Osarseph couldn’t understand where it all went wrong. His plan to defeat these ants seemed flawless. However, his mind was hazy as Cynrik drew back his arm, withdrawing the hidden blade from Osarsephs right shoulder with a loud spurt.
Finishing his chain of attacks, Cynrik planted his Kodachi into the ground and used it as a stop stick. This allowed him to create enough resistance to push his weight against so that he could turn his entire body and deliver a devastating spinning back kick to Osarseph’s upper body.
CRACK
The blow generated an ear-shattering crack as Cynrik’s leg connected with Osarsephs torso with enough force to break a multitude of the scales layered across its surface and rocket the Shaman backward through the air.
“Tee…huff…he…haha.” Landing on the ground and huffing for air, Cynrik spat out the 9th laugh and observed Osarseph’s motionless body as it flew through the air several meters before eventually coming to a violent stop. Cynrik had placed his kick well, as the angle of impact was enough to pinball Osarseph off not one but two huts, which now sported giant lizard-sized dents in their rocky exteriors. Eventually, he came to a stop, buried within the rubble of a third hut.
[Get ready for phase two; this bastard dropped to 45% HP after my combo.] Slashing both Kodachis at a downward angle to free the blades of any gore or particulates, Cynrik advised Brance, who was standing not far away with Benny, observing the cloud of dust that covered where Osarseph landed.
[He’s not an Rpg Boss Cyn…] Brance started to say but raised his eyebrow in concern as he was cut off by a sudden change occurring.
FWOOSHHHHHH
RUMBLE, RUMBLE
A pulse of hot air blasted out from the collapsed hut where Osarseph was lying, followed by a soft rumbling earthquake. The sounds of bones breaking resounded from within the cloud of dust. Thanks to the fragments of strange stone, Cynrik and Brance were blinded and unable to use their [Mana Sight] to see what was happening, but they had a good idea of what was occurring within and went into action instantly.
Brance spun on his heels, grabbed Benny by the arm, and took off running, while Cynrik kicked off the ground and made his way to Gabby, who was stunned by everything going on and scooped her up into his arms and followed after his brother.
[Me and my big fucking mouth.] Brance shook his head angrily as he tried to put as much distance between himself and the focal point of the sounds.
[Hey man, all I said was get ready; you were the one who raised the flag.] Cynrik spat angrily. He had a decent idea of what was happening to Osarseph, making him unhappy. Landing on the ground beside Brance, he released Gabby, who swiftly took her place beside Benny, and drew her bow, aiming at the mushroom cloud appearing 30 meters away.
All four could faintly see the shadow of a massive creature moving even though it was shrouded in dust and rocky particles. Cynrik’s keen eyes also picked up on the increase in gravity in the area. It was already climbing past 3g and didn’t seem to be stopping there.
Flashing back to the moment Osarseph’s body broke through the stone hut and was laying in a heap, in bad shape. Struggling to breathe, he tried to sit up but found his spine had suffered severe damage, paralyzing him from the neck down. The sound of the 9th laugh was still ringing in his ears, and he found himself on the edge of a mental breakdown. How was this possible? How could he, a higher lifeform, be so devastatingly defeated by a group of four children?
Hatred and self-doubt swarmed through his mind like a storm. Never had he experienced such a one-sided defeat. Even during the last Legacy Strife, he was victorious in so many wars that he was thought to be invincible until he came across Ragnar, but even then, the war lasted for years.
-If you wish for power, simply give yourself over to me, my beloved Charge.-
The gentle, melodious voice of Wadjet melted away all the pain Osarseph felt in an instant.
“Po…wer…” His glistening eyes threatened to spill over with tears. This was something she hadn’t offered him in the past, but now that he was on the cusp of once again losing, she extended an offer he couldn’t resist.
He had already died and became a part of her once; although he fought kicking and screaming the whole time, what difference did it make if he caved in and gave himself over to her entirely.
“Y…es my Goddess.”
FWOOSHHHHHH
Feeling as if a 10-ton boulder hit him, Osarseph was faintly aware of the changes his body was undergoing. Yet, all he could hear was the soothing faint humming of Wadjet within his mind. He could feel his broken scales shedding and his body elongating. His jaw seemed to unhinge itself, and dozens of sword-length sharp teeth grew inside his mouth. His legs merged with his tail, forming a long muscular lower body, while his shoulders dislocated and relocated several times, widening his wingspan by several times.
[Any ideas?] Brance took the momentary break in combat to merge his shields into one and looked behind at Benny and Gabby to make sure their equipment was still good to go.
[As much as I want to say we should rush in and stop whatever transformation he’s going through, we cant. As earlier with the Divine Ascension, the gravity surrounding him is too intense for Gabby and Benny and has already reached the limit of what we could take. Thankfully it leveled off at 7g but still.] Flourishing both Kodachi, Cynrik sheathed them and crossed his arms.
[Just based on what that pressure feels like, I can assume his bitch of a Deity is helping him, which is bullshit. So much for not interfering in the world of mortals. She should be ashamed of herself. To make matters worse, we can’t get a read on his new strength yet because all the damn stone fragments in the air render our ocular skills useless.] Clicking his tongue, Cynrik turned and faced the party.
“It’s time to break through the cap, guys. So we are moving up the plans.”
Gabby and Benny silently nodded, but Brance hesitated.
“Are you sure? If we do it too early, we lose our reserve tanks.”
Brance’s opposition caused the Sanfords to stop their hands from pressing the level-up button on their interface.
Cynrik was silent as he stared meaningfully at his brother. Brance was right to some extent. However, Cynrik knew that he was taking a risk by having everyone power up at this point in the fight. If it was too early, they ran the risk of running out of Mana and Stamina, rendering them helpless in combat. On the other hand, depending on how large of a power increase Osarseph experienced, they would most likely require increased stats to survive.
Cynrik chewed on the inside of his cheek while tossing a sidelong glance at the shadowy figure slithering not far away.
“Yeah, it’s now or never, Brancie. If we wait and try fighting whatever comes out of that cloud, the odds of things getting out of hand are too high. We can assume that Osarseph will receive some kind of power boost, and with our current stats, im not so sure we could cause enough damage to him within a reasonable timeframe.”
“His regeneration was already monstrous before; what’s to say it hasn’t scaled up along with his size. That’s why I am having you all boost yourselves now. Initially, I had two ideas; one involved you all firing off your strongest Mana-based attacks before withdrawing and powering up. But unfortunately, it adds too much inconsistency to the picture. So it’ll be just me.”
Brance fell silent at his brother’s explanation. He knew Cynrik had a point. What his brother had left up to interpretation was that even if Gabby, Benny, and himself, combined their most potent attacks, it still didn’t stack up to the power Cynrik could exert with his Fyrstr Form.
“Fine, we will do as you say, but Cyn…don’t get hurt too badly.” Then, giving in to Cynrik’s demands, Brance motioned for Gabby and Benny to follow him safely away from Cynrik, as he had experienced the full “glory” of his older brother’s attack and knew it couldn’t differentiate between friend or foe.
“Heh, always gotta be the overprotective one, haha.” Cynrik watched the backs of his party members as they moved away with a smirk.
‘Hey Tobs, my Kodachi should be able to handle the full brunt of my entire Mana pool, right?’
-Although I advise that you DON’T expend your entire Mana pool at one time, yes. Your Cold-Steel Tri-Elemental Twin-Kodachi’s have been crafted to withstand the fusion of elements, let alone singular elements with a point cap of over 4000. It will have no issue handling your measly less than 2000 MP-
‘Oi Tobs, it’s not the size that matters; it’s how you use it; I take offense to that.’ Cynrik chuckled to himself as Tobs bullied him once again.
“Yosh, time to get serious.” Tilting his head down and to the left, releasing a pop from his neck, Cynrik drew his Kodachi and took the opening stance for his Fyrstr Form.
‘Tobs, I will need your help for this one; I want to leave 10 points in my pool so I don’t pass out with the remaining pool being split in half and diverted to one blade each.’
Tobs obeyed, and Cynrik could feel the Mana change into three distinct vortexes within his Codex, which made him smile. From the beginning, Cynrik had always been hesitant to rely too much on his system. One thing he feared was ending up like those shitty protagonists who were useless the second they lost their system; thus, Cynrik had always kept a level of distance between himself and Tobs.
However, things had changed. With the reveal of the LS and the bullshittery of the Deities, he now felt that other than Brance, he could put a bit more trust in Tobs, as it was a Neutral party that exclusively existed only to help him without any ulterior motives.
-This series is exclusively published on WebNovel if you are reading it anywhere else…You Wrong Fam. PS Check out the Discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg)