Health:
1165/2720
Stamina:
4511/6120
Wrath:
58
The second Felflame Annihilation was nowhere near as damaging as the first but its true intent was clear.
“Oh you do you have a large resource pool don’t you,” the scion chuckled as the bonedrinker turned back to attack again.
The slayer didn’t react to the pathetic jibe and simply activated Slayer’s Intent. But like the last time he had been injected with the kuroxet corrosive venom, his skills were acting sluggish. The corrosion wasn’t strong enough to overcome his resistance though so it simply flowed around his body getting in the way of workings of his skills.
He deactivated Wrathful Regeneration to prevent his weaker self from returning and moved to defend against the bonedrinker’s high-speed attacks. It was at least twice as fast as he was without the amplification of Wrath Incarnate and each strike he blocked or dodged he took another unprotected.
Health:
876/2720
Stamina:
4321/6120
Wrath:
58
[Entities Marked: Kuroxet Bonedrinker | Enraged, Felflame Scion | Hostile]
The moment he received the first tick of wrath as Slayer’s Intent finally activated he reactivated his regeneration. It would have to be used intermittently as the upkeep was too high to remain active and not risk his weaker self returning.
The foreign mana continued to rage through his body but the slayer ignored it and focused again on the bonedrinker. As it came again his claws of malice flared and he threw himself at the demon. It dodged to the side but a preemptive pivot and wide-swipe gouged its shoulder and threw it into a pool of still-cooling lava.
Without hesitation, he changed targets and leaped across the caldera as the scion continued to prepare its next Annihilation its eyebrows rose but then its expression twisted into a smile and he leaped towards him in turn as the flames condensed into its hands.
Claws clashed against white-green made solid with a deafening crash, sparks and flames washed over the caldera as they separated and the bonedrinker came again from the slayer’s rear. The scion cackled and a manic smile appeared across its face as it raised its still free left hand and a detonation of flame and force threw the slayer and the bonedrinker towards one of the many side tunnels.
The slayer spun mid-air and struck the dazed bonedrinker through the chest, it was fast enough to partially deflect the sudden second attack but it still pierced its abdomen and sent it hard into the molten rock below while he caught the edge of the tunnel, his claws carving channels into the stone ground to arrest his momentum.
He looked up and a white orb appeared at the entrance and detonated. From the fire, four more orbs flew through and he leaped through the smoke and debris of the first explosion as the next four detonated, collapsing the entire tunnel as he fell towards the recovering bonedrinker.
The scion flames were clearly far more potent than anything else he had come across so far but his resistance was still enough that he could shrug off glancing and less concentrated attacks.
The bonedrinker leaped away and into a lower tunnel before the slayer landed and followed as a lance of white flame carved shot across the terrain only inches away followed by another barrage of orbs that followed him in.
The tunnel's entrance exploded separating the slayer and the bonedrinker from the scion but leaving the tunnel pitch black. The bonedrinker’s attack came from behind as expected, so the slayer duck and full powered elbow caught it in the ribs and slammed it hard into the tunnel wall and before it could get its bearings and bring its speed to bear again the slayer guided by the glowing of his enemies intent pierced its chest again with his claws.
A raged-filled scream echoed through the tunnel as he tore out one of its broken ribs and battered an arm away hard. He was about to pierce its heart as the tunnel's entrance exploded again and the ground beneath cracked. The bonedrinker used the momentary loss of balance to slip and shove him backward just as the floor collapsed.
The slayer landed easily but inconveniently he was separated from the bonedrinker by another tunnel wall. The tunnel suddenly lit up bright green as the scion appeared at its entrance and grinned as it raised its hand. The bonedrinker was still visible to his killing sight and was clearly trying to recover as it panted on the other side of the wall.
The walls were thin enough. One hard kick with his bare foot smashed through the thin rock wall and crunched into the side of the bonedrinker head, sending it into the next wall in a heap. The volley of exploding orbs finally came but the slayer slammed his shoulder through the wall as the orbs detonated.
His back blistered as some of the flames still entered the second tunnel but they meant nothing as bonedrinker regained its feet. Its eyes burned with hatred as it dodged another crippling strike against its head, then something twisted. Its jaw snapped downwards and its shoulders widened by several inches with a bone-grinding snap.
The mana still flowing around his body started flaring up and running along his bones before leaking out of his fingertips. The venom splattered onto the ground and then burst into a cloud of foul-smelling steam as the demon took a deep breath.
The slayer didn’t give it time to finish whatever skill it was trying to use and tried to pierce its heart but found his claws of malice had ended early so he instead slammed his fist hard into its skull. It slammed into the wall with a loud crack but it continued breathing. He followed up with a full-strength kick to its chest, more ribs broke and the wall behind it crumbled as it flew hard through it into the next wall and fell twenty feet to the next tunnel's floor.
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A line of red light made him dive into a roll as a piercing white lance slashed through the tunnel wall he had just entered, liquifying nearly forty feet of tunnel wall followed by another bombardment. He turned the roll into a forward leap as the orbs exploded, throwing him even further and out into the cooled caldera. A large sheet of skin peeled off his back as he corrected his fall and landed hard cracking a portion of the just solidified stone.
Several tunnels collapsed with an avalanche of falling and molten stone. As more rocks fell atop the lower tunnels the bonedrinker appeared again smashing its way through the rubble. Its form had grown much larger, now standing easily eight feet tall, the demon charged towards him with the stone shattering beneath its feet.
Health:
916/2720
Stamina:
3221/6120
Wrath:
98
The slayer activated Edge of Malice and his fingers became claws again as they clashed. Dust scattered and the ground cracked further as the bonedrinker’s now massive fist came down onto the slayer’s. The bonedrinker’s strength had increased by at least three times. They glared into each other's eyes as they struggled, their strength now almost perfectly matched.
His soul burned like it never had before and even under the effect of Slayer’s Apathy a giddy feeling sunk into his mind. The collapsed side of the caldera exploded as the fiery form of the scion appeared in the air above it and another orb of fiery hate appeared in its hand. The storm overhead rumbled and a detonation of power shattered a dozen nearby spires as the powers above continued to clash.
An instantaneous use of Wrath Incarnate allowed him to twist away, carve a disemboweling line across the bonedrinker’s abdomen, and spin around the lance of pure white flame before drawing and throwing garghound royal guard rib through the sky in return.
Health:
916/2720
Stamina:
3221/6120
Wrath:
3
The scion gasped and fell from the sky several feet as the rib pierced its chest. The bonedrinker had lost enough speed that its follow-up attack was kicked away by the slayer’s right leg before a claw was slammed into the demon’s face. Its endurance had also increased since the strike didn’t pierce the bone but the slayer moved smoothly and savagely into tearing a chunk from its throat before deflecting another claw with his arm.
The storm rumbled again and another detonation knocked the two of them off their feet. The slayer recovered first as his still burnt flesh fell into a roll where the bone drinker instead fell. The slayer couldn’t take advantage of the blunder as he was forced to catch the blade of the scion's flaming sword. Harmless flame washed over him as the sword bore down on him. The scion was strong but not strong enough. Fel-forged metal shattered as wrenched his clawed hands apart and slammed his foot into the scion’s chest. It cried out in shock and pain as its ribs shattered but it exploded into a cloud of flame and reappeared in the sky nearly two hundred feet up.
A sudden boost of wrath made his soul flare to even greater heights as he turned back to the bonedrinker and its neck stopped bleeding.
[Entities Marked: Kuroxet Bonedrinker | Enraged, Felflame Scion | Enraged]
He didn’t slow and leapt over the bonedrinker carving its chest shoulder and neck before burying his fangs of malice into its neck. It retaliated quickly and managed to get hold of his foot and throw him hard into the ground. His collar bone snapped from the impact by the demon was left staggering, choking on its own blood as the slayer got to his feet and the bone began to knit back together.
The bonedrinker suddenly focused and bit down on its own forearm and the sound of shattering was heard of the chaos of the storm above as the demon swallowed most of its left arm in one go. Its body distorted again, its shoulders widening even further as its muscles expanded.
White light colored the caldera once more as the scion prepared another annihilation. The slayer leaped at bonedrinker and started a flurry of piercing attacks as it left itself open. Each strike hit arteries and organs but each time they immediately healed over. The change was quicker this time and by the time it had stopped growing, it stood at nine feet tall.
The slayer’s attacks never slowed but when the first attack came his strength was overwhelmed and he was thrown through the air towards the center of the caldera. Overhead the scion lowered both of its arms and one huge sphere of white-green flame descended into the caldera. The flames that covered its body and armor flickered for a moment as it came down.
Thundering steps followed him as he hit the ground and rolled. The bonedrinker’s eyes were burning red pits of insanity now as it had fully given into a battle lust like his Wrath Incarnate inspired.
Health:
753/2720
Stamina:
2932/6120
Wrath:
231
One huge clawed fast came down as he activated Wrath Incarnate and their arms clashed.
Strength:
615 -> 861
Agility:
247 -> 345
Endurance:
612 -> 856
Vitality:
272 -> 380
Intellect:
175 -> 245
Perception:
249 -> 348
Will:
623 -> 872
Wisdom:
397 -> 555
The bones in his arms cracked under the power of the blow but the pain never reached him as twisted under the reach of the demon and buried his fist into its chest bloody sprayed by the demon brought its knee up and into the slayer's rupturing organs and throwing him upwards into the path of the Fel Annihilation.
The scion cackled, “Die!, Mortal! K’hal! Zeeschal!”
Felflame mana condensed into the sphere in a sudden pulse but above the storm exploded with another detonation and a bolt of annihilation pierced several spires shattering them and then sending a spark of destruction across the air above the caldera one of them striking the scion from the sky with scream and crash.
Its skill fizzled and the condensing felflame mana washed across the caldera heating the stone to a red glow once more. The slayer spun and returned to the ground and the bonedrinker as the giddy feeling once again sunk in.