Ends of Magic

Chapter 25: A Glottal Stop

Nathan picked his way over the battlefield, Rage draining away as he vaulted over the fallen trunk of an Ashblood cobra that stood between him and his friends. He stepped around scattered pools of hissing blood and venom that flickered with dim flames. Somehow, his shoes were still mostly intact, and he wanted to keep them that way. They were the most expensive part of his clothes to keep replacing.

I feel shitty thinking that way after seeing Nornan get bitten by that last cobra. Fuck!

He watched as Khachi and the Dusteaters hustled into the ruined building that Nornan had been thrown into. Nathan sighed. Hed seen the snake strike. It had gotten the blonde-haired adventurer with both fangs, right into the chest cavity. He could hope - but he didnt expect Nornan was going to walk this one off, even with Khachis healing.

A few moments later Khachi emerged, shaking his head to the Heirs. The other Dusteaters came out a minute later, fury engraved across their features.

Yeah. Sucks. But were not done yet.

We kill the Matriarch. Ucrics eyes were red, and the catfolks voice was scratchy and ragged. Nathan wanted to tell him to calm down, that fighting furious wouldnt help anything. But that would be rather hypocritical, and now wasnt the time for the argument. So instead he nodded and turned to walk across the square.

Now that Stella and Khachis lights were farther into the square, Nathan could make out more of it. One side of the square had been dominated by a large palace that had been partially carved out of the back wall of the cavern. Now it was a ruined mess. Few of the walls stood, and it looked like large portions of it had been torched with flame hot enough to make the stone blocks run and bubble.

Bet thats where the wasp nest was.

The side opposite the Heirs was mostly blocked by a large semicircular fountain, with a tall plinth topped by three statues of naga-esque Sklian mage-lords standing above a broad basin.

Were looking for a water source. Fountain seems like a place to start.

Nathan motioned towards the fountain, and everybody acknowledged. The Dusteaters were stalking forward with bloodlust in their eyes. Nathan moved to keep in front of them, gesturing for the Heirs to spread out as he scooped his spear up off the ground where hed dropped it. They cleared the hazardous area of the former battle quickly enough, moving across the square towards the fountain.

The first sign of the Matriarch was a pair of faintly gleaming eyes in the shadow of the statues that stood in the center of the water feature. They were only barely visible, but clear to Nathans newly developed [Notice] skill. One eye was on either side of the central dias, nearly a dozen feet apart. Nathan yelled to grab its attention and direct his allies. They didnt want to be grouped up against something that big. Matriarch in the fountain! Take cover!

Nobody else dies. It comes after me.

Nathan summoned his Rage effortlessly and ran yelling towards the fountain. He was answered by a basso hiss rumbling across the square. He was ready to dodge at the first sign of the titanic snake coming around the statues to strike at him. He wasnt expecting it to crash through the sturdy stone plinth, showering him with stone fragments and coming directly at him with a mouth large enough to swallow a pickup truck. Sideways.

The mouth was so big there was no way to dodge. So Nathan dropped, using [Slow Fall] to slam himself gracelessly into the ground faster than gravity could have managed.

I swear, Im getting more use out of that skill in falling quickly than falling slowly.

He didnt avoid the snakes strike, but avoided getting scooped up by its onrushing jaws, which impacted his side with enough force to break bones if they hadnt been reinforced by two class skills and a Talent. The fangs punctured the stone just behind him, spraying flaming venom all around. Then they started dragging their way through the stone towards Nathan, primed to scoop him up into the snakes mouth.

Not a lot of options here.

Nathan pushed himself upwards with both legs and one hand, levering himself into the Ashblood cobra's mouth. He jammed the tip of the spear into the roof of the snakes maw and lay flat against the bottom of its mouth as the fangs broke free of the stone. The giant Matriarch made a displeased sound and the fangs hinged upwards, barely missing Nathan as the mouth closed.

His spear snapped like a twig, embedding the enchanted spearhead in the roof of the snakes mouth and flooding Nathan with flaming magical acid. The snakes saliva was also corrosive, but not as much so as the blood. He honestly wasnt sure if it was venomous, but it probably wasnt part of a great skincare routine. His shoes slipped off, enough of the bindings dissolved that the soles werent held to his feet.

Dammit.

The Ashblood Matriarch tried to swallow him, constricting muscles to draw him towards its gullet. Nathan focused down a surge of panic at the claustrophobia of being crushed, his Rage flaring in its place. He was squashed from all directions but forced his limbs to push against the constricting flesh around him. He couldnt breathe, and focused his attention on pushing his hands and legs out to search for a brace point, a way to avoid being pulled towards the back of the snakes mouth. He found some kind of lip of flesh at the bottom of the snakes mouth and kicked against it with his now-bare feet.

Then there was an impact, and the snake flinched in pain, opening its mouth. The fangs snicked past Nathan once more, and he got a look at what hed been kicking off of. It was an opening a few feet across on the bottom of the snakes mouth, and it vibrated as the snake hissed once more, the sound deafening as it emerged from the fleshy tube.

Nathan looked out of the snakes mouth. It was rearing back again, readying itself to strike at the other adventurers.

I could jump out of the snakes mouth. But my role here is to make myself a problem. And not get swallowed. Time to be a choking hazard?

Nathan realigned his feet and pushed himself into the tube. The snakes hiss cut off as Nathans knees slipped past the opening and his body damped the vibrations. The snake made a sort of choking sound, then tried to hack him up. He slipped inside the tube to his waist and braced his knees to stay in place.

You know, this feels like apt revenge for trying to swallow me. Im not sure I could survive being suffocated and crushed. Maybe I should see if I can use [Perfected Body] to replace oxygen with Stamina when not inside a giant snake.

The snakes next choking motion was interrupted by a fireball exploding in its mouth before arrows impacted in the flesh around Nathan. It tried to hiss and reorient on the Adventurers, but Nathan slid himself up to the shoulders in the tube, bracing his armpits against the edges so he didnt slide all the way in. There was another impact and the snake lurched drunkenly, but didnt fall. More blood streamed over Nathan, and he drained it of magic.

His Rage wanted him to be doing more. He wanted to rip and tear, destroy the beast from the inside. But Nathans new [Battle Meditation] allowed him to stay focused. He was helping from here, distracting the snake and impeding its breathing.

This is gross, but also kind of hilarious? This thing must be tough as hell if its not dead yet with both the Heirs and Dusteaters shooting at it. Its worse because the firearms are pretty effectively silenced with magic, so I cant even hear them.

The mouth slammed closed once more, and the snake tried to cough and swallow at the same time. From the inside, the motion was extremely strange, but still threatened to dislodge Nathan from his current position. He tensed himself, fighting against the inordinate strength of muscles on the scale of industrial equipment. He was lucky that the snake didnt have much leverage, and he mostly just needed to not get shoved around.

And all I need to do is hold out until my allies kill it. If its concentrating on me, its not concentrating on them.

That thought was disproven a moment later when Nathan felt the snakes head plow into something, smashing away with all of the force of a crashing 18-wheeler. He rode out the impact in relative comfort, but hoped that nobody had been on the receiving end.

Then the recognizable feel of electricity mana flowed through Nathan, conducted through the snake.

He grinned. Stella sure was exercising her magic here - maybe shed even hit level 81 after this fight. The snake opened its mouth to expose its fangs. Nathan saw the mouth pivot towards Sarah just before she vanished behind a small cloud of smoke. The snake had been about to spit venom at Sarah, but the bullet impacted at the base of one of the fangs, badly cracking it and spraying more flaming venom all over the interior of the snakes mouth. Some of it got into Nathans mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

Great. Thanks, Sarah.

Then an incredibly bright light shone from the side. Nathan glanced that way and then quickly squeezed his eyes shut. Even with [Magic Absorption], that quick look had partially blinded him. His [Perfected Body] repaired the damage almost instantly, but Nathan was still leery of blinding himself unnecessarily.

Stellas using her laser-spell again, and its definitely closer to normal light than her mothers light spells are. She needs to get better at focusing that down. I bet the Matriarchs skull cant be penetrated by regular bullets, or this fight would already be over. Maybe Sarah doesnt want to use an enchanted bullet? A bullet to the brain is one of the things that will almost certainly kill me.

The snake pivoted that direction, coughing once more to try to dislodge Nathan before snapping its mouth closed again. It was a fascinating experience trying to follow the course of the battle from inside the snakes mouth - he had no idea what was going on, but the snakes obvious discomfort and continual efforts to cough him up convinced him he was doing his part.

The fight continued for a short time, with the Snakes motions growing gradually less forceful. Nathan wasnt sure if it was getting tired, running out of breath or just slowing down from continual injury, but he didnt care. The fight seemed to be going his way.

And I just hope nobody dies. Nobody else.

He was continually crushed and bathed in flaming acid and venom, but the magical nature of the pungent mix combined with his toughness and [Perfected Body] meant his stamina never dipped far. He snatched breaths every time the snake opened its mouth to try dislodging him once more, but Nathan hung on tight.

After more violent motions, and another attempt from the snake to fling Nathan out of its mouth by opening its jaw and shaking its head wildly, Nathan was having trouble staying serious.

Just lying here, holding on and waiting. I want to hum a little song while I lie in this snakes windpipe. But that feels disrespectful for Nornan. Dammit, I cant just cant focus on the bad right now. Appreciate the ridiculousness of your situation! Take humor in it! Youre helping your friends kill a terrifying monster by lying in its windpipe. Thats hilarious! Nornan would be the first to make a joke about this!

Another mighty blow rocked the snake and it tried to scream, but was foiled by Nathan doing nothing but lying there. The snake shook its head and coughed violently. Nathan just closed his eyes against the nausea caused by the disorienting movements and held on tight, forcing his Rage to bend its strength to holding him in place when it wanted to drive him to action.

Battle Meditation 2 achieved!

Then the snakes headwas abruptly slammed to the ground by some colossal impact, followed by the sound of metal grating on bone from the top of its skull. A sustained electrical discharge started flowing into the snake, more powerful than before. It ramped up over time, and the snake seized up and was unable to lift itself from the ground. The electricity continued until the flesh around Nathan started to blacken and burn slightly. All of the liquid started to vaporize, and Nathan started to grow rather warm.

Stella. Its dead! Its dead! I dont want to be the steamed center of a snake roast!

He struggled to get out of the snakes mouth, but the weight of almost its entire head was pressing down on him. Nathan flared his rage and spent Stamina, pushing with his enhanced muscles to slide himself out of the breathing tube before scooching his way out of the snakes mouth.

I could make some really dirty jokes right now. I wont. But I could.

Then he slid himself out of the fleshy prison and lay limply on shattered stone blocks, breathing heavily. Lingering flames from the snakes blood guttered and died on his skin. Nathan heard footsteps approaching and shaded his eyes against sudden golden light, looking up at whoever it was - probably Khachi, given the color of the light.

Nathan opened his mouth, which felt raw and phlegmy after hed inhaled some of the mixed venom and blood. And been limited on air himself for the last few minutes. After coughing for a moment, Nathan spoke, I give it a 5 out of 7. If it gets me some free drinks Id do that again.

You have leveled up to level 77! Congratulations, your party has killed a nest of Ashblood cobras, including a full-grown Matriarch!

Khachi gave a small chuckle, then dumped a waterskin over Nathan to wash the sticky poison and blood mix off of him. It wasnt a small waterskin.

And it was cold. Mundane, non-magical temperature was not something Nathans Talent protected him from. He jumped, shrieking at the unexpectedly frigid deluge, then shivered further as Stella sent a gust of wind his way to dry him off. Finally he caught the set of clothes Khachi tossed him, giving his friends a mock glare as he got dressed.

Prophecy tells me that running out of spare clothes for you is going to be what truly forces us to return to Gemore. Khachis voice was humorous as he approached, clasping hands with Nathan. You survive great ordeals, my friend.

Nathan pulled on the shirt, looking around for the other Adventurers. The square was a bit of a shattered mess, with the previously smoothly paved surface cratered and burning. The grin slid off Nathans face as he saw the Dusteaters approaching. The three of them.

I wonder what joke Nornan would have made about me riding out the fight in the snakes mouth. I bet it would have been a banger.

Nathan glanced around, checking that all of the Heirs were ok. Stella was taking down layers of force constructs that surrounded the crater where she and Sarah had taken cover. Aarl had clambered atop the snakes head and was yanking out the lightning-saber, which had been embedded into its skull.

Ah, they used that trick again. Use the lightning-saber as a lightning rod. Makes sense, and it worked pretty well on the Siegeboar.

Nathan wiped some leftover poison from his face. The magic was gone from the liquid, but it remained a sticky mess that did not smell very good. Then he gave the Dusteaters a serious look, meeting the eyes of Ucric, the male catfolk.

Ucric gave Nathan a deep nod, his face solemn. Glad you live, Nathan Lark. Id call a man a fool who leapt into the jaws of an Ashblood cobra. But you killed the problem, just like Nornan said ya would.

Nathan returned the nod. I am sorry about Nornan. Remember till Ending.

Everybody echoed him, a statement that was part prayer, part vow and part grieving. Remember until Ending.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 8

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 3

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 6

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 77

Stamina: 833/870

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 2

High-tier Earnestness 7

Mid-tier Sprinting 9

High-tier Spellsense 5

High-tier Notice 1

Mid-tier Identify 8

Mid-tier Dodging Footwork 8

High-tier Enhanced Memory 6

Mid-tier Lecturing 7

Mid-tier Tumbling 6

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