Four Horsemen Book 5 - Old Histories: Chapter 10

Petor followed his companions into the temple's heart, the hammering growing louder with each step. Four massive juggernauts stood guard while their leader and two others struck the vault's door. Holy energy pulsed with each impact, spreading spider-web cracks through the glowing seals.

The leader's hammer radiated unholy power that made Petor's teeth ache. Each blow sent reverberations through the temple floor, and he could feel the protections weakening.

His gaze swept over his companions. Desari's katana gleamed with barely contained elemental energy, while Mya checked her pistols with practiced efficiency. Valter's held his shield at the ready and sword at his side, his three remaining sets of armor creating an arrowhead formation infront of him.

Petor adjusted his grip on his spear, tensing his muscles and pushed into the ground, speeding up.

The juggernauts called upon spells and utilized enchantments, launching ranged attacks at the horsemen. 

Petor charged forward, his spear held low as magical energy crackled through the chamber. The juggernauts' spells lit up the darkness - ice shards, lightning bolts, and waves of force thundering toward them.

Mya's rifle barked in rapid succession. Each shot connected with precise timing, detonating the incoming spells in brilliant flashes and thunderous rumbles as they were destabilized.

"Spread out!" Petor used his root road, shifting to the left as a frost nova exploded where he'd stood.

Desari raised her sword. Chunks of marble and stone ripped free from the temple floor, orbiting her like a deadly constellation as she ran. 

She thrust forward with her sword, the air around the porjectiles shimmering as they shot forth to meet with the oncoming spells. 

A juggernaut's lightning bolt streaked past Petor's head, close enough that his hair stood on end. The debris intercepted incoming spells, exploding in showers of stone and magical energy.

Desari drew up more stone projectiles and launched them, the juggernauts sending every ranged attack they could at them, tearing apart the temple. The impacts echoed off the temple walls, drowning out even the constant hammering at the vault.

Petor thrust his spear into the ground, channeling power through the temple floor. Roots burst through the stone, writhing like serpents as they sought targets. A juggernaut stumbled as vegetation wrapped around his legs, his next spell going wide.

The air grew thick with spell residue and stone dust. Through it all, Mya's shots rang out with mechanical precision, each one finding a gap in defenses or disrupting a spell at the crucial moment. Desari's spells gave Valter and Petor the cover they needed to reach the enemy.

Petor ran upon the roots sprouting through the floor and threw out seeds at the juggernauts. They explode in their faces, causing them to turn away as they buried themselves in armor and stone, their roots snaking out to gain a foothold.

The juggernauts smacked the growing plants away, using fire and spell to cleanse themselves—instead of focusing on Petor and Valter.

Through the swirling haze of spell residue and pulverized stone, Petor burst forward. His boots crunched across shattered marble as he emerged face-to-face with one of the juggernauts. 

The holy warrior towered over him, a mountain of consecrated metal and divine might. Runes blazed across their armor plates like rivers of molten gold, each symbol radiating protective power. The juggernaut's helm, crowned with a sweep of metallic wings, slowly turned down to regard the smaller man before him.

For a heartbeat, the chaos of battle seemed to fade. The hammering at the vault door became distant thunder. Even the screams and explosions dulled to whispers. In that suspended moment, Petor stared up at the emotionless mask of the helm, meeting the burning glow of the warrior's gaze as Petor closed with him.

"Looking down on me," Petor grit his teeth, a grin spreading across his face. He could feel the man's presence, the weight of him upon the world, two levels higher than Petor.

Excitement swelled in Petor's heart.

The stillness shattered as Petor drove his spear forward and split into a dozen different copies. He used root road to shift to a new position, maintaining his momentum. The spear's tip ignited with concentrated power as he poured his strength into the thrust.

The juggernaut turned to face him—the real him with his shield emblazoned with holy symbols. They met with an earth-shattering collision.

Raw force exploded outward from the point of impact. A visible shockwave ripped through the chamber, scouring away the floating debris and battle smoke. The blast revealed the two combatants locked in their contest - Petor's muscles straining as the juggernaut an immovable wall of divine armor holding firm against the onslaught.

"Fucking Othir Armor!" Valter yelled as he and his three sets of armor clashed with two other juggernauts.

Petor roared, his spear a blur as he struck again and again at the juggernaut. Each blow carried enough force to shatter stone, yet the holy warrior's shield absorbed the impacts with bursts of divine light. The juggernaut's boots ground deeper into the temple floor with each strike, creating divots in the marble as he held his ground.

Magical energy crackled between them, casting wild shadows across the temple walls. Petor's muscles burned as he poured everything into his assault. The spear's tip left trails of blue fire in the air, each strike precisely aimed at weak points in the juggernaut's defense. Yet the juggernaut continued to meet his blows with his massive shield.

Petor jumped through different positions and threw out more illusions—the juggernaut saw through them all.

Need to conserve my mana.

The clash filled the chamber with a storm of sparks and arcane discharge. Petor's world narrowed to the space between them, his focus absolute as he searched for an opening in the juggernaut's defense.

Petor caught glimpses of Mya through the chaos of his own battle. Her usual calculated demeanor had vanished, replaced by something far more primal. Her boots barely touched the ground as she glided across the debris-strewn floor, closing the distance to the final Juggernaut with unnatural speed.

The massive warrior towered over her, their consecrated mace coming down in a lethal arc through the air. 

Mya moved like smoke, her form seeming to bend rather than duck as the weapon whistled harmlessly overhead. Her cutlass flashed upward in the same motion, finding the narrow gap between the Juggernaut's pauldron and gorget.

Metal screamed against metal. Sparks cascaded from where her blade carved a shallow channel through the blessed armor. The Juggernaut reacted with surprising quickness for their size, shield already rising to intercept Mya's next attack. But she had already slipped away like a shadow, her form blurring as she changed position.

The juggernaut brought their shield up to block her next strike, armor plates grinding with the motion. In that split second, Mya's pistol appeared in her off-hand, the barrel pressing against the exposed joint where chest plate met arm.

The shot thundered through the chamber. Blue-white energy erupted from the barrel, the enchanted round punching through the narrow gap. Sparks showered outward as smoke curled from the impact point. The smell of ozone and scorched metal cut through the temple's musty air.

"You're Mad Mya!" The juggernaut's voice tinged with pain.

The massive warrior's arm was gripped to his side. Mya didn't hesitate. Her cutlass swept in low, finding the gap in their defenses. The blade bit deep into their side with a screech of metal on metal.

Lightning split the air. Pain exploded through Petor's body as the juggernaut he faced hit him with a wide AOE lighting spell.

Before he could recover, the first juggernaut's mace swept toward his head. Holy fire wreathed the weapon, turning it into a meteor of sacred flame. Petor twisted desperately, but wasn't fast enough to completely avoid the blow. The mace caught his shoulder, deforming the armor plates with a screech of tortured metal. Only the thick gambeson beneath prevented the strike from crushing bone.

As embers cascaded across his armor, Petor's mind flashed to the crafting session where Valter and Mya had insisted on multiple layers of protection. He'd have to thank them later - if he survived this fight.

He lashed out with his spear, throwing back the juggernaut, stepping into brambles, they raced to climb up his limbs as Petor harrassed the juggernaut, his movements tore up the plants as holy fire flushed over him, trying to clear them away.

He dodged out of the plants, more breaking out of the ground in the new location he moved to.

The bramble cut through the man's armor and Petor felt the flow of mana from the man. Petor launched his attacks-faster and stronger than before, the blows ringing out louder than those trying to break into the vault.

The momentum had turned.

The leader of the juggernauts, turned from the vault door, his armor catching the fading light of the weakening seals. Divine runes cascaded across the plates like liquid starlight, each inscription a testament to sacred craftsmanship. His hammer, an immense creation of gold and silver filigree, radiated heat from its repeated strikes against the vault door, the head glowing white-hot.

The captain's helmet swiveled toward Mya, the visor's glow intensifying as he recognized her. "Mad Mya," he snarled, the name echoing through his helm like a curse. "I remember you. The scourge of my shores, the witch who burned my people's hope along with the brigands you slaughtered."

Mya stepped forward, her boots crunching on shattered marble. Blood dripped from her cutlass, while her pistol remained trained on the captain. Her lips curled into a cold smile, memories of burning ships and screaming raiders flickering behind her eyes.

"They were pirates, not saints," she shot back, voice sharp enough to cut as she continued to fight. "They attacked innocents, and they paid the price. Don't confuse my justice for your dogma."

Petor's attention never wavered from his opponent as the juggernaut's armor blazed with intensifying holy light, runes flaring across the blessed metal. Their mace rose high overhead, divine energy crackling along its length like captured lightning.

The weapon slammed down. The impact sent a visible wave of force rippling through the temple floor, shattering marble and pulverizing stone. The shockwave raced outward in all directions, holy energy burning through Petor's network of roots and plants.

His legs trembled as the blast hit him, but the surviving roots wrapped around his boots held firm. Years of combat experience kept his stance wide and balanced. Through the cloud of pulverized stone and scattered debris, Petor caught glimpses of his companions similarly bracing against the assault.

"Enough!" The juggernaut's roar echoed off the temple walls. With a surge of strength, they ripped free of the remaining roots that clung to their armor. Plant matter tore and snapped as the warrior charged forward like an avalanche of consecrated steel.

Their shield crashed into Petor's spear with bone-jarring force. The impact sent shock waves up Petor's arms, his fingers nearly losing their grip on the weapon. Only his death-grip on the spear's shaft kept it from being torn away completely. The juggernaut's raw power drove him back several steps, snapping the roots that had held him and making his boots scrape across the ruined floor.

The juggernaut leapt forward, shield leading and mace coming forward in an arc.

Petor used his root road at the last moment, moving between the minimal remains of his plants.

The holy warrior stumbled past, stumbling.

Stone and parts of the temple roof gave way, the juggernaut ignoring them as he turned to face Petor, Desari's arrows striking at his weak-points, trying to find purchase.

"Above!" The juggernaut leader yelled.

The juggernaut raised his mace, holy light shooting above, catching the falling plants, but it didn't get all of them as they hit the floor—these were fully grown behemoths that lunged at the juggernaut, wrapping around the juggernaut's limbs with crushing force. The plants found every gap in the blessed armor, thorns digging deep into vulnerable joints.

"You... are nothing but a pest!" The juggernaut's voice cracked with rage and underlying fear as they thrashed against the vegetative restraints. Their struggles grew more desperate as Petor's plants began to drain their strength, the holy light of their armor flickering.

Petor adjusted his grip on the spear shaft, muscle memory guiding his hands to the perfect position. He struck like a viper, the spear tip finding the narrow gap between shoulder and chest plate. Magical energy crackled at the point of impact. The juggernaut tried to block, but their movements had already slowed considerably.

Again and again, Petor's spear found its mark. Each precise thrust targeted a different weakness - the joint at the elbow, the seam along the side, the gap at the knee. 

The warrior's curses echoed through the chamber as his previously fluid movements became jerky and uncoordinated. Their mighty swings now moved through the air like they were underwater. The brilliant glow of their consecrated armor dimmed steadily, the holy runes flickering like dying embers as Petor and his plants continued their relentless draining.

"The Mardun souls trapped here are an abomination, tethered by your profane defiance of the gods' will." The captain's voice boomed through his helm, echoing off the temple walls. He turned back to the vault, his armor blazing with holy light as he swung again. "We will cleanse this island, these souls, and all remnants of your heresy. Only in their destruction can the gods guide them into grace."

Petor kept up his attacks, bleeding and draining his opponent even as his armor healed his wounds he added more.

The captain's hammer struck the vault door again, the impact sending tremors through the temple floor. Chunks of enchanted stone broke free, clattering across the marble. Divine energy pulsed from the weapon in waves, each blow weakening the protections.

"Grace? Is that what you call it? Binding souls into eternal servitude, shackling them to your gods' whims, their will stripped away? That's not grace, Kolvar—it's slavery. Your gods are no better than the pirates I burned."

The vault's protective barrier finally gave way with a thunderous crack, stone colllapsed, falling inwards and down the stairs into the vault.

"Bring judgement upon these heretics! I will release the tortured souls of the dead!" The leader's voice boomed through his helm as he charged into the darkness beyond. His remaining juggernauts spun away from the vault, their heavy boots pounding against the marble as they rushed to aid their embattled companions.

Petor's spear clashed against his opponent's defenses, driving the juggernaut back step by step. The warrior's movements had grown sluggish, their once-pristine armor now scarred and torn by countless strikes. Plant matter still clung to the blessed metal, draining away their strength with every passing moment.

With a burst of speed, Petor thrust his spear upward, the tip striking the juggernaut's helmet with a resounding clang. The blow knocked the warrior's head back, exposing the vulnerable neck joint.

An arrow whistled through the air, its tip glowing with elemental energy. It struck the juggernaut's exposed neck joint with pinpoint accuracy, punching through the gap. The warrior collapsed mid-swing, reaching for his neck.

The arrow popped, dropping a headless body, a helmet clattering against the ground.

Power flowed through Petor's veins as he spread it to the others, feeling his core grow stronger.

Petor turned away from the fallen juggernaut, gathering his remaining strength. He reached out to the few surviving roots, feeling their connection through his magic. With a thought, he activated root road, diving back into the fight.