MagiCraft Master 2: A Mass Isekai LitRPG, page 21
To Logan’s great chagrin, that also applied to their golems. The guardian that had been hit by darkmetal bullets got up and the rest made room for it to reenter the formation.
“Enough data?”
[I have good news, bad news, and some really bad news.]
“Well, ain’t that just great,” Logan said and thrust his hand forward. “Shield!”
A blue umbrella of Numa sprouted from his hand to block three more staff strikes. The shield didn’t toss back the attacks as it usually did, however. Instead, it just blinked out. Logan stepped back forcefully to dodge. This time he didn’t get zapped.
[The good news is that they are very predictable and slow, as you can see. The bad news is that I don’t have a solution as to how we can defeat them.]
“And the really bad news?” Logan said. He took a sidestep, summoned a Zweihänder and blasted the enemy formation’s side, clumping them together and tossing them on their sides and backs. A few of them tapped the Zweihänder with their staves, making their crackling blue energy run along the blade toward Logan, who got zapped again.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Power Armor Fighting Level 15]
[That energy they’re using? It is burning our Numa. The armor will be out of juice after a few more exchanges.]
“Glark,” the guardians muttered as they got up.
This was bad. Really bad. Logan needed a change of plans. He glanced at the bridge. Dancing on it to start dropping the enemies down sounded alluring, but there wouldn’t be room for him to dodge. And he was rapidly running out of Numa.
Logan danced back, and they peppered the enemy line with a spray of small darkmetal bullets. Some of the guardians knelt and grunted in displeasure. Some brought their staff up to protect their body and head. Logan created a spear of his own and lunged at one of their legs. It stumbled and fell on its face, and while the other enemies tried to strike at Logan’s staff, he was fast enough to withdraw without having his Numa zapped.
However, the guardian simply got up and rejoined the formation.
Logan danced away from another thrust of staves and took a glance at the stairs. The first few scythe-fiends were already on them, idly floating in some kind of a bubble, trying to swing their scythes, but the motions were slow. The rest of the scythe-fiends were bunched up and hesitating at the edge of the bubble. Before Logan tore his gaze away, a thick darkness was cast on the bubble, making it look like it was made of ink.
Seems like the stairway will hold until . . . he gets here.
Logan dodged again but too close to the edge. He teetered and the guardians swung again. Tumor sprouted an extra arm from the armor to help Logan regain his balance as he was focused on blocking the staff strikes with a tower shield. The ripples of crackling Numa energy zapped Logan again.
He could already feel the armor slowing down. Tumor must have been in power-saver mode.
“This won’t do. They’re slow, but I can’t block. I have to dodge.”
[There isn’t enough space. They will corner you and force you to block. You need to figure something out.]
With that, Tumor briefly took control of Logan’s arm and shot a fusillade of bullets, which made the enemy formation crouch and stop.
[That was the last one I am willing to expend.]
Logan’s mind was racing. He was trying to think of every way the armor could bend. He was thinking of ways to fight without getting hit. He thought of disarming the enemy. But there were seven of the guardians. He would get hit.
I should have tried getting the weapon off the guy I shoulder-charged.
A useless thought, but there it was. Logan brushed it aside and used the wall to jump over the guardians to the other side of the room. He jumped, kicked himself off the wall, and was about to land a few yards away when one of the staves flew in a blue blur through the air and struck him in the shoulder.
The massive force of the toss threw him in the corner. Tumor reinforced the armor’s back, cushioning the blow. The wall gave no yield, and pain lanced through Logan. He coughed weakly as his body was zapped by the staff as it clattered to the floor next to him. Logan tried to push his pain away and reach for the staff, but the metal on his fingers would not bend and his arm felt heavy.
[We are out of juice. The armor only has a smidge left.]
The guardians approached. There was no cruelty on their strange, glowing faces.
Logan tried to struggle up. His mind was hazy from the pain, and he knew he couldn’t fight without Numa. He could barely move in the armor. But there had to be something he could do.
Suddenly another zap struck him, and the blue electricity rushed through his body. The pain was more acute this time. There was no Numa to drain, so perhaps it was draining something else. Logan screamed out in pain.
The guardians halted.
“Gloork,” one of them said in their mechanical voice.
The one that had attacked him nodded, and a space opened on its arm. From that space, it pulled out a knife with a blue edge. The guardian put down the staff and knelt by Logan with the same air as a hunter approaching wounded prey that needed to be put out of its misery.
[LOGAN!]
The knife struck but Logan blocked it with an arm. It sliced through the darkmetal, and he felt another cold pain in his arm. Blood spurted in an arc across the guardian’s chest and face, but it seemed to barely register the fact.
The guardian grabbed Logan and pushed him down on the ground, as it raised the knife. In a moment of brilliant desperation, Logan saw the solution in his mind in a haze of pain. With the last ounce of his strength, he grabbed the guardian’s arm.
“[Funnel].”
Logan felt the rush of energy flow into the armor. It was so potent, it became visible as a stream of hazy, glowing blue mist left the guardian and transferred into the armor. Tumor instantly blasted the guardian with a blast of Black Missiles. It let out a mechanical groan and fell on its back. The runes carved in the ceramics or stone that the guardian was made of were slightly cracked . . .
[I do not remember when the armor was at such capacity. You are brilliant, Logan.]
Logan smirked. It was time to turn the tables.
CHAPTER 44
Logan could sense through their connection that Tumor was having fun. Logan let him take control of the armor, and they ended up doing backflips and precise kicks that connected into cartwheels as they fought the guardians. The one that had attempted to kill Logan was up, but it was slower now.
“What are you doing?” Logan asked as they zoomed around, shoulder-charging, kicking, blocking, and swinging a staff of their own. They got hit. Often. The zaps still reached Logan, but now that they had Numa to drain, it wasn’t as painful. Tumor was also doing something to reroute the energy, as far as Logan could tell.
[I am expending the energy. We cannot drain more or we will short-circuit. We will be at 15% capacity again in four seconds. Feel free to use your ability again.]
Logan did just that. He used [Funnel], and they drained and weakened another warrior. That was when they stopped.
The automatons formed a tight formation, pressing against each other, extending their glowing staves at Logan. They muttered in their mechanical voices to each other and then they approached him with methodical care.
One of them swung while the others parried and shielded. Easy to dodge in and of itself, but sometimes the front guys also took stabs with the staff. Logan had no angles to attack.
Of course it wouldn’t be that easy . . .
Another staff flew toward Logan’s head. He ducked, but their formation was an indomitable, deadly wall. A crackling bolt of Numa energy struck Logan in the dead center of his chest. And then another. The pain wracked and arced through his body, but he soldiered through.
“[Funnel].”
This created a short circuit. The enemies kept draining the Numa, and Logan kept charging himself, all the while working as a conduit of pain. Black tendrils lashed the necks of the guardians like whips, wrapping around them, and Logan knew Tumor was squeezing hard. Logan somersaulted in the air to dodge two more strikes coming at them. He vaulted over the enemy formation, the whips felling the enemies. With the staves no longer touching Logan, and him keeping the funnel going through the armor, the two went still, the runes on their bodies no longer glowing blue.
The remaining formation of guardians stopped and regarded Logan.
“Gloaaark?” one of them asked the others.
“Gloark.” the others answered.
“Glaaaaaargh.”
“Glorak.”
Logan took the moment of reprieve to slowly exhale and relax his body. He dropped to a knee and breathed. He could do this.
Then the enemy did something that made Logan’s breath catch in shock. They all approached each other and huddled together, surrounding one of them from each side. They struck their staves on the ground and broke down into rubble. All but one. And then the rubble flashed up in a brilliant blue and started morphing together, clamping onto the one remaining.
“Oh, hell, no,” Logan said and charged toward the thing. “You’re not pulling this Transformer shit on me.”
But Logan’s charge was halted. He bounced from an almost-invisible sphere of blue glittering light surrounding the enemy. It almost resembled the magic of the Faelves.
“Logan!” Snoff called out, voice full of despair and urgency. Logan got up and looked toward the stairway.
The oily darkness was gone, but the air was still glimmering, and it looked like the walls had sprouted spikes and tentacles that were smacking away the scythe-fiends trying to approach the bubble in which two of them were already floating.
But the Herald had come. The crab-creature locked its beady black eyes onto Logan. The tentacles and spikes attacked it, but it brushed them off with disdainful ease. It walked through the bubble without so much as a flinch.
“Logan,” it called. Logan snarled. This was bad.
Logan looked back at the guardians. There was only one left. The creature now towered over him, twelve feet in the air, arms and legs as thick as tree trunks. The arms sprouted four hands in the middle, all twisting in different angles. Each of the hands was holding a staff crackling with Numa energy.
The Herald got through the defenses. crashing into the Faelves with terrible speed. Snoff had his shield and spear raised, but it was like a child fighting an adult. Snoff stood in a direct line against the Herald and was tossed backward toward the ledge. Logan dashed in and caught the Faelf.
“Logan,” the Herald said. “This time, there will be no escape.”
Despair took over Logan. The giant amalgam-guardian struck down with all four hands, making the ground tremble as he dodged. The Herald charged at him but he managed to put the shield-ring on just in time; Tumor instantly routed energy from the armor into it. The force of the Herald’s charge still, however, made Logan crash into the wall. He ducked down immediately to dodge a pointed-pincer punch from the Herald.
“Tumor!” Logan said and jumped up toward the wall, off which he vaulted to the other side of both the Herald and the guardian. The guardian turned in a dumb, mechanical way. Tumor shot a barrage at the Herald.
“The guardian is mechanical!”
Through their connection, Logan felt a lightbulb of creativity lighting up in Tumor’s mind. He felt a part of him leave the armor and transfer toward the guardian. Tumor had used his ability [Possess]. The giant guardian stopped, and for the briefest moment the deep azure of the runes crisscrossing its giant body flickered. The automaton stopped for half a heartbeat.
[Success.]
That’s all Tumor said, and then the automaton struck at the Herald, slamming first two, then four staves at it. The Herald groaned and a short spear formed in Logan’s hand. The armor worked slower than usual, but the speed of Logan’s charge still made his vision blur as he crashed into the abomination that had been Malcolm Specter.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Power Armor Fighting Level 16]
Logan pounded a few more strikes in, but they glanced off the carapace. Tumor prompted him to take a step back, and as he did, the giant automaton stomped on the crab-monster and slammed it with the staves.
The scythe-fiends streamed in and Logan charged at them with a sword and buckler. With deft and vicious strikes, he kept the monsters off the Fae Folk. Snoff and his friends fought hard, but when any of them took a hit from one of the scythes, Logan wasted no time grabbing his allies and ferrying them a few yards away. Eventually, he killed all of the scythe-fiends, leaving sizzling puddles of blue mercury on the ground. The Faelves were panting heavily, backs against the wall. More hoarse screams echoed in the stairway, but they were still further away in the labyrinthine tunnels.
Logan charged the Herald, aiming his short sword at the monster’s neck. The Herald twisted away, dodging both the staff strike and Logan’s lunge.
“Grab it,” Logan said.
The Herald, of course understanding Logan, lunged at him, but Tumor’s automaton blocked the strike with its massive body. Some rubble fell from it. Then the giant guardian took the Herald in a bear hug, which the crab-monster struggled against. It even managed to strike off the guardian’s glowing head, but Tumor didn’t seem to mind.
Tumor’s giant guardian lifted the Herald above its headless torso. The Herald twisted and struck at the arms, but having its feet lifted off the ground, it had no way of generating power. Slowly but surely, Tumor’s automaton walked over to the ledge.
With mounting elation and relief, Logan watched as Tumor tossed whatever was left of Malcolm Specter into the darkness.
Logan sagged and an overwhelming relief overcame him and he collapsed to the ground in a sitting position. The hoarse screams were coming closer, but the Faelves who were still conscious were already building their illusions back up. The scythe-fiends would have a hard time getting through without their leader.
Logan got up and peered over the ledge. He saw the giant guardian sagging, then twisting, before it went completely still.
[I tried to leave the body. It started taking back control immediately. Best if I keep myself in it.]
“Yeah,” Logan said distractedly as he peered into the darkness. He was waiting to feel something. He was pretty sure that thing had been his dad. Now it had fallen hundreds, if not thousands, of feet. Certain death. Or so Logan hoped. Or feared . . . ?
I should be feeling something.
[Let it sit for a while. Don’t force it out.]
Thanks, Dr. Freud.
[Humor is a self-defense mechanism.]
Not now, Tumor.
[As you realize, you are already—Sorry. What do you want to do?]
Logan didn’t answer. He just peered into the darkness, not sure what to think or feel. Snoff came up to him. He limped and winced in pain but had enough strength to stand. Logan saw the Faelf looking up at him and felt him gently pat him on his hip before limping away.
Tumor was right, as he usually was, the bastard. He should just wait and see. They were all but done. Levemoth was all but done. They had come here for a reason, and that quest needed to continue. Logan started making his way to the glowing bridge and toward the platform where the floating panel waited. Logan had the instinctive sense that the platform was some form of an elevator. It would go down into the void. To find what, he did not know.
Will I see my father’s corpse down there?
There were many questions to be answered. He was walking toward them. The Faelves took care of their wounded and followed.
CHAPTER 45
Logan stepped up to the platform. It hovered in the air. It bobbed ever so slightly as Logan placed his weight on it. He approached the floating panel with the Faelves in tow. The platform nudged noticeably as the heavy automaton stepped on it. Fortunately, it stabilized instantly, clearly made to transport scores of people.
“Gl—Ara . . . Rau . . . Grak . . . Orak . . . Logan,” the automaton spoke.
The Faelves flinched, and Snoff raised his shield.
“It’s Tumor,” Logan said and chuckled. “Say ‘hi.’ ”
“Hullo,” Snoff said and regarded the giant automaton with care.
“Logan,” the mechanically resounding voice of the automaton said. “Ah. It feels good to have a body again.”
The automaton gave a stiff bow. “It is an honor to speak with the Faelves.”
A wave of excitement passed through the Fae Folk and they stepped in closer and soon circled Tumor with a myriad of questions, requests, and remarks. Logan chuckled to himself and focused on the panel.
It was smooth and black like a polished sheet of obsidian. It gleamed in the blue light Tumor’s automaton was letting off, as well as in the light of the crystals floating above them.
For a reason not quite clear to him, Logan knew things about the panel. He knew it was an elevator. And he knew what to do. He stepped up next to the panel.
“[Funnel].”
[Skill Level Up!]
[Funnel Level 15]
The panel flared into life with blue light, as it flowed from Logan’s fingertips. Strange runes came to life. There were several buttons on the panel—empty blue circles which glowed with the power of Numa.
[Looks simple enough. I see you are aware that it is indeed an elevator.]
“Why do I know that?” Logan asked.
Before Tumor could answer, Logan saw something in the corner of his eye. One of the small glowing bugs that had been following them scuttled up Logan’s leg and torso. With an air of determination, it walked across the surface of the armor, all the way to Logan’s shoulder, arm, hand, and then onto the panel. As soon as it reached there, it stopped on a particular round button and did something extremely eerie.
