Book 7, Chapter 73 - Two On One (1/2)

Book 7, Chapter 73 - Two On One

Dawn and Selene pulled their eyes away from one another long enough to recognize the young man running toward them.

This was Zephon Allgood?

The Apostle had a head of wild hair and a face twisted from madness. He flung a spiked ball wrapped in purple light into the air, which quickly spat out a thick purple mist. In no time it swallowed up half the chamber.

“Stupid women. Your conceit has sealed your fate!” The crazed man disappeared into the choking fog.

“You worthless little shit. See what real power looks like!” Dawn’s armor blazed like a star.

She drew back, ready to charge into the mist and trample the idiot to death. But Selene called out to stop her. “No, don’t rush in. This isn’t a normal fog. Look closely.”

Dawn obliged. What she noticed was that, like water dripping on a sponge, the fog seemed to seep into the stone floor. Those stones then turned a sickly black hue, softened and then started to squirm like living diseased flesh. As she watched hideous growths started to swell in uneven patches.

If she ran headlong into the mist she would be similarly infected. Zephon’s power wasn’t restricted to just contaminating living things, but inanimate objects and energy as well.

Selene was cautious and meticulous by nature. She wouldn’t risk betting her constitution against this strange power. “We don’t know how this Zephon managed to capture the Temple, but he did. He shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“This fucking coward can only win by underhanded means.” Dawn was annoyed by his craven tactics. “You think this bullshit will stop me? I’ll tear him to fuckin’ pieces. Don’t get in my way!”

Dawn was certain she was unstoppable. What was there to be afraid of? She had her Dawnbreaker armor, improved by Cloudhawk himself! It was an unbreakable defensive relic that was further strengthened by the Abyssal Scale. She could shrug off any attack. What did this pissant’s little smoke bomb matter?

But as she was getting ready to enter the fog a host of figures could be seen moving toward them from the hallways. It was a huge mob, perhaps hundreds of infected clergy. Beneath their saintly clothes or glittering armor were undulating growths of black flesh. They were so thick that hardly any human features were visible anymore. Like unstable sacks they shambled forward, ready to blow at any moment.

“More of these corpses? If this attack was of any use it would have killed us earlier.” Dawn scowled at the scene. “Can’t this asshole be more creative? This is getting boring.”

Hideous cries from contaminated throats closed in from all sides. Although they no longer had the power of thought, they were still quick. Like insects they scrambled along the walls and ceiling toward the two women.

As Dawn readied herself to defend she noticed that, in fact, they weren’t running at her. Instead they were running past them, into the mists where Zephon lurked.

“The fuck?”

“His power is spreading fast. His mental energy is about the same as ours and he’s using it to contaminate everything, even the air. We’re going to get swallowed up.” Selene utilized the power of her Eye to survey the situation. “Dawn – stop the corpses from entering the mist. Don’t let them near Zephon.”

“Easy! Watch this.” Dawn held Terrangelica high and shoved it into the ground. The floor around them collapsed. Under the weight of immense gravitation power, stone cracked and compressed. For a thousand meters in all directions, gravity increased a hundred fold.

The waves of shambling corpses hit the ground. Most were pinned and couldn’t move, but a handful managed to pass into the mist.