It wasn't just steel in there, though that was most of it. When they pocketed all the good stuff—enough to fill seven Interspatial Rings—they found stashes of essence treasure left behind too, packed up in crates.
Mostly vials of essence, C- and D-grade. Those he gave to Evan, Reina, and Avery—it would do a lot more for them. And Zane wasn't sure he could ingest anything else today anyway.
After they went through them all, Reina and Avery got into the high Levels 230s, Evan in the high 240s—almost to his Fourth Class Evolution too. Once they got their evolutions, Zane was sure they would be a lot stronger too. It would be interesting to see by how much.
***
It was a long walk down to the final hall. A bare stone hallway lined with pillars—that was all. Suspiciously bare. That should have been the first sign.
Zane bumbled on ahead. Heard a creak. Looked left.
CLANG!
A flaming steel wrecking ball blasted out of the wall, smacked him right in the face. And exploded.
The wrecking ball, that was. Zane's head stayed where it was. The wrecking ball shattered around him, chunks of molten metal going every which way.
His friends were blinking at him.
"I think the corridor is booby-trapped," Zane informed them.
"Thanks," said Avery.
Reina was thinking about how to clear it.
Zane just started walking.
CLANG! BOOM! BZZT—
Reams of black lightning cascaded from the ceiling. The walls crashed in from either side, shoved by massive pistons. Poison spikes shot out from the floor. White-hot fire blasted from the pillars.
Then Zane got to the end of it.
"I think that's all of them," said Zane.
"…"
***
They'd almost come across the final section now. The Mini-Map compass pointed around a corner—and after that, a few hundred paces down, it opened up.
Zane found himself perking up.
He had been running through everything so far. Nothing had even given him a good test. Nothing had gotten him warmed up.
He was itching for a good fight. Something that, at last, would let him express power to its fullest.
Then he felt the auras.
They had sent more Monster Knights for him. And more than one—with how thick it was…
He was feeling optimistic.
***
Avery scampered up and did a little scouting, just in case. Peeking around the corner, scouring far with her far-seeing.
"Huh," she said. "Okay! So here's the deal."
She made an illusion, floating right before them.
It seemed to be a throne room. Cavernous, torch-lit.
Three Monsters dominated the space.
Each of them a Monster Knight.
The first—
𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕝𝕖 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥)
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟡𝟞
It was in the name—the body of a Turtle, the head of a dragon, silver tongue lapping out of a beaky mouth. The thing took up almost a quarter of the room. Its shell was made of scales so big and so thick they looked like armor plates, stacking over each other, welded together to make a fortress of bleak earth and shiny metal. As though the beast carried a slab of continent on its back.
And there was a Bloodline there too, according to Avery. Deeply interwoven through the scales—strong. As strong as that Hydra's, at least. Its legs were laden with so much bone, and muscle, and scale they looked like mountains. Rooted to the ground. Its whole body was. It was a tank of a being.
Its head was one black monolith. Just as armor-laden as its body. Clouds of steaming essence drifted from its every snort.
Then there were the two creatures flitting around it.
𝕄𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕎𝕪𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥)
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟟𝟟
Small and dragon-like, though their wings and bodies were made of sleek curving angles, honed to a fine point at the tip of its nose. It reminded Zane of those stealth fighter planes.
Black lightning crackled out of their open maws… they flickered in and out of sight, right behind the Dragon-Turtle. Like they were using it as some enormous shield—just peeking out.
Zane frowned at them.
Bird Monster Knights. Two. That… Hmm.
He turned to Evan.
"Can you take care of them?"
"Um," squeaked Evan.
"I will be counting on you," said Zane. "It will all depend on you. I need your help."
Evan gasped. Zane felt the Power of Friendship flare up. He scratched his head, searched for more activation phrases.
"…If we lose, Earth is doomed," he tried. "But if we win—Earth will be saved. Once and for all."
Evan gasped even harder. The Power of Determination shot up too. He nodded quickly, eyes bright. "You can count on me!" he cried.
Zane gave the boy a head-pat. He had loaded up the Evan. They were ready.
Reina was still inspecting their enemies—she thought the arrangement was pretty peculiar. The Ogres had been a pack, but she doubted these creatures came together in nature. They were also well-coordinated—sticking tight to the Turtle, never straying, while the beast itself was stock-still.
The Dragon-Turtle seemed to draw power from the ground. While it was standing there it was rooted—there was some kind of connection through its Bloodline. It seemed to have no intention of moving.
"They're trying to counter you," she told Zane.
Reina's theory was that they were trying to wear Zane out. Have the turtle take all the hard shots while those Wyverns whittled him down, sniping at him—it really was meant to act as a shield.
"Hm," said Zane. As an anti-Zane strategy he supposed it really wasn't bad. Then he looked to her.
"What do you think I should do," he said.
She hesitated, considered the Dragon Turtle some more. She was going to suggest something—maybe a way to bait out the Wyverns, take them out first, and then go for the Turtle… but she was also thinking about how Zane had handled the Golem. And the Ogres. And the Hydra…
This was meant to be the Monsters' finishing blow. And Reina liked to err on the safe side when it came to his safety. But even still—
"They must've sent that thing before your evolution—like with the others," she said. "It shouldn't be able to stop you."
Zane nodded. "That's what I thought too."
She wondered why he asked. He shrugged. He trusted her. He wanted to make sure he was not being silly.
Because his first feeling on seeing that thing was that he really, really wanted to smash it. It was hard to explain why. Some things looked very satisfying to break. It would please some deep-down part of him to crack it wide open.
Maybe it was because he knew they thought he could not do it. That this creature was meant to stop him.
It was a naked challenge to his greatest strength.
His heart yearned to rise to it.
***
He told Evan if Evan could get a clear shot at those birds, he should take them. If not, Zane would get rid of the block. And then he was counting on Evan.
Evan nodded. He was so ready he was quivering a little. Reina was right behind him, ready for support.
"Um," said Avery. "What do I do?"
No one had a clue. They thought about it for a bit. She could try to confuse the birds too, Zane supposed, if she could hit them… but it would be rather hard. And he doubted it would be necessary.
This would not be close.
Eventually, it was decided they didn't really need her to do much in this one.
"Then I'll provide critical moral support!" she declared.
She took out a giant foam Zane face.
Zane frowned—when did she—then he remembered. It was way back. When he dueled that one dude whose name he could not recall—back in the Luminous Faction when he was consolidating Washington, conquering all the other Factions there.
His name was Ethan, Reina gently reminded him. Actually, the guy was one of her Corporals. Vice head of training for new Faction recruits. Zane blinked. Good for him.
Anyway.
Avery shuffled off to the side.
"Go Zane!" she cried. "Wooo!"
Zane went.
***
He marched into battle. He felt his breaths coming in… out… timed to the beating of his heart.
His flesh. His spirit. His blood. Everything about him used to be separate, each an aspect of him. But in the Asura State he was made whole. One seamless being, each power making the others stronger.
His blood burned, his essence burned, his heart raced, his Stormfire raged. His muscles, his tendons, all firing at once—
A burning chain linking his body and soul, making the complete machine of his being. That was his new Savage Body. He felt it clearer and clearer every time he called on it.
Breathe in. Step. Breathe out—and this breath came hotter than the one before, distorting the air…
Reina came right behind him. Evan too.
In the far distance he saw the Dragon-Turtle. Felt its aura, its Bloodline, just like it'd felt him way off. It had already started burning its powers. Just as he had.
As the Turtle's Bloodline burned new stone crusted over old, raising yet more layers of scale…
Zane stepped into the chamber, got a closer look at it, could feel the Concepts woven deep through it. The ruggedness of Steel and Earth shone inside, a feeling of immortality, of permanence that could only belong to the most ancient of stone… there were Skills, too, running through it. An ocean of essence.
It was plain why they thought Zane could not break this.
He opened his hands. And his Meteor Hammers flared bright to either side of him.
He crouched. Fists clenching. Time the Mach Wyverns peeked out to either side, black lightning crackling at their nose-tips. The Dragon-Turtle opened its maw, let loose a groan of a battle-cry…
They attacked at the same time Zane did.
Lightning. Earth. Steel. Dark. Immobilizing. Crushing. Fossilizing. A torrent of Concepts and Elements thundered over him.
He stomped. Set his jaw. Burst straight through.
And returned fire.
Just as he thought—the birds zipped right behind the Turtle, shrieking for cover. The Turtle shrank back into the safety of its shell.
Just as Zane's hammers descended.