221: Entrapment

“Where is he?” Vir roared, but his voice was cut off by the door that materialized between Saunak and Cirayus, who’d been following behind. He was now cut off.

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 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 lived 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 had damaged. To his surprise, Prana Blade actually did some damage, expanding the hole.

Without even attempting a followup 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 that 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 of them possessed the eye beams that the Yaksha and the large Automatons had, and the damage that the chakram had done 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, but 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 also 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.

Of course, they’re built differently! Vir cursed under his breath. Did it even need its head? Or was it just for show?

Black metal cables sparked from its neck stump, but otherwise, his attacks seemed to have done no damage.

All that effort. Wasted… Or perhaps not? Vir thought as he looked at its neck.

Blinking to the back of the Automaton, Vir grabbed a cable—one that wasn’t currently arcing—and pulled prana. Without Imperium Metal armor to block him, he sucked the Automaton’s prana dry in an instant… and the enemy fell to the ground, lifeless.

One down. Only one more to go. If he could reduce their numbers to three, Saunak would be forced to give up one of his guards. And then he’d be defenseless.

“Give up, Saunak,” Vir announced, ducking under another bladed arm while launching his Prana Bladed katar into the nearest Automaton’s chin, sending it staggering back. “I’ve proven I can take them down. How many more of your precious Artifact machines do you want to lose today?”

Saunak laughed happily. “Why, I don’t mind losing them all, if it means gauging your ability!” he said with with a crazed look.

Gauging? Vir thought incredulously.

“Is that what you’re doing?”

“Why, yes! What better way to get you to display your full ability than to force you into a crisis? Far better than any duel, if you ask me.”

“You’re insane,” Vir snarled, Blinking to Saunak. His katar lashed out with inhuman speed, and was met by an equally inhuman Automaton’s blade.

“I’m afraid you won’t be getting through that way,” Saunak said.

“Is that right?” Vir asked, summoning his chakram back to him. “How about this, then?”

Vir sent his disk flying, but this time he aimed directly at Saunak. The thaumaturge’s eyes widened in surprise, and Vir saw a hint of fear flash through his expression.

Good. Let him squirm.

Until now, Vir couldn’t afford to fire the disk at Saunak. To do so meant he’d have to face three Automatons on his own—a losing proposition. But now, there were only four, and it took two of his guardians working together to keep the disk from eviscerating their charge, which left Vir with two opponents.

Doable—barely.

The Automatons were incredibly durable and deadly, but Vir held the edge in mobility. After exchanging a few blows, he Blinked around them, hurtling straight for Saunak.

He sent a Katar Launch sailing at the demon, forcing his guardians to intercept. But doing so meant allowing the chakram to kill their master.

What are you going to do now? Vir thought. You have no options.

Just when he thought he had Saunak, one of the Automatons did something Vir couldn’t have imagined. It sent its blade-arm through the hole inside the chakram, pinning it against the wall.

Were it a normal chakram, that would be the end, and it’d be rendered useless. The inner edge of a chakram was normally blunted to avoid harming the wielder. At best, it’d spin uselessly.

But this was an Artifact, custom designed by Vir and Ashani herself.

Razor blades deployed along the inner perimeter, ripping savagely at the Automaton’s limb. It bit steadily into the metal, and within seconds, the limb was gone. Amputated at its ball jointed elbow.

Saunak’s guardian had sacrificed itself, but in return, it’d stopped Katar Launch.

Smart, Vir thought. It had five limbs left. Sacrificing one wasn’t a huge loss… though it wasn’t a strategy it could afford to keep up for long.

If it was resorting to such desperate tactics, it meant Vir was close. Just a little more.

If I only had a little more help…

Vir continued fighting off the guardians, hurling his chakram at Saunak when he could. Unfortunately, in the following two minutes, he’d managed to do so only thrice. Each time, his bodyguards sacrificed their limbs. It wasn’t fast enough. Not nearly.

A black blur fell from the ceiling. Had Vir not spotted the glowing blue eyes, he might’ve mistaken it for a bundle of prana.

Vir’s eyes looked up to find a small open hole in the ceiling.

A ventilation shaft! Like the ones in the Yaksha vault!

The fight was over the moment Shan hit the floor.

The Automatons couldn’t counter the wolf. Even if their minds were fast enough to register the new threat, their bodies certainly were not.

Shan’s head slammed into Saunak’s stomach, sending him hurling across the room.

The thaumaturge hit the wall… and crumpled to the floor.

All four Automatons immediately moved into a protective formation around their fallen master, preventing Vir from approaching.

Capturing the thaumaturge would’ve been nice, but at least now, Vir had a way out.

High Jumping, Vir sailed into the ventilation shaft, forcing his way inside.

He didn’t need to go far. Unlike the room below, the shaft was dark, allowing him to slip into its shadow.

Shan bounded up behind him, and he pulled the Ashfire Wolf into the Shadow Realm along with him.

Locating a nearby exit, Vir emerged beside Cirayus to find the giant embroiled in a fierce battle of his own in the circular hallway.

“Lad! Are you well?” he asked as Sikandar sent an Automaton flying across the circular hall.

“Fine. But we need to get out of here.”

“Aye. Question is, how?”

It was a good question. For while Vir had escaped the trap Saunak had sprung, they weren’t out of the woods yet. Not by a longshot.

Vir looked around and counted a half dozen Automatons. “At least there aren’t too many enemies,” Vir said. On his own, they’d be an issue, but with Cirayus? He was confident they could escape.

That was until the tower’s lights turned red. Sirens blared, and spider-like Automatons flooded through the walls. By the dozens.

Well, grak.