Chapter 495: Tom Tom’s Hide Is Thicker Than His Face

"Hmph..." Tom Tom's voice bellowed through the desert as he strode towards Ares. "You sure did talk so very big for someone so very small!"

Ares scoffed and raised his middle finger in protest. "And you sure are small-minded for someone so large!"

"Tsk, those stupid Beads or whatever gave me indigestion. See if I don't squish you with a hairball!" Tom Tom galloped across the desert looking to stamp on Ares and bury him ten feet under the sand. This sphinx fortress was way more mobile than the Anubis and way more resilient too so it was naturally going to be far harder to fight. It was also impossible to predict what manner of tricks Tom Tom had up his sleeves but there were definitely going to be a few as those extra heads gave Ares anxiety aplenty. They weren't there to look pretty, that was for sure!

"Perish Wheel." Ares knew that simply firing off a Grand Annihilation wouldn't cut it, and by 'it' he was referring to the humongous sphinx titan, so he was checking to see how much damage he could inflict with a more substantial art before he made a decision on how to approach this fight. Annihilation was looking pretty rough but maybe the edge in lethality that disintegration was packing would maybe be able to turn the tide? It's not like Ares wanted to use up his Canis Stimulants if he could avoid it so this was just a quick check. He wasn't hopeful but if the Wheel could cut into the Riddlemyd with its sharp rotating edges then all hope was not lost!

Though Tom Tom didn't look all too plussed about the incoming art he flapped his wings and leapt high into the sky to avoid the Wheel anyway just in case. Ares wasn't going to let things end like this, though, so he used his telekinesis to alter the angle of his Wheel until it was soaring straight upwards to chase after Tom Tom and crash into his stomach from below. The Wheel grated against Tom Tom's form, and actively prevented Tom Tom from falling back down to earth while he was hoisted up by it, but there didn't seem to be any progress as far as actually injuring the Riddlemyd. The Wheel spun so hard it generated smoke and nearly caught fire but it simply couldn't punch through Tom Tom's defences and blew up shortly after without having anything to show for it. Tom Tom crashed down through the explosion and aimed to crush Ares by falling on top of him but his target simply clicked his tongue and Shifted away to a safe hill nearby. Ares was crouched atop a dune, scratching his chin as he watched Tom Tom swipe at the desert floor to fling a ball of clumped sand at him. Ares took out his scythe and cut the ball into two halves that sailed right by and collided with other dunes behind him, knocking them over and blasting off into the sunset unimpeded like a rocket-fuelled, split bowling ball.

Might as well try this... Ares put the scythe away and slowly, carefully, advanced towards Tom Tom. He needed to be able to react quickly to the sphinx's scratching and stomping paws lest he get stomped on so he raised his palm and readied it while Tom Tom bounded over looking to mash him into the desert. Tom Tom screeched to a halt before Ares with his front right paw trying to slap Ares to death but Ares Echoed himself in the chest to push himself barely out of the way in time. He followed up with a simple slash from a complex weapon Tom Tom was only vaguely familiar with. He'd seen the Primordial Blade during the Anubis fight and was highly curious but, now that he was going up against it personally, he was somewhat unnerved by it. Ares' swipe of the Blade actually managed to tear into the paw that just grazed him and finally put Ares on the scoreboard in terms of inflicting wounds. He'd successfully lodged the tip of the Blade about an inch into the Riddlemyd and cracked a small gap in one of the paws... Even with a disintegration coating this was as good as things were going to get and that was not reassuring in the slightest...

Ares could sense another paw coming at him from the side so he put the Blade away, summoned the war aura flag, buried it into the crack he just made in the other paw, and flung himself up to begin scaling the giant sphinx. It couldn't be any more dangerous rodeoing this thing than standing in front of it, surely? As if on cue, Tom Tom's bucking and stampeding began in earnest but it was far more complicated than simply aimlessly stomping about, Tom Tom was taking to the skies and trying to fling Ares off by performing somersaults. This sphinx was annoyingly light on its feet for something so huge! Ares had to cling to the small gaps between certain body parts. Thankfully the Riddlemyd was not a seamless building thanks to the need to transform. Some parts were connected by rotatable joints so there had to be gaps here and there for Ares to exploit and exploit he did. He was currently hanging onto one like it was some kind of ledge but his grip wouldn't last forever the way this damn scaredy cat was jumping around. Ares was reminded of stray cats in Red Sun that got spooked in the dead of night and leapt multiple feet high while hissing their little lungs out; that was surely what Tom Tom looked like right about now if viewed form afar. He wasn't fearful of Ares, though, he had no reason to be afraid because Arse struggled to crack his shell even remotely. He was trying to remove the uninvited pest guest is all.

Feeling sick and dizzy Ares was made to let go of Tom Tom so he used his Zephyr to hover in the air while wondering what his next move should be. Burying more Beads inside Tom Tom was utterly pointless as it was already proven to be mostly ineffectual. There was simply too much ground to cover and too many things inside Tom Tom to blow up. Tom Tom was far, far too big to reliably blow up in his entirety and Ares' best shot of doing so had already been used up anyway. If his efforts ever since he arrived here couldn't fell Tom Tom then a hastily built up Chaos Reigns would do basically nothing and wasn't worth the time it would take to set it up. Disintegration was barely working because the material the Riddlemyd was made out of was something incomprehensible to the people of lower domains and would instantly be classified as the most incredible material ever seen by blacksmiths globally if they could even merely glimpse its intricacies. Plus the runes on the fortress were mitigating Ares' magic on top of that. The Blade was Ares' sharpest tool in his shed and even that was probably a bit too blunt for the job unless Ares was willing to spend all day hacking away at Tom Tom's neck. Neither of Ares' enablers would give him access to anything useful and mental magic wasn't going to affect a golem-type existence so that was also a bust. Ares' pressure was fighting for its life against a foe that didn't even really feel it but telekinesis was perhaps somewhat useful here if Ares leant towards that angle as he could slowly dislodge some of the bricks with due time. Again, though, this process would take forever and Ares wasn't willing to fight for that long.

Ares was still tired after the Anubis battle that dragged on for a few hours and there was no guarantee he would survive that long against Tom Tom anyway as he hadn't seen anything this sphinx was truly capable of yet. It was really starting to look like Garmr-o-clock but Ares figured he could hang ona little longer and try to see what surprises Tom Tom had in store for him. He at least wanted to understand what was up with the multiple heads before swapping to his revenant form as he had a limited amount of time as Garmr and didn't want to waste it pointlessly. If one of those heads could help Tom Tom escape or defend himself for the duration Garmr was out and about then Ares would bite the dust immediately after it ran out and he was left knickered on the floor with no energy. Of course the chances of anything successfully obstructing Garmr from doing whatever he pleased were extremely low but a bit of caution here and there never hurt anybody.

Plus, and this also mattered, Ares was waiting for other people to show up first because he had a rough idea of what was supposed to play out with the C.O going forward. They were taking their sweet time arriving but were probably just making sure Ares was in an unwinnable situation before rearing their heads, that seemed about right for them. Or, at least, that was the order the force of the round must have been given before getting sent over here. Put simply, one half of the C.O's plan was to shadow Ares and wait for him to trigger some sort of monstrous boss fight after clearing the Riddlemyd so that the force of the round could save his butt and have Ares owe them big time. Their foothold in Red Sun would grow beyond what it was currently, allowing them to become a force in the region with a lot of say and power like some kind of festering parasite. Ares had predicted this much involvement as Ares running into problems like the Anubis, the Scylla, and now Tom Tom was surprisingly common. The C.O looking to capitalise on Ares' terrible luck and adventurous spirit, which clashed starkly with the Torchbearer's global threats, was only natural. Only one such monster Ares ran into had to be unbeatable for him and then the C.O could conveniently swoop in and save his life. 

This, however, was only the more obvious half of the plan, and what was readily apparent to both sides, but there was something else hidden deep within this strategy that really solidified the strategist of the round as a real brainy genius. Ares would worry about that later, though, as it was all still merely conjecture until the C.O guests actually showed up and made their presence known. They were probably watching from far away in some abandoned building in Xasca city and waiting for the perfect time to strike which ought to be coming up soon. Ares' ineffective methods would be the reason that warranted their intervention and it would appear entirely natural too as it was the force of the round's job to deal with worldwide threats that others could not possibly stop. Tom Tom, despite being a silly guy who likely wouldn't cause trouble once Ares was dead, had become such a threat... Though whether the force of the round could even handle this sphinx was another matter entirely. Tom Tom was packing materials form a higher domain and basically cheating by existing down here in that form... Not that that stopped him from wearing a smug grin as he taunted Ares while charging towards him with his chest puffed up in pride.

"Hehehehe, where's all your confidence gone now huh!? Strange that I don't hear you mouthing off anymore! As soon as I catch you, Ares, I'm getting revenge for Siamun!" Apparently Tom Tom still cared about his deceased mummy friend. Or at least Siamun's value as a funny pun and extra challenge to the trials Tom Tom devised, anyway. It's not like they were sitting around drinking tea together or anything. Not that it wouldn't be an interesting sight...

Ares shook his head and dodge rolled ot the side to avoid Tom Tom's whole body barrelling through the sand. The sphinx had taken to chucking his whole body at Ares, and rolling at him in a bold bid to flatten him, but Ares was able to flee from the weighty Riddlemyd every single time... For the most part. Ares did get around Tom Tom's large body but the sphinx's tail caught Ares' leg and sent him flying through the desert, rolling across the burning hot sand until he smacked into the ruins of a dilapidated building. Ares tumbled into the inn that once resided underneath the Riddlemyd, but now was broken beyond repair, and was buried underneath a pile of wooden boards that collapsed on top of him. He kissed his teeth and checked his knee with Diagnosis before pushing the misaligned bones back into place. He thanked Charity inwardly for having essentially given him this art on a silver platter back in Baja forest, even if unwillingly, as it allowed him to perform a quick fix on injuries that were problematic but not severe. There was a happy middle ground of injuries between 'not worth addressing' and 'too dangerous to attempt to heal personally' and that was where diagnosis shone as it pinpointed the wound and severity of it very clearly.

Clank rumble

Ares tiredly pushed aside the wooden planks smothering him and stood to his feet while wiping away the dust on his clothes. Tom Tom had gotten his licks in and it sure as hell stung but Ares wasn't literally made of paper and could tough out an attack or two. Sure Ares was a glass cannon compared to most other activators but it's like he would explode if struck, especially if he was able to block the attack in time. Ares had managed to use a pressure deflect on the struck region in the nick of time and drastically reduced the impact. Unfortunately the tail was far too massive to offset entirely but this was a good result all things considered and Arse really couldn't complain seeing as how he wasn't dead right now.

Ares threw up his arms with the Primordial Blade held between them as a massive shadow covered him from head to toe, signifying that Tom Tom was hurtling towards him with his paw at the ready once more. Sure enough, Ares' sword blocked the incoming strike but it was heavy enough to push him down slightly and make him cough up blood due to his previous injury. The momentum that came with Tom Tom's strike was brutal and Ares was unable to move from his current spot as he'd been partially buried in the sand and couldn't move his anchored legs. He held out, however, and kept Tom Tom's paw at bay, preventing it from splattering him into red paste but a second paw was already on the move and sweeping across the desert horizontally. There was nothing Ares could do about this second attack so he lowered one of his arms, so he could guard himself with it, and utilised another well-timed pressure deflect to survive the swipe even if it meant taking a direct hit. Ares was launched out of the sand pit and sent skidding across the desert before he finally grinded to halt a mile or two away from his starting position. Just because he didn't tumble or smack into building wreckage this time that didn't mean he wasn't suffering as he was in a far worse condition than last time. The arm he used to block that last attack head on was completely broken and no amount of pressure deflects were going to change that. The sphinx and its paws was simply too big to redirect all of its force and even living through that last attack was pretty miraculous all things considered.

Ares wasted no time in disappearing into the void because at this rate he would just keep getting ambushed, after Tom Tom struck him, over and over again. One small mistake with the tail earlier led to a cycle of getting hit, getting blasted away, and getting chased down before he could escape. A deadly loop but one Ares was able to circumvent with his nothingness magic which was doing a lot of good work here. Disintegration and annihilation were letting Ares down but the mobility and defensive options of nothingness single-handedly meant Ares' life wasn't in any immediate danger at least. While Ares sat in the void and thoroughly checked his injuries he was once more reminded to spend more time studying the esoteric aspect of nothingness because it was capable of winning fights in weird and unusual ways that may one day come in handy. Honestly, if Ares had some form of nothingness attack art it may even very well work against Tom Tom but there was no way of knowing that for sure. Ares was just going to have to stick to his original plan for now and come up with new nothingness arts later.

Ares had been pushed around a fair bit now and so maybe the C.O would finally take centre stage... Though Ares did still want to force Tom Tom's hand a little if possible. Doing so would give Ares leeway and leverage in negotiations with the C.O by allowing him to claim he wasn't completely helpless and still had more measures up his sleeve. That and those weird bird and crocodile heads on the Riddlemyd's body were still not doing anything and it was beginning to bug Ares that Tom Tom had this much of an advantage such that he could withhold his secrets and still kick Ares around like a toy. This would not stand! Ares summoned his war aura flag and imbued it with an art as he peeked through the void to check on Aejaz and Sandy. They'd both taken seats on the side lines as they were fully aware they couldn't really contribute here and to attempt to do so would be folly. Maybe Sandy could, to some extent, but this was a rough battle and they both knew it. 

Ares emerged from the void with a small step and chucked the flag up into the air. It hovered high above Ares as he cricked his neck and waited for Tom Tom to come barreling towards him from over the desert hills. It didn't take long and soon Ares was staring down the gigantic sphinx at point blank range but he didn't falter. Ares dove forward, planting his golden arm straight down into the desert while chanting "Grand Annihilation." He'd removed his anti friendly fire mutation so the explosions he'd caused right underneath him blew him sky high, up and above the sphinx where he caught the war aura flag and launched it with all his might at the back of Tom Tom's head. "Big Game Hunter!"

Tom Tom winced as he heard the name of the art being used behind him as he was familiar enough with it thanks to Dominus pushing him around with it in the not too distant past. Ares knowing it was a real kick in the teeth and, worse still, Tom Tom could no longer dodge in time as he'd been committing too hard to every attack. He had no reason not to be fearless so Tom Tom threw his whole body into every single strike and was now being made to pay a small price for his actions. The war aura flag pierced into the back of Tom Tom's cranium and forced it to bend straight down and smack into the desert. The flag hadn't drilled in too deep but the force with which it struck Tom Tom, and the extra strength it gained due to the Hunter art, were enough to turn Tom Tom into an ostrich temporarily and give him a mouthful of sand. Ares wasn't done just yet, though, as he knew that would barely even leave a scratch on the Riddlemyd. Ares' plan was a set of multiple actions that all stemmed from this first blow so he was just getting started.

"Crystalised Void: Yggdrasil!" The art Ares had left hidden within his war aura flag, and stored ahead of time, was precisely this so the desert was shrouded in a bright white light in the blink of an eye. The air crackled and temperatures sunk rapidly as a giant crystal tree appeared from seemingly nowhere. It touched the clouds at its peak and spread like a plague at its roots. Tom Tom was trapped in the trunk, on display like a trapped zoo animal, but his body was so massive parts of his paws and belly were sticking out of the trunk and trembling somewhat. The disintegration and annihilation flowing through the tree was enough to chip away at some of Tom Tom's defences but the tree itself was struggling to hold him. Cracks were already spreading at Mach speed and soon the tree would shatter but, again, Ares was on top of things and it was all under control. "Detonate!" Ares pre-emptively blew up the Yggdrasil to get some extra damage in, and drown Tom Tom in a disintegration tide as all the black magic tendrils dug into every one of his crevasses. The detonated tree pined Tom Tom to the desert and knocked off parts of his sandstone armor but ultimately little to no progress was made on anything substantial. Tom Tom had a bad feeling about this series of events, though, and tried to locate Ares while he was still pinned to the floor. He looked up and had to do a double take because what he was looking at was most definitely not Ares! It wasn't even human!

Falling form the sky above was, somehow, some way, the stepper brood mother that Ares captured a few days ago. He'd let it out here provisionally provided it was obedient and did as he asked which, right now, was using that purple eye laser attack again. It obliged, fearful for its life knowing full well it couldn't face Ares and his war aura flags, and unleashed its devastating beam attack directly downwards on the pinned sphinx. The beam bore into Tom Tom's back and melted through his exterior, inflicting noticeable wear and tear on the Riddlemyd and burning away the seemingly impenetrable material. Poison! Corrosive poison, to be exact! That was Ares' strategy and it was working like a charm. The brood mother's beam cut a straight line through Tom Tom and left a bright orange and purple poison burn mark trail but Ares still wasn't finished even now.

Before the brood mother fell all the way down to earth, Ares had it unleash a small tide of poisonous waste before he shoved it back into the Blade and let it float through space again. The poison tide landed landed directly on Tom Tom and left him sizzling while Ares brought out the Deep Blue and used a Pelagic Prison. The poison would have rolled off Tom Tom and dissipated amongst the desert but if Ares trapped it all inside an unbreakable prison then Tom OTM wouldn't be able to escape the corrosive substance eating away at him for the next five minutes. The prison Ares summoned was huge, as it had to be big enough to fit the laying down sphinx, but it more than did the job and trapped Ares' target perfectly. The poison was rolling around at the bottom of the bubble and Tom Tom couldn't avoid it no matter how he tried to clamour up the walls. His tail, butt, and rear paws were all constantly being singed and melted away and he could be heard kissing hi teeth repeatedly at having been trumped like this. Ares had a lot more measures at his disposal than Tom Tom was expecting initially and this poison was really troublesome because it could actually harm his body. Annoyingly. he couldn't breach this prison either so he was forced to just wallow in the purple goop for five minutes straight in complete humiliation.

As for Ares, he sat on a dune and charged up an Armillary. It was all coming together now and this was the final step in his carefully laid out plan. It only got progressively worse for Tom Tom the longer Ares was allowed to do as he pleased and no matter how tough that sphinx was he was going to get smacked around by this art one way or another! Tom Tom could only resist so much so, even if this didn't kill him, he was going to understand what it meant to pick a fight with a fundamental champion who was out of his league! Tom Tom could tune down that overbearing smugness of his, swallow his pride, and take this fight seriously! In fact, Tom Tom was already rotating his three heads counter-clockwise and bringing the crocodile head to the forefront... What this would accomplish Ares didn't know but it wasn't going to stop him from chucking his Armillary as soon as the Pelagic Prison went down!