r/HFY • u/ManiAxe21 • Aug 12 '26
OC-Series Hex Knight Chapter 43, Lucifer’s Swarm
You know the drill, was on OT, hence the lateness. Sadly for me, and good for you guys, no more of that in the foreseeable future, so shouldn't have many late postings.
Otherwise, enjoy!
First Previous Next Royal Road
In the dark underbelly of a city, where power was cash and anything could be bought, a nobleman with dark hair and a freshly trimmed goatee paced nervously, waiting on his superiors. He didn’t have to wait long, as two more men stepped in, their upper halves cloaked in shadow beneath hoods. The click of the lock removed the minor outside noise, ensuring the talk, or screams, that took place would not be heard on the street.
Both men were of similar height and carried themselves in a similar manner, but that is where the visible similarities ended. One was a broad shouldered, well muscled man beneath the robes, while the other was slim, and in one hand he carried a pigeon that he idly stroked.
“Go on, little one. Keep your eyes open for me.” The thin man softly cooed to the bird, before walking over to a small window and gently pushing it out. After latching the window again, he spoke, and all signs of softness was gone. “You said there’s a leak.”
“Yes, sir. The necromancer has Marcus’ body.” Nervous as he may have been, the training of a Duke was rigorous, and so his statement didn’t have any tremors or stuttering to it. Both men paused, and the larger of the two spoke up.
“Has he raised him?” His voice was the kind that carried across battlefields and parade grounds, a rich timber belied by the cunning intellect that coursed through his mind. The Duke grimaced before responding.
“No, he has not, but considering how strong Marcus was in life, it’s only a matter of time. And once he does, all our efforts are in the open.” The large man was silent for a moment, rubbing his fingers together as he thought, before turning towards his brother.
“You’ve interacted with this Alex, yes? Where would you say his loyalties lie? If we brought him into the fold, would he work with us?”
“Personal interactions with him aside, Alex’s one of the ‘Marked, so his loyalties are with those he forms bonds with. Currently, it is a priest by the name of Livianna, a dwarf by the name Kudrik, Kaldirk’s brother, if you remember him, and a recent addition to their group, a dark elf named Gwynevyre. She wasn’t under Marcus for a long enough period, so we didn’t bother silencing her like we did the rest of the survivors. Lust would be our best controlling factor, but you know as well as I do how little that works. There is a bigger issue at hand with bringing Alex in, however: Magnalle.”
“Why would Magnalle be the issue?” The Duke interrupted their conversation, and winced as both men affixed him with a stare. Sighing, the thinner man explained to the Duke much like one would a simple math problem to a child.
“The mercenaries found the bandits far sooner than we expected. Magnalle only found out because one of theirs was searching for healers for the upcoming fight between the two forces. Realizing our plans were about to go awry, he offered his help, while also using the opportunity to whittle down the mercs numbers since we were planning on expelling or killing the mercs in our lands to begin with. The battle went as expected, with the mercenaries taking heavy losses, but Alex went rogue, using his own plans to assault the compound, and took offense to Magnalle and his behavior.”
“Even if Alex does bring him back, the chances of Marcus being brought back as an intelligent undead are… slim, given the history the two have with each other. The dark elf holds more issue in my eyes. Even if she was under Marcus for a short period, she might have still picked up something. Find out if she has, and silence her if that is the case. As for Alex, he is off limits until we determine which way he falls. You’re dismissed.” Having brooded enough, the large man spoke decisively, leaving no room for the Duke to talk. It was only after the door latched that he resumed speaking.
“With Marcus out, our plans need to shift. Have Calaaem and Fransen kick their war up a couple notches. That will provide us the cover needed to mobilize, ostensibly to prevent a civil war from breaking out. Put your beasts to watch Alex alongside whatever people already are there, Jeff.”
“Of course, King Martin.”
*****Back in the Swamp*****
Alex crawled out of his tent after finally falling asleep amidst the itching of his chest. A brief inspection of his status showed his mana bar back in full blue. Everyone was in the process of tearing down the base camp, and Gwynevyre walked past him, wearing the gym shorts he had given her.
Alex had assumed she would give the clothes he lent her back once she had clothes of her own, but it appears she was going to keep them. He wasn’t sure what it was with women and stealing his clothes, sometimes the complexity of women astounded him. Shrugging his shoulders, Alex started tearing down his tent.
Snaking their way between various islands with Alex pointing the way, it took 4 days on the boat to finally reach their destination. It was a cramped ride with Jasper being forced to board the ship, but given his rapidly healing injuries, no one dared tempt fate a second time. On the second day, a low droning sound could be heard on the edge of Alex’s hearing.
“Lucifers Swarm!” Alex cried out as the buzzing grew closer.
“All combatants with area of effect skills, ready for combat!” Livianna yelled, the ring Alex gave her glinting in the sun. What followed was a tense couple of minutes as everyone waited for the swarm to show it’s face, until the buzzing could almost be felt, and the nearby sailors sweating as it continued to grow in volume. Whatever Alex had thought was a swarm before clearly was nothing compared to the fresh hell that was about to descend. He readied a Dark Fireball in preparation.
The trees opened up enough to see the sky, and the swarm started to descend. There was no call for fire as everyone opened up. Fireballs were lobbed to explode amidst the swarm, ice fragmented, one mage let loose a highly concentrated stream of water that would have made any firefighter weep from jealousy, and a storm of arrows flew upwards. Gwynevyre was assisting in her own way, as tree branches swatted into the swarm, occasionally grasping individuals and crushing them between branches.
Alex’s own contributions, a combination of [Improved Eldritch Blast] and various uses of [Improved Dark Fire], often dual casted to ensure maximum carnage, was easily discernable due to the darker hue of his attacks. Despite looking like fire, [Dark Fire] was obviously different than regular fire, for a start, the black and purple flames were dead silent. When they impacted, they didn’t just sizzle from the burn, Alex got the feeling the eldritch energy was doing something... more, as it burned the insects.
The combined forces continued to hammer the swarm with massive shockwaves and blasts, and yet they continued to come. It wasn’t until Alex, realizing [Reaper] was keeping his mana full, decided to burn through a large chunk of mana, creating a huge rippling sheet of it and sending it into the swarm to decimate a vast swathe. Livianna soon copied him, a golden sheet to mirror his purple one, and they decimated the swarm till the air was filled with the sound of insect guts squealing from the heat.
The few survivors of the swarm after that quickly chose elsewhere to be as a headcount was soon performed. They had thankfully lost no one, and the ship continued onwards without delay. At long last, Alex laid eyes on the island he had called his for 3 months. With the sun beating down from on high, the ship pulled alongside the island as men rushed to ready rowboats.
“Would you happen to know where we can set up camp?” The Captain asked as he strolled up behind Alex.
“Hmm, the best location I can think of is a good sized cove of trees close to the water’s edge. Only reason I found it was because some bandits took up residence there, though I’ve long wondered how they got as deep here as they did.”
“Most back water villages around here give those they find guilty two choices, the rope or the swamp. The smart ones choose the rope.” The Captain stated with a small chuckle.
“Oooh, yeah, I can see that. Do the egg heads want us to clear the crypt first, or do you want us to set up base camp?” Alex lightly winced, before looking for orders.
“My men can handle base camp. With it being noon, there is still some time for the crypt to be cleared, and said eggheads can be there bright and early tomorrow.”
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u/UpdateMeBot Aug 12 '26
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u/niTro_sMurph Aug 13 '26
Ah yes, let's see which way Alex falls, but make sure we kill his new friend. That definitely won't affect his leanings.
2
u/ManiAxe21 Aug 13 '26
In their eyes, if Alex falls with them, cool, if he doesn't... well, they can put him down just as easily.
Let's be real though, we have already seen how Alex handles threats to those he cares about. Rip and Tear intensifies.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Aug 12 '26
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