Abuse of Magic

Chapter 229: Death

Joseph looked down on Elder Ceana, and threw a lightning bolt in her direction. Stella had interrupted him when she was fighting the behemoth, but now that she was done, he could stop playing around with this ancient fey and get down to business.

"You shall never overcome my god NURKONG!" she screamed, smearing some of her blood onto the magic circle she had been busy tracing.

Joseph watched as the circle lit up around her, protecting her from his lightning attack.

"NURKONG! I give you my body to use as you see fit! May it be a perfect host for you to dwell in as you squash this insignificant bug that would dare to bother you!"

It was almost funny to watch as NURKONG obviously didn't want to inhabit the fey's body, but then seemed to change his mind, and rushed to fill her. She screamed in agony as his power was forced into her, melting her features away and remolding them to that of a forty-foot man. He stood up with a laugh. The summoning circle exploded, unable to contain him, throwing bits of mana out, that Joseph easily evaded.

NURKONG was manifest in the world, and he was ugly. His skin looked black as obsidian, with no hair on the top of his head, and he barely managed to cover his groin with a skimpy loincloth that looked strangely like fey skin.

"YOU HAVE LOST YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE MORTAL! I AM A GOD! YOU CANNOT OPPOSE ME!" boomed NURKONG's voice.

Joe jumped into Chuck, back at the palace. "We need to collect mana from the True Sun until he's ready," he explained to Chuck, as they flew up into the sky.

Stella had the gang behind her and daggers in hand. Decked out in leather armor made from NIKMESH, and reinforced with plates made from dragon scales, she made an imposing figure, Joseph thought, until he spied the baby behemoth poking its snout out from over her shoulder. Wielding a spear-scythe made from NIKMESH's ribs, and a crown made from purified powdered arch demon bones, he thought he added to the impressive look with his own dragon scale armor.

Joseph and Stella both snorted.

"We've taken down gods before. Hell, we took down your avatar as children," she yelled.

Joseph's runic tattoos glowed brilliantly as he began to cast.

LIGHT-FRYING ANTS.

MIND CONTROL-GOODBYE.

NECROMANCY-HEART IN MY HAND.

FOOD-PURIFY FOOD.

Stella jumped behind him and slashed down his back with the god-slaying daggers. The rest of her squad approached, to distract him.

A black aura swelled up, blocking the light column as FRYING ANTS focused the light for miles around down onto NURKONG. The brilliant light fizzled away, causing no damage to the god.

He resisted GOODBYE and HEART IN MY HAND, but Joseph felt he had to try. He might have gotten lucky.

NURKONG screamed as Stella's daggers carved two long gashes in his back. The gashes healed almost immediately, but a small quantity of black blood remained to show where she had harmed him.

"THAT DAMN SPELL! DO YOU THINK I WOULDN'T HAVE A COUNTER TO YOUR CURSED PURIFY FOOD BY NOW FOOLISH MORTAL?" screamed NURKONG, fury written all over his features.

Joseph shrugged. This was definitely going to be a long fight, but he was as prepared for it as he possibly could be.

"It was worth a shot. You haven't been very smart about our fights until now."

Stella snickered as the squad dodged a blast from NURKONG's right hand, and pushed her dagger through Joseph's shadow. NURKONG screamed again as she sliced the bottom of his foot through his shadow.

PROTECTION-ATMOSPHERE DOME - Eight times standard, 2/3 hydrogen, 1/3 oxygen.

AIR-CREATE AIR Hydrogen.

SOUND-THUNDERCLAP.

COMMUNICATION-DISPEL POSSESSION.

NURKONG froze for a moment as the dispelling caused his inhabited body to glitch, and the boom from the thunderclap being in a denser atmosphere, disoriented him. He wasn't used to this body yet, even if it was a willing host.

Stella took the chance to leap forward and drive her daggers into the back of his right knee. The rest of the squad slashed his arms, and distracted him as he tried to slap them away. Stella swapped locations with one of the golems, and dived at his side, again scoring another hit and a long slash.

NURKONG swung wildly but missed her. She jumped away, before he could land a blow, dodging back to Joseph's shadow, and swapping places with her golems as she saw openings to stab or slice him with her god daggers.

She was like an annoying mosquito, stabbing to draw blood, and flitting away before she could be slapped. The backs of his knees were dotted with dried blood, where he healed almost as fast as she could stab him, often faster, causing her to do damage both in stabbing and in drawing back out her blades.

Joe and Joseph had been constantly improving the responsiveness of the golems, since they had left the time bubble. Stella had also gotten a lot more practice directing them with actual battle practice. NURKONG's body was so large, his movements took too long to be effective. Each of the golems could evenly fight against three of their old selves by now.

NURKONG was getting more and more annoyed and frustrated with the hit and run tactics she was taking.

DIVINE AUTHORITY. DEATH JOSEPH AURUM.

Joseph froze in midair. He could feel his body shut down and his soul being forced out of his body. So, this was what death felt like. Strangely, there was no pain.

His body began to fall to the ground, and Stella jumped to his shadow to catch him. They landed heavily, with her cradling his head to her chest, sobbing and clutching her tattoo over her heart. She couldn't seem to catch a breath, and tears streamed down her face as she directed a look of the utmost rage and hatred she could possibly muster, at the god looming over them. He was going to die.

NURKONG began to laugh. His wounds bled a bit more, before closing.

"THIS IS WHY YOU CANNOT DEFY A GOD."