The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 77: The Literal Firestorm

Mephisto stared at the pooling blood on the floor. Within the spill, he could see his reflection, a twisted face of rage. He recalled everything Kieran had told him before the boy entered Purgatorio.

The Human-Born's name... Alexander Lane, yes? Yes... Alexander Lane.

"Alexander Lane. I curse you and your wishes." He chuckled to himself, staring into his own glowing eyes. "When you fall, you will remember the rage of the devils you have wronged and killed."

Hours later, Alexander's mind continued to process different actions, control different movements, and enhance different limbs simultaneously. He kept Kieran pressed against him while he forced his legs up over and over again to take step by step over the red mountain. And while a literal firestorm blazed around them, Alexander kept his dark magic circulating over Kieran and himself, blocking them from the spare firestone that crashed and burned into them.

It was exhausting. But he couldn't stop now.

The sun had already begun rising, and within less than 10 hours, Furcas would be waiting for them on the mountaintop.

Alexander had already been climbing for what he thought to be two hours. Of course, it was tough to approximate time while climbing a mountain with another man on his back, using magic all the while.

But he brought himself to look down, staring down at the hundreds of meters down he had already hiked. His starving stomach sank further into his stomach out of fear. Wrath's army was nearly at the castle of Purgatorio, still marching down the valley through the literal firestorm.

He remembered Anastasia's impeding fear of heights and chuckled to himself as he brought himself to focus once again– she'd pass out just from a glance at their elevation.

There was still one-third of the mountain left to climb. Just one hour more, he told himself, carefully and willfully pushing himself further, pressing one foot against the ground above the other.

A slight whistling shrilled the air, piercing Alexander's ears before his eyes could process the sight. After all, it was nothing more than a blur that crashed into the stone of the mountain. Red rock and dust exploded after that impact.

Alexander nearly lost his balance and fell off the side, but forced himself back and to press against the wall of the mountain. All he could do was stare at the rising dust, bringing himself to face the new problem that arose.

He first saw its black wings of pure skin. Like a bat's, they were leathered and hardly hairy flesh, the thin and hollow bones protruding out of the back. But the rest of the body was a bigger issue.

It was a gargantuan furry beast. As it crashed into the side of the mountain, its maroon fur bustling in the wind with stone and dust and flame swaying around him, Alexander's human instincts reminded him that one should always run upon encountering a brown bear.

But Alexander already knew this beast was far more dangerous.

It pulled itself up and stood straight, locking its wings back and unveiling the beast's head. Two grand horns sat on his head, twisting as they curled upward, while his face sharpened to a snout. Even with the body of a strong bear, he resembled nothing like a Worldy creature.

His hands were the size of his grand head, his fingers extending into thick claws. A tail sat under his batlike wings, still dressed in fur and swirling while he brought his head down and met Alexander with his stale gaze of blood-orange eyes.

"Funny. I knew I smelled human."

Beyond all of its already terrifying features, it also spoke.

"The fuck type of chimera are you?!" Alexander found himself crying out.