Or would likely ever achieve… Vir thought bitterly. The Imperium’s downfall—and the loss of their knowledge—wasn’t just a shame. To Vir, it was a crime.
The atrium disappeared as they ascended through storage floors before passing by more labs, coming to a stop at the residential floor.
Vir stepped out, keeping Saunak in the middle, while Cirayus brought up the rear. Thus far, the thaumaturge had taken no action, nor did any of his movements feel even slightly suspicious.
Even after they entered Cirayus’ quarters, where he picked up his oversized backpack, Saunak had done nothing. As they neared Vir’s own quarters, Vir grew increasingly confident that the giant had simply been paranoid.
Vir approached his door, which dematerialized in front of him and stepped through.
Instead of a single pair of eyes staring back, as he’d expected, there were ten, and none of them belonged to his wolf.
Vir whirled, katar in hand.
Damn you to the Ash, Saunak!
67ENTRAPMENT
“Where is he?” Vir’s voice was cut off from Cirayus, who’d been following behind, by the door that materialized, trapping Saunak and Vir in his room.
Vir clucked his tongue in irritation.
While the thaumaturge was trapped with Vir… Vir was also trapped with the five human-sized Automaton guardians that lay in wait.
It’s a trap, Vir thought, but it won’t work. Not against me.
Saunak has miscalculated. All Vir had to do was bring the demon into the Shadow Realm with him. Then, he could reappear next to Cirayus, and Saunak would be forced to order his minions to stand down.
Or, more simply, he could just escape to Cirayus, leaving Saunak alone in the room.
When Vir was about to initiate Dance, the floors, walls, and ceiling all glowed an intense white. The floor-to-ceiling windows showing the desolate landscape outside disappeared, replaced by more of the white wall.
With light sources from every direction, Vir’s shadow was wiped out. The Shadow Realm was off-limits.
If they’d turned on after I’d initiated the ability…
Vir gulped. His body would have been cleaved in two. The fear gave way to anger. Saunak had not only trapped him, he’d stolen Shan.
I never should’ve left him behind.
“We had a deal,” Vir seethed, barely keeping the indignation out of his voice. He’d been wrong about the demon. Cirayus had been right. There was no negotiating with this lunatic. He’d take everything he could—
“I’m afraid my curiosity got the better of me,” Saunak said, ruffling his hair. The demon almost looked embarrassed. “Look, I was going to tell you, but I just couldn’t resist—”
“Where is he?” Vir roared, surging Prana Current. A vortex of pure black surrounded him, circling around his body like a small cyclone, ripping apart anything that wasn’t Imperium metal.
Saunak watched with wide-open eyes—not in horror, but in awe.
Couldn’t care less if he prostrates himself right now, Vir thought. The time for discussion had ended.
Vir flew into action, Blinking to the nearest Automatons. Blade Launch couldn’t cut through Imperium metal, so he went directly to the only weapon in his arsenal that could—his Artifact chakram.
The disk sailed through the air and cleaved into the nearest Automaton, gouging out a chunk of its metal hull on its neck.
Vir followed up with a strike of his own, attacking the same spot the chakram damaged. To his surprise, Prana Blade actually did some damage, expanding the hole.
Without even attempting a follow-up strike, Vir Blinked out of the way. His intuition had been correct—the Automaton’s blade arm sliced through where he’d been only moments earlier.
Its reflexes were nearly on par with the Yaksha’s… But if it really had been a Yaksha, Vir would already be dead.
No, like everything else in the tower, these Automatons were old. Ancient, basic models of the being Vir had narrowly escaped from.
They rolled around on spherical bases, and instead of human-like appendages, their six blade-arms were connected via ball joints that looked distinctly mechanical. Instead of three faces that mirrored human expressions like the Yaksha, theirs were etched in stone.
Most importantly, none possessed the eye beams that the Yaksha and the large Automatons had, and the damage that the chakram inflicted hadn’t yet closed up.
It can’t heal itself? Vir wondered, Blinking around the room continuously to avoid the barrage of attacks launched by the Automata, barely avoiding their deadly strikes.
While they might have been older models, lacking several of the godly abilities that made the Yaksha so terrifyingly powerful, these were still Imperium machines. Vir doubted they’d rank lower than two hundred each on the Balar Scale.
Until recently, that figure would have terrified him. Now? He was confident he could win one-on-one.
Against five? He didn’t stand a chance, nor was he arrogant enough to try.
I can’t afford to die here.
There was, of course, another option. He could go after Saunak, though that was easier said than done.
Two of the five Automatons guarded the thaumaturge, and their speed was such that only two were required to protect him from all angles.
Without Dance of the Shadow Demon, Vir had to rely on Blink to attack Saunak, and while the Talent was incredibly fast, so too were the Automatons.
I need to take one or two out. That’ll force one of the Automatons into battle, leaving Saunak open.
Vir glanced at Saunak, expecting to see a smug look on the demon’s face. Instead, the mad thaumaturge was furiously typing away at a hovering panel, his brows furrowed in concentration.
What is he up to now?
If the thaumaturge was summoning more minions, or if he could erect those Imperium metal walls here, Vir’s chances would plummet. He had faith that Cirayus could hold out on his own outside, even if he was unable to break past the metal walls. But what about himself?
Redoubling his resolve, Vir feinted by lunging for Saunak, making his guards move into a defensive stance, before whirling and attacking the Automaton he’d dealt damage to earlier.
Vir’s Artifact chakram continued to eat into its metal skin, humming as its deadly razor blades spun. Vir let it continue, supporting it with his own strikes.
Foregoing the flashy Katar Launch, Vir focused on infusing his Prana Blade with as much prana as he could, augmenting it with Empower and Blink. Haste was, of course, always active, giving him a continuous edge.
He even tried pulling prana from the Automaton, but unlike Ash Beasts, its Imperium metal body blocked him. Though, since it lacked Prana Armor, Vir was unsure what benefit it’d have had even if he succeeded.
Ducking and weaving around the two other Automatons while inflicting damage proved difficult, despite Vir’s recent strength gains. Luckily, he had the chakram. He was winning. All he needed now was time.
It happened only a minute later. Vir went in to attack when he noticed the Automaton had no head. His chakram had finally cleaved it off.
Yes!
Vir redirected his katar, striking instead at its torso, but the headless machine blocked his attack easily. It was as if it was uninjured.