Chapter 60

Ultimate Summons

Ajax charged. He crossed the distance between himself and Tom's team in the blink of an eye. Bron met him with his greataxe, blocking the strike.

"Now!" Bron yelled.

Every one of the Mastadonians moved at once in different directions to surround the Celestine and put as much pressure on him as they could. Tom activated two tattoos at once: Tattoo of the Summoner and Tattoo of Inspiration. All of the Mastadonians received immediate boosts to their abilities.

Ajax began laughing as the team moved faster to match his movements. He continued to block attacks coming from every angle. Rularis stood outside the main battle, playing a tune on an instrument that looked like a sitar to Tom. The sounds he played reached Tom's ears as loud, buzzing harmonics full of rich tones in a symphony of minor tones that reminded him of music from the Orient.

Singing a song in a rumbling baritone that sounded like a combination of throat singing where the performer could split their vocal cords to sing in two tones at once, Rularis sang of love lost in a time when hope was fading. The dulcet tones felt, almost as much as heard, seemed to revitalize Tom as he fought. Lyrics of sorrow, brought on from a loss that was so deep that Tom's heart almost broke; he felt anger rising in his chest as he continued on.

"Was this the power of the true performer?" Tom thought to himself as he began to understand what the song was meant to do for the listener.

Kiera had always done an amazing job as their team Bard. In the beginning, her buffs had given the team the edge they needed in battles to pull victory from the jaws of defeat, but her evolution as a fighter had turned into a more utilitarian use as a sniper. The songs she sang had almost always been songs from pop culture that suited the situation they had been in, with some being sorrowful in times of loss.

This, however, was completely different. It elicited emotions that Tom felt he had no control over. Unlike the normal flow of emotions where one feels a certain way and pulls strength from that emotion to do things they might not normally be capable of, this flashing of a whirlwind of emotions that cycled through his mind and heart continued to give more power to his body as it brought on a depth of feeling Tom was unaware he could feel.

Highs and lows, love and hatred, sorrow and joy played through his very soul in an energizing cacophony of feelings. With one final held note that reverberated through the air with a palpable power, Rularis suddenly changed his song to one that gave off a faint repressive feeling. It became clear to Tom, however, that this song was not meant for them.

Ajax appeared to slow ever so slightly with the emitting of this new tune. Bron began to pressure Ajax with a flurry of attacks while Kuthir flashed in and out of the shadows to strike at his blind spots. Inari was firing arrows from her massive bow into the fray to try to disrupt his movements while Huthu rushed in and out of the confusion with charging strikes that would nearly knock Ajax off balance when he blocked them.

Amath and Belik looked for openings to throw spells at the Celestine, but the creature seemed to have some kind of magical resistance, relegating Amath to a more defensive role. Ajax grew more and more angered as time went on, seeming to continue to slow in his movements ever so slightly. With one grunt, Ajax vanished from the middle of the combatants.

Tom guessed where he was going, as it was what he would do in the same situation. Activating his Tattoo of displacement an instant later, Tom appeared right next to Rularis at the same instant Ajax did. He blocked the strike that had been aimed at the Mastadonian's head, barely stopping it a hair's breadth from cutting the side of his face.

Rularis only paused his song for the briefest of seconds, the note feeling sustained slightly longer than it should have, before he continued with his tune, stepping back to not be the center of attention. Kuthir was there a moment later, slashing down from behind Ajax with a blade that looked like a ninjato. A fountain of blood erupted from the wing that he managed to detach from Ajax with that strike. Ajax screamed in pain and fury as he whirled on Kuthir.

Vanishing into the shadows again, Ajax began to emit light from his body that dispelled the shadows that seemed thicker than normal, exposing Kuthir as he crouched. His eyes narrowed as he dodged to the right just before Ajax dove at him. Onslo was there to stop the attack as Huthu charged from the previous battle. The Barbarian was in a rage that made his eyes bloodshot as he swung his giant maul at Ajax.

Unable to block the huge weapon's attack, Ajax moved left to let the hammer smash into the stone platform, leaving spiderweb-like cracks and an indention in the floor. Whipping around in a full spin, Ajax sliced out at Huthu but found his sword blocked by a barrier created by Amath. Ajax roared in frustration at being stopped at nearly every turn, and a wave of power burst from his body, throwing every one of the combatants away from him.

"I grow tired of these games. You pathetic mortals are a disgrace to the level of power I have accumulated. It is time for you all to die!" Ajax said as he rose into the air.

Orbs of energy formed in a perfect circle vertically around his body and began to fly at Tom and the others repeatedly. Each time an orb shot at them, another took its place, creating a continuous fire of magic. Amath created barriers around each of them as the attacks pounded against the shields. Cracks began to form across the defenses as they were repeatedly pelted by attacks.

Tom looked at Bron in desperation. Bron caught his gaze, and a look of concern passed over his face. Realizing there wasn't much left for the team to do, he made a decision that he hoped he wouldn't regret. In an act of desperation, he activated his Tattoo of magic Nullification.

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As soon as he felt the power leave him, the barrage stopped, the barriers disappeared, and, unexpectedly, Ajax dropped from his flight, landing hard on the ground and losing his footing. Bron realized what was happening and pounced, all the others following closely behind.

"NO!" Ajax called out as the team surrounded him and began to attack with renewed fury.

Tom hadn't realized just how much of Ajax's abilities were being fueled by magic. Their own buffs had dissipated, and Amath and Belik were basically useless now, but Ajax had slowed to mere mortal speeds, and his strength was far lower than his muscular form had made Tom believe.

The entire team abandoned the use of weapons in favor of simply beating Ajax as he lay on the ground, unable to defend himself from so many punches and kicks to his body all at once. Soon the great being was lying on the ground in the fetal position, trying to cover his now sobbing form with his wings and hands.

"I surrender! You win!" Ajax finally called out.

Everyone stopped as Ajax's body began to shake uncontrollably from the pain.

"I really wished I had just pulled that one out at the beginning. I really thought it would put us at a disadvantage with all the magical effects we use," Tom stood over the now pathetic-looking Ajax and smiled at him. "My, how the mighty have fallen. It's strange, really, how many opponents rely so heavily on magic to augment their abilities. Should have trained harder, Ajax. Now, you will serve me."

As Tom said this, the world began to fade back into the room they had been in before the battle began. Azroc stood smiling broadly at Tom as they sagged with relief.

"Great work, shithead. I knew you'd be able to do it. That last move was risky as fuck, but you managed to hit on Ajax's main weakness." Azroc congratulated him.

"Did you know this beforehand?" Tom asked.

"No. I was unsure what changes would have been put in place for the battle of wills, but I did see it once he started fighting. I was unable to interfere, though. System rules and all that shit," Azroc replied.

Ajax was still sobbing on the floor, curled up with his knees in his chest. His additional wings and greater form were gone. He looked pathetic compared to the confident version of himself from the fight on the platform.

"Get up, Ajax. You still have a purpose to serve," Azroc ordered him.

"What's the point? I have no reason to continue if I can be bested by a mortal," Ajax complained.

"Ajax, I need you for what is coming. There is an impending invasion of my planet by pirates. It's an injustice to my people that can't go unanswered," Tom said to the Celestine in an attempt to appeal to what Azroc had told them was his nature.

Ajax turned slightly to look at Tom. Confusion passed over his face as he tried to understand what Tom was getting at.

"You want my help?" Ajax asked.

"That was why we began that battle. You're supposed to be like our trump card in the fight to keep them from killing everyone here. We aren't sure we can win without you."

"I thought you just wanted to kill me. You and Azroc, for what I had done," Ajax admitted.

"I mean, I'd still like to wipe you from existence with the roughest toilet paper ever created you worthless skid mark, but Tom here needed some help. So, you're going to aid him," Azroc said, staring down at the pathetic form of Ajax with disdain. "Consider it your penance."

Ajax looked at Azroc and then at Tom. He began to sit up and then stood shakily to his feet.

"I think I could live with that. You were truly strong for a mortal, Tom. And this does sound like an injustice being brought on your people. Very well, I will join you in this fight. You can call upon my power to aid you in your fight," Ajax said, extending a hand to Tom.

Tom took the hand and shook it. As he did, a light suffused Ajax, lifting him into the air. The glow became so bright that Tom had to avert his eyes. When it vanished, Ajax was no longer in the room, but a message appeared in Tom's vision.

Ultimate Summons Acquired

You have acquired the ultimate summons, Ajax. Unlike normal summons, an ultimate summon can only be used in a single attack capacity. When you summon Ajax, he will unleash his ultimate attack on your enemies, bringing justice to those who have wronged you. Be warned: This may have devastating effects if used without the burden of proof that an injustice has transpired.

Tom was slightly confused by the single attack summons but then realized it reminded him a bit of the old Final Fantasy games he used to play as a teen. He smiled at the prompt and then dismissed it from his vision.

"Sorry about needing to summon you all from your previous jobs. I will make sure to explain to everyone what happened and why it was necessary," Tom said to the Mastadonians.

"It was no trouble. You needed us, and we came. That's all that matters," Bron said.

"What the hell happened in there?" Derek asked, looking at the group of familiar faces.

"I'll fill you in on the way back. For now, let's get back to the guild so we can prepare for the next phase. We finally have an ace up our sleeves."