V2Ch108-Blame Game
The giant reptile bared its teeth and shot forth a tiny flame blast to neutralize Tybalt’s flames. The necromancer teleported a few feet away as the dragon’s flames expanded slightly and destroyed the spot where he’d been standing.
Mine was weaker, of course. Even with access to the mana of my thousands of victims, he still swamps me in raw resources. I have to outsmart him.
Tybalt teleported behind the dragon, opened his palm, and let loose another burst of pure destructive energy at the same time that the creature swiveled its head to face him.
| Skill Recognized: Flame of Destruction acquired!
|
The necromancer dodged, and the dragon unleashed its flames into the space he was about to occupy.
Enervate.
Once again, the energy blast struck Tybalt and simply turned into mana for the necromancer.
Delightful. Thank you… I wonder how many times he’ll do that before he recognizes he’s only feeding me.
It was possible the dragon thought Tybalt was doing what Dero had done before - spending the necromancer’s own mana to send the attack somewhere else. That was the logical assumption after Tybalt showed he could shoot a burst of the dragon’s flames back at him, that the necromancer had simply captured the flames and then redirected them on a slight delay. Or the dragon just assumed Tybalt would slip up at some point and allow an attack through. That was a viable strategy. Given the nature of the flames, one direct exposure would be enough to destroy most opponents.
As Tybalt was absorbing the flames, he saw something out of the corner of his vision. The air was twisting and warping in between himself and the dragon, colorless mana separating from the body and turning tangible.
Another attack? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised he can cast while breathing fire.
Analyzing…
The mana took shape, forming a bunch of glowing chains that shot forward, aiming for Tybalt’s body.
He raised a hand to intercept them.
Enervate!
Tybalt felt a little bit of energy drain from the chains, but they kept moving. As the dragon’s flames stopped, the chains wrapped around his wrist and twisted around, binding and crawling up to his shoulder.
He kept his cool. It seemed impossible for a lich to panic, though this situation was clearly not optimal.
They’re not primarily magical, then. They’re primarily physical.
Teleport.
It didn’t work. Alarm bells rang loudly inside Tybalt’s mind.
Fleshcraft. Scrimshaw.
He raised his non-dominant hand and chopped through the shoulder just as the chains completely bound that limb. Then he teleported away, leaving the arm behind.
The flesh immediately began regenerating.
As Tybalt reappeared at street level, the dragon turned its head and glared down at him, not looking particularly impressed.
Analysis of draconic physique ongoing. Weaknesses identified: eyes, tympanic membranes, unprotected interior of the body - invasion through nostrils and mouth is possible - and vulnerable dragon core within the chest. Scales appear impervious to almost all magical attacks. Flame of Destruction may be able to damage them.
Tybalt clenched his jaw. I already knew all of that shit! That analysis isn’t nearly enough. How do I win? Give me better material for more sophisticated strategies!
The dragon pointed a long claw at him, and more chains appeared and shot forward. Tybalt’s arm was still growing back, but he wouldn’t need two hands for this.
He pointed at the chains.
Flame of Destruction.
A burst of the dragon’s flames shot forth from Tybalt’s fingertip, looking less like the dragon’s own fire and more like a ray of sunlight. It shattered the chains on contact.
Analysis complete… Skill copied!
Tybalt understood suddenly exactly what the chains were and grimaced.
The flames to destroy them cost more mana than the chains themselves if I understand their function correctly, he thought. I need the dragon to keep breathing flames at me, or at this rate, I could lose a battle of attrition even if we had the same starting quantity of resources.
On the other hand, the necromancer knew how the chains worked now. He focused his own mana into the tip of his finger again, and this time generated the same chains the dragon had conjured, shooting them forward at the great monster.
| Skill Recognized: Heaven-Binding Chains acquired!
|
The dragon roared - Tybalt heard a hint of indignation at the blatant copying - and loosed a burst of flames at Tybalt’s chains.
Teleport.
Tybalt appeared between the Flame of Destruction and his chains.
Enervate.
The dragon recharged Tybalt with the power of its fire, at the same time that his copied chains kept moving and wrapped around the dragon’s left forelimb. They crawled up the beast’s body, and Tybalt pointed and used Heaven-Binding Chains again, aiming for the neck.
Thanks to your energy, I can continue using this attack as often as I want.
The elf on the dragon’s neck stepped into view and shot another arrow at Tybalt.
Mystic Barrier.
A mana wall appeared and deflected the arrow.
Who is she to even believe she can help a dragon? Maybe Dero was right that she’s - he took a quick look at her and noticed something off. Wait… maybe I should be asking what she is, instead of who. I didn’t tell Dero about this. Need to factor this into my strategy.
“I wonder how long you can continue this,” the dragon rumbled.
Flames like those Tybalt had seen from him before emerged from the beast’s jaws and, instead of moving in a straight line as the necromancer had seen thus far, spiraled down his neck and then around his forelimb, effortlessly destroying every single link in the chain Tybalt had forged for the dragon.
Hmph, Tybalt thought. He’s still not taking me seriously as a threat. And he might be right. His mana reserves haven’t noticeably diminished since we started. I need him to use those flames more. Or I need to take advantage of some other weakness. Even those chains didn’t stop him from using those clearly magical flames…
The necromancer’s vision caught a sudden wisp of smoke as it appeared from out of nowhere.
More magic. Conjured smoke? Hmm. What’s the point in limiting visibility when you’re the more powerful one?
Analyzing…
The smokescreen suddenly expanded to fill the entire street, preventing the necromancer from seeing anything, even the monster’s mana.
Oh, it’s impenetrable for my senses…
He stilled and tried to remain on guard, waiting for the moment when he would need to cast. The only things the necromancer could do as quickly as the dragon were perceive events and use magic. He would just have to use magic at the moment required.
Suddenly, a great claw burst from the smoke on the necromancer’s left side, reaching for him.
Tybalt remained cool-headed, even as talons larger than he was shot forward to grab him.
Can’t let him get a grip on me, he thought.
He managed to point a single finger at the incoming claw.
Flame of Destruction.
A thick ray of energy shone from his finger, struck the dragon’s claw, and made it suddenly draw back.
Did I… see a drop of blood?
The smoke moved slightly, and Tybalt sensed another attack coming.
He had no faith in his ability to react to the monster’s movements quickly enough a second time.
Teleport.
He moved, not just out of the smokescreen, but out of the dragon’s immediate vicinity entirely. He went to the section of the town the dragon had lit ablaze, the area where he sensed the life force remaining was strongest.
Tybalt was still using Undeath Drain across the town, but as that source ebbed, he would need more energy.
I can use these subjects. These people are already dying… they might as well serve before they go.
He touched the wall of a dwelling and reached out.
A nachzehrer’s Weak Life Drain required close proximity to a victim. But Tybalt’s calculating lich mind had already recognized how he could amplify the effect with just a small investment of mana.
Life force, rich and tasty, rushed out toward him.
| Skill Recognized: Weak Life Drain upgraded to Life Drain!
|
Tybalt reached out with another power he thought he understood well enough to use.
He had been working with bone for so long. All of those experiences, compounded and refined by the mind of a lich… culminated.
Move, bones of the dead and dying… Move for me.
Tendrils of mana groped for whatever bone they could find, whether in a living or a dead body. Inside the dwelling, the corpses and those rapidly turning desiccated from Tybalt’s Life Drain tumbled downstairs or slipped off of sickbeds as he drew them toward the entrance. Then the door burst open, and the bodies of four people tumbled out into the street.
They were reduced almost to bone, both the corpses killed by dragon fire and those who had been clinging to life after being badly burned by the dragon’s flames.
They must have been caught in their sleep or in the midst of illness by the dragon’s attack.
There was a twinge of pity in him, but he suppressed the useless emotion.
| Skill Recognized: Bone Puppetry acquired!
|
Tybalt grabbed the corpses and teleported to another section of the town that was on fire.
More life force to drain. And it will take the dragon a little longer to catch onto my location if I keep moving…
He touched the wall of another building that was on fire and began using both Life Drain and Bone Puppetry at once.
He had the attention span now to use multiple skills at a time without mental fatigue, so he also used Bone Puppetry on the bodies he had brought with him.
Scrimshaw. He touched various bones among the dead bodies with that power and puppeteered the other corpses into tracing specific symbols into them. With Scrimshaw, carving runes onto bone was as simple as poking the bone and drawing the shape.
Once he had one of the corpses marked appropriately, he used another skill on it.
Generate Undead.
| New type of creation generated, bonus experience granted!
|
Excellent. I must work quickly…
***
“Uncle Eolas, why haven’t you used your Anti-Magic Field on him?” asked Kamira quietly. “If you used that, I think even I could kill him. He seems to only be a simple mage, with no close combat power to speak of.”
“Honestly, child… there is a side of me you do not know well,” Eolas answered sheepishly. “I think it is ingrained in every dragon. The desire for sport. A drive toward danger and play. A wish to encounter a worthy opponent. This mage is not likely to be one such. I have not encountered one in a millennium… but even knowing how serious the situation is, a part of me wants him to be. Even after thousands of years, I have never lost the desire to be challenged.”
“You and my father are so different.”
We have led two very different lives, and though you call me Uncle, we are two very different races…
Aloud, he simply said, “That is why he wears a crown, and I do not.”
Now I suppose I will take the human more seriously and squash him before he can do any further damage. I am setting a bad example, especially considering that I brought Kamira here to show her what my function in the world is - and how to perform cruel but necessary tasks.
Eolas scanned the environment, looking for the necromancer’s signature. Just as he was about to move to where his opponent was, the mage disappeared and reappeared somewhere else.
It took him an extra few seconds to lock down the new location, and then the dragon used Teleport.
“I thought you were done running,” Eolas said as soon as he reappeared.
“Just gathering supplies,” the necromancer replied, looking strangely unruffled at seeing him. “A necromancer must keep up with his research.”
What in Abadd is he doing?
Dozens of dead bodies, some skeletons, some almost skeletons, surrounded the necromancer. Only a dozen or so carried the energy that Eolas associated with low-grade undead, but they were performing some task on the other bodies - etching something into their exposed bones? And some of the corpses had been bent and twisted into strange shapes… no, shapes resembling mystic runes.
He truly believes he can best me with magic. Still. He thinks a more complex spell will succeed where the last attack did not.
The dragon didn’t bother analyzing the runes being shaped to try and understand the enemy mage’s intent. More important was the fact that he could tell after a quick look that these humans had only recently died. Perhaps minutes or seconds earlier. The bodies were still warm.
He focused his attention on the necromancer and narrowed his eyes.
“You killed them just for supplies?” Eolas asked sternly.
“Don’t talk as if you care. The ones that weren’t dead when I got here were dying before I touched them thanks to your flames. I only finished them off and spared them a slow death from fire. This is all your fault, you know. I meant to capture this town with minimal casualties and turn it into a base of operations. You’re the one who’s wrecked these people’s homes and killed hundreds of them.”
The dragon was disturbed that he could not sense any deception in these words.
I only killed those who were infected with his pestilence, he told himself. That is the detail he leaves out. Perhaps deliberately forgets. They were doomed before I ever arrived here.
“I think I have had enough of your version of events. No more talking, and no more magic.”