As Gash'zur got ready to throw her powered up weapon I held her back though. “You have seen what happened to the vampire. If it absorbs your weapon as well that would be less than optimal.” Yes, loosing one of our main weapons now would be no good. I wasn't willing to just stand around and wait either though. No way, no how. Since I didn't want to risk my weapon either I settled on a different approach. I constructed the spell matrix for a Magic Missile and channeled some Mana into it. Once I was satisfied I let it fly.

The glowing magical projectile arced up towards the impossible black egg. It didn't explode against its surface like I had expected though. Instead the egg swallowed it whole. Gash'zur and I exchanged perplexed looks and the giantess lowered her hammer again, swallowing hard. I was at a loss. How were we supposed to deal with that thing? It swallowed not just blood but as far as we knew all kinds of physical matter and magic as well.

I frowned. We hadn't actually seen it swallow all kinds of physical matter, just blood and a body. This warranted some more testing. After looking around and not finding a suitable object I brought my weapon down on the sickly glowing, black stone the ziggurat was built from. The result was less than satisfactory at first. My glaive, that cut just about everything so far, was having trouble with this material, whatever it was. Only after several more powerful blows did I manage to break off a fist sized chunk from one of the stones.

As I picked it up a shiver ran down my back. Even in my gloved hand it felt wrong. Whatever it was, it was not in any way natural. Exposure to it might not be healthy either. And even if it didn't have any detrimental effect on my physical health, it certainly wasn't good for my mental health. We better get out of here as soon as possible. The sooner I'd have to never see it again the better.

For now I couldn't just up and leave though. I hefted the chunk of rock in my hand, getting a feel for its weight. Then I threw it as hard as I could. My aim was a little off but not by too much. The rock struck the impossible egg a little off center. The result though was what I had come to expect by now. Instead of bouncing off it stuck to the outer shell of the egg only to be absorbed in short order.

We exchanged looks again, Gash'zur and I. She shrugged and voiced my concerns. “Attacking it with magic does no good and attacking it with weapons isn't any better. Got any other ideas? We … we can't just leave it like that? Right?”

I almost burst out laughing at her last question. “No we can't just leave it like that. No need to get worried yet though. I got another idea or maybe even two.” I raised my glaive again. “If it is a magical effect I might be able to disrupt it with the enchantment on my weapon. And if that doesn't work we could still try to hit it with the biggest, baddest Meteor Strike we can manage. After getting to a safe distance. At the edge of the desert with the goblins. Gib and Xue might both be able to support me in casting it.”

The giantess nodded. She didn't look terribly happy though. I wasn't really satisfied with these options either but it was all I could come up with right now. Finally Gash'zur sighed and nodded again. “Let's give it a try. Its not like I have any better ideas.”

I moved a little closer to the center of the platform and aimed my weapon at the egg above. I could still feel the power of the vampire's ritual in it. Disrupting it would not be easy. I took a deep breath and grasped the Mana flowing around me. This close to the thing even the natural flow of magical power seemed hard to channel. It was almost as if it tried to weasel its way out of my grasp. That wouldn't stop me though. I tightened my hold on the elusive Mana flows and channeled as much of it into the enchantments of my weapon as I possibly could.

I let the power build until the weapon was thrumming within my hands. It wouldn't take much more and the enchantment might come undone, most likely in an explosion as destructive as it would be impressive. This was it. I jabbed my glaive at the egg in a carefully controlled movement, to make sure it wouldn't actually touch the impossible egg, and triggered the anti magic enchantment for the second time this day.

I had to close and avert my eyes as the two currents of magical power clashed. It only lasted for a few heartbeats but it felt longer to me. Only afterwards did I realize that I had held my breath the whole time. Dizziness clouded my thoughts and I hastily gulped in some fresh air when a shout from Gash'zur pulled me back into the here and now. I looked over at her.

She was pointing upwards and as she noticed the questioning look on my face she repeated her exclamation. “There! Its cracking!”

She was right the egg really was cracking. It had lost that impossible black luster as well. Now it was just plain black as the cracks spread and bits and pieces of it started to fall off. Through one crack some of the near omnipresent glittering dust drizzled out onto the platform below. It piled up and the drizzle didn't show any signs of slowing anytime soon. Could the egg have swallowed the dust during the storm I conjured?

It reminded me a little of a broken hourglass. I got the unpleasant feeling that it signaled that our time was running out. Both I and the giantess ta my side backed off as far as we could without getting too close to the edge.

Finally it was Gash'zur who broke the silence. “Is it supposed to do that?” She was trying hard to stay calm and it took everything she had. She was only barely succeeding as well. The look on her face left no doubt about it despite the casual and easygoing tone of her question.

I had no idea to be honest. I shrugged. “No clue. I have never been an omnicidal goddess trying to break free of her shackles and reincarnate in a megalomagical blood ritual. I don't think I have ever heard or read any stories like that either.” I fell silent for a moment. “We should assume that everything is still going according to her plan. That's probably the safe bet.”

The giantess nodded numbly and readied her weapon again as the drizzle of glittering dust finally slowed down. As it came to a stop more and more of the shell broke away. It didn't pile up below the disintegrating egg though. Instead it the pieces of shell breaking away turned into a fine mist before fading into nothingness.

Could it be pure Mana made manifest? I wasn't quite sure but it was a possibility I couldn't quite dismiss either. The cracks became ever wider and a single chunk of black stone glowing with a sickly green inner light dropped on top of the heap of glittering dust. It wasn't the last thing to come out of the impossible egg though.

I shifted into a defensive stance, raising both my shield and my glaive, as first one delicate foot and then another touched down upon the pile of detritus. My heart skipped a beat as the rest of the egg dissolved into a fine mist at once, only to gather around the newly revealed figure, where the mist solidified again into clothes, armor and weapons. It was all ornaments, spikes, jagged edges and impossible angles. Both the plate mail and the mind boggling big sword looked truly ancient, somewhat impractical or uncomfortable and yet utterly deadly at the same time.

At a first glance the figure could be mistaken for the vampire we had faced but as soon as I met the figure's gaze, looking in her eyes, I had no more doubt that this was not the reincarnated Hada Otohe. These impossibly deep black eyes were not the eyes of a mortal at all.

Gash'zur had gone down onto her knees as the presence of the being standing there washed over us. She was shaking and crying tears of blood, barely managing to hold onto her weapon.

I met the gaze of the ancient in front of me without buckling though. I bared my teeth and flashed her a toothy smile. “Looks like the bitch finally got what she deserved. Probably didn't even see it coming until it was too late.”

The Devourer returned my smile and giggled. “Yes. They always get what they deserve. And they are always surprised. They see me as just another convenient tool to increase their own power. They expect rewards and praise. None of them ever seem to understand that they are just another tasty morsel.” She laughed out loud. “You'd expect the name alone to clue them in to the only fate they can expect, serving me.”

She sighed and struck a dramatic pose. “Now what am I to do with you though? You don't serve me. Even now I can see nothing but murder in your eyes. Yet, I wouldn't be standing here without your help. I couldn't have broken the chains my sisters bound me with without your help.”