MM - Chapter 196 - YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE

The burning Fetch gave off so little heat that Raine and Selena were forced to run side by side the rest of the way down the hill. It was a moldering mess, barely alive and coming apart at the seams to the point the log stuck through its chest could no longer hold it. When the cold vanished between one step and the next, Raine cast aside the grotesque creature. It flopped about a few times before the flames from his armor finished it off.

Unable to stand next to him anymore for the same reason, Selena stumbled a few steps away, dropped to her hands and knees, then promptly spilled the nonexistent contents of her stomach onto the ground. She continued to dry heave in great wracking coughs as the stress from their escape played havoc through her body. Raine didn’t watch; his attention turned the way they had come.

Zagan didn’t try to chase this time. Only two shrines left; his last chance is intercepting us between them.

A quick scan of the two remaining hills and their valleys made it obvious where the boss would have to lie in wait. Raine’s gaze fell to his lifted palms and the steady blaze they released. The sturdy leather of his gloves creaked loudly as his fingers slowly tightened into fists.

“You’ve got that look again.” Selena swiped the back of a hand across her mouth, looking up at him with a complex expression.

Having been consumed in his thoughts, Raine grew curious. “Oh? What look is that?”

“The same smile you wore when the Morkits ambushed us. The smile of a madman. I’m coming with you.”

Raine’s eyes narrowed as she successfully guessed his intention of intercepting the boss before it had a chance to ambush them again. He shook his head sharply, “Not a chance. Protecting you will get me killed. Their soul attacks paralyze you, so I can’t even leave you to clean up the chaff.”

His voice hadn’t been sharp or demeaning, yet Selena was on the verge of tears at being told she was worse than useless: a hindrance. Raine continued, annoyed she couldn’t grasp the situation clearly without having it explained. “Why are you disappointed? We aren’t supposed to be fighting in this ordeal to begin with. It's designed to force us to flee, which is exactly what you should be doing. If I didn’t have just the right skillset, I would be running too.”

Selena’s open palms smacked the ground in frustration. Her fingers clawed through the dirt as she clenched her fists. Her gaze held more than a touch of desperation. “I have another set of armor. It has fewer attributes, but it will block their soul attacks. Would you let me come if I wear it?”

Raine paused, tilting his head at her. “Why? Why do you want to risk your life now?”

“Because I have to change, too!” Selena shouted at him before throwing her head back and screaming. It was a despairing cry, bubbling from deep within her psyche and bursting forth uncontrollably. “I’m so weak. So pitifully, disgustingly weak!” The fire left her as quickly as it appeared, though unlike before, she didn’t slump in defeat. She sat up, back straight as she faced Raine, and her own weaknesses, with a disgusted scowl. “I can’t even run away properly. It's like you said; the Travelers are coming. As I am now, I won’t be able to save myself, let alone anyone I love. This place is my last chance to become someone capable of protecting my home, my people.”

There was little reason to refuse so long as she stayed out of the way. “All right. You can come if you swear to not interfere with the world boss.”

Selena released a heavy sigh at his acquiescence, then shivered upon mention of the world boss. “Easiest vow of my life. I swear upon Celendine herself, and my connection to her line, that I shall not interfere in your battle.”

“Good. Stay at least ten fields away at all times. With your equipment and skills, the only way they take you down is if you’re surrounded and pinned. Don’t stop moving. Fight one at a time, two maximum. No Cannon Thrust other than as a last resort escape.”

Selena climbed to her feet, nodding at each of his suggestions. “I understand. You… Before, you said I was misusing Cannon Thrust. Is this what you meant?”

Raine snorted, almost glad to see her usual manipulativeness returning. “One million gold.”

Her face contorted in disgust. “Ugh. You are a foul man.”

Chuckling, Raine took one step, then paused and spun so fast that Selena stiffened. His finger was raised in warning. “You forgot something.”

“W-what?”

“The loot. You promised not to interfere in the battle, but mentioned nothing of what comes after.”

Selena gasped, hand coming to her chest. “What kind of charlatan do you take me for? I would never dream of poaching your hard-earned spoils.”

Raine’s finger pivoted to the base of a nearby tree, “There’s a perfect hidey-hole right over there.”

The princess stomped her foot and growled, “Fine! I swear it!”

Raine blinked repeatedly through his demonic face plate, stunned at her audacity. “Wow. You’re terrible at this. What do you swear, exactly?”

***

Cool air flowed deeply into Raine’s lungs. Warming, it left as a gentle wave of vapor. He sat with heels tucked beneath his butt in an open clearing, eyes closed in deep meditation. The Patriarch was close. Its attempt at sneaking was betrayed by slight tremors that tickled Raine’s ankles. He paid the sensation no mind, thoughts focused like a whetstone, scraping and shaving away unnecessary distractions.

Bloodlust ravaged the field and air around him, writhing, an angry beast with fangs bared. The Primal Energy within Raine surged, fueling his efforts.

Mental abilities alter the space they occupy, not allowing any other ability in. When Zagan attacked, the intent behind his roots ceased the instant it came into contact with my field of bloodlust. If I’m going to win, I need to be able to feel his attacks even after they enter bloodlust. I know it's possible. I did it by accident when we fought the first time.

What am I missing?

Raine recalled his exact state of mind when stumbling into unification. His mental grip on bloodlust eased, and the cloud of intent that promised death to all in its range settled. Instead of a writhing beast, it ebbed and flowed with his next breath.

It changes so easily with my will, my desire, my intent. Of course. The first inviolable law of ZL: Intent is the distinction between life and death. Intent is everything. I don’t need to let its mental ability in, only its intent.

Raine thinned his bloodlust from a hardened wall to a cloudy mass, the single thought all it took. He knew it wouldn’t be enough. Brow furrowed in concentration, he forced it to take the form of fog. The ideal at the core of his mental ability hissed in outrage. Raine’s bloodlust was the promise of death. It overwhelmed reality, conquering all life that dared stand before it. Weakening itself on purpose was an affront against its very nature.

The rumbling ground suddenly grew a thousandfold more intense. The boss had discovered him. With only moments remaining, Raine dove into the core of himself. He was surrounded by darkness, standing only meters from the tiger he hadn’t seen since his genesis. Its fur was matted with blood, its hide pocked with scars that only emphasized the thick, coiled muscles beneath. The beast snarled, baring fangs as it paced to the side, back arched as though ready to strike.

Why are you resisting this? Are you afraid?

The tiger roared in Raine’s face, sending shivers racing through his body. His instincts screamed that what he was doing posed a genuine danger. This beast in his head absolutely held the capacity to kill him. Not just his avatar, but his true mind and body. Raine ceased being Alaric. He was just a man, facing a king of the jungle. He chose his thoughts with immaculate care.

Since when do we—the predators—fear prey? We let them close, to strike directly at their throat. This is not some battlefield where ceding ground is synonymous with defeat. This is a hunt. A culling. Let them come. Let them bleed beneath our claws and teeth!

The tiger’s eyes narrowed, the expression far too intelligent for its monstrous appearance. With a dismissive snort, the beast cast Raine from the darkness.

There was no time for relief. Raine shot to his feet, hackles raised in the direction of the coming horde. Their footfalls were thunderous. The trees and ground shook, and he smiled, wide and menacing.

Bloodlust had become little more than a spray of particles in the air. He could see, hear, and feel everything in its range. The fear from fleeing insects was loudest of all. Beyond them, the intent of a small burrowed creature only paces away blazed brightly in Raine’s mind just before its long tongue lashed out to devour one of the spooked bugs.

A rustle of leaves heralded the assault. The foliage parted as the first Fetches sprinted into view. Raine darted forward to meet them. Vines surged out to intercept, but he felt their attacks coming before they even started. A subtle shift of his shoulders caused the whips to crack by on either side. Raine’s fist led the way, coated in flickering, golden flames. The Fetch’s neck cracked as its head was rocked back.

A low-level mace appeared in Raine’s other hand. He immediately swapped weapons. Life Drain countered the damage taken. Spiked gloves flashed into existence over his knuckles as a dozen more Fetches appeared. Raine dove into the fray, fists flying relentlessly as he nimbly wove through hundreds of attacks, all without using a single point of Discipline.

It wasn’t that Raine didn’t want to use his skills or resource pools; he couldn’t. Juggling martial prowess with an entirely new sense, and maintaining that new sense at a feather’s touch, were hard enough. He spent a lifetime fighting with only his eyes, ears, and instinct. This was fundamentally different, like randomly growing a new set of eyes and ears that he had no idea how to use.

It took nearly twenty awkward attacks to kill the first Fetch. Raine moved to the next with clinical efficiency, already feeling more comfortable. His brain came alive with each blow sensed and evaded. New synaptic connections were forming at an impossible rate, driven by the Primal Energy coursing through him. He was changing, growing, no longer stepping down his martial path, but sprinting at full speed.

By the fifth kill, only ten seconds had passed, and Raine no longer felt hampered. The misty bloodlust obeyed his every command, slithering into his opponents, weakening them, while also outlining their forms perfectly in his mind’s eye.

Raine leaned forward a millimeter, and the unseen attack from behind passed by with such a slim margin of error that it tickled the fine hair on his neck. He smoothly spun, knuckles crashing into the offender's chin just in time to point its roar at the sky. Golden liquid gushed high, and when it fell, Raine weaved between the drops—each loud in his mind. His punches didn’t slow in the least. To the contrary, they sped far beyond his listed attack speed.

Zagan’s thundering steps vanished; time was almost up. The pressure drove Raine toward perfection. Utilizing a touch of Connection for the first time, his elbow rebounded off solidified air. His arm became a blur, punches defying physics. The Fetch died in less than two seconds. He was already onto the next two, taking them both down at the same time. This was no longer an all-out brawl; it was a harvest. His movements were pure efficiency, driven by combat senses superior to anything he had experienced before, even unification. However, his control was still imperfect, and he had yet to utilize skills or Discipline.

Raine’s hands were almost solid ice, and his speed was slowing drastically; Prominence of the Fool demanded a change. The Bulwark of Reaper’s Revenge solidified on his arm. Within seconds, souls of the dead Fetches charged Decree and Punishment. Before Raine could use it, a mountain of killing intent thundered at him from above.

He didn’t need to look up to realize Zagan had stealthily leapt through the air to crush him like a bug. Raine abandoned the fine control over bloodlust to Lunge away. He tucked into a ball behind his shield, and a gauntlet of flames solidified around his forearm. Discipline flooded through his muscles and skin, doubling the efficacy of his Physique.

The world boss exploded into view, slamming into the ground and releasing a shockwave of force that killed several dozen Fetches. Raine was struck from point-blank range and blasted away. He smashed through two trees before stopping himself with air turned gelatinous. [-634]

Their eyes met, and the Patriarch’s rumbling laughter shook the air. “You should have continued to flee, little worm.”

Raine set his stance, fingers squeezing into tight fists. His knuckles could practically taste the world boss’s blood. “Not interested. It’s time to put you down.”

The Patriarch stood tall, sinister amber eyes pulsing with vile radiance. “Put me down? Fool! This place will become your grave!”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Wearing matching snarls, they charged.