Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 116: Retainer

But I couldn't even afford this bit of time. I slammed a telekinetic shove into the ground, lurching into the air to avoid bullets of water infused with electricity. A few sparked in the darkness as they skittered across my telekinetic shroud, but they weren't strong enough to break through.

I grit my teeth, my eyes tracing the sources of heat in the room. I was relying mainly on my sense of hearing and the thumps of heartfire in my ears to track all the mages in the room. My sight was too restricted by the darkness.

Another boulder of earth shot toward me from the ground, but a slight reorientation in midair allowed it to skim past my back. Oath flashed, the blade severing half a dozen fireballs in a split second. The explosion of light gave me a chance to plan.

Thinking quickly, I threw a handful of sound grenades at the ground. In the darkness, they were indistinct and difficult to see. But as I expected, the mages lashed out at the murky spells on instinct.

The moment a bolt of electricity pierced one of the sound grenades, a sound like nails scratching a chalkboard–except ramped up to eleven–echoed throughout the chamber. The arching walls carried the sound exceptionally, several of the mages doubling over as the sound attacked their eardrums.

Those must be the casters, I thought as I hit the ground running, a few fireballs popping into existence around my head. They can't strengthen their bodies against physical damage.

I thought of the last time I'd been surrounded on all sides. Kaelan Joan had managed to box me in, then slowly whittle me down from an unending barrage. From their core levels and mana output, each of these mages was about the strength of Kaelan Joan herself. My heart hammered in my head as I circumvented the careful encirclement these mages had created.

Now, they were nothing but prey.

I darted for one of the groaning casters, intent on capitalizing on their weakness. But the mage that had been lobbing boulders at me threw himself in my path, solid armor of earth materializing over his body as he prepared to meet my advance.

The fool.

I slid around the mage, far too fast for him to catch. He was slowed by his bulky armor, while I was fluid as blood. As I passed him by, I latched onto his arm with mine, then pivoted on my foot. The man–who must have weighed half a ton with his rock armor–lifted off the ground with a surprised grunt. I locked eyes with the recovering caster in front of me as I leveraged the body of her teammate, preparing to use him like a club.

I saw it there. In my shadow, she saw her end. The woman recognized she was going to die. Felt it in the intent around her. The fear. The terror.

I slammed the armored man into the ground beside the woman instead of on top of her, internally cursing myself for my empathy. The ground shuddered and cracked as the earth mage's body rattled in a way that was not good for his health at all.

The kneeling caster's eyes sharpened as her teammate bounced off the ground. She lunged for me, a knife I hadn't spotted appearing in her hands. I felt anger well up in my gut at her foolish gamble.

You want to die? I thought angrily, my fingers digging into the groaning earth mage's armor. Rock splintered under my grip. The man clawed weakly at my hands. Know that you've chosen this.

Before the caster could near me, two telekinetic pushes–each shoving in opposing directions–snapped her arm. The woman screamed as her limb twisted at a strange angle, but Oath buried itself in her side before she could make more sound.

She collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, her heartfire shivering. I snarled, turning as more spells bombarded me. Water and electricity combined to make a piercing and conducting spiral, intent on my heart.