Chapter 4398: Sword, Shield, and Hand (part 2) |
Abthot managed to hold her ground only thanks to the Maw of Bytra that allowed her to cast spells during the fight and the Yggdrasill wood of the Skull. Without it, the sensory overload would have sent her into shock, and she would have never managed to keep up with Dawn’s superior swordsmanship.
To make matters worse, the light element the Horseman exuded, and her boundless vitality drew the hybrid like a moth to a flame. Abthot was so hungry, and Dawn was a world-class feast that she could reach just by extending her hand.
If Dawn’s crystal sword didn’t cut it first. If her Dark Mastery spell didn’t kill her where Abthot stood. If the Horseman didn’t squash her like a bug thanks to the mass gap between them.
Abthot gritted her teeth and played the only card she had left.
***
"I didn’t expect your sister to be so strong against Abominations." Jorl said, taking the words out of everyone’s mouth. "Since Dawn uses the light element, which is just a meal to Abominations, I thought she would be helpless against them."
"Helpless?" Night scoffed. "No Horseman is helpless against any foe, no matter if we have our steeds or not. Mother trained us personally and saw to it."
She was so focused on gauging Dawn’s prowess now that Acala had turned into a Vampire that she didn’t look in the Storm Griffon’s direction. Otherwise, she would have noticed his pained expression as he rubbed the tainted section of his chest.
"I do not doubt that." Jorl replied, using Body Sculpting to keep his condition under control. "Yet I’ve always assumed that Baba Yaga created you to deal with Abominations. Dawn’s and Dusk’s powers seem a bad match against Chaos."
"You are wrong on all accounts." The Black Night sneered. "When Mother prepared our vessels, she made sure that all of us had what we needed to cripple any Abomination that dared stand on our path.
"As newborns, we lacked the means to kill a powerful Eldritch on our own, but we could do it if we acted together. My darkness was our sword, turning the Chaos of our enemies against them and ripping their energy bodies into shreds until nothing was left.
"Dawn’s light was our shield, reverting Chaos into darkness for me to use and driving the Abominations mad with hunger. Once they lost their rationality, putting them down became embarrassingly easy.
"As for Dusk, he was the hand that wielded us both. His Life Maelstrom amplified our powers tenfold, his Doom Tide stripped Abominations and Eldritches of the power of the elements, and his Origin Flames burned their very cores."
"I see." Jorl nodded, picturing how easy it would have been for the three Horsemen to get rid of someone like Abthot, even without their steeds.
"No, you don’t." Night snorted. "That was how things were when we were newborns. Young creatures with no battle experience and a limited understanding of our new powers. Now we are old.
"We have learned a lot over the millennia and don’t need each other’s help to deal with Eldritches. Otherwise, I would have never survived my encounter with Tezka back when Orpal was still a weak human, and the Suneater was already a hybrid."
Anyone who had heard about that fight knew it had been no fight at all. According to all records of the events, Tezka would have killed Orpal dozens of times if not for Night’s regenerative abilities.
The real reason the Horseman of Night had survived was that the Suneater couldn’t use Spirit Magic and had been unable to chase after her upon her escape. Yet no one said anything.
The Upyrs couldn’t afford to anger their volatile lord/mistress, while Jorl had much more important things on his mind. He focused on the fight taking place in Batara, hoping to have found a solution to his most recent problem.
***
With her strength dwindling and the bleeding getting worse by the second, Abthot didn’t hesitate to throw Orulm under the bus.
"Kill me if you want, but in the end, victory will be ours!" She said with the most prideful and confident tone she could muster. "Your dear husband is facing the legendary Orulm the Breaker.
"Not even you will be able to survive when your true body will be destroyed by one of his spells. You will explode like the cursed object you are and take this stupid city with you! There is no victory here, only mutual destruction."
"Tell me something I don’t know." Dawn replied with a smirk. "I recognized that bastard, yet I chased after you for a good reason. My husband is stronger than you think. Stronger than anyone thinks!
"If he survived without my help until now, he can hold on for two more minutes. It’s more than enough for me to kill a nobody like you, sister!" Dawn had the Dark Mastery constructs explode, blinding Abthot’s mystical senses and making her collapse on the ground from sensory overload.
The Eldritch-Ogre was still puking her guts out when the Horseman conjured her signature spell, Daybreak.
A growing number of flaming hard-light pillars scoured the area for their prey while a thick mist of darkness magic slowly spread in every direction. Dawn was in the middle of it, her light emerging from the darkness as if a small sun were rising.
’Thank the gods below she fell for it.’ Abthot retched in relief and turned the Skull off.
Then she exploited the cover of Dark Mastery’s explosion to conjure a Chaos Steps and escape from certain death.
’Dawn has no beef with me. Once she realizes I’m gone, she’s going to put her survival first and go after Orulm. He should be able to take both Horseman and host with his Break Eldritch ability. Even if he can’t, that’s his problem now.’
Daybreak searched the area for a few seconds before a snap of Dawn’s fingers dispelled it along with Dark Mastery. She wasn’t surprised by the hybrid’s disappearance, nor did she bother looking for her, but nor for the reason Abthot believed.
’Phase one is complete, Mom. The Eldritch and everyone watching the fight believe I messed up. They have no idea I let her escape on purpose.’ Dawn said via the mind link, moving with no rush towards Acala. ’How is Zepho doing?’
’Better than I expected.’ Baba Yaga replied. ’You’ve chosen your host well, child.’
***
"The building is clear, Lord Acala." Erslan Bhaz, Blood Warlock and current King of the Dawn Court said. "Let us join you in battle. That fiend can defeat us all."
The members of the Undead Courts had gotten rid of the last members of the Blood Minotaurs and seized the contents of their treasure vault.
The mystical resources it contained wouldn’t amount to much after being split among the three Courts, but to the undead that victory was worth more than a king’s ransom.
After being chased out of the three great continents and losing everything they had built over the centuries at the hand of the Organization, reclaiming the city of Batara was a beacon of hope.
Comments 1