Chapter 8
"The main actors have arrived at last. Good, now our play can begin in earnest."
I have absolutely no clue what's going on, but I'm pumped for this fight! After all, there are two named characters from those Garden of Eden girls.
Seems I'll be teaming up with Rex for a 2v2 fight, though I'll have to hold back a bit. I pat Rex's shoulder and give him a refill of mana since he used a lot of his own reserve on that ring. Hopefully he doesn't do something foolish like that again. Those duplicates only had about 20% of his regular durability so it would have been much more efficient just fighting solo.
I take stock of our opponents. One of the two is a golden panther therianthrope. She started with a sneak attack, so I'm guessing she's some sort of rogue. Her technique wasn't bad, either. I did a bit of studying on weapons back in my old world, and from memory those daggers she's wielding are built for piercing armour.
The other is an elf with dark hair, wielding the most absurdly large warhammer I've ever seen. That bad boy looks straight out of a cartoon. The magic I'm sensing from her is even more off the charts. But her stance… Oh god it's terrible. She can likely dish a considerable amount of damage if she manages to gets a hit in. If. Judging by her bearing I don't think there's any risk of her landing an attack on me. The building is at more risk than I am, truth be told.
Rex is also staring at the girls, no doubt forming his own battle plans.
"How the hell are you two using magic???" He asks, shock in his voice.
Probably the same way I am man, it's not like the trick is that hard to figure out. Just reduce the size of the mana you're using. Even Rose was able to pick up on it after a few minutes.
The panther smirks. "A lady never tells."
She darts forward, katars poised to strike right through Rex's guard. With the piercing powers those things have I doubt he'd survive. It's obvious that in a one on one fight she's going to demolish him. I'd better step in, dodging miss two-left-feet's attacks should be more of a fitting challenge for Rex at his current level.
I hold my sword out and stop her strike in its tracks, orienting my sword so that it blocks both blades. Surprise is evident on her face that neither weapons managed to get through, and that my sword doesn't budge.
"Now now, I'll be your opponent. Your friend can fight this one."
"...Gamma, hold off Game of Betrayal while I kill Shadow. I'll join you once this bastard is dead."
"Clearly my reputation precedes itself. However you appear to have me at a disadvantage, my lady. Who might I have the honour of killing this fight?"
She scowls. "I am Zeta of the Garden of Eden." She sniffs the air. "And why the hell can't I smell you, Cultist scum?"
Perfect, when I was first sent after Gettan he detected me despite my precautions. Therianthrope senses are no joke. Naturally an Eminence in Shadow can't be let such a glaring oversight break their disguise. So I developed this little technique for changing my smell by blocking my pores with mana. It took several tests against Gettan to perfect it, but it clearly works against other therianthropes as well.
With a chuckle I repeat her words back to her. "A gentleman never tells."
She yells and jumps into the air, vanishing in a puff of mist.
Hmmm, some sort of stealth technique? Likely she'll burst out to strike at what she assumes is an exposed flank. Now where… ah! There you are. Sneaky, the mist wasn't just for dramatic flair as cool as that would have been. Instead, she is the mist. Interesting trick, but not uncounterable.
Without turning my body I parry with my sword a half second before she reemerges, blocking her attack. I don't put as much mana into the defence as I could have, so the sword budges a little. And yet it still manages to shield me from damage which she clearly wasn't expecting.
Come on, I'm not going to let you have an easy win. You won't learn anything from this fight if I do.
Startled, the panther tries the same tactic and disappears into thin air. This time however, she changes it up by using her surroundings. A nearby table comes flying at me from the side, though I nudge it so that it'll hit where she's about to reappear, forcing her to abort her attack.
Next, she tries entering my body through pores in my skin and my eye holes. Quite creative, I have to admit. The mana I keep around me blocks her from entering however. Maybe with a bit more refinement such a tactic would pose a threat, but she hasn't mastered it yet.
"None of that now."
I swing my sword and cut through the mana she's using to disappear. She falls out of whatever space she was hiding in and lands in a three point landing.
Around her, the gas coagulates into several dozen daggers made of smoke.
Okay, that's actually pretty cool. Not going to lie, I'm a little jealous right now.
Still, just as with her earlier technique it lacks mastery.
The fifty odd daggers fly towards me. I push forward my slime into a wall that blocks all of them.
I lunge forward and give a quick strike to see how she reacts. Instead of dodging she blocks my sword with her katars in a V shape, pushing it away from her. Thinking she has me off balance she tries to stab my side from close range. I'd rather not risk finding out how well those can pierce slime with the mana I'm currently using, so I form a dagger out of slime and push it out of the way.
When combatants are locked blade to blade like this, it is tradition to say something dramatic before we break apart.
"Too weak. Your techniques require further refinement, you should work on them more."
I must say though, she's been fun to play around with.
We both disengage from the lock and jump backwards several feet, sizing each other up for our next strikes.
Chancing a glance, I check at how Rex is doing in his fight. He's looking confused while Gamma is climbing off the ground where she clearly tripped. Most of the wall is already missing and the floor is now covered in holes.
Meanwhile, Zeta watches the scene in dismay.
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Rex
What the hell is with this chick?
Did Guardians of Edna really have no one better to send?
So far she hasn't managed to come close to me. She has no combat sense whatsoever, instead just swinging that big hammer around like it's made of paper mache.
I heard the way that therianthrope chick talked. The runt of their group was sent after me while she focuses on the big prey. As if I'm that much less of a threat than Shadow that she doesn't even have to worry for her companion.
I'll show them. I can take out this elf and back Shadow up. Show him that I'm even more useful than he is!
But with the way the elf swings that hammer, I'll never get close by dodging. I have to block her attack. Shouldn't be too hard. The thing looks big and scary, but with the reckless abandon and speed she's swinging it with the damn thing must be lighter than it looks. Not even I would be crazy enough to give such a clumsy chick a weapon as heavy as it at first appears.
Yeah… that must be it. She can't fight so they gave her a decoy weapon. Something that looks scary but is actually pretty harmless.
This fight is going to be a breeze now that I've figured out her trick.
Guess these Guardian chicks are weaker than that coward Gaunt thought if they have to rely on cheap tricks like these. I bet that therianthrope is just as weak. Maybe their leader Soul-something would give me a small amount of trouble if I went easy on her for some reason. But with the energy Shadow topped me up with I bet I can take out both of these fools!
Speaking of Shadow, he seems to be struggling against his opponent since he hasn't gone for the kill yet. Guess taking out my duplicates and then topping up my mana was too much for him and he's finally hit his limit. He's not doing any of his lightning fast attacks, it's all he can do just to avoid her attacks. Poor fool.
I'll be sure to thank him for the assist right before I drive a knife into his back. I'll get the credit for taking out two of Soul's lieutenants, be known as the guy who beat Shadow, and to top it off I'll get Shadow's powerful artefacts. It's a win-win-win!
Thus, I channel all my renewed mana into my ring and create a couple more duplicates.
A couple of them charge the elf while the rest charge the therianthrope, ready to attack Shadow if he lets his guard down of course.
However the therianthrope just vanishes into a puff of smoke.
Huh?
The smoke where she was standing solidifies into a storm of swirling knives that tear through my duplicates. Each striking me like a punch in the gut as my precious mana had gone into those guys.
A couple of them survive and go in for the kill when she reappears. However she merely slides through the attacks and strikes them one after the other.
The elf starts charging at me. No worries, with how clumsy she is she'll just trip up. To be safe I have my remaining duplicates stand in front as meat shields, and I get my sword into a guarding stance just to be sure. After she fails this attack I'll go for the kill and finish her off.
Sure as I was expecting she trips just as she swings so the attack should have little force behind it.
…Yet, the hammer cleaves through my duplicates, reducing them to dust. Seeing this, I hastily pour what little of my mana that remains into my body to try blocking the coming hammer.
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Zeta
While I watch, Rex foolishly tries to block Gamma's attack and is sent flying into a nearby building with a resounding crash. Hopefully he's down for the count, Shadow is surprisingly challenging and having even Gamma for backup should make enough of a difference.
If only I could have brought more backup. But the other Stars aren't nearby and the technique for bypassing mana blocking hasn't been taught to the Numbers yet. At least we'll only need to hold out for a few more minutes.
Gamma turns to me, a victorious look on her face. "I did it Zeta! I defeated the Game of Betrayal!"
The look is spoiled somewhat by the blood running down her face from when she tripped up earlier. Seeing this, I could only let out a little disappointed sigh.
"Hahaha… Two on one. Looks like I can finally stop holding back…"
Suddenly the strength reading I'm getting from him skyrockets and a cold feeling of horror wells up inside me. I was struggling that much before, and that was him holding back?!?
This amount of mana is almost as much as Lady Solaris too. Looks like her caution wasn't unfounded after all. I was too hasty in my earlier estimate, Gamma might not make enough of a difference after all.
I immediately pounce back to where Gamma is climbing off the floor, her complexion is pale but she puts on a brave face and rises all the same.
"Gamma, be ready to run if this fight turns against us."
She might have no battle sense, but she's impressively sturdy. Maybe if she tanks and I look for openings we'll be able to buy enough time for the plan to go into effect.
The cultist then holds his arm to the side, hand open and fingers outstretched. That strange black liquid he controls flows in the air around him. If only we can get a sample of it to Eta, this all might be worth it.
Said liquid then forms into a mass of spears and my eyes widen. That bastard is copying my ability!
"May a thousand thorns adorn your flesh with despair. Strike, unholy spears of Time!"
Without much time to think, I return to my mist form and Gamma activates her defensive mode. The spears knock me out, sending me flying against the wall with injuries all over. Gamma fares little better. Despite her absurd endurance she's sent crashing right next to me, covered in just as many wounds.
"Very good reflexes. However, you still lack mastery of your techniques."
Shadow takes a step forward to finish us off while I struggle to my feet. This damn bastard… He's a monster. We'd need all of the Seven Stars or Lady Solaris with us to stand a chance.
I need to stand, I realise. If I don't, I'll die.
I ignore the pain and struggle in an effort to rise to my feet. Beside me I'm aware of Gamma doing the same. I'm not sure how many attacks like that I can take, or how many he even still has in him. But I refuse to give in, just hold out a short while longer or at least give Gamma a chance to flee. Oddly enough, his bearing makes him seem pleased as we get back up.
To my immense relief I detect friendly presences getting into position. Praise be to Lady Solaris, just like we planned. On a roof overlooking our position, just outside the area of effect of this mana shutdown, about ten of the Named Numbers gather with longbows drawn. And with Gamma having destroyed the wall they now have a perfect line of sight to fire on Shadow.
A volley of arrows flies towards him, and he jumps backwards away from us.
I get the sense he could have blocked them like he blocked my attacks, but he chose caution. Perhaps wondering who else we have approaching.
"I think I've distracted you long enough. This dance is finished, don't forget, the main show is occurring elsewhere. Until we next meet, Garden of Eden."
With that he vanishes into the darkness.
But… What does he mean? He was just distracting us?
Damn it! We had assumed he was the primary Cultist behind this. But if there's another one nearby moving the plan ahead we have to stop them.
In relief the remaining adrenaline seems to flood out of me, causing me to fall back down to one knee. Gamma and I need to rest and recover our mana a bit before we can do anything else.
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Shadow
I could counter attack and take these guys out… but I feel I've done enough here. I've established that I'm stronger than them, while also giving Zeta a little tip for getting stronger in preparation for our next confrontation. This was an early boss fight to build the tension after all.
Hopefully for our next fight they'll be strong enough that I can go a little more all out, even if only for a while. I couldn't use all my strength just now or there wouldn't even be a next fight.
Now I just need to find a way to disengage that makes me seem cool and mysterious.
"I think I've distracted you long enough. This dance is finished, don't forget, the main show is occurring elsewhere. Until we next meet, Garden of Eden."
I disappear into darkness and go to check on Rex. Leaving them to do… whatever it is they're here for.
He's lying in the rubble injured, but still alive. His mana seems depleted just as I expected. Exactly what he gets for pulling that stunt with his clones a second time after the first went so poorly for him.
He clutches his head and groans in pain. "Urrrrgghh, what just happened."
"You got the shit kicked out of you dude."
He pauses and gapes at me. "What happened to your usual way of speaking?"
"Whatcha mean? This is the way I usually speak." When I'm not in character at least. We aren't still acting right? He can barely stand after all. Not sure why he'd want to roleplay at a time like this.
"But… you… I… you…" he slumps over in defeat. "So, what happened? Did we lose the fight?"
I snorted. "No. You lost the fight. I had to pick up your slack. Now it's time for the harsh truth, so get ready: You're weak as shit right now. You need some proper training if you want to last a bit longer than that. I've got an old farmhouse to the south of the city. Stop by there if you want to grow stronger, without relying on crutches like that." I point to his ring.
He looks at the ring. "But I need this 'crutch' as you call it. I've reached my limits and can't push through. I'm falling behind. If I'm not useful enough I'll be disposed of before long. I've had to rely on betrayals just to compensate so I can keep moving up the ladder, but now no one trusts me. Only Gaunt was still willing to work with me. If I can't get a boost from artefacts, eventually it'll be me that's stabbed in the back in this dog eat dog game we're stuck playing. I just… don't know what else I can do."
He's hunched over, staring at the ground.
"You're making the game sound worse than it is. But, I think in time you'll find that limits are just a test of one's determination. If you really want to break past them, join me and I'll teach you to reach heights of strength that right now you can only dream of."
I hold out my hand to him.
After staring at it for a few moments, he finally makes up his mind and takes my hand. I pull him to his feet. Once he's stable I make a dramatic exit, puffing into black mist like I saw Zeta doing.
Today was fun. This terrorist attack really is the gift that keeps on giving. Hopefully we can do more collab with fellow larpers like this soon!