Our next fight after Obarion was a quaint little town in Alaska. It was attacked by something called a Frost Royal, and the town was dead when we arrived. It was damn near frozen over, and every moving thing was either Fleshwarped or Frost Serpents.
We all nearly died on our first brush-up with the Royal. The temperature sunk so low that we were nearly frozen solid in seconds. Only a timely use of Cloak and some bullet fire saved me and them.
Counter-attacking raised several problems for Jean and me. We couldn't get close to it physically, and Jean could not shut the Royal down without using much psychic power.
He had a mental shield comparable to mine, and she was not entirely sure what would happen if she tried forcing her way into his mind. Her psychic energy might lash and not stop at just the Royal.
So, we had to handle the Royal the hard way, which meant crushing his army of frost fleshwarped and serpents.
By the end of the fight, I came out with a Cold Resistance skill, which gave me the protection I needed to approach the Royal and put an end to him.
By the end of our fight, Eryx's fire had been snuffed out, and half of my body was completely frozen over.
The experience elevated my Cold resistance to Adept Tier.
The final location for the day was an unaffiliated monastery in the Himalayas. A lightning bolt descended on where we stood the second we stepped through Mordo's portal. I shoved Jean away instinctively, taking on the full brunt of the strike.
It was like Hell descended. Pain, more intense than I could put into words, enveloped me. It was like my chest had been hollowed out and my heart replaced with a pulsing molten core of fire and heat. Each throb brought a fresh wave of pain.
I only realized that somebody violently moved my body when I heard myself screaming.
HP: 3/780
SP: 300/750
AE: 500/500
DE: 650/650
I couldn't think, see, or hear anything for the longest moment, and then I felt relief.
Congratulations: Lightning Resistance: Basic.
I immediately activated my Devil Trigger. I could've opted for Angel Regeneration, but I couldn't treat whatever just tried to one-shot me with kid gloves.
My regeneration skyrocketed, and my senses cleared as I summoned Rebellion and rose to my feet. My domain flowed from me, bathing the area in pure Demonic energy. My muscles rippled as strength flooded my body, and the world slowed down dramatically. A spray of metal spikes came pouring in my direction, and I casually deflected them all with quick waves of my sword.
My Devil Trigger was a high unlike any other, but I recognized it was on a clock rapidly counting down.
I surveyed my environment, and it became immediately obvious that we'd fallen for a trap. The Monastery was in ruins, and the sky was red and populated by hundreds of demons that looked eerily familiar. They were strange, gaunt humanoids with metal-looking skin and wide, splintered wings.
Devil's Eye.
Harpies
Humanoid feathered beasts that are the result of Corvus's earlier experimentation. They possess an affinity for metal.
A solitary Harpy was at the very center of the swarm, hovering hundreds of miles in the air. She looked more put together than the rest, with wide metal wings and a strange contraption in her hand. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn it was a rail gun.
'You're okay?' Jean called through our mind link as she fought back dozens of Harpies. Her eyes had started to glow, and the relief washing through her connection was overwhelming. She seemed to be popping dozens of monsters her second and actively deflecting hundreds of Pinions as they rained down on us.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm trying not to make nearly dying a habit."
To my left, I heard a series of loud cries. Three masked Demon apparated, brandishing pairs of bloody katanas from the ether. They were bandaged head to waist in skin-tight bandages and wore strange dress skirts. Their masks were plain and ceramic white, radiating a wrongness that unsettled me. I'd not been able to see them even with Devil's Eye activated until they reappeared.
They stood behind a group of sorcerers who seemed to clutch bleeding stumps where their fingers and arms used to be. Bloodied Sling rings lay on the floor, and the elusive demons had even managed to get to Mordo but had not been slick enough to remove his fingers and had only gotten his Sling ring.
The man seemed the most terrified I'd ever seen him.
They approached him in slow steps, eager to finish off the sorcerers. Four of the eight sorcerers looked well enough to fight while the rest hung back. However, only Mordo seemed strong enough to generate an eldritch Shield and whip out his Staff of Living Tribunal.
When Devil's Eye revealed their name, I immediately remembered where I recognized the demons from.
Dreamrunner
Lesser demons and personal guards of the Cambion of Limbo. Fashioned from the souls of Pure children, their skill with the blade is unparalleled among Lesser demons, and they possess considerable space-bending powers and speed that far outstrips most Lesser demons.
It seemed that the Ancient One's hunch had been right. The Cambions were finally making a move. One day before, they might've stood a chance.
One of the three Dreamrunners seemed to finally notice me, turning its gaunt neck in my direction, likely a bit surprised that I was still alive.
I was going to enjoy ripping them apart.
"UP," I commanded, targeting only the three Dreamrunners, and they suddenly went twisting. Gravity flip-flopped, and they were thrown in the air, where I leaped, Eryx in hand. My first target immediately crossed his blades the moment he saw me coming, yet my fist snapped them in half, tossing him back.
I felt his energy fluctuate as it tried to activate his bullshit teleportation ability, but I Demon pulled him back into proximity and laid into him with a fierce three-hit combo charged with energy.
Each shot was like a mini explosion had gone off, rocking him hard and shattering bone. I saw the two other Dream runners teleport, trying to flank me, while the large Thunder Harpy in the sky took aim at me.
I kicked back the disoriented Dreamrunner, evading the double team attack that would've split me into four pieces if my speed was not three times its current value, and latched onto the Demon on the left with Ophion.
My current strength made it easy to yank him and pivot while also reversing gravity to ensure the other Dreamrunners would be disoriented when the Lightning strike finally came.
I swung the trapped Dreamrunner into the air, using him as a rod to tank what would've been an otherwise lethal lightning strike. The blast charred the Demon instantly.
Congratulations: You've killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs.
As I came down to the ground, the two Dreamrunners leaped at me, swords bared. I smirked and whispered, "Up."
They both went flying again, and I shot back into the air as soon as I landed. I packed Arbiter with Demon energy and swung, targeting the weaker, wounded Dreamrunner. Since he couldn't dodge mid-air, he could only cross its broken swords in hopes of stopping me.
He was split in half for his troubles, earning me my second kill.
Congratulations: You've killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs.
The third Dream Runner appeared out of a portal in front of me with a spinning double slash. I summoned Rebellion, halting the attack.
I pushed back with a sweeping cut, which the Demon seemed to lean his way out of. He tried using his trick again, but I shot at him with Burst. I was on him in an instant. He wasn't even able to raise his blade to block before he was split in half.
Congratulations: You've killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs.
I deactivated Devil Trigger, dropping down to the ground. The entire ordeal had cost me 350 DE in total for 25 seconds of power, but it'd been worth it.
I summoned my M4 and joined Jean, sniping Harpies while keeping a critical eye on their leader, who hung in the air, self-assured.
"Thanks for saving me...again," Jean said.
"Don't mention it," I smiled. It was literally my job.
The Thunder Harpy fired at me again, but Jean sent a cluster of Harpies flying at the bolt. In the background, I saw Mordo and the rest of the sorcerers finally get a portal open. Kaecilius stepped through, alongside some reinforcement, and the wounded were ushered through.
This seemed to make the Thunder Harpy furious, and it hissed, flashing its wings. Electricity rippled through it before it launched hundreds of Lightning cloaked pinions at us. The harpies took the Thunder Harpy's lead and joined in, blotting out the sky with pinions. Jean's quick hand froze most of the attacks mid-air with considerable strain on her part, while the rest was intercepted by an eldritch shield generated by Mordo and Kaecilius.
"Let's return the favor, shall we," Mordo said as the sorcerers created diverse spells and launched them. For her part, Jean turned the frozen pinions and unleashed a wave of death that dropped tens of harpies from the sky.
I glared at the Thunder Harpy with murder on my mind. I'd not forgotten what It'd done to me. I was going to make it talk before ripping its metal wings off its back.
(Read up to Chapter 88 on Patreon.com/ArtandCreativeWriting)