MM - Chapter 198 - JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

Half the beams converged on Raine’s back, the rest spreading to block his escape. Each was capable of cutting him in half, and worse, the boss knew it would strike itself in the chaos and spread Splintering Carapace in advance. The areas each beam would strike turned brittle, preparing to fill the entire airspace with dangerous shrapnel. Raine didn't dodge; there was no point. He swapped to the Fraction of Solidity, invoking Unassailable Aegis. An impenetrable field wrapped around him, and the converging lances bent harmlessly around him. 

Superheated energy carved into Zagan, shattering its carapace zones. There was no point of safety from the razor-sharp, poisonous projectiles. Seeing Raine unharmed, Zagan’s rage boiled over. A deep, sub-vocal hum resonated from within its chest, creating an insidious mental assault.

[Negative affliction resisted (Sloth): All cooldowns increased by 13.52 seconds]

If not for the absolute protection of Unassailable Aegis, Raine would have been screwed. While Fluency of the Soul could counteract increased cooldowns for his Armsman abilities, the unique skill did nothing for his general Lunge and Flawed Conversion. His damage would have been cut to a fraction. Worse, his ability to evade would have disappeared as well. Sliced apart and burned by its own abilities, Zagan’s health hit 30%. Another 5%, and Cassidy’s Comet should be enough to finish the behemoth. But those final percentage points would not come easily. Reaching another health threshold, a concussive wave of energy burst forth from the Patriarch, blasting Raine back. Crimson energy suffused its entire body, a clear and terrifying sign of a Berserk state.

The colossal monster howled loud enough to topple trees as its body swelled. Fresh, robust vines slithered up from within to reinforce its mass, and steam hissed from its knotted hide. Its roots shot high into the air, undulating before a pulse of inner light swept up their lengths. Swollen with murderous intent, the roots exploded, showering the sky with innumerable amber droplets of thick, sticky sap. 

With only seconds remaining on Grace of Nirvana and Aegis, Raine Lunged at the enraged boss. Zagan’s durability, strength, and speed were on a whole new level. The backhand swipe of its huge arm came so close to connecting that the air pressure alone upended Raine. Inverted, he slammed hard into the Patriarch’s chest. 

Situations like this were precisely why he drilled Mel and Celeste so hard on aerial acrobatics. Raine didn’t miss a beat. Even while bouncing off the boss, his arms were a blur. He landed a dozen frenzied blows with wand and fist before the first drops of cursed sap fell.

[Negative affliction resisted (Curse of Petrification): Each stack reduces Movement and Attack Speed by 2%. Complete Petrification at 50 stacks]

Not good! 2 seconds left!

Raine was already struggling to control himself. Edge of Torment altered his speed and strength with every percentage of life lost. Additionally, his dwindling resources added to the immense physical and mental strain. The roots never stopped coming. While they couldn't hurt him, they sure as hell would send him flying. He was forced to dodge constantly on pure, battle-bred instinct. The added layer of complexity from the petrifying sap would certainly cause him to slip up. He needed to finish this now.

One second before Aegis faded, Zagan’s open palm came around in a devastating arc, ready to swat Raine from existence. Again, he chose not to evade. The hit struck his impenetrable shield right before it vanished. Raine was crushed into the Patriarch's chest. He embraced the physical pressure, using it to burrow his flaming arm deep into thickly coiled roots. His fingers stretched, questing for the solution he knew was buried there: A torrent of raw Primal Energy. 

The lifeblood of his enemy clung to Raine’s skin, sinking deep, and filling his capacity to so near bursting that his skin began to tear from the swelling. The sudden influx of creation, of potential, of creativity, pumped through his veins, supercharging his brain. In that moment of naked vulnerability, Raine abandoned everything but the intent to control his body no matter its current shape. 

Whether it was truly the Primal Energy or just decades of experience sharpened under extreme duress, didn’t matter; only the results were important. New and old synapses were reforged at blinding speed. By the time Zagan withdrew its palm to see if its attack was successful, all it uncovered was a blazing hellion set on ripping its wooden flesh to pieces.

Raine adapted to the overwhelming flood of varying sensory information. His assault raged unhindered by Edge of Torment's varying attributes. He was a force of nature, an unstoppable plague driven by bloodlust's insatiable thirst to add another corpse to its ocean of the dead. With unflinching resolve, Raine took another step.

He had been keeping track, so he knew Zagan's regeneration was only moments away from ticking. 32% health wasn’t perfect, but it would have to be enough. The 8-second mark on Prominence of the Fool struck, chunking Raine's life into the crimson. Worse, the boss’s hands were racing together in a thunderous clap that would end him.

Raine’s shouted words came so rapidly they were barely sensible. “PuriPuriRainbowRelease!”

As he swung, dazzling streamers erupted from beneath Zagan. They wrapped around its arms and legs. The crunching of wood filled Raine’s ears as the world boss's limbs were squeezed and locked into place a fraction of an instant before he was crushed flat. 

Raine slapped the boss with Life Drain before Lunging away, uninterested in discovering if his weapon’s skill had friendly fire. The coils continued to squeeze, biting deep into the struggling boss. It flexed, ominous creaking overwhelming all other sounds. With a harsh crack, viney flesh gave way, and the streamers bit deep, dealing massive damage. [-815,433]

[+492,187] Despite receiving a heal for over half the damage dealt, the Patriarch screamed so loud that Raine took damage. He clamped hands over his ears as the boss was hauled into the sky by Cassidy’s inexorable might. Knowing what was coming next, he seized the opportunity and jumped high. As the boss was yanked and then thrown to the ground for another chunk of damage, Raine crashed down from above like a meteor.

“PuriPuri Comet Burst!”

Glowing, the heavy wand burrowed deep into Zagan’s eye in a devastating blow that caused its entire skull to pop like an overripe melon. [Critical hit! -1,920,475]

In one strike, the world boss’s health plummeted to zero. For a glorious second, as sticky, petrifying sap fell around him, Raine thought it was over. That hope was dashed when Zagan’s form began shifting and undulating like a hive of worms. 

The Marvelous Gold chest at the core of its body pulsed, sending a powerful ripple through its many vines. Wherever the wave passed, order was restored. In gory fashion, the vines combined into a dozen extra-thick roots. They shot out, tethering to the trees and ground: Heartwood Sacrifice.

A shimmering shield of golden light formed around the chest just as the environment exploded with unpredictable movement. Whipping vines appeared from everywhere at once—they tore free from the soil, from the roots of the surrounding trees, and especially from the tethers locking the chest in place.

[Grand Root Patriarch (Noble - Ancient - World Boss) (2nd Phase): (Level 46) (HP ?/?) (50%)]

An endless, overwhelming legion of attacks shot toward Raine. If not for the last few seconds left on Grace of Nirvana, he would have died in the opening salvo. He moved in a haze of pure survival instinct fueled by Primal Energy. He Lunged with every step, unable to pause for even a millisecond as he sprang in circles around the chest.

Healing Burst finally came off cooldown, and combined with Greater Werewolf’s Regeneration, brought his health out of critical condition. That only lasted the quarter of a second it took him to trigger the cursed ring. [-1,197]

A featherlight 2-handed sword appeared in his grip. Without slowing, Raine swung in an underhanded cut. Great Divide unleashed a ripping torrent of power toward the nearest tethers. [-280,058] [Critical hit! -616,127] A large swath of vines and roots were torn to pieces, yet the extensive forcefield protecting the chest made striking them all at once impossible.

[Immaculate Damascus 2-H Sword: Durability -7]

Raine didn’t slow to see if the attack was enough. He was already flying to the next tether, speeding through the air with feverish haste. A hail of blows rained down on him, their sheer quantity making complete evasion a dream. [-118] [-97] [-121] While significantly weaker than the boss’s attacks in the first phase, they made up for it with numerical advantage.

His health quickly dropped back into a critical state, and the constant blows threw off his course. 40 Discipline per second fired through every cell of his body, mingling with the Primal Energy to boost his senses beyond comprehension. Flawed Conversion activated non-stop, allowing one Great Divide after another.

Seconds passed, Prominance of the Fool demanding he swap. But Raine's rapidly dropping health wouldn't allow for it. Life Drain couldn't keep up. And even if he could swap, there was no guarantee he would get another weapon capable of Great Divide. The Primal Energy suffusing his every thought provided the solution. Burning through Discipline as quickly as possible, Raine released Great Divide twelve times in under two seconds, slicing apart hundreds of roots and three of the tethers. Unable to handle the strain, his sword shattered, and midswing, a new, weaker one appeared in its place—resetting the cooldown on Prominance of the Fool.

Freed from the passive slow, Raine blurred through the air. One tether after another snapped under his onslaught, until only the last remained. The vines swarmed like never before. They filled every inch of space around him, leaving no escape, no path forward. The intent behind each was a message, a bolt of understanding that shot directly to the center of his brain. 

Trusting in his new sense, Raine closed his eyes and swung left. His sword vanished from Uncanny Acceleration. The attack wasn’t only meant to clear space, but to send him hurtling to the opposite side. A Lunge was activated almost at the exact instant, redirecting him backwards. Fooled by the feint, most of the vines shot by. Six remained, and only two were needed to bring his health to zero. 

Raine’s toe caught on a solidified puff of air, gently altering his flight and allowing one to barely pass over his head. A shift of his knee and the lowering of a shoulder evaded two more.

The sound of whistling air filled Raine’s ears as Parry pulled his sword into place. Thanks to breaching the second attribute threshold, he had the Acuity and Potency to subtly guide the skill. The third incoming root was struck by the flat of his blade. Instead of being cut, it was knocked into the last three vines, narrowly averting death.

Another Lunge brought him around the chest. The tether was before his eyes. With a roar and final, desperate Great Divide, the last tether was reduced to unraveling dust. Raine's Discipline bottomed out as the shield around the chest flickered and faded. Both it and Raine dropped to the ground with matching thuds.

To his mounting horror, Zagan’s voice came directly from the chest. “You’ve done well to push me this far. I underestimated you. But you… You underestimated me even more.”

A rending crack sounded, and the chest split down the middle. Finely-meshed plant fibers tore free, rapidly blooming into a gargantuan, pulsating flower. 

[Grand Root Patriarch (Noble - Ancient - World Boss) (3rd Phase): (Level 46) (HP ?/?) (25%)]

Buried within the petals, the broken chest pulsed, releasing a subtle wave that swept through the entire Primal Realm. Malevolent energy responded instantly, darkening the sky and withering every tree. An unimaginable quantity of Primal Energy swarmed down from the heavens and across the land, all to be absorbed by the petals.

Raine had seen the like a few times before. This was without a doubt a self-detonation—an explosion that would wipe the entire region off the map, killing Raine, Selena, and perhaps everything in the Primal Realm. The incalculable murderous intent gushing from the flower was unmatched by anything Raine had ever faced, confirming his suspicions.

There were no whipping vines, no deadly roots, only an extinction-level explosion lacking a timer to tell Raine how long he had. Not that it mattered. He didn’t have the health to reroll again; either he cleared this phase in the next few seconds, or he would die to Prominence of the Fool.

Raine raised his sword and scraped the very bottom of the barrel. His Celestial, Elemental, and Demonic Powers were reduced to single digits. Blood gushed from eyes and ears, bile rose to clog his throat, and his vision turned to a blurred mess. His every cell screamed in torment as he was summarily deposited on death's door. He could barely even think—but he didn't need to. His target was front and center. Through the haze, he unleashed everything he had left.

This was a pure DPS check—familiar territory. Raine wove basic attacks with his skills. Every swing was frenzied madness, his body moving on the fortitude forged in countless battles. There was no focus for intricate combos, only the raw will to survive. Uncanny Acceleration, Guillotine Slash, Guardian's Bane, Great Divide, Rupture, Flurry of One—he spared nothing.

20%... 15%... 10%... 8… 7…

Grace of Nirvana faded, and Prominence of the Fool ticked. Raine’s health fell to less than 5%. He was two seconds from the end. There was no doubt, no hesitation, he slashed on and on and on. 

“You will fail!” Zagan’s muffled shout came from somewhere. It didn’t matter. Only the next slash was important. “Your greed was your end. You saw my core and came unwittingly to your death. You are the fool, and I, I am unending.”

Bloodstained teeth flashed in a feral grin. Raine knew there wasn’t a chance in hell he could bring Zagan’s health to zero in time. He didn't need to.

6%

5%

A title Raine had earned through the very greed that Zagan mocked, activated: Big Game Executioner. A final, regular slash was all it took. Zagan—a world boss, had its health reduced from 5% to zero.

The flower quivered, petals soaked with immense destructive force, withered at a visual pace. “What?! No!”

Raine coughed weakly, falling to his knees. The sword dropped from his fingers, vanishing into his inventory as combat ended. A distant crack was heard as the flower’s stalk splintered, tilting precariously. 

The Patriarch’s voice was as weak as the blood-like sap pumping from within to splash across the ground. “All this… For a measly treasure chest? And you gaze upon me… as though I am the monster…”

Raine’s voice came out as a wheeze. “The chest? No. You’ve got it all wrong… You’re going to drop way more loot than that chest ever would have, asshole.”

A deafening crack sounded, and splintering fibers shot free. Zagan's stalk folded, but just before it crashed to the ground, the world froze. Time stood still, ripped to a halt. All color was sapped from the Primal Real, leaving only shades of gray. From horizon to horizon, the sky split open, and from within the tear in reality, a god descended.