Tiamat's Revenge: A LITrpg Harem Adventure! (Blackest Night Book 1)

by Jack Crosby

  Shiva did my dirty work for me, taking care of the soldiers with her ice. Just like last time, she didn't leave without giving me a little something to remember her by - an ass squeeze.

  I encountered three more groups of soldiers on my way to the tower stairwell. I leveled up more one time and received a decent amount of gold. I was hoping I'd get to spend it before I got to Victor. While I was contemplating that, Rico ran by being chased by a rather intimidating wolf monster. The thoughts of gold disappeared as I took chase; I needed to save my buddy!

  As the wolf went to take a bite out of the bearcat, I scooped him at just before the jaws got him and triggered the encounter.

  ::Rico joined the party::

  “Dante! You're alive!”

  “I'm glad to see you too, buddy.”

  The wolf certainly wasn't pleased. To show Rico I'd learned something, on my first turn: Scan

  “Dante, it's a miracle!”

  I snickered as the wolf, known as the Fenris Wolf, was exposed to us. It was weak against wind. And I had just the trick for that.

  The wolf was a fast one: Nordic claws

  After bashing Rico and I were his attack, the bearcat retaliated with one of his own: Friends ‘til the end

  It was Rico’s new attack! He jumped on to my head and my hands grabbed his paws. I whipped the little guy forward; he somersaulted a few times before ramming into the wolf tail first. The whipping motion of his back extremity slapped the beast around quite a few times before he hit the ground and scooted on back towards me.

  That was quite the fun skill to use!

  The wolf didn’t like that, apparently. He wasn’t about to look what I had planned, either: Gungnir

  The wind based summon attack hit the wolf hard. After that, it only took Rico and I a few more turns to kill the wolf off and be able to keep moving forward.

  Forward for us was going up the tower’s stairwell.

  By now I'd gained another level to thirty-seven and Rico was at thirty-two. As soon as the door behind us closed, it seemed we would have a respite from enemies. We still need to find Kira and Alyssa somewhere in this madhouse.

  The sounds of war echoed all around us as we climbed the stone tower. “Do you know what's happening?” Rico asked.

  Boy did I. “When I crashed into this place, I freed Wyrm. He's out there causing havoc.”

  Rico looked out me curious. “Never heard of him.”

  That pretty much proved Eden's point. We'd reached a crossroads. The door to our left looked as if it led to the battlements; it was locked. The only meant we could take the door to our right. I grabbed the handle and pulled.

  “What do you mean we have to pay you to gain access?” Alyssa seethed.

  There was a little man in the corner carrying a great big bag over his shoulder. He seemed not to have a care in the world. With two angry ladies closing in on him, I would've expected a bit more urgency in his demeanor.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  Everyone stopped. “How did you two get in here?” Kira asked.

  “Nice to see you, too,” Rico snickered.

  “We just opened the door,” I answered, confused.

  Alyssa rounded on the little man. “I will have your head for this!”

  “You still need me,” he told her.

  It began to dawn on me. “You have the way to get through the other locked door, don't you?”

  “Indeed I do.”

  Immediately, I was placed in the shop screen. Huh, so there were still merchants left running around. This one only had one item, The Battlements Key and it was price at one million gold. This was a giant rip off.

  “One million gold?”

  “That's my prince consumer discount, too.”

  We didn't have much choice. I barely had enough to cover and when the transaction was complete, I had possession of the key and the con man was gone. What kind of sorcery was that?

  ::Kira and Alyssa joined the party::

  “It seems there is only one thing left to do.”

  “You think Victor is out there?” Kira asked.

  I didn't have to answer, we all knew this was the final confrontation. They didn't have to go. “This is my fight, the fight to end Victor and free his last hostage, Tiamat. You've done so much for me already. I can't ask you to die for me.”

  “We’re friends until the end, Dante,” Rico proclaimed.

  “My country screwed this up; I'll show Alfheim Gibraltar still has some good,” Alyssa vowed.

  “Love will always win,” Kira finished with.

  With that, we ventured out of the room and towards the final doorway. As soon as I unlocked it, a save point appeared.

  Save Point 3; Disc 3

  Dante (lvl 37), Kira (lvl 33), Rico (lvl 35), Alyssa (lvl 35)

  The moment we passed through the door and back outside, the world exploded. Victor, standing in the middle with Zara chained beside him, was in the middle of some sort of ceremony. Behind us, a large wingless dragon and a scorpion were doing battle from various points on the castle. Soldiers were fending off smaller, wingless dragons, though they were losing those fights spectacularly. None of that mattered thought, Victor was in our sights.

  “It’s over.”

  He turned around and smiled at me. “You’re mistaken, Prince Dante. It has only just begun.”

  The moon turned bright red and Victor gazed upon Zara. “May you destroy the final Skylonian, my pet.”

  “No Victor, don’t!” she cried, but it was too late. She’d begun her transformation from the curvy petite mage into the monstrous devil dragon, Tiamat. As the dragon was unleashed, it hovered over us and we knew what was next.

  If we wanted Victor, we’d have to defeat Tiamat.

  “Dante, you know what to do,” Rico encouraged.

  I sure did: Scan

  We learned a few things we probably could’ve guessed; as a fire elemental she was weak against ice. But we also gleaned some of the secrets to the devil dragon. If struck with critical attacks, her turn would get delayed. However, those two weaknesses were heavily balanced the other direction with her out of this world stats. There would be no easy strategy to defeat her - this was truly the right of our lives.

  The one last thing we did have going for us was our spirit gauges. Each one of us was over halfway there, with me being the closest followed closely by Kira. If we could put those special attacks to good use, we had a chance.

  Tiamat was next; Devil roar

  Just as I thought, she was totally badass. Seeing just how hard her skills would hit for, the team went to work grinding away.

  Uppercut

  Tail whip

  Redeeming rush

  Each time we went through our turns, Tiamat just retaliated with her angry might. I knew somewhere deep inside was Zara, but with Victor pulling the strings and lunar leviathan not reacting to the devil dragon the way it had to other summons, attacking was the only course of action.

  Between healing spells and using potions, half of our turns were wasted keeping everyone's HP bars above the red line. The strategy to use the critical status to boost spirit gauges was too risky. I felt it best to keep everyone in the green.

  When Tiamat's HP bar hit the halfway point, something very bad happened: Tiamat's Revenge

  It wasn't as terrible as Blackest Night but her special skill still whacked us all pretty hard. As soon as it finished, each of us was reduced to critical status.

  But Kira and I reached full spirit gauges.

  “What should we do, Dante?”

  Should we go for the gusto now or continue to fend off until Alyssa and Rico got there too?

  I made my choice: Beautiful restoration

  Eden joined the field and cast her healing energy all over us. It didn't quite heal us, but as seconds passed, small amounts of HP were restored.

  “You've been blessed with regeneration,” Eden explained. She sauntered off, pleased with her work.

  With that adde
d bonus, it made my decision seem a lot more prudent. With the second half of the battle looming in front of us, it was time to get serious.

  Icy Nightmare

  One-two combo

  Cat burglar

  Grab n stab

  Again, we hit Tiamat hard and fast over and over again as we also took abuse from her.

  Dragonfyre

  Dark despair

  Everyone was pushing themselves to the limit. The moment Alyssa’s spirit gauge hit completed, Tiamat was just under a quarter of her HP bar. We just need to hold on one more time.

  Devil roar

  We made it. Barely, but we made it. As my turn came around, we all made the team decision: Final Ending

  The full team attack decimated Tiamat. As chunks of HP were taken off, I thought we had a chance. If she was weakened enough, maybe, just maybe I'd be able to break her of Victor's control.

  Unfortunately, the attack didn't finish the job. The devil dragon howled and proceeded to wipe out the group. Attack after attack put each of them in swoon. My turn barely came around before she could do the same to me. However, this time I could do something.

  Dominance

  “Zara, I know you're in there!” I screamed as lunar leviathan began to take hold.

  The massive black dragon began to struggle, wrenching this way and that. It was now or never.

  I gripped my sword harder. “Damnit, you are stronger than him!”

  Blackest Ni-

  I was dead. At least I thought I was until she broke off from unleashing her ultimate skill. The black form of the dragon began to shine until it blinded me with light. When the flash disappeared, Zara was standing in front of me, looking a lot worse for wear.

  “You’re too late,” Victor told all of us.

  The battle with Tiamat had left everyone in a bad state. Zara joined the others by falling to the ground. I was the only person still standing. As Victor opened a rift, his sneer fueled my anger.

  “Enjoy the show. Your death is warranted.”

  No, I wasn't going to let this happen. It was up to me. With nothing to lose, I charged the man who ruined. As I passed Zara, who reached out and joined her powers with Shiva and Eden. I refused to turn around as my three companions began to call out to me, knowing what I was doing.

  As the rift closed, I jumped after Victor and slipped in as well.

  ::Left Doomengard::

  ::Entered Yggdrasil::

  I landed beside Victor. “Not so fast,” I yelled, grabbing his arm.

  “Get off me you whelp!”

  “That whelp is my son,” a man said.

  Joining beside me was my father, Rex, and another man with whom I didn't know. The unknown man pointed at the Dark Star. “You have something that belongs to me.”

  “General Cutter,” I whispered with awe.

  But Victor wasn't impressed. “I will finish this now. Let no one remember the peasants of Skylonus!”

  “We'll see about that,” Rex quipped.

  The final battle begun as Victor changed into his final form, fueled by the Uprising; God-King Victor.

  “Your majesty, we will take it from here,” Cutter told my father.

  But Father just laughed at him. “First, I'm dead and second I was a very good healer before coming King, Cutter. I'll be fine.”

  “These two sound like us, Dante.”

  “I miss those times, Rex.”

  Victor was in no mood for our shenanigans. “Shut up, fools,” he growled.

  The large demonic version of him lorded over us. It was time to show him true Skylonian power. I was happy to get things started: Drakken uprising

  “Ho ho,” Rex chuckled. “Someone is quite powerful.”

  Cutter was up next: Heavenly blade

  The great general manifested a sword made out of pure white magic and sliced Victor up. In this realm, Victor was not nearly as strong as he anticipated.

  “Dark magic has no place in this holy plane. We are the guardians here and you are the plague,” Father said.

  “No, the Uprising must happen! Alfheim must fall to me!”

  Cutter sighed. “That's the problem with megalomaniacs, they never think things through.”

  Father was up next: Gospel light

  It was almost painful to see how little resistance Victor could put up against us. When Rex beat him to the punch, I knew his time was almost up.

  Skylonus slash

  After Rex assaulted him with his own ethereal sword, Victor looked like a man on the brink. “So be it. Just because my time in coming to an end doesn't mean I can't take everyone and everything with me!”

  “He wouldn't,” Father cried.

  Ragnarok

  “He did,” Cutter confirmed.

  The battle switched to Victor casting his final spell. “Dante, we need to stop him or else,” Rex explained.

  The moment I crossed over, I knew I wasn't coming back. “For Skylonus,” I told my family.

  “For Skylonis,” they repeated.

  The four of us circled Victor as the spell began to form. Stationed at each cardinal direction, pillars of light formed around us. “It’ll be okay, Dante,” Father told me.

  “Just believe in yourself,” Rex added.

  “You make Skylonus proud.”

  As Cutter’s voice drifted off, I began to focus of the energies of Yggdrasil that were forming around me. They were blocking Victor! The God-King wasn’t done, not yet. He expanded his arms, forcing the spell to push us back. I lengthened my stance, holding my ground. All around me, my three other Skylonus heroes were doing the same. We were not going to let Victor destroy Alfheim.

  Not today.

  With a crack and a flash, Ragnarok erupted, blasting the four of us into space and time, but keeping the spell from leaving Yggdrasil. Alfheim was safe.

  **Cut Scene**

  Doomengard

  The entire world shook and then there was nothing. Scorpius had fallen moments earlier to Wyrm, yet the rift never opened. Rico and Alyssa were thinking the exact same thing I was.

  “He’s gone,” I said with no emotion.

  We waited; minutes turned to hours, and night turned to day. Whatever happened on the other side of the rift, whatever the ungodly tremor was, it was Dante’s final stand. He had succeeded in saving the world, but at what cost?

  Alyssa put her arm on me. “His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

  Rico had broken day, howling at the rising sun. No tears came from my eyes as I just couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t accept it.

  “He’ll be back,” I proclaimed…

  **One Year Later…**

  Nagano Nation

  “Today, we celebrate the bravery and sacrifice that the last prince of Skylonus showed us. Remember Prince Dante and never let his memory fade,” I toasted.

  “Here here Empress Kira,” the council responded.

  Alfheim was still in disarray, but with the rebuilt Nagano Nation at the forefront, the healing had begun. With relations to Gibraltar at an all-time high thanks to Queen Alyssa, peace and prosperity would continue to move us onward and upward.

  Dante never returned.

  Rico hadn’t given up looking and part of me wished I could have joined him as he went back into the world. When the survivors of Judgment Day requested that I stay on and lead the rebuilding efforts, I couldn’t refuse.

  But days like today made me wish I had.

  I retired to my quarters, exhausted from the memories and the actions required of someone in my station. That’s when I saw the bearcat sitting on my bed. “Dante’s alive.”

  “Rico, we’ve been down this road.”

  “This time Kira, I am certain. I felt his presence! He’s still out there somewhere, waiting for us to call him.”

  I shook my head. “Rico, I get that you’re-”

  He tossed me a blue stone. “Go ahead, summon him. I don’t mind telling you I told you so.”

  Credits

  Writer - Jack Cr
osby

  Editing - JA LaFrance

  Publishing - Heat Lightning Publications

  Cover Design - Shoutlines

  Formatting - GenX Formatting Solutions

  All the cheeseburgers – Mrs. C

  Appreciation - To the readers

  ****

  Not that I minded being part of a four way, but I couldn’t tell where one woman started and the next one began. I’m pretty sure I was inside of Zara currently, but that was just a guess. Either way, I was about to cum yet again. One of the things these ladies didn’t tell me when they saved my spirit and gave me the chance to be the new holy summon was that I’d have expanded stamina. As more of my seed filled whoever I was inside, even I needed a break.

  When everyone was finally clothed, we nestled up against Yggdrasil. This had become our new home, a place we could watch over Alfheim, and if needed, once again help the people. Kira and Alyssa were doing a bang-up job currently keeping everything on the up and up; I was happy with their spirit and leadership.

  “It’s been a week since we reached out to Rico. Do you think he got the message?” I asked anyone.

  “He’s been touched by dark matter; he heard us,” Zara said.

  Eden’s head rolled into my lap. “You want to see her again, don’t you my king?”

  I did. I loved all my women, but I missed Kira. I just wanted her to know I was okay and here if she needed anything. “She’s special,” I agreed.

  Shiva pointed to my sword, lying up against another part of Yggdrasil. “It’s reacting! I think the bearcat’s about to summon you, Dante!”

  We scrambled to our feet, my smile widening as the rift began to open. “Ladies, I’ll be back. I have an old friend to visit!”

  The End