With one final smash, Zane finished off a wave.
He was a little shaky. A little woozy. Bleeding in more places he could count. But upright. And his winnings poured in.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ก -> ๐๐ ๐
Each Level brought him a little more. A little more recovery. A little more strengthโnot much. Usually, he didn't notice much difference. Except nowโwave after wave, as he threw himself into the line of fireโnew Levels just kept stacking.
They were starting to grow significant. He could feel his new strength viscerally, feel it when he put his hands on bone, and saw it crumble like sand under the force of his grip. Feel his essence recovery speeding up. Too helping him hang on, even as his reserves dwindled more and more...
He needed every bit he could get.
One more Demon Wave emerged from the darkness...
Zane hacked out a mouthful of blood.
By then his head was pounding. His sensations felt a little distant from himโa little fuzzy, all dulledโฆ He growled, tried shaking off the feeling.
He just kept fighting.
๐ฝ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐
๐น๐๐๐๐
By the end of it, he was on his knees.
Shredded utterly. Corruption dug deep into him, lacing massive scars sinking deep into his frame. Claws had raked through skin, torn through muscleโit was little cuts at first. Then more claws dug the same spotsโdozens, maybe hundreds. Whittling away at him. Even as he crushed them.
Lines of smoke leaked out of him. He dragged in heavy breaths. He blinked. Everything seemed fuzzyโฆ tilting a littleโฆ
His Asura state kept burning at its peak. Given fuel by his will, his soulโ
A notification hovered before his bleary eyes.
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐!
โ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐%
Thenโ
๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ -> ๐๐ก๐
There was a drawn-out silence. Things resetting. In a flash, Zane's body was patched back up.
The healing came as a relief. Physically. But it did not make him whole.
There was damage sank deep in him. Fatigue. That ran far deeper than just the physicalโฆ
He still felt woozy; his blood still studded in his ears, black spots still encroached on his vision. He had pushed his body to its limitsโand held it there too long.
All that load went straight to his soul. His mind. He could feel it weighing heavy on him, a great nothingness sinking over his head, spreading slowly. He could bear it. He knew he was strong enough. But if he was not careful it would sink through him, and drown him.
It took a serious effort to keep himself from keeling over.
How many Monsters had he killed? Five hundred? Six? He'd just kept swinging, and swinging, and burning as much of himself as he had to...
He wondered if things were over.
Distantly, he heard a cheer. He looked up, blinking blearily. Evan had been doing his best to snipe off the worst of the threatsโand the boy still seemed like he had some left in the tank. Avery had turned aside lots of hard essence attacks, as much as she could. She was winded but okay. Reina was the worst off besides Zane. She'd kept healing him, bolstering his body and soul, all through that onslaught; her warmth helped keep him upright. She was breathing heavy, sweaty, but unhurt, Zane was pleased to see. Her essence and bloodline might be down to half.
She was looking toward the Citadel's entrance. Frowning.
Zane looked there too.
And an aura flared out. An aura like nothing he'd felt before.
Reina went pale.
"We're not doneโฆ" she said.
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐:
๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐
A new threat emerged from the gloom.
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐ ๐ค๐ค:
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ค (๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐พ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ)
๐ผ๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ก
A Storm Giant. Tall as an oak and about as wide, rippling with massive muscles that looked inflated, puffy as clouds. Its skin was a deep stormy blue, swirling. Its veins glowed electric lines pulsing with each of its heartbeats. The Monster's eyes were the color of lightning. Clouds smoked out of every inch of skin, clumping together, drifting to the skyโcrackling to join the storm overheadโฆThere was something ethereal about it. Like it was made of solid, roiling clouds.
As it came, the steel pillars studding the yard all around them started to glow. Started to respond. The massive altar where the Stormclouds seemed to gatherโit responded too. Billowing with that same auraโฆ
Reina cursed.
Zane frowned at the aura coming off that thing. It was stronger than any of the armies they'd just foughtโa final army unto itself.
And not just that. He sensed in the creature a higher quality, a Law to rival his ownโฆ
Mid-Tier Fusion.
โฆ This was bad.
Zane clenched his jaw. And willed himself to his feet. Head still pounding mightily.
He might have cleared almost a full realm's worth of Monsters. Raged against wave after wave after wave, broken himself against the darknessโฆ
But the job was not done.
He could not fall here.
He had maybe a sixth of his essence and Bloodline left. His head, his soul, all the thinking parts of his mind all felt dulled, wasted, overdrawn, like he was trying to think through mudโall he saw were black spots.
But his heart still beat strong. His feelings still burned hot. His will to fight never failed him. It had been burning with high intensity for so longโhe could keep it going as long as he had to, he told himself. He brought to his muddy mind Reina, and Evan, and Avery. How they were all counting on himโand felt on a new flare of fiery resolve.
He clenched his fistsโ
Reina caught him mid-stumble.
He blinked at her.
Instantly he felt lighter. The spots in his vision started clearing up; she was putting all her healing powers now into soothing his soul, blunting his exhaustionโฆ a warm lightness settled over him.
After her Awakening, Reina's healing made a night-and-day difference. With her healing him back there it was like having a new superpower.
"I've got you," she told him.
Only then did he realize he'd been in the middle of keeling over.
He blinked.
โฆ It seemed he was a little more spent than he thought.
He couldn't seem to remember how many waves he had just fought through. How many Monsters. It did seem like a lot.
He frowned.
"You've done enoughโmore than enough," she said to him softly. "You can't face it like this."
"I can," rumbled Zane. "I will." He would do what he had to. And he was telling the truth. He could find the feeling inside him still. He was sure he could muster it. They would have to kill him to put it out.
โฆThat was probably what Reina was concerned about, come to think of itโฆ.
"You don't have to," she said, holding his gaze. He saw the worry in her eyes.
"Avery, Evan!" she called.
They pattered up. "We've got essence to spare. And it's just one Monster," Reina told him. "We've all got our Fourth Evolutions now tooโand a host of new Levels. We're a lot stronger than we were before."
She put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll hold it off for now," she said firmly. "Keep it distracted. I'll help you healโjust until you can find your feet again. If I help speed your natural regeneration, you'll recover more essence and Bloodline too."
Zane hesitated.
He would much rather be out in front. He knew he could take whatever this thing hit him with. But when he thought about his friends getting hurt his chest started to tighten.
Thalrex was emerging fully now, flowing out of the confines, into the openโฆ there was just no time.
"Trust us," Reina pleaded. Still holding his gaze, brow furrowed. It was the same thing he had said to them so many times before.
Slowly, Zane nodded.
"Alright!" cried Evan, eyes shining. He was a little scared. But quite amped up. His determination was skyrocketing; he was so enthusiastic he was trembling. "We won't let you down!"
"Yeah!" said Avery, cracking her knuckles. She made a face like she meant business. "Leave it to us, big fella."
They only had time to make a simple strategy. Reina briefed her warriors.
Evan would be the centerpiece. He'd use his new Signature Movement Skill, 'Hero's Journey'โhe'd have to go as fast as he could. Make it target him, and dodge it, and pick away at it. He didn't need to kill it, or even block its attacks. Just distract.
Evan nodded. "Okay!"
For Averyโshe would put a light cloak over Reina and Zane. It wouldn't stand up to much scrutiny. But as long as Evan did his job, it should be enough.
Should anything come close to hitting Evan, Avery would help curve it out of the way. She'd throw up illusions to confuse the thing where she could.
And Reina would stay here, and heal Zane as best she could, and help shield where she needed to.
Zane just needed to take essence treasures and recover.
The three of them set out to fight. Just as the black stormclouds swirled faster and faster overheadโฆ
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐
๐น๐๐๐๐
Zane watched on. He was not used to feeling this way before a fight. He was nervous.
Reina was doing her bestโbut it would be a few minutes before he was up to fighting shape. He could feel his powers returning sliver by sliver, but he was still too spent. For now he could only watch.
He saw the Laws tingling on the air, felt them raking across his skinโstarting to grow charged. The stormclouds were now spinning like a raging whirlpoolโฆ
Evan and Avery pitter-pattered their way out in front. Right in the path of the Grand Knight. They looked so small next to it. But they flared up their auras, and burned their Bloodlines, and drew their Soul Weapons. They put up brave faces.
The Storm Giant snorted; a smoggy black cloud drifted from its nostrilsโฆ
Its jaw unhinged. And it attacked.
A chain of stormclouds blasted straight out of its open mouth. And smothered the worldโan attack on a different level of intensity to anything they'd seen so far save Zane's Stormfire.
It crashed against the ground, shaking and smiting. A natural disaster of an attack.
Lightning laced that cloud-cannon. A white so bright it burned the eyes to look atโburned a great cylinder of air as it passed. It didn't sound like lightning as it struck. More like some vast hammer dropping. A sea of sparks erupted where it struck.
That was a Mid-Tier Concept. It changed the world, left jagged void-marks in its wakeโฆ there was enough power in that one shot to slay a Nascent Soul Monster Knight. Zane was sure of it. Enough power even Zane would have to be careful.
The light faded. The smoke wafted away. Leaving nothing but a blackened crater and the scorch marks running through it.
He saw no sign of his friends. For a second Zane's heart dropped. Thenโ
"Clear Beam Slash!" cried Evan.
Thalrex's eyes widened. He looked down.
A pillar of light had impaled straight through its chest. Brilliant white light. One side of its body to anotherโand when it faded it left a gaping hole through all that cloudy muscle-mass. No blood.
There was Evan on the other side. Sword pointed right at the Monster Knight. Trembling a little, but held high.
They didn't have much time to celebrate. The Storm Giant looked miffed. But that was all.
The altar in the center of the yard began to shine. Seethe the Laws of the Storm. Drawing on the energy in the air, funneling essence, raw power, from the swirling storm-clouds aboveโ
The wound filled straight in. Like a cloud layer firming up, spreading over itself, neatly patching the hole. Until you could hardly tell it had ever existed.
Thalrex's aura hadn't diminished in the slightest. Like it had taken no damage at all.
It turned back to Evan. Fury written in the blurry lines of its expression.
And it began to expand. Burgeoning. Sucking in the clouds above, fueling its rise, looming far over Evan's little trembling formโฆ