"First off, well done," said Leroung. Rasmus was mesmerized by his master's face, no his face. It was his, but so vital, strong, cultured, and wise. More importantly there was a smug quality about it that made him want to punch it in.
"You might not know this, but I can see through your eyes periodically. Kind of in a monotone dream that allows me to follow your progress."
"The grey ocean!" said Rasmus.
"Aye, you can call it that," said Leroung after considering his description. "As an Ascendant you have achieved more than any others Ascendants before you. Not only have you used a Cacodaemon scroll to summon a creature I would not have thought possible, but you also managed to destroy Kasmir's raiding party, as well as learn to manipulate the tower with more mastery than even myself. It shall be a pleasure to add you skill set to my own."
Leroung than turned to Sylgja and gave her a lecherous sneer. "You've also somehow seduced a lovely maiden it seems. While Lilitus and Alu fiends are quite pleasing to the eye, you wouldn't actually want to bed one of those creatures if you value your health, this young woman however will make and excellent addition to my staff as it appears I have to rebuild."
"Uhmm no. Seduce is a bit strong of a word, and I'm more likely to kill you than to join you," scoffed Sylgja.
"Ahh, so feisty. Lovely!" laughed Leroung. The dark mage then turned back to Rasmus. "Enough of this, surrender now and face your fate. Ascend with my soul to become immortal."
Rasmus took a step back, even as the large lobster squid demons took a step forward. "I've heard of how this immortal ritual of yours works. You've corrupted and warped whatever purpose this spell originally had just to feed on the spirits of others. "
"A crude description of the ancient miracle, but I'm guilty as charged," chuckled Leroung. Rasmus was surprised that somehow is master's face had become even more punchable. "Why did you think I choose you, from your poor dirt farming village. You were bright, had a propensity for magic, we share a similar appearance, but more importantly you had a strong soul for me to drain. In return you got an education, the privilege to ascend with me to immortality , and a bag of gold to support your orphanage. "
Rasmus was shocked. Orphanage? What about his manor? He wasn't a noble?
"Oh from the confused look on your face, I see you've discovered a truth about yourself. That's another thing about Lilitus, they lie so much in such a pretty manner you forget the truth, forget the past. "
Rasmus shook off his confusion and stood firm against Leroung. "You can't force my soul from me, I have to use magic to surrender it and I will die before that will happen. If I'm not mistaken, we're tied together in this. That's why you didn't clear the Reclamation Knights yourself, because you can't use magic either at this point of the ritual or you'll suffer the same fate as I. I felt the curse weaken when I left the tower, so our souls aren't tied as strongly are they? You can't just simply kill me now so I think we're at a stalemate here."
Leroung's visage grew dark as his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed, to such a point that Rasmus couldn't see himself in the man's face. "I grow tire of this, but you guess correctly. That stunt that Misa pulled sapped my strength, but it won't stop me. The curse is weakened and I cannot use my magic less I suffer the same fate as you, that part of the ritual is still intact. If I kill you now I would only steal a small portion of your power, but I could subdue you and drag you back into my tower, make you surrender it for maximum effect. There's other ways to break a person to make him give to me whatever I want. I could snap your legs and arms off, and torture you until you can no longer resist. I could raze your orphanage , make you watch the nuns that care for you burn until you can't stand their screams anymore, but I wonder if you still recall them. There's your current woman, I guess I can break her in front of you, make her watch as I make her scream with pleasure. "
Sylgja rolled her eyes,"Can we kill him now?"
Leroung grinned. "Oh you can certainly try my dear. While I'm essentially powerless, my two friends here are not. A funny thing about my tower, it attracts outsiders, especially fiendish aquatic ones. You might say it's a kind of a giant lobster trap."
"They're Piscoloths," sighed Rasmus. "A giant Piscoloth trap is a more accurate term."
The two lobstermen paused and nodded in agreement.
"Yes….well anyways. I 'trained' these two when I still had access to my magic, and they'll take what I want. I would have used them earlier on you, but you had your Ice Devil guard, a powerful creature indeed, one that I'll attempt to summon myself soon. Well, for now he's gone, so I think my negotiation position is much stronger than yours. So please, cast a final bit of magic for me, surrender your soul, and ascend with me to immortality."
Rasmus was about to challenge his master, but Sylgja stepped in front of him and waved him down. "Okay handsome, I'm tired of this," she said as she gave Hector's sword a dramatic windmill flourish. "Reinhardt or no Reinhardt, I'm more than enough to take your two fiendish lobstermen down. So if you have anything else to say you blowhard , say it now, cause I'm going to ram my blade through your pretty face."
Leroung frowned and simply folded his arms. "I misjudge you miss, you are too defiant to be a good servant. Slay her, and bring me the Ascendant alive!" he commanded.
The two Piscoloths raised their lobster claws and advanced cautiously. Sylgja readied her shield and fell in a combat stance as they approached. Before she engaged, she glanced back at Rasmus with worry in her eyes."Run to the horses where I told you they were tethered, now!" she said as the Piscoloths broke from their slow gait and charged.
