Chapter 401
Another specialist named Vex’shira cast Corruption Nova—an area-effect spell that normally would fill the room with flesh-decaying energy. At one-tenth power, it manifested as a weak purple mist.
Seraphelle countered with Purification Circle. Golden light spread across the floor, burning away the corruption mist effortlessly.
Vex’shira tried to run, but Mikazelle’s dimensional barrier blocked the exit. She turned, desperate, trying to find another escape.
Rindelle’s second arrow caught her in the chest. Even without amplification, the shot was lethal at this range. Vex’shira fell.
The battle was a slaughter.
The corruption specialists were mages designed for coordinated large-scale spells, not close-quarters combat against heroes specifically trained to counter demonic forces.
At full power, fifty-three corruption specialists might have challenged the heroes. At one-tenth power under Gattychan’s suppression,they were dying in seconds.
But they fought anyway.
Because every second they kept the heroes here was a second the heroes weren’t killing settlement defenders at Third Line.
A specialist named Dreth’kor knew he was about to die. Gattychan’s blessed sword was coming for his throat. He had perhaps two seconds of life remaining.
He used those two seconds to cast one final spell through Seraphina’s network, broadcasting to all two hundred corruption specialists across all twenty positions:
"HEROES ARE HERE! POSITIONS ONE THROUGH THREE COMPROMISED! ALL OTHER POSITIONS, SCATTER AND DELAY! MAKE THEM HUNT US! BUY TIME FOR THE SETTLEMENT!"
Then Gattychan’s blade took his head.
First Three location - Two Minutes Total:
53 corruption specialists eliminatedHero casualties: 0 (minor magical damage absorbed by divine protection)Tactical result: Heroes confirmed location and began systematic elimination
But now the other one hundred forty-seven corruption specialists across seventeen remaining positions knew the heroes were coming.
And they made a tactical decision that would define the next few minutes of battle.
They didn’t run away from the settlement. They didn’t abandon their positions.
Instead, they scattered into different location and position, forcing the heroes to hunt them position by position, building by building, tunnel by tunnel.
Every minute the heroes spent hunting corruption specialists was a minute they weren’t deployed against settlement defenders at Third Line.
Position Four
Mikazelle’s spatial perception tracked the fleeing corruption specialists.
"I have them. Seventeen positions scattered across the settlement. Approximately eight to twelve specialists per position. They’re spreading out deliberately—forcing us to hunt them individually rather than eliminating them en masse."
"Then we hunt them," Gattychan said simply. His blessed sword was still glowing with holy light, dripping with demonic blood. "We kill every corruption specialist in this settlement. Systematically. Completely."
"That could take an hour or more," Seraphelle pointed out. "While we’re hunting mages, the main battle continues without our support."
"The main battle is already won," Gattychan replied with absolute certainty. "Commander Elric has twenty-one hundred soldiers against four hundred settlement defenders. The mathematics favor him overwhelmingly. Our mission is to eliminate the supernatural threat—the corruption specialists who can kill hundreds with single spells."
He wasn’t wrong strategically. The corruption specialists’ mass attack had killed two hundred forty-three soldiers in seconds. Left unchecked, they could cast similar spells repeatedly, inflicting catastrophic casualties.
"Next position," Gattychan commanded.
Mikazelle teleported them to Position Four, where eleven corruption specialists had taken refuge.
The battle repeated with brutal efficiency.
Gattychan’s Villain’s Bane suppressed their magic. Seraphelle’s Divine Smite killed several immediately. Mikazelle’s dimensional barriers prevented escape. Rindelle’s amplified arrows collapsed structures.
Eleven corruption specialists died in ninety seconds.
They fought. They tried every curse, every corruption spell, every desperate tactic they knew.
But fighting heroes at one-tenth power in close quarters was suicide.
A specialist named Vorth’mel managed to wound Seraphelle slightly—a corruption bolt that grazed her arm, burning through her divine protection momentarily. The wound sizzled with demonic energy.
Seraphelle healed it in three seconds with her 300% effectiveness healing magic.
Vorth’mel died to Gattychan’s sword before he could celebrate his small victory.
Position Four Results:
11 corruption specialists eliminatedHero casualties: 1 minor wound (immediately healed)Time elapsed: 90 seconds
"Next position," Gattychan ordered again.
Position Five. Position Six. Position Seven.
The heroes moved through the area like divine judgment incarnate, teleporting from position to position, killing corruption specialists with methodical efficiency.
Each position was similar:
8-12 corruption specialists fighting at one-tenth power60-120 seconds of combatAll specialists killed, heroes taking minimal damage
But the corruption specialists were buying time.
Not for themselves—they knew they were dead the moment the heroes arrived.
They were buying time for the settlement defenders. Every minute the heroes spent hunting corruption specialists was a minute they weren’t supporting the main assault at Third Line.
At Position Eight—a cave where fourteen specialists had fortified themselves—the defenders tried a different tactic.
They didn’t attack the heroes directly. Instead, they collapsed the cave on top of themselves, triggering a prepared structural collapse that brought tons of stone and timber down on heroes and specialists alike.
The specialists died instantly, crushed under falling debris.
The heroes survived—Mikazelle created a dimensional barrier that deflected the worst of the collapse, Seraphelle’s divine protection shielded them from impact damage.
But it cost them four minutes to dig themselves out of the rubble.
Four minutes the corruption specialists had bought with their lives.
Position Eight Results:
14 corruption specialists killed (suicide collapse)Hero casualties: 0Time cost: 4 minutes (heroes delayed by rubble)
"They’re stalling us," Mikazelle observed as they emerged from the collapsed bunker. "Each position delays us a few minutes. Cumulatively, we’ve been hunting corruption specialists for eighteen minutes now."
"Then we move faster," Gattychan replied. "No more cautious approaches. We teleport in, kill everything, teleport out immediately. Maximum efficiency."
They accelerated their elimination pattern.
Position Nine: 9 specialists, 45 seconds to eliminate. Position Ten: 11 specialists, 60 seconds. Position Eleven: 8 specialists, 40 seconds.
The heroes were learning, adapting, becoming more efficient at the grim work of hunting and killing mages who couldn’t effectively fight back.
But so were the corruption specialists.
At Position Twelve—a series of three connected buildings—the specialists tried coordinated suicide attacks.
When the heroes teleported in, twelve specialists immediately cast self-detonation spells simultaneously. They converted their own life force into explosive corruption energy, turning themselves into living bombs.