The Light Shall Burn You!

Moira and John’s weapons were locked together, his axe head caught on the shaft of Moira’s hammer. The two struggled back and forth, each trying to disarm the other while their weapons were effectively useless. Moira strained as John pulled once again, the hilt of her hammer slipping from her grasp. When did he become so strong?! she wondered as she twisted her hammer in just the right way to disconnect it from John’s weapon. The sudden disconnect caught John off guard as he stumbled backwards.

“Shit!” John sputtered as he had to quickly readjust his weight to prevent himself from falling. Moira, being the seasoned warrior she is, took advantage of this and charged at John. John’s eyes followed her hammer as it came screaming towards him, far too fast for him to dodge or parry. As the weapon came close to John’s chest, he saw it bounce off the very air. John looked around himself and saw a bubble of light had enveloped him. Moira’s hammer came down two more times, both times bouncing off the shield that was around him.

“What trickery is this?!” cried Moira as she stared at the clear warlock who had the very Light of the Lady surround his body. “Why is the Light shielding you?” questioned Moira, whose stance had become more defensive as she processed this new information. John, not one to waste his current invulnerability, rushed Moira. The Warden to be raised her shield, ready to take the impact of John’s attack. Spinesplitter scraped along the shield multiple times, leaving small indentations in her shield. John swung once more at Moira only to have his shield dissipate.

Moira had planted her feet, ready to take the brunt of John’s attacks as Moira figured out what to do. She knew as long as the Light surrounded John, she could do nothing to him. Why the Lady had given John the power of the Light, she did not know, but knew now was not the time to wonder that. She could question John once he and his companions were captured and secure.

Moira braced herself once more as John brought his axe down once again yet she saw it. The bubble around John disappeared, leaving him wide open to attack. Moira wasted no time in quickly switching her footing, using the momentum from that to swing her hammer around, catching John right in the chest. The **** of the blow sent John flying into the wall.

“Ignore the twins, surround Newman! We capture him now!” ordered Moira, her soldiers quickly followed her orders, breaking off their assaults on the twins and moving to surround John, with Moira in front. “Just surrender, John, and all this can be over!” pleaded Moira as she and her knights closed in around John.
John looked up to see the group of knights close in around him, only for the backs of Miho and Mikuru appear in front of him, ready to protect him. The twins readied themselves for combat once again, knowing that their chances of winning had dropped significantly.

“Come, Miho, we must defend the king!” the elder sister said to the younger sister. She nodded in agreement as her enemies drew even closer to them.
“No,” John sputtered as he got up, his hand across the dent of his armor, pain on his face. “I’ll take care of them all. So you two fall back and stand down,” he ordered. Miho and Mikuru gave him a worried look but complied with his command. The two fell back between the wall and John, who now stood between them and Moira’s squad. “THE LIGHT SHALL BURN YOU ALL!” yelled John as a pair of angelic wings made of light sprouted from his back.

The knights stopped in their tracks at the sight before them coupled with John’s declaration. The warriors of the Order readied their weapons, not sure what to expect as John gripped his weapon.

“We do not fear you, warlock! The Light of the Lady is with us! Charge men!” ordered Moira, who lead the charge. Her soldiers hesitated for a split second before following their Warden’s charge. Moira stared John right in the eyes as she saw them fill with the power of the Light and too late did she realize her charge was exactly what he wanted. “Wait, fall back!” screamed Moira, but it was too late, John unleashed his Avenging Wrath empowered Divine Storm upon his enemies. The storm of light whipped around John and the twins, tearing into Order soldiers. The men and women screamed as the Light first tore away at their armor, exposing their gambeson that lasted even shorter against John’s attack than the enchanted plate armor. With nothing but their naked flesh left to protect them from the attack, they hoped the attack would spare them. They were wrong.

Moira stood behind her shield, its holy power rebuffing her enemy’s attack. With her head tucked firmly within the shield’s perimeter, Moira could only envision what was going on to her squad as she heard their screams. Tears rolled down her cheeks while she held back her urge to breakdown. Never had she had a mission turn out like this. Her father had agreed to let her lead this mission because he, like her, did not think John was much of a threat. Yet he had somehow completely changed his powers since the last time she had fought with him. Now, her arrogance had just cost her the lives of a dozen Order warriors. Moira’s thoughts of her failures were cut short as the swirling Light died down and Moira was able to lower her shield.

“By the… Lady,” was all Moira could say as she looked at what remained of her troops: piles of bone on the floor. “By doing this, John, you will forever be marked as an enemy of the Order. We’ll hunt you down until we bring you to Justice,” Moira told him. “And not just me, but my sister Wardens as well! Full-fledged Wardens who have complete mastery of their powers. They won’t hold back! And I won’t next time, either,” Moira said with cold conviction as she finished her warning to John. She slowly backed away, not breaking eye contact with John until she left the barrier, leaving John and the twins with the remains of her soldiers.
“The order will be powerful enemies,” Mikuru told John, breaking the silence that had endured since Moira left. “We need to prepare,” she warned. Miho nodded as she looked down at the piles of bones that surrounded them.

“I didn’t know your attack could do that,” admitted Miho as she bent down and poked the bones, seemingly sad that the bones didn’t turn to dust when she touched them.

“Neither did I,” John said coldly as he looked over the various pop ups he had received because of the fight.

1200 experience earned!

Level up!

Achievement Unlocked: C-Combo Breaker!
You defeated 10 or more enemies at the same time, impressive!
Reward: Retribution Aura

Retribution Aura
The power of the Holy Light surrounds you and your allies. All enemies attacking you or your allies deal 5% of their damage back at themselves.

Achievement Unlocked: Frenemy
Turn a friend into an enemy. That’s some grade A social skills you have to pull that off. But hey, at least you chose one of the most powerful organizations to piss off!
Reward: War Room unlocked

Received Skeleton Bones x 12

Received Lightbringer War-Helm

Lightbringer War-Helm
1 of 8
Epic Item
The war-helm of one of the most powerful users of the Light, who died protecting the innocent from hordes of undead.
+5 STR, +5 END

John equipped the helm, amazed at its lightness as well as clear vision. John moved his head left to right, up and down, glad to see that it did not limit his head’s mobility. John was happy to have a 3rd piece of this set, but still needed 5 more until it would be complete. After pondering over what to do with his new stat points, John decided to put the points into WIS, hoping it would help him come up with better battle tactics as well as better ruling.

“Ok girls, let’s head back, lunch is almost over,” John said as he dissipated the barrier and the three went back to their table.