Holy War

by Sugralinov Daniel

  THE SUN BLINDED ME when I emerged from the portal. My undead vision adapted at once. The picture darkened, lowering the brightness as if a light filter had been placed over my eyes. It seemed the portal from the Nucleus’s lair led now not to Kharinza, but to the Stronghold of the Destroying Plague in the Lakharian Desert. The ziggurats erected by Shazz towered at either side, spreading the energies of death.

  They were waiting for me—the eight sentients stood up to their ankles in sticky bubbling slime. Previously of various races, now they were all undead.

  The eight legates from the Elites formed a semicircle, covering my escape routes. Their poses were relaxed enough, with smiles fixed on their faces. The three elven girls, Laneiran, Biancanova and Angel, had kept their good looks. That would change when the rot came. Overall, for players a hundred and fifty levels beneath me, they were behaving pretty confidently, even if they didn’t want to risk coming too close…

  A chuckle and a quiet order interrupted my thoughts:

  “Get him!”

  An arrow suddenly whistled in from one side. It hit me in the shoulder, clattered away uselessly. Equanimity didn’t proc—I just didn’t take any damage. It was the same for all the other attacking skills. It made sense; the Destroying Plague was a single entity, so the members of its faction couldn’t deal damage to each other. It was the most cohesive faction, and that was its strength…

  I shaded my eyes and waited out the barrage of magic attacks coming in from all sides. A two-headed bird flew in and tried to peck out my eyes. Even Mogwai kept at a distance, not daring to approach, showering me with swarms of angry Burning Wasps. Using gaps in my rotten flesh, the insects practically made a nest inside me, but I didn’t bat an eyelid. After everything I’d been through, a few minutes under fire from the eight legates felt like nothing.

  It was harder to decide what to do next. Put Sleeping Vindication into play, or keep my cards hidden? I needed information, after all. Were the Elites controlling their characters? Had they become Threats? Big Po and I became Threats when we became Heralds, which is beneath the legates in the hierarchy of the Destroying Plague. But there were eight at once here. The fate of the guards also concerned me. Shazz never took away my minions until I was carried into the Nether—in that case, Scyth simply disappeared from the world of Dis, so Flaygray, Nega, Anf, Ripta and Sharkon moved to the lich’s command. But perhaps that was just through Shazz’s goodwill… In any case, there was a lot I had to find out, and to get the information, I’d need to talk—so it goes in this world. If I just killed them (although—how?), I wouldn’t be able to talk to them.

  I didn’t have to wait long. Three minutes later, Mogwai realized how pointless their attacks were.

  “Enough!”

  Criterror, after firing one more arrow at me after the order, put his bow away and shook his head in his leather helmet.

  “Nah, it’s not working. Seems we can’t kill the Threat ourselves, Mo. Shame. The problem isn’t our abilities. We just can’t damage him.”

  “My Predator did,” the hunter Cray argued.

  True, his pet, a Two-headed Vulture, had dealt me miserly damage and then died from Reflection… I mentally laughed.

  All the legates put their weapons away and the mages stopped casting spells. The attacks ceased.

  “Predator could damage him because he isn’t undead…” Mogwai said. “What if…”

  He instantly pulled out some spell-scroll and used it. A long golden arrow sparkled and span as it flew through my chest, dealt no damage and disappeared.

  “Idiotic mechanics!” Mogwai grimaced. “No internal PvP in the faction. We can’t kill each other!”

  “Life is death, Legates…” I chuckled.

  “What?” the druid asked, not understanding. He frowned. “It doesn’t matter, scrub. This is easily solved. I told you, we’ll meet again! What’s wrong, Scyth, you upset? You lost your exclusive access to Immortality, and now you’ve been demoted to boot. You’re my underling now, did you know that?”

  “Screw you!” I said and took a step to the side. Then I was caught, my body melted away and red text appeared before my eyes:

  Call of the Supreme Legate!

  The painful teleport to Mogwai took longer than walking would have been, but the realization that I was stuck hit me far worse. If that bastard could drag me around wherever he wanted…

  The Elites laughed. Liam was almost doubled over, pointing at me.

  “You’re in my hands, Scyth, get it?” Mogwai asked, smiling. “You have none of your prior invulnerability when we’re nearby. The only problem we have is that we can’t kill you personally. Although what I can do…”

  I shook, couldn’t move—the Supreme Legate drained my supply of plague energy dry. A hundred yards away, on the border where the influence of the Stronghold of the Destroying Plague ended and sand began, players had formed a crowd.

  “Aren’t you worried those guys will destroy the stronghold?” I asked, regaining control of my body.

  “The environment here is dangerous to them,” Biancanova condescended to answer. “The Devouring Plague is deadly to the living. The Nucleus…”

  “Quiet!” Mogwai snapped at her. “You’re talking too much.”

  There was silence for a while. They pierced me with their eyes. I was waiting for Crash, galloping toward us at the speed of an airtrain through his underground tunnels from the temple.

  Judging by their behavior, the Elites were in control of their characters, but I still asked:

  “So that’s you, Fen?”

  “What do you mean?” Mogwai asked, eyes narrowing. Realizing that I didn’t plan to run, and that he couldn’t kill me then and there, he crossed his arms and spoke: “Fen! For you, I am Mr. Xiaoguang himself, scrub! No respect for your betters. It’s obvious what kind of pit you crawled out of!”

  “And the rest of you too?” I asked, ignoring his insult and glancing at the other legates. “Uhm… Mr. Xiaoguang?”

  “Everyone who chose the undead appeared in Dis at the same time,” Mogwai answered with a smirk. “We got offers to become legates of the Destroying Plague almost immediately. Obviously, no one refused. We were taken to the Nucleus. We spoke while you were absent, and you know what? The Nucleus is very disappointed in you. We believe that you’re taking up a position that should belong to one of my friends. So what did you mean?”

  “The Nucleus takes control of characters… but obviously, that’s changed, since you guys are you.”

  “Oh, really?” Liam snorted, frowning in distrust. “So how did you manage to avoid it?”

  “My kung-fu was stronger. Correct me if I’m wrong—you guys are Threats now too?”

  The Elites bared rotten teeth, exchanged glances.

  “That’s none of your concern,” Mogwai snapped. “Your status will be gone in minutes. We’re waiting for our living friends. They’ll help us beat the crap out of you, and then…”

  “Goodbye, Scyyythie!” Laneiran laughed.

  “You see, the other side of the fact that we can’t harm you is that you can’t harm us!” Criterror said. “Poor Scyth. I feel for you, I do.”

  “A pathetic end to a boy from the slums who thought himself a god!” Biancanova sneered, triumph gleaming in her eyes.

  Angel giggled next to her.

  “You can’t do shit now,” Mogwai nodded. “My Call of the Supreme Legate has no cooldown, and doesn’t even cost plague energy. Shame I can’t take away your minions… Real sha…”

  “Not to me.” I rushed at him, calling my pets as I ran. Crash was about to arrive.

  Liam died just as he stood, with an idiotic smirk on his face, when the plague slime exploded in a fountain beneath his feet. The earth roiled and the colossal body of the Diamond Worm emerged from underground.

  Mogwai started to suspect something an instant before Crash’s attack and began to retreat, transforming into a bear. Iggy immobilized him and the others with Deadly Chirp, which activated the
druid’s Equanimity timer. I didn’t run the final steps—I flew straight at the now fully transformed Mogwai with my arms outstretched. I grabbed the bear’s skin and held on with a death grip as his stun ended, then flew straight up at sixty miles an hour, or around that. In seconds, we were high enough for his fall to be lethal.

  Mogwai tried his best to tear himself from my grip, but he couldn’t compete with the power amassed by Unity. After waiting for the druid’s Equanimity to end, I dropped ‘Mr. Xiaoguang,’ but now he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to say his goodbyes. He clung to my legs. Mogwai summoned a Celestial Devil, a flying mount that looked like a stingray with monstrous stingers and a long double tail Storm, ascending behind us, obeyed my order to attack Mogwai’s mount. The dragoness and the ray locked together. Storm caught her enemy’s tail in her mouth and used her mighty claws to tear the creature in half like a piece of paper. The Celestial Devil s piercing howl cut ended abruptly.

  With a powerful Hammerfist, I punched the druid away. Roaring with fury and terror, he dropped through the air like a stone.

  At my command, Storm shot her strongest bolt of lightning, capable of burning anyone to ash, but Mogwai’s mana shield saved him. Then Storm fired again, and that was enough to ensure that the deadly fall damage should hit ‘Mr. Xiaoguang’ full-force, with no defenses left. I worried that he might have some bird form and would transport in flight. Unfortunately for him, it seemed the #1 leading player in the world wasn’t one of those druids. There were many types of them in Dis, just like the other base classes.

  I’d also confirmed that the Supreme Legate hadn’t earned Subjugate Mind yet. Maybe he’d get it when he got more reputation with the Nucleus. Or did it just not work on other legates? I had no time to wonder.

  Battle raged below. Crash and Iggy were successfully putting down the Legates of the Destroying Plague. Actually, they were killing them a second time—they revived in the stronghold. The respawn point for new undead had to be there. They were using plague energy attacks on my pets as much as they could—without Plague Fury for now—and even without their skills and reservoir leveled up, the damage hurt. Iggy had lost half his health, but the pet took cunning vengeance over and over—he didn’t just kill them, he laid a few larvae in each. The Parasites Inside skill meant they’d be walking around with their health cut down!

  I tracked the battle with my pets by their logs and health bars, which were dropping like a stone along with Mogwai’s. Only at the very bottom did I lower my speed and land gracefully on my feet by the corpse of the Supreme Legate, driving my Reapers Scythes into his heart with the words: “I expel you from Disgardium forever!”

  Nothing. Mogwai was not a Threat. The druid had revived nearby and saw me land. He laughed.

  “You’re an idiot, Scyth! You become a Threat when you violate the balance of Dis. A third faction with its own racial abilities is already part of that balance.”

  “I had to tr>%” I said, smiling and setting Crash on him.

  “Strange that you’re still a Threat. Must be something to do with the Sleeping Gods…”

  Whoomph!— the plague-ridden land beneath the druid’s feet exploded and he fell into a welcoming stomach. Crash’s mouth full of endless rows of teeth snapped shut.

  The Diamond Worm chewed Mogwai a while, taking away his Equanimity and mana shield, but only quarter of his health. The druid fired off plague attacks from inside and bored a hole in the worm’s body, breaking out to freedom. I was at the ready, and repeated my unforgettable aerial tour of the skies of the Lakharian Desert for ‘Mr. Xiaoguang.’ The customer was far from happy. Ragged, but still fighting, Storm, Crash and Iggy switched to dealing with the others.

  All eight newly-minted Legates of the Destroying Plague died again for the second time that day. We had to press on until we got them a third time, to win time until tomorrow. Otherwise… Call of the Supreme Legate right into a trap, murder, elimination of the Threat.

  A raid of marauding PuGs passing the Destroying Plague’s lands helped me while away the wait, and Rita Wood messaged to say she’d left the sandbox and was ‘awaiting further instructions in Darant.’ Instructions? I had no time to answer. The PuG raid’s commander, a little gnome shrouded in a full set of adamantite armor, shouted… or rather, shrieked: “Hey, carrion, come over here, be a man! Why are you hiding over there? You a coward?”

  I realized the reason for his suicidal bravado when I flew closer. Baleful grins darkened the players’ faces, dozens of them took out scrolls, and then…

  Crack! With a crunch, everything around bent, broke. I began to feel myself twisted as if someone had started to solve an invisible Rubik’s Cube, with Scyth at its center. Ultima? There was absolutely nothing I could do— Ultima, once the strongest spell in the game, stunned me and dealt damage. The numbers flooded in so fast that Resilience even gained a few points. Reflection did its job—everyone who used an Ultima scroll died. My pets dealt with the rest.

  By the time the world stopped twisting, ever} last member of the PuG raid was on the way back to the graveyard. It’s a wipe! the squeak} gnome shouted before he died, voicing the obvious. He added something that rang less true: But well have our revenge!

  The absurd skirmish with the PuGs filled up my Serendipity supply by twenty thousand and change. Reapers Scythes were a little closer to level seven.

  Around half an hour left until the Elites revived.

  I answered Rita, told her she had to do something in Darant before we could meet in the Lake District. I chose the spot because it was quiet and had no torches of True Flame on every street corner. Then I sent her a package with all the artifacts from the Treasury of the First Mage that we hadn’t yet identified: Isis’ Blessing, Ebis’ Inspiration, Elemental Concentration and Thunderbearer.

  Yet another test of loyalty. It might cost us a lot, but less than a possible stab in the back when you least expect it. At first, I wanted to send just one artifact. That way we wouldn’t lose them all if she betrayed me. But I changed my mind. I couldn’t see myself visiting Darant without risking elimination, and the artifacts might come in handy to the clan. Maybe even today or tomorrow, if the player army reached the temple.

  I also attached two million gold. One million and eight hundred thousand for identification, the rest—for a portal to the Lake District and just in case…

  Wo ah, Scyth! You tempter! Rita messaged me when she got the money. Time to get a disguise and run…

  I was prepared for any outcome, but I had no time to respond—all eight legates revived at once, and I had no time to reflect.

  The Elites fought desperately—not with me, but with my pets. Two tried to escape through the portal, but hit trouble. From this side, the Great Plague Poi’tal didn’t lead anywhere yet.

  Mogwai took to his heels in panther form. I managed to catch him and didn’t let him get away again… until his invulnerability fell after the first minute and a half of battle. My pets dealt damage against my brother legate for me. The druid tried to escape on his flying mount again, and the stingray fought the dragoness. I clung onto the wriggling panther with a death grip as it tried to claw out my eyes. Crash and Iggy tore the others to pieces as they ran.

  When Mogwai breathed his last breath for the third time, I set a mental timer for twelve hours—in that time, I had to return my human form and escape the subjugation of the Destroying Plague.

  * * *

  I flew across the desert from the stronghold to Tiamat’s temple, carefully watching all the large formations of the army of Light. You can’t change human nature, and the players were still human. They didn’t give a damn about Nergal’s stereotypical quests or the squabbles between the Sleepers and the Destroying Plague. Many of them just farmed mobs, grinded levels, gathered rare ingredients. Others ganked the farmers as they fought desert beasts and stole their loot. There was no sign of unity among Nergal’s followers.

  But here and there were also large and cohesive raids, with a firm inte
ntion to grasp their share of the Radiant’s rewards, and were advancing toward the temple with purpose. A mile or so from the temple, well-defended Alliance camps grew like weeds. They awaited reinforcements. From above, their forcefield domes looked like dozens of soap bubbles on sand-colored asphalt.

  The second-tier clans may not have the riches and power of the Alliance, but they had greater numbers. By my most conservative estimations, over seventy thousand players were moving toward the temple. In the two days of Nergal’s event, they’d adapted to the local monsters, done plenty of farming and gained a lot of levels. The Alliance didn’t mess around either. The player leaderboards showed that overnight, not only had the leaders of the preventers and Mogwai broken the barrier of level four hundred, but so had some front-line members of the Alliance clans.

  I couldn’t imagine that I could withstand them. All I could do was put my hopes in Tiamat’s rewards and the risky idea I was willing to attempt, wagering the temple to squeeze out as much as I could from the bonuses of the undead race and Immortality…

  Rita Overweight didn’t let me down—she identified the divine artifacts, used a hauler’s guild portal to jump to the Lake District and waited there. I copied a new disguise while flying over the desert, from one of the raiders. I found my friend in the agreed spot, hugged her and took her to Kharinza. Since my trip to Kinema with Patrick, Depths Teleportation had allowed me to bring along anyone I wanted. All I had to do was touch them, but this was the first time I was using it.

  She opened her eyes, breathed out and looked around. We stood by the Pig and Whistle. People wandered the fort’s main street—mostly nonhuman, but there were some miners too.

  “Hi, Alex…” Rita said. Her face was an inch from mine, and I unwillingly released my embrace. “That was… sudden!”

  “Hey! Sony, I didn’t want to risk staying there.”

  “No, I liked it!” The girl took a step back to look me up and down. “So that’s what a max-potential Threat looks like. My friend! Am I dreaming? I’ve seen the news, I knew it was you, but here, in the flesh…”