MM - Chapter 197 - WORTHIEST OF FOES

A single bounding leap brought the Patriarch's flailing wall of roots into range. Before they could close in, Raine triggered his buffs in rapid succession. Guardians Embrace, Guardians Comfort, and Guardians Armament bolstered his defenses, resistance, and damage. He dismissed the skills from his mind; he would either exhaust his resources or claim the kill long before needing them again. 

Their mental abilities clashed first; thick, primal miasma effortlessly drove back a misty desire for blood, scattering the thinner energy. Raine embraced the challenge of fighting back with a purposefully weakened ability. The ancient noble continued to dominate the airspace until bloodlust’s range was cut in half.

“You’ve grown even weaker, yet dare to face me?!”

The roots descended, a storm of aggression guided by the skills of a martial master. Twenty-four thick limbs whipped down from every angle. A slight turn of the hips, a subtle lean, a shuffle-step and spin, Raine was a matador in the chaos, allowing the roots to thunder past harmlessly. His evasions were minimalist poetry as the ground exploded to his sides.

Bloodlust had evolved beyond a debuff—it was a living sensory net allowing him to feel the murderous intent guiding each strike, even those hidden from sight. Its reduced range and the immense pressure from the world boss actually helped Raine stabilize the effects, allowing his thoughts to sharpen into crystallized purpose.

Feints and tactics became meaningless. With purified focus, Raine steadily stalked toward the towering boss. Wooden teeth were bared in frustration at its inability to land a solid hit. Large, amber eyes brimming with primal power narrowed. The Patriarch unleashed a wicked combination that included attacks from beneath the soil. Raine nimbly glided through it all. A rapid punch and shield bash reduced the final undodgeable pair of roots to ashes.

Zagan arrived, towering over him. Massive palms descended to slam through the ground with thunderous claps. “Die, Blasphemer!” 

A simple jump to the side evaded the boss’s hands. Its roots became a frenzy of motion, but Raine was a ghost, his evasions the calm at the eye of a storm. Efficient, simple hops off solidified air allowed him to slip through the web of roots. All the while, the constant burn from his armor’s Extreme Immolation and Soul Flame gnawed at the Patriarch’s health.

As Raine slipped between its legs, several sets of coiled roots pulsed with hidden energy. He clearly recalled how dangerous the exploding attacks were. Using the Bulwark of Reaper’s Revenge, Raine intercepted the new threats while reinforcing his gauntleted arm with Discipline to reduce the damage to a pittance. The shield hummed as it absorbed the force and damage. [-101] [-98]

Zagan retreated a step that cleared a dozen meters, only to find its quarry wholly unharmed. Recognizing physical assaults were ineffective, Primal Energy surged in the world boss’s maw. It roared, releasing a coalesced laser of superheated fury that erupted outward, slicing through air and ground with equal ease: Solar Lance.

Raine's bloodlust sensed the dangerous buildup of intent before the attack launched. There was no need for a frantic Lunge to evade at the last second. Fraction of Grace was still active; its passive boosts to speed and awareness propelled him with uncanny precision. He dash-stepped, unfalteringly closing the gap between them. The boss raked its beam down to follow, but Raine was beneath it now, in a blind spot created by its own mass.

Steam and hissing heat erupted behind as the soil bubbled. Meanwhile, Raine landed a flurry of fast, powerful blows that chipped away at its bark-like hide and immense health pool. Careful positioning allowed the bulwark to absorb the radiating damage from Solar Lance, finishing its charge.

Knowing the damage wouldn’t be enough, Raine comboed Decree and Punishment with Uncanny Acceleration. His shield moved too fast to follow, reappearing as it hammered into Zagan’s leg. A ghostly skull packed with concussive force sliced through coiled vines and bark, staggering the colossus and sending its Solar Lance haphazardly slicing through the terrain. [-152,136] The skull expanded, its area of effect catching dozens of nearby Fetches. With only 200 thousand health and significantly less defenses than the world boss, those critically hit exploded into dust.

Their dying souls fueled the bulwark, recharging it. Raine circled the stunned boss’s leg, unleashing another Decree and Punishment in a new direction. More Fetches died, and Zagan was sent reeling all over again. The one-sided assault continued, morbid, shrieking apparitions filling the air, until only the two of them remained.

In a few short seconds, the Patriarch that once considered itself above all others was reduced to 75% health. Prominence of the Fool ticked, sending icy pain slithering through Raine’s arm. [-767] The chill infected his whole body, reducing his speed by 8%. With a thought, the curse took its toll, replacing his shield with the Heavy Spear of Conductivity. [-1,054]

Raine’s next punch delivered a Life Drain that restored his missing health. There was no hesitation in his movements. As the Solar Lance petered out, Raine Lunged several times, rapidly ascending to the Patriarch’s head while weaving through multiple harassing roots. Arriving, he stabbed using a combined Uncanny Acceleration and Guardian's Bane. 

The speed of his strike defied reality—the spear didn't dart forward, it was already extended before Zagan could even think to react. Raine targeted the same shoulder he wounded during their first encounter. [-488,185] Vines and bark-like flesh evaporated before the glowing tip of his weapon. Instead of a slight cut like last time, Raine punched a gaping hole so deep he could see air on the far side. 

Despite the gruesome nature of the wound, the true attack was deeper, more profound. Focused will and murderous intent delivered a concept, an ideal that whispered of death, of an inescapable end. Bloodlust plunged deep into Zagan’s flesh, leaving it a quivering mess.

[Negative affliction applied (Enfeared): Enemy attributes reduced by 20% (Duration 4.7 seconds)]

Thanks to Raine's sharpened intent and deeper understanding of his ideal, the duration was nearly doubled from their first encounter. The boss recoiled in mortal terror, its panicked roots telegraphed to his senses. 

Raine twisted between them, Flurry of One joining the defense. He unleashed a low-cost stream of attacks that shattered the roots. The next stab sliced into the boss's gaping wound, keeping it exposed. Raine pressed the advantage, no longer evading; he was dismantling, and the wound widened. 

As the four seconds of vulnerability ended, Raine finalized the assault with a Guillotine Slash placed directly inside the Zagan's shoulder. Space was rent, the cut in reality pulling at its innards and radiating destruction. The Patriarch screamed as its health dropped to 50%.

A detonation of force expanded from the boss, kicking Raine in the chest and throwing him back. Zagan’s eyes flashed, and a hundred new bundles of roots burst from its body. Each carried murderous intent as they streaked toward Raine, quickly surrounding him in a storm of blows. The first to breach his evasions passed right through his extended fist; however, it was too late to realize he’d been tricked.

Raine’s defenses were overwhelmed by the Phantom Echoes—illusory roots mirroring the real ones. He was knocked from the air and hurtled into the ground. [-1,321] The roots, real and fake, swarmed after him, coiling, twisting, lashing. They were everywhere; he couldn't possibly track them all while being so new to bloodlust’s sensory perceptions. Before he could recover, Raine received another bone-shattering hit that sent him flying to the side. 

Repeated Lunges maintained his momentum and speed, creating space from the innumerable roots. The first ten seconds of their battle came to a close, and the world boss's regeneration ticked. [+492,187] Unable to reach Zagan through the echoes, Raine was forced to waste time. A Healing Burst topped off his health, but with Prominence of the Fool ticking, it was a hollow victory.

Zagan was not content to allow Raine to fly in circles unmolested. Its cheeks puffed with compressed air before the boss blew while spinning in a circle. Tiny orbs of Primal Energy were released in its gust. They zipped into the soil, and wherever they landed, pale, pulsating flowers grew.

Raine didn’t need to wait long to discover what they did. As he Lunged near one, a wave of weakness swept through his body.

[Negative affliction received (Lethargy): All resources drained at 1% per second (Duration: Indefinite)]

1% of his Discipline, Elemental Power, Demonic Power, Health, and Celestial Power, all plundered in an instant. The stolen energy swarmed into the flower. It swelled in size, and its area of effect expanded.

This wasn’t Raine’s first time dealing with spawned zones of control. They usually came in two forms: invulnerable and needing to be avoided, or widespread and requiring destruction. The flowers were spread all across the ground, marking them as the latter. Since the flower grew, there was a high probability they would eventually burst, showering the field with something even nastier than a simple drain.

Without needing time to think, Raine altered his altitude so he was just above the range of the flowers. The flames gushing from his armor proved their superiority, rapidly withering the dangerous field. Still, the boss’s tactics were effective. While Raine busied himself clearing the zones and evading the phantom roots, Zagan’s regeneration ticked twice, restoring a million damage and sealing the hole in its shoulder. Meanwhile, Raine had to swap weapons four times, cutting his health in half.

The Patriarch’s laughter was deep and loathsome, rumbling across the already devastated battlefield. “Foolish. So foolish. Your efforts are meaningless. I am inexhaustible, eternal! You are nothing before my dominance!”

“You talk too much.” Without fanfare, the phantom roots finally vanished, and Raine immediately darted toward the world boss. Unfortunately, another nasty surprise waited. 

Just before his shield collided with Zagan’s viney flesh, the small area he was about to strike rippled with a reflective sheen. Raine’s Debilitating Crush crunched straight through a surface turned brittle: Splintering Carapace. Not only was his skill’s damage negated by the defensive ability, but the brittle area exploded into razor-sharp splinters that shot outward, showering him with dozens of pinpricks that sliced straight through his armor. [-5] [-4] [-6] Their individual damage was low, but each carried a nasty toxin.

[Negative affliction received (Poisoned): Health and Discipline reduced by 2% per 5 seconds per stack (Current stacks: 13) (Duration: 31.42 seconds)]

Raine immediately activated Purge. A wave of scouring heat swept through his body, eradicating the poison at the cost of a mere 5% of his health. [-479] Snarling, he dove in to attack again, only for Zagan to reactivate Splintering Carapace. Uncanny Acceleration altered the angle of Raine’s attack at the last second, sending his shield slamming to the side.

Damn, that has a low cooldown. No more mindless aggression.

Raine was forced into a game of feints and evasions, his damage cut to a pittance as he carefully watched for the visual cue of reflective vines and bark. He wasted numerous strikes, and over the next ten seconds, dealt less damage than the boss restored. They fell into a delicate balance. Life Drain’s five-second cooldown was enough to break even with the cursed ring’s damage, leaving neither gaining ground.

The stalemate was an illusion. Raine was only human; the mental strain of juggling evasions, bloodlust, and careful offense was significant. Thanks to Flawed Conversion, his other resources were being chewed through faster than they regenerated. Already, he was down to 75% across the board. He needed to make headway, and that meant taking a gamble.

With gritted teeth, Raine cycled the cursed ring repeatedly, enduring the flashfire pain as his health plummeted. Axe, mace, staff, spear, and finally, Cassidy’s Comet. The weapon’s incredible weight pulled at his muscles before it finished materializing. He was already on the move. At best, there were only 12 seconds before Prominence of the Fool forced him to swap, or die.

Grace of Nirvana sent a rush of pure, unequivocal speed surging through Raine’s limbs. With the first Lunge, he vanished from Zagan’s sight. Uncanny Acceleration and Debilitating Crush triggered on cooldown, neither dealing massive damage but easily avoiding the sections protected by Splintering Carapace. [-63,162] [-34,871]

Zagan roared as blinding light filled its eyes. Massive arms flailed to swat him from the sky while roots thrashed chaotically. It was no use. Raine was a fleeting nightmare, zipping around the world boss, and even running across its body. Blinded and helpless, the Patriarch could only weather the hail of blows.

Flawed Conversion and Fluency of the Soul erased Raine’s cooldowns, but burned through his resources at a dangerous rate. They dipped below 50% in two seconds, beginning to put strain on his mental state. Bile rose in his throat as the effects of constantly altered inertia compounded. Raine’s vision grew hazy and distorted. He squeezed his eyes shut; there was no need to see with bloodlust painting a perfect 3D battlefield in his mind.

Zagan's health plunged back below 50% and continued to fall. A pulse of golden energy started inside the Patriarch’s chest and radiated outward. It flowed down arms spread wide, and finally, through the 12 offensive roots sprouting from its limbs. As the boss roared, 12 Solar Lances blasted free; each packed with enough heat to deal lethal damage.

The air boiled as death surged toward Raine from all directions.