Chương 118: Chapter 117- The Circle

Pandemonium broke loose as all the cultists broke into motion at once, the ones in the center of the ritual flung themselves back into their work with frantic motion, their bloody mops tracing hectic lines along the floor, squabbling amongst themselves." Hurry! The southern arc isn't closed!"" Blood! We need more blood!" The command group at the far end of the circle fell into chaos, clutching and grabbing members as they ran past, issuing conflicting and contradictory commands." Complete the inner glyph!"" No!

Finish the third circuit!"" Fools, we need the western arc for stability!" The fear in the room was palpable but, as their end approached, none of them stopped, they only increased their pace. A cadre that surrounded the ritual in a ring dashed forward, their identity as the combatants of the group was revealed as they shed their robes, arms and armor on display underneath.

They raced forward to engage the squad, Elias and Astra wordlessly stepping forward to join Franklin, Taylor, and Cooper as they assembled into a staggered line as Sasha, Mason, and Astrid stepped back. The squad formed a chevron with Astra at the tip of the spear flanked by Elias and Cooper, Franklin and Taylor joining in holding the flanks to protect the back line as they set to their grim work.

No commands were needed, just as the cultists had shown no mercy to their captives, they would show no mercy to the bastards who put them in the pit. Astra and Eli moved as one. When her greatsword swung wide arcing across the front line of their assailants to push them back, the spearpoint of his poleaxe would lance forward to cover her flank, reaping the life of a spearman who was lunging forward to catch her off balance.

When his axe blade became lodged as it was pinched between the armor plates of one of the shieldbearers as the man pinned it in place with his shield, a crimson bolt punched out throwing the shield wide as the flat of her blade deflected a blow from an approaching swordsman. The warriors guarding the ritual were far better trained than the ones that had guarded the walls.

For every blow struck, another one lashed out in return, and the momentum of the squad ground to a halt as they found themselves increasingly pressed by the greater numbers of the defenders. The silent heat in Astra's glare worked as a double edged blade, the grim lines on the faces of the cultists showing that they knew there would be no quarter, and that failure only meant death.

A crackling sound filled the air as an arc of lightning shot through the gap between Elias and Cooper, Mason firing his signature spell between the only two who were not wearing heavy conductive armor. As the blow landed, the wild crackle of electricity filling the air, Eli and Copper set to work taking apart the temporarily disabled men.

A shimmer of green coated Cooper's cleavers as they shot forward, cutting open leather armor as easily as the hide covering a prospective pork roast, one blade circling a shoulder joint severing the ligaments on one arm as the other stabbed through a hip, plunging low severing the a tendon in one thigh as the man's leg collapsed.

Elias whirled the blade of his poleaxe in a descending strike, scoring a blow along the thigh of a man on right causing the man to drop to one knee, as he lifted his left hand to pulse [Distortion] point blank into the face of another, a spike rocketing forth to plant itself in the man's eye socket. A translucent ribbon of shimmering water slipped from the rear of the cult formation and, with a caress across the first man's thigh, the wound closed as the man rose to his feet once more.

The blinded man was dragged screaming behind the battle lines as they closed back around the gap, but a frown crossed Eli's face as he spotted two more ribbons flicking forward to stroke the man Cooper had struck, that man also rising once more. Fuck. Elias grit his teeth, he could feel Astra's frustration building through the tether, the beating tempo of the song rising as he could feel the urgency in the chanting from her end, drawing, pulling, reaching, calling.

He could feel her focus locked onto the commotion in the center of the ritual, a subliminal and unspoken warning that they needed to stop them whatever the cost, that the delay was quickly becoming unacceptable." PUSH! HEARTS OF EMBER PUSH!" Astra bellowed, urging the squad forward." AT THE GATES!" Her voice boomed echoing across the cavern, rising above the clash of steel on steel and the cries of men and women struggling for supremacy, and her men answered." WE STAND!"

A volley of projectiles whistled from above plunging into the battle line from over their heads as the frontline struck, the cries of wounded rising as voices drifted through from behind the lines, often muffled but audible in the occasional lull." Don't let them reach the center!"" Move! MOVE!" Astra's song called out for him and Elias answered.

The drums in his chest shifted and spun as something reached along the tether, an act that until this moment had been subconscious but was now done by choice, and as the reaching tendril was met by its twin they wove together. The beats shifted, the drum beat and the hymnal chanting merging and synchronizing, no longer separate but a single melody. Adrenaline roared in Elias's veins, the thumping beat of the war drums no longer distinguishable from the thundering of his heart beat in his ears.

His stance shifted, his steps moving to a beat that he once had only thought he heard, straining at the limits of his senses, only now realizing that it had been there all along as he sank further into the song's embrace. Eli swung his weapon in a low rising arc, knocking his opponents mace high as a greatsword flashed through a horizontal swipe at his waist, spilling the man's entrails.

A spear thrust forward to push them back so the wounded man could be pulled from the line, and Eli reversed his momentum slamming down with the shaft knocking the speartip downwards to skitter across the rock below.

An armored gauntlet reached forward gripping the spearshaft and Astra pulled, the spearman was yanked forward into the battle line as Eli lifted one foot and kicked outwards, booting the spearman into their backline as a greatsword flicked out once more severing the wounded man's neck and putting him beyond the reach of any recovery magic. A booming voice cried out." ASH!" A chorus of voices rose in response." STEEL!"

A shiver ran down Eli's spine as he could feel the meaning behind the words before he consciously recognized the order that Mira had drilled him on. There was no more conserving mana, no more husbanding of resources. No more measured advance, and steady paces. Astra called for them to spend everything they had to break through, just as the founders had spent themselves on the eve of the first dawn.

Another streak of lightning lanced into the opponents and, as their front line took the brunt of the blow, a rainbow of colors blossomed in Elias's vision as the squad triggered their enhancements and descended on their foes. Energy coursed down the shaft of Elias's weapon as a pane of distortion bloomed on the blade as [Veilrend] came to life, and with a flick of his wrist the arm of the swordsman in front of his dropped to the ground.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. All along the battle line similar strikes occurred, limbs falling and grievous wounds being struck, but the combatants alone outnumbered the squad nearly three to one, and as the front line fell the second stepped forward, glowing bright with their own enhancements as hurried voices began calling out behind them." Forget the outer ring!"" Just finish the core!"" Skip the secondary seals, they don't matter anymore!"

Another spearman stepped forward, a bluish haze covering his armor, and while Elias had felt resistance before, this was the first time a blow from his [Veilrend] had been stopped cold. His overhand swing hand lodged the axeblade a hand's width into the man's shoulder, splitting armor and bone as if they were nothing more than air, but halting as the enchantment robbed the blow of its momentum.

Eli was slightly mollified by the look of surprise on the man's face as he ripped the blade free and the man was pulled from the battleline, the clanging and grunting around him signalling that he was not the only one struggling against the enhancements.

A hot splash caught Elias in the side of the face as Cooper took a heavy blow, followed by a flash of yellow light spearing forward to sear the wound shut, a ribbon of water snaking around the man in front of him healing his opponent just the same as Cooper grunted in frustration. A renewed sense of urgency bloomed along the tether at something Astra had seen, and in unspoken agreement they both sank further into the song.

Their conscious thoughts receded, not completely, but enough for something new to take shape from one heartbeat to the next. Eli's eyes dilated and his sense of time slowed, yet he could feel a strange new sensation as he dipped into a fugue state. A sense of an other, something beyond himself that he had never felt before when he entered this place of bestial instincts and urges, another presence flickering and warm as the air currents shifted and a breeze drifted past his nose. Sunshine and wildflowers.

The threads of their conscious wove together and, for just a few moments, instead of two there was one. A sum that was greater than its parts. Thump, Thump. Two pairs of eyes shifted, and four arms twisted, a spearpoint covered in a transparent pane lancing across a breastplate covered in brilliant white runic scripts, the lines severing and unraveling in its wake. A greatsword coated in crimson plasma struck forward spearing into the gap left behind, a pair of grins blossomed at the pained scream that followed.

Thump, Thump. A large man with two blades cried out as he struggled to hold back a man with a heavy claymore as their blades locked together. One of the right arms shifted as a beam of plasma knocked the man off balance and the two left arms struck out burying a poleaxeblade in the claymore wielder's neck. Thump, Thump.

A ribbon of water shot forward, as two grins shifted in disapproval, the left arms swung downwards knocking a shield out of the place as the ribbon receded, rejoining a coruscating plane of water around a distorted figure. The right mouth called out, "MASON!" Thump, Thump. A streak of lighting shot forward, lancing into the hovering plane, a scream crying out as the water dropped to the ground, the hidden figure exposed.

One of the right hands caught the poleaxe as the left hands flung forward one after the other, filling the air with projectiles, many missed, but the grins returned in full force as the figure collapsed gurgling in a pool of blood. Thump, Thump. The ribbons of water among the battlefield fell, splashing to the ground, as their prey faltered and their allies cheered. Four arms swung forward, as many more rallied around them. The right mouth bellowed." OUR DUTY?" A chorus of voices responded." NEVER ENDS!"

Four arms lifted their blades to the sky as two mouths roared in approval. Panicked voices sounded in the distance." The keystone! Now!"

"Charge the keystone!"

"Just hold them, we need to complete more conduits!" Two grins turned sharp, almost feral, as twin blades flashed forwards, and a pair of screams rang out. The men and women around them pushed forward, and as the squad marched their enemies fell to their blades. As the first foot fell a distortion coated blade would lash out, severing enchantments and sundering defenses. As the second foot landed, a blade coated in plasma would follow in its wake, rending flesh and searing bone.

One move followed the other and as their strikes flowed seamlessly, the center of the line began to bow from the pressure, the outer edges of the cultists line separating, leaving the flanks isolated and unable to support each other. At a command from the right mouth the backline focused fire on one flank, and as that section withered, men screaming and dying under the concentrated fire, the formation broke, scattering in smaller pockets and opening the way to their backline.

Two hearts, guided by one purpose, leapt forward shoulder to shoulder as four arms spun their blades in savage arcs, ravaging the undefended group of mages and archers. A crimson rain splattering the ground, melding and joining with the streaks that led towards the outer reaches of the ritual circle. Frantic voices cried in the distance." Feed it! FEED IT NOW!" HOLD!"" Ten more seconds, JUST HOLD!"

As the scattered pockets of combatants were cut down, the squad isolated the remaining defenders and struck only when they mustered a number advantage, as four feet pushed forward wading through the backline. As the backline began to bow further, and the pair nearly pressed through, the cultists descended on the faltering defensive formation. The central core group frantically raced to finish their work, as the rest rushed forward trying to drown the squad with their numbers.

They were clearly non combatants, unarmored and wielding only mops and rocks where they were not bare handed, as they howled and screamed in panic and desperation. Four arms swung tirelessly, blood streaming beneath four feet, as two voices rose in unison." BORN OF ASH!" Two blades swung, and four bodies fell. A chorus of voices responded." BOUND BY STEEL!"

Two struggling figures became four, and four became six, and six became eight, as the squad closed ranks around them, forming a line shoulder to shoulder pressing against the tide. Weapons rose and fell as the blood flowed from the men and women of the patrol and the cultists alike. Formations and careful maneuver gave way to a haze of blood, fire, and fury. All that remained was the brutal work of butchery.

Pained screams and grunts filled the air as the cultists bled freely to hold them back, giving their lives for their cause." THE ONE FOR THE MANY!" When one man lost his leg below the knee and could no longer stand, he crawled forward clutching the left hip around the waist hoping to slow the left legs down long enough for his fellow to strike a single blow.

Another rushed right blade with empty hands, leaping forward to impale himself upon it, dragging himself along the blade reaching to bind the right hands in place. As he screamed from the plasma searing his bowels, the left arms swung outward knocking him free with a flicker of a distortion coated blade.

A clearing in the mass broke open and the left arms thrust a hand forward to send a volley of projectiles into the core group to disrupt their work, the song rising to a fever pitch as a tiny flicker of crimson energy rippled down the lines of the inner formation. A trio of bodies flung themselves forward squealing in pain as a flurry of spikes buried into their guts and punched out the other side." It'll hold, just finish it!"" Charge the seal!"

"Don't let it collapse!" Two voices rose." FOR THE FIRST DAWN!" Eight voices answered." ASH AND STEEL! BORN AND BOUND!" Wordless screams of fury rose as steel flashed and waves of projectiles poured outwards. Blue lances, crimson bolts, stone spikes, yellow beams, and emerald arrows filled the air as the final ranks of the cultists collapsed. As the final figures fell, the last group turned, their eyes bulging in horror as wordless panicked cries filled the air." Now! Now Now Now Now NOW!"" ONE FOR THE MANY!"

The squad rushed forth as a small handful of figures tried desperately to stop them only to be cut down quickly. Eli and Astra shuddered as the Song slowed. As the danger passed the tempo shifted, and where there had been a single beat, now there were two. Their songs still echoed in harmony, but each heartbeat belonged to its own chest once more. Eli blinked as Astra drew a sharp breath, both turning to give each other a small grin.

The pair looked up just in time to catch four final figures at the absolute center of the circle, slit their own throats, wipe their hands in the blood and slam their palms down on the circle below. They smiled. Relief crossed their faces, as one let out a gurgling laugh through the blood pouring from his throat. As they slumped gasping for air as they drowned in their own blood, a shimmering energy rose.

Crimson light seeped from beneath their hands, flowed through the channels carved and painted through the stone, rippling outwards like blood filling a vein.