Liquid Silver - Devil's Fire

"Who the hell puts Devils as the first mobs in a dungeon!" My voice echoed with my shout of disbelief but did nothing to halt the attacking entities.

Crouched on all fours, its upper limbs ending with palms and fingers like a human but having claws and the lower limbs of a wolf. A long whipping tail with barbs, spikes, and a question mark hooked ending. Four red demonic eyes, Three pointed black horns, and a human-like mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth but having longer canines. Their skin a scarlet hell red.

It wasn't their devil looks that aggravated me. But rather the fighting prowess. Unlike beasts, the things either struck with their weirdly colored bladed weapons like actual intelligent things or attacked with their claws, tail, fangs, and even horns. For their beastly mannerism, they were sufficiently intelligent.

CLANG

CLANG

CLANG

The screech of metal against definitely not metal echoed as I fought for my in-game life. It had been just as hard before with the original main lair in my first run. By refreshing, I had expected that with the knowledge of the lair, it would be a breeze and I could use the mobs to master my insights and increase proficiency.

Now. Not so much. I activated Killslot. Marking a troublesome deviling.

A hook sliced at my armor from behind sending me jolting forward with a spark. Upfront came the claws of another devil, my body instinctively ducked down as my blade flashed up. Two screeches of pain from the afflicted devils were like music to my ears as I fell back and rolled. My heart was beating harshly as I spun to face the attacker and the mark who was now double wounded thanks to my skill.

There was another already beside it ready to support. I could feel my body shivering. It felt like a one v four where I was barely good enough. My body retreated, sword striking out horizontally to create space.

Then it came. The sword in one of the devil's hands shrunk back into a ball and it tossed it at me with a sneer. Instinctively my left hand moved out glowing green. Earth rose with the movement to intercept the attack.

The explosion was huge, enough to send me flying back from the force and crashing down into another group. Luckily they hadn't expected it, therefore, saving me from getting impaled midair.

I was quick to get to my feet eyes moving about as I tried to atleast find a pattern or strategy in their attacks. As they came at me again.

I weaved and ducked. Winced at impacts, bit my lip to shake off the slight pain from attacks that got through my defense. Halfway through the fight, I was already incorporating earth like an extension of myself. I barely noticed.

If I did I would have realized I was mostly defensive. I waited for Killslot to get out of cool down before using it again marking a troublesome foe before slashing at a random devil. It was fun to watch the victim flailing about in pain and confusion.

The same attack came again and I moved the sword and turned the ball cutting through the air right past my face and leaving a tingling feeling on my cheeks.

PLOP

I cut done another Devil and leaped back from the retribution of the others. With another step back my body lost balance and my left foot entered something.

Hot lancing pain shot up my feet. A scream tore out my lips as I leaped away from the infliction.

My left boot was gone, my feet red, and the material up to my knees burned off. My eyes shot quickly to the spot I stepped in and I frowned. My eyes went to my feet as I sighed with the realization that yet again I had lost another starter gear. I was down to just one boot. My eyes went back to the pond.

What I had ignored as a pond was most definitely not a pond.

[Liquid Silver]

[A pond of Devil's fire. Neither unholy nor holy. A flame that burns even gods.

Effect 1 - Entities connected to the Liquid Silver wield devil's flame.

Effect 2 - True death to all who bear a touch]

I focused my attention this time on the silver liquid itself and not the entire pond.

[Devil's Fire]

[The antithesis to the divine. A god killer. Flames made by gods to kill gods]

Effect 1 - Purge of the holy and unholy.

Effect 2 - Bane of the divine

Effect 3 - Void Touch]

My eyes moved back to the devil's and quickly my heart beating harder made another appraisal of their swords.

[Devil's fire]

[Devil's Fire ]

"F*ck. You. Callisto"

Like the devils were angered at the name a screech resounded as they leaped forward all at once.

'Can't let that thing touch me.' My mind raced as I pondered on what to do. What did I need?

As the devils rushed at me, their black tongues lolling hit like rabid dogs, their red eyes fixed on me with a hunger I took a step back.

"Fuck this. I'm always being pushed back and ganged up on. I'm meant to be a creator for dev's sake. "

*****

Bali watched from above as his little kin harassed the divine before them. He could feel their hunger just as much as he could feel her terror.

Yet his hunger and desire were curbed by the conundrum before him. She was definitely divine. Or more. More. He couldn't place it. Yet it wasn't the more that bothered him. No. It was her mere presence. The divines, whether gods, deities, daemons, or divine beasts had been extinct for as long as he remembered.

The old flames and rubbles that brought a genocidal massacre of everything holy were still fresh in his mind. He couldn't forget after all it led to his current predicament. A prisoner in his home plane.

Bali spat with anger at the bitch that had made this possible. Yet he knew to direct his anger where it was meant to go.

'Jorner'.

His memory replay was halted as he noted a shift in the air. Bali for the first time in millennials felt uncomfortable. His eyes gazed down to see.

The Devils were all frozen mid-air, their eyes locked on the divine being before them. Their desire and hunger to consume and rip all that she was intensifying and egging them on as it should have.

The female was good. She had been able to cut many of his kind down. But still, it was inevitable that she would fall. After all, none could exist before the Liquid Silver.

I was a true God bane.

Yet what was this feeling? Bali looked on unsure before he saw it. His body froze his eyes widened and his lips trembled. Not from fear, no from an excitement long forgotten. For the first time in a millennial Bali saw what he desired. His hands tightened around his stone chair's armrest, a crack splitting the stone deep.

*****

In a dark space resembling a cavern, a white triangle with runes of three colors at its three points twinkled with light.

Yet it was the first rune which was of eight dark blue tentacles that lit up brighter than a star. A line of ethereal energy manifested out of it and rushed up into the darkness.

Its environment remained dark, yet its destination came to light. A colossal figure forged from the constellation of stars depicting a female floating in the dark. The line ran straight to the upper abdomen of the constellation. There another rune of a similar design lit up. If the first glowed brightly like a distant star then this one was as a full moon's glow.

The constellations that formed the colossal being lit in the glow of the rune like a series of lights getting activated all the way to its eyes which glowed blue like two pricks of a distant star.

*****

I didn't have any idea what I did, but it was a certainty that it was effective. My left arm was outstretched as the energy that built within me from my anger rushed out.

I detected what insight it was before it appeared.

Mellifluent.

But, it was nothing like the calm ebb and flow I had been practicing with.

No.

What showed itself was a wave. A white flood of raging water that sought to drown all who threatened me. The water was like a sentient being acting on its whim. And all it sought was a destruction that fire would be jealous of. To bring the wreckage to any in its path and to devour that which would defy its natural existence.

The Devils could only stare as the waters rose above them. It was a sight to behold. A huge tsunami of proportions originating from a little hand.

A grating screech broke the shocked silence as a deviling dove straight for me. His aim was obviously to take me out before my wave dropped.

The wave had different ideas. Like retribution from the enraged goddess, the wave descended. Faster than even the deviling was moving. The ground rumbled and the devilings screeched as water flooded the room. Sizzles and steam filled the room as everything was pushed back.

The water took everything away while kill notifications flooded my mail.

I stood there untouched as I cast my gaze across the room. The water was gone, settling into various crevices and cracks in the floor.

What was surprising though was the pond which once bore the liquid silver.

Gone was the Devil's fire. In its place splashed clear blue water. A simple appraisal got me one quick answer.

[Source Water]

Primordial waters. Pond containing water from the origin.

"That's it?" Shaking my head at the lack of information I turned to look around when a low wolf whistle accompanies by a screech of air from behind me had me rolling to my right.

A thud sounded like something hit the ground. Halting in a crouch I glared at the attacker before I hesitated.

Before me stood an 8ft devil. Draconic batlike wings covered in devil fire stretched out in all their glory behind him, his four tails lashing out in different directions. Red skin that rippled with lean muscles, only a loin cloth held by a belt covering his hips down to his thighs. His eyes unlike the feral ones of the now-dead devils gave off a feeling of intelligence. Black tongue exited his mouth to lick his lips as he strolled around me in circles.

Unlike the others, he stood straight on his wolf paws, claws that made me shudder as they reflected the glow of the devil's fire stretched from both paws and fingers. Something had me quickly activate my stream. I had a feeling about this. I just didn't know what.

"Fascinating," he whispered. His eyes twinkled as he looked me over like a foreign specimen.

"How long has it been since I saw a Creator god or goddess?". He continued bringing his claw to tap his really weird nose.

"Millennials now. " he cackled. "A good omen I say or is it a bad one?" he seemed genuinely puzzled before shrugging.

"Regardless. What brings you here.? I doubt it easy for you to access a separate plane from yours." he tilted his head in a very familiar way.

" No matter. A shame you had to meet me. Rest assured your existence will be known through all the Nether realms. Now, before you kindly die do tell. What is your name Creator goddess?"

I remained silent as I watched him thoroughly unsure of what to do. It was a certainty that he saw the wave yet he acts like it was nothing. Which meant only one thing.

He saw me as weak.

"Of course. How rude of me. Father always did say to never expect to be looked at favorably while remaining a mystery?" His lips stretched in a macabre manner.

"I Auzule Bali, Son of Ozdane the Sixth, Harbinger of the Nether realms, First guard of the Accursed gates greet thee." He made a splendid bow. "How, my dearest do you wish to meet your delightful end?"

Atleast now I knew what or who the lair got named after. I wasn't liking him one bit though.