Julian was tired.

  Weeks of trying to keep everything from going off the rails were starting to weigh on him. He had no idea how John had managed to rally hundreds of people under his banner while he’d barely managed to keep Veils End from falling into a civil war. He’d never admit it, especially not to his old boss, but he was relieved when the Hell Hotel had been chosen as the last bastion of Earth’s dead.

  “Can you keep their leader busy?” John shouted.

  “Roger!” Julian replied, pulling his flaming sword from the spine of an Ossari axe warrior.

  John had traded his weapon for one of the axes Julian looted, the heavy black metal doing a much better job breaking through the tough bones. John’s level was a lot lower than his own, but Julian was proud to see his old friend could take care of himself on the battlefield. It freed him up to focus on his own fights.

  A flaming arrow pinged off his helmet, but the life-sucking fire was consumed by his own Firebreak Mantle before it had a chance of reaching his skin. Turning towards the archer, he retrieved a small boulder from his slipsack and catapulted it into its chest. It was a strategy he’d picked up from Hyrum, and even without the boosting skills the young Texan used, his arms were like cannons.

  Any other ranged attacks sent towards him were met the same way. Taking the vanguard of their small army, Julian had to wade through an ocean of bones to fight his way toward the Prophet. Luckily, Marcus wasn’t attacking just yet, too busy pouring some sort of runic circle on the ground around him.

  System, if you can hear me, please don’t make me fight an eldritch god.

  Julian could easily use Vanguard’s Entrance to leap closer to the revenant, but he didn’t want to get surrounded if he could avoid it. The armor Harvey created for him was amazing, but it was still only steel. He was tempted to find his friends and check if they were ok, but he forced himself to focus on the Prophet.

  Do your job and trust them to do theirs.

  He pushed Burning Resolve to its limit, his body growing to over twice his normal size. Back when he’d first created the skill, he could only maintain the enlarged form for a few minutes at most. Now, thanks to its cost decreasing with Strength and Vitality, Julian could maintain the form for almost 20 minutes while still having enough essence for the rest of his suite of powers.

  Kicks, slashes, stomps, and Shield Slams carved a path through the Ossari. Every step left another skeleton’s bones cracked, leaking undeath essence in his wake. Julian didn’t waste time finishing every kill, instead leaving the injured warriors for one of his compatriots to finish off. Seeing what happened to their friends, a few of the Ossari blocking his path flashed away, their bones turning to ghosts that went off searching for softer targets.

  Julian just smiled. It felt good to know even the undead could feel fear.

  The path clear, Julian finally saw what the Prophet was doing. Dust that was a mix of bonemeal and black metal shavings was streaming out of a large black sack, creating a crude rune on the ground beneath him. From the looks of it, another few seconds would close the loop, but Julian wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Fire and lightning covered his blade, both from Firebreak Mantle and Harvey’s arrays. Vanguard’s Entrance carried him high into the air, and he aimed to split Marcus right down the middle with one herculean swing. The revenant didn’t look up, but one of the resonance crystals on his chestplate surged as an aquamarine barrier sprang up to cover his entire body. A few of the other Ossari had created similar shields, but none had managed to stop his blade so far.

  The glowing barrier shuddered, cracks like shattering glass spreading out from under the blade, but it managed to completely absorb his swing. The resonance crystal went dark as the shield dissipated, but Marcus didn’t move an inch, completely ignoring Julian and finishing the circle.

  “Nice try,” Marcus said, as the ground began to rumble. Ghastly flames erupted from the rune, melting bone and black metal that fused into thick onyx liquid. A hurricane of essence poured into the circle as Marcus began floating into the air atop a column of the swirling tar. Inch by inch, the tar hardened into sturdy black bones, extending from the Prophet’s arms and legs like an unholy mech suit assembling itself around him. Julian felt a heavy pressure on his aura and knew it would have been crushed completely without the help of Unbroken Sentinel.

  His new body complete, the remaining streams of bone and metal fused into a heavy longsword and an ornate staff. More ghostfire ignited on each weapon, and Marcus wasted no time testing them out.

  The black blade came screaming towards him, and he chose to intercept with a strike of his own instead of using his shield. The clash of swords rang out like a gunshot, sending sparks and spurts of flame in every direction. Julian was surprised to feel his arm shudder from the impact, aching pain spreading through his muscular shoulder.

  “I’ll admit, you’re an impressive specimen,” Marcus said.

  Julian didn’t respond, choosing to slam his shield into the thick femur. He’d found the shockwave released by Shield Slam to be very effective at harming the Ossari’s insides, but Marcus barely seemed to notice. Instead of recoiling, he laughed as he kicked Julian away.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “This avatar doesn’t need marrow to carry its power. Nothing you can do will damage it,” Marcus sneered as the staff began to surge. A roiling ball of ghostfire shot towards him the next second, forcing him to conjure a barrier of his own. Golden flames gushed out of his shield, spreading in all directions to create a 10-foot-barrier imbued with his Unbroken Sentinel Imprint. He’d mirrored the skill after the tattoo, creating a skill that protected all those behind him as long as his spirit never wavered.

  Golden flames overpowered the staff’s attack, leaving only a dull pressure on Julian’s weave and a slight drain of his mental energy. Their radiance grew brighter as Julian stepped forward, intercepting two more blasts and a slash from the longsword before throwing his entire body into knocking the avatar off balance. Julian wasn’t used to being the smaller combatant, but he still managed to send Marcus staggering backward, creating an opportunity to strike at the chest looming above his head. He figured if attacking the bones didn’t work, his blade needed to find flesh.

  Firebreak Mantle always wreathed his blade in the same fiery red of his other skills, but like his new shield, the inferno surrounding his sword turned golden as he made a leaping strike for Marcus' chest. Another gem inlaid in the revenant’s armor flared to life, conjuring a second barrier to block the strike. This time, the sword managed to cut through. It was like cutting through molasses, but golden flames still licked the revenant’s skin.

  It wasn’t just his imprint that aided the strike, but the Level 45 Class Skill he’d created just hours earlier. He’d spent his last day of peace rampaging through the forest, cutting down bears, birds, wolves, snakes, and spiders until he finally got that last level he needed. His conviction to win this war birthed a skill that helped him cut through anything as long as he had the will to push through. With it, he could overcome any barrier, including distance.

  Shocked to see his defenses broken, Marcus leapt away, only to find wide arcs of flame cutting towards him. Holding the sword and staff crossed in front of him, his bone hands were scorched by holy flames.

  Julian stomped forward, sending wave after wave of fire towards the avatar, unheeding of the rampant drain on both his essence and mental energy. With every step, the flames grew brighter. With every step, his fury burned hotter.

  “You think you can come to my home, kill my people, and turn us into your children? You think I’m going to let my daughters turn into monsters like you!” Julian shouted.

  He saw Marcus’ arms buckle with every wave, the massive feet of his avatar carving shallow scars in the dirt as he was pushed back.

  “You’ll never get to see how beautiful my home really is. I’m going to rip the bones from your body and leave them buried in the mud!”

  The staff flared, shooting orbs of ghostfire that were cut apart the moment they formed. A greater surge welled up in the staff before the entire thing exploded, the intricate arrays covering its surface failing after a slash cut the weapon in two. The rampant energies were enough to force Julian backward, his will to continue the crusade briefly overpowered by raw destruction. Chaotic gouts of ghostfire engulfed him, and his golden luster faded back to red.

  Tossing the broken half of the staff aside, Marcus ran towards Julian. Heavy steps shook the ground as he raised his shield high, pouring as much mental energy into the barrier as it would take. His concentration briefly lapsed as freezing pain gripped his ankles, delivering a dose of bone-chilling cold right through his armor. Momentarily looking down, he saw skeletal hands breaking out of the earth below, grabbing onto his legs and pulling like they wanted to drag him down to the underworld. Firebreak Mantle tried burning the hands away, but they maintained their ironclad grip as the black sword met his shield. It couldn’t cut through, but it did manage to topple him over.

  Unable to step backwards, Julian found himself staring at the sky. The avatar loomed over him, his sword held in a two-handed grip. With a ferocious roar, he slammed the blade into the shield over and over again, like a miner frantically hacking at a gold vein. Each strike stole more of his essence, and he found himself unable to rouse a proper defense as more hands latched onto his head, arms, and torso.

  “You’re strong, Julian. But not! Strong! Enough!” Marcus snarled.

  The golden barrier grew a little darker with every strike, opulence fading to antiquity. Did he come this far just to die?

  An arrow whistled through the air, purple crystal impaling the revenant’s torso before exploding. A spurt of black blood rained onto the shield, smoke rising into the air as it was consumed by the flames. Marcus staggered backward, dropping the sword as massive hands instinctively reached for the open wound.

  The lapse in concentration was enough for Julian to burn away the hands holding him down, rolling away and springing to his feet while activating three of the healing charges inscribed in the handle of his sword. Hannah had saved him once more, and Harvey healed him enough to keep fighting. Not wasting the opportunity, he surged towards the avatar, sword glowing golden once more. His mind screamed in agony as he searched for mental energy he didn’t have, but he staunchly infused his skill anyway.

  Seemingly terrified of the golden sword, Marcus activated the final charge of his defensive barrier, but Julian wasn’t aiming for the man’s real body. Unwilling to be denied, steel carved through bone, utterly destroying the avatar’s right leg. A second swing dismembered the left, causing Marcus to come crashing down. Seeing the aquamarine shield still hadn’t dissipated, Julian moved to cut through an arm. Just as his blade bit into the metallic bones, the whole skeleton collapsed into black liquid once more.

  Exuberant joy, unlike any other, washed over him. He felt like David finally slaying Goliath, and he turned to finish his foe. His avatar was destroyed. The crystals powering his shield were all used up. Now all he needed was a blade in his brain.

  Searching the pool of tar, Julian couldn’t find a body. Had he died alongside the avatar? Using such a powerful F Grade skill must come at an insanely high cost.

  His frantic search ended when he spun to see a specter materialize behind him, empty hands reaching for his head. He tried batting the man away, but lost control of his body when frozen flames engulfed his head. In an instant, he was completely unable to move. Trapped inside his own body as his Vitality was burned away.

  Marcus was in a wretched state, black blood flowing freely from the wound on his neck with scorch marks all over his chalky, grey skin. The flames of Firebreak Mantle surged once again, and the smell of roasting flesh filled the air between them. Julian didn’t need life force to direct the last traces of essence in his body towards the sigil. They stared at each other, unmoving as they raced to the bottom of their fading resource pools.

  Only one of us is making out of here, and it's gonna…