Apocalypse Cultivation 2, ch 20

I'm going to be posting more chapters later today. :)

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Jake was feeling a bit of euphoria.  The last time he’d been on earth, things had been a lot different.  Almost all of his memories after being reincarnated had revolved around being shot, beat up, or near death.  It was nice to be seal clubbing for a change.

Most of the monsters he was fighting were probably rank D or so, with a few rank C.  Jake himself was probably still rank C as a monster, but after everything he’d been to and living in the Murim world, there was a qualitative difference.  With strength along, no weapons or techniques, he judged he was at least around a Rank 10 adventurer.

And he’d mowed through a lot of monsters in the last ten minutes or so.

He hadn’t been counting, but he’d already probably killed twice as many vampires as he’d need to get the monster cores he needed.

Since he was working to help protect the people behind him, he was still a little worried about the monsters that were still out in the woods, especially the goliath zombies.  He’d been starting to wonder where they were all coming from, too.

He really should have known better than to let his guard down.  One moment he was killing a zombie just by punching it in the side of the head.  Suddenly he’d felt a flicker of presence and danger and had barely got his guard up, spinning his ki and weaving a defensive shield that blasted apart.  He saw stars and went flying across the parking lot into a Suburu.

Jake kept his wits enough to spring to the side.  It saved his life.  As he rolled away, it felt like a giant kicked him in the ribs.  The car he’d hit had blown up, and the explosion pushed him faster.  A moment later, a giant foot actually did kick him in the ribs, but Jake’s rolling actually helped protect him.  It wasn’t a solid hit.  Where he’d just been, he felt a vibration as something hit the asphalt.

He pulled his wits together, flipped to his feet, and flash-stepped to one side.  Then he got his first good look at his attacker.

It was massive…whatever it was.  Jake judged that the monster was twelve feet tall and muscled like a comic superhero.  The armor the creature had on was thick and looked heavy.  Jake thought the creature itself looked like what might happen if a minotaur had a love child with a demonic chimera.  The figure was large and muscled, obviously male, with a bull snout and horns.  But the minotaur also had spikes all over his body, some sort of disturbing art painted on the fur on his arms, or maybe tattooed, and another set of arms coming out of his back.

Other than thick, metallic armor, the minotaur wore pants, a thick belt, and a bag at his waist.  As Jake watched, the creature threw the single shot missile launcher it’d used to one side.  Next he tossed away the giant, bent hammer that he’d apparently hit Jake with before and had just attempted to pulp him with on the ground.  Then he casually reached into the bag at his waist and withdrew a huge, two handed sword.

“Greetings, Champion.”  The minotaur smiled and revealed big, blocky teeth.  Two had glittering diamonds embedded in them.  “I apologize for the sneak attack, but I have a job to do.  You know how it is.  It is unfortunate that I was not able to destroy you quickly, but I will admit some relief, too.  Winning a proper fight will be much more satisfying and also might earn more points for the system.”

Jake’s entire body was sore.  He hadn’t been hit this hard in a long time.  Strangely, it felt like his senses awakened even further.  He felt angry, scared, and a dozen other emotions all at once.  He felt alive.

“So you are a Champion, too?” Jake spat blood and tongued one of his fangs.  Chipped but still there.  Behind his attacker

“Can’t you see my titles?”  The massive creature tilted his head and completely ignored all the defenders shooting at him.

This bastard is rank B, he thought.  His senses were very clear.  This was a pressure he hadn’t felt for some time.  Out loud, he admitted, “No, I can’t.”

Apparently he couldn’t keep all of the frustration out of his voice because the minotaur laughed.  The beast said, “How ironic.  What is the expression from your world?  Something like you might as well have a giant neon sign above your head.  I was lucky to have gotten here first.”

“So what’s in it for you?” Asked Jake.  Even though he knew he was about to fight to the death, stalling for time was helping the denders get the regular monsters under control without the minotaur’s interference.  Of course, if Jake died, suspected that the monster would murder any remaining defenders as a footnote.  “I mean, besides the points for the system.”

The beast rotated one massive shoulder and grunted.  “My master is one of the six lords who have bid to own your world.  Erlik.  It is well known that Ahriman hates you above all others.  If I destroy you, Ahriman will reward my master, who will reward me.”

“Sounds very transactional,” said Jake.  He quickly glanced at the defenders and extended his senses.  They were still holding out.

“Is is, transactional that is.  Also, I hope you know I am aware that you are stalling for time, watching the powerless ones.  Do not worry.  Our fight will be between us, only.  However, after you die, I have no choice but to destroy them.  It will be quick, though.”

Jake shook his head.  He was still rattled from getting hit so hard earlier and his emotions were under less control than normal .Before he could think it through, he said, “Playing at honor, is it?  But you will still kill them?  Why even care about honor for this fight?  You work for an evil god.”

“So do you.”

Shit, got me there.  Jake decided.  He decided that he should take advantage of his current parlay and did a mental inventory of everything in his inventory.  All of the monsters in the area continued to attack the school and otherwise completely left the two of them alone.  They went far around them, giving them a wide berth.  The defenders had stopped shooting at the minotaur, too.  Good.  No point in wasting ammo.

When Jake didn’t respond, the minotaur snorted and said, “Truth be told, I am not particularly looking forward to this duel.  You have no hope of winning, despite likely being one of the strongest of your kind on this world right now.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Jake.  Now was time to pull out the stops.  He wasn’t farming monster cores anymore.  Memories of his struggle against the sphinx he’d met in a challenge room played through his mind over the course of a breath.

He drew his saber, Bloom.  As soon as it cleared the scabbard, the world seemed to hold its breath.  Almost immediately, the minotaur clued in on the fact there was something special about the blade.  “Oh, you have something good, do you?”

“You have no idea.”  Jake narrowed his eyes.  The minotaur had some sort of subspace storage, so he’d need to be wary of surprises.

“So be it.  I will look forward to it, then.  I am called Conophta.  This duel will be between only the two of us, to the death.”

“Agreed.  I am called Jake.”

“Let us fight now, Jake.”

Before Jake could answer, the giant, demonic, bovine man was on him.

***

For the last few minutes, James could tell that the Paladins were staying out of the conflict between the Grim and whatever it was standing in the driveway of the school.  James had taken a shot at it a while ago, same time as others, but he’d given up almost immediately.

He’d just seen the Grim shrug off bullets.  Why not a giant, disturbing cow man, too?

James knew deep down though that the monster the Grim was talking to was incredibly dangerous.  Even if he hadn’t just seen the thing toss the Grim around like a rag doll earlier, just standing there, the thing radiated so much menace it almost felt hard to breathe.

Whether the Grim fought or not, just keeping the thing occupied was likely saving all of them.  “Good luck, you ugly bastard,” muttered James.  “We’re rooting for you.”

Luckily, even without the Grim, the line was still holding.  The Paladins had been doing a great job helping the remaining defenders beat back the horde.  Stephanie Henson in particular was pulling her weight.  She made fire and ice fly from her hands and destroy monsters.  Without her, the giant zombies probably would have broken through into the school.

Suddenly and without warning, The Grim and the huge monster exploded into motion.  People screamed all up and down the line, and even the attacking monsters slowed to a stop to stare.

Power flashed out from the bull-headed monster’s fist, a solid bar of fire that slagged the parking lot where the Grim had just been standing.  He was fast, though.  The grim had gone on the offensive, too.  After somehow dodging the fiery attack, the Grim’s saber flashed so fast it created silvery afterimages in the torch-lit night.  The minotaur growled in surprise as it gave ground.

All of the Grim’s strikes were so fast that James couldn’t really follow what was happening, especially in the dim light.  Machine fun-fast clanging of metal on metal turned out to be the Grim’s sword strikes on a massive shield the giant cow monster held.

Then the minotaur swung the shield and a ripple of energy gouged a hole in the parking lot, blasting rubble outward in an arc of shrapnel.  The Grim had jumped straight up, evading the magical attack with uncanny speed.  He landed and immediately took off running, dodging another energy blast and weaving between parked vehicles.

The huge monster moved faster than anything so big had a right to.  It surged forward, smashing through a parked car like it wasn’t even there.  The monster produced a giant, burning axe out of nowhere, slamming the blade down where the Grim had just been.  An explosion of fire and pieces of asphalt shredded the side of a Lexus.

James’ heart sunk.  There was no way the Grim was still alive after that.  The other defenders cried out in surprise and alarm.  Everyone knew the store.  If the bull man won, they were all going to die.  The Paladins had power and they were good people, but they’d have no chance against the cow demon or minotaur or whatever it was.

However, a second later, the Grim came out of nowhere, delivering a cut that split the night with a flash of blue light.  The huge bull man manage to block the attack with his shield, but then he retreated, dropping the damaged pieces of the shield from his smoking arm.

The Grim growled and his giant opponent answered in kind.  It spoke, its thunderous words in a language that was not of this world.  The two squared off again and now the Grim felt…different.  More feral.  James felt the hair on his arms rise and gooseflesh form.

A heat wave began building around the minotaur.  With a mighty bellow, the bull man kicked forward, drawing a hammer from thin air and swinging with so much power the air crackled.

The Grim moved almost directly at it before disappearing and reappearing in a flash behind the creature, standing between the minotaur and the school.  Then he lowered a hand and thunder split the night.  Waves of destruction rained down on the bull man.   The enormous creature was blown back through the barrier around the parking lot.  All the remaining windows of the school exploded in showers of glass.

There was a collective gasp.  James dared to hope that the hostile giant had been slain, but the Grim was apparently a pessimist…or a realist.  When the huge creatures came stomping out out of the forest, covered in steam, surrounded by air rippling with power, the Grim didn’t miss a beat.  He flew at the beast, his saber arcing at its head.

The minotaur roared as it pulled a giant halbard from nowhere and slammed Jake’s sword aside.  What followed was a series of strikes, blocks, and parries so fast that it sounded like a car crash.

Before this point, James had thought he’d seen the Grim’s true power.  He’d been wrong.  At that moment, he believed every single story he’d heard out of Macon, including the Grim destroying a big box hardware store while fighting a demon.

The two monsters, one with blue eyes, one with red, clashed in the night and James felt visceral fear, different from facing monsters or seeing people dying en masse the last few weeks.  This fear was something different.  It was like experiencing a thunderstorm as a child.  What he was witnessing now was far beyond his understanding or control.

James lifted his rifle to his shoulder and shot a ghoul that had begun crawling toward the school while the other monsters and most of the defenders were captivated by the fight.  James felt grim satisfaction when the wily monster writhed in the parking lot.

He was going to do everything he could, keep doing his job.  And if his last seven rounds weren’t enough, he’d pick up his spear and join the line below.  When James had agreed to defend the school, he’d resolved to see it through to the end.

The Grim had his fight.  They had theirs