Doomed to Die in 3 Minutes

Might VS Effect

The pitch-black moments before dawn illuminated only by the waning crescent moon, filled with only the sounds of feet of man and beast, was suddenly covered in fog that came out of nowhere, not a sign of warning or rain. It was as if the soldiers had simply walked into a whole other land. 

The rattling of chains. The sound of voices groaning, first as quiet as a whisper but steadily, slowly but surely, growing in volume. Glowing eyes that shone like exploding stars pierced the veil of grey and into the gazes of the common guards. 

Growling. The wind picking up. The sound of shattering glass, snapping twigs, scrapping feet against rock. Wet, dripping sounds, the rustling of something… no, many things crawling across the ground, leaving behind something bright red on the path they blazed through the mysterious mist enveloping their vision. It only took a few seconds for them to all come into view.

The dead. Some were seethrough visions of the deceased. Others were malformed moving corpses, others were bits and pieces of what was once human. Severed digits and limbs slowly approaching the carriage that carried the one responsible for demanding and executing their cruel and unwarranted deaths. In hushed voices that sounded like it was filtered with gurgling blood… “where… are… you…?” 

The common soldiers began to shake and tremble at the sight of a horde of those they had slain before rising and come for their lives. They gripped their spears tight. The zombies were frightening but were physical. They could be dealt with. The ghosts? No mere piece of sharp metal stuck to a stick would harm them. They needed a holy man to deal with such things and they knew they had no such thing. 

“Amplify.” A whisper from Corai as he tightened his fists. He remembered. He held it hard in his heart. His spectres began to scream out in high pitched wails. The names of their loved ones that they had been ripped away from. The names of their murderers, some the guards carrying out their unjust duties, some the three inhumane beings that worked under the lord, some cried for Lord Phonom’s head to replace their own missing ones, but the names that stung the most in the depths of the night were those of common civilians who were coerced into betraying and slaying their neighbours, friends, some even their families. 

This was the type of man the lord of this city was. The type of dictator that makes simple people living their everyday lives turn to common evil and devour one another simply for a chance to stay alive. Sometimes he’d kill them anyway just to rub salt in the wound. Sometimes he’d just let them stew in their sweat, adrenaline, and regret. To let the guillotine of their souls come crashing down as the weight of what they’ve done sever their souls from their bodies. 

Blood dripping from his right and left palms. He had pressed them in so hard his nails had pierced his flesh. Good, he thought. This small pain was nothing compared to the adversity these phantoms had felt. Sure, they weren’t really the spirits of the dead come back for vengeance… but so what? He would be their avatar until the job was done. A part of him was truly hoping that the lord would simply not surrender. He could just cast Doom and be done with this tyranny in three minutes flat, literally.

A scream of panic. A soldier stabs his spear into a zombie. Corai commands it to turn to dust upon contact. They had no physical form. This was truly a disadvantage because they could do nothing physical, it could easily be figured out as a ruse. Which is why…

“V...ennnn..gee...annn...cee...ee…!” He simply made it reappear some distance behind the one who slew it mere moments before. Perfect. The horde would appear invincible and rearrange positions to gradually surround and box in the targets. Lights began to flare up across the city as the commotion grew. Corai had also sent plenty of ghosts to walk around the outsides of the homes throughout the city. The panic began to overflow… but within it, there was a small hope beginning to flourish. Smiles. Smiles from the dead to their family and friends they had left behind. These gruesome ghastly visages would finally free them of the terror they had feared all their lives.

Corai would have to thank Olivia later. A lot of the sounds of things breaking in the background was thanks to her. The mist of his being reinforced with nature magic on her end helped it actually obscure view instead of causing an optical illusion, or rather they were layered on top of each other, making a double-stacked shield of misdirection. 

Then something disturbing happened. A humming sound came from the centre of the chaos, a young male voice. It sounded as if it did not have a single care in the world. In fact, it seemed happy. The lord of the city was within his carriage, faced with the faces of those he had killed and yet didn’t seem to be afraid of the circumstances unfolding around him in even the slightest measure. After his little tune finished… he spoke with a voice that demanded authority from others. “Dispel Magic.” 

A surge of mana was spread across the entire city. Corai was shocked at the sheer range of the spell, not many would cover such distance with any sort of magic, and on top of that cast it at such incredible speed that it was almost instantaneous, taking just about two seconds to cover the entire mass. Still, after a momentary surprise, Corai smiled. His magic effect stat was through the rough. Even if they had no power, they would not simply fade because a stronger mage willed it so. This was something he could be confidently proud of.

“Oh. Oh… ahaha… ahaha… hhahahaha…!” Thunderous laughter from the innards of the carriage, followed by even louder applause. “Oh, that’s rich! Okay then, is it really the dead coming for me? In that case, let’s try this! Expel Undead!” 

A flash of white light across the entire city. Again, no dice. It was a futile effort. This time because they simply weren’t real undead but he didn’t know that, but this was playing right into Corai’s hands. Now his army of the dead looked incredibly legitimate to anyone watching. “Oh, so that won’t work either? I understand then. Well, either the dead have really risen just for me and they can’t be stopped… which I very much doubt, or it’s a mage with some backbone. Either way, I find this most amusing. If they won’t break to dispel magic then let me play with this. Mystic Shot.” 

Spheres of blue magical energy materialised around the entire area and then rammed into the various phantoms with incredible speed and power, shattering them into nothing but air. A direct attack from a foreign magic force, that could indeed break these visions brought forth. This was categorised as a clash between magic power, not a contest of magical effects like when someone casts Dispel Magic, but it was nothing to worry about.

Corai simply recast the spectre again and again as soon as they were destroyed. An endless resurrection of fake corpses and spirits that only grew louder and more wrathful with each passing incarnation. It was a light show with an angry audience with a lust for revenge. If Phonom was going to try to destroy every single ghost, he would not have a good time for it. Corai had near endless MP. Another contest he could attempt to remove the spectres was not going to end in his favour… yet he began to laugh even louder and with far more mirth.

“Fantastic! Absolutely phenomenal! It’s been a while since someone had defied me so brazenly. I was getting quite bored lately, I should learn to leave a little fire left in the peons so they can give me a little sport from time to time. I know for sure now. You’re a caster. Daring to rile up the people to rise against me? Trying to make me back down with something that won’t fall to brute force? I do love a challenge. Men, do not worry. These things are just for show. No matter how real they look, and mind you I must applaud you on your stunning and accurate recreations; they cannot do any real damage to you. Perhaps a small cut at worst. Search for the mage doing this, and bring him alive, to me. Understand? Alive.” 

Shit. Corai grit his teeth. He understood now. His main target being a mage himself who knew how to use multiple spell types… he deduced the situation with a little bit of trial and error. 

The jig was up. The plan was ruined in mere minutes with whimsy and cunning. Corai attempted to make the phantoms attack. Olivia fired several wooden exploding arrows at the exact moments any of the spectres would strike…! The arrows turned into splinters and never even scraped their targets. “A barrier… when did he put that up? Chantless casting…” 

This was bad and it was only going to get worst. They had overplayed their hands.