98
The best part of having Neve join the fight is that she helpfully snap-freezes mages so that you and Tarquin can shatter them with your swords. True, it’s pretty grim… but it’s also kind of fun, especially given that these particular mages would have happily seen you dead mere moments ago.
As she’s setting them up and the two of you are knocking them down, you spot something out of the corner of your eye—a mage with an ornate blade who’s not using it on anyone else. Instead, she’s using it to slice her own arm.
Great, you think. Blood magic. But what kind?
You don’t have to wait long to find out. A demon emerges in front of her, tall and twisted and covered in writhing tentacles. You’re not sure what kind it is—not one you’ve seen before—but you’re not too worried about making sure it’s not an endangered species.
You begin hacking at its weird, slimy tentacles, but as fast as you cut them off, they grow back.
