My Servant System

Explosions filled the air as the four armed Fiend continued to punch the mana array with its flaming fists, trying to penetrate the shield over Khisba so that it could crawl its way inside and burn everything to the ground, all while it flashed that hideous grin at the warriors who were trying to whittle it down with arrows and paltry spells.

Each punch cracked the barrier even more, destroying the mana within its surface and forcing the various mages powering the array to pour more of their mana into it lest it crack and let this Fiend in, and each punch carried with it the full unbridled strength of a Fiend determined to destroy everything around it.

The Fiend was a mass of ripping muscle shrouded in flames, and as it stepped into each of its punches it flapped its wings to create a backdraft to fuel its fire, empowering it even more and ensuring that the people of Khisba had a full view of what a Fiend was.

Even from up here, the winged humanoid was giant and imposing, and if I had none of the strength that I had now, and if I had never killed before and was inexperienced in this sort of thing, I had to admit that this Fiend was rather terrifying; not in the uncomfortable sort of way that the Nua or some of the Tza Fiends had been, but in that traditional horrifying way of seeing someone hellbent on doing you and your family harm sort of way.

Big, crazed, just slightly not 'human' and capable of wielding strength and powers beyond your own comprehension; that was how I imagined the people of Khisba were feeling right now, and even if they were supposed to be the 'hardier' people of the Sultanate, they too must have been despairing beneath the assault of something that they could do nothing against.

Even their warriors were cowering behind the barrier, but I couldn't blame them either for that since few people could withstand the power of something like this Fiend, and only a handful more could deal damage to it that would go over its passive healing.

Which was where we came in from the edge of the basin, staring down the side of the sandstone bowl and at the side of the Fiend, who was still punching the barrier and ignoring us even as we began to set ourselves up.

"Well that is one arrogant prick... Ka'Volan knows we are here - knows you are here - and yet it ignores us anyways? Does it want to make this easy for us?"

"Overly confident and full of pride, the same as all Ka Fiends. The same as all Fiends, really. Besides, it simply knows someone strong is watching it, not who. It knows not that I am here, just that five 'strong' people are staring at it, watching it, observing it... I doubt it even knows who you are, let alone that you have Light Mana. So make it pay for that. Though I would enjoy seeing you four all taking it on in close combat instead, I won't encourage recklessness that could lead to death for no real reason."

Dismounting her Jackal, the Sultana stood on the sand and stared down at the Fiend, before crossing her arms across her chest as she leaned against the sturdy side of her mount, who had sat down to watch what was about to happen.

"Do as you please. If you find it to be more ideal to kill this Fiend instantly, do so. If you want a little bit of practice, that's fine too. I would suggest making your move soon, before Ka'Volan breaks into Khisba and burns it to the ground."

"Yeah yeah... we get it. Would you prefer if Leone and I go and meet our opponent for a two on one, after you fire the opening volley? Does that sound like a good idea to you, or would you rather something else?"

I glanced at Jahi and left it to her, the Demoness clearly wanting to get in there herself since her hand was stroking the hilt of her great sword, itching to unsheathe it and charge on in to battle, but after a moment she sighed and dropped her hand to her side, her amethyst eyes holding a reluctance as she nodded at Anput.

"Go ahead, but only after I say so. Kat, let's be quick about it then, yeah? Get those lenses up and aim them at the Fiend. Let's try and get about half of it burnt to a crisp... at the very least, let's take an arm off of this bastard. Sound good?"

Instead of answering verbally, I began to trace out the runes I needed to create the large transparent discs of ice that would amplify Jahi's Light Magic, though to do even better I created multiple of varying shapes and sizes; one to catch the light and amplify it, and others to funnel it into a pinpoint accurate laser that would slice through the Fiend's flesh.

It took little time to do so, and as I created and aimed the discs at the Fiend, Jahi began to charge up her own spell, funneling her mana into the Ritual Circle and preparing to cast it whenever I was ready, and as soon as she did so Ka'Volan halted its current punch to look towards us in surprise, but it was too little too late.

"Ready~!"

Crouching down, I lowered the discs and felt Jahi move to stand behind me, the Demoness grunting quietly as she cast her spell and sent a beam of concentrated Light Mana towards the Fiend, who was trying its best to run away and place the mana array between us and it, but again... it was too little, too late.

I didn't know of anyone who was able to outrun light at this point, so I just giggled softly as I angled the discs and aimed the laser across the basin, directing a thin yet powerful beam of Light Mana towards the Fiend.

Wherever it landed, the beam scorched the sand and left a charred line behind it as I quickly calibrated the discs based on what I was seeing, and since light was really damn fast, I managed to hit the Fiend within a second or so from Jahi casting her spell, and the results were... interesting, to say the least.

Crossing its arms in front of itself, Ko'Volan exploded with Fire Mana as it created a dome around itself to try and block the Light Mana, which created another explosion as the two sources of heatcollided together.

I kept the beam concentrated and focused on cutting a hole through the Fiend's shield, and as I was doing so Jahi said "Go on! Whilst it's distracted!", causing Anput and Leone to charge down the slope and closer to the Fiend.

The beam tore away the Fire Mana and cut deep into the Fiend's flesh, eliciting an agonized shout as it felt the Light Mana slice through its skin and cut the bone, interrupting the magical shield it had created and revealing its body once more, which opened it up to more attacks from the other two.

Redirecting the beam upwards, I cut through one of its arms, sliced deep into another, and cut through its shoulder, creating a long, jagged wound from its stomach all the way up, which was scorched and completely cauterized, though that only amplified the pain right now for the Fiend.

"Enough..."

Cancelling the spell, Jahi unsheathed her blade and leaned on it, watching the two closely as they approached the Fiend with their weapons drawn; Anput led with a giant Kanabo clutched in her hands, the Jackalkin taking long strides down the slope before launching herself into the air just as the spell ended, while Leone raised a wand and sent a bolt of flame hurtling towards the Fiend's face, testing its resistance to it's own element.

Before it could even recover from the pain of losing an arm and being cut from stomach to shoulder, the Fiend was smacked in the chest with a heavy metal club, cracking its ribs and doubling it over just after Leone's firebolt splashed across its face.

Howling in pain, Ka'Volan spat out blood and tried to say something to us as it raised its head again, but before it could do so Anput swung her Kanabo again and cracked its neck, almost detaching it with a single hit with how deep the crunch sound was even from afar.

Then it was met with another attack, this one from afar and of a different element as the Vampire shot a crescent of blood at its head, cutting into its cheek and revealing its teeth as the blade dug deep, dealing even more damage to the Fiend.

All in a few seconds, Ka'Volan had suffered wound after wound, but still it stood strong, even if its face was a battered mess that dripped blood and flesh, its bone structure completely different from before.