Overwhelming Firepower

The people who were outside the walls of Ironhold were able to regroup in front of the gates, but they did not enter, nor did they move an inch.

Everyone, including those on the battlements, looked at the darkness in front of them, the darkness that made the snow-covered grounds disappear.

The battlefield, which moments ago had been filled with the sound of iron and gunfire, had fallen into a silence so complete that even breathing felt intrusive.

The shadow monsters had now become one thing, and it was a sea of darkness that they could not see the end of.

As everyone was confused as to what that was, or what they should do at this point, the darkness started moving. It started converging inward towards a center point.

Snow sank where it passed, blood vanished beneath it. The bodies of the fallen and the weapons left on the ground that were in its path were swallowed without a trace. The surface lowered as if something beneath it were inhaling.

The soldiers and knights tightened their grips on their respective weapons. The barbarians licked their lips, eagerly anticipating what kind of monstrosity would come forth next.

The dwarves, both on the ground and on the battlements, frowned while getting ready to blast at whatever was about to show up.

The gathering shadows then started to form something. At first, they couldn’t understand what it was; it looked just like a blob of shadows that stood no taller than Sir Thalos.

Then it started to take shape. Edges formed where there had been none. A line suggested a shoulder. Another curved inward, becoming a neck. What had once been a formless mass refined itself, layer by layer.

Unlike the first two forms that just resembled a humanoid being, this time, it was actually starting to look like a real human.

The arms were slightly too long. The torso was slightly too narrow. The head tilted at an angle that no living spine should comfortably allow.

Its surface did not resemble flesh. It was made of compressed darkness, yet it was not smooth. Within it, currents moved.

Faces surfaced and sank. Hands pressed outward from inside as if something were trapped beneath black ice.

The strongest among the people present, Duke Vardon, felt that the thing standing before them was way more dangerous than anything he had seen before.

He, who had faced numerous battles, was now being told by his instincts that what was standing before them now was something that needed to be dealt with now.

Standing beside Vardon was Lucen, who was thinking the same thing. If the giant shadow monster seemed vaguely familiar, this being in front of him was something entirely new to him.

’A monster with three phases? The abilities shown by this thing make it troublesome, but its overall power that I have seen so far is basically at most an early mid-game mini-boss... I thought that was the end of it, but this now...’

Lucen’s skill battle instinct, which had helped him numerous times in battle, was now ringing like crazy in his mind.

’Tsk, a true boss monster of the mid-game. Still, unlike its first and second forms, which were basically many of them, this third form must be something like a single powerful hero unit. With our numbers and equipment, we should be able to deal with it much better than the other forms.’

While Lucen was thinking, the shadowy figure seemed to be finished forming its figure. What appeared before them looked like darkness given form.

The head, or what was supposed to be the head, had two white dots that looked like they were supposed to be eyes.

It then opened what seems to be its mouth, showing several dozen teeth within, of different shapes and sizes. It looked like it was smiling at them.

”Everyone! Protect your hearts, and keep your minds sharp. Do not succumb to whatever you hear.”

Lucen suddenly shouted as he used the technique RELEASE. He also wanted to use the ring, but it was not responding at the moment.

The shadow’s mouth stretched wider. Then it spoke to them; the sound that came out was different from that of those listening to it, and the words spoken were different as well.

But the mouth on the monster was not even moving; it was just smiling at them as they heard voices whispering in their ear.

That was when something they had not experienced before happened: the figure standing before them changed.

It started looking like someone familiar to them. A lover, a child, a mother, a father, a friend, some even saw people who had long been gone.

Even the two strongest among the people present were actually affected by the shadow this time.

Vardon saw a familiar figure, one that he so sorely missed. The person who had taken his heart, and when she went to Velmira’s embrace, took away his dreams.

That familiar long silver hair and ruby-red eyes. The person in front of him now was his dearly departed wife, Veyra Thornehart.

***

In Sir Thalos’s eyes, what he saw was not just one figure but two. The ones he could not protect, the reason why he trains his body so desperately.

A woman stood slightly behind a small child. Anita’s smile was the same as he remembered. Gentle, patient, and unafraid. Beside her stood Tala, small fingers wrapped around her mother’s dress, peeking out shyly.

They were exactly as they had been on that last morning. Alive and happy, thinking that he would protect them from any harm.

***

In Robert’s eyes, he saw the old man, but he was injured. That old man was none other than the strongest mage in Norvaegard, nay, the strongest person in Norvaegard. The Tower Master of the Yellow Tower, Thelwin Keldross.

Despite Robert’s understanding in his mind that the sight before him was nearly impossible, and obviously false, some part of him was believing what he was seeing.

***

Harlik was also seeing many things. He was seeing every person, every friend, every comrade in arms that died in battle.

They were all sitting on a long table with a lot of food and smiles on their faces, lifting their mugs.

***

The others were also experiencing similar things right now, and the only one not affected was Lucen, who noticed everyone’s eyes seemed to have dimmed.

’Damn, I mass hypnosis type skill, that can even affect someone like Father, and Robert?’

Lucen gritted his teeth as he glared at the enemy before him that continued to smile without moving an inch.

Snow fell softly from the sky, yet no one noticed. The world had narrowed for each of them into something painfully intimate.

Lucen did not know what was coming next, but he knew that he needed to do something. He created two pistols and started firing at the creature.

The smiling shadow monster evaded the incoming bullets by simply swaying its body, and then its smile turned into a frown. The monster still stood in its spot as it lifted its long arms and pointed them at Lucen.

Seeing this scene, Lucen’s battle instinct warned him of what was coming. He quickly rolled to the side, and he saw that the monster’s hand extended, destroying the ground where Lucen stood before.

Lucen then continued firing at the monster as he charged forward, this time the bullets were imbued with lightning, since it accelerates the bullets.

The shadow monster was unable to dodge the strike and had its body pierced by the bullets. Still, the holes in its body quickly healed up.

”Hoh, you’re unable to move while you’re trying to hypnotize the others. Then this might be doable after all!” Lucen shouted as he continued shooting at the monster that countered the attack by swinging its hands like a whip.

***

While Lucen and the shadow monster were fighting, the visions everyone was seeing started talking.

”My love, I know you have done your best. It’s alright, you can come with me now to rest.” Veryra said to Vardon.

***

”My dear husband, come here with us, and let’s be happy together again,” Anita spoke her voice as gentle as Thalos remembered it.

”Come play with me daddy!” His little daughter Tala was waving her hand, calling for him.

***

”Robert... I think I’m dying... I hope that you will bring the Yellow Tower to its former glory. I trust you, Robert, you were my greatest student... No, you were more than that, you were like my grandson...”

Thelwin was on the ground speaking to Robert, and despite looking really hurt, he never asked Robert to help him.

This was something the real Thelwin would have done, which made it harder for Robert to differentiate between fantasy and reality.

***

”Hey boss, come join us!”

”Yeah, let’s have a drink!”

”I’d bet you have so many stories to tell.”

Harlik’s old comrades, the ones who have already left him, all called for him like the good old times.

***

As everyone’s hypnosis grew deeper, Lucen was having a soulslike boss battle. One shot from the shadow monster would severely injure him. On the other hand, no matter what kind of attack he made, the shadow monster instantly healed.

So right now, he was focused on dodging and counter-attacking from a distance. He could not get too close, since the closer he got, the more options the Shadow Monster gained, and it attacked him with much more AOE-type attacks.

Lucen was dodge-rolling through a few hits and jumping backward and sideways. Despite his situation, he was actually getting excited, most of the reason was because of the battle-crazed trait, but the other reason was that this way of fighting truly reminded him of those soulslike games he used to play.

Who knew that he would get to experience this kind of fighting in real life? ’It’s going to do a wide arc sweep now.’

Lucen ducked, evading the sweep, and changed his weapon to a rifle as he fired at the shadow monster. He did not bother to block or dodge and continued attacking instead.

’Now it’s going to be an AOE burst from below.’ Lucen jumped upward, discarded the rifle, and created two pistols imbued with the fire element to push himself further upward. In the sky, Lucen continued shooting as he fell and landed on the ground, then he rolled to the side.

Lucen was able to understand a few patterns in the Shadow monster’s attacks. That’s what he thought when the ground split open where he had stood.

Black spikes erupting like jagged teeth before collapsing back into shadow. The creature adjusted, its movements sharper now, less predictable.

Lucen skidded across the snow, breath steaming, eyes blazing. Despite evading the attack, it was able to slightly touch Lucen’s cheek, which was now bleeding.

The shadow monster was learning. Lucen wiped the blood from the scratch with his thumb as he laughed, then he licked the blood on his lips.

”Good,” he grinned. ”It won’t be a soulslike encounter if you don’t show this much.”