Chapter 63

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(We got to 1k stones, more or less, and I'm fine with that. It's not too late to get us over the finish line --1300-- but i appreciate the support as always, so I'm posting the chappy anyways. Happy Sunday)

With the help of Mordo, my reign of terror began. I lobbed grenades like baseballs, decimating the demons. My devil-may-care attitude eventually won over Mordo, and the sorcerers joined in on my guerrilla tactics, employing my diverse weaponry to neutralize the hiding watcher population and most of the throwers.

When I ran out of bullets, I started getting physical. I would emerge from a portal, producing Rebellion, and split a demon in half before hopping into the next portal before the Garok could respond.

The Garok often sent ripples of spikes through the town, one area at a time, but because his earth magic was so slow, it was child's play to relocate and swing around back when the chaos was over.

Things came to a head when the Garok attacked a sorcerer as he opened a portal below a charging group of Fleshwarped that opened hundreds of miles in the air.

The Garok materialized out of the earth and swung at the man. He raised a partial Eldritch shield, but the Garok's club blew through it and crushed his left hand. The monster was rearing up to finish the job when dozens of Eldritch whips lashed out, immobilizing him.

I was a few hundred meters away, watching the fight in my peripheral vision as I put down a wave of Fleshwarped with my handy scythe. I danced around in wide loops, cutting fast, thin lines that rapidly built in potency and power.

I banked hard on the Osiris innate Feed ability as I shot forward in three vicious arcs, cutting a Fleshwarped to the bone. I swung upwards, taking off its head, and looped into an unempowered Parry that beat back another monster trying to flank me. I kicked in the face, tossing its head back as I flipped mid-air with my scythe like a Beyblade, slicing the monster in half over a series of cuts.

I backflipped, dodging the dangerous double fist of an enthusiastic monster, and came down with the reversed Beyblade trick again. My body spun in tight arcs, slamming to the head of the Fleshwarped. His body was halfway crushed before my scythe made it down to its chest.

I smiled as I flicked my scythe clean. Fucking hell. I could get used to this.

When I saw the Garok breathe deep and started to radiate yellow energy in my Devil's eye. I stacked three bursts and dashed at the Garok.

With a sky-shaking roar, he ripped through the restraint and shattered the earth, creating a small tsunami of stone spikes and dust. I switched to Angel Evade, mid-dash phasing through all the debris until I appeared -before him. Arbiter raised and packed with energy, and I swung.-

It was a shame to lose the damage bonus from Feed, but I needed the big guns for what came next.

The Garok summoned his club at the last moment and blocked before Arbiter hit. The clash was resounding.

We flew in opposite directions and crashed, and I was on my feet first, dashing at the Garok, whose yellow energy coat seemed to endure. His first club swing was powerful, shaking the air as it whooshed past my absent head. I stepped to the side, activating Demon Evade, arming myself with a double bonus that I leveraged into a brutal upward swing that cracked the Garok's side armor, burning through his protective aura.

The Garok remained immutable, slamming the top of his club into the ground, eliciting another earth-shattering break. An Angel Evade positioned me behind Garok as I phased through his attack and burst up in the air. I stacked three Burst on each other, each costing 9 instead of the typical 10 DE, and used one of Arbiter's signature techniques --- Flush.

The Garok didn't sense me in the air until it was too late. A spinning axe head carrying Fire, eruption, and destruction fell on him, sending the big brute flying and screaming. His chest was scorched, and his energy cloak flickering when he came up on his feet just as I dropped in on him with Arbiter roaring to go.

The attack drove him to his knees, and the sorcerers, never one to miss an opportunity, had situated themselves around our makeshift arena and fired red-hot beams of fire energy as soon as I got clear with another Angel Evade.

The sorcerer he nearly killed seemed the most eager, weaving a spell with one hand limp.

The heat ravaged the Garok as he let out a primal scream and another explosion of earth and dust. An Angel Evade saw me through all the damage, and another Burst sent me rocketing forward, but the Garok was not at the epicenter when I arrived.

I had my Devil's eye activated as I surveyed the wreck. The demons that survived our assault died between all of the explosions.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Mordo announced from somewhere between the haze. "Garok's are more physical but will switch to ambush fighters when faced with overwhelming odds. You never know where—"

"Hargh," A stone spike shot off the ground, penetrating through the thigh of the sorcerer who'd been already crippled by the Garok.

Several ambush spikes emerged from the ground micro-seconds later, but all sorcerers except one other were lucky enough to escape.

The sight nearly made me gag.

As did the sight of the Garok emerging from the earth beside the wounded man.

"You sick son of a bitch."

The Garok smiled at me with a toothy grin and hefted his club. His chest armor was nearly completely gone, and he bore scorch marks up and down his torso. He'd clearly taken a beating, but he looked like he was rearing for five more rounds.

"We have to separate them," I said.

"He's not going to make it easy, and Gregory doesn't have much time left," Mordo said.

Of course, he wouldn't, but that did not mean I didn't have a few tricks up my sleeve.

I leaped a few steps back and yelled over to the Sorcerers. "Give me a portal," I said, "I got this."

The Garok seemed to snort as if to say, 'I'd like to see you try.'

When the portal opened up, the Garok came swinging. What it didn't expect was for me to patiently wait for it to overshoot its swing and patiently yank it through a portal, face-first with Demon Pull.

Its beady eyes bulged as its density shifted, and my strength ballooned, yanking it off its feet and through. The sorcerers, feeling extra vindictive, even closed the portal halfway through. The Garok, sensing danger, had been quick to react, tucking its legs and all of its body but not its weapon.

The top half of its club was cut in half as it flopped through. As if that was not bad enough, it arrived at the rotating blade of Osiris. The blade was warped in blue streaks, shredding through his already weakened armor and wounded skin. I would've preferred to use Demon Energy to handle him exclusively, but I had to ration and fight smarter. The offset from the cut had even been enough to toss him in the air, where I readily followed with Osiris, whirring.

I swept through in vicious arcs, quickly looping six strikes into each other. I saw that I was not doing a great deal of damage, but I moved substantially faster than I would've been able to manage with Rebellion.

While the Garok was still reeling, I switched to Rebellion and slapped him into the ground with a Burst and a chunk of Demon energy. While I was falling, I switched to Ophion and pulled myself toward him, landing sword-first into the Garok's wounded Chest. The blade sunk deep, eliciting a loud gasp of pain.

The Garok swung immediately in retaliation, and I flipped back just in time to avoid the hit, but I left Rebellion in his chest. The Garok slammed the ground, generating a small grove of a spikes around him, which I navigated my way through with pure footwork and a few strategic leaps. While mid-air, the Garok tried to take advantage of my vulnerability, sending a wave of stone spikes at me.

I surprised him and myself by pulling Ebony and Ivory and letting a rip. My fingers blurred as I picked up half a dozen spikes before targeting Rebellion, which was still firmly lodged in the monster's chest and firing.

I fired in the tightest spread I'd ever managed, hitting right on the pommel of the sword and driving it deeper into the Garok's chest.

He coughed blood, dropping to one knee, and I saw the panic creep into its otherwise smug face.

A panic that I was sure would've been made that much worse if he could read my notification screen.

Gun Mastery (Adept)

You're now able to shoot with increased accuracy and speed and have intricate knowledge of most human-made guns.

With a grin, I flipped through the air, landed on a spike, and launched back at him, doubling my speed with a Burst. I blurred through the air, rapidly firing through rocks, bounding off stone spikes, and dodging projectiles.

As I came close, the Garok snarled in desperation, swinging out with his half-destroyed club, but I phased through, slamming into Rebellion's pommel knee-first with a vengeance. My blade went straight through his chest, and I saw the Garok's eyes go wide with surprise as he flew back, flying straight through a hut as I tumbled forward, knee cap shattered with most of my muscles torn, my skin on fire, and my body wracked with indescribable pain.

I spiked Angel Regeneration, lapping up most of the energy I had left to stabilize me.

HP: 350/700

AE: 150/460

DE: 300/480

I grinned, sitting up, and spotted Mordo and the rest of the sorcerers as they portaled over.

"That was some fight," he said. "I could see why the Ancient One chose you."

"It's not over yet," I said, struggling up to my feet. I hadn't seen a notification yet. "That asshole is not dead, believe it or---"

"Garrghh!"

"Dante!" I heard Mordo call out, but his voice was far away.

The pain was indescribable. My chest, stomach, lungs, legs…I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. I was suspended in the air, speared through by several stone spikes.

That motherfucker.

The Garok stood up with half of its body covered in red patches, blood still pouring out from its pulsing heart, where a strange orb was now situated. The sky in front of me was inundated in red light as spellfire poured down on the already wobbling monster.

I heard Jean shriek out, calling for me, and the world slowed down as my health bar flashed in front of me.

HP: 30/700

Earth Resistance—Basic

Grants a 15% resistance to all earth damage. Cost 5 DE per hr while in use.

On a black, smoky screen, it appeared in front of me again. Shin's reward.

Minor Seed of Gluttony

(T)Minor Seed Shard of Gluttony

Inherit a fundamental fragment of Shin, the Avaricious power, forever altering your being.

You will gain.

Race Suffix–Become the Nephilim of Hunger

Essence Reaper–gain a tiny silver of strength from every foe that you fell. (One-time only. Shin will extend the bonus to cover every foe you've killed in the 12 hours.)

Avaricious Gaze– will replace your current identification skill and allow you to see the estimated power level, top skills, and weaknesses of your opponents.

"No," I said, choking back the blood.

"What are you doing?" Shin's voice resounded in my head, slippery and coy. "You will die."

"No," I growled, summoning Cloak. Strength flooded my veins as my strength shot through the roof. I reared back my fist, layering Burst on it, and swung at the central spike sticking out of my chest. It snapped in half.

(Read up to Chapter 84 on Patreon.com/ArtandCreativeWriting)