Emerilia Series Box Set 4

by Michael Chatfield

  Anna reached into the air, grabbing the falling Suzy and Induca. Lu Lu had turned into a raging demon as she tore through the sky, unleashing the most powerful attacks on those below.

  The Xelur tried to hit her with their ranged attacks but her flying skills were no less than that of a Dragon’s. Now she wasn’t resting on Suzy or Induca’s shoulders; her size expanded from a housecat to that of a four-door car.

  Each of her attacks was more powerful than the last. As she killed or assisted others, her experience constantly rose, giving her more levels. Unlike the players or people of Emerilia, she couldn’t assign her increase in stat points; they were automatically updated—meaning Suzy didn’t need to go into her stats and increase them.

  “Lu Lu!” Anna’s yell cut through the sky.

  Lu Lu let out an angered call but seeing Anna carrying her mom, the fight went out of her. She turned, displaying her greatest speed as she followed Anna, Induca, and Suzy back toward the castle.

  Lox didn’t have time to look anymore as he, Gurren, and Steve all stepped up to take the damage, fulfilling their role as tanks. They could barely keep the Grand Demon Lord pinned. They needed someone to get in heavy hits to start pulling the Grand Demon Lord’s Health down.

  “We need mage support and DPS! We can hold the Demon Lord but we can’t kill him as he burns so much soul energy!” Lox cried out on the command channel.

  “Lord Indas! We need your scouts!” Esa yelled out.

  “They’re on their way!” Lord Indas yelled.

  Gurren, Lox, and Steve continued their attacks, tirelessly attacking the Grand Demon Lord.

  Gurren, in his frustration, went for a risky attack, finding the handle of the Grand Demon Lord’s war hammer coming for his head. It smashed into his helmet, but being within the separate space of the bag of holding, he swung his shield up and pressed forward with an attack.

  The Grand Demon Lord, surprised that Gurren wasn’t at least stunned, had to sidestep Gurren’s second attack, his own follow-up going wide.

  Steve and Lox both attacked at the same time. Steve’s blow was deflected but Lox’s hit cutting into the Xelur’s side.

  The wound started healing as soon as Lox’s attack had passed. Steam rose off it as the soul aura around it burned fiercely to defeat the attacking gray Mana that worked its way into the Grand Demon Lord’s body.

  They moved around the crater. The sound of their weapons rang out with each crushing hit that broke the ground or made the ears of those nearby ring.

  With a flickering movement, Indas and six of his people appeared. All of them wore loose and baggy clothing, as well as veils that covered their faces. Weapons were held in their hands and there was not an inch of armor on their bodies.

  By looking at these people, one might think them as weak, but their movement speed was incredibly high.

  Blades on chains moved like live snakes, moving between the three tanks and striking the Grand Demon Lord.

  Unable to fight off all of the attacks, the Grand Demon Lord was hit by the blades, cutting down on his Health. Still, he defended against Lox, Gurren, and Steve. If one of their attacks hit, then it would severely impact his Health, more so than the attacks by Indas’s people.

  The Grand Demon Lord cried out in anger and frustration as the attacks kept on whittling down its Health.

  “It’s nearing seventy-five percent!” Gurren yelled out.

  “Be ready for a Legendary ability!” Lox said.

  The Grand Demon Lord fell to seventy percent and still there was no sign of the Legendary ability.

  Steve hit the Grand Demon Lord’s war hammer wide. Gurren’s sword jabbed out low, cutting deep into the Grand Demon Lord’s thigh and making him stumble.

  Even at that, his wounds were healing but thankfully it wasn’t instantaneous.

  Indas’s people used the time to their advantage, dropping his Health more than fifteen percent.

  “Coming up on fifty percent. Maybe he’s not got a Legendary ability?” Gurren said, sounding unsure.

  Fifty percent hit and the Grand Demon Lord’s soul aura climbed to new heights as his Health bar started to quickly refill.

  A magical formation appeared around the Grand Demon Lord. Gurren, Lox, and Steve were unaffected but Malsour and Indas’s people were.

  “It’s a soul attack,” Malsour ground out, fighting the attack with all of his Willpower. Indas’s people were brought to the ground, crying out in pain within the area of effect.

  “Pull back and use your ranged!” Lox yelled.

  Steve and Gurren jumped back five meters. Steve dropped his axe; the head embedded itself into the ground as his wrists glowed. Gurren and Lox’s weapons fell away, dissipating into fog as they activated their wristbands, pushing them to full power.

  The Grand Demon Lord was still in the air. Soul energy from all around rushed toward him, filling his Health and also returning some of his lost power.

  The trio didn’t hesitate. From their hands, gray Mana bolts appeared. The smoky balls came out so fast that they looked like solid streams.

  These attacks impacted the Grand Demon Lord as he tried to regenerate his abilities and reserves. The rate of his Health returning decreased as their damaging attacks were faster than his regeneration.

  The Grand Demon Lord whirled out his war hammer. It glowed white with soul energy. His movement ended his Legendary ability of regeneration as the other Legendary ability of soul domain continued to affect all of those within the area of effect.

  Gurren and Lox, within their Devastator armor, couldn’t be touched, and Steve didn’t have a soul nor did he use nanites that powered the Xelur, so it had no effect on him either.

  The white light rushed outward, becoming weaker as it was hit by the Mana bolts.

  Lox brought his fist back, wreathed in gray Mana. He punched forward and smashed against the attack.

  The attack failed. Lox continued to fire his attacks. The Grand Demon Lord now smashed his hammer toward Gurren’s attacks, advancing on him. The pressure from the attacks made it impossible for him to close the mere ten meters quickly.

  Steve broke through the war hammer attack at the same time as Gurren. The both of them added in their attacks onto Lox’s. The Grand Demon Lord howled in pain as the three streams of Mana bolts kept it contained. Waves of Mana flew from the three as they looked like demigods trying to restrain the full might of a god between their efforts.

  The Grand Demon Lord was completely suppressed as it tried to move; to get past the Mana bolts holding it back.

  The power consumption was incredible with runes across all three sets of armor lighting up to collect rampant Mana. The wind was whipped up with this intake sucked in like an ancient beast was trying to breath in the planet’s air.

  If the Grand Demon tried to move in one direction, then the three would also move to block him.

  The Grand Demon’s soul aura was still strong enough to stop the attacks but it was burning off its soul energy at a massive rate to stay alive. It dropped its hammer, staring directly at Steve, it raised its hands slowly, fighting the streams from Lox and Gurren. Its soul aura spun and twisted down its arms, concentrating in the palm of its hands before light tore outward. The twin streams pushed back Lox and Gurren’s bolts, defeating them before they reached the Grand Demon Lord, just as it had done with Induca.

  However, Induca was much stronger than Lox and Gurren and their armors’ attacks; even though they were powerful, they didn’t have the complexity or power of Induca’s attacks.

  Steve, seeing the two dwarves being suppressed, altered his coding, pouring more and more of his Mana into his arms as he stepped forward.

  The Grand Demon Lord laughed crazily, its soul aura taking on the attacks from Steve. It looked as if its entire body was aflame with brilliant and powerful soul energy. Motes of light of all colors danced around in the soothing miasma of energy.

  “Not again!” Steve’s voice boomed. He continued forward. Each step
left a crater from the force of his attacks.

  The Grand Demon Lord’s attacks pushed Lox and Gurren’s attacks back farther.

  Fear started to form in Lox but he clamped down on it. He could burn out this Grand Demon Lord’s power—then someone might be able to kill it! If he lost the armor or even his life, it would have been worth it. He planted his feet firmer, thinking of Suzy and Induca, who’d been seriously injured to the point that they’d fallen from the sky, unconscious.

  The light beam from the Grand Demon Lord reached Lox and Gurren’s hands. They didn’t flinch as their hands were melted away and their wrists were destroyed, breaking the magical coding.

  The attack raced back and their wrists slammed into their chests.

  To get the most power to their attack, they had both stopped powering their Mana barriers. They were thrown backward, craters in their chests.

  Lox saw all kinds of warning lights on his interface as his armor was severely damaged. He looked over to see Steve cancel his ranged attack. His hand shot backward; his axe responded to him and flew into his grip.

  The Grand Demon Lord grasped his war hammer and swung it around at Steve, who brought his axe up and around, smashing into the oncoming war hammer.

  They had both imbued their power into their weapons. Steve’s was covered in a dark miasma while the Grand Demon Lord’s was covered in that soul aura once again.

  With the impact of their weapons, the dust at the wall that had been churned up by the trio’s attacks was dispersed, showing the outside world.

  Runic lines across Steve’s armor lit up with darkness as the two separated. Hammer and axe met again and again. The two of them fought with everything they had: Steve burned his soul gem reserves while the Grand Demon Lord burned up his soul energy.

  Lox made to get up but found that his armor was too badly damaged to be of much use. Restorative runes had been activated across his armor, repairing his destroyed hands and forearm as well as his chest section. Lox knew that getting out of his armor around these two would only make him a hindrance to Steve. He focused on pouring as much power in getting his armor functional as he watched the two giants battle in the middle of that crater.

  Xelur were now moving into the area as the Grand Demon Lord’s Legendary attack soul domain had worn off. The Legendary ability didn’t care whether those within it were allies or not; they would consume all.

  Malsour regained his feet as people tried to charge into the crater. Malsour let out a roar that shook the very heavens as his body grew at an alarming speed revealing his Dragon form.

  In the eyes of Malsour—once he was in Dragon form—these low-level Xelur weren’t much of a problem.

  “We have a breach in the southeastern wall! The Grand Demon Lord there has made it through!” someone called out.

  Around the crater, black flames rose to ten feet in height, burning all of those who were less than ten meters away. Some were simply turned to ash in the face of the attack.

  From these flames, darklings stepped out. Four hundred darklings looked upon the Xelur, amassing their numbers. Malsour looked down upon them like a titan making his judgement.

  The flames surged outward for forty meters in every direction, killing tens of Xelur.

  As they were recovering from the sudden attack, the darklings that had advanced in those flames brought forth from the abyss itself descended upon the Xelur ranks. In the early morning darkness, the darklings were in their element, moving through shadows as easily as one might walk.

  The Xelur used soul energy, which was highly effective against the darklings. But they were within the Terra Alliance’s walls—they were being cut down by ranged defenders as well as melee types.

  The eastern side of the castle was in chaos. The eastern gate was still open and Xelur were coming in but at a much lower rate than before. Outside the northeastern wall, Deia, Jung Lee, and Dave were fighting against the Xelur there and the southeastern wall had been breached.

  Lox looked to Steve and the Grand Demon Lord as they continued to clash with each other. Lox moved his legs, to prop himself up and try to get upright. All around him, people were yelling out their roaring cries as they clashed with Xelur and those of the Terra Alliance.

  Indas and his people rose to their feet as well, anger in their eyes.

  Lox watched as they rushed forward; their chained blades darted outward as they seemed to dance with their weapons. They flowed through attacks, looking exotic and beautiful even as their blades struck the Demon Lord’s vital areas.

  The Grand Demon Lord’s wounds healed at a slower rate but they were still sealing up.

  Steve, however, did not have the fighting experience or power reserves of the Grand Demon Lord. His armor was scratched, dented, and opened in several areas. His body underneath was exposed, with some attacks cutting open his soul gem construct.

  Still, these titans clashed with each other—only now with Indas’s men was Steve approaching parity with the Xelur Grand Demon Lord.

  Lox couldn’t help but feel his heart moved as he conjured new hands, and a sword and shield for his armor. It wouldn’t be as strong as if they were real but they would function.

  “On your right!” Lox yelled, rushing forward to support Steve, who was quickly weakening under the Xelur Grand Demon’s attacks.

  “What took you so long!” Steve said, trying to hide his happiness.

  “Thought you could handle it!” Gurren stepped up to Steve’s left side. The three of them stood side by side to hold back the Xelur Grand Demon Lord.

  “Die for me!” The Grand Demon Lord hacked at all three of them.

  Steve blocked the attack; Lox and Gurren darted forward, their blades piercing the sides of the Grand Demon Lord.

  He coughed blood and retreated a meter or so. Several chained daggers came from behind and sliced open his back, making him stagger forward. He let out a bellow of pain, just blocking Gurren’s attack in time and brought his Warhammer across to hit Steve in the side.

  Lox interposed himself against the war hammer; his conjured shield shattered and he was tossed sideways. But Steve didn’t let the opportunity pass by. His hand, covered in Mana, punched the Xelur Grand Demon in the side, which pushed him back two steps as he tried to defend against Gurren’s attack. He was thrown back while Steve turned, gaining momentum with his axe, and smashed up against the Grand Demon Lord, who was just able to stop the attack.

  Lox rolled over, conjuring a new hand to grab the ground as he threw himself forward. The runes on his body made him fly as he came across and behind the Grand Demon Lord, cutting his calves.

  Steve and the Grand Demon Lord’s attacks were broken off. The Grand Demon Lord let himself drop, barely missing Steve’s axe that swung over his head. He came upward from the ground and under Steve’s swing. His hammer slammed into Steve’s chest and sent him back five meters. He made to attack Steve again as chained daggers went for his face.

  He smashed them away with his war hammer as Gurren stepped up in front of him, cutting down with his sword. The Grand Demon Lord’s defense was strong enough to break the conjured sword.

  Gurren jumped backward and out of the range of the war hammer. The Grand Demon Lord cut out with his war hammer and a soul gem light filled the air.

  The light spread outward and smashed against Gurren’s hips. His Mana barrier was active so there wasn’t any damage to his armor but it sent him tumbling away.

  Steve— who’d recovered from being hit back, the armor around his chest dented inward from the war hammer’s impact—now ran forward as Lox, who’d overshot the Grand Demon Lord, came on a right angle from him.

  With the two of them, they were able to pin the Grand Demon Lord in place.

  They were evenly matched. Steve and Lox had both burned so much power that they were no longer able to show off their strongest abilities.

  Likewise, the Grand Demon Lord had burned through his soul power. With Malsour’s new magical formation, less and les
s were making it to the Grand Demon Lord and he had already needed to burn most of it in order to stay alive.

  In the shadows from behind the Grand Demon Lord, a claw as big as the Grand Demon Lord emerged, striking out so fast that the Grand Demon Lord didn’t even know that it was there. The claw pierced through the Grand Demon Lord’s back and exited his front.

  He looked at the claw in shock and horror.

  The claw turned around as the Grand Demon Lord found itself looking up at a Dragon with scales that seemed to be made from obsidian and black flames darker than the night across its body and resting in its mouth.

  The Grand Demon looked up in horror, powerless to resist and unable to restore itself with a claw through its body.

  Malsour looked at the Grand Demon Lord with disdain. “This is for my sister.” Malsour opened his mouth. Flames shot out from his maw, covering the Xelur Grand Demon Lord completely.

  After a moment, the flames disappeared. There was no sign of the Xelur Grand Demon Lord’s existence.

  From within the castle, a familiar noise shook the castle and the grounds its foundations were buried in.

  “The War Clans have arrived!” Lox yelled out. He would know those drums anywhere.

  The dwarven War Clans had finally reached the castles. The drum beat was fast and fierce as dwarves’ feet jogged through the castles. They swarmed out of the main corridors, pressing out and into the open area between the outer walls and the inner castles. As they stepped out of the castles, dwarves would turn and plant themselves. Their shields faced toward the eastern side; from the north and south, dwarven walls formed quickly as dwarves moved into place, the first rank filling in and the second rank lining up behind them.

  Lox climbed to his feet and conjured his hands, sword and shield once again.

  “Well, let’s see if we can’t give them some time to form up!” Lox yelled, looking to the players and POEs nearby.

  They checked their weapons, nervously looking to the Party Zero members.

  “Malsour, clear us a path to the tunnel. If you can seal it up, we can cover your rear,” Lox said.