I knelt close to it, and put my hand in its water, feeling the chill on my skin. It was refreshing, and I found that odd. I’d certainly not expected to see something like this deep in a Kobold Colony. Then again, it did seem like this place was abandoned, so it wasn’t like anyone had had the opportunity to shape it to their vision.
“It’s steeping up,” Freya said, looking ahead. I saw that the pathway arched onto a hill that stood in front of us. The orb of light that we were using didn’t illuminate too far into the darkness, so I couldn’t tell how far up the hill went, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this took us all the way back to the surface, or at least to the level of the chamber we’d been in before.
“Wait,” Nazu pointed to the water. “Why is the water flowing up?” he asked.
And that’s when I realized that the stream was pushing water up the hill instead of down.
“You’re right,” I said, staring at the flow of water. “That’s weird.”
“Hardly,” Nyx chuckled. “When you finally start remembering everything you’ve seen in your life, I doubt water flowing upwards is going to pose much of a problem.”
That’s true, I chuckled.
Nonetheless, I knelt down, putting my hand in the water once more, and feeling its flow push upwards. The young Kobold knelt beside me, putting his hand in the water as well.
“Cold,” he giggled, splashing it onto the grass on the other side.
I smiled. “Come along,” I said. “We need to head back up as fast as we can.”
Freya walked beside me as we headed back up. “What are you planning on doing with this child?” she asked, her voice low.
“Well,” I said. “We can discuss that once we’re back on the surface.”
She sighed. “You don’t have any plans, do you?” she asked.
“Absolutely none,” I smiled.
“Ugh.”
“Honestly though,” I said. “Would it be wrong to take him back to Ikarius?” I asked.
“To your village? Why?”
“I mean, it’s pretty clear his colony is out to get him, based on what he said about the elder who tried to kill him, and given the Kobold cohort that came after him.”
“That’s true,” she said. “But I would argue it makes him more suspicious of a target.”
“Really?” I asked. “Look at him,” I pointed at Nazu, watching as he scuttled up the hill ahead of us and stumbled onto the ground. “I don’t see any threats here.”
Freya sighed. “That’s true,” she said. “Fine, we can take him back to Ikarius, but I’m keeping a close watch on him just in case.”
“That’s fine,” I smiled.
We had walked up the hill for another few minutes when I saw a small speck of light shine from above, and I could instantly tell this was the light from the outside. We charged up with a renewed energy, walking switching to running as we neared the light. The hill lead right up to the entrance the light was coming from, and we wasted no time heading right out of it. In seconds, we were out of the darkness and back on the desert surface.
“There’s the end of that,” Freya smiled, dusting her shins of stray sand.
“That was less intense than I had expected,” I chuckled as I turned around.
But the entrance we’d just used had disappeared. My eyes around, looking for Nazu, and saw him a few feet away from us, playing around with the sand. I sighed in relief and looked back at the ground where the entrance had been, confused about where the hole had gone.
“What just happened?” I mumbled.
“I’m as clueless as you are,” Nyx said. “Entrances are not supposed to disappear like that.”
Well, I guess it’s just a mystery for another day, I said.
“We’ve got a ton like those,” he chuckled.
That we do, I said, as I rounded up Freya and Nazu, and started heading back to the village. I first opened my map to gauge where we were. It took me a bit to realize we had ended up somewhere far north of where the Lumina Knight’s tower had been. I was tempted to go back there and see what exactly was going on, but a part of me rejected that idea. Scouting had not worked the first time, and I definitely needed more information on that tower before we went back.
“So, you’re going to ask Ijyela?” Freya asked when I told her the plan. “I mean it’s possible she might know something about it.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We need more information before we do anything.”
“I can just message her over the Ga’em if you want.”
“Nah,” I said. “We need to head back to the village anyway, and I’d rather talk to her in person.”
“Fine,” she said.
And so we headed back, travelling the hot path that we’d taken to reach here in the first place. Along the way I remembered the Black Guardians I’d fought just a few hours ago, and I wondered what their purpose was. I’d faced a lot of enemies in the past few hours, but they were the most mysterious ones. I had no clue what their motivation was, whether they were part of any of the Alliances, and most importantly, what they were capable of.
The sun set nearly as soon as we’d walked back to the surface, and we spent a while walking under the stars, managing to gain some good ground through it. I could tell we weren’t more than half an hour away from Ikarius now, and that made me happy. I’d been super excited about getting my own village, and I was a little sulky that I hadn’t had a good opportunity to play around with it yet.
“Well you seem happy we’re back,” Freya smiled, noticing my expression.
“You bet,” I chuckled. “Village building sounds exciting.”
“Haha, it’s not as easy as it seems.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I laughed.
DING!
WARNING! Your village: Ikarius, has been placed under attack! Visit Ikarius immediately in order to stem damage and provide reinforcements!
A blast sounded in the distance, and beams of black energy shot into the sky, staying there for a second and dissipating right after. With one look, I could tell the beams were coming from my village, and that only annoyed me more, because I knew exactly who had attacked Ikarius.
I clenched my teeth, anger coursing through my veins.
The Dark Alliance had made their appearance.
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
What the hell.
That was the only thought in my mind as the shades of death shot into the sky, a little more than a second between each blast. One glance and I could tell exactly where they were coming from.
Ikarius.
“Zoran, you should head on,” Freya said, tensions high in her voice. “I’ll follow you with Nazu. It’s better for you to head over to Ikarius as soon as possible.”
“No,” I shook my head. “It’s clear the Dark Alliance is the one that’s attacking us. If it’s them I’m sure they have a ton of contingency plans for every move we make. I don’t trust that they don’t have a few people stationed out here ready to face off against you. We need to stick together.”
“They seem to have just attacked the village,” Nyx said. “Damage doesn’t seem to be much, but it’s going down fast.”
How much do you think it can take? I asked.
“Definitely not what’s coming. The village is in no way equipped to handle even a moderate attack, let alone one from the Dark Alliance itself.”
I know, I muttered.
The Dark Alliance was one of my biggest enemy factions, and if their name wasn’t a dead giveaway already, they had been the sole perpetrators in causing the Dark Lord’s first resurrection. Of course, that meant now they were probably focusing entirely on finding him, or rising him up to his true potential.
And the fact that I was seeing the Dark Alliance here in a village that I now possessed, after months of silence from their side, was definitely not anything close to calming.
The sounds of metal and stone rang in my ears as we approached the entrance to the village. I looked
through the shadows of the night and saw the men of dark armor clustered in the streets ahead of us, smashing into buildings all around them. Walls came crashing down as tens upon tens of men sent their weapons into them, tearing through rock and wood with their strikes.
“I can’t contact Ijyela,” Freya said from beside me, a worrisome tone in her voice.
Did the Dark Alliance go after her? I wondered. She was the only resident in the village as far as we knew, but I was certain she’d have taken measures to protect herself the moment she realized Ikarius was under attack. She was a smart woman, I knew that much.
“Oooh, black beam,” Nazu said, pointing at the center of the village. I looked up and saw a massive beam of black light shoot up into the night sky, and a loud explosion sounded, sending flames and sparks high into the air.
“Dammit!” I cursed. “Freya, take Nazu with you and see if you can find Ijyela. I’m heading to the center of the village. That’s where the enemy forces seem to be concentrated.”
She nodded. “Stay safe.”
I pulled Dawnbreaker out. You can’t attack my village and get away with it unscathed, I muttered, and shot through the street in front of me. My blade passed through the knights all around, slicing through their bodies clean. I heard gasps and screams as I shot through the streets, my blade passing through every enemy that came at me. I was merciless, as was the weapon I wielded.
I felt a few strikes push back against me, but I cared nothing of them. They were but unfelt scratches on my body. And I repaid the attackers back in full.
“Diablo, you need to calm down,” Nyx said.
My body froze at his words, and I paused for a moment, slowly looking around and taking in what I had just done. Bodies lay at either side of the street, meat and bone hiding amongst the rubble of the broken houses. Blood dripped from my blade, dropping onto a stone street already stained in red.
A sole knight rushed at me and thrust his blade hard, but I caught it between the grip of my fingers and smacked him to the side with my free hand, sending him crushing against the wall.
“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but you need to be a little less murderous,” Nyx said.
I know, I said. I pushed myself off the ground and onto the rooftops of what was left of the houses around me. A few Knights pulled themselves up after me, trying to block me from moving forward.
Stay calm. Don’t attack, I told myself.
“I applaud your bravery,” I said, looking to the knights, feeling the wind blow past us all. “But our difference in levels is far too high for any of you to leave this battle alive. I will have to end you if you wish to oppose me.”
They yelled and charged immediately, as though my words had had no effect on them. I sighed, I gave them a chance.
“Fine,” Nyx said, sighing as well. “Can’t do anything if people don’t listen.”
My blade moved like lightning, and when I stopped my motion, the knights were all on the floor, collapsed, bleeding and unconscious.
Well at least they’re not dead, I said.
“Yet,” Nyx added.
Okay, you’ve made your point, I hastened my steps, sliding across the roof as I headed to the center of the village.
Ikarius was small, and so a few seconds in, I came to the fountain that had rested in the center of the village. I peeked from the rooftop, noticing that a large rank of Knights were all crowded around one man.
A man in a hooded cloak the shade of the night, the dull moonlight striking his presence, as though the dark skies were picking him out
That was never a good thing.
I focused on his form, and used my Analyze skill.
DING!
My eyes shifted to the screen that popped up. But before I could even focus on the words on it, I noticed a hand point up to me from the crowd.
The hooded man.
A blast of dark energy shot at me with blazing pace. I ducked for cover and jumped from the roof, pushing myself off the stone wall and down onto the man, my blade thrusting at his head.
I heard a phrase being mumbled, and a hemisphere of grey light extended out from him in the blink of an eye. My sword clashed against it, rupturing the wall, but the after effects were mutual. I dropped down to the ground beneath where I had clashed with the light, my momentum completely taken away by that exchange. The knights had already moved out, forming a wider circle around us, giving us the space we needed.
I looked at the man, my mind already working its cogs. He looked familiar, the strength behind his attacks were familiar, and I already knew why. If what I thought was reality, that would mean bad news.
“Who are you?” I asked, Dawnbreaker held up high, keeping the knights wary of my presence.
The man laughed. “Can you not tell?” he asked.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “I know of another man of the Dark Alliance who was as playful as you are,” I said. “I would suggest you abstain from acting the same. Asterion did not leave this world in peace.”
The man paused for a second, and my heart skipped a beat, wondering if he indeed was Asterion, the Beastmaster I had dealt with before.
“Asterion…” he muttered. “That child was never worthy of leading such a legion.”
Child? I blinked.
“Well that means this guy is super old,” Nyx chuckled.
That helps me in no way, I said.
“I will ask you again, old man,” I looked at him. “Who are you?”
“I go by many names,” he said, a playful tone still in his voice. “You may call me whatever you wish.”
“I managed to run Analyze on him,” Nyx said.
Show me, I said.
Name
Jelal Orson
Race
Human Dark Sorcerer
Level
461
Health
8310
Mana
13210
Stamina
9470
I stared blankly at the mental image before me, fear crawling up my spine just a little bit.
Why are all of these people so strong all of a sudden? I asked.
“What happened, Eternal?” Jelal chuckled. “Analyzing someone is sometimes a fun thing, especially for the person being analyzed. How do you like my stats?”
Dammit, he knew, I groaned.
“What is your purpose in my village, Jelal?” I asked. “What do you want here?”
He let out a chuckle. “I do not know how Asterion does these things,” he said. “But it is in my understanding that I should not randomly provide key information to the enemy.”
“That’s true, Asterion was quite stupid,” Nyx said.
Not the time for this, Nyx, I said, keeping my attention on the man. It bothered me that he was so confident with his demeanor. It bothered me that he was already this strong. He was a mere 60 levels beneath me, and that was not very comforting. He could prove a big threat to me if we were to come at me with better resources.
For the most part, people I’d dealt with, apart from Asterion and the Dark Lord himself, were all close to only half my level. I found it odd that in the past day I’d seen three people who’d all surpassed that, and by considerable margins too.
It felt like there was something else going on here that I wasn’t aware about. And that put me at great unease.
“Well, it was nice meeting with you, Diablo,” he said. “But I’m afraid I cannot stand here idly. I have a job to do.”
He thrust his hand out before I could even respond, and a beam of dark energy shot right at me. I swiftly pulled out my blade and cut into the beam, deflecting parts of it behind me. Knights and buildings collapsed from the force but the man kept going.
“Stop, Jelal!” I yelled. “You’re attacking your own men!”
“So?” he asked.
What does he mean, ‘so’? I grit my teeth.
He struck me again with his blast of darkness and I deflected once more, with the deflecting rays hit
ting the knights once again.
Dammit, I cursed.
“You have no choice now, you have to use your Arts,” Nyx said.
I know, I thrust my hand up without hesitation. “Uher!” I yelled. A dark form emerged from the ground, morphing into a phoenix and surging at the man. He cut off his beam for a moment and put up a shield, absorbing the impact from the bird.
I used the opportunity and shot forward, aiming for the spot on the shield the bird had already weakened, and slammed through it. I went through with ease, and took full opportunity of the opening, sinking my sword straight into the man’s chest.
“I see,” he chuckled, and burst into shreds of light.
A decoy, I realized.
But before I could even process what was going on a beam on dark energy shot from above, smacking me down to the ground. The attack’s pressure kept me pinned, and I felt my body crack the surface, sending tiny fissures through the stone.
“Your health is depleting,” Nyx said, a little stunned.
And I found the astonishment apt, since this was the first time since facing the Dark Lord that my health had actually gone down faster than my health regeneration rate could bring it back up. Even Lazarus and Gorias had been unable to do that to me,
“If you’d thought you could win that easily, you were wrong, Diablo,” Jelal chuckled, his form materializing before me.
I pushed strength into my bones and I pulled myself back up, bearing the pressure from the attack. “So you can make clones of yourself,” I muttered as I gazed at the man before me.
“Ah yes,” he said. “It’s sad that I had to reveal that trick so early on, but it was necessary.”
“I will ask you only one last time, Jelal,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
The Eternal: Dragonborn - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 2) Page 8