The elementals that inhabit the sky flee from the swarm after they realize that this creature, these creatures, can kill them and proliferate faster than they can thin the swarm. I learned that creatures of air and wind can indeed scream, even though they don't have lungs or mouths.
The winds don't die down with the massacre. If anything, the storm gained a haunting howl.
The whirlpools of red water, from either algae, mana, or if the legends are true, blood, are now definitively saturated with blood. The sharks that swim these waters are no pushovers, and neither are the elementals, but that doesn't matter with Khan.
He is a floating contradiction. He has one stat block but 300 bodies. He is basically, no, HE IS equivalent to 300 level 300's. An army that can infinitely revive and heal as long as at least one body remains and there is meat to consume. It seems that elementals are also on Khan's menu.
With his ability to float freely, the land, sea, and air are his hunting grounds. I never took Khan to the water before, but even with his cloud and storm motif, he hasn't lost his roots. He is a Man-eater, an apex predator of the sea. A shiver of sharks.
With most of his skills being simple but impactful percentile increases to his damage and stats, he is geared to slaughter.
The battle, more akin to a feeding frenzy, was so devastating that the archipelago took significant collateral damage, enough to where the years of weathering an endless storm don't seem as devastating. Most smaller islands have been completely wiped off the map, while the bigger ones have noticeable bite marks.
“If you think Khan could sing, this would be his song?” I ask Duchess, who is also taking in the devastation with me. I didn't expect an answer to my semi-rhetorical question.
[What the fuck are you talking about?]
“My bad.”
The loss of experience points is sad since they don't get banked during an impasse like a class advancement or an evolution requirement. I'm also not gaining any materials I could sell or use for myself… not that those two things are more important than Khan's evolution.
I wonder if Khan could theoretically kill me, even if I resisted and fought back? Welp, that's not a situation I like, so I'm going to stop thinking about it.
My brain starts to tingle, like something is messing with the bio-electricity in my brain. Not that my thoughts became slower, but there was some slight interference. An incessant buzzing that tries to rob me… Try to hijack my synapses and the twitching of my muscles.
"Take me up.” Duchess doesn't hesitate because I can tell she noticed whatever I noticed.
Above the abandoned clouds, another storm is brewing. I didn't inspect above the cloud layer before unleashing Khan, but it doesn't seem like this new, higher storm was here before. It reminds me of the storm-filled fracture with ties to the deceased Storm Maiden.
Storm clouds layer on top of each other with hundreds of feet of sky between them. Merita told me that the Maiden was dead. Merta, the goddess of wealth, has credibility, so I reckon this isn't a sign of divine descent from a deceased weather goddess.
Hmm… If this is divine punishment from the remnant of a dead goddess, I wonder if I could survive it? It would definitely be weaker than divine punishment if she was alive… but let's not tempt fate.
[Perhaps the elementals that somehow escaped the maw of the swarm sought help and called for reinforcements?]
"Perhaps. Perhaps.” Duchess’ input is more probable, but that doesn't mean I'm incorrect. We, and I mean Khan under my orders, are desecrating what can be considered ‘holy ground’ if the site of a divine revenge murder can be regarded as holy.
I also got a title in that fracture after getting struck by lightning. Maybe I could rank up my title by facing whatever comes out of those clouds. Khan also needs to "baptize" in lightning for his evolution. Free stat points aren't something I'm going to refuse.
As if the heavens themselves sought to answer my prayers, the creature that granted that title appears high above me. Not one, but a trio of [Lightning Maiden]s.
When I first saw this creature, it was just a semi-formed elemental creature with a lance. A shard of a goddess’ weapon acts as its core in both body and power.
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These creatures have a more defined form.
They seem solid with distinct humanoid features. They wear armor, which looks like it is made from whatever their bodies are made out of. I'm betting on lightning. Their weapons are the only thing with any details, with inscribing that are difficult to make out with the storm and distance.
I wouldn't call them ‘feminine,’ but with their flowing golden hair and a name like “Lightning Maiden,” I feel safe to guess that they are modeled after a woman. Most definitely the Maiden of Storms, whose broken lance should power them.
Using [Scientific Insight+] to feel their levels caused their attention to fall on me. Even though they didn't have eyes, I could feel three pairs of icy stares directed solely at me. Damn. I only wanted to see your information, nothing else! I swear!
[Lightning Maiden Degraded A lv 500]x3
Ah, still degraded. Still ranked A. Still level 50… Oh.
[Master… Thisss one is reminded of the stench of your charred flesh when you barely manage to survive the death throes of one of these creatures.]
“Do not worry. I've become stronger.”
[...Thisss one doesn't want to smell or get charred.]
“...”
[Be not mistaken. Thisss one knows you will force harm to befall on you before allowing a single feather of thisss one to be singed. Beyond the utility and damage thisss one can provide in a fight, the very nature of lightning will make it so thisss one will also take damage from simple exchanges if you continue to ride me. The double damage you take on my behalf might lead to your downfall.]
“Hmm.”
[The range of your ability isn't omnipotent. Thisss one cannot support from range without the risk of being targeted and becoming a vulnerability for you during the battle.]
“Duchess. You forget something important, something that should quell any worries.”
[Oh?]
“I have like 30 times your health.”
[That's it?]
“That'll be enough.” If two people of the same rank and level fight, it's usually decided in one attack. There are exceptions, but in a fight NOT to the death, one serious blow is adequate.
The maidens weren't simply floating there, watching. They were charging a massive, island-destroying, bolt of lightning. The raising of my hair and the tingle on my tongue told me that something big was coming. That and the obnoxious amount of light radiating from them.
[Royal Decree] is a B-rank skill that allows me to verbally or nonverbally command "targets.” They will follow said orders unless it will directly be harmful to them or their spirit stat is higher than mine.
I issue a simple command with a wave of my hand. (Don't do that.)
I interrupt the ritual, but as soon as my decree triggers, they break free. The indignant feeling and rage emanating from the trio of maidens are tangible. The storm worsens, and lightning crackles around them in a halo. Like a bolt of lightning, they descend on me.
Using the skill again to halt their momentum fails, and I can feel the skill be instantaneously removed. Not overcome or resisted, but artificially removed. Sigh, I guess my skill isn't strong enough to completely control three entities with ties to a dead goddess…
The first time worked, most likely because it was a surprise. Maybe a mental effect-clearing skill is being constantly applied. Hmm. That's another thing to test on my list.
My thoughts are not faster than lightning. I was harmed before my thoughts concluded. One of the maidens zaps straight through me and Duchess, dealing massive damage tied to their descent. Its momentum doesn't allow it to stop on a dime, so it disappears through the clouds below. The other two target me and Duchess individually. The damage from their descent is lower, but they are free to follow up with more attacks.
-9001
(-1500)
[Resistance: Lightning 699 > 999 (999)]
-16001
The damage they do is massive. The one that went straight through me nearly consumed half my health points since I [Martyr]ed the damage that would've been dealt to Duchess. While she has no defense or armor points (which I find concerning), she does have a flat 15% damage reduction for elemental attacks, which contributed against the damage I took.
My resistance broke through past the 999 restriction with the follow-up from the other maidens. [Iron Hide] is no longer restricted and now gives me a resistance bonus at its full strength.
[Resistance: Lightning 999 > 1000 (1500)]
And it keeps growing.
Burning flesh and twitching muscles fail to stop me from dumping my mana into healing my charred body. The one attacking me immediately noticed that I was reflecting the damage I had taken back to it. It recoils as it almost kills itself on me.
-A swipe of my sword leaves little damage. My finger temporarily went numb when I landed my attack.-
That leaves me to wonder about the one that descended through the cloud. [Scientific Insight+] shows me damage numbers... but I tend to turn off that ability in battle because I don't need another distraction when fighting.
-Duchess fails to grasp them with [Telekinesis], and mental interference with her magic fails. She twists and turns in the air, like a beautiful dance one would see at a ritualistic performance. Her [Radiation] spell does little, but the maidens attempt to dodge her [Ray]s of light.-
Khan will take care of her. Not because I told him to but because she descended into his hunting grounds.