A Soldier's Life - 426 - Chapter 426: You Get Out And They Pull You Back In (taking suggestions for better titles)

Chapter 426: Chapter 426: You Get Out And They Pull You Back In

My arm snapped into place, and the torn muscles began healing. It happened so fast that I would have to replay it in my dreamscape to understand what occurred. The aether shield amulet, overwhelmed and shattering, left parts of it embedded deep in my chest. I was fortunate that none of those pieces pierced my heart.

When my arm was helped just enough to move, I cursed the lost aether potion. The aether potion had shattered, but I was able to reach into my belt and retrieve another. The rush of the potion spreading was salvation, as my healing flow increased, I retrieved one of the two dungeon healing potions. My hand was shaky, but I was careful not to spill a single drop.

Shock still dulled my nerves, and the pain was creeping in. Bones started popping back into place, and I fretted about using my last dungeon healing potion to speed up the process. One potion wouldn't restore me to full health. I kept pouring aether through my healing spell form but had to pause to remove the fragments of the aether shield amulet buried in my chest.

It was frustrating since the void magic used a lot of aether to eliminate the small fragments. The pain surged in as my shock wore off, but my experience and mind fortress spell form prevented it from being overwhelming. It took time to stand, and I seriously considered using the other potion, but instead drank two more aether restoratives and used my healing spell form.

As I healed, I checked the other Sentinels for life as the sounds of battle echoed far away. When I reached the bone devil’s tail and partial skull, I paused and moved both parts to my dimensional space. My thought was it might come back for them, and also, they were valuable alchemy ingredients. I collected my sword and made my way toward the fighting.

I was shocked that the demon was still able to fight and that the Sentinels hadn’t ended the demon yet. Then I remembered that demons had a resistance to necromancy, and most of the most powerful Sentinels were necromancers—necromancers without a fear of dying.

The path of blood and bodies descended the stairs. The demon was probably trying to reach the water. The good news was that there were fewer dead Sentinels, and what appeared to be one of the hind legs of the demon was left on the stairs—I took that too.

As I reached the last landing, the Sentinels, led by their commander, had the creature cornered and were preventing it from approaching the pier. Dozens of spells obstructed the furious bone devil. Its once-pristine exoskeleton was now scarred by black blood, scorch marks, chips, and fractures. I moved forward to help end the fight, and Nythra noticed me and did a double take. She clearly thought I had been killed, and I hope that was why none of the Sentinels had tried to come and heal me.

No one else gave me any heed, except the single red eye of the bone demon. The expressionless skull seemed to give the same double-take that Nythra had just given me. Rage seemed to flare in that single eye, and it gave up hope of trying to flee and charged me. It clearly thought I was somehow responsible for its impending death. Its charge exposed its body to multiple attacks, but it was not going to be deterred. It broke the encirclement and tore up the stone beneath its feet as its three legs carried it toward me. I immediately began layering shields in front of me and stood tall with magebane, pretending I would receive its charge.

Since it detected my dimensional overlay last time, I waited until it was too late for it to change its direction. At fourteen feet away, the rest of its head disappeared. My body warned me I was nearing aether burn, having used my entire aether pool four times over in the last twenty minutes. Fortunately, I was only close and did not experience it. I stepped back and let the nine air discs take the charge. Seven of the nine shattered under the colossal impact before the last two held to halt the beast. The Death Sentinels didn’t stop their assault for a good minute until Fenlorian yelled, “Halt!”

Undead apparitions started to fade into the ethereal, and the smell of ozone lingered. The remaining Sentinels, over thirty in number, cautiously approached. “Nythra, the collector,” Fenlorian ordered tentatively.

The elf necromancer produced the plate-sized device, but she looked reluctant to approach the bone devil that had rampaged through their ranks. A fair number of eyes traveled over me, mostly the ones that had seen me crushed into the wall. Nythra still had not moved, so I walked up to her and took the device to harvest the demon myself. She released the collector, and I proceeded. There was no way this creature didn’t yield an apex essence, no matter which collector was used.

The dark blue smoke was thicker than anything I had previously seen from a collector. As the apex essence formed, the Sentinels finally moved closer, confident that the fight had truly ended. It was an essence I had never encountered before, but I recognized it from my studies. The modest sphere contained shifting patterns inside—different shapes morphing into other shapes. The protection affinity, also known as the guardian affinity, made some sense given how the exoskeleton had been on the bone devil.

Envious eyes looked on as I held the sphere. I was uncertain about what to do with it. “Void magic?” A Sentinel asked. I didn’t answer, but slowly nodded as I did have void magic.

“See if anyone is alive!” Fenlorian suddenly shouted, and the Sentinels broke away to trace the bloody path of destruction back to the origin. I already knew no one had survived. Fifteen dead after Lorien. And not just any fifteen, but fifteen of the strongest Sentinels on Sanctuary. I hadn't seen Lepidus since all this began.

Fenlorian stood next to me and took the small collector from me. I extended my hand with the sphere but he made no action to take it from me after the collector. His eyes were locked on the headless demon with relief or maybe disbelief. Activity swirled around us as the Sentinels reported to Fenlorian and water lapped softly on the stone piers as the ships bobbed softly in the water.

“Can you help again?” Fenlorian’s voice asked stiffly.

“I am close to aether burn,” I replied honestly. “But I will do what I can.”

I could tell the High Sentinel was grappling internally with the losses under his watch. He hadn’t been able to stop the demon, and if I hadn’t been here, things might have been far worse. “What was in the vault?”

He looked one last time at the demon and then at me. “Ancient demon artifacts from the time of the Titans,” he revealed.

“I searched the Repository and didn’t find any history older than 3000 years.” I had searched, and the Sentinel curators hadn’t helped me even after I had been elevated to a Watcher.

“That knowledge is sealed in the vaults,” Fenlorian replied. It didn’t seem like the right time to ask for permission to explore them. His cold, blue eyes assessed me. “I will see you raised to a Seeker after this is over, and Seekers can access the vaults.”

I had a demon artifact in my dimensional space. One that I was told to destroy. “Why do you have demon artifacts?”

Instead of answering me, he started walking. “Join me on the plateau.” I was not the only Sentinel to join Fenlorian, as four others fell in with him to return to the summit. He started giving orders through the mages accompanying us. Cleaning up the bodies and making sure others knew that the threat was not over, and to remain vigilant.

Since he had not asked for the protection essence, I discreetly consumed it. The essence immediately focused on my core before spreading out to warm my bones and cool my skin. Goosebumps ran across my body, and I was briefly lightheaded before it subsided.

Fenlorian’s orders continued all the way to the plateau and into the council chamber, where we had first met the High Sentinel. He unstrapped his blade and slid it on the table as he took his seat. Soon, other seats were filled, including Lepidus’ seat. However, only nine of the fifteen were now occupied. I thought he was going to tell me to sit in one of them, but he never did, and I stepped back toward the wall as an observer.

“If there is another release, I want the exit trapped,” Fenlorian started, but was quickly interrupted by the same Sentinel from last night.

“The only intelligent thing to do is to go after the dungeon core while we can,” Elandran stated angrily. “Cendros was right. The dungeon should be destroyed.” I remembered the elf, and he had been among the dead bodies.

It was Lepidus who countered him. “It is our only source of demon blood and demon horn for the Master Alchemists and Artificers.”

“What does it matter if we are all dead!?” Elandran retorted, clearly unhappy.

Arguments broke out across the table as proponents and opponents of destroying the dungeon voiced their opinions heatedly. From what I gathered from the exchanges, the dungeon was delved sparingly, in secret, and only the first two rooms were harvested. Since demon’s blood was not corruptible by nether essence, it was used in the Sentinel’s artificed gear and even the mixture that they used to write the protection runes on the skulls of the Sentinels and some Hunters.

An hour ticked away, and I interrupted. “There is another option.” Silence at the table as all eyes turned to me. “There are two other dungeons on Desia with demons. The Caliphate Orcs control one, and the other is in the Southern Reaches, in Brotherhood lands.

Lepidus’ voice echoed out from under his mask. “We are aware, Watcher. The Brotherhood tolerates us, but would never allow us permission. The Orcs…” he paused as he considered.

Fenlorian interrupted. “Watcher Eryk is hereby promoted to Seeker. Any objections?”

One elf shook his head. “He cannot take the mark, so he should not be raised.”

Another elf objected more softly. “I vote in favor, but request that he not be allowed a Seat for at least a decade. There are still too many coincidences that this occurred with his group’s arrival.”

Fenlorian’s support pointed out what I could do for the Sentinels. “He is an otherworlder, and his rare and powerful void magic is the only thing that prevented more death.”

Tovin spoke for the first time. The young orc necromancer nodded in my direction. “As the youngest to be offered a Seat, I support the promotion. I am willing to volunteer to travel to the Caliphate and negotiate terms for using the dungeon.” That seemed to quell my objectors, but still it was put to a vote.

The results were eight in favor and two objecting. Those objectors were Lepidus and the other elf who objected do to the fact I could not take the mark. “Welcome, Seeker Eryk. You can remain here.”

The discussion turned briefly to the dungeons before someone pointed out we were wasting time. “If we are going to destroy the dungeon, we only have half a day before it restores its creatures.”

Fenlorian sighed, the weight of the decision on him. “We will prepare and not destroy the dungeon unless it purges its creatures again. If it does, then we will destroy it.”

“The bone…”

“We will be more prepared this time,” Fenlorian said, ignoring the interruption. “I need to send a team to the Isle to see if the dungeons there are also affected.

“I will go,” Lepidus said, which apparently surprised everyone. “But Seeker Eryk must accompany me.”

“That is fine. After we deal with the next breach,” Fenlorian said finally.

I suddenly remembered why I hated being a legionnaire. I hated being voluntold.

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