Rise of the Devourer

Chapter 48: Cultist Chaos

The Abyssal and Crimson chiefs made their way from atop the altar, looking at the two of them in surprise.

“Have you gone insane?” the Abyssal chief roared. “We told you to keep this as secret as possible. And you brought adventurers right to our door!”

“I didn’t,” Garett replied, glancing back at the chief. “She was dead. I’d handed her off to the cultist hideout south of Layfar, near the Lost Woods. There’s no way for her to have gotten out of there.”

“Yet she clearly did,” the Crimson chief said, snorting. “This has been a huge disaster.”

“No, it isn’t,” Garett replied, glancing in Noah’s direction. “Evans, grab the two that escaped and bring them back.”

The ranger nodded, leaving Noah where he was and rushed outside the chamber.

“How is it not a disaster? If the guild knows, we need to leave, and quick. Just kill them already and we’ll move to another location,” the Crimson chief said.

“We won’t be running,” Garett said, glancing down at Aurelia. “If the guild really knew what was going on, they wouldn’t have sent an E and F ranked adventurer. They’d raid the entire place, leaving no gaps. No, this was an individual mission to scout for information,” Garett said. “Isn’t that right, my dear?”

Aurelia spat in his face, fire burning in her pupils. “The guild will be here if I don’t return. They know what you did, and they’ll find you. All of you. It doesn’t matter how far you run, your petty lie is revealed now.”

Garett wiped the spit off his face, then kicked Aurelia in the gut, making her cry out in pain as she rolled over, groaning. “As defiant as ever,” Garett said, turning to the cultist. “Here’s your sacrifices. Five of them. If we’re killing them anyway, you may as well finish what you were here for.”

The chiefs glanced at each other. “That one wouldn’t be sufficient. F rankers don’t have enough life-force,” the Crimson chief said.

“No, no, that one has enough,” the Abyssal chief said, turning to Noah. “In fact, he has more than enough.”

Walking closer, the Abyssal chief crouched down, staring at Noah. “My, your body is mutated so horribly. What is this?” The chief pressed a finger to his forehead with his sharp nails. “Void take me, this lunatic decided to put an Abyssal parasite in his body. And he still lives!”

“We don’t have time to marvel over the sacrifices, Hayver. Bring them in and start the ritual,” the Crimson chief said.

Garrett grabbed Aurelia, hauling her over, even as she kicked around, trying to free herself.

Noah felt himself being picked up, his body still fighting against the paralysis and toxin. Closing his eyes, he did not struggle, saving his energy. His attention was entirely focused on the shackles tying him. Like before, Noah called for his Astral Script, finding resistance. But this time, the action was easier than before.

Astral Script (LOCKED):

Name: Noah Brown

Race: Human (Symbiont)

Rank: F

Paths:

Exsanguinator - level 46

Astralwalker - level 44

Void Hunter - level 43

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Attributes:

Power: 145

Agility: 137

Constitution: 143

Mystic: 153

Attribute Points: 48

Noah closed his eyes and pushed with everything he had to reach out to his [Abilities] menu. A piercing pain rose in his skull, blood starting to drip from his nose before a crack came, and the ability unlocked. Using nearly all the mana he had, Noah reached into his Inventory, and teleported a Mana stone into his mouth.

He did not eat the stone, letting it sit as he panted, already exhausted. Not yet. Just one more thing.

Noah reached out once more. Selecting all the free Attributes he had, he put a few into Agility for an extra edge on his speed, while the majority went into Mystic.

A pounding pain went through Noah’s chest, making him shiver, but he pushed through it. He’d lived through far worse very recently. This much wasn’t going to make him pass out.

A prompt hung in front of Noah’s eyes, for accepting the selection. He let it hang there for now. His heart raced, nerves taut with tension as he felt himself being shoved onto an altar.

What a funny coincidence, to be back here again.

Opening his eyes at last, he saw Aurelia nearby, now gagged so she couldn’t bite. Nearby, the Drailith remained tied as well, the prisoner’s eyes blank and distant, as if he’d lost all hope for survival and accepted his fate.

Noah continued to watch as the cultists stood around them, whispering chants. The ground beneath them stirred, dark mana gathering as a strange electrifying energy ran across Noah’s body. Reaching out to Tony, Noah nudged him awake, instructing him to wait for his command.

“What’s taking your teammate so long?” the Abyssal chief asked.

“They might’ve ran far,” Garett said, though a frown lingered on the man’s face.

“I’ll go check,” the Crimson chief said, heading down the altar.

The woman made her way to the entrance, just passing the threshold when a bright golden light flashed, blinding everyone in the chamber. A sword of light cut through the Crimson chief, slicing her in two, and her body fell apart. Erwest rushed inside.

“Eva! How—how dare you!” the Abyssal chief roared, vibrating with fury as he rushed at Erwest.

Noah pressed his teeth against the mana stone, cracking it as he selected the Attribute allocation. As the mana stone was rapidly absorbed, Noah felt Tony move through his body, merging into him. His body transformed, claws sharpening as his body began to morph.

You’ve consumed [Mana Stone - D]

Mana refilled by 300%

All attributes increased by 50.

Abyssal Symbiote has used Metamorphosis!

All attributes increased by 25%!

Time remaining: 60 seconds.

Power: 145 → 247.

Agility: 137 → 242.

Constitution: 143 → 245.

Mystic: 153 → 315.

Mana surged through Noah, and his body set on fire. Light poured out from cracks as the torrent of energy threatened to break him apart.

Noah roared, pushing all his mana into the shackles. They vibrated violently, and with a crack, the shackles shattered, freeing him and returning his abilities to him.

“Stop them!”the cultist screamed, as chaos broke out on the altar.

“Garett!”Aurelia screamed, flames rising around her in a storm. Mana poured out of her body as the shackles melted off her hands, and fire engulfed her entirely, lighting up the cavern. With a leap, Aurelia jumped ahead, her hair now strands of fire, her body engulfed in a storm of flame with each step. In a rapid rush, her fist struck his blade and fire engulfed the two.

The ranger pulled out his bow, poison arrows loaded, ready to take out Aurelia.

“No you don’t!”Noah screamed, his voice distorted like a demon’s.

Teleporting to the ranger, he blocked the arrows with his arm. Tony hardened his skin before he even had time to think. His spear spun in an arc, stabbing at the ranger who jumped back and threw daggers to aid his escape. Noah let the daggers hit, the poison redirected by Tony into his claws. With a bestial snarl, he teleported near the ranger and thrust his spear.

His spear clashed with a short blade, and the metallic clang rang through the area. Noah ducked, dodging chains of blood, and teleported himself into midair. Before he had time to think, Tony had already found the attacker, and threw his spear at the blood healer. His weapon struck true, piercing the woman’s gut, just as he teleported close to her. With a slash, he tore out her throat, pulling his spear free, when two arrows embedded themselves in his back.

You’ve been inflicted with [Life Drain].

Noah saw his blood seeping from him toward the woman, as her brutal injuries rapidly began to heal themselves. Not wasting any time, Noah moved in closer, grabbing her by the throat and spinning her around to block the next wave of arrows with her body. Chains of blood wrapped around Noah, searing his skin, but he turned on Pain Tolerance, ignoring the sensations. Letting his Necrotoxins seep in, Noah crushed the woman’s throat, making sure she was dead.

You’ve killed [Blood Reaper (Rare) - level 92 /Life Mage (Rare) - level 89]

Using her corpse to block incoming arrows, Noah kept her in his claw, snarling as he rushed towards the ranger.

Time remaining: 14 seconds.

Throwing the woman at the ranger, he teleported behind the man. His spear dragged through the ground, leaving a scar on the earth as Obliterate ran in a frenzy. Every instinct, every thought was enhanced as his mind worked faster than it ever had before. The ranger dodged the corpse, and loosed arrow after arrow at Noah.

Crouching on all fours, Noah dodged the arrows, then used his claws to slash through one. Leaping into the air, he teleported. The ranger had picked up the woman and was using the dead body as a barricade. But it wouldn’t help him in the least.

Noah thrust the spear into her back, simultaneously creating a Dimensional Pocket around the weapon. The weapon appeared on the other side, slicing into the Ranger’s abdomen.

The ranger stumbled back, blood pouring from his mouth. He looked at his gut, confusion written all over his face at where this spear impaling him came from, and at the Crimson Rot now spreading through him.

“What…” the man mumbled, before Noah’s claws slashed through his neck, cutting off his head, and his lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

You’ve killed [Potioncraft Ranger (Rare) - level 134 /Shadow Rogue (Rare) - level 104]

Noah roared at his victory, a primal sound that tore itself from his throat.

Time remaining: 0 seconds.

Metamorphosis has ended!

Temporary Mana buff has ended!

You’ve gained [Mana Poisoning - V]

You’ve gained [Paralysis - III]

You’ve gained [Migraine]

You’ve gained [Fatigue]

The wave of energy washed away from Noah as Tony returned to the ring. Exhaustion hit him all at once and he collapsed where he stood, finding himself incapable of moving.

His Astral Script displayed in front of him as his mind floated in a daze, unable to comprehend the words.

[Exsanguinator] level 46 → 50.

[Astralwalker] level 44 → 50.

[Void Hunter] level 43 → 50.

You can rank up!

Noah’s gaze drifted to the storm of fire battle still going on. Closing his eyes, he let his mind be dragged into the depths of darkness.

He’d just have to trust his team to win their battles.