Arintak Takaneta moved faster than Owin expected. The vampire might as well have been a gust of wind. He blurred, then was in front of Owin without actually moving his legs. Fingernails had turned into long, sharp claws on his manicured hands, and without Shade, Owin would have added to the countless scars across his face.

The skeleton had read the movement far better than Owin and appeared directly in front of Arintak. The claws tore through Shade and tossed gray dust into the air.

Owin pushed on his foot, cracking floorboards, and swung Isotelus. The sharp ice blade cut straight through the vampire's waist, bisecting the mob. Owin kicked Arintak's legs, sending both halves of the vampire sprawling.

Another blur and Arintak's claws raked across chitin boots, screeching loudly. Owin kicked and cracked the vampire's jaw.

"Why aren't you dead?" Owin shouted as he kicked the vampire again.

Arintak cackled as sinew snaked out of his severed legs, searching for the rest of his body. Owin leapt over the vampire's torso and cut the growing, snaking strings.

Hissing sounded behind him, so he pivoted and called out the crab legs. They emerged from his armor, causing the specter skin cape to flutter. A handful of bairns stood on the stairs. Their tiny wings extended as they all hissed.

A blow unlike anything Owin had felt before hit the top of his helmet, cracking chitin and causing his knees to buckle. Only after he hit the ground did the legs and claws start to fight back.

Owin groaned and rolled to the side. As soon as he was on his feet, Arintak was in front of him. The lesser vampire was already whole and swinging again.

A crab leg speared the vampire's arm, stopping the strike. Before Arintak could find some other trick, Owin swung up, planting his feet firmly, directly into Arintak's crotch. Owin wasn't tall enough to bisect the vampire horizontally, so the sword exited somewhere in the middle of the vampire's perfect face.

He jumped and chopped back down, severing the last bit of Arintak's head. His brain wobbled, clearly still alive, and tried to reconnect itself. Owin kicked each half away.

Bairns were a bigger threat at the moment. They charged as one. Owin had no real area attacks, so his best option was wide, powerful swings.

No matter how many there were or how strong they were . . .

They weren't Zezog.

Owin shifted his stance, imagining the farmer in front of him. The old, bald elf. The strongest man in the world. Owin grinned and chopped sideways with all his strength. Vampire bairns were about the same height as Owin, so his horizontal swing simply took the heads of them all at the same time.

Carnage filled the lobby in such a short time. Was that new? No. Mayhem seemed to follow Owin basically everywhere he went. Each half of Arintak was still moving, but sluggishly. Owin walked over to half of the vampire and poked his finger into its brain. Arintak's arm swung with its claws, but its slow speed made it easy for the crab armor to intercept.

"Bolt." Electricity passed straight from Owin's finger into the vampire's brain. They might be able to regenerate, but nothing could do well with electricity straight into their brain.

The half of Arintak quivered. His jaw moved, but no words came out. Somehow, the bastard had survived that.

Owin stood and watched, considering. There were a few options, but right now, until Shade came back, he had no special abilities and only a handful of weapons. He probably didn't need a handful of weapons.

"What if—" He crouched down and placed his whole metal hand against the vampire's brain. "Discharge."

Mana vanished from his bar as more and more electricity poured into the vampire. With how high his intelligence had gotten, his mana had become quite deep, and Discharge willingly used every last bit.

Arintak fried until there were only crispy, blackened bits left.

Still, the vampire wasn't dead.

"What is happening?"

Every bairn he had just decapitated stood back up.

"Uh, Shade?"

Summon the Withered Shade

Cooldown: 60 seconds

"Shade!"

Summon the Withered Shade

Cooldown: 59 seconds

Owin dashed forward and chopped again. The bairn vampires were ready for it and evaded by shoving a single one forward who was immediately decapitated while the rest spread out to the sides.

"Okay, fine. We can do it like that." Owin dashed to one at a time, cutting them in half in some fashion. Avoiding the attacks was harder each time as the vampires seemed to slightly predict his moves. He needed to change things up or they would catch him.

What was it that Shade was worried about?

Vampirism.

He needed to keep an eye on that. What would happen if he was infected? Ernie wasn't around to make a miracle cure.

As the last bairn fell, Owin let a limp Isotelus hang at his side. He wiped black blood from his face and looked into the single glowing eye of Arintak.

The lesser vampire had reformed. Kind of. Half his body was still destroyed beyond repair. His left side was limp, but now that wings stretched out, Owin expected he would see something new.

Summon the Withered Shade

Shade appeared, surveyed the area, and immediately crouched beside Owin. "Have you learned nothing?"

"I don't want to answer."

Shade pulled Isotelus from Owin's hands. "Grab the damn stakes!"

Arintak turned to look at the two bloodied stakes behind him, still on the rug where Shade had died.

Owin dashed as fast as possible. He struck Arintak directly in the stomach with the top of his head, sending the vampire flying into the wall. It helped clarify that the wall of the manor was obviously the boundary. Arintak bounced off the wooden door and fell down the stairs that Owin had emerged from.

The stakes were disgusting and sticky with blood, but Shade had been killing vampires easily on the floor below. After everything he had done to Arintak, Owin had to try something different.

"What class are you?" Owin asked.

"Magus. Uh, hold on."

Arintak walked calmly up the stairs. His left half was slowing him down greatly, even as his wings beat slowly to help him partially hover.

"Abyssal magus. I might as well be useless against vampires," Shade said.

"You're not useless." Owin crouched, holding both stakes like knives. He couldn't help but grin. The stance, the weapons, the thrill all reminded him of his time with Ernie and Katalin. Back when he had realized he liked fighting.

"Cretin," Arintak said with a slur.

Owin had a good idea of where the heart was, but vampires could be different. Maybe they weren't and he overthought it. Either way, he collided with Arintak, driving the stakes into both sides of his chest. The vampire withered and died immediately, which caused Owin and the corpse to crash right back into the doorway and fall down the stairs.

0 Experience

"It worked!" Owin pushed Arintak off, grabbed a mana potion that fell off the corpse, and drank it immediately. He walked back up the stairs laughing until he spotted Shade surrounded by bairn vampires.

"A little help?" Shade asked. He slapped one with a limp Isotelus, but it did no visible damage.

Owin sprinted and rammed a stake into the first bairn. It practically tore the creature's chest open. He tossed it away and stabbed with the other stake. He lifted this bairn off its feet and threw it away. It went on until they all died. Completely. Shade went around and stomped on them just to really make sure they were dead.

"I'm glad Althowin made us do the Fortress second." Owin tried wiping the stakes off, but the blood soaked into and clung to the wood fibers.

"Why?" Shade flopped Isotelus back and forth.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Because vampires are awful and we won't have to see them again."

Shade nodded enthusiastically. "I dream of the day. This day, maybe. How fast can we go?"

"Not fast enough. I'm guessing we go up the stairs?"

Shade looked around the room again, then walked over and grabbed the right doors. Instead of opening normally, the door popped in, smacking Shade in the face. A tongue lashed out, wrapped around Shade's spine, and yanked him in. The door slammed back shut.

"Uh." Owin looked around the room. Sometimes he wished there was someone else around to see the things that happened to Shade. "The door is a mob?"

Owin placed the stakes in his belt and drew a wand and the Darkblade. "Arcane Blast." The purple spell appeared on the tip of the wand and crashed into the wooden door. It shook before popping open again. Teeth lined the interior of the door as the tongue lashed back out, blindly searching for Owin.

It was a damn mimic.

Shade flailed just inside, then spotted Owin and simply waved as he was covered in slobber.

If Shade was an abyssal magus, he had spells like Myrsvai, which gave Owin some good options for ranged attacks without using up his wand charges. He slipped it back into his belt and pointed his metal hand. "Abyssal Blast."

The magenta spell shot from Owin's index finger and hit the mimic's tongue. It thrashed for a moment before ejecting Shade. The skeleton scrambled away, slipping a few times on the thick saliva that coated every bone.

"That might be the most horrific thing I've endured." Shade shook his head, throwing saliva all over.

"How do we kill it?"

Shade grabbed Owin's shoulders and pushed him forward.

"What are you doing?"

Shade pressed the bottom of his foot against Owin's back and shoved him forward. Before Owin could do anything, the tongue wrapped around his waist and pulled him inside. The mimic's jaw slammed shut just behind him, cutting off all light.

The tongue constricted, trying to crush him, but crab legs were already stabbing at the tongue and the armor was holding most of the pressure back. For now. Cracks started to form.

Owin electrified the Darkblade and stabbed toward the back of the mimic. He found flesh and drove the knife up to the hilt. As soon as he felt blood, he tore, ripping the Darkblade as far as his arm could reach.

A torrent of blood poured onto Owin, then blinding light flashed in his eyes. He was lying on the wooden floor, looking up at Shade. A withered mimic door wobbled and collapsed at his side.

"Good strategy, yeah?" Shade asked. He grabbed Owin's arm and tried to pull him up, but since they were both covered with saliva, the grip faltered and Owin fell onto his back again.

"Yeah. It was great. Thanks."

"Oh, thanks isn't necessary." Shade grabbed him more carefully and hauled him to his feet.

"I'll keep that in mind. You won't hear it from me again."

"No, wait. No. Keep thanking me. That's what I live for. Thank me all the time. Thank me as much as you can."

Owin sighed and looked into the sitting room beyond.

***

Through the wastes, through the convoluted fucking hellscape.

Nikoletta stood before an edifice to the gods. The image of Klatine was clear while the others were faded to obscurity.

"They believe themselves greater," Zazenk said. His frog-like hand caressed her shoulder. "They defeated us millenia ago, and still, they believe themselves greater."

Nikoletta illuminated her mace and swung, easily crushing the statues in one intense swing. Bits of stone cascaded off the gods' legs and dirtied the snow at the base of the statue. The area was already turning red as the rabbits' blood.

She cast a glance over her shoulder to the head priest who still clutched at his crushed trachea. His wheezing, pitiful breaths were grating on her patience.

Zazenk followed her gaze. The cathkabel's wide eyes narrowed in disgust. "Mistress?" he asked, voice bewitching.

"Send him to Elysium." She turned back to the ruined statue and crushed the pieces of Klatine beneath her boot. A quiet, wheezing cry preceded a shower of blood that splashed against her heels.

"Shall we continue?" Zazenk asked as he reappeared over her shoulder. His words were almost a moan as he licked rabbit blood from his fingers.

How he defiled himself with such inferior creatures was beyond her understanding.

Only the floor boss was left. A single, trivial mob stood between her and the tenth floor.

The next step toward her destiny.

"This is my fight."

Zazenk stepped around her side. His wings were outstretched as he bowed deep. "I will revel in the opportunity to see your glory."

Her eyes fell on what remained of Sloswen's statue. While most of it had faded, the obvious snake tattoo had remained engraved in the slender arm. What would a god of such power, of such arrogance think of her actions? His patronage had assisted her. That was no cause for loyalty. Gods would have their own plans, and she refused to be some puppet in their schemes.

Her boots crunched in the snow as she marched away from the chapel grounds, back into the frozen wastes. The icy stairs shone in the stark sunlight, out beside the distant boundary wall.

She had expected a single bear from the stories and quests. Instead, there was a small squad of three. A hunter, a soldier or knight, and a berserker.

No magic.

Nikoletta immediately casted Luminous Surge, illuminating her eyes and her mace with light brighter than the weak sunlight of the Tundra. As expected, the bear warriors spotted her instantly.

A bear wielding a bow was intimidating, especially with nothing but white wastes in every direction. Its bow was as tall as a human, and the arrow was just as proportionally massive. When ice formed on the arrowhead, it might as well have been a boulder.

Three furred giants with no purpose but to stop heroes from advancing. They would be her greatest foes yet.

As soon as the hunter let the monstrous arrow fly, Nikoletta activated Ethereal Might. Luminous fire erupted around her like a cloak as she shattered the ground and dashed over the snow. It melted rapidly, leaving a muddy trail in her wake.

The ice arrow passed by, missing by inches. If she had been a second slower, her head would be gone from such an attack. Long before she could reach the beasts, the soldier positioned itself out front. What looked like a normal scutum shield was in reality a 10 foot piece of wall that the bear held like a shield.

Nikoletta slipped by a swing of the bear's tree trunk club and smashed her glowing mace into the stones of the shield in a swing powered by Ethereal Might. Luminous light flared, sending beams and fire through the cracks in the wall. The bear roared and smoldered. It dropped the shield as stones crumbled to dust.

So many mender spells were focused on supporting others. Half her spells were useless.

The bear swung the tree trunk again. Instead of trying to block, deflect, or smash right through, Nikoletta decided to leap over, letting the wood swipe through the snow and broken stones.

She landed firmly right as the berserker bear emerged from behind its comrade. It was a bloody, snarling beast that was closer to its primitive counterpart than the other two. A massive clawed paw swung fast enough to be a blur. All Nikoletta could manage was to place the head of her mace between her chest and the bear's attack.

Her world shook, then spun. About a dozenflips later, she stopped in the snow. Healing immediately numbed the throbbing pain in her skull while Forceful Mend closed the gash along her scalp and stitched broken ribs back together.

Zazenk had yet to move. The cathkabel death priest watched without expression.

Both the hunter and the soldier bears had remained where they were. The hunter was drawing another arrow, trying to find a line of sight to Nikoletta. Meanwhile, the berserker was charging like a rabid animal, barreling over the wastes. Snow and mud flew in chunks behind.

Agility Augment temporarily raised her dexterity, allowing for a dive to the side as the berserker rushed by, unable to stop without skidding and slipping. The luminous cloak pulsing around her was already an increase to speed, so with both spells running and draining her mana, she felt as though she could move like luminous light itself.

Nikoletta took a step and leapt at the berserker, raising the mace high. Before she could bring the glowing metal head down, a stone arrow struck her side, denting her armor. The ground greeted her with a thud as she crashed through the snow and hit the solid ground.

Any time hesitating was time she could die. A quick maneuver brought Nikoletta around, on one knee. Her instincts were right as the berserker's paw cleaved through the frozen ground. In her same movement, Nikoletta swung the mace up, catching the bear's jaw. Blood and teeth passed overhead.

A solid hit, but not enough to kill such a mighty creature. She had to use every bit of her movement to avoid the next flurry of attacks, and even with her boosts, the berserker's claw caught her arm and tore straight through her bicep.

Forceful Mend was the only option, even if it could cause permanent damage.

"May I suggest we even the odds, Mistress?" Zazenk said, suddenly nearby.

The berserker hesitated, looking toward the cathkabel. In that moment, Nikoletta clubbed him across the head again. It dazed the berserker, but the burning hair across his face quickly shook him out of it.

"I expected a duel," she said, breathing heavily.

"Then let us make it one." Zazek beat his feathered wings once, sending him far above. His bulbous, frog-like fingers wrapped around the shaft of his scythe that looked like it was covered in shadows, even under the cloudless sky. He curled his wings in and dropped straight down.

A mighty, horrifying roar escaped the berserker. Its breath was rancid and sent drops of blood splattering against Nikoletta's face. She stared, unblinking.

Zazenk landed and sent snow flying in every direction like a bomb had gone off. He turned and gestured, as he did whenever he intended to follow her.

The blood was already freezing on her skin. Nikoletta ran her free hand over her scalp, feeling all the scars she had developed. She closed her eyes and canceled Luminous Surge. These bosses were no joke. She needed to go for a Power 5 spell.

"Luminous Storm." As long as her mana lasted, Ethereal Might would keep burning. It was exhausting, especially when compared to other spells, but the combination was her ultimate move.

Luminous flames erupted from her back, forming something close to wings. Instead of simply glowing, her mace ignited. White flames flowed like liquid from her eyes and dripped from her mace, sizzling in the snow.

Behind her, the berserker's head fell to the ground, cut clean off from a single attack.

Nikoletta took a deep breath. At its deepest, she narrowed her eyes and launched herself across the wastes. A single beat of her wings carried her across the gap. Instead of landing and swinging, she passed right by the hunter, smashing the fiery mace into the bear's maw as she passed.

Her feet hit the snow and melted through in an instant. She pivoted and caught an arrow head in her flaming palm. It still hurt, but it failed to pierce through her gauntlet. Luminous wings shifted behind her as she crushed the arrow and dashed back at the hunter.

The soldier moved to defend, but Nikoletta was too fast. She was in front of the hunter before it finished drawing another arrow. Her mace crushed the bow, and the next swing shattered the bones of its hand. She thrust a hand out, sending a blast of luminous magic into the bear's chest.

That gave her just enough room to pivot and parry the soldier. Its tree club was powerful enough to smash Nikoletta to bits, but with the Luminous Storm raging, she had the extra energy to knock the blow aside. She sent more luminous magic into the soldier, searing its flesh.

Her wings beat, throwing her into the air. On her way up, she hit the soldier across the face, and on the way down, she smashed the glowing mace into the hunter's skull. They both wavered.

Nikoletta landed and swung again, breaking the soldier's knee. She swung the other way, breaking the other leg. The bear shook its daze and roared, trying to move. It took a step before its broken knee buckled.

The hunter fell forward, panting as its chest burned with luminous fire. As soon as the head was within range, Nikoletta finished breaking its skull. She walked around the massive creatures and stopped at the soldier's head.

"Filth." One more swing was enough to crush the bear's skull and spill its splattered brains into the snow.

"Well done, Mistress." Zazenk stalked beside the bear corpses, nodding thoughtfully.

"We're leaving." Nikoletta didn't wait. She didn't loot or take time to recover. She simply walked toward the icy stairs.

"Of course, Mistress." Zazenk followed close, placing his frog-like hand on her shoulder.

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