Tale of Eldramir

A massive battle was currently taking place on the island of Naramoor. Several dozen Rot Dens that had been a pain in the human forces’ side were finally being uprooted. Though the battle wasn’t an easy one by any means. It was far more organized than usual, however, so the endless hordes were being dealt with in a much more systematic method than the norm.

“Fire squads forward! Cavern Squads, keep redirecting paths and fence them in!” Ezekiel called out orders one-by-one as he and several dozen Hunters and Mages marched forward.

They were currently organized into block shaped groups, with Flame users in the front, walled off and protected by Cavern users on the side and rear. A few Tempest users were also there and were redirecting clouds of fungal spores into areas that weren’t filled with people.

Each and every Hunter was equipped with a make-shift mask that was glowing with runic lines and stuffed full of specially treated cloth for filtration. Their clothing was also perfectly sealed, and there were no seams that allowed any air in, or out, that wasn’t filtered extensively.

“Legends at two-o-clock!” Ezekiel threw up a series of [Void Panes] that blocked the large Rot that was charging toward him. A hulking figure with mushrooms and other polyp structures impacted against the barrier, and the sound of cracking stone was heard as several other barriers were struck.

A sea of fire filled the area, even without Ezekiel’s command, and the agonizing shrieks of Rot Cruor and Umbral beasts filled the air. They died out a second later but were refilled by more Rot running forward. The sheer number seemed endless.

Off to the side, one of the battle groups on the edge of their formation was taking heavy casualties. Several Hunters had taken blows that cut open their sealed uniforms. Their skin was beginning to slough off as fungus and mold melted and consumed their flesh.

Ezekiel moved over in a flash, releasing his [Nothingness] to prevent the Rot’s spread, but it would be impossible to heal the fallen Mages in the midst of this battle. They weren’t able to bring any healers with them, as their magic was not the most effective against the Rot. So, any Life or Glacial Mages were practically sitting targets when in a battle like this.

“Purge yourselves! Quickly!” Ezekiel called out orders that would hurt, but hopefully save the Hunters and Mages who were trying to rip out the mushrooms and fungi that were growing from their bodies. Gritting their teeth, the lower Tier Mages did as they were ordered.

Flames covered the bodies of each and every one of them. They all let out pained cries as they were literally burned alive, but the fungus, being more combustible, was quickly purged, and the fires died out seconds later. Each man and woman there was covered in burns, and the Spirits that were also treated suffered injuries as well, but the Artifacts that they were provided prevented any immediately fatal injuries.

Nearby, the other battle groups that witnessed this firmed up, and their focused gazes intensified. None of them wanted to have to go through what they had just witnessed.

“Cover! More Legends incoming!” One of the other battle groups moved to cover the one that had fallen as they slowly retreated. The forward march had been slowed, but they weren’t losing ground yet.

‘Below!’ Shine’s warning was all that Ezekiel had to indicate that he was about to be attacked.

His danger sense had been flaring for hours now, so it was hard to tell where and what was attacking him. If not for Shine’s aid, he would’ve been hit by sneak attacks several times.

Taking to the sky, Ezekiel avoided a direct hit from the spray of corrosive gas released by the Legendary Cruor that popped up beneath him. A layer of [Void Panes] covered him as well, ensuring that his protection was complete.

Stabbing downward, the Cruor beneath him was filled with holes, but that only slowed it down. Unfortunately, while he was immune to the detrimental effects of fighting the Rot, he still didn’t match up with Flame magic when it came to actually fighting them.

Especially since the higher Tiered Rot were able to survive more easily, even if dismembered.

The Legendary Rot leapt at Ezekiel but failed to make contact. But it wasn’t like he could just remain in the sky as the Cruor fell to the ground. There were Adepts and Apprentices that he needed to protect.

Diving back down, Ezekiel defended against a claws strike followed by a spray of corrosive liquid. The wounds he had inflicted had already regenerated.

Focusing his mana, he flashed forward with a series of swings, cutting through the first few layers of the Cruor’s body, but the lack of fire meant that it quickly healed.

‘Flamethrowers from behind!’ Shine mentally called out.

Ezekiel covered himself in a layer of [Nothingness] that protected him from the wave of fire that consumed himself and the Cruor he was fighting. The Cruor shrieked in pain but wasn’t severely harmed. The Adept Level fire wasn’t enough to do any permanent damage.

But it did give Ezekiel an opening to strike deeper. He severed the Cruor’s limbs and forced it to his knees where it was once more covered in flames. Another wave of fire consumed them.

The Cruor tried to retreat, seeing that its sneak attack hadn’t worked. But it was too late. Ezekiel had distracted it for long enough. A spear of Legendary level Flames pierced its body from the head down. The next moment, it exploded, and the burning corpse swiftly turned to ashes.

Looking up, Ezekiel nodded his thanks to the native Flame Hunter. They nodded back before flying off to help in another section of the battle. It seemed like most of the Legendary Cruor that had popped up were being routed. But the number of Rot were still increasing.

If they didn’t make a final push now, their army would be too tired to continue the fight and would be forced to retreat. Likely losing most of their Mages in the process.

“How’re you doing Riley!?” Ezekiel yelled over the noise of battle. He and those around him had been fighting for hours now. There had been regular switch outs with the rear team, and for the most part, they had made significant progress in the week or so that they’d been fighting.

Nearly a hundred kilometers had been reclaimed, and the miasma was still thinning out. By the end of the month, they would likely have reclaimed the cities lost to the Rot several months ago. Though, the people here would need to remain on constant alert for years, perhaps forever, as there was always the chance that the Rot would resurface after recovering in a hidden area.

“Almost ready!” Riley’s words made the marching forces come to a halt. Each battle group took up defensive positions, with walls formed in front filled with small holes for Flame users to fire from. “Now! Take cover!”

High in the sky, Riley, who had been kept hidden by a combination of Radiant, Obscure, and Tempest magic, heaved downward, dragging a large ball of white-blue flames toward her enemies. The ball was only a few meters across, but as the air rippled, it was obvious that the power within it was immense.

All the Hunters bunkered down, even as the Rot tried to flee. Except for Ezekiel, who formed a ball of opalescent light in his hands. Utilizing his [Understanding] of [Empowerment] Ezekiel shot half a Step worth of his mana into the ball of fire that Riley had thrown.

Two seconds later, the orb landed on the ground, nearly a kilometer away from the group of Hunters and Mages. A moment after, it exploded, mixing with the Spell that Ezekiel had tossed into the mix. The result was an explosion of fire that rolled over the ground, barely reaching the humans, who were protected by several layers of barriers.

But it utterly demolished the Rot that were previously pushing toward them in mass. The Dens that were in this area exploded as some of the more volatile substances caught fire. A series of loud booms and concussive waves made the flames flicker move about, but also spread them even further. This region was clear, for now, and would continue to burn for some time.

The white-hot flames from the initial attack cooled to a much more natural red-orange, but the heat had still been enough to cause the well protected Mages to sweat. Some still nearly fell over from the sheer heat, even with the defenses and cooling Artifacts they had all been provided.

“Alright, that’s enough for this area! We’ll let the fire continue to burn out whatever Rot might remain. That’ll wipe out the majority of it. For now, fall back to the rear lines and regroup. Best to rest before moving out again in the morning. But don’t slack off in your purification! We don’t want any spores entering the clean areas, understand?” Ezekiel called out, and several Legendary Hunters saluted, and the Adepts below called out affirmatives.

Then, turning away from the sea of fire, the assembled battle groups gathered up the injured and retreated. Another area had been purged. Now, they just had to keep it up until the Rot was fully gone.

----------

A makeshift common tent had been set up within a walled off campsite. Several Legendary Hunters looked over a map with different colored areas that denoted the human and Cruor controlled regions. Dotted lines indicated the changes that had occurred over the past week.

The sheer amount of progress being made was incredible, but it was only thanks to Ezekiel and Riley’s aid, and the implementation of the methods used by Quintessa, that allowed this to happen.

“We’re pushing well here, and here. But It’ll still be a while before we can keep moving forward.” Ezekiel muttered as he looked over the map.

“We should lock down the areas we currently control. Since the Ichorous Miasma has faded, we can continue fighting with little issue compared to before.” A Lightning Hunter picked up a few models that indicated their forces and moved them to different campsites marked on the map. “Keeping these regions secure would be best, as it will allow easy access between humanity’s headquarters.”

Nods from the other Legendaries implied that this was a good plan. Ezekiel remained silent, not agreeing with it, since he wanted to push forward and wipe the Cruor out as soon as possible. But he conceded the fact that this wasn’t his home, and he wasn’t a general, so it was best to bow to the more experienced commanders.

“You’ll need to have Tempest arrays set up if you’re going to lock down the areas without clearing up more space between the human and Cruor controlled areas.” Riley chimed in from another corner of the table. The room turned toward her as Ezekiel smirked. He hadn’t noticed that.

“This area here,” Riley pointed at an area near the coast, “will, assumedly, be struck by sea breeze fairly often. So, you’ll need to set up defenses to stop the spores from blowing further inland, to here.”

Given the shape of the border in the area she pointed out, any base set up by humanity would need to be secured to prevent passive corruption by Rot spores.

“... Damned bastards!” The group began discussing strategies once more. This time debating whether or not it would be easier to clear out the area instead of setting up arrays.

“We’ll need to clear out the area regardless, won’t we?” one of the Hunters asked. “Do we even have time to set up Tempest formations before that area gets reclaimed by the Cruor?”

This question made everyone in the room pause. As he looked over the map, Ezekiel did some basic calculations, and compared the distance between the current borders and the nearest Rot den. His face twisted into a pained grimace as he figured out the results.

“These three dens need to be taken out. If left for another three days or so, they’ll have developed the necessary growths for a noxious miasma.” The others glanced at Ezekiel. “Without the proper defenses, any humans caught in it will be dead within an hour of exposure.”

This was the problem with fighting the Rot. They were the deadliest off the battlefield, when compared to the other Broods of Cruor.

Fortunately, no one was willing to dispute Ezekiel’s claims. They were all familiar with the toxic gases that he was talking about. Plus, his experience so far had been of great help, even if he was one among the youngest Legends in the room.

“... I think we need to do a full wipe...” one of the older Hunters quietly muttered. He received several sharp glances in response. “Don’t look at me like that! Can you honestly tell me that we have any way of pushing that far within the next couple of days? Or that the winds from the ocean won’t be blowing exactly where they’ve been pointing out?”

No one said anything else, as they knew that the older man was right. “Can you do it?”

Ezekiel sighed. After his progress with his magic from the memories of the Ancient Void, Ezekiel had figured out how to accurately recreate the destructive effects of the Cult of Light’s massive bombs.

By utilizing the power of ten Hunters at once, one for each element, the amount of force released would become immense. Even more so than what the Cult had achieved thanks to his {Understanding] of [Empowerment]. Though the cost was greater than the Cult’s weapons.

It wasn’t that he was utterly against what they were asking for. It was the fact that the consequences were far greater than just burning down a region with fire. They included destroying the ecosystem to a point that it was equivalent to salting the earth.

At least when they did burn an area, there would be an eventual recovery that would return a natural balance to the area. Ideally within a few years.

Yet, to cover the amount of area that they’d need to in order to destroy the relatively spread-out dens in the region, they’d need to take significantly more drastic measures.

“It’ll be cleared to the bedrock; I hope you know that.” Ezekiel was calm, but it was obvious he wasn’t entirely supportive of this plan. Even though it was clear that this was the only method they had that would work in the time they had.

“We understand. But even if this island becomes nothing but stone, we can recover from that. The Rot, however, cannot be allowed to maintain its presence here.” Grim nods filled the room. There were no disagreements.

“... Alright then. Get me the volunteers for this, and we’ll set out as soon as possible.” The Hunters spread out, finding the necessary volunteers, both the ones that would aid Ezekiel in his grand spell, and the ones that would carry them away after they finished their mission.

‘Why are you so against that magic?’ Shine asked once they were away, waiting until they needed to head out. ‘It’s a weapon against the Cruor, so it’s a good thing. Isn’t it?’

‘It’s not that I’m against the spell itself. It’s just that I’m worried that they’re going to become too dependent on us.’ Ezekiel moved over as Riley approached. Making room on the bench he was sitting on. ‘We need to leave as soon as possible. Yet, they’re using us more and more. I’m wondering how much support we’ll get when we try to leave.’

Just as Riley sat down, a horn blew at the edge of the camp. It was time to rally for their mission.

“We didn’t even get an hour.” Riley observed before sighing and standing up. “Time to go.”

Ezekiel silently stood. Taking to the air, the Void and Flame Hunter pair flew toward their next mission. A dozen more Legendaries, with at least one Hunter of the other eight elements, were gathered. Their faces grim, as they knew there was a chance that this mission would end poorly for them.

----------

Two weeks later, the Hunters and Mages had managed to reclaim the majority of the island. But as they had moved further and further into the Cruor controlled regions, Ezekiel and Riley had been forced to cleanse several more areas. The end result was half a dozen craters over a kilometer wide, and just as deep.

Looking down on yet another crater, Ezekiel sighed, even as he felt his mana near full depletion.

Behind him, the other volunteers for their most recent plan nearly collapsed onto the flying Spirits of the Legendaries that were there to support them. By now, Ezekiel had gotten used to it, but since the volunteers weren’t always the same, they tended to overexert themselves if he didn’t micromanage them.

“Back to the base camp?” Ezekiel asked as he settled onto the back of a massive gray dragonfly.

“Indeed. We’ll be regrouping before moving our forces up to reclaim the area.” A man with gray hair and eyes answered as he patted the dragonfly, his bonded Spirit, on its head. “From what I know, we’ve managed to ensure that the Rot was pushed out of the routes needed to make the final push into the city the Rot set up their primary den in. So, it’s likely that we’ll send out some scouts to see how bad it is.”

“It would be a bad idea to do that if the scouts aren’t Legendaries.” Riley muttered from where she was lying flat on her back. Much like Ezekiel, she was dealing with the after-effects of the grand spell he employed much better than the others.

“Given our current rate of progress, it’s unlikely that we’ll even need scouts at this point.” Ezekiel said as he also laid down, dispelling his Spirit Armor in tandem with Riley.

“How so?” the Tempest Hunter asked as they flew away. A wall of wind protected them from the high speeds.

“The lack of artillery, and other stationary growths.” Ezekiel explained. “It means that the Rot have managed to regroup. They’ve realized that their usual horde tactics aren’t working, so they’re consolidating their forces to defend their main base. To allow time to build up a Spore Storm.”

Such a thing was rare in Quintessa, since the Scholars and Hunters had long since figured out and developed a means of defending against such tactics. But here, in the Archipelago, it was unlikely that they’d be able to make the same defenses. Even if their resources weren’t currently running thin.

It was actually something Ezekiel had only read about, but the Rot’s current actions matched with every sign he knew of that indicated a new storm was coming.

“A Spore Storm?”

Ezekiel nodded at the Tempest Hunter. “Indeed. Imagine a pseudo Ichorous Spine. But instead of spreading a miasma that absorbs mana from Hunters and Spirits alike, it’s a massive mushroom that still feeds on mana in the atmosphere, but is also made of the bodies of the Rot, which makes it grow faster. It will grow bigger and bigger, until it explodes into a massive dust cloud that corrodes and consumes everything it touches. Included mana.”

The Hunters that could hear him shuddered at the thought. Such a thing was horrific and nearly unimaginable, even after all the things that the Hunters had seen so far.

“Legendary Hunters have some immunity, due to their Spirit Armor, but those below do not. Worse yet, since the island’s inhabitants have been spreading out to maintain their hold on the island, it will be easier for the Rot to infect them.”

The silence that spread through the air was daunting, but Ezekiel didn’t let his own nervousness show. He knew how much these people were relying on him, and it wouldn’t be a good thing to show how worried he was.

“Don’t worry too much. Your leaders are aware of this. It’s why we’ve been pushing so hard, even though we’ve had to destroy several kilometers worth of land to do so. All corners are closing in, and the final battle will be happening soon enough.

Riley turned back to Ezekiel; a questioning look in her eyes as the others all seemed to relax. But he just shrugged, knowing that Riley was aware that his confidence was a facade. She sighed, refusing to let her own worry show, but Ezekiel could tell.

They had done their best and given the island a fighting chance. Yet, even so, it would only be another week before they left. Regardless of whether or not they succeeded in eliminating the Cruor.

----------

Standing at the ridge of a hill, Ezekiel stood next to several dozen Legendary Hunters. Many were in the lower Steps of the Tier, but each of them was ready to fight.

In the distance, the city that Ezekiel and Riley had first seen when they arrived was utterly overrun by mold and fungal growths. No stones nor earth could be seen for hundreds of kilometers, and a massive mushroom towered in the distance. Far larger than even the Spine had been.

“Damn... that’s a lot bigger than I expected.” Ezekiel said as he clenched his hand to keep himself calm. “Way too big for our grand destruction spell.”

No one else said anything. It was apparent that they were too focused on the upcoming battle.

Around the massive den, spore clouds lingered in the air, preventing most Hunters from being able to fly at the moment. Worse yet, several legions of Rot Cruor and Umbral beasts were gathered just within the edge of the cloud.

Once more, the army of Humans and Spirits, versus the army of the Cruor, was evenly matched.

Humanity was much stronger, individually, than the Rot, even the Umbral Rot, but the sheer numbers meant that that advantage was pointless.

Focusing his mana, Ezekiel looked into the distance and saw that the other armies had managed to gather in their respective areas.

“Ezekiel?” Riley grabbed his attention from where she stood next to him. “Everything alright?”

He chuckled for a moment. “I’m just surprised that things have gone as well as they have so far.”

“Don’t jinx us.” Riley deadpanned. Ezekiel silently threw up a barrier to keep their conversation quiet. It wouldn’t be good distract the rest of the army when they were about to go into battle.

“I’m not. I’m just observing.” He smiled as he looked at her, before he frowned as he turned back. “Fighting the Cruor is rarely as simple as fighting the Rot. Armies like this can’t be assembled to fight in unison. Not effectively, at least.”

“Calling this an army is a bit much, isn’t it?” Riley raised an eyebrow as she glanced over the few hundred Hunters that were gathered. It was a miniscule amount when compared to the number of Cruor. “Also, fighting the Rot isn’t nearly as easy as you’re implying it is. Else this island wouldn’t need our help.”

“It is when you know what you’re doing. We nearly purged them entirely in just a few weeks, after all.” Ezekiel smirked as he wrapped an arm around Riley’s shoulders.

‘Don’t get cocky now. The only reason the Rot were routed so easily is because the dens we cleared were relatively shallow. The one’s in the Desolate Lands stretch for numerous kilometers, while these ones only went a few meters deep.’ Shine chimed in to keep Ezekiel’s head from swelling. ‘They also don’t have any support from the other Broods at this point. Though, since we’re at the coast, that might end up changing.’

‘We’ve got scouts keeping watch. Even then, it would be hard for the Deep to make a push, given how spread out they undoubtedly are.’ Ezekiel silently rebutted.

“Is Shine keeping you on track right now?” Riley asked as she leaned into his side.

“Yep. Now, get ready, it’s almost time.” Ezekiel dropped his barrier, allowing sound to once more roll over them.

A moment later, the sound of a horn blowing from one of the other groups sounded out.

“Do what it takes to survive. We can’t stay here if things go bad.” Ezekiel manipulated his mana to ensure that only Riley heard him. She nodded in understanding, even as all the Hunters took to the air.

Moments later, the charging Hunters clashed with the Cruor. Elemental attacks burst outward, ripping up the landscape and taking out entire groups of weaker Cruor. Fire and Lightning were the most common spells being thrown, as they were the most destructive, but other elements also played support quite well. Ensuring that their own weaker Hunters and Mages were able to make an impact.

Yet even as Ezekiel and Riley pushed forward, cutting down countless Rot Cruor and Umbral beasts, there was a growing sense of danger nagging him. One that wasn’t directly tied to his ill omens. A question eating at the back of his mind.

Where were the Legendary Cruor?