Chapter 40: The Cost of Control
The demon brushed its shoulders, turning to the individuals locked with fear behind it.
"Well, then, who shall be the first to partake in the massacre." Black seeped from its mouth, aether flaring once more to exemplify its unbridled malice.
Shlink!
Blood sprayed through the air, its metal scent garnering the demon’s attention.
It was Corien’s leg, severed from the tendons in his knee. He’d held Excalibur in his hand, swiftly disconnecting the flame-covered appendage without so much as a single second of doubt.
"Seriously?" The demon turned to ask him, watching as the leg thumped onto the floor and sizzled away even faster than before from the dissipation of its protective layer of aether.
Corien grit, urging a spell within his grimoire to accumulate a blotch of dark purple that shot from his missing limb, slowly morphing to take shape as a functional replacement.
He hadn’t responded, looking down and curling his toes as if the aether were his own. A fine replacement, he felt, smiling at his handiwork.
"Seriously, how stupid can you be, cutting away your leg like that," the deep voice questioned once more, stepping closer to approach the half-kneeled Corien.
Although Corien didn’t show it, his mind couldn’t quite settle down from the severe aches throbbing from his knee joint, vesting to burn away all rationale.
Understanding the given circumstances, he supplied aether to his brain, a desperate attempt to supplement his mind enough to focus on the threat ahead.