Beyond All Expectations (Emerilia Book 8)

by Michael Chatfield

  Where the Nalheim had left, the wall was nothing but powder. Paths for the weapons moving through had been barely cleared.

  Party Zero looked to a fifteen-meter-deep hole not too far from where the castle’s ono lay. They didn’t pause as they started to run over the rubble, getting higher and higher until they stood on the rubble of what had been an outer wall and looked at the Nalheim moving for the second castle.

  Around them, the wall started to recover. Sections of the rubble moved with a black aura of a Dark mage around them as they shifted together like a game of Tetris, fusing into one wall and sliding into place with the wall.

  Across Eastern Castle One, Dark mages used the rubble to repair the outer wall facing the Nalheim. Dwarven engineers cleared out different areas around the inner courtyard of the castle; others checked on the weapons in the castle as well as searched for possible resources to use and check the damage.

  The walls facing the second eastern castle grew in width. The towers at the corners of the walls expanded as Air mages created air streams around dwarven artillery cannons, raising them up from the ground floor to these new positions.

  Deia glanced to a screen that had appeared as soon as Party Zero had entered the eastern castle.

  Castle Conquest

  Progress: 12%

  Every second, it was speeding up as the castle was being conquered by the Terra Alliance people who rushed to rebuild the castle enough to mount artillery on the walls and give them some defense.

  Through the teleport pad, DCA aerial forces flew through and moved to the walls. They stayed away from standing atop the walls, instead hiding in the hallways underneath, watching the Nalheim.

  Flying creatures with beast tamers and fighters mounted on their backs moved through the ono and spread out to the walls farthest from the second eastern castle.

  Rubble continued to be picked up, and flowed into the growing defenses.

  Party Zero was wholly focused on the Nalheim; their Mana freely circulated around their bodies as they waited. On Lox and Gurren’s back there were Air creations, ready to help them fly forward when needed. Lu Lu seemed to sense the atmosphere, her eyes narrowed and predatory as she rested on Suzy’s shoulders.

  The Nalheim made it halfway to the second eastern castle, continuing on at a steady pace while their Nerhoun weathered the combined attacks from all of the castles.

  The farthest castles had their shells easily defeated but it still meant that those tentacles couldn’t easily defend against other shells that were coming in from closer artillery cannons.

  “We’re ready,” Malsour said through the party chat.

  “Let’s move,” Deia said to the party.

  Their bodies seemed to turn blue as they rushed forward. Jung Lee looked as if he was running on the air itself as he climbed up into the sky. Dave floated as if gravity had no bearing on him. Suzy, Gurren, and Lox all used Air creations to force their way higher and charge toward the Nerhoun.

  Anna was a wind tempest as she cut through the air. Deia glowed with blue flames as she easily passed through the skies.

  Deia and Dave held bows while Anna’s sword hummed in the sky. Suzy held onto her staff while Jung Lee held the hilt of Jekoni’s sword, ready to unleash it upon the world. Gurren and Lox’s wrists glowed with runes, ready to unleash their Mana spearheads when necessary.

  Behind them, the aerial forces took to the skies as the artillery cannons that had been re-positioned welcomed the Nalheim. They were loaded with special grand workings. The black shells raced through the skies. The Nerhoun didn’t have time to smack the shells out of the sky before they impacted across their Mana barriers. The shells didn’t do damage to the Mana barriers but instead massive black magical formations in the shape of magical circles appeared around where they had impacted. A faint black hue fell on all of the Nalheim in the area.

  “The weakening hex is in place!” Deia confirmed as Party Zero raced forward. They had crossed the distance that had taken the Nalheim almost a half hour to reach within moments.

  The Nalheim, now sensing danger from behind them, had one of their three Nerhouns move to greet the incoming party and the aerial forces that were forming up in the sky, well above the Nerhouns.

  A roar that shook the very bones of the Party Zero members and sent chills down their spines inspired cold smiles on their faces as the Nalheim looked to the skies. Two dragons as large as a mansion plummeted toward the ground—one red, one black. Their eyes were focused on the two Nerhouns who were closest to the second eastern castle.

  They opened their mouths. A pillar of darkness seemed to distort space as it reached out to one of the Nerhouns, hitting its Mana barrier with such force that the Nerhoun actually bobbed down slightly before it fought back up to its previous position.

  A stream of blue flames pierced through the heavens from the red dragon. The second Nerhoun wasn’t hit as hard as the first but it still took some time to recover from the attack.

  The Nerhouns’ barriers flickered and shuddered as they tried to defend against this powerful attack. They started to turn; their tentacles wrapped together to create their most powerful attacks.

  Black streams appeared behind the black dragon’s wings as he dove faster. Behind the red dragon, red streaks appeared as explosions sounded in the sky. The two dragons kept up their attacks as their speed continuously increased.

  They were twin darts, only opening their wings moments before impact. They slammed into the Nerhouns’ Mana barriers, cracking them. The black dragon’s claws tore through the Nerhoun’s scales with only slight difficulty. Pillars of stone rose up hundreds of feet, impaling the Nerhoun he was fighting as he continued to tear at the creature.

  The red dragon was able to break the Nerhoun’s defense but the impact from hitting the Mana barrier left her stunned for a moment as she flared out her wings, righting herself. She faced off against the Nerhoun she had picked as a target; it had started to wrap its tentacles together into a drill. Distorting attacks made the air shake as they slammed against the red dragon’s Mana barrier.

  She let out a roar. Red Fire essence from around the dragon pooled around her mouth, where a ball of red light turned blue, giving off an oppressive feeling for all who looked at it. The red dragon stabbed her head forward. Multiple magical circles appeared in front of her mouth and the ball of pure blue flame.

  Induca’s massive jaws opened and a blue pillar shot out from her mouth. The power of it was so intense that the light blinded anyone who looked close to it. Induca’s timing was perfect because it slammed against the distorting attacks so hard that a shock wave exploded outward from where the two attacks met.

  Creatures in the air near the point of impact were sent tumbling and spiraling to the ground below. A number of those below were crushed under the pressure alone. Induca’s pillar of blue flame pushed the distorting attack back as the air around the attack seemed to become hazy with the heat and power that fought against one another.

  In the air around the red dragon’s target, a truly massive magical formation appeared. This massive multi-layered circle formation had the inner circles continue to turn. Thousands of flaming red arrows covered the sky and rained down on the Nerhoun. Many missed and covered the ground, killing Nalheim and their war lizards below.

  The Nerhoun’s tentacles took hits, making it warble in pain. The red dragon didn’t give up on her pillar attack even as the Nerhoun weakened for just a moment before resuming, stronger than before. Sensing that if it failed it would die, the Nerhoun pushed back harder.

  The second Nerhoun that had been pierced by hundreds of metal spears from the ground destroyed the spears with a twist of its body and lashed out at the black dragon who was tearing at its scales.

  Malsour, still in his dragon form, let out an angered shout as the tentacles opened up his scales, making him start to bleed. With a powerful flap of his wings, he freed himself from the Nerhoun, sensing that if he were to become trapped within the Nerhou
n’s tentacles that it is a good chance that he would not survive.

  The space under the Nerhoun distorted.

  A black dome appeared over the Nalheim below. Their pained screams rang out as tortured noises, enough to make the most fierce warrior cringe mixed in with the screams.

  Tentacles made from oily darkness spread out, grabbing more and more of the surrounding Nalheim forces and pulling them into that darkness. None of them were seen again.

  The Nerhoun expanded and shrunk, slamming into the black dragon with incredible speed.

  The dark dragon yelled, but rushed back inward, its speed enough to break the very air as it slammed into the Nerhoun. Without the barrier, the Nerhoun was thrown back. Enraged, the Nerhoun lashed out, cutting the black dragon’s scales open as its body took the impact of the dragon’s claws. The Nerhoun hadn’t been paying attention to its surroundings.

  The dome of darkness had rapidly grown as massive tentacles came together. They shot out into the sky, reaching the Nerhoun who was trying to pool its tentacles together for its strongest attack.

  The oily tentacles grabbed at the Nerhoun and pulled it downward, drawing it in towards the pitch black dome. Where the tentacles touched the Nerhoun, a faint black smoke appeared. The tentacles were dissolving the Nerhoun.

  With an angered warble, the Nerhoun’s attack turned to face the black dome.

  Hundreds of distorting streams converged as one, tearing through the oily tentacles holding the Nerhoun and striking deep into the darkness below.

  The darkness shuddered under the impacts, becoming less substantial as holes started to appear.

  The distorting attacks could tear through material objects as well as spell formations with relative ease, turning the spell formation to shake and weaken.

  The dome of darkness dissipated, as the Nerhoun recovered. Some of its tentacles were badly burned. Its scaly head bled from multiple claw hits and white marks from the burning oily tentacles still steamed slightly.

  The sky darkened as dark mana gathered in front of Malsour’s mouth. With a powerful breath the gathered mana shot out in a twisted pillar of darkness, cutting tens of tentacles apart within seconds. The Nerhoun contorted again, this time in pain and fear as it started rushing away with great speed.

  Malsour rushed forwards, forcing it to slow and fight him.

  Party Zero had finally arrived at the third Nerhoun.

  Artillery cannons continued to fire, now raining down on the Nalheim below who had picked up the pace and were rushing toward the second castle.

  The gryphons and sky screams’ riders were lashing out into the sky with their lances, trying to fight back the mages’ attack spells and the dwarven attacking spells. All of them felt that their attackers were weaker, the grand working made from Dark Mana still impacting their abilities.

  Deia and Dave unleashed arrow after arrow at the Nerhoun, hitting its barriers and making them flash in multiple colors.

  From Dave’s bag of holding, grenades fell out, rushing ahead of the group at great speed. Jung Lee cast support spells on everyone, increasing the power of their spells and attacks.

  Lox and Gurren had nearly constant streams of spearheads flying from their palms and hitting the Mana barrier.

  Anna surged ahead in a white blur. The air in her passage congealed together into a terrifying tornado, with white wind blades on their exterior shining in the light.

  Lu Lu added in her lightning attack, staying on Suzy’s shoulders; her own speed wasn’t enough to contend with the rest of Party Zero’s. Her lightning formed into a spear that raced forward to hit the Nerhoun’s shield, the Nerhoun shook with the impacts of Party Zero’s attacks.

  Anna let out a yell. Her sword extended ahead of her as the tornado of Air blades behind her compressed and rushed forward into a blinding white spear. The spear of Air slammed into the Nerhoun’s barrier. A shock wave of force spread outward as the Mana barrier’s color changed rapidly.

  Under the weight of artillery spells from the mages and the dwarven artillery, the Nerhoun’s barrier shook angrily.

  The Nerhoun shot away from the ground and toward the oncoming Party Zero, its tentacles looking to grab and tear them apart.

  Deia and Dave’s arrows, flaming blue and cold gray, hit the Nerhoun’s barrier. It shimmered briefly, as Party Zero slowed their speed.

  The barrier started to crack as a magical formation appeared above the Nerhoun. Ice shards, as sharp as a spearhead, were spat from the magical formation, breaking the Mana barrier apart and hitting the Nerhoun underneath.

  Anna raced through the sky, dodging between the raining ice shards. Her blade sang as tentacles rose to meet her. Covered in blood from multiple wounds across their length, Anna ruthlessly cut them apart.

  Hundreds more shot forward to attack the rest of Party Zero.

  Jung Lee, Lox, and Gurren stood in front. Lox and Gurren created massive shields attached to both of their arms and bigger than their Devastator armor. Jung Lee created a spiked wall from nothing that connected the shield wall and floated in front of his left hand, his right still holding the hilt of his sword.

  They had barely formed it when it shook with the impact of the Nerhoun’s tentacles. Party Zero couldn’t see the Nerhoun on the other side but the sound of metal on metal rang out as Lox, Gurren, and Jung Lee were tossed back hundreds of meters.

  Deia and Dave flew over them and unleashed arrows on the Nerhoun while Anna turned into a drill of Air, cutting through the prison of tentacles that surrounded her.

  Induca let out a triumphant roar as she dodged the Nerhoun’s disrupting spell it had been fighting. The distorting spell rushed through the air, hitting the Nerhoun who was fighting Malsour.

  The Nerhoun fighting the black dragon faltered, a huge hole through its armored scales on its head.

  Malsour seized on the opportunity and sent a pillar of black light pierced through the Nerhoun. Its tentacles burned away as it fell toward the ground. Malsour immediately turned and rushed toward the Nerhoun fighting with this sister.

  Black magical circles appeared in the air. Spears of metal lanced through the Nerhoun’s interwoven tentacles, smoking from corrosive damage as meteors appeared from another magical circle. Another rained down black arrows.

  The Nerhoun’s strongest attack was meant to kill one powerful creature at a time; now it found itself against two powerful dragons.

  The red and black dragon worked perfectly together, coming in at an angle to each other. Blue flames and black light carved through scales and tentacles, burning them away or cutting them right off.

  Party Zero didn’t have time to watch the other battle or celebrate the victory that Malsour and Induca had won.

  Anna was panting hard as she continued to stand upon the air, her Mana barrier from her armor showed a dark color from all the hits she’d taken. She’d underestimated the speed and attack power of the Nerhoun. Without the Abscondita armor, she would have been torn apart.

  Gurren and Lox’s armor had used up a lot of power maintaining a Mana barrier and blocking the Nerhoun’s attack.

  Deia was unleashing her most powerful arrow attacks, as was Dave. His grenades whittled away the number of tentacles they faced, or blocked them from hitting the party.

  Jung Lee closed his hand; the conjured wall exploded forward. The metal shards burying themselves into the Nerhoun’s body and tentacles. However, to the massive beast it was nothing but a flesh wound.

  The Nerhoun attacked Party Zero with renewed energy and fury, sensing their tiredness and low power reserves.

  As the barrier hit the Nerhoun, six powerful Affinity spirits left the metal and spread out through the Nerhoun’s tentacles.

  It let out a pained warble. It hadn’t noticed the Free Affinity spirits that Jung Lee had used to reinforce the wall of metal, stopping the disrupting attack of the tentacles and now used as a Trojan horse.

  These Free Affinity spirits were weak copies of the spirits that inhabited his b
ody, but there were hundreds of them hidden within the metal shards

  They consumed their limited power, the light wounds turning into catastrophic injuries as the Nerhou cried out in shock and pain.

  Not giving it time to think, Dave created a two-handed great sword and rushed forward. Gurren and Lox conjured shields and swords while Air creations poured from Suzy’s bag and moved to cover her. Much like Anna’s own sky guardian, a person of violent cutting white air formed in the shape of Suzy—a ten-meter-tall giant. This creation of amalgamated Air creations had no weapons as it punched forward. A single punch was enough to stagger the Nerhoun and kill off tens of its tentacles.

  Suzy’s speed was greater than the others in the party. She stepped in front of them, her Air-body taking on the tentacles’ attacks and slashing them apart upon contact.

  Air creations quickly used up their stored power. The cores fell to the ground as the remaining Air creations moved to cover over their loss.

  Deia quietly muttered words to herself.

  The Nerhoun, sensing the cage closing around it, once again grew and contracted, very much like a jellyfish would. It shot away by nearly a kilometer.

  A pained warbling sounded out as Induca and Malsour, covered in wounds and the blood of Nerhouns, tore apart the other Nerhoun.

  The last Nerhoun just needed to maintain distance and it could fight off the chasing Party Zero.

  The Nalheim on the ground, even under the fire of the castles, used their remaining Mana barriers that were now being controlled by one—the Nerhoun’s Nalheim master. That took that person out of the fight, but also made it impossible to destroy the barriers with the overloading barrier busters.

  This allowed them great protection as they readied their trebuchets and continued to advance with their siege towers that would allow them to directly attack the top layer of the castle’s outer defenses.