Chapter 12

The Final Game Part 2

"Harry, take full control!" I shouted right before leaping out of the vehicle. I was fast as a human but even faster in full transformation. With the reduction of my weight, the Lycan Mobile took off at nearly twice the speed, easily gaining on the landboat. At first I was running on two legs and being outpaced by my vehicle until I remembered I was a wolf and dropped down to all fours.

When we were close enough, confirmed by my H.U.D., I leaped back onto my ride and instantly activated the Blood Tether skill, latching onto the shield of the first-place vehicle. I was thankful that it stuck and wasn't repelled. Having been struck once by an invisible weapon, I activated every eye power I had and just in time to. Harry was in control, but being linked to my skills, when I activated them for me, I activated them for him, too. He jerked us to the left to avoid a vertical strike that would've split us into two.

Using the Blood Tether, I sent the Skill Winter's Grasp T5-R3 and watched as the shield began to ice over. After about of minute of actively channeling that skill, I then used in rapid succession Sunder, Meteor Strike, and Siesmic Palm, which finally shattered their shield.

Walls of mud and stone shot up in front of us, but Harry's A.I. brain was far too quick to be bothered with that trick and easily navigated the obstacles until they sprung into existence too quickly and at impossible angles to dodge.

"Switching to plan C," I shouted to Harry over the rushing wind.

"We had plans?" Harry shouted back. I ignored him, removed a mini-fusion cannon, and imbued it with several skills. So anyway, I started blasting… Then, a few explosions behind us forced me to turn around and blast them, too. Really, I should've just led with this because it was super effective. And then that's when I saw it. A pirate ship complete with black sails and steampunk piping running along the sides trailing black smoke shocked me.

"Harry, I think Blackbeard is not only in this competition, but he's gaining on us."

"Seriously? I thought he was your friend?"

"Guess we'll see about that." We cleared the last of the obstacles, and I fired a perfect shot on the lead ship and took out its engines. We flew past them while taking the lead in this race. On the final curve, we drifted around; we watched the pirate ship also switch into a drift, revealing its side cannons. All 48 guns were fired multiple times in quick succession. So, no crew manual loading… bummer.

My fusion cannon couldn't deal with this many, so I stored it and switched to stance to prepare myself for physical force. However, my H.U.D. came back with the trajectories and had all of them flying way over us. Is he trying to create a mountain of fire and debris in front of us? Are shields would easily cut through that… then what is he doing?

There was indeed an explosion in front of us, three in fact, as each massive cannon round bent and curved like homing rockets to three targets ahead of us. As the pirate ship closed the distance approaching us, I heard Blackbeard's booming voice clearly over the sounds of wind and fire.

"Hey me, boy, you need to hone those senses of yours even more! You were actually in fourth place! Now go on and win this thing!"

I de-transformed and gave the old pirate a salute. Then took control back from Harry and punched it. The last quarter mile wasn't easy due to the final wall defenses being the densest, but adrenaline, superhuman reactions, and a ton of skills pushing me beyond comprehension put me across the finish line in first place. Blackbeard hovered in upon a fog of mist in second.

Parking our crafts and exiting, I met up with Blackbeard. "Why didn't you tell me you were joining? Oh, and thanks for the help."

"I wanted ye to be surprised. I ain't no care for ye first place. Second gets me a huge amount of tokens, and I guess it is time for me to move on. I'm curious about what comes next."

"You and me both, but for now, I plan on returning and continue to rise through the layers."

"I believe ye will. Good luck!" He said and slapped me hard on the back. Despite all my strength and durability, he still knocked me forward a few steps and then laughed heartily at my fluster.

A robot flew over with a screen display for a head. It spoke but also displayed its words for me to read.

"Congratulations on winning first place. Your reward awaits. Please follow me." A portal opened up, and it flew through. So, I bid farewell to Blackbeard and walked through the tear in space. On the other side, I was once again back in my blue ghost-like body, standing in a hall meant for a king. At the end of the grand hall sat a being of pure cosmic light on a throne made for giants.

I didn't know what to do exactly, but I felt like stopping a bit distance away and bowing was the right thing to do.

"MORTAL. RISE." Said the voice that seemed to echo throughout the universe itself. "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIN. I AM THE PROGENITOR OF THIS REALM. YOU MAY CALL ME DAN."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

If I wasn't dead, I would've lost control completely and laughed. Still, it was difficult, even with dampened emotions, not to burst right there.

"I WAS CONSTRUCTED TO OVERSEE THE GAMES AND AWARD THOSE MOST DESERVING. YOU MAY NOW PRESENT YOUR WISH. REMEMBER, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT ARE SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE, AND SHOULD YOU WASTE IT, IT WILL BE ON YOU."

"I wish to go back to the first layer from which I died from the moment I died and with all the skills and progress I've gained so far, along with whatever I can buy from the token shop."

"THE LAWS OF TIME CANNOT BE REVERSED. HOWEVER, THEY CAN BEND. I CAN GET YOU CLOSE TO THE TIME OF WHICH YOU DIED. YOU REQUEST WILL BE GRANTED. AFTER YOU MAKE YOUR PURCHASES, YOU WILL BE SENT BACK. GOODBYE CHAMPION."

With that, I was teleported to the Toiken shop. A screen popped up with pages of things I could buy and the amounts required.

I took my time going through everything and made my selections. I bought four things in total, but they were all of legendary quality. I grinned in satisfaction. One of my items required an editing phase to choose its design and colors. I went all out on pimping my new armor.

~~~

When I arrived back on the first layer in a flash of light, I saw in slow motion a Majin Tokeki flying forward with a fist leading the way. I took a moment to look around, and upon seeing the remnants of my friends and the Lykaian army amidst hundreds of corpses of their allies, I quickly realized things had gone south. Then I noticed the body of Hiroshem missing his head. The trajectory of the Majin was aiming for Jaxon, and I instantly reached out and caught his fist.

The blow was incredibly powerful. I felt hairline fractures from the bones in my hand. Even with the superior armor and the boosts it gave me, I was still damaged slightly. No wonder everyone was having a hard time with this foe. I crushed that hand but let go when he tried to leap back. I could've held on, but I needed a moment to process everything.

First, I felt for VeLana's aura and found her alive and being healed. With a sigh of relief, I sought out each of the others who weren't immediately present and were thankful they were all alive despite their wounds. All but Hiroshem, that is. I knelt by his body and released Harry and Ferra. Harry greeted everyone and gave instructions to clear out. The two S-Rank Lykaians were hesitant, but upon witnessing what happened to Hiroshem and then that same blow being stopped dead in its tracks moments later, they stepped back a few feet.

Was Hiroshem's soul still in his body? His corpse felt very warm still. I used multiple healing skills to regrow his head and heal his wounds, but he didn't wake up. Next, I tried to shock his heart, but in the end…

"Zeke, is that really you?" Jaxon asked, despite seeing both Harry and Ferra. My armor, which I named Lycan Nano-Powersuit, was pitch black with wolf-like needle hair. Between the joints and plates was a green ethereal fire that resembled more of an aurora borealis than chaos fire. This same fire was seeping out of the eye sockets as well and gave me a dangerous appearance. The armor could retract into my arm when not in use, and I could, with the nanotechnology, lower the helm to let Jaxon see my face, but I didn't want him to see my tears.

When I spoke, the helm altered my voice, giving it a more electronic edge. "It is I. Now, take his body and flee the area. I will handle the rest of them."

I looked back at the three remaining Majin Tokeki, the top of the Majin class, and realized that their city was now a burning wreckage in the background. If the Lykaian leader and the Monster King aren't here, then one of these three must be the new Monster King.

Looking about the sea of the dead, I spotted hundreds of shiny objects, which I knew to be Monster Cores. That's right, only the Kordra bodies remain when they die, the Majin turn to dust and leave behind loot. Korda also leaves loot, but you have to dig it out of them first.

"You, Tokeki, you're number 2, right?"

Breythen laughed despite his sudden unease with the newcomer.

"I'm number one now that this guy became the new Monster King. You don't stand a chance…"

He was cut off by my fist, which exploded his head into a fine mist. I retreated several steps before anyone could even see my actions. "I'm sorry, what was that? You didn't finish."

I blinked away the notification I received for that kill and took in the other two. I knew Rizen and his power but doubted he was the next Monster King, which meant that other Majin was. "I guess that makes you Rizen Number 1 and him the Monster King. Well, for the moment."

Sol instantly activated his Curse but before he could do anything, his head exploded as well. "Now, you're the Monster King Rizen. Congratulations on the promotion. For now."

"You've grown in power and gained some new toys, I see. I wonder how that is," Rizen finally spoke. "Allow me to educate you. Your Blessings are the polar opposite of our Curses, but like your ranking system, we have similar ranks." He listed them off one by one from least to greatest. "Weak, Mild, Severe, Vengeful, Wrathful, and then Unholy. But I have transcended Unholy to the Soul realm. My true Teskata is the Curse Ability Primordial Force! Rank Evil 1," he shouted as he activated his Curse. His body grew several feet. The pale complexion turned ashen grey as the black markings dripping down his eyes became a glowing, pulsating red color. Twin horns grew from his forehead and curved upward.

"Cool, cool, cool, cool… so just one?" The look of confusion on his face meant he didn't understand. "You see, the thing is, I have three Blessings at the Soul 1 rank."

He may have been a summoner before, but his Curse was something else entirely. His physical attributes shot through the roof, but that damnable black energy that killed me the first time became a sword in each hand and was far more deadly than before. I felt my armor could stand up to it but wouldn't come out unscathed. Instead, I focused on the additional boosts my armor gave me, which pushed all my attributes into the Godly realm.

Astra King and Berserker gave me the stamina and flow of Astra to allow my perception and agility to avoid his dark matter energy swords, while Cyber Lord calculated angles, arcs, trajectories, and a plethora of other variables. I pushed my body into an ebb and flow of the battle, but the size difference prohibited a decisive blow.

I could tell he still took a lot of damage, but he, too, had incredible regenerative skills. "I give it to you, Rizen. You're far stronger than your allies were. But the only thing you have over me is height. Until now…" I transformed with bones snapping and shifting into my full werewolf form. With a mighty roar, my new height of nearly 17 feet now rivaled Rizens. He'd seen this form before, but now, his eyes widened at the realization that I had transcended above him. He tried to flee, but I was there at every turn, blocking his path. Then, we engaged in the final clash of will and power.