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Royal Road

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SomethingOtherThanRain

Nightmare Realm Summoner by Actus

Chapter 65: Terrifying

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Flowing blue grass stretched out before Alex as his feet fell on Mirrorlands soil once more. It was the same location the portal near Towntown had dropped him off last. He could see the warped city in the distance, the towering stack of street signs near its entrance rising into the twisting smoke far above like a landmark.

Alex wisely stepped to the side as Claire emerged from the crackling purple portal behind him, stumbling before catching her balance. He held an arm out to her even as her eyes shot up, bloodshot.

She latched onto it. Her fangs dug into his wrist and Alex repressed a grimace as Claire drank from his arm. He scanned the sky around them in search for any portals that would mark the arrival of a Riftwarped monster.

Claire released his hand with a relieved sigh. "Thanks. I bloody hate portals. They wring me out like a wet towel."

"I got to eat at Dorriv's place, so I can't complain about you getting a meal of your own." Alex said absently. He turned in a circle, frowning. "Do you see any portals forming?"

Claire shook her head. "No. Huh. Maybe we managed to avoid notice this time around? Is it guaranteed that something finds us when we come in?"

"I don't think it's guaranteed. Berith said that the monsters would be drawn by power when a portal opens, either mine or the power of the location. This spot is pretty normal, so maybe there wasn't another Riftwarped Monster close to this location."

"Huh. Well, guess that means we get to save some energy to fight later on," Claire said with a shrug. She started toward the warped city that loomed in the distance.

As Alex turned to follow after her, a flicker of pink energy rolled across the grass. A dull, chittering buzz rang through the air. He and Claire both spun toward its source. An electric pink portal hummed in the air above them.

Mandibles broke free of the portal, followed by a long, flowing insectoid body. Legs covered its length and swam in the air like oars as the monster emerged into the Mirrorlands. Purple energy arced and snapped around the monster as its eyes focused on Alex.

Riftwarped Block-Eater Centipede (Initiate 1)

The monster wasn't anywhere near as large as the City-Eater Centipedes that patrolled the cities, but it was still easily three times as wide as a human and dozens of times longer. It coiled down toward Alex, chittering in hunger.

"We spoke too soon!" Claire yelled, raising her sword before her and setting her stance.

Alex reached into himself and called on his Qi. Warm energy rushed through his body, but before he could even try to summon Glint or Spark, another portal snapped open before the centipede.

It slithered into the portal. Another disk of pink energy yawned open behind Claire. She flung herself to the side and hit the grass in a roll as the centipede burst free of the portal. Its mandibles ripped through the grass where she'd been, tearing a huge chunk of dirt free. The monster hissed in displeasure and turned courses toward Alex.

"Glint!" Alex commanded, pushing his Qi into the command. "Come out!"

The air before him shattered. Shards of glass rained down in a clattering rain as his Shardwalker emerged. The mirror shards jutting from his body hummed with rift energy. Pressure washed off Glint with enough force to press into Alex like a strong wind.

Curiously enough, the effect where Glint had shifted in and out of existence had vanished. He seemed solidly grounded in reality. There was no time to wonder why yet.

"Show me what you can do," Alex commanded. "Kill the Block-Eater Centipede. Normal rules for the fight."

Glint lurched into motion. His claws flashed as he leapt for the Block-Eater.

The centipede jerked to the side, slipping into another portal an instant before Glint could connect with it. Light illuminated Alex's back as a portal snapped open behind him. He mirrored Claire and dove to the side.

Mandibles snapped shut over his head with a loud crack. He hit the ground in a roll. By the time he rose again, Glint was upon the monster. His claws raked across the armor on its back with a loud shriek.

The chitin rent like it was paper. Black blood spilled across the Shardwalker and the centipede screamed in agony. It thrashed violently, launching Glint from its body and pelting the Shardwalker into the ground.

Alex was pretty sure that a blow of that strength normally would have killed Glint — but instead, the monster rolled back to his feet. Several of the mirrors on his back had shattered and impaled themselves in the ground, but he was still alive.

Claire took advantage of the centipede's distraction to bound across the ground and leap into the air, driving her katana into the wound Glint had made in the monster's side. The sword bit deep.

The centipede thrashed in agony. Claire's eyes widened and she found herself with the same treatment as Glint. She lost her grip on the sword as the long monster bucked, launching her straight into the ground.

There was a loud crack of breaking bone as she hit it. The breath left her lungs in a pained grunt. But, even as the centipede turned toward Claire, Glint leapt at it once again.

A portal yawned open before the centipede and it slithered into it, slipping out of the way moments before Glint could connect with it. The Shardwalker landed on the ground and spun to look up into the air.

The Block-Eater Centipede emerged from above a new portal far above them, but it made no move to descend. Dull pink energy gathered between its mandibles and formed into a shimmering orb.

Alex activated Mirror Image.

Purple energy crackled out from him like the branches of a tree blooming in real-time. It slammed into the ground and erupted with a brilliant flash. When the light faded, two perfect clones of Alex appeared beside to his side.

"I don't think that's good," Claire said, pushing herself up to her feet. Black veins pulsed beneath her skin and she grimaced. "That thing is bloody strong, in case you were wondering."

"Figured," Alex replied, and his voice came from all three of his bodies instead of just one. It almost looked like the centipede was charging a —

The centipede's jaws snapped shut. A beam of burning pink energy shot from its mouth with a loud crackle and carved straight toward one of his clones. The hair on Alex's arms stood on end as his mirror image evaporated. The beam drove into the ground behind it, scorching it black with a loud hiss. Black smoke curled up from the patch of melted dirt and grass and an acrid smell filled the air.

Purple magic gathered at the centipede's jaws once more as it started to charge another attack.

"Bleedin' thing is cheating," Claire hissed. Black veins carved down her arms and pulsed beneath her skin. Two jet black wings burst from her back with a loud ripping sound, tearing straight through her shirt. She flapped them once, launching herself into the air toward the centipede.

Its head snapped toward her, but it hadn't finished charging up its magic yet. Claire slammed into the underside of the monster and drove her katana straight up into it. A scream ripped from the centipede as it thrashed.

A pink portal snapped open before the monster and it swam into it. Claire dropped away an instant before she fell in. Her wings snapped open, slowing her fall before she could splatter against the ground.

Another portal ripped open to Claire's left with a loud pop. She tucked her wings in and dropped, hitting the ground in a roll, as the centipede emerged where she'd been moments before with a chittering screech.

She landed on the ground beside Alex and prepared to launch herself back into the air.

Alex turned to give Glint a command, but it never left his lips. His eyes widened in surprise.

Rift energy swirled around the Shardwalker like a miniature storm. The purple Qi that Alex had infused Glint with zipped within his mirrors as if seeking an escape, and his eyes glowed like two miniature spotlights.

The Shardwalker swiped his claw through the air. A loud, rending screech tore out as his claws carved a furrow through reality. An identical rip formed in the air directly above the centipede. The monster twisted toward it, but not nearly fast enough.

Glint flung himself through the unsteady portal. He slammed down on the centipede's head from above. Glint drove his huge claws straight through the centipede's eyes and into its brain. Chitin and flesh rent like paper and the centipede thrashed in agony.

The final remnants of Riftwarped Qi within Glint drained out and his appearance returned to normal.

An instant later, jagged shards of glass tore free from within the centipede's body. They sprouted from beneath the chitin like a parasitic fungus, ripping the huge monster's body to shreds within instants.

The centipede plummeted from the air — and straight toward Alex and Claire. Alex's eyes widened. He and Claire both sprinted out of the way, narrowly avoiding the back end of the huge monster as it slammed to the grass behind them with a resounding crash. The ground bucked beneath Alex's feet and he stumbled, nearly losing his balance as he spun back toward it.

Glint stood victorious upon the monster's body, blackened blood dripping from his claws and the glistening fangs in his mouth parted in what could almost have been considered to be a smile.

Then there was silence.

What the hell was that? Glint can fucking teleport and control his mirror shards?

That must have been the Riftwarped Qi. It used up the purple magic when he used both of those abilities.

No wonder that other ranker was so concerned with it. This is a ridiculous boost to Glint's power, and I bet it affects other spells the same way.

I do wonder why he wasn't flickering in and out like he was back on Earth, though. I'll have to test that.

Energy flowed into Alex — a respectable amount of it, but not as much as some of the other fights he'd been in. They were getting stronger. The centipede would have been a nearly impossible fight before, but this time around, Alex hadn't even needed to call Spark in.

A Soul Flame flickered to life above the dead Riftwarped Block-Eater.

Low Grade Initiate (Riftwarped Block-Eater)

"Alex?" Claire asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead as her wings sank back into her body.

"Yeah?" His voice came from two locations, both himself and his remaining clone speaking up at once.

"Glint is bleeding terrifying."

"Yup." Alex scooped the Soul Flame off the ground.

For an instant, he felt a connection form to the centipede. Then it snapped shut, sealing itself off from him. Something about the Riftwarped Soul Flames prevented him from bonding to them… yet. Alex wasn't bothered. He needed energy to level up Glint and Spark anyway. He was confident he'd eventually find a way to break through the barrier and bond a Riftwarped Monster if he ever met one he really wanted to summon.

Alex stuffed the Soul Flame into a Spatial Mirror. His clone mirrored the motion. Alex glanced at it, then back over to Claire. "You ready to go find the next one? That barely made me break a sweat."

"That's because Glint did all the work." Claire snorted and walked over to the centipede and grabbed her sword, ripping it free of the monster's stomach. She flicked the blood from its blade, then nodded. "More than, though. I have to catch up to you."

"Great," Alex said, turning his gaze toward the warped city. "Because I've got some more abilities to test and a new monster to get my hands on."

A grin crawled across Alex's features as they set off, Glint falling in at their side.

I wonder what kind of summon I'll be able to get this time around.

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Royal Road

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SomethingOtherThanRain

Nightmare Realm Summoner by Actus

Chapter 66: Hunting for monsters

A note from Actus

I goofed the scheduling again, sorry guys. I blame Australia…

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Over the course of the next hour, Alex and Claire made their way into the city and started to work their way through the monsters that lurked within its warped streets. It was a constant balance of seeking challenge, staying out of sight of the City-Eater Centipedes that swam through the air far above, and making sure they didn't accidentally stumble straight into the territory of something so big that it could kill them with a single glance.

They took out a number of monsters that they'd seen before as well as a fair few new ones.

Alex had Glint kill 3 Corpse Pokers, 4 Corpse Burrowers, and 2 woody, humanoid creatures called Root Fiends on his own. He considered bonding with one of the Root Fiends, which had been high Novice monsters, but was in no rush to choose one when he still had more chances to recruit something more interesting. The Root Fiends hadn't been particularly impressive.

Claire killed a similar number of monsters herself, including several new ones that they hadn't seen before, but none of them caught his eye as particularly interesting. The monsters on the outskirts of town simply weren't as much of a threat as they once had been.

They didn't interfere in each other's fights to avoid lowering the challenge to such an insignificant level that they didn't get a reward for it. That did mean Alex didn't get any souls for the monsters that Claire defeated, as he hadn't participated in the fight, but he wasn't bothered by that.

Thus far, aside from the Initiate level Riftwarped Block-Eater Centipede that had greeted them at the entrance of the Mirrorlands, none of the monsters they'd fought had been strong enough for him to truly want its soul.

Just fighting a single monster in the mid-Initiate levels would be more than enough to make up for everything he'd given up and then some.

The problem was finding that monster. They'd grown past the absolute bottom of the food chain that dwelled within the Mirrorlands. That was an achievement in and of itself, but it meant they had to push deeper into the city in search of more appropriate opponents.

Alex and Claire drew to a stop under the shadow of an apartment building that floated far above. Chunks of the building had fallen away and frozen halfway to the ground, suspended almost like a garden path trailing through the sky.

What had once been a restaurant sat beneath the apartment. Nearly half of it had been ripped to pieces by a bleached tree that grew out of its center. Alabaster roots jutted up from the ground with chunks of masonry impaled upon their tips. Agonized faces pressed against the rough bark from within, forever frozen in their attempts to escape. The roof of the restaurant hung about ten feet above the rest of the building. It was held in place by the gray-leafed branches of the tree that bore through it like worms.

Alex and Claire ducked into the restaurant, taking care to avoid the strange tree, to get out of view of the street. It was cover — but only relative cover. Nowhere in the Mirrorlands was ever truly safe.

"We're pretty deep in, now," Claire whispered. "How long have we been walking? About an hour?"

"Something like that," Alex whispered back. His gaze alternated between the tree behind them and the street. A crackle of energy overhead announced the presence of a City-Eater Centipede passing by. They both fell silent until the monster vanished into a portal once more.

An eerie wind blew through the Mirrorlands. It howled as it passed through the holes in the destroyed buildings and rustled the leaves of the enormous trees that permeated the city. Even though this was far from Alex's first time in the Mirrorlands, he wasn't any less on edge than he had been before.

Everything about the warped world screamed danger to his senses. It was uncanny in every way that it could have been, and primal human instincts struggled to convince his adrenaline-riddled brain to panic.

Minutes ticked by.

Alex summoned Spark and told the Echo Wraith to watch the white tree behind them so he could keep his focus on the street.

The wind continued to howl, and the rustle of the leaves grew so loud that it resembled a rumbling thunderstorm. It was so intense that Alex almost didn't hear the car-sized spider crawling across the face of a building across from them.

The crunch of the spider's pointed legs driving into the sheer wall of the building as it raced across its surface was muted by the wind, but that did nothing to stop Alex's eyes from working. He drew in a surprised breath, but his attention wasn't on the monster's size, nor was it on its size.

It was on its face.

Where there should have been the head of an arachnid, there was instead the face of a young girl. It was grotesquely sized to match the rest of the monster's body, but the proportions and appearance were unmistakable. Long blonde hair hung around her — its — face, whipping behind the spider in the wind.

The illusion of humanity was broken by the monster's eyes. They were empty and sunken, two shriveled empty sockets devoid of sight so that it could be spared the agony of witnessing its own vile form.

Barrow Puppeteer (Initiate 3)

"I hate it," Claire whispered.

"Me too," Alex muttered back, not taking his eyes off the monster. The spider had frozen in the middle of the building.

Even as the wind started to die down and the rustle of the leaves relented in its assault, the spider didn't make so much as a noise. It remained frozen in place. The monster was waiting for something.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't bond that thing," Claire said.

"Absolutely no plans of it," Alex replied with a grimace. There definitely would have been a certain intimidation factor that came with showing up to a fight with a monster like that, but this was one of those things that he suspected would be far better served as a snack to Glint or Spark.

The Barrow Puppeteer looks like an ambush predator anyway. What I need right now is something with some real survivability. A frontline. Well, that or a ranged monster. Both would be great. I've already got Glint for pure damage output.

Another minute ticked by. Alex was just about to suggest they attempt to attack the Barrow Puppeteer when the spider suddenly flung itself from the side of the building. It plummeted down, crashing onto the top of a building to the side of their hiding spot.

There was a wet snik, followed by silence. Neither Alex nor Claire moved a muscle. They watched the rooftop in silence, waiting for the monster to re-emerge. Their patience was rewarded several long seconds later when the Barrow Puppeteer crawled back over the side of the building, descending to the ground with a limp, headless body made of wood clutched to its chest with two of its eight legs.

All guises of humanity had vanished from the monster. Black blood coated its face, which had split apart down the center to reveal rows of sharp, yellowed fangs. The burrower's face had split apart along its center line. Gummy, gray lips ran all the way back through the girl's ears and disappeared behind her long hair. Loud crunching noises echoed from the monster and its entire body undulated as it chewed, crunching down on the remains of what seemed to be a Root Fiend's head.

"Effective," Claire whispered.

Alex nodded in mute agreement. There hadn't even been a fight. If this Root Fiend had been anything like the ones he'd fought earlier that day, it had been something around high-Novice tier.

"I'm going to go for it," Alex said as the Burrower came to a stop in the shadow of a building and started to eat the rest of its meal. "This is the best time to attack. Maybe not the most challenge in killing a monster mid-meal, but I think it'll put up a pretty damn good fight regardless. Also, I kind of just want that thing dead."

"Tell me about it," Claire said. She readied her katana and gave Alex a nod. "I'll back you up. I'm more worried about another one of those monsters dropping down on us out of nowhere than I am the one that's eating."

Alex nodded in agreement, then looked to Spark. "You're lookout. Keep watch for any monsters in the area that might be drawn to the fight. Interfere and delay them for as long as possible if they spot us."

The Echo Wraith made no indication to show it had understood Alex's command, but he knew that it had.

Alex and Claire started forth with Glint at their side. They crept along the edge of the nearest building, avoiding any open areas, and made their way toward the bulbous abdomen of the Barrow Puppeteer. Loud crunches continued to echo out from the monster's jaws as it ate, blissfully unaware of their approach.

They stopped about a building away from their target. Alex glanced down at Glint.

I wonder… can I use my Qi to empower Glint after he's already been summoned?

Now seemed like a pretty good time to find out. It wasn't exactly quiet, but he highly doubted they'd be able to actually creep up the entire way to the monster. It would hear them coming long before then. If they were going to get noticed, it was better that it happened while they were at full strength.

"Get ready," Alex whispered.

Claire's grip on her katana tightened and black veins carved down her arm, flowing into her wrist. She lowered her stance and gave him a curt nod.

Alex extended a hand and carefully placed it on Glint's clammy gray shoulder between two razor sharp shards of glass. He drew on the warm energy stored within himself and pushed it free, driving it out through his finger and into the monster.

Arcs of purple Qi crackled within the mirror shards covering Glint's body. They forked out, expanding within the confines of the shards, until they'd filled every piece completely. The Shardwalker's eyes shifted from yellow to purple and power gathered around him, buzzing into the air and hissing as it burned into the ground at his clawed feet.

"Go," Alex hissed.

Glint's claws carved through the air, rending it with the sound of shattering glass. Matching fault lines, full of buzzing purple energy, appeared in the air above the Barrow Puppeteer.

And then three things happened in such rapid succession that they may as well all have been at once.

The Barrow Puppeteer's head jerked up with a hiss and it spun in their direction, legs clicking as they struck the paved ground.

Glint launched himself through the portal and slammed down on top of the grotesque spider to rip it to shreds.

The wall of the building to their side exploded. A burly, eight-foot tall humanoid mass of coagulated black sludge lurched out bearing a featureless bone-white mask with two empty eyes and a flat slit for a mouth where its face should have been — and it headed straight toward Alex and Claire.

Blacktongue Dredge (Initiate 6)

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Spark shot through the air and slammed into the Dredge before Alex or Claire could even twitch. A flash of electrical blue energy split the Mirrorlands and the Dredge let out a moan, lurching to the side. Its mask sunk into the thick sludge that made up its face for an instant before re-emerging as the monster swiped at Spark.

The Echo Wraith was forced to float back to avoid the huge hand that hurtled through the air where it had been. The Dredge stumbled after Spark, swinging repeatedly in attempt to catch him.

Meanwhile, loud screeches echoed out as Glint and the Barrow Puppeteer ripped at each other. Glint's claws raked across the monster's body while it twisted and screamed, trying to fling him free with its many legs.

The Blacktongue Dredge abruptly shifted targets and spun away from Spark. It leapt, transforming into a river of sludge that arced through the air and crashed down toward Alex.

Alex flung himself to the side, hitting the ground in a roll and springing to his feet. He used Mirror Image, summoning two copies of himself by his side with a flash of rift energy. Both the Blacktongue Dredge and the Barrow Puppeteer hissed in pain and surprise at the bright light — as did Claire, who let out a slew of curses.

"Sorry!" Alex called.

Claire didn't reply. She launched herself at the Dredge and brought her sword sweeping down into its body. The blade sliced about a foot into the monster's vicious body before grinding to a halt and going no further. She ripped the weapon out and leapt back as the monster reached for her, its fingers closing over air as she just barely managed to clear them.

"Stabbing is not particularly effective," Claire warned Alex.

A loud crash echoed through the street. Alex's eyes flicked over to Glint and the Barrow Puppeteer. The two monsters had fought their way over to the side of the building, where the spider was repeatedly smashing itself against the wall in an attempt to dislodge the Shardwalker from its back. Glint had ripped the monster's body to shreds, but it was surprisingly resilient.

He couldn't spend much attention watching his monster fight. The Dredge shifted its body mass into an arm, enlarging and extending it as the monster reached for Alex.

Spark flitted through the air and brought his fists down on the Dredge's hand with a resounding crack of magical energy. The arm tore free with a wet squelch. It splattered to the ground, losing cohesion and pooling in a thick pile.

Claire's katana flashed several times in rapid succession. The speed of her empowered attacks was terrifying. Alex could barely even follow the strikes as they carved across the monster's flesh, each one sending sludge splattering to the ground. She then thrust her sword forward, straight into the Dredge's chest.

A keening moan slipped from the sickly monster and its body quavered. It grabbed for Claire with its remaining hand.

Spark's fists slammed down on top of its head. The monster splattered to the ground, its hand faltering before it could find its mark.

A rush of energy entered Alex. It was a respectable amount, more than any of the other monsters he'd killed thus far in the Mirrorlands. That was good. They'd made a lot of noise with the unexpected addition to their fight. Now they just needed to help Glint finish off the Barrow Puppeteer and they could relocate before anything too powerful came to check out the scene of the fight.

Alex turned toward Glint.

Then he blinked in surprise.

His Shardwalker stood above the body of the Barrow Puppeteer. The hideous monster was dead. It laid in a filleted heap upon a spreading pool of sickly liquid at Glint's feet, its entire body ripped to shreds.

The monster's Soul Flame floated above its body, waiting for Alex to claim it.

What? But if that's the monster that died, then how —

Alex's eyes widened.

"The Dredge isn't dead!"

He and Claire leapt back. The puddles of sludge flowed together, twisting together and rising back up to reform the Blacktongue Dredge's body. It let out a moan and stumbled forward, reaching for Alex and Claire with each of its hands.

Spark rained blows into the large monster's body. Each strike flashed with blue energy and sent large portions of thick fluid arcing through the air, but they only slowed it. Alex dodged out of the way as a hand crashed down where he'd been, sending droplets of black fluid flying everywhere.

"Glint! Kill this thing!"

His Shardwalker burst into motion. Glint bounded across the ground and leapt, crashing into the Dredge's body like a very sharp toddler going in for a bear hug. He proceeded to rip into the sludgy monster's body with reckless abandon.

Every strike bit deep into the monster's body and tore away huge chunks of its wet flesh. Claire and Spark re-joined the onslaught, unleashing everything they had into the monster. The dredge barely even seemed to notice. It swept a hand toward Claire, barely missing her and striking the wall behind her instead.

Its hand smashed through the stone like there was nothing there. Glint severed its arm with one hand, then swiped at the monster's face with his other. The Dredge collapsed into a puddle before the strike could connect.

No sooner than it had fallen did the sludge bound to the side, flying straight over Glint's head, and land on the ground several feet to Alex's side with enough force to shatter the cobbled streets beneath it. The Blacktongue Dredge bubbled back up, its body reforming entirely without injury.

"What the bleeding hell is this thing?" Claire demanded. "It won't die! I can't fight like this forever. I'm going to run out of blood."

A low moan echoed through the street — but not from the monster they were fighting. Alex's eyes flicked to the side.

Two more Blacktongue Dredges stood on the other end of the street, empty-eyed masks staring in their directions.

Blacktongue Dredge (Initiate 5)

Blacktongue Dredge (Initiate 5)

"And now there are three of them. I guess the Mirrorlands got offended we were having too easy of a time with things," Alex said with a laugh. He ducked as the Dredge swept an enlarged hand at him in a diagonal strike. The strike slammed into the ground to his side and Alex stumbled from the sheer impact of the blow.

Letting out a gurgling moan, the Dredge lurched for Alex again, but Glint's claws carved through its arm and sent it splattering to the ground.

Claire unleashed a flurry of thrusting attacks on the monster. It collapsed back into a pile of thick fluid. Spark shot forward and brought his hands down on the pile, pummeling it with all his might.

The Blacktongue Dredge flowed away, and Alex caught a glimpse of the monster's white mask buried deep within its goopy body. There was a thin scratch along its side from one of Claire's sword strikes. The monster rose back up near the two other Dredges approaching them. Claire's scratch was still on its mask. It hadn't healed.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

"Get the mask! It's the only part we haven't managed to destroy yet! It must be protecting it."

Glint shifted targets immediately. He leapt at the Dredge's face. The Dredge immediately raised its arms to cover its face, but Claire and Spark joined in on the attack. They focused their attacks on the monster's head, tearing through its defenses as fast as they could.

Their efforts were working — but not fast enough. The other two Dredges were almost upon them. The monsters were just too annoying to kill. Now that the Initiate 6 Dredge was focused on defending itself instead of attacking, it was even more resilient than before.

If the other two entered the fight, then it would be practically impossible to focus one of them down without getting caught by one of their slow but powerful strikes.

He gathered his power and darted forward, stepping around the Dredge and ducking under a swing, before thrusting his hands forward and using Funhouse.

Reality shattered before him. Cracks spread out like a jagged spiderweb and expanded until the patch was just over eight feet in diameter. Alex couldn't force it any larger in the time he had left. The approaching Dredges lurched forward and swung at him.

Alex dove out of the way. The Dredges passed into the warped space and were abruptly twisted together before being spat out in two opposite directions. They stumbled and moaned, the masks sliding across their bodies to relocate Alex.

One of them leapt at him again. Its fists crashed down on Alex's remaining Mirror Image clone, shattering it instantly. He backed up, keeping distance between himself and the two new monsters.

"Spark!" Alex called, not risking a glance back. "Forget protecting yourself. Grab onto the Dredge's mask and hold it still for Claire and Glint!"

With that, the other two Dredges were upon him again. Alex danced around Funhouse, keeping it between himself and the monsters as best as he could. They didn't seem to be intelligent enough to comprehend what the magic did. Their hands and bodies passed through it, only to be spun and sent stumbling out in other directions.

Sweat rolled down Alex's back and beaded on his forehead as thrill gripped his body. The Dredges were slow, but a single hit could kill him. He had to keep their attention until —

Magic rushed into Alex in a river of energy. One of his monsters had died.

A loud crack echoed through the air an instant later.

Alex risked a glance back.

The Initiate 6 Blacktongue Dredge stood frozen in place. Glint's claws were buried deep into its body, having just sliced through its mask. Then the Dredge collapsed into a wet puddle. Energy gripped Alex's chest from the kill and a Soul Flame materialized in the air above the dead monster.

Yes!

Alex strode over to the flame and plucked it from the ground, inserting it into a Spatial Mirror and turning to Claire with an excited grin.

His elation was short-lived. A shadow passed through the air overhead. Everyone — the other two Dredges included — froze and craned their necks back to look skyward.

The blood drained out of Alex's face.

Perched upon the roof of a building was what could have only been described as a living shadow. It was easily twenty feet tall and sported blackened armor that melded together with its body. He couldn't tell where the armor ended rippling flesh started. Its eyes were two solid chunks of crystal-blue dry ice, smoking with indiscriminate hunger. The monster's fingers transformed into long shadows, sinking down into the actual shadow it cast along the building's wall and onto the ground.

Forsaken Revenant (???)

The monster's shadow stretched out along the ground and met with the foot of one of the Dredges.

There was a faint snick.

The Dredge exploded.

Its shattered mask clattered to the ground amidst raining droplets of black, vicious flesh.

The hair on the back of Alex's neck shot straight up. A primordial sense of terror welled in his stomach, borne from the very same warning that told humans not to venture into the dark.

Freezing blue eyes turned toward the second Drudge.

Alex spun on his heel. There wasn't a word to be said. Claire was already at his side. They poured every scrap of energy they had into doing the only thing they could.

Running.

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