Unbound

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Six - 126

They ran.

Vess led them, watching the ground like a hawk, but still easily navigating breaks in the path. She was using some sort of tracking Skill, that much was clear to Felix, though he wasn't sure what she was tracking. It wasn't until the second or third intersection that he spotted a suspicious scuff on the ground. He was focused and it lit up in his sight with a strange glow.

Tracking is level 14!

Tracking is level 15!

After that it was a bit easier, but whoever this kid was, he was either extremely light on his feet or had a nicely leveled stealth Skill. His Tracking Skill was still Beginner Tier, but Felix's Perception wasn't anything to sneeze at. Yet the clues, despite lighting up, were few and far between. Vess, however, didn't have that problem. She followed his path like a bloodhound, and despite their circumstances, Felix was pleased to have most of their group back together. They only needed Atar now.

Felix smiled to himself. Maybe not Atar.

Resounding blows echoed down the tunnels behind them. Despite the distance, Felix could sense the rock wall he'd created wasn't going to last long. The strikes grew more rapid and furious by the second.

How many are after us?

That fact would greatly determine whether they could fight them off or not. Felix knew he was strong and fast, but he also knew he couldn't fight everyone. You don't spend weeks nearly dying, fight after fight, without gaining some appreciation of your limits.

They put on a burst of speed, and Vess furiously scanned the ground. Her Skill was interesting, clearly a higher rarity than his Common ranked Tracking. He could have asked, but--

The sound of a mountain breaking apart rocked the tunnel.

--They didn't have time.

They're coming. Felix couldn't hear anything except their own breathing and the distant rush of water. The sewers were a mix of storm runoff and waste water. The recent rain had pumped the area full, which explained all the water back where he and Evie had first entered. Now, that rush had once again become a thundering that filled the air and the three of them burst into a wide open chamber.

The pathway opened up into a fifteen foot wide bridge centered in a huge room perhaps a hundred feet wide. It arched over a deep cistern of some kind. Water cascaded down one side of the chamber, pouring from trefoil openings to their right and dropping nearly two hundred feet to a tumultuous confluence below. The air had grown cold previously and now was filled with a chill mist that swirled over everything, including the pathway. If Felix hadn't had his enchanted boots, he wouldn't trust the footing at all.

"He went this way?" Felix asked, pointed at the far end of the room, perhaps three hundred feet away. The roar of water filled his Perception like static, but his eyes could still make out the discolored rungs of a ladder built into the wall. It led upward, disappearing into the misty gloom above.

"Had to, right?" Evie said, panting slightly. Felix was reminded her Endurance and Strength weren't that high; that run probably knocked a bit out of her Stamina.

"I think so...it is too cold now, though. His tracks have leeched away." Vess groaned in annoyance. She appeared as unhappy as the others that this Mettias had run off. Felix watched with Manasight as her eyes swirled with power, alternating orange fire, gold light, and green-gold life Mana. They thrummed to his ear, weaving in a dizzying pattern.

She must be using some sort of...thermal vision? That's extremely cool. Felix found the thrumming pattern of her Mana, although faint, to be almost hypnotic. He idly wondered if he could make his own Mana mimic that effect; his Fire Within provided him with a good amount of internal Mana control, enough to shape out patterns for his various Mana Skills. Maybe I'll ask her later if I can observe the Skill again.

Vess turned and caught Felix staring at her. She blushed, and Felix felt like a deer in headlights.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh uh, the Mana..." Felix coughed. "It's nothing." He looked at the both of them and started moving toward the ladder. "We have to keep moving. The Inquisition can't be far behind."

"We took lotsa turns back there, hopefully they lost us," Evie said, but she followed after.

The were only a few steps away when Felix's instincts screamed at him, and he grabbed both women and leaped forward. A second later, a wave of fire rushed through the tunnel behind them, exploding into a flower of flame. Heat and light bloomed from the entrance, barely twenty feet away, carrying a terrible, intense heat with it before winking out.

"HEEUUUNNG!" Felix groaned, pushing back to his feet as his nerves danced with roiling torment. He hadn't been hit, but the wash of heat was agony on his broken Skill. Focusing his Will and Pain Resistance, he pushed past it, forcing his Mind to ignore his screaming Spirit.

H($t R3$(%74nce is level 22!

"You just had to say something," he panted at Evie. She smirked at him, but her eyes danced with fear even as she unspooled her spiked chain.

"I sense two of them," Vess said, low enough that Felix hoped only they could hear it. "We can take them."

"Levels?" Evie asked as the end of her chain began to hover slightly above the ground. Felix blinked, his mind off the pain for once. That's new.

"I cannot make them out. Inquisitor armor blocks Analyze below Adept," Vess said. She had pulled a long silver spear from...somewhere, and she held it firmly before her.

Flames still licked the interior of the tunnel, vestiges of whatever Skill had just hurled toward them. Water roared all around, but the humidity didn't put a dent in the pockets of fire. The sound of clanking footsteps reached them only moments later, and waves of orange Mana flared in the tunnel mouth. Felix watched as the Mana stoked the fires back into size, billowing them with power as two plate armored Acolytes stepped forward.

They wore the full silvery platemail of their order, enameled in white and detailed with a golden sunburst upon their chest. Each of them also wore a sallet-style helm that almost completely covered their face. Still, Felix could make out their eyes, which were hard and focused on them. The larger of the two led the way, while the other, slighter by only a small margin, stepped carefully behind.

"Heretics," intoned the leader in a heavy baritone. Felix thought he recognized the voice. "Put down your weapons and come with us."

"I'll pass on that, thanks," Evie quipped, letting her chain slowly begin to spin.

"You would arrest us?" Vess drew herself up and frowned imperiously. "On what charges?"

"By order of the Master Inquisitor, all of those found at the illegal gathering are to be tried for false worship, sedition, and heresy." The smaller of the two spoke with a clear, acidic conviction, and Felix knew he recognized the voice.

Voracious Eye.

There was a moment of resistance, but it was barely a blip. Felix pushed past it easily.

Name: Aenda Karcan, Acolyte

Race: Human

Level: 33

HP: 343/343

SP: 213/284

MP: 685/685

Lore: Humans are multitudinous on the Continent. They are statistically weaker than most Races, especially at lower levels.

Strength: Intelligence and Willpower, fire Mana

Weakness: Martial Proficiency, Endurance and Vitality

Name: Niall Palast, Acolyte

Race: Human

Level: 31

HP: 644/644

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."

A man emerged from the tunnel, wearing armor much the same as the Acolytes, except far more intricately detailed. Gold inlay formed a large sunburst on his breastplate and large sword was belted at his hip. His helmet, if he had one, was off and he appeared to be a man in his late thirties with dark eyebrows and white-blonde hair. Eyes like chips of flint stared directly at Felix and he smiled.

"Is my Acolyte correct, boy? Am I looking at the Blue-Eyed Fiend?" He didn't stop walking as he spoke, though the four combatants felt frozen. Something about that pressure, the aura, felt like it was pinning them to the ground, Acolyte included. "Or are you a waste of my time?"

Voracious Eye.

Name: ???, Initiate

Race: Human

Level: ??

HP: ???/???

SP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

Lore: Humans are multitudinous on the Continent. They are statistically weaker than most Races, especially at lower levels.

Strength: Hidden

Weakness: Hidden

The pressure redoubled, blocking Felix's Skill more effectively than a stone wall. However, Felix was able to confirm one thing.

This man had completed his Journeyman Formation.

Noctis' tits.

Evie must have caught a look in his eye, because she turned from Felix and launched a wordless assault on Aenda. A whirling chain swept the Acolyte's feet from under her, throwing the fire mage to the ground. Vess was a half-beat behind her, but her spear made short work of the damaged armor conjuration.

"Sir!" Aenda cried out as she hit the ground, splinters of golden Mana bursting outward. "He Shines in Darkness!"

"Back!" Vess shouted, at the same time leaping backwards with all her strength. Evie tried to do the same, but caught the edge of the detonation as Aenda's Skill ignited the air around her.

*KRAKAKOOOOOM!*

Felix was hit by a giant pillow of air, pushed up and into the watery darkness beyond the bridge. He threw a hand out and conjured a Shadow Whip, intending to imitate the Acolyte's maneuver. But the tacky substance of shadow found no purchase on the bridge's pillars, the stone coated in Ages-old slime and moisture.

Stone Shaping!

Desperate, Felix cast out the Mana pattern for his Tempered Skill, pulling the substance of the pillar with all of his might. There was a grinding groan from the stone all around him, and then his Skill caught. A six foot wide block of stone lifted from the pillar as Felix fell, like a Jenga piece, and Felix immediately oriented on it.

Reign of Vellu--!

A brilliant light interrupted his casting as an arrow of blinding radiance stabbed straight through his gut.

Felix hit the pillar hard, cracking it in half before plunging the rest of the way into the cold, cold water below.