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Page 3819

Yes. Real flesh. Not a trick. Not another illusion. He felt the crunch of bone, tasted the blood, and sensed the wound in the soul.

Ettol struggled. Of course he did. Flailed at him. Cast out more illusions. Attempts to overload Koh’s senses. Attempts to pierce his mind’s newly reforged protective barrier.

All in vain. In a few more seconds, Ettol would be in his stomach. Torn from this realm once again. On his way back.

There was something, though. A pang of guilt. Pity. Not for Ettol, but for the flesh he inhabited. Having spent so much time with him, Koh knew of the particularly strange nature of Ettol’s current incarnation.

Of the poor boy named Jonah whose mind persisted alongside Ettol’s. A boy who had never agreed to incarnation. A boy who had always rebelled against it to no avail.

Even while consumed with the rage of the Hunt, there was still a place in Koh’s heart that wept for the boy. Might there yet be some way to rescue him from this madness? Was it not too late?

Folly. Of course it was. The Prime Hunt must continue. Collateral damage was nothing new. ‘Twas a tale as old as he. He was only feeling this way because he’d spent so much time with Jonah. Because he’d become so familiar with the boy’s struggle for existence.

Because on some level, it struck a deeply personal chord. Because he understood it just a bit too well.

Which was, no doubt, yet another of Ettol’s machinations. A subtle play, long in the making.

And damn him, Koh found himself hesitating. Just enough. A few more seconds. And then a few more still. Putting it off. Playing with his food. Ragdolling the flesh around in his mouth instead of simply chewing through and devouring it.

Someone had reacted. A powerful soul coming to Ettol’s defense. Koh sensed it. Knew the problem in advance. And he could have hurried himself along. Could’ve finished this already.

But he didn’t. He let the interloper reach him in time.

And when Gohvis’ hands found his bloody maw, Koh knew this was about to get much more complicated. He’d missed his chance to keep everything simple.

Because that was no mere projection of the Black Scourge. Koh could tell after having wrestled and brawled with the projection so many times in recent days.

Here and now, this was the real thing.

Page 3818

He recognized this legion. The Mendocava, some called them in this world. Or the Void Riders. But their true name was much more mundane. They were of the Outerdark Patrol. An endless division belonging to the Lord of Bones, who preferred his minions to maintain a skeletal or rotting visage.

This was predictable, of course. The legions of the Bone Lord were usually at the periphery of the kingdom, so it was only natural that they would be the quickest to respond to his call.

Koh might’ve preferred one of the dragon legions, instead. He was on better terms with them. As a reckless young pup, he’d harassed the Bone Lord and his legions quite a bit, so they probably did not harbor much love for him.

But oh well. They were still his brethren of the Dark. They would serve just fine here.

And then he felt it. Full control. Full dominance over this blackened, hulking body of his.

He badly wanted to let loose and run down Ettol at this very moment, but he held the howl for a while longer so that the Patrol could finish crossing the bridge.

And he sent them silent word, as well. They needed to know who was friend and who was foe.

Unfortunately, even Koh himself only knew so much about that. He was keenly aware of how this situation must have been appearing to all of the onlooking servants. Most likely, none of them would understand what was happening, other than the fact that he was perhaps more powerful than any of them.

So he told the Patrol to ignore anyone who did not attack them first. Whether that would actually be enough to avoid utter mayhem here was questionable. Fear would no doubt play a role in these events today.

But he couldn’t allow anyone to get in the way of the Prime Hunt. Especially now, when he finally had his most elusive prey in sight.

And then, at last, he let himself free. The howl ended, and with it, his gargantuan form torpedoed across the drizzling battlefield, straight toward Ettol, whose presence he’d locked onto right away.

There was no escape now, Trickster.

There was an illusory form in the way. A false target. Even now, Koh only sensed it at the last moment. He blitzed through it and pursued the real one, concealed beneath a cloak of supposed Invisibility.

Found you.

His teeth sunk into Ettol’s flesh.