Tale of Eldramir

With the Legendary Hunters leading the charge, numerous openings were made that allowed the lower Tier Hunters and Mages to provide aid in the battle. There were even a few Life and Glacial Mages and Spirits that were supporting from the back.

Extra precautions were made to ensure that they weren’t swarmed and taken out. With the leading Hunters keeping close to ensure that the various groups didn’t get spread out too thin.

Ezekiel was having a relatively simple time cutting down swaths of Rot as he walked forward. The odd flying Umbral beast landed not far away as he swung Shine at the air a few times. The bodies of the Rot were too weak for him to really need to do much more than this.

‘Be careful not to expend too much mana. We still need to find their Legendaries.’ Shine warned as they telekinetically diverted a spore grenade that was fired by one of the Rot nearly half a kilometer away. ‘This is only annoying for now. But it could quickly become dangerous.’

The empty gnawing sensation that was their combined danger sense was proof enough that Shine’s words were more than true. But rather than slow down, Ezekiel decided that he needed to speed up. He called out to Riley as he did.

“I’m going to scout ahead. Something’s wrong here.” Several Hunters turned to look at him in confusion. “Where are their Legendaries?”

Everyone who heard him frowned in realization. Several even grimaced at having overlooked such an obvious thing.

“... Be careful.” Riley didn’t offer to go with him, nor try to keep him back. She knew that he’d be able to retreat if he found himself in over his head. It would be easier for him if he went on his own.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Ezekiel disappeared, his [Shroud] covering him and keeping him out of sight so that he could move more easily.

Stepping past the hordes of Cruor, he dashed ahead of the other Hunters, doing his best to lessen the effects of his movements. Both his footsteps on the ground, and his presence in the clouds of fungal spores. He had a mixed amount of success, but it was enough to keep himself from becoming a target as he moved.

With that in mind, Ezekiel swiftly made his way to the more central regions of the massive den. But even as he got closer and closer to the Spore tower, the number of Rot that were around him simply didn’t fall any lower.

‘This isn’t good. Even if they’ve been here for a few months, they shouldn’t have this many bodies to throw at us.’ Ezekiel examined his surroundings, the pit in his stomach sinking deeper and deeper as his anxiety grew. ‘Could they have already converted all the humans and Spirits into sustenance?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Shine had a different idea in mind. ‘It’s more likely that they got support from the Deep, or another ship filled with Rot made landfall in the past few days.’

‘Either way, we need to hurry. What are the odds that we can take out the Spore tower without it exploding?’ He hoped that Shine might have some ideas regarding how best to proceed with eliminating the Rot’s primary weapon.

The silence coming from Shine was more than enough to tell him what they thought of his question. ‘... Possibly. But only if we can- look out!’

Shine’s warning was nearly too late, as Ezekiel leapt to the side, landing in the middle of a large group of Rot. Even so, a corrosive goo-covered spike impacted his shoulder. His [Shroud] immediately fell as he was forced to defend himself from several dozen Cruor.

Their lower Tier meant that he could cut them down fairly easily, but he was also forced to expend more mana than he’d have liked to keep himself safe. Worse yet, he could tell that several more missiles were heading toward him.

‘I knew we were having too easy a time getting this far.’ Shine grumbled as they aided in deflecting the missiles and maneuvering past the Cruor.

‘We need to [Jump].’ The moment Ezekiel said this Shine readied the spell, and he felt himself changing positions. His point of view changed as he found himself several meters up, on top of one of the many large growths that filled the area.

Instinctively replacing his [Shroud], Ezekiel leapt away, moving far more quickly as he forewent all previous caution, and forced himself to get to the center of the den’s surface as fast as possible. But it was difficult, as he found himself swiftly under assault by even more missiles launched at him.

‘Dammit! They must’ve figured out how to sense us more accurately through the spores and fungus.’ Ezekiel observed the ground and structures as he ran. Very briefly, luminescent lines appeared every time he made contact with the strange, almost flesh-like, substance.

Another thing he noticed was the density of the spore clouds surrounding him. His visibility was diminishing more and more as the cloud thickened. Even his magical senses were becoming muffled as his range got shorter.

‘What are the odds that we can jump out of this?’ Ezekiel asked as he crouched behind a structure that provided temporary shelter from another barrage. ‘Or should we just try to fly up and get back to the frontlines?’

His and Shine’s senses screamed, and Ezekiel swung Shine’s blade at another missile. But this one ignited, and he was sent flying to the side, out of his cover, as more Cruor swarmed him. A burst of [Force] ripped them apart as he escaped. The clouds of spores were temporarily pushed back in the process. This gave him a momentary reprieve, and also showed him what was going on around him.

A handful of Legendary Cruor had surrounded him. Hidden just within the thickened fog, just beyond his restricted sensory range. They were equipped with specially grown armor and weapons. Wicked looking spikes and blades were covered in corrosive ooze that flipped to the ground. A sheen of liquid also covered their armor, and Ezekiel’s instincts were telling him that it was some sort of fire retardant.

‘They were more prepared than we expected. How long before this smog reaches the front lines?’ Ezekiel focused on the enemies in front of him as he let Shine figure out the calculations. The aforementioned smog slowly covered the Cruor once more. Ezekiel found himself basically blind to his opponents as Shine replied.

“We’ve got maybe an hour, and that’s only if they don’t have a stockpile ready for release further from the center.’ Ezekiel focused on the faint movements that the Rot were making as they also moved through the smog. It seemed like the countless lower Tier Rot were now either gathering in mass or had been directed away from the area. He assumed it was the former for now.

‘The Flame and Tempest Mages should be able to slow that down a fair bit more, fight?’ He tried to be at least a little optimistic.

But Shine had already accounted for that. ‘Only if they aren’t caught by surprise.’

If the Rot were going to release a massive load of spores over the Hunters, it would only be if they had the element of surprise.

Spreading his senses as far as he could, Ezekiel was barely able to feel some faint vibrations traveling through the ground. Just as he was fully covered in the spores once more.

‘Keep up a constant barrier all around us. It can be weak, but we need something that will give us eyes.’ Ezekiel ordered Shine as he rolled beneath a jagged spear. Several layers of [Void Panes], barely strong enough to take form, took shape around him, and he and Shine regained most of their vision.

Yet they were still too slow to react to the spikes launched at high speeds.

“Oof!” Ezekiel was struck twice in the stomach, and three times in the back. The [Void Panes] did nothing to block them, as they were just used for sensory purposes.

They weren’t strong enough to puncture his armor, but it was enough to make him stumble. The opening gave one of the Cruor an opening that it exploited. Stabbing forward with their weapon, they were stopped short as Ezekiel’s free hand reached up and grabbed it.

“My turn!” He yanked the Legendary Rot forward and spun around. Several more spikes pierced through the Cruor, who screamed in pain. He then trapped it in a [Void Pane] barrier, and collapsed it inward, destroying beyond the point of regeneration.

Then, lashing out with Shine, Ezekiel swung at another Cruor who was swinging a massive pick down on his head. A [Void Slash] severed its arms, and a kick filled with [Empowered][Force] made it explode as kinetic energy rippled through it.

A rumbling shook the ground, and Ezekiel knew that he’d have more company soon.

‘We need to get back to the front lines. They need to be informed of the Rot’s current strategy.’ He readied himself for the inevitable attack, but he needed to move.

Shine did their best to support their partner but knew that this would be difficult. ‘I’ll try to figure something out. For now, just focus on keeping us alive.’

Ezekiel silently nodded his head. He released a [Void Slash] that cut down nearly a dozen Cruor in an instant but was blocked from going too much further by another Legendary that had appeared.

Moving quickly, Ezekiel locked blades with it, only to be pushed back as he needed to defend against another group of lower Tier Cruor. It was simple enough to do so, but he found himself struck once more by yet another Legendary Rot.

Sending out another wave of force, Ezekiel noticed something as the weaker Cruor were destroyed. Though, the drop in mana was something that nearly distracted him.

“What’s so funny?” he called out as he formed a barrier to fend off against a large Umbral beast that leapt at his neck.

To the side, the two Legendary Cruor were joined by a third, and much to Ezekiel’s shock, they spoke in unison.

“You are focusing on getting back to your friends. Unaware that we planned specifically for this.” The trio of gravely voices warbled as they spoke. “There is no escape for you. You do not even know where you are any more.”

“Even if you think I can’t just [Jump] away, what makes you think I can’t escape?” Ezekiel dodged another Umbral beast, cutting it down, even as another group of Rot leapt toward him. Another Legendary Cruor appeared. By this point, they had moved to surround him on all sides. ‘Get ready to fly out of here. We need to go. Now.’

Shine mentally nodded at their partner. They readied their mana to set up barriers for the projectiles that would certainly be shot at them.

“You can try...” The Cruor’s words, now composed of four different voices that were warped and raspy, sent a shiver down Ezekeil’s spine.

‘We’re leaving.’ Ezekiel became surrounded by a barrier of [Empowered] [Void Panes] and took to the skies as fast as he could. But he didn’t even make it ten meters before his barrier broke under the force of his own speed.

There was a ceiling stopping him from going any higher. One that he hadn’t noticed due to his restricted senses.

Dazed and confused, Ezekiel nearly fell back to the ground, but Shine quickly took control. The impact had no effect on them, and they were able to keep Ezekiel airborne and remake their barrier.

‘Are you alright?’ they asked as Ezekiel shook himself back to awareness. ‘How could we have missed this? How did they even do this?’

‘The Rot grows faster than any other structures cultivated by the Cruor. They likely made several areas that were built like elevators that would slowly lower themselves. Not fast enough to be noticeable, but also not slow enough to be avoided.’ Ezekiel struck the ceiling a few times, even as the smog grew even thicker. ‘Then they probably just had a ceiling grown on top, and reinforced with bodies to keep us locked in. We might still be moving down right now.’

Turning back to the ground, Ezekiel barely made out the massive number of Rot that were prowling around beneath him. He knew that most were able to jump high enough to get him, but he also knew that all Cruor had an innate cruelty that made them play with their food when it was trapped.

A sense of resignation filled him, but he stomped it down with his incredible [Willpower].

‘Any plans?’ he asked his Spirit. His pulse throbbed in his ears as his heartbeat raced. For the first time in years, he was thinking about allowing his element to suppress his emotions.

Shine thought about it for a second ‘Perhaps, if we want to risk it, we can take what power we need from them for our own use?’

Chuckling humorlessly, Ezekiel nodded his head. ‘It’s not a good plan, but at least it is a plan. What about the chances of losing consciousness?’

‘Well, maybe start with one of the weaker ones? It should be easier to overpower the [Will] inside it if you do that. Especially since both our souls have gotten stronger after being in the Ancient Legacy.’ Shine was right about it being easier to crush the [Will] of those weaker than them.

At this point, their soul, and Ezekiel’s, had barely broken through to the Mythic realm. But it was enough to suppress anything that wasn’t a Legendary, and even then, they’d have to be a powerful Legendary to put up a fight.

‘Let’s do this then.’ Ezekiel took a deep breath, heedless of the spores that tried to infect him.

Keeping a tight hold on his mana, he allowed it to leak outside of himself. The lack of other elemental mana meant that it wasn’t too hard to prevent it from converting and causing elemental effects. But he still had to keep it from simply fading away.

Then, much to the Cruor’s surprise, Ezekiel dispelled his Spirit Armor. Instead, his body glowed with opalescent light as he readied himself to bathe in the Ichor of his enemies below.

Falling to the ground, Ezekiel crushed the skull of a larger Umbral beast beneath his boot. Focusing his [Willpower], he crushed the [Will] within the Ichor he was splashed with. The oily liquid evaporated as the energy within it was absorbed. He closed his eyes as a feeling of power filled him.

The Cruor went still. Their cruel glares and hungry growls now restrained by the confusion and sense of fear they now felt. Even though he was no longer garbed in his armor, and was simply a man standing amongst monsters, even the Umbral beasts felt like they were nothing more than prey for the being in front of them.

“Well now... this is unexpected.” Ezekiel spoke to himself, his voice was eerily calm, as he observed the changes happening within him. “It seems like I’ll be reaching the peak sooner than later.”

Opening his eyes, they didn’t glow with white-opalescent light like the aura he was releasing. Instead, they were dark as the night sky, and filled with shifting specks of light. The rings that usually filled them were nowhere to be seen.

“I thought that I had feared the possibility of losing myself as I crushed you and took your power for myself. But it seems like those fears were unnecessary. You’re far too weak to be an issue at this point.” Ezekiel slowly walked toward the Cruor closest to him.

He barely made it three steps before the Legendary Rot screamed their orders.

“Kill him!”

The Rot snapped out of their shock, and charged as one, only to be cut down as a massive blade of mana cut through space, horizontally bisecting the majority of them. Ichor flooded the ground, and Ezekiel tensed as he felt the energy within fill him up as he actively took it in.

The mana he had expended in that attack was instantly refilled, and he leisurely lifted Shine to block the strike of one of the Legendary Rot. They were missing a leg that was rapidly regenerating, and the others were quick to follow up and help.

Yet, even as he and Shine pushed hard against the many Tier three and below [Wills] that were imbued in the Ichor pooling at his feet, and the Legendaries were bearing down on him, Ezekiel just smiled.

It wasn’t a nice smile.

----------

Back at the front lines, Riley and the other Hunters native to Naramoor had pushed well into the area covered by the growths made by the Rot’s den. They had been bogged down by the massive number of Cruor that continued to harass them.

Progress was also stalled by the need to burn down the Rot and fungal structures that they passed by. Fortunately, the amount of fire needed to clear out a given area wasn’t the biggest, but many of the Hunters still lamented the fact that Ezekiel couldn’t just bomb it and be done with everything.

“Riley!” a Hunter called out from where they stood inside a circle of fallen Rot. “How much longer until this area is cleared?”

Stepping back from where she had lit up another pile of bodies, Riley sighed before heading over to burn the next one.

“This should be it. How are the other groups doing?” A stream of blue fire lit up the surroundings, and the two Hunters took to the air, but didn’t go higher than a few meters as the ground ignited. The whole area was consumed in flames as they vacated the premises.

“Good so far. But we haven’t gotten any word regarding Ezekiel’s condition.”

Riley frowned beneath her helmet. It had been nearly an hour now, and almost a third of the city had been cleansed. It was odd that Ezekiel wasn’t back yet. Especially since he was just going scouting. She knew something must’ve happened but was hoping she was wrong.

“There’s nothing we can do for now.” Her hands were clenched tight, and a small wisp of fire escaped her grasp before she reigned in her emotions. “For now, we’ll regroup with the rest, and see how things are going with the Spore tower. I don’t like how things have slowed down.”

It was a small thing, but as they moved to catch up with the others, Riley realized that there was a startling drop in the number of Cruor that were trying to kill them. That usually meant really bad things when fighting the Cruor.

“Understood. We’ll try to-”

There was a loud ‘boom’ in the distance, and a shockwave rolled over everything. Had the Hunters been on the ground, they would’ve fallen over like the lower Tiers had from the sheer force of the ground heaving underneath them.

Toward the center of the city a massive cloud of fungal spores filled the air but didn’t spread out like it usually did. If anything, it seemed as though the cloud was condensing inwards. The area it covered grew more and more difficult to see through. Until finally, it was as if a large dome had formed not far from the base of the Spore tower.

“What the hell is that?!” the Hunter accompanying Riley yelled in shock.

“... I don’t know. But I’m certain that Ezekiel has something to do with it.” Throwing caution to the wind, she took to the skies, using her flames to boost her speed.

She had prepared herself for any incoming projectiles, but it was apparent that whatever was happening was keeping the Rot busy. Her flight was practically unimpeded beyond the odd Umbral beast that tried to jump at her. But she was able to cut those down with ease.

“Guild Leader!” Riley landed near another group that was much closer to the strange dome. Piles of Cruor were set on fire at a lower elevation where a pit had formed. “Did you see what happened?”

The Guild Leader she was referring to turned toward her. A Death Hunter with the appropriate regalia to indicate her leadership position, she was confused as she saw Riley and the other Hunter land in her area. But she rallied herself and replied.

“It seems like the Rot extended the den further down than we expected. From what we can tell, there were a number of tunnels that were filled with spore clouds and other seeds for the Rot to spread.” The Guild Leader gestured to the large dome. “We don’t know what’s holding it back. Just that there was a large explosion, and then the ground collapsed, and this cloud started forming.”

Gazing at the massive cloud, Riley extended her senses outward. She wanted to see if she could tell whether or not there were any unique heat signatures within. She could barely tell that there were several Legendary Rot within, which was terrifying enough, as she knew that she would run out of mana if forced to fight that many at once. But it was the one, human heat signature that she felt that made her sigh in relief. Even if the circumstances weren’t the best for him at the moment.

“It’s fine. Ezekiel is fighting down there. For now, we should just leave him be. Let’s head to the Spore tower and start burning it down before it reaches maturity.”

The other Legendary Hunters all looked at her, askance at her attitude, but then they noticed how tightly she was gripping her weapon.

“Shouldn’t we go and support him instead? I thought that there were still at least a few days before the tower was ready to release the Spore Storm?”

Riley just sighed and started moving toward the tower. “If you think you can enter that cloud without running out of mana while you help him, feel free. But I know that I won’t last more than a few minutes. So, I’d rather do what I can instead.”

Some of the Legends exchanged looks. A few dashed over to the dome, placing their hands onto the dome to try and enter. But while it wasn’t as bad as the Ichor Miasma, the properties of the cloud seemed to be composed of every negative effect of all the poisons and acids the Rot could make.

Their mana wasn’t directly drained, but it was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to last long as they tried to defend themselves from the environment.

“How the hell is he still alive in there?” One Hunter asked after catching up with the rest of the group. They had come under attack by another wave of Rot and were forced to protect a team of Adepts that had been surrounded.

“It’s an effect of the Void. He can nullify all forms of magic. Even the effects of Ichor and the spores of the Rot.” Riley sent a stream of fire that cut through another set of Rot.

It wasn’t anything new for her, but she was somewhat surprised. As far as she knew, Ezekiel shouldn’t run out of mana a while ago. But she knew better than to voice that concern right now.

Sending out another wave of fire, she was surprised to find that the next group of Cruor weren’t nearly as affected by it as the ones prior.

“They’ve finally grown their fireproof molds.” Riley changed her tactics, forming a series of flaming dagger constructs that circled around her in a razor-sharp ring. “We should let the others know that large area fire bursts will be less effective moving forward!”

All the Hunters tensed up. They had known that this was a likely occurrence but hadn’t thought that it would happen so soon. According to Ezekiel and Riley, the Rot shouldn’t have been able to grow the necessary molds and slimes to make themselves fire retardant this quickly.

“That’s not all you need to worry about!”

A cackling and warbling series of voices echoed around the group as more Rot charged forward. This time with a number of Legendary Cruor mixed in with them.

“Even if the cost was great, your savior cannot help you now.” Leaping forward, an acid-covered Cruor locked their jagged blade with Riley’s spear. It was noticeably immune to her flames. Even as they grew hotter and brighter.

It broke off before Riley’s daggers could cut into its flesh. Moving backward, a group of weaker Cruor swarmed the Hunters, making openings for the Legendary Cruor to attack.

Seeing the tides changing once again, Riley grimaced, and knew that she would need to take drastic measures to keep fighting. So, channeling her flames outwards, she lit up the area as much as she could. The fireproofing only stopped the Cruor themselves from catching fire. It did nothing to stop the structures and other strange growths from lighting up.

Soon, the Hunters needed to take to the sky, and Riley was left alone on the ground. But due to the heat the Cruor were still finding it difficult to properly swarm her. Which allowed her to continue spreading the fires further and further.

“What do you hope to achieve by doing this?” The Legendary Rot were forced to divide their attention, even with the support from their lower Tiered members. “Your fires are of no use if you cannot strike us down first.”

Riley remained silent, simply basking in the fire that surrounded her. Her mind flashed back to her final trial. The spores in the air were burned away, and all that remained were the Flames.

Taking a deep breath in, the fires that had spread well beyond what she had created condensed and flowed inside her lungs. Her [Understanding] of Flames kept her safe, and converted the fires into mana that refilled her reserves.

Now recharged, she let loose an explosion of fire that blew off most of the fire-retardant mold and slime. While also growing her flaming daggers into flaming swords. A wave of her hand sent them flying at the Legendary Rot that surrounded her. They were swiftly cut down, even as the area was lit up once more. This time, the Rot that were rushing toward her were much more easily slain by her magic.

For the other Hunters, their hopes that had begun to fade were rekindled, as they saw that one of their leaders was now refreshed and ready to fight. Unlike many of them, who had already expended the majority of their mana in the battles prior to this.

“Help me spread the fires!” Riley ordered, and the Hunters were quick to obey.

Then, using her flames to launch herself forward, Riley charged. A blue flaming dragon formed around her as she cut through swathes of Cruor with ease. Only the Legendary ones provided any significant resistance. But even they were slowly cut down.

All while the den was consumed even further in fire, as the Hunters were slowly forced to retreat, else they would be burned up in the blaze.

Yet, even as this occurred, the shadow of the Spore tower loomed overhead.