Chapter 436 (2/2)

It hissed at him in fury, and his spear slid cleanly into its skull, spraying blood in the air. He had taken it easy last night, testing out the boundaries of the Death Cultists’ strength, both for his own benefit, and to make sure nothing would happen to his companions if he would go ahead. After all, if the Red Death Cultists were too powerful for the others to defend...

“Circle of Flame.”

An explosion, partially of fire, but mostly of concussive force, shattered the air in a dozen or so meters around him, sending quite a few Death Cultists spiraling downward. The effectiveness was partially based on the surprise factor, but Randidly’s Intelligence had also increased to the point where an average enemy wasn’t even worth his time.

With a screech that was taken up by a thousand bats, they descended, most aiming for him, some going for their fallen companions, but a good chunk gnashing their teeth and rushing towards the rest of the group. They would be fine, Randidly reassured himself.

The force of his jump carried him forward, arcing towards the mid levels of the Eyrie, his Bone Cloak clinking madly from the rush of wind. A Death Cultist rushed towards him, aiming to smash him to the ground with its powerful legs, but Randidly swung his spear, activating Idiosyncratic Cut to lop off its head.

But, luckily or unluckily, one of the passives of the well-forged spear activated, and an explosion of solar energy blasted outward, burning away half of the victim’s body. Howling in pain, it fell downwards, eventually crashing to the ground. But the force of the solar explosion also altered his aim, and Randidly barely crashed into the bottom quarter of the Eyrie’s levels.

The canvas and leather that made up the outside were surprisingly hard to manage as he ripped through it and crashed into the wooden ground. He felt the material beneath him crack, but the floor held. Huffing, Randidly stood and ripped everything off of him. And when that didn’t suffice for getting rid of all of the materials, he bared his teeth.

“Circle of Flame.”

Again, fire smashed outward, immolating the canvas that bound him, but also setting the Eyrie floor ablaze. Randidly considered the flames for several seconds before he shrugged. Burning it down would accomplish his goals, and probably faster than him moving on his own. Easier to just burn out the final boss than stomp all the way up to the top of the Eyrie and drag him out.

Randidly was standing in a strange, low-roofed area that seemed to be a messy nest of some sort. As he peered around, he realized that there were no walls, only floors and ceilings, and everything else was just hanging fabric, most of it ripped and rotten. So there was a profoundly creepy vibe as the cloths fluttered around him, fire beginning to creep in all directions.

There was a crash, and Randidly leaped forward, dodging out of the way of the being that came downwards through the ceilings. It hit the ground with a growl, lashing out with a claw that was a full second too slow to catch Randidly.

It did not stand, but stalked forward, bent over like a beetle, its red fur especially bright with the color reflected from the fire. Randidly found it somewhat amusing that they had built the ceilings so low that the larger Death Cultists couldn’t stand up to their full height, but perhaps crawling like this was more comfortable. The Red Death Cultist certainly seemed confident in its victory as it growled and crawled towards him.

Although Randidly preferred this immensely because it couldn’t make use of its rather intimidating reach while it was on the ground-

Two more Red Death Cultists hopped down through the hole, adding their growls to the symphony that assaulted him. Randidly just grinned and pointed his spear at them.

“Sorry guys, I don’t have much time to play with you this time…” He whispered, beginning to move. His first slash was dodged, but it was mostly a feint so that the leftmost cultist would back off, and the rightmost would leap forward, aiming to strike while Randidly was off balance.

Of course, he wasn’t, and the spear ripped backward in a huge strike, destroying the skull of that foolish rightmost cultist. The middle one, recognizing both the danger and what was happening, threw itself forward, desperate for an advantage.

Randidly let go of the spear with his left hand and activated Touch from Beyond. Instantly, the temperature cooled somewhat, and the nearby fires flickered uncertainly. Then he used Talon Strike to crack the cultist’s skull, sending it reeling. Already, Randidly could feel the slow damage the Skill did to his body, so he stepped forward, striking again, piercing the monster’s torso and ripping out its heart.

Then he deactivated the Skill and shook his hand, frowning. Strong Skill, just uncomfortable. The center cultist slumped to the ground, joining the right cultist. The left cultist was bound to the ground by vines and roots, and its organs were ground into nothing from pressure.

Satisfied, Randidly clicked his tongue and leaped up through the hole they had created in the floor.