"PRRROTECT YOUR EYES IF HE SHOOT CRRROWS, OTHERWISE THEY WILL BLIND YOU!"
It was their choice whether my warning would be heeded or not. Either way, Crow Mauler didn't wait, taking a deep breath so deep we could hear him gasping for air.
His chest swelled like a balloon; how the flesh didn't explode and tear, I couldn't say. However, we didn't stand there watching; I conjured Greater Black Orb, sending a massive sphere of supernatural energy in his direction.
The others did something similar: Madeleine sent a wall of flames, Enki his own Black Orb, and D'arce, Pyromancy Trick.
"SCREEE!"
The wall of spells never hit its target, as a sound wave surged in the opposite direction, so powerful it became visible.
What we conjured dissipated in sparks; the acoustics of the catacombs caused the deafening noise to reverberate off the walls, shaking the underground.
Perhaps it was because I had become stronger, or perhaps because I had learned Dash and become faster, for things seemed slower around me.
I was far from being a speedster, but during that time, I saw the sound wave crushing everything in its path, cracking the ground, and how everyone reacted and tensed at its approach.
With inhuman reaction time and speed in equal measure, I pushed D'arce to the corridor wall before grabbing Madeleine and Moonless, running in the opposite direction.
"FUCK!"
Running was one thing, but stopping after an explosion of speed was something completely different after years of being human.
There was a crack; whether it was my shoulder or the now-cracked wall I couldn't tell, but looking back to where I had been, I couldn't help but feel relieved to see most of them out of the way.
Nas'hrah, Iron Shakespeare, and the Skeleton were hit squarely, but the floating head was the only one to show any reaction—anger, for he was immortal.
"Silence, you miserable pigeon!"
A wave of intense flames engulfed the corridor, emanating a powerful heat that made me sweat even from so far away.
The crow screeched, flapping its wings and taking flight, but didn't get very far due to the low ceiling. With that, it dove like an arrow, narrowly avoiding the spells we conjured in its direction.
A swarm of locusts, courtesy of Madeleine, enveloped the monster, which thrashed about in the air thanks to the spell's confusing effect. This allowed Nas'hrah, Enki, D'arce, and I to send another bombardment, a mixture of orbs and flames that hit him squarely.
BOOM!
An explosion shook the surroundings, followed by a cloud of smoke and a horrible smell of burnt flesh. My face contorted in disgust, but I didn't let that distract me.
The Crow Mauler fell backward with a heavy thud, a trail of smoke in its wake, and when it rose from the hole in the ground, hatred in its eyes, I wasted no time in ordering Iron Shakespeare and Skeleton to attack its charred form.
The monster tried to fly again, rising a few meters before falling to its knees, its wings nothing more than a broken mess now. With little time to act, its second sonic wave spat out was short-lived, interrupted by a flaming punch to its head.
His human side made a choking sound after the sickly cracking of his skull. The second punch never came; the Crow Mauler acted faster and, in a terrifying display of strength, delivered a blow with his flail.
The spiked weapon moved like a blur, landing a precise blow to the great knight's chest.
His armor crumpled like paper, as did his rotting insides and bones. As if that weren't enough, the undead creature flew away like a hurled stone, hitting a wall that soon collapsed on top of him.
Taking advantage of the opening, the Skeleton slashed the monster's side with Miasma, sending a trickle of blood flying away. As soon as the blow ended, the affected area took on an abnormal purple color, a sign that the poison was taking effect.
The next blow was blocked by the monster's long, gleaming claws, creating a metallic sound followed by sparks. The conflict was short-lived; the raven outnumbered the undead creature in strength, parrying its weapon aside and slashing the Skeleton's breastplate.
Perhaps there was some remnant of humanity in its mind, for I thought I saw confusion in its eyes as it failed to tear the metal. This was short-lived; its flail swung again, and the skeleton raised its shield, doing little to reduce the damage suffered, but unlike Iron Shakespeare, it managed to recover after being thrown away, rising again.
Madeleine prepared to cast a spell, but I held her hand, stopping her.
"Not now, you need to conserrrve your mind as much as posssible! Only cast spells when necesssary!"
She nodded, but my words did little to calm her surprised face.
Right now, Ragnvaldr, Cahara, and D'arce formed a triangle around the Crow Mauler, with Nas'hrah, Enki, Moonless, Madeleine, and I positioned further back.
Tension filled the air; everyone awaited the first move. In a subtle gesture, I slashed my hand with Shark Teeth, hurling the blood toward the crow as I conjured Greater Blood Golem.
It was a stunning sight as the blood expanded and bubbled in the air, gradually taking on a humanoid form that delivered a punch as soon as it landed.
The Crow Mauler caught the blow with its free hand, sinking its claws into the Golem's arm, spilling rivers of red liquid. When its flail swung, it was the Golem's turn to interrupt the attack, the spikes piercing its hand, but failing to escape its grip.
This was the necessary opening. With a war cry, Ragnvaldr struck with his sword, the steel gleaming in the darkness and leaving a heavy gash on the monster's left arm.
The wounded limb buckled, allowing the Golem to step forward, freeing its hand and slapping the monster's face with the back of its fist.
D'arce wasted no time in using the creature's disorientation to plunge her spear, engulfed in green flames, into the monster's side.
She recoiled at the last second, the claws leaving three lines on her helmet, and while the Crow Mauler was distracted by her, Cahara approached from behind, leaving a scalding wound on the monster's back.
With so many people surrounding the crow, casting spells proved risky, as we could hit our allies, so I rushed towards the Iron Shakespeare, removing the rubble from atop his body.
The undead knight weakly rose, his bones cracking with every movement. He might be a corpse, but a skeleton turned to dust couldn't support his body.
I conjured Loving Whispers, healing most of his wounds, but it didn't change the fact that he was in terrible condition. I was pulled from my thoughts when the upper part of my Golem landed beside me, making me gasp in surprise.
Looking at the fight, I saw D'arce clinging to the monster's back, pinning its neck with the shaft of her spear as it struggled.
Cahara took a kick to the chest, letting out a silent scream as he struck one of the pillars, blood dripping from his mouth. Ragnvaldr was put on the defensive, having to avoid being turned into a red mist by the blows of the flail.
The situation is spiraling out of control, and fast. I summoned the rats and ordered them to drag Cahara and his sword to us.
"Madeleine, help him!"
The girl nodded, extending her hands toward the man, conjuring Loving Whispers.
Shining purple letters covered his body, healing his wounds with the power of a God. An incomprehensible voice echoed in the distance, and his eyes suddenly snapped open, looking around with fear and surprise.
"COUGH! What happened?!"
"You werrre kicked like a rock. Ressst for a while."
I summoned the Skeleton and Iron Shakespeare to my side; now that there were fewer people around, conjuring spells had become easier. Or at least that's what I thought, because I couldn't point Kitab at the monster without Ragnvaldr or D'arce getting in the way at some point.
Madeleine and Enki realized the same thing I did, and I think Nas'hrah only refrained from casting a spell because he still thought we could resolve this.
A sound wave was sent towards Ragnvaldr, who dodged it, but remained within its radius, thrown back when the attack hit the ground.
D'arce was next, crushed against the wall as the Crow Mauler retreated. Her scream echoed off the corridor, I felt my stomach sink and anger burn in my chest.
Facing the crow in direct combat would be suicide, but I wouldn't stand still. I cast Locust Swarm, and as soon as the Crow Mauler's beak opened, I cast Glimmer of Truth, making it scream as the green mist covered its head.
The rats brought D'arce to Madeleine, who wasted no time in healing her. Ragnvaldr came next, receiving the same treatment.
However, the girl seemed to be reaching her limit, clutching her head while screaming in pain, almost falling to her knees. My gaze alternated between her and the struggling monster, and though I regretted it, I focused on the confused creature.
I removed two explosive vials from my coat pocket, placing them inside Iron Shakespeare's armor, then, with my heart full of regret, I ordered him to run.
It was strange, I participated in his death and then reanimated him as an undead, a servant who obeyed all my orders without complaint, without opinions, and without answers, no matter how much I spoke to him.
Some would see this as cruelty, but deep down, I ended up becoming attached to the corpse that protected me for so long.
In the midst of the run, Crow Mauler finally broke free from his confusion, his long claws tearing through the air, but never reaching their target.
An orange energy ring surrounded his arm, closing around it rapidly.
SPLAT!
With a sound like a gun firing, the severed limb fell to the ground, writhing like a lizard's tail, oozing dark, boiling liquid.
Nas'hrah laughed as the monster roared, clutching its stump. Its pain intensified as multiple Black Orbs collided with its body, courtesy of Enki.
Finally, the knight collided with the Crow Mauler, pinning it against the wall, and before the monster understood what had happened, I yelled for Madeleine to conjure Combustion.
A torrent of flames engulfed them both, then…
BOOM!
An overwhelming explosion swallowed them both. The tunnel trembled, and my ears rang as the deafening sound surged toward us. We retreated, regrouping and surveying the explosion site with weapons at the ready and eyes filled with apprehension and fear.
I looked at D'arce and Ragnvaldr, who seemed completely healed, but what worried me was the use of the mind. Without Simple Transmutation or the Sorcerer's Stone, fighting with spells alone wasn't viable.
My head felt like it was about to explode; Madeleine and Enki were in a similar situation, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.
Nas'hrah and D'arce were in the best situation, the former because he was a skilled sorcerer and the latter because she had used the fewest spells of all of us.
For a moment, we thought we had won when the Crow Mauler didn't return, but our joy was short-lived, as a flock of crows broke through the cloud of smoke.
No, that wasn't the right word; that thing was a dark wall that cawed and flew, countless crows that went from the floor to the ceiling advanced, their screeching creating a cacophony that resembled the agonizing screams of suffering humans.
"PRRROTECT YOUR EYESSS!"
I hugged Madeleine and Moonless, pushing them both towards the ground. I heard the others screaming; I didn't know if it was from surprise or if the worst had happened.
I clenched my teeth, holding back screams as each crow struck me like a stone, its claws and beaks tearing my clothes and leaving cuts all over my body.
I was in a nightmare, but as quickly as the attack came, it disappeared, and everything fell into an icy silence for just a second. I raised my head, and my heart almost stopped when I saw a flail. But this time, Nas'hrah was the target.
"YOU MAAAGGGGOOOT!"
As soon as he opened his eyes, the head vanished into the distance, struck like a baseball, and now I was the next victim.
Again, faster than any human, I threw myself aside, dragging Moonless and Madeleine with me. The earth rose as the blow hit the ground, the shockwave of the impact sending us flying.
I found myself on my hands and knees, rummaging through my coat pockets, never stopping, not even when the monster's shadow shrouded me; it only made me search faster.
Fire filled my vision. I glanced at Madeleine with her outstretched hand, but quickly focused on the Crow Mauler trying to escape the flames.
As soon as its head turned toward us, I hurled a Red Vial at its face. The result was immediate; its skin burned and melted, hissing and releasing fumes as it came into contact with the acid.
I grabbed Madeleine in my arms as Moonless ran in the opposite direction. We narrowly avoided being crushed at the last second when the flail destroyed the area where we were standing.
Taking a step back, I assessed the Crow Mauler's appearance: missing its wings and right arm, likely blind on its right side, burned, poisoned, and covered in wounds, with chunks of flesh missing and bones exposed, yet still standing.
That distorted mass in its chest pulsed audibly, a steady beat of a heart reaching its limit.
Now it stood between us, with the rest of the group close behind. I placed Madeleine on Moonless's back for greater mobility and prepared myself, summoning the Cats of Ulthar.
Dark mud oozed from Kitab, taking the form of monstrous felines, and for a second, the corridor became a void, and the monster before me was a naked man in the claws of a massive, ghostly crow.
"Help me…"
He murmured weakly, being crushed against the ground. However, his requests were met with laughter emanating from numerous toothy grins around us, mouths so large and wide they seemed endless.
Then, everything returned to normal and the cats advanced. Crow Mauler's chest swelled, but not before he spat a red and purple goo onto the ground.
The sound followed, tearing the ground and turning my summons into mud, only for them to reform and continue advancing.
Moonless and I separated, avoiding the attack and circumventing the monster, joining D'arce, Ragnvaldr, Cahara, and the Skeleton after ordering him to attack.
With all of us present, the situation reversed. D'arce and I created our respective Blood Golems to join the combat, and what had been a fight to the death became the slaughter of a rabid beast.
The noises were indescribable: the screams of the Crow Mauler, the sound of tearing flesh, and the hissing of cats. Shadows danced in the little light that remained, creating images worthy of terrifying paintings.
Like a furious mob, we attacked, struck, and screamed without a care, even when there was barely room for all of us around the monster, to the point that our shoulders collided and our weapons almost struck each other.
The crow didn't give up without a fight, swinging its flail, trying to scream, punch, and kick. It even tried to use its decapitating beak, but it was in vain, only hitting the air.
Blow after blow, the monster was driven towards the ground, falling to its knees, becoming nothing more than dying prey. With cleaver blows, sword cuts, spear thrusts, punches, and kicks, it became an unrecognizable mess.
This wasn't an epic battle, but an execution, pure and simple brutality. We were tired of this dungeon; honor and glory had no place here. I don't know how much time passed, I don't know when Crow Mauler died. He had stopped moving at some point, but we kept attacking.
We only stopped minutes later, retreating with heavy breaths and bodies covered in sweat, but weapons still pointed at the monster. That mass of flesh on his chest stopped pulsing, signaling his end. Sighing, I fell to the ground, exhausted physically and mentally.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling. For a moment I thought the fight wasn't so bad after all; we came out alive. But I changed my mind when I remembered that each blow almost killed D'arce and Cahara, and those weren't even with the flail. I think they would have been turned to mush if they had been hit with that weapon.
Things would only get worse from here on out. In any case, there was no time to lose, so I got up and saw D'arce drinking a potion and Cahara eating a mixture of herbs.
I approached the crater where the Iron Shakespeare exploded, trying to find something. Well, its remains were scattered everywhere, flesh and metal, but amidst it all, I saw something shining, the stone with the Soul of the Cave Mother.
I gripped it tightly before putting it in my pocket, feeling my strength increase, then I turned to what remained of the knight.
"Thank you forrr everything, and I'm so sorrry."
Returning, I saw Ragnvaldr using a soul stone on the Crow Mauler, a good thing, as it greatly increased the user's attack. However, I raised an eyebrow when he lifted the giant flail with a grunt and rested it on his shoulder.
Well, who am I to question?
Nas'hrah returned seconds later, shouting about revenge for the humiliation he suffered, only to stop and return with more force upon seeing the dead monster, mocking its corpse.
Despite everything, it wasn't a time to celebrate; the tomb of the gods was open, and that damned dark smile was still there, calling to me.
END OF CHAPTER