The healers struggled to heal them as well as themselves; the debuff stifled their mana instead of their attack. The snakes’ health was down to half but, if they managed to get off another hit or two like that, their party would be dead.
“Bishop!” Jimmy yelled. “Use it!”
“It might kill us all!” he argued.
“We’re all going to die if we can’t kill these bastards!” Trajan told him. “Just do it!”
Bishop glanced around at the souls in the room. If he used Assassin’s Tear, would it destroy all the souls here, too? What if Tavin’s was in it? He couldn’t risk losing her soul. He wouldn’t.
I told you, they mean nothing in the end, nothing to you.
Bishop shook his head, the voice in his head warring with his guild screaming at him to use the attack already.
You will risk their lives when it suits you, and it does, Bishop. You wish to save one soul over your precious heroes. You know you belong with me…
”Bishop!” Jimmy hollered. “What the hell, man!”
The newly blinded snake, with black blood oozing from its burned-out eye sockets, reared back, ready to attack again. Words rushed through Bishop’s mind, but then his gaze locked onto Tavin’s from across the room. She stood, her sword bloodied and her chest heaving from the exhaustion of her attacks. She nodded once to him and the voice in his head vanished. In a heartbeat, his fingers were on the bowstring and he drew back hard, Assassin’s Tear’s bright white glow blinding him. He yelled with the effort of holding the shot back, but the debuff on him was three seconds away…two…one.
With a mighty yell, he let the shot fly free and it flew up into the ceiling of the room before exploding. The shockwave shook the room and the white flash of light blinded Bishop as he was thrown and tossed about like a leaf on the wind. Chunks of meaty snake flesh splattered his body and made sickening sounds as it smacked into every open surface. Bishop squinted through the brightness and watched his life drain away…he was going to die…braced for the pain…but then he was surrounded by a soothing blue light and his health shot all the way back up.
“What the hell?”
“Turtle mode for the win,” Benji announced and Bishop saw him in the middle of the room with Aiden, both with bluish shields covering their bodies. Their health was low, but they had managed to protect themselves and keep every single member of the group alive. Barely, but they were alive. “Whoot! What do you say to that, Jimmy?”
“I say, for once, you’re the better squishy hero,” he agreed, flicking a piece of snake from his body. “You though, Bishop, what took you so long?”
He shrugged as he glanced up to see all the souls kept in this room were gone, destroyed in the blast. A strange emptiness filled him as he spun around slowly, taking in the damage of his attack. “I was trying to save them, but I couldn’t,” he whispered and when his gaze moved down, Tavin stood before him.
“They were lost already, Bishop. Do not weep for them. At least now they are free of Mortagh.” She squeezed his shoulder and that one touch, that one look said so much more than her words. “We must hurry. These were two of Mortagh’s pets.”
“I thought he had hounds,” Calista said, watching the exchange between Bishop and Tavin closely. “He has snakes, too?”
“He has all manner of creatures under his control. Let us hope we do not meet any more.”
Giles bent down and looted the biggest chunks of snake flesh lying around. All they gained were random bits of snake meat and scales, the latter of which could be taken to a taxidermist and turned into a banner of sorts for their house. “It’s something at least,” he muttered, disappointed, and took the lead again as Tavin and Bronson awaited him.
Bronson had done nothing this whole time and Bishop found himself growing agitated at the NPCs lack of usefulness.
The corridor this time was not as long nor was it pitch black. They wove through a maze of corridors. Without Tavin, they could’ve wandered around these halls for hours trying to find their way through. Tavin gave no indication whenever she made a turn. She moved as if she’d been here before, many times before. Bishop frowned, pondering what else Tavin had done in her past she neglected to tell him, when Calista fell back to his side.
“What really happened?” she asked. “You hesitated. I’ve never seen you hesitate like that. Not when the guild is on the line.”
“I know, I wasn’t thinking.”
“What’s going on? Is it her?”
Bishop tripped over his feet and Calista cursed. “I can’t help it. She’s just there, calling to me… telling me to come to her, and here… here I’m so much closer to her.”
“You have to tune her out.”
“I’m trying,” he snapped then sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, that was out of line.”
“No, I get it. Just remember no matter what, we’ve got your back so try not to lose ours.”
Their hands brushed together between their bodies and he wished they were out of the game if only for a moment so he could hug this woman he did not deserve. But then Tavin came to a stop and the same bright glow that was in the last room filled the massive arched doorway ahead, ten times brighter at least.
“More souls,” Calista whispered, at the same time awed and horrified by the presence of so much glowing life force. “I really don’t like this one.”
“Let’s go kill him then.” Bishop grinned, but Calista’s malicious glare made him shudder. He almost felt sorry for all the Demons she unleashed that fury on.
Almost.
“I smell dinner, boys,” the same booming voice they heard outside the Burning Glade yelled. “My hounds are famished and you have arrived just in time to feed them.”
Bishop and Calista crowed around outside the reach of the Demon Lord and his hounds. “Damn,” Calista breathed. “Seriously? Why is everything here so freaking big?” She shook her head, kicking at the stone floor and muttering a stream of curses that had Bishop almost blushing.
“Those hounds are going to be a pain,” Trajan commented. “Any ideas?”
“We have no idea how they’ll attack or what his special attacks are.”
“That is not true,” Tavin said. “I have seen him fight. He uses the souls as a shield and, when he raises the shield, he uses more as a life force attack that can drain you in seconds if you cannot interrupt it or break free.”
“Lovely,” Maverick said, shifting back to human form so she could talk. “And the hounds?”
Tavin’s face darkened and her jaw clenched. “His hounds are another matter entirely. They are vicious, blood thirsty. On the other hand, they are large and clumsy.”
The Demon Lord Mortagh was bigger than any boss they had faced so far, and his hounds were three times the size of Maverick if not larger. “How are we supposed to fight things this big?”
“That is why I have come,” Bronson announced, and he motioned for them to circle him.
“What are you going to do? Make us pull an Alice?” Jimmy teased, but the NPC didn’t catch the reference and stared at him blankly until he lowered his head. “Sorry, go ahead old man.”
Bishop thought he saw Bronson’s brow twitch at that, but he made no other indication he heard Jimmy’s comment. “It will not last forever and you may find several of your abilities useless in this state. However, it will place you all on a more even playing field.”
“You’re going to literally make us bigger,” Jimmy stated. “Neat.”
Bronson removed a vial from his robes and held it aloft. Closing his eyes, he held out his free hand and moved in a slow circle, chanting words in the same rough tongue he and Tavin had used to enter the Fortress in the first place. Bishop felt nothing and wondered if it wasn’t going to work when his legs tingled and they were enveloped in a flash of green light. When he could see again, the group was on eye level with the massive Mortagh standing through the archway and the hounds didn’t look like they could swallow them whole anymore. The rest of the Fort
ress fit their new size better, as well.
“Why couldn’t he have done this for the snakes?” Jimmy mused.
“He said it didn’t last long,” Trajan reminded him. “I suggest we get to attacking. Buff up!”
Bronson slipped away from them. However, there was no more time for Bishop to ponder about him or Tavin. He nearly got them all killed with the snakes; he was not about to repeat that mistake against a Demon Lord.
“Tanks, we’re going to hold onto Mortagh. DPS? Focus on those hounds. Kite one around if you can while you take out the other. Remember, there’s four heads you have to keep an eye on,” Bishop instructed. “Healers, you focus on DPS, but don’t let the tanks die. If they die, we lose our hold on Mortagh until we’re ready.”
The heroes nodded at their given instructions. Maverick shifted and let loose a mighty roar, standing on her hind legs before she turned and lumbered into the massive chamber. It was much larger than the last room with souls and if Bishop managed to judge their walking correctly, they were in the dead center of the Dead Fortress.
“The Heroes who thwarted my plans in Burning Glade,” Mortagh seethed as they approached. “You show your faces to me and you expect to live?” His body was still the swirling shadows they saw in the glade, minus the wings as there was nowhere to spread them here. His cloven feet burned into the stones beneath him. Smoke rose, billowing around his two headed hounds, snarling and growling as they readied for their master’s orders. Two green flames acted as eyes as he took a thunderous step closer. “I will kill you all and add your souls to my collection! Kill them!”
The hounds lunged forward, but the tanks dodged their attacks as the DPS moved in, pulling the hounds away. Trajan and Maverick were on Mortagh in seconds, guiding him to the far side of the room. Arthur, Calista, and the other tanks surrounded him and, between them, managed to hold him back. Bishop turned his focus to the first hound as Giles and Zoe kited the second to the other side of the room, trading off one who held aggro.
“Bring it down!” Bishop hollered and unleashed Penetrating Arrow, curious to see if it would damage the hound’s thick hide.
The hit struck home in its side and he watched its health deplete. On the downside, the hound’s two heads found Bishop and growled.
“Kite it!” Benji yelled at Bishop. “Duck!”
Bishop ducked, rolling to the side and barely missed having a set of jaws clamp around his whole body. He made it to his feet and attacked again as Sorgon and Shamus moved in to draw the hound’s attention away. The hound was dying quickly and Bishop used his Fiery Arrow to help it along, but Trajan yelled out a warning. Over the sounds of the fighting, he couldn’t hear what he said. He could only see blue rain pouring from the ceiling.
No, not rain. Souls. They exploded in bunches, cracking the floor beneath their feet and shaking the walls.
“Stay out of the blue dots!” Bishop yelled, watching the floor light up seconds before the soul bombs struck.
The chaos that ensued made it hard to see what was happening and Bishop was bawled over by a hound. He hit the floor face first and grimaced as his health took a heavy hit. Rolling onto his back, he aimed up at the hound as it made another pass towards him, but a soul bomb was making ready to drop right on him. Praying he timed it right, the hound charged and Bishop rolled as the bomb hit, striking the hound instead. It whined and crashed to the floor. It wouldn’t get up again.
“The bombs! Use the bombs to kill the hound!” he bellowed, hoping Giles and Zoe could hear him. They had the hound on the other side of the room still, with their lives hanging by a thread. “Benji!”
“Can’t! Look at the tanks!”
Bishop swung his head around and winced. The tanks were all down below half health. As he watched, Mortagh formed a shield just as Tavin described. It made it impossible for any attacks to break through and, when he raised it, the souls shout out from his hand like a crossbow bolt, striking everything in their path.
Trajan faltered, sinking to one knee as Mortagh moved in on him. With a swing of his arm, he sent the great dwarf flying across the room, crashing into the wall. Trajan’s eyes closed and his life hit zero.
“Damn it! DPS! Focus the hound!” Bishop drew back for Fiery Arrow and cursed when it missed its target. He took a deep breath. A whisper of a voice fluttered through his mind, but he tuned it out the best he could. His friends needed him, his family. There was no time to be weak, not now.
He drew back again and let loose. Fiery Arrow shot through the air, but this one was brought down by another soul bomb dropping at the wrong time. Zoe and Giles guided the hound to another blue spot on the floor as Bishop readied for a third shot. This one had to work. The soul bomb dropped and it caught the hound, Giles and Zoe in its wake, killing the players instantly. Their bodies lay perfectly still as two blue orbs hovered over them.
“Souls! They shall be mine!” Mortagh growled.
“Don’t let him take them!” Tavin screamed. “Stop him!”
Bishop attacked the hound, finishing it off with Execute as Shamus performed his assassin attacks on it. Then, together, the group turned to face down Mortagh, soul stealer. Bombs went off like crazy around them. Bishop watched his health deplete and knew his armor was heavily damaged by now. Mortagh rushed for Trajan first, reaching out a hand to scoop up his blue orb, but Maverick latched her mighty jaws onto his arm, stopping him.
“Bishop! No choice, use it!” Calista yelled as she jumped on Mortagh’s back and held him in a chokehold. He frowned when he didn’t see her weapons then spied them on the floor, shattered and broken. She was fighting against a Demon Lord with her bare hands.
He nodded and pulled back on Assassin’s Tear. But when he released it, more soul bombs dropped all around and the shot was destroyed before it had a chance to act. The cool down would take too long and he was dangerously low on mana and health. They were running out of power ups and special attacks, as everyone else was in the same boat as him.
“Jimmy! What about your Demon?” Bishop yelled to him.
“I don’t think it’s strong enough!”
“We need a distraction! Summon it!”
Jimmy nodded and backed away from the line of fighting as he bowed his head and made ready to use his Shadow Summon. Bishop couldn’t stand there and watch the ritual, though. He switched his stance to Endurance and made the most of it, hitting Mortagh with Penetrating Shot. It hardly did any damage and the shield was beginning to form again.
“Interrupt!” he yelled, considering he had not enough mana to do it himself.
“No one has any!” Benji shouted. “Brace for the attack!”
Bishop aimed another shot. However, his mana was down and it failed miserably, the arrow not even leaving his bow. “Damn it!”
Just as the shield appeared completed, another Demonic roar shook the chamber and Mortagh’s attack paused. A shadow sprinted across the room and tackled him to the floor, wrestling him down.
“Kill him!” Bishop slung his bow over his body and charged in with his blade.
Calista was punching and kicking every inch of Mortagh she could reach as Bishop Slashed and Hacked. The entire party left alive surrounded the two Demons fighting and wailed on Mortagh until his life drained.
The shadows that made up his body screeched and threatened to drain the rest of their health away, but it was all cut short when Jimmy’s summoned Demon closed a hand around his throat and squeezed. There was a sickening crunch and then dead silence.
The souls stopped falling from the ceiling. The summoned Demon vanished in a puff of smoke and the room glowed a brilliant blue.
Bishop gazed wide eyed as the souls left undestroyed by the attack burst free of their cages and soared through the air, swirling around them in an amazing display.
They zoomed through the heroes and Bishop gasped to feel their joy and hear their laughter ringing in his ears. They rose towards the ceiling as one and then burst through, disappearing into the thunderous overc
ast sky.
All but one.
The heroes watched in stunned silence as the hovering blue orb swirled through the room and halted before Tavin. The light reflected in her eyes, a mix of confusion and hesitation.
Did she not want her soul back? Bishop had no idea what exactly it meant to be without a soul. Maybe she was worried about the pain it would bring to her, or make it harder for her to be the ruthless killer she seemed to be at times. The soul darted back as if to leave her forever, but then shot forward into her chest.
Tavin gasped and hunched over as her body was illuminated from the inside out by the soul reclaiming its rightful place. She sucked in deep breaths and, when she straightened, the change in her face and eyes was astounding. So much life dwelled in those depths now and tears shimmered before she hastily wiped them away.
As she’d been taking her soul back, Benji and the other healers resurrected Trajan, Giles and Zoe. It was toward Giles that Tavin walked and held out her arm. “You have my thanks, heroes, you and your companions.” She turned to Bishop slightly at her last words and he bowed his head. “You have returned something I thought lost to me forever.”
“You’re welcome,” Giles replied, and XP points exploded all over the room as the quest for the fourth dungeon was completed.
Bishop grinned to see his XP bar move farther up, and a prompt appeared before his eyes. Tavin was speaking again, telling them of the next task ahead.
“You all must speak with your guides, but know that I will meet you in Chesterville when the time is ready. Until then, I am in your debt.” She backed away and Bronson walked to her side.
Together, they moved towards the rear of the room and raised their hands. A swirling green portal appeared and they stepped through it, disappearing from sight.
“Damn,” Giles murmured. “I hadn’t realized she had lost her soul.”
The Dead Fortress: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 3) Page 10
