Manassassin 2: LitRPG Harem Adventure, page 18
part #2 of Manassassin Series
Blink +1!
53/100!
DeVante emerged in the shadows, clutching the pistol against his injured shoulder that now refused to move. He passed through silently as he could manage, the dimmest of light just ahead to guide his way. From behind, the voices of the Naga could be heard, and he knew he needed to pick up the pace if he were to avoid running his foes directly into his team’s backside.
When his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized he was in another vast area. At first glance, he thought he was in a long hallway, but soon discovered there weren’t walls to his left. Instead, dozens of short archways resided, leading into another area that the light didn’t penetrate.
“Too open,” he muttered, choosing to run the length of the ‘hall’ rather than risk the darkness. Far down the path, he saw two Deadlights upon the ground, the likely source of his point gain earlier. Each step drew pain from the shoulder, as well as the arm, and he didn’t realize he was limping until he caught sight of his shadow on the archway he passed.
Panic nearly took over. His pace was far too slow, and the sounds of footsteps from behind grew louder. The hall seemed endless, and he doubted he could Blink several times without being seen. If he did so, he risked giving away his team’s location. While that was the intended plan, that decision was made when his arm was on the mend. The strategy had to be altered now, given that he was now handicapped. With a held breath, he ducked into the next archway, pressed himself against the back of it, and waited.
“He went this way,” Komorda hissed and pointed his spear down the hall.
“I’m well aware,” Lahwanta sighed before turning toward the male Naga. “If your aim had been better, we’d be collecting a corpse for Ethryn, instead of giving chase.”
His heart froze for a moment, and he nearly let out the breath he’d held.
17
“What of the others,” one of the Naga called out.
“I saw something odd,” another chimed in. “I swore it was a Valkyrie that was with them.”
Nearly a dozen Naga had poured into the hall, given his last dared glance from the edge of the archway. The last was hanging back just within the main room, looking over his shoulder toward the stairway by the pool.
“The Valkyrie wasn’t part of the deal, and the Siren is our own problem to deal with,” Lahwanta announced.
The plan had changed drastically over the last few seconds, and DeVante had to forge a new one quickly. He didn’t stand a chance taking on the dozen alone, not with his injuries, but he couldn’t permit the group to track down his friends. Another question demanded answers, and there was only one way he could get it. He sucked in a breath, peeked out from the back corner of the archway, and chose his path.
Blink +1!
Blink+2!
Blink +2!
Blink +2!
60/100!
Never before had DeVante attempted so many Blinks solo, let alone with a passenger. By the time he ceased the spell, his head was spinning, and he’d nearly given too much time for his passenger to recover. However, he forgot that his stomach had grown accustomed to the jarring form of transportation, but his passenger was down on both knees, expelling his stomach. DeVante took the opportunity to kick the spear aside, then winced as it clanged off the floor.
The first Blink placed him behind the straggler, the one looking back into the main room. The second to the foot of the open staircase, and the remaining two to get them to the next floor. As the Naga male retched over the railing, DeVante shot forward and jammed the barrel of the pistol into his neck while channeling a shot.
“Hands up,” he growled, hoping the fallen spear hadn’t given his location away. “Good. Now, spill, and I don’t mean for you to retch over the rail some more.”
“Go to the nether, Land Walker,” the Naga spat, then attempted to spin around before DeVante thrust the pistol so far into his neck that he nearly lifted him over the rail. The male was lighter than he’d expected, which could prove useful knowledge.
“I’ll send you to the nether if you don’t answer me,” he hissed, then leaned into the pistol so the Naga couldn’t get his footing. With the webbed hands raised, and DeVante pressed against him, it likely took all the muscles in the male’s lower back to keep from falling over the rail to his potential death. “What deal was made with Ethryn, and what of my friends?”
“You’ll kill me either way, Land Walker,” he chuckled, his blue and white head slowly turning toward him.
He hadn’t time for the back and forth, knowing it wouldn’t take the Naga too long to figure he’d Blinked to the stairs. Either that or they’d press on down the hall toward his group. With a frustrated groan, he jammed the heel of his boot into the webbed toes of the Naga, drove his elbow into his lower back, then jammed the pistol into his lower spine.
“How does life without the use of your legs sound, water sucker?” he asked, hoping the insult came out threatening.
“You wouldn’t,” the male groaned. “I’ll scream in pain, and my people shall come for me.”
“Guess we’ll see,” he muttered and clicked the hammer.
“No, wait!”
“Too late.”
“Wait, please!”
DeVante let the smile rise on his face, given that the Naga hadn’t turned his head to see his expression. The barrel was jammed harder into the back, just to prove his point.
“The Mana Demon wanted your friends, as well as yourself,” he continued, his voice cracking. “A messenger came to us not a day before your arrival.”
Before? DeVante nearly dropped the pistol upon hearing the news. If Ethryn’s people arrived the day before, then she knew where they were heading. While she may have assumed they sought to bring Nasaphene back, and that the Nagarian Temple was the most likely source of power, he couldn’t risk it. Either she’d more influence over Rosette than he’d previously thought, or there had been a traitor in his mix.
“How did that meeting go, and what did the messenger look like?” he growled, looking over the Naga’s naked shoulder to see if the others had reached the stairs.
“The High Priestess refused, of course,” the Naga replied, shaking his head. “Said she would rather see all her people slain than bend the knee to that wretched woman.”
“If that’s true, then why are you here?” he asked, already drawing his own conclusion.
“The rest of us weren’t so willing to make that sacrifice,” he muttered, shrinking as the words escaped his lips. “With our people scattered, our numbers thinned by the Blood Drow? We couldn’t risk another powerful enemy upon our doors. We’d no ability to stave her invasion, now that her army has nearly tripled in numbers.”
Tripled. The word knotted his stomach, but it was information he’d already assumed. Still, the news made his heart skip a beat, the truth far more powerful than the presumed.
“Lahwanta led the coup,” he sighed, slowly lowering his webbed hands until DeVante jammed the pistol into his back with force. “Fine, fine. While you were led here, others remained at the temple. The High Priestess was imprisoned for treason. . .”
“Treason?!” he snapped, far too louder than he’d intended. He glanced down at the ground floor quickly, then let his breath expel when he saw no one.
“To endanger one’s people is an act of treason, Land Walker,” he spat. “Your friends put up quite the fight though. It’ll take months to repair the damage.”
He nearly smiled at the thought, but quickly realized that this Naga wouldn’t be here now if his friends had successfully fought them off. His chest ached with each breath, the pain having little to do with the severe damage to his right arm.
“Where are they now?”
“Now?” he chuckled. “How should I know?”
“Then I’ve no use for you,” he growled. “Hope you can fly.”
“No, wait, wait,” the Naga cried out. “A slave ship sails to the temple. Your friends shall be placed on it, then taken back to her, along with Theanna.”
“What would Ethryn want with the High Priestess?”
“She didn’t say. I swear to you, Land Walker. The Mana Demon made no mention of it, just that she wanted Theanna as well, at a later date.”
“And how long until they’re on the ship?”
“No way of knowing. Could be days, or the ship could already have set anchor. I wasn’t part of that team.”
“No, just the kill squad sent to find me,” he groaned.
Two more notifications flashed in his eyes. Two more undead slain. Had they read as Naga, he’d thrown this one over the rail and Blinked his way back to the hall. At the moment, there were still answers he required.
“My other question, who was the messenger?”
“I don’t. . .” he started before DeVante jammed the pistol in deeper. “A human. Female. Yellow of hair. Her name was short, I barely caught it.”
“Pryn?” he hissed, feeling the Sha’Kurian blood stir in his body. “Was her name Pryn?”
“I don’t know. . maybe? It was short, as short as the name you gave.”
His childhood friend, his first love. The image of her flashed before his eyes, standing within the temple, making demands to Theanna on Ethryn’s behalf. She seemed so broken when she realized what she’d done, how her actions had brought Ethryn their way within the storm drains. Would she have furthered her treachery? Would she simply have given up and turned to a higher power? Part of him longed to dismiss it, that longing look as the water rushed him beneath her still etched upon his memory.
“One last thing,” he growled, trying to withhold the raging Sha’Kurian blood that threatened to paint the walls with as many Naga as he could kill. “My friends, the battle. Are all of them well? Were any of them hurt, or. . .killed?”
The Naga hesitated far too long for his liking. In his experience, the male withheld because he knew the news wouldn’t be taken well, and that his life hung in the balance. The blood bubbled and popped within, numbing the pain in his arm as he leaned into the back of the Naga.
“Answer me, or I’ll just find another.”
“Your friends fought well, especially. . .” the Naga started, drawing into a whimper when he paused.
“. . .the Shaman.”
“You lie.”
“Her magic did most of the damage to the temple,” the Naga replied, his words flowing quickly as though he needed to defend his people’s actions. “She took many before. . .we couldn’t stop her without killing her.”
“Lies!” he shouted, drew back, and slammed the pistol upside the Naga’s head.
The rage exploded within him, and the amount of mana channeled into the pistol would surely spell both their deaths. He didn’t care. All he could see was Osmorra’s face. All her wisdom, the kindness she’s shown him, and that wonderful moment shared in the hut at the logging colony. The blood boiled over, the hum of the pistol so intense that he could barely hold his grip. But, as the Sha’Kurian blood took over, he felt something stir on his shoulder. The entire time, he’d long forgotten the little dragon that hung upon his good arm.
“BWARRRRRRRRP!”
Flames billowed from the small creature’s mouth, engulfing the Naga as the male screamed. The scent of charred flesh assaulted his senses, and the heat growing against his skin threatened to cause damage. With a scream of both pain and anger, he kicked the burning Naga in the chest, sending him to the ground below in a ball of fire. The man hit with a sickening crunch, and the flames continued to light upon the vast space.
Like a boiling kettle left unattended over the flame, so too did his blood threaten to burst through his veins. All the pain, all the suffering, every ounce of it coursed through him as he sucked the mana back from the pistol.
Blink +1!
Blink +1!
Blink +1!
63/100!
The first Naga gasped when DeVante appeared six feet to her side. She hadn’t time to react given she was channeling the water from the pool to snuff out the flames consuming her comrade. The blast from his pistol was drowned out by the raging scream escaping his lips, and the power from the shot took her surprised head clean off her shoulders.
Still screaming, he turned, channeled, aimed, and fired. The male storming out from the archway was in the midst of throwing his spear at DeVante, and the shot from the pistol met the weapon mid-flight, obliterated it, and continued into the outstretched arm of the owner. The Naga spun when the
shot struck his arm. The flesh burned and ripped free as the projectile tore through it, leaving the appendage flapping against the Naga’s wide back muscles. A scream sounded as more Naga poured out from the shadows, and DeVante’s face was so scrunched in his sneer that the skin started to tingle.
He stowed the pistol in favor of the dagger, not caring what happened next, so long as he took as many Naga with him to the nether.
Blink+1!
64/100!
You stab Naga Male for +73 damage!
You slash Naga Male for +42 damage!
Naga Male is Bleeding!
Blink +1!
65/100!
You stab Naga Female for +82 damage!
Naga Female is bleeding!
Blink+1!
66/100!
You slash Naga Male for 34 damage!
Naga Male is bleeding!
Daggers +1!
DeVante Blinked, stabbed, and slashed without mercy. Obtain a target, Blink, attack, on to the next.
Rinse and repeat. Spears jabbed his way, only to find empty space where he once stood. Tendrils of water snapped at him, only to miss and crack into one of the Naga. The first to be hit with friendly fire landed on her back, and DeVante Blinked atop her, his weight crushing her chest, just as he drove the blade into her wide eye before moving on to the next foe. He lost track of how many were down, or whether he’d been struck. He saw red, and he wouldn’t stop until the color of the floor matched his anger.
A death circle formed around him, surrounding him with nearly a dozen spears seeking blood. He let them come. As two spears thrust toward him, he Blinked just aside the one to his left, slashed the Naga in the arm, spun, dropped, and slashed again across the naked thigh. Blink. Pierce the target from behind, twist the blade, Blink.
The spell was used so quickly that the heads of the Naga could scarcely keep up with his movements. His own head grew light, and the amount of mana expelled for each Blink would likely drain his reserves. He didn’t care. They needed to die, horribly, painfully. He wanted them all on the ground, writhing, just so he could take his time torturing them afterward.
The words flashed in his eyes so quickly that a constant glow remained in his vision. He saw between the letters, choosing his marks, dodging, weaving, Blinking, slashing, stabbing. Several times he parried attacks, the latter seeing Perry unleash a pillar of fire from his tiny mouth, forcing DeVante’s head away to avoid being burned himself. When the heat pushed back the group, he took advantage of the distraction and Blinked to the opposite side.
Blink +1!
78/100!
You stab Female Naga for +79 Damage!
Daggers +1!
You parry Naga Male’s attack!
Parry +1!
You dodge Naga Male’s attack!
Dodge +1!
You slashed Naga Male for +42 damage!
Naga Male is bleeding!
Blink+1!
Blink+1!
80/100!
Water grazes you for +12 damage!
Health 146/275!
One female Naga had broken away from the death circle, with one hand raised toward the pool while the other clamped down on the blood that poured from her stomach. With a screaming howl, he Blinked right before her, drove his dagger into her throat, then kicked her off as hot blood sprayed on his face.
His chest heaved as he gasped for air. Blood dripped from his dagger, his clothing, and pools of it coated the floor. Naga stirred before his eyes, but none were on their feet. He counted them as quickly as the anger would permit, the rage rumbling once more as he found just over a dozen dead, or dying in the room.
DeVante turned in time to see Lahwanta and Komorda at the door, the latter glaring back at him as he side-stepped toward the stairs.
“Get the fuck back here!” he shouted, clutched the dagger, and tried to Blink.
Pain shot throughout his body, and he dropped to his knees as his head felt like an Ogre was squeezing it between his giant hands. He tried once more as swift-moving shadows could be seen from the stairwell, and once more his pain intensified.
“No, not now,” he growled, fell to his bottom, and fumbled for the scrolls after letting the dagger clang against the ground. Untying the parchments required the use of his teeth, but he unfurled the scrolls and shook them until he could see the words.
“Out of mana,” he groaned, the scroll shaking in his hand. “Out of gods damn, fucking mana!”
