This was a dangerous attack Nowhere near the killing potential of AegiantÆs spear but this Toad Lord hadnÆt gotten his position by skimping on the basics Even after his poison failed he had Skills enough to back up his attempt
And what IÆm going to do next is kill him His Crown flared to life an acknowledgment of the path that Randidly had chosen
Rather than striking at the Toad Lord physically Randidly reached out for the bubble around them both He touched this strange underwater building that made the Under Cities possible Even now he couldnÆt quite figure out what the material was that formed this barrier But one thing was for sure a portion of it was made out of biological materials At its base it was a modified version of algae
Therefore it was a plant
Therefore it was RandidlyÆs
Even as the tongue blurred toward Randidly he simply smiled faintly He was after all currently acting in the role of a Demon Prince To finish it thusly would send a large message and likely involve no one but the Toad Lord in front of him No innocent lives would be lost From there he could move on South as fast as he could
Randidly reached out to the membrane that formed this bubble and squeezed
The membrane shattered Before the tongue could arrive Randidly used his impossible high Control to funnel that organic matter into a thousand spikes Moving at a speed incomparable to the tongue that was surging toward Randidly those spikes were yanked inwards as if they were metal dragged by a magnet
With a soft squelching noise the spikes of algae turned Nirfik into a honeycomb They hit him with enough force to spray blood in every direction as they ripped the grey skin apart Its eyes widened trying to process what was going on Its tongue lost its vigor and sailed harmlessly past Randidly
Then with a crash the water claimed the space that had been NirfikÆs personal swamp washing away the corpse of its one time master
Ed felt sweat bead and drip down his neck In fact he was so flustered that his illusion that hid his mustache from his face faded to nothing He couldnÆt maintain the concentration and his mustache surged back to bushy relief
Take a step back Regina barked and Ed was happy to comply although his body was stiff and sore from the several seconds where he had been completely frozen He stumbled over the shattered remnants of a wrought iron table that had been shattered by the obsidian manÆs passage
After all she had just summoned a barrier to block the strange obsidian man in front of the two of them If she had not intervened Ed would have died Smashed aside like a bug before a car Like the two grotesquely twisted corpses twitching behind the obsidian man
The obsidian manÆs face twisted in an expression that was obviously amusement He raised his hand and checked his knuckles Oh To think the average Level in Donnyton had risen so high that any riff raff off the street could stop my attack IÆm somewhat disturbed Dear me IÆll likely have nightmares
Riff raff No Simply a doctor Regina barred her teeth in a naked show of aggression against the obsidian man before her The two considered the other carefully Ed glanced between them It was clear to him at least that Regina was the one of the two that was much more willing to wait The other cafe goers had largely all fled the square moving in hushed silence in every direction away from these attackers
They were within Donnyton proper after all Help would come
Unable to stop himself Ed took several more steps backward away from the two of them His breath came in pants and it seemed like not enough oxygen was being gulped down by each mouthful of air Some part of him knew he should run but he was also one of the leaders of Donnyton Even if he couldnÆt fight very well he should be here
Earlier this morning he had only been worried about the two new cafes that had sprung up in what people were not referring to affectionately as the breakfast quarter Then before he could even react there was a scream and a crash Ed had looked up from the table where he had been examining his accounting books to see a dark figure rushing toward him
A figure with as much size and momentum as a battering ram rolling out of control down a mountain
Ed was many things but a man of action was not one of them His rise in Donnyton had everything to do with the addition of modern lifeÆs amenities to the post System world Therefore Ed had seen that figure and faced the truth that he was about to die And he had been very sad about it
At that moment he wondered what Bekany would do without him She was better with finances than she let on and likely had a fair amount of money squirreled away But if he wasnÆt there to pamper her who
Well it wasnÆt worth thinking about now But if Regina hadnÆt stepped forward in that split second and conjured a barrier
Even as EdÆs shocked mind was rehashing the events of the last several seconds the obsidian figure surged into motion Clearly he wasnÆt willing to simply wait until reinforcements came He spun around the side of the translucent hexagonal barrier that Regina had summoned and thrust his arm forward
Then to EdÆs disbelief the rest of the towering obsidian manÆs form seemed to rapidly shrink while the arm extended like a drill toward ReginaÆs side It hummed unpleasantly aiming for a point high in her chest
Faster than Ed could follow Regina stepped to the side and let the attack slide past her With a deft gesture she brought her hand down in a karate chop tower the extended drill arm that the obsidian man had aimed at her Flawless Incision
There was a sharp crack and a deep gash appeared in the obsidian armor that covered the arm Regina frowned
The obsidian man laughed Oh YouÆve got teeth
In a quick motion Regina hopped forward and brought her hand down against the thigh of the obsidian man Emergency Amputation
This time the obsidian man howled in pain as his leg was hacked off The limb just seemed to fall to the ground the obsidian armor on it shifting into goop and bubbling away to nothing Unfortunately Regina didnÆt get away unscathed
As she sidestepped to create some distance a dozen spikes shot outward from the obsidian manÆs body Several penetrated into her shoulders and midsection It was with a pale face and unsteady gait that she backed toward where Ed was standing
You fucking bitch The foe hissed and as he did so Ed realized that a giant serpent was slithering up behind the obsidian man at a rapid speed When it arrived it stood straighter lifting its sinuous body off of the ground As it did so Ed could see two rather small pairs of wings that dotted its back
DonÆt waste time proceed deeper The serpent hissed If we wait in one place for too long
I kill who I want to kill ThatÆs how this fucking thing works The Obsidian man glared at the serpent for a second then spat a mouthful of blood on the ground Slowly he began to spread his arms From him several long inky black tentacles grew The Ghosthound is gone what is there to fear in Donnyton
Regina snorted Ignorant fools
Hah After you are begging for mercy I want you to think long and hard about this moment The obsidian monster sneered but then he yelped and hopped hurriedly backward as a spirit roc crashed to the ground in the spot where the obsidian man had just been standing
With one leg he was barely able to maintain his balance The roc stalked forward slashing with its talons But now the obsidian man brought his tentacles to bear He blocked the blow and used the tentacles like spider legs pulling him several meters backward
Ed gaped at the new arrival that had so intimidated the obsidian man It was almost transparent but also as large as a small plane The spirit creature raised its head and shrieked sending a blast of sound out that knocked away the nearby cafe tables that remained The plastic and wood skittered and slid sideways clearing an area that the roc could beat its wings
Suddenly serious the obsidian man and the winged serpent considered the new arrival And then the clicking giant lobster and brontosaurus spirits walked forward to stand next to their companion