Chapter 457 - A New Tree of Damnation

Thanks for waiting. Big decisions to be made in this one! Hump stared into the rift of the Tree of Damnation, his breath catching as the vi

Thanks for waiting. Big decisions to be made in this one! Hump stared into the rift of the Tree of Damnation, his breath catching as the vi

Thanks for waiting. Big decisions to be made in this one!

Hump stared into the rift of the Tree of Damnation, his breath catching as the view inside sharpened. His stomach twisted.

A tide of horrors surged on the other side.

Demons—thousands of them—raced through the scorched landscapes, their bodies misshapen and grotesque. A frenzy of movement as each raced for the rift. Behind them loomed titanic shapes. At first glance, they almost looked like siege towers, slowly rolling toward them. But they were something else. They were alive. Pulsing flesh and sinew shaped into terrible monuments dragged themselves on tendrils of meat and bone.

It was the Nightmare Bulwark of the Remnant Realm all over again—the living wall. A construct formed from the bodies of many demons and gods knew what else.

“Gods above,” Bud whispered beside him.

Around the courtyard, similar such words echoed as the others that had participated in the raid gathered to look inside.

The fear in Bud’s voice was clear. It mirrored the chill crawling down Hump’s spine. He’d faced monsters. He’d faced armies. But this was larger than anything he’d witnessed before. A world weaponised to assault another realm.

As his eyes roamed the oncoming tide, he spotted humans among them—warlocks in crimson robes and armour, their weapons ready. They moved with purpose, closer to the breach than most demons. He tried to spot Anthony amongst them, or the demon Karlac, but he recognised no one.

Owalyn’s favour came to mind. He’d carried that promise for a year since Drakalyn—the favour of a goddess. For the first time, he was truly tempted to call it. The tree had to be destroyed.

He thought better of it. The favour was to him. Perhaps she would help him and his party escape, but she would not fight a war for the Pantheon. Why would she intervene for a people that had bound her to the Great Tree for millennia?

His thoughts turned to the city. To Alveron. To everything they stood to lose. Emilia’s family, Mister Borton and the street children he cared for, Mav and the other friends he had made in Elenvine.

Hump’s hand tightened around his staff. They could have chosen a worse place to stand their ground. They stood in the courtyard, surrounded by thick walls that might buy the city some time.

Even as the fear began to take him, Count Daston’s voice cut through like a blade.

“Form up,” the count bellowed over the roar of essence surging from the tree. “They haven’t breached the barrier yet. We still have a chance to bring it down. We must destroy the tree!”

The Chosen, wizards, and martials snapped to readiness. Weapons were drawn, essence flared, and everyone prepared for the inevitable fight.

“Wizard Aldric,” Daston called. “Have you got anything big to hit it with?”

The wizard stepped forward, eyes grim. “I can think of a few things.”

“Do it. Everyone else, concentrate your attacks as one. Halvon—take Prince Gregory to the rear. Keep him safe.”

“Yes Count.”

Wizard Aldric uncorked his silver flask and took a long drink, then produced a crystal phial that shimmered like bottled lightning. The essence radiating from it made Hump’s hair stand on end. Aldric tossed the contents back, its power glowing through the skin of his neck.

“Wizard Jentris, Otto, Ash, Karina, with me,” he snapped. “We’re going to need a siege spell.”

The five wizards gathered in a wide ring, stepping into place as one. Their staffs struck the ground. Channels of essence etched into the stone, forming runes around them that pulsed with power.

Hump gave them one last glance before turning to his party.

“We need to help too,” he said. “Bud, Celaine, we hit it together. Dylan, strengthen us. Emilia, I think you need to stay clear of the blast. It’s going to be too dangerous for you to get close.”

“No argument here,” Emilia said.

“What about the barrier?” Dylan asked. “It’s brushed off everything that’s been thrown at it.”

Hump shrugged. “Cross your fingers that something makes it through.”

Dylan sighed. “Always a man of wise words.”

“Aim for Kassius,” Emilia said. “If we kill him, it may fall apart. Or at least it might create a gap in the tree’s defences.”

Hump gave a nod, turning to the tormented prince. Kassius’s head twisted madly, his eyes searching everywhere as if for escape. His mouth open in a silent scream.

Nobody deserved that. Not even him. If nothing else, they would put him out of his misery.

Around him, the thirty-odd Chosen and practitioners gathered around Count Daston, preparing their own attacks. Essence thickened in the air like mist. Magic ran over his skin, static and volatile. Lights flickered in every directions—staff and wands shining, divinity rising, spells and blessings radiating their power. Dylan’s blessing encompassed Hump, and soon others joined it. He felt stronger. His essence flowed fast and rich in power, yet it was easier to control than usual.

Hump took the Book of Infinite Pages from his belt. As it opened, the pages fluttering in a blur before selling on Titan’s Wrath.

He considered using Erupting Core. The opportunity was perfect—a chance to build up the spell to its full potential. But if he tried it and failed, he would have nothing left to give for the fight to follow.

Instead, he went for the tried and tested. Five powerful wizards were working together on a siege spell. What he needed was a way to potentially disrupt the barrier protecting the tree. It had worked against the lich’s barrier. Perhaps it could work here. If he could disrupt it, there were plenty of others that could do true damage.

He planted his staff in the stone, bronze essence gathering with a rising hum. It coalesced at the focus, forming into a narrow spearpoint, its centre darkening to obsidian. Essence lashed at the ground and the power fought to break free. It added to the storm of chaos building around him.

Behind him, the chants of Wizard Aldric and the other wizards grey louder, their spell taking shape over their heads. A massive sphere of flame, haloed with spinning rings of essence inscribed runes in the air.

To the front, Count Daston stood at the very front, as close to the rift as he could get, staring down the creatures beyond. His body blazed with silver light, the same light smoking from his fists. Bud stood just behind him, his sword drawn, gaze focused. Frostfire surrounded him like the breath of a winter’s morning.

On Hump’s right, Celaine drew back her bow. Shadows wrapped around her like a cloak, and on her string was an of silver and shadow—Eclipse Shot—enhanced by her other blessings. High above, Nisha spiralled down. Hump sensed her intent. The heat of flames building in the back of her throat, ready to ignite.

“It’s ready,” Aldric’s voice boomed, voice booming through the courtyard, infused with essence.

“As one!” Count Daston roared. “Destroy it!”

The storm reached its peak.

And the courtyard exploded.

Essence surged like a detonation. The very earth rumbled beneath Hump’s feet, a concussive blast of pressure roaring outward. The glow of spells and blessings flared brightly.

Hump levelled his staff toward the tree. “Titan’s Wrath.”

The obsidian shard launched from his staff, streaking through the courtyard. Bud swung his sword, a wave of Frostfire surging up the tree, engulfing its roots and the lower part of its trunk. Count Daston threw himself at the barrier, fist first—inelegant, but Hump didn’t doubt its power. Celaine’s arrow shot forward, straight for the core of the tree. All around them, blessings and spells joined the barrage, a cloud of essence expanding.

Then behind Hump, Aldric’s siege spell was released, and it was as if the sun fell from the sky. The spell struck with a deafening crash. A cascade of fire and force pounded the Tree of Damnation.

The courtyard flashed with light as the spell struck, a brilliant flare of scarlet flame and crushing force. The air roared. A shockwave erupted outward, knocking several people from their feet. Hump staggered, planting his staff hard into the flagstones, anchoring himself. The courtyard became a tempest of colour and sound. The thunder of magic, the groan of stone. Smoke billowed. Essence steamed. Cracks spread through the courtyard, the air filling with drifting threads of light.

And then… silence.

No, not silence. There was a rustle. Hump gazed up, watching as a shower of red leaves fell from the canopy, raining down upon them, twisting over each other, shining like droplets of blood in the light of the sun and the brightness of essence. They fell in a red carpet around them.

The wind calmed. The glow dimmed. The smoke thinned, unveiling the Tree of Damnation. Its core pulsed brightly, beating like a heart. And the barrier held. The rift was still there.

Hump’s breath caught. They’d failed.

“How is this possible?” Prince Gregory’s voice trembled with disbelief. “How is it unscathed?”

Before anyone could answer, a roar split the air. Hump’s eyes snapped back to the rift, just in time to see a demon burst through—a towering monstrosity of muscle, scales, and flesh. Its skin was green and brown, like something rotten. Its muscles were so large that it almost couldn’t fit through the rift, squirming through, snarling and spitting in desperate hunger.

Three tongues exploded from its wide jaws, lashing in all directions. Teen as long as arms hardly seemed to fit in its gaping maw.  Horns like twisted blades crowned its head, and six barbed limbs dragged behind it as it came through, a tail whipping out behind it. It billowed excitedly, leaping from the rift like a cat hunting prey, eyes alight with playful delight.

Count Daston met its charge, but it didn’t seem to even register him. It continued forward with that same eagerness, only to crash into the count. Count Daston didn’t budge an inch. The sudden loss of momentum silenced the demon’s roar. It let out a whimper, its tail whipping back and forth behind it. Then it swiped out with its claw that sent him hurling to the side.

Another happy bellow escaped it, and it continued to rush forward, stirring discord in their ranks. Hump and the others lashed out at it, blessings and magic bombarding it with spells. His staff blazed with fire as he cast a scorching ray at its exposed stomach, aiming for a gap in its scales. Bud and Emilia approached together, blades ready, cutting at its hind legs along with other Chosen. One of Celaine’s arrows found it in the neck, piercing deeply.

The creature didn’t seem to notice the pain, continuing to frolic amongst them. It leapt at anyone that stepped close, trying to catch them with its teeth, claws, or tail. Hump sensed Nisha preparing to dive for it from above but warned her back with a sharp command.

As powerful as the creature was, it wasn’t healing fast enough. Count Daston returned to hold its attention. Its body opened, blood spilling out before the wounds could close. Its limbs weakened, staggering beneath its weight. And finally, the excitement turned to pain. It collapsed to the ground with a moan and Emilia was atop its head, balanced on its skull, rapier raised high.

It descended in a red flash—Transcending Blade. It pierced through tissue and bone silently, and the creature fell still.

Yet the shouts of alarm in the courtyard. Soldiers had arranged themselves on the castle walls—hundreds of armoured men staring inward, bows in hand, flaming cauldrons spread out along the walls, and ballistae aimed in the direction of the tree. From the gates, reinforcements were already arriving—Chosen rushing to aid in the defence of the city.

The big demon may have fallen, but it had distracted them. Arrows filled the air, descending on demons as they came through the rift by the dozen. Hump’s party formed up with the rest of Count Daston’s force.

There couldn’t be more than fifty of the demons yet, but their numbers were only growing. Even as bodies fell, their blood staining the stone ground, others stepped atop them, forming a half-circle beyond the rift.

They were strange creatures. They possessed no weapons, but instead had more appendages than they should, each ending in claws of bone. They could have been humans once, but no more. They surged forward almost mindlessly, but Hump sensed little strength from them. They were fodder, there to clear the path with their bodies while the main army followed.

“We must hold them here!” Count Daston roared. “Keep them in the courtyard. Pin them down. Let none escape. The city will be protected.”

“Reinforcements are already on the way,” Wizard Aldric called.

“The palace guard will be here soon,” Prince Gregory added. “We stand together, brothers and sisters. Elenvine will not fall here.”

Hump had been around a few groups of such raw power. It should have made him feel safe, but he had seen the devastation a single demon lord had caused in the Infernal Halls. He had seen the shadow of Baelkor beyond the rift in the Tree of Death of Sheercliff City. If such foes made it through, could the city be saved, even by them?

Much of their army was in the Remnant Realm, assaulting the Warlock Stronghold, but it was not like they had not accounted for a Warlock counterattack. But seeing it before his eyes, Hump couldn’t help but have doubts. All that mattered was that they hold them here. If the Tree couldn’t be destroyed yet, they simply had to prevent the demons and Warlocks from making it through.

Here in the Keep, the Tree was surrounded, the enemy force was concentrated, and Hump had a perfect spell for the job.

“Everyone, I’m going to use Rivers of Lava,” Hump said. “Protect me.” Then Hump raised his voice. “Count Daston! Have your men prepare a barrier to keep them back. I will handle the first wave.”

The Count gave a nod. “Good plan. Everyone, conserve what strength you can. Stronger foes will come.”

More demons were coming through now, and Hump prepared his mind for the screams to come. Death by fire was never pleasant for either side, and he did not want to witness even demons burning alive—but what choice did he have?

His staff blazed. His spellbook whirled as the pages opened to the spell that he desired. It came easier to him now that he was rank six. Fire bubbled within the focus of his staff. Water surged within him.

“Rivers of Lava!” Hump roared.

Smoke rose from the ground, quickly turning to smouldering red. The stone melted, and lava burst forth, pooling around the Tree and its roots, whirling to strike out at the demons as they formed ranks. The creatures died screaming, and Hump watched with hard eyes, willing the lava to each of his targets.

Around him, other Chosen began to form walls, blocking off the rear of the Tree and forming a tunnel where the demons could not spread out—a kill zone.

Things seemed to be going well, at least for a few minutes, but Hump couldn’t help but notice that despite the killing, the tree was still growing. No, it wasn’t the killing that mattered—it was feasting upon the weaker demons. Their blood added to Kassius’, their flesh added to the Tree of Damnation.

Hump realised his mistake then and there. The Tree was feasting on it—on their kills.

There was a flash of golden light, aimed straight at Hump. Silver met it an instant before it would have struck him. Hump saw Count Daston’s broad shoulders obscuring his view as the man stood before him to protect him—and then he was gone, blasted backwards.

Standing in the rift was a figure that Hump didn’t recognise, but from the murmurs surrounding him, there was no doubt as to who it was, nor the man standing beside him.

Tobias Godfrey had come, and with him was Warlock Anthony.