Chapter 190: Confrontation
I landed next to Lucy. The armoured knights were certainly more durable than their regular troops. But they still did not stand a chance against the kitsune.
“There is a more dangerous group ahead. We should face them together.” I said.
Lucy grinned. A grinning fox covered in lightning. She looked sinister, I liked it.
That was when I noticed some runes on the knights surrounding us.
“They are going to explode! They are a trap!” I shouted.
Being a giant fox was irrelevant when it came to flight magic. Both of us took to the skies immediately.
Below us the world exploded. I could feel the heat and braced against the shockwave. Shrapnel from the destroyed armour sliced my skin where it was unprotected. The cuts were not very deep and began healing immediately, but it was certainly unpleasant.
I looked around, Shani had not been close to the explosion and was still happily cleaving through enemies. Lily had been blown backwards but she was already getting up. She did not look too badly hurt. As a demon she was resistant to fire, to an extent.
As the dust settled the group of elites emerged. Lucy and myself landed in front of them.
“Tz. You could have just exploded and spared us the effort.” One man wearing a red robe said.
“But now we gotta have some fun.” The voice sounded like a man. But he was huge. Maybe he had some orcish blood. The man was covered in plate armour with a closed helmet and carried a huge hammer. Runes sprang to life all over his equipment.
“FUN? Did someone say fun? I want to join the slaughter!” Shani raced towards us. Somehow her body was covered in blood. Streams of it were pulled towards her bunny ears and absorbed.
“What is that?” A woman asked. She wore a pristine white robe with golden runes. The staff she carried was silver with a big sapphire on top.
“RUDE!” Shani complained. “I am the court elemental! An expert in slaughter, babysitting and bloodbathing! Also, I am THE WRATH!” Her voice changed in the end and lightning surrounded her body.
“Animals. You are a bunch of animals.” The white robed woman said.
“She is not wrong.” Lucy said. I looked at Shani’s bunny ears, then I looked at the giant fox next to me. She had a point.
“Should I transform into a panther?” I wondered.
While I mentally debated changing my form Lily joined us.
“My ladies. Excuse my delay, the explosion took me off guard. Thankfully this armour is exceptionally sturdy.” She said while bowing to us. “Shall I take care of this trash for you?”
“Why is this succubus wearing a maid uniform on top of her armour? What is wrong with you people? Did you bring your fetish to the battlefield?” A man shouted. He also wore plate armour. His finely decorated shield and sword made him look like a paladin from video games.
“I shall teach you the power of the maid knights.” Lily replied with a smile.
The remaining two fighters were silent. Both wore plate as well. One was armed with a two handed sword, the other carried a halberd. The final member of their group was a man in a black robe. He had a black beard and cold eyes. I was not sure why but he struck me as the most dangerous of the group.
Dangerous was relative, of course. They were all mortals as far as I could tell.
“You seem awfully relaxed for what you are facing.” I pointed out.
The white robed woman snorted. “We have trained our entire lives to protect humanity from your kind. We are not afraid of the likes of you.”
I smiled. Then I focused on my aura and put some power into my voice. “I am Amaya Delphinium. Lady of Storms.” I raised my hands and pointed at the weather around us. Rain was falling, the wind was howling, thunder and lightning filled the sky. “You are in my domain. You have challenged me. Now face the consequences. Die.”
My little speech ended with thunder. Lucy roared and a massive bolt of lightning hit the white robed woman. A shield sprang to life around her as she screamed.
The big man charged while screaming. Lucy tried to hit him with her paw from above. He blocked it with his hammer. The ground beneath him cracked.
Lily charged the man with the shield. The other two fighters were coming for me and Shani.
“I want them both!” The elemental screamed as she swung her scythe. The man with he halberd blocked and grunted as electricity hit him. But he did not seem harmed. Despite Shani’s shout the other fighter rushed past her to take a swing at me.
I parried with my sword, pushing his blade towards the left. I followed with a quick stab at his right shoulder joint. Sadly his armour held, I missed the gap.
As I tried to attack again my enemy was hit. Lucy had sent her opponent flying and the big man crashed into the fighter before me. The kitsune followed it up with a pounce before the enemies could get up again. I used the moment to focus on the enemy mages.
The woman was currently glowing brightly. She had taken some damage from the lightning and was currently healing her burns. The man in the red robe was conjuring fire in his hands. I had lost track of the last one.
I charged the man with the fire. He threw the glowing ball towards my face. I went right through it. Heat surrounded me. Briefly my vision turned red and my skin began to hurt. But it was not nearly enough to stop me. The man’s face was filled with shock as I emerged from the flames right in front of him. A barrier sprang to life as my sword hit his chest. It flared red and sent more flames towards my hand. But I kept pushing. I was strong.
The barrier shattered and the man screamed. Disbelief was on his face as I pierced his heart.
“NOOOOO!” The women screamed. She abandoned her healing and threw a golden bolt of energy my way. I dodged. Then I charged her. It seemed to me that their mages relied too much on their fighters. With all of them busy right now, they had no idea how to react. She began to cast another spell, but she was too slow. One swing of my sword neatly severed her head from her body.
“I had hoped they would last longer.” I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around and saw the man in the black robe. “Their bodies would have been useful. No matter.“ He shook his head.
“An interesting way to talk about your allies.” I said.
“Allies? They were tools.” He waved his hand around the battlefield. “They all are. But you know that, don’t you? My mistress does not appreciate your meddling, Lady of Storms. This is of no concern to you.”
“And your mistress is too afraid to tell me this to my face?” I asked.
“She is offering you a truce. You and your court. Think about it.” He said.
Suddenly I heard a large number of screams. I looked around and saw a different kind of rune activating. Some soldiers were being sacrificed to summon demons. I looked back at the man in the black robe. He did not look particularly happy about it.
“Ashmedai. His cult is disgusting. As is their incompetence. No matter. We shall meet again.” The man dissolved into a cloud of smoke and disappeared. An interesting ability. Was that a long range teleport? Could people do that? Or did he simply retreat and was still in the area?
Meanwhile the battle was still raging around me. The demons who appeared were trying to kill everyone. The Inquisition’s ranks were broken by the attack from within.