The Wolf King battled against armored corrupted called Hellions. Sentient corrupted that were formidable warriors with freewill and had controlled the madness. But lacked any emotion other than blood lust and serving the Nexus. They had evolved to beings with an ego and mind of their own. Wolf King parried a stab of the Hellion's spear. It backed up spinning the weapon around the body like a master. They then brought a barrage of spear thrusts at him. He kept up with each attack and then burst into fog flowing about before reappearing behind to impale the Hellion like a kabob. The king kicked the body away as he was set upon by another.
Kira was fighting with intensity at the beginning unlike the king she was tiring and her muscles ached. She staggered leaning on the spear in her hands. She stood surrounded by dead corrupted and Wolf Warriors. She wasn't alone other warriors stood still waiting for the next barrage to make it over the wall. 'I can't keep this up…NO! I have to keep this up or I'm dead!' She thought removing a purple pill from an inside pocket. She gulped it down taking a drink from her water skin putting it back on her belt. She heaved the spear upon her shoulders and breathed in. She felt a surge of energy replenishing her soul core. Her Mind Palace became more clear and she felt focused. "I have to see him again" she whispered as the next corrupted came running at her screeching.
She spun around dodging a claw from the corrupted and impaled it. She threw it off and butted another across the face. Then drove the head of the spear into its head. She flipped over another attacked kicked it so hard its head snapped to the side. She was then kicked from behind. She stumbled forward in a roll and corrected landing on her feet in a crouch position. She looked up seeing a tall Hellion with long arms and legs. It grinned with rows of jagged teeth. In its hands was a hammer and sickle. It gave off a guttural growl and then giggled. 'Shit..' Kira thought. She then shot forward making the first move. The two were then locked in a back and forth. Slashing of their weapons sent up sparks. She dodged a sickle attack and was then kicked across the side. She staggered and then spun on its extended leg stabbing a spear at it.
It blocked with the hammer shattering the spear's shaft. She didn't stop to mourn she clubbed the hellion across the face. Gathering chi she activated her Gust element as a whirlwind erupted from the tip of the broken spear.
The gust pushed the Hellion backwards smashing into a wall creating a crater. Kira threw the spear aside and used wind to pick up her speed as she unsheathed a dagger from her belt aiming for the Hellion's chest. With a loud boom they both collided. Kira gasped as she looked down seeing the dagger fully in the Hellion's chest to the hilt. The creature was still grinning though as she saw the sickle in her shoulder and the hammer head on her knee that bent to the side. Pain receptors finally kicked in and she became flooded with it. The Hellion spit black blood onto Kira's face. The blood then turned to vapor as it seeped into her skin.
Her eyes then started to turn black and her irises turned purple. Her skin was no longer normal either as it turned grey. She felt her teeth break as they turned to jagged rows. The Hellion died, but got the last laugh. Kira then gave off a blood curdling screech as her mind felt engulfed by a voice pushing her very essence as a person away. Her ethereal self inside the Mind Palace fought it off but was slowly swallowed up.
Kira was no longer; now stood a sentient Hellion. She then felt her body regain control, but her mind set was all about violence. She then turned looking at her fellow warriors fighting corrupted. She turned back picking up the hammer. Her knee snapped back into place. She then pulled the sickle out with a violent jerk. The wounds all healed instantly giving another feature to the evolution. She somehow reacted differently to the virus. She could hear an echo from far off "Well aren't you an interesting one? Come find me. Save Smiling Demon from his captors. You can be together forever" it said as she felt love towards the name. The name to her new mind was foreign. But the feeling still remained towards it without reason. She then bolted towards the gate. She cut down fellow warriors with ease and speed. Wind swirled around her as she shot into the air soaring over the battlements and war raging at the gate.
The Wolf King looked surprised as he was momentarily distracted looking upon Kira's transformation. 'Hellion virus! Damn you for the chaos you made' he cursed the mastermind of all this. With a heavy heart he looked at one of his men, "SHOOT HER DOWN!" He ordered. Men then shot bolts at her exploding around her. She was caught off balance by the blasts, till one finally hit her. She fell from the sky falling into the swarm outside the gate. She fell upon a few corrupted breaking her fall. She got up looking around in a frenzy her back smoking from the fire. Her skin was burned, but quickly healed. She then ran through the crowd towards a force pulling her to the voice.
The swarm battered the gate bending the bars. Some climbing the walls. There was no end. "USE THE FLAMES TO GET THEM OFF THE WALLS!" The king ordered as Flame users stepped forward creating waves of flames out like a flamethrower dosing the climbers in an inferno.
They screeched and screamed as they burned. "Begin barrier spells! We need time to regroup!" Spell casters pulled out grimoires standing around magic circles. "PROTECT THEM WITH YOUR LIVES TILL THE SPELL IS ACTIVATED!" He ordered. All men rallied fighting with more vigor. The spell was being cast as overhead blue lights started to form a solid surface that started to expand into a dome. After five minutes the dome extended towards the gate blocking corrupted from the outside and trapping those inside the keep from fleeing. The spell stabilized and the magic circles kept their glow. The barrier was set. "Everyone make repairs find the wounded and burn every corrupted. We must make haste! Any corrupted alive kill it! Purge the Keep of them" The king ordered. All followed orders and began to hurry about lighting torches and searching the dead. Some ganged up on corrupted still alive and were a threat.
The king sat upon a wooden crate his katana stabbed into the ground. He rested upon it. He looked out at the corrupted that were still and standing waiting for the opportunity. Some stared directly at him giving him a shiver up his spine. 'These bastards are not only toxic, but have the ability to go toe to toe with a Promordial if cultivated. I never wanted to see another Hellion for the rest of my days' he sighed. 'I am doomed in here. There is no doubt about that. We are outnumbered. I have not heard news of the other towers. What good is a king if he can't wipe away a scourge to save his people? Not a good king I would wager. I know one thing. I asked her once if she saw my fate. After a hundred years she would finally tell me. 'You will stand amongst the dead as the last man left alive. The dead around you will rise and then you will reach a violent end. Ending your reign. You are the first and last king of Ash realm. Forever this will be ruled by the corrupted after your passing' he racked his brain thinking of her words. 'If she knew he would die then why try and stop it? The mission she left for is a doomed one from the beginning if this is how I died. All men all around me are doomed. My men deserve better' he stood up. Grabbing a water skin taking a long drain of it. He sheathed his sword and pulled out his pipe. He packed it full of his herb. Taking a long drag before making rings. The smoke then morphed into a wolf magically moving jumping through the hoop.
Fulken came up his side bowing. He was covered in blood and held a wound on his side. "My lord we have begun moving our dead into rows in the courtyard. They will be given ceremony" he said with a strained voice. The king looked at him with calm eyes, "Good. Make sure they are burned thoroughly so they may rest…before you do anything Fulken. See the medic you need to stick around to defend this castle right?" Fulken bowed. "Yes sire at once" he grinned at the king. "With my dying breath I will defend the Keep. It is our home" the king felt the words hit his heart. He said nothing and merely nodded. Fulken excused himself to see a medic.
The king stared out past the gates. 'The Void King…he's out there bringing my realm to ruin. I'm stuck here…I'll haunt that man for eternity' he thought. He puffed on his pipe clenching it between his teeth.
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Red Demon followed along with Sister Spinner leading the way. They had been doing the same pattern for the last hour he assumed. Running and then battling the occasional corrupted. They kept moving inside the miasma. He could feel the fog having some affect him. Making him see the world as nothing but red fire. Even looking at Smiling he sat a tall flamed humanoid that he must destroy. Just nameless living flames with one swipe of his sword he could exstinguish. But he fought off this effect and he could see the world around him more normal. Sister Spinner occasionally looking back at him. She probably knew his state even with a glare. With this and urge to consume chi he needed something to help with these urges.
He willed his mind to focus and thought of using the Mind element to suppress this. All Seeing floated by him as he walked. "Illusions getting stronger? That's twice you've used Mind Swipe to focus the senses" she stated calmly. He spoked to her through telepathy, "Yes. If I don't everyone here is in danger. Along with the fact I become a liability to this party. I can't let these urges control me" he said with determination. "Well just as well. You walk the path of ruin and collecting elements, powers, and whatever else. The urges will continue to grow if you walk this path" she stated. Red Demon sunk his head answering back with his mind, "Seems Fate made that choice for me. I have no choice but to walk that path. Hopefully it leads to freedom" he said. The party stopped as a few corrupted came out of the fog. He gripped Moonray in hand along with Demon's Wrath. They cut them down and kept moving.
Nothing else occurred as they got closer to the pyramid the more the fog turned red and seemed to give off a copper smell. Red Demon winced, "Blood on the air…" he sniffed. "Void King…he could be cleaning house" Sister Spinner suggested. Prometheus holding Green Hornet scanned the horizon. 'Third Eye' he activated the visually enhancing spell. A glowing eye appeared on his forehead. He had a zoom in view of the pyramid in his mind. What he saw through the mist was nothing. "There are none ahead…the path is clear to the pyramid" the group then followed picking up their pace.
Red Demon expanded his mind and saw the world in nothing but vibrant colors of energy. Flowing chi all around them in the mist. He could see the pyramid and see veins of chi flowing out from a glowing center that looked black, but had a white aura. 'Seems to be the center?' With that he starting pushing chi into his legs to pick up speed.