They returned with the container about 3 minutes later. John had expected so kind of battlefield, his allies holding position in a desperate stand after Igor opened the Vault again. Instead, he found the rested companions that helped him get in. In a way that was even worse. What the hell was going on outside this door?
Only one way to find out. “Everyone ready?”
“As ready as we will be,” Grumbled one of the lee fighters with a smile. “This is everything I signed up for.”
“I know right?” Rave chirped.
John nodded at Aclysia and she opened the vault again. It slowly swung open completely and revealed several dozen Bloodfallen standing in a half circle between them and the exit. Igor stood next to Gent, the leader of the Bloodfallen leaning on his cane, an air of arrogant nonchalance around him. Even now, he believed himself superior. John quietly thanked every god that would listen for the self-delusions of egomaniac cult leaders.
Not that this egomania was entirely unjustified. Although Igor maintained his military-esque, white outfit, Gent was geared up to the teeth. A thick steel armour covered him and in his hands lay a massive axe, proper for his size.
“I must say,” Igor said with a smug grin, “I did not expect you to get this far. Only so much sadder that sobody of your talent decided to fight for the Communists.”
“I don’t fight for anybody Igor.” John shook his head at the accusation, “What even makes you think that?”
“There is no other motivation one could have to go against us!”
John almost burst out laughing, “You an aside from the last wish of Travolta, common decency and the fact that you plotted the downfall of dozens of guilds to get their mbers to join you?” Not even a single turned head. The Blood of Thana evidently bound them into a tight collective.
“You spew codic lies, John Newman.” Igor waved off.
“And you thoroughly underestimate us.” John countered, “But what should I expect from sobody who is idiotic enough to think torturing a girl for 60 years is justified.”
Igor had enough of the talk and pointed at them, “Kill them, be careful not to damage that container!”
“Aclysia, Rave, you take on Gent. I will keep Igor busy, the rest of you, try to get that container moving!” The orders were out on both sides and the fight began.
Gent, the massive wall of flesh that he was, trampled towards them. He and Aclysia clashed between the two forces. Axe t cleaver in a loud reverberance. The Artificial Guardian budged under the strike of the stronger Goliath but she did not collapse. With his Strength, Gent would overpower Aclysia eventually. Good thing that the brutish force ca at the expense of his Intellect.
Not noticing Rave until it was already too late, Gent took a full unloading of light directly into the gap for his eyes. Blind, the man roared, and kept up the pressure. “Strength that Travolta could have had, had he only stayed on the proper path!” Igor shouted from the background. “Unconsud by HER dark will!”
The cult leader’s monologue was cut there, as Sylph and Salamander threw attacks at him. Igor ignored both and suddenly charged forwards, straight towards John. Nothing was easier to hit than a target that was going straight forwards. Mana Ray suddenly burst from his hand and Igor took the attack on the shoulder. Even though his outfit was incinerated, he did not slow. A second later he was in front of John, cane transforming into a thin blade as he swung it down. Undine slowed the attack enough for John to dodge and preserve his mana instead of sacrificing it to Mana Shield.
“Your little elentals will not be able to protect you forever!” Igor threatened.
“T-try!” Gno stuttered, then tried to tackle the guild master.
Igor nimbly sidestepped the attack, only to then trip over his shoelaces. “Really?!” the usually so charismatic man lost his composure for the first ti.
“Whatever is effective,” John mocked, letting go of those Possessions. Another Mana Ray hit the enraged cult leader in the leg. Igor growled deeply, his seared shoulder and leg were both healing cleaner and slower than Travolta had. The satisfaction John got out of seeing this man angry was dangerously intoxicating.
Igor kicked his shoes off with quick movents. John found new targets for his Possession. The cane, for one, even if it only served as a minor annoyance. As long as Igor kept his grip tight John wouldn’t be able to change much. The sa could not be said about the uniform. The stylish military garb began to constrict around Igor’s throat. With one firm tug, the cult leader tore the cloth wide open.
“Didn’t think you wanted to hatefuck but here you are: undressing right in front of ,” John kept the mockery up.
“Insolent welp,” Igor spat. “You will see where this gets you!”
John didn’t feel threatened, he had confird sothing in that short exchange, “You are not a fighter are you, Igor?”
The guild master angrily swung his sword at the Gar. The attack was quick, sure, and executed with a lot of force, but it was also without finesse. A wall of dirt was all John needed.
The cane turned sword got stuck in the earth, allowing John to ridicule the guild master a bit more. “You are not like Gent or all the other people you talked into submission. Sure, your Stats are impressive but you don’t have any technique or plan. You let others do the dirty work and stroke your ego.”
Igor tore his cane free just in ti to stop an attack from Salamander. The fla spirit managed to dodge the counter. However, to take care of this Igor had to turn away from John and that was punished by the Mana Ray the Gar had started charging the mont the exchange began. Countless dungeons had taught him the importance of timing.
Igor had underestimated John, thinking he could take him on alone without calculating that John was actually a one man army of five, two of whom had scattered to help with the rest of the battle. All around, there were shouts. Arms and magic clashed and one side was slowly taking over. As much as John had taunted the guild master, the rest of the Bloodfallen were just about to break through the thin lines of John’s allies. They needed Gent removed and Rave and Aclysia in the main battle. Quality would win the day, not numbers.
The good news was that the two won in John’s life were faring as well as he was.
Gent was a lot tougher than his superior. He shrugged off most attacks the duo threw at him without any care. All the while, he was swinging his battle axe with such ferocity that Aclysia was budging under every strike.
For all of the impressiveness of that display, all the maid had to do was keep the enemy’s one-track mind on herself as Rave kept attacking again and again. Even if he shrugged off most attacks the little damage added up and eventually one of Rave’s high heated light attacks would overco the plate armour's enchanted resistance and tear through. Once that happened, once Gent fell, they could push back the numbers, make it to the chokepoint, and make a slow retreat.
Igor recognized the situation and with an angry shout jumped at John. He was stopped by Gno and Undine at the sa ti. “GENT!” he shouted, while struggling against the two elentals. “For the sake of our goal! Do it!”
Do what? John looked at the Goliath in the middle of the room. Thana had barely moved from the Vault door as there was no one to actually move her right now.
John suddenly realized that Gent was getting faster and stronger. Each of his strikes was hitting Aclysia harder, her HP Bar actually sinking below two thirds for the first ti. The damage she received far exceeded her regeneration capabilities. “What did you do?!” John demanded to know from Igor. Between rock and water, he was at the Gar’s rcy
“So people hide Cyanide, others small blood bags.” The guild master revealed, once again grinning smugly.
‘They hid the Blood of Thana in his MOUTH?’ John thought, shocked at the revelation. That was why Gent’s title was Martyr, because he was the one who would sacrifice himself in a situation such as this. He would spend his last monts before falling to madness trying to kill them.
And he was very good at it. The strike of his axe was earth shattering, cracking open the concrete under the carpet whenever Aclysia managed to dodge. At all other tis, the blows forced the Artificial Spirit to her knees. He hit her for 66 hit points each connecting strike, even with her regeneration she would only be able to take 3 more of those. John couldn’t let that happen, he charged a Mana Ray. In the chaos of the lee, the attack missed, instead striking a normal mber of the Bloodfallen.
Another wave of reinforcents ca down the stairs. The last thing John needed right now. The situation was turning for the worse. There was shouting, there was laughter by Igor. Even though their leader was captured, the cultists kept fighting. They were more loyal to the mission than to him.
Gent took a giant swing, sending Aclysia flying back the way she ca. A projectile of titanium and dragonscale, she cut through the air and slamd hard into the glass.
It was only Igor and John who noticed at first. The cracks left where Aclysia had slamd into the container. The white lines in the glass began to spread. With them ca deep, cracking sounds, like a large icy lake under pressure. It was just loud enough that everyone heard. Just loud enough that the battle ca to a sudden pause.
“”No,”” John and Igor spoke simultaneously, the cracks turning the see-through glass opaque. The green lines on the glass spelled out several words, all of them flashing too quickly to be read. They disappeared for good. The container burst.
Shards of glass exploded outwards, raining down on Igor at a harmless speed. Chilling cold blood and water cascaded outwards. Hundreds of litres, spreading over the carpet too quickly to be absorbed.
Everyone looked at the woman that landed on her feet amidst the tide. The crimson water did not stick to her. All of it ran off her in a matter of monts. Left behind was a sickly pale colouration. She looked like she had never seen a single day of sunlight and like hypothermia had left a permanent mark, tinging her skin ever so slightly blue.
Her hair was white, reaching around the length of her chin, the tips an azure blue. Her features were attractive, from the fine nose to the ears. Most striking were her eyes. Two orbs of athyst purple, the iris facetted like an uncut gem. Within were two golden rings. One thin and complete, the other consisting of six dots sitting just beyond the edge of her pupil.
Her breasts were of a dium size, appearing a bit larger on her relatively short stature. She had nicely proportioned, wide hips, and thighs so aty it made John forget the situation he was in for just a mont. Then his eyes fell on the various black dots embedded into her, sticking out like ugly piercings.
And a thick, crimson aura laid around her.
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