Chapter 18

Wil stood on the beach, weighing a heavy stone in his hand as he stared out across the ocean of black blood. The barrier was just a few miles down the shore, if he was on higher ground, he could easily see it. As it was, he was currently too low, and the beach twisted in a way that blocked his view.

He had spent the previous day walking the route from his current location to the barrier a dozen times, going over the plan in his mind over and over as he did so.

What he had come up with was rather simple and could be summarized in only a few steps.

One, hurl the rock in his hand as hard as he could into the water, conjuring a couple more to match it if the Dragon turtle was dragging its feet. When he had dropped the coconut, it had arrived quickly, but he was on the edge of the sea now, so it may take a few to get its attention.

Two, run like hell towards the barrier, all the while throwing every offensive spell he was capable of casting at the beast. It was already insane from the infection, but he wanted it so angry that it didn’t slow down from step three. Fire seemed to work before at making it furious, so he would stick with that.

Three, once he was near the barrier, he’d wait for the monster to dash against the barrier, hopefully tumbling to its death in the void below. Best case, he would be far out of the way when it happened.

Worst case scenario, it needed a ‘push’ in the right direction. He didn’t know how much of a push he could give a six-hundred-foot mutated Dragon Turtle, but by the gods, he was going to give it a shot.

Absolute worst case, the turtle crushes him long before he gets to the barrier. Or it gets there, and the barrier doesn’t break, or it does break, and both he and the monster tumble below.

“Best not to think about that Wil.” He muttered, lifting the rock over his head. The early morning ‘sun’ was rising to the east, the flickering candle flame warming the beach enough that a haze of heat was soon rising.

Wil had shed his armor, and his sword. Hells, he had even removed his shirt for this gamble. He wanted to be light as possible for the flight, and armor was useless against this enemy. His bag of holding was tucked into a small hole he had dug a few miles inland, he didn’t want the weight or the encumbrance of the expensive item for what happened next.

Taking a deep, calming breath, he gathered his mana around his legs, giving them an extra boost of strength as he tossed the stone with all his might into the water. Although he wanted it to sail through the air and land far out into the water, he had overestimated his abilities.

The stone sailed all of a dozen feet, barely clearing the beach before it fell into the water with a ‘plop’, and a small ripple.

“Shit” Wil muttered, shaking his head at his weak throw.

“I’m glad Garman isn’t here. Bastard would never let me live that one down.” He said, conjuring another stone and waiting for a moment to see if the monster would come.

Five minutes passed and nothing appeared, so Wil lifted the stone over his shoulder, taking a running start this time before tossing it.

The stone traveled much further on his second throw, clearing the beach, and another ten feet beyond before it splashed into the black, tar like blood sea. The rock sent a large ripple through the water’s surface, before the ocean calmed once again.

Filled with nervous energy, Wil crouched low, ready to sprint at the first sign of the creature. Hands up, he prepared the Tier 1 spell matrix for ‘Magic Missile’ his mana eager and responsive. The construct glowed blue, with three darts of magic force already taking form within its light.

He didn’t have long to wait for his opponent, as he spotted a figure moving towards him, a swell in the black water. Now that he was paying attention, he could see the infected Dragon Turtle approach. Its movement created ripples and waves in the normally calm water, and the white sand shrank as the ocean surged.

Taking deep, calming breathes, Wil’s body tensed as the figure rose from the ocean before him. The worn spikes from its shell, and the smooth, leathery skin of its head. Unlike the Azure Lord, this creature lacked the distinct fin on the crown of its head, the black blood sticking against its scalp.

“Magic Missile!” Wil shouted, thrusting his hand forward as three bolts flew from the spell matrix, bright glowing blue darts of force. The attack sped across the white sand and over the water, reaching the creature just as its glowing red eyes breached the waves.

It barely had time to focus on Wil before the attack struck it in its right eye, the darts piercing the glowing, crimson orb. The monster reared its head back at the sudden onslaught, squeezing its eye shut as it bellowed in pain and anger.

Not pausing for even a heartbeat, Wil took off across the shore, his leather boots kicking up clouds of sand with every step as he channeled more mana into his legs, his figure a blur as he moved. He yelled and shouted the entire time, sure to keep the monster’s attention on him as he ran.

Its roar cut off as the Dragon Turtle slammed it head onto the shore, its agile neck snapping downwards towards him. Barely outdistancing the attack, Wil rolled as the ground lifted around him from the force of the blow.

Not wanting to waste an opportunity, he spun around, thrusting his hands out at the head that was buried in the ground only a dozen feet away from him.

“Magic Missile!” He shouted, as three bolts of mana shot from his hand, striking the infected Dragon Turtle in the eyes again. His attacks didn’t do much damage, not to something as powerful as the creature in front of him, but if he could blind or hinder the monster, it would make his plan go smoother.

Half blind and enraged, the jaws of the monster snapped at him, but Wil was already racing away, not having waited to watch his attack land. Roaring again, the clumsy creature lifted its head, taking awkward steps onto land as it gave chase.

Over and over again the creature attacked, but Wil was always just a step ahead of it, with swift feet and the occasional ‘Misty Step’, he succeeded in avoiding its jaws and crushing footsteps. He even managed to cast a few spells in retaliation, doing nothing more than further enraging the monster until it was practically frothing at the mouth, its red eyes firmly locked on him, although one eye looked puffy and swollen from his attacks.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of running and dodging, Wil came to the last length of beach, the barrier just ahead.

This was the most dangerous part of the plan. The barrier didn’t come far onto land, and for this to work, he needed the Dragon Turtle to knock into the shield and fall. Which meant he needed to hug the black waters as closely as possible, all while enticing the monster to charge, and avoid being crushed.

“No risk, no reward.” Wil muttered, coming to a halt at the end of the beach, the barrier firm behind his back. He had gained some distance from the monster on the chase, giving him just a moment to ready his final spell. Gathering his mana around him, he waited for the perfect moment to unleash it.

With thunderous steps that shook the ground, the Dragon Turtle awkwardly shuffled towards him, craning its neck forward in its eagerness to swallow him whole.

“Hey! Ugly! Over here!” Wil shouted, not bothering to be creative as the thing probably wouldn’t understand him anyway. Jumping up and down, Wil shouted and waved his arms over his head, making sure the beast knew exactly where he was.

Roaring in anger, it dashed the last distance between them, rearing its head back in order to crush him flat and eat his remains.

Timing it, Wil waited as it got closer, its head high in the air as its huge body blocked the light, leaving him in a shadow. With shocking quickness, its head snapped down, rushing towards him as its roared and opened its jaws.

“Three…two…one...” Wil counted, before unleashing his magic.

“Thunder Step!” He yelled, disappearing from the shore just as the monster’s head slammed into the ground where he had been. Its momentum carried it forward, gouging a line in the sand and ploughing deep into the ground before striking the barrier.

Wil reappeared 90 feet away, panting at the exertion as he watched the barrier hold for a split second, before it shattered like glass all along the black ocean. Roaring waters rushed into the void, carried off into the nothingness as the Dragon Turtle’s head left the sand and went into the abyss beyond. The unexpected lack of ground caused it to stumble ahead a bit, falling onto its front knees as it fell, teetering on the edge.

“Come on you bastard, fall!” Wil screamed, but it seemed its movement was spent as it stayed on solid ground, its head and neck hanging over, but its four stumpy legs still on solid ground.

“Oh no you don’t, you son of a bitch.” Wil yelled, channeling his mana into another spell, one of his last remaining.

“Tidal Wave!” He screamed, not bothering to conjure water, he used the black blood from the ocean behind the beast. A tidal wave, 10 feet high and 30 feet across rushed towards the fallen Dragon Turtle.

It seemed only a small and insignificant thing against its massive frame, but the spell slammed into its body, sliding its legs on the white sand beach enough the monster gradually slid forward, tipping into the abyss, before falling downwards, roaring as it entered the black void.

Laughing, Wil watched the monster fall and the black blood ocean slowly drain away. It would take some time for the sea to drain, even with the barrier gone, but Wil intended to watch it, every drop.