LRAB Chapter 640: Liquid Puppet
Chapter 640: Liquid Puppet
Chapter 640: Liquid Puppet
Fighting the Star spawn was like fighting water in a cage. Even the weak cracklings quickly adapted to Dallions style of fighting, making full use of the environment as they did so. While technically winning, Dallion had to constantly catch up, hunting the creatures one by one, avoiding the attacks of the rest as he did so. Skill bonuses ceased to matter. Whenever he was close to completing a sequence, the creatures would find a way to interrupt.
Theyre too smart for cracklings, Dallion said.
Thats because theyre more than that, dear boy. Like cracklings within realms, they gain skills through time and experience. In the real world, time is not enough, but they can make up for it by using the experience of all the cultists they were part of.
It was a scary notion to imagine, and something the Star would gladly do. It wasnt enough that he was taking the minds of his cultists, gradually making them into puppets, but he was copying their skills as well.
What were you back on Earth? Dallion asked.
Curious? The Stars laughter echoed throughout the pyramid. Even back then, I was special.
The answer confused Dallion somewhat. From experience, he knew that those who claimed to be special usually werent. Swinging along a sky steel rod, he slashed at one of the larger attacking creatures. The harpsisword cut into the monsters body, stopping suddenly after a few inches. Despite its sharpness, it could not cut through the rebars.
A cutling leapt forward. They were the most annoying of all. They knew that they couldnt win in a fight against Dallion, so they didnt even try to, only aiming to wound him with their death. It was a desperate move and one that worked surprisingly much. Combat splitting managed to limit the severity of the wounds, but even it had its limits and without Lux nearby Dallion couldnt rely on the wounds closing mid battle.
I just need to fight through, he told himself. Even if he reached the Star at a tenth of his health, he still could win.
Another floor of void matter poured from the veiling. That made six floors gone. That meant that the Star was somewhere on the remaining two.
Watching you is fun, the Star laughed. Its almost like watching the WWE. Its so one-sided that it looks completely fake.
Come down and make it more interesting. Dallion added as much arrogance in his words as the music skill would allow. The wounds, even if superficial, made him look rather pitiful. With luck, he seemed pitiful enough for the Star to join in the fight just so to gloat.Visitt (.)co/m for the latest updates
Not a bad idea.
All the Star spawn creatures abruptly leaped back, simultaneously moving away from Dallion.
Dallion held his breath. This was the moment of truth. All he had to do was grab hold of the Star and activate the generals artifact.
Half of Dallions instances focused at the ceiling, looking for the spot his enemy would drop down from.
No such thing happened. Instead, all the creatures systematically merged with one another, creating one giant creature. Entirely black, it had the features of a lion with a large scorpion tail.
My own, manticore, the Star announced. Have fun, Dal.
Without waiting, the creature charged at Dallion, passing through the sky steel rods as if they werent there.
Damn it! Dallion gritted his teeth, doing a point attack combined with spark. The wave of destructive power hit the monster in the chest, then drilled right through it. No doubt it had caused some damage, though clearly it wasnt nearly enough to make the creature stop.
A giant paw swiped at Dallion, destroying twenty of his instances. The remaining retreated towards the pyramids outer walls. Since the start of the fight, those had been the only parts of the temple that had remained intact. There was no telling what material they were made ofit wasnt metal or void matterbut it was able to withstand any type of attack so far.
Dallion tried to pull away, but he found that he couldnt move his body. The only thing he could do was look around, even if he wasnt certain how, since his eyes werent moving either.
The creature knows all your tricks, but can still be surprised, the voice continued. Youre making the same mistake the Star isyoure thinking of its form, while you should be focusing on its nature.
Whats that even supposed to mean? Some zen proverb?
Dont worry, youll figure it out. Im sure of it.
Reality stormed back in, as time went on with a vengeance. Dallion kept retreating, blindly leaping back while spitting into instances. His irregular actions confused the manticore. Unsure in which direction to attack, the monster leapt in Dallions general direction, only to have its prey evade it by hop-sprinting along the metal reds.
The nature of the creature, Dallion said to himself. What did the voice want to tell him? The creature was Star-spawn, a de facto chainling. The only reason it hadnt taken Dallions arm was because he had purged all the tendrils out of existence upon cutting them with a spark attack. But so what?
Think! Think! Think! Dallion whispered, using his music skill to increase his focus.
Chainligns had no shape. They could take on any appearance they wished. The Star had forced it to take on the form of a manticore, but that didnt make it one. It could change its shape again at any point or even have cracklings leap out from its surface and attack on their own. The only reason it hadnt done so was probably because of the Stars orders. Or maybe that wasnt the case? What if it simply couldnt, because unlike the cracklings in the awakening realms, it wasnt composed of a multitude of creatures, but was just one or even not a creature at all?
Youre a puppet, arent you? Dallion thought. Thats why youre copying me and reacting to my tactics.
Are you alright, dear boy? Nil asked in a confused voice.
There never was a creature! Dallion continued triumphantly. Not a single one. Ive been fighting brainless void matter, controlled by the Star in the same way I use Lux to fly in the awakening realms. All this time, Ive been fighting a puppet! A puppet made of water!
Youre jumping to a lot of conclusions. But even if youre right, how does that
Before the echo could finish, Dallion struck the nearest sky steel rod as strong as he could. The vibration of the harpsisword was conveyed, causing the entire construct to do the same.
A roar of pain and agony filled the temple as the manticore pulled back its right paw, only to have it get sliced off by the very same elements that had given it such an advantage earlier. It too had realized precisely what Dallion was doing.
Hurts, doesnt it? Dallion asked. Now were even.
The manticore growled, though keeping its distance. Both of them had experienced severe pain moments ago, andthanks to Dallions realizationboth of them were at a stalemate. Neither could approach the other without risking additional wounds. If Dallion were to attempt to approach, the creature would attack him with its void needles again. However, if the manticore tried to advance, Dallion would use the rebars themselves to inflict damage. Being made of sky steel alloy made them indestructible, but also able to convey the spark for a short distance thanks to Dallions music skills.
I bet you didnt see this coming? Dallion shouted. Youve trapped both of us here and once Im done with your puppet, Ill deal with you.
Youre wounded. You wont last five minutes like that. The anger in the Stars voice was palpable. All I need to do is wait. Youre the one that needs to push forward.
Did you just say that youll lose in a one-to-one fight? Dallion struck another rebar. This time the spark became visible, moving along it like a faint glow, before fading out.
So, the distance it could travel is five feet, Dallion thought.
It wasnt a lot, but enough for him to win. All he had to do was determine how to approach. Chipping away at the manticores health was a good approach, but not in the present situation. If there was one thing that the Star was right about, it was that Dallion didnt have an infinite amount of time. With the amount of wounds that he had, hed be incapable of fighting in half an hour, maybe less. In order to see this through, he had to destroy the chainling in a third of that time.