The Obsidian Duke was covering another body with a thick covering of his distinct obsidian wrapping which Alana had never heard of before Chrysanthemum whose body crashed to the ground took several seconds to stagger to her feet looking much the worse for wear
Standing in the center of them all of course was Randidly Ghosthound
Alana grinned Doubletime boys or else the fun will be stolen by the Ghosthound
WINGED SERPENT Thea shrieked as she twisted to avoid another thrust from RandidlyÆs infuriating spear The thing twisted midair scoring a deep gash across her shoulder It cut through the armor they had stolen from a convoy out of Zone Seven like it was paper Not just in technique but in equipment they were completely outclassed
Hissing Thea hopped lightly to the right as the Wildness unleashed a huge horizontal slash toward Randidly and almost hit her in the process For all that they were on the same side the Wildness didnÆt seem to offer her any warning of his attacks The best he did was not purposefully aim for her
Infuriatingly Randidly seemed much less obstructed by the attack than she had been He hopped up into the air and tapped his bare feet across the sword as he dashed forward and unleashed some Skill toward the WildnessÆ face A terrible darkness instantly spread over the area and the air above Randidly seemed to warp as a skeletal figure with ashen bones extended its hands longingly toward the Wildness
There was a haunting melody that was almost out of earshot calling the listener toward the void If you paused to indulge that strange sense of unease your life would end
The Wildness roared and twisted his neck to deflect the stab with his tusks Thea almost wanted to roar in frustration It wasnÆt supposed to happen like this If they couldnÆt get an individual with a connection to Randidly then Chrysanthemum would never
Ahh The WildnessÆ scream confirmed her worst fears with the weight of that terrible image behind it RandidlyÆs stab shattered the tusk and cracked the WildnessÆ jaw The fool stumbled backward spraying blood likely too shocked by his own failure to do anything but gaze wide eyed at RandidlyÆs momentum let him float above the Wildness
TheaÆs mouth thinned into a line Her body surged into sudden motion as she activated her Combat Intensity Skill and aimed to interpose herself between Randidly and the Wildness Seeing that the Deep Horror still hadnÆt moved Thea had a sinking feeling in her heart that the Ghosthound was going to remind them all that they were still mortal today
Randidly raised his spear Again the image of the phantom formed above them and this time its empty eyes were locked onto Thea Instantly a strange sense of helplessness settled over her Gritting her teeth Bestial Fury ripped up from the depths of her soul and eradicated that strange feeling of weakness But Randidly still thrust his spear downward toward her maintaining his position of strength
ThatÆs the difference Thea thought strangely dissatisfied He believes so fucking honestly and completely that he warps the world With his images itÆs like we are fighting both him and the very air around us If we had our own images like this but no Right now heÆs controlling even the environment
how can we fight this
TheaÆs Desperate Blow cut upward toward RandidlyÆs thrust even as it drew strength from how overmatched she felt And it was knocked aside as though it was a plaything The hands of that greedy specter reached down aiming for TheaÆs heart But just as all the blood in her body was freezing in fear ChrysanthemumÆs familiar roar cut across the battle sending an imperceptible tremble through the image
Although Randidly could do it if he put his mind to it it wasnÆt easy to deal with ChrysanthemumÆs bulk which was forcefully smashed into the image Unfortunately Chrysanthemum didnÆt come away from this clash unscathed
Those bones that were riddled with small cracks previously were crushed to powder causing ChrysanthemumÆs roar to echo out again this time furious Those two clashes against Randidly had left some gaping holes in ChrysanthemumÆs body So much so that TheaÆs heart broke as she gathered herself and considered her partner
Slowly ChrysanthemumÆs body shrunk the remaining bones shifting around with cracks to form a complete body this one only about the size of a van Which was only two thirds its prior size but that wasnÆt the problem Thea frowned She had never seen Chrysanthemum do that before
As she had thought the time where Chrysanthemum was the most alive was when
Finished The Winged Serpent yelped even as a root stabbed brutally up through one of its wings It hissed and spat out six bolts of frost in quick succession to buy itself some time
Fuck About damn time The Obsidian Duke grumbled immediately seizing DrakeÆs bound body and rushing toward the portal Thea nodded sharply and dashed to the side to arrive at the bit of charcoal that had been the Deep Horror Her hand brushed against its shell and came away flakey with ash
It seemed that Randidly hadnÆt moved because he had to it was because he was finished
Gritting her teeth Thea spun around to see Randidly dashing toward the newly opened portal as well even as the prior portal finally was allowed to close by his vines
Thinking of escaping I donÆt think so Randidly growled The Obsidian Duke safely made it through the portal with Drake followed by a squeaking Winged Serpent Which left her and the Wildness to push through
Even though she didnÆt like it Thea admitted that Chrysanthemum was the best matchup against Randidly If she bought time for them
Fucking man child pleased with your little bit of strength A grim voice cut across TheaÆs thoughts as a body interposed itself between Randidly and the portal The Wildness was steaming Long clouds of smoke drifted up from his body After spitting up a mouthful of blood he bared his gap toothed grin and raised his blade Try a taste of this
To TheaÆs surprise Randidly slowed to a stop and frowned at The Wildness You broke your own Nemesis binding Why How Without that won’t you be rejected
But IÆll have enough time to teach a welp like you a lesson The Wildness grunted His gaze went to Thea and he subtly jerked his chin Thea nodded and dashed past him You think you are the only one who can create something from nothing IÆll show you the pride of one who killed a whole world to become a Nemesis Our images arenÆt nonexistent We simply arenÆt allowed to grace your world with their majesty
I wonÆt let you go that easily Randidly thundered his burning emerald eyes shifting to Thea The ground in front of her erupted in bursts of emerald fire Gritting her teeth she could only hope for the best and plunge through the thick flames
It was not for nothing that the Deep Horror had been reduced to ash by this vivid fire but her brief exposure only left Thea with some superficial burns She pushed forward crossing the final few steps to arrive in front of the portal Vines were already rising to block her way and snaking up to grab her ankles with malicious precision
TheaÆs eyes narrowed and she began to cut her way forward
Behind her the sky rumbled and the Wildness spoke One Cut One Sacrifice
A peal of thunder rang out as a bolt of vivid red lightning struck downward toward their battlefield It hit the ground with a dull roar and Thea was surprised to see the vines that had been reaching toward her slow and pause in their attacks
Despite herself she spared a glance over her shoulder to see what had happened In that brief flash she saw the Deepness was raising his blade once more but what grabbed her eyes was Randidly That charcoal body armor he wore had been split open and there was a deep wound across his chest
There was shock in his eyes too but then his face split into a grin Ha Is this all an Upper Cohort can manage
Good armor The Wildness said grudgingly but then he hissed as Randidly blurred into motion and appeared behind him His blade swung around but Randidly was gone this time borrowing the strikeÆs momentum and appearing right next to Thea His spear was already halfway toward her calf