Chapter Seventeen #2
I wish I could just use Deprivation Cage on Denny, but his divine resistance is too high…
and our last fight makes me think the rest of his Party might have finally thought to get something to protect them as well.
We’ll have to do this the hard way… but Skylar’s right; we can’t just let Denny keep hunting us.
He took a moment to mentally center himself, then he put his dexterity to work.
The run toward Li Ra’s pillar passed in a blink, then extending Trickster’s Cane into a long stave let Vester vault to the top.
He landed smoothly and told her that if she could, she should take down Emma.
When the oni agreed, Vester dropped off the stone column and ran toward Reve.
Her pillar was significantly taller than Li Ra’s, but when Vester shot upward he found himself caught by Reve’s telekinesis; she smoothly lifted him to join her on the flat stone surface. “What is our goal?” she asked, staring intently toward Denny. “Do we slaughter them all?”
“Not quite,” Vester said. When the woman snapped an angry glare his way, Vester put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
He could feel Reve trembling with suppressed emotion.
“Emma is pouring Peace’s power through herself, so Li Ra is going to take the girl out if she can.
Davis and Rachel, the other two casters, have shown far less loyalty to the Church of Light.
If we can disable them, I want you to do it. ”
“And the feral one and the Hero?” Reve inquired, her voice absolutely frigid. “How do we handle those two?”
“The Church has treated Kimmy like shit, and she wasn’t with the Party when Denny came after me the last time,” Vester replied bluntly.
“I don’t know if she’s on their side or she’s their slave.
We’ll try to subdue her to start, but we’re not letting her kill any of us…
As for Denny, I’ll do my best to take care of him. ”
Reve’s expression softened and she took several breaths, visibly trying to calm herself.
Her wings flapped, fidgeted, and then wrapped around her body.
Vester didn’t fail to notice that the wing closest to him had caressed down his back and side before she enclosed herself in it like a cloak.
“I understand,” she agreed, “he is still your brother. You are being resolute, so I will not be ungrateful for that. Thank you for filling me in on the plan.”
“Of course. You’re one of us,” he said, and then he stepped into her space and gave her a hug.
It was a little awkward—she was two feet taller than he was, and if her wings hadn’t been where they were his face would have been buried in her cleavage.
On another occasion he’d likely have cursed those wings.
Now, he just gave thanks for the lack of distraction.
“I’m going to start this,” he said. “Watch for the pink flames.” Vester stepped away and then walked out to the edge of the pillar’s cap. He leaned out and let gravity take him, starting to run even before he had truly begun to fall.
It was only his incredibly high dexterity that allowed him to race down the side of a sixty-foot-tall stone column, but Vester managed it.
The speed he built up was insane, and he shot out and across his Labyrinth Wards like a streak of black and crimson.
He covered himself in illusions while he ran, a dark cloud of smoke and shadows that seemed to boil with hidden flames.
He caused a crackling red flame to wrap around Trickster’s Cane, giving it an illusory edge, and then he recreated his weapon to make it look like he was dual wielding. He shot past several retreating blood elflings, the dungeon spawn stumbling out of his way in shock and terror.
Denny had already slain most of the chitinous women by that point, and the ones he’d missed were being hunted down by Kimmy.
The pair were relentless, attacking any monster they could reach like brutal killing machines.
Even as Vester approached, Denny simply backhanded the head off a tall elfling.
He hadn’t used a weapon, just the strength of his arm and gauntlet.
He didn’t realize Vester was coming until Vester hooked the flying head on Trickster’s Cane and whipped in a circle to send it sailing back in Denny’s direction.
Vester was very careful to aim the projectile in a way that missed Denny by the smallest of margins, and was rewarded by his twin twitching with shock—right into the head’s path.
The sudden crunch of the elfling’ forehead off Denny’s nose was shockingly loud.
The black chitin face burst in an eruption of gore that sent chunks of scalp and white hair flying around Denny’s head, filling the opening of his helmet.
Denny let out a noise of disgust and confusion while reaching up with his empty hand to claw at the brains covering his eyes.
Vester took that moment to pass around Denny and cross Kimmy’s path.
His cane snapped out and tapped the woman on the tip of one fluffy, triangular ear.
Vester cast Deprivation Cage, not expecting it to work, yet Kimmy went insane.
The felid Ragedancer began tearing into the air around her, trying to kill… something.
She was cut off from all stimulus, so she had nothing to aim at, but that didn’t stop her from trying.
Vester just veered around her and came to a stop in front of Denny.
His twin had just cleared the brains from his face when Vester said, “Hello, Brother. Still chasing me because Peace has you brainwashed?”
Whatever reaction he’d hoped for, Vester wasn’t prepared for what he got.