"Fuck Oglo and fuck all his fucking replicants," said Isabelle. "I don't have the patience or the potions for this shit. How the hell are we supposed to handle that?"
"The only way I know how," said Ignis, and with a beat of her massive wings, she launched herself into the air. She circled high above the mountain, a dark speck against the sky, then dove down like a meteor, her body wreathed in flames.
[Ignis uses Meteor Storm]
Fireballs rained down upon the ascending Oglos, exploding on impact and sending them flying in all directions. The tanks they were driving were tossed about like toys, their metal frames twisted and mangled.
The mountain echoed with the sounds of explosions and the shrieks of suffering Oglos.
Isabelle watched, her heart pounding, her mind racing. She had to do something, too. She couldn't just let Ignis have all the fun. But she was drained, her mana and stamina reserves nearly depleted.
"Stay here," she said to Tahsi Senior, her voice firm. "Protect your son."
Tahsi Senior nodded, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and admiration. He pulled a baguette from his seemingly endless supply and took a nervous bite.
"Actually, Isabelle, I want to help you," said Tahsi Junior suddenly. He stood up and puffed up his chest. "I can do this."
Everyone burst out laughing. Even a couple of the Oglos scaling the mountainside started laughing.
"What? The fuck?" said Tahsi Junior, the young kobold-dragon's eyes visibly watering.
"My son!" said Tahsi Senior as he continued to scarf down his baguette.
Isabelle noticed a system notification as she focused on Tahsi Junior.
[Speech attempt: impress failed]
Isabelle sighed and rolled her eyes. Classic.
Isabelle took a deep breath, centering herself. She reached for her new power, the raw, untamed energy of the Choxian System she had absorbed. It was like a wild animal inside her, a creature of pure destruction, and she was its master.
Isabelle raised her hands, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air. She didn't need a spellbook this time. The spells were in her head, a part of her. She just had to reach for them.
"Time to die," Isabelle said to no one in particular.
But then, suddenly, she was face to face with an Oglo! And not just any Oglo. This Oglo was in way crazier looking obsidian armor than all the other Oglos. He also had a sort of shimmering cape, and was wearing some sort of odd, colorful coat, too. He was wearing what looked to be the head of a mop on his head. And this Oglo was riding what seemed to be some sort of lythe, strange dragon, if it could even be called that. The serpent was much smaller, weaker, and thinner. In fact it looked about the consistency of beef jerky, Isabelle noted. Beef jerky that had been burned to a crisp, that was. And the way its wings flapped was troubling and altogether disgusting to behold. Isabelle felt a little queasy looking at the thing. How the hell was Oglo managing to ride it? Two sick freaks in one, Isabelle figured.
"Isabelle," said the Oglo. "We meet at last."
"Who the fuck are you?" said Isabelle, rolling her eyes.
The Oglo ignored her. "Your reign of terror ends here," he said, his voice echoing with a strange, synthetic quality. "You will pay for what you did to my factory, my replicants, my Spire."
"Oh, so you're the asshole in charge," said Isabelle with a sigh. "Good. I've been wanting to have a word with you."
The Oglo let out a strange, mechanical laugh. Mechanical? Were the Oglo REPLICANTS mechanical?
Isabelle pondered this for a moment.
[New quest: The Nature of the Oglo Replicants]
[Objective: Find Oglo A]
Oglo A? Who the fuck was Oglo A? Isabelle rolled her eyes at it all.
"You are a fool, Isabelle. A chaotic, destructive fool," said Oglo. "You think you can defeat me? I am Oglo, the Archon of Order, the Master of Mechanisms. I am the very embodiment of this tower's perfection." He glanced back at the ruins of the Spire for a moment. "Er, prior perfection."
"Perfection?" said Isabelle, rolling her eyes. "You call this perfection? A bunch of naked, mindless clones running around in a giant, broken clock? You've got a weird definition of perfection, buddy."
"It is a perfect system," Oglo said, his face contorting in rage. "A system of absolute control, of pure, unadulterated order. And you, with your chaotic mage of shadows shadow magic, your unpredictable nature, you are a virus. A disease that must be eradicated."
"Well, you're the one who looks like a walking disease," said Isabelle, sighing and raising her hammer. "So I think I'll be the one doing the eradicating."
The Oglo sneered. "You think you can defeat me with that pathetic little weapon? I am a god in this domain, Isabelle. I control the very fabric of this reality."
He raised a hand, and a dozen Velithar guards materialized out of thin air, their gear-shaped eyes glowing with a malevolent red light. They were different from the others, sleeker, more menacing, their armor made of a black, oily metal that seemed to absorb the light around them.
"Meet my elite guard," Oglo said with a smirk. "The Praetorians. They are powered by the core of the Spire itself. They are indestructible. And I can summon them by injecting a system prompt into the Oglo system!"
"We'll see about that," said Isabelle, her grip tightening on her hammer. She was a little confused about what Oglo meant by the Oglo system, mainly because it implied that Oglo had somehow gotten his own system. Hadn't he?
Isabelle could feel the power of not only her own system but that of the former Choxian System humming inside her, a symphony of destructive power. She could feel the spells, the abilities, the sheer, unadulterated potential. She was a goddess of chaos, and she was ready to unleash her wrath.
She took a step forward, her hammer held high. "Bring it on, assholes."
The Praetorians charged, their movements silent and deadly. They were faster than the other guards, their attacks more precise. They moved with an unnerving grace, a chilling efficiency that was both beautiful and terrifying.
Isabelle met their charge with a ferocious battle cry. She swung her hammer, the black silver of its head crackling with dark energy. The first Praetorian to reach her was met with a devastating blow to the chest, its black metal armor caving in like tin foil. It was thrown back, its gears and wires spilling out onto the ground.
[Critical hit]
[Praetorian Guard takes 204 hp damage]
['Praetorian Guard' is dead]
Isabelle was feeling like a damned badass.
But the others were on her in a flash, their sharp, metallic claws tearing at her flesh. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, then another in her leg. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain, and fought back with a vengeance. She was a whirlwind of destruction, her hammer a blur of motion, her spells a torrent of raw power.
She cast Vasoconstriction, the dark energy wrapping around the guards, their internal systems seizing and failing. She cast Shockwave Slam, the concussive force sending them flying. She was a one-woman army, a force of nature, and she was unstoppable.
[You cast 'Vasoconstriction' on Praetorian Guard x6]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 50 hp damage]
Isabelle raised her hand again. This time, she was tapping into her intuitive powers of shadow magic to create a large wave of shadow surrounding the mechanical guards. Then, in a flash, it slammed down to the ground around them, shaking the cliffside and sending even Isabelle herself to her knees.
[You cast 'Shockwave Shadow Slam']
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 100 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
"Risky, but effective as fuck," said Isabelle as she clambered to her feet and addressed the Oglo in question, still riding atop his dreadful, slithering dragon. "Run the fuck away before I destroy you, motherfucker."
[Speech attempt: intimidate]
[Speech attempt failed]
But the Oglo just laughed, and laughed, and coughed, and laughed again.
"Wow, Isabelle, wow," said the Oglo. "Way to miss the basic concept of what I mean when I say I can spawn my Praetorians at will! Can you do the same with your mana?"
Isabelle watched as twice as many Praetorian Guards as before suddenly surrounded her, weapons drawn. Things were actually looking a little dire, now.
Wait a second. Hadn't Oglo just said that these guys were powered by the Spire's core?
"Wait a second!" said Isabelle, calling out to her party members from behind the wall of warriors. "Guys, I think the Clockwork Spire might have a core. Like, like a dungeon core!"
"Bingo, bitch," said Oglo with a menacing grin.
"Don't call me a bitch, you bitch," said Isabelle, spitting at the air near Oglo.
"I'm not scared of you, Isabelle," said Oglo. "Don't you fucking get it?"
"Well, you fuckedy fucking should be," said Isabelle.
"What?" said Oglo. "The dragon's wings are flapping kind of fast it's hard to hear you."
"I said you FUCKING SHOULD BE!" said Isabelle. Then, she thought 'Use Gust of Wind'.
[Stamina 99%]
Woah. Isabelle knew she leveled up her stamina, but she didn't realize she'd leveled it up that much.
In a flash, a might gust of wind shot out of Isabelle's mouth like a torrent and knocked the Oglo off his dragon-steed, sending him and his cheesy cape flying through the air. He was a writhing, screaming mess as he sailed through the air like a wayward spider.
[Critical hit]
[Oglo is stunned]
[Oglo is staggered]
[Oglo takes 102 hp damage]
"Suck it, bitch," said Isabelle as she watched the Oglo sailing away. She turned around to face the Velithar Praetorians and was amused to see them standing there in a daze. "Uh, hello? Anybody there?"
The guardians stood there, grumbling incomprehensibly.
"Wow," said Isabelle with a sigh. "You guys really do take commands right from Oglo, don't you?"
"Ouchies!" said the Oglo in question as he slammed into the side of another mountain.
[Critical hit]
[Oglo takes 42 hp damage]
And then he crumbled as he started to roll down the mountainside, hitting rock after rock.
[Oglo takes 12 hp damage]
[Oglo takes 11 hp damage]
[Oglo takes 25 hp damage]
Isabelle turned back to face the guards, and right as she did, Ignis' giant dragon foot slammed into view. Three guards were crushed in an instant.
[Praetorian Guard takes 400 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 400 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard takes 400 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
"Hey, Isabelle," said Ignis. "Nice job paralyzing all these guys. How'd you do it?"
"I didn't," said Isabelle, pointing to the Oglo falling through the air. "They're all controlled by that guy."
As she said it, the Praetorians reanimated and started to attack her again! The Oglo's wicked little dragon had scooped him up and restored his power.
"FUCKING HELL!" said Isabelle. "FUCK THIS! I'm so done with these guys!"
[Oglo takes 16 hp damage]
Isabelle saw her chance. She had the chance to attack the Oglo again. She could potentially kill him while he was down! Then she could end all of this. All she had to do was think 'Cast Gust of Wind' again.
But she couldn't. Because he was too far away, and he and his dragon had seemingly grown wise to Isabelle's plan. As long as he stayed out of her Gust of Wind's reach, Isabelle felt almost powerless.
Almost.
So Isabelle turned around and faced the approaching guards. At least she still had her mana.
"You know what?" said Isabelle as she raised her hands. "I'm going to have to create a new spell on the fly again, and I hate doing that."
Isabelle concentrated as hard as she could, pooling all her mana into a single point. She imagined a vortex of pure, unadulterated destruction, a black hole of annihilation that would tear the Praetorians to shreds.
"I call it 'The Annihilator'," she said with a sigh.
[Mana 69%]
Nice.
Isabelle unleashed her new spell. A swirling vortex of black energy erupted from her hands, engulfing the Praetorian Guards. They were torn apart, their metal frames twisted and mangled, their gears and wires shredded into oblivion. The vortex then dissipated, leaving nothing but a smoking crater where the guards once stood.
[You cast 'The Annihilator']
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard takes 500 hp damage]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
Meanwhile, Ignis shot flames from her breath over and over, finally hitting Oglo's dragon and sending the kobold tumbling out of the air.
[Oglo takes 66 hp damage]
Isabelle panted, her body trembling with exhaustion. The spell had taken a lot out of her, but it had worked. She had obliterated the Praetorian Guards. And her mana was already creeping back up, thanks to her improved M-Regen.
[Mana 85%]
[Mana 90%]
"You think you've won?" a weak, pained voice called out from across the chasm.
Isabelle looked up and saw Oglo, bruised and battered, pulling himself up from a pile of rocks. He was a mess, but he was still alive.
"I think I'm pretty damn close," said Isabelle, a smug grin spreading across her face.
"You're a fool, Isabelle," Oglo said, his voice raspy. "You think you can defeat me with brute force? You're just a chaotic mess. I am order. I am perfection. I am the future."
He raised a hand, and a new wave of Praetorians materialized, even more of them this time. They were different, sleeker, their armor a shimmering, iridescent black that seemed to shift and change in the light. Their gear-shaped eyes glowed with a cold, blue light.
"These are my best," Oglo said, a triumphant smirk on his face. "The Immortals. They are powered by my own life force. They cannot be destroyed. Not by you, not by anyone."
"Immortals?" said Isabelle, rolling her eyes. "You've got a flair for the dramatic, I'll give you that."
Isabelle turned to Ignis, her expression grim. "Get the Tahsis out of here. Now."
Ignis nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination. She grabbed the two kobolds, tucking them under her arms.
"Isabelle, no!" Tahsi Senior cried out, a half-eaten croissant falling from his grasp.
"There's no time!" Isabelle yelled. "Just go! I'll hold them off!"
Ignis gave her a final, determined look, then launched herself into the air, her powerful wings beating against the thin mountain air. She flew towards a distant peak, a small speck against the vast, blue sky.
Isabelle watched them go, a lump forming in her throat. She was alone. Alone against an army of unstoppable killing machines.
She turned back to the Immortals, her jaw set, her eyes blazing with defiance. She was tired, she was hurt, and she was running out of options. But she was not going to give up. She was Isabelle, the mage of shadows, and she was not going to be defeated by a megalomaniacal mop-headed Oglo and his clockwork army.
And this wasn't the first immortal army she'd faced. Hell, it wasn't even the only immortal army she'd faced this week. At this point, none of this shit was a big deal as far as Isabelle was concerned. However, she needed some extra power in order to accomplish what she was planning to do. Luckily, Isabelle had an inventory chock full of everything she could possibly need, didn't she?
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 354.4/525
Silver Mace (imbued)
+3 str, +1 const, +3 carry weight
Ring of Increased Mana
+5 mana
Potion of Greater Mana x3
+20 mana, +0.5 carry weight
Focus to see more items...
Isabelle was pleased to see her inventory functioning as normal. Sometimes, even though she didn't necessarily have to open it up all the way, it was nice to see what all she had at her disposal. Isabelle went ahead and equipped the silver mace, which meant she had to unequip the Overlord's hammer. She also equipped the ring of increased mana, and drank one potion of greater mana.
[Overlord’s Black Silver Hammer (enchanted) unequipped]
[-50 str]
[-10 const]
[-8 stm]
[Silver Mace (imbued) equipped]
[+3 str]
[+1 const]
[Potion of Greater Mana drunken]
[Mana 100%]
Now, Isabelle was ready to roll. She faced her enemies, the Velithar, Oglo's Praetorian Guard. Cheesy motherfucker. She'd kill them all. Or at least get rid of them, Isabelle figured.
Isabelle raised her silver mace in the air, twirled it a little for effect, and them slammed it not directly at an enemy, but instead at the ground beneath them.
[You activated shadow event Dimensional Shift]
A wide, dark chasm of shadow opened up within the ground. Suddenly, it shot up and swallowed all the invincible warriors whole, warping them at once away from the scene in a flash of darkness that lasted scarcely more than an instant.
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is struck by a terrible wave of vertigo]
[Praetorian Guard is struck by a terrible wave of vertigo]
[Praetorian Guard is struck by a terrible wave of vertigo]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is stunned]
[Praetorian Guard is stunned]
[Praetorian Guard is dizzy]
[Praetorian Guard is dizzy]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is dizzy]
[Praetorian Guard is disoriented]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is dizzy]
[Praetorian Guard is disoriented]
[Praetorian Guard is staggered]
[Praetorian Guard is dizzy]
[Praetorian Guard is disoriented]
[Praetorian Guard is nauseous]
[Praetorian Guard is nauseous]
[Praetorian Guard is nauseous]
[Praetorian Guard is nauseous]
[Praetorian Guard is nauseous]
[Praetorian Guard is teleporting]
[Praetorian Guard is teleporting]
[Praetorian Guard is teleporting]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
[Praetorian Guard is dead]
The notifications scrolled up her vision like some insane, cascading waterfall of death, a chaotic litany of vertigo, disorientation, and teleportation. Then, finally, the sweet, beautiful word: dead. All of them dead? A whole fleet of immortal motherfuckers, dead?
"Fucking hell," said Isabelle with a grin as she surveyed the now empty cliffside. "That was sick."
But Oglo, who'd been watching the whole thing, was now a mess. He was on his knees, crying and screaming. "My Praetorians! My perfect, beautiful Praetorians! They were my finest creation! You've destroyed them! You've torn them from reality itself! You absolute, utter bitch!"
He looked up at her, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred. His mop-head was askew, his colorful coat torn and singed. He was a pathetic, broken figure.
"I'm going to kill you, Isabelle," he snarled, his voice thick with rage and grief. "I'm going to tear you apart, piece by piece. I'm going to feed your entrails to my dragon."
