Shockdown’s hull shook and melted under numerous hits. Countless spells blazed around the vessel, and the entire castle artillery kept pummeling it. Slowly, percent by percent, its armor dwindled, and staying on the upper deck was impossible: the superstructures were gone in a furious fire. The battle raged inside, and we fought in narrow corridors, cabins, and on the lower deck, clearing a path. Our shadow users were unable to capture the spelljumper on the first try, as Pandorum warriors staunchly guarded the vital nodes of their ship. I didn’t gain much insight from Tailfeather’s scarce remarks other than that the Shockdown was turning around and gaining altitude, preparing to escape the focused fire through an Astral Portal. We couldn’t permit that — otherwise, all our efforts would go down the drain. However, even despite the Succubate’s help, the battle was a close one and far from easy — the juggernaut was teeming with elite warriors from Euthanasia and Oblivion thirsting for our blood. Still, so far, Mara and her minions successfully kept them at bay until their echelons suddenly stopped dead, coming upon an insurmountable obstacle.
It happened on the second level of the artillery deck. At once, the succubi held still, exchanging excited whispers, and the sounds of battle ahead died down. Several clawed pawns pulled me by my clothes. Go, the Mistress is calling.
It wasn’t Pandorum who had blocked our way. I saw Mara taut as a string, poised to attack. Her consorts covered her flanks, and another demon stood on the opposite side. Or, rather, that was a devil — in the Netherworlds hierarchy, it meant an NPC of rank five or six.
Nessu, the Devil of Icy Hell
Large and broad-shouldered, covered with brilliant white scales, he had an elongated dinosaur-like head and a thick tail, resembling a cross between a human and a reptile. A distinct aura of arctic cold emanated from him, and his clawed paws left traces of hoarfrost on the surface of the deck. Lines of snowy ape-like creatures with long hands loomed behind him.
“Why fight each other, Nessu?” I heard Mara’s suave voice. “Let’s just kill all of the players here!”
“I am bound...jussst like you, Missstress!” the devil exhaled in response. He hissed like a snake, a forked tongue flickering in his mouth. “I was sssent to kill you all!”
“What are you bound with? An item, a contract, a promise? Why should we, creatures of the Netherworld, obey the orders of some players? Let’s destroy them together!”
“Why do you lisssten to humansss?” Nessu hissed, unerringly locating me with a glare. “Look at him: are you afraid of sssoaking your claws with hisss blood? Ssstart with him, Mara! Rip out his heart, and I’ll consssider your proposal!”
What a tool! A hot wave of anger swept me over. Well, let’s see! I selected the Demon Prince archetype in the interface and quickly assigned several attribute points into Demonic Strength and Combat Form, activating it.
It was an odd feeling. I seemingly grew taller by several heads, my chest size also expanding. My body was filled with malevolent power and a strange levity. I didn’t know what I turned into, but the succubi around me suddenly flinched back, the floor reflecting a deformed shadow.
I stepped forward, raising the glowing Aelmaris at the icy devil. The hand gripping the sword was coal-black and clawed as if clad in black armored gauntlets. Mara glanced at me, and I read surprise mixed with fear on her face.
“Rip out my heart?” I roared. “Do you want to try it yourself, or is your blood too thin for something like this?”
Nessu loudly exhaled, staring at me with his cold yellow eyes, unblinking. Then he replied, snarling with his crocodile jaws. “Ha, I sssense Baalor blood! Winged whores, are you giving your blood to every vagabond? If Baal learnsss of it, and he will, I ssswear by the Netherworld, you will all — ”
“Shut up, you lump of ice!” Mara spoke up, leaping at him. Her black wings fluttered above me, and the black scourge slashed through the air. The consorts and the other succubi charged together with their mistress, flooding the area. Shrieking and howling, they clashed against the demonic white monkeys, throwing the deck into complete and utter chaos. I barely managed to find the black-and-white tangle — Mara grappling with the devil.
For a few minutes, I kept trying to reach her while sending the icy white creatures to Kingdom Come until a blinding flash accompanied by screams of pain and a crackle of ice knocked us down and pushed us back. A ring of razor-sharp icy spikes appeared in the thick of battle. Dozens of Succubate’s subjects writhed at the top of them, impaled. In the center, Nessu roared and straightened his back, surrounded by the translucent boulders of his frost-bound enemies. Mara was weakly flailing in his grip, caught by the throat, while he prepared to finish her off with the curved claws of his other hand. Her hit points were in the red zone, and I realized that I had underestimated the icy devil.
Shadow Run! As I dove into the Shadow, my silhouette turned blurry, and I easily got through the ranks of frozen demons and icy spikes. They say that only cowards backstab, but with creatures like those, any method worked. Emerging behind Nessu, I swung Aelmaris at the monster’s white-scaled hide, piercing it.
You dealt 3500 True Fire damage to Nessu, the Devil of Icy Hell! Souls eaten: +1!
Attention: Nessu is a non-playing character of rank 5 who is unable to respawn. You have absorbed his soul! You receive 500,000 XP! You receive 1 free attribute point!
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