[VR-MMO/LITRPG] Everlight Online - Chapter 15: Dance Macabre

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Amra shrieked in an almost animalistic cry as he charged—but this wasn’t just a random lashing out, like a beast caught in a snare, fighting for survival in the only way it knew how—no… this was calculated. Cold. Smart. There was a deep-seated anger that boiled beneath the surface of Amra’s expression. A frenzy. A rage. A madness. And instead of blinding the creature to what needed to be done, it seemed to focus him—his eyes scanning all three who stood in opposition to his whim, gauging who would be the first to fall.

Amra made his choice and attacked Ashryn first, but as Cian rushed to intercept, the creature slapped the cobbled floor with his powerful tail, and then with his long talons, whipped broken rocks towards him. One particularly large piece of the floor struck Cian, sending him reeling from side to side, blood gushing from a fresh wound just above his right eye. It hurt—stung and partially obscured his vision.

Amra fell upon Ashryn like a harbinger of death itself, but she looked... unphased. In her eyes, he saw the determination of someone with something still left to do. Someone who could not rest just yet. He had to admit… It was mesmerizing.

Through that determination, Ashryn clapped her hands, whispered something he couldn’t hear, and then spindled cords of blood erupted from the various bodies in the courtyard of [Thawgarden], catching Amra and holding him back just before his talons tasted her flesh. She flashed him a grin before pellets of blood glittered all around her, like tiny floating coins, and as she held her hand forward, those glorious shining red orbs pelted Amra like a spray of bullets.

Amra screamed and bellowed his fury out for all to hear, but Cian only heard the sound of opportunity. With his [Swordbreaker] at the ready, he rushed forward intent on driving it through Arma’s thick, protective scales.

Arma turned at the final moment, broke the bonds of blood which held him, and swiped at Cian—but he foresaw it as he ducked under, sliding on the wet cobbled ground, and slashed a clean cut across the creature’s midsection.

“Fool!” Amra cried, flexing and breaking free from the rest of the tangle of blood. “Your weapon cannot cut me—” His words were cut short as he suddenly vomited up a pile of blue blood, falling to one knee, his wings closing around his body protectively. His eyes were frantic as if he were searching for an unknown attacker, muttering, “How?” over and over.

Cian stood tall and intimidating, holding in his hand… the broken shaft of a spear, painted with blue blood. His attack had been a feint all along, and Amra, through his indignation, did not see it. He casually dropped the wooden shaft into a small puddle, which splashed a mixture of blood and water on his boots.

Amra eyed him dangerously, standing to his full height before suddenly lunging towards him, his desperation rising… but before he could reach him, he halted, both of his hands going to his head. The creature hissed as he used his claws to seemingly try and scratch something unseen from out of his skull.

“[Mind Piece],” Zav said casually, with a look of intense focus on his face. Even though he looked so different in his gnomish avatar, Cian recognized the familiar determination of his friend. Zav simply turned to him and gave him a look that said it all…

Finish it.

Cian echoed a battle cry as he lunged forward with his [Swordbreaker], slashing away at Amra, but he, still so strong, was alert enough to counter, matching each of his slashes with his own.

Slash

Slash

Slash

Cian’s [Swordbreaker] and Amra’s claws clashed against each other in a beautiful cacophony of battle, not unlike a dance macabre. A deadly artistic display. This was it. This was the rush he had been waiting for all his life. He found that in that moment he was neither scared nor fearless. Not happy, nor sad. He was simply…

Alive!

Each clash in their conflict echoed out, sending a spray of rainwater away from the impacts of their duel. Neither was willing to back down.

***

Zav stared, absolutely stunned at what he was witnessing. This fighter—this orc—who fought this dragon-like creature with such enthusiastic vigor… was this Cian? Was this really his friend? Wheelchair-bound and destined for death? Barely able to breathe on his own? No… this couldn’t be. In all the years he had known him, he had never seen him display such a raw desire to live. Such powerful excitement to protect. This was no longer the Cian he knew… this was someone else entirely. This was Lyceus.

Zav smiled… he was so overcome with emotion for his friend. He glanced at the four blades in his hand and dismissed them. No… he would not steal his friend’s moment from him. He needed this—more than even he knew.

He breathed in deep and yelled, “Cian… kill this fucker!”

***

Ashryn watched the dance and found her heart skipping beats. This man—Cian, Zavres had named him—known in [Everlight] only as Lyceus, had the worst stats she had ever seen before. And yet, here he stood, his defensive weapon lashing out with the speed and precision of an expert fencer. Even the movement of his feet seemed calculated—so much so that in his eyes, she could already see the future he sought. See his victory. She knew that nothing else but the fight mattered to him now. In a way, he was just like her… purely determined on a singular goal. An immovable object in an unceasing world.

It was glorious to witness. A wonder to behold. Like the first snow of winter—

Utterly captivating.

***

Cian pressed forward, and, even surprising him, he could feel Amra’s counters slow. Wane. Somehow, that spurred him further. Pushed him harder. And soon, he found himself laughing.

… Laughing?

Of course… Why wouldn’t he laugh? The real world had been so cruel to him. Had stolen so much from him. And yet, in this fake world of fantasy, everything felt so much more… certain. Absolute. Here, he could fight. Here, he had the power to take back what was stolen from him.

Here… he had the indomitable will to live.

Cian’s attacks, fueled by his own hysteria, became even quicker. Even keener. And they quickly overwhelmed Amra, who struggled desperately to keep up. The creature tried to turn and flee, but he had seen it—the future. He had seen his victory so clearly, and now, all he needed to do was make it a reality. Each time Amra turned to flee, he met the man in turn, driving him back. To any onlookers, it must have appeared that he knew just where Amra was going to be before it happened, but in reality, he was simply relying entirely on instinct. He had his own secret weapon. He knew all about being a victim. Knew how they think. Knew how they act.

He used his past pain and made it his strategy.

Amra hissed in frustration as every wayward attempt at fleeing was countered—suddenly, Cian slipped, his foot hitting the small piece of the floor that Amra had dislodged previously. Before he could even mutter a curse, Amra smiled, his tail whipping around and catching him in the midsection, throwing him a few feet away, sliding across the watery stone floor.

Before Cian could recover, he heard the furious beating of Amra’s wings as the creature lifted off the ground. Flying away, albeit weakly, he eventually landed atop a nearby guard tower. Amra lifted his hand up to the sky, muttering, “Come now, Lord of the Sky. Feast to your heart’s content. This world–this world is yours to drown in your wake.”

The sky shuddered and the rain… stopped. All became calm—so quiet that he could hear even his own heart beating in his chest. Then, to his surprise, he noticed something. Something odd. Something so unexpected that it bordered on the nonsensical…

A goblin, standing just behind Amra.

***

“Stay here!” Sri demanded of the minotaur. Tekurat was the man’s name, if she wasn’t mistaken. Her [Advanced Observation] had been cut short as she heard the sounds of a fierce battle outside.

“Why?” Tekurat asked, pushing a tuft of hair from out of his eyes. He gave a light harrumph as he fixed his hair just right.

“Because you’re too big,” Sri replied. “You’ll get me spotted in a heartbeat.” She exhaled and tried to calm herself. “Look,” she pointed towards the stairs leading down, “you go that way.” She pointed to a different set of stairs leading up. ”I’m going that way.”

Once again, the minotaur asked, “Why?”

“Vantage!” Sri said. “So that I can see what needs to be done. I have this staff, and I intend to end this scenario with it intact. So I’m going to the roof to see how I can do just that.”

Seemingly accepting her explanation, Tekurat nodded and sauntered towards the stairs, his two-handed axe in hand. At the stairs, he paused, noticing that… he was far too large to go through. The man simply shrugged and then began smashing through the stonework with his massive bulk, making the way far bigger than it had been before. She had to hand it to him… at least he was strong.

Sri hurried up the stairs with the staff in hand. There were few signs of life in the keep now, albeit the melodies of conflict still rode on the air. At the top, she overlooked the rest of the keep and found that [Thawguarden], at least this version of it, was practically no more. Fires had been lit at various locations, and there was a large break in the stonework, and the gates, which had barred entry, now lay torn and splintered in shambles. Bodies… dozens of them, both guards and gnolls alike, littered the landscape like rambling weeds. This was chaos… and she loved it! This is what made her feel alive—not some stuffy board meeting, nor sorority get-together, and especially not interventions with her so-called family…

This!

Sri heard a familiar scream, and she looked down to find Amra and Lyceus in the midst of battle. What was Lyceus thinking? His [Stats] were horrendous. Laughable really. Surely there was no way that—her mind froze as she witnessed Lyceus move like a man possessed. Was this truly the character with such bad [Stats]? From her point of view, Lyceus nearly matched the albeit injured-looking Amra… No, not just matched—surpassed! She knew there was a reason she was drawn to him. This conviction. This show of will… It reminded her of Ashir.

Suddenly, Amra struck Lyceus, sending him reeling back. The advisor used the opportunity to escape, his wings beating and lifting him off the ground… and directly towards her.

Quickly, she fell back to the stairs, hiding just below until she heard the soft clang of talons against stone. Glancing out, she saw Amra’s back, an enormous gaping hole oozing blue blood against blue scales.

How was the man still able to stand at all?

Then, Amra began pleading to his Lord of the Sky. Beckoning the Sky-lord to aid him. She slid a dagger from its sheath at her waist. Creeping forward, a staff of bone in one hand, her dagger in the other, she approached Amra, intent on ending this all in one fatal strike.

When Amra’s speech concluded, she lunged forward with killing intent.

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