City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

“Look up.”

I frowned, then looked up, hunting all around the room’s ceiling, and then peering into the room beyond. It was all composed of thick wood, covered in cobwebs, but with no visible trapdoors.

“What is the Skyking?” he prompted. I maintained my glare, wondering if there was a spell that would actually create the possibility for a look to kill.

“We don’t know…” I said slowly.

“We do know the kind of territory it claims, though,” he said, nodding towards the windows.

“Yeah, the sky…” I responded, then shook my head. “Tell me you don’t mean what I think you mean. surely the fucker has to have a way into its lair from inside the building…”

“It probably does, but there are multiple stairways in this tower. The last few floors, there’s been no sign of the stairway the Legion took, yet the building isn’t big enough to really need multiple stairs…”

“So the Legion’s probably fighting the damn thing already!” I groaned, staring at him in dismay. “… and that means…”

“We’ve got to go all the way back to the third floor, or climb outside, as it makes sense that the Skyking would have a way in from outside for its fliers.”

“Perhaps we could climb the outside?” Nigret suggested carefully, eyeing the windows, before he frowned, looking out. “What is that…”

“Goddamn…” I started to swear when the window closest to me exploded inwards, a Promethean ploughing through and sending the three of us flying in an explosion of grimy soot-covered glass and wood fragments. In the chaos, Nigret was knocked senseless by a well-placed boot.

I hit the wall, fell to the floor, and shook myself. My gaze stopped momentarily at the huge golden-skinned specimen of their race, and I glared at the pair of smaller ones that flew in on either side of it, flanked by four Imps and a group of Djinn.

“Make the portal, worms!” the massive Promethean ordered the Djinn, who all had spectral golden chains around their necks. The chains seemed to lengthen and shorten as the Djinn moved, but they linked inexorably to the belt the Promethean wore.

The Djinn, seven I counted quickly, were sallow skinned. Despite their usual colorful hues, the reds, greens, and blues of their skin looked washed out and weary, and each bore a tattoo on their left cheek of a six-pointed star enclosed in a circle. They moved slowly and listlessly, clearly unwilling, but forced to obey as they began to summon the glow of mana to their hands.

“Hey, dickhead!” I snarled to the Promethean as I stood up, my head coming to just under his clavicle as I straightened to my full height.

“Speak not to your betters, slave!” one of the Prometheans snarled, darting forward and backhanding me before I knew what was happening. I crashed into the wall behind, stone and wood creaking as I slumped to the ground, stunned.

“Jax!” Oracle cried out, darting across to me as Lydia and the others stormed out of the barracks, forming up to face the scumbags that had just crashed our party.

“Interesting!” the golden-skinned fuckhead boomed, reaching out one hand in a cupping gesture, and speaking a single syllable. The incantation stopped Oracle’s flight like she’d been stuck in honey. Her wings beat frantically, even though I knew they were largely for show, and my mana dipped as she drew on it to push herself to me. Instead, she slowed to a squirming halt, hovering in the air. Arrows flashed by her, only to bounce off a golden shield that appeared around the Promethean leader at the last second. He cocked his head, looking from me, to the others, then back to Oracle.

“Very interesting. My… employer… has ordered me to teach you all a lesson, and to make an example of you, so that no others attempt what you have in the future. I shall kill some of you now, and the rest will be offered as slaves at the auction tomorrow. Gelded first, of course,” he added calmly, before glancing through the doorway past the others, and clearly realizing what Yen was doing. “You there! CEASE!” he bellowed, suddenly furious. When nothing changed, he growled to his followers. “Stop the mortal; kill any that get in your way.” Then he folded his arms, as though expecting that to be the end of it.

His two bodyguards launched themselves forward, moving quickly through the room. I grunted as I pushed myself back upright, just in time to see one kick Lydia full force in the shield. The blow sent her crashing backwards, even as two arrows slammed into its ebony skin, eliciting a pained grunt. Jian lunged at the other massive creature, his blades blurring in an intricate, glowing pattern that indicated his active ability. However, despite his landing half a dozen shallow cuts, the Promethean, with veins clearly visible through its pale skin, simply batted him aside with its staff, sending him to the floor with an audible crunch of broken bones.

Oracle was straining harder and harder, but my mana was dipping faster by the second, and she began to slide through the air towards the golden skinned creature.

I activated ‘Examine’ out of desperation, speed-reading the information that flared into existence.

Altai, Wing Lord of the Western Climbs

Lord Altai is the leader of the Promethean people in the city of Himnel. Sent from the Hidden City of Arkon, he is in command of the Promethean forces of the Skyking and brings the Light of Promethea to the heathens and earth-bound.

Altai rose to power due to a mix of militant fanaticism and cold logic; he believes all forms of life that are not Promethean are lower, and therefore must serve or be exterminated.

Typical for a Promethean, he has trouble accepting anything that is in a higher position of authority, especially if that comes with authority over him. However, he is a true believer, and thus has sworn to obey the Skyking.

Weaknesses: Unknown

Resistances: Unknown

Level: Unknown

HP: Unknown

Mana: Unknown

“Well, that’s just fucking useless…” I muttered to myself in