Seeds of Discordia

Liam looked at Mercer and quietly muttered, “They are pissed.”

Mercer nodded vigorously as his eyes widened without saying a single word.

“Queens?” the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord questioned. “You two? Don’t make me laugh. A couple of wenches like you are not worthy of being royalty.”

After saying this he felt a heavy object suddenly slam against his head, causing him to stumble a bit to the side. Even though the attack barely didn’t any damage, the force of the attack was still felt.

He turned to see who had dared hit him to see Blair baring her teeth at him.

“I’d advise you not to look down on us women,” Blair pointedly stated.

Confused, the Askith Pharaoh looked at Blair and stared at her. His confused expression grew even more as he continued to stare at her.

“What’s the matter?” Blair asked. “Are you realizing your mistake?”

“No,” the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord started. “I’m just try to figure out why you said us women when you clearly look like a man to me. Although now that I can see you better, your body is way too slim to be like a man’s.”

Artem’s, Liam’s, Mercer’s, and Roman’s eyes widened and gasped an intake of air as they heard the boss creature say what he said.

Artem tensed and took a few steps back as he felt the anger roll off of Blair.

Liam looked at Mercer and asked, “He didn’t just say that did he?”

Again, Mercer nodded vigorously without saying a word.

“Oooooo, he fucked up,” Liam said turning back to look at the scene before him.

Liam could see how livid Blair was getting. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but it looked like Blair’s whole body suddenly lit up with fire.

Blair slowly crouched her body, pushing her back leg out a bit as she evened her battle axe into a straight horizontal line.

Without warning, she pushed off her back leg with a powerful push and shot straight for the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord.

Not being able to react in time as Blair got within striking distance, he felt her weapon slam against his knee.

The force of her attack packed so much of a punch that his knee buckled, causing him to fall on his side.

Without any coordination, Blair jumped back in time to get out of the way of several razor sharp leaves that pierced into his rib cage. Not even a second after that two fireballs crashed into the area where the leaves had sunk into.

Liam watched as the air shimmered around the giant mummified man’s body causing him to start screaming out in pain.

That must be one of Ariyana’s Illusion spells. Liam thought as he watched the man wriggle in pain. Judging by how he’s acting, I want to guess its Pain Illusion.

Pain Illusion was an Illusory Combat Focus Point ability. The caster places a debuff on the target making them believe they are experiencing more pain than they actually are. It has a five percent chance to place a Confusion Debuff on the target. It was a single target spell with a twenty five second cooldown.

“What the hell are you guys waiting for?” Avery shouted, still pissed off. “Are you going to let us women do all the work?”

The guys of the group snapped out of their thoughts and quickly started attacking.

Yup. Never going to piss them off ever. Liam thought.

Nor should you. Eri chimed in. If you don’t want to end up like that asshole then I suggest you stay on their and all women’s good side.

Don’t need to tell me twice. Liam chuckled as he started to chant his Grasp of the Shadows spell.

However, while in mid chant, the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord let out a loud and frustrated roar. The force of his roar pushed anyone close to him sliding backwards.

“That is enough!” the mummified man stated with seething rage as he stood back up.

A bandage shot out into one of the glass protected areas in the wall and quickly pulled a jar towards his body to rejuvenate himself.

After his health raised up a bit he slammed the butt end of his scepter into the ground and let out a deafening roar.

Liam and the others covered their ears as the loud sound started to become too much for them to handle.

As the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord continued to roar, Liam felt the ground start to rumble and noticed dust and bits of sand start to fall from the ceiling.

As the loud noise continue to drone on and the rumbling in the ground continued, the small bit of dust and sand started to grow into a lot of sand and dust.

The Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord’s long and winded roar finally came to an end as the sand and dust that had fallen started moving around the room giving a sandstorm effect.

“What’s going on?!” Artem shouted as he tried shielding his face with his shield.

“I can barely see a thing,” Roman stated as he placed his arms in an x in front of his face.

“Everyone get closer!” Liam shouted as he looked around the room. His goggles protected his eyes from the dust and sand, but he was still able to feel each grain hit his skin. “We don’t know what he has planned!”

The others ran towards the direction Liam’s voice came from and stopped as they approached him.

“What do we do now?” Blair asked as she squinted her eyes trying not to get blinded by the storm swirling around.

“Those of you who have Mana Sight, close your eyes and activate it,” Liam started. “Use it to detect where that monster is and when he’s about to strike. Call it when you see it and I’ll try to defend us for as long as I can.”

“How can we tell though?” Ariyana questioned. “This sand and dust is full of mana and is making it hard to tell where he is.”

“When he uses his that rot attack the color is different,” Liam explained. “While the sand and dust is a tannish color. That rot attack of his is a muddy greenish brown. We’ll need to keep an extra eye out for that.”

As Liam said this, the muddy greenish brown color he had warned them about suddenly lit up towards their left.

“On our left!” Blair yelled.

Liam turned to see the mana split into two and shot towards them.

He swiftly moved in front of Avery and Ariyana and manipulated a small bit of his Liquid Fire to cut off the bandages that were soaring at them.

He barely burned through both bandages in time as they fell right in front of him and turned to ash as they floated down.

He was lucky that they were close enough for him to run a line through.

The Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord retracted both bandages back and disappeared into the sandstorm.

Liam scanned the area, looking for any sign of mana being channeled or movement. He looked forward once more, but then swiftly turned around as Roman shouted out, “Over here!”

Liam rushed over as he saw the muddy greenish brown mana building up.

Liam pulled out a bigger amount of Fire Liquid than last time and manipulated it to hover in front of him.

He then watched as the mana shot out wide from both sides.

Liam focused on the Fire Liquid in front of him and made a gesture of ripping something apart. The blob of Fire Liquid separated into two and intercepted the two bandages.

He was about to control the substance to go back into the vial until he saw another muddy green brown mana filled bandage soaring right at him.

He slammed his palms together bringing the liquid back into one small blob right through the bandage that was right in front of his face.

The part of the bandage that was close to his face lost control and was starting to lose its Rot mana as it was smoldering, but before the mana dispersed it touched a section of his Cowl.

“Shit!” Liam swore as he watched the mana start to spread quickly.

As fast as he could, Liam pulled off the cowl and threw it away.

He watched as his Cowl of the Haunted slowly rotted away becoming nothing but dust.

“I liked that cowl,” Liam muttered with a frown before he felt something tingle on a small section of his right arm.

A small muddy green dot was sitting right where his arm and shoulder connected.

Before Liam could say anything, a notification window appeared.

 

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“You have been afflicted with Mummy Rot (Weak)!”

“Mummy Rot (Weak) – Affliction Type - Curse and Disease. Mummy Rot (Weak) is the lowest level of Mummy Rot. It will slowly spread from the point of impact and start to rot your flesh. If not treated within a certain amount of time the Mummy Rot (Weak) could seep low enough into the skin and destroy the bone. Target receives 2 damage each time the Rot spreads. Since this is the lowest form of Mummy Rot, spreading will occur 75% slower than normal. If any form of healing (Magic, Potion, or Salve/Balm), is used on the area, it could slow down the process. However, if Mummy Rot Curse is not cleansed then not only will healing be reduced, but the Rot will not go away from Target.”

---

 

“What the fuck?!” Liam shouted as he started to panic a bit while reading it. “When did this happen?!”

“What’s wrong?!” the others yelled out.

Did some of it touch me when I tried taking the cowl off? Liam thought as he tried to figure it out.

He didn’t get much time to think more into it as Blair yelled out, “Incoming!”

Liam’s head shot up to see three bandages heading in Artem’s, Blair’s, and Roman’s direction.

“Shit!” Liam cursed as he rushed over to them.

He channeled his mana to control a small amount of the liquid in his bottle to come out and split it into two. He then tried to maneuver the two small blobs of fiery liquid to cut off two of the bandages.

The two small blobs cut through the two outside bandages. However, the third bandage delayed its descent towards him and was able to dodge the blob of fiery liquid that shot out to cut the bandage on the left.

Liam internally panicked as he watched the bandage racing towards him.

He then noticed a small raven black thing holding an object blur by and crash into the bandage.

It was his Shadow Hand. He had forgotten it was still activated due to the madness that was happening.

The dagger it was holding onto collided with the bandage, stopping it in place.

Liam watched as the Black Matriarch Talon Dagger started to rust and turn to ash as the Mummy Rot mana engulfed it.

However, Liam was surprised to see that his Shadow Hand was fine. There was no sign of rot, disease or anything.

Why…How is that possible? Liam questioned internally.

It’s because it’s a thing made from mana. Eri suddenly stated. Since it doesn’t have a real body and is purely made from mana, things like rot won’t affect it.

Good to know. Liam said. If that’s the case then maybe I should use it to intercept the bandages.

You could, but you’ll need to arm it again. Eri suggested.

What do you mean? Liam questioned as he felt a slight burn tingle on his shoulder.

The Mummy’s Rot spell either needs to be cut off from the main body, like you have been doing with that Fire Liquid; or it needs to come into contact with something physical. Eri explained. If it only touches your Shadow Hand then it wont be able to disperse and will move on to the next thing.

“That’s fucking stupid,” Liam stated out loud.

“What?” Blair asked, confused on what he was talking about.

“What’s stupid?” Artem questioned.

That’s just how it works. Eri said. Speaking of Mummy Rot. You need to get that cleansed as soon as you can. Even if it is weak it will become an issue after a while.

Liam pulled his Shadow Hand closer to him and gave it another dagger to grip.

Before he could reply to Eri’s warning another set of Mummy Rot filled bandages came flying towards his direction.

He was able to cut off the three bandages without any issues this time, but before he relaxed a bit to look for the next set, they were already on their way.

Liam waved the two Fire Liquid blobs and his Shadow hand to intercept these three rounds of bandages. He was about to complain about how quickly these ones came, until he heard Ariyana gasp.

Liam looked at her but didn’t see any issues coming from her side. However, she wasn’t looking to the left side of the room. She was staring in the direction the bandage wraps came from.

Liam turned and felt his heart sink.

What he saw through his mana sight were not three muddy greenish brown colors, but twelve areas glowing with that color of mana starting to move around the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord’s main outlined body.

After a moment had passed, the first and second bandage shot towards them. There was a slight delay as they moved. Soon after that two more started snaking their way.

Liam moved the Fire Liquid to intercept the first two. After he cut through them he moved the two blobs to cut through the next two.

The Mummy Rot filled bandages came in waves of two after that. Each wave were slightly delayed as they shot towards Liam’s group.

Liam waved his arms around to move the liquid to sear through the bandages.

It was going smoothly until he felt a slight stinging sensation on his elbows, forearms, and biceps.

Liam didn’t spare a glance as he continued to try and protect his teammates. Whenever his fiery blobs couldn’t make it to a bandage, his Shadow Hand was able to cut through it.

It was thanks to the delay his Shadow Hand had that he was able to pull this off and he was ever so grateful for it.

Each time he seared or cut through the bandages, bits of them floated around him before falling to the floor.

By the time the final wave of Mummy Rot filled bandages were deflected, Liam was panting and gasping for air. He felt sweat start to roll down his forehead as he looked around.

He went to wipe the sweat away but froze as he spotted something on his forearm.

Several small muddy greenish brown patches were slowly spreading.

When did these get here!?Liam thought as he looked at the other areas he remembered feeling a slight stinging at.

Each spot had Mummy Rot spreading. 

He then noticed his gloves were starting to dissolve and quickly threw them off before it covered his entire hands. 

Don’t tell me I was hit with those loose bandages before the mana disappeared! Liam internally panicked.

He noticed his health bar was ticking away at a smooth pace. He had lost half of his health already.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Liam stated as the panic he was trying to keep down escaped through his mouth.

“What?!” the others questioned as they grew concerned.

The Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord let out a raspy yet wicked laugh. “It seems that during your attempts to protect your useless comrades you became cursed with my Mummy Rot. Even if a small amount of it touched you, after accumulating so much your death has been set in stone.”

“What?!” Blair and Avery shouted.

“That can’t be true!” Ariyana yelled.

“None of you should be strong enough to be able to cure the curse and disease that is rotting away at your body. And even if one of you were able to, the damage caused has already been done,” the mummified man stated. “You should be feeling it by now. Your control over your arms is slipping away. Soon you’ll lose both of your arms. Despair pitiful worm and watch as your own body rots away!”

Liam snarled in the direction of the creature. He was right though. He could feel his arms start to become heavy and he was fighting to keep them up.

“You’re wrong!” Artem suddenly shouted. Anger rolling out of his mouth. “We will not lose one of our teammates today and he will not lose any body parts either!”

Liam turned his head and watched as an aqua blue mana color started to swell around Artem’s body.

After five seconds of the mana building up, Artem yelled out as he pushed the mana out, “Healer’s Territory – Absolute Restore!”

Liam felt the mana that Artem pushed out wash over him and the others in the group.

As the Aqua colored mana engulfed Liam, he felt the stinging sensation up and down his arms start to disappear. He lifted and looked at his arms and watched as the muddy greenish brown colors that were spreading start to escape his skin as small bubbles pulled them off.

Not only did the color of his skin return, but he felt his stamina, mana and health fill back up. The exhaustion he felt moments ago from fighting off the six waves of Mummy Rot filled bandages disappear as well.

The Debuff he had also disappeared, confirming that he was fully cleansed from the affliction.

“What!?” the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord roared.

Liam turned his head back to stare in the direction the boss monster stood. His mana slowly dimming as his Mana pool slowly dropped in the double digits.

“I think its time we get rid of this sandstorm,” Liam muttered as he lifted his Moon Shadow Blade dagger.

He then chanted, “Moon, beautiful and radiant. Bless us with your power to lighten up the night. Expose those which try to hide within your majestic light. Lunar Exposure!”

The orb of lunar energy that grew on the tip of Liam’s dagger flickered as dust and sand swirled around.

He then threw the orb in the direction of the creature and shouted, “Deactivate your Mana sight now!”

Following his own instructions, Liam deactivated his Mana Sight and closed his eyes.

As soon as his eyes closed, Liam and the others heard a wail of pain and a slew of curses.

As he opened his eyes, Liam watched as the swirling bits of sand and dust suddenly come to a standstill and dropped to the ground.

Standing in front of the sarcophagus, covering his eyes, the Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord whipped his head from right to left. His bandaged wrapped hands rubbing against his eyes.

“Serves you right,” Liam stated. “You tried blinding us with sand; So, I blinded you with Lunar Magic. Its not just the women in our group you have to worry about, bitch.”