The two foes shot toward each other, Randidly Ghosthound descending the slope and Kaan Swacc ascending. The ground between them was cracked and pitted from their earlier clashes. Behind Randidly, Neveah’s overly large form continued to flail unpredictably around, crushing what remained of the mountain peak. The dull rumbles of crushed stone were all the accompaniment that this fight needed.

Randidly’s already flagging mental energy flared up one last time. He gathered all the Willpower he could manage. If he failed here, he would still have some drops of liquid Aether remaining, but it was safer to use liquid Aether as a counter to another’s use of liquid Aether. As an offensive move, liquid Aether only worked if the other had none.

And although Randidly hoped that he possessed more liquid Aether than Kaan Swacc, he wasn’t willing to bet on that fact while in a disadvantaged position.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Randidly and Kaan rushed toward each other. Randidly felt the distracting sensation of the dirt and pebbles beneath his bare feet with each step. Revelation energy spun around Randidly, sharpening his vision and discernment. Truthfully, Randidly felt quite a bit of disgust for himself in his heart as he marshaled everything he possessed for one last barrage of attacks.

If nothing else, he had learned a lot from this battle.

Two things had given him the confidence to challenge Kaan Swacc: the fact that he had broken past the System’s limit on physical power and the fact that he had Neveah’s support for the fight. In terms of the latter, the fact that Neveah was now in agony was proof that Randidly had been a fool. While he had been traveling to Tellus and the frontlines, honing his Willpower, Neveah had remained on Earth and learned what it meant to be human.

When he returned to Earth, he had seen Neveah’s strengths and reassured himself that this was enough, never pushing himself to consider her weaknesses. It was a devasting oversight, the result of which was Neveah’s current predicament.

In addition… Randidly had some deep misconceptions about what breaking past the physical limits meant for his battle potential. While it was true that he could easily avoid the negatives that other individuals would encounter by breaking past the limit, the benefit he received was small. The limit functioned as a restriction, so before Randidly had broken past the limit, he had perhaps only been able to wield physical prowess equivalent to 90% of the System limit.

After he broke past that, he could suddenly wield all 100% of the power, plus an additional few percent due to his rapidly growing Nether Brawn. So his abilities perhaps reached about 105% of the System limit.

But that limit was purely on physical strength. Kaan could easily use only one of his pyramids and an image to bridge the 15% difference in strength between 90% and 105%. A second pyramid made Kaan even stronger than Randidly. Randidly’s future growth would no longer be limited by the Nexus, but that growth hadn’t happened yet.

Yet despite those failures, Randidly had grievously wounded Kaan and arrived at this point. More than the disappointment he felt toward his mistakes in the past, what buoyed Randidly forward now was excitement. Because the circumstances were forcing him to rapidly grow.

Randidly could only rely on two rather unproven methods to overcome Kaan. The first was his Nether Nebula, which he had desperately damaged in order to briefly produce that strange grey bubble that had contained incredible weight. But now, Randidly’s Nether Nebula would need quite a bit of time to recover. For now, it was a spent resource.

The second method was the physical manifestation of Randidly’s three images in his body. Surging down over the devastated slope toward Kaan, those three images began to stir in his chest, spinning together to form one whole.

The air filled with the sound of rustling leaves. Ripples spread outward from Randidly and light in the surrounding air began to bend and turn milky. Small particles of ash drifted from Randidly’s silhouette, billowing out behind him like a grey cloak.

There was a glaring weakness to this method, however. And that was the problem of balancing the three images against each other while fighting. It simply took too much concentration to keep the images balanced correcting in his body while doing any sort of demanding thinking. And battling definitely counted as demanding thinking.

Yet Randidly charged down toward Kaan with a wide smile on his face. Because Kaan Swacc had given Randidly the keys he needed to unlock this powerful balance. Although his suddenly scant Willpower couldn’t suppress the three images to stay equal, he didn’t need to. Randidly just needed to make the three images reliant on each other.

Yggdrasil exploded upward, its trunk covered in dense golden script, its leaves brilliant emeralds. At the same time, one of Kaan’s pyramids began to glow and the inevitable waning of growth due to age shined down on Yggdrasil. The image struggled, but the counter-image struck at its base too deeply. Not even Yggdrasil could escape the pull of time.

And to that weakening image of Yggdrasil, the Grim Chimera spoke. If your current method of growth begins to fail, adapt. If that method does work, adapt again. The passage of time is the ultimate tool to survive! As long as you continue to live, what is strength? What is beauty? What is truth? Only the living has the honor of making those distinctions! Give up everything to chance, gamble and struggle!

This time, Randidly released the tall and bloodthirsty form of the Grim Chimera as Yggdrasil faded. Although his claw was still wounded, his physical form was streamlined and perfected to kill and survive. The warped skin on his limbs cut through the air. He accelerated quickly as he loped toward Kaan.

Another pyramid began to glow, releasing the aura of certainty. As the Grim Chimera flickered, the Stillborn Phoenix cackled. Although some transformations are impossible, a will that does not waver can create truth from illusion! To be certain! To never give in! Obsession will overwhelm the established order! My dream… I’ll take everything… I’ll definitely obtain it…!

Light bent as the Stillborn Phoenix spread its imagined wings. Randidly and Kaan were only a few meters apart from each other, both raising their hands in preparation to attack. And Kaan’s third pyramid floating above Randidly radiated hopelessness, squashing the Stillborn Phoenix even before light in the surrounding space began to bend inward around the hole in the world.

Finally, the branches of Yggdrasil groaned and creaked as it moved. Heh, you overeager youngster. Did you know, the past and the future are both illusions. Why obsess over them? Instead, focus all your effort in the present; live every moment to the fullest. No matter if it is angles or demons, as long as you dedicate yourself, none can belittle the accumulation of effort. Such a foundation can even support entire worlds…

Kaan Swacc had struck again and again at Randidly’s weaknesses, giving him a greater understanding of the shape of each of the three images that Randidly had nurtured. And although the fit wasn’t entirely perfect, the three images could fold naturally into each other to hide those weaknesses. In Randidly Ghosthound’s body, the three images began to blend.

His left eye turned pitch black and the light around his face bent and warped. The skin of his torso became translucent and his veins transformed to become golden. Randidly’s hair shifted to become emerald while his left hand twisted into a claw and his right lengthened to become a bone spear. Every beat of his heart released a small pulse of light that would travel through his golden veins, spreading his strength throughout his body.

Although the amounts were small, Nether flowed along with that light, strengthening his physique further.

More importantly, the aura of all three of Randidly’s images began to radiate from his body. Right as they were about to meet, Kaan’s face twisted into a scowl. “You fool! Did you think that expending your mental energy pointlessly would be enough to bluff me? Three at once? Then I’ll crush you all at once!”

Yet to Randidly’s senses, he could feel that the aura he released was like the tip of an iceberg. In his physical body, the vast majority of his image strength was still mixing and connecting with each other. The three images assisting with their fellow images' weaknesses didn’t just eliminate Kaan’s avenue attack, but it also changed the images in a fundamental way. Randidly’s three images didn’t exactly mix, but they were no longer as isolated as before. The details of the physical manifestations became sharper.

Light swirled inward. Each of Randidly’s emerald hairs was outlined in golden script, hiding the truth of the world. Two tails manifested, granting his physical form unmatched poise.

The sensation in Randidly’s body was much more manageable than his initial experiments in mixing images had been. It was akin to that feeling when a rider finally grasps the essence of riding a bicycle. The structure, at a sufficient momentum, helps keep the vehicle balanced all on its own.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

All at once, every one of Kaan’s pyramids began to glow. The one above his head released an image of power, while the three above Randidly released the three counter-images to target his weaknesses. But Randidly’s eyes went to the two pyramids in Kaan’s hands.

The left one released an image of impenetrable. While the right released an image of killing.

Kaan’s tuned counter-images impacted Randidly’s body. For a second Randidly’s images shivered, but they endured. With his physical form as a refuge and the connections between the image handling the stress, they did not fail. And then Randidly began to make use of the true power of mixing his images.

Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil, Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality, Cosmic Necessity.

In the past, Randidly had activated several Skills at once. Mostly because he simply had too many Skills. But that was like having two horses pull a carriage rather than one: the carriage went faster, but most of what happened was that the two beasts shared the burden.

What he was doing now was like splicing together three horses and having your carriage yanked forward by the horse-equivalent of Cerberus.

Randidly exploded into motion. Space around him shattered as all three image burned through his body and exerted themselves on the surrounding air. He crossed the last bit of space between the two of them and thrust forward with his bone spear. Kaan immediately adjusted his defensive left hand, bringing it down block the thrust but Randidly effortless guided the attack further down. His muscles twisted with both explosive power and delicacy, due to the efforts of the two physical Skills.

Rather than striking against the weaker, newly grown flesh, Randidly ripped another hole in Kaan’s already wounded thigh. The flesh around the first wound had mostly healed, but it was a weakness that he could target. And because of the force of the thrust, Randidly’s strike drilled downward and clipped the side of Kaan’s knee.

“You…!” Kaan blasted Randidly with his tuned counter-images again and then slashed out with his killing right hand.

Randidly’s eyes, one emerald and one a pool of darkness didn’t even flicker. He swayed and the attack passed through him like he wasn’t even there. A huge chunk of his mental energy vanished as he once again used three images. Chimeric Avoidance. Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold. Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil.

Using three Skills at once, it was almost too simple to avoid Kaan’s counter-attack. The weight of all three images was mobilized toward one goal, increasing the efficiency further. Inscrutable Mien created a zone of inviolable space around himself to weaken Kaan’s attack, as befitting a deity. Revelation energy gave Randidly the focus to toe the line of this space. Chimera Avoidance handled crossing the distant unscathed.

If Randidly didn’t feel the alarming consumption of his mental energy, he would consider this fight to already be in the bag. As it was, the edges of his vision were becoming fuzzy, even with the help of the Revelation energy. He couldn’t last much longer.

Gritting his teeth, Randidly raised his leg, feinted a high kick toward Kaan’s temple to draw his defensive pyramid upward, then stomped brutally downward on Kaan’s wounded leg. As the man howled in pain in fury, he twisted around and swept his killer right hand across his body. In addition, Kaan didn’t forget to release three more pulses of counter-images.

Plus, he had tuned them further. Randidly grimaced; although the effect was still small, Kaan changing up the images further made his balancing more difficult. He didn’t have time to waste.

So Randidly decided not to dodge. With his mind practically buzzing from the effort, Randidly once again activated three Skills and images at once. Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil, Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart, Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe.

While an aura of frigid ash and the focused oppression of gravity settled over Kaan’s body and restricted his movements, a rush of thick, golden roots exploded out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Kaan’s right arm. They spun around his bicep, up to his shoulder, and then wound themselves down to cover his forearm. For several seconds, he struggled, but the combination of Randidly’s Skills were enough to bring Kaan’s attack to a shuddering halt.

Randidly brought his bone spear around and prepared to attack.

But Kaan Swacc was a well-trained member of the Xyrt Brigade; he was nothing if not decisive. After all the concentrated mental attacks on Neveah, he finally ceased his assault and recalled his amber pyramid. It spun around and then shot downward at its new target, aiming for the spot where Randidly’s spine met his head.

Still, as the Fate surged forward, the ground beneath it exploded. Acri, who had been buried under rubble earlier, shot upward and smashed into the Fate. It wrapped its large body around the amber pyramid, knocking it off its course and pinning it to the ground.

Probably Kaan’s Fate could quickly deal with Acri and once more threaten Randidly. But Randidly wouldn’t give Kaan that chance.

Cosmic Necessity. Man is Proud, but the Chimera Takes. The Implacable Price of Exodus.

This time, Randidly didn’t avoid a direct clash with Kaan’s defensive left hand. From his back heel, up through his knees and hips, and finally to his torso and shoulders, a wave of explosive momentum roared to life and concentrated in a single point. Three cosmic orbs were conjured and expended, corralling the vast energy of Randidly’s body and sharpening the point of impact.

His bone spear smashed against the pyramid and punctured the energy shield it conjured. The beast of the world tree smiled widely and devoured the image that Kaan attempted to use to defend himself. The bone spear continued forward, unhindered. But the attack was knocked off its course and skewered Kaan’s shoulder joint.

Unluckily, it was Kaan’s left shoulder, the one holding the defensive pyramid, that he struck. Because it wasn’t the weakened side of his body, the bone spear hit the joint and skidded to a halt, half a meter deep. Randidly could only force down his dizziness and smash Kaan with his left hand.

Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality. Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix.

The pain and torture of obsession and depression drove Randidly’s power upward. Again, he channeled the force through his entire body and generated a vicious blow. Already, the strain of utilizing all three images on top of the previous battle was too much for Randidly. For this attack, he could only mobilize two images. But those two images were joined with his impressive physical prowess. In addition, Kaan Swacc’s defense had been pierced and he could not dodge. So the punch smashed directly against his temple.

That attack landed, briefly stunning Kaan. Even more importantly, the reverberations traveled through Kaan’s body until they reached the healed flesh. There, small cracks began to form.

Behind him, Randidly could sense the amber pyramid exploded into motion, simply dragging Acri along with it. The three pyramids above Randidly continued to attack with counter images, but luckily the tuning had stopped; Kaan Swacc didn’t have the spare focus to adjust the image attacks.

Cosmic Necessity. Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil.

Despite feeling like he was going to destroy his left arm, Randidly marshaled every bit of strength that he had and punched Kaan Swacc again. The golden veins in his arm’s image pulsed with power. Metallic fist cloaked in image flesh smashed into the same spot Randidly had attack previously. Kaan Swacc’s face crackled. Kaan’s eyes were bulging out of his skull as he looked at Randidly. He was struggling furiously, tearing through the roots that bound his right arm in place even as cracks began to form in the base of that arm. “You-!”

Randidly’s body was trembling. His mind was fuzzy. Somehow, he admitted to himself that his next image activation would likely only be one image; already, the physical manifestations of his images on his body were disappearing. His eyes returned to their normal state, albeit very bloodshot. His right hand was dripping blood from where he had to use his fingers to pierce through Kaan’s impenetrable defense. His skin was red and steaming from the exertion of the past few moments.

Kaan’s eyes seemed to examine every inch of Randidly. He tugged again and tore almost all of the roots. Randidly could see that the roots would give in before the structural integrity of Kaan’s arm would. There was fear and confusion in his expression as Kaan realized that he might die in this fight. Fear fanned his will to live. “You…”

Even after expending all of his images and physical strength, Randidly had only cracked Kaan’s skull. He wouldn’t be able to deal enough damage to get through Kaan’s defense with just his hand. He needed something special to create an opportunity.

His first thought was using a drop of liquid Aether, more if the first didn’t work. But Randidly recognized the difference in their states right now. Kaan was briefly stunned and filled with fear and confusion, dropping his fighting capabilities. But in terms of mental energy, he was nowhere near as exhausted. If this assault didn’t strike home…

Maybe Neveah was even now recovering, but Randidly wasn’t sure. His mind was too bleary to check while also preparing for his next strike.

Decisively, Randidly chose to attack the confusion that Randidly saw on Swacc’s face. Kaan had pursued Randidly to this point because he was certain Randidly was a Nether spy. It was the basis of the entire fight. So when Randidly activated the last image he could manage with his mental energy, it was from neither of his three dominant images.

Randidly activated the Lantern of Harsh Truths with every bit of energy he had left.

Congratulations! Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 146!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths (R) has grown to Level 166!

“You… aren’t a Nether spy.” Kaan’s expression turned cloudy and he frowned. His pyramids flickered and drifted through the air, listless. The expression that Randidly saw then on Kaan’s face… he felt a great deal of pity for the man. In his empty gaze, Randidly saw a man who had had briefly glimpsed the truth and been shaken by it. “But then… why…? Your Nether…”

It would have been more kind to let you die thinking I was a Nether spy...

Whatever justification Kaan had needed to arrive at that conclusion, Randidly didn’t have the energy to care. He simply twisted around and caught the shaft of Acri, who had leapt off of the amber pyramid as it had stopped struggling. Then he straightened and rewarded Kaan for his epiphany with Acri’s tip into the bridge of his nose.

At the last moment, Kaan’s eyes flashed with clarity and he looked upward. His will to fight had returned after a brief second of confusion. Yet even if he couldn’t use an image, Randidly’s physical power surpassed the System limit; the attack was brutally quick.

And just like that, the great Special Investigator died.