Jason looked back at the catapults that still sat on the ridge. He no longer had any minotaurs, but two zombies working together could probably arm the siege weapons. If he could retreat his zombies up to the catapults, he could use the chaos to hide the fact that he was loading and firing the machines. He glanced back at game master, still mid-rant. He would still need a distraction.
Frank tapped his arm, looking at him with a serious expression. “Use us,” he said softly, anticipating Jason’s thoughts. “We can buy you time.”
Riley rested her hand on Jason’s arm. “It will only take a few minutes. Make sure the rest of the undead get out.” Her eyes now shone a solid black, her face filled with conviction.
Jason looked at his two friends, astounded by their courage. No player had stood against a game master and lived. Not only that, but this man looked like he was out for blood. He wouldn’t be pulling his punches.
He grasped his friends’ arms. “I don’t deserve you guys,” he said softly, unable to make eye contact. “Thank you.”
Frank grinned. “Don’t go all mushy on us,” he whispered. “You’re supposed to be a dark lord after all.”
Riley chuckled softly. “Plus, it won’t even be the first time today we’ve gone along with one of your crazy ass plans.”
Jason turned to Rex. “You should evacuate now. Unlike us, if you die, it’s permanent.”
The old soldier glared at Jason. “I’ll be damned if I’m sitting this out. If I understand the situation correctly, that man could wipe out everyone in and around this dungeon. You think I’m going to stay on babysitting duty?”
Rex was clearly determined, and Jason didn’t have time to argue with him. He knew that the game master wouldn’t keep talking forever. He sighed. “Fine. But keep your boney old ass out of harm’s way. When you see me fire, get out of this cave. I need my general in one piece.”
The skeleton snorted gently. “It’ll take more than this hotheaded fool to best me.”
“Let’s do it then,” Jason ordered. He wasn’t optimistic about their chances, but at least they had a plan. He also expected a large number of the new NPCs were about to die. He couldn’t avoid that problem.
The group split up, Riley and Frank edging toward the game master as Jason withdrew further into the cave. Their movements were disguised by the mass of undead still in the room. As Jason neared the stairs, he ordered his remaining zombies to rush toward the exit. His minions took it one step further, letting out a bellowing roar that echoed throughout the cave. Seeing the fleeing undead, the other NPCs began to panic, and the entire group stampeded toward the exit.
Florius stopped mid-sentence, eyeing the crowd with wide eyes. Jason’s decoy zombie gave the man a cocky grin, walking slowly towards him. “That was a wonderful rant. I found it incredibly enlightening. I’m an evil mass murderer of ones and zeros that deserves to be behind bars.”
The zombie stepped closer to the man, his voice ringing out harshly. “I think you might be exaggerating just a bit, however. We all have our parts to play. I’m just the villain.”
A cruel smile curled the undead creature’s lips, and his hood slipped back, revealing his milky white eyes. The zombie’s body was suddenly torn apart in a shower of dark energy and shrapnel. The explosion rocked the cave, a few shards of crystal falling from the damaged ceiling and scattering across the stone floor. As the debris cleared, Jason could see that Florius was still standing but was now encased in what appeared to be stone, the surface covered in dark red blood and viscera. As Jason watched, the stone peeled away - revealing a magma lining and the unharmed mage’s grinning face.
“Fire mage,” Jason muttered. “Always a fire mage.”
He continued pushing his way through the surge of zombies toward the catapults. The throng of undead pressed against him and threatened to throw him from the small trail. He ordered his own minions forward. The zombies roughly shoved the NPCs out of the way and encircled Jason, allowing him to slowly make his way up the trail through the throng. As he kept moving, Jason glanced at the center of the cave.
Frank dashed toward Florius, his furry legs pushing him forward at a blinding speed. He reached back with his axes, letting out a howl as he swung with all his strength. Yet his blades were stopped abruptly by a flaming war hammer that had appeared in the mage’s hand. Florius repelled the attack with casual ease, knocking Frank back with a flick of his wrist.
“Is that all you have?” the game master mocked.
A bolt of black energy arced toward him from behind, his face framed in a black halo from Jason’s perspective. Riley must have circled the game master, attacking him from the direction of the lake. Somehow sensing the missile, Florius threw the war hammer at Frank, his now free hand darting through a rapid-fire series of gestures. Frank dodged the flaming hammer, causing it to crash into the stone floor and explode violently.
Florius finished his spell surprisingly fast. Flames erupted from him in a cascading ring that reached nearly twenty feet into the air. The fire easily consumed Riley’s missile, and Riley promptly dove into the water of the lake to escape the inferno that bore down on her. Frank didn’t have that luxury with his back pressed against the stone wall of the cave. In an act of desperation, he jumped straight up, just barely cresting the top of the wave of fire. The flames singed the fur on his legs, sending tendrils of smoke curling into the air.
Jason watched in dread as the ring of fire approached Rex, who walked casually toward the game master. The undead general didn’t flinch at the onrushing wall of flame. At the last instant, his sword whipped from its scabbard, slicing through the fire. In shock, Jason saw that the blade had parted the flames, allowing the undead to pass unscathed. Dark energy wound around the steel of Rex’s sword, tendrils lancing in the direction of the game master.
“You sure talk a big game, but I’m not certain you can back it up,” Rex taunted.
The game master growled in frustration when he saw how easily Rex had defeated his spell. A tidal wave of flames coursed from his staff and surrounded his body. The flames quickly became so dense that they obscured the mage from view. The air around him rippled and warped from the heat, and yet, somehow, he was unaffected by the flames.
The fire raged and grew to an immense size. Jason was starting to become worried. He wasn’t certain what this spell was intended to do, but, given its size, it would probably wipe out everyone in the room. While Jason might survive by fleeing up the tunnel, if the game master somehow destroyed the unprotected catapults, they wouldn’t have an easy way to cave in the ceiling.
Rex stared at the whirlwind growing in the middle of the room. He too had realized that they needed to stop the game master’s attack in order to buy the undead more time to escape and protect the catapults. His eyes darted to Riley and Frank. Riley was struggling to rise from the lake and Frank was trying to put out the flaming fur on his legs. They wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
Jason could see the veteran weapon master straighten his shoulders with a crackle and pop of his old bones. Rex turned to Jason, his dark eyes filled with steadfast determination. Time seemed to slow for Jason as he watched Rex raise his hand, giving Jason a crisp salute.
“Rex don’t!” Jason screamed, pushing futilely against the undead NPCs that stood between him and the line of catapults. Yet his voice was drowned out by the sound of the roaring flames. The skeleton general didn’t hear his last order as he sprinted toward the maelstrom.
Rex’s sword swept out, the obsidian energy that coiled along the blade expanding and extinguishing a portion of the vortex. The skeleton slipped through the hole created in the inferno and disappeared from sight. Within a few seconds, the spiraling flames tightened in on the game master. Jason ducked, expecting an explosion. But then he saw that the flames were being sucked toward a dark vortex emanating from Rex’s blade. The black hole pulled in the flames at an alarming rate, devouring the fire faster than the game master could summon it.
Florius’ face contorted in rage as he saw the skeleton draining the flames, a taunting expression lingering on his bony face. Florius abruptly stopped channeling his spell, his staff transforming into a spear of flame. Then he lunged forward toward Rex. The skeleton wasn’t able to react - his attention focused on maintaining the dark vortex that continued to swallow the uncontrolled flames that rocketed around the room. He was forced to accept the blow as he glared at the game master.
The lance of flame pierced through Rex’s chest, penetrating the pulsing mass of dark mana that was his heart. He let out a roar of pain but somehow kept channeling dark mana through his blade. Frank and Riley were on their feet and dashing toward the pair as Jason frantically scrambled in the direction of the catapults. His zombies strained to pull down the arms of the siege equipment, and his minions lined up in anticipation. Yet despair sat in Jason’s stomach like a dead, hollow weight. He knew it was futile. Even if he could make it in time, the cave in would kill Rex. He needed to do something. Anything.
As the last of the flames were sucked into the vortex, Rex abruptly lashed forward. His blade scraped against the startled game master’s cheek, drawing a line of blood. Florius stared at the undead in shock. His hand felt at his face, and then he stared at the blood that coated his fingers.
“How dare you?” Florius screamed at Rex.
His flaming lance flashed forward again and again, slamming into Rex’s body faster than the undead soldier could react. Each blow caused a small explosion on impact, crushing and destroying bone. In only an instant, the undead general had been reduced to a pile of broken bones and armor. Then Jason saw the dreaded notice appear in his combat window - the message ringing with a simple finality.
Rex has died.
Jason could feel helpless rage well up inside him. His blood began to boil in spite of the frigid mana that coursed through his veins. Rex might be nothing more than binary code on a server somewhere, but that made him no less real to Jason. His obsidian eyes were focused only on the game master. This asshole had killed his friend.
Dark mana cascaded from Jason’s body in waves. Black tattoos curled and crawled over his skin, responding to his overwhelming desire for one thing - revenge. He could feel his mind drowning in the energy that poured through his body, losing all control.
He ordered his zombies to release the catapults. At the same time, Jason completed casting Custom Skeleton. Time slowed to a standstill, the game master turning ever-so-slowly to face Jason as fresh flames curled around his staff. He could also see his zombie ammunition crawling through the air toward the crystalline ceiling.
If the game master could bleed, then he could be killed. Jason wasn’t content with just distracting him anymore. He wanted to make him suffer. The Hydra’s bones lying on the ground beside the ridge were highlighted in a dark blue glow. A manic grin curled Jason’s lips as he saw the hulking ivory limbs. He was going to make that man pay for killing his friend.
The bones erupted from the ground. A shower of dirt and debris stayed suspended in the air under the time compression of his spell. The hulking ivory objects swirled in a vortex around Jason and began knitting themselves together. He wouldn’t let someone else fight for him this time. He would handle this personally.
His hands rapidly moved over the console as the bones snapped together around him, forming a solid shell. Supports sprouted from the cage that encircled his body, lifting him into the air. Just before the bone cage around him closed completely, he could see the zombies nearing the crystal ceiling. He needed to move faster. Much faster.
His fingers became a blur across the console, and his breath came in ragged gasps. The mana coursing through his veins was so cold it almost felt like his entire body was on fire. Then he was finished. He slammed his palm down on the completion button. He fell limp against the bone supports as pain cascaded through his skull. Yet the cage encasing him kept him upright. With a thought, the bones around his face unfurled, giving him a full view of the cavern.
Jason was now entombed in the former Hydra’s rib cage, the ribs flattened and converted into multi-layered panels of bones to protect Jason’s body. Hinged bone plating was installed near his head, allowing him to quickly close the bone armor to protect his face. Four serpentine arms jutted from the bone torso, each one ending in a snakelike head. Its thickset legs were made of intertwining layers of bone.
Jason had transformed the Hydra’s bones into a set of living armor. Even through the chaotic emotions and anger that clouded his mind, he knew that each limb was a separate skeleton and could be operated autonomously when given a string of commands.
His hands moved automatically through the motions of his Corpse Explosion. Red notifications flared in his peripheral vision as pain racked his head, but he ignored them, his mind focused solely on his revenge. He completed the casting as the zombies slammed into the ceiling, a series of explosions rocking the cavern. Blocks of crystal fell into the room and smashed into the stone floor. Jason could feel the vibrations as the rock in the ceiling shifted and settled. However, the ceiling held.
“Good. That gives me some time to make this asshole pay,” Jason croaked. With a fleeting thought, he ordered another round of zombies onto the catapults. Then he turned his attention to the game master.
His snakelike arms reached into the air, and the heads released howls of rage. Abruptly, Jason leaped forward off the ridge. His bone legs promptly slammed into the stone floor of the cavern, cracks radiating out from the impact site. Without warning, the four serpentine heads lashed out, crashing into the game master who stood staring at Jason in shock. The simultaneous attacks knocked the man across the room, and he smashed into the stone wall, throwing up a thick cloud of debris.
Jason didn’t wait for the mage to recover. He dashed forward, his arms lancing through the air and slamming into the man over and over in a rapid-fire series of strikes. Jason roared in rage as his new suit pounded the game master. He was going to kill him.
“You want a monster?” Jason screamed. “Then I’ll give you a god damn monster!”
A wave of flame exploded from Florius’ body, cascading outward and throwing Jason back. His armored suit landed heavily against the stone floor with a crunch of bone. Since Jason was suspended in the bone cage, he took no damage, and he immediately ordered the arms to lift him from the ground.
The game master stepped away from the wall, another layer of magma peeling away from his skin. Yet the look of rage was gone, replaced with one of wary concern. Without hesitating, Jason dashed forward again, wailing at the man that stood before him in fury. It was all the game master could do to ward off each blow as the snake arms attacked him from all directions. In the meantime, Riley and Frank had backed away, unable to participate in the titanic battle that was being waged before them.
Orbs of magma began appearing around Florius as he kept casting desperately. With a thought, Florius directed the orbs to intercept the skeletal heads, each blow from Jason destroying a globe. As the game master kept channeling his spell, more of the magma orbs appeared in the air, forming faster than Jason could destroy them. Finally, protected for a moment, Florius cast a different spell. A stream of fire slammed into one of the skeletal heads, causing the bones to crack and begin to fall apart.
Frank looked back at catapults that sat ready to be fired. He turned to Riley. “Jason’s lost it,” he shouted over the explosions that rocked the room. “He’s going to lose in a straight fight. We have to get his attention, or we can’t win this.”
Riley eyed Jason, her dark eyes filled with concern. “Leave it to me. When Jason pulls away from the game master, distract him for a moment.”
Trusting her instincts, Frank nodded and began to circle around the cave. Riley knew that her next action was going to be crazy. Maybe Jason was having a bad effect on her. She darted toward the skeletal armor from behind. As she neared Jason, she vaulted onto the creature’s back and used the ridged bones that encased Jason to swing her wa
y to the front. Jason’s eyes widened as Riley’s face popped into his line of sight. He quickly opened the ribcage to let her in and then resealed the body armor.
Inside, Riley found Jason floating in the center of the creature, only his head uncovered to provide sight of the room. With barely enough room for one person, Riley was pressed against him in the confined space. “You have to stop,” Riley shouted over the noise of the fight. “If you keep going, we’ll lose.”
“But he killed Rex,” Jason said in a tortured voice, black tears crawling down his cheeks. “He deserves this!”
“You can’t beat him like this! Look at yourself! Your armor is already beginning to break down. If we lose here, Florius will likely destroy your army and the new NPCs in retribution. Rex would have wanted you to keep your people safe!”
She could see some sanity creep back into Jason’s eyes. He shook his head to clear it. Then he rotated the body so that he had line of sight on the ridge on the other side of the room, his arms still independently attacking Florius. He could see the remainder of his zombies standing on the ledge, a few of his minions sitting on the catapults and ready to be launched. Yet he knew that another four zombies probably weren’t going to be enough to create a cave in.
He turned back to Riley, his voice slightly calmer, “I have a plan, but we’re going to die.”
“So what?” Riley said, her face close to his. “Like you said before - whatever it takes.”
Jason closed his eyes for a moment, his thoughts racing. He was giving each of his minions and the bone suit a detailed list of orders, his pain-racked mind struggling to form the commands. Then he was done. He opened his eyes.
“Ready?” he asked Riley.
She grinned at him. “Always. May the darkness claim us.”
“May the darkness claim us,” Jason echoed numbly, his thoughts only focused on Rex. He would do what had to be done to protect his people.
Awaken Online: Precipice Page 46