“Treating a lady like that earlier was so rude, I think you need to be rid of that troublesome hand of yours,” she said twitching her eyebrow a bit. The man nodded with a blissful smile then walked over to a nearby table. He set his hand down on it and grabbed a dull blade nearby. His colleagues watched with shock and loud screams as he started to hack his hand off with the blade, having a blissful smile on his face as he struck down on his own limb. After a few hard strikes he cut through the flesh and bone, his hand now lying limp on the table in a pool of his own blood while he smiled dreamily ahead of him.
“What the hell, what are you doing?” another man yelled out.
The woman chuckled a bit as the hexed human blinked then screamed out in agony, gripping his arm as he stared at his severed limb with shock. He dropped to his knees screaming as the woman laughed in amusement.
“That should teach you some manners about touching a lady like that,” she scolded with a cold smile. He looked up to her with shock, her eyes glowing green as she laughed to herself.
“You… you’re not human!” he cried out scrambling back and away from her. She smirked then walked towards him slowly.
“It’s not polite to shout at a lady either,” she said with a slight tone of annoyance, her eyes turning cold as she smiled bitterly.
Running down a hallway inside the temple two figures were seen while their footsteps echoed down the empty corridor. An orc and a reptile girl were running through hallway with focused expressions while screams and chaos were heard outside in the city.
“Sounds like all the fun is happening out there,” Rulo commented while she held her oversized hammer in one hand over her shoulder, running with it like it weighed nothing at all.
“If it’s a fight you seek then prepare yourself, the real monster is in here somewhere,” Sasha cautioned while holding her large sword with one hand, running swiftly while her tail swayed behind her.
The two monster girls came up to an entrance to another room and stopped as people ran out screaming, the humans seeing them then promptly running away down the corridor crying out in fear. The monster girls glanced to each other then looked around inside the room with focused expressions, both keeping on guard as they slowly entered the large hall. There were tables and display cases all around with relics and books, along with the remains of a human that lay splattered across the floor. His clothing was ripped to shreds while his body appeared to have been pulverized. And in the middle of the room was a woman wearing a blue fine silk robe while smiling curiously at the two monster girls.
“I was wondering when you two would be showing up,” she mused with a chuckle.
“My master was right with his assumptions; using your pawn to distract the humans in the city so you could slink in here unseen, such cowardice,” Sasha hissed with narrowed eyes. The woman raised an eyebrow at them while her smile remained.
“I have better things to be doing than playing with humans, my dear girl. Speaking of which, where’s that one you keep following around like a little puppy? I’m surprised he’s not here holding your hand since you can’t seem to go anywhere without him,” she said with a laugh. Rulo gripped her hammer tightly with both hands as she glared at the woman.
“He’ll be here soon, in the meantime why don’t you quit running and play with us?” she challenged with a stern oink at the end. The woman laughed amusingly and shook her head. She unfastened her gemstone button with a smirk, the cloak dropping to the ground around her feet as Sasha and Rulo tensed up. The woman wore dark blue high heels on her feet, her legs being long and slender. She had a dark purple skirt on that was angled down over her left thigh and a black belt with red gems lined around it. She wore a low-cut black sleeveless shirt which revealed her large bust size, along with a silver necklace that had a purple gemstone on it that rested on her chest. On each of her wrists she had a dark blue bracelet which had a red gem on the top.
And from behind her large demonic wings spread out, the skeletal edges being black and rigid while the insides were a dark purple. A dark scaled tail slowly whipped around behind her, the end pointed into an arrow while the long appendage swayed behind the monster.
“You two really think you can stand against me in a fight? Oh you poor misguided girls,” she taunted with a dark smile. Sasha and Rule gripped their weapons tightly as they stared down the monster with focused glares. They were strong in their own right; there was no doubt in their minds about that.
Of course they knew a succubus was far stronger, as all the Darker Ones of Eden were.
Chapter 15
True Power
In the world of Eden, monsters came in many different forms and types; however some were far more dangerous than others. There existed a few classes of these creatures that were considered to be the most dangerous of all, both to mankind and to other monsters that came across them. They were known as the ‘Darker Ones’ of the world, legendary monsters with incredible strength and power. With extreme physical prowess or untold magical reserves, they were feared in Eden above all else. Only the bravest and most skilled warriors would even dare try to take on a Darker One in combat.
And only the most fortunate would survive.
*****
Inside the Ashwood city library fires were flaring around wildly as the two floors of the building were in ruin. Half of the upper level had collapsed down while bookshelves and tables were broken and lying about. Bodies of people were seen crushed under debris while a few lay strewn about after a summoned monster had torn them apart viciously. The smoke from the fires rose up and out the broken windows on the roof while small pieces of rubble dropped down from the cracking ceiling. Standing on the roof two witches were staring each other down while smoke and wisps of fire billowed up from the openings around them. Alyssa clutched her staff tightly as she watched her opponent with a focused glare, baring her teeth slightly in anger from the havoc brought about by the other witch. Across from her Tora was glaring at her fellow witch while she held her staff with one hand at her side, her hair flowing in the breeze as she kept a sharp eye on Alyssa.
"My my, so eager to fight now. Did I upset you by threatening your pet?" Tora taunted with a smirk.
"Don't you dare call Daniel that. He's not my pet; he's going to be my mate!" Alyssa yelled out. Tora looked at her with a raised eyebrow then chuckled amusedly.
"Your mate you say? As far as humans go that one down there looked rather meek and poorly, is that the best you could find to give you a seed?" she mused, shaking her head. Alyssa growled loudly with anger, her eyes giving off a purplish glow as her staff glowed with an orange hue.
"How dare you… nobody talks about Daniel like that. Nobody!" she yelled out, waving her staff forward as Tora held up hers. The air between them erupted into a shockwave with a distorted wave that rippled around Tora, the roof of the building below them cracking apart slightly from the stress. Tora glanced around at the unstable roof they were standing on then looked back to Alyssa with a cold smile.
"I see, so that human is important to you. Well, I'll tell you what, after I'm done smearing you across this city, I'll do you a favor and spare his life. I might even keep him as my pet; I could use a human lackey that knows how to relieve a witch from a long stressful day. Who knows, maybe after a good amount of training he might even be able to satisfy me," she chuckled. Alyssa looked at her with wide eyes then bared her teeth in anger as she clutched her staff tightly, glaring at the dark witch with fury. She struck her staff down onto the roof with a powerful thrust, the strike sending out a rippling pulse wave as erratic and spinning circles of red light appeared around her. Tora glanced down to the markings as Alyssa held her staff out across in front of her, then holding a hand over it facing Tora palm first. The circles around her started to spin and glow brightly while Alyssa's skirt fluttered around from a small torrent of wind circling her.
"It'll be a cold day in hell, Tora, before I would ever allow you near my Daniel," Alyssa raged, her hand
forming a red glow that swirled around in front of her palm. Tora looked at her cautiously as the smoke from the broken windows around her suddenly stopped billowing upward. The dark witch glanced around then slowly looked down.
"Oh, did you just remember what's below us?" Alyssa hissed with a glare. Tora slowly glanced up to her as she held her staff tightly, tensing up while Alyssa kept her eyes locked on her opponent. The glowing circles of light spun around faster as the light seemed to intensify around the witch's palm. Tora smiled slightly and shook her head.
"Don't be stupid, your human pet is down below us along with all those other people, you can't use your element here without killing them," she said with a slight laugh at the end. Alyssa narrowed her eyes as her staff's glow shifted from an orange hue to a deep crimson, the air around it crackling quietly. Tora looked at her carefully then glanced around quickly. The roof below them was cracking apart in some areas while small flames were seen flaring up through a few of the crevices.
"I don't think your snakes will be able to manifest here, not nearly enough support for them after all," Alyssa pointed out as a whirring sound started to grow below them. Tora looked down with caution then back to Alyssa as she backed up a step.
"However, you've supplied me with more than enough fire, how very kind of you," Alyssa continued with a bite.
"Alyssa, don't be a fool, you can't control it enough to spare your pet," Tora warned.
"His name is Daniel, and he's my mate!" Alyssa yelled out. The glow around her palm shifted to a bright red light that flared around wildly in front of her, the witch keeping her glare locked onto Tora as the whirring sound below grew louder. Tora glanced around then looked back to Alyssa with a glare.
"You think you can scare me with your bluff? I'm not afraid of some lowly rat!" she yelled out. Alyssa growled loudly as the circles around her stopped spinning and gave off a bright light. Tora looked around quickly then back to Alyssa with caution.
"And I'm not a rat…" Alyssa said as the roof around them cracked apart more while flames fired up from the crevices. She held up her hand, the glow swirling around her palm quickly.
"I'm Alyssa, the Wildfire Witch!" she yelled out as a red pulse rippled out from her. Tora took a step back before the roof behind her erupted up with a fierce firestorm, the bright red flames shooting up through the broken windows and weakened wooden beams and bricks. Alyssa held out her hand to the side while keeping her staff level in front of her, the relic glowing red while black smoke came from the eyes of the skull ornament. To her side a powerful stream of fire blasted up from the roof and into the air, the swirling flames roaring loudly as Tora watched with wide eyes. The fire stream flew up into the air then shot towards her as it expanded into a wall of flame, the red torrent crashing down around Tora as she screamed and held up her staff. The flames washed around a domelike barrier while the ground around her charred and scorched. A loud rumbling sound was heard before two more powerful streams of flame blasted up from the roof nearby, the torrents swirling around wildly into the air before falling forward and spreading out into a hailstorm of fire. Tora waved her staff around causing a spinning blast of air to surround her while she held an arm near her face to shield from the heat, bracing herself from the waves of fire that crashed and burned around her.
"Call off your monsters now or you'll burn," Alyssa threatened in a cold voice, her eyes glaring at Tora while they glowed purple. Tora scoffed at her while the fires swirled around her magical barrier, the ground near it turning black and charred while she was sweating heavily from the heat. She could fend off the actual flames with her magical energy, but not the intense temperature. The building below them started to rumble more as flames jettisoned up around through the roof from weak spots and openings.
"It is you that needs to recall your power, Alyssa, we both know you're going to burn everybody around this area if you don't," Tora replied with a dark smile. Alyssa held her staff tightly as it began to waver, shaking a bit as the smoke from the eyes of the skull started to increase. Tora chuckled and swung her staff, causing a burst of air to part the flames around her.
"I'd say you're about to lose control soon, you might want to stop now before it's too late," she warned with a smirk. Alyssa clenched her other hand slightly as the bright red light continued to shine in her palm. Two more streams of fire erupted from either side of her and flew into the air, then shot down towards Tora in a fiery rain. The dark witch shielded her face with her arm as she crouched down, her barrier slowly diminishing while the scorched ground below her cracked apart. She coughed as the smoke billowed around her then glared at Alyssa who was struggling to hold her staff still. It started to smoke near her hand as she showed a strained expression for a moment. She could feel the magical pull from her staff as tried to focus her mind, her magic surging through and gaining strength by the second.
"Give up now, Tora, you can't beat me!" Alyssa yelled out with frustration. Tora chuckled and slowly lowered her arm to glare at the witch.
"I don't have to; your power will be your own end. Yours, and your little pet's," she sneered with a bite. She slowly stood up as the air around her was hazy from the heat, holding her staff tightly with both hands as her ring gave off a dark red light.
"Tell me, how big will the firestorm be? There's an awful lot of tinder and flame below us right now, how long before it slips out of your control? Will your pet be alright seeing how he's right next to the building as we speak?" she questioned with a sly smile. She hopped up onto her staff as the ground below her gave away, collapsing down into a massive swirling firestorm that was once the inside of the library. The roof below Alyssa remained along with the majority of the glowing rings that were coming from below her, the witch standing on a small strip of wood and brick that was held out over her magically infused torrent of fire. Tora sat on her staff sideways and glanced down to the fire as she dangled her feet carelessly beneath her.
"You'll survive I'm sure; you could jump right in and bathe in the fire without a care. But, would your pet be so lucky if those flames washed over him?" she asked with a laugh. Alyssa struggled to hold her staff still as she glanced down, seeing the flames raging out of control as they swirled around faster and faster, the burning fires flowing in a torrent fiercely as her magical spell had taken control of them. The torrent began to crackle and flare around wildly, with small waves of flames shooting up in violent bursts. Alyssa growled loudly then held her hand out towards Tora, creating a large pillar of fire that erupted upwards towards the airborne girl. Tora held down her hand while holding her staff tightly, erecting several small circles of glowing symbols in a bluish light that spun around below her. The flames crashed into the rings, with one shattering instantly, then parted around the witch as Alyssa held her hand towards her still. Tora chuckled while wavering a bit in the air then looked over towards Alyssa.
"It must be strenuous on your mind to try to control that much fire, how are you feeling? Don't lose your focus or else everybody will see firsthand while they call you the Wildfire Witch," she taunted with a smirk. Alyssa growled and waved her hand towards the dark witch again. Two more powerful streams of fire erupted up from the swirling torrent of flames towards Tora, the witch looking down as two more of her barriers were shattered by the fires. She wavered slightly in the air then laughed playfully.
"I'm not going to lie, summoning this many of my beautiful pets here in the city was a bit of a drain on my magic. I don’t think I have much power in my reserves right now to use any real powerful spells for the moment. Still, the thought of seeing you finally falling renews my spirits. Tell me, do you think you can break through my remaining power before yours goes out of control? I don't believe you'll be able to stop it once it goes critical," she snickered, sweating from the heat while glaring at Alyssa.
Alyssa's hand trembled as she struggled to keep focused. Her staff wavered more as she strained to keep it steady, feeling her mind stretching to control the magic she was using. T
ora laughed and shook her head amusingly.
"You fool, trying to use your trump card right away on me, how stupid can you be? I feel a bit of pity for that pet of yours, being stuck with such a lowly monster in life," she hissed.
"Don't call him that!" Alyssa yelled out with energy, straining her mind as she waved her hand towards Tora fiercely. A wild tornado of fire spun up into the air around Tora, the witch looking around with surprise as she wavered again in the air. A blast of flame erupted around her, the witch screaming as she fell off her staff and down towards the ground. She tumbled around while her staff fell alongside her, the girl quickly grabbing it and sweeping it under her as she neared the ground. Her barriers shattered with bright flashes of light as they parted the flames on the floor of the building by smothering them, the tornado of fire then closing in and swirling around wildly as Tora touched down on the scorched ground. She held up her staff as the fire encased and spun around her, using her magic to block the flames from reaching her while she held an arm up to shield her face. Alyssa looked down into the torrent of flame with a cold glare, struggling to hold her staff still as the skull ornament was giving off bursts of fire from its eye sockets. Tora stood on the ground level of the library while holding her staff up, surrounded by a large torrent of flame that spun around throughout the building.
"You won't get away, Tora, I've had enough of your games!" Alyssa yelled down at her. Tora looked up to her with frustration as she coughed from the smoke and heat. The walls of the building started to crack and wither away while the ground tore up slightly in some areas.
"I think I'll survive here long enough, Alyssa, long enough to see you burn this city to the ground!" Tora shouted back. Alyssa yelled out as she aimed her hand down at Tora, the red light burning brightly in her palm as the firestorm swirled violently around the dark witch. Tora glanced around as the crackling grew louder, the flames spinning faster and faster while she held her staff upright to keep her magical barrier erected.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 46
