A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Chapter 172: The Phylactery

Henry heard the Lich's yell as well as felt it. He also knew what would come after.

"Nyx!" He yelled. The urgency of the situation helped him get the words out despite the effort it was taking him to hang on to the hook while his body dangled off the ceiling. Why he didn't just yell it through telepathy, he had no idea.

Nyx was already on the move and as the Lich prepared to cast attacking spells to knock Henry off the ceiling or even better, skewer him to death, she was quickly within range to strike her legs at it.

"Get back!" The Lich yelled and before Nyx's hooves could touch it, it conjured a fist of Mana that punched her aside.

[Nyx has lost 40 Hit Points]

[Nyx's Hit Points: 50/185]

Nyx hit the ground hard and even as she let out sounds of pain, a dark shadow spread underneath her and she vanished from sight.

The Lich thought to return its attention to Henry and focus on getting him down from the contraption when it realized the dark shadow Nyx had vanished into had spread to surround its throne. The shadow was so dark that it appeared to be creeping up the bony throne like it was aiming to grip the Lich's skeletal form.

And then Nyx leaped out and attacked faster than the Lich could react to.

*BAM!* *BAM!*

Two powerful kicks to the Lich's skull and it shattered.

The Skull began to repair itself while pulling together fragments that had been knocked away by the forceful kicks. Still, temporarily lacking a head had not stopped the Lich from raising a hand to cast a spell.

Alas, it never got to complete its spell cast because when its attention had gotten pulled to Henry and his antics with the contraption, certain oppressive actions the Lich was already involved in had to take a back seat in importance.

Eloise felt the pressure of the Lich's Authority lessen around her. She saw Henry keep striking the contraption with pulse after pulse of electricity charging from his hands and knew what the priority was.

Like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders —which technically, it had— her body surged with Mana, empowerment of her Oath-channeling, and Serene Divinity, and in a powerful spin of sorts, she was cutting Minmies left and right all so she could get through and continue where Nyx had left off.

Which brings us to now:

The Lich raised a hand to cast a spell and Eloise sliced her sword —glowing with an energy blade formed out of divine serenity—, through the arm, cutting it in two. She did the same for the other arm as well just as the Lich made to lift it to do what the other had failed to do.

As the Lich's body parts hit the ground, Eloise spared them no look and simply continued with her attack as she lopped the Lich's skull off the bony frame it called a neck.

Eloise didn't stop there.

She stabbed her sword into its chest, where its heart would be if it had organs, and twisted until she was pulling upward and cutting its torso in two.

But then, as the two halves fell apart, they glowed a sickly violet that pulled them together, mending them instantly as though they had never been cut.

Eloise frowned but wasn't deterred. She knew she was only the distraction to keep the Lich busy and give Henry the time he needed to complete his destruction of the Contraption. She pulled her sword back and tried for another attack when strange snapping sounds rang out.

She realized suddenly that the Lich's arms had been reassembled. Somehow she had not paid close enough attention to see this. Or maybe it had just happened so fast/instantaneously that her mind had not been able to follow.

Either way, the 'snap' sounds were of the Lich completing the silent cast of a spell with the snap of its fingers on both its reformed hands.

Eloise leaped to safety but a new circle, an unfamiliar circle, appeared in front of the Lich's mended chest, and out of it charged a chain composed of Mana that wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

Eloise's eyes widened and she swung her sword at the chain but then arched her back when one of the Lich's conjured spears stabbed her back, broke through her armor, and out her front.

"Ack!" She let out as blood pooled in her mouth.

The spear fizzled into Mana specks. Eloise's wound bled profusely and as her legs went weak, she slumped toward the ground at the foot of the Lich's bony throne.

The Lich cast its magical beam then and as Eloise tried to resist the darkness that was pulling at her consciousness, she was slammed by the beam, with no conjured shields to defend her, and was sent flying many feet away.

The Lich's head was reconstructed now and it made to turn its sights to Henry hanging on to the hook in the ceiling and his hand still on the Contraption,

"As for you…" it said in a seething ominous tone as it began to ooze mighty magical energy in preparation to cast its most powerful spell yet.

But then it felt something crackle a few feet away and it called its attention.

The Lich had no hair on any part of its skeletal body but if it had, they would have all stood on end at the detection of this energy.

Louis had taken advantage of the lack of Authoritative pressure just as Eloise did. He put everything he had into a singular spell.

When all the streaks of lightning he was capable of conjuring crackled out of his casted spell circle, he pushed his Intelligence to the limit and pulled them together in a singular blast that boasted a level of might he had never even thought himself capable of.

He knew this was it.

After this, he'd be at the mercy of the Mummies but more importantly, if this attack missed or was blocked, there'd be nothing more he could do to help.

But Louis wasn't worried. Nothing about what he had seen from the Lich so far made him worried about success.

And sure enough, when the congealed streaks of lightning were fired, the Lich turned its head in time to see them but it still didn't move from its Throne. Nor did it cast a defensive spell.

It was a wonder if it could.

*KRAKA-BANG!!!* Experience the journey with m_vl_em_p_yr

The blast struck explosively. It destroyed the Lich's entire torso and broke through three levels of the layers of bones that made up its Throne. But that was only the initial effect. Residual Electricity from the attack crackled all over the part of the Lich's body that had survived the attack. Cracking open the bones and lining the cracks with tingles.

Henry winced at the blast but continued with the task at hand knowing those below were trying to allow him the time to complete it.

Shocking Grip!

The spell could only thrum continuously for a few seconds after being cast so Henry had to be ready to recast to continue with the effort.

"Come on!" Henry yelled urgently at the contraption as though it were sentient enough to respond to his plea.

Below, the tingles all over the Lich's body fizzled out and the half that had been destroyed had reformed so it could turn its eyes to Henry and keep it on him alone.

Nyx had sunk into the shadow to avoid the Spears the Lich had conjured and now she rose out of it with the obvious intent to distract the Lich before it could attack her bond.

Alas, before she could, a fist formed out of Mana punched at her. It appeared so close and traveled so fast that sinking right back into the shadow she just rose out of was the best she could do to avoid it.

Without sparing her a glance, the Lich channeled its <Authority of Dominance> at Henry while casting multiple spell circles that conjured Mana blades and were all targeted at him.

Henry refused to pay attention and as the electric tingles of <Shocking Grip> began to fizzle from around his hand and as he thought to recast the spell, the Contraption let out a grating sound and finally fell open.

It was like a flower and folded out to reveal a second layer. At first, Henry's heart sunk at the thought of having to restart the process for the second layer, especially with his grip on the hook starting to weaken.

But then, with grating sounds, it flowered and opened as well… revealing a violet object pulsing at the center.

"NO!!!"

For the second time that day, the Lich yelled but this time, it launched the blades.

As they came charging at Henry and the pressure of the Lich's <Authority of Dominance> tried to force him to the ground, Henry kept his eyes on the Phylactery.

Without the layers to protect and keep it in place, it dislodged and fell toward the ground. Henry reached for it with his left hand and snagged it out of the air.

At the same time, the blades of Mana arrived and stabbed into his body all over, forcing him to finally let go of the hook and fall to the ground.