by Seth Ring
Annoyed, Mina flicked her wand again, a short chant spilling from her lips. The three rotating ice orbs above her shivered and then lined up above her head. Spinning quickly, the frost aura that streamed from the ice orbs gathered together, forming a spinning [Ice Spear] floating above her head. Another flick of her wand and the [Ice Spear] shot forward toward the chest of one of the enraged Orcs. This time the glowing crimson aura failed to blunt the attack, forcing the Orc to lift his axe to deflect it.
“Ranged attackers, engage!”
Not bothering to use the private channel, Thorn’s deep voice carried easily over the din of the battle. Reacting as soon as they heard his voice, the Titan Squad’s ranged players began to throw their attacks toward the Orcs in front of them. Reacting just as quickly, the Orcs raised their weapons, doing their best to block the attacks that peppered them. Relying on the rage aura that surrounded them and their muscular bodies, they simply endured the attacks that they could not block, doing their best to power through.
Swatting aside a frost covered arrow, the largest Orc roared a challenge at Thorn and lifted his axe high into the air when the ground suddenly sank under his foot and he tumbled forward, the charging Orcs behind him falling into the hole that had abruptly appeared. While the ranged attackers had thrown out their attacks, Thorn had spread his [Spiritual Sense] forward, seizing the earth element in the ground under the charging Orc’s feet and pulling it downward, causing the earth in front of them to become soft.
Caught off guard, the front row of Orcs tripped, half falling as they tried to catch themselves. Though they did not fall completely thanks to their powerful athletic ability, the Orcs were forced to slow their charge as they piled up. Taking advantage of the confusion, Thorn gave the command for the Titan Squad to engage, and all around him the tanks used their charge abilities.
[Shadow Dash]
His form blurring, Thorn launched himself over the hole that he had created and into the midst of the Orcs’ disrupted line, appearing in a burst of shadow even as SoulSeeker and Athena broke into the Orc’s formation. Arriving next to an Orc in the middle of the group, Thorn reached out, his large fingers wrapping around the surprised Orc’s throat. Razor sharp claws sliced through the Orc’s skin, sending blood flying as Thorn squeezed. With no space to swing his tetsubo, Thorn relied on his razor sharp claws to rip through the Orcs surrounding him.
It took a moment for the Orcs to realize what was happening, and by the time they did three more of their members had fallen to Thorn’s claws. Counter to his expectation, the enemies who surrounded him did not back off, and instead, driven into an even greater fury by the blood of their companions, they attacked Thorn fiercely. Accepting their attacks, Thorn relied on his thick armor for defense, gouging and kicking any enemy that got close.
A widening circle of bodies began to form around him as he fought, each of his blows laying out an Orc. Catching an incoming scimitar, Thorn snapped it in half while delivering a backhanded slash to the Orc wielding it. Formed into a blade, his hand sliced through the Orc’s chest with ease, his [Quicksilver Claws] granting his metal gauntlets supernatural sharpness.
Jerking backward, the Orc fell to the ground, blood streaming from the nasty gash on his chest. Showing no hesitation, Thorn stomped forward, his heavy metal boot falling on the Orc’s prone form. Expecting to feel the resistance of the Orc’s hard bones, Thorn felt nothing at all as his foot slammed down into the dirt. Surprised, he glanced down, and saw that the Orc had managed to roll out of the way. About to go after the injured Orc, Thorn felt a sense of acute danger from his side.
Out of the swirling melee the large blade of an axe slashed toward Thorn’s ribs, forcing him to summon his tetsubo to block. The huge Orc behind the attack was still a head shorter than Thorn but the power in his arm was obvious from the sheer speed of his slash. Even with the hyper awareness from his [Spiritual Sense], Thorn was barely able to get his weapon out in time. With his body already tilted forward to chase down the Orc he had just injured, the force of the axe attack sent him stumbling.
Rather than try to catch himself, Thorn threw his weight behind his fall to try and escape the next attack that he knew was coming. Tucking his shoulder, he rolled over, his massive body smashing into an unfortunate Orc who was nearly crushed under his weight. Stabbing his hand down to finish the job, Thorn came up into a crouch. His [Spiritual Sense] spread around him, alerting him that another axe attack was about to reach his back. Spinning on his heels, he leaned forward, his tetsubo across his chest.
*DIIIIIIIINNNNGG*
The sound of the axe blade and the tetsubo meeting rang like a bell across Twin Bay. This time, Thorn had been ready for the attack and his body did not move even an inch, stopping the large Orc in place. Grinning under his helmet, Thorn surged into action.
[Wolf’s Rage]
Wielding his weapon with one hand, Thorn used it like a sword, stabbing forward with the spiked end of his tetsubo. Caught off guard with how fast Thorn was moving, the big Orc barely got far enough out of the way of Thorn’s thrust to avoid losing his head. A large crimson cut appeared on his cheek, only adding to his savage look. Backpedaling, he tried to create some space, but Thorn simply took a half step forward and flicked his wrist, sending his tetsubo into the big Orc’s shoulder with bone crunching force.
Releasing a roar of pain, the big Orc forgot all about trying to escape and launched himself at Thorn with abandon. Lifting his large axe over his head, he intended to slash Thorn in half, but before he managed to bring the axe down Thorn had taken another step forward, his lowered shoulder slamming into the Orc’s chest. Thorn’s body check knocked the air out of the big Orc and lifted him into the air. Unfortunately for the Orc, Thorn’s other hand reached out and grabbed his leg.
Spinning around, Thorn flailed at the surrounding Orcs with the large Orc tightly gripped in his hand. After battering everyone around him away, Thorn turned in another circle and launched the big Orc at one of the mostly finished stone buildings. The resulting explosion of wood, stone, and mortar as the second floor of the building collapsed peppered the Orcs with debris, managing to shock most of them out of their rage.
Not wanting to waste even a second of [Wolf’s Rage], Thorn charged into the Orc lines, continuing to disrupt them. All around him, the members of the Titan Squad who had accompanied him joined in, and soon the path to the still chanting Shaman was clear.
“Stop his chant!” Thorn roared; his burning eyes fixed on the Shaman.
The few Orcs who surrounded the Shaman gulped at the sight of nearly 100 players charging at them, but they still lined up to block the way. These Orcs were armed with axes and small metal shields, and their bodies, while still largely bare, had pieces of armor strapped here and there. Even as he charged forward, Thorn could not help but appreciate the level of training that these Orcs showed. Far from a mindless group of savages, the Shaman’s guards concentrated their defense wherever Thorn seemed to be going.
“I’ll break the line; you take down the Shaman!”
“Got it!” Mina replied, staying just a step behind Thorn.
As Thorn came within reach of the Orc guards, the two Orcs directly in front of him darted forward, using a shield bash to stop his charge in place. Despite being knocked back by the force of the impact, they still managed to halt him in place. As more Orcs tried to move forward to engage him, Athena and SoulSeeker intercepted them, guarding Thorn’s right and left sides. Behind him, Mina cast [Ice Pillar], focusing it under her own feet.
Rising into the air on the top of the growing pillar of ice, Mina opened her mouth, uttering an arcane command as she pointed her wand at the dancing Shaman. The three ice orbs spinning around her head shot out in front of her, forming a slowly rotating triangle. As each orb rotated it released a constant barrage of razor sharp shards of ice that shot down at the Shaman.
Just as it looked like the magical attack was going to skewer the Shaman, a red and gold flecked shield of ene
rgy appeared between the ice spikes and the Shaman. With the sound of breaking glass the ice spikes shattered one after another, not even causing the shield to ripple. Pausing his chant long enough to cackle gleefully, the Shaman lifted his staff and rattled the head. Thick, noxious red smoke began to pour from the eyes of the skull, rapidly filling the area with a disgusting smell.
“Ahahaha, your filthy magic will not work on me, witch!” Showing a mouth full of rotting teeth, the Orc Shaman grinned at Mina. “The holy sun empowers me and it protects me from your pitiful powers! Ahahaha! I shall summon the sun and it shall burn all unbelievers to the ground!”
“Shut it, wacko.”
Her eyes narrowing, Mina began to speak rapidly. The arcane words spilling from her lips hung in the air, formed from icy energy that cracked as it encountered the air. Dark clouds began to form at a rapid rate, pelting the area around the Shaman with freezing rain. Another flick of her wand summoned a swirling wind that turned the heavy, half-frozen raindrops into razor sharp blades that spun into a cyclone.
Once again, the red and gold shield appeared around the Shaman. Each swirling drop that hit the shield produced a high pitched *ting*, as if it had been shattered, before disappearing. No matter how the cyclone spun, the shield protected the Shaman completely. It was only after the storm dissipated that the red and gold shield finally faded away.
Still cackling, the Shaman aimed his staff at the Orcs around him, surrounding them with trails of smoke that began to burrow into the Orcs’ eyes and mouths. As the Titan Squad watched, the Orcs who ingested the smoke began to grow, pulsing red veins squirming under their skin as their bodies began to swell. Frowning, Mina flicked her wand, casting [Sub Zero] on the Shaman to try and disrupt him, only to see the red and gold shield shimmer into place again, completely blocking the effect of the stun spell. Unwilling to give up, Mina summoned a thick ice spear and launched it at the Shaman, only to pale when it shattered as easily as the ice spikes had moments before.
“Thorn, I think that’s a spell immunity shield. I won’t be able to take him down!”
His eyes narrowed, Thorn glanced at the shielded Orc Shaman, his mind spinning with ideas as he tried to come up with the fastest way to bring the Shaman down. The Orc guards in between them were growing into hulking monstrosities and Thorn could not help but think they would be taller than him before they were done growing.
“Tanks, fill my gap. I’ll take him down.” Athena’s crisp voice jerked Thorn from his thoughts.
Before he could respond, Athena had darted forward, leaving Thorn no option but to step into the gap to prevent the line from being broken. As the other Titan Squad tanks filled in, he could see Athena weaving her way through the Orc lines, getting closer and closer to the Shaman.
[Last Blossom of Fall]
Spinning and dancing like a falling leaf blown by an autumn wind, Athena drifted between the Orc guards. Sometimes she moved to the left or right, or even stepped rapidly back. Despite her erratic movement, she got closer and closer to the Shaman with each moment, leaving the bewildered Orc guards behind her. Finally, only a single Orc stood between her and the Shaman, a hulking brute of a guard whose eyes glowed red from the smoke that he had inhaled.
Completely calm, Athena lifted her shield and advanced rapidly. With a deafening roar, the Orc lifted his axe to strike down at Athena’s head, bringing it down as he blocked her path with his shield. Taking a quick step, Athena abruptly dashed forward diagonally, her shield only an inch from the Orc’s. Seeing her get so close, the Orc grinned in triumph and bashed out with his shield, intending to knock her back. Despite how close they were, the Orc felt no impact, causing no small amount of confusion.
When he looked down from his great height he could see that his shield was now only half an inch from Athena’s, yet no matter how he moved, he could not seem to close that distance. Floating back as the Orc extended his arm, Athena maintained that sliver of air between them, never letting the shields meet, even as the air that his shield bash had moved swirled around her. Once the momentum of the Orc’s shield bash had been emptied the Orc who was completely confused started to step forward. It was then that Athena made her move.
Chapter Forty-Three
With her shield only half an inch from the surprised Orc guard’s shield, Athena started to draw away as he stepped forward, maintaining the distance with astounding precision. Bringing the hilt of her sword to her waist, she abruptly moved her shield to the side and stabbed forward, the tip of her sword heading straight for the Orc fighter’s small shield. Just as those watching thought that her sword would bounce off the Orc’s shield, he twisted it to the side, following the trajectory of Athena’s shield, as if the shields were tied together.
The silvery blade slipped past the edge of the shield and angled up, sliding neatly into the large Orc’s throat. As quickly as it came, the sword retreated as Athena spun away, leaving the Orc to clasp futilely at his throat as he fell to his knees. As the blood dripped down onto his chest, the Orc guard knew that his life was ending and reached out desperately for Athena’s back. Neatly sidestepping his outstretched hand, Athena continued her rush toward the Shaman, her expression focused.
Seeing that Athena was only a hundred feet away and closing quickly, the Shaman sneered. He lifted his staff and murmured a guttural phrase as he shook the skull on the end. The skull’s two eyes that had been spewing the foul smelling red smoke glowed intensely for a moment and then the skull’s mouth let out a cackle of its own. The screeching laughter rang across the battlefield, causing everyone who heard it to wince in pain. With the staff directly in front of her, Athena bore the brunt of the attack. Staggering slightly, she nevertheless continued her charge toward the Shaman.
Perturbed that his attack did not stop her, the Shaman reached into a pouch at his waist. Pulling out a handful of small glittering stones, he threw them up into the air. As the pebbles rose, the thick red smoke swirled around them in thin tendrils that looked like squirming snakes. When the pebbles reached the apex of their rise, the Shaman screamed out a command and the smoke around the pebbles began to swirl even faster. Thin cords of smoke combined, growing thicker and thicker as they linked the glowing pebbles together.
All of the smoke that had not already been absorbed into the Orc guards rapidly gathered, twisting into a huge humanoid shape that plunged down to the ground, landing with an earth shaking thump halfway between the Orc Shaman and Athena. Rising to its full height, the four meter tall smoke elemental lifted its arms into the air, as if it was letting out a silent scream. Towering over the entire battlefield, the smoke elemental took a ponderous step forward, leaving a corroded pit where it had just been standing. Reaching out, the smoke elemental rested its hand on one of the half-finished buildings as it took another step. Within moments, the stone wall had begun to crumble as the red smoke corroded it away.
“Athena!”
Worried about his aunt, Thorn was about to activate [Predator’s Leap] when her calm voice came through the chat, dousing the raging anxiousness that was running through his veins.
“Calm down, kid. I’ve been doing this for longer than you’ve been alive.”
Still charging forward, Athena appeared completely calm, her eyes fixed on the cackling Shaman who had planted his staff in front of him. The glowing eyes of the staff had returned to spewing red smoke into the air, but this time it was feeding directly into the smoke elemental who seemed to be growing by the second. The Shaman used his other hand to caress a rough amulet that he wore on his chest. Formed from a dark stone, the misshapen amulet had the shape of a crudely carved sun. As the Shaman stroked it, a faint red glow awoke inside, slowly growing in intensity.
Now only ten feet from Athena, the smoke elemental raised one of its massive arms, bringing it down on her head with descriptive slowness. Even though it appeared to be moving at a snail’s pace, Thorn could tell how fierce the attack was even from a distance. Seeing Athena standing in the smoke elemen
tal’s way worried him and he had to once again suppress the urge to run to her rescue. Swallowing, Thorn forced himself to focus on his task, trusting her words that she would be okay. Blocking an attack aimed at SoulSeeker, he swung his tetsubo around in a wide arc, clipping two Orc Guards who were sent spinning.
As the giant fist of the smoke elemental fell toward her head, Athena brought her sword up to her chest. The pommel of her sword, which held five petal shaped gems, began to light up, casting a rainbow glow over her armor. The green gem was the first to light up, the gentle light spilling out of it and filling Athena’s surroundings. Within an instant, it had formed the shape of an ethereal flower bud around her.
Thorn watched anxiously as the smoke elemental’s fist slammed down on the top of the green bud, enveloping it in a thick blanket of red smoke. Inside the green bud, Athena slung her shield onto her back and gripped her sword with both hands. Lifting it up until the hilt was in line with her eyes, she breathed out and closed her eyes, ignoring the corrosion appearing at the edges of the green bud that surrounded her.
A soft red and yellow light began to shine on Athena’s face as the two red and yellow gems on her sword’s pommel lit up. The light shimmered and spread from her, flowing down to her feet where a red and yellow halo rotated around her. All across the battlefield, the Titan Squad players who had accompanied Thorn to go after the Shaman felt a slight tug and the red and yellow petals that spun around them detached suddenly.
Like a stream of flowers being dragged down a drain, the slightly jagged red petals and the sharp, smooth yellow petals flowed toward the green bud that was surrounded by smoke. Flying through the air, they disappeared into the smoke elemental’s arm, sinking through the translucent green bud and fixing themselves to the halos at Athena’s feet. The more petals that connected to the halo, the faster it spun until, with the final petal, it was nothing but a blur. Athena’s eyes snapped open, seeming to fix themselves on the Shaman despite the fact that she could not see him.