Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Battle in the throne room (II)

The royalist nobles were soon interrupted in their attempt to support their allies. Those noble enemies, the allies of Eldi Hnefa, intervened, even though they were fewer. The royalist nobles had been able to bring in more assistants, with permission from the royals. However, that advantage was soon equalized.

Neutral nobles were expected to stay out of it, or at least, take a while to make up their minds. It wasn't part of the plans of either side that, although some met these expectations, many others opted for Eldi Hnefa's side. The spirit of the city and the Book of Judgment had convinced them.

They were led by a certain duchess, the first to act. Her retired father had convinced her even before Eldi Hnefa arrived, as he had felt the joy of the spirit. In fact, her father, although retired, was flanking her daughter. He was ready to protect her with his life.

The unexpected arrival of these nobles not only surprised the royalists, but also turned the tables, thus making them retreat. In any case, it was only due to the sudden push of the newcomers. Soon, they would at least manage to defend their positions. The forces were now even.

Some royalist guard officers nearby wanted to help them, but they found themselves in trouble. There were traitors in their ranks, and several of the servants turned out to be infiltrated rebels. They didn't know very well who was friend and who was foe.

As fighting broke out throughout the throne room, the visitors, led by Gjaki, sprang into action. She clenched her teeth worried about Eldi, and accelerated more than anticipated to get close enough to him.

She knew he should be protected by Projectiles against me? and Magic against me?, which would shield him from the sniper's first attacks. However, she had to prevent more from hitting him.

Asmodeus was following closely behind her. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to attack another visitor. Even, if given the chance, he planned to kill Gjaki. They had promised him an extra reward if he got rid of her.

He was the only one they had promised, as Elsa was quite competent at judging people's personalities. She knew that with the others, it could even backfire if she offered it.

What none of them expected was that, instead of being stopped by the high human's defenses, the attack of Golgo, the sniper, collided with the weak glow that emerged from the book and enveloped its bearer. It didn't even manage to penetrate it a millimeter.

Although surprised, the vampiress didn't stop. As soon as she believed it was enough for her companions not to immediately become suspicious, she cast Night. It darkened the battlefield.

"Shit! Warn before you do that!" Asmodeus protested.

Had he been warned, he wouldn't have had to waste a couple of seconds invoking All-Seeing Eyes. Unlike Gjaki, it wasn't a racial ability, but a spell that needed time to cast.

He didn't expect the spell to be interrupted by a strong kick to the stomach, which sent him back several meters.

Asmodeus cursed as he healed himself from the heavy blow with Basic Healing, while regaining his balance to land on his feet. He once again cast All-Seeing Eyes and stood on guard against whatever had attacked him from the front.

However, this time the attack came from behind. Six huge icicles surrounded him, imprisoning him in a Frozen Cage in which he could barely move. He could feel the cold pressing against his armor.

"What's going on? What's this? Show yourself instead of attacking like a coward!" he exclaimed.

It was evident that his enemy had located him. He wanted to make him talk to buy time, while casting the Burning Blast spell to escape. To his surprise, even though it damaged the ice, it was nowhere near enough to break it.

Merlin could see in the Night, as his feline eyes had quickly adapted to the darkness. He had been reciting a long spell to give Frozen Cage more power. It was an ability he had as a mage, to strengthen his spells by applying more mana and time to them. His enemy couldn't escape easily.

"Like you did it in my kingdom against defenseless villagers to satisfy your depravity?" Merlin accused him. "I had been looking for you for a long time."

"Merlin... How...?" the demonic visitor then recognized him, and felt a deep chill. Until then, the mage had been covered, and had even changed his voice.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he feared him. Asmodeus had faced the cat mage once, and had barely managed to escape and survive. He had been quite lucky that time. The demonic visitor had taken advantage of the fact that his enemy had preferred to save the lives of his subjects rather than pursue him.

Now, however, he didn't have that option, plus he had fallen into a trap. Although it couldn't be said that he was completely helpless.

With Confront, his body turned towards the voice. It was a rather grim racial ability. His face disappeared inside his head to form in the desired direction. He could do it with the rest of the body too.

Not wanting to give his enemy time to react, he activated Killing Gaze. It was a spell in which he shot bolts of mana from his eyes. If he caught Merlin off guard, he would have a chance. Even if Asmodeus couldn't kill him, if he had time to free himself, he could survive. A battlefield like this was the ideal place to sneak in, and he had the right skills for it.

What he didn't expect was that his attack wouldn't find a target. Well, perhaps some royalist soldiers several meters away didn't think the same, but they weren't the ones he wanted to hit.

"Ha, ha. Did you really think I was going to expose myself so easily?" Merlin's mocking voice was heard from another side.

Panicking and without thinking, he cast Confront again, as he hoped this time to find him. Merlin took the opportunity to cast the next spell he had been preparing, just at the moment when his enemy was defenseless. It only took half a second for the face to reappear, but it was enough.

Doomsday created seven drills of metallic mana, which attacked between the gaps in the icicles, and from above.

When the face appeared, Asmodeus found that the lethal attacks were overcoming his defenses. Desperately, he wanted to cast Invincible. It is a skill that could protect him from harm for a few seconds, although he could only use it once every hour.

The problem was Merlin's experience, who could cast several spells at once. Besides, the mage had caught him by surprise. At the same time as the drills penetrated the defenses, Thunderstorm engulfed Asmodeus. The lightning bolts attacked in all directions. By penetrating wherever the defenses had been pierced, it stunned him repeatedly.

While maintaining the Thunderstorm, the mage added mana to reinforce Doomsday. He didn't stop even when the first of the drills pierced his enemy. Not even when the seventh did. He knew that the body of that demon visitor could survive even with several holes.

In fact, he was alive, while Playing Dead. He had stopped his heart, and was waiting for an opportunity to fight back or escape.

"Nooo!" Asmodeus wanted to scream, but at that moment he had no air in his lungs.

Merlin wasn't fooled. By using the drills as a medium, he Incinerated Asmodeus. He thus avenged the subjects his enemy had killed and tortured in the past.