Introduction
Welcome back to Maledicturs Terra. This is a Chain Story between myself and @lex-zaiya, meaning that we each write the parts alternatively.
If you have not read Maledictus Terra Book 1: Mortis Custos yet, it starts HERE at Part 1 and ends at Part 101 HERE. At the end of the Part 101 post you will find links to all 101 Parts!
Maledictus Terra Book 2: Sanguifex started HERE with Part 1 and ends at Part 111 HERE
The previous part by @lex-zaiya can be found HERE.
Part 38
Mary did not have time to react. In hindsight it might have been better to have remained on her throne. But she had gotten up and when she came closer to the party and it seemed to trigger something.
The apprehensive Rex was the one that had saved her in that instant. This was something else that took her long seconds to realize after the sudden action.
The prone Robert, ex Cleric of the Burning one seemed to buck into the air from a convulsion. He flipped mid air and came down on all fours. Mary had a brief glimpse of clawed fingers shredding the rug in the throne room as the expanding figure launched itself towards her.
Millmor had thrown himself onto Robert and Rex had barreled into the Queen, both of them changing. This action drove the air from her lungs and she sprawled onto the flagstones even as her throne room erupted into chaos and monsters.
Mary was in pain and unable to focus. Human shouts and screams were drowned out by bestial roars and the clash of bodies and arms.
Mary smelt blood and sat up quickly. Magna and the Orc warrior were standing over her. There were two bloodied soldiers on the floor. A flurry of movement was rolling and ripping at one another at the center of the throne room.
Robert had grown large. Larger and more savage than Mary's brother when he had been victim to the Lifedrinker curse. His face was ripped open and a jagged slash of impossibly long teeth studded his wickedly mawed face. This mouth opened wide, impossibly large, big enough to take a man's head into its jaws and it roared.
There was blood on this creature's mouth and claws. But it was bloodied as well. Two fully formed Ghoul Kings were prowling the shredded carpet, facing the beast that Robert had become.
Another massive beast was in this ring, facing Robert with the Ghoul Kings. It was an impossible creature made up of lion, bear and bat. It took Magna a moment to realize that this horror was Derric.
The fang-mawed creature darted to the side, a clawed hand attempting to swipe at a spear-wielding guard. But there was another ring around the fighting beasts. Magic flared in hands as Mortis, Vitex, Adrian and Noxus held their hands up, magic flaring between them.
It was not a perfect cage Mary saw as she got to her feet. This all happened within seconds, but Mary cursed the time it took for her to regain the air in her lungs and the pain the clash had caused.
Where the beast had clashed against the magical boundary, it sparked off the section created and held by Vitex, but like liquid malice, it stuck another section of the near visible boundary and Noxus staggered to her knees.
The Beast darted through, snapping the magic between him and the woman. Rex barreled into the creature, his jaws snapping down on one clawed hand. Like a cat, the beast curled up and claws and teeth savaged the Ghoul King.
It was a few seconds and blood splashed and misted the air. The creature was free of Ghoul King, who lay in a heap. It launched itself first in one direction, as though attacking Millmor, but then darted for the gap in the magical shields.
This time, it was up and over Noxus and its claws sunk, seemingly without difficulty into the stone wall behind the mage. The beast then crawled up the wall, leaving claw slashes and a rain of grit as it dug and clawed into the stone.
A massive blur of fur and muscle obscured Mary's view of the beast as another rose into the air on massive wings. A road deafened everyone in the throne room as the Prince of Loghaven tore through the air to intercept the crawling creature.
It jumped out of the way at the last moment and the larger beast that Derric had become dashed itself against the wall, sending a shockwave of impact through the castle walls.
The beast did not try attack what Derric had become, sensing the danger of tangling with such a large predator. Instead, it took the opportunity to attack to the side and slashed through the haft of a sear and into the breastplate and ribcage of a guard. Teeth snapped down over the man's shoulder and ripped meat and bone from the torso. It bore the remains of the soldier with it as it stuck to one wall again.
Without pause, the beast seemed to chew the mouthful, including the armor and clothing. Its eyes darted towards Mary for a moment and she knew that there were not much that her daughter and the orc woman could do to stop this creature if it wished to come for them. Noxus was trying to rise, being the shield on this side of the throne room.
A bolt of bright energy shot out from one of the casters and it struck the beast.
It dropped from the wall and landed on the throneroom floor, facing the direction of the offending magic caster. It took a briefest moment for Mary to know terror as the beast sprung into the air towards the caster as she realized that it had been her son that had attacked the beast.
Claws like swords were outstretched towards Prince Adrian and his shields were down. The creature was in a frenzy, its bloodlust at a high.
Millmor struck in that moment, having been on high alert for an opportunity. He Ghoul King slipped in behind the beast's charge and grabbed one ankle long enough to break the creature's charge. Robert crashed into the ground and Millmor released him before he could round on Millmor as he had on Rex.
The creature had taken a moment to look at the retreating Millmor and swung its head back to look at his original target when he was buffeted into the flagstones. Mary raised her hands to her head as a dreadful shrieking scream tore at her ears.
But her hands did not seem to help. The screaming was in her head. Magna and Gorma went down onto their knees and Noxus lost her balance and fell. Guards collapsed and others creatures and beings in the throne room were buffeted and fell back.
Only Mortis and Vitex stood firmly and the man standing before Robert. Holding the sword the way a priest might hold a talisman, Adiran stepped towards Robert and laid the flat of the blade on Robert's forehead.
Whatever the sword's affect on others, it seemed to be even more acute on contact and Robert collapsed down, his limbs numb. The mage was frowning and had a furious look of concentration on his face. He had a free hand and used it to trace a glittering pattern in the air. This created ghostly chains which wrapped around the blade and the prone form of Robert.
The screaming in Mary's mind seemed to lessen and she was able to hear other sounds now. Screams, shouts and groans as people recovered.
Robert seemed to melt before Mary's eyes. Locked together with the screaming blade, he returned to a human shape.
"Most interesting." Adiran said.
"Interesting?" Magna yelled. "How can you say that? What is so bloody interesting about a creature that nearly killed us all!"
Adiran frowned at Magna, his piercing blue eyes staring her down and quelling her anger. He seemed to be larger than he usually was, his magic swelling his presence. "Quiet." He turned towards Mary. "This beast was meant to attack and kill at random. Just a rabid animal. But it had sought to single out one prey that triggered its transformation where it was bound by magic, which blocked it before. But not this time. It was trying to kill the Queen."
There were murmurs in the throneroom.
Mary calmed herself, and tried to look regal. "Indeed. The one that had cursed Robert must have helped him in this moment that I was close enough."
"Indeed." Adiran said. "Seems that the Fiery One has a particular hatred for you."
You're up again @lex-zaiya!
Thank you for reading!
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