Ascend Online

by Luke Chmilenko

  “Sierra, no!” Drace boomed as we saw her take off, catching the attention nearly all of the nearby spiders.

  Oh shit, Sierra! I swore to myself as her flight triggered something in the Webwood Predators as they turned to focus on a lone target, including the pair that had been threatening me.

  “I NEED A MOB!” Caius’s scream tore through our surprise.

  “Raaaaaaah!” Fueled by rage, Drace slammed his shield into a wheeling Predator, practically flattening it against the ground before it could run after Sierra. His wicked Bladeclaw chopped into the creature sending out a glowing spray of ichor as he dragged it backwards, tossing it behind him.

  “Lyrian! Keep it down!” he bellowed right before he roared at another hesitating Predator and launched into brutal assault before it could chase after Sierra.

  “Fuck yeah!” I screamed mindlessly as I stabbed Razor straight through the stunned Predator, burying it a hand’s length in the ground. As I slammed my armored knee into the creature’s back, I finally chanced a glance over to Caius and Constantine.

  Constantine was lying flat on the ground, twin holes gushing blood from his neck and side, his face pale and filled with pain. Caius was kneeling beside him with a hand on his chest.

  “Caius, now!” I shouted as I twisted my blade to keep the creature from writhing out under me.

  On my word, the wounds instantly vanished from Constantine as Caius activated Transference, I was close enough to hear him gasp in pain before his other hand slapped the smooth chitin of the Predator and flared red.

  Like a dying man finding an Oasis, Caius drank in the Predator’s life energy as its struggles grew weaker under my blade. When Caius finally drew his hand away, the blue glow of the creature was gone and the body crumbled under my weight.

  “What the fuck?!” I exclaimed as I practically fell through the creature.

  “Incoming!” I heard Sierra scream over the screeching of the Predators chasing her.

  Standing up, I whirled on her voice and saw her sprinting towards us with the swarm of Predators in tow. Blood flowed freely from a deep cut on the cheek, spraying in the air as she ran.

  “Halcyon, Force Shield in front of Drace soon as Sierra passes by!” I barked seeing Drace brutally dismember a spider in front of him, the glow fading away from the creature, as it too crumbled to dust. At least these aren’t exploding!

  Seeing Constantine on his feet, I motioned for him to take Drace’s shield side. “You okay, buddy?”

  “Yeah… completely fucked up…” He shook his head. “I’m okay…”

  “Good, let’s go!” Moving up to stand beside Drace, I saw Sierra’s long strides quickly eating up the distance between us as the horde of Predators nipped at her heels.

  Halcyon is going to need to be fucking quick on this! I worried to myself, remembering Halcyon’s fear of spiders as he planted himself in front of Drace to receive the spider’s charge. Hopefully, he doesn’t choke.

  Eyes wild, Sierra charged towards us as the Predators tore the ground up behind her, wicked claws gleaming eerily in the forest gloom. At the last moment before running headlong into Halcyon, she dropped into a slide, skidding just past his legs.

  The moment Sierra was safe, Halcyon’s shield slammed into place. A slight distortion marking the arc of the shield.

  Caught running full stride, the chasing Predators had no chance or warning to slow down. They violently collided into Halcyon’s shield with a vicious crunch as the momentum sent them all piling into one another. The impact sent Halcyon sliding backwards into Drace as the warrior’s massive form helped keep the mage steady.

  “Shields down, Hal! Attack while they’re stunned!” I shouted as I moved forward, trusting Halcyon to bring the shield down in time.

  I saw the mage side step Drace, ducking under the warrior’s outstretched shield arm as he wound up for a sweeping cleave.

  A thunderclap of magefire announced the departure of Halcyon’s Force Shield, washing over nearly the entire pile of spiders. Drace’s wicked Bladeclaw quickly swept through the tangle of spiders easily severing half a dozen limbs in a single pass.

  Ducking under Drace’s follow through, Razor crackled with electricity as I skewered a pair of Predators, sinking my blade right to the hilt and wrenching it violently for maximum damage.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Constantine land two thunderous blows that punctured deep into a Predator that already carried twin arrows lodged deep into its carapace. Even as the creature began to dissolve, he had already torn his Daggerfangs free, seeking another target.

  Moving with incredible speed, the horde of Predators finally managed to untangle themselves from one another, each bearing at least a single wound or burn as they redoubled their attack.

  All that and we just got two! I grimaced while doing a quick mental count of the spiders still standing. Eight left! We can do this!

  “Push forward! Don’t let them flank!” I shouted out as the Predators began to spill over the sides of our formation. I kept Razor moving in a blur as I parried or deflected a seemingly endless avalanche of glowing claws. Finding an opportunity, I sliced through an offending leg, then quickly twisted my body to slap away yet another claw that would have completely pierced through Drace’s side.

  “STEP!” Sierra bellowed.

  It took half a second for the training to kick in, promptly reminding me to take a step to the right.

  Two arrows whistled past my vacated spot thudding into a surprised Predator, quickly followed by another burst of magefire that sent it disintegrating.

  Another one bites the dust. I grinned to myself as I glided back to my usual spot at Drace’s right side, carving a wicked gash across a carapace.

  “What the hell?!” Halcyon shouted in surprise.

  “Lyr, behind you!” Sierra screamed.

  I spun wildly, ready to slash out at a flanking Predator. I barely noticed that Sierra and Halcyon had broken formation, as my mouth fell open in shock.

  “Oh fuck!” I felt icy tendrils of terror shoot through my veins.

  A massive puma soared through the air at me, claws outstretched, maw open.

  As it slammed into me and knocked me off my feet, my mind snapped back to my death, filling me with dread.

  I felt a single thought cross my mind.

  Not again.

  Chapter 27

  The impact knocked the wind out of me, sending me sailing through the air and landing on top a pair of Predators. I felt chitin crunch under me as my Nemesis slammed its weight down onto me, pinning me down.

  Fuck! Did this thing get even bigger?! The thought crossed my panicking mind as I reflexively punched the giant cat in the face. I grabbed the creature’s throat as its head rocked back, trying to simultaneously strangle the beast single-handedly, and keep it from adding another collection of scars to my face.

  Massive claws dug into my chest, thankfully unable to pierce through the re-enforced carapaces that I had stitched onto my armor, as it lunged forward to take a bite of me. My hand struggled to keep its grip on the creature’s throat as powerful muscles drove the head towards me. Remembering my other hand still held Razor, I stabbed inwards, hoping to drive my blade deep into my Nemesis’s side.

  The tip of the blade barely punched into the side of the puma, before it ground against the creature’s ribcage. The beast roared in pain on top of me as it tried to shrug itself off my blade. Its hind claws digging deep into my legs as it raked deep furrows in my flesh.

  Why is this thing so dead set on killing me?! My mind reeled in pain as I tried to suck in a breath of air. I felt the two Predators writhing under me as they struggled to escape. A flash of blue caught my eye, as I saw a Predator’s gleaming scythe-claw break free from under me and begin to flail wildly.

  Damn it! I can’t catch a break! I gasped as the Puma’s claws finally managed to pierce through my chest armor. I had to make a move fast if I was going to survive this. Alteration, please don’t let me do
wn!

  Chancing a quick glance to my right, I fixated on a distant patch of brush, free from anything nearby. Taking a quick breath and sending a quick prayer to all the gods I knew, I let go of the Puma’s throat and triggered Blink-Step.

  The world blurred as I teleported out from under the Puma and the wild scythe-claw, appearing in the air a short distance away. I landed onto the ground with a sigh of relief.

  That was too close! I gasped a desperate breath as I rolled to my feet, looking back at the pile of creatures. My Nemesis looked confused as it found itself biting down into a Predator instead of my throat. Committed, it shook its head viciously as it thrashed the creature around on the ground, sending another spider crumbling to dust.

  “Lyr! Are you okay?!” I heard Caius shout from nearby.

  The party had momentarily scattered when the Puma attacked from behind and knocked me out of our line. Despite falling on two of them, the rest of the Predators had taken advantage of the distraction and redoubled their attack. I saw that Sierra had dropped her bow in favor of her sword to keep the creatures from flanking Halcyon and Caius.

  “Y-Y-yeah!” I lied, trying to hide how much the memory of my death had unsettled me. I quickly started to move back towards the group. “Fucking cat! This is going to end here!”

  On hearing my voice, the Puma’s head instantly fixated on me and bared its teeth in a roar. Slapping away the second Predator with a paw, it sprang forward towards me, ready for blood. But before it could cover more than a single stride, however, a pair of spiders peeled away from the party blocking the Puma’s path.

  Skidding to a halt, the big cat hissed with fury as it swiped a claw at a spider that dared to cross its path, rending five jagged lines into the creature’s carapace that began to spew glowing ichor.

  Welcoming the distraction, I sprinted back towards the relative safety of the party, still wheezing for air as my lungs struggled to settle themselves. Seeing Sierra under assault by a pair of Predators, I angled my charge to sneak attack the pair from behind. Electricity crackling through Razor as I cast Shocking Touch yet again, my blade brutally piercing through an unsuspecting Predator’s abdomen, splitting the creature open as my momentum drove the blade forward.

  “Get your bow!” I shouted at Sierra as I took her place in the line, now on Constantine’s left side as the Predator I had just trampled evaporated into dust.

  “Thanks, Lyr!” Sierra gasped as she backpedaled, quickly sheathing her sword, then stooping to pick up her bow.

  Faced with only a single Predator this time and a wounded one to boot, I unleashed a furious combination of blows designed to bully the creature into the ground, smashing it with relentless overhand attacks. The Predator desperately attempted to block and deflect my attacks with its massive claws, but with it fighting alone and no longer having the benefit of surprise, it began to flag under my assault.

  With a snap, I shattered a claw into pieces and chopped Razor deep into the Predator’s thorax, sending yet another spurt of glowing ichor in the air. At that moment, Constantine’s Daggerfang seized an opening, burying itself deep between the spider’s cluster of eyes. I kicked out at the creature, sending it sliding off Constantine’s Daggerfang and quickly disintegrating as it collapsed to the ground.

  “I need help here!” I heard Drace shout out behind me. “Cat is coming to dance!”

  “Go, Lyr!” Constantine shouted as he caught a claw on his Daggerfang. “I got this!”

  “Right!” I stepped backwards as I turned, moving to Drace’s right side.

  On my way through the defensive pocket we’d formed, Caius clapped me on the shoulder and I felt my wounds vanish.

  “Ah!” He winced as he removed his hand and moved to fill the spot I had just left. “Go get it, Lyr!”

  “Const!” I heard him grunt. “Line the critter up for me!”

  As I stepped up towards Drace, I saw the Puma sinking its teeth into another Webwood Predator and violently whipping the spider around. In the brief instant, I had lost sight of the creature it had acquired a pair of long gashes along its body, with one of Sierra’s arrows firmly entrenched in its hindquarters.

  Doing a quick count, I saw only three more Predators remaining. One by Constantine, one by Drace and another in the Pum-shit scratch that! It’s already dead! The angry cat having just killed its spider.

  “Bring it, kitty!” I taunted the Puma as a blue missile flew past by me and splashed across the creature’s shoulder.

  Hissing in pain, the Puma glared at me then roared in anger and frustration. For the briefest of moments, I made eye contact with the beast and saw a glint of intelligence behind the bright amber eyes.

  Then it was gone.

  As quickly as the Puma had tried to ambush me, it turned to flee, running off deep into the forest.

  “No!” I screamed as hot rage welled up inside me. I sprung forward as the creature fled. “Get back here, you fucking cat!”

  “Lyr!” Drace yelled as I took off to chase the wounded creature. “Wait for us!”

  Breaking into a full sprint I left the clearing and the party behind. I pumped my legs furiously as I began to gradually close the gap with the fleeing Puma, Sierra’s arrow greatly slowing down its maximum speed.

  “Hey!” I shouted at the creature, trying to get its attention, anger completely overriding the wisdom of taunting such a massive cat. “You fucking want me?! Here I am! I’m not going to be afraid of you!”

  “Let’s see how you fucking like when something fucking tackles you out of nowhere!” I lunged forward as I triggered Blink-Step once more. Oh, please don’t let me face plant!

  The world blurred as I instantly teleported thirty feet forward, directly on top of the fleeing Puma. Fucking right! My mind roared with glee.

  I slammed into the beast with the best flying tackle I could muster, completely breaking its stride and sending the both of us skidding to the ground.

  “How the fuck do you like that?!” I roared in triumph as I rode the creature to a stop. My fist crackled with electricity, as I viciously punched the creature in the back of the head, completely forgetting I still held Razor in my other hand. “A Thunder Punch right upside the head might teach you to leave me the fuck alone!”

  It was at this point that I realized that I was straddling a very angry, seven hundred plus pound mountain lion.

  Completely by myself.

  “Oh fuck!” The creature twisted under me as it planted its feet on the ground, coiling its muscles in preparation to leap.

  The Puma launched itself a solid eight feet into the air, even as it dragged my not inconsiderable two-hundredish-pound body into the sky. Twisting wildly in a way only a cat can, it slipped out from under me and we both crashed to the ground in a heap.

  I instantly sprang to my feet, just in time to dodge a swiping claw as the Puma regained its balance. We both took half a step backwards as we collected ourselves and began to test one another’s defenses.

  My eyes drank in every detail of the creature as I looked for weaknesses. I saw a number of weeping wounds running along the creature’s body, marring the golden fur with blood. A slight lean to one side told me it was favoring its rear left leg. A probing tongue flicked over a broken fang.

  There! I saw my opening and charged forward, at the same instant the creature coiled to attack.

  With a thunderous crash, we slammed together in a tangle of blood, teeth, and metal. Neither of us holding an ounce of energy in reserve as we each did our absolute best to kill one another.

  I fought purely on instinct, my body reacting faster than my mind could process.

  A slight shift of my leg let a swiping claw sail harmlessly by, followed by quick step forward to slice a thin line across it as it passed. An open palm, slapping away the creature maw, turned a potentially crippling bite to the arm into a minor graze as the teeth missed their mark.

  Minutes felt like lifetimes as neither of us dared to slow our tempo, lest the other seiz
e a decisive advantage, we fought past endurance, past reason.

  Reality snapped back into focus as I found myself driving Razor deep into the Puma’s side, the same instant I felt teeth close down on my leg. Pain exploded through my body as teeth tore through flesh and muscle, leaving me screaming louder than I ever thought I could. Like a puppet with its strings cut, I fell to the ground in a heap.

  With a twist the Puma pulled itself off of my sword, whimpering as it let go of my leg. Blood leaked freely from the wound as it backed away from me. I looked at the creature, expecting to see anger and hatred flicker in its amber eyes right before it killed me a second time.