Gremlik’s initial plan had been to steal Erlik’s research and to take his place as the new ruler of Laruel. The first part had succeeded, but he had never expected that the Draugr would parlay with the Sapling instead of dominating it.
The need to obtain the Sapling’s consent made it impossible for Gremlik to take Erlik’s place, and with it his chance to Awaken. On top of that, even if the Grendel managed to escape from the city, he wouldn’t be able to use the stolen data.
Finding another Sapling and persuading it to share its knowledge was possible, but if Leannan had really unraveled Erlik’s plot, then the other city-states would lock the undead out to make sure that Laruel’s situation didn’t happen again.
Dying by the hand of the humans, being the Courts’ errand boy, or serving Erlik were all the same for him. Gremlik was tired of running away, tired of obeying to people who were barely half as smart as he was, but his power never seemed to match his ambition.
He pulled Ruin out of his chest and threw it away before charging at his enemies.
‘I have only one chance to get out of here on top. I need to survive until one of the new Sovereign is chosen. Then, I’ll see if all of my preparations pay off or if I’ve just wasted my life.’ Gremlik thought.
A group of fighters stumbled on the scene, but while Lith and the others had to spend more energy to get rid of the new enemies, Gremlik killed the undead and gobbled a wounded Fae. It was a far cry from filling his core, but enough to close his wounds.
Meanwhile, inside the Sapling’s barrier, between the darkness infused wooden spikes, the impending hail of spells, and Erlik’s giant form, Leannan the Titania had been painted into a corner.
Her only trick left was to fuse with the wooden floor and use the traitorous World Sapling as a shield.
“Curse you, Leannan. Come out and fight!” Erlik roared in outrage after seeing his best shot fail miserably. Not only the ability Leannan had employed was one of the many he had lost after being turned, but had also made him waste lots of mana.
Unlike true mages, a fake mage would consume their energy the moment they started to cast a spell, no matter if they completed it or not. Erlik wasn’t an Awakened, so he couldn’t follow the movements of the Titania’s energy signature while she moved inside the wood.
“Like you did after infiltrating my city?” Leannan’s voice oozed sarcasm. “You turned the Sapling against me, so it’s only fair for me to return you the favor.”
“We’ll see about that!” Erlik snarled, clawing at the floor with his giant hands. It would allow him to feed upon the Sapling, regain his lost strength, and smoke Leannan out.
She could have been everywhere, but thanks to the many extra limbs he had sprouted, the Draugr would cover the entirety of the floor, leaving her no choice but to face him or become his meal. Two birds with one stone.
The Sapling quaked once again in indignation. In all of its life, it had always been an apex predator, yet now it stooped as low as a dog infested with fleas. The Sapling hated being helpless while the undead kept sucking on its lifestream, but it had no choice.
To defend itself it needed either the help of a Sovereign or to completely come out of its slumber. The former had yet to be chosen while the latter would mean reducing the centuries left of its lifespan into a few decades.
The World Sapling’s pain intensified and Erlik shared it through their bond.
‘This doesn’t make sense. Even if all my followers were to feed upon the Sapling at the same time, it should be the equivalent of a mosquito bite to it. Why is it shaking so much and why do I feel such pain? The ritual was supposed to cut off our mind link.’ Erlik was right, of course.
The source of the pain they were both experiencing wasn’t the feeding, nor the ongoing battle outside the wooden arena. It was Leannan poisoning the tree with a massive amount of darkness magic that was being sucked in by the Draugr, poisoning him as well.
‘If I get out of here alive, I’ll make sure that this Sapling gets its due.’ Leannan thought. ‘I won’t stand living with such a fickle and egotistical creature. It has betrayed me once, it might as well do it again.’
Erlik reverted to his regular size while his bark started to fall apart. By feeding upon the darkness element, he had unknowingly allowed it to directly reach his blood core, causing it to collapse.
“I underestimated your ruthlessness, Sovereign.” Erlik’s body broke down, starting from his knees. Too weakened to bear his massive weight, they snapped and forced him to kneel. “I thought that you Fae considered the Sapling as a sacred being.
“Tainting its very essence with darkness magic might shorten its lifespan…”
Leannan’s right hand bloomed behind the Draugr, slowly and without making a sound. It unleashed a tier five darkness spell that turned him into dust.
‘It’s over, you damn fool!’ Leannan’s thoughts were louder than a scream. ‘I won the duel, reaffirming my right to rule and proving you that there’s nothing undead can offer you that I can’t. Now stop blocking dimensional magic and kill the invaders.’
The Sapling’s reply surprised the Titania. During all those years, she had never heard the ancient tree wail.
‘What did you do to me? First, your allies attacked me, then you poisoned me, and now this? Cease your attack immediately!’ The Sapling’s words made no sense to her. The creature was in agony, making all of its threats sound empty.
The ancient Fae was screaming non-stop, refusing to obey even the simplest of her orders.
‘I’m not doing anything. Stop the fight before more plant folk die because of your madness!’ Leannan thought.
‘She’s right, old fool. It’s me.’ Gremlik’s voice interrupted their conversation.
‘I didn’t work so hard just to become someone else’s pawn so I spiced up Erlik’s tissues with a bit of my own. My plan was to use them to get rid of him once he killed Leannan, but I guess this will have to do.
‘Beware, you World Moron, a Grendel’s tissues aren’t as kind as a Draugr’s. They’re spreading through your roots even as we speak, devouring everything in their path.’
With Erlik’s death, the plague had disappeared from Laruel and all the infected had been cured. The only exception was the Draugrlings that were still walking toward the Sapling and the bundles of tissues that had allowed Erlik to commune with the Sapling before it could bestow its blessing upon him.
Those were the only tissues that Gremlik had contaminated with his own, keeping them as his last trump card.
The Draugrlings screamed in agony as the entirety of their bodies was shaken by both the death of their former master and the rise of their new one. Their sudden transformation threw the protectors of Laruel into a panic.
Being replicas of Erlik, the treehouses had resembled a Treant, whereas now they assumed the monstrous appearance of Grendels. The creatures were much more voracious now, making the plant folk a measly meal for them.
