Touch of Fate

Chapter 74: Crushing the Cataclysm

The idol flashed once, and suddenly the room was filled with the hum of some unseen power. A hum that seemed to steadily grow louder. The white-robed summoner raised his hands in exultation, revealing that his hands were covered in black gloves, and his face was obscured by a faceless white mask.

The adventurers moved swiftly towards the altar while attempting to remain unseen. Their intrusion had gone unnoticed, or at least so it seemed, until a cold voice rang out from the man standing in front of the tattered congregation.

"Welcome, interlopers. You are just in time to see the culmination of decades of work. Tremble in awe at the majesty-"

He was interrupted by a javelin made of hardened stone which impaled him.

Eyes wide with shock, the priest stared down at the weapon, and was able to squeeze out one last gasp before collapsing backwards onto the altar.

"Get them!" An angry voice called from the mass of worshipers, inspiring a howl of rage, as they charged across the cavern in a disorganized mob.

"Look what you did! Now they are furious!" Sera yelled at Mike.

"He started monologuing! You can't expect me to pass up that kind of opportunity! He was basically asking to be killed." Mike replied defensively, as he blocked a blow from one of the cultists before decapitating him with the follow through.

[This isn't as bad as I thought. I wonder if it has something to do with my increased Willpower.]

He had initially expected to have some hesitation when it came to killing other humans, but besides some mild emotional discomfort, it didn't really bother him. He idly wondered if that might be a problem.

"Mike has a point. Stopping to give a speech in the middle of a life or death battle is foolishness." Brenden added while fighting off a trio of the cultists.

He cut down two of them with quick efficient sweeps of his sword, and was about to finish off the last one, when an skeletally thin demon with long, wicked claws launched itself at him from the shadows.

Brenden tried to pull back, but the surprise attack had been too unexpected, and he had yet to regain his balance. Bracing himself for the blow, he was shocked when a spike of earth passed over his right shoulder and skewered the oncoming demon.

"Focus. Surrounded." Tal called from the rear of the formation, already starting another chant.

"Does anyone see the ritual caster?" Mike yeled while killing another of the cultists.

He'd noticed that his sword had a tendency to thrum in apparent pleasure every time it took the life of a human, and he was beginning to get unnerved by it.

"By the portal on the right!" Sera said while pointing.

Mike caught a glimpse of the white, embroidered robe in the distance, but the cultists, and an increasing horde of demons stood in the way. If they continued like this, they'd eventually be overrun.

[Its time for something flashy!]

"I see him. Everyone get back, I'm going to make us a path!"

"Careful. Ritual site." Tal called while pulling in behind him.

"I know." Mike replied while pulling forth a rush of mana. He pushed his left hand down towards the ground, summoning a low wall of water.

Raising his hand, Mike sent the wall more power, causing it to rise to the height of nearly 30 meters.

The cultists and the demons alike had stopped to watch the proceedings. Had it not been for the wall blocking their view, the adventurers might have seen the moment when they realized what was coming, and started running back, trying to seek cover.

Mike thrust his hand forward, and the wall collapsed into a tidal wave that crashed down on the accumulated enemies, crushing them beneath a vast weight of water. The roar of the ocean filled the cavern as the wave pushed through the rock formations to slam into one of the portals, leaving broken bodies in it's wake.

Evidently the wave did something to disrupt the spell that was keeping it open, since as soon as it had passed, the portal closed with a shrieking sound that resembled nails on a chalkboard.

One section of the wave was halted, however, as a wedge made of transparent force popped into existence. It knifed through the water, protecting the white-robed ritual caster.

Once the wave had subsided the wedge vanished leaving its creator to walk forward unscathed. Mike noticed with some disgust, that he hadn't even gotten wet.

The ritual caster spoke with a oily, slippery voice. "Huzan finds your magic sad. Wasteful, wasteful. Huzan thinks you need to stop making magic sad."

[Great, not only is he insane, but he speaks in the third person. This will be an annoying fight.]

Mike used Appraise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Huzan

Race: Human/?

Age: 267

Class: Grand Abyssal Summoner

Tier: 3

Title: The Bridge Between Worlds

--------------

[Is that age a typo? Nevertheless, this guy seems like he'll be tough.]

Mike's instincts were telling him that getting in close was the best way to deal with the enemy. He had a sneaking suspicion that if they ended up in duel of spellcasting, he'd be outmatched.

"Brenden you take the left, I'll take the right. Tal keep an eye on Sera and watch our backs. We'll catch him in a pincer attack." The group jumped into action, as the two sword-wielders broke off and started running through the stalagmites.

Huzan laughed as if he found their ideas quaint. "Huzan thinks you underestimate him. Huzan is never alone. Let Huzan introduce his friends." He simply snapped his fingers and three magic formations appeared on the ground.

Mike had a flash of foreboding as monstrous shapes appeared in each of them.

A demon that looked like a 3m tall man with the head of a bull and wielding a large axe, appeared first.

[Minotaur? Really?]

With a bloodthirsty roar, the creature threw itself at Brenden, not bothering to weave through the rocky terrain, but simply smashing its way though it. The ease with which it managed to do so demonstrated a truly monstrous strength.

Next was a serpentine creature with the upper body of a praying mantis, and the lower body of a snake. With darting, difficult to track movements, it slid in the direction of Tal and Sera.

Mike was about to make a move in their direction, when the third demon launched itself at him. I was a confusing amalgamation of tentacles and fanged maws, it released a strange moaning sound while it attacked.

Somehow the noise got into his head, making it difficult to concentrate, and as a result his responses were dull. A tentacle wrapped around his neck, and dragged him towards one of the ravening mouths. As it did so, more of the tentacles latched on to him.

"Huzan sees that his friend likes you. Huzan hopes you like his friend's stomach."

Gritting his teeth, Mike planted one boot on the creature's body to halt his forward momentum. The moaning noise was making it hard to even think.

An image, or perhaps an idea, entered his mind. He saw himself relaxing and being drawn into the demon's mouth. The sharp, jagged teeth bit down and drew him even deeper. Rather than pain or disgust, the idea left him feeling calm and contented. Maybe he should give in, it would be so much more relaxing to just-

He felt the familiar snap of some internal limitation as he acquired a new skill. Suddenly the creature's moaning just sounded like noise, and he wanted nothing more than to stop it for good.

"Screw you and your friend." Mike growled at the caster while channeling mana. With a downward sweep of his hand, one of the stalactites from the cavern's ceiling detached and plummeted onto the tentacle monster, spearing it to the ground.

"Huzon is surprised. Huzon did not think you could resist the call of the Malmornoth, but your magic is still sad. Huzon thinks you should give up and accept death. Yes, that is the best choice. Huzon sees that your friend already knows this."

There was a thud, Brenden collided with a distant rock formation, shattering it. He struggled to his feet, and had just managed to do so, when a giant foot slammed into his abdomen. The unfortunate beastman was sent flying once more, with the Minotaur demon chasing after.

He looked back to check on the woman, and saw the praying mantis demon beating on an earthen wall, while Tal and Sera sheltered behind it.

[This is bad. I'm not sure how much longer we can last like this.]

He focused his gaze on Huzon. [If I take the summoner out, it should stop the summons, right?]

Mike pulled free of the dying demon and threw himself towards the ritual caster with a blast of Air Magic.

With a yell he brought his sword down on the summoner, or at least he tried. With a quick activation of some magic circle, Huzon slid back a good 5m before shooting into the air.

[Of course he can fly.]

"Huzon thinks it's time to get serious. Let Huzon show you what real magic is like."

The caster began chanting quietly under his breath. Mike couldn't catch the words, but the movement of power in the room made him feel on edge.

With a wave of his hand, he threw a blast of air, hoping to disrupt whatever spell the caster was trying to use. However, Huzon merely lifted a hand and a hemisphere of force appeared completely negating the effect.

With a triumphant note in his voice Huzon announced the completion of his spell. "Eldritch Missile Barrage."

Dozens of magic circles appeared in the air around the summoner, each glowing with with a purple light.

[S***! I'm not going to be able to dodge this.]

Mike started gathering mana to create a defense, already fearing that he was too late.

With a flick of his hand, Huzon activated his spell sending a deadly wave down at Mike, and his every instinct screamed at him to get away.