They were hard to see through the fog, but a group of people, only a few, were facing off against the horde. Power swirled around them so strongly that his Sentinel's Regard flared hot, a sure sign of extreme danger. Revenants fell before them like wheat before the scythe, a clutch of shadowy beings taking point.
"They're tearing them apart," Lars marvelled. "Whoever they are, they're at least Adept Tier."
"Won't last long," Garin muttered and gestured at what was clearly the Nest. "Against that? Not even our Elder would survive with so little support."
"Look! Sir!" A Bronze Rank pointed over the edge. "Are those Inquisitors?"
A wash of golden flame came from a tunnel they could just barely see, and new swathes of Revenants perished in an instant. More flashes of light and the distant clang of weaponry drifted from below.
"Ah, so all the players have arrived," Elder Teine said. His voice was a little tight, and maybe he leaned a little heavily on his cane, but he was in good spirits. He glanced below at the white armored figures just barely peeking into the central chamber. "I do hope they brought more than that."
Only moments after he said it, more armored soldiers poured in from side passages, cutting into the frenzied throng. They met plenty of opposition, however. Ghouls were demolishing everything in their way, and there were hundreds of them.
"Pathless forfend," Mervin whispered to himself. "What have we walked into?" He looked up from the killing fields and panned the gargantuan chamber. It felt bigger than anything he'd ever seen in his life, save the mountains themselves. Huge statues were carved with incredible detail up the sides, and in the center therewait. What is that?
A flurry of shapes swarmed the ceiling, creatures with wings of bone and ropy tendons he'd seen before: Rooks. A weak, flying variety of these Revenant creatures. But something else was up there, something with two long, strange arms.
"Sir?" Another Bronze Rank said, pointing up. "Sir, what is that?"
Mervin focuses his Sentinel's Regard. The whole of the room was a wash of danger that he couldn't even begin to parse, but as he focused his Perception on the figure, he felt his Regard tilt wildly. Mervin's vision went white as a keening sound tore through his Skill, and his knees almost gave out in terror. If a Revenant was a mad beast, and those Ghouls were death walking, then that thing on the ceiling was something else entirely.
A blast of blue-white lightning sent two dozen Rooks falling from the sky, and Mervin gasped in sudden recognition.
It's him. Felix. The Blue Eyed Fiend.
"Siva Grace me with your light," Elder Teine murmured in smug satisfaction. "The Fiend has joined the fight! Now things are getting interesting!"
Hanging from the ceiling was more screaming in terror than Felix had anticipated, and his expectations hadn't been very high.
"AHH!"
Swinging wildly on his Shadow Whip was a visceral experience, more so when being attacked by a hundred flying murder birds.
"Get away!"
Reign of Vellus!
A blast of lightning and kinetic force demolished a chunk of the nasty things, but it felt like there were always more to take their place. Twisting his body to avoid several dive-bombing him, Felix flared his Unfettered Volition and shot out a new Shadow Whip. He couldn't keep his movement Skill running all the time or else he'd run out of Mana trying to handle so many spells at once. If he were on the ground that wouldn't be much of an issue, as his regeneration was insanely fast by this point.
A lot harder to manage Mana when it's the only thing keeping me from falling to my death. Felix felt sweat pour down his back, trickling beneath his shirt, before it was wicked away by the wind of his passage. He swung low then back up toward the ceiling again, just barely brushing it with his head before throwing his other Shadow Whip forward. The ends of the Whips could expand and grasp things, a trick he'd learned a long time ago. Lucky for him, the Nym had left the ceiling filled with natural textures and crags; it was easy to find purchase, swing to swing.
Reign of Vellus!
Another blast of Mana shot out, frying yet more Rooks that were beginning to try Felix's patience. They weren't a true threat to him, but they were a distraction. And he had enough of those.
Evie. Vess. He looked down, searching for them in the morass of violence below him. A thrill of dizziness and fear crackled through his instincts, but Felix muscled it down with a nudge of Willpower. He couldn't afford to be afraid of heights, even if it was extremely reasonable in this particular situation. They'll make it. They have to.
One final swing got him to the huge, purple crystal, and Felix had to make a quick decision.
Sovereign of Flesh!
His skin erupted in scales and plates while his fingers burst into black talons. Shunting a portion of his Essence into them, they pierced the granite around the giant crystal while his enchanted boots found easy purchase against it's lightly textured side. Felix wedged himself in the gap between the ceiling and the stone, surprised that there was such a large space at all. The whole thing was far bigger than he had estimated. From the tunnel it had looked to be the size of a two story house, but up close Felix realized that it was more than five times that size.
Holy shit. Pit, you seeing this?
Within, his Companion shifted and chirruped tiredly. Felix felt the tenku was stronger, but their Spirit Damage remained.
Focus. Felix snapped his attention back to the expanse of purple crystal before him. Reaching into his bag, he freed one of the many rudimentary grenades he had created. They were little more than rocks that he'd heavily Inscribed with force and fire sigils, along with an array connecting them all into a greater whole. Pure simplicity. Once they were fed enough Mana, they'd explode and hopefully tear holes big enough to knock this thing out of the ceiling. Felix regarded the crystal and the small stone in his claws.
Gonna need to use all of them, I think. He had exactly twenty four, as the twenty fifth one had been used to test this batch. Not much more could fit into his satchel. It was enchanted for self-repair not infinite space, unfortunately. He reached out and notched the granite with his talons, creating a narrow groove he could wedge his grenade into. With a little push, it fit well enough. As long as it doesn't fall out.
Screams echoed from below, terribly distant but nonetheless galvanizing. He had to hurry.
There. Twenty three to go.
The only warning Felix had was a rush of vibration, but his senses screamed at him. He shoved off of the ceiling and out into the open air, just as huge bolt of bright green Mana hit the crystal. And his grenade.
Shit!
*KATHOOOM!*