Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith C.132: Stick Close To Me?

[Quasi-Eldritch Essence is used to describe what keeps lifeless Eldritch constructs active. Every being whether possessing a Soul or not has some sort of unit of 'life' that keeps them active.

These Beasts lack individuality, they lack a life of their own, and they are created soulless with a single purpose- To destroy. As such, although they possess Eldritch Essence, it is merely a sub-unit of their creator, hence why it is a Quasi-Eldritch Essence rather than a true one.]

"Huh," Evian let out but his Assistant was not yet done.

[True Eldritch Essence is usually equal to a Soul Essence... I.e One unit of Eldritch Essence equals one Soul Point.

However, as a sub Essence that is merely a unit granted by the creator to keep them active, the Quasi-Essence you retrieve here is in no way equal to a Soul Point.

If you wish to make the Exchange, it will go by Fifty Quasi-Essence for a single Soul Point.]

'I see,' Evian thought and although there was a bit more he wished to understand, he decided to stop the conversation for now and focus on the horde.

The Beasts were all at the Third Order in terms of strength although with varying steps but that was of no consequence to Evian whose Martial might was already at the peak and nearing a breakthrough he had only deliberately held off.

One-on-one, the Beasts had no chance against him... Alas, they did not come one by one. They came in large numbers, driven by a desire to overwhelm their targets rather than prove individual Martial Superiority.

Evian was of course not the only one facing the issue of their great numbers;

Only a few feet away from our grey-haired protagonist, a Beast jumped on Gryon's body and before he could shrug it off, another jumped on him, and then another, and another until he was buried and their collective weights forced him down to a knee,

"Ack! Nasty horrible things," Gryon yelled in anger from beneath the monstrous rubble as claws scratched at his skin, "GET OFF ME!!!"

That came out like a roar and it was followed by the loud sound of seperating impact *Bam!* that sent the Beasts all over and allowed Gryon to return to his feet once again.

Immediately he was upright, Gryon grabbed the feet of one beast with one hand and grabbed the feet of another with his other and slammed the two against each other with an impact of leathery flesh against leathery flesh *Bam*.

As the two beasts in his hold were stunned by getting struck against each other, Gryon turned them into weapons, swinging them at any Beasts he could reach and thanks to their numbers, he could reach many.

He even got so good that he could use the front clawed limbs of the Beasts in his hold to stab others and whenever the leathery clobbering did not kill his targets, he delivered a powerful stomp that did.

Just as they had been told on their run over here, Gryon and the others soon observed that the Beasts never left behind any Carcass. They didn't even have blood. All they had- All that powered them was their Quasi-Eldritch Essence that everyone else that was not Evian described as a Grey, cold shadow.

Anyway, once the Beasts in his hold were rendered a messy mass that dissipated into Grey mist, Gryon reached out and grabbed another to get right back to it, and on more than one occasion, he heard a *Spff* sound as something flew past him and struck a Beast that tried to pounce on him from behind.

The *Spff* sound was made by Evian's Eldritch arrows that he shot out with reckless abandon toward beasts that were not focused on him.

He had used Eldritch Arrow enough to understand it as what it was; An Assassination tool that could only kill when its target was either, so much weaker than Evian, or was not expecting it enough to actively evade or smack it aside.

For the Beasts that converged around him, Evian made use of his Spear and had so far avoided getting bitten or torn up by their claws but even as the units of Quasi-Eldritch Essence he received continued to rise with 100 units per beast, he still wanted more.

The Exchange rate was so high that he needed more.

Meanwhile, not far from him at all, Ember was in a perpetual battle stance that she refused to disrupt regardless of the number of Beasts that threw themselves at her.

Her eyes were narrowed in focus, her Red hair billowing behind her in martial diligence as she kept her senses piqued, and should any beast get close enough to attack her, she simply swung her sword and cut them down with precise hits of her blade.

*Slash* *Slash* *Swish*

Just like the others, Ember had no idea that the Beasts lacked any semblance of actual life but even then, she decided already that their horrific heads had to be her target.

"Shortened limbs and stabbed leathery coat, they can surely survive," She said quietly, "But cut or slash their heads and they won't get back up. Hnghh!"

When she said this, she tested her theory with a sword swing and when the beast fell at her feet and dissipated into Eldritch mist, her philosophy was solidified.

The Lockheart maiden felt rejuvenated and she did not attribute it to the soak in the Spring water but rather to Evian helping ease the sexual tensions he had caused by opening her eyes and senses to the wonders of carnal pleasure.

Anyway, whenever the thought of what they shared just a few hours ago came to the forefront of her mind, miraculously, it didn't distract her. It merely caused her to smile a tight smile and cut down beasts like the truly satisfied lady that she was.

"Ahh-"

Perfection was not yet something she could boast of however, as a Beast nicked her heel with its claws and although she stabbed his head soon after and turned it into a dissipating Grey Eldritch shadow, the wound still bled and her steps were hobbled at least until she used Spiritual energy to reinforce that region enough to keep going.

Alas, even as the pain turned into a minor throbbing, the Beasts still pounced at her.

Evian heard her yell. Whether it had been low or loud, his ears had been keen enough toward it to be instantly alerted. A precise Phasing later and he was in front of Ember, putting himself in the small space between herself and the pouncing Beasts.

Evian gripped his Spear tight, and flooded it with Eldritch energy. The seals and symbols all over the weapon's shaft, symbols he had coopted for his Wraithic use, glowed with grey Malevolence.

"Get Back!" he yelled with eyes wide with malice and swung the Spear, for the first time unleashing the attacking might it possessed without even the slightest attempt at holding back.

A massive crescent-shaped attack made thickly of Grey Eldritch energy struck out and slammed into the Beasts that dared throw themselves at his woman. The impact 'killed' a lot of the Beasts right there and then while the others were sent back to slam into their fellows many feet away.

"Impressive," Ember said with a smile, "But I was actually handling it."

"Can you walk?" Evan asked her.

"Sure," The redhead said with a shrug, "I'm not crippled."

Evian cracked a smile,

"I didn't think you were," he said, "Stick close to me?"

Ember rolled her eyes,

"I'm quite capable on my own, Evian," she said, " But if it will put you at ease, then fine."

Evian stared into her defiant brown eyes that very clearly believed what she just said and he shook his head with a smile. He had not seen this vocal, cheeky, and at ease attitude from her since he first met her at Viyeen Complex. Ever since then, her infatuation with him, an infatuation that soon became intense desire, somehow robbed her of that and made her meek.

He didn't mind her meekness, but he certainly didn't mind this confident, jovial, playful side of hers either.

For Ember, she had not been sure how to feel in the last few weeks since she and Evian had gotten-- physical. Infatuation was a powerful thing and caused changes to how she reacted to situations whenever Evian was involved.

Anyway, this was not a time to be bashful or a time to think about changes to her character;

"Actually, now that I think about it, you had better stay close by," she said with a smile as she stepped forward so she and Evian were side by side, "You were so confident we didn't need help. I want to be able to better observe you in battle."

Evian let out a chuckle as the Beasts were now returning to the space he had cleared,

"Then stick close my dear," he said, "We'll make short work of this monstrosities."

"You'll go left?" Ember asked with a raised brow and a light smile. Her wound no longer bled and she could very easily ignore the slight sting.

"Sure. If you'll go right," Evian told her and she nodded resolutely as he twirled his Spear and said boldly,

"Let's go!"

They didn't wait for the Beasts to get close... They went right at them, their movements sounding with a *whoosh* and their weapons tearing through leathery flesh with simultaneous *Sksh* sounds.