Soulcatcher

by Sergey Zaytsev

  ''Don't shoot!'' I angrily shouted, noticing that Gramps was ready to repeat her "feat". ''It's too early!''

  Such a mistake could have been fatal for the whole group, and it was very annoying that Red was the one making it. First, the tank must thoroughly "aggro" the thing, and then the group joins in. After the fight, I would have to reprimand her properly. They have all been warned, and we practiced this as we progressed through the dungeon. But still, nerves could betray anyone…

  A quick step towards the boss, and the ''Uniq's'' sharp blade bit into his robe with "Searing Flash". It felt like the steel cut through jelly. Pulling it out, I bounced away. The first attack was successful. "Burning" worked, and the he got enveloped in real smoke. But "The Destroyer" was quick to return the favor. The spacious sleeves of his robes gently flew up, exposing palms made out of translucent, ghostly flesh. Long clawed fingers clenched, gripping the air, and, almost instantly, a hammer of monstrous size appeared in them, as if woven out of the deathly pale light. I barely managed to jump out of the way as the sweeping hammer hit where I had just stood. The impact sent stone shards flying. Like hail, they thudded loudly against the breastplate, and something knocked me down with crazy power; the recoil from the spell extended for several feet.

  My back hit a stalagmite. I forced myself to jump up.

  My ears were ringing.

  Stunned, I looked back, raising the ''Uniq''…

  "The Destroyer" was hovering over me. This time, instead of the hammer, his fingers conjured a scythe, with a long handle and a seven feet long, curved blade. He swung…

  I threw myself on the ground and rolled away. The scythe cut down several stalagmites with an explosive crack. Stone fragments rained upon the ground again. I figured that any attack from the boss could be my last; it was impossible to counter him. All I could do was kite the creature while the others damaged it.

  Grant sent Glutton in for an attack. Speeding, it "rammed" the boss' legs, or whatever was under his robes, from behind. "The Destroyer" instantly turned around, swinging a two-handed sword, but the ''Turtangle'' had already ran away. Such a blow could be the last for him too, and Grant was well aware of it.

  Gradually, the picture of the battle emerged.

  I was constantly on the move, dragging the boss behind me, and sparingly, but regularly hitting him and bouncing away from the swings of ghostly weapons. Hammer, scythe and two-handed sword alternated in the Destroyer's hands to cause a single attack before disappearing. His weapons were materialized spells. But the boss didn't forget about the rest of the party and was regularly forcing them to run from place to place. Several segments of the floor were already on fire and would remain so until the end of the battle, judging by the steady process of burning. This meant that if we didn't interrupt at least a couple of the fucking "Kisses", the entire hall would soon be on fire, leaving no room for maneuvering.

  I sometimes managed to interrupt his casting with the "Windspear", and Gramps followed, dispelling with "Purge" the "Decay's Rage" buff, which "The Destroyer" put on himself during physical attacks and which increased his physical power by 10%. The cleric didn't forget to renew "Heretic's Bane" and "Torture", in order to make the bastard's life harder. Foxy's arrows hit the ghostly figure with enviable regularity, after five ordinary ones came a glowing shot.

  Grant, carefully monitoring the health of each fighter and healing when necessary, tried to hit the enemy during cooldown with "Ravenous Ivy" and "Corrosive Spores". He couldn't avoid attacking, as his combat spell, "Lifegiving Shroud", created a thin, but steady, off-heal aura, which converted a part of the damage dealt to the boss into HP for the allies. Glutton got behind "The Destroyer" and, as soon as he pushed me too hard, immediately rammed him. His sticky spit didn't affect the boss, but the "Ramming Charge" and the "Ultimate Shield" worked perfectly.

  I lost track of time.

  I was spinning, jumping, and hitting. My lungs soon started to burn, and my flushed face was drenched in sweat. Boots, no matter how hard I had tried, breathed their last as there was much less room left to maneuver since the fire was everywhere. I didn't always have the time to run into the stream to extinguish the flames, as several "Kisses", that had landed near the edges, instantly boiled the water and turned into steam. Through this pandemonium, my clanmates, covered in acrid smoke and hot steam, continued to fire their weapons and cast spells. The silhouette of "The Destroyer" was enveloped in flashing blasts and flickering sparks. His health was decreasing frustratingly slowly, but it was decreasing.

  He was at 60%.

  55%...

  ''Get ready!'' I shouted, leaping backward to avoid the "Hammer" and blasting the monster with the "Windspear", interrupting his casting. ''Phase two!''

  Now came the most difficult part.

  As soon as the boss's life was halved, he interrupted his attack and, under the aura of invulnerability, floated to the quartz pedestal.

  ''Don't shoot without orders!'' I shouted, seeing the cleric's belated "Torture" fly towards the boss.

  In the second phase, instead of the main villain, we had to fight his avatars; and we only had a few seconds of respite.

  Which ended as soon as "The Destroyer" reached the pedestal.

  A loud sonic boom shook the hall.

  The figure of the boss split into vague blobs and then faded. Around the circular hall, at an equal distance from each other, appeared nine human sized copies of him. Those copies, ''Shadow Souls'', were more ethereal in appearance than their master. My task was to "aggro" all of them before they pounce at the damage dealers and the healer.

  ''Grant, focus on healing me!''

  ''Got it!''

  One of the ghosts appeared next to me, and I instantly discharged into it the accumulated attack points with an "Ice Squall." Without looking at the result, I pushed on. I first attracted those who were near the archer and the healer and attacked them with the "Flamespear" from one hand, and the "Windspear" from the other. My main goal was to draw attention to myself and away from others. I jumped over the flaming "Kiss" and plunged my sword into the "Shadow Soul" that was already stretching its translucent claws towards Gramps.

  The whole ordeal was like a crazy obstacle race. I spun between the stalagmite fragments, jumped over the burning stone, generously handing out blows and sending "Spears". One eternity later, they were all finally following me. I turned to face the crowd of avatars. I just needed a second to breathe.

  ''On my mark!'' the cry rose from my throat in the form of a hoarse croak. It was devilishly hot in the hall and my mouth was dry. ''Fire!''

  The blade sank into the ghost that floated in front of everyone, and its flesh, already pretty mauled, exploded into ashes. Others immediately grew in size. With the death of each "Soul" the boss lost 5% health, but made all the rest stronger. Once all eight were destroyed, the boss would return to its previous form, and the third, and shortest, phase would begin. It would also be the deadliest one, which is why we had dragged the ''Turtangle'' all the way to here.

  The third phase consisted of three consecutive spells.

  The boss would cast the "Call of the Darkness", and anyone who happened to be at a distance from him, would instantly be pulled in and grinded against an impenetrable shield. Therefore, it was necessary to run close to the boss. The following spell materialized the "Soulcatcher" and "The Destroyer" would choose a victim, usually the player closest to him, and send it into the eternity forever. After a few seconds, "The Destroyer" would self-destruct in a flash of "Bloody Vengeance" which guaranteed to finish off the rest of the players. During those few seconds, we would have to run away as far as possible. If anyone failed to do so, then he would be the victor and not us.

  I took a step to the left, evading the attack of the creature's bony hands, and swung my blade aslant. An arrow, "Torture" and "Corrosive Spores" immediately hit the "Soul''. Without delay, I finished the group attack with an "Ice squall". The ghost turned into a block of ice, and immediately exploded, d
estroyed by the sparkling fragments of Red's energy arrows.

  The explosion took me by surprise, but still I saw the remaining seven enemies grow in size. Suddenly I felt like I was no longer in control of my body. "Obedience" took hold of me, restricting my muscles, and interrupting my breathing. A deathly pale hand lashed out of the nearest creature's sleeve, hitting me in the breastplate with apparent slowness, and casting "Disarm". The blow knocked me off my feet, and the ''Uniq'' flew out of my hand. A crimson veil covered my eyes and my life bar got reduced by one third. I got tossed backwards, and ended up rolling around the bottom of the stream. Suddenly, I found myself wrapped in flames. The water on my clothes evaporated and started to steam.

  But the beast's joy was short lived.

  "Nature's Purification" poured into my body through the refreshing stream, followed by the "Lifebloom"; my mobility instantly returned. I rolled back, splashing through the stream, and, once I finally jumped up, saw a ghostly hand rush towards my face again. Again I lunged and rolled and, taking advantage of a second of respite, frantically searched the bottom of the stream. Where was that bloody sword..?

  "Shine!" I commanded.

  There was a lot of fire, steam and smoke and the ''Uniq'' was nowhere to be seen.

  Glutton trampled the ''Souls'', scattering the most stubborn ones with the "Ramming Charge", significantly reducing their health with the edges of its sharp shell. The creatures were quick to return the favor, hitting it from all sides with their ghostly hands. Bone dust flew from the shell. Apparently, "Ultimate Shield" hadn't had the time to reload. The seriously injured pet had to escape in a hurry, but it had done a good job of diverting attention. We couldn't allow it to get near the enemies until the final stage; otherwise we would be left without our ''punching bag''.

  But the creatures returned, and I had to retreat. I remembered Cavalier saying that one shouldn't touch them with their bare hands, else they would immediately lose a limb.

  I will never forget what happened next. Tinnie flew through the crowd of "Shadow Souls", which was being tormented by flashes of combat spells. The fairy's naked body glew like a miniature sun, her face burning with inspiration and golden hair fluttering behind her like a wedding veil. A continuous stream of shimmering sparkles fell from her hair and spread around in a wave, mesmerizing the ''Souls'', who no longer noticed enemy attacks.

  So that was the ''Enchantress''!

  A moment like this should not be missed, and although I still couldn't see my sword, I had a different weapon.

  ''My target!''

  I hit with ''Flamespear'', and exhausted all of my mana. I grabbed my dagger and stabbed the nearest creature in the back. With a reddish glow, "Torture" covered "The Destroyer's" avatar, and one of the shining arrows, multiplied by "Split Shot", pierced the void under the hood. The creature crumbled to dust. I cut the next one; the sharp blade plunged into the jelly like flesh with some difficulty. Another ''Soul'' abandoned its incarnation. The remaining five, still motionless and staring at Tinnie, were already above six feet tall.

  I marked the target, and we hit it together; thorny branches of the "Ravenous Ivy" grew through the flesh of the enemy, "Heretic's Bane" hit with ticking flashes of cleansing light, and two consecutive arrows pierced the chest and neck. Dust settled in the air.

  Four…

  I was starting to fizzle out, but I rushed to the next one. The dagger pierced the "Soul's" side, waking it up from its trance. It jerked and sharply turned, tearing the dagger out of my hand; the weapon remained stuck in the ghostly flesh. The creature waved its bony hand and, with a terrible blow, extinguished the fairy. Only a cloud of glowing dust hovering in the air remained of her.

  I couldn't hear myself scream, but I could feel the rage boiling inside.

  All four of the "Souls" turned toward me and attacked, throwing forward their bony limbs. Jumping away, I stumbled onto something hidden under the water. My sword! I picked it up and barely had enough time to evade another attack. The wet handle of the ''Uniq'' was slipping in my hand. A short roll, a jump to the side, and a hit, which the creature casually parried with its bony hand. It kept approaching.

  A glowing shot finished off another "Soul" and the remaining one grew to eight feet.

  Curses…

  However, the stronger they got, the slower they became, and I needed to use that.

  I had to run to recover some stamina and destroy them one by one.

  ''I'm out!'' Red shouted, tossing her bow and snatching the dagger. ''No more arrows! I can-…''

  ''Don't get involved!'' Grant restrained her. ''We'll manage!''

  ''I'll go search!''

  Not listening anymore, the girl ran between the fiery tongues of the "Kisses", carefully inspecting the floor. Perhaps she could find something among the smoke and fire, while the remaining ghosts were busy with me.

  Grant's spells didn't heal instantly, but they stopped the bleeding and closed the wounds. Overall, the level of damage still gradually increased, and was approaching the critical mark. No matter how hard I tried, my movements slowed down. The sword seemed heavier, and my steps became shorter. The three mighty enemies pursuing me were determined to grind me into dust the first chance they get.

  I was trying not to give them that chance.

  We only had two out of three left to destroy. Once they were dead, my role as a "tank" would be over.

  Grant threw Glutton into the fight again. In my opinion, the risk was unneeded, but help was greatly appreciated. The rainbow flash of the "Ultimate Shield" was followed by a sped-up blow of the ''Turtangle's'' massive body. Avatars scattered like pins in a bowling alley. A bowling alley? Where were these memories coming from? With a hoarse cry, I thrusted my blade somewhere in the area of the creature's solar plexus. I didn't know where exactly I had hit it, but the ''Assassin's Gambit'' worked. I landed the rare, but fatal, blow. The air exploded with intangible ashes. There were only two left. Both "Souls", equally yearning for my blood, came at me.

  ''I'm all out,'' growled Gramps, gripping the hammer, and ran to help me. The cleric was, after all, powerful in hand-to-hand combat, too. But he was far away, and he had to go around the scattered "Kisses" and avoid falling into the fire. I knew exactly what was going to happen.

  ''Grant, send Glutton to the center!'' I jumped back from a lunge, slashing the outstretched hands with the ''Uniq'', severing a couple of fingers. ''Everybody!'' I managed to evade the razor-sharp claws that ripped through the air right near my face. ''Fight back as you can! Now-…''

  I made a mistake.

  Not noticing the obstacles, I stumbled over a stalagmite. The two "Souls" immediately blocked me from both sides. There was nowhere to run, but I was still trying to deflect at least some of the blows. Pain pierced my hands, twisted my wrists, and knocked the sword out of my hands again. Glittering in the light, it soared high to the dome and fell onto a steep arc. The goddamn "Disarm" had worked. Fingers of the half dead "Soul" pierced the breastplate, and the wild onslaught forcefully pressed me against the limestone, making my bones crack. The pain was overwhelming. The world before my eyes quickly turned black, erasing the ghosts, the fire boiling over the entire surface of the room, and the brightness of the ''Source''.

  As if through water, I heard Gramps' raging cry, his hammer crashing into the side of the "Soul", knocking it to the side. The second creature immediately knocked the imprudent cleric down. Dropping the hammer, he rolled on the burning floor, screaming. An arrow was sticking from the back of the wounded beast. Seems that Foxy managed to find some, after all. The soul was still alive, though its life bar burned with blue flame. Mere seconds separated me from death. I had no weapons, no mana, and no stamina. All I could do was hit it with my fist, but touching it was impossible.

  Grant helped in time; "Nature's touch" ran through my body with an invigorating shiver.

  In desperation, I pulled from my belt the only thing I had – the "Nine-tailed Grapnel". Leaping up, I lashed across the head o
f the enemy. Nine "tails", with sharp metal tips, latched onto the garment and tore off the hood.

  Both the creature and I froze in amazement. There was nothing under the hood but deathly, glowing eyes burning in the void, which got pierced by Red's arrow. Although the arrow crumbled to dust, it still finished off the creature.

  Dust was still floating in the air and falling to our feet, when the last "Soul" turned around and ran away, instantly losing interest in us. Truth be told, it was not a "Soul" – it was "The Destroyer" himself, who had returned to his former size and floated to the pedestal with 5% of life remaining.

  He was invulnerable again.

  Time for the last phase.

  ''Everyone, to the center!''

  Hot air was tearing my sore throat. I jumped over the edges of the touching fiery circles with some difficulty. To the right, limping, hurried the cleric. Grant and Glutton were already standing next to the pedestal. "The Destroyer" was not paying any attention to them. The boss was already on the rising, completing the spell that could not be interrupted – the "Call of the Darkness".

  The girl's flexible figure flashed by, her boots splashing the stream.

  It looked like I was the only one late.

  A heavy rumble permeated the space of the hall. The radiance of the ''Source'' began to fade. I had some ten feet or so left to go, when the invisible hand forcefully picked me up and threw me towards "The Destroyer". I somehow managed to turn mid-air and outstretch my arms forward; my palms collided with the magic shield, ghostly blazing around the figure of the boss. Stunned by pain, I fell down. I had no time to check the severity of my injuries. I needed to run away.

  The blast of the "Bloody Vengeance" was coming. I kept running and stumbling.

  And then came THE HIT.

  Attention! Quest "Force Against Force" complete.

  All members of the party receive 10,000 XP. Enter the portal to return to the entry point.

  Received an achievement: "Sped up by the Fight"