❝Skill Link - Break!❞ Thorn abruptly ended the earlier divine blessing he’d bestowed on his disciples that shared Gatrim’s knowledge of speed with them. It was possible that some of them may have been able to recreate it themselves now that they understood the feeling. But it forced all of them except for the original wielder to suddenly halt in their tracks, causing a collapsing pileup of tripping Fiends just a few feet from their target.
Only The Memory made it to a showdown with his king, but since he had been funnelled into an obvious and tight lane of movement due to the others, his impending attack was obvious, and Drim deflected it easily, sending Gatrim reeling back to join the rest. Those attacking from a distance were all still in the clear, though, most able to fire without hesitation due to their avoidant ammo—able to remove Drim as a target to avoid. However, they did all switch to paralysis rounds since they weren’t attempting to commit regicide.
The Slayer immediately went on the defensive to block the incoming barrage. He summoned a full barrier of thorned vines around him, a big bushy bramble that protected him from all sides. And then, since he couldn’t rely on Tize as refuge, the demigod had to bring back an old trick he hadn’t used for quite some time.
All the vines scrunched inward at once, wrapping the man like a mummy. His entire body glowed as the wild tendrils were weaved into a new cloak that covered him from head to toe. What he donned now was the original form of the Thorned Tyrant that earned the name, which he’d used to keep himself safe from the Central Peace’s very first move against them.
But now there was one major change. Green light was etched into the cloak in jagged stripes between the fibers, infused with his own divinity. It was something that had happened unconsciously, and something Thorn had decided to continue to allow when he noticed it during the garment’s creation, feeling the power it would add.
The pulsing light also went rampant when he summoned the additional gargantuan tentacle-like vines in portals behind his back, surging down the excessive appendages with crackling energy like they were about to explode from his might. And instead of just the four thick vines that had defended him previously, this time he had forty. Now he was properly prepared to fight back with a makeshift army of his own.
“Well that brings back memories,” Nachi began to reminisce once she dug herself out of the pile of bodies. “If I recall correctly, you could never hit me with them. So let’s see how much you’ve improved.” The Trainer began blasting music and charged forward.
As expected, several of the vines shot right at her, and like in the past, she managed to dodge the first few, able to skirt past them, using the rhythm as a guide. But unfortunately for her, each of the tentacular tendrils tangoed to their own tempo.
The woman’s agility wasn’t sufficient, and she didn’t evade for long before she got caught, not even making it close to her target. In a last ditch effort, however, Nachi did fling her polearm at Drim, but that too failed spectacularly, slashed apart by his cloak without him even having to register the attack.
And then The Trainer was fully entangled, grabbed by a few more of the rampaging vines that bound her entirely. They then flew her over to one of the walls and slammed her against it, hard enough to hurt but not do any real damage—mostly to get her to loosen her grip and muscles so she wouldn’t have the chance to fight back as they altered their situation.
From one of the vines, fiber stitched around her, pinning her to the wall like a fly stuck in a web, joining Ahvra as the second piece of involuntary hanging art to liven up the room. But even with her defeated, there were still so many of the leader’s group who weren’t a fan, and now that they’d seen the lengths he’d go to, they wouldn’t be so careless.
Most were relegated to fighting the vines, though, unable to get too close to the one pulling the strings. And anyone who tried to shoot or attack the man from a distance found their efforts swatted away by one of the fibrous threads of his protective cloak.
Dice wasn’t really much of a worry as might be expected. Since the plants that comprised the garment were constantly moving, they were hard to pin down with calculations. And because the titanic vines were ever-connected to their portals, they weren’t actually considered fully complete objects and couldn’t even be measured as a result.
Xard was having the most luck on both fronts. Any attacks he shot at Drim did enough damage to the cloak that it had to be regenerated, and he was able to slice through the thick vines, severing them from their incorporeal bases with ease. Though they would regrow shortly after they were cut, faster than the redhead could destroy them.
Only Jaid actually attempted to attack him head-on after Nachi’s defeat, taking advantage of her new divine relic weapon that Thorn himself had bestowed. A circle of knights appeared around the man, making sure to keep their distance. And they all slammed their swords down in unison, sending a cluster of metal thorns surging along the ground, preparing to blend him through a whirlwind of blades without mercy.
A few of the massive vines tried to stop the attack, but they were obliterated by the slicing metal. And The Slayer’s cloak would likely mean the same fate, so the only way to protect himself would be to avoid it. Or so The Paladin had certainly assumed.
Just before impact, a massive tree sprouted around the demigod, giving him a strong wooden barrier that protected him from all sides. And not just that, the now towering trunk extended all the way up to the ceiling, instantly creating one of the biggest flora the world had ever seen, its branches smooshed against the rocky overhang. The knight activated her railgun which caused a shower of sparks from the limitless metal to attack the tree, attempting to set it ablaze, but all it accomplished was scorching the bark.
Though its job of defending its maker was now complete, Drim didn’t get rid of it right away. Instead, the giant plant split into several long beams that began to fall outward, careening towards the ground, all right towards each clone that had attacked it. Frankly, Drim didn’t expect the dangerous collapsing tree to cause any real damage, but it did send the Fiends scattering even further. Really, it was just a distraction so he could figure out what to do about that sword.
Since he was the one that had blessed it with power, surely there was a way he could disable it or make it so that the thrashing metal couldn’t harm him. So the newly born demigod racked his brain, scrolling through any new abilities he could find relating to the matter. And finally, Thorn found the perfect power for the situation, or rather, it instinctually leapt out at him.
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❝Div—❞ the man tried to cast the ability but was rudely interrupted, his head suddenly reeling back from the impact. Through all the commotion, their resident sniper had been waiting for his opportunity, lining up his shot and holding fire until just the right second. And that would have been it.
But the moment Drim started to say the incantation, his crown had appeared on his head. And just in the nick of time, entirely happenstantially, it had deflected the paralysis shot that otherwise would have buried itself smack in the middle of his forehead. “Well, guess I can’t complain about it now,” the king was reluctantly starting to accept his permanent headwear. It seemed the luck of the gods was with him after all. With that aside, though, it was back to the task at hand.
❝Divine Reclamation: Seal!❞ Suddenly the swords vanished out of the hands of the various Jaids, all except for one: the original. And she didn’t even get to hold onto it. The weapon wrenched itself free from her grasp and floated up into the air, dodging her attempts to snatch it back. Then, when it was high above everyone, the blade flashed with green light.
Thorned chains wrapped around the metal, and a lock was forged along the flat of the blade, sealing it from use by any hand. Though The Paladin did attempt to reclaim her trusty sword, making a tower of clones in an effort to grab it, but she found herself blasted away by divine force the moment she touched the hit. And during the rebound, one of the giant vines snatched her in the air and attempted to pin her to a wall, but she created a clone in time to escape.
“Should we sync up?” Tize offered to the defanged knight.
“No, then he’ll just snatch the other relic too,” Jaid accepted their reality. “There’s plenty of other weapons around, but as long as I have my fists, I can still fight!”
“What I don’t get is why he didn’t just dodge your attack,” the soldier pondered. “It would have been far simpler than that whole tree stunt.”
“Drim must have rooted himself,” Xard intruded on the conversation to answer the question. “It’s a tactic he only uses when fighting Phon that prevents her from being able to teleport him. I bet he did it immediately after he moved her the first time, or she would have just sent him back home or to a cell until we could figure this out. It keeps him safe from her, but it means he can’t really move or dodge.”
“Well let’s root him out then!” Kada jumped ahead, taking charge of the situation. She hadn’t really been able to create any massive floods or whirlpools due to the others, nor could she melt vines since Drim had imbued divine energy into them. But she could get rid of his footing.
Yet when she melted the rock beneath his feet, he didn’t even budge. What they uncovered was that the ground below had become more root than rock. The Slayer had created a vast network that ran under the entire area. Even if they tried to cut or burn it away, it was far too much. And since it had been revealed, Drim decided to spring his latest trap.
The roots shot up from what remained of the floor, grabbing onto the ankles of every Fiend, with just a few exceptions who managed to get into the air in time. But that wasn’t the end of the plan. The various giant vines spread across the room, though not in an attempt to attack anyone. Instead, they produced fruit out of their stalks that littered the area.
And then the fruits all erupted at once, releasing spores and noxious fumes that coated the entire lair. Once inhaled, it would knock the group out in seconds, rendering them all unconscious. But unfortunately, Alk caught wise in time, negating its effects. Though since she was helping everyone, The Plague Doctor wouldn’t be able to maintain her Curse forever. And while the cavern had a bit of a draft, the air circulation was a bit lacking, letting the sleepy concoction linger.
Ahvra would have been the best to counteract the fumes, but Xard did his best in her place, attempting to funnel the spores away with light gusts of energy. Yet it was an arduous process, one he likely wouldn’t be able to complete in time. So it ended up being Farian that saved the day. The doctor unleashed a concoction of his own that neutralized the effects. Likely it had been another attempt to be prepared against his coworker, but it worked well against such a viral attack.
Though that tactic had failed, Drim hadn’t given up on the idea of weakening them. Perhaps it was his status as The Demigod of Nurture—he couldn’t uncover any sort of ability that would directly weaken his subjects as Rathe had done, but he still had his own way. Thorn created another Well of Life to try to and sap their strength. However, it proved far less potent than he’d hoped.
Since they’d all received an overabundance of energy from helping drain their previous foe, it didn’t take long for the well to reach max capacity, even as a giant ball looming above them that covered a good chunk of the ceiling. And Drim couldn’t really empty it, since he himself was topped up to full. Not to mention, he had no idea what would happen if he dispersed that level of raw concentrated power into the area.
So nothing ultimately changed, except now they had a bomb looming over their heads. The man was big enough to accept that the tactic failed, and he dissolved the well, redispersing the energy amongst the group. Trying to defeat them without killing them, or even severely maiming them, was proving more difficult than he’d like.
But they suddenly seemed to care less for his well being. Itsy, Dice, and Niloy all charged him at once. The first two tried direct attacks while the third attempted to spray him with corrosive acid, not caring about the collateral damage. It was an insane move. So in an attempt to protect the two up front, Drim tried to grab them with his vines to move them away while making a wall to protect them from the acid. But he found his plants grasping at nothing, and the wall ultimately pointless.
Rezin, the realization abruptly dawned on the leader, just in time to block a surprise attack from behind. So far he’d been thankfully free of mental attacks, but it seemed that grace had come to an end. Fortunately, at least Kaizu hadn’t made him face his own guilt. That was something he didn’t want to deal with—certainly meaning he’d have to see Sim Twelling again for a third time with a myriad of other memories the man had undoubtedly repressed.
But now he also felt like he’d heard a whisper of how much he was hurting everyone by going through with his plan and resisting their feelings—Victori’s doing. Then his heartstrings were being tugged at both figuratively and suddenly literally. Valen had likely taken hold of his blood in an attempt to cripple him from the inside. Though he was able to withstand the attempt, it hurt like zjik and was exceedingly annoying. Everything about this fight was just annoying. He really did want it to come to an end as soon as possible.
❝Will you please just give up already?!❞ the king found himself unwillfully blurting, not out of tactic but pure emotion. Yet strangely, this time it worked. Suddenly all of his ‘enemies’ came to a stop. Their weapons fell out of their hands, and they themselves became rooted to their spots. And all they could do was look at their leader with sad, defeated eyes.
Why had his mothers power worked this time? Had Drim unconsciously figured out how to do it with his own divine ability? Ultimately, it didn’t matter. He’d take the win, as cruel and abrupt as it may be. But of course, there was still one person that didn’t fall under his control, as it had always been since they were born—immune from that particular power thanks to their bloodline.
Phon stepped forward ahead of the crowd. Up until now, she hadn’t really been participating in the fight, hesitant about attacking her brother, and instead supported the others where needed. But now that hesitation was gone, because it all fell to her.
Her yo-yos turned to shields and she revved their jagged edges. This time, she wouldn’t be protecting Drim from any attack or outside force. No, she had to save him from himself.