Gacha Leveling

Chapter 199 - 60 – The Harp of Dagda 8

The ghost army advanced over the cultist camp killing any demon and demon worshiper they found in their way. Imps flew high, trying to avoid their spears, but were downed by archers.Meanwhile, Matthew, Vanessa and Paula defended themselves against the cambions that were summoned around them.

Suddenly, a cambion sneaked behind Paula and stabbed at her, but the demon’s attack missed by hair, because Michael planted an arrow in his head before he could connect his harpoon on her back.

Michael, Cathbad and Tylith ran to them as the ghost army swept the cultist camp.

"You’re safe!" Paula exclaimed relieved after seeing her brother.

"This is a mess." Michael said, looking around at the chaos.

On one side groups of ghostly soldiers fought and killed imps. On the other side Matthew and Vanessa sprinted between cambions bringing them down with masterful precision. In the sky Ffyr and Lumi fended off a horde of imps. At the stairs the Dullahan galloped with its horse in the sky, as if the air was solid ground, dodging the fireballs Samil threw at it.

And observing it all from high up, Valac laughed as if she was watching a comedy.

Matthew got some time to breathe and drink a mana potion when the ghost army reached them. He then tossed one to Vanessa who sat on the ground breathing deeply.

"I forgot how hard it is to go inside a dungeon with you, kid." She joked with Matthew.

"Do we leave the rest to them?" Michael asked, approaching both.

They looked at the ghost warriors fighting the summoned demons. There were no more cultists left alive, only cambions who now held the path upwards the rainbow stairs where Samil fought the Dullahan.

When a cambion felled one of the ghosts, it disintegrated in a mist of miasma and disappeared with its weapons. However, there were 200 ghosts originally and, even with all the summoned demons, they outnumbered the enemy.

"I think they can handle the rest." Matthew noted, sitting beside Vanessa.

"Goltraige might need help." Cathbad said, pointing at the Dullahan who struggled to get a hit on the warlock.

Whenever he got close enough to deal a blow with its weapons, Samil teleported away and kept shooting fire spells at the horseman who galloped freely through the air.

"Goltraige?" Paula asked. "You know him?"

"He’s the song of sorrow. Son of Uaithne. He was the first to volunteer to protect his father’s tomb." The Cait Sith explained.

"His father?" Matthew exclaimed.

"Yes. The Harp of Dagda, Uaithne. The hero who gave his life to hold back a Foromian invasion." Cathbad said as if it should be obvious.

"The harp is a person?" Matthew pondered.

It made sense now. The soul of an ancient hero might be powerful enough to open the way for a demon king to come to the Prime Realm.

"You thought he was a literal harp?" Cathbad asked, a bit offended.

"I’m sorry." Vanessa defended Matthew. "The legends aren’t clear on what happened at that time."

"Uaithne single handedly stood in front of a Foromian army and fought with all his might to hold them back from invading the Prime. To have his story forgotten..." Cathbad lamented.

"I don’t think it’s time to grieve." Tylith interjected, pointing up as the Dullahan was hit by a massive fireball and sent flying inside the lake. His horse disappeared in a cloud of miasma.

"Goltraige!" Cathbad exclaimed.

"Time to rest is over." Matthew got up. "We can’t allow them to reach the Harp!"

Samil stood triumphally at the top of the stairs and looked down at his followers. All dead and his demon servants dying quickly under the ghostly blades of the tomb’s protectors.

Instead of anguishing over the loss of his followers, the warlock smiled. Without hesitating, he turned around and climbed the stairs through the clouds disappearing from view.

The ghost army didn’t waste time. Once the last demon was defeated, they rushed upstairs as fast as they could.

"We have to go as well!" Cathbad pleaded with the others.

They only nodded in agreement and started to rush upstairs. It is then that Lumi surges from the lake lifting the dullahan in its talons. The bird didn’t hesitate and immediately flew high among the clouds.

At the same time, Ffyr came down from the sky, having defeated the last demon in the air. Without saying a word, she grabbed Matthew by the armor and flew high with him.

"I’ll meet you there." He said to the others.

When they pierced the clouds, Matthew saw the sun shining over a clover field that floated in mid air. The rainbow stairs ended at its border. At open skies, a rectangular altar made of stone laid in the middle of the field. Resting upon the altar was the body of a man on a large green oval shield. He looked young, in his 30s, with long red hair and a small red beard. He had his eyes closed and blue spirals painted on his face. Wearing a red cloak that was tied with a gold brooch, a yellow linen shirt and green pants, he had his arms crossed over himself holding a sword with both hands. By his feet a harp of oak and gold rested as if untouched by time.

Around the altar, dozens of menhirs stood tall, painted with scenes of his life. His wedding with his beautiful wife. His battles alongside Dagda. His 3 sons playing the harps with him. Him partying with his friends. His last battle alone against the Foromians. His funeral where 8 black cats carried him on his shield the same way he was laying there.

Lumi and the Dullahan were already in combat with Samil, the bird throwing icicles at him while Goltraige used his sword against him.

Samil was surrounded by demonic mana. His fireballs were powerful enough to leave huge craters on the floor and the blast alone was enough to shake everyone. That kind of power, Matthew only saw in the hands of a demon king.

Lumi, himself, Ffyr and Goltraige were quick enough to get out of the way of the spells in time, but the ghostly soldiers that rushed upstairs were not. A single fireball destroyed 13 of them and sent another 8 flying away from the floating island into the lake below.

"Ffyr, stop the others from coming up." Matthew asked the fairy telepathically. "This fight is not for them."

Goltraige’s body was already giving up, but the Dullahan was not. Even hurt from the fight, he kept getting up. The fire on his neck was dim and almost vanishing.

Matthew made bullets rain on Samil, diverting his focus to him rather than the dwindling horseman.

Samil accepted his challenge, protecting himself with a solid mana wall and counterattacking with a rain of firebolts that Matthew easily avoided.

The warlock spell power was similar to the strength of Vine and Aym, but his speed was not. Matthew was faster than him. However, both knew that he only needed one spell to hit for that fight to be over.

Matthew got closer with Belial’s blade and missed a slash on Samil’s torso as the warlock teleported away.

As soon as Samil materialized, he shot another fireball at Matthew. Who evaded it by melding into shadows and jumping out of them close enough from the warlock to slash his nose.

"You bastard!" The man smiled, having fun.

With his hood now cut and falling down, Matthew could see him clearly. He had red eyes, long blond hair and was in his mid 50s. He was tall, but not strong. He was a bit fat and out of shape.

Matthew took a quick look around. Goltraige was on the floor struggling to get up. The ghost army and his friends were at the stairs realizing it would be difficult to join that battle and just watched from afar.

"It’s not fair to fight a mage in close quarters." Samil joked as he prepared a fire spell to throw at Matthew.

"Shut up." Matthew barked.

He then charged forward at full speed. He dodged the first fireball, but not the second which blew at his chest with full force. The shock of the explosion shook the floating island and those watching the fight gasped with dread.

Samil laughed.

But Matthew was wearing a red dragon scale armor that made him immune to fire. All he needed was to resist the force of the explosion, which he did with the aid of his Anesthesia skill.

He took the opportunity then that Samil’s vision was obscured by the debris and meld into the shadows, going behind the warlock’s back and trespassing him from behind with Belial’s blade that easily pierced the man’s body.

Dark blue flames erupted from the wound and the man screamed in pain. Matthew held him fast and twisted his blade inside of him.

"You got me, kid." He laughed.

As he struggled to get free, so weak that for Matthew it would be harder to hold a baby, Matthew tried to purify the demonic mana out of him.

However, once the demonic mana disappeared on the outside and Matthew tried to purify the last bit inside, Samil screamed even louder.

Matthew realized that he was like he was before. Part of the warlock’s soul was demonic.

Samil took the opportunity that Matthew got distracted upon realizing that and had time to teleport away from him.

"I underestimated you." He said using a spell to draw out the unholy fire from his wounds and hold it in midair.

Unholy fire was still fire and could be manipulated by a powerful Pyromancer with the Control Fire skill.

Samil threw the unholy flames back at Matthew that just purified it in mid air.

Matthew looked at the man and asked:

"Who are you?"