CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24

“Hrruhha!” Margaret grunted with effort as she swung her hammer. It batted aside two goblins at once, tossing them down the narrowing cave way with broken bones and skulls.

Johnny slipped out in front of her, his pistols already smoking from previous bullets unleashed. A fresh round tore into the roaring hobgoblin at the further end. Two bullets ploughed its shoulders, three penetrated its torso and one landed square on its skull. It gargled nonsense as it fell, its minion goblins indecisive between fleeing for their lives or standing their ground.

Two were brave enough. Margaret squashed them.

The Demoness huffed and continued to lead their path into the cave. It was clearly a mine once upon a time, in fact, it still is. Lanterns hung from a line run through the supports above their heads and lit the way ahead. They’d walked beyond the point the true owners of the mine had dug out and since that point onwards, the sinister feeling in the air only grew heavier, denser and choking.

A part of Johnny was claustrophobic, though he’d never stop admitting it to himself much less anyone else, he knew what the sensation of walls pressing in, when in reality they were static, felt like. The Convar invasion had given him many memories worth referencing.

But his heart was braver since then and moreover, he had the Radiant One at his side. He could feel her now, with every step forward her presence— her attention grew stronger on him. She’s interested in what’s going to happen.

Johnny couldn’t say he blamed the Goddess for her curiosity; he was as much the same, except by now he could predict what awaited him at the end of all this. A Void Portal.

Amalgamations of Void Essence so raw it created portals connected to the Loathing One’s domain— or at least that’s how he understood the description Julia had given him. The one they surely approached now ought to be of the lesser variant and yet…It still feels so suffocating. How powerful is this Loathing One?

There wouldn’t be any answers coming. Julia and Margaret hadn’t said much of anything since they entered the cave, they seemed to communicate purely through glances, squints and nods. A language of battle Johnny knew well and he respected their silence. This wasn’t the time for questions and answers after all.

He steadied his grip on his pistols Albert remained connected to his VoyWatch and in turn the wealth of nanites flowing through his body. With it, Johnny could replenish his ammunition on the go, something he’d already done once for each pistol. How are their hides so stubborn?

It was easier to run them over like he did at the canyon chase. Unfortunately, the cave only had so much space to maneuver through and even after they’d cleared past where it originally ended, it often constricted as much as it opened up, which was why they were arranged in the order of Margaret, Johnny and Julia holding up the rear. There was no telling what they’d come up face to face with or how spacious the cave would be at that time.

Echoes of skittering goblins, ranting, screaming in indecipherable language bounced out from the mine’s path. Johnny’s enhanced hearing could pick up the scratching sounds of metal, the weigh and strike of pickaxes as even with them knocking so closely to their vile lair they continued to mine for…

What are they mining anyway? Johnny couldn’t tell. Every broken vein or nook was cleared out completely before they arrived, but if there was any sign it was something terrible…the skeleton remains of skeleton demi-humans and beastkin was a dead give away.

Johnny shook his head clear of his curious thoughts as the cave began to fully open up. Enough that all three of them could walk side by side towards the sounds and the pulsating red light emanating from the only way out. He gulped and took in a deep breath— an action he regretted as the vile in the air was conc enough to singe his nostril hairs.

I can’t imagine what those innocents are going through. Neither Julia nor Margaret had said a word when they came across the skeletons, but they took as much information from that as he did— it's possible the Devouring Darkness continued to hold the original miners hostage or rather, as slaves to their work.

Margaret raised a fist, having them halt right behind where she stepped. The cave was much larger and deeper than Johnny had thought at first glance. Where they stood now presented a foot drop into a massive network of mining goblins, hobgoblins and even some Ogres. But at the centre of it all, hosted underneath the high raised cavern roof was the source of all the vile.

“A Void Portal.” Johnny muttered.

It was a warbling void in space. Torn asunder with a scent of ozone steeping the air. It was a red gouge on reality, a headache inducing phenomenon to look at and at its feet were hobgoblins worshipping, chanting and glorifying all while a pair of Orges hurled gems into its gaping maw.

“Indeed.” Julia started. “And look, the innocents left behind.”

Johnny turned where she pointed. It was on the other end of the cavern, around two dozen people, demi-humans, humans and beastkin alike toiled. Whether with their hands or with a pickaxe each and everyone of them dug at the stubborn earth, searching for pure gems to feed the hobgoblins whipping their backs and the Ogre hauling their success.

Margaret pressed her hand on his shoulder, a reassuring squeeze as she stared out at the void portal and said, “Johnny, you go save those people. There’s only one hobgoblin and an Ogre, they might even leave their post to come chase after Julia and I but you must save those people, get them out of here. Do you understand?”

Johnny nodded. He did. They couldn’t afford throwing him at the Void Portal or the clearly more powerful creatures guarding it, Champion or no, his inexperience was palpable. But more than that, Johnny had a feeling deep in his stomach the Alliance had known about this long before now and they simply didn’t have the resources or time to dedicate to a rescue or much less, a closing of the Void Portal.

With him here now, they would try for both. “We’ll win.” He said, nodding fiercely at the two battle ready women.

“Give us a minute to cause further chaos before you jump in, got it?” Julia said, already jumping down without waiting for a response.

Margaret opened her wings, she smirked down at Johnny and as she flew into the air like a vengeful angel, battle hammer in her grip she said, “You got this.”

***

Chaos was truly the only word for Margaret and Julia’s entrance. The brave Paladin challenged the defiling hobgoblins and their Ogres, her staff blasting rays of golden light that kept them at bay as she switched round to her bow, flicking arrows through the skulls of pesky goblins and into the knees of chanting hobgoblins.

The Demoness descended from the ceiling, bringing down her war hammer on a Ogre with such force it cratered the surrounding hard mine floor, frightening the spell casting hobgoblins and decimating more of their goblin minions in a single Radiant powered attack. It was at that sight Johnny understood why his Demoness mentor would cackle so blatantly when he claimed he beat her— she wielded unrivaled strength.

As for him, the Radiant Champion, he perched and waited for his time. The hobgoblin and the Ogre watching the enslaved people, were more diligent in their work than he’d hoped but that was fine by him still, he couldn’t let Julia and Margaret have all the fun after all.

He dropped down and quickly skirted his way towards them. The cavern was filled with mounds of dug up sand, gravel and all sorts of glittering stones that would’ve had immense value back on earth. They formed a few land masses across the cavern, large enough to block the view of the Ogre and its Hobgoblin companion with the whip; they leaned against one, resting and perching as they oversaw the toil of their captives.

It wasn’t the first time Johnny had observed such a scene and if this was what it meant to be the Champion of the Radiant Alliance, he doubted it would be the last. With his pistols drawn Johnny made a mental check of his inventory as he pumped his calves and feet with Radiant Essence.

Alongside his pistols and daggers holstered beside each other on his waist he also wore a pouch. This one was filled with a variety of bombs, from flash to grenade to high tier grenades. He hid a third dagger around his right ankle and a mini-gun around his left.

Deciding that he would be as ready as he could be, Johnny crouched and leaped, soaring far into the air, well past the mounds peak. He reached the peak of his leap and hung in the air for a second, his eyes trained on the Hobgoblin and Ogre lingering all too close to a human, his mouth drooling with a murderous hunger. Radiant Essence filled his pistols as he trained them right at the Ogre and as he fell, he unleashed an unending salvo into its hide.

Rrraoooaar!

It screamed in confusion, hissing as his hands were blasted through by the Radiant’s hot searing bullets. Nowhere it covered would be shielded and as Johnny landed atop the mound, the Hobgoblin turned its staff onto him, red-skinned, yellow eyed the creature shrieked a word of power and shot out a stream of fire at Johnny.

Eyes wide Johnny darted out of the way, escaping with only a couple singed strands. He laid bullets into the Hobgoblin but the creature was as sly and fast as a fox, a barrier deflected or absorbed all his shots with ease and then came the Ogre.

It raged. Johnny’s Radiant bullets were nothing like the ordinary and made many marks on its body. Its hands were punctured; it was missing a finger from its usual four and its left eye was blown apart where a bullet had struck the side of its skull. Its chest too poured blood and yet it raged all the same, ignorant that it would die soon.

Same goes for me if it catches me. Johnny sweated as he darted away from its landing slam. The mound of sand and gems exploded forth as it toppled, a wave of rolling stones stole away his footing and sent him tumbling down to the cavern floor where the Hobgoblin awaited with another stream of flame.

This time Johnny abandoned his pistol and instead shielded his prone form with an outstretched, Radiant glowing hand. He’d been trying to create a shield somehow but instead, he felt the power of the flames come under his control.

The Hobgoblin stuttered in confusion, backing away as its magicks were pulled from its staff and repurposed under Johnny’s will.

Rrraoooaar!

The Ogre leaped from the quicksand of dug sand and rocks, freeing itself in a single, rage-filled bound. Quick thinking, Johnny hurried to his feet or at least to his knees as he hefted the scorching ball of fire he’d taken from the Hobgoblin and with a word of power, “Blaze!”

A pure golden jet of flame swallowed the descending Ogre, lighting up the entire cavern in an iridescent golden glow. At the tip of the flame Johnny felt it, the sheer combustion and force held up and burnt the Ogre far better than he could’ve with just his muscles. And then he felt the weight lighten and quickly. He extinguished the flame then and tumbling from the charred air was a blackened Ogre skeleton, not a trace of flesh left on it.

Johnny huffed, panting intensely as until the skeleton clattered at his feet he didn’t realize just how much power he’d exuded. He looked up and found the Hobgoblin staring at him in shock, awe and fear. It ran.

His ears were ringing and his arm felt numb somehow. He picked up his pistol from where he’d abandoned it and as his hearing came to he heard the murmurs all around him. The people. He hadn’t paid much attention to them beyond knowing they needed to be saved but here they were— malnourished, gaunt figures whose eyes brightened at the sight of him. Their chains clanged and rattled as they crowded towards him, muttering thanks in many languages, asking for his name and asking to be set free.

“My name is Johnny Victoris, I am the Radiant—”

An otherworldly pressure dawned over the cavern. A murderous intent like none other except— Talvish!

Johnny whirled around and gaped as the Void Portal spat out two creatures he immediately recognized as Rift Eaters. Their weight, the gunk of acidic ozone that was their skin, their presence and their fractured, bent inhuman forms. He gulped and tossed a pistol and dagger at the two closest Demi-Human’s.

“Hurry, free yourselves! You have to get out of this place or else—!”

“SKREEEEEEEEAAAAGHHHHKKKH!!”