Chapter 56: Ugly Spectacle
[Skill: Battle Arts has been activated – Axe Chin Na.]
"HRAAH!", I let out a loud battle cry as I dashed towards the raging beast; the Maladroit Ax and Silver Lining in both hands.
My legs were shooting off the ground so fast, they seemed to appear as a blur.
THOOM!
The beast didn't back down either, taking a thunderous step forward.
ROAR!
[Bloodlust detected.]
[The player is being threatened by an enemy.]
The system's plain voice resounded in my ears and my skin jumped slightly but I didn't let that unnerve me.
At this point, one of us was going to have to die.
Just like my fight to the death against the Profane Cockatrice.
Either the Lone Fomorian or I will die today.
It wasn't a declaration or threat; it was a fact.
SHEEN!
Once I closed the gap between I and the Fomorian, I instantly sidestepped out of his way, avoiding a brutal arc of his axe.
SWWOSH!
The Fomorian twisted its bulbous body and swung its giant blade again, nearly cutting me in half.
Tsk!
I narrowly dodged the attack, using the blade of Silver Lining to block, causing my bones to tremble terribly.
The beast raised its axe and brought it down again, forcing me to dodge once again.
BOOM!
I scampered around the field, dodging each and every attack from the Lone Fomorian. My eyes were always on his weapon and body, constantly keeping track of each and every one of its movements.
BOOM!
Each time its axe fell, I was already in another position being careful not to remain in its vicinity so as not to take another glancing blow.
In other words, I was on the defensive.
Damnit...I can't even use my axe martial arts...
HA...! HA...!
I cleaned sweat off my jaw and stared at the recovering beast. It rose back to a straight position and turned its gaze to me; it seemed terribly annoyed.
Well, I shouldn't be surprised...I mean we've been playing a deadly game of whack-a-mole and he hasn't gotten one hit in... I guess, am doing pretty well for a mole...
But this was merely a delusion.
In such a war of attrition, I will definitely lose. Eventually I'll run out of stamina or wind-up dead through some mistake.
It was like fighting an Elden Ring or Dark Souls boss.
"Tsk...this can't go on...I have to break this dead lock."
If there's one thing, I know about Elden Ring bosses its that there's always a moment you can slip in and strike.
HUMPH!
The Lone Fomorian snorted again, shooting out white mist from its ugly nose before charging once again.
BOOM!
Another shockwave stemmed from its axe's drop zone, shaking the world. This time I dodged by a narrow margin and stood my ground, refusing to be blown away.
"Argh...", the shockwave of the attack struck me but I endured it.
There an opening...now slip in and strike!
Taking advantage of the beast's now vulnerable position, I immediately swung the Maladroit Ax along a horizontal arc, striking against the flesh of the Lone Fomorian.
CRINK!
"Huh?", I was stunned; there was no damage. The hatchet simply slid across the Fomorian's body, not even leaving a dent.
But the Eff-
Before I could finish my thought, the Fomorian's powerful hand struck, knocking me to the ground.
BAM!
"ARGH!", I let out a cry of pain, seemingly immobilized. My head was spinning and my back was a map of pain.
[Skill: Resistance is active.]
Without any warning, I was suddenly jerked by my legs and flung across the air.
My eyes widened.
What the-?
CRASH!!
I collided against a rough surface with so much force, a net of cracks spawned across the surface and several rock shards were displaced. I dropped to the ground, falling into a siting position and coughing up blood.
HAK!
Blood splurged out of my mouth, like a stream, refusing to stop.
[You are in critical condition.]
I felt dizzy and cold, my body refused to move as if struck by Paralysis.
"Uhh..."
My head slumped down and instantly realized the several cracks present on the jet-black exterior of the Veil of the Moon. In that moment, I realized a fact; if not for this armor I would have been in terrible shape or worse...dead.
In fact, I'd most likely be dead.
A sigh escaped my lips, it was accompanied with excruciating pain and even more blood.
Pain.
A concept that has become an even more prominent occurrence ever since I entered this game. I can't even count how many times I have felt it, it seemed almost ubiquitous.
Such a harrowing life...
Who'd want to live such a life?
A life of pain.
No one...of course...
And yet, Untethered kept thrusting me into such cruel situations. It filled me with so much hate.
THOOM!
The familiar sound of the beast approaching intensified, halting my thoughts. Its silhouette was slowly but surely becoming much more apparent through the fog.
The Lone Fomorian was coming.
Staring at me with large deformed eyes that housed untold madness and bloodthirst.
It's said the eyes is the gateway to the soul...so is this Fomorian's soul just filled with madness...?
It wasn't a strange conclusion, in fact, nearly every monster I've met had that familiar mad light glinting in their eyes.
Why though? It seemed strange.
Well...they are monsters.
I thought with a tone of finality, as the image of the Lone Fomorian on my retina kept expanding.
Alex...why are you just sitting here...? Don't tell me you've accepted death?
My inner voice spoke its tone strangely complacent.
Pfft! Me? Accept death? Not in a million years?
I went silent before muttering in a hoarse voice, "I have a plan..."
THOOM!
The beast took several strides, each step shook the earth, alerting all of its overbearing presence. Its powerful figure broke the fog, revealing its bulbous mass of a body that truly seemed to embody the very concept of chaos.
The Fomorian finally took its final step, reaching its destination; me.
I stared up at its towering figure, my head craning up just to witness its full frame.
My body was frozen in a world of pain, unmoving; serving as the perfect prey for the ruthless monster.
The behemoth stared at me with an unreadable expression before raising it's axe high over its head, aiming to bring me a dreadful demise.
HUMPH!
It snorted one last time before pitilessly bringing down its axe.
The guillotine of death fell, nearly striking my cranium before I leisurely pushed to the side, dodging it.
BOOM!
The powerful blast released from the strike ruptured the earth, the wall behind me, my eardrums and internal organs, causing blood to stream from my mouth and ears and several shards to be displaced.
[You have been wounded.]
[You are in critical condition.]
Death was encroaching, beckoning me into its eerie maws and chilling embrace.
The Fomorian had bent forward to deliver its strike and as a result we were face-to-face.
I had a front-seat view of its abhorrent, ugly, deformed face – a face which truly depicted the concept of chaos. Staring at it made me want to hurl, especially every moment it breathed.
I observed the beast's eyes and expression; the familiar light of madness seemed to have dimmed, let in a speck of confusion.
The Fomorian seemed stumped.
It's prey which was in such a wretched state had just dodged its attack. It froze, seemingly bewildered, which was it couldn't react when I opened my mouth and uttered, "Open."
A whirlwind of sparks doused my hands, leaving behind an object.
[Equipped Item: Quill-Book.]
Without hesitation, I swung the book open, flipping its pages beyond the middle and revealing it right before the Fomorian's eyes.
Just like the Profane Cockatrice's cry of agony, the Fomorian's eyes rolled back and a pained bellow escaped its lips.
It bobbed back, grasping its head as if trying to contain the forbidden knowledge while I on the other hand, smirked and laughed.
Hehehe...don't you know, you fool?
The dark light in my eyes shone brilliantly.
The key to killing is deception!
In that instant, I summoned an item from my inventory.
[Equipped Item: Silver Lining.]
My hand grasped the silver blade and instantly, a rush of power filled my being allowing me to rise to my feet and charge straight to the thrashing behemoth.
In a swift motion, I scaled the Fomorian's body using its own shorn clothes as footholds to reach its head.
ROOOARR!
My ruptured ears spared me from hearing the sharp bellows of the beast, thankfully.
HA...! HA...!
Once I reached its head, the wailing beast momentarily opened its eyes, viewing my damaged figure stretching his right hand and a flux of sparks connecting above it.
[Equipped Item: Maladroit Ax]
I stepped on its shoulders and jumped with all my might, soaring into the air whilst the Ax in hand and the Silver Lining scattering into a litany of sparks.
Holding the Ax above my head, I looked down at the raging beast and spoke in a hoarse tone,
"Die."
WHOOSH!
Gravity suddenly set in, throwing me down with its relentlessly force.
"HRAAH!!"
[Skill: Battle Arts has been activated – Axe Chin Na.]
Using the force of gravity as well as my own weight, I brought the hatchet down, slashing through the Fomorian's previously impervious skin and cleaving a red line down its face.
[You have landed a critical hit.]
ROAR!
A cry of pain and a spray of blood shot out from the Fomorian's head, causing it to tumble backwards.
Store.
I dismissed the Maladroit Ax as the behemoth fell backwards and summoned Silver Lining. I stepped on the falling mass, using it as a foothold.
Open.
[Equipped Item: Silver Lining]
The blade materialized in my grasp and without hesitation, I thrusted downward, protruding the Fomorian's right eye.
It's second eye shrunk and instantly, a thunderous bellow elicited from its lips.
ROOAAARRR!!
Blood spilled forth, dying my blade and face with a light red hue.
DIE!
With a grunt of effort, I thrusted the blade deeper, aiming to deal the final death blow before gravity finally gave me one last push the moment it struck the ground.
THOOM!!!
The blade struck deep into the Fomorian's right eye, damaging its brain and thus, vanquishing the light of madness in its eyes.
HA...! HA...!
I breathed in heavily, still clinging unto the bloodied blade and staring at the corpse until the system spoke.
[You have slain Level 12. Lone Fomorian.]