Curselock

Chapter 14: Berserker

Glenny took the opportunity of the Mana Lion attacking to move. Despite being nearly invisible, Icewillow had followed his movements since his initial reveal. He cursed at himself for failing to kill the man. He had him, he had killed him. Yet the murderer still walked.

Jude abruptly slowed, nearly impaling himself on one of the red spikes that burst from the grass. Glenny cursed again, dashing to intercept the killing blow leveled at his friend’s neck. His dagger took to the ice, shaving off red snow as he deflected the spike just enough.

A deep crack followed by four others pulled his attention. Icewillow slowed favoring one leg while keeping his hand against his chest. One of his knees shivered in pain, mimicking the same motion his hurt hand was in.

Glenny stalked forward but the lion beat him to it. It roared as it pounced, tackling Icewillow with its massive, muscular body. They both hit the ground and fell into a deathly roll. Sharp claws buried themselves into the man, tearing at his face and throat as the beast mauled its enemy.

Icewillow’s skin began to melt before refreezing into the broken form of the ice puppet. Glenny’s eyes widened and he started sprinting across the plateau to where the puppet previously was. His guess was correct. The man sprouted from the grass, slush building him from the ground up.

He was only able to get three full breaths before Glenny attacked.

Steel dagger leading the charge, Glenny grappled with the man like an ice climber scaling a frozen wall. His weapons became picks, each holding his full weight as he dug the sharpened tips into his opponent. He ripped them out and stabbed them back multiple times as his legs fully wrapped around the man’s lower torso.

Blood erupted from Icewillow’s fresh wounds, Glenny’s Rupture ability finding purchase with every laceration. The man tried to free himself but found his only option was to fall.

Icewillow dropped to his back, slamming Glenny into the ground with a brutal crunch. More of Icewillow’s bones crumbled under the force, much to the displeasure of the witch. The Legacy of the Chameleon still held on, his daggers like vile hand grips of a pushcart.

His tongue flattened and stretched, launching out like an amphibian snatching a fly from the air. It shot high into the air, falling back when it reached its apex. It landed around Icewillow’s neck, wrapping around as Glenny commanded it.

He squeezed his tongue tighter, the only motion he could manage with his lack of experience. Meanwhile, he never stopped stabbing. Ice tried to form and guard its master, but he sheared through it, creating only bloody slush which did little to help Icewillow.

Glenny kept stabbing long after his mom’s killer died. He kept his legs and tongue wrapped until he was sure he couldn’t hear Icewillow’s heartbeat. He kept his eyes on the lookout for melting flesh and teleporting puppets.

He didn’t see the Mana Lion attack.

The blast came with a deep roar, one as unsettling as the air across the plateau. As Glenny rolled along the grass, the attack having separated him from the corpse of the enemy, he saw him. Jude, covered in blood, on his knees, movement in his eyes, but unconscious.

Slowly Jude got to his feet turning the air thick as he did so. His head laid limp as his body moved on instinct. He looked across the grassy battlefield, finding the Mana Lion despite it being camouflaged within the shadows.

A single twitch was all it took, a single twitch of Jude’s arm fired off his battle axe like a ballista fired a javelin. He missed, breaking the ground into a plume of dirt and debris. Suddenly Jude was there, the veins in his legs bulging beyond his inflamed muscles.

He gripped the end of his battle axe, flipping it forward like a windmill. A perfect arc eclipsed the area, creating a deep red blade of power. It launched out, lacerating into the Mana Lion and sending a spray of blood off into the sea of green.

Jude only took a single step, the leverage from his arms more than enough to slam his axe down with the force to slice steel. His eyes went hollow when the spine of the enemy was cut through, the Legacy of the Berserker taking its claim.

He turned, a blank expression finding the nearly invisible form of Glenny. For a moment Jude tilted his head, then he charged. In an instant he was on his friend, wide chops and horizontal swings battling the rogue back.

“Fight it, Jude!” Glenny yelled. “This isn’t you! Fight it!”

Both Leland and Glenny knew the power of the Berserker Lord. They had been front and center when Jude’s mom entered this rending state. They had watched her battle an entire gang. They had watched the bodies be carted off. But most importantly, they had watched Jude’s dad battle against his crazed wife, consoling her the entire time.

“Occupational hazard,” Jude’s dad had said at the time.

Glenny had to agree.

The flat of Jude’s axe abruptly switched angles, rocketing straight up mid horizontal swing. The quick motion caught Glenny in the chin, sending him a few inches off the ground.

A scream called from behind, Jude only twitched in response, but eventually turned to view the new challenger.

Leland stood, his arm clutching his churned stomach while the other held his deep purple grimoire. He whispered a single word, and suddenly Jude felt his body slow.

He looked over his hands, the blood long having dyed his skin. His mind tried to connect the dots, it tried to say something, to intervene, but the blood his skin was caked in sang to him. It told him to harvest more, to create more carnage, to continue the battle.

Six birds appeared around him, popping into reality seemingly at random. They pecked and scratched him, an annoyance – one he was sure to remedy. He roared, a pulse of pure power exploding from his heart. It knocked the birds away but only for a moment. They redoubled their attacks, shearing into his skin without reserve.

That annoyed Jude even more, forcing him to take better action. He swung around himself, only the heel of one foot touching the ground. He became a whirlwind, everything that came near would be blend—

Jude abruptly stopped his attack. The crows still attacked, being unharmed by his attack. How curious. He punched on that latched onto his chest, his hand phasing right through. He tilted his head, only now hearing the summoner who sicked his flock on him.

“Come on Jude! Listen! Fight it, you meathead! Are you truly that stupid to not see your friends!? Are you that weak to fall to your own Legacy?”

Leland grimaced at his own words, the harshness was something unknown to the young mage. Still, it had to be said, right? It had to, he knew Jude better than anyone besides Glenny. He knew Jude would react to provocation, not with rage but rather with imposition.

He’d make Leland eat his own words, not with blind fury but rather with laughter. They would go back and forth, each coming up with increasingly ridiculous insults, eventually culminating into unstoppable giggles and pats on the back.

Jude’s eye twitched.

“I don’t want to do it, Jude. But I’ll break your bones. Don’t tempt me, just stop, please.”

Quickly Leland looked over to the just rallying Glenny. He was getting to his feet, his brain obviously wobbly from the uppercut.

“Slow,” Leland said again, recursing Jude. For a moment their bodies synchronized and Leland could feel something beyond the rage. Confusion.

His eyes lit up and he mentally commanded his crows to dazzle rather than attack. The glowing blue birds encircled Jude, taking turns dipping and diving just out of his range or brushing against the back of his neck or knees. They kept his attention until their ethereal forms started to fade.

As soon as they popped from existence, Leland was there with another whistle and powerword, resummoning his beautiful flock. They took to the same command, distracting Jude enough for Glenny to appear behind him.

The rogue swayed on his feet but pushed through the doubled vision. He neared his friend and did the only thing his teetering body could do. He fell into him, wrapping his arms around Jude’s back in a hug.

“It's over, big guy. You’ve done it.”

Glenny rested his face on his friend’s back, his knees falling out from under him. His arms stayed locked in a hug, the only thing keeping him from face planting.

Jude swiveled with a pale white exhale clouding the area around his mouth. He snarled at the sudden attack. He reached for Glenny’s red hair, pulling him front and center. He readied a killer punch, but hesitated.

“It's over,” Glenny said one more time.

A crow pulled his attention, then Glenny did, then another crow. Or was that the same crow? Jude spun trying to figure it out, he needed to know, he needed to count the birds.

He fell, consciousness finally slipping from his enraged Lord.

Glenny landed on top of him, finding the bloody belly of his friend good enough for a pillow and instantly falling asleep himself.

Leland laughed to himself, his legs failing his gently slowing heart. His gut rumbled with cold nerves, forcing him to crawl to his friends. Carefully, he slipped his ring of regeneration off, putting it on Jude’s own.

“Good,” Leland said, his eyes closing with accomplishment. A ring and tattoo of regeneration? Should be fine, right?

The question died in Leland’s mind as the void pulled his consciousness.