The Occupation Pt6

Picking himself up off the ground as I flap my way out of the headquarters in a single leap, Orion stands up under a health bar missing less than ten percent of its health despite the immense physical strength and magic he had just been struck with.

All of my mana and the buff of my Strength had amounted to less than ten percent of this demon's health. "Level two hundred and it shows," I say with an audible smirk in my voice as I draw my chaos staff out of my belt. Such an attack against the original Trollbone would have been worth around fifteen percent of its broken percentages.

From the difference in damage, not only was Orion's defense greater than the original lich lord but the rest of his stats were probably the same as Zekrom's or even a little higher. However, that had been an unarmed attack no matter if Open Handed had played a part. Now, though, I was armed with well over a hundred extra damage thanks to my staff.

"A valiant effort," Orion remarks while stretching his arms out to either side, producing large black flames that stretch and coalesce into the shape of weapons. In his lower hands were a pair of tonfa and in his upper hands were two large scimitar-like swords with broad and slightly curving blades. "However, I can tell that you're almost out of mana with just one strike!"

"Flash Step," is all I say in response, using my actual skill instead of my rings to appear in a lunging stance right in front of Orion, thrusting the end of my staff out like a spear. My staff struck home in the giant four-armed demon's lower gut and his abdomen quickly started bubbling with acidic darkness that started chipping away at his PDEF.

With the additions of my excessive speed, the damage and sheer force of the blow once again swept the demon off of his feet. The loss of life was less than my first attack, but the effect was satisfactory as I use the second charge in my skill to catch up with his airborne body form the side. "Blunt Whirlwind!" I exclaim, flapping into a spinning lunge that smash the butt end of my staff across the demon's lower back to stop their flight and slam them down on the ground with my staff skill.

However, just as they smashed down into the rocky ground one leg kicked out as I landed from my attack and caught me perfectly on the side. I lost thirty percent of my health on contact and was thrown far and wide. I even smashed through one of the outpost structures, collapsing the scrap building with a loss of another ten percent of my health.

When I finally came to a stop after hitting the ground and bouncing twice half of the way across the outpost, I could only struggle up to my feet before a giant moving body suddenly filled my field of view. I reacted instinctively, throwing myself backward onto the ground to narrow fall under one sweeping blade of darkness. The air itself seemed to be cleaved apart by the passage of that blade.

Orion's Strength was definitely on par with the original lich lord's, if not greater. However, I did not feel like his Strength was as overwhelmingly high as Zekrom's. More than likely, his Endurance and Willpower were his highest stats. Still, his speed was even greater than my own and his movements were much more fluid than the old Trollbone's.

The difference in ability showed this enemy's AI was designed with a richer combat experience as compared to the location-locked Trollbone.

Rolling to the left and then backward over my shoulder onto my feet, I narrowly avoid the follow-up strikes of one tonfa's short blade from the small end thrusting into the ground and then the sweep of the demon's second sword across the ground where I had been lying. However, as soon as I was back on my feet and ready to retaliate Orion was stomping straight out.

The heel of Orion's foot was so huge that it dwarfed by head as it slammed into my face, making the entire world turn dark for a moment upon contact. When I came to, I was still in the air and barely had enough time to cast First-Aid before smashing into the rock wall around the outpost.

"Fuck," I groan tiredly as I push myself out of the crumbling boulders and barely manage to catch myself on the ground below.

"I knew you would be weak but I had hoped you would last a little longer," Orion says after he appears only a few yards away as I flex my left arm and crush a health regen potion within. "Oh? I see you still have some strength left? Good!" He exclaims suddenly before unleashing another kick from the side.

Having anticipated an incoming attack, I fluidly duck down and sidestep from a low crouch toward his kick so that I just barely manage to evade the brunt of the blow. The demon's massive shin actually skimmed up the side of my helmet, shearing away six percent of my health with the glancing blow despite the fact I was currently wearing medium armor instead of light.

Bolting upright, I feint an upward spin of my staff that makes Orion lean their head back out of reach only to leave their lower body vulnerable. Slamming my staff toward the ground like a spear, I strip away ten percent of Orion's health as mine continues rising and trigger a darkened knockback that throws its leg backward out from under them.

Rolling sideways in the air, I contort around into a savage windmill or roundhouse kick from above that smash my shin across the side of Orion's lowered head and sends them tumbling away from me. Just as I was landing and preparing to rush forward into another Blunt Whirlwind, though, Orion's lower left arm suddenly thrusts straight out to the side.

Even though it was the end handle of the demon's tonfa that was bladed, the sheer size of the weapon meant the blade was just under two feet long instead of a five six or seven inches like a human sized weapon. That same blade punched right through the chest of my armor, dragging me down to only twenty percent of my HP.

Then, just as I was preparing to wildly lash out at the demon's arm to free myself of the burning agony I found myself hanging from Orion suddenly whips his arm to the side and send me flying up into the air. Luckily, even with half-sized wings I was able to easily catch and right myself in the air before diving back down toward the ground. As well, much of my mana had regenerated.

Several layers of defensive scales made of chitin and ivory and crystal started growing out through my armor, encasing my body in thick layers of production skill armor. Orion tried to flash up into the air after me, spinning wildly like a true whirlwind of blades only to miss as I close a single wing and spin wildly to one side away from the demon. By the time I got back to the ground, my health was back to half and was risen even further with another First-Aid.

Landing nearby with a slight cratering of the ground under his feet, Orion takes a single lunging step forward before unleashing a barrage of attacks. The first strike was a simple overhead chop of his upper left scimitar, followed by a broad sweep of their lower right tonfa. The first attack was easily sidestepped but I was forced to confront the second.

Slamming the top end of my staff down into the incoming tonfa, I find myself bounced back from the incredible weight of the blow before Orion's second sword thrusts forward into play. I could only just barely evade this attack with a quick spin to the right before whipping my staff up and around to slam down on the wrist holding the second sword.

However, the second tonfa found its way under my staff to block the attack before shoving me to the side and opening up for another attack. Turning sideways and sweeping my staff into the incoming attack, I rely on Blunt Whirlwind to cancel out Orion's superior Strength before rebounding into another spin and thrust of my staff. My staff met only darkness element as the attack was blocked by Orion's other defensive weapon.

Neither of us took damage for a while, allowing my health to refill as we continued going back and forth with offensive and defensive maneuvers. A downward angling slash of one scimitar was struck across the broad side with a Blunt Whirlwind sweep followed by an evasive spin to the side of a thrusting tonfa while attempting to club the demon's leg. That same leg simply took a step back and out of reach while another scimitar slashed down from the other side.

Whipping the butt of my staff up and into the outer side of the scimitar, I just barely manage to raise the trajectory of the scimitar to pass smoothly over my head. Without the resistance of a direct block, the swung sword kept going right to the ground where it carved out a long furrow in the stone ground.

Despite the obvious opening that most people would be unable to compensate for, Orion had four fucking arms and as soon as I lashed out toward his head another tonfa rose up to block the strike. Then the opening was gone as Orion Stepped up and forward, shoving me away with with tonfa clashing against my staff. As soon as he was up I was back on defense.

Sidestepping and ducking under the following scimitar, I start slowly circling my way around the giant demons in search of an opening only for one or two of their four weapons to block my path any time I stepped forward to attack. It was almost as if the demon was able to predict my attacks. Even though I was weighed down a bit under my defensive layers, it was only an addition of twenty units so my speed was not hindered any. I simply was not as fast as four fucking arms!

Growing steadily more and more frustrated, I simply hop back out of the giant demon's reach before briskly spinning forward and unleashing a darkened Spirit Wave through my staff.

A single scimitar was all it took to smash my attack but in that split second when Orion moved to defend himself I used Quick Step to blur passed his side. Spinning back the way I came, I slam a Blunt Whirlwind into the demon's hip with enough force to stagger them sideways. Taking advantage of this brief opening as my strike only manages to trigger another debuff in his PDEF with dark acidic bubbling, I step forward into a swift series of spear thrust that connect two out of three times with the same knee I had struck earlier.

The first thrust triggered the darkening of Orion's body with a loss of movement speed, ever so slightly evening the odds between us. The second thrust triggered another knockback as they tried to make distance, increasing his retreating momentum beyond his control. Orion finally found himself below sixty percent of his health before finding himself on the ground.

Unlike before, I did not try to close in and take advantage of the situation but instead held back and started casting out rapid-fire Shadow Ball attacks from my staff. The slow debuff of my staff's darkness magic could not stack but the loss of defense could while the steady compilation of knockback effect started skidding them across the ground or throwing them down whenever he tried to rise.

Each magic strike was only worth a few percent but by the time the eighth struck home the demon found himself below half health and lashed out with a wild slash of a scimitar. This slash produced an all too familiar crescent of darkness, fanning out through their air as it swept forward in my direction.

The brief moment in which I stopped attacking from a distance to dodge was all the time Orion needed to get back up. On his feet, he started slashing out wildly, casting cutting darkness time and again. Dodging was all I could do as I feared direct interaction with such an attack, ducking and diving or flapping up a short distance into the air.

When the barrage of attacks finally ended, I cast a Flash Step from one of my rings and simply appear almost fifty yards beyond the demon back toward the middle of the outpost. Then, anticipating a flash movement from Orion, I simply spun about and thrust my staff forward in the direction I came from.

Orion was right their as expected, scimitars raised and ready to slash down into my body. However, my premeditated attack with a Blunt Whirlwind thrust rammed into the demon's gut with enough force to shove them two steps back. By now, most of his body was fizzy with darkness that had eaten at his PDEF and this thrust attack stripped a whopping fifteen percent of health from the demon.

Using Quick Step to close the distance, I thrust my arm out in an Open Handed palm strike while simultaneous casting First-Aid. "I won't let you die so easily," I reassure the demon with a sadistic smile under my mask as they are once again staggered by the blow and the shock of being healed. "There's still so much fun left for us to have!"

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