Tyrant Subjugation Battle (3)
Looking at the back of the Tyrant's head after it dropped from the summit to the entrance in a single leap, I wondered how every last seal on it could have been broken.
Had Lilith used a Blessing?
I almost hoped she had.
Whether I could handle a fully unsealed Tyrant was still an open question. It wouldn't be easy—I was sure of that. But if I brought down a Tyrant that had received a Blessing right here and now, Lilith's plans would take a serious hit. She would come after me with everything she had, desperate to kill the one who had slain the Tyrant and made her Blessing evaporate. Every scheme of Lilith and Erden would come crashing down on my head.
Which was exactly what I wanted.
I'll get a little tired, sure. But later on, they'll all be thanking me for it.
I kicked off the ground and ran. I had to pin its feet before it could leap again. Using Thirst wouldn't have been a bad idea, but then there would be nothing for me to learn.
First—mana.
Watch carefully. If you don't understand, just memorize it!
I seized the wild, thrashing mana and forced it under control. I mixed it into the blood flowing through my veins and sent it surging. I packed mana into every single muscle fiber. I jammed it into every optic nerve behind my eyes.
The preparations were finished.
I unfolded the Qi Sensing I had kept folded away. Behind the sharp, clear field of vision, information painted by Qi Sensing bloomed into view.
A massive frame that looked well over five meters tall. One eyeball with four pupils that moved independently. Four arms in total—two on each side. A form that was half bear, half lion. Thousands of teeth glinting between slightly parted jaws. Claws the size of a human body. Hide that looked dozens of centimeters thick. Every single strand of fur radiating a piercing chill. The wrinkles in the hide. The muscles beneath. Bones, organs, blood vessels, cells. The flow of mana. The seal catalyst embedded in its heart. A Master's armament. Kalt's sword.
Again.
The flow of mana. Cells, vessels, organs, bones. The shift of muscle. Deepening wrinkles in the hide. Fur that vented mana. And from all of it—the next movement taking shape.
Finally looking at me, huh. Cocky bastard.
The Tyrant's head turned. There was no warning. Icicles erupted from the ground. They fell from the sky. Walls of ice burst out of empty air and sealed every escape route. Fist-sized chunks of ice shot in from every direction, packing the air so densely they filled my vision.
I kept my eyes wide open and observed every last one of them.
Mana control—next lesson. Greatsword technique.
I held my breath and stamped a true step. Fwhaaak— My left foot drove forward through a spray of snowflakes and twisted. My waist turned with it. Strength in the abdomen and shoulders—not too much. But my grip crushed the hilt as if I meant to snap it.
The greatsword swept through.
There was no sound. Everything that had been rushing in from the front was simply cut. I carved every detail of that motion into my body.
Got it? This is how you use a greatsword.
The corner of the Tyrant's mouth twisted. The huge body moved. Still no warning.
One step. The earth split open.
Two steps. A hole tore open in the sky.
Three steps—and the attack.
A blizzard mixed into a savage roar blotted out my sight. Thousands of icicles ripped free of the air and shot toward me. Claws wreathed in storm winds scythed through. The cracked ground became a gaping maw trying to swallow me whole. From the hole in the sky, ice boulders the size of meteors plummeted down.
A literal natural disaster. Catastrophes no mere human should ever have to face came pouring down.
I moved anyway. I scattered the blizzard with a sweep of the greatsword. I twisted and stirred the blade to bat the icicles aside. I let my body ride the storm and guided the greatsword with it—the claws rebounded. Crack— I stomped the split earth and forced it still. As for the ice boulders—I focused Qi Sensing, found the weak points, and cut them.
Then I charged straight into the Tyrant's face and drove my fist in.
Crackle— Dozens of teeth shattered. Ice immediately replaced the broken ones. Frost began to crawl over my fist. I instantly shifted the remaining Elixir inside me and concentrated it in my hand. Heat rose just before frostbite set in and burned the cold away.
So far it was similar to the partially sealed Tyrant I had fought before. There had to be something different.
I gripped the greatsword reverse-handed and sprinted forward, scattering every attack that tried to block my vision as I swung. Thud— crackle-crackle— The greatsword, whipped through the air like a shot, sheared through fur and buried itself in the hide.
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR---!!]
Even with the blade still lodged in it, the hide began to regenerate. I yanked the greatsword free in a reverse grip. Shhhk— Scarlet blood sprayed across the white ground. Using the recoil, I spun my body and swung again. The greatsword tore through the air at a speed that would have blown both of Carpeng's arms off—
Kak—
One of the Tyrant's hands caught it.
The remaining three arms immediately lashed toward me. A storm howled. Blade-sharp blizzards poured down. Icicles, heaps of ice, boulders—death itself came surging in.
I concentrated every scrap of mana I had spread through my body into my arms. My undertrained arms screamed. Veins bulged as if they would burst; my skin turned a dark, mottled purple. Crackle— I gripped the hilt hard enough to snap it and wrenched the blade free of the Tyrant's grasp. Blood erupted from its torn palm and stained the ground red.
I redistributed the mana and cut, deflected, and bled away the death rushing in. I slashed, bounced, stabbed. I twisted and seized control, swinging the greatsword into one of the Tyrant's arms. I had expected it—I still failed to sever it cleanly. A little extra mana and my arms were already wrecked. But the Tyrant's arm was wrecked too. The half-cut limb dangled, pouring blood.
I immediately drew a portion of the Elixir and used it to heal. Blizzards whirled in to protect the wounded arm, gathering around it. Snow from across the entire mountain range began to stream toward the Tyrant.
I shortened my breath and ran. Every visible snowflake became a blade that raked my skin. Even the snow that had been lying on the ground turned into killing projectiles and shot at me. I focused Qi Sensing and drew the gaps. Following the lines I had painted, I shortened my stride, advanced, stopped, twisted, turned. Minute movements. Tens of thousands of snowflakes seemed to part around my body of their own accord.
A deeper crease formed between the Tyrant's brows. Wind surged upward and the snowflakes' motion reversed. What had been floating sank; what had sunk rose. New snowflakes fell. Whirled. Poured down.
I kept my eyes wide and refused to lose track of a single one. Sometimes with the greatsword, sometimes by offering flesh—I avoided them all completely.
Hot fluid burst from my eyes. I tasted the blood that reached my lips on my tongue and charged the Tyrant again.
Clang— KWA-AAAANG—!
Every time the greatsword and claws collided, the sky itself rang. My eardrums had long since given out under the insane noise, but the vibrations still hammered through my skull. I clenched the blood-slick hilt with pure grip strength and kept swinging.
Scratches began to appear on the Tyrant's body. Scratches became wounds. Wounds split open and sprayed blood. My body was no different. I hadn't taken a direct hit, but using my muscles past their limit made blood seep out between the layers of skin. Still I did not stop. If this flow broke, I might never get another chance to stick close. I had to grind down its stamina before phase two began.
I dodged a swinging arm and carved down the opposite one. The limb that was gushing blood thrashed and reared up. The other three arms stretched out to seize me. I set the greatsword horizontal and spun my body. Krrrkk— Without strength behind it, the blade failed to cut the mana-coated fur—but it was more than enough to stop the hands closing in from every side.
I immediately stepped on its knee, leapt up, and kicked its jaw. Thwack— The jaws slammed shut with a sharp sound, and I brought the greatsword down on top of them. Enormous rebound force slammed into my hands. I used the tingling sensation as a companion and struck even harder. Bang— bang— bang— Blood began to seep from the black bridge of its nose. Droplets floated into the air, clothed themselves in frost, and became blades that shot toward me. I exhaled the breath I had been holding and knocked the blades aside. The breath I released froze solid, turned into an icicle, and dropped onto the top of my foot. I leaned on the greatsword and kicked upward. The icicle, struck by a foot that had gathered mana in an instant, shattered into pieces. Even those fragments became weapons and lunged at me. I stamped a true step and scattered everything. The magic that detonated in an instant created a fog of snow that blocked all sight.
I snorted.
I was originally blind, you bastard.
I closed my eyes and expanded Qi Sensing. The Tyrant's form painted itself with perfect clarity. I cut through the snow fog and drove the greatsword into the back of its knee.
[GRAAAAAAAAAAA---!]
A scream thick with panic reached me. Without stopping, I slammed the greatsword deeper with my elbow. Krrrk— The sensation of tearing muscle came through with vivid clarity. The blade lodged between the muscle fibers and refused to move.
I picked up an icicle that had fallen to the ground. Mind-numbing cold sank into my bones. One of its arms swung. I avoided it with the absolute minimum of movement. Another arm came around. I waited. Slowly. Watching it. The moment it reached right in front of me—I ducked. A few strands of hair were sheared away. I drove the icicle into the top of its foot. Every claw tore free. Because I had dodged by a hair's breadth, the Tyrant's own claws ripped open its own thigh. The icicle it had summoned itself stabbed into the top of its foot.
A faint twitch—I felt the minute movement of the muscle that had been gripping the greatsword. I immediately ripped the blade free. Chunks of flesh that might have been muscle or hide splattered across my face.
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR--!!]
A cry even more saturated with rage than before. I worked the Elixir to heal my wounds to the bare minimum. The snow fog scattered. Vision opened. The entire area was stained with the Tyrant's blood. Even its once-white fur was blotched red in places.
I checked my range of motion. Still no problems. I charged the Tyrant again.
Rage had simplified its movements—but the force itself had doubled. The breath it exhaled froze even the oxygen into snowballs. I knocked aside the magic that erupted without warning, deflected the claws, and cut. I cut, stabbed, twisted, split, and smashed. With every exchange the pressure of the demonic energy crushing my body grew heavier. I did not stop. I kept going.
And so, after more than two hours—after tens of thousands of exchanges—I severed two of its arms. I pulled every last tooth. The Tyrant's cries dwindled. Even its ragged breathing quieted. The gaze fixed on me no longer held any rage.
Demonic energy so dense that even I could barely stay on my feet rippled through the surroundings. There was no white left anywhere nearby. The entire mountainside was drowned in red.
Snow began to fall once more. Not white snow—blue snow.
The Tyrant's phase two had begun.
I released every scrap of mana I had been controlling. The dark-crimson mana that burst free shoved the blue snow aside.
Perfect.
Noah's phase two was starting too.