by Aaron Oster
Fuza, battering ineffectually at the monster’s arm, hung out over the open expanse, Arnold’s massive fist wrapped around his skull. The general screamed as Arnold squeezed, summoning a mass of yellow light in his palm to try and break the hold. All Arnold need to do was tighten his grip to break the man’s concentration, causing the attack to stutter and fade.
Fuza hung limply now, his eyes half-lidded, and in the moment before Arnold tightened his fist, she made eye-contact with her faithful general. She could see no fear in his eyes, no regret or sorrow. His lips, now flecked with blood, twisted up into a half-grin.
“Give him hell,” Fuza mouthed, then Arnold squeezed.
Katherine screamed as her general’s head was crushed like an egg in Arnold’s powerful grip before being tossed out to the battlefield below.
“Good riddance, I say,” Arnold said with a wide grin. “But don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. You’ll soon be joining him. You and every other miserable human in the dump. I’m done holding back,” he continued, his muscles bulging powerfully and his body beginning to radiate an ominous red light.
“Now you’ll get to witness the true power of Arnold, commander of the army under the Pinnacle King, Octagon the Bitter!”
***
Morgan crouched over the icy slab, his palm pressed to the small circle that continuously drained his core. His RP was near-empty, and each time his regen kicked in, the script would take whatever he had left. The problem was that the script seemed to need a lot more power than he was able to supply. Only half the rings were glowing so far, and each successive ring of the script had taken more and more reiki. Now, he simply crouched there, watching the battle unfold.
Things weren’t looking good for them right now, as only three of his soldiers, including Sarah, remained. Octagon seemed to be out of reiki, which was a good thing, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still extremely dangerous. All it meant was that he was just slightly less dangerous than he had been. After witnessing the amount of punishment the Pinnacle King had taken and how little the attacks had seemed to bother him, Morgan could fully appreciate the true extent of his power.
Not only was he controlling an army of millions, but at the same time, he was fighting and winning against a group of powerful fighters, and all without taking any damage at all. Morgan could scarcely imagine how much power it would take to actually kill him. He thought that Dabu would definitely have what it took, but the supermage was no longer among the living, nor would he have really been able to help anyway.
Sarah, Solveig, and Mack, the acid user, wouldn’t stand a chance. The mists were clearing up as well, meaning that Octagon would see what he was doing in just a few more seconds.
“Come on. Come on!” Morgan hissed, watching the slow progress of the script’s charging.
If there was one thing Morgan hated, it was not being able to fight when there was one going on. Especially if Sarah, the woman he loved more than anything else in this world, was in mortal danger. Still, she had a couple of heals left, which meant…
“Shit,” Morgan muttered as Sarah placed a palm on Solveig’s shoulder and healed her of the encroaching ice.
Now she only had one heal remaining, and if she was forced to use it, there would be no buffer between her and the Pinnacle King’s wrath. Their small group moved quickly, choosing to take a defensive stance as Sarah began building up a wall before them to try and buy themselves some time.
However, it seemed that time wasn’t going to be on their side. Because at that very moment, Octagon’s eyes flicked over to him. He was still down on one knee and breathing hard from whatever skill he’d used to kill so many of them at once, but as he saw Morgan, his eyes widened ever so slightly.
In that look, Morgan could see real fear. The knowledge that they knew how to defeat him and were actively working to do so. Until now, the fight had only been about ridding himself of a few pests and nothing more. They had been a minor annoyance, barely above his notice. When they’d started wrecking his home, he’d grown angry, but still, was not afraid.
Now that he saw what they’d been planning, the Pinnacle King would be very, very afraid. They had the knowledge of the one thing that could seal him away forever, and the scripts were already five-eighths of the way charged. If they managed to charge them up all the way, he’d be finished.
Seeing the fear in the Pinnacle King’s eyes didn’t make Morgan feel good at all. On the contrary, it made him very afraid. Above all else, Octagon was a beast, and when you cornered an animal with no way out, it would attack with everything it had. An indifferent Pinnacle King was one thing, but a fearful one was a different beast altogether.
Octagon rose to his feet, completely ignoring the small group arrayed against him and barreled towards Morgan, intent on stopping what he was doing. Morgan tried to rise, to pull his hand free and prepare to defend himself as best he could. However, he found his hand stuck fast to the glowing violet circle. It seemed the scripts wouldn’t allow him to rise until they’d had their fill.
It would have been nice for someone to give me a heads up, Morgan thought grimly. Because fighting a Pinnacle King with one hand stuck to the floor is not going to be a fun experience.
52
“Shit!” Sarah yelled as she saw where Octagon was heading. “Come on, we’ve gotta keep him off Morgan!”
Her hand extended, and two Ice Golems flowed into existence, charging forward to block Octagon’s path. Solveig and Mack charged beside her, the former clutching her hammer once more and the latter concentrating on using one of his skills. The golems never stood a chance against Octagon, though Sarah did notice that they managed to slow him for quite a bit longer than the last time.
A whole two seconds, wow, she thought sarcastically.
A river of acid erupted from the ground right before Octagon, morphing into a seemingly-living creature. It lashed out with dozens of tentacles, slapping him back each time he tried to advance and leaving a smoking trail in his fur with each attack.
“I don’t think it’s going to do much damage, but we might have a few seconds,” Mack said, the strain clearly audible in his voice.
“Just keep him there,” Sarah said, summoning a torrent of water and sending it out to try and snare the Pinnacle King’s feet as she took to the air.
He roared in annoyance, having to twist and try to get at the water keeping him in place. However, the few small annoyances gave their small group the chance to get between Octagon and Morgan.
“He’s definitely moving much slower than before,” Sarah said as they skidded to a halt and began building up another barricade.
“How long can the two of you hold him?” Solveig asked, eyeing the struggling Pinnacle King.
“Maybe a few more seconds,” Mack replied. “This is putting a serious drain on my MP, so that’s the best I can give you.”
“I might be able to hold him for longer,” Sarah said, her brows furrowed as she forced the water to flow up Octagon’s legs.
“I need thirty seconds. Can you give me that?” Solveig asked.
“Guess we’ll find out,” Sarah said with a grim smile.
“Hah! Guess we will,” the woman replied with a smile of her own.
She crouched then, pulling her hammer back and closing her eyes. Sarah had no clue what she could be doing, but her concentration was all focused on trying to cocoon the Pinnacle King where he stood and hold him down for as long as possible. He roared and thrashed, constantly breaking free and trying to retaliate. It seemed that the last skill he’d used had really taken a lot out of him.
None of them could hope to hurt him, but still, every second they could keep him trapped was another in which Morgan could finish up with what he was doing. She took a quick glance back over her shoulder and saw the sixth ring of script begin to glow.
Almost there, she thought, just a little more.
Then, the Pinnacle King’s thrashing started to become stronger. Sarah had managed t
o get her water all the way up around his shoulders, but now he was breaking free quickly. He thrashed and twisted from side to side, his body beginning to glow red as he pulled on his chi.
“I’m just about out!” Mack said, panic flooding his eyes as he tried to get his acid monster to fight harder.
Then, in a moment of frozen time, Octagon twisted, his icy-blue eyes locking onto her, and he extended his hand. A blast of light flashed past her, the red energy impacting Mack in the chest and hurling him back. His face twisted horribly, his skin bulging and his eyes going wide. He then exploded, much like the others who had been hit with the strange silver water earlier.
Except this time, his explosion was even more violent, the blast forcefully driving Sarah to her knees. She continued fighting to keep her attack going, but Octagon was now nearly free. He stomped down, cracking the ice encasing his legs and dispersing the water there, then reached for his other leg.
She desperately looked to Solveig, whose body was now outlined in dim golden light, but the woman’s eyes were still shut tight.
“Shit!” Sarah yelled, dropping her attack and beginning to hurl ice tridents at the Pinnacle King, who was now completely free.
Octagon’s arm flashed up, shattering the spears as though they were made of the most brittle of glass.
“It is pointless to continue fighting. Give up!” He roared, charging forward and covering the distance between them instantly.
Sarah screamed, then reached for what remained of her MP and used Storm Frost. This was the same skill she’d used against the Spire Guardian back in the Solarspire. The freezing temperature didn’t drop any more, as it was already bitterly cold, however, the wind did pick up as hundreds of four-foot icy spears began to form mid-air.
“You’ll never make it in…” Octagon began.
He was cut off from his sentence, distracted by a flash of light as Solveig covered the distance between them, ramming headlong into the Pinnacle King and sending him flying back.
Sarah watched in amazement as she continued charging her attack, as the woman, now shimmering in a golden cloak of light, seemed to vanish and reappear behind the Pinnacle King. Her hammer slammed into his forehead, driving him into the ground and cracking the ice beneath under the force of the blow.
Solveig was incredible!
Octagon tried to rise, but her hammer fell with the force of a dropping meteor, smashing the ground up even more and forcing the Pinnacle King in deeper. He roared, lashing out with a flurry of attacks, forcing her on the defensive, and broke free of the enchasing ice. Solveig flashed behind him, slamming her hammer into the center of his back.
The massive boom of the impact shook the room, causing chunks of ice to fall from the ceiling and come crashing to the ground below. It was only then that Sarah once again remembered how unstable this place really was. It was basically a ticking time-bomb, and before long, it would come crashing down around them. They needed to be out of here, with the Pinnacle King sealed away before that happened.
Solveig rocketed around the cavern with the Pinnacle King, standing toe to toe with the towering monster and somehow coming out on top with each exchange, forcing Octagon the Bitter back with each successive attack. However, Sarah knew it couldn’t last forever. There would be a limit, a time when Solveig would be able to push no further, and Octagon would win. The seventh set of runes was lighting up as she turned back, seeing Morgan couched there, watching the battle with intense worry.
She could understand why. They were still a bit away from recharging the script, and even when he finished, he’d be completely out of reiki. The slab of ice wouldn’t simply attack Octagon as soon as it was charged up. They’d be forced to drive him to it, which meant that they would still need to put up a decent fight when this was all said and done. And with just three of them left standing, it would be a tall task indeed.
Solveig slammed into Octagon, sending him across the room to smash into the far wall. The room shook once more as chunks of ice continuously fell. An ominous rumbling beneath her feet told Sarah that this glacier wouldn’t hold up for too much longer, but once again, all she could do was hope. Her hopes were dashed exactly five seconds later when Solveig slammed into Octagon and the Pinnacle King only staggered back a few steps.
“Shit!” Sarah muttered, preparing to use her attack as soon as Solveig was clear.
It was fully charged by now, hundreds of icy spears ready to pelt the monster that had so terrorized the North over the last few months. Octagon once again proved his intelligence by not allowing Solveig to break away. Now, when she retreated, he stuck to her like glue, his hand flashing out and ripping chunks of flesh from her body.
To her credit, Solveig didn’t make a sound, continuing to fight grimly even as the golden glow around her flickered and died. Octagon’s hand snapped out, catching her by the neck. Her arm lashed out, hammer still held tight in her fist. Octagon ripped her arm off, and this time, Solveig did scream.
Sarah was forced to stand there and watch as the beast reached for her other arm. She wanted to attack so badly, yet with the woman taken prisoner by the Pinnacle King, she could do nothing but watch.
Octagon turned to her then, holding Solveig up by the back of her neck, showing Sarah exactly what he’d done to her. The woman was a wreck of her former self. Both arms were missing, her legs bloody and tattered, and her face was horribly deformed. Blood gushed from the open wounds, pooling on the ground before her.
“See, little mage. This is what happens to all who defy me. Now, surrender, and I promise to turn you into one of my minions. You have done well to make it this far, which means you are strong. Give up and I will make her end swift.”
Sarah hesitated, looking back to Morgan, who was still working on the seventh layer of the script. His body was rigid, muscles taut and standing out against his uniform. Yet he didn’t seem able to move. Inwardly, Sarah cursed at the oversight. Of course, the scripts wouldn’t allow him to go once he’d begun charging! She’d been such an idiot!
She immediately dismissed that thought, knowing that they wouldn’t have had a choice either way. Morgan was almost done, so she just needed to…
“Do it, Sarah! Don’t worry about me!” Solveig croaked.
“Shut up, human. Did I give you permission to talk?” Octagon roared, then slammed a fist into her back.
The horrible crack of her spine breaking echoed through the room as Solveig’s legs went slack.
“Do it,” she whispered, even as Octagon pulled his fist back to hit her again.
Sarah could feel her internal war come to a sudden and abrupt end then, and without a second thought, she brought her arm down with a loud scream of rage.
Octagon roared, tossing Solveig aside and trying to muster up a defense, but the attack had been unexpected. Knowing human nature, especially of those who considered each other friends, Octagon could never have predicted this. In his mind, Sarah should have given up. It wasn’t something he would do, but it was something he’d come to expect of humans.
The barrage of icy spears slammed into him one after the next, hundreds of icy projectiles raining down from all sides and driving him to his knees. Sarah had no idea if this could even hurt him, but she was putting everything she had into this attack, which meant she would do her damnedest to make sure it counted for something.
53
“I don’t think you’ll be able to take that thing alone,” Le’vine said, breaking through Katherine’s haze of anger.
“Yeah, and what makes you say that?” she replied, breathing hard.
“The fact that you’re covered in wounds and are barely on your feet,” Le’vine replied flatly.
“If you don’t let us help you, the North Kingdom will lose its ruler. And with no children or line of succession, what will happen to your country?” Hilda asked, stepping forward as well.
“Now, he might be a big scary one, but I’m sure if we work together, we can take this bastard down,” Le’vine
continued, holding out a hand.
Katherine stared up at it for a few long moments, wanting nothing more than to slap it aside and go at it alone. However, the last couple of minutes had shown her that strong as she was, she couldn’t defeat Arnold, at least not as he was now.
The once-human man now stood over eleven feet tall. A long, lizard-like tail whipped behind him, and a pair of oversized wings had sprouted from his shoulders. He now looked like a smaller, less-terrifying version of the Pinnacle King himself. Despite all that, he still lacked his master’s power. That wasn’t to say he was weak at all, as he’d been wiping the floor with her, while she had only managed to land a single glancing blow across his chest.
“Fine,” Katherine growled, taking the proffered hand and rising to her feet. “I’ll let you help me, but under the condition that you don’t brag about it for the next fifty years.”
“I make no such promises,” Le’vine said with a smirk.
“You done with your little plans yet, said your goodbyes?” Arnold asked, head cocked to the side and an utterly insane grin stretching his lips. “Or do you wanna start crying and hugging? I don’t have all day, but I think I can spare some time to see your tears!”
“What the hell happened to him?” Hilda asked as she moved to stand on Katherine’s other side. “He seemed intelligent enough earlier, so why the change in personality?”
“My guess,” Katherine replied, “is that he’s using more of his master’s power than his mind can handle at once, and it’s overwhelming his common reasoning. That’s a good thing for us, though. He’s harder to fight because of his increased strength, but his unstable mind and personality will make him predictable, more akin to that of an actual beast rather than the hybrid he was up until now.”