Chapter 7 - The cult, the darkness

My hands oozed off magical power, my eyes were glowing faintly. I held my palm toward my forehead.

Kiwi turned towards me and communicated, 

"Nana, take a breath, I can see magic power oozing from you like smoke." I looked down on the ground. 

Clenched my fists tight. 

Took a deep breath. 

"You okay Nana?" Herod asked, sounding concerned.

I snapped my finger, burning the corpses to nothing but ash. 

Herod jumped and turned around looking at the flames, maybe should’ve given him a heads up.

.

"Yes, it's just. I got some hist…" I paused. 

"Nevermind, let's get going," I said and smiled at him. 

"It's okay, don't feel pressure to tell me," he said, smiling back. 

"and yes, let's."

 

We walked up to where the illusion had been. 

I tried to observe the golems. 

They were covered in armor so I couldn't see what kind of components had been used. 

Not that it matters all too much probably. 

 

"How do we go about this?" Herod asked. 

"Do you know what level they are or what kind?" He said as he tried to walk back and forth, observing from different directions.

"Not sure, I can sense magical force. But when I try to pierce to see more there's something blocking me." I said, a bit uneasy. 

"we could charge in on Kiwi, putting a barrier on you." I said, looking at him. 

 

"I'll overload her armor, and then you jump with the shockwave and strike the left one while I go for the kill on the right one." I looked back at the golems. 

"be sure to chant forth something that can slash through magic" I said as I threw him up on kiwis back. 

I meanwhile simultaneously soared up in the air. 

"ready?" I asked, looking down at him.

"Wait, can you overcharge her from there?" he asked with a surprised tone, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes, it's just.. touching from a distance sort of." I said, smiled and leaned my head to the side. 

Habit I'd gotten.

The “tilting my head” as I talked.

 

"Okay, so, on my count Kiwi and Herod.." I paused.. 

Herod took a deep breath, chanted something, summoning a greatsword that looked like icy winds and ice were covering the blade. 

"3.." Kiwi took her position, ready to leap.. 

I aimed my hand at Herod and I put a barrier around him, tightly wrapped onto his skin. 

"2.." I aimed my hand in the sky, channeled energy from the sun quickly and summoned forth 5 orbs of light energy that started circulate above my head. 

"1.."

 

I aimed my hand at Kiwi, thought of touching her, the aura began to grow from her. 

Her armor grew out, spreading itself, wrapping itself around her limbs and up on her head. 

 

"go!" 

Kiwi leaped in as the aura exploded with fire, sending a nova of fire outwards which I now aimed in a cone towards the golems 

 

"oh, nice, it worked to aim it." I mumbled to myself. 

They staggered. 

Herod jumped on his golem, "die!" he yelled as he was attacking full force with the huge greatsword he'd summoned swinging it from behind his head. 

As he did, he split the golem, while I flew up and forward and sent my orbs to bombard the other golem from above. 

I couldn't see if it despawned, dust flew up around it.. 

 

"Watch out, they might still be-" I yelled as the one Herod had struck was about to swing its sword with the right half of the body, aiming at Herods torso. 

Kiwi grew her head size and bit the now split head clean off from the one Herod had struck.

Then she spat it out towards the alley. 

The body of the split golem had started to merge together, like dark threads grasping for the other half pulling each other together. And losing its head didn’t seem to bother it. It still completed the swing it charged up for like nothing.

"What the.." Herod chanted something, a shield grew out of his left arm and blocked the blow just in time. 

He jumped back. 

 

I tried to sense what magic was left. 

The one I'd bombarded had no signs of magic left in it.. 

The dust settled and it looks like I disintegrated it and created a small crater in the process.

"How is it still swinging, I split it in two almost!" Herod yelled out. “And it’s got no fucking head.” he mumbled 

He held up his shield in one hand and the greatsword in the other hand, blade backwards, ready to strike. 

 

I snapped my fingers and smiled!

I got it, I had used light magical power!

 

"It might be darkness golems, add light into your weapon, i mean, of course you can’t,” I said and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand.

“I'll do it" I then yelled. Golem’s aren’t normally this tough, as they usually break as the magic is disrupted. I assume it’s more to it with darkness ones. Maybe it has to be struck with something that disrupts darkness.. Eh, thoughts for another time.

 

I aimed my hands at Herods weapons and channeled light energy into them. 

A shimmer started to wrap itself around the blade and shield, a light beam along with it. 

It was now covered in a concentrated light magical force that circulated it. 

 

"Thanks Nana!" Herod yelled and gave a quick salute gesture.

The now semi-split headless golem staggered towards Herod. 

it looked like dark threads and blobs had patched the halves together at certain points where it was split. 

Real nightmare material.

It was trying to swing its weapon again but Herod charged in and blocked the blow while piercing the golem at the heart's location, in this case the core I suppose.

 

Since golems don’t have hearts…

They have cores.

of course.

Aanywaay,

 

"Now can you die you unholy creation!" he yelled. 

It dropped its weapon and fell to the ground. 

I soared down and landed beside him. 

"phew. Thank fuck you figured that out." he said then breathed deep, a bit fatigued by the surprises. 

"that thing hit really hard" he paused as he panted, 

"If it had been someone weaker, they'd be thrown back by that power." he said and hugged me. 

 

"Thanks," he said, I hugged him back. 

"no problem, but." I said a bit concerned as I let go of him. 

"We got more to deal with.. Darkness magic ain't something just anyone uses." I said as I walked over to the doorway. 

"You mean, there might be dark arts practitioners?" he said in a serious tone, clenching his fists a bit as he said it.

"Well, we can't be sure. But someone with quite a bit of knowledge in dark magic created those" I put my hand on the door. 

"knowing no normal magician or intruder could ever stop them." I said with a concerned look on my face. 

"but, you just wiped one out like nothing?" he pointed at the crater, having a hopeful look on his face. 

"Yes, I can use light magic, but it's a very rare skill." I paused, looked down. 

"Kiwi, scout the interior for us, I'll break the lock" I pulsated out some magical force on the door, breaking the spell on it. 

"sure thing Nana. I'll stay hidden.” She shrank to the size of a fly and flew inside. 

"Now we wait for Kiwi to report back. I sat down, opened my storage and took out a sandwich. 

Herod looked at me, raising an eyebrow. 

"You want one too? My man made them for me! " I said smiling at him stuffing my face. 

He sat down and laughed a bit. 

"what's on em?"

"It's Bacon, lettuce and tomato." I said, sounding super happy. 

Super fantastic sandwich, one of my favourites for sure. 

"Sure, I'll have one then." He took one and we ate quickly while we waited. 

 

---A Moment later---

 

"Thanks Nana, it was amazing." he chuckled a bit 

"like you said." 

"No problem, and what about the laugh?" I asked, leaned my head sitting there, legs crossed. 

"Just, you're facial expression sometimes when you get excited about something.. or happy." he scratched his head and blushed. 

"Even at times like these. It's just cute." he said.

I blushed a bit and laughed. 

"Well, I can't help it. I guess it's good if it raises your spirit." I said and smiled. 

I sensed Kiwi was going to come back. 

We stood up and as we did Kiwi appeared before us, I suppose she teleported out. 

“Waah” Herod jumped a bit when she appeared.
“It’s a stair leading down to a basement, where there’s a room built like a church with a sacrificial altar up front. There’s quite a few down there, Hold on, I'll show you Nana.” 

She flew up so her head was the same height as mine. 

“Woaw, what you doi-” Herod said but stopped mid-word as Kiwi smashed her forehead onto mine.

It came in a flash, I saw as if I was her when she was down there scouting. 

I was Kiwi. 

 

--- Earlier, from Kiwi's perspective ---

A long staircase leading down underground. I flew down quite fast, but must be about 200 meters underground now. 

“A big door.” I thought. 

I phased through it, couldn’t help but wag my tail in excitement a bit as I entered a big room. 

I looked behind me at the door I just phased. 

It looked blocked from the inside by a glowing purple cross, covering the whole door. 

2 guards beside the door. 

“looks like they wear the same armor as the golems we just handled”
I Ignored the guards and flew closer to the purple cross.

"Surely a magic blockade created with darkness magic.” I used Analyze magic. 

“average level magic." I thought. 

My eyes wandered up and down the magical structure. 

"A spell like that means the caster is at the very least an above average level. Maybe 110ish?" I did not sense the spell itself was that great. 

But a magician rarely specialises in spawning objects like these, what makes me suspect the higher level is the rarity of the type of magic used in the creation. 

I could be dead wrong and it could be a level 10-30ish that just happens to know this spell.

but.

It’s someone who draws their magic from darkness which itself isn’t obtainable at a low level or without a blessing. 

I turned around and flew down the room.

The room itself was big as a church's main hall, maybe 90 meters long, 25 wide. 

I looked up on the roof, detailed as if she was inside a real church, but deep underground.

Felt weird. 

super high roof, approximately 27 meters high.

The room was sort of built like a church, just a bit more demonic touch to it. 

Just two benches in the back, then two small pools on each side centrally placed. 

A long rug going in the middle from the entrance down to the end of the room, red. 

I looked at the walls. 

“Windows?.. No..” 

There was something that looked like windows that glowed, I suppose a glowing painting. They were huge, from floor to roof, 6 on each side of the room then one big down at the end. 

I looked at the left wall, there were 3 of them on each side of the pool. 

Mirrored design on the right wall.

“What's that in the painting..” 

It depicted something horrible. 

In purple, red, yellow and black details, a demon I've seen in a book somewhere. 

I can’t remember her name. 

“They mentioned her in the spirit realm before…” 

I shook my head. 

Nevermind, think about it later Kiwi. 

I suppose we've stumbled upon a sanctum. 

I flew down to the end of the room. 

There were 4 people in robes, black with red lines on, up in front by an altar. 

“I better analyze the humanoids.” I went closer to them. 

Analyzed them. 

Humans, no other race are sensed. 

“Wait”. 

One other. a fifth.
I flew up and looked down on the altar. 

A tied down Tortoise Girl.
“She only has the shell, so I suppose she’s half human.”

Those fucking… They’re chanting… A summoning… 

It’s a sacrifice to bring forth something. 

I Flew up in shock at the chanting.

“I better return to Nana directly” 

I cast teleport to get back out directly.