Maledictus Terra Book 2: Sanguifex Part 37

9 months ago

Introduction

Welcome back to Maledicturs Terra. This is a Chain Story between myself and @lex-zaiya, meaning that we each write the parts alternatively.

If you have not read Maledictus Terra Book 1: Mortis Custos yet, it starts HERE at Part 1 and ends at Part 101 HERE. At the end of the Part 101 post you will find links to all 101 Parts!

The previous part by @lex-zaiya can be found HERE.

Some deftly handled moved by @lex-zaiya in the story in the last part... now is time for me to add to the story and see how I can influence the story.

Part 37

Adiran had the colossus take up a defensive stance. He needed to see what he was dealing with before his next attack. He needed to see the attack coming and create the perfect defence for it as well.

"You show a lack of initiative!" The taunt came from the figure on the back of the unnatural giant. "That is the reason for you losing this fight!"

Adiran said nothing. They've done this before. He would neither be goaded to respond to that comment or to react in attack. His opponent thought himself clever.

His thoughts transcribed themselves to the colossus at his feet and it reacted without complaint. The massive crystal sword gouged the earth in a circle. Its upper body twisted in a circle with the movement while its feet stayed planted.

Adiran stepped in time with the movement, keeping his adversary within sight. His suspicions were warranted as the sword cut through underground tentacles. These were connected to three larger beings who each turned out to be a Galasiopod, predators from another plane of existence.

If it had not been for the amount of preparation Adiran had made for this fight, this would have been his doom. These creatures were usually impervious to many sorts of attacks. But his opponent was hardly from this realm and he was prepared for all things from their dimension.

The Collossus pierced the one gigantic trans-dimensional slug with its sword while Adiran threw a vial off the edge of the stone giant. He thrust the palms of his hands forward to the two remaining Galasiopods. Purple energy speared them, blasting away their vulnerable cores. The energies that he employed were tuned in to be anathema to those of these creatures and they unraveled easily. The one that had been pierced by the crystal sword melted and disintegrated.

The Mountain Giant then turn round to face the new threat. Aidran whirled around as well, expecting an imminent attack, but there was none. The drain of transportation seemed to be massive. He then drew an arc in the air before him a golden halo appeared to hover before him. The edges of the halo were inscribed with runes. He had prepared this spell. It was not something that could be deflected easily.

He gripped the end of the disc with his bare hands and threw it at his enemy. His target was the rider on top of the other massive being. The gigantic magma beast raised its arms to ward off the attack and protect the rider. The disc crashed into the two massive forearms, cutting through them with only a brief pause. Where the cuts happened, golden cracks appeared on the massive appendages and began to spread across them in splinters. Meter by meter they covered the arms towards the tip and towards the main body.

The rider had leapt off from his perch aboard the unnatural behemoth. Black blades in each hand were hurled forth, not at Adiran, but at his steed. The blades cut through the arms ahead of the golden cracks and severed them cleanly. The arms fell to the ground and began to fragment and shatter.

The falling human figure arrested his movement by casting a disc of redness beneath him and raised himself up to the top of the beast he had just wounded. It began to bleed hot magma from the stumps of its arms.

Adiran felt a flutter of hope at his three successes, then squished the feeling. He knew that over-confidence would kill him. This foe was hardly beaten by a few prepared attacks.

Laughter came again. When the words were spoken, they were as though the man was standing right before him. He could see his opponent clearly. Younger than himself with a black beard and wickedly shaped eyebrows. The man still held a regal bearing and stood defiantly, roaring in laughter.

"It has been a long time since I last had an opponent that could deal so much damage and see through my attacks like this!" Adiran's adversary said. "If I had not known better. I might have been in doubt as to my claim."

Adiran raised an eyebrow. "And what claim would that be?" He had easily copied the spell that made him heard by the other.

His opponent's smile was wicked. "That I am the one true King Adrian of Dragon's Realm! You are nothing old man! You twart me for the last time! Your power and the power of all the others belong to me!"

"Is that what you believe?" Adiran asked. He calmly placed his long sleeves together holding hold fingers together and hiding his hands from his foe.

"You know that it is true! You have done nothing but delay the inevitable. Traveling realities to get to you and your wards, ilks, and replacements have brought me every greater power!" Adiran's evil version laughed again. "You belong to me!"

"Your arrogance is only met by your stupidity," Adiran said calmly. "You cannot simply believe that you are anything more than one of an infinite expression of the cosmos. You are not a God... in fact, you have given your soul to a God in order to get this far and this cursed us all. All the Adrians were affected because of your stupid dark pact with the Cold One."

King Adrian spat and his spit sizzled on the head of the beast he rode. "Do not speak to me of that wretch! I do not serve him! I merely trade with him! I am King Adrian! The greatest sorcerer in the cosmos. I discovered HIM. Not the other way around. I was the one to choose to make contact and to manipulate that creature to my will!"

Adiran shook his head. "Yet your soul and the souls of all of us are tainted because of this. How is it that you think that you gained out of that exchange if there are Adrians that are being consumed by the Cold One? Should the Cold One understand what you believe, I think the God might get quite angry."

"Stop! Stop saying it's name! Are you insane?" King Adrian raved. "Though I manipulate that thing, does not mean I mean to flaunt with a bull with a feather!"

It was time for Adiran to feel a stab of wickedness. He hated this pretentious version of himself. King Adrian.

"I am not here to debate with you Adrian." Adiran said. "You are mad. You are arrogant. And I shall stop you here!"

"You cannot stop me!" King Adrian screamed and hurled a fist into the air. A dark spear of electricity formed, writing in his hand.

Adiran pulled his sleeves open, his fingers still in the form of a triangle and smiled at the look of shock on the mad Adrian's face. "No!" He threw the bolt of lighting before it was at full power. The colossus raised it's crystal sword and deflected the bolt.

There was a rumble in the earth. The vial that Adiran had dropped earlier had done its job. A wall of ice began to grow out of the ground, blocking the way between the two forces. King Adrian began hurling magical bolts at Adiran but Adiran kept his stance. The colossus kept up its defense and the mad King's magma construct was blocked by the rising glacier. Where they touched there were explosions of molten stone solidifying and parts of the wall melted.

Despite all of King Adrian's efforts, he could not reach Adiran in time. A final pulse of energy was all that it took.

A tear opened in the heavens above both of their heads. The blue sky was torn open in a black jagged line. Icy tendrils snuck out of the crack and began pulling the heavens apart.

"What have you done?!" Screamed King Adrian.

"You're not the only one who gave up some of his sould to the Cold One!" It was Adiran's turn to laugh cruelly. "The reality is that neither you nor I belong here! You are NOT what you think you are and OUR Liege would like to speak to you!"

Beyond the tear at a great distance looked a single icy eye, the pupil that of a reptile or cat.

Far away the party had formed together around Adrian as he fell down clutching his head. He screamed in agony.

"He's here! He's here!" Was the only thing that they got out of him until he passed out, pale and sweating.

Well... that was both epic and... hectic... over to you @lex-zaiya!

Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library

Mortis Custos

Start

Sanguifex

by @zakludick	by @lex-zaiya
Part 1	Part 2
Part 3	Part 4
Part 5	Part 6
Part 7	Part 8
Part 9	Part 10
Part 11	Part 12
Part 13	Part 14
Part 15	Part 16
Part 17	Part 18
Part 19	Part 20
Part 21	Part 22
Part 23	Part 24
Part 25	Part 26
Part 27	Part 28
Part 29	Part 30
Part 31	Part 32
Part 33	Part 34
Part 35	Part 36
You are here!	Coming soon!