Runeblade
B3 Chapter 307: Kolnir, pt. 2

B3 Chapter 307: Kolnir, pt. 2

As soon as the kolnir’s fist shattered his brother’s jaw, Kaius was moving. Dropping a Zone of Discombobulation, he watched the creature shudder — barely enough time for Porkchop to rally his defence.

With the low level of his Glyphof Vyrthane, the spell was too weak to do much more than that. Kaius needed to move faster — assist Porkchop before he could be boxed into a corner.

He cast Expedient Shunt, force exploding behind him to send him racing towards the creature's injured shoulder.

His team didn’t stand around aimlessly waiting for him to strike. Jadecrash smashed the kolnir back, while an arrow tore through its calf — causing the beast to stumble before it’s healing to help it recover.

In flight, he activated his Bladerite and Mystic’s Rend, the runes on his sword glowing as a wire of unstable arcane energy flooded its edge. Firing off another Nail, Kaius raked his blade over the injured joint. Arcane energy collapsed, blowing a crater in the creature. The wire on his blade reformed, courtesy of his Skill levels allowing a second detonation.

He saw the energy of his skill infest its flesh, sapping its recovery and weakening it’s defences. Even if it was a tough bastard, they could wear it down.

Growling in fury, the kolnir struck at him with a wild haymaker as it ignored the ongoing assault from the rest of his team. Uncanny Dodge screamed a warning, and he lurched to the side. The beast was faster. It struck. Regardless of his still-active Mystic Rend, the kolnir gave no heed of his defence. His blade-edge cut into its forearm as its knuckles brushed past his chest.

Pain shocked through Kaius as his ribs cracked. He spun away uncontrollably, tasting iron as the kolnir went back to pummeling Porkchop with hammerfist after hammerfist. Its chest was heaving from its sudden burst of speed, but to Kaius’s chagrin it fought on unhindered.

Throwing out an arm to get control of his momentum, Kaius watched arrow after cutting beam land on their opponent.

Porkchop rallied, his armour cracked but holding, and a lance of healing energy washed over him. Plunging a paw into the soft jungle earth, a wall of jade erupted between him and the kolnir.

The beast leapt over the hurtling barrier. Kaius’s heart lurched.

It was going for Porkchop’s back.

“Watch out!”

His brother reared up. The kolnir crushed him flat with a double-handed smash, a great crack splitting the battlefield as shards spalled off Porkchop's armour. Kaius ran in as it clambered onto Porkchop’s shoulders, lower limbs holding it tight to his body. One arm wrapped around his brother’s gorget like a vice, the other slamming into his jade helm again and again.

Without his heavy-plate gorget, his brother’s throat would have long since been crushed. Claws ripped at the beast’s arm fruitlessly, every tear in its flesh slacking the creature’s grip just enough to fight on. Despite the blood Porkchop spilled, the kolnir’s wounds wriggled with the potency of its healing.

“Charged strikes!” Kaius called. They needed the kolnir off of Porkchop now! He growled, offhand flexing as he readied to call on Stormlash.

“Don’t! It’ll take more than this to take me down!” Porkchop warned him off, sensing his intent through their bond. The words were hazy — muddled, but the conviction in them sung clear

Bravado — it was obvious. He could feel the agony streaming from his brother. The kolnir’s fists might not have been able to shatter his Celadon Aegis, but the force that carried through his heavy-plate was still dangerous, even after it had passed through his dampening under-armour.

Switching tactics, the kolnir shifted on Porkchop's back, the hands on its feet linking under his brother’s chest. Muscles popped as it started to squeeze.

Porkchop let out a hoarse wheeze, a frontfoot buckling before he could steady his stance.

The deep twang of a bowstring sounded as a lance-sized arrow raced over Kaius’s shoulder. The kolnir bared its fangs, rising tall in its seat. His hope was dashed as the projectile sunk deep into its chest — missing its head. It ignored the wound, tightening the grip it held with its legs.

Porkchop wheezed, wildly clawing at the arm still wrapped around its neck.

“Fuck!” Kenva growled in frustration.

Gritting his teeth, Kaius lay slash after slash into the beast’s legs — burning mana like water as he layered Rend again and again. Anything to weaken the death grip it had on his brother.

It was futile — flesh wounds barely even drew a reaction from it, and it’s bones may as well have been made of adamant.

The head. It was the only thing the creature even bothered to try and protect. It had to be far more vulnerable there — fucking everything was! It was utterly focused on laying into Porkchop, he could use that.

Lurching towards his brother’s back side, he bared his bloody teeth and raised his off hand. Three Nails fired from his outstretched arm, cracks filling the air.

Spikes of twisted steel slammed into the back of its skull. They tore through thickened hide and flesh with ease, blood spraying. Then they glanced off its skull, rocking its head forwards.

Glanced. Off. Bastard of a beast! He unloaded another for good measure. The attack fared no better.

Through the wounds, Kaius saw a shine. Metallic bones? No wonder it hit like a dragon.

Rocked by the force of his rapid fire attacks, the kolnir slumped for a moment — just barely a moment — and its grip slackened. It was enough. Porkchop howled his fury, summoning his Wardens Maw as he sank his fangs into the arm that slipped from his neck. Spikes of jade followed, skewering the limb.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

The kolnir snarled, pain rousing it from its daze.

It didn’t even look at Kaius as it loosed its hold on Porkchop’s neck to swing its fist at him. Reacting on instinct, he brought his blade up to block.

His guard shattered. So did his forearm.

A Father’s Gift slipped from his grip.

Pain flooded him as his dominant hand flopped at an angle, the sharp points of his bone straining against his flesh. It was only thanks to his Constitution that it didn’t rip free entirely.

Smashing back-first into the ground, Kaius gasped — fingers wriggling as he felt bone start to reknit. He snapped his head up — catching view of Porkchop still embroiled in a mortal grapple. The kolnir had wormed its fingers into his mouth in an attempt to wrench his jaw open.

It was only by dint of poor leverage that it hadn’t already succeeded. Porkchop’s mouth still opened all the same. Watching the muscles in his brother’s neck standout in stark relief, Kaius knew what was going to happen.

Another snap sounded, rocking him where he stood. Porkchop’s jaw hung unnaturally limp as the kolnir returned to its attempt at crushing his neck armor — its injured arm hanging to the side to heal.

Past the kolnir, Ianmus and Kenva looked on with horror.

“Kaius! Use a fucking Stormlash!” Ianmus called, a tidal wave of solar mana condensing into a glowing sigil at the tip of his staff.

His friend was right — it might bring more beasts down on their head, but at least they would have the chance to flee. Better than watching his brother get beaten to death while he could do little to nothing to help.

Kaius tapped into his glyph.

Orange motes of burn mana exploded from his right hand. They were followed by the roar and shine of lightning. The lash sparked and crackled, empowered to a searing white by his Bangle of Crackling Might.

Flicking his wrist, he bound the Kolnir in chains of electric mana. It burned, wracked by convulsions as reverberant force targeted its fragile internals. He saw his brother’s jaw convulse, snapping back into position.

Kaius moved instantly, dashing towards his fallen blade — hoping and praying the thunderous noise of his first spell had been ignored.

Mana flashed on his temples as a field appeared around the kolnir. Another Zone of Discombobulation. If he was lucky, its effects might be amplified by the effects of his Stormlash.

The kolnir slumped under his combined assault.

Porkchop moved. As the beast’s grip on his chest broke, he snapped his head to the side. Thick fangs sank into the kolnir’s injured wrist. He heaved, throwing his head downwards.

The kolnir slammed into the ground back first. Jade burst over Porkchop’s arm in a jagged sleeve. He smashed the beast in the face, cracking its head to the side.

Kaius grinned — his Bloodsong surged. A turn in the fight! Finally!

It was battered and stunned! He took his own shot. Before he bent to scoop his blade from the jungle floor, he fired another Nail. Right at the beast’s eye.

Daze or no, it refused to lie down and die. Twitching its head to the side, the kolnir narrowly avoided getting skewered. Blood seeped down its temple from an open gash.

Kaius scowled, hurrying in.

It howled in pain and fury. The noise cut off into a wet gurgle as an oversized arrow slammed into its throat and his brother’s claw punched into its chest. Still it fought, Porkchop rocked where he stood as the kolnir hammered him with another desperate haymaker.

What the fuck was this thing made of?!

The kolnir heaved, ignoring Porkchop’s weight as it slammed its palm into his brother’s armoured throat. Porkchop coughed as it started to squeeze, his gorget creaking ominously. Sliding into the fray, Kaius hacked at the limb with a Rend— only to be forced back as he dodged a retaliatory punch.

His heart leapt — worry crawling up his spine. The battle seemed poise to tip in either direction. He could see the kolnir’s healing slowing, wounds taking longer and longer to heal. It was of little assurance when he could also see his brother’s chest labouring — his own wounds piling up under a constant, crushing assault.

They needed something, anything to turn the tide.

The solar corona that had been building in the corner of his vision ignited. Ianmus held nothing back. A beam as thick as a log erupted from the tip of Ianmus’s staff, hot enough to scald Kaius’s skin from a dozen strides away. Glinting streaks of steel coloured light cut through the magic — Armour Shredding Spells, it had to be!

Ianmus aimed for the head. The spell wasn’t instant, slowed by his Light Weaving, but it was fast.

Not fast enough. The kolnir twitched, burning its energy to slam its head to the side. A groaning squeal of tortured metal sounded from its neck.

Ianmus scowled, his brow furrowing in concentration. The beam bent.

It cut clean through the kolnirs left arm at the shoulder, and carried on to bore a hole through its chest. The amputated limb fell from Porkchop’s throat, his brother taking his first unimpeded breath since the battle began.

Gurgling in agony, the beast clawed at the blackened hole that had been torn through its chest — ignoring all else.

A mistake. His sword glowed as he layered Initiate’s Bladerite and a Rend.

There were half a dozen weeping patches on its remaining arm — the remnants of Arcane Blight left in the wake of his previous attacks with Mystic’s Rend. The affliction had gnawed at the flesh, leaving it brittle and weak.

He slammed his blade home, throwing his full weight into the thrust. Rend detonated, tearing open a cavity. He pinned its remaining arm in blade, flicking his hand to its throat. A nail butted up against its spine, tearing open its shredded flesh as blood fell in a wave.

Hunger surged, drawing a wild smile from him. This was it — the rush. The moment victory became there's.

Porkchop slammed a paw into the kolnir’s remaining arm, pinning it in place while he tore into its stomach with his other. It flinched as he tore it open.

Kaius went for the kill, firing another Nail at its eye.

It managed to twitch again — somehow, he’d replaced half its neck with twisted metal! His spell still tore away one of its knurled ears. Its back legs kicked, weakly trying to force Porkchop’s armoured weight off. Whatever ability it had used for its sudden bursts of speed had left it exhausted.

It was slowing — dying. All they needed was a little time.

Four howls cut through the jungle like glass — the hunting calls of more kolnirs. Close. Kaius snarled in frustration. Now? Really?! It was practically fucking dead.

“By the bloody gods!” Kenva yelled.

Gods’ scorn! A few more minutes and he was sure the kolnir would die without them being any worse for wear.

By the sounds of it, minutes might be all it took for a full group to descend upon them.

Kaius clenched his jaw, indecision warring within him. He looked to the shattered body of the kolnir that his brother was now frantically savaging — it was half dead.

He was sure he could see smug glee in its twisted lips. Porkchop’s eyes kept flicking to him, as did Ianmus and Kenva as they continued to unload into the beast. Silent as it was, the question was plain.

Rotten roots! He had to make the call.