[i]The battle against the noisome amalgam, fresh from reality's conflux, continues...[/i]

[hr]

With all eyes on the many-eyed one, nobody noticed -or if so, deigned to help deal with- the debris falling from the ceiling in steadily increasing quantities.  A chunk of masonry, robbed of its support as the wall that held it aloft melted like candlewax beneath the Beholder's ruby-red glare, cracked against Emile's hunched-over back just shy of terminal altitude.  Although the pain and surprise tore a half-cry, half-swear from his beak, he was surprised to discover that the piece of stone didn't in fact kill him.  After a moment's thought he came to the conclusion that the ample protection of his gear in Yggdrasil had also somehow transitioned along with the clothing itself, making it sturdier than should be possible for a fancified overcoat.  Of course, he didn't waste much time thinking about bricks and clothes.  The not-so-small matter of Liana's rampant monstrosity floated just overhead.

As one might expect, the other occupants of the guild hall did not stand idle.  First into the fray sprinted Revenmar, completely unburdened by the sudden change that so profoundly perturbed the assembled lesser gods, as the complacent archangel Lexus might put it.  His tremendous shield bash pushed the floating aberration into the wall, its weight hastening the destruction of Apocalypse Now's entire left side, and from its body three of the characteristic eye-stalks plummeted to the tiled floor.

The malformed tentacles dislodged by blunt force alone, however, parted ways with the Beholder's body in the same way as dead stalks might a garden plant: their pruning left only the functional ones intact.  However, another moment was fated to pass before the beast might put them to use; scarcely had it bounced back from its sudden introduction to the wall than another dashing figure shot up from below to assail it.  A gush of pigs' blood sprayed from the gaping wound Sapphire put in its back, prompting from the fleshy freak an otherworldly scream before it once more projected its beam of annihilation, angling it as fast as possible to evaporate its new attacker.  Far faster than her quarry could turn, the pristine lodestar buried her signature weapon in its repulsive hide.  Just as quickly she departed, a final few parting shots tearing slabs of meat from its exterior.

By that time, the pain had galvanized the hovering horror into action.  With its main eye recovering from a pair of arrows as ordinary as they were well-aimed, it explored an alternate form of attack.  From each of the eye clusters in the remaining stalks a colored ray burst forth, thinner but of comparable magical might.  In addition to the crimson-red heat ray, it blasted forth a yellow paralyzing ray and blue energetic ray that caused delayed explosions.  These smaller rays spewed in every direction, each stalk whirling around violently like a high-pressure hose dropped on the ground.  In an matter of seconds, the scene had transformed into a lethal disco.

Before the hideous thing could whip its lasers through the entire building, however, a magic miasma surrounded it.  The unassuming village girl, having instantly figured out how to use her magic, lambasted it with debilitating hexes.  One after another the effects piled up, and with the majority being crowd-control conditions like Stun, Daze, Heavy, Blind, Stupor, and Sleep, the Beholder's movement slowed to a crawl.  Its blazing beams traced alarming but now laughably slow paths across and through the walls, taking a few seconds to bisect even normal-sized tables and sofas.  

Having regained his senses, along with a surge of energy, Emile felt now was a good chance.  He reached around to his belt, grabbed the Galecycler -which he'd only just remembered he possessed- and aimed upward.  [color=5D8AA8]"Here goes nothin'."[/color]  The Beholder's unprotected underside made for an easy shot, and a simple pull on the trigger released a volley of art bolts to puncture it before exploding.  Had the strigiforme still been wearing his helmet, his visor's right eye could have told him that the meat monster's condition was 'critical'.  No matter how formidable, a creature could take only so much punishment from beings with twice its power, particularly when weakened by dark hexes.  

Perhaps sensing the aberration's condition, an ominous figure clad in black plate drew her dread claymore and moved in for the coup de grâce.  A vile, malefic corona surrounded Kallahar, hard to look at for everyone present but indiscriminately oppressive to all those near her, and in a black flash she darted toward the Beholder.  As she bore down on its eye, the scarlet beam burst forth once again to wash over the Dread Knight, but it was too late.  Her sword split the flesh construct's great eye as easy as an axe might split a watermelon, and with a final scream the eyes of the unholy wretch popped in explosions of viscera.

The bulk of its corpse, plummeting while Kallahar floated thanks to her Etherfloat, hurtled down toward Emile, Liana, Senna, December, Lexus, and Selena.  Already looking upward, the Comet Chaser sprang into action.  [color=5D8AA8]"Go!"[/color]  Holding his niece close with his one free hand, Emile leaped out of the way, and for an instant a burst of aether surrounded him to propel him out of harm's way.  The remainder of the group standing near the bar, over which the Beholder had been floating, would have to deal with the disgusting mass for themselves.

Those directly beneath the newly-dispatched nightmare's body were not, however, the only ones in danger.  Begun by the Beholder's original beam and hastened by the spray of its stalks' lasers, the guild hall's destruction was drawing dangerously close.  The telltale sounds of crumbling stone and splintering wood suggested that everyone within protect themselves or flee, and indeed, pieces were already falling from the ceiling as the walls crumbled beneath it.  Enough time remained for everyone to grab only one of Apocalypse Now's random items before the room's collapse destroyed everything else.

For his part, Emile could very well see that the roof was about to cave.  He stood to his feet, Liana following suit, and without needing to communicate the two rushed toward an opening in the wall to escape outside.  The chaos of the situation drove Liana to move almost without realizing it, her lack of proper legs forgotten for the moment.  As he sprinted by with his niece on his heels, Emile bent down and scooped up his helmet from where it lay on the floor, slightly dented from a fallen brick but otherwise none the worse for wear.

The next moment, he and Liana were outside, but with hearts pounding they continued to run for about twenty-five feet before coming to a dead stop at the edge of a dead drop.  [color=5D8AA8]”Whoa!  When the hell'd we get on a mountain!?”[/color]  Emile blinked, staring off into the night.  The moonlight lit up a beautiful and unfamiliar landscape, stretching as far as the eye could see.

A crash from behind forced the two to turn around.  Remembering the gear in his hands, Emile put on his helmet and put away the Galecycler as he watched the guild hall fall apart.  In between pangs of sheer astonishment and disbelief at the current turn of events, he hoped that everyone had made it out alright; of course, everyone was probably powerful enough that even a roof caving in on their heads didn't count as serious injury.  He made his way along the edge of the cliff toward the front of the building, where there was a good amount of open ground to stand on, with Liana following in numb silence.  Perhaps everyone would gather there, away from the ruined building's choking dust.  Emile hoped so.  [i]We gotta put our heads together and make sense of this situation.  Things happening too fast.  Has this fantasy world really become...?[/i]  It hurt to think about it, even if he given the idea preliminary acceptance.