Chapter 33

Wil watched the light fade, taking his companions far away. He had sent them directly back to Brookmoor, using considerably more of his mana than necessary in order to punch through the thick layer of negative energy that pervaded the chamber.

“Good. I expect the wielder of my sword to show the pride of dragons. I would be disappointed if you fled. I would rather not chase you down like a dog.” The Elder Dragon said, raising his mace.

“It isn’t pride, but concern for family. Something that a creature like you would never understand.” Wil said, turning away from where his friends had been and facing the dragon in humanoid form.

“True. We care nothing for ‘family’. A Dragon stands alone, relying on others is a weakness.” The warrior responded, his grin remaining on his lips. He gestured with his free hand towards his mace.

“Since you have stolen what is mine, I was forced to forge a new weapon. I constructed it from my own body, a knuckle bone. It is… serviceable, until I crush you and retrieve my ‘Tooth’.” He said, the mace crashing against the ground and easily breaking the stone floor, embedding the mace head into the earth.

With ease, he lifted it once more.

“I don’t remember you being this chatty.” Wil responded, raising his own sword in preparation.

“Eons of isolation, robbed of my voice.” The warrior said, shrugging his shoulder. Before Wil could respond, the warrior disappeared, so fast did he move that Wil could almost mistake it for teleportation. Reappearing in midair above him, the massive mace was already looming overhead.

On instinct, Wil used ‘Misty Step’ to retreat, the impact of the strike sending a billowing cloud of dust and debris in all directions. Reappearing, Wil sent a ‘Steel Wind Strike’ into the cloud, the attack striking true as the screeching sound of his magic hitting metal rang out.

The armored warrior emerged from the dust cloud, uninjured, his mace dragging behind him. The sound of combat was replaced by his taunting laughter.

“I truly missed this! Fighting as a human is always more enjoyable than my true form. My foes tend to simply die by my claws, robbing me of my entertainment.” The warrior called, his mace creating a furrow in the hard stone as he dragged it.

“Once you are dead, I’ll find your companions. I enjoyed how that young woman squealed as she fell. And your brother? He was passable. Perhaps I will give him an opportunity to heal, before I crush him beneath my heel.”

Wil let the insults wash over him, not rising to the taunts hurled against him. Seeing how the creature before him was unfazed, he changed tactics.

The chamber was formed from a natural cavern, leaving large stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Focusing on a large one almost directly overhead, Wil waited from the warrior to come closer.

“Humanity truly is an irritant. It’s galling that these ‘gods’ that you worship once counted themselves amongst your number…this world was oursss.” It hissed, dragging out the last word. “Ours to rule. You should be worshipping ME! Not these false idols!” The dragon in humanoid form shouted, his roar echoing off the cavern walls.

Its eyes glowed a fierce crimson in the darkness, filled with increasing madness as the infection slowly spread. The tar stains grew larger, the creature’s skin paling, the veins black beneath its skin. An aura of blackness surrounded him, negative energy, necrotic and deadly, swirled through the air.

The armored warrior hurled its weapon at the symbol of the Lidless Eye that had been embedded in the ground behind Wil. The mace smashed into it, cracking its surface, and shattering it in half. With almost deliberate slowness, the symbol toppled, falling onto the ground, sending a spray of fragments skittering across the ground.

The warrior extended his hand, grasping the air, as the weapon reappeared next to him.

“If this world is supposed to belong to you, why are you allowing an ‘Outsider’ to come and claim it? There will be nothing left to rule once that ‘thing’ arrives! You’re serving a destroyer of worlds!” Wil shouted, edging backwards.

‘Come forward, just a dozen more feet.’ Wil thought, judging the distance between his foe and the stalactite overhead.

“I SERVE NO ONE!” The enraged warrior shouted, firmly gripped in the infection’s madness. The warrior dashed forward, his heavy boots crunching against the stones as he propelled himself forward. His bulk shook the ground with every step. Lifting his mace, Wil could feel the murderous intent from the creature before him.

“Steel Wing Strike!” Wil shouted, his sword coated in mana. Sweeping it across his body horizontally, a streak of cutting wing shot out of the blade, a crescent moon of magic the whizzed by the warrior’s body on its way towards the ceiling.

The armoured figure broke out into a grin as it neared Wil.

“Your aim is as pathetic as you-” He was cut off as the attack cut through the large stalactite above. The ceiling groaned as the immense weight of the hanging spike broke free. The warrior turned to look above, his red eyes widening as the broken piece of cavern ceiling crashed towards him.

With an explosion of dust and debris, the stalactite struck him, burying his large frame from sight. Wil, wisely using ‘Misty Step’ to gain some distance, was nocked off balance as the chamber began to collapse from the damage.

Scrambling back to his feet, Wil ran with all speed towards the exit, enhancing his movement with liberal use of ‘Dimension Door’ and ‘Misty Step’ to outpace the destruction. Narrowly avoiding a large, falling piece of stone, Wil shot out of the passageway to the surface, a cloud of dust following him.

Covered in grey dust, Wil collapsed on the surface. Coughing, he reached into his bag for a container of water, swirling it around in his mouth and spiting out grey water. He poured more over his face and eyes, washing the dust to clear his vision.

The ground continued to rumble as the destruction continued, the earth sinking in places to fill the space below. The chamber had been enormous, and large sections of the already destroyed city sank beneath the Earth.

Finally able to see again, Wil returned the container to his bag, heaving a sigh of relief to be back under the open air.

“Hopefully that finished him.” Wil muttered, looking up at the black moon above. The portal was still open, the ‘Cracked Egg’ leaking black tar below. Deep within, he thought he could see a figure, massive and monstrous, struggling to push through the opening. It was so dark, however, that it was possible he was mistaken…

“Or maybe not.” Wil whispered, staring at the open portal. Tearing his gaze away before the portal began to affect him mentally, he turned to the assess the area around him.

“At least that will contain him. Even if it’s only for a few days, until the suns rise-” Wil was cut off by loud rumbles from below the ground. The earth heaved upwards, a geyser of dirt and debris that shot skyward, showering everything in soil and mud. Wil formed a barrier around him without a thought, stunned by the display of strength before him.

The Armored Warrior slowly emerged from the earth, clumps of dirt and clay clinging to his armor. Standing under the open sky once more, the Elder Dragon in human form lifted his face to the black moon above, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“I detest enclosed spaces.” The warrior murmured, opening his eyes, and looking down at his ragged appearance. With a wave of his hand, black mana swept across his body, clearing away the filth and leaving him spotless once more.

Pleased, he turned his attention back to Wil, his red eyes nearly black as the madness retreated, the effects of the infection subdued. The warrior extended his arm to the side, palm up, and waited. A split second later, the mace materialized, dropping into his palm from thin air. Hefting it up onto his shoulder, he gestured to the area around them.

“Much better to fight in the open, less opportunities for your dirty, human tricks.” He said, already moving towards Wil, his boots sinking into the soft soil with each step.

Wearily, Wil raised ‘The Dragon’s Tooth’, forcing his sluggish mana to move, cycling it through his body.

With thunderous force, their weapons clashed, ringing throughout the ruined city of Aachen, lost for a second time.