The image of Cyrus as a scrawny young man in a dirty t-shirt and greasy hair sitting in front of a TV in his mother’s basement, munching popcorn while he watched my death battle popped into my head. I wished it was true so I could reach through that TV and throttle him for setting me up to have to do this.

  Pushing the image aside, I cast Soul Feed and Loot. The giant raptor dissolved into stinking mist around me and I shot free of its corpse into a cloud of blessed white mist. Even as I accelerated away, shifting my burning tornado back to my feet to help me accelerate, the mist followed. It flowed into me, topping off my pools, and triggering Energy Ward again. All the damage I’d done had refilled my Tesla Coil bracelet too.

  Eva surprised me. “Congratulations, Lucas! You have reached level 12.”

  I choked back a surprised shout. I would not allow Cyrus to misinterpret my anger as being upset about getting a level. He had to have kept a bunch of experience back, or that meant Bristleback had given me so much experience I’d already been close to level 12.

  The flocks of other flying monsters had started to dissipate, looking for more prey. As soon as they spotted me, they swarmed back in, but they’d given me an opening and I took it. I poured mana into my burning Gale Glight and the fiery tornado pushing me swelled to a roar. I accelerated with breathtaking speed, outpacing all of my pursuers like a meteor trailing a long burning tail.

  Other flying monsters still dove at me from above, but now I had time to react, and I’d gained mastery over the unique form of flight. I banked and turned, diving and spinning between diving monsters, dodging most of their attacks while slashing at wings and talons whenever I could. Flames singed feathers and cooked flesh, and I left chaos in my wake. I grinned with a thrill of excitement that just barely held the line against terror.

  It was insane, terrifying, and brutal. Every second I fought for my life. A single mistake, and I’d get ripped asunder, but I still grinned. The feeling of riding a literal flaming tornado of destruction on the cusp of death was a thrill ride unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

  The aerial dance of destruction continued for long minutes. I lost track of time as I dove and banked, weaving through the never-ending swarm of monsters as I battled my way across the skies. Despite the insane amount of damage I was doing, some of the kamikaze bird monsters still reached me.

  Most were deflected by Energy Ward, but a few of the more powerful strikes still landed. They tore up my pants again, and one lucky claw caught the seam of my crash test dummy jacket and ripped all the way down the sleeve.

  Every piece of clothing I wore was getting shredded, but still I fought on. I caught occasional glimpses of the ever-spreading waters below and the sturdy peaks to the west, beckoning me on with the promise of safety.

  Then I saw it. The long slope ascending up to the second stage. I crossed the boundary of the waters. I was mere moments away. I poured on another burst of speed as I dove for the forests so tantalizingly close.

  Then the flying monsters all scattered. For a second I thought they were giving up. That’s when I spotted a line of giant ogre-like monsters standing across the western slope directly below me. There had to be 20 of the huge beasts.

  Every one of them lifted a giant club high, all pointed at me.

  “Oh, Smolder,” I whispered.

  I crashed into an invisible barrier like a swallow flying into a window.

  Every scrap of air blasted from my lungs as I smashed flat. Both of my arms snapped and my nose broke in a spray of blood. Searing pain spiked through my brain and my entire body, and blackness plunged over my mind.

  As if from a great distance, I felt my body groan, stressed to the limits as ribs cracked and organs split. Without the protection of my Crash Test Dummy jacket and my other armor, I would have simply detonated.

  Instead, I slid down the invisible barrier like a squashed bug sliding down a windshield. The barrier disappeared, but my flight spell was gone. I could barely move. Darkness clouded my thoughts and tempted me with blissful oblivion. If I gave in, I wouldn’t have to feel the pain when I hit the ground.

  If I gave in, I was dead.

  Even though my bracelet was pouring a torrent of energy into me, I triggered a full regeneration potion from my hotlist. The additional rush of energy cleared my head and I looked down.

  I was falling toward the hard ground of the slope. The fact that I’d reached dry land again renewed my determination. I was so close! I refused to die within sight of safety.

  The line of ogres had staggered, but were recovering quickly. My rebound amulet must have hit them with a fraction of that magical hit I’d just taken. Siphoning off that much for the rebound had probably saved my life.

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  Still, they were lumbering toward the spot where I was about to hit. If I landed among them, they’d smash me to paste.

  I needed a few seconds to heal, but I wouldn’t get that much time. I’d dropped my dagger, but spotted Soulrend tumbling into a pile of boulders upslope of the ogres.

  I needed that blade. Setting my tether point, I triggered Tether Slide. My helpless fall turned into a graceful slide as I shot across the slope, angling down steeply to land among the boulders, barely 100 yards short of the top of the slope.

  The impact of landing knocked me sprawling with spikes of searing pain from my partially-healed bones and muscles. Groaning, I tried to jump to my feet, but toppled over again.

  Soulrend lay right in front of me, the twisting silver of the handle beckoned me on. With Soulrend in hand, I could defeat any foe. I clawed for it and managed to snag it, but the effort left me gasping with pain as my broken arm and hand screamed with white-hot agony.

  I cast Soulrend into my inventory. With a burst of new optimism, I focused on moving. With all my will, I focused and managed to pull myself forward a few inches.

  Despite the horrible pain racking my entire body, I still savored the feel of solid ground under my gloved hands. The smell of dirt and distant forests made me smile through bloody lips and broken teeth.

  Boulders blocked my path up to the second stage. Going after Soulrend had cost me a clear path to escape. It was worth it, though. I started painfully crawling around.

  The line of ogres roared with bloodlust and the anticipation of a kill. They charged, shaking the ground with their heavy treads. They weren’t super fast, but I could barely crawl.

  I refused to give up. Dragging myself forward, I focused on crawling. Every movement of my broken arms left me gasping with pain, but I lacked the balance to stand. I had to use them. They shook from the strain, freshly knit bones creaking from the effort. The agony was like plunging my arms into lava.

  I moved anyway. Gritting my teeth, I focused the healing energy of my bracelet on my arms. It helped. The pain eased a little. In seconds, I’d recover enough to stand, then I could sprint to safety.

  Only one rough boulder still blocked my path. Once I crawled around that, I’d have a clear shot to the second stage. I was so close!

  The ogres closed in like a living avalanche. They wouldn’t give me that much time.

  “Back off!” I shouted, dropping onto my back with a groaning whimper of pain. I pulled a stun gun from my inventory as the closest ogre barreled in, barely 20 yards away.

  I fired, aiming for its knees since I lacked the strength to lift the heavy gun higher. The recoil wasn’t a lot, but it was still enough to knock the weapon from my grasp.

  The blast caught the ogre in the knees and it fell, crashing to the ground and sliding almost on top of me. Its huge, ugly head bumped my thigh as it slid to a stop.

  I called forth Soulrend, intending to plunge it through the ogre’s brain. The pain of trying to grasp the pommel with my broken fingers made me spasm and the blade drove down into the ogre’s shoulder.

  It was wearing a leather vest with studded spikes that fastened with buckles and straps across its shoulders. When I stabbed it, Soulrend slipped free of my fingers just as the ogre shuddered and rolled aside. The pommel got caught between the straps.

  “No!” I shouted weakly as the ogre rolled away. I didn’t care about losing so many other weapons and gear, but I needed to get Soulrend back.

  With a bellow of rage, I threw myself after the ogre. My body protested as broken bones twisted, tearing new wounds in my flesh and I collapsed, rolling several times, nearly blacking out from the fresh waves of pain.

  “There he is!” a voice shouted in the distance.

  Another cried, “He’s alive! Quick!”

  I blinked in confusion, trying to clear my hazy thoughts. Who was talking. All I could see were the other ogres closing in.

  The closest one raised his club, roaring in triumph as he leaped high, preparing to smash me to jelly. All I could do was stare. I had nothing left. No tricks, no spells, no weapons. I was totally spent.

  I’d failed. I was going to die bare yards from safety.

  A beam of white-hot fire struck the ogre in the center of the chest and bowled him over backward. He crashed to the ground beside me so hard, it rolled me over. Six inches closer to safety.

  More spells flashed overhead. Fire and ice and absolute darkness, while arrows filled the sky like rain. Hundreds of voices rose in battle cries that rivaled the ongoing thunder of the dying lower stage.

  I craned my head around to glance upslope, despite a piercing pain in my neck. A tide of humanity were pouring down the slope, charging straight at the surprised ogres, flinging a barrage of spells and projectiles so dense, they darkened the sky.

  The line of ogres fell back, riddled with arrows and blasted off their feet by powerful spells. The ogre closest to me rolled to his hands and knees and turned to me, growling with bloodlust as he raised a hand to swat me like a bug.

  Tomas suddenly appeared on his back, a long sword already raised high. He plunged it deep into the ogre’s neck and shouted, “Leave my brother alone!”

  Then Jane arrived, shoving both hands out hard. An invisible force smashed the ogre in the face, toppling it over backward. Tomas disappeared, then blinked back into view beside Jane.

  Ruby skidded to a halt beside me, with Steve at her shoulder. While she heaved me into her arms, Steve loosed an arrow crackling with ice, then glanced at me and grinned. “Hey, buddy. Way to make an entrance.”

  “Hurry!” Tomas shouted. “They’re regrouping!”

  Tony Waldau stopped beside us and a glowing barrier of amber light rose between us and the ogres, extending 50 feet in either direction. A second later, a huge wooden club bounced off, shaking the barrier.

  He glanced at me with a look of annoyance. “Go! Everyone, go! We’ve wasted too many resources on one man already. I will not allow anyone else to die today.”

  “I’m so glad you care,” I wheezed.

  As one, the entire group sprinted back up the slope. Ruby held me cradled to her like a baby and I slumped against her, relief sapping my strength. I wanted to protest that I could stand, but I didn’t have the energy for the words. So I let her carry me to safety. Despite jolts of pain from every step, it felt good.

  I chuckled, then coughed.

  “What?” she asked, not slowing. I wasn’t light, but she had added a bunch of points to Strength because she ran lightly, not bothered by my weight.

  “We’ve gone full circle. First time we met, I saved you. Now you’re literally carrying me over the finish line.”

  She grinned. “You’d make a better damsel in distress if you weren’t so filthy.”

  “Nothing a Laundry Day potion can’t cure.”

  “If only we were in a fairy tale.”

  I grunted. “Yeah. Today’s been nothing but a horror story.”