11. Crystalback Behemoth (III)

Zane picked through the gloom. The path was surprisingly smooth, and the cave was studded with glowing crystals lighting a dim path. Even from way out here, he could hear the thing's breathing, a groaning, rattling sound utterly filling the space of the tunnel, crowding out the sounds of his footsteps, his breathing, his heartbeat.

Then he made a turn, and the chamber opened up before him. He saw the Boar at the other end, its dim coal-like red eyes narrowed at him. The thing was massive, hulking, and covered in a tortoise shell of giant crystals. Its tusks stood out to him most—like those old Japanese curved swords. If one caught him in the belly, he imagined it'd go right through him.

No minions though. Apparently the boss was challenge enough.

It let him take his place in the chamber, just watching, snorting crystal plumes. The chamber was narrow as though it were built for jousting.

ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕠𝕒𝕣 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝: 𝟛𝟠

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝 ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕖 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕤, 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕡𝕙𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕨-𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤.

ℚ𝕦𝕒𝕜𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖, 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖. 𝔼𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕨𝕒𝕧𝕖; 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕜𝕖.

𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕘𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]

𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙'𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕪, 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖, 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕔𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕦𝕤.

Its belly lit up red in Zane's eyes—its weak point, a circle right in the middle of it. That was where he would try to land—where he'd put a Titan's fist if he could.

Still it stood there, snorting at him. What was it waiting for? Shrugging, Zane went first.

His Chains dropped in air. Instantly, he twirled them, and threw up Chain Cyclone.

Then he dashed straight at the boar, chains swirling.

Only when he got within ten paces did the thing charge him.

It took a step, then another, and each shattered the ground, rippled it as though it were water, not stone. But Zane had seen that Skill. He leaped right over the fiercest of the waves. Man and Boar collided.

And Zane was tossed nearly halfway across the room; his Cyclone sputtered out. The moment it met the boar's Quake Charge, it was like a bubble popping; it lost all integrity, was rent apart. Then Zane was at the mercy of the charging Boar.

It was all he could do to throw his Chains as hard as he could at the thing—then dive the other way, like a matador. The Boar went barreling past, shedding crystal dust like snowflakes; the ground shattered in its wake, spitting clouds of dust.

Zane sucked in a breath. That thing was strong as hell! He'd just put himself against it—his chains were an extension of his limbs, an extension of his strength, and it had just blasted him easily.

He considered its build as it wheeled back around. It must be a little like him, but even more extreme: huge strength, huge vitality, but it ponderously slow. Its turning reminded Zane of a cruise ship slowly wheeling around a port.

Didn't matter. Not in this cramped space. It charged him again, and he barely scrambled out of the way; he tried throwing his chains at it, but the full force of them could barely throw the beast off one hoof. The problem wasn't wasn't his Chains. His Chains were heavy as hell, but that thing wore a mountain range on its back.

If he couldn't get it off its feet, how was he meant to get at its belly?

He saw why it had let him get close now. It was so slow that was the only way it could hope to hit him. But he was so weak he couldn't scratch it either. Couldn't even move it—you just needed a little more…

Hmm.

This was probably a bad idea. But just the thought of it made his blood run hot.

The next time it charged, he charged too. And this time, when it rammed at him, he punched right back—right up its nose.

Predictably, this did nothing.

Predictably, it gored him clean in the midsection. He was right—its horns did cut straight through him with a wet squelch. He made a kebab of himself. That had at least three organs going through. The pain was blinding. Its vibrations shivered through him; his bones felt strangely brittle; his teeth chattered intensely. He was so close he could stare it straight in its fist-sized eyes, feel the billowing heat of its breath pouring over him, fluttering his hair, shrieking by his ears.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%.

Well under 75%, he imagined—

Then his back struck the wall hard.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟘%.

And then—

𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕!

𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%

𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%

𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟝%

Exactly what he'd been waiting for.

It pulled back, rammed him again, and he shoved himself right off, blood trickling from his grinning lips. Now, let's try again. He lashed it with a chain, and this time he got it off two feet—just enough for him to whip the other chain under—

The Boar roared and blocked it with its tusks.

It wasn't enough? Are you kidding?

Don't tell me I'll have to… Zane sighed. Oh, well! He was in this deep already. Might as well go all the way!

It was coming at him with another Quake Charge, but he probably couldn't take another head-on and live. He'd have to soften it some.

He rushed the beast again. This time, as it charged, he ripped at its legs with a Chain, trying to trip it; it leapt right over. He caught its hind legs with the other Chain—again, he could barely make it stumble. But he'd thrown off its aim; it bulldozed into him.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟝%!

He was flung spinning away; he landed in a coughing, bloody mess. His health was almost, but not quite there… What if he could just—

He dug a hand into his open insides, grabbed something squishy, and flung it out. It kind of looked like a sausage—small intestine, maybe? Whatever it was, a lot of blood came out after it.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙

There we go.

𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕!

𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%

𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%

𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝟝𝟘%

Now for the finale, hopefully. This time, when it came at him, he had both chains at the ready. It got within ten meters, eight, five, three—

He swept both chains straight up with all the force he could muster.

It was like an on-ramp for its momentum. This time, the big bastard was thrown up, squealing, and at last, Zane got a look at that soft underbelly.

And all his essence gathered in his fist.

Gotcha.

Titan's Fist!

He lunged into it with the coordination of a drunkard, but the hit was clean. Beautiful, even. Right at the weakest point. The boar went tumbling, rolling awkwardly over itself, wedged to a halt by its own rocky back.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟'𝕤 𝔽𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕀

…Did that mean it was dead?

A heartbeat passed.

Then, groaning, it stumbled to its feet. That thing did not look dead. Not even close to dead. It did look very, very angry.

Just how ungodly high was its vitality?!

It charged again, and he barely had the wherewithal to swallow his Moon Fruit.

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕌𝕡!

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟛𝟚 -> 𝟛𝟛

Not a moment too soon. This time, he lunged a hair too late. The tusk ripped clean through his side.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%!

Shit.

As it wheeled, he ran to the other side of the chamber, put some distance between them, and tried to think, hunched a little, clutching at the gaping bloody hole in him.

So after all that, nothing had changed. They were still in a weird stalemate. It was too slow; he was too weak. Only now, he'd burned his trump card on a stupid idea.

It was stupid, wasn't it? He was too focused on what his skill told him—on its weak points. It might be weakest there, but its weak point was also its most protected. And he was going at it striking—but in a space this cramped, his Chains could hardly build any momentum.

…They were Chains. Why was he using them like whips? Why was he trying to beat his way through stone?

He took in the Boar again—really looked. With his eyes, not his Skill. And he saw a beast with impenetrable skin, skin clustered with crystal chunks like plates of armor.

But armor had chinks.

Not small enough for a fist to slip through, maybe. Not small enough to target with a whip's lash. Too small to strike at…

It roared at him again, rocking the earth, sending gravel popping off the ground. It seemed a challenge, like it was saying, 'I can go all day. Can you?'

Then it burst at him again. But this time, Zane leapt. He didn't whip at it or punch at it. Instead, he slid his Chains over it almost gently as it passed underneath, slid until he found the place where the plates on its body met the plates on its head—that little chink in the armor.

A chink you could fit a noose through.

He yanked it tight. It stuck.

Then a monstrous force jerked him forward; jerked him through the Chain. He went flying, struck a wall so hard he nearly blacked out; he blinked black craters out of his vision, but he held on. As the Boar turned, he yanked—he flew at it and crash-landed painfully on its back. It reared, trying to get him off, but it couldn't, and there he looped another Chain around its neck, and grinned bloodily.

Then he pulled with all his might.

He felt that huge body jerk under him, tense up in a sudden panic. It thrashed, it bucked, but it couldn't get out; the Chains were locked in tight, strangling it.

It went buck mad. It charged straight out of the wall, smashed its head against it, threw itself at the ground, at the ceiling, and it hurt like a motherfucker; huge gashes rose up on his arms, his legs. A spearlike crystal took a chunk out of his belly. But Zane kept his grip through it all.

He rattled in a hacking breath. He tried throwing a Soul Bind at it, but the Skill lasted all of a half-second. It was back to thrashing.

Then the crystals on the boy's back started to glow.

Zane blinked, then the thought flooded back to him, that skill—

𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕘𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]

𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙'𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕪, 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖, 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕔𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕦𝕤.

He wheezed out a laugh. This is about to get interesting!

And the boar bucked him harder than it ever had, so hard Zane was shocked his arms hadn't been torn clean off. He'd barely fallen back when the crystals surged, shocking yellow, and exploded.

One by one, it felt like he was stuck in a hailstorm, only instead of hail what struck him was scalding hot.

Don't let go. He told himself, gritting his teeth. A simple, stupid, brutally effective strategy—don't you fucking dare!

Then—

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘: ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟘%.

And new power surged into his limbs. He wrenched hard, laughing, feeling hundreds of rivers of blood gushing off of him.

The boar bucked one last time.

Then it shuddered, and was still.