Clarisse’s heart was pounding yet her feet remained frozen in place, stuck in a confounded paralysis. She watched Nikolas plunge the blade deeper into himself with a mortified expression, using all her will to not jump in and try to help him. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

  Nikolas took a raspy breath before adjusting his grip over the blade. It didn’t look like he was in any rush to pull it out, rather he was trying his best to keep himself impaled over the burning sword. “I– It’s okay! Don’t worry!”

  “Don’t – Huh??” Clarisse did a double take, flabbergasted by his rather tame reaction. She steeled her resolve for a moment and took a step closer. “How can I not!? You just stabbed yourself!” As if to reinforce her panic, more tendrils of energy burst out of the guard of the blade, digging into Nikolas’s chest and torso manyfold.

  “??????????????????N????????????????o???????t????????????…????????????????????? ???????e???????????????????n????????o???????????????????????????u????????????????????????g???????????????h??????????????????????????????????.???????????????????????? ??????????????????W?????????????????????????????e?????? ????????????????????????????????n???????????????????????????????e???????????????e?????????????????????d????????????????????????? ????????m?????????????????????????o?????????????????????????r???????????????????????e??????????????????????????????,???????????????? ???????????????W??????????E?????????????????? ????????????????????????????C???????R??????????????????????A????????????????????????V?????????????E?????????????? ???????????????????????????????M??????????????O????????????R???????????E???????????????????????!?????????????????????????????”????????????????????

  “Feels like I should be the one screaming…” Nikolas grumbled, slowly pushing himself to stand upright. He yanked the blade free with a groan, leaving several gaping, seared voids where his vital organs should have been. Despite the size of the empty cavities, cauterized skin and roasted flesh kept him from bleeding all over the cavern floor.

  “WHY AREN’T YOU!?” Clarisse’s hands trembled as she tried to approach him again, off-put by the sight and smell of burning flesh.

  Nikolas looked down, gritting his teeth as the gravity of what he had just revealed hit him. He hadn’t shown nearly enough agony to convince her that he was hurt. His eyes darted in an unfocused manner, panic surging through him as he searched for futile excuses.

  “Ha! No use. The fox is out of the bag now.”

  “No no no no no no no–”

  “How will she take it, I wonder… her role model mentor who turned out to be a Hollow.”

  “We are NOT a hollow!”

  “Not in the usual sense, no. But does anyone else care? Anyone except Seraphim?”

  “Bigger problems. Need more… more blood to quench them.”

  “She’s right there. Go for it, loverboy. Plenty of blood under her skin.”

  “Don’t – ”

  Before Clarisse could question what drove Nikolas to survive and even stand from his presumably lethal wound, she felt the atmosphere around them grow brighter. The illumination was not borne from her own flames, rather from behind her. It came from the other end of the massive cavern, an incandescent glimmer emitting from a golden orb which sat atop a staff. If not for the initially dampened effect as it slowly came into view, she might’ve mistaken it for raw sunlight, the likes of which she had only read in books. Holding that staff was a robed figure, second of the quartet of similar figures who filled into the cavern.

  “Because he is a Hollow, young Clarisse. I advise stepping away from him,” The familiar, soft yet prideful tone of Kaara Henderhol reached her ears before he took off his hood to reveal a head of golden-blonde hair. “Leave him in the hands of capable hunters, yeah?”

  With Kaara’s declaration, the rest of the gold-ranked party unveiled themselves in turn, with Laufey ripping off his robes entirely while Thoumal and Ciela remained content with removing their hoods.

  Nikolas’s grip tightened around his ignited blade, keeping it tightly bound to its shape. He walked past Clarisse, who stumbled backwards as he crossed, situating himself between them. “I am not a Hollow, at least not the kind you may know.”

  “And yet, your presence triggers the same reaction,” Thoumal interjected, looking past the obvious for the moment to brandish the blue-ish hue emanating from the dagger in his hand. “And, I’ll wager you can survive much worse than that.” He gestured to the gashes in the hollow’s chest.

  “Smart one, ey?”

  “How did we not see them coming?”

  “Some modicum of magical shikanery, no doubt…”

  “No matter… we just have to make them see they don't have to eliminate us.”

  “Forever the path of a pacifist, it sickens me.”

  “Yeah?” Nikolas inflected, his eyes darting across the cavern to each of the gold party. “It’s better for all of us if you don’t test that theory. Pray tell, though, who put out a hit on me?”

  “Who…? Boy, you’re looking right at them.” Ciela chuckled, unsheathing a long knife whose edge dripped of venom.

  “Oh, good. Goooood…”

  “No, not good, you freak!”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve come out for playtime.”

  “Where’s Sera when you need her…”

  “We need to leave.” Nikolas muttered, keeping his eyes trained on the adversaries in front while talking to Clarisse behind him.

  “Where? And how??” Clarisse asked, more bewildered than confused at the nature of their predicament. “The tracks are gone now, we can’t cross the chasm!”

  Laufey seemed to take that knowledge with great joy. “This is my first time hunting a hollow who can talk. Give us a glorious show!” He bellowed, before breaking into a charge towards the pair, brandishing the gargantuan mace over his head with a gleefully psychotic smile.

  “Just run!” Nikolas dashed forward to meet the giant’s charge, transforming the sword into a spear and using its shaft to block the first strike. The sheer force of the overhead slam sent Nikolas to his knees and propagated a shockwave through the earth.

  The rest of Laufey’s companions were quick to act, with Kaara and Thoumal flanking Nikolas from either side. A wall of flame behind him cut off his retreat, and a distinctive click signified a crossbow’s iron shot flying towards the hollow.

  “How pitiful, to let yourself be pushed around by these mortals.”

  Nikolas pushed the mace back, trying to create just enough space to dodge Thoumal’s shot. What he didn’t expect was that as soon as the shot left the barrel and crossed the makeshift ring at the end of the barrel, it would expand. The pinpoint iron orb instantly grew into a cannonball, smashing into the hollow at full speed.

  Amidst the coordinated assault, Clarisse found herself isolated from Nik by the flaming wall. She hadn’t been left out, however. A glimmer of light reflecting from steel alerted her to Ciela’s approach, and the rogue closed their gap before she could even conjure a defensive veil.

  Clarisse’s first instinct was to retreat, and muscle memory from her training kicked in as she dodged the first pair of swift slashes sent at her.

  “Stand down, if you know what’s good for you!” Ciela threatened as she turned a dagger over in her hand and threw it at the pyromancer.

  Clarisse ducked against the projectile just in time, hearing a sharp hiss as the dagger sliced through a lock of her hair where her head had just been. “You’re the one who–” but the rogue was upon her before she could finish her sentence.

  Nimble fingers wrapped around Clarisse’s neck, slamming her into the ground. Ciela pinned her torso with a knee, reaching for another poisoned dagger. She unsheathed it just in time for Clarisse to throw a punch, but the slash incited a blinding flash instead of blood.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Using the second of three blindness potions Nikolas had given her, Clarisse bought herself precious seconds. Being blinded herself was a minor inconvenience when her target was at point blank range, and she unleashed a panicked incendiary barrage to free herself.

  The visual effects of the liquid flashbang were reduced by several orders of magnitude on account of the searing wall of fire separating them, yet the ringing left an acute pain that slowed everyone down for just a few seconds.

  Just a second was all Nikolas needed to recover, resetting the otherwise lethal neck displacement delivered by the cannonball which now lay at his side. It had left a large crack and deformed one side of his mask as well, seemingly crushing part of his face underneath that section. Just as quickly as he had gone down, he lunged towards Thoumal, identifying the ranger as the primary threat.

  Laufey stomped into his path to buy Thoumal enough time for another reload, swinging the flanged mace in a horizontal strike meant to mangle the hollow. “Just who are y–”

  Nikolas leapt in time as the mace swung, using the blunt surface as a foothold to boost himself further. A well-timed wired dagger shot from under his wrist embedded itself into Laufey’s left shoulder as he jumped over the right. He yanked on the makeshift garrote as soon as he went over, forcing the far taller barbarian to let himself fall on his back if he wanted to keep his neck.

  “Bah! You could’ve killed him right there… your weakness will cost you.”

  As fanciful as the maneuver had been, Thoumal was ready with another shot to stop him from capitalizing on it, firing on Nikolas at a range he wouldn’t be able to dodge.

  Meanwhile, Kaara had changed tact to help his girlfriend, siphoning the coat of flames off of her and wearing it around himself like a coat. “You’re out of your league, kiddo!” He guffawed, manipulating all the fire Clarisse threw out to swirl around him as he approached.

  The agony of being burnt took longer to disappear than the flames themself, but Ciela flashed a momentary smile of appreciation at Kaara as she found her bearings.

  “Shit, I can’t burn him…” Clarisse thought to herself, preserving her flames as she unsheathed her dagger. Her fingers trembled as she gripped the blade, reminded of the scene when she had seen a far younger Nikolas go up against Roman and Selene. She gradually backed away from the pair, realizing how outclassed she was.

  “No… I’m not going to end up like that. This– this is this… and that was that.”

  Gritting her teeth, Clarisse charged at Kaara with her dagger held low against her side,

  At the moment before contact, Nikolas transformed the broken blade’s energy into a shield, bearing the brunt of the cannonball on it. The impact still sent him stumbling back many feet, far enough that he was within Laufey’s reach.

  The barbarian was down but not out, grabbing one of Nikolas’s ankles and throwing him by it, sitting up to complete the arc as he smashed the hollow against the cave floor.

  Right as Nikolas landed, a pair of potion vials exploded in his fist, creating a toxic smokescreen which swallowed both of them completely.

  Getting up from a slam which would’ve shattered the spines of most, Nikolas stabbed his blade into the ground to get onto his feet. The arcane poison began to work its magic faster than he could even orient himself in the smoke, popping misaligned bones back into place and sewing ruptured skin.

  “Can you not hear our predecessors? Their agony, their hunger for violence?! You, who tout yourself as someone kind, would use them so, while depriving their sole sustenance.”

  “Shut up, shut up… shut up!” Nikolas shouted as part of his mask fell away and the cracks on what was left deepened. He could hear the blade still screaming to him in the same way before the fight had begun, and the other voice in his head was only making it worse.

  “Yes! Grow angry! Let yourself go, let me take over! It should be so easy…”

  Nikolas’s voice had given his position away, however, and he found the head of a mace barreling towards him, contorting the smoke around it like a tornado as it struck the hollow squarely across the chin and staggered him.

  Clarisse barely saw the leg flying towards her before it hit her along her forehead, interrupting her charge at Kaara and almost knocking her over. Retaliating against Ciela with a fiery left hook only left her vulnerable to the other pyromancer, though, and a searing punch sent her to the ground. Their coordinated strikes were not something she was remotely prepared to handle, but she wasn’t going to give just like that. She felt hands grab her ankles, and immediately began kicking at them. Her hair began to burn shortly after, and the combustion extended her to hands and feet in panicked succession.

  “Ow- Kaara! Do something!”

  “Geez, you really don’t know when to give up, do ya?”

  Clarisse felt a strange chillness as Kaara pinned her arms to her sides, and began siphoning the fire from her faster than she could ignite it. Like a river emptying itself into the ocean, she simply couldn’t keep up with the rate at which he was assimilating her flames. Still, Clarisse kept going, trying to fight him off while bursting with more and more heat. She felt Ciela grab and tie her legs together again, this time safe with Kaara’s help. “No! NO– LET ME… GO!”

  The surge which followed was unlike before – not a gentle push towards her limits or a simple increase in the volume of combustion. It was more like a violent overflow, a cracked dam finally crumbling as inner ardor awakened a new aspect of her arcana. An explosion manifested out of nowhere, centered around Clarisse.

  “The fuck–!” Ciela cursed as she was launched backwards.

  “Ciela–” Kaara, similarly disoriented, rushed to put himself between them. All the trinkets and bracelets he was wearing were glowing at their peak, apparently maxed in how much incendiary power they could absorb.

  Clarisse scrambled backwards, intending to capitalize on her lifeline fully. Letting instinct guide her, she flicked her fingers over the bolas trapping her and freed herself with a smaller explosion around them.

  “Enough with the games!” Kaara grimaced, stomping on the ground to send an explosive tremor towards her. Even before his attack landed, Ciela swooped from his side with a dagger and potion in either hand.

  The tremor reached Clarisse before she could fully stand, sending her crashing into the wall and pelting her with debris from its eruption. The rogue reached her a split second later, slamming Clarisse against the cavern rock and putting her in a headlock soon after.

  “Keep her down. I’ll help the others.” Kaara caught his breath for a moment before boosting himself towards the smokescreen past which Laufey and Thoumal were taking Nikolas down.

  The remaining part of Nikolas’s mask broke away from Laufey’s last swing, fully unmasking the clandestine rogue. It was quite a strange sight for the gold rankers, watching as not only the mask but his ears and a wig fell apart, revealing a rather human figure hiding underneath. Still the same asymmetric eyes, but with a radically different framing, as if they had just watched a butterfly erupt from its cocoon.

  “Not even a kitsune… what are you!?” Laufey barked, keeping his distance from the creature.

  “No… no no no no– ” Nikolas was far more preoccupied with his mask and helmet breaking than anything else. His entire body shivered, as if fighting the revelation from within.

  “And so the barbarian was the last straw on the fox’s back… I am nigh.”

  Nikolas took deep breaths, deeper than any he had taken for a long time. Without his mask, anger frothed and bubbled from within, the eye of the storm had now become a ferocious turbulence. “You shouldn’t have done that… I hoped we could have talked this out…” he spoke, but his lips trembled as if every waking moment took a toll on him.

  “Talk with a hollow? No… I never knew you could think or talk like this but,” Kaara scoffed, spitting venom-laced words as he descended next to Laufey, and Thoumal took to the other flank. “You undead are the blight of the overworld. It wasn’t enough for you to stick to the depths, was it? Your mere existence is an insult to life itself, not to mention trying to impersonate an actual person. Scum like you–

  As much as Thoumal wanted to let Kaara have the last laugh, he raised a hand and signaled for him to stop after receiving a thumbs up from Ciela, who had secured Clarisse in a death hold.

  “You don’t understand…” Nikolas gasped, tearing at his face with clawed fingers as he caught sight of Clarisse’s compromised state. “You should’ve never broken the mask. All this time, I've been showing you mercy…”

  “We have no need for mercy from you, monster!” Laufey declared, jumping out of line to strike him down. Thoumal and Kaara sprung after their overeager barbarian a moment later, flanking Nikolas in a mirror of what they did the first time.

  Nikolas met their advance with a solemn stare, transforming his blade into a staff to parry the incoming bludgeons. Each clash of blunt weapons pushed him back just a little bit, yet he refused to fall under the half-giant’s impulsive strikes.

  Kaara supported from the left, spawning multiple ground tremors before taking to the air and turning his arms into unyielding flamethrowers. Thoumal kept his distance on the right, training his sights on the hollow until the right moment, just after one of the tremors put Nikolas slightly off balance.

  “And so you shall fall, watching the only soul who trusted you die!”

  "????????????????L????????????E???????????????????????T?????? ????????????????U????????????????????????????S???????? ????????????????????????????????F???????????????E????????????????A???????????????????????????????????S??????????????????????????T?????????????????????????????!???????????????????????? ??????????????????????Y????????????I?????????????????????????E???????????????????????????L???????????????????????D????????????????? ?????????????T?????????????????H????????????E????????????????I?????????????????????R???????????????????? ??????????????????F???????????????L?????????????????E?????S????????????H????????????????????????,???????????????????? ???????????????E????????????????????????????R??????????????????E???????????????????????? ???????????????????W??????????E????????????? ????????????????????C???????????????????L??????????????????????A??????????????????????????????I????????????????????M??????????????????????????????? ??????Y?????????????????????????????O?????????????????U?????????????????????????????????R??????????????????S?????????????????!???????????"???????????????

  The part-alchemist, part-rogue held onto sanity by only a sliver, overwhelmed by the voices and forces compelling him to let go, to stop holding back. Weaving between the crushing swings of a mace and the violent eruptions from underneath, it was the momentary glimpse of Clarisse trapped in Ciela’s clutches on the other side past all of them which finally set him off.

  Nikolas let out a guttural roar, igniting the broken blade beyond its physical shape. An almighty slash followed in a wide arc in front of him – It destroyed the cannon shot, sent the barbarian flying back, and even struck the mage out of the air before finally settling down, leaving tendrils of mana floating in its wake of annihilation.

  “PH:OV.”

  “Yes, my kind fellow?”

  “It’s time for them to die.”

  “Splendid!”

  Thank you for reading!

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