Chapter 79 - Devil Riders in the Sky (1/2)
”Finally! Let's stop this storm!” Rosepetal said.
”Wait, Residing Elder, am I right in thinking the island's wards have been activated?” Radiantspear asked.
An older man in black robes appeared out of thin air and said, ”They have been. This storm has reached hurricane level and many trading ships and seaside villages would be in danger if it is released out of our boundaries.” With his statement finished, the elder disappeared once again.
”Don't bother wasting your power then,” Radiantspear sighed.
”We can dismantle the spell!” Rosepetal pressed.
”They created a hurricane in less than ten minutes! Obviously, someone on their side is skilled in storm magic, and no one here is! We would only be able to dissipate the storm quickly by spreading it out which is now impossible with wards up. Dreamcaller, Quicksand, Blackshield, prepare the field, we will fight them here!” Radiantspear instructed.
While the three that were mention started laying down their spells, Hawkeye dove down and landed on the ground. ”They are less than a hundred meters out and they've split into three teams to circle us. I counted four Brightmelodys, one in each side group and two in the group to the south. I also recognized someone's sister,” Hawkeye said, eyeing Blueserpent.
”Flowingrock is here?” Blueserpent asked, a break in his normal aloof demeanor.
”I don't know any other black-haired adapts that would cling to Silverflame's arm,” Hawkeye replied with a smirk.
”Silverflame,” Blueserpent growled.
”Your sister's relationship is her matter and not something you should meddle in,” Radiantspear reminded.
”I know,” Blueserpent said, returning to his normal attitude.
”Quiet... Do you here that?” Riverblade asked as she stepped out from under the covered patio of the Meeting House.
”I don't he... wait, is that a ki'ta?” Hawkeye questioned with his eyes closed.
”He's here!” Radiantspear shouted as he pulled out a white-metal spear that had a tassel of fine white hair just below the spearhead. ”Get into formation!”
Those who were still attempting to stay dry were now forced out into the storm. Quicksand had already spread out his domain, {The Great Sand Sea}, so that the sandy area in a fifteen-meter radius was under his control. Also covering the same range, Blackshield had activated his own domain, {Black Shield of the Vengeful}, which took the appearance of a watery dome that held a black shimmer. Outside of those two layers, Dreamcaller had wrapped the area in a weak illusion to hide them, but the moment someone connected to the spell to dissolve it, it would change to attack their mind with horrid vision, under the effects of her spell, {Devils Called from the Dream}. Their allies could pass through these spells with ease, but foes would find themselves kicking a steel plate.
”Look! The southern sky!” Quicksand shouted over the rumble of thunder and golden lightning streaked through the sky.
Because the song was normally just under four minutes long, Diego took some artist liberties extending the breaks between the verses and chorus, and especially the beginning to give him a chance to build up all the parts of the Spell-Song. His 'Hell flame' had been the inspiration behind his choice of song. It was not a flame that could burn, but one that filled you with a deep sense of dread. It attacked your mind and made you to repent your sins.
Two Diegos stood shoulder to shoulder, one holding his ki'ta and the other his keyboard. His other two bodies were at the maximum distance they could reach, fifty meters, which left them a little short of the two different groups, but everyone knew their cues and what to do, so it was not a problem. The guitar started the song followed by a few piano notes and a trumpet, supplied by two keys on the keyboard, Johnny Cash's ”Riders in the Sky”.
Golden lightning raced through the sky and, above the heads of the two Diegos, a fiery red tear opened up in the sky, purely for theatrics. Massive bulls, the size of elephants, charged out of the rift, coated in the black hell flames. Their eyes were burning red coals and their hooves were silver. Despite them running through the air, the thunder of their hooves rang out across the entire island.
With the sound of the hooves, Moonfall, followed closely by Stormblade and Tovao, charged forward, but she stopped just short of Dreamcaller's spell, where her golem had nestled itself in the brush. She knew better than anyone how nasty her big sister's spell could be, but other than Brightmelody, no one else was equipped to deal with it.
”Once I break the illusion, bind me, or I could attack you. Take me away from the field while I fight the mental demon and stay with me, Tovao. We'll rejoin you and Brightmelody as soon as possible,” Moonfall said as they ran.
”Got it, I'll cover your retreat,” Stormblade said.
Moonfall raised her hands up at the boundary of the of Dreamcaller's ward and pierced the illusion with her mana. The image of the empty, weather beaten shattered like glass and the ten-man team was revealed under their black, watery dome. The world in Moonfall's eyes spun as the rain turned to fire and burned her skin. She cried out as she clutched her arms, but then a giant snake slithered up. She started to raise her staff, but the snake threw out its tail and wrapped her up.
Tovao managed to loop the rope around Moonfall's arms just before she started launching spells at him and he let out a sigh of relief. Stormblade wrapped a layer of violet lightning around his sword and jumped forward, knocking an arrow out of the air that had been heading for Tovao.
”GO ALREADY!” Stormblade shouted as he began deflecting a volley of arrows while his feet began sinking into the sand.
”Sorry about this Moonfall,” Tovao said, scooping her up into his arm and leapt away with a fiery trail.
Just as Tovao retreated, Diego's voice rang out over the roar of the storm...
”An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day,
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way,
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw,
Plowing through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw...”
A {Water Clone} of Diego came charging in on the back of Tadrith, his griffin golem, and moved to block the barrage of arrows ȧssaulting Stormblade. He was followed by the herd of black bulls that began to circle the dome of water but did not attack. Stormblade hopped up on the back of the griffin and Tadrith took off into the air with a flap of its wings.
”Do you think he will follow?” Stormblade asked.
”I'm just your chauffeur, it's your job to make him follow,” the {Water Clone} replied with a shrug.
”Just keep me on this damn bird,” Stormblade said as he held his sword over his head.
”Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel,
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel,
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky,
For he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cries...”
Stormblade and the {Water Clone} dodged the attack and continued their ȧssault, trying to draw out Hawkeye from the protection of his group. They were flat out challenging him to an aerial duel, the very thing he prided himself on. Three more strikes of {Blade of the Storm} and finally, a figure zoomed up and out of the water dome. Hawkeye sent out five arrows in the blink of an eye as he raced towards the pair. They dodged by taking a nose dive straight down and the chase was on.
The two [Speed Clones] without instruments had not been idle as they created a literal army of {Lightning Clones}, {Water Clones}, and {Wind Clones} as the air was saturated with the three energies due to the storm. Each one of these clones had a special job, and as the black bulls rushed passed them, one by one, they jumped into the 'image' of the bull. In truth, the bulls were nothing more than an illusion coated with his hell flames, but they were perfect for covering their approach.
”Yippie I oh oh oh,
Yippie I aye ye ye,
Ghost riders in the sky...”
The lead bull shook its large head and turned from circling the dome, to charging straight at it. The bulls seemed to leap over the dome, but in that motion, the clone hiding inside jumped at the dome and detonated. The water screen rippled once again, but another and another clone exploded on the barrier. The black light grew brighter and brighter, but the weakness of the Blackshield's defense was that it chased the flow of mana back to its attacker and clones were made up of their own source. Of course, not many people could use such a method to combat the spell without the advantages Diego had, but it was a viable method if he was defending from an army that understood the flaw.
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”This is a little ridiculous, right? Even if he is a Soul-Singer...” Quicksand said as he watched the giant bulls rushing out of a world of fear.
It was not just him who was affected as everyone, but Dreamcaller and Radiantspear looked on in horror. Radiantspear huffed as his body started to give off a golden light as he channeled [Holy Aura], pulled from his 'holy' light affinity. He was simply spreading out his chi as he fixed it to the 'holy' attribute to mitigate some of the suppression effect of Brightmelody's spell.
”I need to train with him more often,” Dreamcaller said quietly to herself, a rare sparkle in her eye. These black flames had stirred up her curiosity as they perfectly suited her magics.
”Wake up, they are sending someone to break the illusion,” Radiantspear said.
”Moonfall,” Dreamcaller sighed, recognizing her junior sister.
”I'll aim for the one who grabs her,” Hawkeye said as he drew his bow.
He shot his arrow the moment the illusion wall fell, but it was intercepted by a sword wielding shaman. He smirked and pulled out a handful of arrows while his quiver refilled magically. One after another, he fired the arrows in rapid succession with the speed and precision honed from countless hours of practice. He was restricted using his sonic arrows and killing shots, but he was more than confidant when fighting against an apprentice.
”An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day,
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw,
Plowing through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw...”
A gray stone griffin blocked his sight, but when he turned his arrows on the rider, they passed right through him. The black bulls landed and circled Blackshield's barrier while the swordsman jumped on the golem. Hawkeye's fingers twitched as he watched them soar into the air and start to launch attacks against the barrier. He wanted to rush up as well, but he needed Radiantspear's support against the cursed flames.
”Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel,
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel,
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky,
For he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cries...”
”I don't know how long that apprentice can keep up those attacks, but we all know they are baiting out Hawkeye. I can't hit them at this distance and it's just wasting my energy,” Blackshield complained.
”Can you handle this on your own?” Radiantspear asked with a sigh.
”Of course, I can! I am the best flyer in the entire sect, masters included!” Hawkeye bragged.
”Three minutes, three minutes and I want you to return to the group even if you haven't caught him, understand?” Radiantspear ordered.
”Yeah, but I'll be back in two.”
Radiantspear poked Hawkeye in the forehead with a sigh as he placed a blessing on him. Hawkeye rubbed his forehead grumpily then kicked off the ground and flew out of the dome.
”Get ready, they are going to try something,” Radiantspear reminded.
Rosepetal pulled out three large, silver seeds and held them between her fingers as her hand glowed with a vibrant green light. Once she threw the seeds would explode with a mass of vines, ensnaring her target. It was not her named spell, but it was unique throughout the sect, nonetheless, {Silvervine Snare}.
Blueserpent placed his hands together then slammed them down on the ground. A meter in front of him a blue inferno erupted and then sunk into ground, turning it an unnatural blue molten color. He dug his fingers into the sand as he roared and stood up, a molten blue snake rising out of the pit, {Molten Serpent of the Blue Flame}.
”Yippie I oh oh oh,