Arcen found the chamber wall after hopping his way through a mountain of pillars. The Maw kept up closely behind, snapping its mouth like a bear trap now and then as it burst forth with a quick series of jumps. King had to save him from the Red Court more often now.
The Maw seemed to learn what works and what doesn’t quite fast in true Meronolith fashion.
Arcen used Mirage Blade to slash its hamstrings now and then with a risky move that he mastered on his own. Whenever he landed on a pillar, he had to decide which direction to go. Once, he jumped back to avoid crashing into a wall—a critical mistake–as he headed directly towards the Maw’s mouth.
As it turned out, it was a manageable risk, as he managed to dash through before the creature could grab him, slicing its underbelly in the process. The Maw’s current design was quite bad at handling anything at such close ranges. By the time it folded its long arms to catch Arcen, he was already leaping off another pillar, flying over its head, back on his original trajectory.
He leapt onto the edge of a pillar right before the chamber wall came up, dashing backwards as he used dual Mirage Blades to cut spirals across the Maw’s body. This time, he was grazed by a corner of its sharp mouth. It gouged out a large chunk of flesh from his left shoulder, shattering bone.
Sheer momentum executed his planned attack anyway, cutting through the Maw’s back in a line of diagonal slashes as he rotated along his axis. He landed on a pillar, bones fusing together and black muscle fibers weaving together to rebuild the muscle that he lost.
The Maw crashed off the side of a pillar, bouncing off towards the chamber wall where he wanted it to be.
Pushing right after it, Arcen initiated the first steps of his plan. He dashed through several pillars, gaining momentum for a crash landing. Once he built up enough speed, he kicked off the edge of a pillar, firing himself like a bullet at it from an elevated position. He landed on its back with spine-cracking force.
He anchored on its back with his Mirage Blades and let his feet press it hard into the ground. At the same time, he looked at the ground beneath for a split second.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
It came into existence, cratering the rocky floor next to the chamber wall as the worms engulfed the lower half of the Maw. It twisted and thrashed, much more powerful now than it was before. Some worms were smeared against the crater, crushed under its weight before they could consume it fast enough.
Arcen had to save the worm pit to take layers away from the beast.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
King tried to activate Ball Lightning exactly like he chained the skills to a simultaneous activation. That didn’t happen exactly as he hoped. The tower ignored everything except the first. He had to activate the other two with significant delays between, about one and a half seconds between activations.
It was still quite powerful, as three turns of thunderbolts pummeled the Maw every few seconds as Arcen hopped off, timing his fast series of Mirage Blade cuts to separate its head from its body this time.
He bounced back and forth from nearby pillars and off the wall as he exploded the Maw’s neck to bits, slice by slice. It remained de facto paralyzed by the thunderbolts freezing its muscles now and then as the worms kept eating it from below.
The head fell off, and the Maw went limp, falling to a heap as the large mout-head rolled away, tongue lollingto thee side.
Arcen perched on a pillar far away, observing its next evolution.
The Maw emerged from its own carnage as a bipedal thing with thicker arms and legs. It had reattached the head, changing it into a four-petal gripper pattern that unfurled like a flower bud. It was more blubbery this time, meant to absorb impacts better. It had one full tail man on the rear end, still keeping the scorpion-like tail that curved forward. The other two tails had tail men, but only their heads, doing the bare minimum of providing two pairs of new eyes.
He only had one part that he was interested in for his plan. The distance between the shoulders. It seemed to be more than enough now, as the Maw had chosen to evolve into a jagged hourglass shape, wider at the top.
THAT WILL WORK.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Arcen refreshed his contracts, hopped a couple of times on the edge, and dashed forward.
The Maw turned around much faster than he planned, mouth flared open as the Red Court washed over him.
SILENCE.
The Red Court flickered as he landed. As the numbness faded, he dashed on the wet rock surface, hands on either side, ready to slash.
The Maw leapt back for the first time in their fight.
IT HAS LEARNED TO EVADE.
Arcen pushed forward, using all of his body strength to propel himself at the creature.
He landed the first cut through its forearm, which was now too dense and blubbery to sever the bone. He continued the cut, stabbing it directly in the guts through a small opening below. The creature slid its other forearm to cover it, redirecting the stab into a less vital area.
King was elated by this and dashed back, hopping around as he prepared himself for a faster series of cuts. As he prepared, the Maw opened its mouth.
Red light flickered on.
“S…ILE…NCE…”
King–Arcen laughed in pure joy.
IT SPEAKS NOW!
The creature had simply spoken the word through Red Court, without following it up with any sort of attack. It realized this a second too late and started dashing forward with its petal mouth flared.
King leapt back. His eyes were dancing over every inch of the creature, dashing towards him. He focused on the tails, paying undivided attention to all three at once.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
DETONATE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
DETONATE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
DETONATE
????
DETONATE
????
DETONATE
????
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
DETONATE
…(347)
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The tails exploded into ribbons, tail men falling apart as if they were shot out of existence with a canon-sized submachine gun. Arcen had never imagined his Detaonate could be used for such a devastating attack.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED ╰︶
????
DESTRUCTION
[13] +1
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
The Maw started regenerating its tails right away, still keeping on the same trajectory towards him. Arcen stepped aside, dashing away towards the chamber wall. He rolled and slid on the ground, coming to an abrupt halt behind the creature.
It turned around much faster, following him with its head like it was tied to Arcen with a rope. It hopped sideways, zigzagging on the ground exactly like he did earlier to evade it. The creature seemed to have an idea about evasive actions, just not the right time to use it.
Arcen timed a neatly placed trap for it right away as it headed towards landing after leaping off in a zig-zag pattern.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The Maw landed directly into a fresh Worm Pit, its leg sinking deep into it right away. Skin popped wherever the worms bit, leaking massive amounts of blood from its thick flesh. The Worm Pit derailed its trajectory, tilting it towards the left. Arcen pushed it further, following it closely behind with dual Mirage Blades, slashing every bit of flesh he could cut. The Maw countered some of his slashes with its bare palm, eating the brunt of the attack with its hand.
It managed to pin him down at one point, opening its mouth wide open. Arcen used the Mirage Blades to cut through its hands to wrestle himself free right before the petal mouth landed on him. An array of teeth grazed his back, scraping a thick layer of flesh off—exposing his spine and internal organs.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
RELEIVE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
RELEIVE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
RELEIVE
????
RELIEVE
????
RELIEVE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Recovering from the wound as his flesh mended the torn gaps, he dashed away between the Maw’s legs, slashing the tendons on its knees as he went. The Maw fell forward face-first on the ground. It twisted around on its shorter arms, pushing off in a single fluid movement.
Doubling back around, Arcen leapt over the creature. He cut across its exposed lower half as he swept past. Landing on the ground feet away from its head, He turned back around.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
ENRAGE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
ENRAGE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
ENRAGE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
ENRAGE
????
ENRAGE
????
ENRAGE
????
ENRAGE
????
ENRAGE
????
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
ENRAGE
…(1345)
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The Maw howled, flipping itself over to face him. Blinded with rage, it charged at him at a full sprint, forgetting all the evasive behaviors that it tried to mimic thus far.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED ╰︶
????
HATE
[11] +1
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Arcen hopped backwards in wide arcs, guiding it where he needed it as he backed towards the chamber wall towards his left.
He had only milliseconds to execute the sequence that he needed to trap the Maw. Luring it further, he started counting the seconds as he dashed backwards, occasionally doing the minimum movement necessary to evade a frantic attempt at capturing him in Red Court.
ONE.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
TWO.
He waited for half a second longer.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
THREE.
He repeated the same thing, waiting another half a second longer.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The first lightning bolts from the first Ball Lightning started hitting the Maw as the third one popped into existence behind it.
FOUR.
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
FIVE.
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
SIX.
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
SEVEN.
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
By the time the seventh Ball Lightning popped into existence, the Maw was getting electrocuted at least once per second. Muscles freezing up in jagged movements, it missed every attack it targeted Arcen with. The gaps between thunderbolts gave him the perfect opportunity to reach for the opening that he wanted.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED ╰︶
????
LIGHT
[10] +1
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
He stabbed both his Mirage Blades on the bottom mouth petal of the Maw, dragging it the last ten feet towards the chamber wall. It came willingly, trying to push him to the ground with its gigantic head.
Arcen pivoted himself on the ground, even as his joints popped out of their sockets and his body twisted at an angle it was not meant to turn.
Within seconds, he dragged the creature towards what he wanted to bring it all along.
The chamber veil.
Pouring all his strength at the last moment, he hauled the creature’s head through it, dashing to the other side. A millisecond before the chamber’s ground vanished from his view, he activated the contract that always worked wonders.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The Worm Pit cratered the ground right before the chamber veil on the chamber with pillars as the Maw’s neck and torso plugged the hole. The Worm Pit needed space to activate, and he had another space on the side of the chamber he just entered.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Eaten by two Worm Pits on either side of a chamber wall, while getting zapped with thunderbolts multiple times per second, the Maw remained as it was, furiously trying to bite him at any cost.
Arcen pulled the Maw’s face off with all his strength, ripping petals off its large head. The worms ate its flesh to the bones, killing it way faster this time. Arcen dislodged the Mirage Blades and stepped back.
IT IS DONE.
The creature evolved once, but it was killed halfway through due to the Worm Pit and Ball Lightning combination eating away at it. Arcen helped a little, performing a series of cuts that blew its face up to smithereens. It evolved again as the contracts dissipated, and it grew two sizes too large for the hole.
Head stuck in the chamber veil, it snapped its teeth mindlessly at Arcen, unable to move either forwards or backwards. He could kill it again, and it would evolve into a larger being, head stuck in the same hole. After a certain number of evolutions, it would simply keep dying due to suffocation before it even gets to finish the evolution.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED ╰︶
????
DESTRUCTION
[14] +1
????
DEATH
[14] +1
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
THAT IS FUN TO WATCH AT LEAST.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
REVEAL
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
He wanted to check what was left over now that he trapped it successfully. It didn’t matter because this creature was going to waste it all before it dies on endless evolutions. There wouldn’t be a hundred million Aura worth of Gold left to loot from its corpse.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ACTIVATION SUCCESS ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ AURA ╰︶
????
82,328,190
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
That was already lower than what he thought it would be. It had lost nearly half its remaining Aura to the last few evolutions. The cost definitely wasn’t at a fixed rate—more expensive now than it was at the beginning.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Dashing at its head, he pinned it down to the Worm Pit crater. He needed it to grow about two sizes larger while keeping it in the same location to start the cycle of suffocation. There was still a risk of it learning and retracting its head.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Clinging to its bulbous head, Arcen summoned several balls of lightning to freeze it where it was, preventing it from making large movements either forward or backwards.
The evolution happened as the Maw regenerated, growing another foot or two thicker than it was. It grew while getting electrocuted and fit the exact size of the chamber's veil like a rubber band wrapped around a balloon. It was still soft and blubbery like before, not causing too much structural damage within to trigger a new death just by suffocation.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
He dissects its mouth into pieces with his blades and carves its head with a continuous series of cuts that he continues while refreshing his other contracts now and then between slashes.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
WORM PIT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
He obliterated the head of the last evolution in minutes, forcing another evolution.
He perched on a nearby rock, watching it transform as Ball Lightning contracts riddled with thunderbolts. For the first time since his last arrival, he started paying attention to his current surroundings. This was the mossy chamber with four gigantic trees. It was empty and devoid of any activity because the Maw had already massacred its inhabitants.
His ears picked up noises in the far distant, footsteps, and voices of people hurrying his way. Elena and Jelly had likely reached either the doctor’s chamber or the base camp and summoned help for him.
King wasn’t pleased about getting interrupted in his play time, but the fun had diminished faster than he’d anticipated. He had learned everything he could from this primitive being; this was more of a chore now.
Turning back to the creature, he noticed something odd happening right away. It was bubbling like hot tar, large chunks of its scattered flesh dissolving into pungent white smoke trails instead of regenerating back together.
IT IS DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
If it were discarding material, it would grow a size or two smaller. That could allow it to freely move between chambers, foiling his brilliant choke point plan. Arcen stood and dashed at it right away. If the Maw wanted to play the game that way, he would grind it to a pulp with continuous use of the Worm Pit. Smaller in size would mean less material for the worms to consume, killing them faster each time.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
He sank his blades into the Maw’s steaming flesh, bursting it open with two deep slashes. White smoke burst forth from the wounds, engulfing him almost instantly. It was the worst thing he’d ever smelled. It felt like daggers going up his nostrils, stabbing his brain. Disoriented, he couldn’t find the ground target to activate the Worm Pit on.
THIS IS A MISTAKE.
He dashed back from the growing cloud of smoke. Through his enhanced vision, he saw the white Aura flames engulfing something roughly the size of a human standing in the middle of the smoke.
He didn’t even need to use the Worm Pit if that was the target. It wouldn’t take more than two seconds for him to slice that thing into hundreds of unidentifiable slices or blow it up to dust with a chained Detonate.
As he prepared to dash in, he caught a glimpse of someone flying in from the left. Elena slid across the mossy ground on a long, oily slide made of wax. She landed about a hundred meters behind him, and a blue flash darted from her towards him in a near straight line.
“Tassi!”
Jelly appeared on his shoulder in less than a second. Arcen kept his mouth shut, not wanting to catch any of the new arrivals in an unintentional Red Court. He didn’t bring his blade arms anywhere near Jelly, and all that he could do was to nudge her with his head, poking her with some of his tentacles.
“Kin?” Jelly asked, patting on his black Meronolith armor plates with her tiny hand like a car salesman slapping on the hood of a car. “Tassi?” She asked again, tilting her head with an amused expression.
SHE IS CONFUSED.
The white smoke cleared with a powerful gust of wind coming from the right. One of the climbers had used a contract or something to clear the field for everyone on their approach.
In the clearing, stood a humanoid creature that somehow looked worse than the Maw did. It had gray flesh. Several weird features didn’t quite look as alien as Meronolith. It looked like a decapitated human. Four limbs and no head.
With a closer look, there was a head. It had been twisted backwards, ripped at the throat. Skin had grown flush over the twisted features, like a dead chicken wrapped with layers of transparent tape.
This was a human that had been warped, fused, and packaged in a very weird way.
He heard Elena sliding on the moss behind him. She was yelling at him.
“Use Reveal!”
Turning around, he did exactly that.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
REVEAL
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
The result that came up caught him completely off guard.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ACTIVATION FAILURE ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ INFORMATION ╰︶
????
TARGET [COLIN FRASER]
IS DECEASED
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶SEARCH ︶╯
Multivariate my beloved.
Next chapter on Monday.
Regular reminder to rate/review if you’re enjoying the ride!
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