Moving images of possible locations hung in the air all around, but the one that I wanted was further in. I stepped forward, and stood under the image of almost utter darkness.
“There?” Acnologia asked.
I nodded and stepped in, and the Dragon following me through. The darkness around us melted away…
Only to be replaced by more darkness.
But darkness of a different kind.
Shadows cast over my face, but I looked through them. My Night Vision skill activated, though, it was not enough to give me clear vision here.
“Hello,” a voice whispered.
I turned around, with Dawnbreaker already half-swinging into attack. And then stopped, bringing the long blade to a still.
“What in the world?” I whispered.
A man in dark robes stood there, and his violet eyes stared at me. “That wouldn’t have hurt me much, in case you were wondering,” he said.
I stared at him. “How the heck did you get here?”
“I knew where you were going and just used my Shadow Travel skill to get here. Did you think you were the only one who possessed such a spell?”
Damn. I grinned. I thought that was just my thing.
“Of course not,” Nyx said. “It’s a general spell. It’s just too hard for normal people to obtain it.”
A dark mist set in around us, clouding my already-cloudy vision. We were in some kind of a corridor. That much I could make out.
“The elf?” the Death Lord asked.
My chest clenched. “Do you know where she is?”
“Have your sword ready.” He walked ahead.
I followed right at his heels, with my fingers gripping tightly onto Dawnbreaker’s handle. The mist set in thicker now, turning the Death Lord into a simple shadow amongst the many others.
My eyes, though, stayed focused on his form. I can’t lose sight of him.
He stopped a few seconds later.
“What?” I whispered.
He pointed ahead and I followed his finger, to the two moving shadows before us. I couldn’t tell what exactly they were, but they were a little taller than I was, and much, much thinner. There didn’t seem to be any power radiating from them so they definitely weren’t any Eternals.
Then again, this guy isn’t one either. I looked at the robed man. “How many?”
He held up two fingers.
“I’m going in.”
I shot forward, and my steps were quiet as I headed through the mist. I sneaked up on the two moving figures and slashed at them. I heard a rattle, and the next thing I knew, two piles of bones laid on the ground.
Skeletons, I grinned. My favorite.
Another rattle came from ahead. A skeleton was charging, but away from me. Oh no you don’t. I held my hand up.
A thin beam of darkness shot out from behind me, passing over my shoulder and piercing the skeleton’s head. The Death Lord emerged from the haze. “Apologies, but fire in such a toxic place is not good,” he said. “There is no telling what can burn.”
I nodded. “Where is she?”
“There.” He pointed to a shadow to our left. About ten lines showed from behind the clouds. A cage. I looked closer and saw a frail shadow inside. Freya. My chest clenched.
“Take this.” The Death Lord tossed something to me.
I caught it with my free hand, and then frowned. Keys?
“One of those will be the key to the cage,” he said.
Well, there are only three anyway. I mumbled and stepped forward, into the haze and closer to the cage. Stone bars emerged before me, and I knew I had arrived. I could see darkness deep inside the cage, but I couldn’t tell if there was a form within it.
Please be in here. I scanned the surface of the bars. Where’s the damn keyhole? I traced my finger down.
“There.” I sunk the keys into the keyhole at the side and twisted. Key number-one and key number-two didn’t work though.
Just my luck that it’s the last one. I put the third key in and twisted once again.
CLICK!
The ground rumbled, and the stone pillars lowered to the surface. “Freya.” I whispered as I stepped in, and used my Night Vision to scan the inner-side of the cell
My eyes widened at the sight of an elf curled up in the corner. Oh gods. I rushed up to her. “Freya.” I whispered, grabbing her shoulder.
A wet texture coated my hand.
Blood.
“Z-zoran?” Her voice squeaked, as she struggled to push out the words.
“Yeah.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m here.”
Nyx, get me a potion.
The spirit obliged quickly, summoning it into my hand, and I tipped the vial of red liquid into Freya’s mouth. The elf drank about ten of them before her health came back up to two-thirds. Her breathing grew stronger too.
“Are you okay?” She touched my face, still lying on the floor.
“I’m good,” I said. “How do you feel?”
“Terrible,” she smiled. “But I’ll live.”
I sighed. “You idiot.”
She whispered something, and a ball of light emerged a second later, illuminating the cave. Freya lay there, her clothes torn in multiple places, with blood drenching them. Her skin was as smooth and fair as usual, but I knew that was only because of the potions. If she’d lit up this cell a minute ago I would have flipped out at her condition.
I sighed. She knows that too.
“The Dark Lord.” Freya propped herself up on one arm. I held her under her shoulders to support her but she fended me away, and sat herself up. “What are we going to do about him?” she said.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said. Before he gets that last piece of his armor at least.
“Move!” Freya yelled, and a blast of wind shot from the elf’s palm, surging behind me. A small hiss—the sound of a deflating explosion—echoed after.
My eyes widened. The Death Lord. I turned around.
The robed man stood there. “It is nice to meet you as well, Moon-Elf,” he said. “And do not worry, I am on Diablo’s side.”
Freya frowned as she glanced at me. “You know him?”
“He’s an…interesting character.”
“Diablo,” he said. “We will need to make haste. I do not know when the Dark Lord will make his way back here. If anything, our only chance at beating him is now.”
“Ambush?”
He nodded. “The throne room is the perfect place.”
Freya stood up. “I’m coming with you.”
“Can you fight?” I asked.
She gripped my arm, and the next thing I knew I was on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Freya leaned in, and whispered. “You bet.”
“A simple ‘yes’ would have been useful.” I smiled and brought myself up.
“Yeah, but it would have been boring.”
“Come.” The Death Lord headed back into the mist.
“Chatty guy,” Freya chuckled as we followed him in.
I leaned in. “You won’t believe this, but he’s more mysterious than I am.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I really don’t believe that.”
Freya’s torn clothes fluttered as she walked. My mind conjured up grotesque images of all the terrible things that must have happened to her. I told myself I didn’t want to think about it, but that wasn’t an option. Someone I cared about went through a terrible situation. There was no ‘forget about it’ in this sort of thing.
My fists clenched. I could have saved her if I had a little less restraint. I need to be stronger.
A few seconds later, we walked into the same chamber as before, the one I had first met the Dark Lord in.
Okay. I looked around. Now to get to the—
“Hello, Zoran.” A voice chuckled.
My eyes widened. Oh no.
Azmuth stood before me, and another chuckle sounded from his lips. Blue eyes looked at me through his golden helmet, and radiated confidence, the complete oppos
ite of how I felt right now.
And I had good reason to shiver.
The Dark Lord was before me. And on him sat every last piece of gold he needed.
The Eternity Armor was complete.
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Surprised?”
The Dark Lord stood before us, and his golden armor glistened in the dull light.
“What do we do?” Nyx asked.
I don’t know. My eyes shot around the room. Is there anything we can use?
“Speechless I see,” the Dark Lord chuckled.
I grit my teeth. “You grabbing more power is hardly an event worth bothering about. You’ve tried it often enough for it to bore me.”
“Of course. That’s exactly how you feel. Bored.”
I took a step back. The Death Lord, however, stood his place, looking right at the Dark Lord.
Can we actually take this guy on together? I wondered. Doesn’t seem plausible.
“It doesn’t to me either,” Nyx said.
“Diablo.” Acnologia spoke, standing behind me. “It is time.”
I shook my head. Not yet. Wait for the right moment. We need to take full advantage.
“Very well.”
“I’m surprised you’re here, Death Lord.” Azmuth stepped towards us, and his metal boots rung across the floor as he did.
The Death Lord remained silent, but his gaze stayed on the Dark Lord.
“No words from you either?” he chuckled. “You actually took me by surprise with your betrayal. Good job. Not much amuses me these days.”
The robed man responded once again with a stare and silence.
“How did you do it though?” Azmuth asked. “Your obedience seal must have stopped functioning.”
I frowned. What’s an obedience seal?
“It forces you to ally with someone and does not allow you to go against an order from them,” Nyx said. “If you do so I think the penalties are pretty bad.”
Ouch. And the Death Lord did exactly that?
“Ahh.” Azmuth tilted his head. “Dark Lord, have you faked your obedience seal this entire time?”
The robed man straightened, and that subtle movement said more than enough.
“So you did,” he chuckled. “Ah, well. The old man’s been slipping with this sort of stuff lately. I wonder if the others are in the same situation as you then.”
Old man? Others? I blinked. Who else is he allying with?
“I sense something,” Acnologia said. “People coming towards us.”
My shoulder’s tensed. How many?
“Cannot tell. The presences are all muddled up.”
Damn it. Is he holding us up to give his allies time?
“They’re all standing in place. No movement there.”
Ugh. What do you want, Azmuth? I quickly used Analyze on the Dark Lord.
DING!
Name
Azmuth Razugan
Race
Eternal
Level
???
Health
???
Mana
???
Stamina
???
Uh oh, I blinked.
“That’s expected,” Nyx said.
“Anyway.” The Dark Lord stepped up to us. “It has been nice chatting with you, but I’m afraid our conversation here must come to an end.”
His form flickered. Suddenly, the Death Lord went flying to the ceiling, and cratered into the stone.
Damn it. I lowered my body, and scanned the air. My heart thumped, and sweat collected in my palms. This is not going to be easy. My eyes widened. Wait, Freya! I turned.
A light flashed beside me, and the next thing I knew, I was standing beside Freya’s unsealed form—close to level 650 now.
This doesn’t give me any sort of advantage.
But it did prevent me from having to worry about her excessively.
“Why, hello there.” The Dark Lord emerged before me, and his fist sunk into my stomach. I went flying back, and smacked into the back wall of the chamber. Another thud sounded after me. Freya laid in a crater besides mine now, and dropped to the floor with me a second later, her eyes half-open.
I glanced at her health bar, and my chest tightened. Twenty percent. And he hadn’t hit her that hard either.
“An elf is not strong enough to take me on,” Azmuth chuckled as he walked up to me.
Acnologia. I looked at the Dragon.
“Done.”
A dark haze emerged around me. A stream of lights flowed in, circling my body. In an instant, armor of shadow black built around me, and a dragon-shaped helmet flipped over my head. Electricity tingled through my nerves, and my muscles all tightened.
Now that’s what I’m talking about. I grinned. Even though I’m still massively underpowered compared to that idiot.
Azmuth’s form flickered once more, but this time I could see his movements, if only a little better. My level increase had heightened my senses as well.
Left. I raised my free hand.
A punch swiftly shot down onto my forearm, and a boom resonated from the impact point, throwing dust and loose mud into the air.
“You may be able to see my movements better now, Diablo,” Azmuth said. “But that helps you in no way.”
He spun around, and a kick thudded into my stomach. I went flying back yet again, crashing into the same spot on the wall as before, causing an even bigger crater this time.
Faster. I dropped to the floor. I need to be faster. The demon-elf’s weakened form laid before me. I couldn’t tell if she was conscious or not, but she was definitely not in a state to battle.
Azmuth is going to target her. I stepped forward.
A boom sounded from ahead, and a gust of wind blew toward me, rushing through the gaps in my armor. What the heck was that? I blinked.
Two forms flickered, in front of me one moment, and then far off the next. One form of gold and the other of darkness—the Dark Lord, and the Death Lord. Their speeds were astonishingly fast, even for two people who were much higher leveled than I was.
I can’t get up that high. I grit my teeth. But I need to get up that high.
“Zoran,” Nyx said. “You can’t really expect—”
I shot forward, with my hands gripping Dawnbreaker tightly. Let’s do this. I pushed ahead, following the flickering forms. I could see them move, but the period between when they started moving and when they stopped was a complete blur to me. Punches and kicks would start and then end without a single image of the follow through registering in my mind.
I moved back and forth through the chamber but I couldn’t meet the flickering forms even once. The Dark Lord and Death Lord were on another level from me.
I need to be faster. I clenched my fist.
“Diablo—”
I shot forward, heading right for the flickering forms once again. They disappeared a step later, but I caught them in the corner of my vision. Right. I planted my foot and swiveled around, charging in that direction. Only to have to switch paths once more.
Faster! I ran after them. Even faster!
“Asgionis! Peliosia!”
Flames of black and red emerged before me, enhancing my speed. The ground rumbled under as I shot forward, with every step shaking the stone tiles. My footsteps echoed in my ears, but all I sensed were the two people around me. I need to catch up. I slid, and shot forward once again, accounting for their changed position.
A boom thundered and the robed man shot out of the exchange, cratering against the side wall. Got you. I shot to the Dark Lord, with my sword in hand. I lashed out, slamming the blade against him. The man’s form flickered at the last moment, and my heart thumped, bringing my hands down faster in desperation. The Dark Lord didn’t move however, and shifted his stance, putting his hands up in the air and crossing his forearms to form an X.
My sword thudded against his armor, and a boom resonated from the impact point, sending a plethora o
f winds into the chamber, just from the sheer force of the exchange.
“Impressive,” the Dark Lord nodded. His form flickered, and the next thing I knew I was flying back, with a sore feeling in my stomach. I cratered into the wall yet again, and dropped to the floor.
“Wow, damages for this place are going to be pretty expensive,” Nyx said.
I grit my teeth. Not the time for jokes.
The Death Lord had caught up to Azmuth now, and the two brawled it out yet again.
“Awwww.” A voice slithered through the darkness. “You started fighting without me, Azmuth?”
A form flickered into being—a lady in silver robes stepped into the chamber.
The Eternal from before.
Damn it. We’re getting pushed back now.
She looked around the chamber, and then her dark eyes widened. “Ehhhhh?” She smiled. Her form flickered yet again, and the next thing I knew, she was in front of Freya.
“Kid, you remember me?” She chuckled. She slid out her arm, and pointed at the blood that coated her up to her elbow. “All this was yours,” she said. “Moon-elf blood seems pretty hard to wash off.”
I froze. Freya was half-conscious now, but her body trembled. And by trembled, I mean she was tremoring like she was in an earthquake. She shuffled up against the wall, and grabbed her large sword weakly.
“Awwww, how adorable,” the lady chuckled. She slapped the sword, and the massive weapon went flying away, sinking halfway into the wall.
Damn it. I used my Analyze skill on her immediately.
DING!
Name
Gyleona
Race
Eternal
Level
???
Health
???
Mana
???
Stamina
???
She’s stronger than me. My fists clenched. I don’t care anymore.
I shot forward, and swung Dawnbreaker at her. She turned around at the last second, glancing at me just as I brought my weapon down. My sword swung into her shoulder, sinking half of the blade in her flesh. I pulled my blade back and twisted around, slashing at her hip and lower leg in the next split second.
The Eternal: Infinity - A LitRPG Saga (The World of Ga'em Book 4) Page 19