That worked a bit too well, and now the floating hellspawn was diving right towards him. Tize tried to aim towards its wings since hitting the main body wasn’t doing much damage. He had the gun in its assault rifle mode to make as much noise as possible, but now he was regretting the loss of accuracy. There were a few noticeable clips and loosed feathers, but most shots just flew right past the spinning wings.
Tize readied his shield, unsure if he’d be able to take the force head on, but there were no more options at this point. It was too late to run or even dodge out of the way of the giant mass. But then a single shot rang into his ears. He whirled his head to find Ipucco standing next to him with a smoking gun.
His shot had been perfect and precise, piercing through several sections of wings all at once. It wasn’t enough to down the beast, or even really maim it. But the pain it seemed to feel was just enough to get it to divert slightly as it writhed. Tize grabbed Ipucco and pulled him behind the shield, and he was just barely able to angle it so that it slid along the side of the Wowl’s beak instead of being punctured by it.
The giant worm tunneled back into the ground, barely avoiding taking the two Lesser’s with it, but they weren’t safe. The insane amount of flesh slid along Tize’s shield that he had to hold back or it’d risk crushing them both. The elder Lesser also put his weight into it, the pair of them pressing against the shield with their lives on the line.
They’d been pushing so hard that they almost fell into the giant sinkhole left in the monster’s wake. It had been incredibly straining and adrenaline inducing, but it wasn’t over just yet. The ground rumbled again, signaling the monster’s return. It seemed to be going after the others once more, so the two Lessers bolted to return towards the group.
The Wowl missed them again when it emerged, the Fiends having run off in various directions to spread out their vibrations and noise. It flew up into the air again to search for its prey. Rezin tried a few hallucinations to distract the sky-worm. First, he tried making another Wowl, but the monster didn’t acknowledge it in the slightest. Then, he covered the area in a shroud of darkness, so at least it wouldn’t be able to detect the shifts in light as they ran around.
Tize and Ipucco had just about caught up to the others when the Wowl chose its next target. Since they’d split up, it went after the most noise—Mazie and Bray since they were running together. The mother made the mistake of looking back up at the monster, causing her to trip.
Her daughter ran a bit further, only then realizing what had happened to Bray. Mazie turned around, prepared to charge back and help with no regard for her own life, but she didn’t get the chance. Ipucco sprinted at her and grabbed her, hoisting her up over his shoulder as he scrambled away for dear life.
Bray had just managed to get to her feet again, unaware of the shadow that loomed over her because of Rezin’s darkness. She didn’t even see Tize coming, and he hoped that he’d forgive her one day. The man rushed straight into Bray with his shield, sending her flying quite a distance until she skidded along the dirt and into a tree.
He did his best to get out of the way himself, but it was too late. Tize at least managed to dodge the beak again, but he wasn’t able to move his shield fast enough. The entire right side of his body was rammed by one of the Wowl’s wings, sending him stumbling backwards himself.
When Tize went to get back up on his feet, he found he couldn’t—the entire right side of his body unresponsive. He managed to at least get back on his left knee, bearing the brunt of his weight, and he got his shield in position again, not that it would do him any good.
He quickly started feeling light headed as blood pooled down his face. The wing had also sliced into his cranium. It felt breezy and painful around the area, so a chunk might be missing, but Tize couldn’t worry about that now.
His own life didn’t matter. That was the realization that quickly dawned on him. As long as he could save the others, it didn’t matter what happened to him. At least Mazie, he had to save her no matter what.
But how could he do it? He wanted to move, but his body was betraying him, beaten and bloody. Tize was lucky that all his limbs were still attached, even if they were just dead weight now. He still had his shield and one good leg, but what could he do with them?
Thinking was getting more difficult as he struggled for a plan. Maybe his head wound was more than just a wound. The world was getting foggy around him, but he had to do something.
An echoing screech blared in his ears. Tize was able to turn just enough to see a mauve-colored Bumblebat. Owls had a tendency to avoid stinging insects, so it was a good choice by Laurim. The buzzing wail seemed to be keeping the Wowl at bay for now as it hovered in the air. When did it even get there? Tize hadn’t even noticed.
But he doubted the noise would disway the monster for long. Hell, it’d probably target Laurim next for her efforts. Maybe that was her plan. But he couldn’t let her do that. She’d just be another meal swallowed whole by the Wowl.
Damnit! Tize screamed in his head because his worlds failed him. Why couldn’t he do anything?! He was supposed to be the one that shielded the others, The Reliable Refuge who would always come to the rescue. Why was he so weak?
Something Tize had never admitted to the others, but he always felt the brunt of his own weakness any time he was around the other Fiends. They could do so much. While Tize never doubted his own power, it was impossible not to compare himself. Why did Cosmos have to forsake him so to only make him a lowly Lesser instead of a powerful Fiend?
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Cosdamnit, move! He yelled at his body when he heard the screams of the others around him. The Wowl had started its descent to attack once more. He had to do something, anything, even if it was only throwing himself in the line of fire to save one of them. Tize shifted his left leg, trying to stand, but he only stumbled further.
His strength was gone. His hope was gone. But not his will. Tears ran down his face in pain and suffering, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. With every last ounce of energy he had, he roared with all his might. His throat felt like it was going to rip itself apart and his lungs were going to burst.
But it was all he could do. All he could do for them. And it was enough. The Wowl changed course mid-attack and was now diving straight towards the screaming man. Please everyone, use this chance to escape.
Tize stared his death dead-on. It had no eyes to look into, so he glared at the beak with his one good eye. The monster opened its mouth, and he could see the abyss waiting for him. But suddenly, the blackness was replaced with a flash of orange.
Only a few moments from being swallowed, and Tize could suddenly feel the rest of his body again, as if his healing had suddenly and rapidly jumpstarted. But it was still too late. There was no way he could move in time, so it was still hopeless.
Strangely, though, his broken right arm lifted itself towards the sky. He had no idea what was happening, since he certainly wasn’t doing it. Then, his hand started to vanish. It ripped itself apart into small fragments of orange light. Tize started to panic, silly because he was about to die anyways, but that didn’t placate the shock of his body dissolving to bits.
A second later, Tize Scound was gone, fully dissolved into light. Yet his consciousness remained. He couldn’t quite see, but he could feel everything around him—quite similar to the Wowl that was now burrowing back under ground beneath his existence.
Tize didn’t really have control in this incorporeal form, but he found himself floating in a specific direction with a defined purpose. He was headed straight towards Dice. He didn’t know why, but somehow he knew that Fiend was the key to saving everyone.
Dice panicked when he saw the orange light twinkling toward him, but no more than the giant monster, so he didn’t try too hard to escape from it. The light flew down to the boy’s fingers, and Tize could suddenly feel his life condense and harden. His existence suddenly felt metallic and rigid as the light turned into long sharp slate-colored claws on the tip of Dice’s fingers.
『Synchronization Rate: 18%』 Tize could now think and feel and see properly again, but it wasn’t just himself. His consciousnesses had merged with Dice’s, not fully, but there was still decent enough overlap. Tize could suddenly feel all the boy’s terror and anxiousness.
He could also read his thoughts and intentions in the moment. Dice had been trying to use his Curse this entire time to slay the Wowl, but it was just too difficult. The creature moving so much was the least of his problems. Its insane size and weight distribution was making it impossible for him to do the mental calculations for how many cuts he’d need.
But he could do it. They could do it! 【We’ve got this, Dice!】Tize lifted both of the boy’s bladed-hands towards the skyward invertebrate as it flew up once more. A series of orange gridlines were suddenly overlaid on the monster. Based on Dice’s reaction, it seemed that this wasn’t normally included in his every day Curse, so it had to be something special that Tize himself was adding.
Tize could now feel and understand the mental strain Dice went under when he was trying to cut something. The worm body in particular wasn’t that bad. It was fairly similar in size all the way down. What made it a bit more difficult was the organs and everything inside of it that it had already eaten and was digesting. This aspect also wasn’t too bad as Dice himself seemed more used to this part.
The main issue were the spinning wings. Each one was a different size and shape. Some had more feathers, and some were injured, making each a different weight and shape. It really, really didn’t help the calculations either that it was rotating the entire time.
That was the primary reason Dice hadn’t been able to do this on his own. Once he had a decent grasp, everything would have shifted, and he’d have lost his focus. But now they had two brains to solve the problem.
The orange grid shifted around the monster as the two men ran through the analysis. They didn’t have too long, just until the Wowl decided to strike again. Thankfully, Rezin and Laurim’s diversion tactics, while not ultimately too effective, gave them just a bit more time to figure things out.
More and more their brains strained as the grid felt harder and harder to move and shape. But finally, cosdamn finally, it locked into place and a number entered their shared consciousness.
Not a moment too soon either, as the Wowl began its next dive-bombing. It was aiming for the remaining Lessers—Ipucco and Mazie shouldering a hobbling Bray who had been injured from Tize’s earlier bashing.
Together, Tize and Dice raised their arms. Aiming at the Wowl, they sliced their claws in front of them, slashing an X into the air as they screamed in unison, 【“983 Cuts!”】
Their attack probably seemed a little anticlimactic, looking like they flailed hopelessly at the monster to save their friends. But the results were immediate. 983 lines of orange light slashed into the Wowl, severing it into 984 pieces of exactly equal weight.
The monster held its shape for longer than expected, but the chunks of flesh started to slide apart as the Wowl corpse plummeted towards the ground. Even dead, the monster still caused a wave of destruction. It was no longer one giant beast, but now 984 fleshy comets raining down on Rathe.
Thankfully, the targeted Lessers had been able to hobble away far enough to stay out of range of most of the chaos, but a few errant pieces careened right towards them. Just as one was about to impact, Mazie dropped the side of Bray that she was supporting and punched with all her might. She had a special pair of boxing gloves that added extra power to her impact—enough to bash the cube of meat away.
Bray took the next one herself, stiffening her dancer’s ribbon that she mostly used for capturing things into a tight blade. She swung towards a small clot that had broken off from another chunk and sliced it in two—the halves splitting away and soaring to each side of the Lessers.
After the corpse had entirely fallen and everyone was still alive and well, Tize could finally feel himself relax. 『Unsync』
The metal claws slid off of Dice’s fingers, dissolving back into orange light. The dots of existence reformed the man’s body, and Tize took a deep breath. He looked at his hands, his body now fully restored. All of his injuries may have been gone, but his exhaustion was unparalleled. But now that he had saved them, he could finally collapse.