MM - Chapter 121 - A WORTHY FOE

Vaneese of CronGate

Vaneese’s morning was about as far from enjoyable as it was possible to get. After retrieving Origin of Sin’s death squad from the airport, she’d assigned one of her underlings the task of meeting their needs. The man had promptly been found in a closet, his throat slit. Her people were rightly terrified of who she would assign next. Their worries were unfounded; if the damnable assassins were unwilling to be catered to, they could rot in their rooms.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Marco Salvatore—her disgusting husband-to-be—had become a waste after his loss to Alaric. When she refused to pleasure him, the manchild locked himself in the gym as if sparring with his cronies would somehow lead to his supposed revenge. The least he could do was help prepare for CronGate’s debut in Carter City. 

At least Marco’s response was further confirmation of Vaneese’s assumptions about Alaric.

Marco must know who Alaric is if he's preparing for a rematch in reality. It’s true; they’re fellow inner disciples, and everything that happened to force our engagement was a setup. If Marco knows Alaric’s identity, then master does as well. Which means he lied to Damian Tafell when he said we would help his little assassins find the man. What a sham and yet another mess they’ve dumped on my lap. Fucking pigs, I can’t wait to listen to them squeal as they die in agony.

Vaneese couldn’t understand why Master Torune was playing this deadly game. The Tafells were not to be trifled with. There was a piece of the puzzle she was missing, and ruminating over it was driving her mad.

The techniques Alaric used were impossible to fake; he was definitely trained in our advanced methods. He’s a direct inner disciple of Master Torune, the same as Marco. What’s his mission in Carter? Why pit him against not only me but Marco and the Tafells? Why isn’t he a part of the operation? Or is he, and I’m ‘not qualified to know.’

The last words Alaric spoke to her before cutting off her head spun through Vaneese’s memory for the thousandth time. The railing beneath her fingers shattered. She clicked her tongue, stepping back from the balcony. From the fiftieth floor of the Notlih Hotel, Carter City was arrayed beneath her in all its hollow majesty. The view was already poison to her when, days ago, it represented an exciting new start.

Vaneese addressed the short message that she’d been ignoring. It was from one of her most loyal subordinates, Jerred, “Ma’am! The last team is in position.”

Once she gave the go-ahead, there would be no turning back. The mysteries yet to be solved would fester, her time and attention devoured by the chaos that would follow. Her unsent command was the only thing remaining between another peaceful day in Carter City and the bloodbath about to unfold.

It was too late to stop things now, but she still had time to pick apart this frustrating puzzle. She would not accept failure so easily. With a snarl, she responded to all fifty teams split throughout the city, “Hold position. Maintain contact with your targets. It is not yet time, but soon, Carter will learn who CronGate is.”

Raine KongRu

“Good choice,” Raine nodded approvingly at Pamalaiha, still kneeling before him. “If there’s nothing else, you may go.”

She hopped to her feet and headed to the door, a pep in her step that wasn’t there when she arrived. At the open threshold, she hesitated as if wanting to ask something more, then thought better of it and left. Knowing he was already late, Raine quickly hefted Juan Pauel and brought the man to a corner of the room.

A few quick taps on the smart-wall caused the metallic surfaces to elongate, reshaping the corner into a temporary brig complete with fifty-centimeter-thick walls and no door. A few holes at the top allowed airflow. “Morty, he won’t be able to reconfigure the walls when he wakes up, right?”

The front door swung shut under Morty’s command, and the AI’s voice flooded through the room's hidden speakers, “No, Master. The house’s controls are only manipulatable by the two of us. How long do you intend to entertain your… guest?”

“Few hours at most. Keep some stun drones in position, just in case. I’ve got to go. If there’s any issues, ping my Ncode,” Raine hustled back to his room, sealing the door and taking a few seconds to change the entry code. 

With a highly motivated class three martial in the house, this was Morty’s best chance to make an attempt on his life. Not that Raine expected it. A healthy dose of caution kept him alive in the past; there was no reason to alter the habits that worked so well before. Besides, Raine hadn’t exactly been flying beneath the radar. Any number of assassins could already be coming for him after the humiliation he put Damian and Master Torune through. They would have a hell of a time finding him, but if Pamalaiha could do it, so could they.

Raine secured his headset and flipped it on, falling back into ZionLine. When the world formed around him, the first thing he did was find Rocky. The glahm was still a kilometer away and showed no signs of activity. The rest of the raid was already there, waiting in Stealth. He was fifteen minutes late, and since he didn’t want his people thinking they could easily get away with the same thing, he chose to explain, “An assassin showed up last minute.”

TwistedReligion exited stealth first when he laughed out loud at Raine’s joke. His smile slipped when he realized nobody else was laughing. Mel, Celeste, and Talerra wore horrified expressions, so Raine quickly dashed their concerns, “It wasn’t a problem. She actually brought me a pleasant surprise. Crimson Nebula… never mind. We’ll talk after the raid.”

Wouldn’t help anyone if she were distracted the entire time.

The second Raine said they would ‘talk,’ her heart sank to her gut. [Talk? Talk about what?! He’s not going to kick me out because I called him an asshole… right? Argh! Why can’t I ever control my big mouth?]

Rhino, Richtor, and Kevinsbakon tried to talk at once, demanding more information and wanting to know if he was okay. Raine waved off their concern and headed toward Rocky. Seeing Celeste watch his back with her forehead heavily wrinkled, Mel sent her a private message, “I don’t think you’re in trouble. So long as he doesn’t make you return that staff, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

Celeste released her held breath when she read the message, realizing Mel was right. There was no way their greedy leader would let her go without taking back such an amazing weapon. She was a few million Superiority away from using it and was determined to do exactly that as soon as possible in case he really was firing her.

Talerra chased after Raine, unwilling to be dismissed by a simple wave, “Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve had a few close calls with assassins myself. Do you know who sent them? There might be more. Maybe you shouldn’t be logged in right now.”

“I wasn’t injured. The situation’s been resolved. You should go back; its charm broke. I don’t know if it’ll work a second time.”

The rahk glahm was terrifying enough as an ally. Talerra took his advice and fell back. Raine double-checked he was on the correct fraction, then dipped forward into an all-out sprint. Rocky took notice of him a half a kilometer away. Its vast form rumbled to life. Turning toward Raine, it beat its thick chest with heavy fists, filling the air with an avalanche of threat. Raine paid its blustering no mind, continuing to close the distance until his HUD created a targeting pip above the demon’s head.

Umbra’s Snare pulled two hundred Demonic Power from Raine. His maximum of eight hundred and fifty fell by the same amount. Rocky’s arms dropped to its sides while it waited obediently for him to arrive. Resuming his rightful place on its shoulder, Raine commanded the demon to hustle back to the city.

It's quite a bit cheaper now that there’s only a five level gap. Still such a broken skill. In fifteen minutes, I could charm another three Rocky’s. I wonder if my total DP is enough to charm a level thirty hierarch… Probably not. Definitely worth a try, though.

Raine directed Rocky to run right past the group without stopping. Despite the giant's teeth-rattling steps, his voice reached their ears without issue, “Follow a bit behind us.” Rocky blasted through the city’s wall, sending massive chunks of stone flying several blocks ahead. Abandoned homes and shops were crushed or outright shattered as Rocky waded ahead, unheeding of the carnage.

No structure was spared, and their vicious traps were set off in rapid succession. Hidden pitfalls attempted to trip the demon, yet failed to hinder its advance. Explosions popped against its rugged exterior and were healed with every tick of its monstrous regeneration. The deeper Rocky plowed into the city, the more numerous and deadly they became; it ignored them all the same.

Raine called a halt when the first lit brazier was two blocks away. It sat in the dead center of an open plaza at the intersection of two major thoroughfares. Shaped like a witch’s massive cauldron, the brazier alone was four meters tall, the flame billowing from its metal bowl double-again as tall. Sensing their presence, the flames gushed even higher, easily dwarfing the tallest structures in the city.

The fire took shape, forming a humanoid demon nearly Rocky's match. It had six arms, each holding a whip of molten lava. They cracked threateningly in the air. The giant bonfire had not one head but six, each set with blazing demonic eyes.

[Unliving Paroxysm (Raid Noble): Level 30 (HP 1M/1M) A gleaming avatar of the Infernal Rhashkahal. This elemental was bound by Bahael Ghaap and tasked with guarding his temples from defilers and pilferers alike. It does so with great delight, relishing in the extraordinary power granted it by a supreme demonic overlord. Beware its fearsome arsenal of ranged and melee attacks]

If ever two creatures clearly showcased the difference between a single tier of monsters, it was the Unliving Flame and the Unliving Paroxysm. Despite having similar names and levels, these two creatures were worlds apart in the danger they represented. While the Raid elite could reliably be defeated by five players of equal level and gear, this noble would demand at least fifteen.

Raine felt it in the wildly hammering heartbeat, loud in his ears: he was in for a tough fight. His lips pulled back, revealing white teeth. He leaped from Rocky’s shoulder, clearing the last two rows of buildings to land in the open plaza. His muscles bulged with untapped strength and durability as he swapped fractions.

[Fraction of Solidity: (PTC +20%) (PHY +20%) Upon command personify the sturdiness of the Unassailable Aegis preventing all damage and negative effects for 5 seconds (Cost: 40% of maximum health) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

Without preamble, the paroxysm reared its arms back and unleashed blisteringly fast whips of molten metal. At the same moment, fury and killing intent mingled, blasting forth in an azure wave that sought to plunder both fighting spirit and sight. Raine recognized the 'flavor' of its mental ability—stigmallage. While bloodlust invoked fear, stigmallage sought to obscure sight and, if the mental strength was great enough, plunge the unfortunate victim into absolute darkness.

Raine’s killing intent soared to meet it, triggering his cursed ring. A hefty spear with a lustrous glow and wickedly sharp blade appeared in his hand.

[Heavy Spear of Conductivity: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 15) (Attack Power +75) (DEF +15) (PTC +12) (ACU +12) (PHY +12) (Durability 200/200) (Innate passive - Channeled elemental damage increased by 15%)]

Their mental abilities clashed, and both redoubled their efforts to subjugate the other. The tug-of-war stalemated when Raine's bloodlust reached half its usual range. The pressure was intense; if his mentality faltered for a second, he would be overwhelmed by the superior life form. The strain was just what Raine craved. His senses came alive as though he'd been living in a monochrome world until this moment.

Raine strafed at a low sprint, the ground exploding behind him in showers of sparks and shattered stone. The loudly cracking whips fell without end; they were only the start of its offensive efforts. From the lip of the brazier, bubbling plasma gushed forth, expanding in a two-meter-tall ring that swept outward at incredible speed: Infernal Eruption.

Raine jumped the ring of fire. It whooshed beneath him, stealing the air from his lungs and bathing him in intense heat. The whips didn’t allow any chances to recover, forcing him to firm the air with Connection to keep sprinting. Each of its six pairs of eyes began glowing brightly. The left set unleashed their payload first in the form of zipping Infernal Blasts that traveled so quickly they looked like beams of energy. 

Raine filled his legs with Discipline, momentarily doubling his speed and avoiding the deadly projectiles just in time for the right eyes to fire. They spat thicker globs of slower-moving flames. Upon impact with the ground, they exploded into miniature, expanding infernos. Raine tightened his angle toward the unliving turret.

He once more boosted his speed with Discipline as he neared the brazier. Lashing whips fell like machine gun fire mere centimeters behind Raine as he streaked by. Raine opened with a Rupture that targeted the demon’s brazier. He knew that so long as the metallic container remained intact, the creature would be unlikely to die even if its health was reduced to zero. [-12,913] Rupture’s second wave was a struck bell that rattled Raine’s skull.

He shrugged off the discomfort, following up with a powerful jab that practically pulled him off his feet with the propelling force the skill demanded. Guardian's Bane punched right through the brazier, releasing a steady stream of molten blood that gushed out to paint the street. [Critical hit! -87,833]

[Guardians Bane: (Beginner) Stab with any melee piercing weapon to ignore 91% armor and physical resistances. Additionally deals 550% physical damage (Cost: 18 Discipline) (Cooldown: 18 seconds)]

The paroxysm released a splitting howl. It was accompanied by an expanding flash flood of fire. There was no escape from the fifteen-meter-tall wall of flame. Raine was picked up in the expanding surge of pressure and tossed to the far edge of the plaza. [-918] The nearest ring of buildings was blasted apart, unleashing shrapnel and untriggered traps in cascading explosions. Out of range of the whips, Raine was given a brief respite to consider the best way to proceed.

Damn, that’s a lot of damage considering my flame resistance. The others would nearly die from that attack alone. It either released that blast wave because it took ten percent damage or because I poked a hole in it.

The noble’s many eyes shone again, each vibrating with the immense power about to be unleashed. Raine started his rapid and steady strafing approach again. A green sheen from Healing Burst swept over his body. [+1,157]

[Healing Burst: (Beginner) Lay hands upon a target to restore health equal to 250% CP. Additional 250% CP health restored over 120 seconds - stacks 3 times - each stack refreshes timer (Cost: 30 CP) (Cooldown: 60 seconds)]

Raine didn’t stop there, also utilizing both his defensive buffs. With the sheer number of attacks the paroxysm released each second, a mistake could lead to being struck a dozen times before recovering.

[Guardians Embrace: (Beginner) Buff an ally within 10 meters for 5 minutes. Increases Defense by 50 + 10% maximum CP (Cost: 30 CP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Guardians Comfort: (Beginner) Buff an ally within 10 meters for 5 minutes. Increases Resistance by 50 + 10% maximum CP (Cost: 30 CP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

Swift Infernal Blasts and ponderous Infernal Bursts showered the stones around Raine. Attempting to conserve Discipline, he wasn’t quick enough to escape and was struck by three blasts and the expanding ring of a single burst. [-233] [-218] [-222] [-412] A quarter of his health dried up as his body became a localized conflagration of swirling fire.

His legs nearly buckled from the torturous pain coursing through his blood. He pushed through with a shout and burst of killing intent, barely avoiding several snapping blows from its six whips. The distraction lost him precious seconds. Before he reached the brazier again, it pulsed with an inner light, and the gushing hole in its exterior sealed shut. [+50k] As a noble, it regenerated five percent of its health every ten seconds, undoing half the damage Raine had already dealt.

Right as Raine reached it to strike again, the lip of its brazier boiled over into another Infernal Eruption. He immediately Lunged straight up but was too close to avoid the expanding ring of flames. The plasma it was created from held enough physical mass to flip him upside down when it clipped his legs. [-371] With his back to the noble, Raine could not see the molten whips he knew were heading his way.

Parry yanked him in a tight circle, spear leading the way. The blade easily smacked the first whip aside, but five more were behind it. The noble didn't flinch as one of his arms was pulled slightly out of position. On the contrary, its six demonic faces grinned wickedly. 

Raine fully understood that taking a direct hit from any of the whips while airborne would result in the rest comboing him until he was back outside its range. Much more likely, though, was dying long before then. With its eyes glowing again, he was only seconds away from another barrage of Blasts and Bursts with the capacity to expunge the rest of his health.

Raine was still inverted—a situation that would jumble the perception of the most highly trained martials, which was precisely the reason he'd relentlessly trained Mel and Celeste in acrobatics. No matter how awkward his positioning, his body knew what to do. He fell back on old repetition-bound instincts, pumping his senses into overdrive by filling his skull with Discipline—a technique not typically available until reaching the second baseline Physique threshold at 250. With a current baseline of 147, he was well short. However, his total Physique, including equipment, was 396. He had no way to know if it would be enough other than to try. 

When the technique worked, relief filled his skull along with the Discipline. A forced burst of adrenal fluids shot through his brain, and time swelled. The whips became visible despite their tips traveling fast enough to break the sound barrier. With all the speed his body could muster, Raine shifted his spear to intercept the next whip. Their weapons smashed together. The force rocketed him into the still-smoldering ground. [-23] The damage was severely reduced. His spear paid the price, losing three points of Durability.

Raine slid across the ground, eyes wide as he could force them and unflinching as he watched another whip sail toward him. He deflected it as well, once more being sent several meters away by the significant difference in Potency. [-20] Smacking his free hand into the ground, Raine was launched back to his feet. Lunge instantly brought him to greater than max speed. Tilting his head to the side, he narrowly evaded the next whip, which snapped right next to his ear. The sonic boom rattled his skull but did nothing to halt his head-first charge.

Raine was well aware he was being foolish. Regrouping and bringing the others into the fight, as well as Rocky, would have made defeating the Unliving Paroxysm a cinch. It's what Raine would have done in the past. For a lifetime, he put the needs of others, of CronGate, first. He was no longer that man. That person's need to prioritize the assets of a foul corporation ceased to exist the moment Raine woke up in the past without a slave collar surgically implanted in his brain.

Additionally, a reminder that dying here would be disastrous was unnecessary. Invasion hearts, and the unique raids they spawned, were tied to the life of whoever claimed them. If he died, the raid realm would collapse, and tens of thousands of demons would pour into the Silvergate Kingdom, turning his hard-earned reputation into dust in the wind.

He would lose his noble status and end up deep in the negative reputation. Failing this raid was synonymous with restarting his plans for a guild in another country.

Despite all that, retreat was the last thing on Raine’s mind. He hurtled toward the worthy foe, blood boiling in his veins and a mile-wide grin stretching his cheeks. Putting it all on the line was what he lived for now. The fact he hadn’t discovered how much he craved such pressure in the past was irrelevant. All that mattered was growing stronger and crushing his enemies with his own two hands.

Fulfilling the desires of his heart allowed Raine's bloodlust to soar like never before, rapidly overwhelming the noble—a monstrous existence meant to suppress the mental abilities of fifteen martials simultaneously. And so, Raine took the next step, snarling as he charged down his martial path directly into the waiting jaws of a demon he had no right facing alone.