Chapter 465 - Spell Siphon

Hope you like the chapter!

The stench was the worst part, like roasting meat. Only it made Hump’s stomach churn. His eyes remained hard as he watched. Anthony didn’t scream for long, yet somehow, he didn’t fall immediately to his knees. Instead, he stood there, eerily silent and still. Seconds passed. Still the fire raged from Hump’s staff, dancing through the tunnel in ribbons of orange and scarlet. Then finally, Anthony’s body toppled back, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

As the final flames died down, the tunnel was still once more.

Hump stared down at his fallen foe. Antony's body, twisted and broken on the scorched stone. Smoke curled from the charred ruins of his flesh. His once proud features reduced to a blackened, hollow husk. His mouth hung open in a silent scream. His eye sockets were hollow, crusted with ash, reminding Hump of the victims left behind by warlocks that had fed.

Dylan scrambled to his feet nearby, rushing to Bud’s side, his blessings filling the tunnel with green light as he poured them toward the knight.

“Is Bud…?” Hump asked quietly.

“He’s alive,” Dylan said. “Someone bring me one of those elixirs. Quickly!”

Emilia was at his side, rummaging through Bud’s belt and pulling out the elixir Hump gave him earlier, handing it to Dylan.

The druid breathed a sigh of relief as he took it. “Thank you.”

Dylan pulled Bud’s helmet off gently. It had protected much of his head, but his face was red and blistered, especially around his mouth and neck. Hump’s eyes were glued to him. To the damage he had done to his friend.

There must have been another way. Something else he could have done.

A hand took Hump’s, and he turned to see Celaine. She gave him a soft smile. “He wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Nisha came and brushed against Hump’s leg, chirping softly and gazing up at him with big eyes.

Hump let out a long sigh. “I know. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a better way. I…”

Hump trailed off. He sensed something coming from Anthony’s corpse. Faint, but distinctive—essence.

Not a corpse at all.

Celaine must have sensed it too as her hand went to her dagger, glaring at Anthony. Blood surged beneath what remained of Anthony’s skin, seeping from the cracks and forming threads. They crawled across his flesh, veins knitting burnt muscle back together like roots through ruined tissue.

“He’s still not dead,” Hump said, stunned.

Even now—even after all that—his body was healing. Essence came faster, steaming from all across him. Whatever dark power over blood that Anthony had mastered, somehow it still clung to life, writhing like a parasite desperate not to die.

Emilia was on her feet, rapier in hand, but Hump held up a hand to calm her.

“Not dead, but he’s healing slow. Don’t worry.”

Celaine stared down with a scrunched nose. “That’s disgusting.”

“It’s a grim sight, isn’t it?” Hump agreed.

“Is there a reason not to kill him now?” Celaine asked.

Hump considered it. While capturing and questioning Anthony would be invaluable, as far as he knew they were in a city under siege, and they lacked a reliable way to keep Anthony incapacitated. If given the time to heal, they wouldn’t be able to kill him a second time. Not to mention the Seal of Elenvine still needed protecting. They didn’t have time to take prisoners.

“No,” Hump said.

“How do we kill that which will not die?” Prince Gregory asked from behind them. The man stared at the body with wide eyes.

“Same way as most things,” Celaine said, dropping to one knee beside Anthony. She shouldered her bow, and positioned her Kassius’ dagger, Bloodshadow, over his heart. The blood gems on the handle glistened red. With one hand pressing on the other, she drove the blade in.

A silent breath escaped the warlock’s mouth. The threads of blood spasmed in the air and then seized. His healing stopped. Bloodshadow drank deep. Crimson light filled the gems, swallowing a little of that power.

And then a burst of red smoke exploded from Anthony’s chest, rippling outward in a shockwave of essence. The air rang with screams. The voices of dozens—hundreds—of people he’d devoured, wailing in release. Hump staggered back, watching as the wisps of red turned to blue, pouring from the corpse and swirling up to the ceiling of the tunnel in a spiralling storm of light. They vanished into the stone above them.

Hump had killed a lot of warlocks now, but never like that. Those souls hadn’t simply been consumed, they’d been trapped. Yet at least now they could pass on. That was better than many.

As Celaine pulled the blade from Kassius’ heart, Hump couldn’t help but see the symbolism.

“It’s fitting, isn’t it?” he said softly. “After all he did to Kassius, it’s only right that his blade delivers the final blow.”

“My blade,” Celaine said, sheathing it. “Though for a second there, it really didn’t want to be.”

“You ever thought of getting yourself a dagger that doesn’t try to overpower your will when you use it?” Hump asked.

Celaine gave a casual shrug. “Keeps its edge well. Can’t ask for more than that.”

She took him by the arm and led him over to where Bud was unconscious on the floor. Hump looked up toward the rear of the tunnel rather than at his friend. The only demons in sight were dead. That was a good thing at least. But more would come, drawn to the smell and the essence. The warlocks likely already knew that Anthony had fallen.

“How is he?” Hump asked quietly, gaze returning to Bud. “We don’t have long.”

Dylan crouched at Bud’s side, hands glowing with soft green light as he worked his magic. “The burns are bad, but it’s the wounds across his body that are the real problem. The elixir’s helping, but it needs time to work.”

“Should I use the Silver Sprig?” Hump asked.

Dylan shook his head. “The elixir will be enough. Help me carry him into the seal chamber. He should be stable enough now.”

They moved quickly. Hump took Bud’s legs, Dylan his shoulders. Bud stirred with a groan, his face contorted in pain, but he didn’t wake.

“Bud, can you hear me?” Emilia asked. “Bud?”

No answer.

As they reached the seal chamber entrance, Hump caught sight of Prince Gregory kneeling beside Steward Higrid. The prince’s face was tight with grief. At Hump’s glance, Gregory gave a slow shake of his head.

Dead.

Dylan noticed. “He saved my life,” he said quietly.

“Then he’s a hero,” Gregory replied, eyes not leaving Higrid’s body. “If we live through this, I shall ensure his family and the kingdom know.”

They entered the seal chamber, placing Hump down nearby. Much of the door had been covered in soot from Hump’s spell. With Bud on the ground and tended to, Prince Gregory took Hump by the arm and pulled him aside.

Inside the seal chamber, they lay Bud gently on the ground. Much of the room was coated in ash, the stone blackened from the inferno Hump had unleashed. The aftermath of Hump’s spell was written across the room in blackened scorch marks, the pristine white stone now marred by fire and smoke. Once-luminous glyphs etched into the walls and floor had dulled beneath soot.

With Bud tended to, Prince Gregory stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Hump’s arm and pulling him aside.

“What was the infinity he spoke of?” Prince Gregory asked. “He recognised you, Hump. How?”

“Not here,” Hump said. “We don’t have time.”

Prince Gregory frowned. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he gave a reluctant nod. “Very well.”

“What now?” Emilia asked. “We’re trapped down here.”

“We defend the seal,” Gregory said. “And if we can… we figure out a way to stop this invasion at its root. There must be a way to destroy the Tree of Damnation. You did it before, Wizard Humphrey, did you not?”

Hump exhaled slowly. “I did… but that time I had the help of a phoenix feather to amplify my magic.”

Prince Gregory gestured to the box of treasures he had taken from Higrid. “There must be something in there that can help.”

“Maybe, but we need Higrid to tell us what’s what,” Hump said. “And last time I didn’t have a host of demons and warlocks between me and it.”

The prince’s eyes burned with resolve. “We must try!”

Hump said nothing for a moment, turning back to the Seal of Elenvine. At the heart of the chamber, it remained untouched. It floated at the centre of the space, a perfect sphere of darkness suspended in a vast lattice of glowing glyphs and radiant lines. The surrounding threads of power anchored it to the chamber itself, linking it to the pillars and ceiling.

The power radiating incredible. Perhaps he didn’t need an amulet. What if he used the seal itself? It was on the verge of collapse anyway. Misty strands of essence bled from every part of it. In a room filled with glowing white light, it was even more evident. Before his eyes, he could see the glyphs fading impossibly quick.

If the veil would fall anyway, why not be the one to make it happen, and in the meantime use its power to send a message to any other would-be invaders that this was what awaited them if they came to Alveron.

It was a terrible idea, but it was a power source. The question was whether it was even possible. His spellbook had deciphered god glyphs and the runes of Lady Light in other parts of the tunnel, but could it do this?

“Give me a few minutes to think,” Hump said.

“There will be more on their way,” Emilia said. “Your spell didn’t kill them all, and they’ll return with reinforcements.”

“I’ll keep watch,” Celaine said. “Shout if you need me.”

Hump nodded. “Thank you. Don’t go too far.”

“Glyndaril,” he murmured, voice low, uncertain. “If you’re listening… I could really use your help. Elenvine is under siege. A Tree of Damnation has taken root. I need to destroy it—and this seal might be the only power left strong enough to do it. Is there a way for me to harness it?”

Hump felt foolish. He still didn’t fully understand the workings of the Silver Owl, only that he was in there and that he was powerful, yet… limited. He poured his essence into the book, filling the pages with blue like, reaching for the spirit within with every bit of his intent, trying to convey his urgency and message.

And the Glyndaril answered. The book changed, the heartstone gem emerging at its centre. The leather becoming perfect and distinguished.

And the book opened, the pages whirling and whirling, turning faster than Hump had seen them, and for longer. Deeper and deeper into the reservoir of pages they went, until finally they settled upon one.

There was a formation in the centre of the page like normal, but there were no words. No descriptions. Nothing Hump could make out but for the runes etched in a strange, angular text. Hump didn’t recognise a single one. The formation seemed to twist as he looked at it, as if it resisted being observed. Geometry that defied logic. Symbols that bent the air around them.

He reached for them with his essence, and then he felt it—intent surging through them. Hump’s eyes widened. What was he supposed to do with that?

“Gods above,” Prince Gregory muttered. “You really will need to tell me what that book is once this is over. I… I’ve never sensed anything like it.”

The page turned once more.

SPELLBOOK

Spell Siphon

Ritual | Tier 7 |

Description

Reach into an active spell formation and forcibly redirect its energy through a conduit formation, tearing apart the active spell and converting its residual essence for use elsewhere.

Suddenly, footsteps pounded on stone. Celaine burst back into the room, her bow already drawn, face pale.

“Something’s coming,” she said, voice tense. “I don’t know what, but I can feel it. A dreadful presence. It’s close.”

Before Hump could respond, a new voice entered Hump’s mind, cracked and distant like a whisper on the wind.

“Hump…”

The connection faded, growing distant. Hump reached for it with his own essence, latching on as best he could.

“Godfrey is coming. He intends to free Baelkor, and he needs the Seal of Elenvine to do it. I don’t know what you’re doing down there or how you killed Anthony, but you must leave. Now. We are in pursuit.”

Hump tried to answer, to follow the essence trail back, but it slipped from his grasp. The connection faded.

Celaine’s eyes narrowed. “What did I just sense?”

“Aldric managed to reach me,” Hump said grimly. “Godfrey is on his way for the Seal of Elenvine. We’ve been warned to leave, and quickly.”

“He wants us to abandon the seal?” Prince Gregory asked.

“We were never meant to be down here in the first place,” Emilia said.

“But we are here,” Prince Gregory said. “And our only way out is back through the tunnel.”

Hump’s mind went to Owalyn, but then he shook his head. “Godfrey needs the Seal of Elenvine. I know how we can take it from him.”