New Quest!

  Dispatch the Rillon Brothers

  The Rillon goons have been a thorn in your side since arriving on the planet. Thorns are best dealt with by eradicating the plant from the root.

  Reward:

  10x gold obols

  5000 experience

  Miles grunted as he lurched forward. Gerty’s plated hide cracked with the force of the jump and shifted enough that Greg hopped off before he could lose his balance. Even without the additional incentive, Miles Rillon would not be coming back to life this time. The only downside was their ringleader didn’t seem to be present. Aside the portal found within the family’s warehouse, Greg had no way to link them to whatever sick experiments Kael was doing. When the authority he was reporting to was a god that presumably already had all the necessary information, the burden of evidence seemed less important.

  Greg met Miles where he landed, a cloud of bone dust and dirt obscuring the area. Greg drove Light Drinker forward regardless in an attempt to end the fight as early as possible. The distinct feeling of wood colliding with his blade reverberated through his hand and wrist, and he ducked on instinct, expecting a counterstrike. Greg fell back until he was no longer in the plume of remains and dirt, blinding white arrows whizzing past and taking his place.

  The blue glow dulled only slightly as Miles trudged through the cloud in his direction, a buckler covering one forearm and a longsword in his other hand. The wound in his chest had almost completely closed, but he now had three smaller wounds that spouted mist rather than blood from being peppered with arrows.

  “Horatio said to bring back your balls.” Miles tapped the shield with his sword as he cracked his neck. “I’ll send my apologies to the gods for desecrating your corpse.”

  Greg gave a wild grin, bringing his hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please tell me you’re going to monologue. I love a good villainous speech.” Greg ducked under a wild swing and brought his rapier up, carving into his forearm with a flame strike to apply a stack of burning blood and boost his volatility over thirty.

  Volatility: 31 of 100

  Divine Resonance: 8 of 100

  Demonic Resonance: 9 of 100

  Ashland’s Veil was the new ability he’d unlocked through Brannoc’s gifted leather duster, and it did not disappoint. It flared out the moment he appeared behind Miles, and, as if a wildfire had just been put out in his place, smoke and ash filled the space around him. Breathing was still an issue, but the same could be said for his opponent who matched his hacking cough. The major difference, however, was his uninhibited vision through the dense black and gray cloud.

  Miles swung his sword in a wild panic, tripping over his own feet as he fled from the cloud. Five more solid strikes, alternating between radiant and flame, built up his volatility again. The moment his opponent breached the edge of the noxious field, he stepped again, landing in front of him this time. Greg had just enough time to refill his lungs and drive his elbow into the solar plexus of the much taller man before the smoke swallowed them again.

  To his credit, the goon Rillon took quite a beating, but fighting blind and suffocated was enough to bring him to his knees. Greg planted a boot in his back, sending him toppling forward into a somersault before ending up on his face a few feet outside what had quickly become a field of smoke.

  The earliest of his clouds was finally dissipating, giving him a good idea of the timing on them. Good information to have. He stepped out of the cloud himself and glanced over at Autumn. She had Goon One pinned against the wood barricade, slamming his face into it as blue mist whistled from a dozen tiny holes.

  Overheated blood mixed with the cold gas shooting through numerous puncture wounds and deep cuts all over Miles’ body, creating an oddly beautiful purple mist that hung over him for a moment before vanishing. Greg took a moment to regain his own composure and control over his breathing before kneeling down to flip the giant onto his back. In what would be his final act of desperation, Miles flung his arm up as he flipped.

  He’d been just a smidge too slow. Greg’s free hand came out to catch the shield before it collided with his face, but the three fingered grip he was able to establish was not enough. White hot pain shot through his hand to his elbow as the still sensitive nubs caught every ounce of force and his wrist spun. The outer steel band collided with his mouth and then nose, and the world went dark for a split second as he fell back.

  The world was still dark, but Greg could feel the man struggling to climb up his body. He must have lost his sword at some point, because every second or so he’d feel the blunt force of the titanblood slamming his fist into him before he climbed further up. A moment later, the coppery scent of blood was hovering over him. Something more closely resembling an anvil than a fist collided with his face.

  “Run now, you slippery little bitch.” Miles hit him again.

  And again.

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  And again.

  Somewhere in the distance, behind the sharp whine that was dominating his hearing at the moment, he heard Seraphae call his name. Followed by several grunts and sharp thuds as what he assumed were arrows dug into the shield and body of his attacker. The beating slowed enough for him to open his eyes and check his gauges.

  Volatility: 31 of 100

  Divine Resonance: 25 of 100

  Demonic Resonance: 22 of 100

  The pained expression on Miles Rillon’s face was obstructing what would have been a beautiful, clear blue sky. Not something he got a lot of anymore under the heavy fog of Rhobair. The shadow of another meaty punch shaded his eyes, and Greg grinned. As blood eked from the corners of his mouth, he activated Ruin Edict.

  Ruin Edict

  Level 2: 18 of 1000

  Execute the will of the gods at any cost

  After eclipsing forty resonance, you may choose to convert all resonance into volatility after a delay. This will heal any non-lethal wounds and temporarily double your strength, dexterity, constitution, and luck for a limited time. Dominant resonance at the time of using Ruin Edict determines additional effects.

  Cooldown: Long rest (minimum eight hours)

  Divine Activation:

  -Wounds freeze over with crystalline ice

  -Radiate bright light

  -Immunity to fear and charm effects

  Decrease all Resonance to 0

  Lasts 2 second per 1 resonance

  After the effect ends, increase volatility by half the amount of total purged resonance.

  He planted his feet and thrust his hips up as hard as his increased power would let him. The titanblood weighed a ton, but Miles was on his last legs and Greg had just juiced himself with god-powered adrenaline. The cuts on his cheeks and over his eye froze shut as he brought his knees to his chest and then sprung to his feet.

  Miles had landed on his face, skidding through the dirt and bone dust a few feet before slumping into a heap. Whatever fight he had in him was surely gone, but just in case, Greg gave himself a running start and delivered a vicious kick to his ribs, resulting in an echoing crack. He let out a low gurgling groan and collapsed.

  A sudden shift happened once the superficial wounds on his face froze over. The power coursing through his veins was searching for fresh wounds. Severe wounds. It didn’t take long to find the worst of them. Ordinary wounds always had a bit of a stinging sensation, but when his body recognized the missing digits, the burst healing effect the edict provided must have focused solely on them. Greg doubled over, holding his stinging nubs to his chest as the active freezing effect stitched together the still sensitive skin around them. A veritable fountain of profanity spewed from his mouth.

  The pain eventually dulled to barely tolerable, and he straightened enough to check the damage. Ruin Edict had ripped what skin remained from the exposed bones of his fingers and was trying to regrow them with perfect crystalline ice. If that wasn’t enough of a shit show, the flaps of skin were trying to stretch and meld with the psuedo-fingers.

  “Are you alright!?” Seraphae slid to a stop beside him and then recoiled at the sight. “Mother Below…” she muttered.

  Greg growled and flexed his hand. The icy fingers tried to flex as well, snapping in the center and immediately starting to regrow again, which kick started the pain all over. “Fuck me!” he snapped, curling in on himself again. “Just…raaaaaah! Make sure that fuck isn’t dead!” Greg snapped as he dropped to his knees.

  Once the buff faded, his icy fingers melted away, leaving him with exposed bone and flaps of flesh and skin struggling to shrink back down to normal size. Surprisingly enough, that pain was much more manageable than his body trying to grow new ones. It took a few minutes, but eventually he was able to rock back onto his feet and stand on his own again.

  “He’s not going to last long.” Seraphae said, hovering over Miles’ Rillon’s gasping form. “Whatever you need him for, make it quick.”

  He’d only now registered Autumn had been crouched over him, a concerned look on her face. As he closed the distance and crouched over Miles, for some reason his eyes flicked up to her again. She was watching him close. Waiting to see what he was going to do. He took a deep breath and bit his bottom lip for just a moment before reaching out and turning Miles’ head in his direction.

  “You’re dying…again. Nobody is here to bring you back this time.” Greg rolled his eyes as the man tried and failed to spit at him, dribble falling down his own chin and onto his neck. “Answer my questions and I’ll make it quick.”

  “Fuck…off.” Miles croaked out at him.

  “Horatio sent you out here to die. All I want to know is if the buck stops with him. How high up does the Frost go?” Greg reached to his hip where Light Drinker had found its way back to the sheath and drew it. “I’ll show you the mercy he didn’t. Or you can slowly suffocate to death.”

  Blood bubbled over his teeth as Miles struggled to laugh. “Uncle Laurent would see me tortured in the Fields of Atonement if I rolled over on the family.”

  “So your uncle does know about it?” Greg raised an eyebrow. His eyes went wide, mouth agape, and like a man who’d just been cornered into committing an atrocity, started porky-pigging over his words.

  “No—I didn’t—You said…” He coughed hard, a purple bubble of blood blowing up from his nostril.

  “Thanks, Miles. Sorry you and your family are assholes, good luck in the next life.” Greg swallowed and quickly pushed the tip of his rapier between his ribs. His eyes locked with Greg’s as he attempted to take in a sharp breath, but found his lungs no longer sufficient. Slowly, Miles’ chest fell, and one final gentle reverberation resonated through Light Drinker into his hand.

  Auto-loot: Enabled

  Looting…

  15x gold obols added to inventory

  1x iron longsword added to inventory

  1x enchanted padded leather armor added to inventory

  1x enchanted hidden buckler added to inventory

  1x 3-gram bag of purified Frost added to inventory

  Quest complete!

  Dispatch the Rillon Brothers

  Reward:

  10x gold obols

  5000 experience

  Greg frowned, staring down at the man as the magical auto-loot disrobed him to undershirt dyed purple by his blood. The Frost in his system made his abilities treat him like he wasn’t a person anymore, but in the end he tried to protect his family. He was an idiot about it… but a monster wouldn’t have bothered.

  “Are you alright?” Autumn’s hand draped across his shoulder, fingers gently flexing into it.

  He glanced up at her, surprised to find his eyes a little misty. He gave a quick nod. “Fine. We should do something with the murmox…doesn’t feel right leaving them in the necromancer bonefield.”