Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Four - 184Or he would have, had the man not stopped mid-stride with a sudden stricken look upon his face. "What--No! No!" The man fell backward, not even looking at Felix, as if terrified of something he coudn't see.
Movement to Felix's left revealed Thangle, now fully visible but hiding beneath another wagon; his face was red and a vein clearly pulsed from his forehead. A group of miners were nearby, chained to the wagon and staring between the three of them with expressions that betrayed their fear. All of them were wearing elision collars.
With Thangle's help and beneath the miners' grim stares, Felix didn't waste another moment. He slashed out with his talons but they merely gouged the surface of the Initiate's armor. The awful, jagged sound of it snapped the man awake.
"Huh--How did--FIEND!"
Corrosive Strike!
Felix's taloned fist burst alive with green acid and took the still confused Initiate fully in the chest. The man tumbled backward, but in moments he had fetched back onto his armored feet.
"A cheap shot! Aided by...by illusions!" The swarthy man's face grew darker in his rage. "You should have killed me when your pet Gnome was in my head! Now you've only given me time to fight back!" Salazar crowed in triumph despite his dented breastplate. "Echo of the Divine Shell!"
The aura of golden light that had clung to him coalesced around the man, forming into overlapping panels of conjured armor. Felix groaned; he had seen this Skill before, and it had proven to be a pain in the ass. Salazar's body lifted up off the ground as a plate armored body formed completely around his own, simply scaled to one and a half times the size so that it seemed like he was suspended within a huge translucent set of armor.
Great. Felix snarled, showing off the row of jagged fangs that had filled his mouth. Last he'd faced this Skill, he'd been a lot weaker. Let's see how fast I can break it this time.
Unfettered Volition!
Influence of the Wisp!
Corrosive Strike!
Hoping to hold him still, Felix bathed the Initiate in wispfire. The blue-white flames flickered brightly for a moment before they failed to catch, so unfortunately the Initiate managed to evade his Corrosive Strike.
"Diurnal Reach!"
A volley of four hard light bolts shot out, but Felix snatched them from the air with a flaring of Ravenous Tithe, netting a chunk of ambient Mana with them. Before the Initiate's eyes stopped bugging out, Felix darted closer and landed a non-Skilled jab on his conjured armor.
A plate of shimmering Mana cracked under his blow, and shattered completely beneath Felix's second one. Gasping in fear, Salazar shuffled backward, out of Felix's immediate reach.
Before he turned around and ran.
Directly toward Thangle and the line of chained miners.
"No you don't," Felix snarled.
Rein of Vellus!
Lightning, almost like a tether, zapped forward and into the Initiate's back. Jolting with the impact and electricity, Felix hauled back on the man and yanked the Initiate off his feet and back into range.
"Immolation Charge!" Salazar cried out, and his conjured armor was bathed in a deluge of flames. "First Charge!"
A wave of fire exploded outward, washing over Felix and several nearby wagons, setting all of them ablaze. Including the ones holding the miners and Thangle.
"No!"
Status Condition: Burning
Thanks! Felix growled at the System, slapping at his burning clothes before he dove past the Initiate and flared one of his rarely used Skills.
Mantle of the Long Night!
Purple-white Mana poured from Felix's channels, hitting the superheated air and turning instantly to a visible mist as an arctic chill began to rotate around him. Like an icy hurricane, Felix dumped his Mana into the spell, increasing it's range and rotation, until a dire wind spiraled around his form and hit the wagons. The orange and purple-white Mana clashed against one another, sparking in a way he'd never seen before, perhaps due to his increased capacity for Manasight. Regardless, the ice Mana chilled the wagons enough to stifle the fire Mana.
"Thangle!" Felix couldn't sense the Gnome under the wagon, so he immediately ran to the miners. They were chained to the far side, and several had nasty burns on their arms and legs. Six miners, men and women both and ranging between the common Races Felix had encountered, none of them were uninjured. The aura of his Mantle smothered the little flames that clung to their clothes, but Felix had to turn it off or else risk hurting them. They pulled away from him in alarm, but couldn't move much due to their manacles and chains.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help," Felix assured them, but knew it was a losing battle. His face was a mess of dark scales and sharp, alien angles, not to mention a mouthful of prominent fangs. Felix knew his eyes were burning too, like tiny lanterns of blue light. He flexed his claws and saw them flinch, but it wasn't for them. A single slash sheared through their chains.
"Go, take cover! We've got this!" Felix wanted to smile but kept his mouth as closed as possible.
"Running away, Fiend?! Expected of a coward! A craven swine!" The Initiate was running toward them, great stomping steps shaking the earth and his phantasmal armor still wreathed in flame.
"Go!" Felix shouting one last time at the miners, before he turned toward the glowing idiot. "Bring it on, douchebag!"
Unfettered Volition!
Corrosive Strike!
Zipping forward faster than the Initiate could manage, Felix met the man well before he reached the wagons. Dipping beneath the man's horizontal slash, Felix stomped outward at his conjured legs. He hit so hard Felix's boot exploded, shredding at the heel and half tearing from his foot. Still, Salazar grunted in surprise as a series of golden Mana panels shattered, sending him stumbling to the side. Felix pivoted out of the way, pushing his Agility, reorienting on the idiot's back.
Corrosive Strike!
Corrosive Strike!
Corrosive Strike!
Three rapid-fire punches shattered another section of the redcloak's glowing armor, and sent him sprawling onto the stones. The Initiate Divine Shell was falling apart, but still, Salazar grunted and slammed his hands to the earth. A voice like gravel tore at the air.
"Second Charge! Third Charge!"
Waves of flame flowed outward, but this time they were white hot. They swept over Felix faster than he could blink; there was little else but endure it. The Initiate flopped onto his back, panting and staring up in smug satisfaction. "Haha! Face the Light and burn, Sorcerer!"
Until the inferno simply...vanished.
Ravenous Tithe!
The fire swirled around Felix, unable to move past the powerful pressure he exerted upon its Mana. It rushed into him, like a damn reverse dragon, searing his mouth and throat as it went. Salazar looked at him with despair, his cheeks sunken and eyes dark.
"Is that it?" Felix asked with a rough voice, baring his teeth against the pain that screamed across his nerves. His clothes had all caught fire before he extinguished all the fire and his Health had dropped by nearly a quarter. "My turn then."
Felix gripped the man's conjured boots and heaved. With a screaming grunt, he lifted the Initiate bodily from the earth, rotated, and slammed the jerk face first into the flagstones.
*KRAAKK!*
"Uoouugh," the Initiate moaned, writhing only slightly. From this vantage, Felix could see the golden panels that had been shattered on his back. "You-you'll never--never get away..."
"You see me running?"