Selidar glared at Umbra and, out of the blue, shot a fireball towards him. “You’re starting to annoy me, little Umbra. I am nobody’s fortune teller! I did so once for the sake of my god. I will never do the same for anyone, ever again! It’s not a favor you can just ask on a whim...”
Umbra took the brunt of the attack. As it was the weakest spell Selidar could cast, it did almost no damage to Umbra. The speed of the fireball, however, was another story. With the moniker, “Hellstorm Gremlin”, Selidar's spells were not only destructive, but were also blindingly fast, just like a storm. From its short casting time to its high fire rate, even the likes of Umbra wouldn’t be able avoid a full-on barrage of spells, if Selidar so pleases.
“Get out! Or I’ll hasten that prophecy of yours!” Selidar threatened as she held another fireball. This time, the fireball had a bright blue flame instead of the usual red and orange. Selidar had made up her mind. Convincing her any further wasn’t only futile but dangerous as well. It would be akin to courting death. Umbra had no choice but to give up.
“I’ll take my leave,” he said.
Umbra walked out of the entrance calmly. In fact, the atypical behavior he had a while ago—all the panicking and pleading—disappeared in an instant.
“You’re still a conniving little bastard… human king.” Selidar whispered. A devious grin appeared on Umbra’s face.
Selidar tried hopping back on to her magical cauldron, but it was too late. The ground discolored into a dark shade of blue and illusory arms as thick as Selidar’s entire torso quickly grabbed a hold of her ebony pot.
“Get your filthy hands off my ride!” she protested, casting the fireball she had on her hand towards the spot where the shadow spawns were rising. Boom! The explosion caused the cauldron to fly upward. Selidar jumped and threw a weak fireball on the ground right below her. The minute blast propelled her body upwards and into the mouth of the cauldron.
Selidar shot a glance at Umbra, but the latter somehow disappeared.
‘Where is he? He couldn’t have possibly given up just like that...’ Selidar thought. She knew the human king too well.
Just then, resounding screams of terror echoed from the city.
Intricate carvings streamlining the sides of the magical cauldron glowed brightly as Selidar sped up and rushed to the city. The discolored ground had crept up to Parak without her noticing. The city alarms blared loudly, but it rang late. An army of shadow spawns had started ravaging the hidden city.
“Damn it!” Selidar rebuked as she hovered over the unabated chaos. Helpless goblins and gremlins ran for their lives as disfigured phantoms slaughtered them mercilessly. Stronger citizens like the hobgoblins and guard orcs fought valiantly against the shadowy invaders.
Selidar landed impulsively, giving up her vantage point, and started attacking the enemies on the ground. “Hagroul! These things won’t disappear when killed, they’ll just revive! Get the others out of here and into the entrance!” Selidar instructed the orc named Hagroul.
The giant guard orc nodded and started picking up injured citizens while Selidar fought.
Other orcs followed suit. Those that could fight assisted Selidar.
“It won’t stop like this,” Selidar muttered.
To end the onslaught, she needed to find the “source”—Umbra.
“Stop hiding and face me, coward!” Selidar screamed, the intensity of her spells were getting stronger and stronger with each attack. Buildings started crumbling from the intense firepower; even the cavern itself shook violently. The spawns were no match against the spells coming from the Hellstorm Gremlin herself. Getting caught in the crossfire, even for the residents, consequently meant sudden, inescapable death.
It took half an hour before Selidar dealt with every shadow spawn. From tens of thousands of residents, only a third of them survived. Although most were killed by the spawns, some casualties were undoubtedly self-inflicted. The utter frustration had blinded Selidar. “Show yourself!” she yelled. Selidar knew Umbra was still inside the cave, hiding. It was a shame her ability to trace and detect mana hardly worked on a target that could hide in the void.
Just then, from a distance, Selidar felt a strong mana surge.
Her fur stood on end. ‘How can he still have this much mana after summoning all those spawns!?!’ It baffled Selidar. She could feel the aura getting stronger—It was illogical. The discolored ground condensed into a single spot as Umbra resurfaced. “Are you confused? Well, many things can happen in fifteen years. You’d be surprised at what other things I can do,” Umbra jeered.
The surge of mana was definitely not for show—Corpses, littered all over Parak, contorted suddenly. Inch by inch they all crept as if they were still alive. “You think I am still the same feeble man from years ago? The tramp monarch who sought your ‘kind’ aid?” Umbra said in an apathetic tone. “I’m not anymore! I came to ask for a favor, but what do you have for me? Nothing but the same condescending attitude... as if you’re still that high and mighty.”
Umbra pointed at Selidar. “Everything changes today. No longer will I beg for any help. I’ll have you serve me instead!”
Suddenly, the hoard of twitching corpses crumbled, leaving behind piles of dust and a mysterious imprint. An army of spawns arose from the ashen remains. It took mere seconds for thousands of them to swarm Selidar.
“Serve you? This silly trick of yours won’t suffice for that!” Selidar retorted as a bright blue fireball started forming on her hand. “I’ll make you pay for what you did to my people!”
Selidar shot with all her strength. The fireball traveled at a blinding speed, causing a loud sonic boom to echo through the entire cave. The shock wave caused sizable debris to fall off of the cavern’s ceiling. Streaks of scattered blue flame tore through the armada of shadow spawns, killing hundreds of them at an impressive rate.
A huff of warm air followed by a cold breath escaped Selidar’s mouth; The misty breath had a distinct azure shade. It was clear that the move she just did was burdensome for her. To conjure a destructive spell in such a small amount of time takes more than just talent—Selidar was already scraping the extreme bottom of her mana pool.
Running out of mana and experiencing the side effects of mana depletion at such a crucial time was unideal at best... fatal at worst. At most, she could cast two more similar high-tier spells. Doing so, however, would be akin to committing suicide.
At this rate, Selidar knew she couldn’t win.
Then, out of nowhere, landed a giant translucent shield. The orange-colored aegis blocked the hoard of rabid shadow spawns converging towards the direction of Selidar.
The unexpected help came just in time, giving Selidar enough breathing room to recover some mana. Selidar needed not to look back to know who it was that helped her. On the cliff-side of the city stood Hagroul, the giant guard orc. Sitting comfortably on his broad shoulders, the red-furred gremlin who stood guard at the entrance.
“And when I thought you came for a visit? Tsk tsk... Little Umbra, you shouldn’t have disrespected our sanctuary like that. We, Goblinoids, have as little patience as our bodies, you know?” said the gremlin.
Chapter VII
The Mystery
For in the monster society; names weren’t granted by brethren on birth, but by a god that oversees their race. Proper names entailed a few things distinct to monsters: Those given with names from birth were “leaders”, while those named after being granted with powers were “warriors”. The gremlin guard was neither of the two. He, or rather “it”, was an aberration. Nameless and genderless, birthed with powers that came from the gods of the unknown…
Selidar heaved a sigh of relief. “What took you so long?” she asked.
“I have little legs, you know?” the red-furred gremlin replied cheekily.
“Hah! As if you walked all the way here by yourself,” Selidar retorted.
“Lady Selidar, what are we going to do?” Hagroul asked as he worriedly looked at
the hoard of maddened spawns bashing against the shield. He didn’t look as calm as the two.
The gremlin guard dismounted off Hagroul and reassured the orc. “Don’t worry man. My shield spell is tougher than you think! It won’t break easily, I promise.”
Selidar nodded. “Have some faith in the little guy, Hagroul. It ain’t so bad.”
“Little guy? Not like you’re any taller, old hag!” the gremlin guard rebutted.
Hagroul could only interrupt sheepishly.“...I don’t think this is the right time to argue?”
Clack! Suddenly, a loud crack resounded. A wave of shadow spawns successfully tore through the gremlin guard’s shield spell. Tightly clumped at the very center of the breach were spawns with distinct orc-ish features. They were guard orcs turned shadow spawns.
These shadow orcs bare-handedly tore through the shield with their sheer strength, creating a gap for smaller spawns to squeeze in.
Some shadow orcs lost their limbs after ripping through the aegis. However, they could easily regenerate those limbs as long as Umbra had enough mana to sustain them. Unless annihilated completely, like what Selidar was able to do, they could well be an army of immortal soldiers that could almost always come back, unscathed.
“I was hoping for it to last a bit longer?” the gremlin guard let out an awkward smile as it looked at the worried Hagroul.
“I’ll make it tougher this time.” the little gremlin reassured. Boom! Another orange shield crashed, smashing the spawns that made it past the first one. The new shield was thicker—and presumably tougher than the previous one.
“There,” the gremlin guard said as it proudly clasped its hands. "That should do it.”
“I need it to last for at least five minutes. I’m not ready yet.” Selidar warned.
The gremlin guard nodded. “The spell could last that long… Hopefully.”
...
Five minutes went by quickly.
The new shield held up longer and better than the last one. But it wasn’t perfect in any way. Cobweb-like cracks started to appear on its surface as the hoard of spawns didn’t stop their maddened pursuit for Selider. Instead of ripping the spell apart like the last time, the shadow orcs were now bashing at it forcefully; each blow weakening the spell further.
[Mana - 960/1,800] (Regenerating…)
“That’ll do,” Selidar muttered after inspecting her mana pool. It was far from full, but the situation didn’t allow her to recover completely. A fireball then formed in her hand.
“It’ll shatter soon.” the gremlin guard said as it looked at the collapsing shield.
The sonorous bashing made the already desperate situation feel more ominous...
The shield broke and the hoard of shadow spawns came rushing once more. Following closely behind them was Umbra. Selidar unleashed the fireball without hesitation. However, its intended damage and destruction didn’t come to fruition.
The group of shadow orcs walked a few steps forward—a good distance away from the rest of the hoard—and took the brunt of the attack, ensuring the others could survive. Every shadow orc spared at least a hundred spawns. The azure flames devoured the shadowy giants, but they had already kept the “casualty” at a minimum.
“No...” Selidar murmured as she fell a few steps back.
“This is no time to be dumbfounded, Selidar! Just shoot again!” The gremlin guard scolded.
“Right…” Selidar came back to her senses and conjured another fireball.
It might have been panic or sheer frustration; Selidar started missing crucial shots that could have guaranteed them victory. The closer the spawns got, the more flustered she was. The shadow spawns coming towards her all had familiar faces. It was fine when she was shooting at a distance and couldn’t see the enemies well. But it was different facing them up close.
It was the same for Hagroul and the gremlin guard; They fought uncomfortably against enemies with familiar faces.
“It’ll take another twenty minutes before I could summon a decent shield,” the gremlin guard reminded.
However, twenty minutes was far too long.
Within ten short minutes, Umbra and his spawns had surrounded them. It was a desperate situation none of the three could seem to escape. “I’ll buy some time. Just promise me, Lady Selidar—Avenge our people for me!” Hagroul said resolutely. They couldn’t keep fighting at such a disadvantage. If there was a way to win, then it would be to run away for now and find a place where they could recoup. Hagroul would consider that a victory. Selidar and the gremlin guard, however, thought otherwise.
“There’s no such thing as escaping a maniac,” the gremlin guard said as it glared at Umbra.
Selidar nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry, Hagroul. But running away isn’t something I’d do.”
“Wise words from both of you!” Umbra interrupted, clapping his hands in mockery.
“I just initially wanted Selidar on my side. But the renowned aberration as well? Red gremlin, this is too much of a blessing!” he added. Umbra then beckoned the shadow spawns to attack.
It was a painful scene to watch. Swarmed, the trio could only fight so desperately.
...
And just like, Parak was no more.
The survivors could only escape and hope to survive as they wander the northern region.
Umbra knelt down as he inspected the three corpses lined neatly in front of him. Selidar looked pitiful; her limbs were disfigured, utterly misshapen. Her hair, frizzed, a sign that she struggled to the bitter end. Hagroul ended up beaten to a pulp, his figure wasn’t any better than Selidar. Last, the gremlin guard, who somehow had the least amount of injury. Its condition could well be attributed to its superior defensive capabilities, but it still ended up all the same as the other two—dead and soon-to-be-enslaved by a Shadow Lord.
“Arise and serve your new lord!” Umbra incanted as he beckoned the shadows of the trio. He had to de-summon his other spawns to conserve strength. Calling upon the shadows of strong people was not an easy task, even for a high-leveled Shadow Lord like himself.
Umbra could only make their corpses twitch slightly in his first attempt.
Even in the afterlife, the three were resilient.
He had to do the same spell once more for it to take effect. Hagroul’s shadow rose first as his soul had the weakest fortitude of the three. Surprisingly, Selidar’s corpse stood up next. The gremlin guard laid still. “This can’t be right...” Umbra muttered. He knew well that the aberration was unique, even among its own kind. But to resist his call was a different matter.
Umbra attempted the spell once more, but the tiny corpse barely responded.
Then, a voice resounded in Umbra’s head—
“Who are you?... And why are you calling upon me?”
The voice had a deep and commanding tone. It didn’t sound like the gremlin guard at all! Umbra didn’t need to ponder for a long time to know it was a god that just spoke. Sweat dripped down his forehead. Umbra quickly severed the mental connection with whoever god it was that tried talking to him.
Suddenly, the gremlin guard’s corpse vanished.
Umbra hastily extracted Selidar’s shadow and left Selar in a hurry.
* * *
Gavin glanced at the pile of parchments flimsily laid atop his wooden desk. A week had passed since the skirmish at the Valley of Panarishe, but the number of reports he had to do and submit was many still. His usual aloof expression turned to a frown after skimming over the papers. Mentions of the unusual undead and the death of his friend, Aero, riddled the entire manuscripts. ‘Tsk, not this again.’ Gavin shook his head.
He couldn’t mull over anything anymore these past few days, especially not the revenge he was planning to exact, as the undead monster was already dead, killed by the hands of the king himself. He now only needed to address the issues pushed by both the Congress and the noble faction questioning the credibility of the Order of the Holy Knights.
However, Gavin knew it
wasn’t just a matter of questioning credibility; he could tell from the tone of their writings — They were implying more. They’re now disputing the Order's loyalty to the royal highness. “Ironic of the Senate to talk about loyalty,” Gavin snorted. He knew well those old-timers were no more loyal than cats conniving to grab their owner’s food when no one was around.
“May the Almighty One bless this country,” Gavin prayed, a hint of irony in his tone.
He then grabbed a quill and a blank paper and started writing.
He had to address the situation before things go out of hand.
Chapter VIII
Empathy
Oddly, the recovery process felt onerous.
Not that Adam had to do anything cumbersome; he was just not used to having extensive rests. “It has only been seven days,” Adam counted. He had been talking to himself often for the past few days. It wasn’t necessary, but Adam felt like he’d lose his sanity if he didn’t. The vast darkness of the empty void was just too quiet.
“The area debuff [Land of the Phantom] has worn off!” — “Correcting recovery duration…” Just then, the system’s voice broke the deafening silence. “Estimated duration: 8 days.”
The timer at the upper right corner of his vision corrected itself. The twenty-three days became eight; halving the initial estimate of thirty. Adam felt ecstatic after hearing the news but soon became cautious about the situation.
‘... System, how’s my physical body doing?’ Adam asked worriedly.
…
Coated in a thin layer of strange, luminous material; many clumps of ruined bones drifted down the Beril River. Adam’s skeleton couldn’t be any safer because of the strange coating, but the perilous situation it was in could only get worse from there on out.
Strong currents colliding against enormous boulders emaciated the congealed bones.
Natural hazards such as these would have spelled trouble for Adam if it wasn’t for the shorter recovery period. At the speed in which the river flow traveled, it wouldn’t take longer than thirty days for his remains to reach the vast oceans.
Undone- Resurrection of Murdock Page 4