Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 98: Stake of the Morning

Toren Daen

I rushed out of the window, jumping after the ascending serpent. I fell nearly five stories before my feet impacted liquified flesh, the squelch of rot under my feet anchoring me to the twining body.

I immediately scanned the serpent's body, paying barely any attention to the undead who ripped themselves from the flesh around me. Telekinetic rips and bursting sound grenades dealt with the creatures as they got close, but I was focused on something else entirely.

The leviathan's heartfire was further up the body. If I wanted to kill it, that was where I needed to aim.

I ran up the length of the serpent, twisting and twining as I ascended. I spotted my target before long: the still lifeforce of the monster. The gray not-pulse drew me like a beacon.

The commander was waiting for me, its baleful skull radiating malice. It stood like a sentinel over the heartfire, guarding it with its un-life. I jumped as it thrust its hand toward me, sprouting more tiny appendages that fired a myriad of spells. Small beads of gravity threatened to ruin my balance as tongues of fire kissed my skin, but I'd faced worse than this before.

I skated along the rotten flesh as I made my way closer, Oath held tightly in my fist. I brought up the sword as a metal sphere sailed past, batting it back toward the sender with the flat of my blade. As the metal impacted my red-tinged weapon, I imbued it with a bit of vibrating sound magic.

The metal sphere shot back toward the commander, humming with the contained force of my spell. It zipped straight through the monster's side, creating a splash of rot as it impacted the serpent's body. The commander took the attack without a sweat, the hulking monstrosity unphased by the hole punched in its side. But I continued to get closer.

The commander slammed its massive foot into the ground beneath us, injecting mana into the fleshy serpent's trunk. Ice slowly spread from that epicenter, coating my path with a slippery obstacle.

I grit my teeth. I was already so low on mana. Where before I could've simply charged through this undead's unholy barrage, now I had to focus on evading and slowly approaching without wasting too much energy.

I imbued my feet with a coating of fire, wincing internally as my reserves drained even further. When my boots touched the icy floor, the searing soles of my shoes melted the ice on contact, giving me a stable place to stand.

I lunged for the commander, Oath poised as I finally reached striking distance. The commander's arm erupted in a coating of earth as it reared back, ready to attack with the full weight of a hundred bodies.

In response, I threw my sword at the creature with a burst of telekinesis. The undead shifted slightly, allowing my swept-hilt saber to shear through its shoulder instead of heart. I snarled as my weapon left my hand, feeling my blood pulse in my ears.

The giant commander threw a fist augmented by earth, moving far faster than it should have with its colossal bulk. I barely ducked as the limb soared past my head, the wake blowing my hair away. I moved in close, augmenting my fists with a coating of fire. I threw an uppercut at the monster's elbow joint, feeling a satisfying crunch as my knuckles connected.

I had to weave to the side as the monster roared, lifting a foot and trying to kick me. I moved like the wind as I sidestepped, the chain on my arm flaring as I delivered two quick punches to its side in return. Each blow cut away at the undead's fleshy armor, causing it to stumble from the impacts.

It was forced back as I advanced, systematically overpowering it in hand-to-hand combat. I didn't throw extra spells or imbue my strikes with more power than was necessary. I needed to conserve energy, and dominating this monster in close quarters was the best way to do it.