.
Kalik's face lifted and his eyes were bloodshot with unbridled fury, "I will kill that pale-faced monstrosity and take back my mother's honor! You can not stop-"
The sound of Drake's hand crossing Kalik's face rang loudly over the area.
"I said no. You can't win, don't rush to your own death."
Kalik's fist shook by his side, but he didn't yell or snap back.
"Please. Lord Wallen… Patriarch… I know I may be weaker than that abomination, but I must fight him," Kalik turned his head to look back at Drake in the eyes, "He killed my mother… I was not here, nor strong enough to protect her. At least allow me to prove I am my Mother and Father's son. I am not a coward. I will challenge that thing to Mahk Rul. And I will fight regardless."
Drake was silent for a long while. He and Kalik looked back at one another.
He finally let out a sigh.
"Fine."
"You can't be serious Drake," Charlotte said, stepping forward, "There are thousands of undead up there."
"Patriarch… I do not approve of this. Kalik is strong but that monster is evil," Sah Ul' agreed, "We must fight him together, him and his army."
"This isn't up for debate. What would you want? If it was someone you loved who was on that table and their killer was right in front of you?" Drake explained, "If it was my mother, brother…" he looked at Sah Ul', "If it was you?"
The ground shook slightly, as Drake's mana and aura flared for a split second.
"There would be no stopping me."
—------------------
"This will only happen if he agrees. Is that clear?" Drake said, walking next to Kalik as they approached the wall.
Kalik nodded back, his expression flat, and demeanor a stark change from his chaotic emotions before.
"If he doesn't accept, then you will leave with everyone else and I will take care of him," Drake explained.
"Done having your little shitty pep talk?" Adam scoffed, looking down at them from atop the wall.
Kalik took a step ahead of Drake.
"I challenge you to Mahk Rul."
"A what now?" Adam asked, putting his hand to his ear as if he couldn't hear.
"A one-on-one fight to the death," Kalik repeated.
Adam scoffed, "What makes you think you're in any position to demand anything!? Why would I fight one-on-one with some filthy little orc?"
"Because if you don't, you'll have to fight all of us," Drake said, stepping into the conversation, "Do you really want to fight me and my party? Already forget what happened in the tutorial…?" he added, his eyes flashing yellow.
Adam's body recoiled subtly, but Drake didn't fail to catch the shade of fear in it.
"It's fine, isn't it? It's just some freshy kid Adam," a voice said from above.
Peaking over the top, the painted face of a clown looked down, with long pale ears and two ponytails.
"Silvyr… Shut up! I have no reason to fight him!" Adam growled, "I have more than enough monsters to crush them all!"
"Are you sure about that?" Drake frowned, pointing a finger at one of the Amalgamations.
Before Adam or the new arrival, Silvyr, could react, Drake had summoned several ice crystals over his shoulders and his own concoction of fire and lightning magic forming a tight plasma ball that hummed at the tip of his finger.
"Heretical Endowment Tri-fold Ice. Starlight Cannon," Drake said evenly, a sonic boom exploding from the tip of his finger, blowing the water droplets away in a sphere around him and Kalik.
A trail of light screeched through the air, water vapor hissing off the contact with the spell.
Both Adam and Sylvyr turned, looking over to find one of the Amalgamations toppled over, a massive smoking red hole in its chest.
"You seem to think I can't just kill you whenever I want, Adam. But your death is inevitable. You should have taken my warning and dug a hole so deep down you would never see the light of day. No, today you die. By my hand or his, this time, it's inevitable," Drake scowled.
"Marked."
Just for good measure, Drake made sure to target Adam in case the man somehow was able to leave.
Canceling his endowment Drake regressed back to his normal black hair, but kept his focus on Adam, using his Magic Eyes to do his best to dissect the spells that were currently in use. If he was able to he could remove a beneficial buff, hopefully, the one that allowed him to cheat death.
"H-how did you do that?! That isn't possible!" Adam shouted.
Drake summoned several elements, rolling them above his hands, "I have the ability to regulate my buffs. Now, enough stalling. Fight Kalik Tu' or I'll kill you myself."
"The count will not like this," another voice said from above the wall.
This time a broad silhouette showed in full plate armor and helmet.
"Yahaa!! It's fine, Adam was never supposed to be at the top anyway! He just happened to be the first to meet the master! Say can't we have a go at the others while he dies?" another voice cackled.
Jumping onto the shoulder of the plated person, a beastkin with gray hair, spun a knife and beamed in anticipation.
"Shut up! All of you! I'm in charge here!" Adam screamed nervousness clear on his face as he began biting down on his thumb.
Drake looked carefully at the newcomers.
[Silvyr Rava Level 17]
[Bromdo Blackrock Level 18]
[Mae Cris Level 20]
Adam still hesitated but began speaking, "What if I beat your little booger here, then what huh?"
"You die," Drake growled, "There is no winning for you. Kalik just wants to kill you himself. Accept your reality, there's no circumstance where you live."
"I reject your reality!" Adam spat, a purplish circle forming underneath him, "And substitute my own! Decrepit Mist!"
The people on the wall scowled and cursed, jumping away as sickly purple mist began spilling out and over the top of the wall.
"As long as only Adam and Kalik are fighting and no one interferes, I won't help!" Drake shouted, "But if anyone jumps in…" he warned.
"Screw this shit show, I'm going to find fun elsewhere!" Mae, the beastkin sneered, running off past them.
"For once I think Mae is right, this seems to have devolved into something uninteresting now…" Silvyr added.
"Patriarch!" Sah Ul' shouted.
"Go, we'll be fine here. Charlotte, you go as well, don't worry about Kalik, I'll take care of him. Mordred, you, Glenn, and Lucium make sure nothing happens to his mother's body.
Sah Ul' gave one last look back at Drake, Kalik, then the still body of Batkh Tu', before gripping her massive axe and sprinting after the trio that had left.
"I'll take care of the rest of the group," Charlotte encouraged, "Please be safe and give that monster what he deserves."
Drake nodded curtly, keeping his eyes on Adam and the rest of the undead, spreading out his aura to force many of them into submission, preventing them from acting.
Kalik stood next to Drake, his body tense but ready to fight, his own aura bubbling over as steam began rising from his exposed skin and hair.
Drake placed a hand on his shoulder, "Fight smart, remember what we've been practicing in training."
Kalik only nodded, his hands flexing over his knuckles as the poison cloud from Adam slowly crept closer the dense mist clinging to the ground and overtaking the light white mist surrounding the area.
Drake gave the teen a slap on the back, "May the Mother bless your hunt."
—--------------
Blood beat like a war drum in Kalik's ears, the high-pitched ringing subsuming anything but the filth in front of him.
Images of his childhood, his mother taking care of him and him telling her he would protect her in his father's stead.
Every second ticked by, the small crimson bar of red in his peripheral filling with each flash of his mother in his mind, until the last image of her hanging on the wall crossed it.
The bar filled.
"I am a proud warrior of the Rahk Tribe! Kalik Tu' Rakh! And I will crush you with all of my being!!!" roared, his aura bursting to life kicking up his coat as it whipped against the pressure he was exuding.
"Will you shut up already!! I'll just kill you both! I don't need those lackeys! Bone Lance!"
Adam drew a staff from his inventory, pointing it right at Kalik from on top of the wall a pale gray magic circle formed, and an ivory-white sharpened bone formed out of it.
Kalik crouched down, "Open! Gate of Brutality!"
[You are now under the effects of 2-Gate Prosperity: Brutality]
[Rage meter is being actively depleted]
Kalik's body bulged, taking on a red hue as his armor and weapon creaked against the sudden increase in mass. But he wasn't done.
"May I see clearly and be at peace. Lion's Peaceful Body!"
Kalik's body suddenly flashed in white, an ethereal fire covering his entire self until it condensed covering his forearms.
"What of it! You can't hope to beat me!" Adam sneered, his bone lance firing off.
Kalik stared down the lance, the poison mist just feet away from him as the lance shot at incredible speed at him.
The lance inched closer and just before it reached Kalik, he raised his white fire-clad fist, and slammed it down, shattering the spell.
"What?!" Adam stammered, in pure shock.
Kalik gave out a guttural roar, running forward and straight into the mist.
[You are now under the effects of Decrepit Mist]
[- 1% Health every second]
Coughing, Kalik pushed forward, smashing the subsequent bone lances that Adam was shooting down at him.
Using his strength he coiled himself at the base of the wall jumping upward and slamming down at the top of the wall, right in front of Adam, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Adam's face turned to panic, "What are you useless shits doing! Get him!"
But the undead on the wall refused to move, their focus on the ever-present threat that was Drake. Even the E-Rank Amalgamations hesitated despite having no will.
"Unhonorable, spineless, filth!" Kalik growled, his voice slightly deeper after opening the Gate of Brutality.
"Screw your honor! Bone Lance! Wall of Corpses!"
Kalik tried to dodge the lance, unable to react in time to the spell that seemed to be cast faster than before, as he attempted to duck under it. Unfortunately, the lance clipped his shoulder opening up a wound and taking a huge 10% chunk of his already dwindling health.
But he pressed on, leaning into the spell, throwing a fist.
However, he was only able to grunt in anger as a wall of melded bodies and parts shot up in front of his strike, his metal knuckles only slightly denting the defenses.
Kalik crouched down taking another stance quickly, hoping his increased strength from opening the gate would be enough to make a quick victory as he saw his Rage Meter slowly reaching empty, the blue meter below it almost full.
Internal energy stirred instantly in Kalik's fist as he held the charge for several seconds, but couldn't let the chance Adam gave him obscuring his vision.
The charge pulsed and he roared, throwing his fist forward.
"Shak Rah Ho!!"
The beam of internal energy crashed against the corpse wall blowing a human-sized hole into it and Kalik instantly ran through it finding a surprised Adam.
"You little shit-"
But Kalik moved in, stepping forward and using his body to leverage a punch down right into Adam's head, throwing the vampire into the floor.
When Kalik moved to follow up, raising another fist, he instantly dodged back instead, a bone lance flying past his head.
What? He was not injured? Kalik thought.
A second lance began forming at the tip of Adam's staff, his face brimming with anger.
"You hit me! You fucking hit me?! Bone Lance!"
Prepared for the counterattack this time, Kalik threw his left first into the side of the forming lance, smashing it to pieces. As quickly as he could he clenched his hands together bringing them down like a hammer on the unprotected Adam, crushing him and the wall slightly beneath him.
But there was no blood, no notification of his victory. And his Rage Meter had depleted his body reverting back to normal, steam billowing off his shoulders.
[You are no longer under the effects of 2-Gate Prosperity: Brutality]
Breathing heavily he jumped backwards, putting some distance between him and Adam.
Adam got up without struggle his face twisted in fury.
"You fucking green bastard!" he shouted.
Kalik didn't respond, instead looking behind Adam as one of the Amalgamations turned to dust suddenly, clicking into place what was happening.
"Damage substitution…?" he muttered.
"Doesn't matter if you know now! You're running on empty! And my poison will turn you into a little puddle of vomit! That moronic prick Drake should have never left you to fight me alone!" Adam sneered, pointing his staff at Kalik.
"The world rots at my command! Rapid Decompisition!"
Kalik felt a sickly pulse go through his body before he wretched, spilling black bile and blood on the ground in front of him.
"W-what?" Kalik stammered, looking at his status suddenly tanking 10% and losing more by the second.
He has increased the amount of damage he is dealing over time. Is it like the wolf pup's skill? Speeding up the process? Kalik thought, wiping his mouth. I don't have much time. He's looking down on me and I've finally managed to get close. He can only have so much substitution for the damage, I'm sure. I will break his spell and kill him before I fall!
Kalik pulled a vial of red from his coat, uncorking and pulling on the liquid restoring his health back to 90% but it was ticking downward faster than before. He had only a fraction of the time that he did previously.
"Open! Gate of Tranquility!" he howled, his body shrinking in mass, and a black light encompassing his hands, his skin turning a pale blue.
[You are now under the effects of 2-Gate Prosperity: Tranquility]
Breathing out a puff of white smoke against the falling rain, he took a different stance, his palms open and his eyes cold.
Adam took a step backward after the quick transformation to gain distance shouting, "Bone Lance!"
Kalik saw the lance more clearly now that he had switched to his Gate of Tranquility. His palm touched the tip of the lance and deflected the lance downward.
In the same motion, he turned with the momentum, then launched himself forward with a speed far greater than before, getting in close to Adam.
"W-what?!" Adam screamed firing another bone lance.
Kalik, jumped, stepping on the lance and somersaulting in behind Adam. The black light on Kalik's arms grew in density and illumination as he took in a breath.
Then thrusting a palm into Adam's back, he began a barrage of strikes, striking with pinpoint accuracy at Adam's vitals and coalescent points on his body without reprisal.
A strike to the kidney, sweeping the legs, downward strike to the lower spine, two strikes to the jugular.
His barrage threw Adam into the ground, where he growled without damage and unstunned from Kalik's Mana Disruption effects, instead pointing his staff back and shouting his bone lance spell.
In this boosted status and distance, Adam was not Kalik's equal. Kalik easily deflected the blows, moving with speed on top of Adam, remembering the fighting he had done with Drake that felt countless.
Taking in another breath he threw down another fist, and another, and another, the barrage picking up speed with each strike and bow, giving no time for Adam to chant his spell from the subsequent strikes to his face.
Adam was quickly beginning to panic, his face becoming more and more worried.
"Corpse Explosion!" he finally managed to chant.
The sound of something behind Kalik imploded and he suddenly felt pain in his back, throwing him forward.
Coughing, Kalik saw blood but grit his teeth regardless twisting in the air and landing on his feet, ready to counterattack.
"Balance is sometimes a cruel hammer!" he began chanting his palm out and down, a massive white hand forming above Adam, "Brutal Separa-"
But Kalik fell to one knee, coughing again seeing a jet white bone protruding from his chest.
"N-no…" he muttered, "I-it can't end like this," he roared, "I w-won't lose! I CAN'T LOSE-"
The outline of another small Amalgamation shimmered in front of him, Adam getting up and sneering. However, Adam's face, already pale, turned ghostly white.
"I told you what would happen," a cold voice said from behind Kalik, "I'm sorry you won't be able to see this to the end..."
—---------------------
Drake moved instantly, his whole strength on display as he moved nearly instantaneously as soon as the cloaked Amalgamation struck Kalik with a dagger.
With lightning speed he landed on the wall, taking another step with an arc of his arm, taking the Amalgamation's head clean off its body, freezing it, and crushing it. In his other hand summoning a massive gust of wind clearing the poison mist.
In the same motion, he kneeled down propping Kalik up, and putting another potion into his mouth.
Drake looked up, abject hostility in his eyes as he froze Adam in place.
"I told you what would happen."
Drake looked down, "Mordred!"
The girl quickly made her way over her wings flapping to carry her up the wall.
"Take him down to his mother. I'll be finished here soon."
Mordred looked down at Kalik with sympathetic eyes and nodded, turning and jumping off the wall.
"Y-you told me-"
"Quiet.," Drake said coldly, "I knew you would cheat, that's just the kind of man you are…But I still had to allow him to fight you. And if he was a little further along, he might have won."
Adam shook with fear, trying to mumble something under his breath, but Drake flexed his aura, Adam's eyes going wide.
"W-what did you do?!"
Drake smiled, "Seems like I picked a good one, was that a teleportation or substitution skill? Kalik was able to destroy two of the Amalgamations himself from his damage, impressive for a level 16, don't you think?"
"Shut up! Bone Lance!" Adam howled.
Drake's body flashed in green, his defensive buffs covering him. A moment later the lance connected with his Bulwark shield shattering.
[You are now under the effects of Bulwark]
[You are now under the effects of Guardian's Reprieve]
[You are now under the effects of Unbreakable]
[Bulwark has been broken]
[You have gained a Reprival Charge]
Instantly using his charge, Drake teleported behind Adam.
"Heretical Endowment, Septenarius. Heretical Attunement Two-fold Fire."
His body broke out in a gold light, his arms flaring twice his size in white fire as he pulled back his right arm.
Adam's head barely turned in time to see Drake over his shoulder before Drake thrusted his fist forward right into Adam's back the impact sounding like a tank had just shot a round and threw Adam across the top of the wall.
But Drake increased his speed, taking a step forward and getting ahead of the flying Adam. Moving just ahead of his trajectory, Drake reached out a hand, catching Adam by the throat, surprisingly undamaged.
Looking back down the wall where Drake had sent Adam flying, a long line of undead and Amalgamations disintegrated into nothing.
"That's a powerful skill you have. Even still I killed a few hundred with that light strike," Drake said evenly, holding the man high into the air.
"L-light? You call that light?!" Adam said warily, fear in his eyes.
"Ah. Scared?" Drake leered, "You should be. Let's see if I can hit a new record, I'm quite competitive like that."
Drake lifted Adamn slightly higher, then grunted as he thrusted the man into the wall, embedding him into the construction, a few more undead sputtering into nothing on the other side of the wall.
Lifting his hand, Drake removed the white fire of his attunement, instead summoning a culmination of elements right above his fist as he loomed over Adam.
"I'll be getting a little serious."
The ball of magical elements ballooned, covering a large portion of the wall enough to remove the sound of the falling rain. However, just as soon as it ballooned did it shrink, the elements becoming a concoction of humming power.
"Heretical Attunement, Septenarius, Symphony of Elements."
"W-wait, I give-"
Drake threw down his fist.
"Kokusen!!!"
Drake's fist made contact with Adam's chest, throwing him deeper into the wall, crushing and destroying the entire partition as it fell apart in large sections.
Standing above the collapsing structure, Drake looked as tens of thousands of notifications rolled in and he saw down to the last undead turn to dust, the rain washing them away. But he did not get the last notification.
Adam was still alive, and Drake could see him stuck in the ground thanks to his Marked skill.
Slowly Drake drifted down to the ground, throwing his hand into the rubble, pulling a finally bloody Adam out by the back of his head.
"Tell me, Adam," Drake said, bringing the man's face to eye level, his other hand on his neck, "Who is this count and who is your master?"
Adam's mouth moved to say something, but Drake didn't wait.
Using his strength Drake ripped Adam's head from his body, pulling it out like he was unsheathing a blade, his spine still attached.
"You would have lied anyway…" Drake growled, then raised a brow surprised, "But, you're still alive huh? Like a cockroach…"
Adam's mouth opened and closed like a fish, his body falling limp and new flesh beginning to slowly form around the bottom of his neck around his spine as he regenerated.
Drake brought the head back to eye level.
"You and your kind aren't welcome on my planet. I will remove each and every last one of you from it and once I'm done, whatever master that brought your unfortunate plague to this planet will be next."
Clenching his hand, Drake crushed Adam's skull like an egg.
[You have killed Adam Savage Level 19] [Experience Earned, 374 Nobility Points awared]
Drake set himself ablaze in white fire, cleaning every speck of blood and splatter from the area. He looked to where Kalik was resting, Mordred looked at him with eyes widened in surprise, but nodded. Glenn and Lucium's expressions unreadable.
"Your son fought well. I hope you can rest in peace…" Drake whispered.