One-armed and playing defence, I skid across the battlefield doing my best to absorb the latest smack from the hounding Agir. I’m surprised it hasn’t given up on killing me— the barrage of flame axes continues; it’s even thrown its physical axe at me as well.

It all goes to show that the veil of invisibility is useless against it— I hope all Blood Orange tiers aren’t immune because that’ll mean something else for my assignment.

‘I shouldn’t even be thinking about that right now.’

But I am. There are only two outcomes to this fight. Either the Agir finally catches up to me and has a filling meal or I find a way to outwit and kill it.

So far I’ve found no such thing, but I’d rather think like I’m definitely getting out alive than the alternative.

I weave through a barrage of projectiles and the Agir draws closer. I’m down on health but I’ve got Essence and mana to spare— the Seeker Blade returns, like a fly dancing over the ass of a cow it does its best to gain the ire of the Agir— all it can do against armour and fire.

The Seeker Blade that cuts down Crimson tiers like a hot knife through butter, now reduced to nothing but a pesky housefly. The gap in power between the tiers is impressive and even though I’m close to the edge of Blood Orange, I know it’ll take a lot more than what I’ve been absorbing to reach it.

While the Seeker Blade distracts the Agir, I make my way towards what fights are left. The Crimson tiers I arrived with have dwindled to nothingness. The raging sounds of battle and magic and power that were fade into silent defeat, a croak of an unwilling death.

‘But I can’t die here, I won’t.’

What I’ve got left to do is obvious— I should have seen it earlier in fact. Gerim said it, Gerim chanted and pleaded.

‘Stick together.’

If he’s not stepping in to help and the Blood Orange tiers picking us off are doing only that then…

‘Then there’s a clear intention between the two sides to clear the field of everyone incapable of working in unison…as an army.’

Although that’s more on our side than theirs, I can imagine the reasoning behind it— there’s no need for powerful demons when they won’t do your bidding. It’s just like Calridian and Morthul again, this battle…this attack, it’s as much a test as it is a prune.

If I want to survive this test and not be pruned, I’ve got to apply the cheat Gerim gave me right from the beginning.

Catching sight of one of the last few clusters of Crimson tiers, I dash towards them. The Agir is right behind me but I care little for it now. There’s no way I’m getting through its armour without some help, some kind of greater distraction or power and the only place to find that—

‘Is in another battle.’

Three Crimson tiers face against a single Blood Orange, they’re beaten and most of all charred. The Blood Orange is a large, pored demon with stumpy paws and bright red claws coated in lava.

Essence runs through my thighs and calves, enhancing my muscles and boosting me to unnatural speeds. Recalling the Seeker Blade I take advantage of the last vestiges of my invisibility and jump at it.

I land on the thing, making it stumble but most of all burrowing the Seeker Blade deep in its thick head. In defence, it roars and lava from all the lakes shoots out towards it— towards me.

To the fortunate competency of the Crimson tiers still standing they don’t wait around before wringing the demon down with their barrage of attacks. Quills, acid and a constricting web helps keep the demon still while I carve its face out.

I’ve got to leap off of it right before the lava comes rushing, the sludge of matter slaps onto the demon’s body and begins to fuse and harden. Seeing where this is going I flood the Seeker Blade with all the Essence and mana it can manage, then send it out at it.

“Keep attacking it, don’t stop!” I bark out at the others.

As my invisibility fades, the Seeker Blade lands a decisive strike on the demon’s neck, the lava hasn’t gotten through to it all yet so-

“Raaauurrrrghh!”

The primal scream doesn’t come from the Blood Orange tier I’ve begun to decapitate but from the Agir. The persistent wolf demon rages, absorbing the few crystals lying about and refuels on its nigh unlimited Essence and mana.

With a quick and ruthless twist of my hand the comparatively senior Blood Orange demon loses its head. What would be a killing blow is an inconvenience, the lava stretches around the wound, attempting to seal it shut.

However, I can't have two Blood Orange tiers pissed and after me. I direct the Seeker Blade to do as much excavating down in the festering wound. The Blade dives down, tearing, slashing and cutting through in search of the one thing that'll end it.

The blast of fire that washes over us is unlike anything it's unleashed since.

Worse yet, it’s taken out one of the Crimson tiers already. The poor monstrous spider was the closest of us to the blast.

‘Not like it’d have helped much. Webs against fire?’ I scoff, inwardly hoping this renewed Agir doesn’t kill what’s left of us before Gerim snaps out of this testing thing and helps.

With renewed rage the Agir swings and waves its axe at us, dodging isn’t a problem, but the follow-through is. The blasts of fire, the lava spilt everywhere by the other Blood Orange, and the litter of corpses make for a horrid obstacle course.

A deep sense of misery sinks in my stomach watching the Agir grab hold of one of my new companions. The fits of struggle and the barrage of, weak attacks reinforce the dread bubbling within.

‘I can’t escape this thing…even if I turn invisible. I have to try something else.’

The Seeker Blade juts out the lava encrusted body of the dead Blood Orange and hovers in front of me with a gleaming, deep Blood Orange Crystal.

[Blood Orange Soul Crystal]- Lvl.3(42.7Esq)

[Absorb] [Destroy]

It’s the first I’ve seen over level 2. It must be powerful— ironic given it only took a surprise attack to end the last owner. But maybe a surprise attack is all I need right now, I haven’t gotten one on the Agir since we started fighting.

‘Fuck it, let’s try.’

Dragging on what’s left of my mana, I start chanting the Key, “Alhak za, Alhak za, Alhak za! Alhak za!”

The Agir splits the demon in two and tosses the pieces aside as my chanting continues. I lock eyes with the only other Crimson tier and having observed that brutal death, I can already tell they’re skittish.

But hesitance isn’t to be had, not here and not now. A barrage of flame axes gets it moving, hopping and dodging best as it can until the Agir leaps toward it like the blasted hulk it is and squashes it beneath its feet.

Another dead and my spell isn’t ready. Considering I’ve never cast this spell before, I’m not sure what ready should even look like— right now I’m just pumping and chanting the Key because that’s al-

“You idiot! You can’t trust a spell you haven’t mastered to guide itself! You have to control it!”

Gerim’s voice resounding in my head is the first I’ve heard of him since the slaughter started. “Finally! What’ve you been waiting for? Why didn’t you help me out ever since!?”

“I could still come over there and kill you both!”

Rather than get into a squabble with Gerim, I take his word and try to manipulate the spell. Manipulating a spell like this is rather difficult. The nature of magic is…elusive, ever-changing. It’s like mana except far more…something, I’m not sure what word to describe magic’s slippery, concrete and slimy behaviour but with the Agir cleansing its foot with a blast of fire, I’m not sure I need to.

“You…finally.” It mutters, a small grin creeping onto its face as it struts. It’s eager, anticipating the satisfaction that’ll come from snapping my bones between its teeth.

“Alhak za! Alhak za! Alhak za!” The spell is all I bother with; I may be the last Crimson tier alive but it’s also the last Blood Orange tier standing. I say we did well.

A crude, low rumble escapes its throat. The cloak of fire and the axe’s ignition dies as it lets go of the weapon. The low rumble— a chuckle or a laugh continues as the demonic beast exudes confidence, a confidence that it doesn’t need any of its advantages anymore— not to kill me anyway.

But I’m a demon too and I think I finally figured out Minor Illusion.

The mana I’ve been pumping and weaving all around us forms a dome— a centre of control and range of effect for the spell.

“Alhak za!”

With the final chant, I sense the spell click within me and drain a significant portion of mana for my callous method of casting. I don’t cry about it, rather I snap my fingers and the Agir comes to a halt. Shaken, confused but most importantly— blind.

[Minor Illusion] allows me to manipulate and distort the senses of my targets. Right now I’ve made myself and everything else invisible to the Agir— I’m in control of everything it sees.

With another snap of my fingers, the field of darkness fills up with several copies of myself, all equipped with a Seeker Blade.

‘An expensive spell I see.’ I groan at the second drain, establishing the basis of the spell isn’t where I stop using mana. Palming the Seeker Blade and fuelling it with Essence for what I hope will be the final attack on this Blood Orange.

Can’t believe I spent all this time fighting one of them.’

With that thought, a small grin crawls onto my face, “Oh how the tables turn.”

A moment ago, the flaying demon fighting imaginary and unseen enemies was filled with anticipation— eager to end my life and get the satisfaction of a long hunt. And now…that’s me.

The end is rather anticlimactic— the Seeker Blade, brimming with Essence hovers over my hand before I let it loose with a thought. Without Essence covering the right places and without that pesky cloak of fire, the end is a pathetic explosion of flesh and bone as the Seeker Blade injects into its sternum.

“Finally got your trick down, Gerim.”

The Agir stops fighting the illusion, I don’t know if it realized that the enemies aren’t real but it’s too late anyway. It falls over and I direct the Seeker Blade to dig out the Crystal I’m owed.

“You survived.” Gerim says as he and the Blood Orange tiers finally start moving forward, “Well done.”

The strongest of them approaches, the demon adorned with actual armour. The serrated cleavers poking out from behind its back could be as tall as I am.

The giant, broad reptilian Blood Orange demon stares down at Gerim and me, a thick tail slithers behind him and a scar runs across his brown face. “Yes, well done…Lord Crimson. Feel free to pillage whatever Crystals you find here; they mean little where we’re headed. And if you wish to join us against the Maroon tier, you may.”

I get to keep the horde? Fuck yes. But…facing off against a Maroon tier? I’d like to see what a battle between this many powers would look like but if I had so much trouble holding out against the Agir I doubt I’d last half a minute in the chaos.

“Uh, yeah, thanks but no. I know my limits, I’ll leave the Maroon tier to those most capable. I’d only get in the way.”

“A Lord Crimson who knows its limits…an odd thing.” Is all he says before marching off with the rest of them.

Gerim hangs back a bit, his eyes narrowed down at me, “What?”

“You cast Minor Illusion, you have your weapon and you have a horde of Crystals to enrich you and your blade. It’s time you go kill Morthul.”