Chapter 34: The Runt

  "More to the right!"

  Trees blurred past as we rushed through thick and thin groundcover under the shadows with Ota's directions while Skaalbran led the charge. 

  "Where's the undead?!"

  "We passed a few already! It's not controlling them! Probably to run!"

  "Is it afraid or something?!"

  "No idea! Might be you or Fae! Ota! Distance!"

  "Less than two hundred meters! It's fast!"

  We yelled at each other to make sure our voices were heard as the wind blew past our ears. I realized that Arisa must have been manipulating Windless each time she cast it along with gravity magic, something I would have to figure out later.

  "Yell at a hundred, then stop! I can stop the thing with an attack but everyone has to be behind me! Hear that?!" 

  "Yeah!"

  "Got it!"

  "Right!"

  "*Chirp*"

  Ah, I see, that cloak let her turn into a bird

  Running further uphill, the trees became increasingly larger with thick trunks covered in overgrown moss. In the distance I could see a clearing fast approaching as Ota screamed out.

  "Now!"

  Dashing forward, sliding to swipe an unassuming small rock off the ground before throwing it at a force that demanded respect, all in one quick motion. Not a second later, at the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning, the clearing before us lit up like the sun for exactly a second.

  We could see nothing but smoke, dust and small patches of fire. If the clearing hadn't already been there before, it would be now.

  "Holy shit..."

  Adelard and I froze, shocked at the destruction.

  In terms of spectacle, whatever Skaalbran pulled was the complete opposite of Enda and Myrddin's precise shadow lightning.

  She described the attack as using the body as a lightning rod to a soul, which made the revelation the devil planned and knew about this spell even more frightening.  That spell is used to banish gods. Not just any mage can cast it, and many die in the process.

  However, what we just saw wasn't a spell.

  "Weapon's at the ready, you lot, that won't kill it. Fae, send out a green signal"

  "Why green?"

  After the burning of Irminsul and the creation of a colossal dragon, fear spread across the world. 

  They called it 'The Great Dragon Culling', hunting those once considered protectors of the land and collectors of knowledge. It only took one bad egg for a whole species to hunt until extinction.

  Liches are often the result of forbidden rituals in either suicide or seeking immortality. To live forever is a power famous amongst adventures.

  Rider and Red are living proof such a power exists. 

  A soul ritual is performed simply because there's a chance within a chance to achieve immortality, without becoming a total monster.

  The dust settled and ash filled out noses. We saw a young man desperately clinging to his remaining flesh and clothes torn to pieces cowering underneath an expanded wing belonging to an armored human.

  A strange spear pierced their black wing stopping just short of the Lich's chest.

  "Name yourself!"

  Skaalbran demanded an answer, as the spear returned to its original form of a regular rock.

  From their thick scaled wings, armor made of various scraps, and a total lack of any distinct features belonging to a High-drake sent alarm bells ringing through my head.

  No race I'd ever heard of had a mostly human body with such wings. They'd even gone as far to hide anything that could identify themselves.

  We each steadied ourselves, taking a battle stance and drawing weapons.

  Skaalbran quietly whispered back to Ota while keeping his eyes focused on the unknown individual.

  "Power?"

  "Strong, fast, strange"

  "Strange?"

  "Half human... half Touji"

  Last time I checked I didn't have wings or scales...

  The Lich stared at me while trying to hold onto his face as his skin gave way to the muscle and bone underneath.

  Wait, is that...

  "H-him! He's the one! Now fix me!"

  "..."

  "I command you dammit!"

  "Need I remind you of what you did?"

  Her calm yet harsh tone looked down on the fool who turned himself into a monster. 

  Fucking Ritsu Kutsuki!

  Ota noticed as I did, his ability to shriek out a command without and without hesitation, began to charge whilst screaming, axe and mace in hand.

  "*Sigh* A promise made..."

  I immediately ran after her. Starting my charge with a reverse vortex push and creating a katana longsword hybrid with a line of elemental stone along its single edge, igniting it as I ran.

  The mysterious woman began to cast a spell on Ritsu, transforming his body into it's once human state, at least on the outside. 

  Flexing her wings out within a lances distance between us, she twisted then flicked, sending Skaalbran, Adelard and I back with incredibly strong wind manipulation.

  As we crashed to the ground, Ota pushed through the immense pressure, slowly inching forward.

  "Is a promise kept"

  She cast her spell.

  Ritsu Kutsuki looked like dried up paint, she had restored his skin, however, not the muscles or organs he slowly lost in transformation.

  "So both of you attacked that convoy?!" Skaalbran demand answers.

  She raised a ward just in time to stop a vicious blow aimed straight for Ritsu's skull. Reeling back, Ota began to circle their protective bubble in complete silence.

  "A convoy? Why would I attack that?"

  Rising to his feet, Skaalbran picked up another rock, flicking it upwards to create a spear at the ready, walking towards the ward as Abelard and I joined behind him, surrounding each side.

  "Don't act stupid, you know what was being transported"

  "No, I'm just here to meet him, that's all"

  "And who are you to the boy?"

  "Why do you care?"

  We heard Rattling of bones and clanging or weapons all around us, just short of the treelines.

  Raised Undead lying in wait. More dead warriors than the tree's, all hidden within the forest, and a large group dragging several coffers filled to the brim with the new coins set to be used moving forward.

  I made a mistake thinking it was a regular Lich gathering undead, Ritsu turned himself into a monster with intelligence. An Overlord.

  "Fae! Small green circle above us!"

  Did he plan for this exact thing to happen? That we would walk into a trap?

  "So you had no part in this?"

  He pointed his spear towards the undead carrying large coffers loaded with a new currency.

  "No"

  "Very well. Leave now on peaceful terms or meet with someone very interested in your kins disappearance"

  Despite her hiding every part possible of her body, I felt her wince in fear.

  "Fine, I will. You there, runt"

  She turned to face me, taking note of my exact appearance.

  "It's Touji"

  "I heard rumors of a hybrid human, with the blood of a dead woman no less"

  "What?-"

  "Haven't they told you? It should have been obvious. You're mostly human by the looks of things, the rest of you, is Dragon"

  I stood there, stunned, as everything around me all happened at once.

  Fire rained from the sky in a ring, engulfing the undead.

  She lowered the ward and took off in one swift motion, flapping her wings

  Ota caved Ritsu's skull with her mace while Adelard and Skaalbran thrust through his chest.

  Chaos.

  My body moved on its own, beheading Ritsu and plunging my sword down his neck, burning him to ash. 

  Dragon's can't have hybrids, only drakes, and even then, it took thousands of years for High-Drakes to evolve into semi-humanoid form. It shouldn't be possible, right?

  I mean that's what she was right? She had dragon wings, even High-drakes don't have that. But why isn't there any record of something like that? I've read through all the complete bestiaries, they don't mention a monster like that.

  Am I a monster?

  I… I just killed someone...

  And I felt... nothing.

  *slap*

  Skaalbran whacked my face, bringing my thoughts back to reality.

  Once an overlord dies, their servants carry on their masters' will, and now we're surrounded on all sides as the forest burns.

  "We're in the eye of the storm here kid, get yourself together!"

  For the sake of not killing us in the attack, the Flying Knights above us focused on any undead outside the clearing, and an idea came to mind.

  Eye of the Storm?

  "Everyone come together, Fae! you too!"

  Transforming my sword into a staff, my mind focused on a single effect as I slammed the around, spinning the air around us, as more undead grew close. The fire was effective, yet, they still had time to charge, I could fix that.

  Bigger! Hotter! Faster!

  I already had the fire, I knew that it's effect on the undead, now I just had to shape it.

  Realizing what I was doing, everyone came together, with Adelard holding Aoife in her transformed state.

  "Ota! Make a dome of shields!"

  Vortex is a basic spell, one I'd only ever practiced barehanded. Normally a small ball of twisting air, I spent almost eight years learning how it could be manipulated. But, there was always a downside.

  Without using equipment, like a wand or staff, whenever I made it bigger than my own size, I would lose control of the spell.

  Now, with a staff, that issue disappeared.

  I raised the heat of the dragon's fire further with Calegriss, then spun it, faster and faster, in a cone around us, creating a cyclone of burning destruction.

  After a few seconds, as I began to lose consciousness from the sheer amount of mana, I dropped the temperature as much as I could while pushing the air outwards, and my legs gave out.

  As Ota's shields transformed back into armor, I hit the ground. The clearing burnt undead remains was covered in a thick layer of Ice, creaking and cracking as everything went black.

  Did I... do that?