Chapter 14: When the Dead Come Calling
It was difficult to truly grasp the sheer depth of terror that exploded in every guard, civilian, and even horse as the demon flew up and out of the crater, its powerful wings keeping it airborne as its throat and chest leaked blood. The creature, which Dal had thought to be defeated, was still alive and on the hunt. And worse: it now looked even more enraged than it had before, which Dal wouldn't have thought was possible.
If Lord Ashmere is down, then it's truly over, he thought. God above, it's going to kill the prince!
The heavy-armor-wearing man was on his belly with his face buried in the concrete, and though he did not appear to be mortally wounded, he was clearly unconscious. The prince, on the other hand, was standing on both his feet with his sword at the ready, but given what had just happened between the demon and Lord Ashmere, Dal wasn't sure how anyone could expect the young man to come through this in one piece—and the same went for his two young friends.
Rethi, hopping off the top of the roof and landing on her feet, sprinted her way over to Prince Alain while Denin charged forward and paused by his side; now, the three of them were together. Immediately, Denin raised his scepter high above his head and shouted, "Esreus, God of everything, God of light! Grant us your strength!" The ruby on his scepter began to shine, becoming brighter and brighter until it erupted in one final flash, which caused thousands of golden, firefly-like wisps to fall down and over the three of them.
It's a buff, Dal thought. Combat magic that increases the power of those who receive it.
Dal didn't know what kind of buff it was or in what way it would assist the prince. But what he did know was that, if there existed any chance at all for the three youths to slay that demon, it wasn't going to last for very long. The demon, which was still dripping blood, was in a very weakened state thanks to the two powerful slashes of Garrick's claymore that had actually landed on it. Now was the time to take it down if such a thing was even possible. Yet the prince was advancing warily and with great caution.
He doesn't know! Dal realized with a gasp. He doesn't know that the demon can heal if it—
Despite wanting to remain hidden, Dal genuinely would have called out to the prince. He would have willingly given himself away if only to moderately increase the brave kid's chances of making it through this alive. Unfortunately, before he could utter so much as a single word, the demon took off, flying halfway down the street in the direction opposite to that of the town square. Then, it stopped, suddenly, and dropped straight down on top of a lone guard, whose head hit the pavement so hard it likely killed him instantly.
And he was lucky for it.
With a disgusting crunching and hissing, the demon feasted upon the guard as his two closest compatriots turned away and ran off, screaming. Now, Dal watched as, with each mouthful of flesh, bone, or internal organ, the demon's wounds began to seal up while a red smoke began pouring out of its injured areas.
"What's it doing?" the prince asked.
Denin swore. "It's healing! The damn thing is healing!"
Rethi nodded. "It must heal itself when it consumes a human."
"Vile!" Alain shouted. And in a sign of bravery and defiance, he said, "Rethi, Denin, I'm ordering you two to flee. Get a horse back to Freewind immediately and inform my father of what happened here."
Rethi firmly shook her head. "No way! You're crazy if you think we're leaving you here to die."
"It's my duty. It's not yours."
"Don't be an idiot! We'll all go."
"I can't! I must stay and fight."
Dal's heart ached as he watched the demon finish licking up the last of the slain guard. Nothing now remained except for his armor, and even that, the demon licked clean of blood. Healed and nourished, it turned itself around on its feet, once more facing in the prince's direction, and now its wings again began to flap with powerful thwacking sounds as it lifted up into the air, its murderous eyes locked onto the prince.
Time Remaining: 1 minute, 18 seconds
Every bone in Dal's body ached for him to get in there and do something. Anything! Although a part of him wanted to turn around and flee while he still had the chance, an even greater part of him knew that it would be a shameless act if there was a way he could actually make a difference here. It wasn't that he wanted to fight a demon, but more so that he just couldn't stand the sight of seeing the young prince ripped apart as so many had already been on this awful, bloody morning.
Unfortunately, whether or not Dal had the means of helping the people here was based on nothing more than random chance, and even then, he wouldn't know for about a minute—by far enough time for the demon to rip Denin, Rethi, and the prince into so many pieces it would be impossible to identify them.
Time Remaining: 1 minute, 2 seconds
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
The demon sped through the air, propelled forward with each flap of its wings. And like a jousting knight, it sped right past the prince while simultaneously swinging its extraordinarily long weapon. The prince, gritting his teeth, actually dashed forward to meet the demon, and then he too swung his weapon. The result was a loud ching and Alain nearly being knocked off his feet. But incredibly—and impressively—he actually managed to survive the clash against a monstrous being with such superior power.
Steadying himself, Alain held his blade at the ready as the demon turned around midair, took off slowly—and then abruptly burst forward with dizzying speed right back the way it'd come, jousting with Alain a second time. And like before, the prince somehow actually managed to cross swords and live. Clearly, Dal had sold him short. He was far more skilled than Dal had expected, and given that the kid was only a Knight—a tier-2 Battle Class—merely managing to survive one, let alone two such assaults, would warrant a standing ovation if the situation were not so awful.
"Come on!" the prince shouted at it as it flew around for a third clash.
As though goaded, the demon opened its mouth, exposing its four sets of sharp fangs, and it released a screech as it took off towards the prince yet again. But this time, there was no clash. With a grin on his face, Alain looked to Denin and nodded, and Denin returned the grin and nodded back, his ruby glowing brightly.
Now, as the demon made straight for the prince, another of Denin's golden barriers of holy light appeared just in front of where Prince Alain was waiting. The demon, moving far too fast to change its trajectory, slammed straight into it, whereupon it bounced off, spun several times in the air, and landed with a loud plop onto the pavement like a wounded fly. But it was already clawing its way back into a crouch, and soon, it would be on its feet and then in the air.
"Now's our chance!" the prince cried, raising his sword. "Kill it!"
Rethi released a loud battle cry and threw her staff forward, her arm fully extended. From the end of the weapon came a loud bang, one so powerful it caused the staff itself to recoil. Whatever she'd done, it worked fast, for even as the painfully loud noise was still echoing in the air, a wound formed on the demon's stomach, and blood splattered off its body and onto the pavement. It was also pushed directly onto its back as though shoved down.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" it screeched as it got back up into a sitting position.
But Rethi, whose arm was still extended, fired off another such shot from her staff.
BANG!
The demon was again sent onto its back. Now, more quickly, it scrambled up to its feet.
BANG!
Its right shoulder exploded, knocking it down into a crouching position.
BANG!
A piece of its cheek was blasted off its face, and it was put right back down onto its back. But incredibly, it climbed up once more into a kneel, and Rethi, whose arm was still extended, was now panting and gasping, the effort of whatever she'd done having taken a toll on her.
"I can't use magic shotgun anymore," she said, barely able to get the words out as she seemingly struggled just to breathe. "It's all on you two."
Dal's optimism spiked. Once again, it looked like there was a very real chance the prince could end this here and now, as the demon was wounded as it had been before. Presently, it was craning its neck around as though searching for something—likely a target to consume. But unlike before, the prince now knew of this ability, and he shouted out, "What do you think you're looking at?"
The demon's attention again became focused on the prince, who furiously swung his sword at the bloodied, terrifying creature. But although it was wounded, the demon was still able to get back to its feet and launch its own attack at the prince, striking out with its blade. The two swords met, and to Dal's utter dismay and dread, the demon, despite being wounded, nevertheless still won the exchange, disarming the prince just as it had disarmed Garrick. Then the demon followed up, slicing at the now unarmed prince a second time.
"Move!" Denin cried, running into and tackling the prince aside a second before the demon took his head off. Both boys went down, and both rolled along the pavement. The demon, screeching, pursued the prince on foot, not even bothering to take to the air. In four quick strides, it hovered over him, and then it raised its sword and slammed it down on top of him. Thankfully, Denin was prepared.
Holding his scepter out like a ward, he resurrected his golden barrier of light, and the demon's weapon was deflected. But this time, the demon did not give up. It struck it a second time, and then a third. Then the demon began to alternate between swiping at it with the sharp claws in its off hand and swinging at it with its sword. It was the equivalent of beating down a door.
"I can't hold!" Denin shouted. And upon hearing this, the guards reacted.
"We're coming!" they cried as arrows were fired into the creature's back and numerous spear-wielding guards stabbed at the creature over and over, doing minimal damage, if even that. But the demon ignored them. It simply continued to beat against the shield over and over, and now, the shield began to flicker as though it would simply fade out of existence at any moment.
Time Remaining: 0:20
With twenty seconds remaining, there was nothing Dal could do but watch in silent horror as the demon at last broke through Denin's barrier. And as for Denin himself, he collapsed onto the pavement as though from exhaustion. This left just Alain, who was unarmed and probably just as exhausted.
Eyeing the prince with a combination of hunger and hate, the demon seemed to realize it could now move in for the kill. It reached out to Alain with its clawed hand as though wishing to slay the prince with its own body. And then, as if to taunt Alain, the demon began opening its wide mouth and snapping it shut over and over.
"Your Highness!" the guards cried as they literally dropped their weapons and actually jumped on top of the demon. Four, then five, and now even six men were clinging to the creature, mostly on its back in an attempt to pull it away. The demon responded by flapping its serrated wings, which were so sharp they flayed two guards to death right there on the spot. Then it launched itself up into the air, continuing on until it flew above the roofs of all nearby structures and then even higher still.
Once it was several hundred feet in the air, it began to spin around relentlessly, shaking off the four guards who were still holding on. One by one, they screamed to the God above for help as they fell to their deaths and met their end on the hard pavement. With that, the creature descended, still eying the prince.
Time Remaining: 0:10
Dal, more nervous than he'd been in a very long time, watched as it touched down on both feet and began to menacingly move closer and closer.
Run! he shouted in his mind. Why won't you get up and run?
The answer was likely in the way the prince was panting, his eyes unfocused. Though it hadn't seemed like much at the time, Dal was willing to bet the two jousts he'd had with the demon had taken a massive toll on him, and he'd probably been doing his utmost to hide it ever since. But now, Alain was completely spent. That much was obvious. The prince had nothing left to give.
Time Remaining: 0:05
As the seconds counted down, Dal watched as the demon strode closer, and closer, and closer. Even with just five seconds left until he shifted, he knew he wouldn't make it. And so, despite having no idea what he would become, and despite the high probability of death, Dal decided to do the only thing he could right now.
Exiting his hiding place behind the kiosk, Dal cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at the creature in an attempt to draw its attention. "Demon! Hey! Over here! Look over here, you son of a bitch!"
Even as he shouted those words, Dal realized the futility of it; after all, he wasn't the only one taunting it. Nearly every guard was now screaming at the demon as it seemingly ignored all things around it with a strange sort of fascination; it seemed intent on killing Prince Alain. Almost as though it were the creature's sole focus. Thus, as Dal screamed at the demon, his words were essentially a useless waste of breath. The demon was no more likely to respond to him than it was to anyone else.
Or at least that was what common sense would suggest—but it wasn't what happened.
For a reason Dal couldn't even begin to speculate, the exact moment in time that he began calling out to the creature, it immediately halted, froze completely in place, and then, with an almost desperate level of urgency, it whirled completely around, doing a total about-face in Dal's direction. And upon seeing Dal, its eyes bulged with so much rage that it was as though all the hatred in the world was contained within those two goat-like eyes.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" it screeched at him specifically. "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Time Remaining: 0:00
The sudden, blinding speed at which it had lost interest in the prince and directed all its ire towards Dal was such that it gave him whiplash. For what possible reason had the demon halted its pursuit of the prince upon his call when it ignored all others? Or did it even matter? No, it didn't. The answer to that question would change nothing at the moment.
No, only luck could possibly matter now. Only luck could save him.
CLASS SHIFT! NEW CLASS ASSIGNED
Dal held his breath. He clenched his hands into fists. He even clenched his toes. He prayed despite knowing it would do nothing and had never helped in this kind of situation before. Regardless, it was the only thing he still had the ability to do as the creature began flapping its wings while it stared solely upon Dal and Dal alone.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
The moment of truth had arrived. It was time to shift into a new class. Everything now came down to him being assigned a Battle Class. Of course, even if he was, that still might not be enough. He not only needed to get a Battle Class, but he needed a high-tier one at a high level: a really high level. Especially since not even Lord Ashmere had been able to defeat this God-forsaken creature in combat.
I either get lucky or I die, Dal thought to himself. That's all there is to it.
And so, with everything up to and including his life on the line, Dal looked to see what fate had in store for him, discovering the answer very soon after. And when he did, he felt a jolt rush straight through his heart. But it was not a jolt of fear, and it was not a jolt of confusion, either. It was a jolt of pure, utter frustration.
Because he had no idea what he'd even gotten.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Dal got yet another fake class that nobody had ever heard of before, and because of that, Dal couldn't even begin to tell if it was powerful or weak, and the extent to which it might be either. Indeed, this was not only another nonsense class, but it consisted of a word or term he was unfamiliar with and might not even be real. If nothing else, it had at least been fairly obvious what being a "Magic Archer" would entail. But this? No, this was nonsensical in every sense of the word.
Thus, as the light encircled him and he began to shift, all he could do was cry out a desperate question to the heavens, one that he roared at the top of his lungs: "What in the fuck is a Necromancer?"