Chapter 297

Heuston Station, Dublin, Ireland - 11:25 AM

Heuston Station, Dublin, Ireland - 11:25 AM

The acid coming from the Blade of Trismegistus burned through my guts. I had managed to move just enough that it missed anything vital, but that didn’t mean I was coming away from this clean. Flying backwards off of the sword, I spun in the air and aimed a kick at Coe’s head. He raised his arm to block the attack, and it felt like I was striking a concrete wall.

Behind him, I Constructed three needles to prick the back of his neck. The Rubberbuilt frowned at the pitiful physical damage, but the psychic damage that accompanied it was hefty.

<<<>>>

[[Ability]

Construct

Level 6

Create an item through sheer willpower. You can conjure up to 3 items at the same time, though the items cannot be greater than 75% of your mass. Construction costs a small amount of Mental Points to create, and continues to cost Mental Points as long as the items remain.

If the item is a weapon, then it will deal psychic damage equal to 100% of your Willpower in addition to the normal physical damage.

<<<>>>

Coe had Psychic Resistance even after it was synthesized into an Anti-Psionic Shield, but negating only 25% of my 201 Willpower meant most of it was still going through. One of his wings swept them up, but I had already dismissed them as I retreated a few feet. Every time one of them was destroyed I felt feedback in my head. It didn’t affect my hit points, but I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

I winced as I Constructed a small coin inside my wound and Pushed it out of my body. The acid that lingered gushed out, allowing me to heal. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. The Rubberbuilt followed after me, his sword swinging in a tight arc, and I used the Staff of Raphael to block it. I moved a few inches mid-air despite my abnormally high Constitution.

His follow-up was swift. Three wings, opposite the side he swung his sword from, swept upwards. I shifted, taking a step back. The first one, with feathers as sharp as his blade, cut through my shirt and drew a line of blood from my chest. I raised myself on my Heelies and lurched backwards just as it was about to slice through my nose, missing by inches.

Taking a breath, my lungs burned from the cold. The black flames I had summoned weren’t helping, as they also took the heat from the air. Still, the Reaper’s skills were paramount to handling Coe, hindering his stats and abilities.

<<<>>>

[[Skill]]

Black Flame Aura

This skill can only be used in tandem with any aura ability, skill, or passive. On command, the area inside your aura becomes darker as black flames appear, sucking in the heat and leaving behind a corpse-like chill for all inside. Cold Resistance does not apply. The stats of all living creatures within the aura are reduced by 10%. If they have been Marked by a Reaper skill, then this reduction is increased by another 5% for each brand.

<<<>>>

I Constructed two Drills and used my last application to reinforce the blade of my Vague Sword. Every strike I did would apply psychic damage as well. The two drills approached from behind him, drilling into his neck just like the needles had.

The Rubberbuilt grunted, but flashed forwards towards me, leaving them behind. His blade vanished as he activated another skill, but I knew where it would be coming from. I Lifted the Staff of Raphael to help get it where I needed it in time.

His strike came down hard and fast, and the ground around me cracked. I was forced down to one knee, but shifted to the side. The Blade of Trismegistus flew down my staff as I redirected it, and I turned the Vague Sword in my hand to a backwards grip so I wouldn’t accidentally hurt him in a way that could be reflected. From where I was, I lunged forward.

I sent the staff back for a moment so that I could tackle him with both hands, and then summoned it again. The extra healing it provided was necessary even if I was getting some from Coe, and the wound in my gut was finally closed. Lifting him off of the ground with my Strength and Warmind abilities, I went back onto my Heelies for speed.

We broke through the glass doors and I slammed Coe into one of the ticket check machines. Six wings enveloped us. They stabbed into my back, ripping deep into my flesh. It was almost enough to make me scream, but I had a plan and focusing on that helped me disregard the pain. I threw us over the machine, and we landed on the ground on the other side.

“B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e̷e̷ F̷r̸o̶m̸ ̵T̸h̴e̵ ̶S̵h̷a̶c̸k̵l̸e̴s̴ ̸O̴f̷ ̶M̸a̴n̸!” I yelled.

My transformation took hold again. Wings met wings, and my feathers were sliced up by his sharp ones. Instead of pushing his extra appendages away, I locked them down. He looked confused, and I slammed the top of my head into his nose, breaking it.

At the same time, while he was distracted, I activated my Starstone Constellation. They were all ready again since their cooldown was over. Each one flared to life with a loud screech that immediately got Coe’s attention. This was a dangerous gambit, but one I thought had a good chance of working.

If not, I was about to lose so many hit points.

Their target wasn’t him. My halo, which he hadn’t had a chance to attack yet, flew towards my back as I consciously controlled it. The ring spun as its twin formed elsewhere. Each of the Starstones converged into the same space, blowing through the wormhole. Coe tried to disengage, but I didn’t let him.

The twin drills I had made moved into position, still Spinning, and flew into both of his ears. The damage was immediate and visceral as they were mutilated, taking out his ability to hear.

Seconds later, blood spurted out from my own ears and I dismissed the Constructs. This was fine. I was healing faster than he was, anyway, and I could do without the ability to hear until my body fixed itself.

There wasn’t much time left at all. My grip on him was firm, and I Constructed a skateboard next to us. I rolled onto it, taking him with me, and moved us under one of the station’s skylights. His Blade of Trismegistus was pressed against me, oozing acid, but it couldn’t cut me. I was now protecting myself with Shield, but that broke after three quick gut punches.

The fourth knocked the wind out of me, and I Pushed Coe out of the way on the skateboard. He quickly flew up, and I gave him a nudge with Pull before he could even out on his wings. I took a few steps back as he raised his hand towards my halo. Elated that my hunch about his ability to eat up holy power needed a physical gesture was right, I dropped out of my Angelic form.

Coe scowled and said something, but my hearing was still just as messed up as his. The difference was, I was in position to see the attack that neither of us could hear coming.

The Starstones were obnoxiously loud. They screamed like bottle rockets as they tore through the air, giving everyone ample warning to prepare for them. That made them obnoxiously difficult for someone who could use something like Full Reflect.

Above Coe, the glass shattered as one of the projectiles exploded on contact, but the rest came down clean. The once tight spread was all over the place after all the distance they had traveled. I had put the second halo as far out as I could for a reason. A meteor shower descended from the heavens.

It was good that I had noticed his halo didn’t redirect projectiles, though that left me with the question of what it was actually capable of. I had no doubt that it would be dangerous.

They exploded in almost totally in sync with each other, some striking his head and shoulders while others got his wings. A few made it to the ground, cracking and warping the bricks under our feet with force and heat. My back erupted in pain as Coe activated Full Reflect, but it was at the tail end of the attack. I stumbled forward, keeping my eyes on the enemy.

He was inside the dust, but I could still see him. The amount of damage he had taken would have killed a regular man, but Coe always had a contingency heal setup just in case he slipped below enough hit points. I could see his wounds stitch together as he panted there, trying to shake off the pain, and I knew I had triggered it.

“You son of a bitch,” he said, spitting blood onto the floor.

“You were the one who saved me from being the Broken Tyrant,” I told him, standing up straight.

“Lies,” he replied, and I could tell that he truly believed it. “No one comes back from that kind of madness.”

“I did,” I said. “It wasn’t easy. The fact that I caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people is true. I had gone about saving the world the wrong way, but I have a mission now. It’s backed by the Angel of the End, who the leaders of Heaven call the Highest Sister.”

“So that’s what’s through that golden portal you were always waiting for,” Coe mused, his eyes narrowed at me.

Nodding, I threw my hands out. Even though he was still healing, I took the time to speak to him. I didn’t want him to be my enemy after all this was over. He would chase me down to the ends of the earth if he had to, and he certainly felt like he had to. That was the kind of guy he was.

“She’s the polar opposite of Arontalscion,” I said, getting his name right on purpose. The time to antagonize him was over. “Glaraphel, the Angel you defeated earlier, came after you specifically because you’re a Fallen Angel now. That’s how he was able to find you. You know he was a Power, Coe, and he was an inquisitor to boot. I know you know what their mission is.”

“To eradicate evil,” the Rubberbuilt stated. “But you must think I’m an idiot.”

“Never.”

“Of course an inquisitor would get along well with you,” he said, scowling. “Both of you use the same heavy handed tactics of controlling the population. Whatever isn’t holy, or whoever doesn’t do what you say, is destroyed, broken, or otherwise contained. I have seen you raze states and smaller countries to the ground, Anthony. Entire communities have been shattered because they didn’t do what you told them to.”

“And everything I did then was wrong,” I freely admitted. “But you dragged me out of that hole, Coe. You’re the one who got through to me and made me see that there was a better path forward. That I couldn’t keep going down the path I was on. That I was actually going insane and my actions were not that of a hero. I’ve only killed eight people in this iteration, Coe. Seven of them had been turned into Demons, and the last made a deal with one and gave up his closest ally. Look at me and ask if I seem like the Broken Tyrant to you.”

The Rubberbuilt scowled, but looked me over. I hadn’t made the best impression earlier, but I wasn’t perfect. The fight had been right there, and I was raring to go. Even though I knew that talking had been the best option, I still went with combat.

“You seemed to have looped through crazy right back around to sane,” he admitted dourly.

“I won’t claim that I’m completely sane,” I told him with just a hint of self-deprecation. “The regressions have certainly taken their toll on me. I’ve been alive for over six hundred years, so as just some dude I’m definitely not all there, but I am here for the people. I started this whole journey because I couldn’t be okay with the fact that only a few thousand people survived that first attempt. I refused to accept that outcome. Sure, I lost my way, but—”

The Rubberbuilt rotated his shoulder and breathed out slowly. “Alright, healing’s done.”

“—Pardon?” I asked.

Coe blinked forward faster than I could track as he activated another skill, spun in the air, and kicked me. I grunted in pain as my arm broke, and my Vague Sword fell to the ground. The force of his blow sent me flying towards the nearest train as his skill allowed him to ignore my Constitution. The bastard had blindsided me during my heartfelt speech!

I attempted to correct my course with Flight, but ended up striking the glass and going through it, entering the vehicle. “Asshole!” I yelled as I Pulled my Vague Sword, not willing to leave it behind. “We were connecting!”

“I’ve lived through your lies, Anthony!” Coe shouted back as he spread his wings and followed after me. “The travesties you’ve committed are irredeemable!”

Gritting my teeth, I clutched the Staff of Raphael to my arm and fled deeper into the train. The doors ahead were closed, so I used Orbit to open them. This should be the safest place for me, since his wings wouldn’t fit inside the train.

That thought was immediately proven wrong as Coe entered the vehicle. The sharp feathers on his wings cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter, and he gave chase. Everything buckled from the ceilings to the walls, but their fall would never cause us much damage.

Swearing under my breath, I stopped running and went on my Heelies for speed. I Lifted the seats, ripping them off of the floor, and sent them flying backwards. Just like before, I staggered them, some going for his wings, some his head, and others going too low to hit him at all. I wanted to disrupt his timing as best as I could.

Coe’s hand was thrown out in front of him and he caught several of them in a row. My snapped bones got worse, and my muscles tore. The asshole was using the same arm he had just attacked outside of the train with the intent to throw off my groove.

Still, it was only pain and the fact that it was concentrated in one area made it easier for me to ignore. I continued to throw the chairs back at him. Even though I couldn’t see him through my awareness aura, his wings sliced through the metal and that was a fantastic indication of where he was. I turned the corner quickly, going into a new car, and renewed my assault when we reached more seats.

Whatever memories Aaron sent Coe had to have been dark. If he thought all I was capable of was spewing lies, then I really was going to have to beat him to within an inch of his life and make him talk to me. Or, failing that, approach him back in America. Things would be more dangerous there since he could kill me, not just send me back, but it was a risk I was going to have to take.

Or, I could avoid him. We were about to travel overseas for the material for the Hellbreaker, where he couldn’t follow without jumping through a bunch of hoops first. After destroying the infestation in Washington D.C. there was the Patron’s Ball, and after that was the expedition into Hell. As much as I hated loose threads, this didn’t have to be a problem unless I made it one. It could be put off.

Coe suddenly swore as he was hit in the face by a piece of the train. “What the f—”

The pure confusion in his voice was exactly what I was waiting for. Using the Staff of Raphael, I activated Touch of Heaven to heal my arm so that it was in working order.

I stopped and spun on a dime, holding out my hand. The Vague Sword flew in, shattering the window, and I gripped it tightly. It was a little long for the venue, but that wasn’t an issue for me. Skating forward on my Heelies, I watched as Coe’s eyes went wide.

Slashing even though I wouldn’t hit him at this distance, an arc of light forced the Rubberbuilt to descend. I set up two Force Fields, one to prevent him from raising his sword, and the other to use as a ramp. Even though my Heelies didn’t work going uphill, I was already at the speed I wanted to go. I jumped over him, twisting in the air, as his attack was stopped.

Coe’s wings attempted to slash at me, but I augmented my path with Flight at the same time as when I Constructed a new edge on my Vague Sword. The extra psychic damage and cutting power would be nice. Lowering the blade, it struck the Rubberbuilt’s shoulder and started slicing.

My back was fine; I had successfully worn down the time on Full Reflect.

Three wings flew off as they were cut free of his back, and the old man cried out in pain. I activated another Force Field, spinning to land on it feet first, and jumped. Where he had just been chasing me, I was now the pursuer once more.

“B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e̷e̷ F̷r̸o̶m̸ ̵T̸h̴e̵ ̶S̵h̷a̶c̸k̵l̸e̴s̴ ̸O̴f̷ ̶M̸a̴n̸!”

Power coursed through me, and I readied myself to turn it off the moment he made that gesture.

The Fallen Angel fell with only three wings on one side to prop him up, but he started running immediately. I might not have been able to see his aura, but I could tell he was trying to work through what had just happened.

Another slash, and a beam of light took out not only his remaining wings, but also put a huge gouge in the train ahead. He dove to the side even as I Pulled the body parts he left behind towards me, throwing them into my inventory.

Morbid, as always, but they were still powerful materials.

Coe escaped through the cut I had just made, and I tucked my wings as close to my body as I could as I barrel rolled out of one of the windows. The space was tight, but the glass was no match for me and I was outside in a heartbeat.

I caught up, slashing his back again. The Rubberbuilt fell to the ground hard, rolling over and over again. In front of him, I Constructed a maze of razor wire. Not in a way that would stop his momentum, but one that would still cut him as he passed through. It was a terrible fate, though one I deemed necessary.

His armor was torn to shreds and blood poured from his wounds by the time he finally stopped. The razor wire disappeared and four blades of force appeared against his back. He tried to stand up, but found that he couldn’t without eviscerating himself further.

Coe’s form lost cohesion. His halo disappeared, the ice in his hair melted, and the air began to thaw. The stubs of his wings disappeared, though he still bled from his back. He was back to normal. This was the other thing I had been waiting for.

Risking the injury, the Rubberbuilt threw his arm back, his fingers forming that same gesture, and I deactivated Break Free immediately. Even though my wings were gone, I was still capable of flying through my native powers, and I landed beside him, placing the Vague Sword against his spine.

“It didn’t have to be this way,” I told him honestly. “It still doesn’t.”

“I had so much more time left,” he muttered, his voice starting to sound a little deranged. “You whittled me down that much?”

“Maybe I had a few tricks up my sleeve that you hadn’t seen before.”

And that was true. This was one of the few times I had a Reaper’s Cloak, and both the Mark of Rot and Mark of Excess were important for this fight. The latter also kept my Mental Points topped up with Life Eater at the expense of both his Full Reflect pool and whatever resources he was using for his version of Break Free, cutting down the duration of both by an unheard of margin.

<<<>>>

[[Skill]]

Mark of Excess

By damaging a living creature with a resource pool, such as your Mental Points pool, you can place a brand on them that increases the cost of abilities and spells using that resource pool by 50%. You may place as many marks as half of your Player Kill count, and you can decide to transfer them when attacking a new target. This skill can be reapplied, but it will stop working after 10 minutes.

[[Skill]]

Mark of Rot

By damaging a living creature, you can place a brand on them that stymies their ability to heal. The efficacy of any ability, skill, spell, or passive that increases the current hit points of the marked is reduced by 50%. You may place as many marks as you have Player Kills, and you can decide to transfer them when attacking a new target. This skill can be reapplied, but will stop working after 10 minutes.

[[Passive]]

Life Eater

As long as a Marked creature is within one of your auras, apply the following:

The countdown for the debuff to end is suspended.

When a target that has a Mark of Excess uses their resource pool, you gain an amount of Mental Points equal to the 50% upcharge.

When a target that has a Mark of Rot is healed, you heal for a number of hit points equal to the missing 50% they should have received.

<<<>>>

As satisfying as it would be to gloat, I held my tongue. There was no way I was going to give him this information, not when it would help if we fought again. I had hoped that was off the table, but I wasn’t naive enough to assume.

“That’s what made you so dangerous, Anthony; even mad, you always had a plan for everything,” he angrily sighed, shaking his head. “The way you would rip and tear your way through any person or problem in front of you… Well, I can see why you’re such a monster now.”

“I am trying, Coe,” I said, moving in front of him and placing my sword at his neck. His grip tightened on the Blade of Trismegistus, but I used Drop on it to keep it down. “I am atoning, and I am saving lives.”

“Please, I saw how you ‘saved lives,’” he scoffed. “I remember, you know. Telling you that those who are strong saved lives by virtue of being strong. That being miserable wasn’t the worst thing for the weak, not compared to being dead. You twisted my words, became what we would call the Broken Tyrant over and over again, and you want me to believe you’ve changed?”

“You can see it yourself, if you want,” I offered, getting down on one knee in front of him so he didn’t have to strain his neck to look up at me. My Vague Sword still didn’t leave his neck. “Come with me. And Jamie, and Mercury. Ash and Bethany. Kayla, Jeff, and Corwin, too, who are newcomers you haven’t met yet.”

“Oh, I know who they are,” he said with a barked laugh. “More soldiers for your war.”

I blinked, taken aback. “You know who the Mills and their dog are?” I asked.

“Of course. I know everything about your evil crew of sellouts,” Coe spat. “Who else but murderers and crazed lunatics would follow someone like you?”

“They’re not…” I started to yell before I tempered my emotions. Talk down to me and we’re fine, but I didn’t like people slandering my friends. “Coe, you’ve never met the Mills. They are literally an addition I made this run. This very run.”

“The Double Agent, the Queen’s Knight, and a Demonic dog,” the Rubberbuilt listed before laughing. He was starting to sound a little maniacal. “Yeah, a spy, her protector, and a Demon. That’s really Angelic of you, Anthony Franklin. You pass yourself off as some holy crusader nicely, but the people you associate yourself with show your hand.”

“So, Aaron’s been actively altering the memories he’s been giving you,” I said, my tone sour. My heart dropped, and I realized that I wasn’t going to get through to him. His Patron had thoroughly poisoned him against me. “Curating them so that I look like the world’s biggest monster is one thing, but this is completely another. I’m ending this farce.”

“I’ve got one more thing to say to you,” he wheezed as my sword started entering his neck. The look in his eyes made me pause. “You’re too dangerous, Anthony. Everything I am doing here is protect humanity, and that includes killing you. If you were in my shoes, would you stop just because someone tried to sweet talk you?”

The question made me fall silent for a moment. I sighed. “I’d like to think that I’d be coherent enough to know when I’m being manipulated. You have to know that what Aaron gave you is suspicious, man. It’s pretty clear that he’s only feeding you things to point you in a very particular direction. I know propaganda works, but you’re smarter than he is.”

Coe frowned at me, and something changed in his eyes. “Arontalscion!”

“Yeah, I call him Aaron,” I repeated. “I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up about that.”

A pulse of energy pushed me backwards, destroying my Constructs in the process. I stumbled, pushing my Vague Sword into the ground to keep myself from flying further away. Coe was on his knees, arms out as he stared at the sky.

“Arrive on this plane of sin and waste and hear me!” the Rubberbuilt shouted. Three Constructed blades appeared around him, but his skin turned metal and they scraped off. That was new for him, but he had saved his defensive measures for this moment as a failsafe. “I summon you to fulfill my request!”

My blood ran cold, but it wasn’t because of what he had just said. The air literally cracked as the temperature plummeted. Glass shattered as frost overtook the world. I attempted to kill Coe again, sending more Constructs along with a Distant Slice his way, but they disappeared moments before hitting him as he sent out another pulse.

As the world around me turned to ice, I was surprisingly fine. I sent the Vague Sword back into my inventory as it froze over though the Staff of Raphael was fine, and a text box I was not anticipating to see today popped up in front of me.

<<<>>>

[[Warning!]]

An unknown entity is blocking administrator access.

[[Notice]]

You are one of the first players to find the Hidden World Boss [Arontalscion, the Collector of Memories]. +10,000 points.

This reward has been reduced due to scenario limits. Points will be given to you at the beginning of each scenario until you have received them all.

<<<>>>

“Of fucking course.”