Chapter 256: Not Even My Final Form (1/2)
”Do you think you can keep him occupied while I aim for a finishing blow?” Mike asked the woman while taking a moment to use Appraise on her.
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Cariel
Age: Unknown
Race: Human (Angel)
Class: Solar Paladin
Title: Fist of the Legion
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[Wait angel? There are actual angels in this world? Ones that apparently interbreed with humans, no less?...I'm not sure why I'm surprised. They're practically a staple in fantasy literature. Not to mention the fact that there are demons here as well. That said, I wonder if her age being unknown has something to do with her bloodline, or is the product of something else entirely.] Mike thought while waiting for the slightly air-headed woman to formulate a reply.
[Hmm, I really need to work on unlocking the next Tier of Appraise.]
Finally, Cariel nodded. ”Of course I can. I'm something of an expert at that. Believe it or not, my boss once told me that I'm the most distracting person she'd ever met. That's saying a lot because...” She trailed off for a moment, and began to look a little flustered. ”...because...Ah! Because she's really important and she deals with a lot of people...yeah.”
”...Okay...Then can you start distracting him?”
”Right! Sure thing!” She replied energetically while raising her sword vertically in front of herself and closing her eyes. The mundane looking weapon began to glow with a golden light, leaving a trail of luminescence as she brought it up into a ready position.
”Whew, good thing he bought it. Julia would give me a hard time otherwise.” She whispered to herself, far too loudly, before issuing a battle cry and charging.
Her movements were quick and efficient, and in less than a second she was fully engaged with the Skull Lord, who seemed to be having a hard time keeping up with her. Even for an amateur like Mike, it was clear that, despite her obvious flaws, this Cariel was a experienced and talented warrior, easily among the best of the Tier 3 fighters he'd come across. Which begged the question, where did she come from?
[At least she seems more trustworthy than that moving corpse. Judging from her previous attempt, I don't think she's capable of really lying.]
Leaving asides his concerns for the moment, Mike concentrated on creating a trio of his Stone Javelins, sinking as much mana as he could into them. Holding them at the ready, he followed after the two.
By this point the Skull Lord was nearly covered in scratches and scrapes from Cariel's golden sword. His arm blades, which he was apparently able to reform at will, were repeatedly shattered on contact with the blade, and only through an excessive amount of dodging had he managed to escape a lethal injury. Obviously aware that the situation had turned on him, the lich decided to make a sacrificial trade.
Allowing Cariel to stab her sword into one of his shoulders, he swiftly moved to trap the weapon and crush the paladin against himself in a bone-breaking bear hug. For a moment, Mike as concerned that he'd succeeded, only to feel a surge of triumph as Cariel threw her shield forward, causing it to flash with a blinding radiance which seemed to sear the surface of the Skull Lord's armor. Reeling backwards, he collapsed onto one knee. Not wanting to miss the chance, Mike released his spell, firing all three projectiles sequentially.
Kultanis, who should have been off-balance and blind, still managed to react, redirecting the first javelin and blocking the second at the cost of one of his hands. The last, however, buried itself in his chestplate and exploded, tearing most of the lich's torso apart in the process.
Staggered and heavily injured, the Skull Lord should have been easy pickings for Cariel, who was already looking to capitalize on the opening, but he had other plans. Just as she was about to bring her glowing sword down on his helmet, Kultanis exploded in a wave of dark, grey energy, throwing the paladin back in the process.
Soon, a veritable storm of necromantic energy began to rage about the lich, and Mike could feel it quickly sapping his life-force. He quickly channeled mana into his torso, converting it into Earth Magic in order to enhance his Endurance, and brought up a mana shield to protect him from the worst of it. Cariel was in a similar situation, having created a small globe of golden light to protect herself.
”To think a pair of mortals has pushed me this far!” The Skull Lord roared over the noise of the wind. His chestplate was swiftly closing once more, covering his shattered but recovering rib cage. ”It seems I no longer have the liberty to take this fight leisurely. Very well, let me teach you the meaning of fear, Dragonknight!”
Rising into the air at the center of his necromantic wind storm, Kultanis began chanting in a dark and guttural language, voice echoing with ancient power. ”Fractured souls and hollow spirits. Life renewed I take from you. Return that which was given! Yield that which was bestowed! Render unto me all that you possess, and I shall consume your hatred!”
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”Get out of my way!” Brenden roared as he cleaved his way through another knot of the animated corpse. While they weren't particularly dangerous, their sheer numbers was slowing him down far more than he would like. He could no longer hear the sounds of the rest of the army that had been following him, which probably meant he'd pushed too far forward again.
Under normal circumstances, he would have fallen back and regrouped, knowing that he was in danger of being cut off and overwhelmed. However, he couldn't do that now.
Panting for breath after the swing, he nearly stumbled as a wave of fatigue passed through his limbs. Grunting, he forced himself back up and started moving towards the center of the battlefield again. He'd been fatigued after fighting the Death Knight, so this constant struggle, the wave after wave of tireless undead, was pushing him to the brink of exhaustion.
But he didn't have time to rest.
”Damn it! I don't have time for this.” He yelled as another batch of zombies began to surround him, with more on the way.