A pillar of sunlight drilled through that blizzard of a domain. Drilled deep into the Monster's chest—and it hissed, flickering back, trailing streaks of rot blood as it went.
It had gotten some good shots in on Zane too. Carved him up.
He felt his wounds adding up. Making a fine collection all over his body, out on garish display. Felt them like cold heavy weights hung all over him, dragging him down in flesh, in mind—he could feel them sinking cold fingers through his skull, weighing down his every thought…
He was getting near 50% Health. He had to wipe the blood off his face, his cheeks running hot with blackening blood. Where it had tried to carve out his eyes.
Still. The idea he'd slapped together was working.
Even as Zane took new wounds, he herded this Monster where he wanted it to go—made a little window. When it hit him, it opened itself to getting hit back.
Every time, Evan took full advantage.
Evan was Nascent now. Now when he charged up that big beam of light—backed with the Power of Friendship and the Power of Determination spiking to inspiring heights—he made for a real threat.
Zane looked fondly at him. When Evan was needed he always found it within him.
"Keep it up," Zane said, patting him on the head.
"Mhm!" said Evan, beaming up at him.
The Monster snarled at them from a hundred paces off, smoking. Smited black down its wiry chest, furs burned clean off. Exposing raw corpse-pale flesh beneath. It was in better shape than Zane, but not by much.
He would take it.
Now it was sitting there. Still eyeing them. Not attacking anymore, after those last few double-edged exchanges.
Zane sought out its feelings, frowning.
It was beginning to feel frustrated too. When it looked at Zane it saw a wall of muscle and heat. Despite how much damage it put on Zane, he was still standing—he did not seem all that close to toppling. It could not quite believe how much of him there was. Even with its massive advantages in Law and essence, even as it fought him on home turf in its own domain…
It couldn't quite bring him down.
This was a common feeling among things that fought Zane.
It turned its gaze to him and his friends—a little tight-knit unit. Reina, healing him up. Avery, blunting its worst shots. Evan, returning fire—the one that had wounded it most, standing there shivering, frightened out of his mind, but still bravely doing all he could….
It eyed Evan an especially long time.
Something devious crossed its mind.
"No," growled Zane.
It leered. And lunged.
Claws flashing slashing through the air curving broken crescents—dark frozen slivers of some cursed moon, vicious sickles racing through the air. Carving straight for Evan's little head. Nearly as fast as light.
Evan gave a little squeak.
Zane was moving. Trying to reach him.
But Reina was already on it. She was a step ahead. She cried out, threw up a firm green shield.
Then stumbled, going pale as the first of those black crescents sank through. And shattered it. But she held it for just that split second. Enough time for Avery to throw up her own block reinforcing it, and together they barely held under the assault—
Then the demon had arrived. Claws descending, slashing over and over, crashing through their shields—
Zane was on it in a fury.
Throwing himself into the paths of the strikes just as they broke through, putting his body between them. He felt relieved when he felt the pain flare up, sink deep into him. He knew he could take it.
This time, though—Avery couldn't help block, and Reina couldn't help heal him. He felt the difference instantly. This time that claw sank so deep it grazed his heart. Had him groaning.
A split-second later he felt Reina's focus going right back to him, full of anger and fear—felt her support stemming the bleeding.
Then the Monster wheeled right around, swift as a winter wind. Flanking right around Zane, making all of them pivot behind. Then it started slashing again, and again, and again, going straight for his friends' heads.
Making them turn back in a panic. Made Reina throw up shields yet again, forced to cut off Zane's healing—even as the Monster vanished, dashing around in a sick whirlwind, striking from all angles. Gunning wildly for his friends. Flitting away the moment Zane charged close…
It wanted to strike them down first.
It could not have chosen a way to make Zane more angry.
He lunged with all his strength—but with all his wounds he still felt horribly slow, and he was still moving through that hellish domain. It felt like every single part of him from his skills to his muscles had been struck with wasting sickness—so much slower, weaker, somehow brittle… He was forced to charge against the blizzard even as the beast rode its winds.
He kept getting closer. And closer. Not quite there. And all the while, it kept whittling his friends down, trapping them all in its clutches…
It was not in Zane's nature to panic. And yet—seeing his friends stumbling before an enemy he couldn't quite catch—
He was starting to feel the beginnings of it. A rising prickling deep in his chest—
Then, as it turned out. There was a way to get him even angrier.
Four slashes in quick succession—shields shattered. Avery gave a cry, and her distortion fields gave way too…
Then one last blow ripped through—Reina let out a gasp. Doubled over, clutching her belly, eyes wide. Blinking, stunned, at a slash opening her up straight through from the waist to the hip—streams of fresh blood gushed between her fingers—
Zane lost it.
His Asura state flared so high you could have mistaken it for its own domain.
His essence, his blood, his soul, all erupted at once, raging against that Frostbite cold—and for the first time crushing it back by virtue of sheer intensity, melting away whole swathes of it, lighting up the night in a blinding fury…
He bellowed. And charged like a mad bull.
Against most Monsters—even very strong ones—this was how Zane won.
You would be hard-pressed to find a Nascent Soul creature that could match the power coursing through his body right now.
Only here… he could not make use of it.
Even Zane would have been forced to concede—charging a creature nearly a hundred Levels above, and with a stark Law difference, and precisely the build he was weak to, alone…. it was just too much.
In that moment, though. All he knew was it had hurt Reina.
He went in lunging, grasping, smashing—but his fists, strong as they were, were too clumsy, too slow, and so were his Chains—it was like trying to crush the wind. The beast just smiled wider—Laws flaring fiercer, its domain settling in thicker—and flickered around him. Taking brutal advantage.
Zane was nearing his peak. His aura, his Asura state, flaring to match the prowess of that Law… only the domain made all the difference. Kept the demon ahead just enough—even with Zane's most furious efforts he could not quite grab hold of it. Could not smash it, or slice it, or strangle it, no matter how fiercely he tried—could not put his great power to work.
But the Monster could ruin him.
At the end of it they both staggered back.
Zane did not have an inch of skin left unmarked.
He was heaving in thick heavy breaths, seeing blearily through just one eye—the other had swollen shut, was dammed up with black blood.
He was bloodied, gushing vast tracts of blood from every major muscle group in his body. Just a shredded, blackened, blackening waste…
𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!
ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟝%
His Asura State was still burning bright, though. The fury powering his body was still enough to hold back the vast plains of black frost. Enough to keep him upright—if barely…
He coughed out a pool of black, half-frozen blood, swaying on his feet. It took a great effort just to stay there.
The Monster, on the other end, was recharging too.
Zane had managed some light flesh-wounds, seared it with angry blasts—nothing substantial.
It eyed him with satisfaction. Taking in its grisly handiwork. Licked its pale lips.
It was readying itself, Zane could tell, to finish him off. It just had to take a breather. From how much energy it had spent shredding him.
Reina was on her feet now. She seemed okay, he was relieved to see—better than he feared. At least for now. Pale, wincing—one hand over her belly still. She would still need rest, need help, Zane saw, brow furrowed. Her body was much more robust after her evolution but it was still nothing like Zane's. She could not be left like this long.
Avery had tried to take the sting off as much as she could as Zane chased, took claw after claw. She was on her hands and knees, coughing up blood too, face all scrunched up… Evan was panicking a little just looking at Zane. The state of him.
"Zane?" he cried. "Are you—um—"
"'m fine," Zane slurred. Stumbling over. Woozy. Wincing. "Made... Mistake."
He had lost himself. He grimaced. Just thinking about Reina gasping, doubling over as the claws shredded into her—
He felt a fresh surge of white-hot rage.
He was just turning back, growling, when Reina put a hand on his arm. Looked him dead in the eye, even as she healed him through that touch.
"Zane," she said. "Listen to me."
He blinked at her.
"It's just a wound, that's all," she insisted. She touched his face. "I'll be fine. Don't you lose your head on me! I know you—this isn't you."
He blinked at her again, a little dumbfounded. At her. At himself.
What was he doing?
He clamped down hard on the instinct. Took a deep breath. Let it out slow. Another.
She was right.
He could not afford any more mistakes.
He could feel, sinking deep in every muscle and every bone, how much of a toll this fight had taken on him…
Only the burning in his heart kept him from keeling over.
No.
This smiling demon. It would not defeat him. Zane knew he had it within him to crush it. He just had to put it all together.
As Reina held his gaze, held her touch, the heat seemed to melt from his head.
He nodded to her. "Okay."
He thought sluggishly of all his powers. Grasping for a way—any way.
The Cyclone would be too slow. He would fall before he got through two revolutions. The Chains too. If he could grab hold of it—but that would be a pipe dream. And there was Wish Upon a Star, his biggest strongest blast—but could he hit this bird with it? He was not sure of that at all… and his Stars fell a little slow, too…
His brow furrowed. He had to think. He felt close—he just needed a little—he wasn't sure.
"Talk to me," said Reina softly.
"I must grab hold of it," he said. "It is the only way."
She nodded slowly. "But getting close isn't realistic," she said. "And all of your Skills would be too slow."
Talking to most folk, Zane always had to say more than he wanted. With Reina he could say less—she didn't need explaining; she got the crux of it instantly. He nodded.
On the other side the demon was nearing ready again. Its aura was picking back up, its domain expanding…
Reina bit her lip.
"You don't need to hit it outright. You should try what you were doing before, right?" she told him. "You can go to it...or you can bring it to you."
Zane blinked.
Her words unlocked something in his brain. Somehow she knew just what he needed. She nodded, encouraging.
He turned to Evan. To Avery.
"We have one try," said Zane. "This is what we will do."