Dashing through the smoke with [Hailrend] in his hand, Lauri cut through all the minions of the Weirwood he came across in his hunt for the Gate Guardian. Like a shooting star, Lauri shot through the dark, reappearing wherever he found a crowd of Nightmare Creatures, not wanting there to be even a chance that those fiends would come across his allies.
Spurred on by a growing anger within his chest, Lauri unleashed his wrath on the corrupted fiends.
Never allowing himself to be overwhelmed, he made frequent use of [Light Dash], appearing beside, behind, and in front of the Weirwood Saplings and Burgeoning Weirwood Wights, appearing in whichever direction would catch them off guard.
Despite having no mission, the Irregulars were now in far more danger than they had been seven days ago when they had first received their orders to deal with the bridges – no, before even that, since before the First Evacuation Army had arrived on the shores of Antarctica. Because without the rhino, they would be forced to march north to Falcon Scott on foot, through the growing number of Nightmare Gates, and the gathering swarms of Nightmare Creatures.
"Damn it all!"
Finishing off the latest swarm, Lauri slid to a stop in the slushy of snow mixed with ash. Lauri glanced at his left arm. The armour he had summoned was starting to become an annoyance, as it had been dangling about. The fingers of Lauri's left hand wiggled slightly due to Lauri directly controlling the light constructs that made the gauntlet.
After a moment of trying to manipulate the hand, he swore under his breath and dismissed all the constructs that made up his armour up to the elbow, where he summoned a plate to cover his stump.
'The control I have over my constructs is still too imprecise. How is my Ascended mind not enough? I don't have the focus to be able to manipulate the constructs forming the gauntlet as seamlessly as if it was my own hand.'
Seeing something lunge for him, Lauri tapped into [Light Dash] for a moment in order to evade the Sapling. After they passed through him, Lauri rematerialised and stabbed them through the chest. Kicking the corpse down, Lauri winced, feeling the influence of the nearby Nightmare Gate wash over him.
Turning in the direction he felt the nauseous sensation coming from, his emotionless face frowned beneath his helmet.
'I still can't believe this happened– a Nightmare Gate appearing in the middle of the rhino, that's just so… Unlucky…'
As Lauri thought this, a cold chill ran through his body.
Lauri tensed.
It wasn't a cold chill in the slightest – if anything, he was starting to feel warm. A sensation that had grown unfamiliar to Lauri over the course of the frigid Antarctic night. The snow beneath Lauri's feet began to melt as the source of the heat grew nearer and nearer. Turning slightly to the side, Lauri saw something.
His eyes locked on an amber glow that grew brighter as it filtered through the depths of the smoke – despite Lauri having been the one searching for the Gate Guardian, it seemed it had found him first.
Raising his arm to try and shield his face, Lauri unconsciously gritted his teeth as the intensity of the heat grew worse and worse with each passing second. Getting ready to move, Lauri pulled on [Well of Light] and isolated his body against the terrible heat.
As the Gate Guardian came into view, Lauri frowned in confusion.
It was a tree, one that had been cut at the base. From the angle Lauri could only assume from the angle he was seeing it, the tree seemed like a tangled mass of branches charred black by the flame that covered them. The insidious smoke that was blocking the Irregulars' view of the world drifted up from the inferno. Not content with being cut down, its branches dug into the dirt, pulling it across tree dragged itself across the ground at a frightening speed.
The tree itself was colossal in size, effortlessly dwarfing the rhino, and even the armoured train Lauri had ridden down from NQSC.
Summoning a storm of blades, Lauri's perception shifted, allowing him to gaze upon the darkness of its corrupted soul where he saw four cores consumed by corruption.
'A Fallen Devil, could be worse. As long as it's not another Tyrant…'
Firing a barrage of light blades at the Gate Guardian. Lauri tensed, raising [Hailrend].
As he expected, the burning tree was quick to respond to acknowledge Lauri's appearance. Almost in answer to the Ascended's opening assault, the branches that had been dragging the tree forward bent, snapping towards Lauri.
With the blades he had already fired, Lauri began to attack the branches. The sound of wood breaking filled the cold night as the smaller of the branches were diced into tinder. But the larger branches continued, largely indifferent to Lauri's attack.
Summoning a series of walls to stall its attack, the larger branches crashed through the walls, sending sparkles cascading outwards and into the cloud of ash. Lauri knew he could have stalled for longer, applying his soul essence and the light in his core to empower his constructs to resist the Fallen Devil's assault.
But he had no time for stalling; every second he wasted on the Gate Guardian was a second he wasn't by his friends' side.
'No time to waste then.'
As the final wall broke, essence surged through Lauri's body, filling his muscles as he met the branches head-on.
Striking the first branch, the branch was partially frozen as [Hailrend]'s enchantment took effect, as the cutlass bit deep into the carbonised wood, causing steam to explode outwards as the flame that danced across the tree surged back to reclaim its place on the branch. The attack did little to destroy the larger branch, serving more to divert it aside.
The second branch snaked through the air; this one was larger than the last, so diverting it was out of the question, so Lauri did the only thing he could think of. With no time to spare and with countless more branches bearing down on him, Lauri shifted his body, only avoiding the branch by no less than a hair as he felt the heat of the flames through his armour.
Manipulating his armour, Lauri rose, landing atop the flaming branch – instantly, Lauri was suffocated by the heat of the fire, the choking smoke as it filled his visor.
As if on instinct, Lauri's usage of [Well of Light] escalated. Light poured from his soul into his being at a greater magnitude than he had ever dared use the Aspect Ability before. It was as if he could physically feel the light draining from his Soul Core.
The light pouring from Lauri even pushed back against the Fallen Devil's machinations; the disruptive smoke and debilitating heat were quelled within a radius around the radiant Ascended.
Running along the length of the flaming branch, Lauri had enough room to move comfortably. The wood beneath his feet was broad and surprisingly steady, despite the flames that crawled along its surface.
For a moment, he thought he had found his footing.
Then the branch moved.
Its entire length groaned as the far end began to rise from the ground. Lauri's stomach lurched as the world tilted beneath him. Continuing at a run, it began to feel reminiscent of running up the base of a hill as the branch ahead of him bent upwards.
From the corner of his eye, Laur spotted a second branch swinging towards him.
Lauri threw himself sideways, stabbing [Hailrend] deep into the wood, barely having time to steady himself as another came hurtling from above.
He jumped.
His feet touched the next branch for less than a heartbeat before it twisted violently beneath him.
Lauri leapt again.
Another branch swept toward him, rotating his armour; Lauri's head was moved out of the way just in time, pushing off the branch before it could swing around to swat him out of the air.
Now that he was so close to the main body of the Gate Guardian, branches were rising all around him, twisting and curling through the air like enormous flaming serpents. Some stretched towards him deliberately, while others seemed to lash about without any pattern at all. Every one of them was a potential foothold – and every foothold lasted only an instant.
Lauri jumped from one to another.
Standing on two branches that had smashed together during the chaos, the branch beneath his left foot dropped away. He shifted his weight to the right, and then the branch beneath that foot suddenly swung upward at an incredible speed.
[Hailrend] was torn from his grasp as he was thrown into the air.
For a terrifying moment, despite trying to manipulate his armour, he was unable to change his angle or the speed of his momentum.
Lauri twisted his body and reached out; the fingertips of his gauntlet caught the edge of a branch. The sudden impact nearly tore his shoulder from its socket as he came to an abrupt stop. He hauled himself up just as another flaming branch smashed into the one he was clinging to.
The impact sent it spinning, forcing Lauri to scramble onto the top.
"This isn't getting me anywhere."
He growled to himself.
Seven branches all converged down on Lauri.
Raising his head, Lauri sighed.
Turning into light, Lauri shot directly upwards.
Despite the light shielding him, the moment he activated [Light's Dash], he felt an intense pain like fire lapping at his very soul. A pain he had attempted to avoid by approaching the Gate Guardian on foot, an attempt that was doomed to end in a fiery end.
[Light Dash] was a versatile ability, allowing Lauri to swiftly move around a battlefield, catch his opponent off guard or dodge certain attacks. But it was a double-edged sword, as when Lauri transformed into light, he had no physical form. Any damage that was managed to be dealt to Lauri during moments [Light Dash] was active was always going to be soul damage.
Bearing the pain, Lauri moved away from the branches and the fire, leaving the Gate Guardian within its smoke.
Rising higher and higher, a stream of light pierced the edge of the smoke, consolidating into the form of a man.
Lauri began to fall as he returned to his natural form. Instead of manipulating his armour, Lauri summoned a flat platform – which he collapsed onto. Writhing, Lauri dismissed his armour as he clawed at his chest, letting out a pained howl.
"AHH! Why! My soul!"
Rolling onto his knees, Lauri punched the platform. The pain in his fingers was nothing compared to the pain plaguing his very being.
"I was only exposed to the heat for a moment; it shouldn't have hurt that badly!"
His perception shifted, not to view the soul of another, but to view his own. Kneeling within his soul sanctuary. He raised his head to his soul. Lauri's face paled as he saw the state his own soul was in.
Great cracks ran through his soul – Lauri's soul that usually shone with such splendour, but now seemed so dark without the light that usually filled its depths.
"When did… How did…"
Looking at the cracks, Lauri racked his mind, trying to understand what had happened.
Where could he have dealt such damage to his soul?
Fighting the Festering Alpha was the last Nightmare Creature Lauri was aware of that could deal soul damage. Nightmare Creatures that could deal soul damage were few and far between; not even the Whispering King – paired with its insidious blade that could deftly destroy mountain ranges – had dealt any damage to Lauri's soul…..
Shaking his head, a faint smile twisted his aggrieved expression.
"When in doubt…"
Blue sparks filled the air, consolidating on the platform directly in front of Lauri.
"Send man's best friend to figure it out."
From the blue sparks, the Festering Alpha appeared.
Lauri cringed, looking at its wretched form, as the mighty hound took a step forward. The skin on its shoulder tore, allowing a veritable river of pus to dribble down its shoulder and onto the platform. Lauri had never noticed before, but the Festering Alpha was actually quite large. Nowhere near as large as the rhino, but if he were to command the Festering Alpha to rear up on its hind legs, it could easily stand taller than any human.
"Alright, mut."
Lauri created another set of his armour of light, a sword infused with essence and light for his one hand and a collar made of light for the Festering Alpha's neck.
"Go sing a pretty song."
The platform disappeared, causing the Festering Alpha to plunge down into the smoke.
About to follow, Lauri felt the call of the Nightmare Gate.
'Let's just finish this.'
Diving down, Lauri pulled on his meagre reserves of light to shield his soul. Before he had airdropped his Echo down to fight the Fallen Devil. Lauri had moved the platform so they were past the branches of the evil tree and above its trunk.
If Lauri had tried a day ago, he would have been unable to sense where his constructs were. But now, after taking a step toward mastering his aspect, he was able to sense the light construct he had put around the Festering Alpha's neck. Following it, he found the Festering Alpha atop the trunk of the Gate Guardian.
The Gate Guardian had yet to react to the presence of Lauri's Echo, not a mistake Lauri would let go without punishment.
The Festering Alpha raised its head and opened its jaws. The moment it began to howl, Lauri could hear something. Wind passed through the branches of the Fallen Devil, and to Lauri, it sounded like a scream.
Keeping his distance, Lauri could only barely hear the soul-rending howl of the Festering Alpha. But he could see the Gate Guardian react to the assault. Its branches bent backwards, points aimed at the putrid hound.
Summoning weapons, Lauri fuelled them with his essence.
The swords, axes, and spears tore into the large branches, and unlike before, the weapons did not simply shatter against the bark. They bit deep, cleaving through layers of twisted wood and sending splinters flying.
More branches came crashing down.
Lauri raised his hand.
A dome of radiant light formed over the Festering Alpha. Branches slammed into the barrier one after another, their weight causing the dome to tremble from the impact. As a particularly large branch was about to punch through the dome, Lauri summoned a rain of spears to redirect the attack. Another swept toward the dome from the side, only for a sword of light to flash into existence and sever it in two.
Then orange light flickered beneath the barrier.
Flames seeped through the gap between the dome and the tree's bark, crawling along the ground like something alive. They slipped beneath the dome and coiled around the Festering Alpha.
The creature burned.
Its mangy flesh blackened and peeled away, exposing muscle beneath. Yet the Alpha did not retreat; it had no concept of retreat. As an Echo, it could only follow its master's commands – and Lauri wouldn't hesitate to allow the Echo to be destroyed if it meant his Irregulars were protected from this threat.
It howled.
The sound tore through the battlefield.
Lauri's teeth clenched as the howl crashed against the light covering his soul.
The Festering Alpha's body continued to burn and continued to regenerate. Charred flesh bubbled and fell away, only for new, putrid tissue to crawl over the wounds moments later. Burns that should have crippled the creature vanished beneath rapidly reforming flesh.
The trees convulsed.
Their branches thrashed wildly, smashing against one another as cracks spread through their bark. The assault from Lauri's weapons continued, but now the trees were fighting against something far more fundamental.
Lauri saw that its Soul Cores were beginning to fracture.
The howl grew louder.
The fire that now covered the Festering Alpha seemed to grow in intensity, until the inside of the dome of light was an inferno. For a moment it seemed that the Gate Guardian would win, that its flames would win out over the regenerative power of the Ascended Tyrant.
Then one of the trees' Soul Cores shattered.
Its branches froze in midair before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
A second soul broke.
Then a third and lastly the fourth.
[You have slain a Fallen Devil, Weirwood's Everburn]
Lauri wished he could have heard the sound of the Everburn's cores shattering. It would have sounded beautiful.
The Gate Guardian had been relentless. Its defences indomitable, showing no obvious weakness; its offence was even greater. The countless burning branches it could use to attack. By himself, Lauri would have never managed to defeat it. But the Echo of the Festering Alpha was relentless too. Its [Festering Howl] attribute allowed it to bypass all defences and deal damage directly to the soul.
Reducing Everburn to little more than a small obstacle in Lauri's way.
He smiled, dismissing the Festering Alpha and [Hailrend], which had been thrown from his hand during the fight.
Wanting to get to his allies as soon as possible, Lauri activated [Light Dash]. Zipping through the smoke, Lauri felt a pain in his chest.
Suddenly, [Light Dash] abruptly ended. Returned to his human form, Lauri crashed into the ground. As he slid across the ground, Lauri understood immediately what had happened.
Slowly, he picked himself up onto his knees and let out a small laugh.
"Aha, ha. Couldn't have happened at a better time."
Lauri had used all the essence in his Soul Core, leaving him depleted of essence.
Which was fine; he had killed the Gate Guardian, surely there weren't many more of the Weirwood Saplings or the Burgeoning Weirwood Wights.
Lauri convinced himself that even if they were still lurking amongst the smoke, they would have all moved to attack his underlings where the Irregulars would have been able to deal with them.
"Yeah… Yeah, my friends are a-okay."
Huffing out a breath, Lauri felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he felt a presence appear behind him. Lauri's eyes went wide as he turned as fast as his essence-depleted body could move.
"Wait, no! Sha–"
An umbral blade pierced through his back.
The dark weapon erupted through his armour; the sparks that should have been produced were instead swallowed by the dark blade. Its tip dripped blood as it protruded from his waist. Lauri's body jolted from the impact, his breath catching in his throat.
A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder. It was undeniably human, but the hand was as dark as the night itself, its fingers sinking into the armour of his shoulder, the light dissolving within the darkness of its skin.
Lauri tried to move.
Tried to summon his light.
Nothing.
He had no essence.
The hand tightened, driving the blade deeper.
Pain tore through Lauri's body.
Then a voice spoke beside his ear – Lauri's own voice.
"Got ya."