Breaking the Pattern

Rael staggered but managed to steady himself after the earlier attack, his breathing uneven as he braced for the next strike.

With a sharp exhale, he reinforced his shimmering shield just in time to meet the fireball. It hit like a battering ram, the explosion rattling the ground and driving him to one knee. The deafening roar rang in his ears as the shield strained under the impact.

His teeth clenched as the fiery force pressed down, a relentless assault against his barrier. The fireball's vivid green hue burned into his vision, and as it struck, it unleashed a sinister sizzling sound. Layers of the shield hissed and melted away. The corrosive quality wasn't just incidental, Rael recognized it immediately.

A spell like this wasn't ordinary. This wasn't just fire; it was alchemy, a destructive weave of elements engineered to corrode. The puppet's attack carried the mark of its creator's genius.

'No surprise there,' Rael thought grimly. A corpse puppet infused with the soul of an Archmage, anything less would've been an insult to the title.

Without his ability, Mana Core Cascade, amplifying his spells, he doubted he'd still be standing. Even so, cracks were forming in his defenses. The relentless attacks, the strain of channeling such power, and the toll it took on his body were catching up to him. His muscles trembled, and the sharp sting of fatigue bit deep.

"I can't hold this much longer!" he shouted, desperation bleeding into his voice.

"Then don't!" Axel's voice cut towards his direction like a blade.

He didn't wait for Rael's response. Muscles coiled, he launched himself forward in a blur of motion, weaving through the onslaught of green flames. The heat singed his skin as a fireball exploded to his left, but he didn't falter. His claws extended, gleaming in the infernal light as he closed the gap.

The puppet reacted with unnerving precision. Its movements were sharp, mechanical yet impossibly fast. A glowing glyph hovered in the air before it, spinning faster and faster until a translucent barrier materialized.

Axel's claws met the shield in a clash of sparks, his momentum driving them inches deep into the barrier, but it refused to break.

"Damn it!" Axel hissed through gritted teeth, leaping back just as a shadowy tendril lashed out from the puppet's outstretched hand. It missed by a hair, the air where it passed crackling with malice.

The barrier shimmered and vanished, but the reprieve was brief. Another glyph flared to life, crackling with raw magical energy. A shockwave rippled outward, slamming into Axel before he could react. He braced himself at the last second, skidding backward across the scorched ground.

"This isn't working!" Rael's voice cracked under the strain as he repositioned, finding a better spot to prepare another spell. The puppet's relentless barrage gave him little time to focus, and his shield, though reinforced, was barely holding.

Axel's mind raced. The puppet's attacks were relentless, each one perfectly calculated, and it showed no signs of slowing down. It was as if the fragment of the archmage's soul inside it retained all the knowledge and instincts of its former life.

Then it hit him.

"It's the fragment," Axel muttered under his breath, realization dawning. He dodged another tendril of shadow energy, his movements quicker and sharper now. "It's powerful, but it's also predictable. It's relying on patterns."

Rael looked at him sharply. "Patterns? What do you mean?"

"It's not thinking, at least, not like we do. It's using pre-programmed responses, like an advanced automaton." Axel's claws flexed. "It's just a fragment of the archmage, not the real thing. If we can disrupt its flow, we might create an opening."

Rael's eyes widened. "You think you can bait it?"

"I don't think, I know," Axel replied, his voice steely. "Just keep it busy for a few seconds. I'll handle the rest."

Rael hesitated but nodded, determination flashing in his eyes. "Don't get yourself killed."

"Not happening," Axel shot back with a smirk. He darted forward again, his movements unpredictable and erratic. The puppet's glowing eyes tracked him, the glyph above it spinning faster as it prepared another spell.

Rael seized the opportunity, releasing a concentrated burst of light magic that struck the puppet square in the chest. The impact wasn't enough to damage it, but it staggered slightly, its focus wavering. Axel capitalized on the distraction, closing the distance in a heartbeat.

As the puppet turned its glowing eyes toward him, Axel lashed out with his claws, aiming not at the body, but at the glyph spinning above it.

The instant his claws connected, the glyph shattered, releasing a burst of magical energy that sent both Axel and the puppet flying in opposite directions.

[Serious Injury Sustained. Natural Recovery Activated.]

The system notification pinged just as Axel hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him as blood sprayed from deep cuts on his body, but he forced himself to his feet as blood trickled from the corners of his lips.

[Warning: Humanity Threshold Decreased by 25%. Current Threshold: 47%.]

The notification pulsed in Axel's mind as he gasped for air, his breaths heavy and uneven. His vision blurred at the edges, colors dulling as something primal stirred within him. The creeping instincts of his monster side clawed at his mind, threatening to take hold.

"This…" Axel coughed, forcing himself to stay focused. Every movement felt like a battle against himself.

Ahead of him, the corpse puppet twitched violently. Its body jerked and spasmed, the eerie glow in its eyes dimming momentarily before flickering back to life. It wasn't done.

The shattered glyph above its head, though broken, showed faint signs of reforming. The fragmented lines of magic began to reconnect, slowly knitting themselves together. The puppet was recovering.

"Rael!" Axel's voice ripped through the air. "Now!

Rael didn't hesitate. He raised both hands, channeling every ounce of energy left into a massive, crackling spell. A bolt of pure light tore through the battlefield, the air vibrating with its raw power. The magic struck the puppet square in its torso, the impact rippling outward in a shockwave. For a moment, the abomination stood frozen.

Then, it happened. A jagged tear appeared on the left side of the puppet's upper torso, revealing a faintly glowing green crystal embedded deep within its chest, in where was supposed to be the heart.

Axel's eyes locked on the crystal, his instincts screaming at him to move. Ignoring the searing pain coursing through his body, he surged forward, every step a blur. His claws extended, sharp as razors, and he drove them into the exposed gap in the puppet's chest.

The sound was sickening, a wet, tearing noise as his claws sank deep. Axel's fingers closed around the crystal, its surface smooth but pulsing with unnatural energy. The puppet let out a guttural, inhuman groan, its body convulsing as if in protest.

Axel didn't hesitate. He gritted his teeth, muscles straining as he yanked the crystal free with a brutal pull.

The reaction was immediate. The puppet's glowing eyes dimmed, then faded entirely. The aura of power surrounding it dissipated, leaving nothing but a lifeless husk. The abomination collapsed to the ground in a heap, its movements ceasing altogether.

Axel staggered back, the green crystal still clutched tightly in his hand. It pulsed erratically, like a living thing struggling to escape. The force of its resistance was immense, nearly wrenching itself from his grasp.

"Not happening," Axel growled. Summoning his aura, he poured it into his clawed fingers, tightening his grip. The pressure mounted until, with a sharp crunch, the crystal shattered. A faint hum echoed through the air as it disintegrated into fine dust, scattering in the wind.

The system notification rang out:

[Archmage Soul Fragment (Fallen) Defeated.]

[New Skill Unlocked: Soul Crush (D)]

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