Legacy of the Fallen (Ascend Online Book 2)
Page 50
Stone shards slammed into me as the rock pile that I had slid behind exploded from under the Sentinel’s attack, forcing me to shield my face from the flying projectiles. With barely enough time to process what had just happened, I felt Freya’s iron grip grab onto my wrist and yank me forward.
“Move!” she shouted, using her superior strength to practically drag me behind her as she abandoned her old hiding spot and desperately searched for another. “The moment that…thing sees anything, it tries to blast it with its hand cannon, then comes to finish the job with its sword. Believe me; you don’t want to get hit by it!”
“No kidding!” I called back to Freya, struggling to regain my balance with her pulling on me as she led the two of us behind another pile of volcanic rock then turned around to face me.
“What the hell took you guys so long to get here?” Freya demanded, staring at me with a wide-eyed expression, rivulets of both blood and water visibly dripping from her hairline. “We’ve been here for ages playing hide-and-seek!”
“We came as quickly as we could!” I replied defensively, despite knowing that anything I said would fall flat. Seeing the annoyed expression on her face, I attempted to shift the conversation, asking the first thing that came to mind, “Why are you soaking wet?”
“Because I fell into a fucking pool of water!” Freya snapped, shaking her head dismissively and causing a spray of droplets to fill the air. “That’s not important right now! Right now, we need to figure out what the hell that thing is, and how we’re going to kill it!”
“It’s a Nafarrian security unit,” I told Freya, wincing as yet another flare of crimson light flashed in the distance, followed by the familiar sound of exploding stone. Based on the sounds of moving feet, it seemed that the Sentinel was moving away from our hiding spot, giving Freya and me a chance to quickly exchange notes. “I made contact with some sort of Nafarrian security system in charge of this place, and it said that it was damaged and non-responsive.”
“Does shooting exploding death beams look non-responsive?!” Freya shouted back before shaking her head and dismissing the question. “Did the security system have any suggestions of how to deal with the stupid thing at least?”
“Nothing helpful,” I answered, drawing Splinter from its sheath. “So, it looks like we’re back to the old tried, tested and true tactic that works when all else fails…”
“…keep hitting it until it stops moving,” Freya finished, her face turning into a grimace. “I don’t know, Lyr, in order to do that we’re going to have to get in close.”
“I don’t see another option here, Freya,” I said impatiently. “Either we risk getting chopped to pieces or turned to ash. Either way, the end result is going to be the same!”
“You’re right,” Freya replied with a sigh, visibly deflating. “With all of you here now we might just stand a chance.”
“Here’s to hoping,” I said dryly, taking a moment to cast Lesser Shielding on myself, hoping that if I did get hit, either by the Sentinel’s beam or its sword, that the slight boost to my armor and spell resistance would make a difference. “Is there anything in here that could help us maybe? I made contact with the security system upstairs…maybe I can do the same here?”
“I don’t think so, Lyr,” Freya shook her head to the negative as she readied her spear, having been holding it in her free hand all this time. “The only thing I’ve seen in here so far were the same two mana crystals you just saw.”
“They look a little worse for wear,” I said, remembering their burnt and scarred appearance.
“Do you think we can use them for something?” Freya queried while twisting in place and peering over the mound of rock that we had taken cover behind.
“In general, yeah, probably,” I answered, hearing the loud crunching steps of the Sentinel slowly grow louder as it made its way around the room. “But for this fight? No clue. Let’s just try and see if we can damage the thing first.”
“Okay,” Freya said, letting out a short breath as she ducked back into cover. “It’s coming this way anyway. Any plan of approach?”
“Give me a few seconds head start,” I told the woman, gripping Splinter’s hilt as I prepared myself to charge the Nafarrian golem. “I’ll hopefully catch his attention and try to dodge one of its blasts while you and any others get in close.”
“Sounds good,” she stated with a nod, meeting my eyes with a grim expression. “See you out there.”
Giving Freya what I hoped was a reassuring grin as I left, I forced myself up onto my feet before I could reconsider the action and rushed around the pile of fused stone that we had been hiding behind, sending a quick mental message to Amaranth.
Shifting my attention away from Amaranth’s mental sigh, I focused my attention back to the Sentinel, seeing it complete its turn, my eyes being drawn towards a glowing light on its chest.
Shaped like a massive breastplate, the first thing that I noticed was that the golem’s midsection was covered in a thick layer of grey, crud-like filth, mixed with visible spots of rust and battle damage. Set into the center of its chest, was a large crystalline sphere that glowed with a faint azure light, pulsing ever so slightly in sync with the Sentinel’s movements, almost as if it were some sort of magical heart.
Drawing my gaze upwards to the construct’s head, I found myself staring into an unrecognizable and partially melted visage, whatever little details that remained obscured by more of the crud-like substance that covered its chest. All that was visible on the Sentinel’s head was a single bright azure-hued eye that glowed brightly on the right side of its misshapen face.
An eye that I couldn’t help but notice was focused solely on me.
Watch the arm carefully, Marc, I told myself as the Sentinel extended the limb forward towards me, letting the tip of the large sword in its other hand drag along the ground. You might only get one shot at this, and you don’t want to catch a face full of whatever exploding magic it’s throwing.
Time slowed down as I continued to rush towards the ancient construct, carefully watching its left hand open, revealing another crystalline sphere set in its palm, this one glowing with a bright crimson energy. With True Sight still active, I saw the energy stored within the crystal rapidly accumulate as the Sentinel readied its attack. Holding my breath as the light intensified, I carefully waited for the moment that signaled that the beam was on its way.
Then I Blink Stepped.
Having decided to pick a spot diagonally away from where I had been standing, I reappeared on the Sentinel’s flank, just outside of its range, planting my foot hard on the ground as I adjusted my approach towards it, the sound of exploding stone barely registering in my ears as I ran. Even with my sudden change in position, I saw the golem’s damaged head already beginning to shift towards me, with the rest of its body following suit a heartbeat behind.
Shit, this thing is fast! I cursed, surprised at the Sentinel’s quick reaction time as the edge of its glowing heart came into view, my eyes fixating on it once more. Wait, maybe I can use this!
Going with the idea that had just fallen into my mind, I snapped my hand out and cast Jump, leaping into the air the moment that I felt my body weight fade with Splinter’s tip thrust out before me. Timing the Sentinel’s turn, I aimed the point of the sword directly at the crystalline sphere centered in its chest.
Landing almost dead center on the crystal, I felt my sword skip along its faceted face, carving a thin line across it and causing several small fragments to break free from the impact. Reacting instinctively as I be
gan to fall back to the ground, I grabbed hold of the depression that the crystal heart was seated in with my free hand, feeling the crud covering the construct’s body squish wetly underneath my fingers. Tightening my grip in an attempt to hold on, I glanced at an entry that had just appeared in my combat log, eager to see just how effective my attack had been.
You hit a [Nafarrian Sentinel] for 23 points of damage!
Well shit! That sucked! I thought bitterly after seeing such a low number despite the direct hit that I had managed to score. But then again, maybe I shouldn’t try and cut a crystal with a sword!
Deciding to try something different while I still had the chance, I pulled myself upwards, hoping to slam the end of Splinter’s hilt into the crystal as hard as I could, with the thought that the heavier and blunter end of the sword would be more effective against the hard crystal. Unfortunately, however, the Sentinel picked that exact moment to violently twist its body, causing my grip to slip free of the crud-covered handhold that I was holding onto and sending me falling to the ground.
Still aided by my Jump spell, I landed effortlessly, silently cursing my missed opportunity while forcing my thoughts to shift into survival mode, knowing deep in my gut that an attack by the Sentinel was only seconds behind. Making a split-second decision, I rushed in even closer to the Nafarrian machine, figuring that the risk of being kicked or stepped on was a much more manageable one to take, especially considering that every other option before me included dodging a massive sword or a magical beam, if not both at the same time. No sooner did I start moving than a metallic crash echoed from behind me as something heavy slammed the ground, no doubt being the very sword I was trying to avoid.
A brutal impact from behind cut off the rest of my thought, followed by an explosion of pain as I felt my feet leave the ground. Gasping for air, I saw everything around me blur as I sailed past one of the Æther Crystals, then landed on the ground in a heap a short distance away from it, a flashing alert in my combat log screaming for my attention.
A [Nafarrian Sentinel] hits you with [Haymaker] for 312 points of damage!
“Ugh,” I groaned, lying on the ground in agony as I tried to twist an arm around to clench at my back where the blow had landed, dimly aware of the fact that I couldn’t move my other arm. “That hurt…”
Lying on the ground wheezing from the blow, I slowly collected myself, forcing myself back into reality as the sound of rushing footsteps caused me to pull my eyes off the ground and look in the direction of the noise. Running towards me at full speed, were both Theia and Zethus with a familiar shambling shadow following the latter lizardman close behind.
“Lyrian!” Theia shouted as she saw me glance up at her. “Are you okay?”
“Got blindsided,” I replied, wincing in pain as I twisted to get a better look at whatever was following Zethus, my eyes widening when I recognized it to be a near identical Revenant to the ones that we had fought at the ruin’s entrance. “Hey, behind you!”
“It’s fine, Lyrian,” Zethus said quickly, seeing where my attention was focused. “I’m controlling it as one of my minions.”
“Oh,” I stated, exhaling sharply as Theia sent a wave of healing energy into my shoulder. “I’ve never seen you do that before.”
“It’s the first time,” Zethus said with a shrug. “I haven’t been able to find any creatures worth raising until now.”
“We can talk about that later!” Theia exclaimed as she continued to mend the muscle and bone that had been damaged in the Sentinel’s attack. “Right now, the others need our help in dealing with the Sentinel!”
“How are they doing?” I asked, unable to see what was happening behind me while lying on my stomach.
“Looks to be touch and go,” Zethus answered nervously. “But at least it’s no longer shooting those beams.”
“It probably won’t, unless there’s no one in melee range,” I theorized as Theia finally finished her work and the last of the pain faded. Pushing myself up off the ground, I stood and turned to look back towards the battle, seeing that it had shifted away from the two Æther Crystals.
In the short time that I had been knocked away from the fight, both parties had managed to emerge out of hiding and were in the process of surrounding the Nafarrian Sentinel, the ranged members of the group immediately letting their spells and arrows fly as the more melee-oriented members rushed to close with the construct.
This looks like some of the raids I’ve run in other games, I thought as I briefly took in the sight, unable to help but notice just how much larger the Sentinel was than the rest of us. But then again, so were the snakes we fought last week.
“Alright,” I stated, bending down to pick up Splinter from where I had dropped it. “Let’s get back to it.”
“We’ll link up with some of the ranged,” Theia told me as we all began to move. “Try not to get hit again!”
“I’ll try,” I told the lizardwoman just before we all split up to go our separate ways, save for Zethus’s minion who remained by my side as I ran to rejoin the fight. “But no promises there!”
Now, how the hell can we bring this thing down? I thought as I turned away from the pair and ran towards the Sentinel, watching a wave of magical fire from one of the spellcasters splash against the golem’s body and bathe it in intense heat. The flames raged for several seconds on the construct’s side, but when they finally vanished I saw that it had only managed to burn off a layer of the filth that had covered the spot earlier, revealing a section of pitted and rusted metal. Damn! What is all that crap it’s covered in?
Grimacing at the sight before me, I came to a stop just outside of melee range a short distance away from the two Æther Crystals as the Sentinel swung its massive sword through the air just in front of me, causing both Freya and Thorne to leap backward towards me in an attempt to move out of the blade’s path.
“Lyrian!” Thorne exclaimed, casting one quick glance in my direction before focusing his attention back onto the Sentinel as it continued to sweep its sword in a circle around its body, forcing everyone clustered around it to either retreat, or take their risks by rushing inside its guard. “We saw you get hit!”
“Theia healed me,” I replied, watching Zethus’s minion recklessly charge towards the golem with single-minded determination, only to get sliced completely in half as it practically ran straight into the Sentinel’s sword, which had come by for a second pass. “How are we doing?”
“Poorly,” Freya grunted, her eyes glancing at Zethus’s dead minion before darting back to the Sentinel as it completed its turn and immediately swung its sword out towards Drace, who was nearly knocked off his feet as he caught the weapon on his new shield and deflected it away from his body. “Right now, we’re going to try and take it down at the knees. I have no idea what that grey stuff that’s growing on it is, but it looks like it’s slowly eating its way through the metal—”
“Heads up!” Thorne barked at Freya and me, urgently motioning towards Lazarus who had leaped inside the Sentinel’s guard and landed a punishing blow to the side of its knee, visibly deforming the filth covered armor surrounding the joint. “Get ready to rush it! Focus on the same spot he just hit!”
As soon as the words were out of Thorne’s mouth, the Sentinel twisted its attention away from Drace and took a large step sideways, bringing its sword down to bear in one smooth motion on the spot Lazarus had just been occupying. I had just enough time to see the half-giant’s head appear as he completed his roll, now behind the turning golem, before Freya and Thorne charged forward.
&n
bsp; “Lyr, let’s go!” Freya shouted, pausing just long enough for Thorne to take the lead before rushing to follow him. “Hit it hard then pass through the other side!”
“Wha-?” The question was half out of my mouth before I shoved it aside and charged after the pair, trusting that they had a better sense of the Sentinel’s tactics than I did at the moment.
Turning its back towards us, the Nafarrian golem twisted as it searched for Lazarus, who continued moving from where I had seen him and was now running back out of melee range on its opposite side. Focused on searching for the elusive half-giant, the Sentinel was caught completely by surprise as Thorne slammed his heavy mace into its knee, targeting the exact same spot that Lazarus had just hit a few seconds earlier.
The loud ring of metal on metal filled the air as the golem’s already weakened armor crumpled and rent apart, revealing a finger-sized hole in the filth-covered metal that protected its knee. With his attack spent, Thorne continued past the construct, slowing only to rush around its leg as he made for the edge of its reach and out of harm’s way.
Less than a second afterward, it was Freya’s turn, her long spear arriving long before her body did, its point driving deep into the wound and widening it as she put her entire weight behind the attack. Once again, metal groaned in protest as her spear touched something delicate housed within the Sentinel’s knee, causing a strange grinding noise to briefly hiss out before she was forced to pull her weapon free and continue onwards on Thorne’s heels.
Then, trailing several steps behind Freya, I finally arrived.
With the hard work already done for me, I didn’t hesitate in thrusting Splinter into the now large gash on the side of the Sentinel’s knee, the blade crackling with a stored Shocking Touch. Passing through the shorn metal with ease, I put all my momentum into the attack, feeling the Æthertouched sword bite into something hard within the construct’s joint. Immediately, the sword jerked in my hand as the same grinding noise that I had heard earlier returned, only this time much louder and vicious. Gripping the now vibrating hilt of my weapon tightly, I discharged the electricity stored within, causing the Sentinel to shudder mid-step as the entire leg seized and its balance shifted precariously.