Underworld - Book 2 - Chapter 26

As soon as we made it to the Master Chamber, we saw Richard still standing before the Dungeon’s map with his arms crossed in deep concentration.

I saw Lydia walk passed in my peripheral carrying a large bag of rice near the entrance of the Living District. Her and Richard were the only two humans that were completely untalented in anything related to combat. Part of me wanted to stop and check on her, but again, time was short

Aeris and Trevon went ahead as I took the time to check the stats I had taken with Blood Drain.

+4,750 MP

+8 Str

+16 Dex

+10 Con

+22 Int

+13 Wis

It was a good take, putting my max MP over 193k and my Mana Per Minute was now 5,344. My Strength was now over 800 and getting much closer to 1,000. If I really needed it, I could funnel more mana into Muscle Buff.

“Elorion.” Richard called. 

Turning, I saw him glance at me to make sure he had my attention.

“With the two doors closed to The Pits, we only have 8,000 DP left. Any changes to the rest of the plan?” He asked.

“No. If we have to flee, close the door to the Bridge behind us and pull the lid above the last trap.” I replied.

He nodded, before adding. “Got it. You better hurry.”

“Thanks, Richard.”

He hid it well, but Canine’s Sense of Smell revealed to me how much he appreciated my words. I knew it bothered him that he could help by taking up arms. Whether it was his endorphins I smelled or if it was something else, he emotions on the matter were obvious all the same. Too bad this spell didn’t come with a manual.

We had found as we had studied the traps and doors of our new dungeon that the traps were too expensive to spend any points on, starting at 5,000DP a shot. The doors were a bit trickier. Every doorway could be readied with a door and locked, but there were three different kinds of doors for the normal rooms: stone, steel and enchanted. They ramped up in price in the same order from 1,000, 2,500, 4,000. Then there were the larger doors, like the entrances of the Mid Parameter. They were just massive slabs of stone and cost 4,000 DP each.

Completely ignoring the smaller doorways in the Inner Chamber and the Outer Parameter, we decided to focus on the bigger doors because they would give us the best protection for the cost.

We had Khun raise the wall segment in the Maze to hopefully cut off that entrance from our enemies. Having enemies coming at us from a direction we did not expect could easily be our downfall. 

We had lured the wargs to the Pits the best we could and had succeeded in taking out the majority of them with very little cost. Yaatiesh was a big surprise, but his talents couldn’t make up for his inability to judge our strength. I didn’t want to think of how big of a nuisance he could have been if he had the Dwarf and Succubus at his side.

After finishing with the Wargs and Yaatiesh in The Pits, we closed the entrance and exit to that room behind us for another 8,000 DP leaving us with only 8,000 DP left. Now everything depended upon how things went at The Bridge. If we had to retreat we would close the last main door behind us, then opt to purchase two smaller stone doors and lock them as we fled through the Inner Chambers, utilizing the partitions to hurl spells and take cover as we made a retreat. Then finally, even though we wouldn’t have enough DP to activate one of the final traps, with 1,000 DP Khun had said we could just remove the stone slab above the pit of spikes that led directly to the Master Chamber. It is there we would make our stand.

If things really went south, we would have only one other option. Khun would unlock the doors to The Pits and we would make a run for it. I ignored the likelihood that if our enemies pushed us back that far than it was likely that many of us would no longer be alive.

As I entered the Inner Chamber, heading for The Bridge, I checked my character sheet and saw I had 103,862/190,393 MP. I released Titan’s Bone Defense freeing up some of my Mana Per Minute.

I hurried off to join the others who were waiting for our enemy to arrive.

***

What had been a flat stone bridge at the center of the room that crossed a 20-foot moat, had now been transformed. Stone pillars stretched along the bank of the chasm from one end of the grand room to the other. Great vines weaved themselves between each pillar, creating a low standing wall on our side of the bridge. Clarissa and Olivia had been busy.

My stone Golem stood dead center of the bridge and would be the first creature to face whatever came next. He was disposable but would hopefully slow them down.

Aeris plopped down on my helm the moment I entered the room.

I couldn’t hold back a chuckle. She had been floating above the doorway just waiting for me to enter.

“My trusty stead.” She said, patting my helm.

“This trusty stead needs to meditate.” I replied.

“I’ve beat you to it. Why do you think I sit on your head instead of flying around all the time?”

“And you always say I’m the cheater.”

“I sure do.”

As we approached, Trevon had already joined the others at Clarissa’s side on the right side of the fortification. From there he would have a good view, so he could see to cover the bridge in ice. Audrey was also at Clarissa’s side. I hoped she was planning on turning the bridge into a giant skillet for grilling the enemy.

We headed to the left side of the bridge where Olivia and Mel stood in silence, watching the far entrance. Mel’s Skeleton’s were formed up on the other side of the bridge near the corner of the room. It was a good place to flank the enemy.

I cast Invisible on them now. I didn’t wait to recover my mana before casting it because I had no way of knowing exactly when our attackers would arrive.

Mel turned back and offered me a nod of gratitude.

Our bashers would guard the center of the bridge but would never set a foot on it. Falling into the schism on either side was too big of a danger. It’s was an almost identical depth of 200 meters, just as we had seen in The Pits.

From the pillars that rose up at the corners of the bridge, vines snaked around them and reached out, tying them to two more pillars that were set back, away from the bridge at an angle. As our enemies charged, they would have to funnel in tighter together once they reached our side of the bridge before they met our bashers at the mouth of the immense vine syphon.

The Sledge brothers would be joined with Russ and Travis to either side. They were the highest-level bashers we had and had also proven themselves. The others, primarily our Dexterity based bashers, would man the vine walls to the sides of the funnel and try to pick off any creature they could reach as it ran by.

With so many Wargs dead, our bashers might end up without much to do, but there was always the danger that Lady Contessa would have some kind of undead army she could summon.

Russ met me as we approached with a half empty tray of Cave-Swine Bacon. A small amount of grease pooled under the bacon on the shiny serving tray. It was crispy along the edges. 

“I thought you might appreciate this.” He said with a big grin.

“You have no idea.” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. 

How long had it been since I had eaten? Light Magic seemed to sustain me even if I didn’t eat, but that was no way to live.

Taking a slice carefully to get as little grease on my hand as possible, I took a bite immediately. There was no time to really enjoy it, but I could extend out the few seconds I had with it a little longer thanks to Mana Sight.

Reaching our place on the line at Olivia’s side, I took a seat and forced my body to relax and my mind to focus. I didn’t expect we had long.

“Master.” Came a voice from behind. 

Inclining my head, Zorik landed and stepped up beside me.

“Is everything okay?” I replied.

“Are you sure the name that you heard the dark elf and dwarf call the succubus was Lady Contessa?” He asked. His eyes darted back and forth.

“Yes.” I replied. “Do you know her?”

“No. Not exactly.” He said, but his anxiety was clear. “What I do know is that succubi are only called by the title Lady if they are pure bloods.”

“I’m not sure I know what that means.”

“Do you remember when I explained that Imps evolve into incubi if they are male and succubi if they are female?”

“I do.”

“Well. Not all succubi and incubi are made the same way. Imps are born when a succubus, most often, becomes pregnant with a child from an elf, dwarf or human. The same happens if an incubus impregnates any of these three prime races. But, there are some that don’t have to evolve. Its rare, because the only way it’s possible is if a succubus and incubus conceive and have a child together. Then, the child is born evolved. Any succubus with the title of Lady, was born in such a way, but hasn’t yet reached the rank of Mistress. They are considered the succubi nobility and usually have stronger talents then the succubi who had to evolve.”

I took a deep breath as he finished, then released it while grimacing at our luck.

“So, she is probably more powerful than the average succubi of her level, but we know for sure she isn’t as powerful as Mistress Nava?” I asked to confirm.

“Yes.” He said, nodding quickly. 

“Does being a full blooded succubi give her any weaknesses?”

“Not really. The only difference is that a pure blood has more potent talents, but they usually also have less variety. They can usually only use one, and in rare cases two, schools of magic in my experience. Imps that evolve usually have three or more talents.”

“That could be something. Thank you Zorik.”

“Yes master.”

He hopped in the air and moved forward to Mel’s side to see over the vine wall.

If we could be pretty sure she only had one school of magic, that could simplify things. It also meant she probably wouldn’t have as many tricks to hide.

Aeris didn’t say anything, but her hand reached down from above. 

I took it in my own and held it as we both recovered as quickly as we could.

A few minutes later we heard an explosion.

***

“What did you have in that trap?!” Russ hollered where everyone could hear.

“Dog shampoo and C4!” Travis answered at a shout.

The whole lot of us burst out in laughter.

I wasn’t sure what was really used for explosives in the Underworld, but whatever Travis was using worked. A great blast had come from the north, in the Outer Parameter. They were getting closer.

A howl raised up, followed by another. Just outside of the entrance to The Bridge, we heard a sudden yelp.

“This last one is the best!” Travis called. “If she offers, never let Lydia give you a shave. She puts poison on everything!”

The snickers that rose up were cut short as a single warg entered at a run but was drifting to the side as it came.

Quickly, I came to my feet.

The warg was no longer heading for the bridge but straight for the moat.

Glancing up, I saw Aeris fly up. She reached the ceiling in a breath.

In a few more strides I was sure the warg was about to fall to its death, when its front legs gave out. It tumbled to its back a few feet from the edge. Whatever Travis had pumped it full of with his trap had done its job.

Cheers rose up around me. As they started to settle, I heard what sounded like a clap coming from the entrance.

There was a second clap.

I shrouded everyone in Invisibility. Checking my mana had reached 174,002/190,399. It would have to do.

All eyes were on the dark large opening to the room. The clapping remained slow but started to increase. Whether it was Travis’ traps that had finished them, or the remaining wargs had fled, it was unclear. The creature that emerged from the darkness of the Outer Parameter could only be likened to darkness itself.

Her dress was a dress of shadows. Her arms and face were the only things not covered in the black energy she had wrapped herself in. It was like she used Dark Magic for clothing, not bothering with things like armor or fabric. Her hair floated about. Her long dark strands danced in the energy across her back. She was utterly pale. Almost like a porcelain doll. She was beautiful, and dangerous.

Lady Contessa strolled toward us while continuing to bring her hands together in tempered applause.

Out of instinct I used Creature Observation.

Lady Contessa

True Blooded Succubus

Level: NA

Seeing that her level was over a 1,000 higher than mine sent a tremble down my spine. I had to remind myself to take steady breathes.

It was hard to view her mana even with Mana Sight at full power. The gown of dark energy she wore cloaked most of her body. It was in her face that I saw her true density of power. Like a thick fog, Dark Mana drifted around inside her. It was denser than what I saw in Yaatiesh, but it wasn’t liquid in consistency like Mistress Nava.

She stopped directly on the other side of the bridge right before my golem and turned her head to either side to take in the fortification we had built.

I was pretty sure her only school of magic was Dark Magic. Even if she possessed orbs of different elements, those usually showed up in smaller patches or tinted the overall mana of a creature. It also meant she was extremely talented with Dark Magic. That was a huge problem. I feared buffing the others because my Light Magic would have to be constantly funneling into their body. Even with armor, a strand of Light Magic had to remain connected to them. That weakened them against any Dark Magic Spell.

“Hello.” She sung in the voice of a young girl. Folding one hand in the other, she held them to her chest as if she held something dear. “There is no way you can know how gratifying it is to meet you. Just imagined being asked by our mentor to run off to the Dungeon Level to chase after a group of humans. One would expect it to be a tedious chore, like shepherding livestock, but you have proven to be full of surprises.” 

She smiled fondly before closing her eyes. As she did, she dropped her hands to her side and looked at us pointedly.

“Now, I must also chasten you for you have killed one of my play things. Ujurak is fetching Yaatiesh’s corpse which has made my second favorite toy more grumpy than normal.” She said, shaking her head. “I would take one of you to replace Yaatiesh, but I’m not allowed to keep a human as a pet. Shame.”

Everyone stayed dead still as she spoke. It was impossible to know if she saw through Invisibility or not.

I may have been late casting it, giving her a moment to spy out a few of us, but hopefully it still gave us an advantage.

“There are many ways we can do this.” She said with a gentle tone while almost singing the words. “If you except your fate, it does not have to be painful. I can make it quite enjoyable. If not, I can make the pain last. I am not expected back for days.” 

Still, we gave no answer. 

I saw Olivia squirm in her boots. She wasn’t the only shifting uncomfortably.

I considered attacking first, but there was too much unknown. Hopefully, Lady Contessa had the same problems Yaatiesh did and was unable to rightly judge our strengths. In this case, we weren’t able to judge hers either.

“Fine. Perhaps, you just need persuading.” She said, mostly to herself. 

Flinging out her arms forward with fingers spread wide, ten Dark Magic tentacles shot out from the base of her dress toward us. They were as thin as paracord, but ripped through my Rock Golem like a knife through tender meat. With new room to move, they hooked into vines of our fortification with dark claws.

Flicking her hands back, the tentacles pulled, tearing away the vines with seemingly no effort at all. The stone pillars near the bridge, standing at the chasm’s edge were left bare, exposing our magic users if Invisibility proved to be useless.

I saw Olivia’s eyes go wide. Her lip trembled. With her hand already outstretched, great vines leaped out of her palm. As they slithered forward they grew as thick as the truck of an ancient oak. They ran along the ground and cleared the 20-foot moat in seconds. Reaching the other side, they reached for the succubus and entangled her. Her feet were first, then her legs and waist. Within seconds they wrapped around her chest and were starting to squeeze.

Lady Contessa looked at the python sized vines as if interested in a new toy.

The rest of us saw the opportunity and took it. 

An Advanced Fireball soared right for her as an Ice Spear followed at its side. A charged Stone-Fist and Stone Bullets on rapid fire flew from different sides of the bridge. Aeris’ enhanced Wind Slash fell like a bolt of lighting and my Advanced Health Bomb charged with 10,000 MP followed behind them all.

Maxed out Mana Sight allowed me to see her initial response. A single tentacle of charged Dark Mana cleaved Olivia’s Vines in two, loosing their grip.

It was the same trick I had used against the Were-wolf, although, this time, she used Dark Magic against Nature. The two schools of magic didn’t react as Light magic did with Dark, but the highly condensed mana acted like a finely-honed blade against ripe vegetables, cutting the flow of mana as it severed the vines.

Her next action baffled me. She closed her eyes. 

The tentacles of Dark Magic whipped forward, intercepting the coming attacks. Aeris’ Wind Slash arrived first, but her vantage overhead did little good. The black cord swiped at it and, just as the vine had been slashed, the greatly condensed Wind Magic was sliced in two. Aeris’ spell split down the middle and struck the ground to either side of the succubus, cleaving into the stone floor.

A tentacle slapped the Fireball, setting it off near the middle of the bridge, the explosion put Clarissa, Trevon and Audrey on their rears. Lady Contessa was unaffected.

The Stone-fist crumbled as another tentacle snapped like a whip against it. 

The Ice Spear was diverted, but the Stone Bullets must have been too small, or there were too many, for the Dark Magic beneath her grew in mass and picked her up, moving her forward and out of the onslaught’s path. 

Where she had been standing, my Health Bomb went off. 

A great dome of Dark Energy rose up to meet it.

Hope weld up inside me as I saw her defensive spell lacked the concentration of mana to fully block the power behind my spell.

A great sizzle resounded as Light Magic met Dark.

Under the weight of my attack her dome fractured. 

My chest deflated. The reaction between our magics had been so fierce it stopped my Health Bomb’s advance. Her spell hadn’t been nearly as condensed as my Light Magic had been, but it didn’t have to be. She had used the reaction between our magics to implode my attack to conserve her mana. She had a mastery of magic that we couldn’t hope to outmatch.

I lost sight of her as my Light Magic explosion seemed to permeate everything.

Mana Sight was the only thing that saved me.

Lady Contessa had taken the bridge. Her Dark Magic tentacles had already grabbed ahold of most of the others. A Dark tentacle wrapped itself around my legs.

Where the tentacles grabbed me, I sensed the bone armor I wore start to fail under the powerful current of magic. As naturally as breathing, I let Light Mana surge into the exact area the tentacles held me. There was no sure way to measure how much she used except by feel. Like flexing a muscle, I applied pressure. All I knew for sure was she hadn’t used enough.

Her tentacle hissed as Light Magic touched Dark. It unwound and shrunk back like a wounded beast.

As things cleared, she looked down upon me from a mass of Dark magic materialized underfoot. It looked like an enormous shadow-slug. 

All of our casters dangled in the air behind her, tied up by her tentacles at the shoulders and waist. Their faces were writhing with pain. The tentacles seemed to glow with power.

I was wrong. She didn’t have Aeris.

Lady Contessa’s eyes drilled into me. She had four tentacles free.

I watched in slow motion as they all sped my way.

I cringed as a deafening cry range out. Lady Contessa and I turned to see Skyler flying through the air with his sledge hammer cranked back overhead.

As she diverted one of her tentacles, I cast Pain.

It reached for her, but instead of a bolt, I sent a steady current of mana into it. Reaching her a moment before her tentacle reached Skyler, the muscles of her face contorted but didn’t stop her from swatting him from the sky.

He flew toward open space.

I let Advanced Heal race after him with no guarantee it would reach him.

Our bashers charged in. All of them.

Somehow Mel had found the clarity of mind as she tortured him in her tentacles grasp to control his skeletons. They came at full charge at her rear.

Pain seemed to annoy her more than hurt. Three of her tentacles stormed toward me.

Instead of fighting them off, I quickly repaired my armor and fed it enough mana for the bone to grow. Instead of Titan’s Bone Defense, I completely covered my entire body in a thick layer of bone and coated it in a layer of Neutral energy. Her tentacles grabbed me. As they did, I released Pain.

Let her think I was subdued.

If Skyler had survived his fall, I had given him all the healing he needed to recover unless he had a bad piercing wound. If that was the case, there was nothing I could do, so I released Advanced Healing as well.

I felt the electric claws of her Dark Magic like a static charge around me. It was crawling about on the surface of my armor, trying to get in. I sent a constant stream of magic to repair it as well as continued to fuel the magic shell protecting me. It was costing over 4,000 mana per second. What ever spell she was using to cause us pain was incredibly powerful.

Invisibility I left running a little while longer. She wouldn’t be able to notice it as she would have Pain.

She tied me up with one of her tentacles as she had the others and let me dangle behind her as she fought off our bashers.

With Mana Sight, I was able to see everything, even through the layer of Neutral energy shielding me. The Succubi’s mana was incredibly dense, so she shone like a black diamond on a white background. 

Russ led the charge, but against a creature, 10 feet in the air, there was little they could do. The remaining Sledge Bro’s, George and Perry, both rammed lopping swings into the Dark Magic slug at the Lady’s feet. The energy simply gave way at their swings, then returned as their hammers passed through it.

A tentacle floated above them. It started to glow with power. Dark Lightning shot into Russ, rushing through him, then jumped from him to the next basher in line. All of them fell to the ground. Everyone except Russ. He stood below her, looking up with a grimace on his face. He knew he couldn’t reach her, but, holding his hammer tight, he dared her to attack again.

A tentacle slashed across the horizon, aimed right for him.

He spun. His hammer glowed in purple light, enshrouded in energy. He leveled it against the succubi’s attack. Something like the clamor of a monstrous gong sounded.

The tentacle snapped where his hammer had struck it. He looked up sneering.

This time she looked at him curiously before giving him a smirk.

Where the tentacle had once been, it immediately regrew and lunged at him like a spear. And extreme concentration of Dark Magic covered its point and pierced him right through the gut.

Aeris screamed.

Mel’s platoon of skeletons reached the bridge and proceeded to hunch over and let those behind them climb on their backs. Those at the base soon came in contact with the Dark Magic holding Lady Contessa up. It proceeded to suck the life right out of them.

Even as they fell over lifeless, Mel didn’t stop. His Skeleton Captain had waited at the rear and now ran toward the falling platform of skeleton bodies at a full sprint. He jumped to the back of the closest skeleton, landing on one leg. Using his momentum, he jumped to the highest point, of the skeleton pile and leaped high in the air.

A tentacle was there to meet him, but Mel was ready. His Captain threw his sword, right for the side of her face.

I moved as she did, dodging the sword at point blank range. A tentacle cut the Skeleton Captain in two right below the ribs.

I wished with all of my being that Aeris would have fled at that moment. 

The battle had start moments ago. Lady Contessa was far too strong. Her mana pool seemed endless. We never stood a chance facing her head on. How many of us were left alive?

A downpour of highly condensed Wind Slashes rained down on the succubi’s head.

As I feared, she shielded herself against them by placing my friends between them. Three of them tore into us before Aeris could divert the others. Who had been hit?

Looking at my angle, distance and how I moved at an unsteady pace, I didn’t have a clean shot. I would only get one shot.

“All alone.” Lady Contessa sung. “Come down wind fairy. If you obey I will make your death pleasant.”

The four remaining tentacles launched toward Aeris, who took off like a dart. Flinging Wind Slashes at the tentacles themselves, she severed the first two she hit, but then they came at her with a higher concentration of mana and became impregnable. 

As powerful as the succubus was, she couldn’t match Aeris’ speed and a deadly game of cat and mouse commenced.

Every time they got close, Aeris changed direction or picked up speed.

I felt the increase in power before it flooded into the tentacles chasing Aeris. A moment later, they retreated from her and stood up in the air like four wicked antennas. Black Lightning splattered the ceiling of the entire room, catching Aeris in its net.

I saw her cast Gust to try to shield herself from it, but it wasn’t enough. She started to fall like a leaf that wasn’t able to stand in the winds of fall.

A tentacle found her, stopping her from hitting the floor.

Another tentacle battered a few bashers from above that had retaken their feet.

Bringing her hands together, Lady Contessa clapped a final time. Rocking her head to either side, she beamed in delight.

“That’s more like it.” She said with a sigh.

I heard the other casters she had in her grasp as they screamed behind grit teeth. Audrey, Clarissa and Trevon were close together just as they had been before getting caught. I could see as their heads jerked from side to side and fought the pain. Olivia was still squirming, trying to get loose. Mel and Zorik seemed to be less effected, but they were still mostly indisposed.

Aeris wasn’t spared the torture even after she had just been knocked unconscious. Her body spasmed in the tentacles clutches.

I couldn’t wait any longer. The tentacle around my own shoulders and waist had pinned my arms to the side. My hand was loose enough to grab the tentacle in a vice grip.

“Lady Contessa.” I said with the poise only spite could grant in such a situation.

“Yes?” She said surprised.

I started to move. Her tentacle swung me around and held me directly before her. I was about six feet away. Checking my mana, I saw I had 167,535 of 190,399 MP.

As I started to reply, I saw the Skeleton General’s skull that was now my helm had been furnished with a jaw after I had granted it more mana. As I spoke, the skull mouthed my words. “You were right. We needed persuading. Please. No more pain. Make our end, enjoyable.”

She twisted her head to the side like a confused cat. “Enjoyable you say, but you speak as if you feel no pain at all.”

Twisting her head to the other side, she pulled me in to examine me closer. “You are the Light Mage. I am sure of it. So how are you wrapped in a cord of Dark Magic and still alive… This armor of yours must be the key. Please come out so I don’t have to pry it off of you.”

“Do you promise there will be no more pain?” I asked.

She giggled. “Oh, dear boy. All your pain will be forgotten.”

Every part of me screamed that this was a bad idea as I reduced the flow of mana to my armor and my helmet started to revert to its original form. The skeleton jaw receded and the bone covering its eye sockets were drawn back.

She bowed her head forward and looked up at me with her large adorable eyes, as if to say, “See, wasn’t that easy.”

“You’re beautiful.” I said in all sincerity.

She shared a sadistic grin.

Bone appendages erupted from my back. Ten of them spread wide like dragon’s wings before thrusting toward her with razor sharp points. Eight of them I aimed at her legs and arms.

She released my friends in the air where she held them, and they began to fall.

As her tentacle loosed to release me, I held it tight and refused to let it go. Without the Dark Magic’s influence wrapped around me I let Light Magic flow into the bone limbs that stretched out to skewer her.

Her free tentacles frantically moved to knock my appendages to the side before they could reach her. 

The four directed at her feet struck first, then, a fraction of a second later, four more attacked her arms.

Her eyes stared into me as she fumed.

The speed of her tentacles this close to her body was incredible. Four consecutive strikes severed my lower attacks. Four more did the same to those aiming for her arms. 

One of my two remaining appendages struck at her face.

She watched it come.

Her final free tentacle thrashed it to the side.

Arrogant eyes burned into me as she ducked forward to evade my last attack.

My appendage missed entirely.

She began to tremble. Astonishment struck her as she looked down. She grabbed at the bone spear that was lodged in her belly. 

It was the same bone spear that had erupted from my chest when I faced Xaphan. I had launched it at the same time I cast the appendage aimed for the back of her head. Instead of Light Magic, it had been cloaked in the Neutral energy of Alpha Bolt. My deception had worked.

I knew a wound to the gut wouldn’t kill her, so without a moment of hesitation, I propelled all the Light Magic I could muster into the bone shaft and into her gut.

To face such a creature as Lady Contessa, it was impossible for us to win. She had walked into The Bridge and subdued us in seconds. Even if she stood still on the bridge and let us attack her with our most devastating spells until our mana was spent, it was still unlikely we would have won. Her knowledge of magic and overwhelming power was just too much for us. The only thing I could think of that could possibly defeat her was magic itself. Only one concern remained. Did I posses enough mana to finish the job.

The moment my Light Magic spilled into her, her head jerked back. Her tentacles whipped around, completely out of control. One found the shaft of my spear and threatened to rip through its Neutral energy coating.

Not bothering to repair my damaged appendages protruding out of my back, I struck them, burying them into her chest, back and neck. Light Magic flooded into them and soon she started to convulse. 

The pressure around my eyes built as Force Learn intensified.

The backlash as Light and Dark Magic met only grew stronger. In a few seconds, I had pumped over 100,000 MP inside her. A new fear arose. She was going to explode.

The others were scattered on the bridge beneath us. If they weren’t dead yet, there was a big possibility that they would die in the blast. 

Releasing the tentacle that had had me in its grasp, my appendages held me in place. I let bone spring out from my hands toward the bridge beneath me like it was an ever-growing extension. 

The bone met the edge of the bridge and reached down to its base like a giant hand latching on. With the hold secure, there was no time to manage anything fancy. Bone swelled up from one side and spread out like a deformed shell to cover anything on the bridge and immediate area.

Time was up.

I released Forced Learn and was dragged into the succubus’ form. My guess had been correct. She only possessed the Dark School of magic.

At her center I saw a Dark Magic Orb. Unlike the Dark Elf, this one had substance. The pressure it held was many times anything I had seen except for the vampire and Xaphan himself. The knowledge of her, and what a succubus was, became mine and I took it.

As I returned to myself, the only popup I was able to see was one that read as followed.

You have stolen the Essence of the Succubi.

I met the blast by throwing up my arm to shield my face and cast Titan’s Bone Defense. Watching through Mana Sight, I saw the destruction as it came, but even watching with five times the normal perception I was unsure if my armor had been enhanced in time. 

It struck me, and I flew. Before I hit the ground, everything went dark.