The radiant force-field sword-staff in Skyl's hand gave a light thrust, piercing through the window frame. The shock wave that burst out immediately afterward shattered the glass into hundreds of fragments, blasting them outward like buckshot.
Bang!
The silent warlock flew into the bedchamber with his feet planted on an [Eldritch Blade].
Szass Tam, inside the ancient mirror, said nothing. The succubus Pencheska's expression changed, panic flashing across her face for an instant, but then she smiled in triumph and congratulated Szass Tam.
"Great master, there is no need to trouble yourself. This human has now fallen into my hands on his own. Very soon, this artifact will be delivered to you."
Szass Tam still did not answer. His silence carried a deep meaning.
Skyl looked toward the scene playing in the crystal ball. It was still continuing. Mia, drained of blood, was completely dead. Naturally, Pencheska would not be kind enough to cast the 5th-level [Raise Dead] spell for a mortal corpse. That spell required a small diamond. It was not expensive. Any shop owner in Waterdeep could afford one.
Instead, the succubus had used the necromancy of the Red Wizards to turn Mia into an undead creature. Szass Tam's mark was branded on the girl's forehead, and she remained on the Material Plane as one of the undead. In the eyes of Daggerford's people, a few months later, this girl named Mia would die of a sudden illness. In the end, this undead body would return to the Ducal Castle and become another loyal maid.
To resurrect a desecrated corpse, one needed the 9th-level [True Resurrection] spell, and the material components for that spell were a small amount of holy water and an extremely precious, flawless diamond, nearly the sort of heirloom treasure that could make a king jealous.
Skyl calmly watched the final part of the image.
Pencheska was activating the hidden magical forces in the bedchamber. The undead servants around them drew daggers from their decayed chests, took up crossbows, and surrounded the warlock.
Skyl spoke. He was not speaking to Pencheska, who was sharpening her blade for slaughter, but to Szass Tam. It was a question, yet he asked it so calmly it sounded like a statement.
"Are you tired of living?"
The deep shadow inside the ancient mirror did not tremble. Those eerie green, cold eyes simply watched Skyl.
Pencheska did not dare breathe loudly, but she was laughing. She was mocking Skyl's ignorance of his own limits. Even if the thing in his hand truly was an artifact, he still could not speak so wildly to Szass Tam. The old lich's power could even rival that of certain weaker gods, while demigods had to handle him carefully lest they be swallowed by his evil schemes.
In such a grave atmosphere, Skyl smiled faintly. His face, hardened by Wildspace until it seemed as cold and unyielding as a meteorite, suited a warm smile surprisingly well.
Szass Tam countered softly, "Before you prepare to make an enemy of me, you should prepare your epitaph. In the future, your corpse can savor the stupidity carved on your tombstone again and again."
The warlock was too lazy to look at the old lich again. He could have slaughtered his way into the lich's lair, cut off Szass Tam's head, and kicked it around like a ball to terrify this succubus out of her soul. A so-called evil and powerful lich was no different from roadside weeds to him, no different from any ordinary mortal.
Skyl strode toward Pencheska. The Infinity Scepter in his hand was covered by an [Eldritch Blade], turning it into a powerful magical weapon comparable to a legendary blade. Its strength could tear through steel. It could actively release powerful shock waves, and it could also unleash eldritch blasts in the form of lightning, frost, flame, positive energy, negative energy, and more. Even if an enemy was immune to physical attacks, they would still suffer powerful, undiminished damage. Spirits could also be struck by the force-field sword.
And that was still not the Infinity Scepter's true divine power. Its powerful conductivity for magical energy gave it a nature similar to the Weave. Its wielder could communicate directly with magical energy through the scepter, casting spells even in a dead magic zone. For Skyl, one important meaning of obtaining the Infinity Scepter was that he had gained access to high-level spell slots, causing his combat power to surge to the legendary tier for a short time.
As a side benefit, it was also very handy for beating people.
Pencheska took out a string of rose prayer beads and gently moved one bead. She teleported to a corner of the room. At her command, the undead servants swarmed forward.
As blades reached his body, the sword-staff spun like a wheel. Blue radiance burst out like a flash tearing through black clouds and opening a line of sky.
The succubus's expression changed dramatically. She cried out in shock, "You're a Sword Saint too?!"
The warlock's martial skill was shockingly beautiful. Even though he had served as a martial instructor in Daggerford for four days, the succubus had still underestimated Skyl.
He gripped the scepter with both hands. The sword-staff in his hand was like a ribbon whipping through the wind, or a long snake gone mad. The blade became forked lightning, piercing every weapon that slashed toward him, while the tip of the sword kissed every undead head that drew close.
A flash of powerful light erupted, and Skyl kept moving forward.
The charming maids collapsed to their knees. The magical shells covering their bodies slowly dispersed, revealing the gray-black, withered true forms of the undead beneath. They had been granted rest, and their souls were able to journey to the divine realms of the Outer Planes.
"Thank… you…"
Skyl did not stop. Crossbow bolts shot at him from behind, only to be deflected by his magical shield. He charged to Pencheska in a few quick steps and thrust the sword-staff forward, stabbing a hole through the succubus's abdomen.
The rose prayer beads scattered across the floor, and Pencheska vanished again. She left behind an ear-piercing scream, along with an open Abyssal portal. A hezrou let out a joyful laugh and crawled out of the portal. He had come to fight. He had come to kill. He had come to the Material Plane to feast on the fragrant souls and flesh of mortals.
Then the first human he saw was Skyl.
The hezrou casually pulled a door-wide greatsword from behind his back, chanted words of blasphemy, and chopped at the warlock.
Skyl recited a spell. His figure disappeared, swapping positions with an [Eldritch Blade] in the distance. When the hezrou's greatsword touched the [Eldritch Blade], it triggered an explosion. The eldritch blast blew apart one wall of the castle. The castle fell into chaos. Guards rushed in, but they were frightened by the battle between human and demon and did not dare approach.
Pencheska fled desperately, but she soon realized her injuries were too severe. The positive energy attached to that sword-light had badly damaged her health, and she quickly lost strength.
The young stablehand Bordon Karpin escaped with the "duchess."
Skyl stabbed the hezrou to death, but the fiend only laughed. He nodded to Skyl in approval and offered him a malicious blessing. "Join the Blood War! Mortal, you're strong. You'll definitely rise above the rest. Hahaha, I'll be waiting for you!"
The fiend's body died, and its soul returned to the Abyss. This did remind Skyl of something. In the future, when he encountered demons, he had to stop them from escaping.
In the bedchamber, Skyl stood on the hezrou's corpse, took a bottle of Energy Potion from his pocket, and drank it.
The surrounding guards hesitantly asked, "Where is Lady Morwen?" They all remembered that Skyl was a dangerous figure who had been exiled from Daggerford.
"Your duchess was being impersonated by a fiend. The real duchess is probably imprisoned."
Skyl looked around. The bedchamber had been reduced to ruins in the battle. Most of the furniture was smashed and torn apart, and the ancient mirror on the dressing table that had been used to communicate with Szass Tam had also shattered into pieces. However, one unremarkable little wardrobe had remained intact.
He went up to it and poked the wardrobe with the Infinity Scepter. The magical seal on its surface appeared.
Then Skyl focused, prepared himself, communicated with the deeper Weave, and cast [Dispel Magic], forcibly dispersing the seal.
The true Lady Morwen was curled up inside the wardrobe, muttering to herself like a pitiful madwoman.
Skyl gave her a brief examination. "She can still be saved. Go to Waterdeep and hire a good priest."
Before the guards could react to the changes before them, the warlock summoned an [Eldritch Blade] again, stepped onto it, and flew away.
Everyone watched this man come and go as he pleased and clicked their tongues in wonder. "So this is what adventurers are like?"
Skyl caught up to the fleeing succubus at the Delimbiyr River.
Pencheska wanted to run, but Skyl cast a self-created 9th-level evocation spell. One thousand [Eldritch Blades] sealed off every escape route she had. Then he used [Dimensional Anchor], preventing her from teleporting.
With nowhere left to flee, the succubus tried to threaten Skyl with the stablehand in her hands. But Skyl did not accept threats. With one stroke, he cut off Pencheska's head.
The succubus's head revealed an eerie smile. Her lips silently formed the words, "I'll wait for you in the Abyss."
"You can start repenting now." Skyl returned her look with a cold gaze. He dipped his finger in the succubus's blood and drew a soul-capturing array, refining the succubus's soul into her own head. He intended to turn it into a magic tool.
The fiend's escape failed.
Pencheska began to scream without sound.
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