Chapter 742: Breaking the Gate
"Give up. Your fight is hopeless," the curse demon snarled.
He waved his hand and cast a sixth-circle spell, sending a wave of black magic toward Fable. It struck him like a summer’s breeze, tousling his fur. The demon’s eyes narrowed as Fable demolished another line of demons completely unhindered.
"What kind of power is this?" it hissed. Its gaze shifted to R’lissea. "This isn’t your doing, healer. Your magic is useless against me."
At its command, a large cat-shaped evolved demon leaped across the cavern, lunging at R’lissea. IT was smaller than Fable by a good margin, but dwarfed the slender elf. Its claws left dark after images as they slashed. The seventh-level demon started casting again, summoning seven magic circles.
R’lissea pointed her staff at the ground and soul cast a fifth-level spell. "Shambling Guardian!"
Vegetation sprouted from the void, rapidly growing until several trees towered over the approaching cat demon. The trunks twisted together like malleable flesh, forming a humanoid creature of bark, branches, and gnarled roots. It had four upper limbs, ending in wooden club-like fingers, and a featureless head.
The shambling guardian raised its limbs, bracing against the demon’s assault. The cat’s claws left deep scores across its chest. The bark blackened and withered, crumbling away as curses spread from the wounds. It brought a thick arm down, smashing into the cat’s shoulder. The demon yowled and retreated, limping badly.
The demon mage’s spell finished, resolving with a crack of thunder. Black lightning crawled across its shadowy flesh, coalescing into a sphere hovering a few inches above its open palm.
"Your soul is soft and tender, ill-suited to the curses I wield," it mocked, "Perhaps you would fare well against others, hero, yet against attacks of the soul, you are helpless."
Evla tensed beside me, her tail switching back and forth. "Why don’t you look worried? That’s the spell that hurt me! IT went right through my wards and almost crippled me. And R’lissea’s a life mage."
I shook my head. "She’ll be alright. This demon’s crying about having superior power, but he doesn’t understand. He should have realized something was wrong the moment Fable resisted his first spell."