Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 221: Entrapment

Where is he? Vir's voice was cut off by the door that materialized between Saunak and Cirayus, whod been following behind. He was now cut off.

Vir clucked his tongue in irritation.

While the Thaumaturge was trapped with Vir Vir was also trapped with the five human-sized Automaton guardians that lay in wait.

Its a trap, Vir thought, but it wont work. Not against me.

Saunak has miscalculated. All Vir had to do was bring the demon into the Shadow Realm with him. Then, he could reappear next to Cirayus, and Saunak would be forced to order his minions to stand down.

Or, more simply, he could just escape to Cirayus, leaving Saunak alone in the room.

When Vir was about to initiate Dance, the floors, walls, and ceiling all glowed an intense white. The floor-to-ceiling windows showing the desolate landscape outside disappeared, replaced by more of the white wall.

With light sources from every direction, Virs shadow was wiped out. The Shadow Realm was off-limits.

If theyd turned on after Id initiated the ability

Vir gulped. His body would have been cleaved in two. The fear gave way to anger. Saunak had not only trapped him, hed stolen Shan.

I never shouldve left him behind.

We had a deal, Vir seethed, barely keeping the indignation out of his voice. Hed been wrong about the demon. Cirayus had been right. There was no negotiating with this lunatic. Hed take everything he could

Im afraid my curiosity got the better of me, Saunak said, ruffling his hair. The demon almost looked embarrassed. Look, I was going to tell you, but I just couldnt resist

Where is he? Vir roared, surging Prana Current. A vortex of pure black surrounded him, circling around his body like a small cyclone, ripping apart anything that wasnt Imperium Metal.

Saunak watched with wide-open eyesnot in horror, but in awe.

Couldnt care less if he prostrates himself right now, Vir thought. The time for discussion had ended.

Vir flew into action, Blinking to the nearest Automatons. Blade Launch couldnt cut through Imperium metal, so he went directly to the only weapon in his arsenal that couldhis Artifact Chakram.

The disk sailed through the air and cleaved into the nearest Automaton, gouging out a chunk of its metal hull on its neck.

Vir followed up with a strike of his own, attacking the same spot the chakram had damaged. To his surprise, Prana Blade actually did some damage, expanding the hole.

Without even attempting a follow-up strike, Vir Blinked out of the way. His intuition had been correctthe Automatons blade arm sliced through where hed been only moments earlier.

Its reflexes were nearly on par with the Yakshas But if it really had been a Yaksha, Vir would already be dead.

No, like everything else in the tower, these Automatons were old. Ancient, basic models of the being that Vir had narrowly escaped from.

They rolled around on spherical bases, and instead of human-like appendages, their six-blade arms were connected via ball joints that looked distinctly mechanical. Instead of three faces that mirrored human expressions like the Yaksha, theirs were etched in stone.

Most importantly, none of them possessed the eye beams that the Yaksha and the large Automatons had, and the damage that the chakram had done hadnt yet closed up.

It cant heal itself? Vir wondered, Blinking around the room continuously to avoid the barrage of attacks launched by the Automata, barely avoiding their deadly strikes.

While they might have been older models, lacking several of the godly abilities that made the Yaksha so terrifyingly powerful, these were still Imperium machines. Vir doubted theyd rank lower than two hundred each on the Balar Scale.

Until recently, that figure would have terrified him. Now? He was confident he could win one on one.

Against five? He didnt stand a chance, nor was he arrogant enough to try.

I cant afford to die here.

There was, of course, another option. He could go after Saunak, though that was easier said than done.

Two of the five Automatons guarded the thaumaturge, and their speed was such that only two were required to protect him from all angles.

Without Dance of the Shadow Demon, Vir had to rely on Blink to attack Saunak, but while the Talent was incredibly fast, so too were the Automatons.

I need to take one or two out. Thatll force one of the Automatons into battle, leaving Saunak open.

Vir glanced at Saunak, expecting to see a smug look on the demons face. Instead, the mad thaumaturge was furiously typing away at a hovering panel, his brows furrowed in concentration.

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What is he up to now?

If the Thaumaturge was summoning more minions, or if he could erect those Imperium metal walls here, Virs chances would plummet. He had faith that Cirayus could hold out on his own outside, even if he was unable to break past the metal walls. But what about himself?

Redoubling his resolve, Vir feinted by lunging for Saunak, making his guards move into a defensive stance, before whirling and attacking the Automaton hed dealt damage to earlier.

Virs Artifact chakram continued to eat into its metal skin, humming as its deadly razor blades spun. Vir let it continue, supporting it with his own strikes.

Foregoing the flashy Katar Launch, Vir focused on infusing his Prana Blade with as much prana as he could, augmenting it with Empower and Blink. Haste was, of course, always active, giving him a continuous edge.

He even tried pulling prana from the Automaton, but unlike Ash Beasts, its Imperium Metal body blocked him. Though, since it lacked prana armor, Vir was unsure what benefit itd have had even if he succeeded.

Ducking and weaving around the two other Automatons while also inflicting damage proved difficult, despite Virs recent strength gains. Luckily, he had the chakram. He was winning. All he needed now was time.

It happened only a minute later. Vir went in to attack when he noticed the Automaton had no head. His chakram had finally cleaved it off.

Yes!

Vir redirected his katar, striking instead at its torso, but the headless machine blocked his attack easily. It was as if it was uninjured.

Of course, theyre built differently! Vir cursed under his breath. Did it even need its head? Or was it just for show?

Black metal cables sparked from its neck stump, but otherwise, his attacks seemed to have done no damage.

All that effort. Wasted Or perhaps not? Vir thought as he looked at its neck.

Blinking to the back of the Automaton, Vir grabbed a cableone that wasnt currently arcingand pulled prana. Without Imperium Metal armor to block him, he sucked the Automatons prana dry in an instant and the enemy fell to the ground, lifeless.

One down. Only one more to go. If he could reduce their numbers to three, Saunak would be forced to give up one of his guards. And then hed be defenseless.

Give up, Saunak, Vir announced, ducking under another bladed arm while launching his Prana Bladed katar into the nearest Automatons chin, sending it staggering back. Ive proven I can take them down. How many more of your precious Artifact machines do you want to lose today?

Saunak laughed happily. Why, I dont mind losing them all, if it means gauging your ability! he said with with a crazed look.

Gauging? Vir thought incredulously.

Is that what youre doing?

Why, yes! What better way to get you to display your full ability than to force you into a crisis? Far better than any duel, if you ask me.

Youre insane, Vir snarled, Blinking to Saunak. His katar lashed out with inhuman speed, and was met by an equally inhuman Automatons blade.

Im afraid you wont be getting through that way, Saunak said.

Is that right? Vir asked, summoning his chakram back to him. How about this, then?

Vir sent his disk flying, but this time he aimed directly at Saunak. The thaumaturges eyes widened in surprise, and Vir saw a hint of fear flash through his expression.

Good. Let him squirm.

Until now, Vir couldnt afford to fire the disk at Saunak. To do so meant hed have to face three Automatons on his owna losing proposition. But now, there were only four, and it took two of his guardians working together to keep the disk from eviscerating their charge, which left Vir with two opponents.

Doablebarely. And then Saunak turned the tables on him again.

I should warn you. The tower is keyed to my life. Should I perish, this facility will self-destruct, annihilating anything and everything within it. A safety measure. To ensure my research is never compromised.

Compromised? Vir couldn't fathom how Saunak's mad experiments could be corrupted any further.

The Automatons were incredibly durable and deadly, but Vir held the edge in mobility. After exchanging a few blows, he Blinked around them, hurtling straight for Saunak.

I'm going to have to play this smarter. Vir had suspected Saunak would have some sort of defense mechanism, but the destruction of the whole tower? Vir hadn't thought of that scenario. He hadn't thought it possible.

He sent a Katar Launch sailing at the demon, forcing his guardians to intercept. But doing so meant allowing the chakram to kill their master.

What are you going to do now? Vir thought. You have no options.

Just when he thought he had Saunak, one of the Automatons did something Vir couldnt have imagined. It sent its blade arm through the hole inside the chakram, pinning it against the wall.

Were it a normal chakram, that would be the end, and itd be rendered useless. The inner edge of a chakram was normally blunted to avoid harming the wielder. At best, itd spin uselessly.

But this was an Artifact, custom designed by Vir and Ashani herself.

Razor blades deployed along the inner perimeter, ripping savagely at the Automatons limb. It bit steadily into the metal, and within seconds, the limb was gone. Amputated at its ball-jointed elbow.

Saunaks guardian had sacrificed itself, but in return, itd stopped Katar Launch.

Smart, Vir thought begrudingly. It had five limbs left. Sacrificing one wasnt a huge loss though it wasnt a strategy it could afford to keep up for long.

If it was resorting to such desperate tactics, it meant Vir was close. Just a little more.

If I only had a little more help

Vir continued fighting off the guardians, hurling his chakram at Saunak when he could. Unfortunately, in the following two minutes, hed managed to do so only thrice. Each time, his bodyguards sacrificed their limbs. It wasnt fast enough. Not nearly.

A black blur fell from the ceiling. Had Vir not spotted the glowing blue eyes, he mightve mistaken it for a bundle of prana.

Virs eyes looked up to find a small open hole in the ceiling.

A ventilation shaft! Like the ones in the Yaksha vault!

The fight was over the moment Shan hit the floor.

The Automatons couldnt counter the wolf. Even if their minds were fast enough to register the new threat, their bodies certainly were not.

Shans head slammed into Saunaks stomach, sending him hurling across the room.

The thaumaturge hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.

For a brief moment, Vir's stomach lurched. Saunak was a weak old demon. He had none of the strength-enhancing tattoos Cirayus did, nor his giant's constitution.

But when the prana inside Saunak continued to course, Vir knew he wasn't dead.

All four Automatons immediately moved into a protective formation around their fallen master, preventing Vir from approaching.

Capturing the thaumaturge wouldve been nice, but ultimately infeasible. At least he was out of the picture, and Vir had a way out.

High Jumping, Vir sailed into the ventilation shaft, forcing his way inside.

He didnt need to go far. Unlike the room below, the shaft was dark, allowing him to slip into its shadow.

Shan bounded up behind him, and he pulled the Ashfire Wolf into the Shadow Realm along with him.

Locating a nearby exit, Vir emerged beside Cirayus to find the giant embroiled in a fierce battle of his own in the circular hallway.

Lad! Are you well? he asked as Sikandar sent an Automaton flying across the circular hall.

Fine. But we need to get out of here.

Aye. Question is, how?

It was a good question. For while Vir had escaped the trap Saunak had sprung, they werent out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot.

Vir looked around and counted a half dozen Automatons. At least there arent too many enemies, Vir said. On his own, theyd be an issue, but with Cirayus? He was confident they could escape.

That was until the towers lights turned red. Sirens blared, and spider-like Automatons flooded through the walls. By the dozens.

Well, grak.