"So," chatted Anastasia Darkdancer as they finally re-emerged into the sunlight. "Why do you think Charon wants that guy dead?"
Jester Marble did not reply. He just continued to run, hands planted together in prayer, his gill-eyes slowly breathing. The only sound he produced was the jingle of the prayer beads shaking around his neck -- that, and his quiet raspy breath.
Anastasia drifted across air on her hoverboard, coming to a halt as she frowned down at Jester. "Not a talker, huh? Well, whatever. I've got the mines laid all down that tunnel, so if he manages to take those guys out he'll blow himself up on the way out anyway. I'm gonna go grab me some points -- how about you?"
Jester Marble did not reply. He just looked up at Anastasia as she hovered next to the treeline. Eventually, the girl seemed to get sick of waiting, frowned, and zoomed off towards the pyramid.
Foolishness. A direct approach would not be advantageous in this situation. Anastasia's mobility would only make her a more prominent target. Jester Marble would be surprised if she wasn't just blasted out of the sky.
The reason Atoy Muzazi had to die was obvious. He had dispatched and disgraced Baltay Kojirough, and Baltay Kojirough was one of Paradise Charon's possessions. This was a matter of pride for the Contender. All things burned before a matter of pride.
Now that Atoy Muzazi was dealt with, though, it was time to forget about him. Jester Marble cast the swordsman from his mind and considered his present situation. He had the same overall objective as Anastasia now -- the acquisition of points. By what means could he accumulate them as quickly as possible?
Rumble.
Jester Marble glanced off to the side just in time to see a corruption of black bark and red leaf spread across the horizon, reaching towards the distant pyramid. Jester Marble knew it, if not from sight then reputation. The Forest of Sin.
Once, it had been a natural wonder. An entire forest capable of consciousness through the unique root structure that connected each individual tree -- like neurons in the brain. Some had thought it could be the key to a greater understanding of consciousness. Some had thought it a miracle, and sought to worship it.
Not Paradise Charon, though. When she had dropped out of the sky and twisted the Forest into her Aether ability, she had seen it only as one thing: a power to be exploited.
Lamentable, but it wasn't as if Jester Marble was any different. He, too, was an exploiter. One who took what he should not and twisted it into the knife of his hand. All things he touched became tools of murder.
Jester Marble leaned forward and muttered a short prayer.
"Akabilata shoren mauzh terisapoletopetin maizh…" he said. "Neverborn David."
Jester Marble was not like most Scurrants. He had been created by Noblesse Oblige, a heretical organization that had once sought to regain the lost prowess of the Gene Nobility. They had failed, of course, and been put to the sword one and all. The only surviving remnants of their existence were Jester Marble…
…and his 'brothers'.
Neverborn David poured out of Jester Marble's Aether, folds of fat and pus spilling onto the ground. He was massive, his distended body supported by sixteen human arms splayed out like the legs of a spider. Atop that carriage was a tower of interconnected human torsos, and at the summit was David's skeletal head, gnawing blindly at the air.
He shuffled on the spot for a moment -- before charging off into the forest, his bloodcurdling scream echoing through the area.
There. Jester Marble released his hands from prayer. He'd left Neverborn Samantha in the tunnel, too, just in case Atoy Muzazi had somehow survived -- but if he was honest…
…he had no doubt that fool was dead already.
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How was this asshole not dead already?!
Mazel Rho desperately dodged a blow that would have split his head in half, sending a blade of plasma forward to defend himself as he dropped to the ground. Atoy Muzazi went to parry the incoming strike -- but then elected to dodge instead as Maldonado attacked from behind. The plasma blade and Maldonado's tongue collided in mid-air, and specks of orange flew in every direction as the blade exploded.
Atoy Muzazi was not a blur. A blur was something you could look at. Right now, Atoy Muzazi was a light at the edge of vision -- something that disappeared the second you noticed it. He was moving so fast that his movement wasn't even visible.
It was fine. It was no big deal.
No matter how fast he was, he still had to get close to attack -- and if he got close, he put himself in range of Mazel's automatic retaliation. The moment Atoy Muzazi's attack made contact with Mazel's body, a lance of plasma would burst out of its canister and run him through.
Still… Mazel would rather avoid getting hit in the first place.
Plasma Commander -- Search and Destroy!
The plasma along Mazel's bandolier bubbled, the disturbance pointing him in the direction of his target. Upwards. Mazel looked up just in time to see Muzazi zoom down, thrusters driving him forward like he was a human starship.
Roaring in panic and anger, Mazel fired his rifle at the incoming enemy -- but Muzazi was ready for that. Another thruster shifted his trajectory, sending him off to the side and out of the path of Mazel's plasma shot. That blade of light Atoy Muzazi wielded sliced through the air, moving unimpeded into Mazel's neck --
-- before one of those tongues wrapped itself around Mazel’s waist, pulling him away at the very last moment.
Muzazi’s saber missed by mere inches -- and he switched its position from his hand to his foot, kicking at Mazel with a secondary strike. Mazel twisted his body in the tongue’s grip, and rather than slicing his arm off, the blade only carved itself through his shoulder pad. The severed piece of armour clattered to the floor as Mazel was finally pulled to a safe distance.
“Don’t get careless!” slobbered Maldonado, his second tongue forming a fat pink mast of a shield next to them. With his third, he fired off his Razor Rain -- a machine gun-like barrage of infused saliva, each droplet sharp enough to cut through diamonds. Mazel had worked with Maldanado before, and had never seen a person survive a direct hit.
Atoy Muzazi seemed to realize that too.
Rather than attempt to block or parry the hail of projectiles, he leapt up with his thrusters, seizing hold of a pipe on the ceiling to keep himself aloft as the spit-bullets zoomed past below him. The corners of Maldonado’s open mouth curled up into a gormless smile. Dodging had been wise, of course, but that didn’t mean he’d made the right choice.
The third tongue, having now released Mazel, was free to strike like a whip and lash into Muzazi’s midsection, sending him flying off into the far wall.
Mazel panted for breath as he lifted his rifle again, firing wildly towards where Muzazi had landed. His Aether enhanced and focused the plasma he fired, turning the attack from a flurry of plasmabolts into what looked like a barrage of orange lasers, each one detonating and devastating the wall. A ragged scream of determination burst out of his throat as he continued to fire, his canisters blasting out as well. As one, they reduced the wall to slag, Muzazi’s indistinct form disappearing in the blaze of red.
The smoke slowly cleared, revealing naught but melted stone and metal, glowing gold with heat. Not even bones remained.
Mazel let out a relieved breath. His hands shook even as they clutched the rifle. Atoy Muzazi had been a frightening opponent, but in the end their ambush preparations had given them the edge they'd needed.
They'd done it. They'd done it. Now Charon would have no choice but to accept Mazel's demands -- to face him in the duel that would avenge his family name. He turned to look to Maldonado, to ask what their next move would be, but he saw straight away that Maldonado would not answer him.
He was lying dead on the floor, after all, his head slowly rolling away from his body.
Oh, thought Mazel Rho, and then --
White light. He died.
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Muzazi landed on the floor, his breath heavy as he fell to one knee.
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It had happened again. He clenched his fist.
The pain in his back, right at the base, was intense. That first attack had struck him there, when he hadn’t been prepared for it. He’d had some Aether defense, of course, but even so there was no telling what kind of damage it had done. Both to his body, and his will.
It had happened again.
Every time he showed his back to someone, every time he presumed that he had an ally, he was punished for it. It had started on that tower in Caelus Breck, and had gone on and on and on since then… the only exception had been Marie, but Marie Hazzard had been one of a kind. To the eyes of most, trust was nothing but a vulnerability, soft flesh for a knife to be driven into. Once, he’d thought these betrayals were simply a dark period for him… but after the events on the Child Garden, Atoy Muzazi understood -- he understood that this dark period had been his whole life.
He’d spent his entire existence being betrayed, failing, and falling into despair.
As Atoy Muzazi rose to his feet, resolve hardened in his heart. As he smelled the burning flesh and heard the sparking wires, the glare in his eyes sharpened. As he turned, stalking through the entrance that had first led him to this ambush, he made a promise to himself.
This was the last time. Never again would he expose his back to another person.
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"Guardian Entity: Seiryu," the nude man grinned as he strode forwards. "10%."
The moment those words left his lips, there was a sickening crack -- and Morgan saw the source straight away. The enemy's right hand was twisting and stretching, changing shape, turning a pale blue and opening. That grin only grew as Morgan's eyes widened in horror.
"My name is Ablos," the man said, bowing -- mercilessly low given his state of undress. "Ablos of the Azure, Cardinal Beast of Hexkay, at your service. I don't like killing strangers. Maybe you guys can tell me your names, too?"
Morgan exchanged a glance with the Cubed Man next to him. There was still some distance between them and their enemy -- this Ablos. Morgan adjusted the angle of his sword as he opened his mouth to reply.
"You can call me --" he began.
"Oops," Ablos yawned. "Don't care."
He raised his arm, and Morgan saw now that it had transformed utterly. It had gone from a limb to the neck and head of some kind of beast -- a pale blue serpent with four shining white eyes. Twin tendrils of flesh drifted out from its snout in a way that reminded Morgan disturbingly of a mustache.
Before Morgan could fully register what he was seeing, the mouth of the serpent snapped open -- and a blazing white sphere blasted out from its throat, zooming towards Morgan.
Even if Morgan was not ready, Ionir was. Four prehensile vines burst out of Morgan's back, lashing upwards and latching onto the branches of a nearby tree. The moment before the sphere would have struck them, Ionir pulled their body up and out of danger, the attack hitting the trunk of the tree instead.
"Oh?" Ablos waggled his eyebrows, looking up at him. "Seems you've got a weird body too, buddy."
Crack. Crunch.
Morgan spared a glance at the spot the attack had hit. The midsection of the tree trunk had been transmuted into a transparent and rocky substance -- a kind of glass, maybe? As Morgan looked at the damage, cracks began to spread further throughout the area, the clear material visibly breaking down under the weight of the tree above.
This ability turned whatever it hit into a fragile crystal, then, causing it to quickly collapse. It had done so instantly against the tree, but Morgan wanted to believe that Aether would provide some level of defense against it. Still, he didn't want to risk taking a direct hit.
Do not stay still overlong, Ionir instructed. This is not a predator that releases its prey.
Ablos raised his snake-arm, firing another volley of shots up at Morgan. Morgan leapt through the branches of the tree as it finally collapsed under its own weight, flipping and weaving through the barrage of white spheres as he closed the distance. He raised his sabre up, ready to bring it down right through this bastard's head…
..but Ablos was ready.
The second Morgan came into melee range, he stopped firing and instead struck with the snake-arm again and again, its white teeth parrying Morgan's blade. Sparks rained down as fangs and blade collided, again and again and again and again, each strike sending Morgan further and further back.
Misjudged footing. Weakened grip. The snake-arm struck once more -- and Morgan's sword went flying out of his hand. Ablos did not miss his chance. The serpent lashed out once more, mouth wide open, ready to clamp it's jaws down on Morgan's throat.
Of course, Morgan was not one to miss an opportunity either. As the snake-arm lunged, he did as well -- thrusting his hand right into that open mouth.
B!
The beast reared back as a plain white cube suddenly appeared in its throat, writhing through the air as it gagged and choked. Morgan leapt forward, fists raised up, a killer gleam in his eye as he poured his Aether into his hands. Sword or no sword, he'd run Ablos of the Azure through -- right here, right now.
Ablos went to pull back, but too slow. Morgan thrust his fist forward -- ready to turn his enemy into a human donut…
…but that fist never made contact.
Morgan's arm shook uselessly in the air, trapped in place. The flexible body of the serpent had wrapped around the limb, pulling tighter and tighter as it restrained him. Morgan grit his teeth in pain as he felt a hollow creak through his bones.
Ablos' right arm, the one that had originally transformed into the snake, had returned to normal. He tossed the white cube up and down in his newly restored hand, smirking. At the last moment, he'd switched the serpent from his right arm to his left -- allowing it to intercept Morgan's killer blow.
Apparently, that was something he could do.
Ablos of the Azure offered no final words, no gloating or declaration of victory. He simply held out two fingers and stabbed them towards Morgan's throat, ready to puncture his jugular then and there. Given the amount of strength he'd already demonstrated, puncturing the skin would be as easy as passing a knife through butter.
Ionir hijacked control for a moment, twisting their body in an attempt to avoid the blow, but too late --
"Blocked…"
-- for they had already been saved.
A solid block of compressed wood and leaf smashed into Ablos' incoming hand, shattering his fingers. As he cried out in pain, another cube slammed into him, catching him in the midsection and sending him flying backwards. Morgan dropped into a roll as the snake-arm released him, retrieving his fallen sword to ward off further blows.
Further blows did not come -- the Cubed Man had prepared for this moment well. No doubt he'd been setting this up the whole time Morgan had been fighting.
The Cubed Man had plunged his mace into the ground -- and all around him, parts of the landscape were being compressed into cubes of different sizes. They floated through the air, unburdened by gravity as the Cubed Man sent them on their way. Some, like the one that had snapped Ablos' fingers, were the size of bullets -- while others, like the one that was now floating directly above Ablos, were as big as a house.
Ablos understood the attack before it was completed, and moved to dodge. Aether alone would not grant him the speed he needed -- so he removed the serpent from his arm once more and moved it instead to his leg, which fired another volley of those crystal-shots to provide propulsion. It was a good idea.
Unfortunately for him, it was too little, too late.
The massive cube slammed down on him at the very last second, crushing his body between itself and the ground. Morgan, just outside of its range, planted a purple-sparking hand against the grassy surface of the cube.
E! A! E! A! E! A!
Morgan called out the abilities in his head like a cheerleader. This combination of his letters was devastating. Echo would cause a repeat of the blow just dealt, and Amplification would increase the force of that repeat by several times. By repeating the sequence against a stationary target like this, the force of the attack would grow exponentially.
Right now, underneath all this dirt and soil, Ablos of the Azure was getting pummelling by a force that grew stronger with each iteration. A human body could only take so much.
They'd won.
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Clearly, these people thought they'd won.
Ablos would have sighed, but he didn't want his mouth to get filled with soil. He would have covered his mouth, but unfortunately both his arms had been shattered. Legs too. These attacks were no joke. An ordinary person probably would have been killed by them.
Good thing they weren't ordinary people.
The Cardinal Beasts weren’t like those amateurs back home. They didn’t call out their Guardian Entities like pets and watch them fight. They weren’t content to borrow someone else’s power.
No. They followed the path of Lily Aubrisher. They seized hold of that power, and they became one with it!
Guardian Entity: Sieryu -- 50%!
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For the briefest instant, Morgan Nacht was both blinded and deafened. Instinctively, he squinted his eyes and clapped his hands over his ears, before his mind could even register what had caused the phenomenon. White light.
A bright white light, and a sound like the cracking of an ice-cap.
The cube that Ablos of the Azure had been crushed into had utterly changed. In a split second, it had been engulfed by that white light, transforming into that same fragile crystal. Deep within the transparent surface, like a fly trapped in ice, Morgan could see the warped shape of Ablos. He looked… different, but Morgan couldn’t quite place how through the barrier.
The cube shattered, shards flying in every direction, and Morgan got his answer.
Ablos of the Azure no longer had legs. No, instead he had a pale blue scaled tail, winding for at least two metres behind him as the man floated freely in the air. His arms were crossed over his bare chest, so Morgan couldn’t quite get a good look, but it looked like his hands were scaled now too -- terminating with vicious, barbed claws. The man looked down at his two opponents with four white eyes utterly unsuited to his still-human face, and those tendrils of flesh curled out from his lip now.
“You see what you’re dealing with now?” Ablos grinned with new fangs, his voice utterly saturated with Aether.
Morgan did. Morgan did see. It was obvious. That wasn’t a serpent at all.
That was a dragon.