Revenge of the Sorcerer King 29

Hey All! Here's the next hit! Ran out of steam and will be adding Alessa sometime today or friday. So stay tuned. 

Chapter 29

Oberon

A blast threw me against the wall. I was really regretting leaving the castle. While it was a rash decision in retrospect, I thought I could handle it with my knowledge of magic. I just couldn’t understand how we ended up in a place with such high-level monsters only a week out of the gate. 

I pulled myself from the wall, stones clattering to the ground around me. I deliberately stood up slowly. The undead mage waiting, with what I assumed would be a smile if it could. This battle had been raging for several minutes now and I knew that it was playing with me. Once I was out of the wall, I dusted myself off then looked back at the undead, which I decided to call Kyle. 

“Would you stop playing around,” Helena said as she threw her shield after jumping a few meters away from the frontline undead. The shield struck the undead’s two handed sword and pushed it back a meter. 

“I’m not playing. I’m only level thirty-nine after all,” I said with a disgruntled sigh. 

I thought of the spells I could use. Obviously, low level spells would just tickle this thing. I needed something with power, something original. I smiled as it came to me. A memory sparked to life at the thought. I walked back to what I was considering my dueling position. Kyle looked me over as if trying to decide if I was worthy. That gave me a clue to what I was dealing with. 

“Kyle. Its about to get really fun in here,” I said lifting my hands. “Helena, you might want to take cover.” 

Kyle matched me, mana radiating from him. Judging from its patterns it would form into a high-level fire blast or storm. Grodo could probably take it, but I didn’t want to risk it. I started chanting the words to the spell, not sure how my body would take it. Sure enough, a stinging pain started but I was able to ignore most of it. 

I reached the end of the spell long before the fire spell Kyle was forming was finished. I was using only a second level spell after all. Light spilled from my hand as I lifted like one would a spear. Trusting Grodo to pour on the full amount of strength at his disposal, I pulled back and threw it. 

“Spear of Naomi!”

In the middle of spell casting, Kyle couldn’t react in time to the spear. It slammed into him and dragged him all the way to the pillar behind him where it pinned him. White chains burst from the spear and wrapped around the pillar. Kyle looked the spell over then back to me, I wasn’t sure if he was impressed or disappointed. 

I started to lean towards the latter when he flexed and some of the chains broke. He was still held but it would only be for a few more moments. I turned to help the other two in time to see Alessa land a heavy blow across the undead’s face. If it had been living it would have died. Still the blow staggered it a few steps as its head was pointing the wrong direction. 

It corrected itself then stepped back from the pair. I tilted my head curious when I heard my spell break and the other undead stepped back to its original position next to the pedestal. I joined Alessa and Helena as we waited to find out what was happening. 

“Weak! How weak you’ve become Conqueror!” A voice echoed around the cave. 

“Conqueror?” I muttered then said, “how do you know me?” 

“Ha! How frail the memory of the mortal races. You can’t even remember your most trust friend from your glory days?” the voice said with obvious humor. 

Memories flashed before my eyes. Me dedicating battles to a God before they started. The image of a large man that filled the sky when we won and seemed to keep the survivors company in their time of hardship when we lost. 

“Avenim,” I said almost without meaning. 

“Indeed. To think the day would come when even my failed disciples can defeat you. Shows how much the world has changed,” the voice said almost solemnly.

“Why did they not challenge the human when he came here?” I asked.

“Eh, that man was a whelp driven by revenge and he left them alone, so I didn’t care. But you! I knew it was you the moment you stepped into my palace of challenge. I just couldn’t resist,” the voice said with a chuckle that shook the cave. 

“Its good to know that my old name is going to get me in trouble everywhere I go,” I said rubbing my head. 

“Price of fame. Now, you have passed my trial, but you certainly did not win. Therefore, I will not smite you, but I want you to take that whelp with you. Anymore undeath in here and I’ll have to deal with that idiot Siateth.” 

“Very well. We shall remove him,” I said chuckling. 

“Are you… No, it doesn’t matter. She can clean up her own messes. Begone!” Avenim said with enough force to cause the cave to shake. 

The god was gone, so I moved over to grab the man. I made sure not to go near the undead. Once I had him, we started walking out of the cave. I was disappointed since the miasma felt nice. 

“How did you use holy magic?” Helena asked while we walked through the caves. 

“Holy magic comes from the belief in said god and your connect with them. Since undead normally follow Siateth their ‘holy’ magic is rather dark in nature. I, however, have met and had dealings with the gods and goddesses. Yes, most of my memories of those events are rusty, but my memories involving magic are as clean a pane of glass. That’s not to say I didn’t pay the price,” I explained as I came to a stop. 

I handed the man to Alessa then pulled off my right gauntlet. My normally white bones were completely charred black. They looked like they would turn to ash at the slightest touch. I didn’t feel pain the same way a mortal would, rather it was more on a spiritual level. I was sure Naomi was upset about someone that wasn’t a follower using her holy mana, which is why she burned me. 

“How many more secrets are you hiding?” Helena asked with her hands on her hips just shaking her head.

“If only I knew,” I said with a laugh. 

“Is there any way we can fix your memory?” Alessa asked shifting the man on her shoulder. He was almost two heads taller than her. Physically he was light, but proportionally it was probably a pain in the ass. I reached over and took him off her once I replaced my gauntlet. 

“There is magic that would do it, but I would need to be around level ninety to use it personally.”

“We could go to the Kalia Lordship. They are known to have many powerful mages,” Helena suggested. 

“That is on the other side of the desert. Several months from Frinz,” Alessa said.

“Maybe. When we get Alessa’s mother back, I plan to go back to Haven for a few months and work on getting the city ready for anything that might head its way.” 

“Haven?” Helena asked. 

“So, the world remembers me but not the name of my city.” I sighed at the way Fate works. “Haven! The city where all are welcome, and all may rest. Built to be a beacon of hope in the war torn Igerox continent.”

“Its not much of a haven now,” Alessa muttered under her breath. 

“Quite right! So, it should be called Fallen Haven.” I laughed at my ridiculous name. 

“Oberon,” Helena said more serious than I could remember since meeting her. “How about you make it a Haven again. Only this time, you help the wicked races as some like to call them.” 

We reached outside the cave right as she said it. I found a decent spot and dropped the man roughly on the ground. He had a working set of legs, he needed to use them. I turned back to Helena who stared at me with intensity. 

“The wicked races, huh? Which are we talking about? Several of them hate to have a master after all.” I asked. 

“All of them. And they would listen to you,” Helena said putting her hands behind her back and pacing like a teacher. If it wasn’t cute, I think I might have punched her. 

“Alessa told me about the fairy race.” I glanced over at her and she clapped her hands over her head for forgiveness. “Oh, don’t be hard on her, she’s still a child.” If I had an eyebrow, I would have raised it at her. “With that particular card, I think most if not all the races would want to offer themselves to you, the wicked races more so. Imagine unending bloodlust that is never sated, a hunger that is a pit with no bottom. Humans truly have no idea how hard it is for the races cursed with a single sin. Humans are able to balance it, the sins feeding off each other to stay at a manageable level.”

“That is interesting. We’ll talk more on this later,” I said noticing the man waking. 

“Huh? Where am I?” He asked not fully back yet. 

“Why, my good man! You’re dead!” I said spreading my hands out. 

“Dead! But I haven’t achieved my revenge!” he shouted jumping to his feet. 

I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing. The man was making a ferocious face that said he would fight even the demons of the underworld to get back to the land of the living. I patted him on the shoulder. “I’m going to like you,” I said.