Back when Kai had been trapped in the library in the Sorcerer Tower, his original plan had been to move planes to rejuvenate his powers before returning. That was until he had gotten the spell to go back in time. Due to that, he had spent countless hours pouring over forgotten tomes and ancient scrolls.
But it hadn't been an easy decision.
This plan— it had always been a gamble. One wrong move, one miscalculated summoning, and the city would burn to the ground, collateral to his ambition. Out of all the different planes and the vast amount of creatures that lived there, only a few could deliver the swift, brutal blow necessary to take down the brood mother in one strike.
Most of the beasts at higher levels of strengths were far too destructive. Fire giants capable of stomping through the cities with fiery fists, giant thundering eagles that were famous for killing entire legions of Mages and countless others like that. No, he couldn't summon something like that. The city would be razed alongside the brood mother and everyone else.
He needed something different— something just as deadly, but more contained. A beast he could send back immediately after calling it.
After thinking it through, there had only been one beast that was perfect for killing off the Vermorga without any additional damage.
An Ifrit!
The summoning circle beneath him throbbed with untamed, raw mana, the ground trembling beneath his feet as the air itself seemed to tear open. The portal was a swirling, chaotic vortex of dark and fiery hues. The very fabric of reality bent to his will as finally, the creature emerged from the rift.
It was monstrous, its form more shadow than substance, smoke billowing from its body like dark flames licking at the air. Three glowing eyes blazed in its face, each one a pinprick of hellish light, and a yawning mouth stretched across the middle of its body, notched teeth glistening in the gloom.
Its form flickered, shifting, as though its very existence was an insult to the world it had entered.
A high-pitched, grating screech tore through the air, echoing across the battlefield as the beast landed its eyes on the brood mother.
Without hesitation, the Ifrit launched itself toward the Vermorga, a blur of shadow and smoke.
Its speed was beyond mortal comprehension— one moment it stood before Kai, and the next it was upon the brood mother, slamming into it with the force of a hurricane.
The brood mother let out a bellow, its corrupt form recoiling as the Ifrit dug into it, the clash of dark mana and smoke filling the air like a storm ready to erupt. Kai watched, heart pounding in his chest. This was it. If this didn't work... there would be no second chances.
The brood mother writhed in a frenzied dance, its limbs flailing as it heaved a storm of venomous spittle and sticky webbing into the air. Jagged projectiles shot forth with blistering speed, each one a desperate, spiked missile driven by its frantic will to survive. Yet, it was futile. The Ifrit moved like living smoke, its body passing through the attacks with ease. Its form wrapped around the brood mother, engulfing it in an inferno of unholy flames.
A screech cut through the air as the brood mother felt its own flesh searing away. Flames licked at its body, consuming everything in their path. Black, corrupted mana surged through its veins, trying to mend the charred wounds, but it was no match for the inferno. The Ifrit's flames burned hotter than anything the brood mother had ever encountered, relentless and unyielding.
Chunks of flesh and corrupted blood splattered onto the ground as the brood mother's regeneration faltered, its twisted body unravelling under the assault. The creature was no mere summon— a Grade 7 entity that ruled a part of the Flame Plane. The brood mother had never stood a chance.
Its agonized screeches filled the battlefield as it was soon reduced to a smouldering husk, nothing more than a shadow of its once spiteful form. Blood soaked the ground around it, but the flames persisted, relentless in their consumption.
The battle hadn't lasted more than a minute.
The Ifrit, its work done, let out one final screech, a sound of victory as it prepared to turn its fiery wrath elsewhere. But before it could act, the summoning circle beneath it pulsed again. The portal crackled with energy, and with a sudden pull, the Ifrit was dragged back into the abyss from which it had come. Smoke and fire vanished in an instant, leaving nothing but silence and the charred remains of the brood mother behind.
As the creature vanished into the portal, Kai let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His gaze fell upon the corpse of the brood mother, a grotesque ruin of charred flesh and blood
It hadn't been easy to carve out a perfect summoning circle for an Ifrit with a return sigil to send it back just after a minute. The more he thought, the more the plan had been a gamble. He had obviously prepared countermeasures, still having enough mana to cast one more fifth circle spell, but that won't be necessary anymore. And a part of him just wanted to kneel down and let out his emotions, but before doing that, he looked around.
Victory had been snatched at the last moment, yet it had come at a steep cost. He surveyed the battlefield littered with remnants of the beast wave, his mind racing to process everything. Looking over where the pieces of the wall were, he could see numerous corpses, mostly of beasts, but there were enough human and fray lives lost too.
He frowned, returning his gaze towards the charred, lifeless body of the Vermorga. Just then, something caught his eye.
Amidst the dark streaks on its back, something stirred— small, writhing, and black. He squinted, focusing on the movement as a tiny creature emerged from the brood mother's back. A caterpillar-like being, slick and inky, squirmed its way out, desperate to escape. Its form was unnatural and it was as if its entire body was covered in dead mana.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" Kai muttered under his breath.
Before it could flee, he acted. A sharp gust of wind coiled around the creature, lifting it into the air. Kai pulled it closer, studying it with wide eyes. The thing wasn't just cloaked in dead mana— it was dead mana. It pulsed and rippled as though alive, moving like a parasitic embodiment of pure corruption. It was disturbingly similar to the Ifrit, but worse in every way. Where the Ifrit had been a being of elemental power, this parasite was death incarnate, a living mass of necrotic energy.
Kai reached out, considering grabbing it, but before his hand could make contact, the creature exploded. Dark mana scattered in every direction, wild and uncontrollable. Instinctively, Kai summoned a blaze of his own mana, burning the remnants before they could infect the battlefield further.
Panting slightly, he looked down at the brood mother's lifeless form again. A cold chill ran through him.
Questions hit him like the swing of a hammer.
The pieces started falling into place. Parasites were rarer types of beasts, but he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with them and that squirming creature was definitely one of them. And if that thing was inside the brood mother, then everything suddenly made sense.
"A parasite…" Kai murmured, thoughts racing. "Was it controlling it all along?"
The implications sent his mind spiralling. Could this parasite have been the driving force behind the brood mother's corruption? Was it the catalyst for the beast wave? His suspicion turned to Lucian. Had he somehow created—or obtained— such a creature? It seemed beyond his capabilities, yet the possibility gnawed at Kai.
And then there was Actra.
Hadn't he transformed into an entity using dead mana just by drinking a vial? What were the chances that the parasite had come from the same place as the vial? Everything suddenly felt connected and he felt like cursing at that possibility.
Kai's fists tightened. "Lucian... just what the hell are you planning?"
Before Kai could dwell further on the disturbing revelations, the sound of footsteps broke through his thoughts. He spun around to see a crowd of people emerging from the shadows.
They had put everyone who wasn't involved in the battle near the castle for safety, and now they were returning to see if they had triumphed alongside the ones who had run away when the brood mother had entered the city.
All of their faces were battle-worn and injuries were clearly visible on their bodies. Killian, looking dazed, was being carried by Feroy, while a few other Enforcers limped along beside them. Mages of the Archine Tower were just after them, their faces pale, probably from mana exhaustion, but they were mostly unharmed due to being in the back. Balen and Orion strode in together, their expressions fierce, and he also saw Ragnar and other barbarians in the crowd.
Off in the distance, he spotted frays, hobbling toward the group.
None of them spoke for a while, simply watching the destruction that had fallen upon the city and as their eyes found the corpse of the brood mother, more than a few trembled and Kai saw tears in their eyes.
Balen was the first to break the tension. With a roar that echoed through the city, he yelled, "The Vermorga is dead! We won! Fuck yeah!"
That was all it took. The crowd erupted in cheers, fists raised to the sky, voices hoarse from exhaustion but filled with triumph. Some men collapsed to their knees, overcome by relief, others embraced, their eyes bright with tears.
For a moment, the weight of the battle and the eerie mystery of the parasite faded into the background. They had survived. They had won. That was all it mattered in the moment.
Kai, still processing the events, knew the questions could wait. There would be time to dissect the horrors later. Right now, the city needed to savour its hard-earned victory.
Doing what he had learned any good leader should do in moments like these, Kai raised his hand high in the air, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside him.
"The brood mother is dead!" he shouted, his voice carrying over the crowd. "The beast wave is quenched! Veralt lives!"
Another wave of cheers burst forth, louder this time, as the weight of the victory sunk in. The biggest battle the city had faced was over, and all of them had earned the right to celebrate.
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