I kept my mental self on alert, and tried to pick out anything odd, but there was nothing. I sighed, confused. I was missing something important. I could feel it.
Either way we climbed up fast, and in a few seconds, we reached another door, this one at the top end of the staircase.
The Knights produced another set of keys and used that on the door, unlocking it easily. Wow, this spy was good. The Dark Alliance is slacking.
Darkness moved through the room that we had opened, and the Knights up front brought out fire torches as we headed in. I quickly activated my Night Vision skill, and looked around the place. It was closed off completely—no windows anywhere—and smack in the center was a crystal pillar, with something hovering right above it.
I walked up to the pillar, and looked closer. A gold-colored helmet floated in the air, and my Analyze skill quickly brought up its info screen.
Equipment Title
Helmet of Eternity
Special Effects
+20% Mana Regeneration
+20% Health Regeneration
+25% Stamina Regeneration
+10% to all Arts
+10% to Magical defenses
+5% to Agility
Durability
Unbreakable
Rarity
Relic
Value
Priceless
Equipment Title
Helmet of Eternity
Grade
Six Stars
Whoa, I blinked. I reached out, and touched the armor.
A high-pitched tone sounded, and a force blast out from the object, throwing me hard against the wall. I cratered the stone surface and slumped to the floor, gasping.
“Ugggh.” I groaned and looked up.
Dark smoke flowed into the room, as though the haze had a life of its own. It wrapped around the helmet and all of a sudden, a form emerged.
A man with golden gauntlets and now a golden helmet, stood before me, and his eyes of blue stared into mine.
Azmuth Razugan.
“Hello Diablo,” the Dark Lord chuckled. “How nice of you to pay me a visit.”
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
My body froze, and icy shards of fear shot through my legs, keeping them in place. I had not anticipated this. I had not expected this. And yet here we were.
The hazy form of the Dark Lord stood before me, wearing pieces of golden armor. His chuckle reverberated through the room, echoing off the walls and through the chambers within my heart.
The Knights from the Alliance of Light stood at the edge of the floor, forming a wide circle around the man. Their swords were held out front, but the blades trembled in their grip.
I was no better than them, with my shaking hand gripping Dawnbreaker at my side. Should I lift my blade out? Or should I run?
The Dark Lord laughed. “I haven’t even begun attacking, and yet you all are already like this?”
I looked at him and quickly used my Analyze skill.
DING!
Name
Azmuth Razugan
Race
Eternal
Level
1261
Oh gods.
He’d gotten stronger. A lot stronger.
His strength now put him at a level where I couldn’t face off as his opponent all by myself. And even Acnologia and I together wouldn’t be enough to take this man down.
We had to go a step further than that, and the thought of doing something like that made me even more uneasy than the men standing around me.
“You seem confused, Diablo,” Azmuth said. “Here let me clear the air for you.”
He snapped his fingers and spears of darkness emerged around him. The weapons from the shadows shot towards the Knights, impaling through metal armor and warm skin in seconds, turning the bodies cold before I could even utter a word.
They dropped to the floor, with their eyes rolled up in their heads, and their mouths gaping open. The blood-covered Knights were but dead bodies now, crude and unsightly.
All in the blink of an eye.
“Zoran, what do we do?” Nyx asked. “We can’t take him out on our own.”
I stared at the Dark Lord, at the blue eyes that gazed right at me. I felt his emotions. I felt his arrogance, I felt his confidence. And I knew he was right. I was at a disadvantage here. I hadn’t found my Spectral Spirit yet. I couldn’t match his strength. Not right now.
“Zoran?” Nyx called out to me once more. “Are you okay?”
I gripped Dawnbreaker tightly, and my knuckles turned white with the stress. My hands stopped shaking, but it didn’t feel good that my brute force was what was keeping them that way. I lifted the blade out, and held it in front of me.
“I see you’ve still got an ounce of fight in you,” Azmuth chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’ll have some fun.”
First the gauntlets, now the helm. I frowned. “Looks like you’ve been collecting pieces of armor.”
“This?” He pointed to it. “You have a good eye for detail, Diablo.”
“I’d be an idiot if I missed this detail.”
“True.”
Azmuth waved his hand in the air. Multiple blasts of darkness shot from behind him, from circles of black that hadn’t been there seconds ago. Adrenaline pumped into me and I dived out of the way, moving from most of the blasts and deflecting the last one with the flat of my blade.
The attack however still left a harsh impact on me, as it tossed me back against the wall. I crashed into the surface, and felt bricks and stones break off as I slumped down to the floor. I picked myself up, swaying a bit in a daze before locking eyes on the man once again.
“This is amusing, Eternal,” he said. Dark winds curled around him, and in a moment, he disappeared. My eyes shot around the room. The sounds of my heartbeat roared in my ears, and sweat made my grip on my blade slippery.
“Peek-a-boo.”
A fist crushed into my back. I went flying into the wall opposite to me, breaking through the stone and flying out the tower. I looked at the ground beneath me, as the winds screamed in my ears. I braced myself for impact with the surface.
But that never came.
Dark winds rushed out of the gap in the tower and flew down to me. The black swirled around my body, blocking my vision. The next thing I knew, I was before the Dark Lord once again.
“The second time is better than the first.” His fist crushed into my chest and I went flying away, through the same gap and down to the ground.
Just like before.
I flipped in the air, turning around to the entrance and saw that no dark winds were coming to get me this time.
Instead the Dark Lord himself was making the trip.
My mind raced for the three seconds I had before I met the ground. What advantage do I even have over him? I couldn’t think of one. I rolled my body as I came down, and brought myself back onto my feet just as the Dark Lord thudded to the floor, spilling mud all around.
“We’re not done yet,” he smiled.
Spears of darkness shot at me with blazing pace, and their movements were too fast for the eye to pick out. But I’d predicted he would use that attack, and I knew the eye wasn’t fast enough to help me here.
In a split second, I shut my eyelids and focused on my mind, sensing the darkness surging towards me. My sword hand rose, and I danced through the attack, striking every spear and splitting them apart before they even had the chance to impale me.
When I was done I opened my eyes and looked at the Dark Lord. He stood there quietly, with his eyes staring at my form.
“Interesting,” he said.
“Diablo,” Acnologia spoke. “Should we initiate Dragon Fusion?”
I looked at the Dark Lord, as he stood there silently. I could feel strength from him and I could tell he was only going to get stronger. Whatever that armor was it was causing him to get stronger by the moment.
I didn’t want to use one of my trump cards, but I had no choice.
I was being pushed back. I held my blade up. Nyx, get my armor out. I thrust my free hand into the air. “Dragon Fusion!” My voice echoed into the winds.
Armor of black formed around me and a dragon-shaped helmet covered my head. At the same time power surged through my nerves, as though lightning had been unloaded into them. My heartbeat rose, not from fear now, but from excitement, from hope that by some stroke of luck this would be enough to defeat this man.
A dark haze covered Dawnbreaker, and the purple jewel on the sword changed to a bright soul silver.
“Splendid,” Azmuth said. “I’ve wanted to face off against this Dragon Fusion of yours, Diablo. An Eternal and a Dragon. What does the combination feel like, I wonder?”
I shot toward him, with dust and mud flying away from just my steps. In the blink of an eye I thrust my blade out.
A metal clang resonated in my ears, and I fell back, only to see a cheap blade of silver steel in the Dark Lord’s hand.
I frowned. “You think that’s a match for my blade?”
“I know it is,” He held it to the side and shot forward.
I backed up, switching to pure defense, and blocked the flurry of strikes that came at me. My legs slid across the mud, piling them up into small mounds as we moved through the field. Sparks flew from every clash, creating mini-stars in the air around us.
I tried counter-attacking, and swung my blade at him, but the Dark Lord was ready. He blocked my strike and used the force to slide back. I hunched over, breathing heavy as I sucked lost air back into my lungs.
“Zoran, this isn’t working,” Nyx said.
I know. My fists clenched. I wasn’t strong enough, just as I had expected, but I had no more power to draw upon.
“Diablo,” Acnologia said. “We could still try—”
No! The image of an old man emerged into my mind. “No, we can’t.” My voice was soft.
“Pay attention, Diablo.” The Dark Lord pushed off the ground, and the next thing I knew his fist smashed into my helmet. I went flying through the air, and crashed through many trees before I dropped to the floor.
I stood weakly now, and my joints ached. I could taste blood in my mouth, something that hadn’t happened to me in forever. My mind grasped the scenery I was in, and only one thought occupied me.
Nyx, where’s Freya?
“Twenty yards to your left,” the spirit said.
Send her a message. Get her out of here. She isn’t strong enough to stay alive if this guy goes after her.
“Done.”
I pushed the dust and leaves off my armor and looked ahead. The Dark Lord walked up to me, tossing his silver blade in the air as if it were just a plaything.
“Look, Diablo,” Azmuth said. “We both know that killing you isn’t going to get me anywhere. It’s just going to make it harder for me to find you once again.”
“Find me?” I frowned. “You’ve been searching for me?”
“Of course,” he said. “Why do you think I made a personal visit to that stupid village of yours?”
“Ikarius,” I muttered.
“Whatever the name is. I know you can tell Diablo. I’ve become stronger—much stronger—than you. You really don’t have a choice but to acknowledge me.”
“Acknowledge you and do what? Join your forces?”
“See?” he said. “You understand all this perfectly, then what’s the—”
“Osulier!” I yelled.
A shadow surged out of the ground, and grasped the Dark Lord, pulling him in. I glanced around, and picked out Freya from about a hundred yards away.
Probably should have just asked her to stay where she was. I surged to her, and reached her form in seconds. I grabbed her by the waist, hoisted her over my shoulder, and rushed back to the tower.
“Hey!” She flailed, but calmed when she realized it was me.
“Diablo, what are you doing?” Nyx asked.
An escape route. My footsteps thudded over the ground. Acnologia, get ready to deactivate Dragon Fusion.
“On your count,” the Dragon said.
I jumped up, and shot to the top of the tower. I landed on the roof and looked beneath me. The Dark Lord broke out from my attack, and looked up, his eyes meeting mine.
He glared at me. “What are you trying to do, Eternal?”
The sounds of footsteps echoed through the air, and Knights of the Dark Alliance immediately surged to the tower. Each of them were not more than Level 500, which wasn’t too hard for me to take down at once, but the Dark Lord was here, and that additional detail made victory an impossible task.
The men formed an open pathway, letting the Dark Lord walk towards the tower. “You have learned quite a bit, Eternal,” he said. “I wonder if this was what the Mermaid Priestess taught you.”
My eyes widened.
“Oh yes,” he chuckled. “I know everything.”
“How,” I whispered. Was Voora an ally of the Dark Alliance? It couldn’t be. Something else was going on here.
“There is no point sitting up there, Diablo,” Azmuth said. “I’m coming for you.”
“There is a point.” I thrust my hand down, focusing just on the man, and letting all my energy go at once. “Etereo!” I yelled.
Multiple fissures cracked across the ground and hazy forms of darkness rose from within. They surged through the field, attacking everyone they saw. The men all collapsed like dominoes, but instead of black and white, there was the black of their armor, and the red of their fresh blood.
The Dark Lord dodged the spirits flying into him, and slapped them away like they were flies on a rainy evening.
Suddenly, he uttered a word and punched the floor. A shockwave reverberated through the ground and the fissures shut close. The hazy forms disappeared as well, dissolving into the air.
I panicked. I needed more time. I put my hand down, “OSULIER!” I yelled. Multiple shadows rose out of the ground, and surrounded the Dark Lord, wrapping him up.
Acnologia, now! I ran off the tower, and pushed hard from the last block of stone, sending myself high into the air. My dragon-shaped helmet dissolved away as I rose into the sky, past the clouds.
A stream of lights flowed beneath me, and in an instant the Dragon emerged. I dropped onto the back of his neck perfectly, with the Moon elf still in my arms.
“Go, go, go!” I yelled and the Dragon shot forward, flying at a speed I had never seen before, at a speed that nearly threw me off him.
And with that, we had escaped, leaving behind a land bathed in blood, and heading toward one covered in death.
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
We flew in silence as the Dragon glided through the darkness. Warm shades of clouds floated above us, catching the last rays of the evening sunset as night took over the sky.
The winds picked up, but we held steady. The chaotic gales were unable to deter the might of a Dragon.
“So we’re NOT going to talk about what just happened there?” Nyx asked.
Well. I sighed.
“Even if you don’t, I think we should. That was no mere fight.”
I know. You felt it too, didn’t you?
“Yeah. That armor is the thing that’s powering him.”
Question now is, what can we do about it? If he’s going around collecting armor pieces and powering himself up then our plans change, don’t they?
“They don’t have to,” Nyx said. “Look. Even though that helmet was super sweet, there’s no way it alone could have increased his levels by nearly 300. Something else is going on.”
Yeah, and?
“If we’re going to switch our journey to search for those armor pieces instead, then we’re going to be back at step one with no clue of what we’re doing.”
“The spirit is right, Diablo,” Acnologia said. “The safer option is to stay on course and find whatever this oddity is. Hopefully, it will break a part of your seal.”
“Yeah,” Nyx said. “Either way it’s a huge stroke of chance.
Let’s just stick to the one we know more things about already.”
Fine. I’m not too comfortable with the idea, but okay.
I swiped my finger through the air, and opened my Ga’em menu. I had a lot of pending notification screens, and so I looked through them all.
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a new spell.
Uher: The Dark Phoenix Level 21!
You should try keeping a count of how many people you killed using this move. What you find might be interesting.
Mana Cost
2050
Casting Time
1 second
Cooldown Time
1 minute
Range
1500 yards
Effect 1
Attack +10% for every foe killed
Effect 2
Attack’s strength increases by +10% with every consecutive use within 5 minutes
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a new spell.
Osulier: Shadow Level 25!
This attack is downright scary. Shadows are scary enough. Being consumed by one does not seem like a fun experience, don’t you think?
Mana Cost
1500
Casting Time
1 second
Cooldown Time
1 minute
Range
500 yards
Effect 1
Deal 250% Max Dark Arts Damage onto single target
Effect 2
Surving targets afflicted by 1.5% fear damage
I grinned. Damn that spell really amped up.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated:
Alliance of Light Knight Squadron (Lv. 523)!
That was less of a defeat and more of a massacre. But hey, call it a defeat if that makes you sleep better. Reward: Spear of the Light Knight (x10). Reward: Sword of the Light Knight. (x7). Reward: 5,600,000 XP.
The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Page 80
