"You're signing your own death warrant!"
With an icy sneer, Sulpharlo beat her wings again, a torrent of energy exploding from her body. The shockwave cracked the air with a thunderclap as she rocketed straight toward him, blade aimed right for his throat—
"Hexblade's Curse!"
At the very last moment, Charles's incantation finished. Unleashing his class feature, Hexblade's Curse, he locked it onto Sulpharlo's soul!
"Urgh—!"
Sulpharlo felt a stabbing pain deep inside her organs. It wasn't real physical damage, but her sword strike suddenly stalled, as if slamming into some invisible barrier. Her swing faltered in midair, simply refusing to land.
Success!
Charles allowed himself a breath of relief. This was Hexblade's 10th-level feature—the spectral armor. Any foe cursed by Hexblade's Curse had a 50% chance to lose control or fumble a strike when attacking the caster; the power of the curse could disrupt even the strongest will.
With the curse sapping her prowess, Sulpharlo's threat was already much reduced. Without hesitation, Charles spun his twin-bladed polearm and swung straight for her skull—
"Hah!"
Sulpharlo, realizing her own attack failed to connect, immediately pulled back to dodge. Charles's strike cut only empty air.
Floating in midair, she peered down with a smirk. "Interesting. But do you really think cheap tricks like that will let you beat me?"
Charles didn't waste a single word. With a beat of his own wings he darted straight for her chest. Even with Extended Spell, Haste would only last two minutes. If his speed dropped when the spell expired, he'd be dead for sure!
He had to find an opening. Even if he took a hit, he had to at least score a blow in return!
"Ha—"
Brimming with overconfidence, Sulpharlo laughed coldly and dove toward him too. She spun, gleaming sword ready, absolutely convinced she could cleave him in half even as they passed each other.
Seeing this, Charles's eyes sparkled.
You want to trade a hit? Perfect.
"Shield!"
A sharp chant and the invisible barrier of Shield snapped into place, covering his entire body. He plunged forward, polearm spinning, slicing toward Sulpharlo—
She twisted to the side, dodging his blade, but brought her greatsword down on him—
BANG—!
With a gut-wrenching crack, that hellfire-imbued sword shattered through Shield and crashed onto him.
False Life, Armor of Agathys, and Mage Armor, all layered wards, were cut through as easily as butter. They offered almost no resistance at all.
"Aahhh—!"
The searing burn sent a jolt of white-hot pain through Charles's nerves; he couldn't help screaming as the agony flared through his throat. But the influence of his Eldritch Mind kept his consciousness clear. He gritted his teeth and slashed back—the reverse end of his polearm bit into Sulpharlo's body.
Shhhh—
His enchanted artifact barely managed to slice through her own arcane armor. Even so, the blade bogged down—her magical protections were thick.
It seemed to have little real effect. The blow exchange was almost a wash. But in the next instant, Charles had already completed another swift spell: "Banishing Smite!"
Banishing Smite!
An angel was a Celestial Being; a fallen angel counted as a fiend. Either way, neither were natives of the Material Plane!
He didn't need to cut Sulpharlo down—he just needed to strike her with Banishing Smite, rousing the power of the Material Plane itself, and eject her from this world. That would end the fight right there!
This was his true ace against Sulpharlo.
Banishing Smite, a 5th-level spell, needed a solid hit but cost seven spell slots in a burst. Even on the Night of the Witches, with nearly infinite mana, it was a massive expenditure.
Against most foes, it wasn't even that great—a short-term banishment to another plane, not much damage. But Sulpharlo—she was a fallen angel!
Her home plane was Mount Celestia!
If she couldn't resist the magic of the strike, she'd get kicked straight back to the Heavens, where the Gods of Order reigned. She'd be discovered, and what would await her there was only exile—or absolute, merciless punishment.
Charles didn't know the exact reason for Sulpharlo's fall, but he did know the single greatest terror in every fallen angel's heart: to be snatched back by former colleagues, or even old gods, and forced to atone for unforgivable acts!
In other words, this spell targeted Sulpharlo's greatest weakness.
Buzz—!
A torrent of energy surged through Sulpharlo, instantly recognizing her as "extraplanar." The Material Plane's native laws activated, rejecting her existence!
"Wha—?!"
Suddenly, Sulpharlo's crimson eyes flew wide open!
She never expected Charles to know this spell. She never imagined it would be so powerful. Her body immediately grew insubstantial, flickering as if vanishing into mist.
Banishment—she could not permit it! She'd fought so hard to evade those pompous colleagues, finally seeing her grand plans come to fruition. Now, if banished back to Mount Celestia, they'd discover her at once, and all her ambitions, her years of effort, would be lost in an instant!
She would never accept that!
"No—!"
The energy of banishment screamed around her. Its direct damage wasn't much, but the consequences would be fatal. Sulpharlo grit her teeth and poured her will into resisting, the force of rejection paralyzing her after her glancing blow—
"Whew..."
His defenses all but shredded, Charles drew a sharp breath, eyes locked on Sulpharlo, heart clenching tight.
The bad news: as he half-feared, she actually resisted the full banishment!
But the good news: she'd stopped in place!
Not a perfect outcome, but he'd planned for this.
Haste still surged in his veins—he had a second to act. Seizing the critical opening, Charles unclipped his Storm Warhammer from his belt. Five spell slots surged into it as he hurled it at Sulpharlo—
BOOM!
Crackling with lightning, the hammer crashed down on Sulpharlo's head like a falling comet. The resulting detonation filled the cave with deafening thunder, enough to leave Charles's own ears ringing and half-deafened—
Sulpharlo had zero chance to dodge. The sonic shockwave blanked her mind, her brain reduced to static.
She barely withstood the banishment, but her body was left entirely immobile. She collapsed, frozen, sprawled on the floor—unable to move a muscle.
Not even an Abyssal Lord could shake off a hit from the special-grade Storm Warhammer; as a fallen angel, how could Sulpharlo fare better?
But Charles's arsenal of control went even deeper.
He wasn't done with her yet!
"Xanathar!" he barked. From his shoulder, the mini-beholder popped free and, with two spell slots funneled in, drew a huge breath. Its main eye unleashed a pale-pink beam—
Seizing Sulpharlo's mental blank, the ray drilled into her brow, pinpointing a tiny gap in her soul, and paralyzing her entire being!
Now, not only was her mind gone, but her body was locked, limbs stiff as a corpse. But even now, Charles pressed the attack.
"Agatha!"
With another shout, the ring on his left hand flared, pink light spilling out—then a phantom of a black-haired banshee erupted, flying straight at Sulpharlo's head. It unleashed an unholy shriek: "Aaaagh—!"
The ear-rending wail, like metal on glass, was enough to drive any person insane, able to tear a mortal's soul to tatters—its magic poured into Sulpharlo, binding her ever deeper in oblivion.
Attack after attack, each stacking layer of disabling magic—only now, finally, did Charles bare his true fangs.
He drew a +3 staff from his Bag of Holding, inhaled deeply, and in a flurry of motion began chanting for "Eldritch Blast":
"E. B.!"
Metamagic Feat: Quickened Spell!
Six cartwheel-sized magic circles spread behind him: the upgraded power of Eldritch Blast at eleventh level. Before the first wave of eldritch bolts even fired, he finished the next incantation.
Another six circles appeared. As the magic blasts shot out, he chanted a third and a fourth time—
Now, twenty-four colossal magic circles hovered behind him, each unleashing savage volleys of eldritch energy at the helpless Sulpharlo!
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