Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Silent backed away from the door and hid the fork that had been unable to pick the lock.  Two high-level players entered and grabbed her arms.

"Let's go, we are leaving."

They dragged her out of the room and down the hall.

One of her guards let her go to unlock the door leaving the dungeon.

Silent grabbed the fork from her waistband and waited for the moment when the door ahead was unlocked, then she stabbed towards the face of the guard holding her.

He raised a hand and blocked the strike out of habit, even though the attack would have done minimal damage.

She may not of had her gear or weapons, but Silent was still a rogue.

She entered stealth and turned invisible in the brief moment when both of her guards were distracted.

***

Suddenly the guild leader heard a whisper next to his ear while a hand was placed on the back of his head.  "Let me show you what hell really is."

The shadow sword sliced through the warrior's blade, leaving him holding only the hilt.

The shadows surrounding Bone Crusher parted.  Out stepped eight one-armed Lucan's

"I am not falling for your tricks again."

Bone Crusher didn't waste any time and ran straight forward while equipping a spare sword.

*Slice*

He was surprised to meet resistance and cut into the real Lucan on the first try.  He pulled out his sword to strike again when something grabbed his arm from behind mid-swing.

He had nearly cut Lucan in half and only needed a bit more.

He realized something was wrong when Lucan's upper body fell to the side while his legs stood firm.  Hundreds of tiny tentacles stretched out of his wound and pulled his torso onto his legs, then fusing together as if the wound was never there.

Something grabbed his shield arm.  This time Bone Crusher looked back.

The other Lucan's had drawn close, their bodies had transformed and stretched out to grab him with tentacles.

The Lucan in front had 6 thick tentacles stretch out from his chest and bind around the guild leader's legs.

Suddenly sharp barbs emerged from the tentacles.  They began to wring his limbs, sawing back and forth.

Bone crusher was sawed apart piece by piece as they devoured him until his head was taken from his shoulders.

Suddenly the guild leader heard a whisper next to his ear while a hand was placed on the back of his head.  "Let me show you what hell really is."

The shadow sword sliced through the warrior's blade, leaving him holding only the hilt…

"Shit!"

***

Silent quickly and quietly moved through the guild headquarters.  The two players that had lost her had called others in.  She had gotten lucky, since everyone was evacuating, they didn't have the option of locking the base down.

Silent moved through the hallways, avoiding other people as much as she could.  Finding a set of stairs, she exited the basement and moved towards a window.  She exited stealth and tried to open it.  It was locked.  She was about to try and see if she could use her magical abilities when she looked outside and was stunned.

Everywhere she looked, the city was in flames as the sun set in the distance.  Winged devils flew through the sky with their spears.  Swooping down and picking up people off the streets, then taking them to the center of the city.

She suddenly backed away from the window.

A player was being carried away by a devil managed to cut one of his captor's wings.  They were falling fast.

*Crash*

They both broke through the window and rolled onto the rug.

The player got to his feet first and brought his saber down on the devil's neck, cutting its head off.

When the devil died, it became engulfed in fire.  A hand reached up and pulled it back into the nine hells.  Devils will only truly die if they are killed in the nine hells or if their attacker knows their true name and can destroy their soul.

The player heaved a sigh of relief, after the initial attack and then crashing through the window, his health was down to 5%.  He turned to see Silent crouching by the window.

"Dang that was a close call.  Hey, are you alright?"  He said to her as he took a closer look.  He realized it was strange for her to have no armor or weapons.  "Hey wait, your-."

Silent moved forward in a flash and drove a shard of glass into his neck, taking away the few health points he had left.

His body disappeared.  When he died, he dropped his saber.  It wasn't a weapon compatible with her class.  She wouldn't receive and bonuses from using it, but it was a lot better than a piece of glass.

She grabbed the saber and then transformed into a shadow and slipped out of the window.

***

Suddenly the guild leader heard a whisper next to his ear while a hand was placed on the back of his head.  "Let me show you what hell really is."

The shadow sword sliced through the warrior's blade, leaving him holding only the hilt…

Bone Crusher checked his health and his clock.  His suspicion was confirmed.

"Guild leader."  Called a voice.

Cinder, the wizard he normally leveled with, stepped out of the shadows on one side of him while three ten-foot-tall minotaur stepped out on the other three sides.  Bone crusher didn't hesitate to charge towards the wizard, unleashing one of his strongest moves.

His muscles bulged as he cut clean through the wizard.  He made it to the edge of the shadows when the sound of hooves sounded behind him.

*Bang*

Bone Crusher felt like he had been hit by a truck as he tumbled to the ground.  The other two minotaur were on him in seconds.  They tore him apart, piece by piece.

Suddenly the guild leader heard a whisper next to his ear while a hand was placed on the back of his head. "Let me show you what hell really is."

The shadow sword sliced through the warrior's blade, leaving him holding only the hilt…

"Guild Leader.  What is happening?"  Cinder said, standing beside him.

"Damn it."  He cursed after checking his clock and health again.  "Everything is real but it's not.  I keep coming back to life with 1% less health for every  that twenty seconds that pass, we need to escape."

***

Silent used ethereal step to walk through the wall surrounding the headquarters.  There was too much activity at the gates for her to be able to slip through, even if she was invisible.

She had no idea where Lucan was.  Right when she was about to activate telepathic communication with him, a palm slammed into her back, stunning her.

*Wham* *Bang* *Chop*

A flurry of stunning strikes immobilized her as her health fell.  When her health reach 10% the weapon was knocked out of her hand.  Ability sealing shackled were placed on her arms as her grandfather stood before her.

"Give up.  You will do what is best for the company, and that is final.  Grab her, we are going to the teleporter."  Elder Beneil said to the players who had followed him.

The group ventured into the city.  Killing every winged devil they came across and avoiding the groups of roaming devil infantry that were scouring the streets.

Elder Beneil led them to the teleporter.  When he set his eyes on it, something didn't feel right.

The monk suddenly jumped back as a bone whip tore out a grove on the street.

The players looked up to see a horned devil with wings floating over the teleporter.

He landed on the ground, blocking their means of escape.  With this being their headquarters, all their return scrolls would take them here.

"Don't bother leaving, I am having such a good time."  Gilbuzz said to the players.

Elder Beneil's frown disappeared when four immaculate knights stepped around a corner in bright shining silver armor.

"Quickly, she is here." Elder Beneil called to them and passed them the rogue. "You know the plan, leave."

The knight leader activated a group teleport scroll, taking the five of them far from this place.

"Hmpf, let's see how that warlock likes it once he realizes Jenna is long gone."  He then turned to the ten-foot-tall devil that blocked his own escape.  "Let this elder teach you a lesson."