Chapter 296

Saint James, Dublin, Ireland - 11:21 AM

Saint James, Dublin, Ireland - 11:21 AM

Coe must have felt safe at his current distance, because he reached into his inventory and retrieved another Memory Orb. It was quickly crushed in his hand.

It probably would have been prudent to stop him, or even attack with a Construct or my telekinesis, but I pulled a potion out of my inventory instead. Blues and greens swirled together in a mesmerizing display, and I imbibed it without giving its majesty its proper due. A text box appeared in front of me, but I didn’t bother reading it as I sent the empty bottle back into my extradimensional space.

Down the road, Coe shook and clutched his head. The act of regaining his memories would have blocked his view of what I had just drank. Undoubtedly, he would have attacked if he knew I was setting up. But I stood there, arms crossed, and didn’t approach.

“Use another one,” I demanded, not making any threatening moves.

“You asshole,” the old man said. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could tell from the hatred in his voice what kind of expression he was wearing. “How is it that you get worse with every memory I remember? How many innocent lives have you taken?”

“More than I’d care to admit, less than you’re being programmed to think,” I told him. “You’re still young and inexperienced. You already know you don’t stand a chance against me, and that’s why you tried to lure me through the city. Use another Memory Orb.”

Coe stared at me. “You really are insane,” he spat.

“And the way you’ve been crushing those orbs, you’re likely not any better,” I shot back. “I’m going to bring you down when you’re at your most experienced, because then Aaron will know better than to send anyone else my way.”

“His name is Arontalscion,” Coe seethed.

I didn’t respond. The Rubberbuilt twitched, and he swung his arm out to reach into his own inventory. He did have another Memory Orb, and I wondered how many of those he had and how many runs he was being provided with. While he was distracted, another green and blue potion appeared in my hand. I drank it down quickly.

After that, I pulled one last item out of my inventory. A bright red, picture perfect apple.

<<<>>>

[[Item]]

Fruit from the Tree of Life

This apple, when consumed, will permanently increase your Constitution stat by 50 points. This is a holy effect.

<<<>>>

“How many runs do you remember?” I asked, tossing the apple up and down in my hand.

The Rubberbuilt put his hand on his head. No doubt thousands of new thoughts and experiences were pouring through his head, and that didn’t seem to be a great feeling. If I were Aaron, then I would have only given him whatever he needed to become better at combat. There could be more memories of me scattered in there, back during my more unruly days, cherry picked to make me look worse than I was.

I still had no clue how Aaron could possibly have them, but I didn’t care much at this point. It was happening, and that’s all that mattered.

“How many runs worth of memories do you have now?” I asked him.

“Thirty-two,” he answered through gritted teeth.

His head was slightly tilted towards my apple. I wished that I could see him properly, make sure that’s what he was staring at. I had no doubt that he was trying to figure out what it was, or maybe Aaron had instructed him to use a Memory Orb that would tell him what it was. An extra 50 points to Constitution was huge, but not insurmountable.

It made it even better thinking that all Aaron could do was urge him to act. The Fallen would have seen the two potions I took back to back, but the only information he could give about me was vague and supremely unhelpful thanks to Sara's rules, which he was also bound to. Not only that, but Coe was clearly already wary of me. He wouldn’t act until he was ready. Unless he had gone mad, but I didn’t think that was the case just yet.

“Take another,” I demanded again. “If you can handle it, that is.”

Coe’s head snapped upwards, his shadowy face locking with mine. “You don’t think I can defeat you with this,” he stated. It wasn’t a question.

I stopped tossing the apple. “You’re sixty-eight short, buddy,” I said calmly. There were bound to be plenty of Patrons watching this exchange, but I found myself short of fucks to give. They couldn’t tell the administrators, anyway.

“Excuse me?” he asked incredulously.

“Don’t get the wrong idea just because I called you an old man earlier,” I told him, grinning. “I’m much, much older than you, and I’ve been fighting for far longer. Take. Another. Take as many as you need, so long as you don’t go mad yourself. You should be self aware enough to know when you’re about to crack. I’ll warn you once; the moment I take a bite of this apple, all bets are off.”

The Rubberbuilt considered his options. He reached into his inventory. What he pulled out wasn’t a Memory Orb, but another canister for the Blade of Trismegistus. The weapon’s green glow intensified. While he did that, I took a bite from the Fruit from the Tree of Life. After I swallowed, the rest of it turned into a ball of holy light and flowed into my skin.

<<<>>>

[[Notice]]

Your body is being infused with the energy of the Tree of Life. Now increasing your Constitution.

You have imbibed a Double-Up Potion, now doubling all numerical values of the Fruit from the Tree of Life.

You have imbibed a Double-Up Potion, now doubling all numerical values of the Double-Up Potion.

Your Constitution has been increased by 200 points.

<<<>>>

“Oh, that’s got some kick to it!” I laughed.

I flexed my fingers, feeling the holy energy from the fruit surging through me. It settled just under the surface of my skin, refining my body. There were no outward changes, but I could feel how much more solid I was. Doubling up a Double-Up Potion was always a good plan, and I was going to need the extra hit points for this fight whether I liked it or not.

I wasn’t about to use them as a resource, but getting hurt fighting Coe Valen, the Rubberbuilt, was a given. It was inevitable.

“What did you just do?” he asked, his voice unreadable.

“While you were relearning your old memories, I doubled up a Double-Up and ate a Tree of Life fruit,” I told him with a smile. There was no reaction from the shadowy figure, perhaps shocked into silence. “I’m ready now, so let’s see how you like fighting someone with a Constitution stat in the 300s.”

He was unsettled, and that was good enough for me. I dropped Tyrant’s Will in order to preserve Mental Points, but let the Black Flame Aura suffuse my awareness. It didn’t let me see him, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t work.

Coe received no more warnings after that. I lurched forward with Crash Test. He tensed and held his sword out, and I knocked it out of the way with the Staff of Raphael. Instead of ramming into him, I stopped less than an inch away, waited a split second, and slammed my head into where his face should be.

The Rubberbuilt stumbled backwards, having misjudged the timing of my attack. My staff spun behind me before I swung it towards his head. He brought the Blade of Trismegistus up to parry it, and I sent the weapon into my inventory. His foot came up as I brought the Vague Sword back out in its place. It materialized on the other side of his weapon, aimed for his face.

Before it struck, I sent it back into my inventory and took a step forward. I hooked Coe’s leg with my own and pivoted, bringing it out from under him. The moment my foot hit the ground, I brought my knee into his stomach. Not with as much force as he was expecting, however. He stumbled but did not fall.

I lurched backwards, taking the damage meant for him instead. My Vague Sword reappeared and I swept in from the side. I used Orbit at the last second, speeding the weapon up. It struck, cutting through what was bound to be the Coe’s rubber armor, and hitting flesh. A moment later, when my blade originally would have struck, an exact replica of his wound opened up in my side.

The main draw of the Rubberbuilt, which was among the rarest of the tank classes, was the ability to reflect 100% of the damage they took. This was what severed my head from my body and what caused these attacks to hit me instead. It wasn't infallible or infinite, instead being something he had minutes of per day, but the old man had become a master of using it in split second intervals.

It was honestly inspiring to see what he had done with just one run through the system. Coe was the one to teach me control, who helped me mold my techniques, and I honestly was very thankful to him for that.

That was both a blessing and a curse. I knew so much about the Rubberbuilt’s combat style that I could counter him pretty well. Now that he had his memories, the opposite was also true.

I was forced backwards from a surprise upwards strike. Despite preferring to fight in the middle distance, he lunged for me, my weapon still embedded in his side. The cut that had just opened up became larger as the damage was reflected onto me, and I sent the Vague Sword back into my inventory. Coe released the acid from inside his Blade of Trismegistus even as his attack whiffed.

Shield saved me, and I made sure I was in the right position to let the globs of green goo fall to the ground instead of on me when I turned the ability off. I lashed out with my leg, aiming to kick him in the side where I had cut him. He blocked me with his sword, which I turned with Spin so my foot wouldn’t fly off.

I managed to agitate his wound with the tip of my shoe due to his parry, but not much else. It wasn’t even enough for him to want to reflect the damage back to me. Putting my leg down, I stomped on his foot and rammed my shoulder against him. He barely moved, but his weapon was pinned between us. I angled my hand, already in motion.

The Vague Sword appeared against his neck, and I pulled it back. Blood spurted out from his wound, and the barest of nicks appeared on my own as he activated his reflection too late. His foot, the one I wasn’t stepping on, hooked around my leg in the same maneuver I had tried earlier. When he tried to trip me up, I began flying.

Coe grabbed me by the back of my trench coat with his free hand and attempted to pull me downwards. I didn’t budge. He jumped, and I repositioned my Vague Sword over my stomach. That didn’t deter him at all. His knee fell on it, and I had to blunt the edge to prevent the loss of my own leg. He fell on my stomach and drove me the rest of the way to the ground.

I felt something shift in him, even if I couldn’t see the Rubberbuilt’s features. He was trying to humble me before, trying to outclass me at my own game. That hadn't worked, but now he thought he had my measure. As he raised his hand to punch me, I could see that he was leaving himself wide open. It was an open invitation to strike him, if only I dared to face the wrath of his Full Reflect.

In one hand, I retrieved my Staff of Raphael and wrapped it around my hand with the Cable Conglomerate. In the other, I sent the Vague Sword away only to retrieve it. I placed it in the path of Coe’s fist. The weapon should have split his hand in two, but my own was damaged. If it weren’t for the wire rope, I would have dropped the staff.

The Cable Conglomerate shot out even further, tying his hand to my blade. Blood quickly soaked my glove as the pain intensified. I could feel Coe’s hesitation. I had clearly done this to myself, and he wasn’t sure why.

“I’m going to burn through your Full Reflect,” I explained to him, gritting my teeth through the pain. The grin on my face was manic, I knew, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe I was still a little broken. “Let’s see if my hit points can outlast your ability.”

I felt him recoil, and I pushed my blade into his hand. Blood gushed from my wound in retaliation, but I paid it no mind. It was only pain, and I had the hit points to back it up. Especially now that I was healing back far quicker thanks to the Staff of Raphael’s Divine Regeneration and the Mark of Rot that had been automatically applied earlier to siphon even more from him.

It wasn’t a surprise when Coe realized this would be a losing battle, but I had hoped he would have humored me a bit. His shadowy figure sank passed me into the ground. I flew up onto my feet and chased after the black hole slithering across the ground. He fled into Heuston Station through the broken glass doors.

There was a moment where I actively searched for traps, but I followed after the Rubberbuilt when I didn’t notice any. It was annoying since one wrong move would take him out of my sight, and then finding him would be a bitch.

My fears were unfounded. Coe didn’t go into any of the stores lining the sides of the train station. He planned to fight, just not the way I expected.

As he emerged from the ground, he held up a black rock. Shadows not unlike the ones covering him flowed out and covered the area. The Obsidian Shade, the object that created a sphere of near complete darkness, disappeared from his hand as it was used up. Coe must have hoped that I wouldn’t be able to see him when he blended in, but I could see through this magical obscurement just fine.

I blocked his blade with the Staff of Raphael, ignoring the pain. It was still lashed to my hand, which was still healing. Rivers of energy spiraled up my arm, cutting my coat's sleeve and dealing damage even though I had stopped the attack.

This was the first time Coe used an offensive skill, and I knew the ones he focused on had short cooldowns. It roared that most of my own were still unavailable because of my fight against Abbatrastoria.

My Vague Sword swung towards the shadowy figure, but I pulled it back into my inventory before it could reach him. My hand passed between us, and I retrieved it with a backwards grip, and then pulled. It slashed across his side.

That earned me a grunt of frustration from the Rubberbuilt. At this point, he had to know that I was messing with him. Any fatal blow could possibly destroy me, so I had to nickel and dime him down and play mind games in order to make him use up his reflect on little shit that was easily healed. It was a slow game, but my win condition was clear.

Coe headbutted my skull with his face, showing a blatant disregard for his own safety. My nose broke despite it being nowhere near his strike. I backed away from him before he could throw himself on my sword next.

He followed, and I thrust the Staff of Raphael at him. It barely pushed him to the side, not with enough force to deal damage to me, and I could tell he hadn’t reflected it. Coe spun, Blade of Trismegistus high, and brought it down.

I activated Force Field, shifting the attack away from me. Acid smeared against it, and the Rubberbuilt took a step forward. He spun on his heel, going low, and swung again. I blocked it with the Vague Sword, which started to sizzle as more acid started leaking from the blade’s edge. Sending it back to my inventory to remove the corrosive element, I retrieved it a moment later.

Coe started swinging with wild abandon, both hands on his sword as he tested my defenses. One blow was particularly heavy, sending me back into a ransacked, circular kiosk despite my Constitution. Another skill.

It was going to trip me up, so I Lifted the whole thing into the air and moved to the other side underneath it. Coe chased me, lingering underneath as though waiting for me to drop it on him. I knew better than that. 

Instead, I Dropped it around him. Dust flew into the air, obstructing his vision. The Rubberbuilt slashed through the kiosk before kicking it apart.

I pulled back the Cable Conglomerate tying the Staff of Raphael to my hand now that it was healed up. A little tender, but good to go.

Coe resumed his assault. I blocked with the staff, knowing that it could handle a bit of acid unlike the Vague Sword, and waited for my moment.

It was made all the harder since I couldn’t see his eyes. Every time I moved my blade, I couldn’t tell if he saw my attack because he never reacted to it. There was no flinch when I feinted a strike, trying to make him use up his Full Reflect.

Testing a theory, I parried his blade and struck his side again. The Vague Sword cut through his armor and caught his skin, but I didn’t take any damage. Not until I pulled it free, and a new wound opened on my side.

Siphoned healing or not, the bastard was waiting to get hit to activate it. He wasn’t trying to do as many split second reactions anymore, but was willing to sacrifice his own body to put me down.

I barked a laugh. “That’s a losing battle, Coe.”

“Then let’s go one step further,” he rumbled, trying and failing to push me away. The Anchored passive was putting in a lot of work when he didn't use his pushing skill. The Rubberbuilt took a step back, and his next words thrummed with power. “S̴̠͗h̶͕̄ä̴̫́c̶̱͗k̸͍͂l̶̰̏ẹ̵̾ ̷̥̑ḧ̶̢́ǘ̵͔m̷̠̐ǎ̸̙n̷̼̈́i̸͎͛t̴̢̐y̶̢̔ ̶̢͋t̷̻̄o̵͚̽ ̸̹̀i̶̫̕ṯ̷͌s̷̤̃ ̴͙̒h̴͇̅û̴͜b̷̬̋r̵͉͗ȋ̴̳s̴̲̉.̶̧͝”

The shadow effect on his body shattered completely, as did the darkness from the Obsidian Shade. I could finally see Coe for what he was, even if he still didn't show up to my aura. The armor of the Rubberbuilt, which appeared to be made out of car tires, covered most of his body, though not his neck or feet. He had five class set pieces, which gave him a few extra abilities that I was already on the lookout for.

It was the rest of the ensemble that caught my attention.

Six large, black wings appeared behind him, though they were translucent like the ones I had early on. His white hair froze over, becoming an icy blue. Above his head was a silver halo that exuded frost. The air all around became several degrees colder in a second, and it continued to get worse. Instant Adaptability kicked in, but it didn’t make me any more comfortable. This was clearly an attack of some sort.

“Alright, if that’s how you want to play it, sure. I’ve been saving my Mental Points just for this occasion,” I replied with a lopsided smirk. “B̶r̸e̶a̷k̷ ̸Fr̶e̷e̷ F̷r̸o̶m̸ ̵T̸h̴e̵ ̶S̵h̷a̶c̸k̵l̸e̴s̴ ̸O̴f̷ ̶M̸a̴n̸.”

My wings burst free from my trench coat, cutting through as I stretched them. My hair became orange flames, warming my body and staving off the cold air. The ring that was around my finger had disappeared, becoming my halo.

Coe smiled, and I didn’t like it one bit. “Look at you, a mad man playing an Angel,” he stated.

“You’re one to talk,” I replied, gesturing to him. “Looks like you haven’t made it as far as I have.”

“No, but there’s a very specific reason for that,” he said.

I arched an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Arontalscion thought I might not be up to the task. I begrudgingly admit that, even with all these memories, you are more experienced than I am. But you’re not going to overpower me.”

That made me snort. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

His smile turned into a grin, and there was a hint of madness in it. “Because this form isn’t very useful for general combat. It’s custom built for the sole purpose of destroying Angels. So, once again, thanks for the meal, you fucking psychopath,” Coe said, reaching for me.

The Rubberbuilt mimed snuffing out a candle with his finger and thumb, and the light of my halo dimmed. Something cracked within me. A worried feeling sank deep in my gut as I ended the transformation as quickly as I could.

A few motes of light flew from my halo into his mouth, and his silver one became a little brighter. There was a tearing noise as Coe’s wings became tangible, forcing the rubber armor out of the way. He stretched them, a smile on his face as it became clear he had grown in strength.

The ring reappeared on my finger, and I quickly pulled up the description. It hadn’t changed, so I figured it would probably work again if it had to. I remembered Sara’s warning about not letting my halo get crushed, but it seemed worse than that.

“Not as much as I had hoped, but it’ll do,” he said, slightly disappointed. “It’s time to break the Broken Tyrant. Do the world a favor, Ant, and die.”

I tore my eyes away from the text box and, the next thing I knew, his sword was through my gut. Acid ate away at me, and Coe laughed a madman’s laugh at my agony.