Mage Tank

Chapter 214: Lockdown

The shockwave pushed me back a step, and a dense web of cracks appeared in the inventory slots below our feet. I was momentarily stunned by the sight but tore my eyes away from the now-wiggling vines when metallic plates along the golem’s arm began to open.

The inside of the golem was covered in glowing mana weaves, but the power rolling off of them was hundreds of times more potent than what the Chovali had been working with.

The fist disconnected from the arm, transforming into a sphere that rose off the ground. I could hear Hysteria beating their skeletal fists against the sphere’s interior. Plates fell away from the arm up to the elbow to form six complex mana arrays that floated into position around the sphere and began feeding mana into one another. More plates fell from the arm up to the golem’s shoulder, flying out to form additional mobile weaves throughout the obelisk chamber.

I glanced through the sigils, trying to discern their function, but it was beyond me. Even so, many of the runes looked familiar, although I couldn’t place them.

The runes on the center sphere shifted and turned violet. The hue rippled out to the rest of the weaves as each one morphed in response. An opaque wall of Mystical energy filled the room, eradicating every scrap of Spiritual mana that I could sense.

You are no longer Dominated!

You are no longer Mesmerized!

You are in a zone of Spiritual nullification. Spiritual Magic cannot be used in this zone.

I blinked away the notifications and pushed down the seething anger that was unleashed when Hysteria’s fetters broke away from my soul.

Welp, that there was one big fist. I pulled out my second orb of Tyranny’s Tears and smashed it on the ground.

The result was less drastic than the last time I’d used the item. Even if there had been illusions in the room before the anti-magic golem crashed Hysteria’s party, the array shredded everything with a hint of Spiritual mana in it. Anything Hysteria could have thrown together should have been obliterated.

Still, one thing in the room did change. Hysteria had not been cornered by the golem’s fist. The avatar wasn’t trapped inside the sphere. The exposed center of the obelisk was filled with a colorful, shifting liquid, surrounding the cylindrical device that was sucking away the Dimensional energy.

For a moment, I thought my theory on Hysteria had been wrong. Perhaps the avatar could weave illusions using Physical Magic to manipulate light, or even Divine Magic to manifest visions in others. If that were the case, why did the golem limit itself to purging Spiritual mana, or was it only able to affect one type of mana at a time? I glanced up, seeing if I could identify the creature.

Deiphage Golem: Construct, Grade 60

My eyes widened at the grade. Avarice was walking around with a golem that the System judged could rival the world’s most powerful Delvers. While it was still possible the golem could only affect one school of mana at a time, I thought it was more likely that Hysteria had been using another Deific ability. If so, it didn’t matter how powerful the golem’s magic was. If it didn’t have a spark of divinity, it would break against Hysteria.

The Tears, on the other hand, were also Deific, allowing them to peel away the illusion like normal. Handy item to have, that one. I’d now spent both of the ones I’d had, but at least they’d served their purpose.

Dark hands stretched down from the shadows above, wrapping their fingers around Hysteria’s liquid form. The avatar shot out from the obelisk, reforming their colorful skeleton. While their illusion had been pristine, shimmering bone, Hysteria’s true figure was riddled with subtle distortions.

Fragments of their soul were twisted out of place, folding over one another and creating the appearance of cracks. The avatar stumbled away, but the dark hands whipped forward, hundreds of long, black fingers curling around Hysteria’s ribs and spine.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The hands melded with one another, forming a lightless cocoon around the avatar. As soon as the dark mass swallowed up the last glimmer of Hysteria’s skeleton, the whole thing disappeared with a pop. A moment later, the hands returned empty, then melted away to join the shadow above.

More thuds rang out from the central sphere. This time, the sounds were genuine.

The tall, feminine figure of Avarice’s false body descended from the shadow, looking significantly less real than normal. She appraised the sphere, listening to Hysteria’s struggles. When she turned to look at me, it was with a face like an intricate doll.

Icon of Avarice: Construct, Grade Unknown

She walked to me, her steps fluid and natural, but there was a machine-like grace to them as well.

“Your offer was a bold one,” she said. “I almost decided to decline it.”

“I doubt that,” I said. “You wouldn’t let such a golden opportunity go to waste.”

She raised a fake eyebrow, then gestured at the massive golem still half obscured in the darkness above.

“This golem is a remnant from the prior generation. No one alive can replace them, and they have a limited number of uses.” She turned to peer up at the multi-story construct. “This one only had one use left. My employees will have to scrap the rest of it for parts.”

“Is that how they captured the avatars that are locked up in The Cage?”

“It was one tool among many,” said Avarice. “As potent as the golem is, it cannot capture an avatar at full strength.”

“Good thing we wore Hysteria down for you, then.”

“Did you?” Avarice asked, turning back to me. “Or was it simply that Hysteria was careless?”

“Definitely both. There was no way the Dread Star’s divine pimp hand didn’t shake Hysteria up a bit. They also underplayed the damage Varrin’s attack did afterward. The spot where the big guy hit their sternum was the same spot where Etja managed to suck out a drop of their soul. Plus, they shouldn’t have had so much trouble reforming their disguise, and they weren’t using nearly as many props and gags.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

I watched as Varrin recovered his helmet. It had landed near Fluffy, who flinched when he scooped up the piece of armor.

“The System also mentioned that Hysteria was burning some kind of Divine Favor when they used their Deific abilities,” I continued. “If Hysteria had a huge supply of whatever that is, they wouldn’t have fucked around so much. Either way, having another avatar under your thumb was worth a lot more than half a golem. At least, it is if you’re planning to use them the way I think you will.”

Etja came over and started floating around Avarice, looking her up and down.

“This is really neat,” she said. “Were you always using this to talk to us?”

“That will remain a mystery,” said Avarice.

Etja looked disappointed but turned to look at the spherical prison without attempting to argue. “I’m a little confused. Did Arlo sell you Hysteria? Also, you called them ‘brother’, so does that mean Hysteria is a boy?”

“Hysteria is whatever form they are wearing,” said Avarice. “I felt that an overbearing skeleton trying to bring the world to ruin exhibited a masculine characteristic.”

I worked that one over, trying to decide if I should be offended on behalf of my gender.

“I see,” said Etja. “But I’m not sure I’m comfortable selling people.”

I worked that one over as well, trying to decide if the offer I’d made to Avarice via the System was tantamount to a slave trade.

“Bounty hunting,” I said. “It’s definitely bounty hunting, not selling people.” Etja looked at me, waiting for the rest of my explanation. “I offered our services in helping Avarice capture Hysteria–who is by any measure a wanted criminal–in exchange for a reward. That’s hunting for a bounty.”

“Bounty hunters operate under the mandate of a government,” said Varrin. “What you are describing is mercenary work, not bounty hunting.”

“As the leader of the sovereign nation of Closetland,” I said, “I retroactively declare the avatar Hysteria a criminal and public menace of the highest order, and hereby offer a reward for their capture.”

“Now we would be engaging in law enforcement,” said Varrin.

“Closetland?” said Xim.

“What’s the reward?” asked Etja.

“I would be law enforcement,” I said to Varrin. “You all would be bounty hunters working under my mandate. Except for Etja, who’s the only person who has petitioned for citizenship, which I hereby accept. I also grant unto her the title of Minister of Magic.”

“Oh,” said Etja. A smile quickly bloomed on her face. “How about… Supreme Wizard!”

“Master of the Mystical Arts,” I countered.

“Witch Queen!”

“Chief of Sorcery?”

“I am going to leave now,” said Avarice.

“Oh, but what was the reward?” asked Etja. “Lord of Spells,” she hastily whispered to me. That one wasn’t bad.

“Since my arrangement is apparently with the leader of a recently founded nation, I will be treating the terms as confidential,” said Avarice. Shadowy hands began scooping up the arrays and pulling them back into Avarice’s shadow. “As the newly appointed Director of Thaumaturgy, I am certain Master Xor’Drel will be willing to explain them to you.”

There was a rush of air as the golem’s head swept down from above, its jaw unhinging and biting down on the sphere. Hysteria’s prison slotted into place within the golem’s mouth, and streams of mana began to flow out from the captured avatar and down the golem’s throat. Hysteria shrieked as the Deiphage receded into the darkness overhead.

Avarice floated upwards. “Given your performance today, I believe you will be ready for my task around Level 20. I will be watching your progress closely.”

“Alright,” I said, waving the avatar farewell. “If we catch any more avatars, I’ll let you know.”

She smirked as she faded into the dark. The shadow faded away and a faint chuckle echoed through the room after it was gone.

Xim blew out a long breath. “Glad that’s done,” she said.

“Is it?” asked Varrin, staring at the entrance to the obelisk chamber.

I followed his gaze to find Buster, still shriveled up with a large globe of blood and flesh in front of him. His massive sword had melted up into the gore, forming a series of blocky runes that hurt to look at.

“Shit, I forgot about that guy,” I said.

“Hysteria said he was summoning a blood god, right?” said Etja.

“Something like that.” I sighed and nodded at the desiccated Hyrachon. “Were you waiting for Avarice to leave?”

Buster blinked and one of his eyelids crumbled away. It was sucked into the bloody mass.

“I…. am… unworthy,” he said, then raised a hand toward Fluffy, who still cowered against the wall. The Yeti squeaked and began to slide toward Buster, clawing at the ground to try and fight the pull. It didn’t help.

“Yeah, you said that.” I glanced at Etja and pointed at the blocky runes. “Is that Celestial? What does it say?”

“Hmm, it’s a prayer,” she said. “‘Chalgoth, Father of my Blood, Master of my Steel, strip from us our strengths and cast aside our weakness. Accept our flesh for instruction, so that my eternal soul may rest within your forge and understand what potential it has wasted.”

Varrin walked over and placed his boot on the Yeti’s chest, but she kept slipping inexorably closer to the orb.

“Is it safe to kill him?” I asked. “Or will his spell blow up?”

“Why would it blow up?”

“It has a ridiculously long activation time. There’s gotta be some kind of protection so he can finish casting. Otherwise, it would just be stupid.”

“Makes sense,” said Etja. My new Lord of Spells offered no further counsel on the matter.

“Guess we’ll have to risk it,” I said, pulling out Somncres.

I hurled it at Buster, copying it into five Void Hammers. The Hyrachon lifted their arms, and four more arms formed out of the orb of gore to join them. Each pair of arms matched one of the Wastelanders that had been mixed into the amalgam of death. Five hands caught my hammers. I tried to unsummon Somncres, but the Hyrachon prevented it somehow. The Fleeting copies didn’t disappear either; they were held in place by the hands.

Varrin rushed in, swinging Kazandak. The Hyrachon halted the big guy’s blade with the sixth arm. Etja launched a death beam, and the orb expanded into dome, covering the Hyrachon’s front and freezing the spell in place. Xim called down Judgment, but the fiery pillar parted over the Hyrachon and the flames went still like they were frozen in time.

Buster trembled as he defended against the attacks, and a smile crept onto his face.

“Almost,” he said. Fluffy was three feet away. “All that I behold has become Chalgoth’s domain. He will show us what we could have been, and you shall serve as demonstration!”

There was a light splash and a series of soft clicks. Several puffs of stone dust scattered off the walls, and six arrows appeared in Buster’s body.

Three went down the back of his skull, piercing his brain and severing his spine, while three more angled in through his ribs, cutting through his heart and both lungs.

Buster went stiff and let out a soft, wheezing breath.

A pulse of mana caused necrotic veins to burst out from the arrows and zip through Buster's flesh. Another pulse and the veins multiplied, then broke open, pouring out rotten ichor that was sucked into the orb. The orb swirled and blackened. The blocky runes began to corrode.

Buster tipped forward like a falling tree. As he fell, all of our attacks were released. Hammers pulped the body, Kazandak sliced it open, Etja’s beam split it down the middle and turned a swath of the Hyrachon to dust, and what remained was consumed by crimson flame.

The orb was caught in the fire, and splashed down on top of the ruined remains, splattering Fluffy with a gallon of ignited gross. The Yeti rolled away from the mess, yelping and slapping at her body to try and extinguish herself.

Xim must have taken pity on the Yeti because she waved a hand and dismissed the fire working its way through the little woman’s fur. She took several deep breaths, tried to climb to her feet, fell back over, and then settled on sitting up to look between us with wild eyes.

I looked down the dark hallway, and all at once Nuralie appeared from the shadows, water dripping from her leathers. She looked down at the pile of burning flesh and nodded.

“I guess you did not behold me,” she said. Pause. “Idiot.”