Chapter 342: No Right

“Which Airships are those in Rene?”

Calikgos eyed the message and scanned the surrounding fleet. He was back on the deck of Sages of Destiny’s flagship beside Lilya. The bombardment had stopped, and Kordas had been reduced to a blazing pile of rubble. A tidal wave of black mist was encroaching on the fleet from a distance, well over the height of the highest sailing ship; Kalmoore had fallen far below the abyss and was minutes from crashing to the ground of the old world.

“Skar’s team. They were close to Rene and ignored the orders to fly to Kordas. Ubiysta is the second. He must’ve suspected something. The abyss is on its way; it’ll swallow Rene within minutes.”

“Good. If Ubiysta hasn’t killed Aegis in 10 minutes, airburst to join them.”

Calikgos hesitated. “Is that necessary? It’s him alone, I’ve a feeling we could do nothing, and his last stand attempt will fall to the oncoming onslaught of abyss creatures and  Avatars of Darkness.”

“I’m not leaving anything to chance. I want him dead, and this farce ended.”

“He has divine intervention and home-field advantage. I don’t think it’s wise to underestimate him.”

“I didn’t ask for your insight. You follow my orders. His goddess is Eirene. Her divine blessings are limited to buffs and NPC protections. You all are at no risk. Kill. That. Damn. KID!”

Calikgos closed out of the messaging interface impatiently, turning to Lilya and Feng, who stood on the deck of a neighboring ship. “Ready the ships for another airburst. Have our Shattered Healers use Aura of Light to keep the abyss back. We’re finishing this.” 

***

“Oooh, predictable Aegis. Can’t fool us!” a voice called from atop one of the two airships. 

“Knew you were planning to portal here the moment you spoke to Jael. Now we’ll be the ones to claim your bounty!” Another said.

Aegis, still, ignored them, despite vaguely recognizing the voices. 

“Amlie, we need a spot within Rene’s walls to plant Bihi. Bihi’s original wildwood tree grew near here, so it should be easy. Clear out your farm field for it and be ready, as things will likely devolve into a sticky, tangled mess in a matter of seconds.” Aegis said with focused eyes, and Amlie nodded back, squinting curiously at his word choice. 

Aegis turned to Savika next. “Gather the citizens of Rene and head into the under-realm tunnels and caverns below. Send any and all defenders up who can fight; keep the women and children below ground. Any, and all defenders, got it?”

She nodded.

“Chax, let me know when we’ve got gold in, we might be able to use it to bribe any mercenaries working with VGN, since they’ve undoubtedly hired some and have them in our ranks. Have it ready for when things get heavy.” 

Chax took a second to process his words, but gave a wink of acknowledgement. “I’ll do what I can.” 

“Tullan, don’t worry about being efficient with resources. Reinforce and guard our most valuable assets with mithril,” Aegis turned from Tullan to Ruffily, “I need you to construct two watch towers facing north east, as fast as possible, as sturdy as possible, but most importantly, as high as possible. We’ll need to see what’s coming once Bihi is planted and the abyssal forces are upon us. Be ready for a large quake. Kalmoore will hit the old world any minute now. Go, like cogs in a machine,” he shouted.

“And myself?” Jael asked.

“Round up Rene’s guard, Celestian, and the Great Prophet Clara. Keep them safe, hidden, and healthy until I give the command to go.”

Jael sped off, and Aegis turned his attention to the two airships hovering above his bridge. He recognized them. Skar’s team, and the tiny wizard resembling Simon, who had just defeated Emerill in a one-on-one fight.

Skar’s team had already effigied Aegis’ face onto the shield of their healer, just as they had done during the tournament. The party turned on the shield and started attacking it while Ubiystas crossed his arms and stared with amusement.

Damage numbers rolled over Aegis. It wasn’t much; he was a lot stronger than when they’d last fought, and even then, they had never targeted Aegis during the tournament for a reason; he was tanky. On top of that, he had the 10% defensive bonus for standing within the walls of Rene.

Still, if he stood there and did nothing, they’d kill him within 10 seconds of focused damage.

I need to get rid of these guys, and I absolutely cannot allow them to take out anyone else. I need every single one of my party alive if this plan is going to work.

Aegis healed himself and eyed Ubiystas, the biggest threat, who seemed content with just watching for the moment. If he wasn’t going to fight, the next biggest threat was the Master of Shadows, Alicia. She shared a class with Lina and could teleport anywhere there were shadows, as long as she stood in them herself.

The towering wall of black abyssal mist was flowing towards them fast, like a 30-foot-high tsunami. Rene would be engulfed in seconds, and she’d have free rein if Aegis did nothing.

He cast three spells within a few seconds of each other. First, he healed himself to top off the damage they were dealing to him through the effigy. Second, he activated his Avatar of Eirene skill, erupting in a flare of white light, his shining wings extending from the center of his bag. Lastly, he cast an aura of light, expanding it out in a dome over the lands of Rene and beyond.

The mist of the abyss crashed against the dome of light like waves against rocks, running up and over it as the surrounding fields, land, and mountain were shrouded in darkness. Within seconds, it washed over the dome of light, blocking Kalmoore’s view of the sky.

Aegis launched himself off the ground, flapping his wings towards Skar’s airship. They’d formed around the cleric’s shield, attacking it. Skar and the Cleric used shield projections to cut off Aegis’s approach, but he soared around them and landed on the deck in their midst.

“Virab-” he stopped mid-cast. The dragoon of their group had already extended the tip of his spear forward, blue mouths chomping on the blade, prepared to eat his virabhadra.

Aegis had no intention of casting it, but how they reacted set him off.

It was precisely how they’d fought in the tournament. Reliant on the artifact shield, a strategy built solely around protecting the cleric and counteracting Aegis’ virabhadra. It was so basic, it was insulting. They lacked any and all creativity. This was a VR-MMORPG. A world filled with unique items, spells, gear, monsters, techniques, and these guys were using the cookie-cutter strategy that VGN had given them, despite it already failing to win them the tournament.

It pissed Aegis off. Something snapped inside of him at the sight of those tiny mouths.

These are the guys who are imprisoning players like Mikael, Quiver, Darkshot, Herilon, and Joltblade? These are the guys who are limiting access to the abyss, using my discovered wildling seeds? These are the guys taking control of the game's kingdoms, using Airship designs that Leonard unlocked? Wearing Mithril gear Tullan designed, and voidsilk techniques perfected by Yuki? 

What right did these idiots have to destroy islands? What right did these idiots have to ban my parents? What right did they have to arrest the lead game designer? What right did they have to stand in my presence? In my city? Who the fuck did these clowns think they were?

His resolve solidified in that very moment. Nothing mattered anymore. His spite had reached levels not even he thought possible, and even for him, what he was about to do was a bit much.

“Let me show you how this game is meant to be played,” Aegis snarled. He must’ve looked terrifying, he thought, because all five players around him looked back at him with fearful expressions.

He unequipped his shield and shot the palms of his claw of jealousy gloves forward at the two biggest threats. He pressed the heels of his palms into the face of the Master of Shadows player and the Cleric, digging his fingers into their heads with a tight grip. He knew already that he had a strength stat superior to theirs; it’d take a few seconds for them to break free of the grip.

The sage, Skar, and the dragoon reacted, but too slowly. Skar was ready to interrupt any spell he cast with a cast time. The dragoon was prepared to eat any instant spell he cast. The sage was ready to ward off any physical attack he made.

He did none of that. He leaped off the side of the airship, soaring over Rene towards the forge in a flash of white light. 

He landed right in front of two crafting stations and kicked the metal panels open with his foot. He shoved the faces of the two players into the furnace of the forge, the blazing heat of the eternal flame within searing their faces and dealing massive fire damage.

He let go of their faces, and before they could pull themselves out, he slammed the metal doors shut on them, pinning their bodies in place.

They screamed in pain, no doubt having their pain thresholds set to ten, and as they screamed, he repeatedly stabbed their backs with his blades of jealousy, until both were dead.

It took this long for the dragoon, Skar, and the sage to pursue, landing a few feet from Aegis with looks of terror on their face.

You have lost 100 favor with Eirene.

You have lost 100 favor with Eirene.

You have lost 100 favor with Eirene.

The messages flowed across his screen, culminating in a 1000-favor loss for both kills.

Aegis ignored the gaping faces of the three players in front of him, instead turning up to look at the sky.

“Any chance I can convince you to look the other way for a bit, Eirene? I know you don’t like the spread of fear, anger, suffering, and death, but…” He turned his gaze back on Skar and his friends. “There’s gonna be a whole lotta that while I put these dogs down.” 

Aegis re-equipped his shield. Ubiystas cackled maniacally from atop the deck of his airship, watching the whole scene unfold.

“I like your style, kid,” he cheered.

That guy was the most dangerous of the bunch. If he went after the others, they’d be dead in seconds. I had to keep him focused on me.

“I remember you. Simon, right? My mom told me you were some old creep who liked to roleplay as a kid. I see nothing’s changed.” Aegis called up to him.

His laughing stopped. “A shame she’s not here. I’d have liked to get revenge. I’ll settle for ripping apart that Queen of yours, limb from limb.”

Not good.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to face me either. Better to hunt down little girl NPCs instead, eh, tough guy? You’re not beating those ‘creep’ accusations.”

Ubiystas’ eye twitched. 

“Skar and his buddies here might suck, but at least they’ve got the balls to fight me. Stay up there, hiding on your airship and threatening NPCs. Maybe if you’re lucky, Skar and friends will kill me, so you won’t have to worry about deleting another character, like when you fought my mom.”

That did the trick. For better or for worse, Ubiystas’s attention was fully on Aegis. He shot a water spear toward him, and once it was a few feet from Aegis, he swapped positions with it.

“Good, let’s team up and take hi-” Skar spoke, but was killed a few seconds later. A barrage of high-level spells showered down on him and his two party members, leaving red [DEAD] text floating above their heads.

“I’ll humiliate you in front of your millions of viewers, little shit. I only hope your dearest mommy is watching. You out there, Pyri? This is what happens when you mess with ME!” He shrieked.

His armor was similar to what it was when he was playing as Simon. Long-sleeved blue robes concealing his fingers, and messy long blonde hair with bright blue eyes. A human, but the height of an 8-year-old boy. The only thing that’d changed was his name, and the staff on his back; he had been given the Staff of the Stars, the same weapon Synopse had been wielding during the first rounds of the tournament.

For better or for worse, Aegis had his full, uninterrupted attention.

6 minute cooldown remaining on Airburst.