Book 2 Chapter 39: On the Road Toward an Ancient Evil

Eliza

When they landed back in the Arena, Sam was discussing vividly with Sensibility and Kariperos. After the women exited the Gundam, Jane made a succinct report. There were many 'Ohs!' going around.

At the end, Sam lowered his head. "Buggers… Cedric sent me a note saying about the same. We have to assume he's a hostage and extract him as well."

"The priority is to kill the Slime," Koshchei said. "Without it, the Queen's plans crumble, and she has no reason to keep him."

"Or she'd be mad and try to kill us all," Eliza pointed out.

"Dorian had a brilliant idea, and preemptively informed the local factions that she might try to take over the city. Everybody agreed to leave their differences aside until the danger's gone."

"Well done, Dorian!" Koshchei said, clapping.

She snorted. "Don't be an ass, Kosh; it's not like you have a monopoly on scheming."

"That said, we need a pretense to stall the Queen," Sam said.

"What if you tell her I don't trust her because I found out her grandmother attacked my great-grandfather?" Sensibility proposed.

"Could work," Sam nodded. "I’ll tell her I'm trying to change your mind, and ask for more time."

"Are we going to kill that slime already?" Koshchei asked.

"Sure. Slaying the Slime is a go. We'll call it Operation…"

"Slime time?" Eliza proposed.

"Slime and Punishment," Koshchei said.

"Gel Bane," a guard said.

"Slime prime time," a woman holding a camera suggested.

Looking around, Eliza realized all the team, except Isolde and Cedric, had been gathered, as well as the movie and game crews. The only ones missing were the rich visitors.

"Where are the billionaires?" she asked.

"Some were extracted from the stampede and put into a lounge by the guards; some ran into the city. They're searching for them as we speak. Okay, let's go."

"Moment," Koshchei said. "There's no reason for all of us to go. We're just dropping a bomb and extracting Isolde."

"If she's still alive," Eliza said.

"Yes. A small team will be more efficient. Eliza and I are essential to the plan. I'd like Dorian to come, because he can share his invulnerability with me."

"That's a no," Sam said. "Protecting Sensibility is a priority."

"Then Tristan. His AOE is impenetrable to anything, right?"

"So the description says," Tristan nodded. "I'm okay with it, as long as Sam is."

"Yeah, sure."

"I suggest I go first. If there are too many monsters, I'll use the Dark Void to trap them. Everyone, step back."

"Get inside me," Koshchei said to Isolde.

"No way. You barely can squeeze yourself in there. I want to be able to move. Give me a weapon," Eliza beckoned to a guard. The man offered her his halberd, but she pointed at a leaf-shaped sword. She hacked the air twice. It felt good.

Eliza Baggins, reporting. Ready to slay Slimuron.

"Ready? I'll remove the lid," Aldric said, stepping toward the blockage.

Seconds after he touched it, the stone began to melt, pouring into the hole. No noises were coming from underneath, and neither were there any monsters. Tristan stepped on first, but Eliza followed ten steps behind. She noticed a gentle, humid touch on her hand. The Warg, Isolde's pet, had appeared out of nowhere and was licking her hand.

"You want to come search for your mistress?" Eliza asked. The monster replied with a snort.

Shrugging, she went on, hurrying to catch up with Tristan. Koshchei was crawling behind, cursing the tight space. Along the first flight of stairs, bones lay collapsed in heaps, and frozen gargoyles hung from the ceiling.

"Who killed them?" Eliza asked.

"No idea," Tristan said.

"No one," Koshchei said. "Constructs have little energy of their own. Once activated, if their master doesn't constantly recharge them, they're done. I reckon there's an ongoing fight between the Slime and the champions, and the Slime is focusing her energy on that."

While talking, they arrived on the spatial storage floor. Countless gargoyles stood motionless on both sides of the road. Side alleys ended at gates leading to massive, locked doors.

"Maybe they held some elite monsters," Eliza speculated. The Warg, who had followed her closely, barked.

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"There's a flicker of light flashing ahead," Koshchei said. "Must be the portal to that Tower."

As they advanced, a few faint noises grew louder. Electricity crackled, and the smell of ozone became predominant. Near the portal, running around and shooting spells at each other, were three of the champions. A man with a staff, another one with no facial features, all a gray silhouette, who flew and threw lightning bolts, and a woman who used space magic, teleporting parts of her body through small openings, making them appear behind the other two to launch small orbs that were probably meant to disintegrate everything in their path, because when they accidentally hit a gargoyle, it disintegrated.

All three were making liberal use of forcefield shields and had vast resources of Mana. Eliza was feeling exhausted just by looking at their prodigality. They hid behind a massive marble pillar to talk.

"What should we do?" Koshchei asked.

"We can sneak and go on," Eliza proposed.

"We risk being hit accidentally. Tristan, could you use your Dark to take us with you through the rift?"

"Can't go through portals while in it," Tristan said. "Verdamnt! They saw us. Get near me."

Their presence had indeed been noticed, because the fighting parties had moved to another position. The combat had ceased, the champions staring at them, focusing spells but not releasing them yet.

"Err… Hi," Eliza said, trying to defuse the tension. "What's up?"

A message arrived from Koshchei.

[Koshchei]: Really? What's up?

[Eliza]: Don't be rude. I was caught by surprise. You try, if you think you're smarter.

"Why are you fighting each other?" Koshchei asked.

"Not your business," the woman snapped.

[Koshchei]: I'll try intimidation. It's a bluff, so be ready just in case.

"Do you want me to make it my business? I once fought Volwodyn to a standstill, for three days and nights, and pretended to lose because I was bored. Answer the question."

"You're Koshchei?" the one flying in the air asked.

"She's working for the Elven Queen, and he's on the side of the Reds," the man with the staff said. "If they get the Heartstone, they'll try to use it for nefarious purposes."

"And how do you know that?" Tristan asked.

"They both tried to recruit me. My loyalty stands with my fellow champions who are beyond this gate."

"Now that you know, go away," the woman said.

"Allow me to clarify the situation," Eliza interjected, because she wasn't going to allow Koshchei, who was an asshole, to lead the conversation. "Behind that gate, there's a giant slime that ate that heartstone. Must be powerful if your folks haven't returned yet. If allowed, the Queen will unleash that slime over the city, destroying it. The whole planet will become only a big forest."

"I'm not from this planet. Why should I care?"

"But you care about being paid, right?" the lightning mage asked. "My party will double whatever she's paying you."

"You're an elf?" Tristan said.

"I was, once. I evolved."

"The question is, with what money will you pay her?" Eliza said. "If it's with the gold we've brought, we took it back, and your party has agreed to cease their standoff and negotiate."

All of a sudden, Eliza found herself surrounded by darkness. Tristan had activated his AOE. The exterior was still visible, but as if through a curtain of shadows. The lightning mage was throwing a continuous chain of electricity at them. The energy spread in filaments, flowing over the pocket dimension and striking at random points on the other side. Then the woman started trying to penetrate their shelter. Dark spots were appearing on the dome's surface, teleporting magic. However, whenever she tried to pass through, she ended up on the other side of the Dark. On top of that, the third mage was now buffing the two attackers.

"How did you know?" Koshchei asked.

"I didn't. It auto-activates on a surprise attack, once per day," Tristan said.

"Why did they attack us?" Eliza asked. "I mean, the Red, I understand, but all of them?"

"It is irrelevant," Tristan said. "We're stuck."

"Get inside me. My main ability is to share skills," Koshchei said. "That would improve our survivability."

"Or I can try Shimmerwalk to make us pass through the gate," Eliza proposed, remembering that unlike Tristan's skill, hers worked with space magic.

"Only physical abilities work inside here," Tristan said. "No Magic."

"Some magic works, or we'd be blown to bits by now," Koshchei said.

"What?"

"I have a bomb in my spatial storage, and it's on a timer. That's how we'll defeat the Slime. I'm pretty sure Jane mentioned it in her report," Eliza said.

"I wasn't there from the beginning; I was taking care of bringing everyone back. Can we use the bomb to take them out instead?" Tristan asked.

"That would defeat our mission. We can retreat and ask for help. Sam can jump back in time," Koshchei said.

"And let him brag about how he saved the day?" Eliza asked. "How long can you hold this?"

Tristan snorted. "Forever."

"Then we have a luxury they don't have. Time. We can plan," Eliza said.

"If they got on the same page on this, they could also go through the portal together," Koshchei said.

"If they all go through, we can follow," Tristan said. "If they leave somebody behind, on this or the other side, we have numeric superiority."

"We're three against three," Tristan said. "We choose one target each."

"They have unlimited Mana. We have to strike fast and hard," Eliza said.

"I'm comfortable going against any of the guys on the ground," Tristan said. "Who goes for the flying guy?"

"Not me. That lightning mage would fry my circuits," Koshchei said.

"I'll take care of him. Koshchei: lady, Tristan: staff guy. Be ready," Eliza said.

"Or we can switch p—"

"Get ready! We have our numeric superiority just there," Eliza said, pointing her index at the fourth member of their party, one everybody had forgotten about. The Warg was directly behind the woman, his jaws already opening. The beast was as tall as she was; he was aiming for her neck.

On cue, Tristan dismissed his AOE, Dark Stepping, or whatever name his skill had now.

Maybe Void Step, Eliza thought. She summoned Shimmerwalk, aiming its exit behind the Lightning Mage.

The drawback of her skill was that it was visible from a mile away. But a disadvantage could become an advantage. She didn't follow through the tunnel; she stayed on the ground, hiding in her Clair Obscure. Everything turned into slow motion. The Warg's jaws closed around the woman's neck, and Koshchei made sure she was out of the fight, forwarding his hand and crushing her head between his metal thumb and index finger. Tristan's Dark Void restarted when he emerged near the staff mage, and the Lightning mage executed a movement skill, flying from the exit point of the Shimmerwalk, only to find itself impaled on Eliza's short sword. Her diversion had paid off, but she extracted her blade from the Lightning mage's chest, decapitating it as a precaution.

Tristan reappeared. The mage's staff was in his hands, and the man was on his knees, screaming, his right hand bent at the elbow at an unnatural angle. The warg growled, tensing, ready to jump, but Tristan raised his hand, and the monster stopped.

"Why did you attack us?" Tristan asked.

"He means all of you," Eliza felt obliged to add.

"I'm sorry," the man wailed. "The elf said that wherever Koshchei is, evil follows. We all know the stories. We agreed to fight him together."

"Story of my life. I'm a misunderstood soul," Koshchei sighed.

"Said how? You have a chat?" Eliza asked.

"Yes. I'm so—"

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Tristan said coldly. He plunged the sharp end of the staff into the man's chest, so hard the staff broke after hitting the stone beneath the body. The man gurgled blood, then crumpled on himself and stopped moving. There was a notification about the kill, joining the other ones floating in the corner of her eyes. Eliza dismissed them all.

"Was it necessary?" Eliza sighed.

"The Vlachs have a word: The one who you don't kill won't let you live," Tristan said. "I find it educational."

"Woof!" the Warg barked.

"After you, milady," Tristan bowed, gesturing toward the portal.