I let out a loud groan as I looked across the makeshift field at Alberto. We were outside Baset's tower in a patch of grass a few feet away from the tower. The exterior of the field was surrounded by dozens of students who'd stuck around after following me to the tower, hoping to corner me and ask for an item to be made.
Baset, Loki, Damon, Astrid, Jane, Iris, Bo, Nate, and Grandpa Seamus all stood off at the side of the field, surrounded by a few of Baset's guards to cordon them off from the rest of the onlookers. Bone-lasher stood in front of me, already ready for battle.
"I will act as the referees of the duel between Chase Kingston and Alberto Silva! This will be a one on one battle using evos. The loser will give into the winner's previously determined demands." Baset announced then looked at Alberto. "Alberto, please summon your evo!"
"Ralrias!" Alberto exclaimed as he threw his evo's crystalline structure into the middle of the field.
A large humanoid evo that stood over eight feet tall emerged from the structure. It looked feline in nature like the last Lowell Titan that Loki had. However, there were distinct differences. Its body was more compact than before, and the muscles looked lean and well defined. The previous weak spot on its exposed spine was gone. The spine was now covered by a thick plate of bone or shell of some sort. The Lowell Titan also had a second set of smaller arms that had three sharp bone claws, similar to mine stuck out from between the knuckles.
I could see aspects of tiger, ape, an unknown insect, and some other unknown animal DNA. It was definitely a tier four evo, at least based on appearance. The aura it gave off, however, was unnerving, almost like it was barely clinging onto its sanity.
"That thing….something isn't right…." Bone-lasher said softly.
"Yeah…" I replied softly.
"Both parties have presented their evos! Ready! BEGIN!" Baset yelled.
"Ralrias! Kill that Liger Shark!" Alberto ordered.
The Lowell Titan let out a huge roar and then dashed towards Bone-lasher with a near unnatural burst of speed swiping at him with its bone claws. Bone-lasher barely had enough time to maneuver his body to block the attack with the armor on his head.
Bone-lasher shrugged off the attack and swiped one of his armored claws at Ralrias, but the evo quickly jumped back then dashed around the battlefield with blinding speed.
"It's fast!" Astrid exclaimed.
"This is nothing! The new Lowell Titan can move faster than the eyes can track!" Loki exclaimed proudly.
The Lowell Titan sped up, seeming to vanish from view. Bone-lasher suddenly jumped several feet into the air, a split second later Ralrias appeared and slashed at the spot on the ground where Bone-lasher had been a second earlier, leaving a deep gouge in the earth. Bone-lasher spun in mid-air and raised his claws as he fell back down towards the Lowell Titan, preparing to take its head with a single strike.
Ralrias dodged, just barely at the final second, jumping to the side and getting its larger left arm severed instead. Everyone watching gasped as they saw the Lowell Titan skidding across the ground and gripping the nub of its severed arm.
"How was he able to see that attack?!" Alberto exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter if your inferior evo is faster than the eye can see if I don't have eyes, stupid splicer." Bone-lasher growled. Alberto gritted his teeth as he looked nervously over at Loki. Loki didn't seem concerned at all, however.
Ralrias roared manically as the flesh around its severed arm began to bulge and stretch before tendrils shot from the stump and sought out the severed arm. Bone-lasher jumped back and watched the Lowell Titan cautiously as the severed arm was dragged towards its body and fused a back into place. Within a few moments, the Lowell Titan's severed arm was made whole as if it had never been injured.
"What the hell!" Damon and Astrid exclaimed. The gallery of onlookers were also as surprised as the two of them.
"That's going to be a problem…" I said softly. Bone-lasher growled and crouched down low.
"Sturdy prey…fun…" Bone-lasher growled. Ralrias suddenly vanished again. It dashed around the field, slashing the ground randomly as it ran.
Bone-lasher suddenly jumped to the right and swung his scythe tail at the place he stood moments before. The Lowell Titan appeared in the same position that Bone-lasher was. It's eye's widened as it saw Bone-lasher's tail blade swinging towards its neck. Ralrias threw his arms up to defend himself, but Bone-lasher's sharp blade slashed through two of its arms before knocking the evo back across the field.
"Don't give it time to heal!" I yelled.
Bone-lasher dashed across the field towards the Lowell Titan and pounced towards it. Ralrias let out a fierce roar as an offensive spell sigil formed in front of its mouth, and a fireball was launched at Bone-lasher in mid-air. Bone-lasher couldn't dodged in mid-air and it slammed into him, a loud explosion ringing out.
"BONE-LASHER!" I yelled as smoke covered the field. Bone-lasher roared and sent a shockwave that blew away the smoke. My eyes widened as I saw Bone-lasher.
He had burns all over his body where he wasn't protected by his purple crystal armor. His left front leg had been blasted off and his right hind leg was gone as well. Bone-lasher bared his fangs at the Lowell Titan.
"I'm alright Boss!" Bone-lasher growled. Loki suddenly started laughing loudly and he pointed a long finger at Bone-lasher.
"How do you like that? My Lowell Titan is the future of splicing, able to reattach limbs and even cast spells! It's the ultimate product of splicing!" Loki exclaimed. The dregs of spectators that lined the field all looked surprised and gasped collectively at Loki's declaration. Even Damon and Astrid looked surprised. Damon however looked horrified.
"Bone, need help?" I asked. Bone-lasher shook his head as his burns started healing and his severed limbs started regenerating.
"I won't lose!" He snarled as he slammed his newly regenerated paw down on the ground.
Everyone on the field gasped as they saw Bone-lasher heal in a matter of seconds from his wounds. Loki looked astonished as his eyes darted from where Bone-lasher's limbs had landed and Bone-lasher.
"Regeneration?" Loki exclaimed.
"Bone watch out! Don't hold back anymore!" I ordered. Bone-lasher growled in response and lightning started sparking off his body as he channeled volt attribute mana.
The Lowell Titan, now fully restored roared again and a utility spell sigil formed in front of its mouth. A white haze surrounded the evo and it suddenly vanish, creating a sonic boom as it moved.
Bone-lasher dashed across the field, also vanishing and creating a sonic boom because of the speed of his movement. Loud bangs and growls rang out as the two of them clashed over and over faster than my eyes could track. A loud explosion suddenly thundered in the center of the field and sent a shockwave that knocked everyone flat on their asses.
"Ow! Shit!" I snapped as I sat up. Three more explosions rang out in the air and I heard Bone-lasher's pained screams ring out in the air. "BONE-LASHER!"
His body flew past me and slammed into a tree a few feet back. He was alive but badly injured and just barely breathing. His body was covered in third degree burns, his armor was crashed or even shattered in various places. The skin around his head was so badly burned that part of its skull was visible.
"BONE-LASHER!" I bellowed and ran over to him. Loki started laughing.
"That's what you get! You think some body modified, techno-spliced evo has a chance against a evo designed by a Paragon!" Loki cackled. I ignored him and knelt down and started to touch Bone-lasher when I Baset spoke up.
"STOP CHASE!" She bellowed making me freeze. "Your evo is still alive and therefore the fight is not over. Touching or attempting to heal him with a spell will result in your loss!"
I gritted my teeth and looked at Bone-lasher his body was healing but a lot slower than last time since there were more serious injuries this time. I looked back at the Lowell Titan and saw that it was pacing around the field, gripping it's head with its larger two arms and slashing randomly at the air with the claws on the smaller two arms.
"Alberto, what's wrong with your evo?!" I demanded, hoping to stall for time to Bone-lasher heal.
"Ralrias! Control yourself!" Alberto ordered his evo. Ralrias roared and a offensive spell sigil formed in front of its mouth. A fireball formed and fired at Bone-lasher and me, much to everyone's shock.
"BOSS!" Bone-lasher roared then jumped to his feet and shielded me from the fireball. It exploded on impact and knocked both of us flying rather far away from the field.
"ALBERTO CONTROL YOUR EVO!" Baset bellowed.
"I'M TRYING!" Alberto yelled back.
I winced as I pushed myself up to a seated position and realized that my left arm was broken but already healing. I looked up and saw Bone-lasher standing on shaky legs and growling viciously at the Lowell Titan. He was in no shape to keep on fighting. While he'd managed to block the fireball with the little remaining armor he had, the flames raked hos exposed skin and muscle giving him more third degree burns and exposing his skull fully and part of his ribs.
"BONE-LASHER!" I yelled as I stood up.
[I…can still fight…I can…win!] Bone-lasher said with a shaky but determined voice. I gritted my teeth then looked over at the Lowell Titan. It was on its knees and bashing its head into the ground, almost as if it was trying to knock itself out.
[Not by yourself….] I told Bone-lasher as I channeled mana and sent it at Bone-lasher.
While I couldn't heal him I could pump him full of mana so he could heal his wounds quicker.
The third degree burns on his body quickly healed and the exposed bones of his ribs and skull were covered by ropes of muscles and skin and finally covered with his crystal armor. Bone-lasher growled once at full strength and slammed his armored claw down on the ground.
"I'll slaughter it! Daring to hurt my Boss!" Bone-lasher growled.
"Careful, something is off with that evo. Its like it's having a mental breakdown." I warned him.
"It smells of rot and death…like that sparky snake face did when you first found him." Bone-lasher said.
"Sparky snake face…Alpa'nagia?" I asked.
"Yes…." Bone-lasher replied.
'What the hell does that mean? Wait…how is a evo able to cast a spell a spell spontaneously?' I thought. I looked at the Lowell Titan again and then answer became crystal clear.
"Human sacrifices….they used a splicer when they spliced the Lowell Titan…" I breathed.
Time seemed to move to slow to a halt as that realization began to hit home and the Lowell Titan lost what little sanity it had left. I could now see the little hints of humanity in the evo. The hands that were a little too human, it's eye's that looked too human to belong to a mostly feline evo.
As time sped up again the Lowell Titan started casting an offensive spell sigil and launched a fireballs blindly. My heart lurched as I saw the fireball flying towards Baset, The girls, and worse of all Grandpa Seamus. My body started channeling accelerate and volt attribute mana before I was mentally aware of it and ran towards them, time moving to a crawl as I skidded to a stop in front of Grandpa Seamus and switched to shadow attribute mana and broke down the fireball into mana.
"Are you okay Grandpa?!" I exclaimed and looked over my shoulder. Grandpa Seamus looked startled as did everyone else. The spectators around the field all started to scream and run away. Everyone in Mt class knew enough that the safest place was behind me and stayed put.
The Lowell Titan let out a manic roar, grabbing my attention again. When I turned around I saw the Lowell Titan's bone claws rapidly approaching my face. In a flash of lightning Bone-lasher tackled the evo away from me and to the ground started slashing and trying to maul it. The Lowell Titan managed to kick Bone-lasher off it and jumped to its feet. Bone-lasher landed a few feet away and lunged at the Lowell Titan again.
"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE BOSS!" Bone-lasher roared.
I feet rage, pure and simple, well up inside me. That evo could have killed my grandpa, that one realization played over and over again. My farm crystal glowed brightly as I channeled mana and sent it to Bone-lasher, filling his mana crystal. Once that crystal was filled the mana was directed to a second crystal that was only partly full of mana. Once the second crystal was filled the connection to Bone-lasher and I was severed.
The Lowell Titan sent Bone-lasher flying again only this time a surge of mana radiated from Bone-lasher as his body began to glow with a bright blue and purple light. He skidded along the ground and let out a fierce roar as the glow intensified.
He stood upright on his two hind legs as his chest became more humanoid. His front legs morphed and changed into thick muscular arms that had fins from the middle of its forearm all the way to his elbow. He kept his shark head, only now it had a more anthropomorphic now. His tail split down the middle and became two equally long and powerful shark fins that were then covered in a thick and flexible crystal armor. That same armor covered Bone-lasher's chest, arms, back, and head. Giving him a sort of armored dark knight look.
The glow that enveloped Bone-lasher dissipated and reveled his new form. Bone-lasher threw his head back and roared so loud the ground underneath him cracked and sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
"What…what the hell?!" Damon exclaimed.
"Chase is that…?" Jane asked. I nodded and looked to Bone-lasher.
"Bone-lasher's true transcended form…" I said softly then looked at the Lowell Titan. "Bone do you got this?"
"Easily…" Bone-lasher said as lightning started to spark off his body. In the next instant Bone-lasher stood behind the Lowell Titan, his armored claws dripped in blood.
The Lowell Titan's arms suddenly dropped to the ground and the evo roared in pain. Bone-lasher flicked his tails, the blades on the ends of each slicing through the Lowell Titan easily, severing its head and cutting it off at the waist.
"RALRIAS!" Alberto yelled.
"So easily….he killed it so easily" Damon gasped. I narrowed my eyes at the evo and frowned.
"Not yet…" I said.
The Lowell Titan's body suddenly swelled and tendrils shot from the wounds and sought out its missing body parts. The tendrils pulled the severed limbs and torso together and reattached its body.
Bone-lasher spun on his heel, lightning sparking off its arm as it slashed at the Lowell Titan from the neck down. Powerful lighting sparked from the deep gashes in the wounds and electrocuted the evo and halted its attempt to reattach its limbs.
"BOSS! FLAME LIZARD RING!" Bone-lasher exclaimed and held his hand out to me.
"Flame lizard…oh that!" I exclaimed and pulled off my Draco Lance ring and threw it at Bone-lasher. Bone-lasher quickly caught the ring and channeled mana into it. He started casting a offensive spell sigil and then surprised me by starting a chant.
"Zap, burn, blitz to bare, in the name of the boss: leave not even ash!" Bone-lasher growled as a second offensive sigil formed around his first. Flames and lightning shot from his hand and took the form of a dragon that flew around Bone-lasher before settling in his forearm.
Bone-lasher spun on his heel again and slapped the Lowel Titan with his tails, sending him flying several yards across the field. He aimed the arm that had the Draco Lance on it and fired a electrically charged fireball at the evo while it was still in the air. The fireball collided with the Lowell Titan and for a split second everything was silent and calm. Then a flash of light nearly blinded me as the fireball exploded into a column of fire that rose to the heavens and sent bolts of lightning dancing all over the area. Everyone was knocked away by the force of the shockwave that followed.
I scrambled to my feet to see a massive crater where the explosion rang out. I started to feel relief when something started to crawl out of the crater. It was the upper body of the Lowell Titan, burned beyond recognition bur still alive and functional but only barely. I saw a glint of something shiny in one of the cavities of the evos exposed chest and frowned.
[Bone, that shiny thing in its chest, rip it out and toss it to me.] I told Bone-lasher over the mental link.
Bone-lasher complied without a word and rushed over to the Lowell Titan and grabbed it by the throat, hoisting it up to eye level. The evo tried to fight back, clawing and snapping at Bone-lasher's face however his attacks didn't even scratch Bone-lasher's new armor. Bone-lasher then shoving his armored claw into the Lowell Titan's chest and yanked out a crystal.
"Worthy opponent…if you still had your mind." Bone-lasher said before he threw the Lowell Titan back into the crater and then junped backwards and fired the last two shots of his Draco Lance spell into it. The resulting explosion rocked the earth and sent lightning that even managed to strike Baset's tower.
Bone-lasher landed a few feet in front of me and then three his head up to roar at the heaven. The sound was somehow louder than the last two explosions and nearly ruptured my eardrums.
"IS IT DEAD?" Jane yelled as she stood up and rubbed her ears.
"WHAT?!" Damon yelled.
"I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!" Astrid yelled.
"OH FUCK! IT BLEW OUT OUR EARDRUMS!" Iris yelled.
"WHAT?!" Damon yelled at Iris and Astrid.
I slapped my forehead then looked over at my grandpa. He didn't look injured or like his ear drums were busted, until he started rubbing his ear vigorously.
"FER FUCKS SAKE! ME EARS ARE FUCKED!" Grandpa Seamus bellowed. I frowned then turned to look at Bone-lasher. He looked away from me sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oops..."