Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 99: Mass Times Acceleration

Sadie watched in horror as Elijah, in his flight form, dove. There was a glint of metal right before he became a bolt of lightning. An instant later, everything went dark. Sadie’s mind went blank until, only a moment later, she found herself flying through the air. She hit something a second later, and with enough force that she felt a few bones break. Given her Constitution, that was a little troubling.

She forced her eyes open, blinked, then saw a scene of burning destruction. A wall of fire stood for only a moment before winking out. Vaguely, she noticed the two-headed imp that was Benedict’s minion collapse in exhaustion. It dissipated into flakes of ash only a second later.

But most of her attention was locked on the scene all around her. The walls of the throne room were cracked and broken, and the ceiling was entirely gone. In the center, where the throne itself had once stood, there was only a crater. Two figures stirred at its nadir.

All around, people groaned in pain, but a quick inspection told Sadie that none of them were dead. And she didn’t need long to reason out what had happened. Elijah’s dive had come with significant kinetic energy. After all, that form weighed close to a thousand pounds, and he’d hit the ground at the speed of lightning. She was no expert, but something like that had to produce an impact rivaling a tactical nuclear warhead. A small one, to be sure, but far exceeding a normal bomb.

There were only two reasons they hadn’t all died. First, everyone there possessed a Constitution attribute – either via their own allocation or from the various buffs active – that put them on a superhuman level. Second, that wall of fire had clearly cut some of that force of impact. The combination meant that everyone had survived, though not without injuries.

Fortunately, Ron had recovered enough that, even when he couldn’t muster the strength to regain his feet, he was already casting heals. The man was an example of true dedication, and one everyone else could only hope to emulate.

As the dust settled, the group stirred.

Dat pushed himself to all fours, shaking his head as Sadie regained her feet. Somehow, she’d maintained her grip on her sword’s hilt, but much of her armor had been ripped away. It wasn’t a huge loss, she knew. The makeshift set barely offered any protection. However, the lack of weight left her uneasy. She shoved those thoughts into the back of her mind as she embraced her latest spell:

The healing spread out in a ring of light that swept over her companions. It was her most powerful heal, rivaling that of a true Healer, and it swept through her allies like a soothing balm. Bones were mended, contusions were healed, and bodies were put back together. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as a Miracle, but it was still one of her strongest assets. It was too bad that it was only usable once an hour.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As the spell’s effect manifested, she took a second to look around. She and the others had come to rest nearly two-hundred yards from the point of impact, and that was only because they’d smashed through enough walls to halt their momentum. Nearby was a pile of rocks, beneath which she could see a familiar arm.

For only a second, she experienced a crisis of conscience. Every fiber of her being told her to leave Benedict where he lay. She fully believed that the world would be a better place without his demonic influence. However, it only took a moment before her humanity reasserted itself. For all that he’d made bad choices, Benedict had proven himself an ally. Without him and his imp, they’d have all died.

But more than anything, Sadie didn’t want to be the sort of person who let her enemies die. That wasn’t justice. That was murder. She would happily kill the man after a fair assessment of his guilt, but to simply turn the other way while he was crushed to death under a pile of rubble?

That wasn’t who she was. And it certainly wasn’t who she wanted to be going forward.

With that in mind, she stepped forward, and, with Dat’s help, removed the largest pieces of blue stone. Lamar joined a moment later, and, together, they uncovered the fallen Warlock. He was unconscious, but clearly alive. A heal hit him a second later, and he twitched.

Satisfied, Sadie turned her attention back to the crater to see that the two figures at its center had finally risen.

* * *

Elijah could barely stand.

Both of his arms were broken. He could scarcely breathe due to multiple punctures in his lungs. And there was a burning in his stomach that he recognized as burst organs. Blood leaked from a multitude of scalp wounds, and his Mind struggled to latch onto a single thought.

That one thought was clear, though.

He was alive.

Clearly, that would not have been the case if he’d lacked even one of his countermeasures. As his Mind cleared, he saw that Yloa was similarly alive. And he wasn’t happy about what had just happened.

Elijah didn’t blame him, either. The Lightning Emperor looked like he’d just been hit by a bomb. The skin on his upper set of arms was entirely gone, revealing white blood and exposed muscle. Similarly, his face was a mask of gore, with multiple broken bones twisting it all out of shape. The tip of his tail had been severed, and his ribs on one side looked like they’d been caved in.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

But just like Elijah, he was a long way from being down for the count.

And he didn’t appreciate what Elijah had done. He opened his mouth to speak, but his jaw refused to cooperate. When his words came out, they were entirely unintelligible. Elijah wasn’t listening anyway. Nothing the Lightning Emperor could say would change what he needed to do.

The moment he’d regained consciousness, he had used Shape of Thorn. Not for the durability it offered, but rather, so he could activate Unchecked Growth. He’d held it in reserve for just such a situation, and the moment his transformation completed, Elijah used the ability.

It was just in time, too, because Yloa threw himself at him a second later. Even as Elijah’s body mended, the Lightning Emperor endeavored to undo his efforts. There was little technique to the ta’alaki’s attacks. No grand strategy. He attacked Elijah with the furor of a wild animal.

Or a person who’d been pushed to his limits and backed against a wall.

Elijah tried to fight back, but after only a few seconds, he knew that was counterproductive. So, as he sensed his companions reach the edge of the crater he’d created with his kamikaze Lightning Rush attack, Elijah activated Domain of Vines and leaped at the furious ta’alaki.

He didn’t do so with an eye toward trading blows. Instead, he only wanted to restrict the hateful villain. To that end, he wrapped his arms around the ta’alaki, pinning his arms in place and letting the roots and vines encircle Yloa in a cocoon.

Elijah shouted, “Give him everything! Don’t hold back!”

His companions complied, which probably should have been a little worrisome. Did they know he was under the effect of massive Regeneration? Or did they simply think that the goal was worthy of his sacrifice?

He didn’t have time to answer that question. Instead, Elijah could only hold on as a dozen attacks fell upon the Lightning Emperor all at once. Elijah was shredded, but so was Yloa. And for all the imposing ta’alaki’s power, he was not invincible. Nor was he capable of any miraculous feats of healing.

More, Elijah’s thorns could finally find purchase in Yloa’s flesh. With even the tiniest puncture, he was subjected to the weakening toxin that was their defining characteristic.

And for a moment, even as Elijah felt himself being torn to ribbons by his own allies’ attacks – only to be rebuilt by his ongoing Unchecked Growth – he permitted himself to believe they were on the verge of winning.

The thought was entirely misplaced.

Not only did Yloa manage to endure the onslaught, but the fury with which he tore free of Elijah’s vines was so potent that he slowly gained ground. And about ten seconds before Unchecked Growth ran its course, he latched onto Elijah’s arms and twisted.

Elijah screamed as his bones broke. But more troublingly, he was forced to relinquish his grip. A moment later, he was flying through the air. He hit the side of the crater, skipped across the ground, and came to rest at the lip. His vines, which were tied to his current location, fell limp, and suddenly, the Lightning Emperor was freed.

Yloa flashed with electricity, then practically teleported to where the group had set up shop. Lamar met him with his shield, but the defender was entirely outclassed. So, while he managed to briefly protect his companions, Lamar was sent ragdolling across the devastated landscape.

Yloa raised his good arms, and the world broke apart. Dark and angry clouds manifested as a crack of thunder announced the arrival of a storm. Elijah had often wondered what it would have looked like if he’d taken Typhoon instead of Stormborn when evolving Calamity. He knew the actual spell would have fallen short, but he’d imagined hurricanes and tornadoes that could level whole cities. But even in his wildest dreams, he never could have imagined anything like the storm Yloa summoned.

It was less a weather event than the wrath of god.

Wind with speeds far exceeding even the most powerful hurricane to have ever existed on Earth ripped through the area. Multi-ton stones shifted in place as thick bolts of lighting filled the air and monstrous peals of thunder echoed across the region.

Dat tried to fire another instance of Hex of Tongues, but the wind was so strong that the crossbow bolt went wide by nearly thirty feet. The others attempted to attack the Lightning Emperor, but that same wind shoved them away with so much force that the only reason they weren’t thrown miles away was because they hit various walls.

The lightning was the worst of it, though.

Sadie tried to protect everyone, but her shields were poor barriers against their fury. She was the first to take a full hit, but even though she possessed the highest Constitution in the group – save for Lamar, who still hadn’t risen – she was knocked entirely unconscious.

The others were soon to follow.

Elijah knew it.

But he also knew he couldn’t stand up to the Lightning Emperor. As damaged as he was, Yloa was still going strong. But Elijah had a plan.

As much of a beating as he’d taken, Unchecked Growth was enough to bring him back to full health. It wouldn’t last long – not under the barrage of Yloa’s storm. So, he dragged himself over the edge of crater, then rolled down the slope. As he did so, he embraced Shape of Venom.

It was a gamble.

The blight dragon was incredibly vulnerable, and he didn’t have the protection afforded by his companions’ shields or the now-spent invulnerability granted by his armor. If he was hit, he would be crushed.

Still, it was his only chance.

Even as he took on that shape, he dodged lightning for just long enough to let himself dip out of combat. Then, he used Guise of the Unseen and headed back into the fray. As he raced forward, he was forced to use One with Nature to the fullest extent of its focus just to recognize when lightning was about to strike. That was the only reason he managed to avoid being cooked.

Using his low profile to avoid the worst of the wind, he clung to the ground and circled the crater before finally coming into range. He used Strike of the Predator, then Envenom before activating Flicker Step. He appeared on the Lightning Emperor’s back, then used Stormbind. He didn’t necessarily think the last would work against a creature so attuned to lightning, but he had to take the chance.

And to his surprise, it worked.

The second his fangs broke Yloa’s skin, the clouds ceased to exist. Even as the storm faded, Elijah’s potent venom coursed through the ta’alaki’s flesh. But Elijah wasn’t finished. He bit a half-dozen more times before Yloa even had a chance to react. And when the Lighting Emperor finally did, Elijah used his smaller size to great effect, skittering across Yloa’s body and narrowly avoiding being dislodged.

For long seconds, that continued, and Elijah inflicted one instance of his venom after another. He lost count of how many times he bit the Lightning Emperor, but it had to be in the hundreds. He didn’t care about biting deep. He only needed to break the skin. So that’s what he did.

Until his luck ran out.

Finally, Yloa managed to grab him by the tail and, using him like a club, slammed Elijah against the ground. Then, Yloa screamed, “Pest!” before spinning around and throwing Elijah on a trajectory that might have taken him miles away.

But by that point, Flicker Step had come off cooldown, and he used it before he’d traveled even a dozen feet. He slammed back into the Lightning Emperor, but he could feel that he’d reached saturation with his venom-based attacks. That was incredibly difficult to do, but there was always a limit.

So, Elijah initiated the shift into the Shape of Thorn.

As he transformed, he wrapped his growing arms around the Lightning Emperor and once again activated Domain of Vines. His roots hungrily erupted from the ground, wrapping around Yloa’s tail and encircling his waist. Vines sprouted from Elijah’s arms and shoulders, and as they enveloped Yloa, thorns sawed into the ta’alaki’s body.

Yloa tried to fight, but hundreds of instances of thorn toxin and Envenom – as well as the effects of the Bane weapon and Elijah’s kamikaze dive – had finally taken their toll. No creature in existence was without limits, after all.

In his mind, Elijah might have expected a last, defiant speech. Or maybe an insult or two. But in the end, the mighty Lightning Emperor died without uttering a single word.