Chapter 20: Method of Attack

Celes watch in hiding, as the battle between Nathan and the Gorgon rage. Though the fight was at a standstill, neither opponents was doing any damage. Nathan had grown accustom to the Gorgons speed, he would dodge every attack flawlessly. Having to switch back to his original weapon, at some key moments, he would attack but the blade could not pierce the stone shell of the gorgon. Any attempt at striking the pupil, would cause it to immediately close its eye. The only hope was the “Armor Break” strike.

The battle soon became a game of attrition, that Nathan was sure to lose. Thanks to his plant physiology, he could hold water longer, but under the effects of the enchantment, that was slowly dwindling away. Nathan could not tell if the Gorgons shell was being damage with his strikes, though he refuses to believe it was impenetrable.

To make matters worse for him, he had been spreading seeds around, but none were sprouting, the one from earlier sprouted almost immediately, the gorgon must be causing it. If the seeds aren’t sprouting, maybe being close to what’s causing enchantment, the Gorgons inhibiting him. He had one other option, but it was risky.

Once the Gorgon had stopped its flurry of attacks, Nathan took the opportunity to cut his hand. With the same hand, he released some more of the seeds and let them fall to the ground. Almost instantly he felt it, now he just needed to spring his trap.

The Gorgon stopped moving and began to glow.

Nathan: “What are you up to?”

Nathan remember that glow, it happened whenever Anais or Iris were going to cast a spell. He leapt backwards second before stone spikes shot from beneath where he ws standing. He kept jumping around, for everywhere he landed, stone spikes would spring from the ground, threatening to skewer him.

Nathan: "Why didn’t anyone tell me, it could use magic!?”

Nathan jumped around the battle field springing around, while he was jumping, his bdy suddenly jerked and as if under a spell his entire body rotated to the side. The Gorgon had launched itself at Nathan while he was distracted with the spell, he narrowly avoided getting his head knock off.

Nathan: “I must apologize, you're a lot smarter than you look.”

The Gorgon opened its eye for a moment, before closing it tight. Why did it keep doing that, did it need to open its eye to check where Nathan was positioned before it threw itself at him? He didn’t have time to think about it he had to get the Gorgon in position. He didn’t know how long the seeds would last, even with his blood, he needed to end this soon.

Nathan decided to go on the offensive, he Sped towards the Gorgon, blade in hand, but the gorgon didn’t seem worried. In an instant Nathan switch blades. The Gorgon must had felt that it was in danger, right before Nathan could strike, it moved out of range of the blow.

Nathan: "Damn."

 Nathan was half hoping that would have work, if he could just hit it once with the Claymore, he knows he could beat it.

The Gorgon began to glow again, but Nathan wasn’t going to wait, he sped towards the Gorgon again, hoping to strike whilst it prepared its spell. The Gorgon immediately stop its spell and moved out of range. Right after Nathan’s strike missed, the Gorgon launched a counter attack.

Just like before it hurled itself at Nathan. Nathan was to slow to move and had no choice but to block with his sword. The blade took  the brunt of the impact, but he was still thrown back several feet. He took some damage, but it was worth it. The point where he was standing a moment ago, was where Nathan had laid his trap, Snyare’s burst from beneath the ground and ensnared the creature.

The gorgon began fighting to free itself, but thanks to “Gardener”, not only had the Snyare been able to fight the enchantments effect, they became much stronger, easily holding down the beast. The Gorgon realizing it couldn’t break its restraints, stopped struggling and the spikes covering its body began to grow. Some of the snyare began to rip as the spikes pierce through them, it was slowly cutting itself free.

Nathan, wasting no time leapt into the air had leaped into the air. Seeing this it immediately shut its eyes and tried to harder to get free, but it was too late.  With an ear splitting crash the Claymore made contact with the Gorgons stone body. The force of the blow, knock the Gorgon to the ground. Nathan who had been thrown back from the force of the blow, took in his handy work.

 The Gorgons body was in ruins, cracks now covered its entirety. Bits and pieces were falling to the ground and even with its eye close, large cracks in its eyelids kept its weakness on constant display. It was in such a sad state, Nathan almost felt sorry for it.

 The gorgon stopped and opened its eye. It stared at Nathan then begin to glow and its pupil began to pulsate and change color.

Nathan: “The hell, you still wanna go?”

Nathan was no fool, staring into the eyes of a creature that could turn someone to stone was dumb. What the point in doing this, Nathan wouldn’t willingly look? But unbeknownst to Nathan, the Gorgon wasn’t aiming at him.

Celes: “(Hero, something wrong, I-I can’t look away.)”

Nathan: “Celes, why are you still here?”

It hurled itself towards Celes, bypassing Nathan all together. Nathan caught wind and tried to intercept, but it was like trying to stop a cannonball in flight.

Nathan: “CELES, MOVE!”

Celes: “(I c-can’t.)”

 Nathan sped towards Celes, speeding past the cannonball and grabbing her seconds before the Gorgon struck. He looked her over, she didn’t seem like she was turning to stone. She had this weird look and no matter what he did she would not stop staring at the Gorgon. It must have done something to her, like he thought earlier, no one would be willing stare into its eyes. It must do this to force its targets to look, but why didn’t it work on him.

Nathan: “Hey, Celes, get a grip.”

Celes: “(B-Behind).”

 Worrying over Celes, he lost track of the gorgon for a moment, but was late to react and was stuck from the side. This was the hardest he had been hit up until now, but Gorgon wasn’t done. Getting above Nathan, it landed on him crushing him into the ground. Nathan Body bounced from the impact and the Gorgon crashed into him once more. Nathan was sent careening right into a rock, blood spaying from his mouth from the impact. Pain shot through his body, it was nothing like last time. Why didn’t his reflexes kick in, it always before?

Finally, he noticed, he was breathing heavy, sweat ran down his face and evaporating as it dripped from his chin. He had been fighting under the enchantment for too long and the effect were starting to show. He checked his status screen, those hit, followed by the impact with the stone, took nearly a thousand points of damage hundred points of damage from him.

Nathan: “Heal”

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Nathan’s Health shot up by five hundred points, but it didn’t matter, the Enchantment was wearing him down. To make matters worse, since it was dark out, “Photosynthesis” wasn’t working.

 “This must have been why it would stop its attacks and open its eye. It knew the enchantment would get to him eventually, it would check to see how far along the effect was. He was played, tricked into thinking it was attempting to turn him to stone, when it was just waiting for him to exhaust his energy.

 Nathan wasn’t going out without a fight, he tried standing, using his arms to brace himself, his hand slipped on a pile of rubble. He slid back down on to his butt. He cursed and push the rubble away, on closer inspection, it looked like the remains of someone’s hand, next to it was some markings in the dirt. Someone had drawn a picture in the dirt of the Gorgon.

Nathan: “This is?”

He looked up at the Gorgon, it floated right passed Celes, who was still not moving. Though it didn’t it didn’t have any interest in her, it instead focused on Nathan. It was pissed off, Nathan had decimated its trump card, it was going to let that off. The gorgon approached Nathan, carefully watching. while he remained motionless. As it drew closer, the pupil began flashing colors once again, but then it pupil vanished, leaving nothing but a black.

Celes could do nothing but watch, eyes full of tears, as the Gorgon prepared to end the Hero, but something unexpected happened. The Gorgon began to cry out in pain, Nathan had struck, plunging the sword deep into the Gorgons eye. It howled in pain and thrashed around, but Nathan did not let up he kept pushing, plunging it deeper into the retina. Blood splashed him in the face, like a fountain it doused him. The Gorgon pulling back and bouncing around, flinging Nathan like a rag doll.

Even with his body being thrown every way, even with the Gorgons body crushing him into the ground, even with his HP decreasing, he held on. Slowly its thrashing and screams ceased, the Gorgon twitch a few times and then it curled over dead. Nathan stabbed into it once more for good measure, making sure it was good and dead.  Now sure it was dead, he pulled himself from its eye socket, collapsing on to the ground, kicking the Gorgons remains away from him and wiping the blood some blood from his face. He looked at his HP, he had only three hundred points left.

Nathan: “I don’t want to do that, EVER AGAIN”

*ding ding*

Level Increase!

Level Increase!

Level Increase!

Finesse +5

Nathan: “…………. Well, one more time can’t hurt.

Celes: “(Heroooooooooooooo!?)”

Nathan: Celes, you came out of your trance, that’s gre- WHOA!?”

Celes Jumped right at Nathan, knocking him on his back.

Nathan: “Celes, what was that for………. wait why are you crying, you hurt?

Celes: (I’m so sorry, so sorry, if I had move away from the battle like you said, you have gotten hurt, it’s all my fault

Celes kept apologizing, eyes full of tears Nathan just burst out laughing, .

Nathan: “Celes, I just save you and your apologizing for it, I think you got it backwards.”

Celes: (What?)”

Nathan: “I think the proper procedure, is to smile and say thank you for saving me.”

Celes: “(But you got hurt because of me.)”

Nathan: I got hurt because I was attack by Gorgon, it was bound to happen, I’m not invincible, so no more tears, okay?”

Celes nodded, she shed a few more tears, before letting Nathan up.

Nathan: “Now try again.”

Celes: (Right.)”

Celes smiled and bowed her head.

Celes: “Thank you, for saving me.

Nathan: “That’s better.”

Nathan started  healing himself and fiddling with his status screen. Celes turned her attention over at the Gorgons corpse, blood still pouring out of its eye socket.

Celes: “(How?)”

Nathan: “How what?”

Celes: “(How did you know how to kill it, I watch when the Grassvalley Tribe fought, they could not attack its eye directly no matter what they did.)”

Nathan: “Wait, you were here when they first fought?”

Celes: “(Yes, they first fought not far from hear, I didn’t stay long, but from what I witness, what they could do was limited.)”

Nathan: “Well, one of them figured it out, he might have just been too late to act on it.”

Celes: “(I don’t understand.)”.

Nathan pointed over to the picture. The picture depicted the gorgon without its pupil and an arrow pointed towards it.

Nathan: “I figured if the pupil was gone, that meant attack, so I did.”

Celes: “(Foolishness, how could you do something so reckless, what if it didn’t work?)”

Nathan: “Then I would be a statue right now, I had no other choice, I was almost out of strength, the enchantment was taking its toll, even with everything I did, the chance of me losing was higher.”

Celes: “(Well the enchantment effects are disappearing)”.

Nathan: “Really?”

Celes: (Yes, it went away a little bit ago, did you not feel it?)”

Nathan: “Sorry, I’ not really good, with things like this.”

Celes: “(Well, everyone else felt it, there headed this way.)”

Nathan: “Good, I tell them I defeated the Gorgon and to yell at them about the state of affairs around here.”

Celes: “(Wait, Hero this is-”)”

Celes thoughts were caught short, with the arrival of Saria and Iris. They looked at them both in horror, both covered in blood and banged up.

Saria Iris: “ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?”

Saria and Iris, went over checking each of them for any signs of injury, completely ignoring Celes and Nathan’s assurance that they were fine. Anais and a few other slowly began to arrive.

Nathan: “Iris, I’m fine I promise, just a little tired.”

Iris: “Hero, what were you thinking, sneaking off like that and fighting this thing by yourself.

Nathan: “Sorry, sorry, but at least its dead now, all of you can sleep easy from now on.”

Saria didn’t hear a word of what he was saying, she was too busy taking in the scene. Then the most unpleasant smell invaded his nostrils, he looked around and curse again. The broken bodies that were once stone were now reverting to their original fleshy state. Nathan had completely forgot about it. The group who had arrive, many of them began to scream in horror at the piles of flesh that was once their guardians. Nathan raised his hand into the air.

Nathan: “Tranquil!”

 A white veil of light was cast over the area, as it did the nymphs began to calm themselves. Nathan placed a hand on Saria’s shoulder, grabbing her attention.

Nathan: “SARIA, GET A GRIP!”

Saria: “H-Hero, this…….this is.”

Nathan: “I understand, but for right now you need to order them all to leave, they don’t need to see this, can you do that?”

Saria Nodded and began telling all her sisters to leave the area and the eldest to keep everyone out. With the help of his abilities, everyone slowly came out of shock. Their reaction was how Nathan had pictured it the people who she had been calling for days, had already arrive and were all scatter across the area, bit by bit. But she doesn’t have the luxury to collapse, she must lead her sisters or they will fall apart. Nathan had no idea, the statues would revert when the enchantment disappeared. If not for his abilities he would be just aa shock as them.

Anais: “This is what nightmares are made of.”

Nathan heard Anais muttering to herself, as she walked over to him, he couldn’t agree more. He walked over to Saria. “Tranquil” kept them in a calm state of mind, but it doesn’t help what they’ve seen. This moment will be locked in their memories forever.

Nathan: “Saria, I know this is hard, but it will get better, with the Gorgon dead, you can live in piece wants again.”

Saria: “Hero, we graceful that you were able to reclaim this area, but nothing is finish.”

Nathan: “Yes, it is, it’s dead, I’m sure.”

Celes: “(Hero, I was trying to say earlier, that was not the Gorgon we know.)”

Nathan: “What!?”

????: “Saria, we have trouble?”

Everyone turned to see a water nymph, flying toward them with a panic expression. Arriving at the scene her face went pale, she held back a scream, tears flowing down her face. Nathan cast his magic on her, as well.

Saria: “Calm down Lynn, look at me, tell me what’s wrong?”

Lynn: “T-The eye, I just got word from our sisters keeping watch, it started to move.”

Saria: “Don’t tell me.”

Lynn nodded her head in confirmation.

Lynn: “It’s coming this way.”