Serzax shot him a grin. “Depends on which universe you are from.”
Guy kept his eyebrow raised. “Universe?”
“The multiverse, my friend,” Serzax said. “There are different, parallel universes, alternate realities. In some universes, humans did not escape the disaster. Others, Earth is still normal, while in other realities Earth suffered the same fate stated in the legends.”
Serzax was either extremely drunk or crazy. Or both. Guy continued to smile, nod, and humor Serzax and play along as if he agreed, just in case. The last thing Guy wanted was a drunk and crazy Mage to rage at him.
“What was the disaster?” Guy asked, not that he cared for the answer.
“The great cosmic burn,” Serzax said. “Ancient enemies from another universe struck Earth in a surprise attack to prevent a prophecy from unfolding.”
Ah, the ancient prophecy. So cliché. “And that is?”
“That humanity will be the ancient ones’ undoing. The ancient ones sought to preserve themselves by striking first and the sentinels were unable to save Earth in time.”
Guy gasped suddenly.
Sentinels, not many land-dwellers are supposed to know about them. Or did that much change during the month it took us to come to Alfheimr? Guy paid closer attention, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Serzax continued; his voice sounded less and less drunk. “And so, the sentinels guard the Asteria galaxy, preventing the ancient ones from following the survivors of Earth. One day, I will open a path to Earth, find it, and give back what they took from humanity. The key to absolute control over the universe.”
“Control of the universe? That’s what you can find on Earth?”
“Yes. The corruption is merely trying to recreate rules from a source of entertainment that originated on Earth.”
He must be referring to that RPG rule book I found in Henrietta’s library. Some game called Sword of Asteria, I think. I haven’t had the chance to finish reading the whole rule book. And if Arn and the Seraphim burn up in the planet’s atmosphere, I may never. Man, I wish I brought the book with me.
Guy was confident that an AI, possibly the White Dragon, read the rule book and tried to make its rules, mechanics, monsters, dungeons, and whatnot a reality.
“The corruption started on Earth,” Serzax said. “This, I am sure of. It is changing the rules of the universe. Humans were powerful before the ancient ones took that power away. And I intend to return Earth to its rightful owners and restore balance to our imbalanced new reality.”
Guy had an important question to ask Serzax. “You still drunk, right?”
Serzax laughed and sat back. “Yeah, a bit.”
“I figured so,” Guy said, then sighed in relief. I guess Serzax was just spitting hot air. Though, the sentinel bit is still concerning. He knew about them. Then again, people from Faeheim knew about the sentinels. Maybe word of that had reached Serzax’s ears? Yeah, that has to be it.
Guy hoped that was the case. Otherwise, he had a lot of new stuff to consider, and some of it made sense in a very creepy way. The word “sentinel” meant “guardian,” and according to Serzax, the sentinels were guarding the Asteria galaxy against some threat that destroyed the mythical planet of Earth. And the sentinels tried and failed to defend Earth from the attack, too.
If what Serzax said was true, it would make the sentinels good people, and anyone who fought them, bad.
Guy looked at his hand. The one that he used to swing Asteria’s Sword and kill a sentinel. Am I the villain in all this? No way, man. Serzax said he’s drunk. That stuff was bullshit. “Cool story, bro,” Guy said after a pause. “Look, Serzax, you seem like a friendly person. Don’t worry about fairytales and mythical planets. The corruption is crazy dangerous and making life miserable for people. If I were you, I’d just lie low and wait for this to blow over while other people handle the problem. Find a nice girl, settle down, and have kids.”
“I did that already,” Serzax snorted and faced the ground he sat on.
“Oh? Sweet. Then why are you stressing about this, dude?”
“They are dead.”
“Shit. Sorry, man.”
Serzax released a depressing sigh. “Someone killed my son.”
“Damn,” Guy said in a comforting tone. “I hope you find the son of a bitch that did him in.”
“As do I,” Serzax said. “My son’s killer denied me the opportunity to have his soul crystal.”
“That’s a dick move; I’ll tell you what!”
Serzax laughed and looked at Guy, squinting his eyes with an inviting grin. “I like you, boy.” Serzax leaned closer. “What class are you? The blind effect from the bright flash still blurs my vision.”
“Your vision will return in a minute,” Guy said. “I don’t think you got the full brunt of it. To answer your question, though . . . I’m a Paladin—”
“What?!”
“Yep, my uncle Matthew gave me some strange sword,” Guy said and thumbed backward at Asteria’s Sword on his back. “When my uncle gave it to me, I was thinking to myself like, why, man? We’re star-dwellers; we got lasers, ‘n’ shit. We don’t need some stupid sword. But right after I touched it, it gave me these powers.”
Serzax found the willpower to stand up straight, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. He went from chill to pissed real quick.
“You!” Serzax roared. “I found you!”
Guy stood and backed away, holding his hands out to Serzax in a calm-the-fuck-down gesture. “Whoa, dude? What’s wrong?”
“I should have known it was you!”
“Oh, are you mad about that harem I tried to make on Torphin III?” Guy asked him, still ambling backward and panicked. “If so, nothing ended up happening, man!”
“No,” Serzax stepped toward Guy. “It is not that.”
“The harem I tried to make on Vacridos, perhaps? Oh, wait, you think I knocked up your daughter? Dude, I’m still a virgin.”
“I had a son!”
“Yes! That’s right, you did. Well, I totally didn’t knock up your son.”
“Of course not! He was a man!”
“Yes! That’s right too!—”
Serzax grabbed Guy by his collar.
The Mage tried to pull him closer but lacked the strength. Instead, Serzax leaned closer to snarl his rage at Guy.
And Guy did not know what he did to piss him off.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Guy asked.
Serzax revealed what his problem was.
“My son’s name was Wylume.”
Wylume.
“Oh.” Silence fell between the two men. “I see. Now I understand why you looked so familiar.”
“You murdered my boy,” Serzax sneered.
“Your boy was a fucking murderer and deserved what he got!”
Guy shoved Serzax back, and the black-cloaked Mage went down on his ass. Their cheerful attitude had just been set on fire with mutual hatred.
And Guy just tried to put out that fire by pouring gasoline over it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Serzax must have sobered up a bit during the chat because he was able to stand up again with no wobbling, reach and grab his casting tome on his first attempt. He opened the book, and its pages flipped on their own as a casting circle twirled below Serzax’s feet. Astral winds blew and scattered the ends of the Mage’s black cloak. He was casting a spell, and Guy just stood there.
Guy jumped to the left as Serzax cast Dark Orb, a dark purple ball of darkness that exploded and inflicted massive damage. Guy came up from his evasive escape, wincing that he lost almost 400 HP from Dark Orb. He brought a glow of white light to his hands and touched his wounds with Lay on Hands to recover what HP he could. Serzax shifted his gaze to the left, then right, trying to locate where Guy had leaped to. He was still partially blind. This was Guy’s chance.
No point in using Blinding Flash just yet. I’ll save my MP for Lay on Hands for now, then blind him when hi
s vision returns.
Guy raced to Serzax with Asteria’s Sword drawn and ready for an upward swing—
Bam.
Dark elemental magic struck Guy in the face, knocked him on his ass, giving Serzax the space to leap back, and fumble for his tome. It didn’t matter where Guy stood. Serzax could cast a spell and hit him. The Mage was surprisingly good for a blind man.
Serzax’s most hard-hitting spells saw him hurl black and purple orbs at Guy. They kind of reminded Guy of Zuran’s Fireballs and hit as hard, maybe even harder. As a Paladin, Guy took extra damage from dark elemental magic. Guy kept mobile and watched closely as Serzax’s burned eyes struggled to consult his tome. Serzax cast another volley of Dark Orbs and sent them hurling forward. Guy leaped to escape from the balls of dark energy. They exploded with a weird noise when they touched the structures behind.
Guy worried what would happen when Serzax got his eyesight back.
Serzax laughed and cast a buff on him. Guy wasn’t sure what it was at first, just that it looked like Serzax stood within a black cloud—
Bam.
Serzax’s next spell brought down a pillar of darkness onto Guy, and he didn’t even need to stand idle to cast it. He stared at Guy, long enough for him to see that Serzax recovered from the Blinding Flash.
Serzax cast spell after spell, almost instantly. Whatever the buff did, it reduced his spell casting time. It was impossible to guess what Serzax was going to hit Guy with. Dark Orb, the single target Dark spell to send down a pillar of darkness onto him? Guy couldn’t stand up to him. He had to turn around and escape from the madness, only stopping to cast Lay on Hands to top up his HP until his MP hit 98. Blinding Flash required 75 MP. He needed to conserve what MP he had left. Guy had to rely on his HP hyposprays. He was glad the kingdom dumped a lot of their spare hyposprays into his inventory. He was pissed that he gave all the MP sprays to Rachael.
The onslaught of dark magic stopped. Serzax’s buff faded, and probably his pool of MP too. Why else would the man pull out an MP potion? This was Guy’s chance. He held Asteria’s Sword and made the diving charge to the Mage drinking his blue drink.
Mages are fucking weak physically. It shouldn’t take much to end him. I just need to cut into him before he starts casting!
Guy put his plan in motion and thrust Asteria’s Sword into Serzax’s chest.
Gotcha now! Tempeste couldn’t cast her spells when I went all out. The same should apply.
Guy sliced into Serzax, lacerating the Mage’s bare chest with each stroke. Serzax cast no spells during Guy’s offensive maneuvers. How could he when each slash interrupted his casting? Guy checked his battle progress.
Serzax | HP: 53%
He was winning.
Serzax screamed, held his casting tome with one hand, and ran. Guy chased him. He couldn’t afford to let Serzax get far away. He’d just start casting again. Serzax stopped to use an ability Guy wasn’t expecting, Fortification. Guy knew it was Fortification because of how the astral energy swirled to put a protective barrier around Serzax, and Guy did a lot less damage to Serzax when Asteria’s Sword connected with the Mage’s skin. Serzax used a Paladin skill.
But how? Is his subclass a Paladin too? No, his subclass must be Nox Knight. Wylume was a Nox Knight, so why wouldn’t his father be one as well?
A grin spread on Guy’s face. Nox Knights were vulnerable to light-based magic. Serzax inherited all the strengths and weaknesses from Nox Knight because he used it as a subclass, which included its vulnerability to the light.
Guy discovered his opponent’s weakness. He’d exploit it if Serzax didn’t get off his spellcasting speed buff. Guy backed off and ran as Serzax unleashed his explosive display of dark elemental sorcery. Ghostly balls made of black and purple energy soared to Guy’s left and right. The orbs that hit Guy brought his HP down to 670, then 530, then 342.
Serzax’s spell casting ended. The Mage’s buff faded as his MP ran dry. It gave Guy the chance to heal himself with an HP hypospray and recover 213 HP. He clenched the hilt of Asteria’s Sword and faced Serzax.
Guy expected to see the Mage drink another MP potion but saw something different. Serzax shut his casting tome and strode to Guy, the ends of his robe rustling in the dark astral winds.
“Give me my son’s soul crystal back!” Serzax raged.
“I don’t have it!” Guy said and stepped to Serzax with caution.
“You lie!”
“What makes you think I’m a liar?” Guy laughed. “I didn’t deny killing your son now, did I? I killed him because he was a fucking shit-stain, and if I had to do it again, I would.”
Serzax narrowed his eyes.
Guy had pissed him the fuck off, so he continued. “Oh, you should have heard how Wylume screamed like a little bitch too, Serzax. You raise him like that, bro? What kind of father are you!”
Serzax opened his tome, flipped to a page toward the end of the book as it glowed with vibrant purple light. The Mage conjured a barrage of black and purple orbs and sent them flying toward Guy. Every single one of them missed. It enraged Serzax. He consulted his tome again and chain cast Dark Orb. Guy sidestepped to the left and watched the spheres hit the ground and explode. Serzax was so pissed his aim was off. So pissed he failed to move from Guy’s leaping cleave and his three-slice combo with the edge of Asteria’s Sword. The last slice gave Guy 100 AP too.
He used Storm Slash, bringing Serzax’s HP to 34 percent. Storm Slash’s knockback effect didn’t push Serzax away as expected. It surprised Guy that the Mage stood standing and holding his casting tome.
“Shit!”
Serzax laughed. “You said it!” And waved his hand above the tome.
A ring of black mist circled Serzax, a spell called Dark Cloud that damaged anything around its caster. In this case, Guy.
And it hurt a lot. Guy went from 555 HP to 201.
Guy backed away to apply Lay on Hands, then remembered his low MP still at 93. He could cast Blinding Flash once or Lay on Hands once more. After that, both spells were off the menu. Serzax walked backward, laughing as his dark mist followed him. It’d be impossible to strike him until it faded. Guy kept his sword out to Serzax, circled, and watched the Mage, waiting for the black mist to fade.
“Tell me, Paladin,” Serzax said. “Do you have anyone in life you care deeply for?”
“None of your fucking business.”
“I shall take that as a yes,” Serzax said and flipped the pages of his tome. “When I am done here, I will find out who they are, and make you suffer the grief as I have.”
The black mist faded. Now was Guy’s chance. “I got no kids, and my parents are dead,” he said. “Have fun with that.”
“How about your uncle Matthew?” Serzax snickered. “He still lives, correct?” Guy stopped as Serzax erupted with evil laughter. “Or perhaps that star-fae you were seen with upon your arrival on Faeheim?”
Guy couldn’t hold back the emotions contorting his face, and Serzax saw every second of it. Serzax knew that his uncle Matthew and Rachael were the closest to him.
Guy shook out of the shock and resumed his assault—
And a blast from Dark Orb nailed Guy in the chest, hurled him backward, and he landed upside down on the ground. Guy’s HP fell to 31 as his skin burned with black flames. Guy was in so much pain he couldn’t even remember getting back to his feet.
Serzax continued. “I believe I may have found the sources of two soul crystals that I shall hang around my neck as a decorated necklace.”
His spells are too strong . . . Guy limped away to fetch an HP hypospray from his pockets. His pockets were empty. He doubted the Mage would give him the space to open his Inventory screen and pull one out. Lay on Hands it is. No, I need to use the last of my MP on Blinding Flash. He can’t cast on what he can’t see.
And what Guy saw was Serzax’s sigils glow in preparation to recast his spell speed buff.
This was Guy’s last chance. He raised Asteria’s Sword in the air,
making it illuminate with a burst of light from Blinding Flash. The Mage held his tome over his face, so Guy canceled his spell casting.
Serzax lowered the tome from his face to reveal his smile. “Flash is only good if your opponent does not see it coming,” Serzax said.
Thanks for the tip. I have to fake him out.
Serzax reapplied his spell speed casting buff, took a sip on an MP potion, and unleashed his darkness again. Guy ran again, keeping a close eye on his HP at double digits, knowing that the next spell that hit him would end his life. Midway into Serzax’s punishment, Guy placed his hand to his chest in preparation to use Lay on Hands.
Serzax just laughed.
Guy laughed too. He canceled Lay on Hands to cast Blinding Flash instead. The Mage of darkness wasn’t able to turn away in time from the burst of light Asteria’s Sword erupted with. The neighborhood the two men fought in turned white.
Guy pointed the tip of Asteria’s Sword at Serzax.
“Gotcha!” He gripped its hilt with both hands, sized up Serzax as he flailed about, unable to see. “I guess I’ll have to replace Wylume’s missing soul crystal with yours.”
He aimed the edge of Asteria’s Sword for Serzax’s neck. In a panic, Serzax cast a spell. Guy wasn’t sure what it was, just that Serzax had his back to him. It was a spell not aimed at Guy, a spell that could be an area of effect centered around Serzax. Guy leaped back right as Serzax’s spell casting completed.
A circular black and purple cloud blasted away from Serzax in a 360 direction.
It would have been the end of Guy if it had hit. Coming to his feet, Guy tried again to close the gap and saw that Serzax had sprinted ahead. He was lucky their fight had spilled into the open streets, and Serzax was lucky he didn’t run into a building as he ran blindly.
Eventually, he’d run into a wall or trip over something. Guy ran in pursuit and guided Asteria’s Sword forward to skewer Serzax when he got in range—
A large, strong, and firm hand grabbed Guy from behind and pulled.
Whoever it was, they had a respectable amount of strength—way more than Guy, that was for sure. The person who grabbed Guy yanked him away from Serzax. Guy twisted around to meet his new challenger, then lowered Asteria’s Sword.
Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2) Page 25