Chapter 354. Zerallia.

  The hellhound, Felljaw, sprinted forward as I summoned my first minion. My mana slayer drone appeared right where I’d targeted, directly in the path of Felljaw. The drone wasted no time in firing up his plasma beam and drilling it into the face of Felljaw. I was already summoning Elida when the beam hit, I wasn’t expecting much, since the hellhound was already flaming, but whatever energy powered the flames within the infernal beast, didn’t make it completely immune to the plasma beam.

  Despite a howl of pain as the beam seared into its face, the hellhound didn’t stop its charge and even managed to leap over the drone to get at me. The plasma beam scorched its belly as it flew over the drone, leaving flaming blood to pour out of the wound. Unlike the weaker creatures we’d faced, this Felljaw was sturdy enough to survive the plasma blast.

  Landing a bit off target due to the damage it had taken, the hellhound slid on the packed dirt floor of the warehouse for a second before its claws finally got traction. That gave me enough time to activate Switch and Replace. I blinked out of existence and appeared near the mana slayer drone where I’d targeted my return. The hellhound slammed into my duplicate, dissipating the illusion magic.

  Elida appeared next to the hellhound, her mace already swinging at the beast. I didn’t know if she could handle it on her own, but I knew I was giving Zerallia too much time to work. Using my new ability for this contract, Summon Skeleton,” I cast all four charges around Zerallia, who had already summoned another pair of creatures.

  Two smaller versions of the hellhound were at her side and reacted immediately to the threat. The summoned skeletons were simple creations, just bones bound together by mana, and were without any gear or weapons. Despite that, they bought me the time that I needed to summon my third minion, the Apprentice Necromancer, and give the drone further orders.

  “Hit her with your grenade launchers,” I ordered. The necromancer would have to operate on his own, I didn’t have time to direct him, and I had no idea what his abilities were exactly. A burst of flame slammed into me, knocking me off my feet as the fire licked at my armor. It wasn’t like normal fire, and seemed to have a mind of its own, seeking a way through the armor as the heat increased.

  It seemed that Zerallia had already dealt with the skeletons and had launched a spell at me. Without my armor and my moderate flame resistance, I’d have been cooked alive. The pain increased as the fire moved its way up my body, reaching and scorching my neck. I could feel the skin blister and char, but I was unable to do anything but scream as the pain increased past what I was able to withstand. Part of Melvin’s armored form sizzled away, and I could feel his pain as my friend tried to use his own body to protect me.

  The smell of my own flesh burning filled my nose before a beam of golden light slammed into me, bringing some relief. It must have been Elida, who used her ranged healing ability. After the healing burst, Zerallia’s spell ran out of power and the fires dissipated. I activated my Summoner’s Reflection Orb as I got my bearings. The item would block or reflect the next spell Zerallia cast on me or my minions.

  I could feel the connection to Elida break as she was killed by the hellhound. That thing was tougher than I had thought, and I needed reinforcements. As I reached for a healing potion, one of the good ones that Itzlebit had sold me, I also cast Duplicate on the drone.

  The potion had a pleasant, fruity taste, and I could feel it begin to work immediately, healing the charred flesh around my neck to the point that I could now turn my head to take in the situation. Things were dire, and the hellhound, Felljaw was once more charging toward me. It had finished off Elida, who was a rather durable opponent, and was charging the necromancer who was the only thing between me and it.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  I sent mana into my Ghost Archer’s Crossbow, causing the weapon to float out of my pack and take aim at the charging hellhound. The duplicate drone also moved to intercept as I readied the Portal of the Cackle. While I activated the portal, I also drew my javelin, hurling it at the hellhound with a poor throw. Thankfully, the magic in the weapon caused it to fly true and strike the hellhound just before it leaped onto the necromancer.

  Electrical energy jolted the beast causing it to miss its leap and crash to the ground. Before I could do anything else, I was knocked to the ground again with another of those fire spells that Zerallia used before. The orb didn’t completely negate the spell, Zerallia was a higher tier and rank than I was, but it did mitigate some of the damage, and instead of burning to death on the ground, I was merely horribly injured.

  My healing potion was still active and to boost its heal over time ability, I cast Health Bloom on top of me. Between that and the Trolls Belt, I would be good as new if Zerallia gave me enough time. Looking back toward the hellhound, I watched the necromancer cast a spell that seemed to rot away a patch of the hellhound’s coat, and a ghoul then pulled itself out of the ground next to the monster.

  The duplicate drone was also on the move, firing its plasma beam into the hellhound and then lobbing grenades, ignoring the chance of friendly fire with the ghoul. A gnoll ran past, heading into the fight as the Portal of the Cackle continued to do its thing.

  Battered, and heavily wounded, the hellhound Felljaw wasn’t out of the fight. An orange beam fired from Zerallia landed on the monster and some of its wounds seemed to heal. That was right, Zerallia was also a summoner, and a higher tier one at that. She would have ways to bolster or heal her minions. That was the real threat, I needed to shut down the summoner and trust that my minions would delay the hellhound for a while.

  My mana slayer drone was trying to fight his way to Zerallia, who was now protected by four of the smaller hellhounds. It was clear the drone had already dealt with at least one or two of the smaller hounds, but in doing so, had lost one of its longer bladed arms. A hound tore out a chunk of leg armor as I watched, causing my minion to stumble.

  Seeing that the drone was almost done, I hit it with the Ring of Final Sacrifice. Knowing what was coming, the drone pushed through the pack of hellhounds, trying to get closer to Zerallia. He had her just inside the blast radius when the hounds brought him down. As the drone turned to mana vapor, it exploded, the blast engulfing the hounds and Zerallia.

  A pair of hounds limped out of the dust cloud that the blast had created, and a moment later, Zerallia staggered out behind them. Her armored robe was shredded in places, and she was bleeding from several wounds. The woman pointed at a hound and the creature shriveled up before disappearing into mana vapor. Many of the visible wounds on her healed as she absorbed the lifeforce of her minion. Zerallia smiled in my direction, wagging her finger at me like I was a disobedient puppy.

  My drone was down, Elida was down, and the duplicate drone was tied up with the battered, but still deadly, Felljaw. I wasn’t going to win this one, I was outmatched and overpowered. Early Cancellation wasn’t an option, as I was currently in combat. I still had one trick still up my sleeve, something I had been wanting to save for Gary, but something I needed to use now if I was going to survive the next few minutes.

  Pulling the scroll from my belt, I activated the Elite Diminish Foe spell, targeting Zerallia. She gasped as the magic hit her, and the system gave me a bit of information on the effectiveness of the item.

  Your foe has been diminished from Tier 4, Rank 2 and is now considered Tier 3, Rank 5 for the next 15 minutes.

  That I could deal with. I had no idea how the system dealt with mana pool, spells or abilities when it diminished someone, but all I needed to know was that I had a chance. One of the smaller hellhounds next to Zerallia disappeared, and a quick glance over my shoulder showed that Felljaw was now being forced back by the duplicate drone, remaining gnolls, and the necromancer.

  It looked like the scroll affected not just Zerallia, but also her minions. Even though she summoned infernal creatures, her class must have been similar to mine in some respects, especially the part where the minions mirrored, or at least had some of their power based on the tier and rank of the summoner. My hands went to my belt and the figurines, scrolls, and equipment I had stored inside.

  With a growl, Zerallia started to cast a spell. Her remaining smaller hellhound stood at her side to defend her. It was time to pull out all the stops and use everything I had at my disposal to win. It was time to call Fitzfazzle. If anyone could help turn the tide of the fight in my favor, it was my gnomish friend.