MM - Chapter 195 - TO TRUST, IS TO INVITE BETRAYAL

“Just like the Morkits. Leave the rest to me.”

Raine’s demand was too much. Selena shook her head, terror squeezing the air from her lungs. The world boss—a monster fit to annihilate an entire detachment of knights—dominated her entire field of view. And it was not alone. Escape was impossible. It struck her then—these were to be the last moments of her life. “It’s too fa—”

Raine’s hand firmly squeezed her shoulder. “There’s no such thing as too far or impossible. You’ll see. Go.”

Unable to resist Alaric’s firm, confident command, Selena assumed a low stance brimming with explosive power. Her lips drew back as muscles bunched. With all her might, she thrust. A razor-thin shell of energy enveloped them as she kicked off the ground. Raine’s Connection firmed her footing while thinning the air ahead. His grip was relentless, and together, they flew directly toward the awaiting boss.

A tingle swept through Selena, and something tightly squeezed her stomach. She failed to notice either, too enamored by the massive hand reaching high, blotting out the sun as it prepared to swat them from existence. She screamed as two dozen bundles of roots thick enough to be trees bolted forward to deny any potential retreat. As far as she could tell, Alaric did nothing as the threats closed in from every angle. They were too fast, and her thrust was impossible to stop once it had begun.

Selena’s vision was clogged by ancient wood as the roots reached and completely encased her. The roots converged from left and right, sealing their flanks. Before her life could flash before her eyes, the roots evaporated as though a dream. The normal feedback when she destroyed something with Cannon Thrust didn’t activate as they continued blasting straight through the clog of roots.

The world boss roared, rattling her skull and scattering her thoughts. Its hand descended, unstoppable, and yet somehow, it vanished into nothing as well, blown apart in an instant. Selena couldn’t understand what was happening. It was all too fast, a blur of movement and streaking colors, then they were back in the open air, barreling toward a writhing ocean of Fetches.

She saw it then, a sword extending above her head, and a pair of legs wrapped around her waist. Selena could only wish she had the time to chastise him for daring to hold onto her in such a crude fashion. From behind, fresh roots grew from the world boss. They extended at such speed that they would soon catch up, despite her thrust still propelling them at an incredible rate.

Alaric's sword arced backward, cutting straight through the air and leaving a gaping rent in space. The darkness sucked at the roots, while simultaneously ripping them to splinters.

No matter how far they had already come, Selena couldn't find any hope in her heart. The army straight ahead was possibly even more deadly than the boss. Lacking fresh life force, her Cannon Thrust quickly petered out, and they dropped toward the beasts. 

Selena half expected Alaric to leap in front of her and sacrifice himself in some heroic, yet idiotic fashion. The last thing she expected was for his sword to vanish and his hand to clamp around the back of her neck. Her eyes bulged as his grip squeezed tighter than she could ever break. Terrified, she thrashed bodily against the restraint, refusing to accept being left as a distraction while the scum Traveler escaped.

It was useless; he was too strong. Alaric bodily slammed her into the front row of Fetches. A terrified scream was torn from her lips as the beasts bounced off her. Alaric pushed her deeper and deeper into their ranks, and once more, everything became a streak of colors and sounds. The Fetches struck her body hundreds of times; they roared at her from point-blank range, overwhelming her defenses with irresistible Primal Energy that seared her soul like acid, draining her will with each pulse.

Selena fell limp, embracing death. She thought dying would be painful, but it was peaceful, in a way. In the surreal moment, she reflected on the choices that led her here. She had failed her people and herself, all because she chose the first Traveler to pique her interest rather than listen to Lyale's warnings. In her last seconds of life, she prayed to the ancient gods that her ever-faithful protector was alive and well. She wished that whatever drew him away had been safely dealt with and that he would find peace and a loving family.

“I'm sorry, Lyale. I should have listened and trained harder.”

A jolt of clarity pierced the haze as Alaric shouted from right behind. “What the hell are you mumbling about?! The shield’s almost gone; get your shit together!” The familiar call to action instantly roused Selena from her despondence. She stiffened, eyes flying wide upon noticing the priceless buff in the corner of her vision.

[Terrafron’s Lost Eyes (Earrings): (Chaotic Gold) To become the guardian of the Divine Realm, Terrafron cast away each piece of his fleshy body. His eyes yet contain the spirit of the greatest defender to ever walk the Mundane Realm. When activated, shields the target in a nearly impenetrable barrier for 10 seconds (Uses remaining: 1)]

Raine wielded Selena’s invulnerable form with absolute focus. He flung her side to side, blocking as many attacks as possible. If what he'd done to Mel and Celeste had been newb-bowling, then this was the work of a professional. 

With his other arm plunged into the tree trunk and dragging its rapidly diminishing mass behind, Raine had no way to fight back. Their only chance was breaking through and fighting at a lower elevation. Terrafron’s shield had moments left, and the Patriarch was not idle. The huge monster was right on their ass, its roots reaching for the only thing keeping Raine and Selena alive.

The army of Fetches was making escape impossible. Great Divide was already off cooldown, but using it again would require Raine to slow down. They needed to be faster, not slower, and he was already out of ways to speed them up. Swapping fractions was on cooldown for the next nine minutes, and Grace of Nirvana the next four.

Luckily, Raine wasn’t in this alone. There was no way a princess of Celendine would be sent into such a dangerous area without plenty of tools to get her out of sticky situations. He flung Selena into a wave of attacks while roaring in her ear. “Use everything you have or we’re dead!”

Roused to action, Selena came alive in his grip. Her wrists clashed together, releasing a boom and a spark of light that blossomed into a moving wall of fire and lightning. The attack did far too little damage to kill the tough ancients, but it hindered their vision and knocked down those it washed over. That was all Raine needed. He leaned forward and pumped his legs full of Discipline. With a mighty leap, they rocketed through the gap.

The wall of fire didn’t last long. As it faltered and vanished, a phalanx of hidden vines was revealed. Selena’s hands rose to her neckline. She jerked apart the collar of her leather armor to reveal a stunning necklace of shimmering diamonds. Each of its facets shone with an eerie golden glow an instant before releasing a kaleidoscope of arm-thick beams. Raine swept her back and forth, cutting the defensive line to pieces.

The beams were much stronger than the previous attack, and his interface was flooded with kill notifications that were summarily ignored. Their ten seconds were over. Selena’s shield vanished, and Raine instantly threw her over his shoulder. He charged straight through the dying throng of beasts, legs pumping like never before.

They were only halfway through, and the Fetches weren’t uselessly idiotic like most beasts. Taking note of the direction Raine was attempting to break through, the ones on the sidelines sprinted to thicken the blockade. Selena’s efforts had gained them a few seconds, allowing Raine to draw his sword and swing. Great Divide annihilated another chunk of clumped enemies, and Lunge returned him to maximum speed.

They neared the next defensive line at blistering speeds. Raine waited till the last second to jump. He Lunged through the air to clear stretching vines that were too slow to respond to the unexpected move. The ones behind leaped high to block the way, their vines burst outward, turning them into puffed balls that caught the wind.

Raine dove back to the ground, passing beneath before releasing another Great Divide. Raine sprinted ahead. In the last couple seconds, Selena managed to worm onto his back. Her sword appeared over his shoulder. She sliced at the air, releasing a wave of clear energy that looked exactly like one of Lyale’s Crescent Slashes, though significantly weaker. Her attack managed to push a few out of the way. It was clear she was scraping the bottom of her barrel.

Prominence of the Fool ticked for nearly a thousand damage, and Raine triggered the Ring of Nine Arms, silently praying for another slashing weapon. A short, heavy weapon appeared in his hand. Its head was a star covered in glistening jewels. Seeing it almost caused Raine to hesitate. He shook off the desire to show the boss just how powerful Cassidy’s Comet was. The time for that would come soon. Right now, the only priority was getting Selena and himself out of the cold.

Raine wasn’t shy, immediately shouting at the enemies in front. “PuriPuri Rainbow Release!”

Streamers of energy erupted from the ground. The Fetches fell apart on contact, taking more than double their health in damage. Raine leaped high again, not wanting to test if the skill had friendly fire by running through the zone of death. 

More Fetches were forced to intercept him. Fewer came this time, not wanting to be so easily avoided. While all their hungry, hateful eyes glared up at him, Raine raised his wand high. Its jeweled head burst into blinding brightness as Debilitating Crush and Rupture combined. The nearest floating Fetches were knocked away, clearing a path in the sky that Raine eagerly Lunged through.

Clearing away the beasts had the unfortunate side effect of allowing Zagan to run faster as well. When its closing footfalls suddenly stopped, Raine’s instincts screamed. He glanced back to find that the boss had sunk its roots deep into the ground, then hurled itself forward like a missile. Raine responded instantly, Lunging down and to the side.

The Patriarch roared as it flew past, only a few of its roots redirecting in time to strike. Thick killing intent hammered into Raine from three directions at once. He flipped sideways, avoiding the first two attacks, both aimed at Selena. They tore past to gouge chunks from the ground instead of the princess. However, the boss’s attention had been fully dedicated to the third strike. Raine’s attempt to angle his arm out of the way failed before the martial prowess of an ancient. A thick bundle of roots smashed into what was left of the burning tree.

“Your fate is sealed!”

Splinters flew everywhere as the trunk shattered, and Raine found himself holding little more than a burning log. The heat keeping him and Selena alive plummeted. Zagan pulled its bulk back to the ground with the rest of its roots, rolling on a shoulder, it came facing where Raine had been. He was no longer there.

“PuriPuri Comet Burst!” The wand's first activatable smashed into the nearest Fetch between him and freedom. [-871,437] The beast rocketed away, and each monster it collided with took the same damage and was similarly blown to the sides. Unfortunately, the attacks didn’t continue to chain, or Raine would have cleared the entire army out in one move. However, his efforts did create a clear trench that cut all the way through their defenses.

He dove into the gap, sprinting with his nose a hand’s distance from the ground. Many of the Fetches were still blinded, slow to catch on to his escape. With the wand’s usefulness expired, Raine triggered the cursed ring again. The Bulwark of Reaper’s Revenge appeared on his arm, which he raised as a battering ram that sheltered him and Selena from the storm of thrashing vines.

The boss was running again, thudding steps no longer caring about those crushed beneath. Just before clearing the trench, the mass blindness faded. The Fetches moved to intervene, but they were too slow. Raine plowed into the last line not with shield, but with the last remnants of his burning tree. He plunged the makeshift weapon into a Fetch's torso, bringing the struggling beast with them as they burst into open air.

It writhed as the Primal Energy in its core burst into flames, washing them in fresh heat that would not last. Raine’s bulwark fended off its pitched roar while Selena’s thin sword hacked away at its vines. They fled down the hill at top speed, and Raine realized that as far as desperate attempts to stay alive went, this one had to be right up there at the top of the list.

Seeing its prey escape once more, Zagan threw its head back and bellowed a cry drenched in rage.

Raine’s smirk matched the thundering of his heart. In the brief moment the boss flew overhead, he’d felt its attacks coming without needing to see them. It hadn’t been perfect, but it was close; he was close. Only one more step, and it would finally be time to claim his treasure chest from its corpse. “Don’t you worry, asshole. I’ll be right back to finish what we started.”