Chapter 11: Eleven
Azael slowly craned his neck from side to side, the sound of it cracking stopping the horde of goblins in their tracks as he settled his weight to his left.
Glissandra leapt high into the air and he began speaking loudly, the words of magic filling his chest and bands of golden and purple light erupted from his back, wrapping around his arms and legs, drawing a collective hiss from the goblins.
Tossing his flask up into the air, he flicked his right wrist and a glowing golden pistol manifested there, its shape matching the other, but pulsing with power that made even the simple minded and normally fearless goblins step back.
As the gun formed, Glissandra landed in the middle of the pack, cracking the ground and sending the monsters flying into the air, screaming as they flew.
Within seconds, Azael had taken aim and fired dozens of shots, vaporizing the diminutive creatures with every shot, taking a step forward every time he fired until he was all the way down the stairs and underneath them.
Sickening dust covered him and he felt his heart start to race as he killed more and more, smiling wickedly as his partner followed suit, firing upwards with wild abandon, not even bothering to aim.
Without looking, he lowered his right arm and fired at a goblin that had sprouted from the ground and jumped at him, its blood stained teeth gnashing violently.
The dance went on this way for many long minutes, stretching onward to an hour of brutal massacre, and still they came, by the tens at first, but rapidly in the hundreds and Azael muttered another spell and the glowing gun developed a trace of red and its shots began exploding upon contact with the ichorous creatures.
Thousands of goblins died to his hands and still Ezekiel and Gemma hadn't returned, a thought that was cut short when several massive creatures climbed from the ground, their bulk killing several of their servants as they formed.
Massive red eyes the size of a human head and mouths so wide that they practically split their heads and uttered sickening words that hurt Azael's head to hear.
Language.
Interesting…nobody had ever mentioned goblins speaking.
A new evolution?
Making a mental note of this, Azael turned his attention to the first of the three Goblin Lords and channeled all of his magical energy into a single shot that burned its head clear from its shoulders.
As the body fell, the goblins surrounding it leapt into the corpse and began feeding on it, tearing flesh and organs free in a ravenous cannibalistic rage.
Glissandra followed suit and soon the second of the three Lords was being consumed.
Focusing to eradicate the final Lord, Azael raised his hand again and this time the creature raised a goblin it had grabbed up and intercepted his shot.
Its smile grew even wider and it threw the corpse at the duo.
The body decayed almost instantly as the creature spoke again, foul magic filling the air as it did.
Magic now?
The Lord stepped forward, its steps corrupting the very ground, spawning more goblins and killing the grass around its feet. It raised both hands as it walked and spoke, and sticky black hands rose from the ground, grasping Azael by the legs and pulling him down into the earth.
Firing wildly at the creature with his magical weapon, he tried to free himself from the hands with his other hand, only for the disgusting claws to grab that hand as well.
Within moments, he and Glissandra were pulled down to their shoulders, unable to move.
Their shots had done nothing to the Lord, sinking into his massive frame harmlessly, as though he were made of slime.
The smaller goblins backed away from them, leaving a wide margin for the Lord to approach.
Quiet overcame his mind as he resigned himself to his fate, pushing the horrid things that could be done to him and his partner from his thoughts.
Azael closed his eyes even as Glissandra screamed in terror, her voice soon going hoarse as the vile thing got closer.
Then, just as he'd accepted his impending doom…the spell released.
The hands grip on him released and the dirt spat him out as the sounds of chittering began to move away from him and they were left in total silence.
He breathed desperately, not even having realized he'd been holding his breath, when a gentle song danced on the wind.
Sang in offkey notes, it filled him with strength and vigor for a few moments before they began to fall apart, the words fading into pure music, perfectly on key…and familiar.
So familiar.
Opening his eyes, he felt as though he were going mad as he looked upward.
A feminine form stood upon the Lord's shoulders, but something was wrong with it.
It was bulky in places it should be smooth, textured in a way that the darkness made it difficult to see.
The song was coming from the form, even as it tore its face into the head of its prey.
Liquid flesh tore away from the Lord as the form fed, until it seemed to notice that Azael and Glissandra hadn't run away.
The world around it shook so hard that Azael was worried it would break apart with the force of its mere presence, and when it stood to its full seven foot form, lights from the statues flashed bright, hurting his eyes.
It spread its arms…its wings and the black liquid of the Lord slid slowly up its talons and legs, wrapping around it like oil given life, and it raised its head as it was covered, howling a single pure note.
Glissandra flickered like static and was suddenly in her smaller form, falling to the ground, but Azael didn't have time to worry about that as the monster had moved and was on him in an instant.
The face of the creature was familiar, similar, like seeing someone on the street one day and then seeing them somewhere else later.
Ribbons of torn flesh and cloth dangled loosely from its shoulders, and he was dangerously close to remembering where he'd seen the color of the fabric when it spun and struck him in the side with a talon that tore through his enchanted overcoat as though it weren't even there.
A twist of melody, a note spun strangely, and his head was pounding again, his vision flickering as the tune ravaged him.
The creature, this thing he'd never heard of, spun again, thrusting its face into his and the song changed again, climbing on the scale until he could barely process the sound.
Flapping her wings, she was several feet away, her song descending and ascending the scale and disorienting him, making it hard for him to remain standing.
Wetness dripped down his cheeks and he realized that his eyes were bleeding.
Dropping his gun and raising his hands to his ears, Azael fell to his knees as the ground wobbled like mud, threatening to claim him within its embrace again.
His mind was treacherously close to shattering, the sound driving him to the edges of sanity and madness again and again, and while he struggled to maintain his mind, the world around him seemed to endure a similar trial.
The ground changed color, benches grew eyes, the air was breathable one moment, poisonous the next.
Reality was breaking down around him and all Azael could do was let himself fall to the ground.
Lie down, he thought.
Lie down.
Anything is better than this.
Death is better than this.
Heavy sounds of flapping surrounded him as the creature hovered above him, preparing to feast once again.
A blast of pure white light pierced the wings of the thing that had so easily laid him low.
One of the statues, an archer, stood and stepped from its pedestal, an ear piercing sound erupting from its chest and words that Azael barely registered.
"Daughter of Grand Architect Seris, you are in violation of Divisional Code 6799 dash B, assault of a protected species, you are hereby ordered to vacate the area, or face eradication."
With the grinding sound of stone against stone, all of the statues stood at attention simultaneously and leveled gleaming weaponry at the monster, glowing with malicious light as they awaited the creature's response.
Spreading its enormous wingspan, the monster shrieked and flew at the archer that had shot it, a final choice that resulted in the archer unceremoniously firing another, significantly larger beam of light at it.
The blast of light turned the feminine creature into dust, and then that dust disappeared in the unforgiving beam of energy.
As the light dissipated, a voice spoke from a statue further beyond Azael's immediate sight, "Target eradicated. Return to ceremonial positioning."
The lights that the statues had been emitting flickered off and he heard the grinding sound again, blacking out as they returned to their pedestals.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone