Demonic Magician

My odd outburst had been a wet blanket over the energetic fervor that had taken us right up to the precipice of murdering our way through the village. Seemed as though the Guardians were connected in a way. Explained how the Lady knew I had killed the Siren.

But what did it really mean?

No reactions from the rest of the Party, so the thought that one of them might be harboring the second Guardian kill in secret faded away. Ren and Wolf were both proficient enough that I had kept an eye on them, just in case. Not that I felt either would hold such a thing from me, but you never knew.

The second point that boggled my mind was - who had killed this fourth Guardian? Odds on it being someone in the Crimson Shadow? Near guaranteed, I reckoned. As nice as it would be to assume it could be one of our few allies—or a character from the unmet neutral parties… it just didn’t work that way.

We had taken to fighting the System-created in near silence. Wolf was a pulsing ball of buff effects, carving bloody swathes through any foolish to get close enough to him. As they were just Monsters, that was most of them. The occasional ranger, healer, or magician were quickly dealt with by Ren or myself.

I started sending out three mundane cards alongside my three magical ones. They had less range of control, but as soon as the attacks had dealt damage, I switched the power to the basic cards, meaning I was able to strike another three times straight after. I’m sure there was even more bullshit I could wrangle from such tricks, but I didn’t have the stomach for it right now. Power bar hadn’t peaked over 12%, my performance scoring low with critics.

[Kill dissenters (20/20)]

[Quest Complete]

[200 Gold]

[Supply Crate (3)]

[Materials (2)]

[Kill dissenters (0/20)]

My eyes went through the motions and I accepted the repeat Quest. Autopilot, as I saw nothing but boxes to move and shapes that needed dropping to the floor. The others needed to pause to go through the menus, but I was already killing it. A familiar sensation where I became a conductor just weaving through the gestures.

My Ice Imp+ sent out a bolt of frost, striking a warrior charging towards Wolf. Other than damage, it also slowed the target and those close by. A nice crowd control option compared to the more destructive Fire Imp+. I gave him a nod as his time was up and he faded away back to Hell. Roger clobbered the delayed Monster with his large mace, leaving the bear to focus on the two he was already fighting.

“No hounds, trickster?” Ren pouted from a few feet away.

“Hmm? Oh.” I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t turn to her fully in case I messed up the trajectory of my cards. “Not right now.”

“A lot on your mind.” A statement rather than a question. She let loose an arrow which pierced through the extended palm of a spellcaster, embedding through into their forearm.

Tanya rubbed at her wrist. “I’ve told the guy in the Eternal Wardens you believe another Guardian has been killed. He is still being a little shit and ignoring me.”

I nodded. Didn’t particularly care for the extra lore right now, anyway. The Wardens were hiding out, sniveling in the southwest. Away from the necromancer. If they wouldn’t meet us here or talk over Chat, then they could get fucked.

“My mood has soured. Rotten,” I announced as my cards continuously carved up the face of an opponent that was long finished. “Just a forewarning.”

Ren put a heal through me by instinct, but it did nothing to move the needle. Ever since I had accepted that I was partly a demon, I no longer shirked away from her radiant energy. Didn’t really make sense on the face of it, but I didn’t have the heart to work out why. Lots of things weren’t exactly sensible as of late.

I turned to the elf. “Thank you. Unfortunately, the only thing that will clear the dark clouds is a thunderstorm.”

She gave me a stoic nod, understanding the subtext. A show had been booked, we just weren’t sure of the venue or participants. Knocked over the courier, and now a Guardian had been slain. That meant someone had received a power boost. Didn’t take a genius to start making the connections.

I had turned the page and taken a glimpse of the script. Maybe the Siren was just the god of being cocksure over vague foreshadowing. Of course, conflict was in our near future. Didn’t need the supposed power I had been granted to take a stab at that revelation.

Then why did it make me feel so dour?

Couldn’t avoid the inevitable. Even as I thought this and ran cards through the next set of dissenters, I was still working my jaw. It just wasn’t… engaging enough. Born to rise up over the normal rules of the System, even with the ease that we chewed through these Monsters, I didn’t feel satisfied.

“Requesting a break,” Wolf called from the front.

Cards dropped, and I gave Tanya a nod. She called it. We’d back away and drop aggro, take a breather. Well, even as they did so… that wasn’t my plan. At the risk of annoying everyone…

I had to create my own thunderstorm.

As they stepped off closer to the woods, I vanished. Appeared atop one of the small houses. Lightning Imp+ summoned to my side as I dismissed the hell-bird. Full deck of mundane cards burst from my belt holster and swirled around me in a torrent.

And then I drowned the unworthy. Casting my basic cards like a breaking wave, they washed throughout the street. Every time one would strike one of the confused villagers, it flashed purple, turning into one of my magic ones to slice through them just in time. Turning slowly, I swept around in a circle. With the crackle of energy, my Imp+ shot a beam of white light that arced between opponents.

He was a light gray color, like the clouds I had purported to be. An odd bliss warmed me as I increased the pace, maiming the targets before they were shocked by my demon. Roger had joined the fray, not wanting to be left out. He acted like a conduit, drawing in enemies from afar into the range of my rolling tide.

It was rude and selfish of me to act the fool and bask in the glory of my own ego. Something about it grounded me, however. A warm-up for something on the horizon. Dizzying grandeur. Above all others.

Quest completed. Quest accepted. A show tune hummed between my ears as I felt at peace. Power meter said 20%. No tricks being performed, but part of it was due to my need to be a spectacle, as if I was rewarded for taking risk and being insufferable. I couldn’t be any other way.

Made even more appalling as I clocked the expressions of my Party waiting in the sidelines. Mostly displeasure at me putting myself at risk, but there were the hints of awe within their eyes. I was a spectacle.

Spawns exhausted in the area, I turned and hopped straight off the roof. Landed on the open end of my cannon that I somehow summoned completely vertical. A blast of confetti rose up from between my legs as the siege weapon slowly tilted to a horizontal position. I jumped from the end before it crashed to the ground, rolling across the cobblestone road and back up to my feet. Took a deep bow as a second shot of confetti washed over me.

“Fuck you!” Ren called from their resting place.

I couldn’t help but smile. 24% and some of the gloom had shifted from my brain. Hands in my pockets, I unsummoned the cannon as Roger and the Imp+ both fell away back to Hell.

“I’m not sorry,” I announced with a shrug.

“Yeah, I can tell by the smile, dickbag.” Ren shook her head, but she wasn’t even mad despite the scowl.

“Didn’t realize we were holding you back so much,” Quinn said, his arms crossed but a smile amongst his beard.

“That’s not it.” I wiggled my finger. “I have a compulsion to be the star of the show - a curse, if you will.”

They weren’t buying it… but they at least begrudgingly accepted that it was just part of me. We had snacks and water while Wolf stretched out and caught his breath. Still had that spark of energy in his eyes, so he was being more conservative with his abilities. Perhaps I could learn from him.

I looked out at the village. Some near the start had started to respawn now, so we should be able to cycle back around once we hit the end. It seemed as though I had been a bit too forceful with my metaphors, as there were now dark clouds coming in from the east, blanketing out the blue skies.

“I’m just destined to have to keep worrying about your dumbass, aren’t I?” Ren stepped beside me and leaned her head onto my shoulder.

“You are.” I put my arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “And the only time I’d owe you an apology is when I wouldn’t be able to give you one.”

“Melodramatic ass. Plenty of things you could apologize for while still breathing.” She sighed and moved away to look me in the face. “I love seeing you be extra and enjoy yourself. Just don’t push it too far. If there’s something worse coming our way, then…”

I placed a finger on her lips. “Then they will fall to the ground, split in twain.”

She screwed her face up. “You’re going to lose that finger one of these days, motherfucker.” Her bright blue eyes rolled, and then she gave me a smile.

“I’m ready,” Wolf grunted and stood back up, stretching his back out.

Tanya clapped her hands. “Alright troupe, back into formation and we’ll take it from the top. No alterations to the performance. Oh, and Max?”

I turned my head away from the elf and raised an eyebrow at our manag- at the fateweaver.

She flipped something through the air, which I caught deftly. A Power Token.

“A little bonus for putting in the extra effort and completing the Quest ahead of schedule.” She gave me a wink and then set about corralling the others who now looked a little put-out at my preferential treatment.

“Kiss-ass,” Ren murmured. “Two can play that game.” She adjusted her quiver and worked out her shoulders.

Tanya hadn’t been with us long enough to know that I shouldn’t be encouraged. Now that we knew there may be rewards for putting on a show, what had started as a boring-but-safe level grind was now an all-out-brawl to impress the woman. A dangerous game to play, and one I was sure to win.

Holding the Token tight in my grip, I cycled through the abilities and passives that were still at basic level. Too many to count… perhaps instead of getting two skills to the third level, I should have spread things around. No, I already disagreed with that thought.

I had made my decision.

My cannon had been a mainstay in most of my performances since receiving it. Upgrading it to Advanced increased the amount of Dazzle icons it would stack on targets, and allowed me to load up each of the three payloads all at once rather than having to do one after every shot. Delicious.

“Alright then.” I grinned and nodded that I was ready.

As Wolf began to glow from his several buffs, each of us stood ready to launch forward and see what manner of ridiculous combat we could get into. I licked my lips, almost able to taste the applause. Power had dropped back to 14%, but I didn’t need to push it all the way for System-created.

Cards circled both my hands as I stood poised for bullshit, just waiting for the bear to initiate combat.

Ren lowered her bow, a sudden scowl across her face as she looked toward the east.

Maybe the bad weather was coming in quicker than expected. More the fool her for being distracted - that would just give me a head start.

Instead of bursting forward, Wolf tilted his head and then raised his nose into the air. Also toward the east.

I turned my head in that direction. Knowing what I would see. A picture painted so clearly it should have been obvious from the height of my ego. We all knew what was to the east, but we expected it to stay there. The threads I was so eager to join were tied together, the pages of the script unable to tell me lies even if I didn’t want to believe it.

Ren cursed under her breath as the first drops of rain started to patter from the sky.

I saw the uncountable shadows move amongst the treeline on the other side of the village, and my body temperature dropped.