Necromancer For Hire- Arc 1

Arc 1, Chapter 20

The Enragement

Umbra carefully snuck to the chaotic mass of fighting bodies, trying to locate the furious epicenter of the bloody hurricane that was Aunora. Victor clutched the back of his vest, holding open his spell book and pouring over the words.

A wrathful scream stopped the two dead in their tracks, and a naga was knocked into their path, flopping to the ground unconscious. A painful red welt was developing on her face, and the snake woman's nose was broken in several places.

Aunora darted by them, dragging Umbra and Victor away from the cluster of infuriated guards. She stared at Umbra in a frustrated manner, hands propped on her hips.

Aunora had undergone a radical transformation from her previous shabby, raggedy outfit. She was now wearing an intimidating suit of armor, colored a deep violet. The protective metal stretched around her torso, covering and concealing her breasts and midriff. Her arms were covered with long metal gauntlets, with the knuckles of the gloves studded with dull steel spikes flaked in blood. Her helmet cut off above her eyes, and a horn-like protrusion stuck out from the top. Any bare skin was covered with gleaming black chainmail.

"Well, well, Pretty Boy and Son. You finally showed up to help me, huh?" Aunora muttered, admiring her sharp fingernails.

"This isn't the time for small-talk." Umbra hissed. "We've got to get Esper and get out of here."

Aunora shrugged, whipping on her heels and plunging back into the throng. "Alrightly, Black Beauty, calm your tits!" she cried arrogantly, head turned towards Umbra as she kicked a short naga in the face.

Umbra's cheeks flushed in agitation, tightening his grip on his naginata. "Stop calling me by strange nicknames!" he bellowed. Aunora smirked and stuck her tongue out at him, weaving her way further into the group of nagas.

"Hey, you butt-faces," Aunora screamed at the top of her lungs, grabbing the attention of her serpentine enemies. She pointed directly at Umbra, cackling. "That guy's in cahoots with me! I was just talking to him; he wants to whoop yah butt too!"

Several pairs of slitted eyes flashed towards Umbra, making him freeze. He muttered a variety of swear words under his breath, some in English and some in his native fae tongue. He crouched into a fighting position, shoving Victor back with the butt of the pole arm.

"Stay back and help me from a distance, if you must." Umbra said gruffly, rushing to engage the force of serpent people.

Adrenaline pulsed through Umbra's body as he met the first naga's blade in a shower of sparks and clanging metal. In the corner or his eye, Umbra spotted a female slinking behind him to strike, so he quickly jerked his blade away and swung it in a large arch. The naginata's sharp edge slashed the two nagas at chest level, sending both of them scuttling away to lick their wounds.

Umbra scouted out Aunora, locating the girl near the wall of nagas that protected Esper. She was fighting well on her own, but she needed someone to cover her back. Umbra swiftly skittered behind her, spearing a naga that dared to attempt attacking her back.

He shook the body off the blade, carefully managing to avoid getting more blood on his vest and silken white shirt.

"Don't worry," he called behind his shoulder, shouting intensely over the raw melee. "I've covering your back!"

Aunora send her metal-covered fist flying into the nose of a naga, crushing the bone and flinging him to the ground. "Got it, Hot Chocolate!"

Ignoring Aunora's comment, Umbra dodged a lethal blow from a naga's blade with a nimble duck. But the naga was quick, dealing out a merciless salvo with her sword, forcing Umbra to fully take on defense. With each sidestep and twisting of his body to resist mutilation, the fae was growing more tired and more frantic by the minute.