Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 18

Stepping out from behind Master Khaba, Nana, the elder goblin’s wife, took her place at his side. She bowed her head then he began walking toward us.

Steve and Perry hurried back to the group. Steve hugged one of the serpent heads tight to his chest which was as large as his torso. Perry was carrying a sheet of gold that was about ten feet long and cut evenly on one side from Aeris’s Wind Slash.

“He is the goblin leader.” I said as they arrived for the sake of those that hadn’t been with us when we had met him. We’d contacted him hours ago and told him about our plan, but we still had intended to meet up with him later near his territory. Seeing him here was a surprise to say the least.

Reaching us, he held out his hands palm up. It seemed to be a gesture of greeting. I followed his lead and did the same. “Master Khaba. We didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“I apologize if my arrival is startling,” he looked from person to person. “But you asked me about how easy it would be to track you after your new transformation. So I set out without your knowing and tracked you here.”

It was as if a giant hand reached up from the ground and clenched my gut. The revelation that he was able to track me so easy was immediately disheartening, but there was also the fact that he’d gone out of his way to help knowing that a Mistress could be hunting for me… “Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.

My eyes met Aeris’s. She knew what this meant. She feared just as I did that we wouldn’t be able to go home, and this didn’t bode well.

“It was easier to track you because, before you contacted me, I felt a great wave of Light Magic from your fight at the tomb. After that, I already knew the general direction in which to feel for you. There were times when I lost you, but in your current state there is a constant stream of energy flowing off you.”

I had a large amount of Light Mana flooding into my muscles and mind, so it made sense he’d be able to follow me. We’d been miles from goblin territory though. At least there was a sliver of hope. I didn’t miss where he’d said that there were times where he’d lost me.

“There is much I need to unload into the carts, and I have two additional new forms. Do you mind waiting as I unload?”

“Of course.” He seemed amused that I was still being so cautious in our dealings.

Giving him a nod of thanks, I wasted no time and jogged over to the carts. The most valuable parts we scavenged went on the first two carts. The lenses and mana batteries could singlehandedly make the differences between victory and defeat. Russ helped me sort everything so that they would stay secure as possible during transit. He was much quieter than normal but kept giving me a pat on the back every couple of minutes. He too realized I might not be coming back.

It didn’t take long for us to finish.

Perry and Steve were already half done loading the gold and skulls. When I returned to stand before Master Khaba, I looked between him and the gold under Perry’s arm as he passed us by.

“I’d like to give you some of the gold we found.” I said to the elder goblin.

He didn’t seem as interested as I’d hoped. “We don’t have much need for the yellow metal. The bones though.” He pointed toward what was left of the pile of serpents. The skulls had already been gathered and all that was left were a few gold scales and the serpent’s vertebrae.

“There skeletons and not their skulls?” 

Nane, who was standing next to him started nodding as she rose up on her tiptoes to get a better look.

“They’re yours.” I said without any haggling.

Looking to Aeris, Nane gave her an excited look like she should know why a female goblin would want a bunch of giant serpent skeletons. I knew Aeris didn’t, but she offered a warm smile anyways. The mystery left me scratching head, without actually doing the scratching, but I was quick realized I might not want to know the answer.

“Thank you again, Master Khaba.” I said, letting Master Mind and Muscle Buffs drop.

He nodded in response before adding. “I will prepare.”

Taking a seat in the same place he’d been standing, he relaxed his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. Without the normal mana surge, Neutral Mana started to seep out of his body until he was surrounded by a thick aura. I’d never seen it before. His mana still clung to him, but somehow it had expanded beyond his physical being to take shape in the world—yet, it was still part of him. 

He began speaking without opening his eyes. “Your current state is much better than your previous, but it wouldn’t be impossible to track you. Compared to when we first met, I can feel that your presence has increased three fold. In this state, it would be nearly impossible to hide.”

It didn’t seem fair. I’d worked so hard to reach the rank of Master to be better prepared for Mistress Nava, but when I did finally reach it, it would instead be the very thing that put us in danger.

Taking a deep breath, I let the tremor in my chest settle. I wasn’t finished. My normal human form wasn’t safe any longer, but that didn’t mean I was out of options. I was pretty sure I already knew the result of my next form, but I still needed confirmation.

Light Surgeon took shape and my perceptions extended beyond my body. Even still, I never removed my eyes, physical or tentacle, from the elder goblin. As soon as my form changed, I saw his jaw tighten.

“This one is dangerous,” he said, opening his eyes to examine it with his natural senses. “Your presence is just as potent as your buffed up from. I wouldn’t use this unless you had no other choice.”

“That’s creepier than Skeletor.” Olivia said from behind me where she stood with the rest of the group. She was as blunt as ever. No one else said as much, but I’m sure they were thinking it.

Dropping the form immediately, I changed to Solar Mage.

The marvel that I heard in Olivia’s gasp left me chuckling on the inside.

Khaba craned his neck and squinted his still open eyes, but not just because of the increase in brightness. Closing them, he turned his head to the side as if trying to get a better reading. “This is the one you must have activated that caused me to lose you. Your Light Magic presence is now fainter than it was on our first meeting. It would probably fool even the most sensitive trackers unless they were in the immediate area.”

As I listened to his words, it was as if a boulder was removed from my back and I could finally stand erect. “I’m going to try buffing myself in this form.”

Using Master Mind Buff first, I went from buff to buff to get his assessment. It was as to be expected. Any Light Magic buff, even if it was cut down to 30% effectiveness, increased my presence. Some of the levels were tolerable, but not many.

I didn’t stop there. I quickly moved on to using Solar spells like Artificial Sun and Laser.

With a giant orb of light near the ceiling of the room, everyone had to shade their eyes except for Aeris and Olivia.

Master Khaba spoke. “This is ideal. Except for the obvious flare of light, I feel absolutely no magic presence coming from your spell.”

I stumbled back, giddy at his response. I wanted to jump up and down. “Everyone, completely cover your eyes with your hands.” I warned. When they had, I threw 100,000 mana per minute into the spell. Rays of light pierced into every recess of the room like endless waters. I only let the spell rage for a split second, but as the light receded, Russ, Perry, and Steve were all rubbing their eyes. I healed them quickly but looked to Khaba to see his reaction.

It took him a few moments, but he blinked open his eyes, and nodded that it was the same. My Solar Magic had no magic presence.

Aeris was suddenly hugging me in her Wisp Form—if that’s what you’d call it. Our Wind and Light merged into nearly the same space, but there was still the subtle sensation of touch.

Not only did that mean I could go home, but it meant that I’d be able to use my Solar Magic at full power, which would certainly help with construction.

After the tests with Solar Mage, I moved on to try some of my Blue Magic Forms. Many of them were better than my current human form, but if I buffed them at all with Light Magic then that changed. Fire Incubus, Rock Giant, Minotaur, Hell Hound, Primordial Cat, Werewolf, Slime, and Fire Imp would all still be available to me, but I wouldn’t be able to buff my Mind Buff to push them to their craziest levels. I was also able to use my Ultimate Form as long as every part of me was transformed, so power leveling wasn’t completely out of the question. My limited Light Magic Buffs were a problem, but a manageable one.

My biggest regret was that Fire Incubus form was so close to level 100 and I wouldn’t get to push it further. I’d hoped that just using its wings, which I had held back most of the time, would help push it past level 97 where it had sat since my fight with Waldemar, but that wasn’t the case. 

When I’d exhausted all the different combinations of transformations I felt necessary, I stepped forward and offered the elder goblin my hand. “Master Khaba, I can’t thank you enough. If you wouldn’t have come…”

Taking my hand, he let me pull him to his feet. He gripped my hand in both of his. “You are formidable for one so young, but remember my warning about the Mistresses. If there is any other way around a fight, take it. But if it comes to a fight, don’t hold back. It will take everything you and your friends have for there to even be a chance.”

Releasing his grip, he gave me one last earnest look before returning to his wife. From there, he summoned other goblins that had been waiting in the tunnel to begin gathering the serpent vertebraes. The old goblin and his wife stuck around as the work was done. They spoke with each person in our group like foreign diplomats, making small talk and being sure to leave a good impression. 

When he had first appeared out of the tunnel, there was a moment where I thought I’d been wrong about him. I prepared my mind for a fight, but it hadn’t come to that. His friendship was proving to be worth the risk. I just hoped there wasn’t any ulterior motive, because I still remember facing him while he was at full strength. Even after reaching Master Rank, it wasn’t a fight that I wanted to have.

***

I had a decision to make. It was now safe for me to go back to Sanctuary, but any creature tracking us would’ve been led here. Leading a trail away was the obvious next step. It would also give me a limited time to further test my Light Magic while I was purposely using it to pull our enemy’s attention. Perhaps there was time for one last ultimate power leveling session before returning home.

Speaking to Master Khaba, he was able to confirm that there were no signs of the succubi between here and The Belly. His network of scouts was far wider than I’d imagined.

Contacting Zorik, I learned of the best probable route to take that would work for my intended purpose.

I didn’t even ask but assumed Aeris would be going with me—as did the others. They wished us farewell and directed the train of golem powered carts back the way they had come. At least Olivia and Aeris had had some time to catch up.

My fiancé and I were soon left alone. We returned to our seat at the top of the small boulder. Dangling my legs over the side in my Human Form, she did the same in her Sprite From. The mood had changed since we were last here. We were still in no less danger, but, as best as we could know, there was nothing to threaten us for miles even if they were able to track my Light Magic in this state. There was some time. We’d also be able to return to our friends as soon as we were done.

“You probably already know this, but as we travel, I’m going to be making a lot of noise.” I said, staring off into the distance as I focused on the warmth of her hand in mine.

Sitting up straight, she replied. “So am I.”

“Should we get going?”

She burst into her Wisp Form in answer.

Standing up, I let Fire Incubus Form take hold of me. My wings lifted me off the ground and spun me in the direction of the tunnel we were about to take. Throwing my wings out stopped the spin and gave me a clear view of our destination.

“El.” I could hear the gravity in her voice. “You won’t be able to catch me this time, but I’ll only be gone for a few seconds. You can expect me to be back and forth.”

Without waiting for my response, there was an explosion of power the moment before she rocketed away. Even with Mana Sight at the highest level, I only saw the streak of her afterimage that led out of the cavern. A sudden blast of thunder followed in her wake as the sound barrier was shattered like a room of crystal.

Mana flooded my mind, sending my cognitive abilities to new heights as I enhanced Fire Incubus Form to a new level of controlled chaos. My wings propelled me forward and after Aeris. The room was gone. As I traveled through the tunnel, I was in danger every moment of crashing into the walls of stone if my wing adjustments weren’t just right—No. It was more accurate to say that the walls were in danger of crashing into me. Never had I felt more invincible, but I couldn’t let myself forget the truth. I was centuries behind the enemy. I had to make every moment count.

I had two goals. Reaching level 100 in Fire Incubus Form and testing a theory that could turn the tide of the coming battle.