The Hand From the Darkness

"OH SHIIIIIIIIIII-" Nash shouted. A loud cry, filled with despair and disbelief, almost as if he was about to lose the fight. That seemed weird.

[Wasn't he winning until now?] Rio wondered on his way to the scene. He couldn't quite see what was going on over there just yet, but based on HP values it seemed like Nash was dominating the fight this entire time. So, what's with that desperate cry?

[I feel like I better hurry.] Rio rolled forward. He had to get over there as quickly as possible, he felt it in his gut. It was important to not waste even a second.

[I should've set out earlier.] Rio criticized himself. He hesitated at first, and Jaiden also said it was unnecessary to help Nash in this fight, so Rio almost stayed behind. But, he had a bad feeling and it ultimately compelled him to act.

Jaiden has been underestimating Beat from the beginning, and Nash also thought she wasn't a big deal. It was a bad sign. Knowing Nash, he might let his guard down and get himself killed by the very prey he was chasing. He never expected the prey to strike back, that was the biggest weakness in his technique as a chasing expert. And, turned out Rio's worries were justified...

BAAAAAM! A loud explosion erupted in front of Rio's eyes. How many Magia Orbs were involved in the process? How many of them overlapped on Nash? Rio couldn't tell just by looking at the explosions, but he figured it soon enough.

[All of them.] Rio gulped. [It's a full resonance.]

How did he figure? It was elementary. Nash's entire HP bar vanished in an instant, that was all the evidence needed. Only a triple resonance would be strong enough to deliver that kind of damage in a blink of an eye.

[Did that idiot just walk into a huge trap?] Rio sighed. [Seriously. He's such a good player, but sometimes he makes the dumbest mistakes. Sigh.]

Fortunately, Rio made it just in time. Even though the explosions reduced Nash to ashes, his soul still lingered in this world for a couple of seconds. And, Rio was already within range to cast Arise.

"I'll revive you." Rio sent a ball of light toward Nash's remains.

"Oh! You're here!?" Nash jumped. "Brooooo! You're the best! I love ya! No homo, of course. But man, talk about timing!"

"I knew you might do something stupid, that's the only reason why I followed."

"Haha, harsh." Nash cracked a laugh. "Yeaaaah, I kinda messed up. But, no big deal! Revive me and I'll finish what I started! This chick is a little stronger than I expected, but she's basically already dead. One more hit and it's over. Let's goooooo!"

The holy magic wrapped around Nash's ashes and repaired his body to its original form. Soon, he'll return to the realm of the living! The monster was coming back, baby! It was Episode 2: The Monster Strikes Back!

[Good thing I made it in time.] Rio sighed in relief. They almost conceded a kill here and let the enemy mage escape. Even though they took Top Turret during this attack, these two losses would have neutralized that advantage.

But, there was no point thinking about that now. The disaster was averted. Nobody could stop this revival ritual now.

Somebody from the enemy team was probably on his way here and would arrive at any moment, but it'd be too late. Once Nash revives, he'll finish the Sorcerer in a single hit.

Beat already started running away, but it was futile. Nash will catch up to her in no time. He didn't build all that Movement Speed just for show. It was a practical advantage that turned him into an uncontested predator. He [will] catch her and he [will] kill her, there was no doubt-

SPLASH. The sound of water. Where did it come from!?

"Ah!" Rio's eyes widened. It was the Aquamancer! The guy popped from the jungle right after Rio cast Arise! And, that splashing sound just now as none other than Aquamancer's Splash spell, directed at the reviving Nash.

Rio's holy magic was busy at work, stitching Nash together from the ashes. But, the process came to an abrupt halt. The Aquamancer's Splash washed off the holy aura. Nash's half-regenerated body crumbled into ashes once more.

"Wha?! How does that even work!?" Nash cried. "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"No way..." Rio was frozen. How was that possible? [No, of course it's POSSIBLE, I know about this interaction. But...]

Splash was an oddity among oddities, as it nullified various "positive effects" on touch. That vague description covered buffs, shields, and yes, even the revival effect of Arise.

Arise needed about two seconds to finish reviving a target. In that brief window of time, Splash was more than capable of negating the effect.

It was a niche interaction, but Rio was aware of it. So, the interaction itself wasn't the surprising part. What actually shocked him was the fact this play just happened.

The time frame for countering with Splash was about two seconds. In other words, it was practically impossible to pull this off unless the Aquamncer was already in position, waiting to make this specific counterplay.

[I knew somebody was coming to rescue Beat, but this isn't how I imagined it going down...]

No matter who was rotating to Top, their primary goal should've been to rescue their injured mage and drive Nash away. That was just common sense.

But, that common sense apparently didn't apply to Chessmaster. Instead of hurrying to Beat's side, Chessmaster went straight for that Splash counterplay.

Without hesitation. Without wasting any time. Almost as if it was the most natural thing to do.

[Did he somehow notice me before I got here?] Rio trembled. [How? I bet even Beat didn't see me coming. I even made sure to stick close to the wall and everything.]

Rio did everything in his power to approach the scene as stealthily as possible. He had plenty of experience with that from the time he was targeted by bullies, so slipping by unnoticed was one of his best skills.

As long as Rio was careful enough, most opponents didn't notice him approaching before it was too late. He would reach his hand toward their backs from the darkness and give them a jumpscare. He even played pranks like that on Nash in real life.

And, this time as well, Rio was very careful about his rotation. He did his best to slip in unnoticed, to eliminate any chance of being interrupted by unexpected circumstances. And, same as always, he reached his hand toward Nash from the darkness.

But, somebody saw that hand and grabbed it in mid-air. That elusive hand of support failed to reach its target.

Chessmaster caught the arm and snapped it in two. He saw it coming and countered Rio in an instant.

It should've been impossible. What were the odds of something like that happening? Probably below 1%.

Yet, it was an undeniable fact. Chessmaster just did it and flipped the entire situation on its head.

[I've been telling Jay and Nash that they don't understand anything.] Rio shuddered. [It's not Gunz they should be scared of. It's Chessmaster.]

Jaiden and Nash always raved about Gunz because the beast's mechanical finesse awed them. And indeed, the guy was a fearsome fighter who crushed anybody in his path. He was worthy of being revered.

Nonetheless, as far as Rio was concerned, it was the other half of the "ex-StormBlitz duo" that was truly scary. Gunz was just a mechanical beast. It was clear in which areas he excelled, and it was very much possible to use tactics to take him down.

Compared to that, how much did they really know about Chessmaster? He was "Gunz's lane partner" and "the shot-caller", but what was the real extent and reach of his tactical skills? How should they outplay him? It was all unclear.

That's why, out of the two powerhouses, it was actually Chessmaster who scared Rio the most. That guy was a competent tactician who couldn't be defeated through direct means. He was an intelligent hawk, carefully eyeing his prey and studying their weaknesses. He was always out of reach, yet his words and actions influenced the world beneath him.

There was no telling how many weaknesses Chessmaster discovered and what ploys he was coming up with. How much could he predict? What did he know? Everything was unknown.

All of this placed tremendous pressure on the enemy. No matter how good a play was, Chessmaster might know a way to turn it into a misplay. That's how fearsome his tactics were.

For example, Rio didn't have a single doubt in his mind about his plans to resurrect Nash. There shouldn't have been anybody who could interfere with the process, so he went ahead with it at the first opportunity that presented itself.

And yet, somehow, Chessmaster turned this simple play into a misplay. Somehow, the master tactician saw through Rio's elusive movements, figured Rio's intentions, and countered the entire play in the nick of time.

Chessmaster thoroughly outplayed Rio on that one. It was a crushing defeat.

"Sorry," Rio apologized to Nash as he fled the scene. There was nothing more he could achieve here alone.

Beat was gravely injured, but it was impossible for Rio to deliver the finishing blow under these circumstances. It was a 1v2 situation and his damage output was poor, so he'd most certainly die trying to get this kill.

"Not your fault, man," Nash said. "That guy just straight up showed outta nowhere. I wonder if he was waiting for it."

"He had to," Rio said. "He couldn't have made it in time otherwise."

"So, like, he guessed you might try to revive me and waited to counter this specific scenario?"

"Pretty much."

"Wild play." Nash nodded with some newfound respect. He wasn't too impressed with Chessmaster until now, but this was one heck of a crazy counterplay. "Thinking of it, he also rescued that damn Knight I was chasing earlier. Bruh sure makes strong plays every now and then."

"That's the tricky part with Chessmaster." Jaiden smiled wryly. "You can never tell what he's going to pull next. It's also really hard to gauge what he's capable of. Even when he's not at the scene, there's a good chance he's the one calling the shots for the team."

"Sick!" Nash grinned. "Sounds like we better focus him the next chance we get. We gotta eliminate this dangerous guy!"

"Stupid," Rio objected. "Even if he's dead, he can still give orders."

"Oh, true that." Nash crossed his arms. "Then, what can we do about this guy?"

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Jaiden smiled wryly. "The shot-caller is the only role we can't really 'kill'. He's always there, making our lives difficult. There's pretty much nothing we can do. Gotta keep playing well and not show him any openings."

"Okay, I like that plan!" Nash pumped a fist. "Next time, I gonna chase and kill these guys for sure! Memer and Beat, just you watch!"

"That's the spirit, my guy. Though, I still can't believe you died fighting Beat." Jaiden shook his head. "The heck were you doing there?"

"Weeeeelp..." Nash scratched his head. "She caught me off-guard. One moment, I was sure she gonna be an ez kill, but then she somehow turned the tables on me."

"It's because you weren't paying attention," Jaiden criticized. "You should've noticed her orbs."

"Yeaaaaah, I [kinda] saw them. But man, she was almost dead! I thought I'll just kill her before she gets to pull anything, so I wasn't worried. But, she somehow stalled me just long enough to make it. Her dodges are some real shit, gotta admit."

"Nah, you just done goofed," Jaiden insisted. "The next time I fight her, I'll show you how it's done. She's trash, man."

"I know you wanna be hating on her because she's a girl, but she ain't that bad," Nash said something unexpected. "I know she's been playing like hot garbage this game, but not in that fight. You better not underestimate her when she gets serious."

"Huh, if you say so." Jaiden didn't believe any of that. Nash's defeat was the result of his own negligence. Jaiden won't commit such an amateurish mistake, not against Beat. He won't give that girl any chances. He'll crush her thoroughly, leaving no room for doubt regarding the difference in their skill.

But, that's only provided such an opportunity will present itself again in this game. Nash's death was a terrible setback for the team. It might even cost them the game in the long run.

[I hope this isn't the beginning of a turnabout...] Rio frowned.

In terms of map control, Taurus held an undeniable advantage. They were ahead in Mid and Top, while their enemy only advanced far in Bot.

But, Nash's death tore apart the "Invincible Triangle", the strongest pushing force of the team. In addition, it turned the overall situation from an advantageous 5v4 to a fair 4v4. Worst of all, it made Taurus lose the momentum they were building up in Top.

Meanwhile, Gunz was pushing hard through Bot and the defense efforts over there weren't looking too reassuring...