Pantheon Online

"Damn it!" Lowyra screamed as Stalkers swarmed over her, dragging her to the ground. 'It's over.'

As she prepared for her death, a blinding gold light enveloped the area around her. Lowyra closed her eyes and heard a thunderous clap before the light disappeared.

"What was that?" She whispered as she opened her eyes to discover the Stalkers were gone.

Other players nearby who had managed to survive looked around in confusion. Some cheered, while others worried it was some kind of trick. After all, there was no sign of their enemies. Nobody noticed the calm player walking between them, heading for his next target.

A few minutes later, Beartooth called out orders. Exile's domes were at full capacity at his checkpoint. However, hundreds of players were still trapped outside, fighting the Stalkers. Beartooth cursed as he watched members of his Pantheon and others being slaughtered before his eyes.

'I can't do anything to help them.' Beartooth snarled as more Stalkers crawled out of the pits and charged at the domes. 'How long can these barriers hold out for? We need a damn miracle to win this!'

As screams filled the air, a blinding gold light appeared from beyond the sea of enemies! Beartooth squinted, refusing to close his eyes as a booming clap sounded. His eyes shot wide as he tried to discern what had happened.

The Stalkers were gone without a trace. However, for a brief moment, he could've sworn he had seen a giant finger. His eyes shot to the only player still moving around. 'Isn't that... Mikari?'

Noslin arrived at the midpoint and immediately conjured an ice fort to protect the surviving players. Her spells rained down on the Stalkers and cleared pathways for the survivors to enter the fort. 'Damn! This is worse than I thought.' Her cold gaze pierced the enemies as she calmly evaluated the situation. 'Even if I throw everything I have at this, it won't be enough. We're going to need reinforcements.' A sudden golden light at the checkpoint after hers caught her gaze. It wasn't so blinding from that distance, but that only made her jaw drop as she saw what was hidden inside of it. She watched as ten pairs of golden hands clapped before the light disappeared, and cheering could be heard.

'Mikari.' Noslin almost choked on the thought. 'Why did I think of him when I saw that?' Moments later, players charged from the direction of the light and attacked the flank of the Stalkers. As Noslin grinned at the reinforcements, a lone figure caught her gaze. 'It really was him.' She sighed.

Clay hummed to himself as he beheaded two more Stalkers as fire rained down from the peak of the mountain. 'It's been twenty minutes now, and Exile's bombardment hasn't slowed down.' Clay was filled with admiration at Exile's prowess.

'He's becoming a right monster.' He chuckled as another flash of golden light, much closer this time, caught his attention. 'Hmm, he'll be here in a few seconds. Guess I should wrap this up.'

Clay charged through the crowd of enemies around the base of the defences he had created for his team. His weapons shapeshifted from a sword to a spear, to twin axes as he cut down the Stalkers who dared to get in his way.

As the enemy numbers thinned, he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned to glare at the player, his eyebrow rose.

"Winter?"

"Close your eyes." Winter chuckled as she closed her own tightly.

Clay quickly understood and followed her lead. A golden light that shone through his eyelids appeared followed by the loudest clap he had ever heard. His senses were momentarily stunned before he realised he could no longer hear the sounds of battle.

Clay whistled as he opened his eyes to discover the missing enemies. His eyes quickly located Mikari who was walking toward him.

"Damn, you really pack a punch." Clay chuckled.

"Don't worry. I was gentle with them. You'll know it when I decide to throw a punch." Mikari grinned as he glanced at Winter.

"I need you to come with us, Clay. We're going to disrupt the enemy's plans."

Clay thumbed his chin as he looked from Winter to Mikari.

"Just us three?"

"It's all we need."

"Lots of enemies?"

"Yes."

"Say no more. I'm in." Clay grinned enthusiastically as he turned his weapon into a giant warhammer.

"Lead the way."

Exile watched the trio through his spell as he continued to provide support to the battlefields on the mountain. 'Mikari cleared the way, but there's more rushing up from inside the pits.'

'With Clay gone, the first checkpoint won't last too long. It's time to switch targets.' He trembled as he switched the targeting runes to hover over every pit he could find. 'Time to cut off their path.'

Rivers of fire exploded from the runes he cast in the air around him and flowed like giant serpents into the darkness of the mountain. Seeking out their prey that hid within their tunnels.

Exile's focus snapped back to the trio as Winter hid their presence from the Stalkers patrolling the mountain's base. 'They're going to have a rough battle once they reveal themselves. Maybe I should help them out a bit.'

He quickly scanned the stabilising situation before firing long-range spells toward the groups of Stalkers ahead of the trio. Explosions sounded from all over the mountain and surrounding area as Exile unleashed the fury of a god upon the Stalkers.

From a distance, the mighty stone sentinel looked like an erupting volcano as Exile spared no effort. The eyes of the flying Stalkers glowed red as they studied the state of the battle. After a few minutes, they felt a tugging in their mind as Nar'Kozz recalled them.

Exile hesitated as he sensed a slight shift in the atmosphere. It felt heavier and full of malice. Like something was weighing down on him. 'It's like I'm being watched by a predator.'

He cursed as he realised what that feeling meant. 'It's Nar'Kozz! And he's strong enough to make me feel threatened!' Exile snarled as he quickly attempted to locate the ancient creature with his spell. 'Where are you!'

He knew the beast had to be somewhere close for him to feel its malice. 'Come on, show yourself!' Exile was tense as he continued his search. He was so focused that the answer escaped him, even though it should have been obvious.

"So, what's the plan?" Clay whispered as they approached the tunneling Stalkers.

"There's still hundreds of them out here."

Winter nodded in agreement as her gaze moved over the scene before them.

"I don't see how the three of us can deal with this."

Mikari remained silent as he calmly imagined how things would play out once he put things in motion. 'This will work. Nar'Kozz is inside the mountain. If we do this right, we'll drive him to the surface and have a good chance of wiping out every Stalker.'

"Winter, use your powers to alter the Stalkers' perception. Drag as many out here to us as you can. Clay, you'll need to seal up as many tunnels as you can. Divert any Stalkers still below to exit this way. Leave the rest to me."

Clay grunted but agreed to the plan while Winter studied the younger Anderson brother as if he were crazy. 'This is madness. He wants to draw the entire Stalker army toward us? How are we meant to suvive that?'

"Winter?" Mikari said as he stared at her, his eyes full of determination.

"Don't worry. This will work. You can run if you feel you have to, but this'll go a lot smoother with your powers."

Winter gulped as she studied Mikari's fierce gaze.

"How am I meant to pass all those Stalkers?"

Mikari grinned in response as he confidently strode forward. Winter glanced helplessly at Clay who grinned sheepishly at her.

"I guess it's playtime?" Clay chuckled as he quickly followed after Mikari, leaving Winter behind.

"Why are men such idiots!" Winter groaned as she scanned her surrounding.

"Damn it! You're leaving me with no choice!"

She steeled her determination and ran after Clay. Before she could catch up, a golden light burst from Mikari's body.

Mikari's focus sharpened as a twenty foot tall divine golden statue with twenty arms appeared in the air above his head. 'Victory is Divine!' The hands shot out and slapped the nearby Stalkers into ground, killing them in a single blow.

The statue moved with Mikari's thoughts, and unleashed hundreds of blows in less than a second. It was so fast that neither Clay nor Winter could follow its attacks. Mikari's eyes shone gold as the flurry of devastation he unleashed sounded like a crowd clapping for an encore to his ears.

A savage grin spread on his face as the enemy numbers meant little in the face of his power. 'This is definitely fitting for the God of Victory.'

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