Chapter 116: Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Hakim quickly swung his huge axe down onto the monster’s head with a ‘Lacerate’ martial art that would make any of his fellow Barbarian-class counterparts green with envy, and the large lizard spasmed while many more of its blue-scaled kin rushed his way. Their large talons scraped against the stone hallway and their hissing sounds were accompanied by sizzling, a byproduct of the acid they could launch out of their mouths that now ate away at their surroundings and Hakim’s armor. His flesh had already been burned off or melted to fuse with his fur armor in various places, causing him extreme pain and decreased his mobility significantly, but even despite his dire circumstances he had to remain strong for the front line to hold. He was the primary tank of their group, their newly formed guild had been created even before official introductions of the guild system, and if he went down the others behind him would quickly follow.

And their three other front-liners were already laying dead further down the hallway. That didn’t even include the assassin they’d lost to a pit trap, and he’d been the guild leader.

“God damn it, they’re closing in!” A fire mage by the name of Chad called out with a snarl, launching two more fireballs that exploded down the large passage to the shrieks of the incoming swarm. “I can’t kill them fast enough!”

Caleb finally reloaded his gun with shaky hands and started firing his semi-automatic rifle again, trying to stutter out words over the spray of bullets and cursing the creatures. “My regular bullets aren’t penetrating! Their scales just cause them to bounce right off, and I'm out of enchanted ones! I don’t want to die here!”

Julie hit Hakim with another healing spell and started cursing frantically while generating another holy barrier to try and slow down the wave, and her younger brother Tim was trying desperately to open the door at their backs. The young man was by far the best thief they had, and had made a living for their group by stealing from more successful fighters who cleaned up monsters in the wilderness or ventured into dungeons that were popping up nearby to spawn monsters. Yet even he was having difficulty with this lock, and the solid wood of the door before them was enchanted somehow - not allowing Hakim or any of the others to break it down.

Tanya was going to kill Hakim if he let anything happen to her two children, and their mother was no slouch in how frequently she’d let Hakim know what her thoughts on their ‘exploits’ were.

“Why do you three always have to go out and put yourselves in danger when others can do it for you?”

“How many times are you going to get yourselves into life and death situations? The town is just fine with the other fighters keeping the dungeon monsters away, no need to get yourselves hurt!”

“Come help me with my clothesmaking craft instead, people need clothes after the fall of Earth and there’s no shame in an honest day’s work!”

Those had been the things she’d grumbled at them before they’d left.

And now they were stuck in a newly formed dungeon, the entrance closing behind them to unexpectedly trap them inside. It’d been unexplored upon entering and the original plan had been just to scout out the top floor, but after it’d shut the only way out was completion - and although it wasn’t nearly as big as their tutorial dungeon had been, it was large enough that they’d gotten lost through its tunnels numerous times.

*BAM*

Hakim shoulder charged another of the lizards and unleashed a crescent swipe - sending out an arcing line of kinetic energy that sliced through another of the monsters before crying out as another latched onto his leg with acidic venom.

“DAMN IT!” He was beginning to panic slightly, but activated his ‘War Cry’ martial art with a booming shout. His skin immediately thickened, his bravery skyrocketed, the pain of the acid and ripping teeth lessened, his muscles visibly expanded, and he smashed his fist into the eye of the giant blue lizard to get it to let go.

*CRUNCH*

Hakim bellowed and spun, a whirlwind of mana from the Harmony Foundational Pillar blowing apart enemies to give his allies time. He was the last man standing between the squishier members of their party, and Julie was starting to cry as barrier after barrier of her holy mana shattered when set upon by waves of bodies barreling towards them down the tunnel. She just didn’t have enough mana to keep them solid.

“GOT IT!” Tim screamed over the ruckus, flinging the door open just when blue-scaled lizard-men, wearing brass armbands alongside feather headdresses and wielding primitive weapons, turned the corner of their tunnel.

The monstrous humanoids hissed and screeched, raising their spears and dashing alongside their quadruped cousins. Their tails whipped out behind them with a bloodlust, and Hakim turned to run.

He fumbled for his bag, leaving bodies behind him to chase after the others and looking for the treasure he’d received in the tutorial dungeon that he still kept as a trump card. He’d been holding onto it for an emergency, and now seemed like a perfect match for that scenario.

Otherwise, he and the others would likely be dead very soon.

***

Riven was letting Allie and the others go explore the altar or run over the details of the terraforming, getting a lot of praise from Vin who cackled gleefully at the opportunity presented to them, while simultaneously talking to Athela.

“The Blood Moon Requiem is a very powerful and ancient vampiric civilization.” Athela stated with a shrug, glancing over to Fay who continued to fidget with her hands. “And your parents may have been from there.”

Riven’s eyes widened in shock and Allie’s head snapped left from where she was evaluating the terraforming details to stare at the demoness.

“Did I just hear that right?” Riven said in a low voice while his sister pushed others out of the way to move in close. “My parents may be from this place? How is that even possible? And how do you know of my parents?”

“I don’t know your parents at all.” Athela said with hands raised. “However… call it a hunch.”

“That’s a pretty bold statement for a hunch.”

Athela grinned and set her hands on her hips with a swish of her black hair. “Alright then let’s put the pieces together. Do you remember that notification you received when first activating Malignant Prophecy in Hell?”

“You have that ability too!?” Allie asked in shock, her feet planted out to either side of er with her arms crossed. “Why would you never tell me!?”

Riven scowled. “You didn’t tell me you had that ability either-”

“That doesn’t matter.” Athela cut them both off with a wave of her hand. “You both have it. But do you remember what that notification said when you first used it?”

Riven’s brows furrowed and he stared at the ground, shoving his hands into his pockets and not thinking too long before remembering the details as clear as day:

[Malignant Prophecy has activated, previously unrecognized heir has been found. Qualifications have been met, link established, royal lineage recognized despite tampering and suppression measures. Imperial system has officially recognized Riven Thane as a prince of the empire, 37th in line for the throne. All citizens, nobility, clergy and leadership of the empire have been informed.]

“It said I was a prince of the empire, 37th in line for the throne. Allie, did it say something similar to you?”

“It said I was 38th in line.”

“Ha!” Riven pointed a finger her way. “That means I’m obviously superior in all ways, bow before me plebian!”

“What’s about to happen is you’re about to get my foot up your ass.”

“That’s just plain rude. Anyways Athela, back to the matter at hand… You’re saying our parents, the ones who disappeared years ago, were from this place? Why?”

Athela shrugged again and swept her foot out along the dark stone of the altar. “Perhaps it’s because that bloodline you have and the malignant prophecy you can utilize has only ever been found in their royals?”

Riven blinked. “Why haven’t you told me about this sooner?”

“Do you think this is where our parents went!?” Allie asked curiously, but she immediately sagged when Athela shot her hopes down.

“You never asked and it wasn’t important until now. As for Allie’s question - absolutely not. Whatever happened to your parents, it was on Earth. Why your parents left is a mystery to me though. You’re branded by Elysium as a heretic and hunted by its enforcers if you exit Elysium’s boundaries, and doing so takes tremendous effort and monumental resources.”

Riven’s blood ran cold. “Wait… you’re saying if my parents are out there somewhere, the system of Elysium itself has marked them for death?”

“Yeah people will get a super big prize if they kill your mom and dad now, and that’s if they aren’t already dead after years of being gone. Who KNOWS why they left you two, I mean neither of you have any idea right? Maybe a bounty hunter found them and they left you behind to spare you.”

The shocked looks on both siblings faces was more than enough for the succubus to step in, and from the sidelines - Fay let out a long drawn out sigh. “Athela, try to be a little bit more sensitive.”

“What!? I’m not trying to be mean, that’s just how it is. Anyways they’ve obviously somehow found you, and Elysium Altars are one of the only ways established factions outside your world can interact with integrating planets before restrictions lift. To see that they so quickly offered you a trading post means they’ve been watching you, how long or for what reasons is anyone’s guess - but you two are royals. It’s likely they want you back home to raise you properly.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Riven exchanged uneasy looks with Allie, neither of them knowing how to take the news, and Mara - who’d been listening in - only remained stoically silent.

“That is… unexpected.” Riven stated flatly, scratching the back of his head with a frown. “I… don’t even know how to react to that. Are you saying The Blood Moon Requiem is able to get us off world?”

“No, they absolutely cannot do that until the system restrictions end, but they can eventually. They’re probably just trying to establish contact in the meantime.” Athela gave him a large smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Look at you prince-boy! A fitting warlock partner for a princess like me!”

Fay snorted and got a death glare from the other demoness.

“They could always pull him through as a merchant, but he’d be restricted to the altar zone on the other side.” Fay threw out. “Consider that for a moment.”

“Uh… actually that is true.” Athela gave herself a thoughtful chin rub. “Hmmm. Doesn’t really matter though, it’s very likely a good thing rather than a bad one. Unexpected that they’d so quickly find you, but then again they are one of the greatest vampiric empires known across the cosmos. Of all the major vampiric factions there are a couple dozen that are dangerous enough to warrant attention, 9 of which are considered S-grade factions, and The Blood Moon Requiem ranks 8th on the vampiric power scale according to common knowledge. That is no small feat. They own over twelve-hundred worlds I’m told, and have a few vassal states under their wing as well that they essentially lord over. Right Fay? Or am I remembering incorrectly?”

To Allie’s left, Fay nodded in silence - a soft smile on her lips.

And then to everyone’s confusion, a glowing orb of multi-colored light appeared in front of Riven’s face.

“What’s that?” Allie asked, pointing to the growing orb. “Looks weird… I can’t get a mana read on it either. Is that an illusion of some kind?”

Fay looked around, obviously puzzled. “I think so… But where it’s coming from I cannot tell. It should be harmless, but…’

Her words trailed off when a notification accompanied the growing orb.

[Hakim Bluebush has activated a two-time use system artifact: Heroic Intervention. 1 of 2 charges has been used. Heroic Intervention has selected the 5 most powerful people Hakim has interacted with since Earth’s integration, and you - Riven Thane - are one of them. Hakim Bluebush is currently in need of your help, and has placed a live stream feature in the orb before you that will connect momentarily. You will be able to speak to him briefly as he explains his current situation before deciding on whether or not to aid him. You can choose to assist, or you can choose to refuse his request. All or none of the selected participants may go or stay without penalty. If you choose to aid him and risk yourself at his behest, you will be teleported to his location until his plight is over. Then you will be teleported back to your current location after a short rest period. Please hold for connection.]

All eyes centered on Riven, and Athela gasped in surprise when she read the notification herself.

“Hakim from our tutorial! I was wondering what happened to him!” Athela loudly laughed and slapped her hands onto her hips. “Wow! That’s a really interesting artifact to have. Very neat actually.”

“Sounds like he’s in trouble too…” Riven muttered, grasping his staff of flesh and wood to tap his fingers along its shaft. “Huh. Wonder what he got himself into.”

Riven didn’t wait long to find out.

***

They were cornered.

“HOLD IT DOWN!” Hakim screamed at the other, panicking people, encouraging them to keep pushing amidst the crash of bodies that kept jarring the thick iron door leading into the circular, dimly lit treasury they now found themselves in. Torches flickered along the walls in three different places. Piles of coins, treasures and items of power littered the ground, but none of it was any help to them now without an identifier. “HELP WILL COME SOON!”

Caleb was sweating profusely, his rifle hanging at his side while he braced his back against the entrance to keep the lizardmen out. “I’m out of bullets!”

“Hakim I’m scared!” Julie shakily yelled over the battering of the door, her red hair was covered in an even brighter red of her brother’s blood, and Tim remained pale-faced in a state of mute shock while examining the missing leg they’d banaged before his sister had sealed the wound shut.

Flashes of multicolored light illuminated the ground nearby and Hakim’s statue of a tiny knight brandishing a sword, his artifact ‘Heroic Intervention’, began to pulse.

Five illusionary baubles appeared overhead to display the faces of men and women. Each one represented one of the five people that the system deemed as the most powerful characters Hakim had encountered in Elysium’s multiverse thus far.

Hakim’s heart lifted with a slim sliver of hope, only to be brutally dashed as one of the five immediately declined and winked out. It’d been a guild leader from the same town he lived in, a man who Hakim had respected until just a moment ago, and now that man hadn’t even given him the time of day for a single sentence to plea his case for help.

“I… I need your help!” Hakim shouted out over the banking of the door - wide eyed, with dents, creaks and groans from the metal becoming ever more abundant. “Please! We’re going to die down here!”

“Many people die every day since the system was introduced. Why should I help you? What’s your situation? I barely met you for less than a minute, you are not entitled to freebies.” A blonde woman by the name of Zerfi asked. She was a storm mage in the city over, wearing a long blue silk dress while brushing her hair out at a desk as sunlight filtered in through a window. “Do explain quickly, I am already late to a social event and if I come I’ll need guarantees that this will be fast.”

Her words stung Hakim’s pride, but he bit back his irritation and swallowed. “We’re in a newly spawned dungeon on the southern side of Pelmonth, the dungeon locked us in and we have lizardmen warriors alongside their giant lizard pets that’ve cornered us in the treasury here. Help us, and you can take whatever you can carry back!”

Zerfi glanced through the globe, inspecting the treasury, then snorted and went back to brushing her hair while the other three figures in their own baubles remained silent. “Anything related to the Storm Subpillar?”

“WE HAVE NO IDEA, DOES IT LOOK LIKE WE’VE HAD TIME TO EXPLORE THESE THINGS!?” Julie screamed at the other woman, her face wet with tears as she snarled. “Please, just help us!”

Zerfi let out a long, drawn out and exaggerated sigh, then put the hairbrush down to smooth out her silk dress. She turned fully in their direction just as a spear managed to puncture through a weakened, repeatedly battered dent in the top section of the doorway with roars and chanting screams becoming ever louder.

The blonde woman frowned. “I’ll come only if you get two others to come as well. I may be strong, but I’m usually backed up by a competent team of A-rankers… not riffraff like yourself. I do a lot of damage but I am poor on defense and need to have people peel enemies off of me so I can appropriately strike out - and I will not throw my life away for people who are barely more than strangers.”

Again the words stung Hakim’s pride, but his hope began to climb. She’d come as long as the others also said yes, so he turned his gaze to the next portrait. “James! Remember me from the sparring bouts we had a while back when you were giving me pointers? I’ll be in your debt forever, just-”

James held up a hand to stop Hakim mid-sentence. He was African American like Hakim was and had a camo getup you’d see in military types back on Earth, and it was appropriate considering he was a retired special ops sniper and ex-SEAL. He carried two large knives on either side of his belt, a pistol, a couple packs of ammo, and a large sniper rifle in his hands. “I cannot. It sounds like you’re holding an entire army back behind that door, and I can see from the vision’s angle that there are many hundreds of creatures just on the other side. That door is about to break at any second, and though I’d like to help - you must realize I am a single-target oriented assassin. I would be of little help to you in a battle like this and would likely just die alongside you. I am sorry, Hakim, and I truly wish you the best of luck.”

With that, James closed his communication down and the bauble winked out.

Hakim’s heart dropped, and he felt like the world was sinking out from underneath him. He’d thought James was a friend, and he’d simply abandoned him. Abandoned them. James had known Julie in passing too, along with her brother Tim, and he’d just…

A ball began to form in Hakim’s throat at the thought of what was about to happen, and his back took another jarring hit when the metal behind him bent forward. He grunted, wide eyed and charged the door to ram it back into place after dust started flowing down from the cracks along its top.

“Hakim.” A familiar voice sounded out, and he looked up towards the other two visions he hadn’t addressed yet.

One vision was of a bald, middle-aged, bored-looking and heavily armored knight-type warrior sipping on ale at a bar; while others crowded around him to happily take bets on what would happen. The other vision was where the voice came from, and unlike the others - this man was shrouded in darkness instead of daylight with a dim green glow coming in from overhead. The man’s eyes were a bright crimson red, and Hakim couldn’t say that the recognized this person at all due to the runic mask of softly glowing sigils he wore. But for the life of him, Hakim couldn’t place that voice - even though he knew he’d heard it before.

“Yes? Who are you, and will you help us?” Hakim’s voice cracked, getting a laugh from the people at the pub in the middle vision while a sympathetic frown adorned Zerfi’s features.

The unknown man chuckled, then nodded from underneath his hood. “Yes Hakim, I selected the option to assist you and I’m already on my way. See you soon bud.”

A howling roar unlike anything Hakim had ever heard before vibrated throughout the halls, and the pounding on the door stopped. Croaks, snarls and commands in a language he didn’t understand started barking off the other side of the metal barrier inbetween himself and a quick death - and the ground started to shake as something enormous started to approach.

“H-Hakim!” Julie cried out from where she’d backed up, trembling with her wooden staff clutched in slender hands. She was obviously terrified, but she had the right idea - they needed to get away from that door before whatever was coming crushed it.

A feeling of utter hopelessness overwhelmed him in that instant. Hakim had never felt so disillusioned about other people in this world, nor had he felt such despair. He’d thought that his relic would help them, that it would save them in a tight spot, and yet… These people didn’t care about him at all.

He was trash to them.

One had declined immediately, one had told him it was just too dangerous, and yet another was outright watching the proceedings like a TV show while the man’s friends wagered money on who would die first.

Zerfi had conditionally volunteered if she got additional help, which was far more than those other three had done - but even she wasn’t coming now that only the masked and hooded man had stated he’d assist. She was likely the most powerful one in this group too, and for her not to help meant Hakim had a lot less of a chance at surviving this.

As for the one person who’d said yes, his bauble was quickly dissipating and turning into thin mist like the others who’d declined had done - and for a moment Hakim began to panic even more. A thread of hope was still left, but only barely, and for a second even that thread disappeared when he thought he’d been lied to by the stranger. Perhaps the stranger had simply said yes, then declined?”

But then a portal of multicolored light formed that was far larger than the similarly constructed bauble, and out stepped a man.

He was hooded and cloaked, about six feet tall with an athletic build and bright red eyes. The creepy staff made from black wood and flesh had streams of blood running up and down or into its length, with spikes of crimson ice and a long wicked dagger at the top end. His very presence caused the room to abruptly grow cold, and the mana fluctuated around his body in twists of crimson energy unlike anything that Hakim had ever sensed before. He’d met a handful of very powerful people in his time, watched their auras switch on or off that normal classers just couldn’t replicate, but Hakim had never felt anything like this.

This aura was on another level.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hakim was so caught up in the man’s palpable mana signature that he failed to realize the thudding footsteps outside the door had stopped until the metal barrier was smashed in with a booming thud. Dust was flung into the air and the screech of tearing iron caused Hakim to wince and take a knee, and his eyes settled in horror upon a massive clawed hand of what could only be a drake. Blue scales and a large yellow eye stared in at him from outside the treasury, and the monster drew its lips back in a wicked smile - iris dilating to half the size of the doorway - and exposing rows of teeth each the size of Hakim’s arm.

Immediately but calmly the spellcaster to Hakim’s right made an incredibly quick set of motions, his hands blurring in intricate patterns while he drew in the crimson lights that drifted in the pool his aura produced.

And what Hakim saw next had him shook.

“Nefajia crecus blood nova.”