Golden words twisted in the air.
=User Information=
Name: Felix Soolin | Title: [First Claw Of The Lion | Class: Warlock | Subclass: Warmancer
Warmancer? What in the seven hells was a warmancer?
My eyes flicked to Sil, the sound of music beginning to grow in the air, and then I glanced back over to Felix and the three goons he'd brought with him. Another ball of cracklign energy was already starting to form around his hand.
Without thinking, I reached for my belt, where I usually kept my weapons, a groan escaping my lips. I'd ditched my daggers before the clinic run, and then I'd left my sword sticking out of the general's chest. Both decisions had made sense in the moment, but now… now I was weaponless and fighting a warmancer.
The sound of stone exploding drew my attention back to the fight. One of the three kids was down on the ground, smoke rising from his chest. Felix's eyes focused on Sil this time, the energy around his hand finally reaching its peak. He shoved his hand outward, directly at the blue-eyed man.
The power rippled the air around it as it shot toward Sil. More music filled the air, this time a song that seemed to resonate with the protective instincts in my body and mind. The air shimmered in front of Sil and a massive almost completely translucent shield appeared before him, catching the attack that Felix had just hurled at him.
Picking my chin up off the ground, I spurred into action. I might not have weapons, but I was deadly enough without them. I'd managed to defeat those thugs my first night after reawakening without any kind of weapon. Surely I could defeat three kids, even if one of them had the System backing him up.
I had closed half the distance to the two kids with clubs when Felix's eyes snapped to me once more. The air sizzled around me and then little tears appeared in the surrounding air, bolts of blue energy snapping out of them. The bolts struck the ground around me, sending pieces of stone and dust flying into the air. I avoided them as best I could, even using [Swift Strike] once to avoid a particularly nasty looking bolt that twisted and followed my steps.
I did a quick check of my Stamina—I really didn't need to get hit with that exhaustion again—and the System responded, painting the words in the air off to the right, not obscuring my vision very much.
Stamina: 50/100
I ran through the scenarios as I kept moving forward, dodging out of the way, trying not to use [Swift Strike] unless absolutely necessary. I'd used it twice since taking the tonic Sil had forced down my throat. That meant it cost 5 Stamina each time I used it. I remembered the System telling me that, but I hadn't ever really thought about it until now.
That meant I could theoretically use it 5 more times before I reached the point of exhaustion that I'd felt earlier. And that was all based on if the exhaustion had been caused by low Stamina. Maybe it was a side effect of the new skill I'd unlocked instead. So many questions and not enough time to answer them all.
I reached the kids, forcing myself to cut off the train of thought as I brought my fist whirling around. The first kid tried to attack with his club, but I was quicker, my fist connecting with the side of his face, sending a splatter of blood and tooth ejecting from his mouth as his head whipped to the side.
I grabbed for the club, my fingers closing around the end of it as the air around me began to shimmer and spark once more. Ripping at the wooden weapon, I managed to pull it free from the boy's hands. I twisted my body, spinning around in a circle with the club held out. I felt the end of it connect with something fleshy, and then a scream of pain erupted through the alleyway.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Jumping back from the crackling air with a [Swift Strike], I brought up the wooden club, keeping the now bloody end held out toward Felix and the remaining threats. The second boy—the one whose club I'd stolen—was kneeling on the ground, his jaw looked like it had been disconnected awkwardly, and blood leaked from a long gash along his cheek.
Startled eyes full of fear met mine. I almost felt bad. Almost.
"You made this choice," I told the group. "Remember that when you're all bleeding out on the ground."
I didn't let the words settle, instead pushing myself into action once more. Music flitter around me, little notes appearing like wisps in the air around me. I didn't run from these. I knew it was Sil.
Buff Applied: Steps of the Weaving Dancer
The message appeared as I moved in on the final club-wielding boy. His eyes wide, glancing between me and the boy kneeling on the ground, his face bleeding. All the blood slipped from his features, his skin paling, and then he dropped his club.
I pulled myself up, letting him tuck tail and run. Felix, however, did not seem so inclined. He twisted, watching the boy flee, and then his hand shot out, a blue arc of energy flowing through the air. It struck the boy in the back then seared through his body, leaving a smoking hole in his chest.
Sil and I watched the boy's corpse collapse to the ground, Felix turning his attention back to us, a crooked smile creeping up his face.
"Aurelion does not accept failure or weakness." His words were cold, almost devoid of any emotion.
"What has he done to you?" I asked. I hadn't known Felix long, but I'd interacted with him enough to know that this wasn't who he was.
Images of the kid who had warned me about Ophelia's plans to stab me in the back flashed through my mind. That was not the boy before me now.
"He gave me what I always lacked. Purpose…" blue power began to form around his hand again. "And power."
Power. There was that word again. The word that so many kept putting first. Strength. Power. They were important things to hold, to value. But they were not everything. It did not matter how much power I'd had. The [Hero] still destroyed everything I loved. All so he could have more power.
The fury built within me again, a flame with oil poured directly into it. It exploded, and I felt the same desire to kill rise within me. But something else flowed alongside it. A sense of control that I hadn't felt as much before. A thread that I could reach out and grab onto if I wanted to. I did. I made a decision then. In that breath before moving. I wasn't going to kill Felix. No. He might wish he was dead, but I wouldn't be the one to snuff out his life.
I was going to use him to send a message to Aurelion. A message that he couldn’t ignore.
I struck, using [Swift Strike] to thrust myself forward, wooden club already swinging. Felix brought his hand up, but musical notes flooded past me, wrapping around his arm. It jerked to the side as he released the attack, and instead of hurtling toward me, it crashed into the stone wall of the building to my right, sending stone chips and dust raining down on me.
I passed through the cloud effortlessly, some of the chips smacking against my skin. Some drew blood, but I didn't mind. I only had one thought on my mind in that moment. One singular focus; Felix.
I swung the wooden club with another use of [Swift Strike], sending the end of the weapon hurtling toward Felix's midsection. It connected, sending a wave of vibrations through the club and up my arm. I heard something crack, but I wasn't sure if it was the club or Felix's ribs.
He groaned as the attack sent him stumbling to the side, his hand reaching out to catch himself on the wall. I didn't give him time to recover. He hadn't given that boy a chance, either.
I spun up the club again, this time from the opposite direction. Once more, it collided with his body, sending another crack ripping through the air. Another noise of pain, this one a yelp. I chanced a look at the club, the end having broken off with the latest assault. The splintered end a myriad of peaks and valleys.
"Damn you," he groaned, his hand moving to his torso. Energy began to form around his other hand as he extended it toward me.
[Swift Strike]. I moved instinctively. The club-turned-stake jabbing at his extended hand. The weapon tore through the skin like a dull knife through cloth, embedding itself in his shoulder.
He yelped in pain, like a kicked animal, and blood began to drip down the weapon and onto the ground, staining the stones with more red.
His eyes met mine, the defiance still there. But beneath it something else stirred, as if trying to break through a heavy veil. I watched, waiting to see if it might succeed, but then it was gone. Snuffed out as anger contorted his face, his eyes narrowing as his gaze remained locked to mine.
"He will not let you get away with this," Felix hissed, his voice etched with pain. "He will come for you."
I offered a shrug, the fury within me starting to settle once more. "Good. I'd be disappointed if he didn't. Come on, Sil."
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