LogFAQs > #905012724

There was a rush of adrenaline as white clouds of powder exploded into the room before them. All three, including Maria, had done a fair job of lobbing the bombs on top of the enemy at this range. They had hit their targets and launched their attacks close enough together.

Maria held the others back a moment, not wanting them to get caught breathing in those same vapors, and then sent them forward. Abom was the first to crush the skull of an enemy, and he didn't stop there. He went for a second kill by the time Cata was already impaling the first of the monsters nearest to him. Cata heard a slick gasping sound to his right side as Dismas put down one of the other foes.

Then Cata slowly walked forward and put his foot on the chest of the last one. Its eyes began to light up with a burning power as it looked up at him, but that light went out as he shoved his saber into its neck. His shoulders relaxed there, in that position, for just a moment.Then, as he looked ahead into the darkness, his eyes drawn toward the door once more, he saw two shining lights staring back at him... and a faint glow from beyond.

"That wasn't it!" Cata shouted a warning as he pulled his blade free with both hands, as quickly and cleanly as possible. Blood splattered freely as Cata took several steps back and tried to get a good gauge of the position and attention of the enemy.

Yes, yes. It was looking right at him.

It was all Cata could do to hit the ground rolling, trying to move perpendicular to the gaze of the monster. At the same time a burning beam of light shot out across the gap and burned a hole through the floor. The creature needed only to turn its head to cut the room in half. Sections of wood caught on fire or disintegrated instantly. At least a few of those priceless relics were sent shattering to the floor, melted, or worse.

Dismas had dived forward, onto his stomach, but as he slid across the ground he pushed himself back up to his feet instantly. Instead of breaking into a wild battle charge, however, he padded as quietly as possible to the far end of the room while holding the blade of the dagger in his teeth. He must have freed his hands up before diving, knowing he didn't want to accidentally land on the knife.

Abom was on the opposite side, having been out of the path of that beam of light. He moved away from the angle of the door and rattled his chains loudly, barking out some kind of wordless battle cry. "Oy! OY!" He began to spin his irons like a weapon, as if readying a flail to strike, but the enemy was nowhere near him.

Dismas placed his back against the far wall and moved his blade into his hands. His eyes were on the door as he began to inch toward it.

With a shrieking wail, the enemy jumped out of the doorframe and turned toward Abom. Its eyes began to light up with fury and madness. Then, Dismas moved into position behind it and grabbed it by the neck. The dagger was placed against its throat.

Cata began running toward them. Looking into the darkness beyond he didn't know what the risk was. He wasn't like Maria. This wasn't something he could analyze. But he knew that if he did nothing, right now, there was a good chance Dismas was going to be in a lot of trouble. It was no coincidence that he had seen another faint light in the passage beyond, and he doubted this monster here was alone.

Even as Dismas slit the throat of the enemy and let its corpse fall, a shadow appeared in the doorway behind him. Its black claws gleamed against the fading light reflected in the eyes of the dead one beneath it.

"Down!" Cata commanded. Dismas obeyed, and Cata found himself vaulting over the other man as he shot himself through the open door... blade forward. The point of his weapon struck the enemy in the cheek, hitting bone, then the blade bent. It didn't quite snap, but it didn't puncture the face of the foe as deeply as he might have hoped.
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~* Now I only see your dull imposter ~*
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