An Owl's Rise

"Boom!"

A resounding noise rang out through the warehouse as Osvaldo manipulated his venom magic to slam Bylur into the ground.

The sturdy stone floor shattered and cracked under the immense force, and a spray of rubble shot out in every direction.

"I wonder how many long you can last before I crack that icy shell of yours." Osvaldo said tauntingly.

Of course, Bylur could not hear him, currently fully in cased in ice that was surrounded by a thick viscous venom.

However, his words were not really directed at the owl he already had in his clutches, but at Aralee.

She had been keeping her distance and launching ranged attacks, but without Bylur's support she could not break through Osvaldo's defenses.

Now that the situation had changed and he had the upper hand, Osvaldo once again wore a confident smirk.

Just moments ago he had been attempting to break out of the warehouse, but now he was content to stay. If he could win without anyone in the Miris Sect knowing, that would certainly be for the better.

Aralee was feeling pressured to act. Bylur was putting up a strong resistance to the venom that had engulfed him, but he would not be able to hold out forever.

'Its all or nothing.' Aralee thought, her eyes resolute.

A powerful whirlwind rose up around her and a bright pink light wrapped itself around her arms and legs.

She would utilize both of her magical affinity to their fullest and strike at Osvaldo with all of the speed she could muster.

When she had finally reached the limit of power that she could control, she shot forward.

Her from began to blur from the quick acceleration to the point that she appeared to have disappeared.

By the time Osvaldo registered that he was an instant away from being attacked, Aralee was already on top of him.

In her hands was a wicked looking bejeweled dagger that was made of a gray metal that seemed to distort the light around it.

Seeing the blade caused Osvaldo to shudder involuntarily. He could sense the sinister magical energy within it and the serious threat that it posed to his life.

Yet, as Aralee pulled her arm back to thrust the blade directly into Osvaldo's chest, her movements suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

Several venomous tendrils had sprung up around her and entangled her.

"It seems that I was right to be cautious. I cast this automatic defensive spell just in case, but I never imagined that you would have something so dangerous in your possession." Osvaldo said, an air of relief about him.

Had he not preemptively set up a protective measure, he never would have been able to react to Aralee's sudden burst of speed in time.

"Now, it is time to put you to sleep. I've grown tired of this futile resistance."

A cyan colored tendril of venom rose up in accordance with Osvaldo's will and moved towards Aralee's head.

To prevent any other surprises, he would force this powerful poison directly down her throat and make sure that she was unable to get back up until he wished.

Except, with his focus shifted fully towards Aralee, Bylur was able to gain an advantage in his own battle.

The flow of new venom to encase him had slowed and his ice magic was now freezing the liquid faster than it could arrive.

With a forceful shout he dug deep and pushed out an immense quantity of magical energy.

Rapidly the venom around him froze over.

Sensign that he was beginning to lose his hold on Bylur, Osvaldo instinctively turned towards him and focused more of his magical energy to restrain the unruly beast.

That single moment when his attention was shifted away from her, Aralee struck.

She cast acceleration magic around the dagger and shot it forward with a powerful gust of wind.

The deadly blade flew from her grasp like a bullet. Its trajectory aimed perfectly at Osvaldo's center of mass.

Utter shock on his face, Osvaldo watched the dagger close in and his sense of time seemed to slow as imminent death approached him.

His first layer of defensive magic shattered without even slowing the blade down, as did the next.

The few remaining charms on his person shattered and activated their effects, but not a single one could stop the incoming dagger. Stay updated with empire

With no other option but to avoid it, Osvaldo twisted his body to the side and leapt away with all of his might.

Thanks to his last-ditch effort, he avoided being stuck in the stomach by the weapon and it only barely grazed his left side.

Normally this would have been more than enough to be considered successful. A slight scratch that had barely drawn blood was hardly worth noting for a normal person, let alone someone that had reached the peak of the arcanist rank and boasted immense magical and physical abilities.

Though as Osvaldo turned towards Aralee and glared thinking that he was fine, he felt a sharp pain coming from where the danger had scratched him.

When he looked down, he was surprised to find the blade still impaled in him and slowly sinking in further.

Frantically he reached towards the blade with both hands to try and pull it out.

"Why won't it budge?!" Osvaldo screamed as his best efforts failed to prevent the dagger from piercing deeper into his body.

Soon a searing pain assaulted him, and he fell to his knees in unbearable agony.

Wails that hardly sounded human erupted from his mouth and tears and snot flowed down his face like a waterfall.

The cursed blade did not stop until even its handle had fully disappeared inside of Osvaldo.

It then began to dissolve within him and his body started to turn to dust.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T DIE HERE!"

Osvaldo screeched wildly as his body quickly rotted away.

In a manic manner he tore at his own flesh to prevent the decay from spreading, but no matter how much of himself he ripped off, the decay returned.

Eventually all that was left of Osvaldo was his empty clothing and pile of dust.