B4 Chapter 519: Tyrannomachia. Pt. 5

The Tyrant sailed across the battlefield, a blazing monstrosity that left embers burning in its wake. Glowing motes settled on the dead ground of the no man’s land, a highlighted path that held Kaius in transfixed horror.

It was going for his friends — how? It had broken through their encirclement so easily! They had to catch it. One good hit could leave his friends on death’s door.

Waves of force hurled him after the Tyrant. Porkchop roared, attempting to force the Tyrant to face him with his new challenge skill — The Dominance of Claw. It was no use, though the ability had been empowered when it evolved from Bulwark’s Challenge, it was still designed to spread its power across many targets. The monstrosity shattered the compulsion, only glancing at Porkchop to give him a toothy smile.

Rotten bastard was taunting them.

Kaius hit the ground, sprinting after it.

Rather than face down the rapidly approaching Tyrant, Kenva and Ianmus split.

Abandoning a spell mid cast, Ianmus tore to the right. Starlit Alacrity hastened him to blurring speeds, his every footstep leaving a trail of light. Kenva ran the opposite way, loosing an arrow directly at the Tyrant.

Waving a hand, it burnt the arrow mid-flight. Without hesitation, it raced after Kenva — pausing only to thrust its hands towards Kaius and Porkchop.

Flames billowed, surging into a wall of red that towered triple his height. Every stride of it warped and wavered with searing intensity. Kaius could feel the heat of it from a dozen strides away, prickling at his skin.

They were cut off.

Even if he went over, the delay would be more than enough time for the Tyrant to catch up with Kenva. Even with Arc and Rieker advancing from a different angle, the Golds were too far as well.

Rotten roots, she couldn’t even escape using her new skill. Vanishing into a cloud of autumn leaves mattered little when their opponent could simply burn them to cinders.

Should he use Fractured Warp?

Indecision warred within him — it was so early. They had barely bloodied the bastard, using it now might ruin his chances at a finishing blow later. Gritting his teeth, he wracked his mind for another option.

The wall drew close. He made his choice — to burn. No matter his wounds, it would be worth it. He had a resistance to the flames, and could heal the damage. Kenva wouldn’t be so lucky.

“We punch straight through,” Kaius said through his bond, jaw clenched tight.

“This is going to suck,” Porkchop replied, roaring out his fury.

“Yes it will.”

Kaius held his breath and raced into the conflagration. A Maelstrom burst into existence at the last moment.

It was more than mortal fire, a red inferno backed by the power of a system-born champion. Winds whipped at the flames, desperately trying to pull them away from his body. His spell couldn’t keep up — the Tyrant’s attack was too dense, and the radiating heat alone needled his skin.

It only hurt for a moment, then his hair blackened and his skin bubbled and browned as nerves burnt away. Every scrap of him soaked into the fabric of his under armour, as the outer layers of his flesh sloughed away.

Then he was free, running towards the blurry figure of the Tyrant as his eyes slowly recovered from the flash frying he had endured. There was no sudden rush of cold air, just a bone-deep numbness.

His Health exploded through his body, and with it came pain. Letting lose a rasping scream, Kaius didn’t break stride as his nerves regrew like sprouting roots. Every motion heightened the agony, scrapping the exposed nerves against the sodden weave of his clothes.

Porkchop was no better. Even with his unyielding physicality, he had only a fraction of Kaius’s resistance to fire. His orichalchum armour was sooted a deep black, as blood and weepings dripped from every seam in his plate.

Kaius’s vision snapped back into focus with a wet pop, the itch of his health retreating from his eyes. The Tyrant was just ahead of them. It was focused on Kenva, presenting them with its back.

It hadn’t expected them to punch right through its skill, they had an opening!

“I’m going to tear it in half,” Porkchop growled silently.

Kaius felt the sentiment in his bones. Incensed by his agony, he reached for Stormlash and used Hymnfocus to thread the spells tightly woven mana into his blade. Sergeant’s Insight pulled at his attention. There was a gap in the chitinous plates that were haphazardly scattered across the creature’s back. He could practically see its organs pulsing invitingly on the other side of its greying flesh.

The opening was small, but his blade lanced through the air like it was guided by divine provenance.

Sergeant’s Insight blared in his mind. The Tyrant had proven itself to be a creature of speed and agility, one that had dodged even the most immaculate of attacks. It would notice him. He wasn’t sure how, but it would. He split his focus, devoting his Glass Mind to track the lines of potential danger that sprouted from the Tyrant’s every movement thanks to Moment of Flow.

The glyphs on his temples burned as Kaius cast Compel Obsession. Kaius flung his will towards his target, urging it to focus utterly on its pursuit. He didn’t get it to focus on Kenva directly, no, there was far too much risk that might lead to some attack she couldn’t avoid. Instead he twisted its focus onto its cruel enjoyment, the sadistic pleasure it took in toying with them.

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The Tyrant let loose a howl of delight — and utterly missed Kaius’s thrust.

Scaled skin parted like water as Kaius ran the Tyrant through. Lightning burst from his blade — the power of a Stormlash released in a single flash directly into the creature’s organs. Resonance tore through the creature’s body, the second tier of Harmonic Control empowering all of his mana-based sword Skills.

It stumbled.

In that moment of weakness, Porkchop hit it like a landslide. Jadecrash slammed into the creature’s ribs — and sent it straight towards Arc and Rieker.

The Golds had closed the distance quickly, circling around the Tyrant’s flames. With Porkchop offering its flailing body on a platter, they pounced.