Chapter 31 - The First Gate (3)

"Wake up." 

His eyelids slowly parted, at the cold tone.

He watched from just under them, to see what was going on, before revealing he was awake. 

It was a cell.

The bars were thick, and of rune scribed steel. The familiar scent of magic filled the air, and restricted his limbs and thought.

How nostalgic.

He knew if he didn't respond, what would come. But, he knew if he did respond, it would come regardless.

He chose to not give in, again.

Magic twisted inside his body, ripping and then healing, tearing and then sewing. 

What a strange dream to have. He knew he was asleep, from the moment he 'woke up'.

It was the most familiar dream, he could have. 

'3'

Argo opened his eyes. 

'2'

The woman before him grinned, and she twisted her fingers, causing the magic to rip itself out.

'1'

A horn blew. The pain was worse than any magic could give, as it shook his very soul. And for her, who had been especially sensitive, it was disastrous.

She fell unconscious just close enough for him to lean down, and grab the key on her waist with his foot. 

Bringing it back, he unlocked his hands, and rubbed his wrists. There wasn't too much time. If he was dreaming, he knew he needed to wake up soon.

He glanced down at the woman mage, and crouched down to search her, when his hands slowed for a moment. 

It was wrong.

His hands continued in a methodical motion after that split second of hesitation. 

He had seen this dream, dozens of times, and memorized every last part of it. But this was wrong.

He grabbed the tome in her clothes, and was scrolling through it, though he knew what page he wanted to go to, he was slower now.

The book had been on the wrong place on her body.

In every dream, in every fall, in every part, it was always the same, at least, this beginning, was always, always the same.

But it had not been exactly in that place.

A page was crinkled on the end, as if the tome was ancient. But this woman took good care of her tome, he knew, for it was always pristine no matter when he took it.

This was not a dream.

But he soon found the page, and it was perfect. It was exactly what he was looking for. He kicked over her unconscious form, and took the magic dagger off her hip, before stabbing her through the throat with it, swiftly putting an end to her life.

She bled, and he watched coldly as she did.

It was normal.

Was it a variance caused by his situation in the real world? 

Had the dream finally changed of it's own accord? 

Was it always in that position, every single time? 

…Argo got to the door of the cell, and opened it, but didn't walk out.

He watched as a fire ball barreled down the prison hallway, there was a blood curdling scream. 

His nose twitched.

Right on time.

He heard something creaking horribly, and in the corner of his vision, he saw it standing there, looking down the hallway.

A tall creature draped in black, with a deer's skull for a face, and abnormally long limbs, wielding a staff and mumbling in an ancient language that he did not understand, though, he'd roughly comprehended a few words over the years.

Even without knowing what it had said, he would still duck, as a thin line cut through the prison walls, everywhere.

A man screamed. 

He did not know why, but most if not all of the people here, save for the soldiers, were women. Mages, cooks, servants, jailers, medics, engineers, everyone but the soldiers, were women.

When he heard that deeper scream, he could not be convinced otherwise anymore.

Stepping into the hallway, using the magic dagger, he launched at the tall creature, and stabbed straight through it's cloak, accurately finding the gem that served as it's heart and shattering it.

Behind that creature, there were tall, muscular green skinned creatures, that slobbered and had fangs down to their throats, with long hide-like hair that dragged down their backs, and bristles all along their arms and chest.

When they spotted him, he dropped flat to the ground, as mage lighting blew past overhead, connecting through them.

But he was not hiding.

He watched the mage lightning curve and cut around.

If it had been one or two times, he would not have seen the difference, but this light show was the same every time he had dreamt this from the first till the last, yet, there were branches of mage lightning where they shouldn't be.

"Escapee! Return to your cell!" A new voice line? Argo looked back.

Male Mages. 

Whatever was here, didn't want him to leave the prison.

Did it have something to do with it's power? He wasn't sure.

He had never encountered such a thing, nor had he learned of such magic in the Imperial Capital.

Mind control, and other forbidden things yes, but, not anything of this nature? It was either a yet to be discovered magic, or, it was from the Underworld.

A unique ability.

He crawled back into the cell. He was more inclined to believe the latter, since, though it was horrific, his Mother had made sure that he was packed full of every piece of magic that he would need to know.

And something like this, he found, was impossible to leave out.

Especially for her, who expected perfection, even from the children she deemed useless.

He looked back. The Male Mage who had shouted, had bloody red eyes, and was casting spells quickly. 

Three and four spells at a time.

A Master? 

His expression fell slightly.

There had never been a Master here. And red eyes… where…

Argo gripped the dagger tightly, and cut his palm open. He grit his teeth. The pain was vile, as the dagger was enchanted with pain amplification, a sick enchantment that existed in his dreams, though he'd never heard of it in the waking world.

But it was enough to bring him out of the sudden cloudiness. 

He had not been trained for this. But he had also never been trained to survive in a pipe going breakneck down in freezing water.

He would simply have to make do.

He controlled his breathing, to slow his heart beat down as far as possible, and while the red eyed mage was focused on the horde of demons pushing forward, he bloodied his own face and body.

The tome laid open beside him. It was a gamble. But, with his mind forcefully cleared by the daggers pain, he knew that the source of these changes, had to be nearby.

And the prime suspect, was the one who had spoken the new phrase. 

"Stand up, we are moving." Another new voice line?

Did it want to bring him somewhere? Perhaps, a place prepared just for him. Apart of him was curious, what it could cook up, in this limited space.

But, he didn't fancy the thought of actually finding out.

"I know your aren't dead. Stand up!" He heard it's steps and tracked it through sound, until it was right in front of him. 

His eyes flew open.

The tome flashed a bright light! 

The red eyed mage took a step back, covering it's eyes! 

Blinding Truth, a spell meant to reveal illusions. He always used this spell, at the start of this dream, to prove the true identity of the dead woman, and to rid the palace of it's intruders, before the real invasion could begin.

The Red Eyed Mage blinked in and out of existence.

At one point, it was a muscular mass of black flesh, with bat-like wings and claws, with an elongated, but sharp predatory face and eyes, and at the next, it was a thinner, aggressive mage.

He threw the magic dagger with pin point accuracy.

He knew he was inside of this things ability for certain now. If not for the slight mistakes it had made, then, he would have continued in this place, without knowing.

However, he also knew now, that this place was not completely under it's control. It too, was subject to the laws of his dream.

If it had just, not interfered, then, it's chance would have come.

But it was looking for results too quickly.

Which told him that the situation outside was not looking good for it.

It needed him dead. Were the soldiers and mages outside rallying around him? Did it think that if he died, they would suddenly forget how to fight?

In a world of Monster's, without a leader, they would fall apart. Unfortunately for it, that logic did not apply to humans.

When the Magic Dagger struck it, it let loose a guttural scream, and Argo saw red hair, for a brief moment, and the ceiling of a cave.

The illusion was breaking.

What had brought him in here?

What was the trigger? He needed to figure it out fast. In this place where he couldn't know anything, and the battle raged around his very much alive body, there was too much risk.

What was the last thing that had happened? 

Argo turned the pages of the tome as he pressed his back to the wall of the cell. He'd never still been in the cell, for this part of the dream.

The wall exploded! With four arms and a body covered in scars, a monster with an eagles head and the body of a man, with the legs of a centaur, broke past, though it's beak had been torn off! 

It slammed into the howling red eyed creature, and Argo fell backwards!

The prison was a tall one, it was one amongst four towers, which held the absolute worst criminals in this city. 

He looked down, as he fell the hundreds of feet down. He flipped through the tome as quickly as possible, he wouldn't have made it, if he didn't know where the spell was to begin with.

Levitate. 

A normally useless spell, since one couldn't move, only hovering in the air, locked there, it was what he needed most. His blood seeped into the tome, and the magic inside activated.

The tome could only be activated a few times, and only for useless spells like these, so there was no mage lightning, with required a great deal of mana, he already began preparing the next spell.

Trying to time the spell, he felt a chill run up his spine and looked back. That furious ball of pitch black hide and muscle was diving towards him with it's mouth open, fangs out and claws wide ready to catch and eviscerate him! 

He cast levitate way before hitting the ground, and the red eyed monsters slammed straight into him, shattering the levitate spell directly! 

Argo already had his hand on the magic dagger, and pulled it out! The red eyed creature's claws on the ends of it's wings tore into his body, and it's massive maw bit into him, rending flesh! 

Argo instantly lost the use of his left arm, but his other arm, with the dagger in it, found it's way into it's body! 

It froze from the pain, and Argo stabbed it again! And again! It's legs kicked him off of it, which caused it to slam into the tower while Argo was sent flying horizontally! 

The tome which was in the hand he couldn't feel anymore, had already started casting the next spell, when he activated levitate. 

The red eyed monsters slowly rose to his feet, and looked down.

The tome was stabbed into it's chest, and was soaking in it's blood.

A bright flash consumed the area. 

Impact Magic.

Not to be mistaken with explosion magic, impact magic was not a spread out burst of magic that destroyed an area, but a compact heavy strike that kept all of it's power in a single place, effectively multiplying the strength.

It was no beginner spell, however, the blood of the creature, was no mundane blood. 

His whole head pounded like he'd been hit by a sledge hammer a few times. And the world before his very eyes, shattered like glass! 

Argo saw red hair over him, and healing magic pouring into his body. It was painful, and cold.

The next of his senses to return was his hearing, after his sight. The sounds of bones being crushed was a little further away. 

Steel was clashing with claws. 

He could smell the scent of freshly drawn blood, and taste the iron in the air. 

He turned his sight to the ceiling. A pair of crisp red eyes starred back down at him.

So it had survived his little trick? It looked quite upset. 

Argo's eyes curved slightly, as he started laughing at it. It had used it's ability, and had been outclassed.

A complete and utterly shameful display. 

It was both a mental ware fare tactic… and because he just didn't have any other way to respond, than to laugh like a maniac.

It was just, too funny. 

He couldn't help but laugh until he started coughing, and then laugh some more. Amidst the chaos of the battle, he alone, was laughing.

Red stared at him strangely, had he gone completely mad in this situation?

She followed his gaze upwards. Her heart fell into her stomach.

She knew before her mind could tell her. 

She was not looking at a mere monster. 

It was… a Defiled being.

A creature that had found it's fixation, and was seeking out the next. And though she did not know what it was.

She could not help, but shiver.

The words rattled out of her mouth like a stone skipping water, "...Defiled… There is… a Defiled! Defiled above! Barriers! BARRIERS!" 

Lucian turned around, his eyes wide. He had not been able to see it before, but now, that it had been pointed out, it was as if the veil had been lifted.

A monster that inhabited the dark corners of the cavern, able to completely hide away from their senses, even the sense of Master Murphy could not catch it.

What had broken it's illusion?

He didn't know, and didn't have time to figure out.

A Defiled was equal to a Low to High Rank of any of the three Disciplines. It was not a being that could be at all taken lightly.

With the Rock Eaters gone due to the Dragon's Breath, their was no more need to fear the stones, and so, at his cast, the other mages all followed along quickly for their lives.

They were all tired, and anyone who fell behind, could be caught and killed by any random thing.

Lucian couldn't take his eyes off it. But also couldn't stop hearing that infernal laughing. Why was he laughing? 

What was so damn funny? 

Lucian's jaw tightened, "Prepare to shoot it down! Cover for our Soldiers!" 

"...Don't." Lucian's pupils shrank.

He spun around. Argo was standing behind him, with a sharp gaze. His eyes had an amethyst hue hidden far away. 

Argo raised a finger to his mouth.

Lucian swallowed slightly, and looked around.

Everyone was catatonic, except for the Undead.

Had they been caught in the Defiled' ability? Yet, as he was contemplating what to do next, he heard that laughing again. 

His mind stuttered. Wasn't Argo on the ground, recovering? He took a closer look at this helmeted figure… who was this? 

He roused his mana! 

It was wrong! 

His vision was as though paint had been splashed against it, and was being wiped away! He grit his teeth.

How dare a mere monster, that had been driven back into this ancient place, try and take over his mind!? 

"FIRE!" Lucian raised his hand, and cast icicles! 

His shout imbued with magic rapped against the tethering's of magic coming from that red eyed monster, and though it was weaker, it was enough to stir some of them awake. 

Alongside Argo's laughing, Lucian was able to discern when something was fake or not, from whether or not he could hear it. 

The Defiled monster dashed across the ceiling, it's climbing skills beyond super human, as it seemed to cover over thirty meters in a matter of seconds.

Lucian's fire ball missed. 

But, the fog in his head completely dispersed, when the thing moved. 

"It can't use it's ability if it has to move! Concentrate fire!" Lucian summoned forth the last parts of his power. 

He couldn't keep it up for much longer. But… the other Mages had woken up now.

The sky was a hail of different magics, all seeking to rip the life from that Defiled Monster, but it's movements were beyond agile! 

It would be a challenge for a Knight to do those kinds of movements, and so swiftly, on the ground, let along for it to be doing that on a ceiling upside down.

Lucian's ears twitched. The laughter had stopped. He turned, and saw that Argo had stood up. And was till chuckling slightly, and then looked up and saw the Defiled was still on the move.

It was not an illusion.

"Don't all aim for it. Aim for the area around it." Argo looked up, his voice giving out that simple command.

Lucian didn't know who this was, or why, but… he was willing to follow.

"You heard him! Do it!" Lucian raised his voice! 

Argo looked around, the soldiers were still on edge, but the battle on the ground was quickly coming to an end. Some of the monsters had begun fighting against each other.

The control of the Defiled was slipping now that it had been revealed.

"Gather yourselves," Argo found his sword, on the ground nearby, and picked it up, "We will be slaying a Defiled soon." 

Red stared at him.

He looked like he'd been torn straight from the pages of a Dumbaran Fairytale.

Argo rested his sword on his shoulder, and let his hand rest, holding the collar of his armor. His muscles hurt, and he was trying to stretch the ones in his forearms most, since he could hardly feel them anymore.

The backlash of the impacts he had been receiving back to back to back, had numbed them greatly, and he wanted the blood to start flowing again.

The Defiled was suffering greatly under the new attack pattern, and after a few minutes of continuous fire, which had all but exhausted every last strand of magic from the mages, it had lost any purchase around it to keep dodging.

Argo tried to keep his sanity in tact, and his feet under him.

Is this how it felt to go mad? Everything hurt terribly. He could hardly feel his body, and his mind, he didn't know if it was magic, or exhaustion, but everything was light.

Nothing felt like it was too far or too much.

The tethering's of magic around Red, were done, right on time as well.

He looked up at the Defiled, and it looked down at him.

A grin slowly split his face from ear to ear.

His lips moved with relish.

"...Bring it down."