I whooped with delight as the monster fell, and cheers echoed through the air behind me as the rest of my followers watched the fight closely. Everyone rushed forward to inspect the strange beast, and soon, warriors were fighting over scraps of souvenirs they’d cut from the monster’s flesh. I saved the eyeball remnants for myself, and I returned to Bastianville to deliver it to Abrin’s enchanting shop before we made camp for the night.
I reappeared in the desert and saw Nameless flapping his wings nonchalantly as he landed in search of his dinner, and I wondered if he’d watched the fight with the Cyclops or merely sniffed the air for the Vex the whole time.
Without being able to communicate with him clearly, there was no way of knowing what was going on inside the little dragon’s head, but I could feel our bond strengthening with each passing day. I had a feeling that I’d soon know what my pet dragon was thinking, and it would likely be more than I cared to hear.
“You did it, Bash!” Eva launched herself into my arms the second I returned from Bastianville. “You killed the legendary Cyclops single-handedly!”
“Did you doubt me?” I arched a teasing eyebrow.
“Not for one second,” my blonde wife assured me.
“Do you think the sorcerer knows you’re coming for him?”
Caelia asked as her eyes flicked to the remains of the Cyclops.
“He is upping his game with each successive attack,” Zenda pointed out. “I think he is growing scared of what will happen when you arrive.”
“He should be scared,” I said. “I’m going to make sure he never summons another monster ever again. I’m so sick of these weird-ass creatures.”
“What is so weird about the creatures’ asses?” Zenda tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Do they not defecate like normal creatures?”
“I’m not even sure if the monsters poop or not,” I laughed. “It’s just a figure of speech from my world. Think nothing of it.”
“Very well.” Zenda folded her arms into the sleeves of her turquoise robes. “What lies ahead for us, then? More Cyclopes?”
“Possibly,” I allowed. “But at least we know they’re killable. So far, everything has had a weakness, but I was surprised my blades penetrated the Cyclops’ skin.”
“That abomination resembled a human to a small degree,”
Caelia pointed out. “It was flesh and blood more so than the other monsters seemed to be. I’m glad you killed it, Bash. It creeped me out.”
“I can’t wait ‘til all of this is over and we can go back to Bastianville,” Eva said in a thoughtful tone. “Not that I’m not having fun, but I find myself missing the other women and Sorena.”
“I can take you back with me next time so you can say hello,” I said. “But this will all be over soon, anyway. We’ll find the sorcerer’s lair, deal with him, and then head home.”
“What about the catacombs?” Zenda reminded me. “There are still mysteries to be solved in the Kotar Desert.”
“We’ll take care of everything,” I promised.
The words of the Zaborian historian did get me to thinking about the locked catacombs again, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the supposed God of the Plague the tree-man Aang told me about. I trusted the tree-man, as surprising as it was, and I didn’t think he would have made up such a ridiculous story just for kicks.
Plus, there was the disease growing on the cocono tree’s limbs, so there had been something there that had infected him.
Could this other god also be from Earth?
I also had the feeling the sorcerer was connected somehow to this new god character, but I wouldn’t know for sure until I confronted the asshole summoning all these monsters.
There were too many unanswered questions still, but all that would change soon enough. We just had to reach the fortress where the asshole was hiding, and then I could handle him like the sack of trash he was.
We settled back into our routine as we traveled the rest of the distance to the sorcerer’s fortress, but I could feel everyone’s strained nerves. Eyes stayed locked on the distant horizon as if waiting for the next monster to attack at any moment, and hands were quick to flick toward weapons. Everyone’s guards were on high-alert, but I knew nothing bad was going to happen as long as I was in charge.
“How much farther, sir?” Jorgen asked as he trotted his horse alongside Goliath. “The men are starting to tire.”
“We will stop for the night again soon,” I said. “But we still have two days’ ride ‘til we reach the fortress.”
“Very good, sir,” the hunter said, but he flicked a sideways glance in my direction that had me thinking there was more he wanted to say.
I sat in silence for a moment as I waited for him to speak again, but I didn’t have to wait very long.
“Do you think we can win this fight, sir?”
“Absolutely,” I said without hesitation. “You’re with the God of Time, remember? Anything is possible with me at the helm.”
“You’ve yet to steer us wrong, sir,” Jorgen said. “But I can’t help but wonder how many lives will be lost in the fight with the monsters. There’s bound to be an army’s worth of creatures waiting for us at the fortress.”
“The scout barely made it back to the Chunga Oasis alive,” I agreed. “But we can handle whatever this asshole throws at us. With me in charge, nothing will go wrong. I can guarantee it.”
“I believe in you, sir.” Jorgen grinned. “Thank you for letting me air my doubts.”
“You’re always welcome to discuss anything with me.” I returned his smile. “But you should keep in mind that you’re following the strongest person in the world around the desert. We won’t fail.”
“I know we won’t, sir,” Jorgen chuckled. “We’ve got the God of Time on our side, and he never loses.”
“Just call me the God of Winning,” I laughed.
It was a couple of days later when the scouts at the head of the procession reported sighting the sorcerer’s fortress, and I called my army to a halt before the structure came into view. I didn’t want to alert the sorcerer to my presence, but I needed to scope the place out before I laid out my plans for attack.
I rode with one of the scouts up the dunes, but then we crouched down to shuffle across the sand to the other side. It wasn’t long before the massive castle-like structure came into view, and I inhaled sharply when I saw the monsters patrolling the ramparts.
“Stay out of sight,” I instructed Trava, the scout with me. “Try to calculate the enemy’s numbers before we return to camp.”
I saw an army of Vex flying through the air, and I could feel Nameless’ excitement through our bond, but I kept a tight leash on the little dragon. It would do no good to have him attack on his own, and there was no telling what would happen if he encountered the sorcerer without me.
Then I spotted Mirago out of the corner of my eye, and I cursed under my breath. The mirror-men would decimate my forces if left unchecked, but I knew the secret to killing them was speed and stealth.
Lizjaga paced around the outside of the fortress, and Naga slithered everywhere the eye could see. Finally, the biggest monster trampled across the ground to guard the entrance to the fortress, and my breath caught in my throat as I stared at the massive, two-story-tall Hydra.
The dragon-like creature was round at the torso, and the beast stood on all four legs like a horse, but there was nothing else familiar about it. The scales lining its spine were spiked and glistened in the sun, and they looked as sharp as razor blades. The three heads arched out of long, curving necks that reminded me of the Loch Ness monster, but I knew better than to think it would be easy to defeat.
It was a creature straight out of legend, and even I’d heard of the three-headed beast. Its heads would regenerate if they were severed, but it was the size of a house, and I knew it would prove to be a challenge.
It was a good thing I loved a challenge.
“Alright, let’s get back to the others,” I told Trava, and the two of us inched backward across the sand until we were safely behind the dune once more. Then we stood and trotted the rest of the distance back to where the army awaited my commands.
The two of us rejoined my forces, and Trava kept close to my side as I squeezed through the crowd of soldiers and warriors eager to see their enemies. I made my way through the press of bodies until I found Jorgen, Corvis, and my women, but then I called for a meeting to discuss our plan of attack. Word quickly spread, and the chiefs traveling with me insisted on being included in the war talk, but I was happy to oblige.
Once everyone had gathered, I made a new save point so I could maintain my all-knowing presence, and then I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention.
“We are outnumbered by monsters,” I began. “But I know we have what it takes to win this fight. If we work together, and remember the weaknesses the various monsters have, then we can come out victorious. Leave the sorcerer to me, but the Hydra may be a problem. We’ll have to take it out before I can confront the man responsible for everything. What do you say, are you with me?”
“The Hydra is a fierce beast, and according to legend, it cannot die.” Chief Kuaki shook his head in a solemn manner. “How do you propose we kill it?”
“It will probably regrow its heads if you cut them off,” I said. “So maybe we should try to restrain it until I can deal with the sorcerer. It is possible that the creatures will all die the instant the sorcerer is dead, but there’s only one way to find out.”
“You’ll face the sorcerer alone?” Eva frowned. “Are you sure about that, Bash?”
“I am.” I nodded. “I don’t want anyone else to be put in danger, and there’s no telling what he’s capable of.”
“If we divide the army into three prongs,” Jorgen suggested.
“Then we can face each of the beast’s heads with more than enough men to manage the monster. We will distract the army of creatures while you sneak inside to confront the sorcerer.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Keep the monsters outside busy while I hunt down the man responsible for them, but if they don’t die with him, then we may still have a war on our hands.”
“The people of the Kotar Desert are built for war,” Chief Takini said in a determined tone. “We can handle an army of monsters.”
“Your people will have to face their worst nightmares,” I warned. “Do you think they are up for that?”
“We’ve handled them to the best of our abilities so far.” Chief Takini crossed his arms over his chest. “We will do our best, Great One. It is not for you to worry about our lives now. You have done your part, now it is up to you to finish the task.”
“Very well,” I said.
Then I reset to my save point with a wave of my willpower so I could come up with all the ideas myself.
Chime.
Now that I knew what my followers were willing to do, I could establish the plan for our attack.
Everyone gathered around me as I waited for the chiefs to make their entrances, and I saw more than one fearful expression among the warriors and soldiers in my army. I would have to boost their confidence before they went into battle, but I knew exactly what to say. Then the chiefs arrived, and silence echoed throughout the army as everyone quieted down to listen to our exchange.
“I have a plan,” I announced.
“We are here to listen to your plan,” Chief Takini said. “Please tell us how we can help in this fight.”
“First, we have to get through the army of monsters standing between me and the sorcerer,” I explained. “We will use a three-pronged attack. Tribes at the center, and my forces on either flank.
The main force will keep the three heads of the Hydra occupied while I fight my way inside to deal with the sorcerer. Then, once he is dead, the monster army should fall. If not, I will help you wipe out the rest of the beasts.”
“Sounds like a solid plan,” Jorgen said with a curt nod. “We are at your disposal, sir.”
“Good.” I nodded in return. “I’ll need every man and woman present to give their all to this fight, and some lives may be lost, but they will not be in vain.”
“What about the people taken from the desert by the Vex?”
Chief Ata of the Casamoni Tribe asked.
“If they’re alive,” I said, “I’ll get them out safely.”
“And if they’re not?” The chief frowned.
“Then I will reap vengeance in their names,” I promised.
The men nodded, since there was no better way I could have answered.
With that settled, we moved to get our forces into formation, and I rode to the head of the army on Goliath’s back. My women would stay behind with a small platoon of soldiers to protect them, but they were far enough away from the fortress so as to avoid attention.
Then we rode toward the fortress with our chins lifted in determination.
The sorcerer was going to get what was coming to him.
He would answer for his crimes against the desert peoples.
We rode within sight of the fortress, and the monsters quickly spotted us and headed in our direction. Their charge was sporadic and unorganized, but I could feel the fear radiating from the desert dwellers behind me.
The monsters were straight out of their nightmares and childhood tales, so a dose of fear was to be expected, but I knew they were capable of winning this fight.
They just needed a god to lead them to victory.
“Steady,” I said in a loud, clear voice as I held my panabas high. “Hold!”
We waited for as long as possible before we suddenly charged forward into the horde of monsters, and I knew there were Mirago everywhere, but I couldn’t see them.
I had to deal with them once and for all or they would decimate my forces, so I slid off Goliath’s back and stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my dragon scale boots in one fluid movement. Then I zoomed through the battlefield on foot. I spotted the quick-moving mirror-men darting in and out of the other monsters, but it was hard to target them with just my peripheral vision. I vaguely took aim at two simultaneously, and I released ice shards in the direction of their feet.
Then I summoned my vines and commanded them to search for the mirror beasts and restrain them, and I sensed them diving through the sands in search of the Mirago. The mirror-men were fast, but this time my ever-evolving vines were faster.
Once the Mirago were either frozen in place or restrained by my vines, I was able to dash quickly in and out of the battlefield to dispatch every Mirago I could find.
Meanwhile, the army separated into three prongs as we approached the fortress, but I stayed ahead of the center spike.
Then we crashed into the line of monsters with a resounding thud, and everywhere around me erupted the sounds of battle. Cries of pain echoed in my ears, but I couldn’t focus on that.
I needed to get inside the fortress.
The Hydra stood in front of the entrance, and the massive dragon-like creature hadn’t moved with the rest of the monsters in the charge, so I wondered if the sorcerer was controlling it from a distance. He had to be commanding it somehow since it showed signs of intelligence and patience, but I wouldn’t know more until I saw the man for myself.
We pushed forward into the press of beasts, and we soon began to make some progress toward the fortress. I slashed out at monsters on either side of Goliath, and I tossed fireballs into the air after the Vex. The winged, tentacled creatures fell from the sky in blazes of color, but their death screeches were like music to my ears.
“Kanuakians!” I shouted to the desert dwellers behind me.
“Focus on the Vex! They are weak to fire.”
The fire mages took my command to heart, and soon I could feel the heat of their fire magic blazing through the air. Their swords created beautiful trails of fire as they swung into Vex after Vex, and the octo-bat-monkeys were dropping like flies.
Then I heard the screams as the few remaining Mirago tore into our forces, and I grimaced with each painful cry. They were difficult to fight since they were fast and hard to see, so I jerked Goliath around to go take care of them. I kept my eyes moving, and whenever I saw one of the mirror-man monsters, I blasted them with my ice spell to freeze them in place. Other warriors leapt at the opportunity to kill a creature from their nightmares, and soon the last of the Mirago were shattering left and right.
The Lizjaga attacked in a wave next, and several of my soldiers fell to their venomous, barbed tails, but even more men and women rushed to take their comrades’ places. No one was losing heart despite the casualties, but I had a feeling we would suffer less losses on my next run through.
I led the charge forward against the Hydra, but at the last possible moment, I guided Goliath around the three snapping maws to the fortress entrance behind the dragon-like beast. I’d have to
leave the rest of the monsters in the capable hands of my followers, but I still had work to do.
“Good luck, Bash!” Jorgen called as he avoided the jaws of the Hydra. “Kill him good, for all of us!”
I lifted my panabas in a signal to attack, and the three prongs of my army surged forward as one to engage with the Hydra. The flanks of my forces kept the rest of the monsters at bay, and everyone worked together, so I had a good feeling about their chances of survival.
Then Nameless swooped out of the sky, spat out the Vex he’d been chewing while still in mid-flight, opened his mouth, and shot a bolt of lightning straight at the Hydra monster.
What the fuck?
That was new.
I’d never seen Nameless emit any elemental attacks before, and excitement coursed through me as the three-headed creature lit up like a glow stick being shaken by a five-year-old, but then everything went dark.
“Nameless!” I shouted as I searched for my dragon through our bond.
Here! the little dragon’s voice chirped in my head. Kill, kill, kill!
His glee and enjoyment were obvious, and they filled me with exhilaration.
“Kill all you want, Nameless,” I encouraged over the sounds of the battle, but I also sent a feeling of approval through the bond between us.
The Hydra roared, and Nameless blasted it with lightning again, but before it stopped glowing, the army rushed forward to deal some serious damage.
I was confident everything was being handled just fine, so I turned my attention to the drawbridge as Goliath’s hooves hammered across the surface, but a moment later, I was inside the courtyard of the fortress. More monsters met me, but I quickly dispatched them, and soon the courtyard was clear.
Several doors stood along the wall of the fortress that circled the courtyard, but it was clear to me which one I needed to enter.
The main doors were hanging open, and the massive wooden panels were two stories tall. The Hydra could have easily fit inside, and I wondered if that was by design.
I dismounted Goliath, and I watched as he trotted over to guard the entrance before I disappeared inside the dimly-lit fortress. I summoned a ball of fire to the palm of my hand to illuminate my path, but what I found was a dilapidated structure full of rotting monster corpses.
Half the bodies looked mangled and disfigured like they were experiments gone wrong, and judging from the level of decay, they’d been left there like that for a while. I followed the trail of monster corpses down the hallway, but I paused to glance inside each room as I went. I didn’t expect the sorcerer to meet me on the main level, but there were stairs going up and down, so I had to decide which way to go first.
I decided to go upstairs first, and then I’d work my way down until the entire fortress had been searched. The stairs creaked beneath my griffon feather dragon scale boots, but the rest of my armor remained silent as I made my way upward. The rooms on the second and third floors were empty, but the stench of death permeated every inch of the place.
“Where is this fucker?” I muttered under my breath as I made my way back down.
Hiding in the basement was way too much of a cliche.
Right?
I treaded lightly as I moved to the stairwell going to the lower levels, but the smell of decay grew ever-stronger the further I went.
My flame sputtered and flickered in my hand as I moved, but it didn’t go out, and I lifted my hand as I peered around.
There were paintings on the walls of what looked like noblemen and women, but the canvases were torn and tattered.
Bloodstains were splattered over some, and the black ooze of the Naga’s blood-stained others. I was glad for my helmet blocking some of the smells, but I still curled my nose in disgust as the stench grew more unbearable.
The stairwell opened up into a massive underground room where workbenches and tables were scattered throughout the space, and the cut-open remains of monsters were strewn across every surface. Shelves filled with jars of body parts lined the walls, but another door stood closed against the far side of the room.
I made my way through the workshop area to the closed door, but the handle didn’t turn in my grasp.
“Locked?” I snorted. “Like that could stop me.”
I focused the flame in my hand on the lock until the metal began to heat up and glow, and then I reared back and kicked the door with all my might. The wood splintered around the lock and gave way in a spray of wood and dust, but then I walked across the threshold to the room beyond.
Sconces lined the stone walls and illuminated the interior, but my eyes quickly landed on the tall, lean man standing inside the room.
The man was bald, but his bare skin was covered in tattoos, and they reminded me of the tribal designs people often had tattooed on them back on Earth. The man lunged for me with a dagger lifted in his fist, but I quickly blocked the blow with my panabas and knocked him back.
A fireball launched past my head, but I ducked just in time to avoid being burned alive in the blast.
Apparently, the sorcerer knew more than just summoning magic.
This was going to be fun.
I shot out a shard of ice to counter his next blast of fire, and the two spells devoured each other in midair. He fired two fireball blasts
in rapid succession, but I used water and ice to block the heat before it ever reached me.
Then earthen bullets rocketed from the palms of his hands, and I had to re-evaluate. Fortunately, my shield spell blocked the majority of the dirt darts before they made contact with me, and my armor protected me from the rest.
Lucky shot.
Except the God of Time had never taken a single hit before, so why start now. I’d learned the sorcerer was a multi-elementalist and a summoner, so I knew how to approach him better.
I wanted him on the defensive this time.
Chime.
I laid out my plans to the leaders of my army, but this time I took out the Mirago even faster. Then I watched for Nameless to come out of the sky to light up the Hydra like a jack-o’-lantern, and he came in right on time.
I watched with delight as the lightning bolt burst from the little dragon’s mouth once again, and I sent waves of approval through the bond connecting us.
Then I charged forward on Goliath’s back across the drawbridge and into the courtyard, and once the circular yard had been cleared, I entered the main doors and headed toward the sorcerer.
I made a new save point before I broke down the door, but then I prepared myself for the fight ahead.
The sorcerer lunged at me with his dagger, and I knocked him back again, but the fireball came at my head almost instantaneously.
I had my ice spell ready, though, and I countered every element he threw at me.
This time, I managed to avoid getting struck by any of his earthen bullets, but he quickly followed it up with a wave of constant heat so intense that it began to eat away at my magical shield.
I’d had enough.
I twisted my hands and said the word of power for the magic negating spell.
“Nin.”
The flames abated like candles being blown out on a birthday cake, and I immediately went on the offensive. I lobbed fireballs and
water bullets in the sorcerer’s direction without pause, and the flames bloomed over his summoned barrier to block him from view.
Two could play this game.
“What are you hiding for?” I taunted as I ceased the fireballs and switched to flinging ice shard daggers at his magical shield.
“Didn’t you want to kill me?”
I could see the barrier flicker as it began to fail, and that was when I threw everything in my arsenal at his magical shield until the shimmering barrier disappeared altogether in a dazzling burst of light.
Then the sorcerer twisted his hand down into the disarming spell, but I nixed it before he could complete the movement.
“Who are you?” he asked in a voice shaking with fear. “What do you want?”
“Are you kidding me?” I quickly summoned my vines to restrain him, and I frowned as he struggled against the bindings holding him.
“You’ve been trying to kill me or kidnap me ever since I arrived in the desert.”
“Y-Y-You are Sebastian?” The sorcerer ceased his struggling and stared at me in shock. “But my monsters… You killed my
Hydra?”
“Not yet,” I admitted with a shrug. “But I’m sure it’ll die when you do.”
“You wouldn’t!” The sorcerer’s eyes widened.
“Won’t know until I try.” I drew my panabas and twirled them through the air before I sliced my blades through the sorcerer’s neck.
The man’s bald, tattooed head rolled from his shoulders to bounce across the stone floor, but I stopped its movement with one of my boots. Then I gazed down into the unseeing eyes of the dead man, and a breath of relief escaped my lips.
He was dead.
Time to see if that also killed the Hydra, but before I did that, I decided to look around the room where the sorcerer had been hiding. There was a desk scattered with papers and letters, and I discovered a journal tucked beneath some stacks of parchment. I flipped through the pages quickly, but it looked like the sorcerer’s notes on summoning monsters.
Then a few certain words caught my eyes.
The God of Plague.
I flipped back to the page where I’d seen the words, and I read the sorcerer’s entry.
I, Ajat Palani, have done the unthinkable. I have freed a god from his imprisonment in another world. The God of Plague has been liberated, and I will be rewarded for my loyalty. Death and disease follow him, but I have been guaranteed safety as long as I use my abilities to meet his goals. My new master seeks total domination, and now that he is free of his former world called Earth, he can exact his vengeance upon this realm. None shall stand before his might. Victory will be ours.
A part of me already knew it.
I wasn’t the only man from Earth in this medieval fantasy world.
There were other people pretending to be gods out there wreaking havoc on this world, and it seemed like I was the only benevolent one. The God of the Purge encouraged people to commit suicide, and the God of the Plague was followed by disease. They would destroy the world if left unchecked.
I had to stop him.
And find out if there were any others from my world.
The job of a god was never done.
End of Book 11