Alaric stared back at him. His emerald eyes gleaming with an unnatural shimmer, like twin mirrors reflecting the void itself. There was no anger, no empathy. Only the cold, terrifying indifference of something hidden inside.
The rogue was caught off guard and faltered.
The rogue faltered, caught off guard.
It wasn't just Alaric he saw anymore—
It was something deeper.
A glimpse of the nightmares.
An abyss that stared back through Alaric's eyes and reached straight into his soul.
He couldn't help but shiver at the sight.
But it was too late to run anyway, so instead, he pumped himself up, rage drowning out hesitation.
Alaric didn't move. Not until the guy was almost on top of him.
This chump's a first-tier, shouldn't be any problem… right? Alaric thought, half-distracted.
Just as the rogue swung his blade downward, Alaric's hand moved.
It was a fluid, almost graceful motion.
His fingers, coated in a thin layer of Ether, brushed against the hilt of the rogue's sword, nudging it aside with a gentle but precise push.
The rogue's eyes widened in shock as his weapon missed cleanly, slicing harmlessly through the air.
Huh.
In the next second, the rogue snarled and grabbed Alaric by the shirt, trying to yank him forward. Only for Alaric's body to lean into it, welcoming the pull.
The brute grinned, mistaking it for panic.
"Making things easier now, are we?" he sneered, raising his sword high.
But before he could bring it down, Alaric's legs locked around his outstretched arm, trapping it awkwardly.
The rogue blinked, confused. And then a searing pain lanced through his forearm, followed by a sharp kick to the throat that knocked the breath clean out of him.
"Ahhh, you f*cking—!"
Before he could finish, Alaric twisted viciously, slammed his knee into the man's joint, and pinned him to the ground.
The swirl of Ether still alive on Alaric's fingers hovered at the man's exposed throat.
"LORD—!" someone yelled.
"Wha—?"
But before Alaric could strike—
Crack!
A shard of ice drilled into his chest, blasting him backward like a ragdoll.
He hit the ground hard, skidding across it, blood soaking through his clothes in seconds.
Clutching at his chest, coughing up thick red, Alaric barely managed to stay upright.
"The hell...?" he rasped, vision blurring.
Through the haze, he saw them—
The brute he was about to kill, laughing like a man who just brushed death.
One of the other rogues clapped him on the shoulder.
"Man, that was a close one, eh!" the man cackled, his voice a grubby, nasally drawl.
"Good thing Farz there ain't the useless sod we thought, huh? Otherwise, it'd be lights out—at the hands of this lousy brat no less!"
That was the damn guard who was supposed to buy time for him.
But now he stood among them, wearing a thin, ugly smile, as if he belonged there all along.
Watching them standing side by side, like old friends.
'Hell... he was probably one of them from the start,' Alaric realized bitterly.
"Shit…" he muttered under his breath.
The brute he fought wiped some blood from his lip and sauntered closer, flashing a broken-toothed grin.
"Well, time to get rid of this little shit, I'm gonna take things slow with you," he said, voice dripping with smug satisfaction.
The others chuckled, weapons glinting as they closed in, surrounding him like hyenas.
As they rushed on him, Alaric took a deep breath, feeling the energy from his core pulse through his body. The spell within him stirred, still unknown but now resonating with the situation around him, as if it was waiting for this very moment.
"Well, there's no running away from all this alone… let's see what you can do"
Alaric murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes as he prepared to release the stored spell, fully embracing whatever power lay dormant within him.
Suddenly, a huge torrent of dark energy began to escape his core, permeating the surroundings in a chaotic fashion. The ground trembled as the air thickened with a dark, oppressive force.
Obsidian spikes, as large as carriages, erupted from the ground around him, tearing through the earth and spreading destruction in every direction. Wherever they went, everything seemed to merge with a black, inky substance, disintegrating into clouds of dark smoke and nothingness. The bunch attacking him from earlier, even the traitor, were all stabbed by those spikes, they ceased to exist the moment they came in contact with these obsidian horrors.
There was no blood, gore, or carnage. Only terrible screams of agony and anguish, followed by a sudden, dreadful silence.
The tall guardian who was already half way dead at this point, turned around with a face filled with nothing but relief. His opponent, the slouch who at that point was already beginning to slowly succumb to his wounds was suddenly impaled with five to six huge spikes, fading him into nothingness as well.
"Retreat!!!"
While the leader suddenly turned around to flee in every direction with gritted teeth, frantically running away to save his own life and desperately avoiding the spell which seemed to be spawned from hell.
How had the situation suddenly turned this bad!?
The group of guards accompanying Alaric were all already cheering at that sight, all the while having twitching eyebrows and feeling a bit of sympathy for their once sworn enemies who they were fighting a life and death battle literally seconds ago, cold sweat running down their faces as they witnessed that horrifying sight.
The raiding party of rogues were running as far away as possible from these terrible spikes, with mortified expressions on their faces, each of them feeling the cold embrace of death looming over their heads and growing even more terrifying with each passing second, the closer that sickening sound of the earth crumbling open and the wind whistling with something sharp cutting through the air getting closer. Their hairs stood on end as they flocked madly away from this death zone as far away as possible.
One rogue dropped his sword and tried to climb a tree. Another dove headfirst into a bush, as if that would save him from the storm of spikes devouring everything else.
The tall guardian turned to relax after a long day of hell, yet the expression was frozen on his face. His opponent, the slouch who had already begun to succumb to his wounds, was suddenly impaled by five or six huge spikes, fading into nothingness without so much as a final scream of anguish.
The array bearer, who had been laughing maniacally just moments earlier, now stood frozen with fear. He felt the environment he had meticulously arranged being sapped away and destroyed by these dreadful spikes. The array was on the verge of collapse, and more spikes were rapidly headed his way.
The situation had taken a sharp turn for the worst.
Alaric, ghostly pale with blood trickling down from his seven orifices, knew he didn't have much time. His core was nearly drained, and his consciousness was slipping, but he understood that if they had any hope of survival, that damned array had to be destroyed.
He continued to command the obsidian spikes, directing them to slam against the cavern walls, piercing them and obliterating everything in their path. At the same time, he sent a few toward the array handler, aiming to end his life and for good measure.
With each ticking second, he became even more pale and he looked like he was getting closer to getting squeezed dry and dying out even before his victi—ahem—enemies.
The handler of the array other handz was on the verge of blacking out, in a much worse state. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood before staring desperately at the approaching spikes, dread seeping from every pore. He had tried using the environment under his command to redirect the spikes, but they were obliterated with ease, causing severe backlash and further wounding his internal organs.
He had tried expelling them but they seemed immovable, as if each spike was a mountain.
He changed his position over and over, but the spikes shadowed his every move like cursed hounds bound to chase him to the ends of the earth.
He even considered killing the f**king kid himself to stop this madness, but… forget about the guards, the spikes around him was enough of a deterrence, stopping him in his tracks
The only other alternative left for him at this moment would be to either cancel the array and properly avoid its trajectory or face his demise.
With death almost literally grazing his skin, it didn't take long for him to come to a decision.
"To hell with this!!!"
With no other options left, he gritted his teeth and canceled the half destroyed array, prioritizing his own life over any damned mission.
The world shifted, the earth terrain transforming back into the woodland expanse they had started in. The battle had taken its toll: the rogues were nearly wiped out, with only a dozen left standing, while Alaric and his group had been reduced to seven, barely holding on.
The world seemed silent, almost static.
But then, the horrifying, nightmare-inducing spikes stretched upwards toward the sky, as if celebrating their freedom and preparing for another bout of slaughter. The insidious, jagged tips of the spikes grew wide like the hungry maws of carnivorous beasts spawned from the deepest depths of hell, mocking their prey. The freezing darkness emanating from them was harrowing enough to make even the most hardened veteran tremble.
Everyone present was frozen in fear, their faces pale and desperate, their bodies shaking. Some even began to sob aloud, their fear overpowering whatever sense of pride or composure they should've had.
The horrifying spikes rose high up into the air and assumed what looked like they were about to descend upon everyone… but suddenly, they froze midair by some unseen force.
Wait… froze?!
A few seconds later, they began to disintegrate into nothingness. The once menacing, terrifying atmosphere slowly receded as the hundreds of spikes vanished, no longer sustained by Ether.
And at the center of what had once been the source of the spikes, stood a young, fragile boy who had just collapsed on the floor.
The spell had taken its toll.
He was as pale as paper, with blood rolling down his seven orifices, and his body spasmed like he was having a seizure, the didn't help that the whole on his chest the size of a fist on kept oozing more blood. The moment he appeared, the battlefield froze again, all eyes on him. Disbelief, shock, fear, bewilderment, hatred, and incredulity were all etched on the faces of those who watched him.
Amidst that pause, a figure rushed to Alaric's side, supporting him while standing guard against any remaining threats. The guardian stared directly at the last remnants of the rogues like a hawk, ready to strike.
The rogue leader clenched his jaw, frustration boiling over as he prepared to give the order to attack. But before the words left his mouth, one of his associates surged forward, hatred burning in his eyes as he charged at Alaric.
The Array bearer sped across the battlefield, his movements precise and deadly, heading straight for the boy without hesitation.
"What are you all waiting for? Kill that f*cking kid!!" the man's voice thundered, echoing through the silence. .
His command broke the spell of hesitation. The rest of the group snapped into action, weapons drawn and eyes locked on Alaric. The air grew thick with tension as they closed in on him.
Alaric's guardian, already bracing to intercept the assault, moved to block the incoming strike. But before he could react, a blur of motion sliced through the chaos.
A figure dashed between them, faster than anyone had anticipated, intercepting the attack before it could reach its target.
The rogue associate barely had time to register the sudden intrusion before the figure collided with him, throwing off his balance and sending him staggering backward.
Clad in combat armor with a huge round shield, the newcomer easily halted the furious charge.
Then, more figures rushed onto the scene, one after the other.
The last to arrive was a large man who seemed to be their leader.
With a loud, deep voice that resonated across the battlefield, he declared:
"You're in the territory of Ryneth," he bellowed, his voice carrying authority and finality. "As Watchmen and protectors of this city, let me make this clear: the fighting stops here and now!"
He scanned the area, his expression serious, daring anyone to challenge his words.
A/N: How is it so far, awesome or magnificent?
:-D