96. Final Boss (II)

It was an eldritch horror. A skyscraper of Titansteel towering on four looming gray pillars. Two gnarled trees climbed out of its back. Their silver trunks sizzled with essence and power and Law—Law like Zane had never seen. He felt that Law in his soul—like all this time he'd been playing a note slightly off-tune. And now he heard how it was meant to be played, full and clear and strong. Pure.

The Treant bellowed. Its voice sounded like it came from deep down, a titanic echoing sound.

𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕋𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕥 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘𝟘

𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤:

𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝

𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕀𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪]: 𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕚𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪. 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕀𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖.

𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝔽𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕪 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕝-𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕓𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖.

(!) 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕥 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕧𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕥𝕤, 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝. 𝔸𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝, 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟 𝔸-𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖.

The Monster had exactly one Law. The Elemental Law of Steel.

Zane was a little shocked it was only Level 100. It hardly had a scratch on it—and it was fighting a Level 99 Signed and the Level 98 Archer too. What was the difference?

And that Level 99 had to be that Marquis they were talking about. World Rank #12, Alejandro Mendez. The man let out a strangled scream. He was choked with pain, with rage. He dashed for it; he was blinding fast—as fast as Evan even. Shocking for someone his size. Fire bloomed at his feet. He was a blazing rush, a comet streaking straight for the Treant.

The sheer power in that step… it felt as explosive as a Rising Storm Slash. He was strong.

Then the bough erupted.

It was as though those silver leaves were the surface of a lake. And some great octopus-monster lay beneath the surface, just waiting. Roots sprung out of the ground like so many tentacles. They swallowed the Marquis' legs whole. They wrapped up his chest. They took all that exploding power and snuffed it out like a candle. He ground to a brutal standstill.

He howled. He slashed, slashed again with his scimitar, pouring fuming blasts into those Titansteel roots. Each strike there was an explosion. Each strike left a molten red gash. But the roots held strong as ever.

"No," he choked. "NO!"

He raised another arm to slash. A root burst out like a lunging snake and wrapped that up too.

"MARQUIS!" screamed the Archer. He fired off a few shots. They clattered right off.

Then the trees on the Treant's back began to shine. Spots of shadow drifted over the battlefield, growing quickly bigger, blotting out the light of the stars.

The Marquis looked up, shaking.

Above him hung an asteroid field of pure Steel. The Laws infused in it were breathtaking, incomprehensible; the essence was like nothing Zane had ever felt. It all hung there, suspended, spinning slowly, little planets of swirling Steel. Suddenly it felt very hard to breathe. Even from out here Zane could feel the weight of it. It wasn't just pressuring his body—it was pressuring his soul. They were so dense he could literally feel their gravitational pull. Around them there was a circle of bending air.

Then the Marquis felt only despair. The planets fell.

He tried slashing. He might as well have done nothing. His red lines couldn't even leave a scratch. He wore his defiance plain on his face as the first asteroid struck.

It struck him. It went through him. It sank until you could barely see its surface over the steel bough.

The rest of the asteroids landed. Hammering over the first. THUD. THUD. THUD. There was an utter finality to the sounds. Each one shook the whole tree; they threw Evan off his feet; Evan cried out, but Zane caught him and held firm.

They weren't even necessary. After the first asteroid landed, there was already an X on the mini-map where the Marquis had stood.

Then it was over. The trees on the Treant's back dimmed, recharging. The Archer stared in dumb shock.

He ran screaming. He ran up against the edge of the Lair Lock, the blue wall separating Zane, and Evan, and him. All Zane felt from him was naked horror. You could see it stark on his face. "Help me!" He sobbed. "Please!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!" cried Evan. He tried running over, but Zane held him back.

"Let me go!" Evan struggled. But Zane just shook his head. There was nothing they could do.

The Archer choked. He started to float, started to thrash like some invisible force had him firmly in its grasp. His belt. His necklace. They were Steel.

Something ripped him away. Yanked him flying at the Treant at highway speeds. The Treant swatted him with its pillar of an arm. An arm as dense as Zane was. Just so much bigger.

The Archer was Level 98. It was easy to forget when he exploded like that.

Evan let out a choked gasp.

A notification popped up.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.

"No…" whispered Evan. For some reason, he felt near tears.

𝔹𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖. 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕤. 𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝟝 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤.

The Treant snorted and closed its eyes. It settled down, going dormant. The boulders studding the ground melted away; the essence flowed back to the Treant. The craters started filling back up. The bough grew level again. Healing, resetting, wiping all evidence of the slaughter away.

Zane looked back.

The path behind them had fully caved in. It was gone—even gone on the mini-map. The only way down lay deep in the Treant's Lair. And that was sealed off on the mini-map. Zane could guess the condition to unseal it.

𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝟜 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤

Zane set Evan down and knelt beside him. Evan curled up a little; he was sniffling. He felt awful.

He felt awful about the Tomb Kings, even—he felt awful he couldn't help them, even when they asked him to. He felt awful he had to watch them die like that. It felt a little odd to Zane, but Evan could feel bad for pretty much anything, Zane found.

Above all he felt really, really scared. He felt so scared he couldn't even think, the kind of fear a rabbit might feel in the middle of a road staring at the headlights the moment before it gets crushed under the wheels.

It was way too much. For him and for Zane—it was hard just standing next to him right now. This would not do.

So Zane knelt and took his hand. "Look at me," he said as gently as he could. "Listen to me." He wasn't sure what to say. Then he remembered what Reina did to calm down; she had all these visualization and meditation tricks that went way over his head. But the simplest—"Listen to my voice. Breathe. In… out… focus on my voice."

"Zane?" sniffled Evan.

"Shh. No talking. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Evan nodded, still trembling. "Good. Close your eyes. In. Out. In… out… good."

He could feel what Evan was feeling. To Evan, it just felt like a deep, smooth voice was wrapping him up. And he felt Zane's big warm hands on his own.

"Forget everything else. I need you here. I need you now. Listen to me. Are you listening?"

Evan nodded quickly.

"That thing is strong," Zane said. Then he pointed a thumb at his own chest. "I am also strong. I am very strong. You know this."

Evan nodded quickly again. "Un!"

"And you are very fast. You can deal lots of damage very quickly. Together, we will be way stronger than either of us alone. Together, we will beat this thing."

"We will?"

"Of course. I am sure of it," Zane said. He wasn't at all sure. But he said it with the calmness of someone who was sure. It kind of seemed to work.

Evan didn't even have empathy like Zane. Weirdly though, something about Zane's calmness seemed to be infecting him too. He was breathing a little less quickly; the knot in his chest was unwinding.

"But—but what if—"

"No."

"But—"

"No buts. We are going to win. I promise."

Evan swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

"Say it."

"We're—we're gonna win."

Zane frowned. "Say it like you mean it."

"We're gonna win!"

"We will beat this thing, won't we?"

"Yes!"

"We will beat this thing. And we will save Northern California once and for all."

"Yes!" When Evan looked up again, his eyes were a little watery. Zane just felt warmth gushing out of him now. He felt the bond between their souls strengthening a little.

Was this that 'Power of Friendship' Skill again?

He blinked. He hadn't meant for this to happen. But he'd take it. More importantly, Evan was on his feet again. He felt determined. He felt ready.

𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝟛 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤.

Zane gazed out at the Treant again, this time with an eye for its weaknesses. Like a lot of these Bosses, its joints flared up faintly red. But most of the red, surprisingly, showed up on its back. Those trees… they also seemed to be what were powering those steel meteors. They seemed to channel its essence. They had to cut that off first. Then they could take down the main body.

"Okay," said Zane. "Here's what we're going to do."

If Reina were here, she'd do a lot better—but neither Zane nor Evan was particularly good at strategizing. And there wasn't much time anyway. So they cobbled together a basic plan, something they could both stick to.

𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝟙 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕖.

Time to put it all out there.

***

The blue barrier dropped. And Zane instantly stepped out in front, marching for the Monster. Evan came up behind, sword shining. "Sunblade Slash!" he cried.

An arc of gold flashed through the air and bit into the wood of the tree, drawing a bright gash in the bark. A branch went flying. Not a lot, but it was definitely something. The Treant felt a burst of surprise at the sheer speed of it; its giant face curved into a frown.

Then the ground behind Zane erupted. Roots lashed for Evan's feet, for his arms; he cried out, stumbling, darting away, but it was like trying to not get wet when you were standing in the middle of an ocean.

Before the Monster could firm a grip, Zane roared. And he charged. It was still angry at Evan—it pretty much ignored Zane. No good. He had to get its attention. He drew his Axes. They flared with Stormfire and he whipped them into a Rising Storm Slash. Aimed straight at those trees on its back.

Only then did the Treant turn around. It felt the sheer force coming at it; something about Stormfire seemed to unsettle it. And suddenly all its attention was on Zane. A wall of roots surged out of the ground, catching Slash. The blast was immense. Steel essence and Steel Laws swarmed Stormfire. Snuffing it out. It was the first time Zane had ever seen Stormfire snuffed out.

But the vines slouched off too, sliced in half.

Now the Treant was really frowning. And Zane felt the change in its attitude—even as Evan's little gold slashes went off in the background. It saw Zane as the true threat. It decided to crush Zane first.

And the ground started bubbling around him. The air began to shimmer.

Zane let out a tight breath.

Here it comes!