by EA Hooper
>Quinton: We need to retreat! Tell everyone to retreat!
>River: What are you going on about? We’re winning.
>Quinton: No, this is a trap! They’ve rigged the control rods in these things to detonate!
Vincent eyed the nearest drone knight. He remembered seeing the control rods sticking from their heads decades ago, but each drone had an extra that had been inscribed with different kinds of runes. As Vincent called for nearby players to retreat, he Scanned one of the new rods.
Crystallizing Rod – A rod that can be charged with mana. This item must remain in contact with the source of the mana to remain charged. If the source releases too much mana at once, the rod explodes, and the unleashed mana forms a crystalline structure.
Before their army could completely withdraw, the thousands of ants detonated in blinding flashes of multi-colored mana. However, instead of an explosion of heat and pressure, like Quinton’s trap in the battle of Midrun, waves of crystallized mana spread out from the blasts. In a matter of seconds, Vincent found himself, most of his devils, and half his guild trapped inside towers of crystals. He couldn’t even move with the crystal pressing all around his body.
Is this supposed to slow us down? Vincent wondered as he Scanned it.
Crystallized Mana – Material Rating: 400 | A form of mana that has taken a hardened state.
Vincent cast Voidfire, letting the spell explode at close-range since he couldn’t move. It destroyed the crystals holding him hostage, but it also burned through his outfit and flesh. Isaac’s runes restored him, and he swapped out his clothes for an unburned set as he stumbled back into the street. Towering waves of crystal covered everything in his line of sight, including the buildings. He could even see the silhouettes of his guildsmen trapped behind crystalline walls.
Oh god, where’s Xan? I can’t let Isaac capture her. She’s the only one that can end this.
>Vincent: Xan! Where are you?
>Alexandria: I put up a World Wall that protected a group of us. Where are you?
Before Vincent could answer, a muffled explosion shattered a nearby wall of crystals. Several people, including Valery and Antonio, climbed from the rubble.
“What happened?” Vincent asked.
“I think someone used a Lotus Capsule,” Antonio replied, still gripping his pitchfork.
Vincent heard another muffled pop somewhere beyond the crystal walls, and then he caught the sound of a glasslike shatter. A few more explosions followed, and Vincent guessed more players were killing themselves with Lotus Capsules. However, the sparkling towers still covered the entire street, making it too difficult for Vincent to find anyone.
“Get down!” Antonio shouted, aiming his pitchfork. He unleashed the weapon’s explosive firepower on a possessed man that had been sneaking up to Vincent.
The explosion knocked the man back, but not before he opened a portal below Vincent’s feet. The Ranger used Zero Field to stop his fall, but he looked into the portal and saw an anti-magic pit waiting on the other side.
Antonio continued to blast the possessed player with his Pitchfork of Smiting as Vincent drank mega-ethers. Once he had enough mana, he vaporized the player with Voidfire.
>Vincent: Everyone, watch out! The possessed players can open portals under your feet. If you’re not fast enough, they’ll drop you into an anti-magic pit.
>Athena: I figured that out too late, and now I’m stuck in a pit. Gotta use my Lotus Capsule, but good luck everyone!
>River: Aw, babe.
>Vincent: Xan, you retreat for now. We can’t risk them capturing you.
>Alexandria: I’ve already discovered they can’t open portals under my feet if I use World Root, and I still have a Lotus Capsule. You should worry about yourself and go destroy the Eternal Ring, so I can blow up the Foundry.
>Vincent: I don’t want to leave anyone behind.
“Vincent!” Antonio shouted, blasting another possessed player that had climbed over a crystal wall. “Just go already! Everyone has Lotus Capsules, so we’ll be alright.”
Almost everyone in the party chat spammed him with messages telling him to leave and break the Eternal Ring, but Vincent couldn’t help but worry about the enemies approaching from every angle.
“He’s right,” Valery said, sidestepping a portal someone had tried to open below her feet. She froze the person with her Mod Gun. “You have a job to do. Go do it.”
Vincent nodded, then used Zero Field to fly over the towering crystals. When he glanced down, he saw more Crickets had escaped from their prisons, but swarms of possessed players were trying to capture them with portals.
>Vincent: I’m going to the Eternal Ring. If any of you make it out, head that way.
>Alexandria: Zhang, Amelia, and I already retreated from the fighting. The enemies can’t keep up with our speed, so we’ll meet you there.
Vincent used Zero Field to fly toward the middle of the city. Under normal circumstance, it’d cost too much mana to carry himself such a distance, but between his buffs and large supply of mega-ethers, he found it the fastest and safest way to reach the Eternal Ring.
This is perfect, Vincent thought. I’ll fly right to the ring, knock down the walls, then find Xan and make sure she reaches the Foundry.
A flash of black flew past him, leaving a minor cut on Vincent’s face. He turned to see the Void Crow flying back, but he punched through the bird. He paused in mid-air, holding himself in place for barely any mana cost thanks to the Stationary upgrade.
Vincent spun around, trying to find what direction Jim had attacked from, but then his friend jumped from below and slashed him with a sword. Despite his Density Shield, the blade had sliced down to the bone. As Vincent fell from the sky, he realized Jim had cut him with a copy of Devil’s Due.
Vincent fell a good distance before the city’s restoration runes healed him. He managed to cast Zero Field on himself to stop his descent, and when he looked up, he saw Jim launch himself downward with Gravity Web. Vincent blocked his friend’s next attack with Greenkill, but the powerful blow still pushed him several meters.
Jim crashed into the street, but his Alcubierre Shield threw him into a roll instead of letting him splatter against the ground.
“Sorry, Jim!” Vincent shouted. “I’ll be back to free you later!”
Vincent continued his flight toward the Eternal Ring at full speed. He knew his friend wouldn’t be able to follow him in the air for long, but that wouldn’t stop Jim from opening another portal.
There’s no doubt that Isaac knows what we’re planning. He might not know Xan is our ace, but he knows we’re targeting the Foundry.
>Alexandria: Vince, we might have a problem. The Demon Lord and his devil lackeys just found us.
Vincent had been nearing the gate when he heard Xan over the voice chat. He came to a sudden stop, but his eyes fixated on the five figures in front of the gate. He recognized Jim, Devon, and Jeanie, but he’d never seen the other two before.
>Vincent: Uh, I might just have a problem myself.
Chapter 33 | Year 135
Player: Noah the Relentless
Location: Styxis (World) | Risegard (City) | Ruined Neighborhoods (District)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Warden
Vitality*: Lv 354
Spirit: Lv 338
Resolve: Lv 327
Perception*: Lv 349
Agility: Lv 335
Strength: Lv 338
The Demon Lord descended on the enemies with basteel axes in hand, but the scrawny blonde girl blocked repeated strikes with a skyglass blade. Ice Knight Zhang leapt forward to help her, but Lemm sent him crashing through a building with Shockwave Cannon, a spell he liked to use whenever players caught Noah off guard.
Amelia Vanished and reappeared beside Noah before slapping her husband with two rune-paper bombs. The wife ducked away from a swipe of his axe, and the other girl used the opening to strike him with twin phantom blades that ripped light from hi
s body.
Noah’s possessor cast Flatten between himself and the young woman, realizing the danger, but that gave Amelia time to stick him with two more pieces of paper.
Yes, my love! Noah thought. Your paper bombs should bypass my Negation Shield. If you get enough of them on me before you trigger it, you might overcome the restoration runes!
Xib must’ve realized the same thing, because the quick-footed devil teleported to Amelia with a puff of smoke and slashed at her with black daggers. She dipped and dodged away from the attacks, then caught Xib’s arm and snapped it before driving his own dagger into his throat. She held the dagger inside him, even as the runes kept him alive with repeated flashes of light.
After slapping two paper bombs to the monster’s head, Amelia shoved Xib away, but kept his dagger. The devil tried to pull off the paper, but he found a rune had fused them partially onto his skin. He managed to rip one halfway off when Amelia snapped her fingers with an activation spell, causing the bombs to explode. An intense flash of light, followed by a shower of mana, reduced the devil to a pair of boots with the legs still inside. Even the restoration runes couldn’t recover the rest of him.
The Demon Lord had kept the Cleric girl pushed back for several seconds with Flatten, but then a third phantom blade swiped him across the back, stealing more mana.
My Negation Shield doesn’t stop those blades? Noah questioned, but then he remembered Farah had once used similar spells to bypass his shield. Oh, it’s a light ability. Those don’t seem to trigger my shield. Maybe her lifeforce is part of them, so it counts as a player remaining in contact?
Belva blew a kiss to restore Noah’s mana, but then Zhang flew past with superhuman speed and cut her down with his ice blade. Before Belva could stand back up, Zhang formed a large ball of mana in his hands that he threw at her. The Demon Lord Scanned the spell just before it exploded and left a crater where Belva had been standing.
Mana Bomb – Mana Usage: High+ | Magic Rating: 300-500 | The user forms a sphere of intense mana. When the sphere strikes an object, it creates a short-ranged but high-intensity explosion of mana.
They must’ve developed that spell just to bypass restoration runes, Noah realized.
Zhang tried to drink a mega-ether, but Lemm and Dzar attacked at once with waves of fire. The Ice Knight ducked and dodged, but when he moved in to strike them, Dzar raised several layers of forcefields to slow him down.
Lemm held his hands together and unleashed a machine-gun-like mana attack as Zhang cut through the last forcefield. The Ice Knight moved fast, trying to stay out of the line of fire. One burst tore through a building, causing it to collapse, and Zhang had to deflect several shots with his ice sword. A few still struck him, cutting through his orosteel armor.
As Zhang fought off the devils, the two women continued to attack the Demon Lord with hit-and-run tactics. He outmatched either of them in pure power, but they rarely gave him time to counterattack as they took turns striking or covering for the other.
Noah saw a moving shape in the nearby alleyway out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t focus on it with his devil fighting the two women. He blocked a few more strikes, then dug his axe into his wife’s neck.
As Amelia tumbled away, Noah saw the shape in the alley, only it had been joined by several others. Drone knights, he realized, watching the ants creep closer while waiting for their chance to strike. My devil knows this fight will go on forever if he doesn’t capture those three. He needs the drones to encase them in crystallized mana.
Amelia glanced at the alley, noticing the first drone as it charged forward. She equipped the basteel dagger she’d taken from Xib, attached a paper bomb to it, and then hurled it. The blade stuck into the drone’s head and detonated, triggering an explosion of crystallized mana that blocked the alley.
The Demon Lord had forgotten about Zhang until a cold blade shattered the basteel plate on Noah’s arm. Before the Ice Knight could strike again, Lemm blasted him away with another Shockwave Cannon.
“Enough of this!” the Demon Lord shouted, raising a Greater Flatten to drop on the two women.
A white outline surrounded the younger woman as she drew world magic through her shield like Noah had seen at the trench battle. She brought up a white wall, but it only lasted long enough for both women to retreat. He pivoted Greater Flatten, noticing as Zhang was about to strike again, and sent the massive wall of negative energy toward him.
Zhang cast Greater Flash Freeze, bringing up a mountainous wall of ice, but Noah’s spell smashed through it with ease. The Ice Knight tried to escape with repeated Vanishes, but Noah’s attack slammed down first, crushing his entire body and leaving a crater in the ground.
My god, Zhang. I’m so sorry.
Amelia appeared and slapped two more paper bombs on the Demon Lord’s chest plate, but he reacted in time to carve through her with his axe. Noah watched with horror as blood flew from her body and she toppled in the street. The Demon Lord ignored the other woman, even as the Cleric girl slashed at him with her phantom blades. They didn’t damage his armor, and even though they pulled light from his body, they couldn’t kill him with the restoration runes buried under the street.
Lemm blasted the girl with an intense jet of green flames, which collapsed her shield. The loyal devil dove at her, striking her stomach with a fiery fist that released an explosive blast. Armor flashed around the girl’s body to protect her, but the explosion sent her crashing into a building.
Noah screamed internally as the devil in his body hacked through his wife several more times. He lopped off limbs and spilled her guts onto the road. Each time, Amelia healed a second later, but she couldn’t do much except slap the occasional paper bomb to his chest.
Amelia, what are you doing? Just run away! Get out of here!
Amelia took another axe blow to the head, but she tagged him with another paper bomb. “That should be enough,” she said, Vanishing away. As she reappeared, she cast the command spell.
Noah had been struck by numerous spells of varying power over the years, but few had packed a punch like a dozen or so paper bombs going off at once. The explosion blinded him momentarily, and it hurled him across the road like a rocket. He expected to tear through several buildings, but a fraction of a second later, he collided with one of the Cleric girl’s white walls.
Noah’s body tumbled into the massive pit his own Greater Flatten had left behind, and then the realization struck him. They were trying to kill me in this pit since I destroyed the runes! Amelia, my love, you’re brilliant! There’s no way I could’ve survived—
Noah’s thought paused as his body rose to its feet. His basteel chest plate had peeled away from the blast, and it felt like a layer of flesh had gone with it. Despite the severe injury and all the lifeforce he’d lost to the phantom blades, the devil in his body forced him to take a step forward.
Amelia used Vanish to appear at the edge of the crater. She raised her hand, forming a Mana Bomb to finish off the Demon Lord.
Yes! Yes!
Dzar tackled Amelia to the ground, and the devil activated the rune bombs in his hands. An explosion ripped apart half the street, and Noah’s heart sank as he watched dirt and blood rain from the sky.
No, no, no! She was so close to winning. My wife really had it in her to beat me. She fought harder than I’ve ever seen her fight.
The Demon Lord approached the edge of the crater, and Lemm looked over the side. A toothy smile crossed the devil’s face, and he reached out to pull his badly injured boss from the crater.
A skyglass sword thrust through the back of Lemm’s skull and out his face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he tumbled into the pit before crumbling into dust.
The young woman that had fought so admirably with Zhang and Amelia stood over the side of the crater. She raised a hand into the air as the Demon Lord clawed the shattered tiles, desperately trying to reach any unbroken runes. Two phantom blades jabbed into his shoulders, throwin
g him back into the pit he’d made himself.
“No!” the Demon Lord growled.
Noah wished he could scream to the heavens. Yes!
“You think you can kill me, little girl?” the devil snarled. “I’m the torturer of great men! The destroyer of cities! The demon feared across the World-Tree!”
“You’re trash,” the girl said, sending another blade at his head.
You’ve died. Respawning at Risegard…
Chapter 34 | Year 135
Player: Old Man Vincent
Location: Styxis (World) | Risegard (City) | Derelict Market (District)
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Mage
Vitality: Lv 330 (+20)
Spirit*: Lv 340 (+20)
Resolve: Lv 329 (+20)
Perception*: Lv 345 (+20)
Agility: Lv 330 (+20)
Strength: Lv 328 (+20)
Vincent eyed the five people before the gate to the Daiglass Tower. Jim, Devon, Jeanie, and two others he didn’t recognize. They’d clearly seen him, but all five remained still for now, almost as if they were just there stop him from attacking the gate. Vincent used the opportunity to Scan all five, but he willed the spell only to show him their top stat.
Player: Crow-Foot Jim
Agility*: Lv 246
Player: Devon in Shining Armor
Strength*: Lv 245
Player: Dragonspear Jeanie
Strength*: Lv 291
Player: Ned is here, you’re dead
Agility*: Lv 286
Player: Worldly Ryker
Spirit*: Lv 294
I can’t take them all on my own, Vincent realized. I should go help Xan and the others against the Demon Lord since these five aren’t moving yet.
Vincent used Zero Field to hover backward, but he saw Ned and Jim jump into portals on the ground. A quick glance around revealed they’d appeared on a nearby rooftop. Jim launched himself upward with Gravity Bounce and then his Gravity Web upgrade, and Ned followed using an air dash spell.
