The Pillar of Enera

[Book II Chapter 83 part 2] ROSE: Changeling in the Dead Forest

------------------------------------------------

…

“What madness did you just do?” Zentrias cried out. “It’ll attack you too!”

“No, it won’t.” Alana sneered. “Raphael?”

“Gather close.” Raphael told his comrades. He brought out a human skull, and, almost apologetically, said, “Dead wish.” Stannis’s entire party went transparent, and their presence could no longer be felt. That artifact must have an illusory Grace which hides them from the undead!

“You bastards!” Cindy yelled as they fled.

Before they could do the same, a strange centaur galloped into view. Above the rotting bottom half of a horse was a black cowled figure.

“Void Extermination!” Noor proclaimed forcedly. A wind blade shot from his blade, slicing the equine legs at the knee.

The changeling stride didn’t falter as eight spider legs sprung from its horse body. At the same time, buffaloes jumped out of its torso one by one. They lowered their horns and charged.

My turn. Rose released a barrage of fireballs. The changeling blocked by transforming one arm into a tortoise shell. He raised the other and a flock of crows flew out. After gaining altitude, these dive bombed Rose at an astounding velocity. She scrambled to form a fiery wall to defend against the avian projectiles.

Seeing the changeling and buffaloes almost on them, Rose lobbed an orb of pyromantic energy in front of them to blow them back. However, the changeling jumped and morphed into a scaled ball, sailing through the blast.

Unfurling its pangolin body, it landed with the lower half of a kangaroo and the upper body of a gorilla. Leaping forwards with a frightening speed, raising its fist which now sported the tusks of elephant. Lonar deflected the ivory blow.

“Don’t get near him!” Carol shouted. The huge figure of an ogre barreled into the changeling, dragging it away. However, after a couple of steps, all manner of fangs and claws shot forth, tearing and rending flesh. The ogre collapsed, its front half eviscerated.

A fireball slammed into the changeling. Got him. The undead writhed briefly but quickly shed its burning parts, forming new ones. Rose grimaced. That was underwhelming… I though it was vulnerable to fire.

Just as the changeling freed itself from the last flame, it was engulfed in a block of ice. For a fraction of second, it was trapped. Then a horn pierced the prison, and the head of a rhino smashed up. As it extricated itself, it sent panthers pouncing towards them. The buffaloes which had been knocked back arrived too.

“The things that separate from it, they’re safe to fight up close?” Lonar asked, tackling a bovine and crushing its skull with a stomp.

“They are.” Carol affirmed. “It’s the main body you need to be wary of.”

“These creatures… how long do they last?” Zentrias caused a panther’s torso to burst violently from within.

“Don’t know.” Carol responded. “Probably until they’re destroyed.”

“Is there a limit to how many it can make?” Cindy asked, Lions and tigers were appearing from the changeling.

“No idea,” Carol apologized, “but it can only release so many or it would’ve overwhelmed us already.”

A lightning bolt struck the changeling. Shrugging off the damage, it leapt at Cindy, transforming its arm into a giant mantis claw whose sharp edge resembled a scythe. Fortunately, Natali hurled a wind vortex which pushed the undead back.

Snarling, the changeling swung an arm which had become a boa constrictor. A dozen more serpents emerged from the snake’s head as it neared Natali, venomous fangs landing deep bites. Of course, the kunoichi vanished in swirl of leaves.

Let’s try a different approach. Rose channeled into ruby ring on her right hand, and the center of a spell circle materialized before her. This was her Norani spell core she’d retrieved from the Starless Peninsula. Roxanne fashion a catalyst to create it for her. Swiftly, she filled in the rest of the magic symbols.

“Crimson Fireball.” Rose announced. The projectile hit the changeling as it dodging another wind vortex. Again, it attempted to discard the flames, but this time they wouldn’t let go. No matter how much of itself it threw away, the crimson fire jumped back to its main body, burning savagely. It rolled around madly on ground in frustration. That’s so effective…

Rising to its feet still burning, the changeling screamed. Up close, the deafening noise was terrifying. However, what inspired even more dread were the howls that answered it. The inugami and varcolacs who’d been following them chose this moment to attack, and their numbers had reached the hundreds.

Watching the enormous pack encircle them, the changeling’s ape face grinned viciously. From its side, dogs and wolves jumped out and mixed in with the lesser undead. Oh, no… That’s going to be a nightmare to deal with.

What should I do now? Roxanne had taught her a dozen Norani spells, and she racked her brain on which to choose. Many were too complex to use during a fight. Unless… Reaching in her backpack, she drew out a notebook and another ruby ring. She flipped to a page entirely filled with detailed mystic symbols and grimaced. This will take a while.

“Zentrias,” She called out. “Please keep everyone alive until I finish this.” If he exerted himself, their leader’s explosives should be able to ward off the changeling for a time.

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll try.” He answered.

Rose projected her spell core on a strip of scorched earth and donned the second ring. This was catalyst specifically for writing out spell circles. Although slower than working directly, the lines it drew were thick with power despite requiring little effort. Determinedly, she copied the rest of the spell while ignoring the chaos.

She was mostly done when her foresight interrupted her. She quickly roasted the hound barreling towards her. Around her, battle raged. She spotted a nightmarish charred creature assaulting the changeling with jets of fire. The undead slammed down a whale tail on the annoyance then rushed its summoner. Dawn push Carol out of the way, but her wrist got caught by a giant crab claw. As the changeling pulled her close, an over-sized crocodile emerged from its belly. Rose froze watching her sister get mauled by the huge jaws. Damn it, I wasn’t fast enough… If only—— Then Dawn’s body disappeared in flurry of snowflakes. … I forgot she could do that.

Berating herself and her sister, Rose completed her work and yelled, “Crimson Inferno!”

As the red magic circle flashed brightly and disappeared, the ground rumbled ominously. In every direction, large patches crimson fire burst from ground, roaring fiercely. The area affected covered hundreds of feet across.

Her crimson inferno was an environmental type spell, which focused on transforming the battlefield rather than attacking directly. These sacrificed all precision to boost power to the maximum.

She’d gotten the idea from what Wise had done in the blood arena. Unlike the soulfire her brother had used, her crimson fires was hot and therefore not harmless to her allies. Despite this, they could jump through them without the malefic flames clinging to them, so it offered essentially the same advantage: a means to escape an opponent too dangerous to fight up close.

The inugami and varcolacs fled yelping, a primitive fear overriding their fighting spirit. The changeling was not similarly cowed as evidenced by the wave of zombie antelopes and deer which came leaping nimbly over the fire. Still, its movements had been restricted and it wouldn’t be able to run wild like before.

It’s not over though. The tide had shifted in their favor only temporarily. If she didn’t follow up with something decisive, this reprieve would be wasted.

Again she debated her next step. Ideally, she’d join the others in press the offensive, but she lacked the confidence to do so. While practicing plenty in Xarst, she’d been neglected the crimson flame of her mentor, going back to the regular fire she was more comfortable with. Against an opponent with the adaptability of the changeling, her control was lacking.

It’s too late to regret. Rose knew what she must do. One last time, she opened her notebook and etched a magic circle in the ground. This was the most elaborate of the spells Roxanne had given her. If she had the strength to complete it, she was sure it’d bring victory.

She panted from the exertion as she labored to assemble the runes. Halfway through she slowed, but did not give up, adding one section after another.

“Rose, your fires are starting to extinguish.” Zentrias called out. “Hurry up on whatever you’re working on.”

I know. As the field fell dark, she wrote out the last symbol and cried out, “Greater Horned Burning Dead!”

Casting this magic sucked out the last of her strength, and she collapsed on the ground. When she looked up, she saw a fanged, demonic skull with curving horns staring back at her. This entity was taller and far more intimidating than the one from the burning city.

She pointed, “Incinerate that changeling!”

The horned undead rocketed towards its target on wings of flames. The changeling knocked it back with the swing of a turtle shell, but the burning dead sent out fiery tendril which latched onto it. The changeling cut itself free with a pair of giant mantis claws, retreating as crimson flames wracked its body.

Although I might not be proficient enough, my summon is, Rose though smugly. While the changeling was the stronger of the two undead, its opponent was its worst match-up. Good thing too, since I don’t think I’ll be able to move for half a day.

“What’s the duration?” Zentrias asked.

“Five minutes.” Rose answered.

“Understood.” Zentrias turned to the others. “Cindy you go back up Rose’s summon with your lighting. Everyone else, let’s clean up that damned pack of canines.”

Sitting back, Rose relaxed. Even if the changeling managed to survive, it’d be badly weakened. She glanced at the others slaughtering the lesser undead and noticed Dawn wasn’t participating. Her sister was busy constructing an impressive blue magic circle of her own. Rose rolled her eyes at the pettiness.

Fingering the rings on her hand, her thoughts drifted to their creator. She owed her success today to Roxanne, which strengthened her resolve to prevent her mentor’s death by any means necessary.