

Before I could watch the full effects of my handiwork, however, Devil pulled up from the dive, and we were rising once more. In moments the joint began to sizzle and melt, while the small motor within whined and wheezed, letting off a burst of brilliant white steam. The second grenade burst against a fist-sized joint near its shoulder, which looked to house some sort of server. The first grenade detonated, splashing glass and green acid across the strange fleshy material, which made up the bulk of the wing. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I pulled out two of Vlad’s acid grenades and lobbed them down directly onto the creature’s left wing. Purple tongues lashed at Osmark and licked hungrily at his pet’s steel hide. As we swept over Osmark, Devil unleashed an enormous gout of raw Umbra Flame. Suddenly, we were above the clockwork monster Devil stretched his jaws wide. I downed the Regen potion in a single swallow and tossed the bottle away as Devil threw himself into a sharp dive, avoiding another wave of missile fire. Now was the time to fight, to battle, to kill, and I couldn’t afford to feel pain-I needed to be in the moment, or Osmark would walk all over me for a second time. I snarled, dismissed the popup, and pushed the pain away as I fished a Health Regen potion from my belt. And to top it off, a combat notification appeared before me:īurn: You have been burned! 5 pts Burn Damage/sec duration, 30 seconds. My skin blistered from the inferno blaze, and my HP dropped by a third-which, combined with the damage from the gun blast, left me below fifty percent. My whole right leg erupted in agony as a fireball swelled out, enveloping Devil and me in a tsunami of flesh-scorching heat. The thing exploded with a teeth-rattling boom accompanied by a flash of brilliant white light. I swatted down four missiles, but a fifth slipped through, smashing into Devil’s side, inches from my knee. Most of my attacks went wide, but there were so many bolts of shadowy power littering the air that it was impossible to miss entirely. I thrust both hands out and started unleashing wave after wave of Umbra Bolts while Devil continued his deft maneuvering-flipping, twirling, and diving then rising in graceful arcs. They were like pesky homing missiles, which adjusted course mid-flight, tracking our movements. We hooked, bobbed, wheeled, and spun as missiles streaked around us-but try as we might, we couldn’t seem to shake ’em. Since Devil had a fierce desire to both kill and survive, he took evasive actions without so much as a peep out of me.


The rocket launcher lurched to life, spinning around on a gyroscopic base, before unleashing a series of rockets directly at us.
