Chapter 535: Backfire (1/2)

As expected, the removal of the three Titans from the Agony Burrough took three cycles; the curtain of light continued to make its journey back and forth across the three Burroughs. Once Morti, his father, and Gil were safely removed, Inferno began extracting the rest of their people. On Nix's advice, they also removed two of the unconscious Ice Faction members from each Burrough.

Bali glanced at the Ravager as her team carefully removed Alpha from the battlefield. ”That everything, boss?”

Nix's sharp eyes scanned the area around them; they had roughly two minutes until their self-imposed safety window forced them to retreat. ”No. Grab that one also.”

Bali frowned at the large chunk of black ice. ”Someone in there?”

”Yes. Lilac Rem, a witch from the Ice Faction.” Nix scratched the Black Ice Sculpture with his claws; although they were as sharp as daggers, they didn't leave a mark. ”Could be that she is conscious in there. Take her back and put her under guard.”

Bali nodded. ”Anything else?”

The Ravager watched the distant curtain heading back toward them. ”Start the experiment, make sure Nezbit is present.”

”Aye, Sir!”

Bali and her group quickly left the Burrough, leaving the Ravager alone with his thoughts. The experiment was to kill a few of the 'spellbound' enemies and see if they could be resurrected. If they could, then Inferno would face a grisly choice.

/Inferno: Ronnie: We're all back at base. Good luck at the Keep!

The Ravager's eyes turned from yellow to red as its thermal vision was activated. The bodies of the fallen enemy stood out like lit flashlights. Without hesitating, he brought his sharp claws across the throat of the nearest person. From there, he darted to the next and so on, as the minutes passed by the body count continued to climb.

**********

While the evacuation teams were busy recovering their members, the rest of the camp had set up a long med-area consisting of four tents placed end to end. The battle has put a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Although they didn't come out any worse than the enemy, it definitely wasn't a win.

A small group gathered outside of the med-tent. Seven of the Ice Faction fighters were placed on cots and placed under guard.

”Do it.” Ronnie shook her head slightly, shuddering when Alfie killed one of the unconscious prisoners. It had no effect on either Bali or Del. Perhaps the Ain'Dhassi race dealt with slaughter differently. ”You're up, Nezbit.”

The Inferno cleric nodded and approached the corpse, immediately she shook her head. ”Message says that this person can't be rezzed.”

Ronnie let out a sigh of relief. ”Good. There's no way I could have wacked my friends.”

Bali placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. ”I would have done them for you.”

/Inferno: Ronnie: If you're still in range, Nix. It didn't work.

”Ice Faction numbers are dropping.” Alfie had cleaned off his blade, and within a few minutes, the corpse vanished. He had his hud displaying the faction numbers for the Bone Fortress. The Ice Faction count was ticking downward steadily, sometimes dropping quickly before pausing for a short time.

Ronnie stepped into the med-tent and quickly checked on her sister, who was lying on a nearby cot. ”What's going on? Is the curse killing them?” She placed a hand on Sharl's warm forehead. To the casual observer, the Inferno tank appeared to be sleeping.

Nezbit followed her in and started checking their friends. ”Simple diagnosis spell calls it an 'Unidentified Affliction.' Sorry, that's not helpful.”

*************

Several hours later, the heavily scarred sea turtle chirped softly at the Ravager as it washed away the blood matted on its black fur. A cloud of crimson appeared where it submerged itself, the long body rolling slowly. After a few minutes, it stopped and turned its focus to the turtle.