“...That’s it. Use your staff to focus on the wisp. Keep it busy.” Following Floki’s instruction, Lucious relaxed his tension and concentrated his bolts of fire and pointed his staff at the dark wisps to chase and hinder the new wave of minor demons. Narrowing his target to a wisp nearby, Lucious’s small bolts of flare locked onto the wisp and led it to a merry chase on the air. Ensuring the wisp stayed within his sight, Lucious also needed to keep its trajectory strictly above the squad as they proceeding deeper into the darkened cave.
Floki and Emma also had their hands full as they concentrated on several wisps and keeping them at bay. It was a sound decision to conserve their strength and Natura while moving on to the Grimkeeper. Unlike Lucious who struggled to concentrate on a wisp, Floki and Emma’s bolts of fire homed on the rest of the wisps with ease and forced them to evade. A wisp stopped and tried to consume the fires. With his eyes flashed with opportunity, Cassian drew and stabbed lightly at the wisp as his silver sword glittered faintly in the dark. Suffering substantial damage, the wisp flew slowly as it retreated from the squad to the air far above. Keeping this tactic, the squad kept the wisps on the move while closing on to the Grimkeeper.
Cornering his target, Lucious struck the wisp with one of his bolts from an unexpected angle as he trapped and surrounded the wisp. Stunned by the firebolt, the wisp stopped for a second which proved fatal. Taking the chance, the rest of his firebolts closed onto the wisp and expanded their surface to engulf it in a ball of fire. Trembled grotesquely as if in pain, the wisp zoomed around uncontrolled and collided with another wisp. One of Floki’s bolt landed on the other wisp and engulfed it in the fire. “...Don’t overdo it. Weaken it but keep it alive.” Nodding at Floki’s reminder, Lucious mellowed the deadly effect of the purifying firebolt.
“Great! Take it slow but walk faster. The Grimkeeper is not stupid.” As if heeding to Cassian’s caution, the remaining wisps rushed toward the burning wisps. Consumed the fire which was burning their comrades, the wisps quivered as they united and merged to become a larger sphere of concentrated unholy miasma. “...Watch your bad mouth, lad.” “...Just stating the fact.” Lucious looked incredulously at the arguing Floki and Cassian and interrupted them. “What should we do?” Lucious could not believe his eyes as Floki looked plainly at ease while Cassian brushed his chin deliberately at his frantic question. “Well, we spook it.”
Answered in unison, Cassian called on the rest of the knights while Floki looked firmly at Emma who nodded knowingly. Alone in the midst, Lucious could only look on with a surprised expression as the knights formed a barrier with Julian’s enchantment and rammed toward the dark miasma with their shields. Caught unexpectedly by the reckless charge, the dark sphere was stunned briefly. It was enough for the Maeists to gather their Natura and released their mayhem. Created partially with Floki’s Natura, a small fire orb flew from Emma and moved slowly toward the dark sphere after the knights moved away. Spreading its miasma and intended to consume the puny orb in one gulp, the dark sphere did not notice the fire orb trembled unstably. At Emma’s flick of a finger, the fire orb erupted.
The miasma that covered the sphere was instantly purified by the explosion, revealing a smaller spherical object with ebony contours the size of Lucious’s head. “That must be the core...” Lucious could only sigh in admiration as he witnessed the wit of the warriors and Maeists of Jercflosey. “...Don’t break it. Julian!” Broke out from his thought, Lucious saw Julian raised his staff and pointed at the exposed core. Faint orbs of light started to converge at Julian’s staff as the Maeist in white robe chanted. The light orbs danced around Julian’s outstretched staff and flew quickly toward the dark sphere. Trying futilely to generate its veil of miasma, the sphere hissed in frustration at the interruption as the orbs of light surrounded and purifying the generating miasma.
“...Good. That should buy us some time. Let’s move.” The squad assumed formation and press on with quicker pace. “Come on, you slowpoke.” “...Wait, my legs...” Floki grabbed Lucious’s arm and pulled him forward. “...Listen, I’m not sure what will happen when we meet the Grimkeeper...” Lucious trembled slightly at their pending encounter with the guardian of the Abyss. “...Don’t push yourself. Staying alive until the end is a great feat by itself.” “...Well, I don’t plan to die here. There is something I must achieve.” Lucious raised his tightened fist as he looked at Floki determinedly. Nodding in approval, Floki brushed Lucious’s head violently. Yapping in frustration, Lucious did not miss a faint smile that lasted a second on Floki’s lips before it tightened seriously.
Stopping, Lucious saw the passage stretched to an empty opening ahead, but somehow something was not right. Lucious sensed an enormous presence that is too incomprehensible as if the mere presence shattered his sense of the world. The young trainee could not help but choke breathlessly. “...It’s waiting just ahead...that demon...” Released his palm on Lucious’s head, Floki looked ahead with his eyes gleaned like a hunter. Cassian stopped the squad as he walked to the front and took a deep breath before turning back to hold his squad with a firm gaze. “...At last, we’re almost there...” Gathering his breath, Lucious gazed at the leader of the squad with his emotions in turmoil. Fear. Anticipation. Hope. Despair. Locking them deep within his thumping heart, Lucious hold his gaze firmly as Cassian continued. “Be cautious and patient. There is a chance as long as we stick together and stay alive. Shields, forward!” Directing the deployment of his squad, Cassian turned to the Maeists.
“The Maeists are the key to our survival and victory. Floki and Emma, stay with the shields and harass the Grimkeeper. Julian, bless with the light. Lucious, keep Julian safe. Cassia and Pompadous, hit and run.” Closing his helmet, Cassian joined the shield knights and drew his sword. “Squad, charge!!” Unable to suppress his exhilaration which was filled to the brim, Lucious found himself roared with others in raw excitement. The cave was instantly echoed in deafening calls to arms as Lucious followed the mounting assault toward the opening. Upon entering the opening, Lucious could feel a brief resistance as if the very space tried in vain to reject his presence. It was gone the instant he stepped into the opening.
Stopping to comprehend the sensation, Lucious raised his eyebrows as the others did not seem to mind about the faint resistance just now. “...Don’t mind it. The sensation is a warning for the intruders of the world of light. Beyond this point, there is only darkness.” Licking his lips in nervous exhilaration, Floki pushed Lucious forward. Moving deeper into the enshrouding darkness, Lucious found himself looking at boundless darkness even his orb of light could only illuminate for several steps ahead. Unable to discern the surroundings, Lucious started to break in a cold sweat at his instinctive fear toward black nothingness.
“...We should stop now.” The procession stopped as Cassian raised his hand without looking back. “Julian, the light. The rest, shield your eyes.” Lucious wrapped his arms around his head but left a tiny spot of opening to quell his curiosity. Julian held his staff with both hands and landed the staff on the ground with such force as he chanted for the coming of the light. Blinding rays of light poured from Julian’s staff as the white Maeist raised his staff and shot the light up above the borderless darkness. Lucious screamed in pain as his eyes were stung by a brilliant bath of light as the light spread across the darkness.
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