70 Chaos Ladder

'Nyx, how far until we hit the portal?'

Riku wasn't liking their prospects at all. With their opponent now literally throwing unlimited bombs at them, it was only a matter of time until they either die from one of the many explosions hitting their ship or they just sink into the depths without so much as even putting up a fight. Immediately, he thought about rolling a Trump and just hoping that he'd get something he could use. Likewise, he had to rely on Shizu to pull out a card that would help them in their situation.

/Still a bit far,/ Nyx told him with the slightest hint of panic in her tone. /The ship's starting to take on water, by the way. I'm doing my best to patch it up, but there's only so much I can do./

'Appreciate it.'

Blinking, the former assassin picked up his knife from the floor and stood up, picking up Shizu from the floor as well as they both gave each other a know look.

"We have to do something," Shizu stated the obvious, the ever present worry in her voice growing louder as her cards shook in her hands. "I'm... Give me some time. I might be able to draw something decent."

"Likewise," Riku gravely nodded. "I'll keep up with the defenses."

Giving Shizu one last glance, Riku did his best to keep balance as he jumped up to the battered cabin once more. The backside of their ship was starting to sustain heavy damage, and the volley of exploding planets never seemed to end as the Champion of Astra kept on attacking them.

"Just surrender already!" Stephen yelled to him the moment he saw him. "I won't have to sink your ship that way!"

Riku kept silent as a thousand thoughts began to come to him. Based on what he had already seen, clearly Stephen could just make a massive planet and just throw it at them without a care in the world. He also could've just thrown one of the two Jupiters speeding up his yacht and they'd be sunk without so much as a thought. Could it be that he was limited in the amount of planets he could make? Perhaps he was limited by mass?

Either way, it was clear that the opponent could only throw so much at them without risking himself. There was a hard limit to it, which meant that unless Stephen used one of his two big planets, they would've have to worry about getting sunk so long as Riku could put up a proper defense.

"[Chaotic Reroll]..."

[BOONS OF CHAOS: CHAOTIC SYSTEM TRUMP ACTIVATED]

[CHAOTIC REROLL COMMENCED]

Licking his lips, Riku began to let his body move as he began evading the new round of planets being thrown at it. It was good since it meant the ship could be allowed to repair itself somewhat, but with the possibility of exploding planets, the former assassin couldn't use his knife to block. Instead, he had to dodge, something that he was rather good at as well.

"Stand still!"

The former assassin ignored the astrologer's grunts of annoyance as he waited for his Trump to finally proc. He didn't know what he'd get, but it was better than nothing and-

[ROLL SUCCESSFUL]

[CHAOS LADDER: ALLOWS THE CHAMPION TO SUMMON A LADDER OF INDETERMINATE LENGTH FROM HIS WEAPON. VALID FOR THIS DEPTH ONLY]

Riku blinked at what he just read. What in the world did he just get?

Whatever... He just had to roll with it and see where it would get him.

With a glint in his eye, the former assassin exerted the power of chaos, his knife glowing black as he willed for his newfound power to come to him. Swinging his knife, the weight of his weapon suddenly shifted as a ladder made out of black tendrils quickly shot out of the tip of his weapon. The sudden change in weight almost made him fall over as he used his other hand to wield the knife, the ladder swinging out wildly, taking with it the planets that unfortunately got in its way.

"W-What in the world..."

Stephen's shocked words mirrored Riku's as the projectiles stopped. Below on the deck, Shizu also stared dumbfounded at the seemingly endless ladder that just spawned out of his knife. Meanwhile, Nyx was visibly giggling at him from where she stood.

'Nyx.'

/Y-Yes, my Champion?~/

'The power of Chaos is stupid.'

Gritting his teeth, Riku reined in his newfound power over ladders. Flexing his wrist, the ladder that spawned from his knife retracted back into the blade just as quickly as it appeared. The weight returned to its natural lightness, and the awkwardness of the situation settled in as the silence stretched on for longer than it should've.

Frankly, Riku would've permitted a single attack to hit him at that moment if only to help ground him back to reality.

"Well, that was random," Stephen scoffed. "No matter! That won't help you save yourself!"

And just like that, normalcy was restored as the projectiles returned in full force with Riku quickly turning his attention back on the fight. With the explosions still happening, he didn't trust to block any of the projectiles being thrown at them, and while he saw some utility on the ladder he could now summon at will... wait...

He could use this.

Bracing himself low on the ground, Riku ensured he got as much leverage as possible as he swung his knife in a massive arc. Then, with a flex of his power, the chaos ladder extended out in a wide arc, hitting any and all projectiles that got caught in its path. His hands shook at the amount of power being battered into his weapon, but he held firm before he quickly retracted the ladder back into his knife.

He couldn't help but smirk at the unorthodox use that he saw in his temporary ability. Looking at the flabbergasted look on Stephen's face, he just knew that he had to hit this man with the ladder just for the heck of it.