As the Goliath lost track of him, it zeroed in on Nyx and opened its massive mouth, releasing a constant stream of fire. Just like the flames on its body, those, too, were as dark as night. They easily reached the feline, forcing her to turn into smoke and race the heat wave to safety.
Leo took this as a cue and sprang into action. Thanks to the small rocky platforms strewn around the sea of lava, he arrived at the creature’s back and struck as hard as he could.
His blades once more slid into the armored hide, reaching the flesh beneath it, but just barely. Thankfully, that was enough to stop the Nightmare from spewing more fire and give Nyx some time to breath.
Let’s dance, you overgrown piece of shit. Leo growled, leaning out of the way of the beast’s massive fist. It swiped at him again, but this time, he stepped into its personal space and slashed it across the chest a few times.
That didn’t do much damage, but the Goliath still stumbled back and released a pained screech. He wanted to follow up with another strike, but then the flames across its body intensified. In some places, they even turned white, and he didn’t stay to see what would happen next.
It was a good choice as not even a second later, an explosion rocked the entire battlefield, blanketing it in white-hot flames. Leo winced as they licked his back, scorching and even outright melting a few of his scales.
Nyx, you okay? He asked through their link as he waited for the thick smoke around him to settle.
‘Yes, I was out of range,’ the feline said. ‘But I have to admit. Even I felt the heat of that fire. What’s the plan?’
I’m still trying to figure that one out. For now, just attack from range. Target its eyes and mouth.
‘You got it.’
Leo nodded as their link quietened again. Meanwhile, the smoke slowly faded, revealing the Goliath still standing in the same spot. The fire that once covered its hide looked a bit weaker, but that wasn’t even important, not now.
“Shit!” he shouted, vanishing in a Blink.
His previous position erupted in a shower of lava as the Nightmare hurled a chunk of molten rock at him. The assault didn’t stop there; it simply continued to bombard him with more pieces of burning debris.
The sea of lava on the battlefield bent to the Goliath’s will, delivering fresh ammunition straight into its waiting arms. If it hadn’t been for Nyx firing a volley of shadows at the beast’s head, Leo would have been forced to keep on using Blink to jump around the area like some frightened cat.
Although, in hindsight, maybe stopping its assault wasn’t that great of an idea, as the Nightmare decided to switch its tactics.
For the first time since the battle began, the behemoth moved and charged straight at Leo on all fours. The earth beneath it trembled, causing more lava to erupt with each thunderous step.
Leo turned around and made the wise decision to get the hell out of dodge. There was no way he could survive even a single hit from this thing. Its flames had barely grazed him and almost caused more damage than a hundred Daemons combined.
And so, he slipped out of the way at the last moment, nearly laughing in disbelief as the Goliath tried to turn mid-charge. It failed and crashed face-first into the ground, its forward momentum pushing it further into the dirt.
That’s it.
His soul awoke, and the true power of the Void seeped out of his skin, coalescing onto his palms. He was ready to shape it into his most powerful technique—which could hopefully kill the beast—but just then, a glint of silver caught his attention.
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Wait… Death Touch… that’s exactly what I need.
Just like that, Ruination faded from his arms, returning to slumber. Leo instead fueled more Essence into Reinforcement and rushed forward, almost displacing the air behind him.
With a swift Blink, he appeared at the Goliath’s side and slashed the long silver line under its armpit. That finally stirred it from its dazed state, but before it could stand up, Leo leaped onto its back and sliced another weak point created by his skill.
There we go. He grinned as the beast roared in pain, the fire covering its body flickering out for a moment.
His specters also went right for the silver lines, earning more pained whimpers from their target. Leo, of course, capitalized on this and struck again, cutting the beast anywhere he could to generate more of those weak spots.
Nyx also joined him a moment later. However, she neither had enough firepower to cause any substantial damage nor Death Touch to help him. Thus, she summoned thousands of shadow tendrils and worked to distract and annoy the Nightmare further.
It worked for a time, but then, with an enraged roar, the Goliath jumped high. The fire on its body also turned white again.
Oh shit! Leo cursed, grabbed Nyx, and overcharged Blink. It shot them out like a canon, but he didn’t care about some pain or new bruises. Only getting out of the range of the flaming, falling meteor mattered.
Yet, they still didn’t get far enough.
The Goliath hit the earth like a falling star. The shockwave came first, sending them tumbling across the ground. A blast of fire followed right after, almost swallowing them whole.
Somehow, Nyx managed to turn into solid smoke in time and cover him in a cocoon of shadows. It met the fire head-on, and even if Leo felt like he was being cooked alive, he survived.
“Nyx?” he muttered as the cocoon faded and Nyx materialized next to him, lying on the ground. Her fur lost some of its luster, and parts were completely burned off.
“I’m alive,” she groaned, opening one eye to look at him. “Just think I need a short nap…”
Leo winced. “You did great. Rest. I will end this.”
“Be quick.”
“I will,” he vowed and stood up. One of his blades shortened as an Ether grenade landed in his palm. With another thought, Relentless Hunger reignited, and he disappeared again.
Blink after Blink, Leo rushed ahead until he reached the point of impact. There, in a big crater, the Goliath was slowly rising to its feet, wobbling all the while.
He didn’t let it recover.
He jumped down and appeared right behind the beast, slashing at its tendons. It stumbled but didn’t fall, so he slid between its legs and delivered another cut to its other leg. That finally made it kneel and look down on him.
The Nightmare opened its mouth to roar, but before a sound could leave it, Leo chucked the grenade right into its maw. Its jaw snapped shut, swallowing the small object—a fatal mistake.
After two seconds of delay, the grenade exploded within the beast. There were no visible signs on the outside, but the deafening screech that followed its total collapse told him something inside definitely got fatally injured.
Leo didn’t wait to find out more.
With the Goliath down on the ground, he became a whirlwind of death, cutting and slashing everywhere. Dozens of specters emerged around him, all targeting the silver lines he kept creating.
Not every weak spot they hit earned a reaction from their prey, but at least every third did. It wailed more, flailing its arms around as the flames covering its body grew weaker and weaker.
Then, Leo spotted three silver lines, all crossing each other in the middle of Goliath’s chest. With a whisper from his bloodlust, he abandoned his random attack pattern and went for the kill.
His blade slid into the intersection point, and the beast stilled. Its arms fell limp to the ground, and the wails stopped. Yet, its eyes remained open, their glow dulled but still alive.
“What the…” Leo mumbled from his position atop the beast’s chest.
He poked it a few times and even stabbed one of its eyes but still got no reaction. It was as if the body was still alive, but there was no one inside to use it.
“Targets not only the body but also the other two pillars…”
He had expected to just weaken the Goliath by targeting the weak spots, but it seemed like they did much more than that. There was no other explanation. Either he was going mad, or he had just killed—or at least splintered—the beast’s mind and soul while still leaving the body alive.
As if hearing his dilemma, the System arrived with an answer.
You have damaged the Greater Infernal Goliath’s Mind and Soul beyond repair. First spiritual kill acknowledged. Rewards pending. Please stand by.
Oh… Leo looked down on his hands and then at the empty shell of the Goliath beneath him. I did that… Nice… and scary…