Crym's shield was long gone. Like an ancient god of war, he was brandishing two axes, reaping death wherever he turned. Droy and Orman fought by his side, equally awesome.
Still, I could see they had only seconds left to live.
No idea what had prompted me to do what I did next. Could it be the understanding that we'd lost this battle? Was I angry with myself — or was it guilt feeling for having led them into a trap? I don't know. I just couldn't sit there in the safety of the sky watching my friends die.
The system reported the fleas' death just as I landed next to the dying Horm.
"Watch out!" I shouted, summoning my last scarab.
The armored behemoth skirted the fighting Calteans, outflanking them, then accelerated and rammed the attacking enemy.
"Go!" Droy shouted. "Fly away! You can still survive!"
I shook my head. "Oh no. If I do, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
Strangely enough, I didn't even think that I wasn't going to die for real. I completely forgot I'd promptly resurrect in my nearest bind point.
In the heat of the battle, I was perfectly prepared to give my life for my friends, fighting shoulder to shoulder. I was beginning to understand what Uncle Vanya had told me by the Citadel walls all that time back.
For me too, this wasn't a game anymore.
The scarab pulled the aggro to himself, allowing the Calteans to step back and take a breather.
Good. They needed it.
Droy heaved Seet onto his back and dragged his body toward us. I did the same with Horm. Both seemed to be still alive — not for very long but still it was good news.
"When your steely machines are dead, the Nocteans will flood this place," Droy croaked, heaving, as he lent against his spear slippery with blood.
I glanced at Crym and Orman, both gasping and covered in blood. Or was it enemy blood?
Before I knew it, the break was over. An explosion thundered behind my back. In less than a few heartbeats, a victorious Noctean roar echoed from the ruins.
The werewolves would be here now.
There they were coming.
Their greedy jaws showed through the gaps in the collapsed walls. Their leader was here too.
Orman spit out a clot of blood. "Unkillable bastard."
A second explosion followed, accompanied by the yelping of wounded Nocteans.
We stood back to back. On my command, Boris soared up into the sky with Prankie sitting on his neck. I didn't want them to join the fight but they sure could use the XP.
"Brothers!" Crym growled, clutching his predatory axes. "Fighting with you is an honor!"
"Barraah!!" the warriors roared at the approaching Nocteans.
I think I shouted too, joining in their battle cry.
My heart was about to explode — but not with fear. I was quite prepared to rip the enemy apart with my teeth!
Was it my imagination or did the leader's ugly jaws stretch into a crooked grin? He seemed to be amused by what was happening.
The werewolves surrounded us, awaiting their leader's command. They were ready to fall upon us.
The leader didn't get the chance to issue that last order. A strange commotion began in the monsters' ranks. They cast scared looks around themselves, losing all interest in us.
Dark silhouettes rose on the city walls.
"The Forbidden City guards," Crym whispered sadly.
"How many are they?" Orman swung around, peering at the walls. "There're dozens of them! No, hundreds!"
He didn't get the answer. The dark shadows charged.
The Noctean leader died first before he could even move. Blood-curdling screams of agony echoed in the ruins. The high Moon cast its light on the massacre, making it appear doubly awful.
The city guards killed silently, their every movement swift and practiced, as if they had done it a million times before. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't make out their levels. The situation seemed much worse than I'd originally thought.
We turned back to back, shuddering with every new scream of agony. Everyone seemed to have forgotten all about us.
In less than fifteen minutes, the Noctean pack had ceased to exist. The mysterious shadows closed in around us.
"Honestly," Orman said, "I'd rather die from a guard's sword than in filthy Noctean jaws."
Everyone nodded their agreement.
An invisible grumbling voice broke the silence,
"Satis, this ragamuffin — is he the Chosen One we've been waiting for?"
We startled and looked at each other in confusion.
"He is, Master Axe," another invisible voice replied, soft and gentle. "He is the first of the descendants of the Ancient Race who managed to reach this place in the last five hundred years."
I almost thought I knew the voice. That's how our logics lecturer used to speak back in college.
"And these scruffy dogs, are they his army?" the first voice grumbled again.
"Who are you calling scruffy dogs?" Orman barked. "Come out, so I can teach you some respect for Caltean warriors!"
The invisible creature grunted. "Satis! I think I like them!"
The shadowy veil parted, letting out two figures. The one to the right was a burly warrior clad head to toe in gold armor. To his left stood a gray-bearded old man in a long silver cloak and a large beret on his head.
The Calteans tensed up. I, on the contrary, heaved a sigh of relief and stepped forward. "Greetings, Master Satis and Master Axe the Terrible!"
The gold-clad warrior grinned. "He might actually go far. He's quite good with Brolgerd's toys. He even managed to tame a Night Hunter."
"Adkhur was right," the old man said. "He is the one we were waiting for."
"I'm too tired," Axe said mournfully. "Satis, let's finish it all."
The two masters exchanged meaningful stares. "Greetings to you, O Keeper of the Twilight Castle!" they said in unison.
"We've been waiting for you for a long time, the last of the Der Swyors," Satis began. "We're happy you've finally arrived in your ancestors' home city."
He must have read the understandable skepticism in my face as he hurried to add, "It's true that the city has fallen into certain disrepair these last five hundred years but you have the power to change it all."
"Wait a sec!" I exclaimed, disappointed. "What do you mean, change it all? I only agreed to activate the obelisk!"
"This mortal has a cheek!" Axe fumed.
Master Satis winced and lay a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Wait, my friend. The new Keeper doesn't yet seem to understand what 'activating the obelisk' actually implies."
I frowned. "If the truth were known, I don't understand any of it. I expected to come to a city — but this is only a pile of rubble! And now this Keeper stuff and you dropping hints about the obelisk. What's going on?" I turned, seeking support from the Calteans.
They froze, open-mouthed. Even Seet and Horm had come round, sitting on the snow staring unblinkingly at the scene with saucer eyes.
"Satis, I've had enough of his nonsense!" Axe growled, stepping forward. "What's going on, you say? It's that as of now, you're the one in charge of all this caboodle! Here, the key to the city! Take it! Satis, we don't have much time! Give him the Sphere!"
The gold-clad warrior shoved a large bunch of keys into my hand and hurried to step back. Immediately his figure began to ripple like a reflection in a pond, dematerializing before my very eyes.
The wizard floated toward me. His invisible hand touched my shoulder, a benign smile on his gray-bearded face,
"We're sorry, Olgerd. We've been trapped in this world for way too long. Our people are waiting. Here, take this magic sphere. It will protect you for the time being, but its powers won't last for very long. Take this scroll, too. In it, you'll find the answers to whatever questions you might have. Fare thee well, O Keeper of the Twilight Castle! Be brave!"
His outline dissolved into thin air like a whiff of blue smoke.
I stood there silent, hol
ding a bunch of keys in one hand and a small glass marble and a yellow scroll in the other.
A bright red system message hovered before my eyes, its every word confirming my worst suspicions. I was in it deep and proper.
Congratulations! You've become the new Keeper of the Twilight Castle!
You must restore the ancient Ennan home city to its old glory!
Your job is to keep and defend it!
Be brave and strong of spirit!
Watch out! From now on, the world knows that the ancient city is being restored!
May your ancestors' blessing be with you!
More messages followed: new levels received... my doubled Legendary status... more great Achievements... I wasn't really in the mood to peruse it all.
Why should I? Everything was pretty clear, wasn't it? Very soon the area before the city walls would be absolutely packed with greedy loot seekers.
A new war had just started in Mirror World.
End of Book Three
NEW!
Magic Dome Books proudly presents
Pavel Kornev,
Russia’s bestselling science fiction author,
and the English version of his steampunk action thriller
The Illustrious (The Sublime Electricity Book #1)
In this world, science took the place of magic. Meanwhile, the transition from the era of steam to the epoch of Sublime Electricity is already underway. But magic hasn’t simply disappeared without a trace. It still exists, concealed in the blood of the illustrious.
Detective constable Leopold Orso of the metropolitan police counts himself among their number. He was bestowed a talent that allows him to bring others’ fears to life.
Leopold didn’t go looking for trouble. All he really wanted was to gain access to his rightful inheritance. But, his peaceful life came to an end when a box from his grandmother’s estate caught the interest of a mysterious cabal of conspirators, police and bloodthirsty malefics.
His new enemies have an arsenal of six-barreled machine guns, backpack flamethrowers and hordes of hellspawn. He may escape with his life, but it won’t be easy!
Buy The Illustrious (The Sublime Electricity Book #1) now!
About the Author
Alexey Osadchuk was born in 1979 in the Ukraine. In the late 1990s his family moved to the south of Spain where they still live today.
Alexey was an avid reader from an early age, devouring adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle.
In 2010 he wrote his first fantasy novel which was immediately accepted by one of Russia's leading publishing houses Alpha Book.
He also used to be a passionate online gamer which prompted him to write the story of a man who joins an MMORPG game hoping to raise money for his daughter's heart surgery. In 2013, the first book of Mirror World was published by EKSMO, Russia's largest publishing house. The original Russian series now counts four novels.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
About the Author
Thank you for reading The Way of the Outcast!
The Way of the Outcast (Mirror World Book #3) LitRPG series Page 30
