Chapter 65: The Fall of Sin (2/2)

With a groan of distressed earth, the ground immediately in front of the barricade erupted, high into the air. It formed a temporary cliff that spanned the entire intersection. Unfortunate lesser demons fell from its top, landing with bone crushing force in the pit that had taken shape in the wake of Mike's magic.

With increasing velocity, the ledge started to fall away from the barricade. Observers could now see that he had torn loose a portion of the intersection, forcing it to collapse on the rest like the cover of an opened book.

A thunderous crash sounded as the raised section of earth collapsed back onto the other half of the crossroads, creating a cloud of dust in the process. With the exception of those few demons who managed to flee back into one of the surrounding streets, the entire wave had been buried under tons of earth.

A stunned silence descended.

Mike sucked in his breath. That had taken a lot more mana than he had been expecting. Evidently, he needed to work on his skills before trying to do something like this again.

Brenden slapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. ”That was great! As expected of my rival. You're making this whole thing easy.”

[Has he gotten stronger too?] Mike found himself thinking, while rubbing his now aching shoulder.

”Focus. Gluttony Demon. Almost here.” Tal cut in.

”Right, we stick with the plan….” Mike paused as he considered the altered battlefield. His actions had created a mound of dirt on one side of the intersection and a pit on the other.

The original plan was predicated on the assumption that the Gluttony Demon would be in the deepest portion of the intersection prior to trapping it. Now, they would have to let the demon approach much closer in order to definitively halt its movements.

”We'll just have to be flexible. Brenden, if it gets too close, try to get its attention. Keep it from tearing into the barricade. Tal, as soon as you think it's appropriate, do what you can to seal its movements. I'll be ready to deliver the final blow. Any questions...…....Good.”

With an earthshaking roar, the demon crested the small mound on the north side of the intersection. This close to it, the adventurers on the barricade could see the bits of runny viscera that dribbled down its chin. Its stench of rotten meat combined with unwashed human filth was nearly overpowering. Mike was forced to continue watching its progress through watering eyes.

Before it started down into the pit in front of the barricade, it paused, slowly examining the defenders.

[Come on, move you big tub of lard!]

Some long forgotten fragment of intellect seemed to awaken, and the demon developed a rudimentary plan to deal with it's puny enemies.

It sucked in a deep breath, expanding its round, fleshy midsection. Mike felt a sudden flash of alarm. Not sure of what the creature had planned, but fearing the worst, he quickly threw his mana into the ground. A tall wall of rock formed in front of the barricade, and just in time.

The demon vomited a long stream of viscous green liquid at the adventurers, and only the sudden imposition of the wall saved them from being sprayed with it. The fluid hissed and smoked against the stone. A few drops that made it around the hastily made defense fell among the adventurers, eliciting curses and screams of pain.

”Why do demons have to be so f****** horrifying?!” Mike yelled as a few drops fell on him as well, burning small, painful holes in his skin.

As soon as the demon's attack had finished, Mike concentrated his will, took an exaggerated step forward, and punched toward the demon with his right hand.

The crumbling remains of the wall exploded in a hail of rock shards, peppering the Gluttony Demon. It was largely unharmed by the attack, save for a lucky chunk of stone that pegged it in the eye.

The demon roared in pain, reeling from the sudden injury.

”Now Tal!” Mike called, unnecessarily it seemed.

”….mired in the depths, [Quicksand].”

Suddenly the ground beneath the demon turned into an unstable patch of swiftly shifting sand. It lost its balance, and with characteristic slowness began falling into the pit.

Mike wasn't willing to let this opportunity pass, but he lacked a good vantage from which to deal the final blow. Knowing that he had to make this next attack count, he pulled deep from his mana reserves.

He began to recite the chant for the Stone Javelin spell. ”From the depths of Eon, I call to thee. Break free from the ancient bonds of thy earthly shackles and fly true…..”

[Wait, was that how it went? Whatever. Close enough.]

Before finishing the chant, he redirected some of his mana into his air magic, creating a powerful blast to throw him above the fallen demon. He pointed a hand down, drawing a bead on the beast's head.

”[Stone Javelin]!”

This time the spear looked more like the mast of a ship, easily 10m long and close to a meter in diameter, with a wicked, barbed tip. It didn't hum, but roared as it descended on the demon like the wrath of a vengeful deity.

The entire top half of the beast disappeared with the sheer force of the blow, as the spear buried itself into the ground, vanishing into the depths of the earth.

An earsplitting crack sounded as the bedrock fractured under the assault, small fissures forming around the new crater.

A sudden wave of familiar weariness passed through Mike.

[Whew, it's been awhile since I've been this low on mana.]

With a fair amount of effort he directed himself back towards the ground, and landed, a little harder than he meant to. ”Augh, my knees. Why always the knees?”

After a few moments, he was able to stand straight. Stretching a little, he glanced around, only to be met with a thunderous wave of cheers from the surrounding adventurers.