I didn’t bother seeing what that did to the Eternal. I just shot forward and pulled Freya away, jumping back to safety.
“I doubt twenty yards away counts as safety,” Nyx said.
I heard booms behind me—the sounds of the Dark Lord and the Death Lord duelling it out.
The elf stirred, and I laid her on the ground, leaving a quickly-summoned health potion in her lap.
“She’ll be fine,” Gyleona chuckled from ahead of me. “She’s just tired from all that screaming, see?”
My fists clenched. “I do see.” I gazed at her, at her walking form head towardme, at the face that grinned and chuckled as she looked at Freya’s fallen body. The wound in her shoulder and hip had healed completely, but the one in her leg still showed, although it was healing very fast too.
“To free a spirit, one must give it a heart.” A voice echoed into my mind.
I froze. Horace? No, this was someone else. Who are you?
“A second time the voice will speak, and then it will be gone.”
I looked around, but only, stones and death surrounded me.
“What are you looking for, Eternal?” Gyleona raised an eyebrow.
I stared at her, and then frowned. The voice hadn’t come from her for sure.
“You can’t afford to lose focus now, Zoran,” Nyx said. “Save the questions for another time.”
Got it. I shot forward, swinging my sword. The lady ducked, and I followed her, letting my swing go and landing a punch into her chest instead. She flew back, but I kept going. “Uher! Tritus Oceanus! Oskis!” I yelled, summoning a triple-barrage. The spells landed, with the Dark Phoenix and water clashing into her before the flames set her form alight, and all before she even touched the ground.
And when she did, I was ready.
I charged to where she landed and slashed into her body. Her hands slapped in front of her chest. The blade sat in her palms. I twisted, but she had a strong grip on my weapon. I thrust one hand forward. “Osulier!”
The shadows rose from underneath the woman, but she moved out of the way faster, letting go of my blade and sliding to the side.
My eyes widened. Give a spirit a heart? The words echoed into my mind again, and this time, they made sense. Nyx. Get the other one ready.
“Got it,” the spirit said.
I charged at her once again. “Oskis, Uher, Tritus Oceanus!” I yelled, summoning the same spells, but in a different order now. The flames and the phoenix merged, causing a bird of blazing red to sink into the Eternal. The water doused her an instant later, and the force of the attack smashed her into the walls before she could even understand what was going on.
And when she dropped back to the floor, I was already there. A stream of white light emerged around me. I surged to her body, and Dawnbreaker slashed against her leg. She used the back of her hand to swipe at the blade, with a speed and strength I had not expected.
But it didn’t matter.
I let my sword be fended away. My free hand gripped the flecks of light emerging in my palm, and my muscles tightened quickly.
“Dearthsoul.” Her eyes widened. I jabbed a sword into her shoulder and the blade went through clean, sinking through the flesh and scratching the wall behind. She winced, but a smile curled onto her face almost immediately. “Tough guy, huh?”
When I looked at this woman all I could think of was how she’d smiled when Freya had been screaming, of how she’d probably laughed while torturing the elf.
“Tough guy?” I smiled. Anger boiled within me, drowning my rationality. “You don’t know the half of it.”
I pushed the Infinity Sword further into her shoulder and pulled down, cutting through her body. The lady screamed now, and her hand pushed forward. A blast of darkness shot from it, but even at a range this close, it wasn’t hard for me to dodge. She’s not fast enough. I moved out of the way of her attack, letting the darkness surge over my head, and pushed my sword down further.
A massive gash cut into her body, with blood splurging from inside, and soaking her clothes. The sounds of booms echoed behind me, and for once it actually felt relieving to hear them.
Azmuth isn’t going to come after me anytime soon.
Gyleona breathed heavy.
More. My jaw clenched, and my eyes turned bloodshot. She needs to feel the pain she made Freya suffer through.
Her hand lifted up again, trembling. I slapped it aside. “I wonder how much you can take.” I smiled. I gripped the sword with both hands, for all I was worth, and pulled it down. Screams echoed as the weapon cut through her entire side, and cleaved it off, as if it weren’t a part of her anymore.
Blood poured out of the lady like a river taking to the ocean. Red slithered over the floor, lacing death’s kisses onto the sides of my boots. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and a soft moan echoed from her lips.
I stared at her, and my chest tightened. Why do I feel unsatisfied? My hands shook. Is this much revenge still not enough for me?
DING!
Congratulations! You have ended the curse: Death by the blade! By cutting a heart using the Infinity Sword, you have fed the spirits that possessed it. You have now cleared the weapon of its curse!
Spirits? My eyes widened. The sword trembled in my hand, and light poured from it. The weapon’s white surface glistened like moonlight, and filled the foggy darkness around me. The flickering forms of the Dark Lord and Death Lord stopped still, just as the sword’s purple jewel glowed.
I stared into the light, even though it hurt me, because it enticed me, because it felt like it wanted me too.
A shriek echoed from within the metal, and a sphere of light shot out, expanding outward.
Something sunk into me, and heat rose up my body, like lava in my veins. The feedback pulsed into my nerves, like lightning was coursing through my skin. I resisted the urge to drop to the floor, and held myself up with my weakening knees. I put my hand against the wall, and kept myself standing.
I knew what this was.
I was right. I grinned. I’d felt it when I first touched the sword, then when I heard the voices, and I’d confirmed it now. The Infinity Sword was what we’d been looking for all along.
“It’s the oddity.”
DING!
Congratulations! By uniting with your second spectral spirit, you have now broken ‘The Seal of the Eternal (3/5)’! Stats have been updated. Inventories have been updated. Skills, Subskills and Special moves have also been updated.
DING!
Congratulations! By uniting with your second spectral spirit, you have now broken ‘The Seal of the Eternal (4/5)’! Stats have been updated. Inventories have been updated. Skills, Subskills and Special moves have also been updated.
I looked at the Dark Lord, at his now-still form.
A smile curled onto my face. “Oh, you’re so dead.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Heat coursed through my blood, and spread from my heart into my limbs. I stepped through the river of blood flowing over the ground, with a sword in each hand.
“Looks like this battle just got a lot more interesting.” I smiled, and shot forward. The floor cracked from the force of my strike, and I launched myself onto the Dark Lord. I swung hard, landing just one hit with Dawnbreaker, and sent him flying into the walls ahead.
The Death Lord was beside me when I slid to a stop, and his violet eyes were wide. “What on earth is this?”
I grinned. “I can take it up a notch too.”
I charged forward, with sounds of thunder blasting from my steps, and the next thing I knew I and the Dark Lord were running straight toward each other.
You’re going to want a weapon soon, Azmuth, I grinned. “Asgionis, Peliosia!”
Red and black flames emerged around me, enhancing my speed.
I swung my weapons at the Dark Lord, and theystruck his metal armor multiple times a second. The man who had charged at me now stepped back, with his forearms up at his face.
“Where do you think you’re going?” My attacks turned vicious, with multiple combos of sword-slashes stacking up on him. A scratch—the tiniest scrape—emerged on his golden armor.
Perfect. I struck the spot again with my multiple slashes. It didn’t get much bigger over the course of fifty strikes, but it certainly hadn’t stayed the same.
“Enough!” The Dark Lord slammed his fist to the ground. A dark hemisphere of light emerged out of the contact point, and I jumped back, away from the attack’s range.
Azmuth stood within his cocoon of darkness, and heaved for air. His metal coated fingers touched his chest, and ran over the scratch I’d made.
The Death Lord stood beside me. “How are you so strong now?”
“The Infinity Sword held two of my Spectral Spirits,” I grinned.
“Both of them?”
“You were right all along.”
I glanced back at Freya. The elf was on her feet, but visibly shaking. She’s going to take a while to get over the stress her body went under. All because of whatever that lady did.
My gaze shifted to the mutilated form of the woman beside her. Her half-open torso still laid collapsed against the wall. Is she even breathing? There wasn’t enough time for me to care about something like that. I was able to hold her down even when I didn’t have most of my seal broken. If she came against me now, I would end her.
She was probably dead though. After all, I’d sliced through her heart.
A voice muttered something inaudible.
The Dark Lord stood ten yards before me now, still within this dark shell of his. A haze built up inside, hiding parts of his golden form from view. Let’s take care of that then, I thought. “Death Lord, we’re launching an assault.”
He nodded. “Ready.”
A bright light flashed from the Dark Lord’s hemisphere. I averted my eyes, and opened them up a split second later, holding my swords tight and ready to defend a surprise attack.
Only, there wasn’t a surprise attack.
Four beings, all clothed in golden cloaks, stood before the Dark Lord. I couldn’t tell anything about their features, other than for how tall they were. The rest was hidden inside their hoods. What I could tell however, was what they were.
Eternals.
“How is he just summoning them like this?” I muttered. “The Dark Lord isn’t supposed to be able to do something like that.”
“He isn’t doing it,” the Death Lord said.
“What?”
Azmuth laughed. “Finally, reinforcements. Let us see you take all of us on, Diablo.”
The Eternals shot at me, but their speeds were a little slower than mine. I stepped closer to the Death Lord, and quickly glanced back at Freya.
“She’ll be fine,” Nyx said. “I’ll tell you if someone attacks her.”
I nodded, and turned to the golden-robed ones that surrounded us now. “Who are you people?” I asked.
They gave me no reply. They threw their hands up, and a word whispered out from within their hoods. I jumped into the air, nearly breaking the floor with my lift-off.
A explosion of the elements came forth. A blast of fire, a beam of water, a beam of darkness, and a strike of lightning.
The Death Lord vanished as well and the attacks merged at my previous position, exploding through the chambers. And when the explosion finished echoing in my ears, I was ready to strike. My feet touched down to the floor, with my swords ready to strike. I swirled, and my weapons struck multiple combos as I spun between the enemy. They tried casting spells, but I interrupted far too frequently for anything to actually happen.
A punch thudded into my side, and I went flying back. Damn it. I looked at Azmuth’s form as I sailed back. He sneaked past my defenses.
My body cratered into the wall, taking a little damage even with my suit on, and I slumped to the ground. A touch of blood splashed onto my shoulders, and I turned to see the dead form of Gyleona leaning against the same wall.
And I could tell she was dead for sure this time.
The Dark Lord charged at me, with his golden-robed aides at his side. The Death Lord chased them from behind, but didn’t attack. I hunched down, going into fight mode, and shot forward. My sword thudded into Azmuth yet again, but I didn’t pierce his armor. I aimed for the scratch, but I wasn’t accurate enough to hit it every time. I swung my hands, moving the weapon from the Eternal and towards the golden robes.
Two of them completely avoided me, running around instead. I pushed back, landing before Gyleona and Freya, and thrust Dawnbreaker into the stone floor. The sword cut through cleanly, and the ground trembled, with rocks and dust falling from the ceiling.
A fissure opened, splitting off the ground between us and the enemy Eternals. Darkness foamed in the gaps within, but they were nothing I worried about.
The sounds of explosions came once again. The Death Lord had made his way to us, and was now attacking the remaining Eternals as well as the Dark Lord. Blasts of darkness came from either man, with the other Eternals attacking using their Elemental Arts.
I focused on the two golden-robes in front of me, and used my sword strikes to push them far away from the back wall. Need to push them even further. I hunched down, swiping at their legs. They both jumped into the air, and I grinned. I flipped both swords, and smashed the robed ones with the flat of my blades. They went flying into the wall on the other side, and broke into an already broken surface.
We might end up bringing this place down.
“Might?” Nyx asked. “Is that still under debate?”
With the two Eternals put away for now, I turned to the Dark Lord. He was already fighting the Death Lord, who was proving to be quite a thorn in his side. I shot forward, swords ready to attack. He glanced at me the very last second and his legs pushed off the ground.
Oh no, you’re not getting away. I lowered myself, and jumped, rising into the air just as he did. I shot up much faster, and went all the way up to the ceiling. I flipped around, planting my feet against the surface, and pushed down toward the floor. The Dark Lord didn’t move much, and I sunk to him from above, sending multiple sword strikes against his flailing mid-air form. Each slash went right at the scratch, and wore it down more and more.
This armor is annoyingly hard. I struck it another ten times in a second. I spun around, and used all my force to jab into his chest, sending him crashing down to the floor. I took a quick glance back as I fell. The two Eternals I’d attacked before were slowly rising up, and the other two were keeping the Death Lord occupied.
I have five seconds before they come after me. Maybe.
A glint shone from below, and a blast of darkness shot up at me. I threw my swords before me, forming an X with the blades. The darkness struck into them and pushed me back up, hurling me against the ceiling.
I dropped back to the floor an instant later, and managed to land on my feet.
“How did that feel, Diablo?” the Dark Lord stood before me, and an arm extended out. A flame of black emerged before his palm and I immediately shot to the side.
A blast of darkness thudded into me anyway and I went flying to the back wall. What the heck? I blinked. Didn’t I dodge that?
“Y-yeah,” Nyx said. “What just happened?”
The Dark Lord walked toward me, taking his time with his strides. I charged forward, with my footsteps flying over the stone. I hurled myself into the air, and twisted around as I came down to him. Two sword strikes, locked and ready. He had nowhere to go.
A split second later, I landed on empty ground and my attack cracked against the stone floor. What the heck?! I stood up, looking at my blades. My attacks don’t land now?!
“Something odd is happening,” Nyx said.
“I sense magic at play here,” Acnologia said.
It has to be. I turned to the Dark Lord, who stood twenty yards from me. “What are you doing, Azmuth?” I asked.
“Whatever do you mean?” He put his hand up, and a flame
of darkness emerged before his palm once again. I leapt to the side and shot forward, ready to strike. His hand moved, faster than it was supposed to, and the blast sunk into me once more, throwing me against the side wall.
I brought myself onto my feet.
“Diablo, what’s going on?” Nyx asked.
My jaw clenched. “Horace,” I said.
The Dark Lord shot a look at me.
“Horace is helping you, isn’t he?”
He chuckled. “Who is this Horace you speak of?”
Damn it. I shot to him. Sword strikes and blasts of darkness flew between us, with me being the one who got hit multiple times. Anger coursed through me. Why can’t I just land a strike on him already?!
I swung hard, but the Dark Lord vanished, just as he had for the twenty times before this. A blast of darkness struck me yet again, and I flew into the wall once more.
I need to be faster. I grit my teeth. I need to hit harder.
“Diablo, do you want to unlock that?” Acnologia asked.
I looked at the Dark Lord, at the Death Lord, at Freya’s fallen form, and at the four other Eternals I needed to take out.
My fists clenched. Do it.
“Limiter Off.”
Flames coursed through my blood, and heat exploded through my body. My teeth clenched, and my fingers curled into fists. The veins along my arms throbbed, and the ones around my neck pulsed. My muscles all tightened, and I kept my gaze on just the Dark Lord, for everything around him was just a hazy shadow now.
The voices drowned away, as did the sounds of breathing and footsteps. I was alone.
Alone with silence.
Alone with rage.
I shot forward, with a speed faster than before, and my sword slashed into the Dark Lord. He went flying back this time, and cratered into the wall, but I chased after him, striking him ten times more, pushing him deeper into the stone, before he could even attempt to pull out. The scratch in his chest widened, and I struck it another ten times before I tossed my sword in the air.
The Eternal: Infinity - A LitRPG Saga (The World of Ga'em Book 4) Page 20