“Oh, Shit! Larry, Defend!” Colin ordered, his Familiar immediately doing as he was told.

“Intercepting Shield!” he announced, the Demon moving in a blur. The motion resolved itself in front of Colin, a HellRime Kite Shield already interposed between the enraged McKenna and Colin. A Tomahawk started forming in Larry’s off-hand as the point of that weird polearm impacted the shield.

“No, don’t kill her,” Colin told Larry.

The Demon turned his gaze away from the shield to look at his Master with bewilderment, “What?!”

“Just don’t!” Colin ordered, drawing his own weapons. He took a few precious seconds to refill the Lesser Infernal Edge with mana while Larry pushed back against McKenna.

In those few seconds, he saw an elf version of his wife step back with the shove and twist around with the hook end of the polearm in action. She angled it down and caught the bottom of Larry’s shield with the swing, grabbing onto the bottom of the shield. McKenna then attempted to yank the entire thing to the side with all her rage-filled strength and only managed to hold Larry with her effort.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Rielle yelled, rushing McKenna with her longsword and swung at the other woman once in range.

McKenna abandoned the attempt to de-shield Larry and unhooked it with barely enough time to avoid getting entirely hit. Rielle’s blade did manage to bite into McKenna’s bicep, but it was only a superficial hit. The polearm that McKenna was wielding had managed to keep her swing from doing more. But both moved into their next move the second they separated.

McKenna took a small step to the side and turned, moving into a thrust with the pointed end of her weapon. Rielle did similar with her sword, thrusting the weapon in the spot where McKenna had been only a moment earlier. Both missed, but both also attempted to shift into another attack, swinging from their current angles.

Larry rushed McKenna with his shield as Colin finished recharging the Infernal energy weapon, knocking the berserk woman back a few more steps.

“Regina, Back!” announced someone new. A small turquoise blur approached Rielle and swung at the Death Fey with several quick swings. Rielle failed to block all but the final strike, which the figure used to push off and land next to McKenna, who took three steps back. The form resolved into a small woman wearing a beige tunic and a turquoise robe. Colin had seen Gnome’s before, but this one was the fastest.

Colin stepped between Rielle and Larry, gesturing for them to back up. “She’s after me. I got this.”

“Walker, who is she?” Rielle asked, resheathing the sword and drawing her bow.

“My wife,” Colin told her, moving past her apparent surprise. “Just let me deal with this; at least if I die, I’ll come back.”

“You sure, Master? There’s two of them,” Larry pointed out.

Rielle paused, then pointed at some more people jogging over, “no, there’s… six of them.”

From the crowds, four more people hurried over with their weapons drawn. The first to arrive was a human woman in mages robes, she carried a pair of wands, and the point of each was glowing with ethereal light. Next, running side by side was a trio of men. Two of them looked like a pair of Viking warriors with their furs and armor arrangements. One of them wore a winged helmet and carried a one-handed sparking hammer that glowed with the enchantments upon it. The last one looked like a basic warrior, steel plate and leather armor kept his protection sturdy but light. He held a longsword in one hand and a Targe Shield in his other.

“Nah, I got them. She’s the only one that’s going to be a problem,” Colin said, pointing to McKenna’s character.

“Rrrraaahhh!” She growled, dropping the polearm. From her back, McKenna pulled free a double-edged, straight sword that could not have had a blade longer than three feet. It was held in one hand, as it was designed, and McKenna rolled her wrist with the weapon whirring with motion.

“Hey, Honey. You doing alright?!” he called out to her. “Look, can we not do this. You seem a little too serious about kil- geez!” Colin breathed out as McKenna raised her empty hand and formed her fist into a gun. Colin didn’t hear words, but a pink bullet was fired at him and hit him square in the chest.

You have taken 31 points of damage and now have 726/757 health remaining.

He staggered for a moment with the spell-like attack before letting out a single, sad breath. McKenna charged him with the blade in hand, and Colin went into action. It only took a moment to activate Kinetic Vigor and ignite the Lesser Infernal Edge. Its claw-like blade transmuted into the dull red energy beam. With a flex of his will, he also used Aligned Strike on the Lesser Infernal Edge. Its dull blade became defined and held a sharp cutting edge as the violent energy empowered it.

Since the Lesser Infernal Edge weighed less, he carried it in his left hand and the Mythic Xiphos in his right. When McKenna got close, she slowed and swung the blade across Colin’s chest, an attack that was neatly deflected by the indestructible Xiphos. His Strength Attribute was lower than hers, especially with whatever skill was fueling her, maybe the Enrage Berserker Skill. So he had to use his weapon to guide it away from his torso.

“Choking Darkness,” Colin spoke, mentally marking his location for the center of the spell’s effect. A cloud of inky smoke immediately filled the area, making it harder for McKenna to breathe. That became obvious as she attempted to draw some air in, only to cough.

But a lack of air would not put down his wife quickly. She immediately started holding her breath and faced him. Colin stepped towards her, both short blades held to his sides.

McKenna swung her sword, and Colin managed to avoid it, her moves a little slower than the last swing. The miss transitioned into a spin that she added momentum to. The second swing directly impacted the Mythic Xiphos and knocked Colin back. If the sword was more ordinary and not indestructible, he was sure it would have snapped.

Using her attack to get a bit further back, he said, “McKenna, I don’t want to fight you for real. Please stop. Or at least drop the sword.”

“Oh, I’ll drop it,” she growled, wasting some of her breath to say it. Within three seconds, she attacked. McKenna drew the sword back and to the side, and from there, she threw it the short distance between her and Colin.

Anticipating it, he raised and dropped his Lesser Infernal Edge’s empowered blade on the thrown weapon. His timing was impeccable, the flying sword sheared with a snap.

But McKenna had dropped into a charge the moment she’d tossed the sword. No weapon had been drawn; she just moved into an attack with both of her gloved fists.

With his higher Speed Attribute, he was able to drop the swords behind him and met McKenna in the choking cloud, fist to fist. He was immune to his own spell, so he just had to outlast her own endurance to it.

She threw a right and immediately followed up by stepping in with her elbow, which Colin deflected. Not blocked because of her greater strength, but he moved and turned with them. Colin moved in after her elbow strike to find that she’d gone in for a low kick.

You have taken 21 points of damage and now have 705/757 health remaining.

He took the hit, the attack sending him to his knee, and looked up as she moved in with a leg raised for a vicious front kick. Throwing a quick hook into her thigh, he made her take a short step to stabilize herself. He turned off Kinetic Vigor with a thought, mana conservation would be necessary if he was going to wear her down. Hopefully.

Their exchanges were quick and designed to incapacitate. No matter how pissed off she was, McKenna didn’t go as far as he knew she could. He’d seen her tear apart marines in one on one sparring matches, even with his own skills. If she wanted him dead and he wasn’t trying to kill her too, then he would be.

After a long minute and recasting the spell twice to keep it going, Colin finally saw her start to flag. She was in the middle of throwing out a short flurry of jabs when she collapsed to a knee in the middle of a swing, gasping for air. Sliding behind her and coming up on his knees, he moved into a headlock and held her in place. She struggled, but the attempts were weak.

He canceled the spell when he had her held firm, and the cloud of shadow evaporated in the light.

“It’s good to see that you haven’t changed McKenna,” Colin told her, being entirely honest with himself and her. He had been dreading this moment simply because he knew she’d be pissed and resort to her favored coping mechanism. Frankly, beating the shit out of whatever hurt her. “But could we please stop this? People are staring,” he told her, loosening his grip to help her focus on their surroundings.

She looked around, panting as she was finally able to regain her breath. In all honesty, he doubted that she cared, but if it gave her a second to think before attacking again, then it was worth it.

“You left me,” she said, fighting against his hold. “Something took your body, and you left me up there without you.”

“Not- ow, not by choice. You know I wouldn’t do that, not ever,” Colin told her softly. “Love the ears, by the way. You look super sexy.”

Her gaze moved over to Rielle, who was watching off to the side with Larry and Paladin. “Really? I’m surprised you noticed with that one over there. What happened? Couldn’t get home, so you found a local to replace me with?”

Before he could answer, she released the arm wrapped around her neck and jammed it into Colin’s ribs. Colin grunted and let her go, and McKenna immediately pivoted around and threw a savage hook into Colin’s nose.

You have taken 27 points of damage and now have 688/757 health remaining.

“No, I wouldn’t do that-” He started.

“Walker!” Rielle cried out, panic in her voice. “Look out!”

Colin looked to see where Rielle was looking, only to see a woman in fitted chainmail and leather on top of green silk finery coming down on top of him. She had blonde hair, slightly pointed ears, and not an imperfection could be found upon her. The rapier she held was drawn back and ready to thrust with perfect timing into Colin.

It was Lady Noistra Mer, the Fey delegate that Rielle had been beholden to before he took possession of her.

“Master, move! I can’t help you!” Larry yelled, and Colin couldn’t look back at him to find out what was happening with him.

He pushed back from McKenna to avoid the blow and drew a pair of throwing knives from the pouch on the back of his belt. Lady Noistra landed, blade point first, into the ground in a perfect thrusting pose. With a definitive pull and twist, She pulled the somehow unbroken blade free and stood up straight, shifting position to look at Colin evenly.

“Finally, I found you, DevilWalker,” she said, her stance shifting slowly to ready herself for the fight. “You will pay for what you did to my Brother, our deal here in this disgusting city, and the shame you brought upon house Mer.”

Colin spared a quick glance at Larry, finding the Demon trapped between two other warriors in similar garb as Noistra. The two held him in place, each using a strange polearm that currently had a ring of spikes along the inside holding Larry’s arms. Neither of them was gentle to the Demon and forced him down with weeping wounds.

Colin didn’t dare ignore McKenna, but he did look in Noistra’s direction and said, “really? I thought you ran away months ago with your tail tucked between your legs. Apparently, you just ran to get help. How good for you.”

“They are just to keep other people from interfering. You are mine, DevilWalker.”

“Hell no!” McKenna announced, standing from her place on the street and giving the Fey Noble a death glare.

Noistra quirked an eyebrow as she looked at McKenna, “why do you care? You were just fighting him pretty vehemently.”

“He’s mine!” McKenna proclaimed. “You do not get to kill him.”

“Well, too bad,” Noistra said, aiming her rapier at Colin and adjusting her stance.

“Fuck you!” McKenna yelled, reaching into her chest armor and pulling out an amulet-like necklace. It was a deep black crystal within black stained metal, likely silver, and it radiated something menacing to Colin’s senses. “Onyx Defenses! Enrage!” she announced, one after another.

Her eyes literally shifted to a burning red, and her jaw clenched as the rage within empowered her. The air around her body crystalized for a second and vanished just as quickly, leaving McKenna staring at the Fey Noble. McKenna took only a moment to locate her weird polearm, which sat a little to the side between her and Noistra.

Launching herself towards the weapon, McKenna picked it up and began the next sprint with the spike end of the weapon first. Her movements weren’t quite a blur, but they were extremely fast as she rushed at Noistra.

The Fey Lady quickly adjusted her stance, stepped to the side of McKenna’s charge, and aimed a quick thrust at McKenna. The blow caught on something that shimmered and reflected the light, buckling under the attack and shattering. Like magnetic attraction, the invisible shards moved in on the rapier and stuck to it before disintegrating.

Colin had no idea what the purpose of that effect was for an infinitely long moment as the blade neared his wife. When the tip did reach her, neither stopped moving, and the rapier flexed as Noistra pushed.

Then the blade snapped near the sword’s guard, with the broken end falling to the side.

McKenna didn’t react to the broken blade, only to her forward momentum and the flow of her attack. The spike end of the polearm met Noistra’s chest and didn’t penetrate her chest piece, sending her back several feet instead.

Not missing a moment, Colin threw the enchanted knives he held in his hands, one to each of the Fey Warriors keeping Larry still. One detonated in a burst of condensed flame and pressure, and the other blade impacted him, thin wires of red and black shadow bursting from the blade. Both effects had the desired outcome. They released the weapons that held him.

“Fuck yeah!” he yelled in triumph. A pair of HellRime sickles appeared in his hands, the weapons spinning in Larry’s skilled hands. “Who dies first?” he asked the two that had held him.

Dropping down to pick up his dropped weapons, the Lesser Infernal Edge deactivated, and he looked at McKenna and Noistra. It was clear to him that his wife had the upper hand in strength and its application, but her opponent was faster and more nimble. Not to mention that Noistra hadn’t used any type of magic or special attack.

“Rrraaahhh!” Paladin roared, causing Colin to look. The giant was in a fight of his own. Three of the Fey Warriors were fighting him at once, and we’re not doing well against him. They were holding their own against him as well since they were able to weave around his attempts to grab them.

“Sensō no fumidai!” he yelled, raising his leg. He lifted it up as high as he could, straightened it out, and Ki filled the leg as he brought it down. A burst of golden-orange energy radiated from the attack, flowing out in a wave around him. The special move knocked the Fey off their feet and to the ground, a weakness that was quickly exploited.

Rielle was fine, just watching from the side near the crowd near the fight. He was immediately reminded of the first time he’d seen her. For a moment, she looked tiny, like she’d shrunk back into herself at the sight of her original owner. She was simply frozen as her gaze moved from fight to fight as they escalated.

Then Noistra Mer clapped her hands together and announced, “Shaft of Light!” When she spread her hands out again, a six-foot pole made of radiant gold light appeared and hovered while she moved to grab it. Shifting into a stance, Noistra used her superior speed to stop a hook swipe from McKenna’s weapon. She then took a step forward, turned the shining weapon around, and struck McKenna over the top of her head with the staff in a single move.

McKenna fell to one knee, stunned from the blow and bleeding from her scalp. All Colin saw was tinted in red as McKenna fell to her knees. If this was a regular enemy, someone or something that Colin had no past with, he was sure he would have been calmer than he was feeling now.

First, Rielle’s trauma kept her from being able to help due to her simple and deep fear. Second, her attack on his wife felt more personal than it actually could have been. Rationally, there was no way Noistra could have known about their marital status. But there was the third point. Noistra Mer had attacked in broad daylight after he’d finished several days of fighting the Golem army. He was mentally unwilling to let this pass.

No, he could not let this trespass against him stand.

Colin went through his knowledge base and grinned as something occurred to him. With his Demonology Skill, he was able to use a reasonably simple ritual and used Heretic Scribe to draw the circle upon the ground. This one needed no real sacrifice, props, or extraneous incantation. Only a single line and Rituals name to activate it. The best part of The Escapist’s Epitaph was that it was not overtly Infernal.

The downside… he’d get a debuff that would not be pleasant, as well as some cosmetic effects. But he thought he could live with it to prove a point to the Fey here.

She started funneling magic into Heretic Scribe to mark the ground with the necessary circle and sheathed his Lesser Infernal Edge. With the mildly complex circle now printed upon the ground, he started funneling magic into it and watched as he mana dipped into the double digits then to zero.

“Noistra Mer, I willingly take the burden of a curse to scorch its mark into your soul. I, DevilWalker, cast The Escapist’s Epitaph upon you. Die in agony for facing me and mine, Fey!” Colin proclaimed even as the Ritual started drawing from his health to gain the rest of the power that it needed.

“What?!” she said, her strike losing power as she registered what Colin said. “You wouldn’t dare do that!”

Colin would be grinning if it didn’t feel like barbed wire was being pulled under his skin. Second after second, even as the Ritual finished draining him, it applied the debuff that would burn his soul for a time.

You have gained the Debuff; Epitaph Branding. Using the curse known as The Escapist’s Epitaph has dire consequences on both the receiver of the curse and the caster. The Epitaph Brand is much like the Mana Backlash, only more severe. All damage dealt by the Ritual for its activation heal at one-one hundredth the usual rate, and your maximum health is decreased by half. Current health: 195/378. (Branded)

Chains, six in total, burst from the small puddle of blood about his feet. They hung in the air for a moment and swayed like snakes while Colin gave the now openly terrified Noistra a smile. Each chain burned with different colors, each representing the magicks he could wield. Silver for kinetic, orange for fire, blue for water, green for earth, purple for mental, black for shadow, and burning red for infernal.

“No, no, you can’t do this! I’m a Noble in the Fey Court, and killing me could start a manhunt from the Sibling Monarchs. Stop, and I won’t come back,” she pleaded, backing away from McKenna, the staff vanishing into the air.

“It’s too late for that, Lady Mer,” Colin told her, his tone calm but voice a little scratchy.

Then the chains leaped at Noistra all at once, moving as if launched and homed in on their target. The Fey tried to run but only got a few feet away when the Infernal red chain wrapped around her neck. The other chains coiled around her body, and the powers of The Escapist’s Epitaph started to inflict their worst upon her. Light cascaded from the chains and into Noistra’s body, and that was where the screaming started.

Seconds passed as the power eroded and damaged her body wherever the power roamed. Scorch marks were followed by instant gashes, which were suddenly broken further by a spike of ice. Parts of her withered and others decayed in the different colors ravaging her body.

“Please stop!” she practically begged while she struggled feebly against the chains. A purple light shined behind her eyes, and a mad cackling took over the screams. It started low and quickly built into a full crazed laugh. “No, burn me! Dessicate me! Rend me asunder!” she yelled as the Mental Magic seemed to affect her mind. Her mad cackling continued until she erupted in prismatic flames, and the agony came to an end as she went silent.

The corpse stood perfectly still as her flesh disintegrated beneath the chains, not even leaving her armor behind. The only thing that remained where she stood, hovering in the air, was a small clear gem with multi-colored lights dancing within it.

You have defeated Noistra Mer and have gained 5680 EXP. You now have You now have 476,606/501,785 until level 25. Your Demonology Skill is now level 6. The Demonic Lore and Knowledge in your head has been expanded due to use.

Your Ritual Magic Skill is now level 12. New rituals are now available for your personal use.

Colin approached, the pain more manageable than only a moment ago, locked eyes with McKenna. “Are you done kicking my ass?” he asked, giving her a little smile.

She looked Colin over, looking him up and down as if just seeing him for the first time. “Colin? Please tell me that it’s really you.”

“Why would I need to, my beautiful psychopath. You know me well,” Colin told her, still keeping a step away.

“I thought I did,” McKenna responded, voice soft. Then she stilled and looked up at him, fury in her eyes, “that was before you got stuck in fucking ridiculous trope! Oh, and your body in the real world got possessed by some kind of psychic spirit. Then, a Mousekin attacked me with an illusion for touching its coin. It’s been crazy! Especially since I’ve had players coming after me for a reward I got from a Dungeon,” McKenna vented.

He waited a moment, noticing that the crowd was watching them but ignoring it in favor of his fury-riddled wife. When she didn’t continue for a moment, he gave her a soft smile, “and?”

“And… I missed you, Colin,” she answered.

Nodding to her, he took that extra step forward and embraced her in a big hug. Even with his body aching, it was this contact with her that filled a missing part of him. As he held her, he knew the same was true for her too. It took a long moment for her tense muscles to relax and for her to return the embrace. “I take it that you went full frenzy?”

She nodded, not pulling away from his embrace.

He nodded too. “Feeling better?”

She nodded again. “It didn’t start getting bad until a few days ago. When the players started attacking me for this.” She tugged on the chain around her neck, the caged crystal shaking as she moved it.

“I’m glad you found me, Honey. I was trying, but… the world was not allowing me to. I’m sor-” Colin started, falling silent as a hand clamped over his mouth.

“Don’t apologize again, Colin. I get it,” she said. A small smile played across her face as she stared at his face for a moment. She then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on his lips, nothing too passionate, just affectionate. “Now, can we get a move on before someone here gets some ideas? Do you have somewhere we can talk?”

“Yeah,” Colin said slowly. “We were just going to eat. Do you want to go there or back up to our room?”

“Our?” McKenna asked, looking behind Colin and straight at Rielle. “Did you share a room with… her?”

“Well, yeah, but it was all for saf-” Colin started, interrupted by a jab into his gut. A collective ‘ooooh’ moved through the crowd as Colin doubled over, clutching his stomach.

You have taken 11 points of damage and now have 184/378 Health remaining.

“One chance, Colin. Did you sleep with her?” she demanded, her old insecurities coming to haunt Colin.

“No, never. You’d kill me, literally,” Colin said, the words coming out in wheezes. That fact was one of the few things he was totally sure of. “Can we go somewhere more private before I explain what happened and who my party members are?”

She seemed unsure of what to do. If Colin knew her as well as he thought, she was probably torn between trying to beat the answers out of him now or giving him the chance to answer calmly. “Hey Honey, the place I’m going to take you… it has pan-seared chicken and vegetables that are to kill for.”

That seemed to help make the decision for her. “Fine, but only if you pay, including my party. I might have gotten here by myself, but I doubt i would have been here right now without them.”

Colin didn’t even think about it. “Deal.”

Finally, looking away from McKenna, who immediately took his hand and held it, he walked to the hoving prism gem and appraised it.

The Record of Noistra Mer. Weight: 374 grams. Item Quality: 10.

A crystal formed from the victim of a dangerous curse. This Record of the entity known as Noistra Mer was created after being subjected to The Escapist’s Epitaph, which scoured away her flesh, mind, and soul.

This item has several uses. The first is to nearly completely eliminate the healing time necessary to recover from the Epitaph’s Brand debuff. It can be sold for a lot of money, used in enchanting or alchemy, or traded for very rare or unique resources. Note: unlike most remnants from other curses, this item does not radiate dark or evil powers. Instead, people are just simple unsettled when they probe its magic.

Colin reached out for the crystal and touched it. The smooth exterior was cool against his hand as he quickly tucked the large gem into his Dimensional Bag.

“Y-you!” one of the Fey Warriors shouted for the street behind him. Colin turned in time to see a blonde warrior aiming a curved sword in his direction. “The Monarchs will know about this!”

“Good!” Colin yelled. “Maybe they’ll get the message to leave me alone!”

The Fey Warrior rushed away, and Colin turned back to the people that actually mattered while the crowd simply watched in silence for a moment.

Before Colin could speak, someone got up the nerve to ask, “Why did you do to her?!”

“How did you do it?!”

“What Skill was it?!”

“What kind of HellRaiser bullshit was that? She was winning!”

“What was that thing she used to break the sword?!”

Nope, he was not messing with this. “Nox?”

“I can not blame you, DevilWalker,” his voice said from the shadows. “But would you like something a little less conspicuous? You know, I’ll just do it. Just go after it happens,” Nox told him, a low chuckle escaping as Colin heard him snap his fingers.

There was a scream and a crash of metal as everyone stopped and looked in that direction.

Standing as tall as the nearby buildings, a new Golem was held together and being pushed together by smokey darkness. It continued to build, more and more pieces of scrap Golems being fused into the form of Nox’s distraction. It started out as a Massive humanoid form, but even as they watched and more darkness fused more pieces, it began to look more… eldritch.

“One good hit, and that distraction will go down. I suggest you get moving before that happens. You and your wife, I take it, have a lot to discuss,” Nox said.

The Golem built by Nox’s power turned in their direction and screamed, the sound like the scraping of metal against metal. It was then that everyone began to scatter away from the Golem. Leaving only a handful of small groups on the street, including them.

“Let’s go! Come on, you guys too,” Colin called out, turning in the opposite direction of the threat.

“Are you sure we want to run away from the giant golem!” Paladin asked, jogging to keep up with Colin and Rielle.

“Oh yeah, It won’t last long. Nox is giving us an opening to get out!” Colin shouted to Paladin.

“Wait, you still have the Goblin?! Come on guys, hurry up,” she said, hurrying after Colin. Refusing to be left behind again.

All the members of McKenna’s group looked at each other with trepidation for a moment before the Gnome Woman dressed as a Jedi hurried after McKenna. “Wait for me!”