Gold gathered Siv into a gleaming sphere above his palm. With a flick of his fingers, it split into hundreds of hardened needles, each one glowing faintly.
The monsters hesitated. Too late. The needles shot out like a storm of arrows, shredding the pack into nothing but blood and pulp.
Only the bull remained, its hide studded with silver needles that hadn’t pierced through. Gold recalled Siv, now blood-stained, and with a thought, restored it to clean, dull silver.
They stared each other down, dark eyes against bright red.
The bull answered by bringing both chains down in a blur. The air barely had time to whoosh before impact but Gold had already molded Siv into a shield.
The blow bent him toward the ground even without him holding the shield directly. He winced.
What insane strength...
Above his head, it shifted again, two silver hands shot from the shield and seized the bull’s weapons.
The monster pulled. Gold pulled back, anchoring Siv with arcane force. But his real focus was elsewhere.
Two small silver orbs formed in his hands.
"Time to die," he whispered, essence pouring into them.
The spheres ignited with white fire, the air shimmering and warping from the heat. The bull bellowed, ripping its weapons free just as Gold raised his hands.
The orbs fired with a deafening crack. In the space of a heartbeat, the bull’s head burst into a red mist.
Gold groaned at the drain on his core.
White Bullet was his and his father’s creation but it wasn’t perfect. It consumed too much essence, required prep time, and worst of all, burned away his Siv entirely. He could remake it, but not quickly.
Still, he was proud of the technique. To push its speed and lethality further, he used the white fire—his unique Flow—born from his bloodline’s silver-shaping gift. Known to some as Blacksmith Fire, it let him mold Siv into any form he desired.
The blast had drawn more monsters. Gold reshaped Siv into a whip, the air cracking around him.
A virtue, a beast with fanged jaws lunged, mouth glowing as flames gathered in its throat.
Gold lashed out, but fire roared toward him. He leapt sideways as the air where he’d stood ignited in a wave of heat.
Another gout of flame came. Gold molded Siv into a wide, blanketing shield, its surface glowing with white fire. Heat rippled off it as his core shuddered from the essence drain. He grit his teeth, holding the barrier firm against the burning tide.
From beneath his shield, Gold heard a wet, meaty thud. The fire assaulting him vanished.
He reshaped his silver into a whip and surged upright, expecting a stronger foe but found only a fading curl of grey smoke.
Rauk carved through monsters like a storm. Grey smoke swirled around him both shield and misdirection. From within, quick bursts of arcane flashed, or his long blade darted out to take a head before sliding back into cover.
The fire-thrower that had pinned Gold was already dead at his feet. Rauk angled toward Taria’s position, intent on clearing her path.
when a shadow stepped between them.
It struck first. Claws black as midnight swept out, tearing his smoke shield away like a curtain.
"What.." Rauk’s words died as the monster’s backhand smashed into him. He caught it on his blade’s edge, but the force still hurled him back. Stars swam in his vision.
The monster lunged to finish him, but Rauk was already drawing in silver stone, welcoming the cold strength that hardened muscle and burned away the fog in his mind.
His stance snapped into place.
Magic flared along his sword. He unleashed a blast, but instead of streaking forward, it hung in the air, a gleaming grey arc. He sent another, the strikes crossing into an X that slammed into the monster’s chest, shoving it back.
"My combo didn’t break it?"
The thing rose, tall, skin stretched tight over corded muscle, its smooth bone face empty of eyes or nose. A maw split wide, packed with jagged fangs.
"Shit." Not fear....revulsion.
Taria had taught him a technique for this kind of wall, it was costly, but decisive. It was good for things .
Rauk loosened every muscle, looking almost careless as the creature charged. Its claws drew back to strike, maw yawning wide.
Magic swelled, doubling, tripling around his blade as he drew deep from his core. At the last instant, he brought the sword down.
The blast towered over the monster, boiling the air before splitting it clean in two. Blood pooled as the halves collapsed.
"Damn." Too much magic burned away. No time for the Flow, not when he was mid-battle. He’d have to make do.
Grey smoke billowed from his formation once more. Time to return to striking unseen. The rest were only low Pawn rank now.
Kaedros hacked through lesser monsters as he advanced toward the three-headed beast. "Going to hide behind your soldiers? Pathetic."
Dark eyes glimmered like wet obsidian. The central head lifted its brows. "Are they not mine? Are they not part of my strength? That is no weakness."
Kaedros grunted. A ring of fire erupted from him, thin as a blade, cutting down everything within reach.
The air reeked of burning flesh. His eyes burned so deep a they sometimes seemed black.
"You’re right. But aren’t you a warrior? Then fight me like one!"
Already, silver stone drained from his core faster than he liked.
Something flickered in the creature’s eyes, recognition? No time to think. A massive winged lizard struck, winds sharp as blades whipping toward him.
"Enough!" Kaedros roared. "I said stop interrupting!"
Stone’s power surged into his muscles, hardening bone until it sang with strain.
His blazed like a golden star. He hurled fire, catching the lizard mid-flight, burning flesh from bones and its scream split the air.
Kaedros laughed and leapt, an arrow loosed. He landed on its back, seized a wing, and ripped.
Flesh tore, bone cracked. The beast dropped, but before it hit the ground, he had its neck in his grip. With brute strength, he tore its head free.
He landed light, the head still in hand. "Well? Will you still interrupt?"
The surrounding monsters shrank back, growls hollow with fear.
Kaedros pointed his blade.
"Your head next, Three-Heads."
The beast’s smile was cold, the other two heads nodding in eerie agreement.
"Don’t you mean heads? Either way, you won’t kill me. My fire burns darkest, hottest. Step closer, and I’ll burn your trespass away."