Half an hour earlier on the abandoned island.
BOOM
CRASH
Hills and whole sections of mountains disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Ren stared into the sky where he saw two blackish dots high above, when they collided a piece of scenery would disappear as a result. A flash of blinding light here, a colossal ball of blue flames there. Ren was left truly stumped. How was he meant to even get close enough to play his instrument, he would get vaporised way before then.
He had noticed that the ground below the two dots was barren forming a circular Deadman's zone, around one kilometre in diameter, any shock wave that passed the border of the Deadman's zone would lose enough energy to not be fatal, Ren assumed this was due to Roxy keeping the fight in one area to prevent him being taken out by a stray attack.
He had been watching this fight for hours, waiting for an opportunity to strike, but no such thing existed. He could wait days and not be able to move, he had to think of something fast.
"fuck it."
As hard as he thought nothing came to mind, and when you couldn't think you could only act… and hope for the best. Ren wrapped himself in shadows and sent aether into his legs, currently Ren could achieve a threefold enhancement for around ten minutes, without the burden of the suffer-Ring he was blisteringly quick, but was it enough.
No, it wasn't in the face of those blackish dots in the sky Ren felt truly small, however he couldn't help but try, If Roxy gave him this task, he should be able to get out of it alive he didn't know if he would be in one piece but he should be alive.
Throwing caution to the wind he ran towards them as fast as he could…. only to be sent flying back by a shockwave a short while later.
"back to square one."
Ren thought spitting out a tooth along with a mouthful of blood, luckily his landing was softened by a bit of shrubbery on the jungle floor, he hugged his violin tightly during the process so it wouldn't get smashed to bits.
Of course, charging in hoping for a miracle wouldn't work, what was he, a fool. Ren took out the violin he knew there was no way they would hear it from all the way here, but it was better than doing nothing, currently Ren had an impressive repertoire of one song, twinkle twinkle little star. What could he say, the violin was a lot more difficult than he previously anticipated.
Even though he only knew one simple song, after weeks of practice, he could play it fairly well, picking up the bow, the simple melody of the song began to play out.
BOOOOM
The deafening roar of an explosion, threw him off and he missed a note.
"Dammnit, if I can't do anything at least let me practice in peace."
Ren cursed out loud, he was vexed. What did Roxy think he could do in a situation like this, all he could do was wait around for a window of opportunity, so he might as well practice to pass the time.
Getting in to position, he began playing, and once again he was thrown of beat by another explosion. So, he played again and he was interrupted again. This continued for quite some time until he found a rhythm. He would play within the breaks of the explosion, oddly enough he realised that he would get to the same bar every fifth explosion. After practicing for another half an hour, he figured out that if he played each note for thrice as long, he could play the whole song without getting thrown off beat. Albeit slowly.
It was kind of like someone stamping their feet in beat with you, except it wasn't feet… it was an explosion. Content with his discovery he continued playing. The explosion occurred on the start of the first, third and seventh bar, if he kept playing it continuously, starting again immediately after finishing, the explosions would occur on those bars without fail.
He continued playing keeping in tempo with the explosions, somewhere along the line he stopped playing, put down the violin and punched himself hard in the cheek.
"How could I be so stupid, who am I, Olivia."
If he could keep tempo with the explosions. Then obviously he could predict when the explosions would occur. But there was still a problem, the longest gap was five bars long and even though it was three times slower, he wouldn't be able to make it close enough in that time, after doing some calculations he guessed it would take just over twelve bars, the entire song, in that duration he would die three times over.
Although the explosions happened in random locations, the shockwaves where still large enough to prevent him from getting anywhere close enough to play. But since this was the most promising plan yet, he decided to explore this angle more.
He looked at the area below the fight, although there was meant to be a military fortress there, by now it had been pulverised to dust, the ground was barren and full of an assortment of craters.
This was the Deadman's zone, anything that entered this circle was probably going to get smashed to bits, but even if you were right next to this circular border as long as you didn't step over that line, the shockwave would lose enough power to become as lethal as a powerful gust of wind. As a testament to this, all trees just outside this border had all of their leaves blown off, but they were still standing firm.
The only explanation for this phenomenon, was that Roxy was keeping the fight to a specific area. There must be some kind of logic to this, this was one of the first things Ren had noticed since watching the fight. Originally, he had thought she did this so he wouldn't get taken out by a stray attack, but now it could be the key to figuring this out.
If the radius of the shockwave and the tempo of the explosions were constant, then what where the variables.
"Wait, isn't it me."
Ren exclaimed somewhat bitterly, that was right he was the only variable in this scenario. This meant Roxy didn't have anything in mind. She was counting on him to come up with a plan because he was the solution.
He had to find a way to disturb the balance in a way that was favourable to him. But he would have done that already if he could, he was back too square one. That wasn't entirely true though, he now knew the tempo of battle. Which didn't hurt.
He had a total of five bars to make a move, wait maybe he was overthinking it, just by limiting himself to the gap in the explosions, he was automatically eliminating the possibility of enduring the shockwave.
It sounded foolish he was like an ant in the face of that shockwave, but since he had no other ideas it was worth considering.
What was a shock wave, Ren asked himself. Essentially it was air that was compressed by an explosion that expanded outwards, it was just air. But he couldn't manipulate air since he didn't use the wind attribute.
BOOM
A beautiful ball of blue flames erupted spectacularly like a rose bud blooming in spring, even from this distance he could see the hot air rising, distorting the scenery on the other side.
"Wait a sec, hot air that's it."
He exclaimed in delight, hot air rises, this was a basic concept that almost everyone knew, if he managed to heat the air hot enough, he would be able to disperse some of the shockwave. The compressed air would only be better fuel for his flames. Now he was making progress.
Deciding to test his theory out, he decided to walk to the edge of the Deadman's zone. The hottest flame he could achieve currently, was that flamethrower move he came up with before entering the kingdom, since he could predict the explosion if he timed it correctly, he only needed to do it for a fraction of a second which meant he could put as much Aether into the flame as possible without a massive backlash.
BOOOOM
The shockwave rushed towards him, by now it had lost its fatal power, making it the perfect test. A stream of orange flames spewed out of his hands, when it collided with the gust of wind, it flattened forming something of a shield shape. Usually, this gust was strong enough to push him back several steps, but right now all he could feel was a gentle warm breeze.
"This could work."
Ren thought to himself happily. He practiced a few more times to get the hang of it, making his confidence rise. Now the issue was timing, Ideally, he would want to make the last part of the run on the seventh bar or third bar so he had the longest break to finish. So as long as he started in time with the first explosion it should be possible.
After readying himself he waited for his cue.
BOOOM
With that he was off, his shadow wrapped aether enhanced body shot out into the Deadman's zone.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star."
"How I wonder what you are."
BOOOM
A shockwave rushed by him bending his shield of fire and pushing him back slightly, but he was still standing, With his violin strapped tightly to his back, he continued onwards.
"Up above the world so high.
"Like a diamond in the sky"
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star"
"How I wonder what you are."
BOOOM
Ren's flames were pushed back, tints of blue started to appear, he flew a few steps backwards, but with no time to waste, now the hard part was over, finally all he had to do was get close enough and play before the explosion struck.
Keeping his eyes on the figures in a sky, he summoned his fastest speed until he was in earshot, he ripped the violin off his back and started playing.
***
Up in the sky, Roxy was feeling vexed, it had been a few hours and Ren still hadn't shown his mug. Was she asking too much of him. Honestly, she had no idea how he could make it within earshot, but since he was a disciple she chose, he should be able to manage?
It was time to do her next attack, all she could do for Ren was control the tempo of the battle, and hope he figured something out.
Roxy stared at her opponent who was smiling evilly and she sighed a ball of blue flames gathered in her hands. Just then a simple but crystal clear melody started playing and the expression on Elena's face froze.
"it's about time brat."
Roxy grinned she had been waiting long enough, Elena's face began to contort into a mixture of pain and nostalgia. She started to scream.
"What is this… no, make it stop. Ugh, please no more.
Her screams turned into begging, Roxy wasn't happy to see her friend in this state, but she couldn't waste this chance, the distraction was more effective than she hoped for so naturally she would make the most of it.
Instantly she appeared In front of Elena who was writhing in agony, without missing a beat, she placed her palm on her face and probed. Without Ren's distraction she would have already been attacked in this short timeframe.
"What the hell is this shit."
Roxy sensed a disturbing lump of god knows what at the back of her skull, whatever it was, she needed a closer look, using some unknown technique, she forced the mass out, a dark inky substance started to stream out of her ears. What appeared next caused her to recoil in disgust, a long black worm like creature squirmed out of her ear and made high pitched screeches.
Roxy recovered quickly and tried to make a grab for the worm but just then a large scream echoed throughout the island rattling her eardrums causing a small amount of blood to leak out of her ears.
She winced in pain and looked up, Elena or what used to be Elena, stared back at her while snarling like a beast, no trace of intelligence remained in her eyes, her current appearance could only be described as feral.
Roxy sighed
"I'm sorry about this, I promise I will personally destroy whoever did this to you."
She said with a pained expression.
On the ground Ren was clutching his ears and rolling on the ground, that roar had probably burst his eardrums. He picked himself up and saw the two figures in the sky, Roxy seemed to flickered right Infront of Elena and throw her upwards, yes throw her.
The two of them vanished higher into the sky. Ren who was watching from the ground, felt like she did this to make sure he was out of harm's way, now that he was closer anymore shockwaves would probably end him. As he stared into the sky, he could see the clouds disperse by the tremendous clashes, it seems Roxy wasn't holding back anymore. She was really planning to kill Elena.
It was at this point he noticed something falling down towards the ground, it seemed to be a black writhing mass, he couldn't see it clearly at first, but then he could. It seemed to be a blackish worm, but why was it easier to see now.
"Shit isn't it getting bigger."
Ren thought, taking a step back. He immediately put two and two together, Roxy had mentioned something was controlling Elena and he was willing to bet that it was this parasite. By the time it hit the ground it had reached a meter in length and it didn't stop there. Dust flew in all directions as the parasite landed with a thud.
Whatever this thing was, it was powerful enough to take control of Elena. Ren didn't stand a chance, just as he was about to back away, he felt his left wrist vibrate. It was the rosewood bracelet Roxy had given him.
"Strange isn't this how it acts when a demonic beast was near."
Ren thought to himself, did this mean that the parasite was a demonic beast. Was it worth the risk to find out, Roxy should be done soon, it would be safer to wait for her. A lot of thoughts raced through his head.
Demonic beasts where apparently magical beasts that where corrupted, this was what Roxy had told him. She had also told him that Elena was an elf that had been corrupted. Did that mean that it was the same thing. The parasite was likely a demonic beast, so maybe dark elves were like demonic beast's too. If that was the case didn't that mean the Rosewood could change her back like it did to that wolf in the village.
It was worth a shot, he needed to tell Roxy as soon as possible and find some way to get the rosewood bracelet up to her, otherwise she might kill her friend for nothing. But how was he going to do that, with the distance between them no way just shouting was going to cut it, he needed some way to make his voice louder. To send up the ring he could just throw it up with his aether enhanced ring, he would probably break his arm in the process, but he wasn't concerned.
After thinking that, Ren froze as he realised something, vocal cords where muscles, so naturally he should be able to enhance them right. He looked back up, they must be a few kilometres in the air right now, if he half assed it, his voice wouldn't be able to reach up there and his vocal cords would be destroyed, he only had one shot so he might as well go for broke and hope Roxy was able to patch him up.
Ren focused, this time he didn't take in Aether from his surroundings as usual and instead used the denser stuff that was left in his body. He was going for broke.
Ren felt a warm sensation in his throat and arms and shouted while simultaneously threw the bracelet as hard as he could. He couldn't hear himself shout due to his busted eardrums, but he definitely felt it, he felt the vibrations in his chest and body and the tearing sensation in his arm, he tried to shout the word rosewood but who knew what it sounded like. He could only hope she got his message, he collapsed onto the ground, as a sharp pain attacked his throat. He wanted to scream, but obviously he couldn't, but what did come out was blood and lots of it.
He looked at his arm and was shocked, it was a mangled mess, blood was leaking out of it from every possible section and he could see bits of muscle and bone sticking out from the wound. It was way to painful to bear and he was on the verge of blacking out.
He couldn't lose consciousness like he would have hoped for because just then his survival instincts screamed at him to stay awake. He frantically looked around and instantly saw the reason for it.
"aw shit…"
He thought to himself, he could only laugh at his stupidity. A huge black worm like mass slithered towards him at high speed, of course now that he didn't have the Rosewood bracelet, the parasite had no reason to be afraid of him any longer
The parasite seemed to have stopped growing at a length of fifteen meters and ad the girth of an obese Oxen, its black body was segmented into ten sections by what looked like an external ribcage. The parasites head was covered in short, light purple tentacles that surrounded a circular mouth that seemed to be lined with endless rows of sharp teeth.
It was fast, way faster then the injured Ren, who had no hopes of running away, he could only fight. Ren spat out a large mouthful of blood and shakily got to his feet, his eyes were burning with a red radiance as the world around him began to slow down.
WHOOSH.
The massive body of the parasite whistled by as Ren rolled to one side, barely avoiding the beasts crushing size. Seeing that it had missed its target, the parasite circled around him, surrounding Ren with its long, worm-like body.
Ren was in bad shape, never mind his grievous injuries, he was surrounded on all sides by the worm like body, cutting of any escape routes.
With the help of his trait, Ren had enough time to plan. One of the first questions he asked himself was where did that beasts size come from. It couldn't have magically grown bigger could it… actually it could have, magic was a real thing in this world, but since it was probably a demonic beast, chances were that this was not the case.
Then where did it get that size from, the surroundings? The air maybe? This seemed like the only option, as massive as the parasite was, Ren noticed it didn't leave any tracks on the ground. What ever it was, it was not heavy. Which gave more credit to the theory, but now he needed to find a way to apply it.
WHOOSH.
Ren narrowly avoided another strike as the parasites head dove into the ground that was below him moments ago. In this enclosed space that was only getting smaller as the beast closed in.
In what seemed like a hopeless situation Ren's eyes gleaned, he came up with a plan. Before the beast could lift his head and attack again, Ren ran up its head, using the worm-like body as a ramp to escape.
Ren dropped down onto the ground and sprinted away. Angry screeches that Ren couldn't hear followed, as the beast was seemingly furious that it let Ren escape. Immediately it chased after Ren, squirming and writhing as it slithered towards him.
Ren constantly changed directions, making it look like he wanted to shake the beast of his trail. But the parasites flexible body allowed it to stay right behind him, even closing the gap between them.
Despite this, Ren continued running, he swerved and doubled back on himself, the unpredictable nature of his movements caused the beast frustrations to soar, as it adamantly chased after him. Eventually Ren stopped running and turned back to face the parasite with a defiant look in his eyes.
The parasite seemed ecstatic that its prey had finally stopped moving and blindly charged towards Ren, except that it didn't… No matter how much the beast tried it couldn't move at all. It squirmed and writhed in confusion as it tried to free itself from whatever was restricting it.
Ren smiled and calmly walked towards the parasite. What was stopping the beast from moving was its own body, he hadn't been running around aimlessly, all those sharp turns had caused the beasts worm like body had caused it to get tangled up like hair in a drain.
Ren continued to walk over, he was tired, suffering from blood loss and in great amounts of pain, but the battle wasn't won yet. He stopped right in front of the parasites body and placed a palm on its fleshy black skin, tongues of orange flame began to spread out from his palm and eat into the parasites flesh.
Ren's idea was simple, if the beast consists of air, then hot air not only rises but expands, he had been self-inspired with overcoming the shock wave and decided to apply it in his fight with the parasite.
Sure enough, as Ren's flames continued to burn, the parasites body began to swell up like a balloon, it continued to expand causing the beast to shriek and screech. Unfortunately, its cries fell on deaf ears. The beast continued to bloat until it reached five times its original size, then…
POP.
The parasite's body was ripped apart in an explosion of hot air which burnt Ren's skin and sent him flying away, it was only now that he could finally black out in peace.