Nenvalur, Anwill, and Roburn were now completely swarmed by creatures, forming a small circle to fend them off. "We can't hold them much longer! We must break the crystals!" Roburn shouted. Nenvalur caught a glance of Batch and Edryd making their way over to the ochelons.
"Damn it! Those kids are being reckless. Follow me," he shouted. He made himself a trail of severed limbs and writhing bodies as he made his way over to the two boys at twice the speed they were going. Anwill and Roburn followed as closely as they could, but were a bit slower than the master swordsman.
Batch reached the ochelons, though they didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. He staved off a few more glicks who didn't dare to come too close to the looming, stationary giants. "Batch!" Edryd called out a few meters away, but Batch was distracted momentarily, as he tried to figure out what made the ochelons behave the way they were. Their heavy breathing caused their broad, muscular shoulders to rise and fall slowly, but something stirred out of the corner of his vision.
The addia, he realized, as a sinking feeling spawned in his gut.
He turned his attention to the creature, who hadn't noticed him yet since it was too busy tending to its seared hide. It was gurgling mucus in its throat, then using its tentacles to smear it over the burned areas. He watched it closely, as he had never seen such a horrible creature before.
Its large, muscular legs and broad paws made it a formidable enemy, even to the most experienced of Synners. The two tentacles added to the danger, and its large eyes saw everything that would try to flank it. "Damn, you're ugly," Batch growled as the addia gurgled more of the icky goo and opened its eyes to make sure it had enough.
That's when it saw him.
It flared its tentacles and let out a roar that would have ripped Batch's skin off had he been standing any closer. It reared on its hind paws and began to charge him, but he was nearly frozen in fear. The first strike aimed to squash him flat, but he somehow managed to get out of the way of the first flick of the beast's long tentacles. "Batch! Keep moving! Don't try to fight it!" Nenvalur called out from the addia's left side.
Yeah, no kidding, but I think it's too late to run. Time to dance, you slimy piece of shit. Eyes on me, he thought, dodging another swipe of the slimy tentacles.
He saw Nenvalur move out of the corner of his eye and disappear behind the beast. Its retractable claws came out and shone menacingly in the moonlight, sending a slight chill down his spine.
Another blow came for him, but he was too slow to react this time, and the creature struck his side, sending him straight into one of the ochelon's legs. The force of the impact against one of the metal prongs that was used to pull the crystals punctured his leather jerkin, burying itself into his arm and, ultimately, shattering the bone.
"Batch!" Ed called out as he watched it all happen much more slowly than reality allowed, hearing Batch's pained scream in the fear-filled echoes of his mind.
The addia came for Batch at a charge, and picked him up with its tentacles as he grunted in pain. It had grabbed both of his arms, stretching them as far as they would go as they raised him into the air. Edryd had only just made his way to the circle of ochelons and watched his friend being held by the two long tentacles.
"Batch!" Edryd cried out, but it was too late. The tentacles ripped Batch's arms from their sockets, and his body fell to the ground, landing on his neck with a squelching thud. He could hear the bones in his neck snapping as the blood pooled beneath his friend.
Tears of anger welled in his eyes as the fire in his belly raged like an unbridled mana flame. "You slimy fuck! I'm going to pull those tentacles of yours out through your ass!" he shouted as he charged the addia. "Ed, don't do it!" Roburn shouted, but there was little he could do to stop the young Synner from attacking it.
The creature heard his shout and immediately turned on him, whipping Batch's lifeless arms at him. He slid under the limbs, feeling a few warm drops of his friend's blood speckle his face, causing his anger to flare even more. "Fight me fairly, fuck-face! How dare you use my friend against me like that!" he shouted again, continuing his sprint.
A single tentacle came for him this time, but he was ready for it, leaping over the sweeping attack and swinging his sword downward. It met the slimy flesh, severing the tentacle in two, forcing the creature to reel in pain. It wildly swung another tentacle at him that met the same fate as the first, as he jumped both over Batch's body and the tentacle in one bound. Its steaming blood soaked the floor and body beneath it, making it bellow and screech in pain.
"Doesn't feel good, does it?" he shouted, not caring if the beast could understand him, but it gave him courage. Nenvalur dashed in behind it, hoping to get in close enough to wound its leg, but just as he got in range for a strike, it saw him and flicked its tail toward him. He stepped out of the way and sliced the sharp tip off with a single blow. It screeched and moaned in pain for a moment, and as it did so, he landed a blow to both of its hind legs at the same time, severing the tendons.
The creature's rear fell to the floor with a heavy thud as it struggled to keep its other half balanced.
Edryd walked over to it, knowing it still had its claws that could kill him with a single blow. He breathed heavily as his eyes fixed on the addia's that were opened to their widest, glaring back at him. It leaned on one leg and sent a forceful blow aimed at Edryd, but he swung his blade to meet the blow, severing its paw in half.
"This is for Batch!" Edryd screamed, looking directly into its eyes as blood poured from the wound on its paw. Before the addia could even think about trying to strike it with its newfound stump, Edryd spun around and used his momentum to jab his blade under its chin, puncturing its hide and brain. Its glowing eyes twitched for a moment, and blood could be heard gurgling in its throat as it slumped to the ground in a heap.
"Fuuuuuuuck!" Edryd shouted with tears in his eyes, ripping the blade out of the creature as violently as he could, and stabbed it again for good measure.
He withdrew his sword that was covered in its warm blood, and walked over to Batch's lifeless body. He fell to his knees in the puddle of blood that had now drenched the stone floor and sobbed as the battle raged on around him.
Glicks and Synners fell around them, though the ochelons were still motionless. He wiped the snot from his nostrils, shutting out everything around him.
"I'm so sorry, Batch. I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you in time to save you. I should have been faster, stronger. I…" he trailed off between hiccups, bowing his head and running his fingers over his friend's still-open eyes. His sobbing forced him to lean on the body in support, as tears streamed down his face, as Nenvalur approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You will see him again in the next life, of this I am certain. I have also lost many of my friends in battle, but I know that I will see them again. Life in our cores can never be createdordestroyed; it can only be transformed. His core has simply returned to the Ethereal, where he will embrace you once more when the time is right," he said comfortingly to the sobbing boy as Ed tightly gripped Batch's blood-soaked jerkin.
"You've honored him by slaying the beast that took his life, making them even in death," he continued, bowing his head respectfully before helping Ed to his feet. "Now come on; we have a castle to save," he said, patting Ed's shoulder as he wiped away the tears. He gave Nenvalur a nod of understanding, giving Batch one last look before turning away and gripping his sword tightly.
Anwill and Roburn arrived, covered in guts and other entrails, but skidded to a halt when they saw Batch's body drenched in blood. "Holy shit!" Roburn said, shifting his gaze to look at the fallen beast, then back to Batch as he bowed his head. "We'll meet again, my friend," he said quietly, understanding death better than most.
"We need to use mana to either pull these crystals out of their skulls or break the big ones, so I will need the three of you to do that with me," Nenvalur explained, gesturing to the large crystals.
"I think breaking them will be easier than trying to rip the crystals out," Anwill replied before glancing at the young boy's body on the ground, immediately understanding what had happened. "I'm sorry for your loss, young one, but right now, we need your help," he said as he walked over to Ed and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll do my best," Ed nodded again, but the tear-stained cheeks told Anwill everything he needed to know. "Good enough for me," Anwill said with a gentle smile. "I can help, too!" Rosie shouted from a distance. She was covered in blood, but seemed to have her wits about her.
"Shit, is that Batch?" she said, gasping lightly when she noticed the body on the ground. "It was," Ed replied solemnly without looking behind him. "Damn it. He was a strong Synner, Ed. I'm sorry, but we'll have to mourn him later. I promise we will," she said solemnly, but he gave no other response.
"What do we need to do, Anwill?" she asked, shifting her gaze away before any tears could fall. "We're going to have to crush the crystals as one, but we'll have to make sure not to get in the way of the resulting blasts. Nenvalur, can you take those three over there while we handle the rest?" he asked, getting a nod of confirmation from the large elf.
"Good. Edryd, you're with Roburn. Rosie, you're with me. Let's move," he spread his arm out in a fanning motion. Each pair gathered around their targets and began to draw as much mana as they could, pushing the limits of their abilities. "Ready?" Nenvalur called out as massive orbs of mana swirled in his hands. "Now!" he called out, prompting the others to release their spells simultaneously with his.
The five obliterated their targets, though Nenvalur's spell nearly knocked Ed off his feet from the resulting blast. Shards of violet crystals soared through the air, as a burst of mana swelled from each one, and the tendrils of mana that connected them to the creatures flailed loosely before dissipating into the air.
The ochelons that guarded them flinched as they woke from their dazed states. Their large eyes blinked a few times before growing immediately enraged when they noticed the horde of other creatures at their feet. Nenvalur signaled for the others who were still fighting to back away from the titanic beasts since each of their large claws was like a scythe to grass as they cut down dozens of creatures in a single blow.
"It worked! Master Garett was right," Roburn called out, knowing the ochelons were far too angry at whatever was before them to notice him. Their rage unified them, making them one, single force of mass destruction, as their large arms swung down and struck the glicks beneath them, sending more than a few of them flying into the air.
"Retreat to a safe distance!" he shouted, feeling a smile of relief stretch across his face. The order was passed down to any within earshot while the ochelons went to work, slaying every glick they could lay their claws on. The smaller creatures fled as quickly as they could, through the broken gate in hopes of safety from their new, larger enemies, but were met by the ones who remained outside.
Edryd and the others encountered little resistance on their way to regroup with the others, though they made sure not to become targets as they escaped. They gathered at the top of the hill where they'd first met Garett, watching as the remainder of the horde was slaughtered mercilessly by the ochelons.
"By the gods, we've done it! Victory! We have victory!" he shouted, raising his bloodied sword high into the air. The others did the same with a unified roar while watching the large creatures chase and slaughter the horde out of the gate. Ed's eyes widened in disbelief at their brute strength, but he couldn't feel entirely relieved knowing he'd suffered a loss that most didn't even know of.
However, as the battle in the palace raged on, Nenvalur and Anwill glanced at each other knowingly, as they could feel the mana even from where they stood.
It's not over, yet, Anwill thought, gazing toward the source of his discomfort.