SP: 415/435
MP: 342/342
Lore: Humans are multitudinous on the Continent. They are statistically weaker than most Races, especially at lower levels.
Strength: Martial Proficiency, Strength, Dexterity
Weakness: Perception, Willpower
In the same instance that their information flashed before his eyes, he also got a sense of their advancement. Both Aenda and Niall were beyond their Apprentice Formation, but they felt alarmingly...uniform. As if they were copies of one another.
As if they were one person, both began advancing on them. The trio stepped backward, maintaining the distance.
"You will put down your weapons, or you will be physically restrained," said Niall in his deep voice. "Aenda, read them."
The yellowed eyed Acolyte flared her Skill. Felix could almost see it spark to life around her eyes, like a lattice of faint, glowing lines. What was even weirder, he felt the Skill slip off him in the strangest way.
"They're hidden!" Aenda snarled and lifted her hands. Orange Mana pooled in her palms before igniting into balls of swirling fire. "Last chance! Put your weapons down, relinquish your artifacts, and put your hands up!"
"Careful, these bastards are tough," Evie said, ignoring her. "They all know how to fight together."
"Inquisition forces use light and fire Skills," Vess hissed. "Hopefully they'll be at a disadvantage down here, with all the water and shadow."
"Alright, enough chances," grunted Niall, before he stomped his foot and launched himself forward. Behind him, Aenda pulled her hand back to cast her bolts of flame.
Shadow Whip!
A black, wrist thick whip of shadow Mana smashed into the Acolyte from the side, and the burly foe was hurled off the platform entirely.
"Niall!" The remaining Acolyte turned furiously toward the three of them. "You'll burn for that!"
"Siva's breath," Vess cursed, but she rushed forward at the other Acolyte. Her feet blurred and twisted, her body not quite where she appeared to be; which was lucky, because a stream of fire burst from Aenda's mouth. It narrowly missed Vess, but swept after her.
Like a goddamn dragon.
Evie's spiked chain whipped outward, catching the woman across her armored chest and throwing her back. The impact sounded like a car crash, the metal screaming under the weight of the blow. The fire breath cut off as she hit the ground, but the Acolyte wasn't down yet. With a shout and burst of flame, she flipped back up to her feet. Just in time to deflect the thrust of Vess' spear.
"Fall, heretics!"
The woman's visor flooded with brilliant golden light as some sort of shimmering construct formed around the Acolyte. Panels of golden light formed into a bulky and oversized suit of armor. Vess struck out with a flurry of strikes, her spear tip blurring, but the woman blocked them all on her oversized conjured vambrace. The next moment, Evie's spinning chain slammed into Aenda but the woman didn't budge an inch.
Then the woman punched Vess down into the ground, shattering parts of the bridge below them with the heiress' body.
"A little help!" Evie shouted at him, but Felix was already moving. Another Shadow Whip formed in his hands as he ran forward, but his Perception, slightly muddled by the constant pounding of the water, still snagged on an important detail.
Niall was coming back up.
The bastard was flying above him, tethered to the bridge below by some sort of fiery lasso. Felix's Mind raced, putting it together in a whirl of thoughts: the Acolyte had some sort of binding Skill, used it to attach to the underside of the bridge and used that momentum to fling himself back up and over. Niall came down hard, almost directly on top of Felix, and his gauntleted fists ignited with flame.
A powerful double-fisted smash took Felix in the shoulder, knocking him immediately to the ground as his Spirit screamed in agony. It wasn't as hot as the explosion before, nor Aenda's dragon breath, but the combination of both Heat and Fire Resistance activating sent acid through his veins. His skull bounced off the stone tiles, but that pain was nothing. Before he could regroup, Felix felt a booted foot catch him in the gut and hurl his body a few feet away.
"Oof! What're you made of, heretic?" Niall stumbled, clearly surprised at Felix's weight. Flaring his Willpower and Pain Resistance, Felix awkwardly rolled over and lurched to his feet.
F(re Re517*4ance is level 20!
Pain Resistance is level 49!
Woo, he cheered, seeing his broken Skills slowly advancing. Ugh, I wanna throw up.
"You broke my sabaton," the Acolyte's deep voice said in annoyance. He growled at Felix. "Come quietly and we won't have to repaint this bridge with your blood."
"I uh, I'm not a fan of either option," Felix said, before activating an old favorite.
Reign of Vellus!
This time, instead of throwing the bastard, Felix yanked him closer. Niall shouted in alarm as blue lightning arced off his shiny armor, burning dark patches into it and charring his cloak. His feet left the ground as he flew toward Felix at high speed.
Corrosive Strike!
A fist full of acid met the Acolyte's forearms, raised just in time to block the blow. But it wasn't enough. Felix's Strength caved in the metal and the bone beneath with a sharp retort. Niall screamed, his deep voice jumping several octaves.
Reign of Vellus!
Reign of Vellus!
Corrosive Strike!
Like a yo-yo, Felix shoved the Acolyte away again before crashing into him with his powerful blows. The kinetic Skill acted as a force multiplier, increasing the strength of his punches by an order of magnatude.
Reign of Vellus!
Reign of Vellus!
Corrosive Strike!
Again, and again, until the man went limp. By the time Felix's Will dropped him, the Acolyte was a mess of bent steel and pulped flesh. Blood and acid dripped from his fists, hissing at it hit the wet bridge beneath him.
"I'll take...option three," Felix panted. The effort of activating two Skills and physically exerting himself had taken its toll. His Stamina was down by a quarter, and his Mana...well that was already regenerating.
"The Fiend!"
Alarmed, Felix looked up. He saw Aenda staring at him with wide eyes from beneath her conjured shell, now half destroyed by Vess and Evie's relentless assault. His friends paused to look at him, Vess confused and Evie with an eyeroll. The Acolyte pointed at him and shouted again. "The Fiend is here!"
Crap, my eyes. Felix tried to stop them from glowing, but it was almost involuntary at this point. He didn't even know if he could stop it.
Without warning, a presence unveiled itself. A heaviness settled on all of them, and Felix could tell whoever it was had gone beyond Apprentice Tier. The pressure he felt against his Spirit was much stronger than the Acolytes. From within the tunnel the sound of clomping boots were clearly heard.
"Good," said a voice, light and airy. "I was getting bored."