Chapter 55: VOLK MAGIC
Slowly, one by one, the Orcs who had been frozen in fear began to stir, their eyes blinking open as if waking from a nightmare.
At first, they were confused, glancing at one another, their faces filled with a mix of terror and bewilderment.
Each Orc had remembered they had transformed into their fearsome Grum-gar forms, their bodies hulking and monstrous, but now, they became an Orc again.
But they couldn't remember why.
The last thing they recalled was being surrounded by the oppressive energy of Zenveil's magic, the Warlock's terrifying presence making them feel like prey.
But now... what had happened?
One of the older Orcs, Gurrak, a grizzled warrior with a scar running across his face, rubbed his temples as he tried to piece together the missing moments.
"What... what is this?" he muttered, his voice low and hoarse. "Where are we? What happened?"
Another Orc, a younger one named Brakk, staggered to his feet, still shaking off the fog of confusion.
"I... I remember transforming," Brakk said, his voice uncertain. "But... after that? Nothing. It's like...
my mind went blank."
"Same here," said another Orc, Torgash, his eyes wide with bewilderment. "One moment, I was ready to charge... then it's just darkness."
They all exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to make of their situation.
The cave was still dark and foreboding, but something had shifted.
It was as though the power that had held them captive had lifted, and now, in its place, there was a different energy—one that felt wild and unpredictable.
Suddenly, a booming voice broke through the silence.
It came from an Orc a little farther from the group, his body still towering in his Grum-gar form, radiating an aura of immense power.
The Orc's muscles bulged, and his eyes glowed with a strange, almost otherworldly energy as he raised his head and shouted into the air:
"VOLK," it shouted, making them awake to realize they are still in the cave, "THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE THERE IS!!!"
The words echoed through the cavern like a thunderclap, jolting the rest of the Orcs from their stupor.
They turned toward the source of the voice, their eyes widening in shock.
"Volk?" one of them whispered, disbelief clear in his voice.
The others were equally stunned.
They recognized the Orc standing before them—it was Volk, a member of their own Dreadmaw Clan. But this wasn't the same Volk they knew.
His form was far more massive, more menacing, his entire body pulsing with a dangerous energy.
There was something primal about him now, something... different.
"Grum-gar form?"
As the Orcs watched, their eyes glued to Volk, they saw him suddenly swing his fist through the air like a whip, the motion impossibly fast. And then, without warning, a large magic circle appeared before him, glowing with an eerie green light.
"Swoosh!"
A cloud of spores burst from the magic circle, exploding into the air and drifting toward something enormous in the distance.
The Orcs squinted, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.
Through the haze of the spores, they caught sight of a massive three-headed dog, its enormous frame towering over everything else in the cave.
The sheer size of the beast sent a wave of fear through the group, but before their terror could take hold, something strange happened.
The moment the spores touched the dog, its entire demeanor changed. At first, nothing seemed to happen.
The dog stood still, its three heads unmoving. But then, after a few heartbeats, one of the heads—the one that resembled a vicious scarred pitbull—suddenly threw its head back and howled.
"Woooooo!"
The Orcs exchanged confused glances as the dog continued to howl, not in pain or anger, but in pure, unfiltered happiness.
"Woooooo! Woooooo!"
The head howled again and again, its eyes half-lidded in what seemed like utter bliss.
"What... what's happening?" one of the Orcs muttered, utterly baffled by the sight. "Why is it sounding so... happy?"
None of them could comprehend what they were seeing.
The massive war beast, which had been a symbol of death and destruction moments before, was now... howling with joy.
The sight was both surreal and terrifying, after all, everyone is afraid of unknown.
Meanwhile, Zenveil, who had been riding atop the monstrous dog, was fuming.
His face twisted with rage as he glared at Volk, his pride shredded by the absurdity of what was happening. His mouth curled into a snarl, his voice shaking with fury.
"This... this is an abomination! How can you wield magic like this?!" Zenveil roared, his eyes burning with hatred. "Magic cannot be spammed! There are rules, preparations, and limits! You can't just throw out attacks like they're nothing!
This is impossible!"
But Volk ignored Zenveil's rant. His attention was fixed on the system screen hovering before his eyes.
| Ding!
| Effect: Paradise Illusion.
| Would you like to use another Nuclear Devastation Botanical Strike? |
A grin spread across Volk's face, wild and untamed. He could feel the power coursing through him, surging like a tidal wave.
The energy of the Radioactive form amplified everything, making him feel invincible.
Zenveil was still screaming at the top of his lungs, commanding the dog to move, but it wasn't obeying.
One of the heads continued to howl with glee, utterly lost in the illusion, while the other two were locked in place, confused by their companion's behavior.
"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! DAMN YOU!" Zenveil shouted, his voice frantic, but no matter how hard he tried to command the beast, it wouldn't budge.
Volk chuckled darkly, his voice low and dangerous. "FUNNY WARLOCK PUPPY…"
With a swift motion, he punched the air again, his fist colliding with the atmosphere like a thunderbolt.
Another magic circle appeared, deep green and crackling with energy.
In an instant, another wave of spores shot forward, enveloping the massive three-headed dog.
Zenveil's eyes widened with horror as he watched the spores take hold. "NO! NO! NO! NOT AGAIN!"
The spores swirled around the beast, and this time, it was the left head that reacted.
The left head, which had been glaring at Volk with fury moments before, suddenly became dazed, its movements sluggish and erratic.
It blinked rapidly, as if trying to shake off some invisible fog.
Then, without warning, the left head snapped toward the center, its jaws clamping down on the middle head with a loud kgmraaag!
The middle head let out a pitiful whimper, and the entire beast staggered under the force of the bite.
Zenveil, caught off-guard by the sudden shift, was thrown from his perch atop the center dog, tumbling to the ground with a loud KABAM!
The Orcs watching from the side were speechless, their jaws hanging open in shock. "What... what is happening?" one of them whispered, his voice barely audible.
Volk stood tall, his chest heaving with exertion, but his smile was full of satisfaction.
He glanced at the system screen once again, reading the latest update.
| Ding!
| Effect: Confusion. |
Volk's grin widened.
This was too good.
He was ready to drive another punch, eager to see what the next attack would bring. But before he could move, Zenveil, now sprawled on the ground, screamed with a voice filled with pure, unadulterated rage.
"ENOUGH!!!"
The sheer force of Zenveil's shout echoed through the cavern, and in an instant, an explosion of dark energy erupted from the Warlock's body, flooding the cave with a violent shockwave.
The ground beneath Volk's feet trembled, and for a split second, everything was chaos.