The Migoi fixed its burning eyes on me. Its lips peeled back in a gruesome approximation of a smile. In the gloom, its eyes glinted with malice as it regarded me. "One... two... where's the third?" it growled, pretending to count its victims.
My mind churned, but a strange calm settled over me. Maybe it was the clarity that comes with danger, or maybe some detached part of me had expected a trap all along. Boran lay wheezing on the ground, in no shape to flee, traitor or not. Ren was struggling to push himself up, and Leo was winded. For the next crucial moments, it was just me and this monster.
I fixed the Migoi with what I hoped was a steady stare, though fear wriggled in my gut. "Sorry, were you expecting more of an entrance?" I said. My voice came out steady. "We can do a re take if you like. I come in again and you pretend to be surprised this time."
The Migoi blinked at the flippancy, then snarled. "Insolent worm. I will enjoy crushing the life out of you slowly."
I was already gathering mana. Under my breath I spoke a single cold word: "[Hunt]." The circuit inside answered at once. I felt the familiar creeping chill flood my limbs. Next thing, it was over Boran. It was a simple weakening with defilement application of [Hunt], enough to rough him up so he could not run.
He stiffened and went limp, unconscious. I did not want him scampering off before we questioned him, assuming we survived.
The Migoi turned toward me, and I snapped my focus back to the threat. I drew my bastard sword, leather hilt warm and worn in my grip. The weight reassured me, but I knew steel alone would not be enough.
The Migoi saw my creepy mana and laughed. "Little human thinks his tricks can hurt me? Try it, then."
It charged, surprisingly fast for its bulk. The ground shook as it closed, one massive fist raised to hammer me flat.
I did the one thing it did not expect. I surged in, then vanished at the last instant. Coating the blade with Defilement had been a misdirection.
A [Blink] swallowed me and spat me out a few paces behind the Migoi. I have not been lazing around either. In addition to getting basic swordsmanship lessons from Ren, I also have practiced enough to make my echoprint technique with plague rat and Witch's Bell pretty much a muscle memory.
I do not carry them tied with ropes anymore. Good old days. Now I have a side pouch. Though [Blink] still takes more time than [Rot]. It cannot be helped, since the ability is higher level than me.
As soon as I appeared behind him. I activated Hunt again on the weakened rat in my pouch, summoned the most offensive circiut I had claimed on this journey.
With a thought I fed Rot into the blade. Black tendrils crawled along the steel. A faint smell of decay lifted into the air. The Rot flickered like dark fire on the edge, eager to eat. Against the living, one cut could bloom into necrosis in seconds. Against undead, Rot was weaker than holy power, but it still corroded dead flesh and bone
Its swing smashed dirt and leaves instead of bone.
Blink put me at its rear flank with a faint crackle in the air. The teleport was quick, but it exacted a price. A needle of pain stabbed behind my eyes the moment I reformed. A warning of the migraine to come. A short hop like this was manageable if I did not overdo it.
Ignoring the building ache, I struck. I put everything into the slash, aiming for the back of the neck where spine meets skull. Steel kissed fur and flesh, and bit.
It barely cut. The hide was unbelievably tough. Even with enhanced strength and a clean angle, the sword sank only an inch or two. Not a kill. Enough for Rot to work.
Black energy leaped from the edge into the wound like starving snakes. Flesh around the cut sizzled and withered. Pale fur sloughed away as decay spread. I had poured in enough mana that it would persist for a while even if I disengaged. The Migoi howled, a sound that rattled the trees.
I gritted my teeth as it thrashed. I ripped the blade free and kicked off its back to get away. Just in time, because a wild backhand tore through the space where my head had been.
I landed hard, boots skidding on pebbles. Dizziness washed over me. The aftermath of Blink. The world tilted for a heartbeat and my ears rang under the echo of that roar. I shook my head. Not now. Focus.
The Migoi spun, both hands clamped to its neck. Dark ichor oozed between its fingers. Rot chewed quickly. The flesh around the gash was already mottled and dead, tendrils of decay creeping outward. Its blue eyes burned at me with fury and a new sliver of caution.
I let myself smile despite the pounding in my skull. "Hurts, does it? I hear gangrene is a real problem," I said, raising my sword.
It answered with action. It stamped the ground, sending a shock through the clearing. Soil split under the impact. The tremor buckled my knees and toppled a sapling to my left.
It charged again. The injury made it a touch less coordinated. Rot was eating into muscle. Even so, I could not let it land a clean hit. One solid punch and I would be pudding.
I weighed my options. I could Blink again, but the headache was already worse. Push too far and I would drop in the middle of the fight. I needed a faster finish.
My gaze cut to Ren. He was up again, limping, eyes sharp. On the other side Leo was rising too, grimacing as he shoved his glasses back into place. Battered, not broken.
A plan locked into place. "Ren," I shouted, slipping past a wild swing. "Aim for the neck wound".
Ren understood. He angled to flank, sword edge catching a faint golden glow as he drew on his inner mana. Dawn's Edge could carry a touch of holy light in his hands, and holy hurts undead.
Leo dug into his satchel and pulled a rectangular paper talisman covered in script. One of our last offensive charms. He pressed it to his palm and breathed an incantation through clenched teeth. The paper smoldered with pale light.
The Migoi felt the tide turning and bellowed. It carved trenches in the dirt with each swipe. I kept dancing at the edge of its reach, every muscle burning. I could not keep that up forever.
Leo shouted the trigger. "Bind."
Radiant script uncoiled from the talisman and shot forward like silver chains. They wrapped the Migoi's arms and legs. The creature thrashed, but the magic dragged it to one knee. Binding an undead like this, even for a breath, was impressive.
"Now," Leo yelled, voice tight as he poured mana into the chains.
I seized the opening. I snuffed the Rot mana on my sword. The first dose had done its job, and any more risked chewing my own blade. I changed tack. From my forearm sheath I yanked a steel bracer etched with lightning motifs, an artifact we had picked up earlier in the Trial. I slammed it over my wrist and fed mana into it. Runes lit and crackled. Lightning climbed my arm, wild and hungry.
I darted in on the bound beast, slipping a sluggish swipe. I planted my sparking palm on its broad back, right between the shoulders.
"Zap," I hissed, and let the storm loose.
White light blew the night apart. Countless volts poured from my hand into its body. The Migoi convulsed. Its roar broke into a wet scream. The stink of charred fur and seared meat rolled over me as smoke peeled from its back. Lightning danced across its frame and raced along Leo's chain script.
Ren was already moving. Dawn's Edge glowed with soft white as he drove it into the side of the neck, right where I had cut. This time the blade went deep. He wrenched and sliced, grinding against vertebrae.
Lightning frying nerves, holy steel burning the gash, binding chains biting tight. The Migoi's resistance started to crumble. It let out a keening wail. One free arm flailed blind. Its legs jerked, trying to stand, failing as Leo's binding held.
For a heartbeat I believed it was over. The ghostly fire in its eyes fluttered. If we severed the head we would break the animus that powered it.
The Migoi refused to die clean. Through smoke and blood its eyes flared brighter. It reached up with its unbound hand and grabbed the blade lodged in its neck. The holy light cooked its palm, but it held anyway. Ren tried to wrench free, but the undead giant locked its grip and would not let go. "Let go," Ren snarled, straining.
Half kneeling, the Migoi fixed Ren with a baleful stare. Blood poured from the wound. Its voice gurgled through the mess, but the words were clear enough. "I will not fall. I have not even helped master with his mission yet."
"No, I can't fall" He roared.