Chaos In Vyolmir (7)

"To think you'd force my hand to use this," Dareth said, his voice low and grim, a note of reverence beneath the menace.

He whistled softly—an eerie, hollow sound—and his own staff spun upright before stabbing directly into his chest.

Unfazed, he raised his arms as if embracing the very void itself.

"I call forth your power, O God of Death and Life," he intoned, ancient words laced with sacrificial weight. "Grant me your strength in exchange for my right to enter the afterlife. Allow me to become your vassal. I, Dareth Dormundgrant."

Volhcard's eyes widened in horror.

"No... he's invoking the forbidden rite," he breathed. Then he raised his staff high. "With the power of the Almighty Glorious Life—protect them all… Morduun!"

A radiant barrier of pure light erupted around Theo, Jae, Idol, and the others. It shimmered like a living sun, repelling the creeping tendrils of darkness that began to seep into the chamber.

And then—darkness swallowed Dareth whole.

The entire structure trembled as a suffocating miasma rolled out from the center of the ritual. The walls groaned, frost and flame cracking from the sudden pressure shift. An otherworldly hum filled the air, low and dreadful, as if existence itself shivered under the weight of what was being summoned.

Outside the building, a massive serpent-like lizard coiled lazily around the structure stirred, its ancient eyes blinking open. Perched calmly atop its head was Aldir, arms crossed.

He gazed at the creeping black mist with a glimmer of amusement.

"So… the Ritual of Ascension," Aldir mused. "To become a Demigod of Death… and take the title of the Lord of Miasma. Well, Dareth. Perhaps you do have a chance to win, after all."

He chuckled to himself and sat back down, legs folded, cloak rustling in the wind. His eyes closed, and he let his thoughts drift, reminiscing about ages long past—when gods still walked freely among men.

Back inside, the darkness slowly receded… revealing something monstrous.

Where Dareth once stood was now a towering figure, nearly thirteen feet tall. His robe had fused with his body, woven into his very flesh, now hardened like blackened bark. Dark thorns jutted from his shoulders, twisting like living obsidian. A perpetual shroud of miasma clung to his back, following his every movement like an extension of his will.

His skull had sharpened and grown denser, jagged with runic carvings and cracks glowing with necrotic energy. From his hollow sockets, a noxious purple ichor wept, spilling onto the floor with each breath.

The stench was unbearable—a vile mixture of rot, old blood, and grave dust.

He stepped forward, his footfalls warping the very stone beneath them.

"With this form," he rasped, his voice now a layered echo, as if a thousand whispers spoke at once, "I will ensure that your sacrifices are not in vain."

Volhcard gritted his teeth, fury and disgust boiling in his chest.

"You dare use this accursed form in front of a servant of the Almighty Glorious Life?! This is heresy beyond words!"

He raised his staff and slammed it into the ground.

Beams of divine light shot upward, exploding from the floor like spears of judgment, each one racing toward Dareth's corrupted form.

But with a slow, almost dismissive wave of his left hand, Dareth extinguished them. The holy beams unraveled midair, their brilliance snuffed out like dying candles.

Volhcard took a trembling step back, gripping his staff tighter.

Dareth just smiled—if a skeleton like him could.

This battle had entered a new stage.

And death… now walked the battlefield.

Dareth slowly raised his hand, miasma spiraling up his arm like a living shadow. With a crackling hiss, it compressed into a glowing beam of pure corruption before launching forward like a cursed spear.

"Shit!" Theo cursed, instinctively dashing toward Volhcard, but the beam was too fast.

There wasn't enough time.

Just as the blast was about to rip through the dwarf, a flash of steel cleaved through the air. The beam was sliced in half—disintegrating into black mist before it could touch him.

Standing between Volhcard and the attack was none other than Yuni.

Her armor was scorched and battered, her body bleeding from several wounds, but her grip on the blood-slick katana was firm. The blade hummed with ethereal energy, held steady in a reverse grip as she aimed it directly at Dareth.

"Took you long enough," Volhcard muttered, blinking in shock.

"Sorry we're late!" a familiar voice called out.

From the left entrance, Aralia came into view, waving one arm while her other hand dragged a black skeletal arm behind her before letting go of it.

Atop her head was Sticky, gurgling cheerfully. Behind them lay piles of shattered black skeletons, twisted heaps of bone and armor, including one massive corpse nearly thirteen feet tall.

"Yo, dwarf," Yuni called over her shoulder, eyes still locked on Dareth. "Sorry about earlier. Do I have your permission to take your shitty master down?"

Volhcard exhaled a breath, then smirked. "Go for it, you reckless cannon."

He raised his staff, letting golden light flow forth. Streams of radiant energy swirled around Yuni, knitting her torn flesh, sealing her deeper wounds, and recharging her stamina.

Yuni inhaled sharply, feeling strength surge back into her limbs. Her crimson eyes narrowed as she took one step forward.

Dareth's form twisted slightly.

"We shall see, Lord Commander," he rasped.

The miasma behind his shoulders pulsed like a living organ before it exploded outward. Dark tentacles of smoke and shadow unfurled and launched at Yuni with terrifying speed, like serpents seeking flesh.

With a roar, she skidded forward, twisting her body mid-movement. Her katana sliced in clean arcs, cleaving through the tendrils one by one. Each strike shimmered with barely contained spiritual force, severing the miasma before it could regenerate.

Sparks burst around her feet as she kicked off again, closing the distance between her and Dareth.

"That's... a new weapon," Theo muttered, walking over beside Aralia with wide eyes. "Where the hell did she get that katana?"

Aralia grinned and nudged him with her elbow. "Secret vault in one of the rooms we entered."

Sticky hopped down from her head, landing with a soft plop, and gurgled loudly.

"Talk later. Big scary problem now."

Dareth extended both arms, miasma swirling around him like a cyclone. With every step Yuni took forward, the shadows twisted and warped, forming claws, jaws, and misshapen weapons—but she didn't slow. She weaved through them like a dancer through falling debris, her blade flashing with light and fury.

Volhcard backed away, catching his breath as he watched her.

"That katana… it's responding to her Mana. No, not just that—it's amplifying it."

Jae, still recovering nearby, leaned on Idol's shoulder. "She's really going toe-to-toe with that monster…"

"Hell yeah she is," Theo said with a crooked grin, watching Yuni charge headfirst into the swirling storm of death.

The battle was far from over—but for the first time since Dareth transformed, hope returned to the battlefield.

Aralia unsheathed the greatsword from her back, its massive silver edge gleaming under the corrupted light. With a burst of mana under her boots, she shot forward like a meteor, kicking up dust and debris behind her.

Seeing this, Dareth extended his hand. The miasma around him surged violently before launching a barrage of crackling black beams toward her.

Aralia didn't falter. With practiced precision, she swung the greatsword in wide arcs, cleaving through the beams like they were threads of smoke. Each strike sent out a shockwave that parted the surrounding darkness.

From a distance, Theo took aim with his blunderbuss, loading an enchanted shell. Beside him, Volhcard raised his staff and slammed it into the ground.

"Bind him... Morduun!"

Whips of divine light erupted from the floor, snapping through the air with divine speed. They wrapped around Dareth's limbs, torso, and throat—locking him in place with radiant chains.

Jae let out a growl that deepened into a roar as flames engulfed her body. Her form twisted and transformed into a blazing wyvern. With a thunderous screech, she launched herself at Dareth, her left claw crashing down onto him and pinning his legs.

Idol followed close behind, leaping into the air and slamming both of his mechanical axes into Dareth's chest. Sparks and bits of corrupted bone flew out from the impact.

Not far behind, Sticky let out a deep gurgle before splitting into five miniature versions of himself. Each one skittered across the battlefield, using thin black tentacles to latch onto Dareth, clinging and tugging at the miasma that enveloped him.

Despite the coordinated assault, Dareth remained eerily calm. He looked down at them through his cracked skull mask, voice echoing with grim certainty.

"All of this... and it still won't be enough to defeat Aldir."

With a guttural scream, the darkness around him exploded into a blinding flare. It pulsed outward like a black sun, searing the air and scorching the group's skin. Idol's armor hissed as it began to melt under the intensity, parts of his mechanical frame twisting and warping.

But no one backed down.

Yuni burst through the burning veil, katana raised high. She slammed the blade into his chest, driving it deep. Then, with a sharp cry, she leapt into the air—dragging the blade upward through bone and cursed flesh, splitting Dareth's chest open and cleaving all the way to his skull.

"Alright! Rat, you're up!" she shouted midair as she flipped backward, landing with a skid across the stone.

High above, Aralia had already launched herself with a wind-powered jump. Gripping the greatsword tightly in both hands, she brought it down like a divine judgment. The blade struck Dareth with a devastating crash, the impact cracking the floor beneath them and sending out a concussive shockwave.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield went still.

Then—slowly—the miasma around Dareth began to twist and churn again, wrapping around his ruined form like threads stitching a corpse together.

"Tch. This guy really doesn't stay down," Jae growled, wings flaring as she hovered in her wyvern form.

Dareth, still half-split open, let out a deep, gurgling breath. The darkness boiled within him, and his eye sockets flared once more with violet light.