After convulsing on the floor for several infinitely long moments while the magical knowledge was being downloaded into his brain, Colin got his reward.

You have gained a new skill, Earth Magic Manipulation Level 1. You have gained the subskill, Tremorsensing level 1. Using a small amount of mana and stomp of your foot, you gain some information of who or what is around you. With every use of this subskill, you can gain information about a 360-degree area around you up to 3 meters around with an additional meter per level. At higher levels, you can control how much of an area around you that you wish to use this subskill, but for now, this subskill costs five mana for every yard. For now, 15 mana every use.

Smiling at this luck, Colin got up from the floor and groaned at how sore his body felt. If last time was what he could base this off of, he knew this would not last long. Even so, he was glad when his Psychic Trigger activated Fortified Mind and distanced himself from the pain long enough for him to get moving.

Of course, after several activations, the waited prompt appeared.

Psychic Trigger is now level 2. New options are available within the submenu for further customization.

Curious, Colin checked and found that there were indeed a few new options. All three of them were triggers for when he got the Poisoned, Stunned, or Slowed debuffs. Not immediately applicable, given that he couldn’t do any healing magic for it but was glad for it all the same. He would eventually get his Infernal Magic leveled up enough to make use of this new utility.

Until then, it was time to go.

Hattie had been patient, sort of, since they were paying customers, but that was nearing its end. She watched them with increasing impatience, especially Larry. The Tattooist almost seemed to be screaming at them with her gaze to get out of her shop. Knowing at least a little of what she was capable of, Colin knew not to press his luck.

“Let’s go. Rielle,” Colin called, looking at his Death Fey party member. “Go scout ahead. If there are any Golems you can take down, do so, but do not risk dying or getting into a drawn-out fight. Got it?” Colin asked.

“Uh, yeah,” she said, nodding. The girl drew her bow off her back then headed out the door, closing it carefully behind her.

“Paladin, I already know how you feel about this,” Colin said, looking at the Sumo.

He nodded, “yes. I do not get involved with Player killing.”

Colin hoped this wouldn’t be the case. To be fair, the man stated early on that he found the act distasteful given that this was a game meant for people to have fun. Why get people needlessly angry by killing them, was his point of view. While Colin could understand that and even respect it, he needed the Sumo’s help for at least part of the plan.

“But are you averse to Golem killing? I was hoping you would be okay with being outside the house while we did the deed. Just being on guard duty, that’s all,” Colin explained, trying to convince the giant man to agree.

He thought about it, then shook his head in a no. “I’m afraid not, Walker. I would still be keeping watch while you did something kind of messed up to another person. Even if it is a Player that can come back, it’s kind of screwed up.” Then Paladin squinted a little in thought, “actually, I think I can make myself help you. On two conditions,” Paladin said.

“Name them,” Colin stated.

“I want no NPC’s to be killed; if they die, they cannot come back, so I’d rather like to avoid it,” Paladin stated, his tone not suggesting that this was something he would bend on.

“Agreed,” Colin said immediately. “what’s the other?”

The Sumo grinned mischievously, “call me by my nickname.”

Also, immediately, Colin said, “hell no. I don’t need you that badly; you do realize how lame the nickname ‘Pal’ is, right?”

The smile dropped, and Paladin shook his head, “I think it’s a great nickname, but fine. I want to know what this poor sod did to deserve your… what’s a good word for this, oh, wrath. I want to know what he did to incur your wrath.”

Colin shrugged. He hadn’t really told anyone but Rielle and Nox why he wanted to kill this man, and now this Player wished to know. So far, he had been one of the few who had been somewhat trustworthy and not been at all dickish. In some ways, Colin could understand why Players were that way. Usually, people had to work, and the Ineffable Gaming System had been expensive to buy. They had to limit their time accordingly and make the best use out of it as possible.

If it hadn’t been for him being cut off from McKenna due to his pursuit of the power to defeat Monty and his Party, he might have let it go eventually.

“Alright, you have a deal. But after we are done with the deed,” Colin stated.

Paladin nodded, “that’s fine. You seem like the trustworthy sort, eh, unless they piss you off.” he finished with a slight chuckle.

Colin nodded, “and don’t you forget it.” He then turned to Larry and said simply, “you’re with me. Just try to make sure I don’t die. Okay?”

The Incubi popped his knuckles menacingly, “you give me the fun assignments, Master.”

“Nox?” Colin asked his shadow. “Can I count on you to assist Paladin if another Mini-boss shows up. You don’t have to kill it, just restrain it or something,” Colin told him, hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. He recently cleared all his debt to the Goblin except for helping him restore his super Uber Spear. Given how much Sansinite, a god-tier metal, it needed, he figured that it would be a long-term goal.

“Of course. I will ask for something if it comes up. Just so you know,” Nox told him through the shadow.

“Fair enough,” Colin stated. “Paladin, I will be asking Rielle to help make sure you aren’t overwhelmed, so don’t worry.”

He nodded, “thank you.”

Nodding to his Party, Colin headed towards the door. Their chat should have given her enough time to do the job. With how she described it, the Auxiliary was pretty close, maybe a two-minute jog away.

He opened the door and looked back at Hattie, “thank you for your hospitality.”

“Bite me!” she yelled, pointing at the door.

Hurrying out into the alley, Colin quickly found a single scorched and rusted Fighter Golem at the street entrance. Recognizing the work of Rielle’s heavenly Blight, Colin smiled at the junk heap as he moved past it and started to jog down the street. He could hear Larry immediately behind him and Paladin a few steps after him, the heavy steps easily distinguishable.

They had passed what looked like the city’s equivalent of a Motel when he saw Rielle fighting a Rogue Golem and a Basic Warrior Golem. The fight was finished quickly when she swung her sword in a large circle around her, the blade glowing with green-gold fire. The blade sliced the Rogue in half while stopping partway through the Basic Warrior Golem. Both collapsed in a heap while she deactivated the flames and hurried on ahead.

“She’s getting strong,” Nox said from his shadow.

Colin nodded, “she was already pretty strong. We just made her more so.”

The Goblin voice somehow sounded like it was smiling, “indeed.”

“What class is she?” Larry asked, hurrying to jog next to Colin.

“You can ask her later,” Colin stated. “Not my place.”

Scoffing a little at his Master, the Demon pointed at Colin’s wrist. “Most people would not know what those light scars on both of your wrists mean, but I know what those are. You own her, Master. That means it is your-”

Colin stopped and turned to look his Demon in his face. “Larrimortias LaGrelle, while I ended up contracting to you on purpose, what I did to her was an accident. I did not know the full ramifications of what I did when it happened. So unless you want to find out what it’s like to get on my bad side and be under my employ, I suggest you don’t make assumptions. Do I make myself clear?”

The order in his words was clear and strong, so the Demon had little choice but to nod his head and look away from his Master. “Yes, Master. May I know the story behind this matter at a later time?” he asked, tone low and submissive.

“We’ll see,” Colin said, then looked at Paladin, who had many questions written across his face. “Don’t ask; I stand by what I did, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Maybe I’ll tell you later too,” Colin told the Sumo, dangling the information like a fishing lure. “Come on, we better hurry before Rielle gets too far ahead.”

All three men started after Rielle. Colin figured that she would be fine as long as she didn’t have to fight a Mini-boss or new Golem, but he still disliked her being that far ahead of him. McKenna had a phrase that she liked to yell whenever teams in movies split up to do stuff. Never split the Party. While he did dislike the concept, it was efficient to do it this way.

The Antagonist pulled out his phone to check on Rielle’s progress. Due to the paired rings that she wore that were connected to his Information Tablet, he saw that she was at the location. If the scan was accurate, the Auxiliary was a two-story house with the windows on the first floor boarded up. Apparently, the rings couldn’t give him more exact details of the building due to some limitations. Still, he planned to upgrade them eventually anyway.

As she said, there were five people in the building. Two of them were upstairs, and the other three were downstairs; what they were doing, he had no idea. The rings didn’t show movement in real-time, and even if they did, the rings were still limited with what they could reveal. But they did show locations, and that was helpful, at least.

They made one turn, and the house came into sight. This did not make Colin feel better; in fact, it made him groan. The windows on the first floor were not boarded up; they were covered with steel grates with a slight purple hue to the metal. He stared at it for a few seconds, and a prompt appeared.

Adamant Grates. Weight:????. Item Quality: ????

Adamant is an earth element alloy of extreme durability. These grates were not made by a Master of Metallurgic Forging, and thus, they are not as strong as they could be. However, the metal is still much more robust than steel and many times as dense.

“Well, luckily, I wasn’t planning on going through the front anyway,” Colin said, all three stepping back around the corner. While the second-story windows weren’t protected, there were no glass panes or even a frame around the holes for windows. The area around the windows was unpainted and chipped away; all these elements gave Colin the impression that the Auxiliary was under renovation when the city came under siege.

He checked the map on his Info Tablet, and… he counted his Luck Attribute that none of them appeared to be near the front door. For that matter, none of them were near the wall closest to the street. It was complacency of the highest order given the city’s situation.

Rielle hurried up beside them from the street, keeping herself pressed against the wall to minimize her own chance of detection. She carefully slid away from her bow and withdrew her sword, waiting to hear the plan.

“Rielle, you said you saw the man I’m looking for. Where was he?” Colin asked.

“He’s on the second story, in the bedroom on the backside of the house near the stairs,” she answered.

“Great,” Colin said, grinning. “Okay, you are going to stay out here and keep an eye on Paladin and Me; try to use your bow to keep either one of us from being overwhelmed. Paladin, when you see me go inside, do what you think is best to follow the plan. Larry, you wait a moment after I go in, then find a way to enter through the ground floor. Got it?” The Demon nodded, and then Colin turned his gaze to everyone, “does everyone follow the plan?”

Colin drew his Voracious Mythic Xiphos when everyone agreed, and his grin shifted to a genuine maniacal smile. “Then I’ll go first.”

Colin circled around the building they were using as cover and moved around the neighboring house’s backyard. He was at the fence separating the two lots within a minute of leaving his companions, and he knew his plan had one major flaw. While he could enter through the second story, any surface he stepped on while treading the roof would creak or clack as he walked over it. It was unavoidable without magic, and he had none that could assist with this.

Without firearms to simply snipe a few of the possible combatants, a bomb to simply blow up the house, or the adequately prepared gear needed to infiltrate quietly, his plan was simple. Colin stuck his head around to make sure no one looked before he moved, then took several giant steps away from the fence.

Colin sprinted towards the fence with a quick breath, jumped up it, and positioned himself at its top before activating Kinetic Vigor for that last little oomph. He shoved off the fence, landing on the roof, sprinting towards the nearest window with his sword drawn. He ran through the window and looked inside the bedroom, swinging his sword at the surprised-looking occupant’s neck.

He missed, his attack going too high, instead of slashing through the man’s open mouth, severing the top part of the man’s head from his lower jaw. While the attack wasn’t made from perfect stealth, the slash’s swiftness and suddenness made up for it on the surprised target. The assassination subskill still triggered, increasing the damage several-fold.

With a gurgled scream, the body collapsed to the floor. The eyes on the top half of the head looked at him for a moment before rolling up into its skull, the Player expiring as his HP ran out.

It wasn’t Volkiere, thankfully. Colin had something much more terrible in mind for him than this and was glad he hadn’t just made it too easy on the man. But with that scream, whether or not the others hear him running into the building was of little consequence. That didn’t mean that stealthing wasn’t out of the picture. The Antagonist hurried behind the door into the room and waited for one of his Guild Mates to find out what happened.

The man entered a moment later; his armor was indeed very shiny, as Rielle described. It wasn’t intricate or all-enveloping like full plate armor, just polished and shaped steel plates held against his body. Still protecting him from some harm but allowing movement. The man hurried in, his double-bit ax held up and ready to use.

Colin stepped out from behind to door and attempted another assassination attempt but failed since the man turned at the same time. He swung his ax down, a yell escaping his throat as an explosion rocked the house below them. Larry’s entrance, Colin assumed.

The explosion had thrown off the man’s attack slightly, allowing Colin to catch the attack on his Xiphos and step out of the weight before releasing his opposing pressure. While the man’s weapon did travel downwards into the floor, sticking there, he did recover incredibly quickly. He released the weapon and threw a clenched and protected fist at Colin’s chest, aiming for his center mass.

You have taken 43 points of damage and now have 372/415 health remaining.

The attack sent Colin back several feet with an ache rippling out from his left pectoral. The blow hurt a lot, but as his health points proved, he could handle a few more attacks like that. Colin spoke, “Shadow Strike,” triggering his Shadow/ Kinetic spell and swinging his sword twice in quick succession.

The dual casting of the spell drew out two shadows from Colin that mimicked his attack pattern while rushing the foe. Both attacks landed on the Warrior, some damage from the attacks phasing past the armor due to the spell’s shadowy nature. Both hits impacted heavily and knocked the man back a step, which gave Colin an opening.

Activating Aligned Strike, Colin thrust his sword into the man’s breastplate, crunching through it like a knife through a soda can.

He withdrew his blade with a lot of effort and took a step back. The man wasn’t dead, that was for sure. These guys were all high enough level that even if he punctured the heart, he suspected they’d keep ticking out of spite long enough to annoy him. So Colin activated Choking Darkness and gave himself Darkvision before attempting anything else.

It took a moment for the man to notice, but he did start clutching at his neck as he did. Panicking, he rushed forward towards the other side of the room and out of the darkness that was choking him. He lost a handful of health points to the cloud but not a lot considering his

Build Attribute and overall health. Worse was the bleeding effect the stab to his chest had done; it was pretty massive and would eventually do him in.

Colin watched as the man fumbled at his belt, reaching into a pouch for a potion to heal the continuing damage. With contempt for the Player, Colin stepped forward and backhanded the Warrior while saying the other trigger for the spell, “Stunning Slap,” which he activated.

His hand was covered in a transparent purple-pink aura for a moment as the blow connected to the head. The spell made the man’s mind skip a step in all of its mental processes for a moment, even halting his breathing for a second. The spell was variable depending on the man’s own resistance to mental attacks. Still, it stunned him for a good three seconds and caused him to drop the potion while he continued to bleed.

The blood around the room was starting to seem unrealistic, but Colin just put it to game mechanics and the man’s higher Build. He didn’t want to use any more MP; even if Larry did defeat the other Warrior, he would still need some for Volkiere himself. So Colin took his Mythic Xiphos in both hands and swung. The sword crunched through the man’s chest plate, dealing more damage and Colin pulled back to swing again.

The stun effect wore off before he could try that again. The Warrior just swung his fist at Colin and yelled, “bloodied Blow!”

Some of the blood he was spilling seemed to flow around his fist, leaving a nice red layer on his fist. A fist that he used to swing into Colin’s gut.

You have taken 61 points of damage and now have 311/415 Health remaining. You have been inflicted with the Anticoagulant Debuff. Bleeding Debuffs now last longer and deal more damage over time. Debuff expires in three minutes.

“Shit,” Colin grumbled, glad he wasn’t bleeding. He wasn’t sure how much health this guy had left, but it should be running low by now. As it was, this fight was dragging on longer than Colin cared for.

It was then that an arrow imbued with Heavenly Blight flew through the window and impacted the Warrior in the back. He turned to look out the window, seeing Rielle on the roof of the house next to them. A second arrow, this one not imbued, landed near the man’s shoulder, barely penetrating the armor without the magic.

But the distraction was precisely what Colin needed. He lined the weapon up with the center of his spine and thrust it through, severing it and killing the Player within a few more seconds.

Looking at his Mana and Health, Colin looked at the bodies and thought about it. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to seeing how it was done. Still, Colin brought his sword near the Warrior’s body and channeled his will into the Mythic Weapon.

You are Triggering the Trait’ Glutinous 1’. Would you like to consume this body to replenish lost Health and Mana?

Colin mentally told it yes and watched as the set of sharp, jagged, mismatched teeth on the weapon opened. The Mythic Xiphos split open down the middle, hanging open at the base, allowing Colin to see a harsh orange light within an empty with the sword. To Colin’s immediate delight, the weapon didn’t literally chew up and eat the corpse. Instead, the man’s body seemed to disintegrate into black, white, and green particles that flowed into the weapon’s empty void. As soon as the last of the particles were within the weapon, the sword’s maw closed, and a new prompt appeared.

Your Voracious Mythic Xiphos has consumed a body. You have regained 53 Health. You have recovered 73 Mana. The enemy was at least 5 levels stronger than the wielder and have thusly gained extra experience to be awarded when combat is over.

Admittedly, not as much as mana was regenerated as Colin was hoping for, but any amount was a good thing.

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time, however. The battle below him still sounded like it was raging, and that was a literal description. Howling winds started to blast through the space beneath Colin as if a literal storm were beneath his feet. Given that Volkiere was trying to become an Aeromage when he’d first met Colin, this wasn’t surprising. That did not mean that he expected the man to sound like a living typhoon.

Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be upstairs?

Colin hurried over to the bedroom in question that Rielle had told him the Aeromage was residing. He paused outside the door for a moment and used his most recent subskill Tremorsense.

He lightly tapped his foot against the floor, hoping not to tip off his opponent with the sound, and felt the mana leave him anyway as it activated. The magic glided through the floor below him, the magic extending his senses for a few meters and extending into the room. Colin had no accurate way to describe the sensation the spell provided him with. It was almost like the magic allowed him to ‘see’ with his feet.

However odd it felt, the magic was accurate. Colin stepped inside the room and left it again a moment later. No one was inside, and that meant that Larry was fighting with both a Warrior and Volkiere. Looking over the banister, Colin could see one dead body, a woman with armor dented in all the wrong places. He doubted that the experience was comfortable for her, but that was the game.

Now, Larry was holding a single massive shield in front of him while someone out of Colin’s line of sight was blasting it with winds that chipped away at it.

Smiling at his fortune, Colin leaped off the banister and landed in front of Larry’s shield, directly within the vortex aimed at his defense. However, the magic didn’t seem to be dealing Colin any damage. Instead, Colin’s left hand was raised up, and one of the other tattoos that Hattie had given him was activated.

The air magic flowed into his arm as a pure form of the spell; he could feel the spellwork of the magic as it coursed up his arm and through his mana pool. It hurt like Hattie said it would, but he could feel his own mana increase the spell’s magic potency and alter its flow, increasing the attack’s speed. Colin could feel the magic shoot up his raised sword arm, through his sword, and out towards the attacker. The revamped magic racing and swirling away, faster and more powerful than the initial attack.

With his own spell coming towards him, Colin watched as the Aeromage dropped the attack. And allowing Colin to see him for the first time since they’d killed him.

He was indeed wearing fancier robes than the last time Colin had seen him. It was intricately embroidered with white and gold thread along the edges of the garment. Several rigs hung along with his fingers, and a large, gaudy amulet hung off his neck but outside the hood that covered his face. He looked more like a cultist than a mage, but maybe that was what he was going for. Except for two holes in his robes and the damage Colin’s return attack did, his adversary seemed fine.

All around them, the area looked like an actual tornado had torn the room asunder. Furniture was thrown around and shattered, glassware was broken, and a small fire existed behind the Aeromage from some kind of lamp breaking, spreading, and lighting the oil.

The hood of the Mage looked Colin up and down, quiet as the day he’d met Colin.

As for Colin, he was practically giddy. He wasn’t sure what made him feel like he needed to talk, the complete joy he was feeling, or some instinct from his Antagonist Class, but he just felt the need to speak. “Hello, Volkiere, are you not happy to see me? It’s been a couple of months, but I’m sure you recognize me. Even if I didn’t leave a strong impression on you guys, I know you left a strong impression on me.”

The Aeromage froze, looking Colin up and down slowly one more time before seeming to lock onto his face again. He raised a shaky hand to point up at Colin and said a single word, “DevilWalker?!”

“Oh, so you do remember me. You have no idea how happy that makes me; I bet that asshole Morenstad remembers me. Considering what I did to him after I died, I hope I scared him shitless,” the Antagonist said, doing air quotes with the word died. “Well, I don’t want to talk you to death, that’s what this is for,” Colin showed off his menacing-looking weapon and grinned. “So, shall I get to the point.”

The Aeromage raised both of his hands and pointed them at Colin. Two bolts of condensed air formed as he spoke, “Dual Cast, Air Bolt!” Both bolts fired, and Larry jumped in front of Colin to intercept the attacks on his shield.

He would have just reused Hattie’s custom-made tattoo ability had for him if it weren’t for the cooldown it needed. Apparently, creating a tattoo that allowed the marked to absorb a type of spell, run it through his mana pool for a power-up, then fire it back out was a significant use of power. The way she described it was that if it was used twice within the same day, it could ruin his Mana Pool. That was why he got his second tattoo, which gave him resistance to Air Magic.

Colin hurried past him and aimed his own finger at Volkiere, “Shadow Bolt!”

The magic flew at Volkiere, who stepped to the side and avoided taking a solid hit. Volkiere didn’t miss a beat with throwing out another spell of his own, announcing the attack, “Vortex Grinder!”

A short cyclone of wind burst out from his hands and flew at Colin, the sound of whirling blades somehow mixing with the twisting winds. Colin stepped back behind Larry, helping him brace the shield as the hit actually felt like it was being ground apart.

“Hey, shiteater!” Colin called out. “I learned several types of magic! Wanna see!” Colin yelled as soon as the wind grinder ended. “That last one was Shadow Magic! This is Fire!” Colin said, raising his free hand and opening his palm and speaking, “Burning Marble!”

A miniature fireball, no bigger than a marble, appeared in his hand, then launched towards Volkiere. The spell had barely left him before Colin announced his following two spells. “Force Bolt! Ice Shard!”

A shaft of invisible force flew from his hand, followed by a sharp crystalline shard formed and fired as well, both spells hitting Volkiere lightly. The Aeromage in question mystically gestured with his fingers and said, “Air Tethers!”

A line of hardened air formed and flew out of Volkiere’s hand, flying at Colin and closing the space quickly. Colin let the spell envelop him, and the air twisted around and held his arms close to his body. Smiling at his opponent, Colin walked closer to him, the restraints not hampering his walk unless he moved faster than this. He could feel the magic from his other tattoo eating away at the magic more quickly than it would typically have.

“So, tell me, Volkiere, or don’t, whatever. How scared do you feel right now? Someone you screwed over is right before you and is obviously wanting to kill you. How does death feel when it’s breathing down your neck,” Colin spoke.

“Shut up!” he yelled. “Pressure Wave!” And a wave of condensed air formed in front of the Aeromage and swept towards the oncoming man. It was infinitely disconcerting how the man just would not start smiling with every step. His advance wasn’t even stopped as the attack washed over him and dealt apparent damage. It was evident that the spell had hurt the man, but still, he would not stop smiling.

Colin just could not control his face as he got closer to the Mage before him. The pressure wave washed over him and battered against him. He felt the tattoo passively work to reduce the damage, but the effect was only pillowed.

You have taken 57 points of damage and now have 307/415 damage remaining.

It was painful, but it was still energizing to have one of those who killed him in front of him. He just kept going through everything that happened since that day going through his head. This man was one of those responsible for setting him down the Antagonist’s path here in Rosengard. If it wasn’t for that, he would still be with McKenna, the one woman who understood him and really needed him.

That thought made him feel… giddy to have this man in front of him. It felt a little crazy to think like this, but at the moment, he did not care.

“Air Crack!” Volkiere said, backing away from the oncoming man. A whip formed of air rippled through the space between them and snapping harshly against Colin’s chest.

You have taken 71 points of damage and now have 236/415 Health remaining.

“Sawblade Gale!” he announced; a large swirling blade made from air slammed into Colin’s chest and cut into it for a few seconds.

You have taken 87 points of damage and now have 149/415 Health remaining.

The restraining spell wore off, and Colin approached, exuding menace as he walked closer.

“Air Crack!” Volkiere called, but nothing happened. He repeated the phrase another time with no effect. His mana pool had finally run dry, and he drew a dagger from under his robe and tried to stab at Colin.

Colin swung his sword through Volkiere’s arm with a vengeful swing, severing it just before the elbow. The blade and arm falling to the floor, at their feet.

Volkiere screamed in pain, and Colin breathed it in. The bleeding kept going for several seconds as he fell to the floor and grabbed at the dagger still in his other hand. Colin kicked it away from the grasping Mage.

“Well, Volkiere, this is it. I hope you enjoyed our time together, and I hope when you see Monty and the others again, you tell them that you are only the first to die. I’ll see you all soon enough again,” the Antagonist said, stepping away from the silent Aeromage.

He could almost sense the Aeromage glaring and seething under his hood; the only holding back the rage was his silent nature. Too bad this was going to be the last thing Colin did to him before he died.

“A gift to you, Terror of the Strait of Messina. I hope you’ll accept it, in my name. Enjoy!” Colin said, breathing out the words as his MP dropped almost empty as he finished using the second power he’d gotten from the Effigy Scylla.

Water erupted from the floor underneath Volkiere’s feet, gushing out in a large circle around his body. The head of Scylla burst from the water with Volkiere just underneath his snout. The head elongated up through the floor and broke through the building around him, the Scylla head breaking through the roof and flinging the Mage into the air. He immediately went flying up, screaming and hanging in the air for a long second before falling back down towards the monster. With an audible, grateful hum, Scylla snapped up Volkiere with a solid snap of his jaws.

The Effigy pulled back into the floor, with the water flowing back after it as it retracted itself into the floor with a pleased hiss.

“Well, well, well DevilWalker. That was impressive to watch,” Larry said, approaching his Master with a large smile upon his face. “Who knew you had so much Demon in you,” he said, incredibly pleased.

Colin shook his head, “there’s a reason why I am called DevilWalker, Larry. I’ll have to tell the story sometime. It’s not one of my favorites but, we’ll see.” Colin noted that the prompts for his gains from this attack wanted to start telling him things but he willed them to stay minimized. He could look at them in a few minutes when they were safer and he wasn't hurting so bad.

The fear that Volkiere seemed to be feeling at the end when he just didn't stop coming was so worth all this pain.

Rielle hurried up to the two of them while they were talking, “Walker, we need to get out of here. Pal has been holding off several Fighter Golems, but he may not be able to hold up for much longer.”

Colin looked down and jogged over to pick up the severed hand with the Dagger that Volkiere with his hand. The hand disintegrated in his hand with the dagger left in his hand; it was a pretty thing, so Colin pocketed it. Maybe it would come in handy later.

In the meantime, Colin looked at his shadow then smiled, “hey, Nox. I got an idea, and I’d like to know if you think it’s feasible.”

Nox stepped out of Colin’s shadow and grinned, “what are you thinking, DevilWalker?”

Colin’s grin never faltered as he spoke; his high after killing one of the five made him confident and a little daring. “How do you feel about stealing some experience from ALAN?”