His left hand twisted and cracked audibly its elbow and fingers extending into long dagger like blades The skin rippled shifting to deep grey scales in a heartbeat On RandidlyÆs right arm his hand twitched until a long spur of bone emerged from his palm crimson with fresh blood
Very quickly that bone extended forming a spear like shape even as his fingers withered to ash and bone dust around the newly appeared weapon Dark veins spread across his body as two long bone tails emerged from his neck and tailbone That pale crown he wore continued to burn but his features faded away as a thin layer of skin grew to cover him Then all that could be seen were two dark smudged that indicated his eye sockets and the dark gulf that was his mouth
The Grim Chimera is actually manifesting Helen thought in shock as she stared upward HeÆs using Skills to create an image and then using that image in a way that should be possible only with Skills this form is an independent manifestation
Which means Helen thought in awe Randidly Ghosthound is touching upon the Master level
And to meet this monster at the location of its descent a woman surrounding by the hot orange wind walked slowly forward In her too Helen could sense no animosity or hatred Like Dozer she did not fear the approaching fight
No as Alana moved forward the only emotion she was projecting outward was joy
Chapter 950
As Randidly dropped toward the ground Mrs Hamilton continued to weave a web of razor sharp wires around the spot where he would land She was somewhat nervous witnessing his strange monstrous image take over his body but even so he was bound by BerylÆs Isolate This was the best chance for them to strike and Mrs Hamilton wouldnÆt let a chance of this magnitude slip through her fingers
Even without any more aces up her sleeve she could
With heavy footsteps Alana moved to stand beside Mrs Hamilton For several seconds she was silent Then she grinned and looked at the slowly falling form of Randidly Ghosthound in his new form You know sometimes I wonder who tricked who with this fight
Mrs Hamilton looked up sharply You think we will lose That this form of his means he has broken out of BerylÆs Skill
No heÆs still trapped Alana replied almost helplessly But yes I think we will lose You probably canÆt feel it Your understanding of images is still growing Instead of working at it youÆve been orchestrating every twist of this fight
But after being submerged in HelenÆs image for so long I can feel it How something about him just changed All this time Randidly still saw us as Donnyton The Donnyton he founded and nurtured Perhaps unconsciously he held back Or his most dangerous instincts were sleeping But now you took away that sight His limiter was removed All he sees now are enemies
For several seconds Mrs Hamilton considered Alana Perhaps forcing her to the task of wearing down Helen was more mentally exhausting than Mrs Hamilton had anticipated Finally Mrs Hamilton spoke to the other woman in a rather dry tone to try and draw her back to concrete issues you know he canÆt see anything at all right
Is that so The corner of AlanaÆs mouth twisted upward Then a wave of orange light exploded outward from her Impossibly bright silver armor condensed around her body illuminating the surrounding area The wings on her helmet grew longer and more lifelike until they were beating softly over the two womenÆs heads and producing dozens of pearly feathers that fluttered down around them
Before Mrs Hamilton could even process the fact that Alana had been able to successfully manifest an image another change dragged her attention sharply upward the head of the monster version of Randidly snapped downward locking onto AlanaÆs position Even as he fell his gaze remained fixed upon her
He can feel the image Alana said softly You can cut out everything else but the power of the human spirit can invent things that arenÆt even there ItÆs magical really
Narrowing her eyes Mrs Hamilton considered how to reply to this Ultimately however she let the implicit criticism in AlanaÆs tone pass so she could focus on the positive You created an image Excellent While I distract him you need to
I understand why you are still missing it so IÆll say it bluntly you donÆt have the capability to interfere in this last part of the fight His kid gloves are off If you attempt to interfere The incandescent valkyrie turned and regarded Mrs Hamilton steadily I will not be able to protect you
As Mrs Hamilton froze Alana continued to speak
I do not believe in fate or destiny But I think part of what Randidly was trying to tell us was that images become a self fulfilling prophecy once they exist they spread themselves endlessly and warp the world Once he made this challenge about images all of us would move toward that end even if we struggled to avoid it
That finally shattered Mrs HamiltonÆs shock and gave her something to hold onto Great as he is I believe we both know that Randidly Ghosthound doesnÆt have the patience or the interest in manipulating such a large scale event to such a fine degree He had no plan
Sighing Alana turned back toward the accelerating monster Of course he didnÆt mean to do it But what he was showing was that images infect everything they speak with a universal language that we implicitly understand They move through lines of emotion culture and symbology to exist By seeing them we are shaped Which shapes the world which shapes the image We step into an endless cycle Without owning and understanding our own image we propagate we are destined to be victims
Mrs Hamilton just looked at Alana This is surprisingly philosophical stuff coming from you
“I had a lot of time to think wasting time with Helen for so long ” Alana scratched her head Ah hell itÆs hard to put into words IÆll just say this I think that there were a lot of lessons in this fight You learned that tricks and shadow plays sometimes werenÆt enough Donny learned that he cannot protect everyone The Cortez siblings probably learned how far they really are from being able to stand at the pinnacle of Donnyton I bet their confidence will be shaken by how casually they were knocked out
Clarissa saw some hope of her dream of utilizing the elements Decklan saw that Randidly could truly bleed just like the rest of us Paolo and Kayle both learned that the other isnÆt invincible
And you Mrs Hamilton asked
This obviously Alana gestured at herself in her brilliant splendor Which is the strangest of all I could not have formed this image without spending so much time under the pressure of HelenÆs Domain Was it inevitable that I fight against her this whole time to maintain my strength
Then she shook her head Or is this just me wishing to be have been chosen and that this all was just a roll of the dice Either way please step back Take Beryl with you
But his Skill
AlanaÆs eyes were a brilliant tangerine as she fixed Mrs Hamilton with a sharp stare This isnÆt your fight The time limit of the Isolate Skill wonÆt become relevant I doubt this will last longer than a single clash Two at most
Mrs Hamilton wanted to say no She wanted to deny what Alana was saying was true But also Mrs Hamilton was tired and running low of Stamina and Mana The ground beneath her feet was cracked in pitted And the brave young man she had sought to protect for so long had already on this day been betrayed and now fell from the sky wearing a guise of a monster
It was a mask they had given him A mask of envy and awe and isolation
Sometimes itÆs okay to feel old Mrs Hamilton thought sadly Then she turned away from the fight and used her wires to pull away the remaining wounded from the fractured arena
When Randidly hit the ground the arena proper collapsed into a pile of pale rubble It also set off a chain reaction on the island in the middle of the quarry sending bits of stone tumbling into the water Alana stumbled from the impact righting herself almost instantly as she prepared for his attack But he hadnÆt moved