Chapter 487 - Everything is Destructible (Patreon)

With a roar, Zeke swung his hammer, but it did no good.  The spectral monsters were completely incorporeal, and no matter how hard he swung, the attacks did nothing more than elicit a slight flicker in the green energy that composed their forms.  Meanwhile, they piled atop him, latching on with insubstantial claws and draining his strength as well as the mana coursing through him. 

He knew he needed to do something – anything – different, or he’d end up as a dried-out husk, devoid of mana or power.  If that happened, he would die.  For the first time in quite a while, he felt a tendril of fear slither up his spine.  Danger was nothing new, but foes he couldn’t fight certainly were novel. 

“Don’t panic,” Eveline cautioned, her voice sounding like it was coming from within a deep well.  It echoed around his mind, distorted and barely audible.  “The fear is part of their attack!”

Zeke had no idea what she meant. 

At least at first.  But after she screamed the same thing a few more times, it felt like the dam of understanding shattered.  Suddenly, he felt the tiny threads of mana that had somehow bypassed [Bulwark of the Triumvirate].  Most were rebuffed by the mental skill, but a few had managed to slither through the cracks he hadn’t even known were there and wrap themselves around his thoughts. 

Now that he saw them for what they were, he knew precisely what to do.

Stomping his foot, Zeke used [Hell Geyser], but instead of sending a line of destruction to tear across the landscape, he aimed it directly beneath his feet.  And a second later, the ground erupted into a geyser of fire and earth.  Normally, that would have done nothing against the spectral ratongi.  Yet, Zeke had expected that weakness, and he’d chosen to counter it by lacing the skill with a tiny bit of his mightily destructive Will. 

At the same time, he aimed more of that destructive might inward, pulsing it through his body. 

The results were both powerful and predictable.

The ghostly figures screeched in torment as the destructive flames ripped them to pieces, and Zeke felt the fear-inducing tendrils of mental energy being torn asunder.  However, when the fires and earth settled, he was more than a little disappointed to see that more than half of those spectral monsters had managed to survive the onslaught. 

For his part, he had felt the bite of his own power as well.  Yet, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it would have been before upgrading [Triune Colossus] to [Titan].  The evolved form of the skill was far more durable – he’d known that from the very beginning – but it was also far better equipped to deal with the rampaging energies of the skill and his Will. 

Perhaps [Titan] did more than simply increase his physical attributes.  Maybe it had enhanced his resistances as well. 

Regardless, Zeke knew that he couldn’t afford to investigate further, because the surviving monsters had already begun to return.  And they looked even angrier than before.  More distressingly, they also felt more powerful, almost as if the deaths of the others had somehow empowered the remaining ghosts. 

So, he repeated his actions, once again utilizing the destruction-laced [Hell Geyser] to destroy the remainder.  However, the same pattern emerged.  Some were destroyed, but the ones that survived were further empowered.  And when Zeke used [Hell Geyser] a third time, it was almost entirely ineffective. 

Of the thousand of spectral ratongi, only ten remained.  Yet, those had harnessed the power of all the rest, growing in might as well as size until they rivaled Zeke’s [Titan] form. 

“Any suggestions?” he asked. 

“Stall,” Eveline remarked.

“For what?” was his responding question.

“For the girl.  You don’t feel it?” Eveline answered.

That’s when Zeke let his awareness spread out across the ruins.  At first, he didn’t feel anything but the powerful specters.  But then, he detected a ripple of power a few hundred yards away.  A second later, he felt another.  Then another after that.  Only then did he realize what he felt.

“She’s chasing the witchdoctor,” Zeke guessed.  He couldn’t even see her, she was moving so quickly.  Nor could he see Talia’s foe.  Instead, they were engaged in a furious chase that he couldn’t even perceive.  “Is the ratongi moving as fast as her?”

“No,” Eveline said.  Then, she indicated a position a few hundred feet away.  For a brief second, Zeke saw the witchdoctor appear, only to disappear an instant later.  “It’s teleporting.”

“What do I do?  How can I help?” he asked.  He’d considered using [Wrath of Annihilation], but he’d decided against it because of the collateral damage it would wreak on the environment.  If Talia got caught in that explosion, she would be ripped to pieces.  And that was saying nothing about the staff that was their goal.  No – Zeke didn’t dare use his most powerful attack. 

His others were just as useless, considering he couldn’t catch up to the creature’s rapid teleportation.  Perhaps he could get lucky and catch it with a swipe from Voromir’s ability.  However, in his experience, relying on luck – as opposed to overwhelming power – was a good way to end up dead. 

“I told you already.  Stall,” Eveline said.  “Kill as many of these ghosts as you can, and trust your friend to hold up her end of the bargain.”

“I don’t like that,” Zeke said.

“Because you’re a control freak,” she remarked.  “And no – that’s not a compliment.  Just let her do her part.  She needs this, and so do you.  Plus, it’s the only way you’re going to kill this thing without destroying everything in a three-mile radius.”

“That strategy has worked so far.”

“Rampant destruction is not always the right answer.”

“Agree to disagree on that one,” Zeke said, backing away from the oncoming spirits.  It seemed that they’d finally chosen to act, which meant that Zeke didn’t have time to continue the conversation.  Indeed, as they charged – or glided across the ground – he could only hope that Talia could indeed do her part.

                          *

Talia ducked beneath an enormous, green claw, sliding across the ground before popping back up.  Her speed was such that a move like that should have launched her hundreds of yards across the landscape.  But her high dexterity and potent skills gave her supernatural control over her own body.  In short, natural laws such as inertia and momentum had ceased to hold sway over her movement. 

A good thing, too, because without that caveat, utilizing her incredible speed would have been entirely impossible. 

As she regained her feet, Talia raced across the terrain, her feet barely touching the ground as she gained on the rapidly teleporting witchdoctor.  But as quickly as she covered that ground, the monster was quicker, and it teleported away before she reached her destination. 

Frustrated, Talia pushed herself even harder.  She struggled to go faster.  [Unliving Speed] had been an enormous upgrade over [Alacrity of Undeath], but when the monster could teleport and instantly cover hundreds of yards, Talia’s speed counted for very little.  The only solace was that she had managed to keep it busy, preventing it from offering more than token attacks like the spectral claw she’d just dodged.

Another such claw manifested, sweeping down with thunderous force.  Talia kicked off the ground, propelling herself to the side just in time to avoid the impact.  However, it sent a rippling shockwave across the earth, eliciting a brief stumble.  She recovered quickly, but even that tiny delay was enough to give the witchdoctor an opening of attack. 

It appeared next to her, slamming its palm into her chest. 

Talia’s entire system went wild.  Her body seized, her every muscle cramping while her mana went out of control.  Her active skills cancelled, and her momentum reasserted itself, sending her cartwheeling across the terrain only to come to a rest a few moments later. 

Broken bones protested as she attempted to pick herself up, but she ignored the pain.  Looking down, Talia could see shards of bone protruding from her thigh, where they’d ripped through her pants.  Blood – green and vibrant – surrounded her, and she could feel her life waning. 

In the past, she might have considered letting it overtake her.  Back then, her grip on her continued existence was tenuous at best, and she’d often considered simply giving up.  However, since her ascension – and coming to Darukar – she’d found purpose as well as friendship. 

So, the thought of giving in never really manifested.  Instead, she yanked a bottle of Heartsblood Elixir from her pouch, popped the cork, then swallowed the contents.  Immediately, Talia felt the vitality flowing through her, and she redirected the powerful energy into [Recovery].  It was the simply named evolution of [Focused Reformation], and it had been a huge upgrade. 

Instantly, Talia’s body mended.  Her bones snapped back into place, and her pale flesh knitted itself together.  In addition, she felt that her store of mana had completely recovered as well.  Finally, a tiny trickle of vitality continued to suffuse her, and she knew from experience that it would work toward healing any damage she sustained for the next hour. 

But with that power came limits.  The skill was only usable once every few hours, regardless of how many hearts she consumed – either via mastication or by way of Heartsblood Elixirs – which meant that, if she incurred enough damage to outpace the trickle of healing, she would die. 

  Regardless, it saved her life, and not just because of the healing itself.  Indeed, the witchdoctor, clearly thinking that she was vulnerable, had finally ceased its constant teleportation and had reappeared beside her. 

Talia, in perfect condition, launched herself at the monster.  She used [Frigid Claws] and [Plague Strike], enveloping her claws in a swirl of white and green.  The former was the evolution of [Chill of Undeath], and though its effects hadn’t changed with the skill’s transformation, they had grown far more potent.  As a result, the slowing effect was incredibly effective.  [Plague Strike] remained unchanged because she’d had no luck in trying to upgrade it. 

Even as she threw herself forward, she used [Calcification], extending and hardening her claws.  They ripped into the unsuspecting witchdoctor, eviscerating the monster with seven furious strikes before it recovered its wits enough to teleport away.  However, before it disappeared, Talia opened her mouth wide and used [Bone Rot], which was one of her new skills. 

A cloud of black smoke erupted from between her lips, enveloping the monster.  It disappeared a second later, but Talia felt certain that the skill had done its job, which was to weaken her foe’s endurance by a large degree. 

And when the thing reappeared a second later – almost a hundred yards away – it stumbled, falling into one of the ruined buildings.  That’s when Talia pounced, racing across the intervening distance to bury her elongated claws in the creature’s stomach.  They only managed to go a few inches in, but that was enough for her to deliver another dose of [Frigid Claws] and [Plague Strike].  More importantly, she used her other hand to activate [Flood of Death].  She didn’t bother aiming it.  Instead, the concentrated rot erupted out of her in a wave of pure, black death. 

It crashed into the witchdoctor like a physical thing, and the creature panicked, teleporting away once again.  When it reappeared, it was only a few dozen yards away.  That told Talia that she was making progress. 

However, that didn’t mean the monster was down for the count.  Indeed – it was a level eight-seven powerhouse, which meant that it had stores of endurance and vitality that dwarfed her own. 

With that in mind, she continued to chase the monster across the landscape.  Vaguely, she was aware of Zeke’s furious battle with the curious specters, but she couldn’t spare any attention for that.  If anyone was suited to survive such a situation, it was him.  He would endure, just like he always did.

For her part, Talia engaged every point of agility and dexterity to keep up with the witchdoctor.  Even with it having been weakened, the task was nearly insurmountable.  If it wasn’t for the fact that it clearly didn’t specialize in endurance or strength, she never could have made any progress.  But as it was, she was barely capable of whittling it down. 

Still, it took hours which, because of Talia’s increased speed – and the perception that came with it – every passing second felt like an eternity.  Even so, she kept going, maintaining her focus even when her concentration began to wane. 

And gradually, her efforts bore fruit.  The monster slowed with every attack, and it clearly didn’t have the ability to regenerate from the damage Talia caused.  Finally, the thing collapsed, and she thought she’d managed to defeat it.  However, an eruption of green light made the error of her assumption clear.  It threw her backward, and once again, she found herself tumbling across the landscape.

When Talia finally looked up, she saw that the witchdoctor had grown to nearly twenty feet tall.  Its muscles rippled and bulged grotesquely, and cracks had appeared across its misshapen body.  From those cracks leaked green light. 

It let out a roar.

And then, out of nowhere, Zeke appeared.  His huge, [Titan] form was even larger than the transformed ratongi, and its majestic appearance made the humanoid rodent look even shabbier than ever.  His hammer descended, crushing into the thing’s bulbous shoulder.  Even from so far away, Talia heard bones crunching, followed by the monster’s agonized screech.

She expected it to teleport away, but it seemed that the transformation had robbed it of that ability.  Clearly, it had traded mobility for strength, powering the metamorphosis with the green specters that had since disappeared. 

That was a mistake.

Because while it could stand toe-to-toe with someone like Talia, it definitely couldn’t do the same against a monster like Zeke.  And he made that abundantly clear as he once again brought his hammer to bear.  It fell with gruesome finality, smashing through the creature’s upraised hand and into its rat-like face. 

Still, it didn’t immediately die. 

So, as was his typical pattern of attack, Zeke kept going.  One momentous blow after another fell upon the monster until, at last, it perished.  Talia was flooded with kill energy, pushing her to level sixty-nine.  Meanwhile, she lay there, exhausted, both mentally as well as physically.  Normally, she didn’t have to deal with the latter, but the battle had gone on far longer than normal, and she had been forced to push herself to the brink. 

But they had won.

That had to count for something.

Now, they only needed to combine the pieces and head through that temple gate.  What dangers the mountain beyond might hold, she didn’t know.  But she expected it would push them both to their limits.