MM - Chapter 113 - NOBODY ASKED FOR YOUR CONSENT

Melani Feladay

When the boss’s killing intent slammed into Mel, she knew the moment of her first ZionLine death had arrived. Every moment of intense training that Raine put her through instantly became a kindness. Not that she disliked the abuse, quite the opposite, in fact. The others, however, were a different story. Their constant gripes and moans whenever Raine was out of earshot were unlikely to ever be repeated now that they knew the truth. He was preparing them for this, and they were not ready.

Yet somehow, against all odds, nobody broke stealth when sure death loomed bright as a crimson sun above their heads. Then, Raine lifted his hand, and the pressure vanished. It went against every bone in Mel’s body to disregard his order to remain still. She had to know. She had to see it with her own eyes. Willing her Stealth to form a new ‘destination,’ the skill gently urged her in the optimal way to move to the location she wanted without breaking her invisibility. She didn't want to go far, only a slight craning of her neck to behold the insanity of his unleashed skill.

She was amazed that none of the group broke stealth when the ground was sundered behind them by the tower of rock ascending into the sky in majestic fashion. Being in its shadow had instantly quelled the inexplicable terror that gripped her guts when she saw fear in Raine’s eyes for the first time. The tower was so massive she couldn't see around its curvature, a stony embodiment of his world-shattering power: at least, it felt that way to her.

She could still remember the moment they met. Raine's tall frame, standing straight-backed and confident, protecting her whole street with the willingness to crush anyone or anything that got in his way. Now, he was doing it to literal demons using pillars of rock he pulled from the ground like a god.

He was perfect, and Mel would undoubtedly remind him of that the next time she got him alone. When the horrific demons began rounding the tower to chase after him, Mel’s terror came back a hundredfold. They were hideous, disfigured creatures larger, faster, and stronger than her. Fighting even one was out of the question, and there were hundreds upon hundreds of them.

Yet, instead of ripping her apart as her instincts knew they would, they ran right by. Like a boulder in a stream, the horrendous creatures flowed around the tower’s girth, coming so close she could have touched them as they passed. Raine clearly positioned the tower and himself in a way that protected them, protected her. Once more, he was looking out for her without asking anything in return.

Her heart trembled, matching the rumbling of the ground from thousands of demonic feet. After long seconds of outright terror, a semblance of calmness returned. The idea of being eaten alive by the creatures was still there, lurking in the back of her mind, hiding in her peripherals, waiting for the worst moment to freeze her limbs solid.

With all the bravery she could muster, Mel redirected her stealth again to catch a glimpse of Raine: it was impossible. He was thoroughly buried under a mountain of squirming flesh. The occasional swelling in the hill of bodies, accompanied by gore and blood fountaining out to soak the thirsty ground, let her know he was still alive; that and the repeatedly blaring horns announcing her level increasing. 

The usually addictive lights and sounds were a distraction; her attention was drawn beyond the hill and to both sides, where the horde of baby demons ended and the gargantuan rocky monstrosities began. There were eight of them that she could see. They towered motionless, watching, waiting for their turn.

Somehow, despite it all, Mel found herself unworried. Raine always had a plan, a way out. Last time they were surrounded and their situation seemed helpless, it was newbbowling. This time, she knew it would be something equally outlandish. From his reaction when they arrived, it was obvious there was an unexpected variable in the raid, but also that he had a plan. They only needed to follow his instructions and do their best, like always.

One of the massive rocky demons rumbled to life. Before it took that first step, she hadn't realized it was possible for something so monumental to move under its own power. It didn't seem real, like a whole castle come to life. Her teeth clattering from its every step doused her disbelief into the abyss and replaced it with the first kernel of fear for the man she’d chosen to follow.

Its intention was beyond evident when it reached for the pile of demons. Tears welled in Mel's eyes, and she nearly broke into a sprint to do something, anything to help him.

“Do absolutely nothing no matter what happens! A single mistake will get you all killed,” his stern warning replayed in her mind. Disobeying for a fun reward was one thing; genuinely disappointing him was something she would never allow herself to do again.

Mel gritted her teeth, determined to wait for his signal no matter what. Just to be safe, her eyes danced across her interface, composing a raid message reminding everyone not to move a muscle. Funnily enough, Celeste beat her to it.

Mel finally got a look at Raine when he was lifted high into the air, trapped in a fist of sharp stones. The monster roared in his face, and a bolt of panic arced through her heart, which raced out of control in her chest, then froze when all the flying demons attacked in unison. As those innumerable balls of inky black and crimson streaked toward him, Mel knew she made a mistake by not doing everything she could before it was too late.

Then, the unimaginable happened. Raine freed an arm and pointed a finger at the monster's ugly face. Instead of squeezing the life from him, chewing his head off, or allowing the blasts to finish him off, the massive demon clutched Raine to its chest, using its own body to shield him. Chunks of stone that must have weighed several tons each were blasted from its body and flew through the air. Wherever they landed, demons were helplessly crushed.

The rock demon's leg flashed out, moving too fast for something so large. Hundreds of demons were tossed into the air in what would have been comical if not for the dread still squeezing her lungs tight. As if to prove its previous attempt to save Raine for the delusion it was, the rocky demon wound back its arm and hurled him toward the ground at a blistering speed.

The moment before he was splattered into paste, Raine blurred to the side, his momentum canceled by an air Lunge. There was a staff in his hands now. The demon he appeared before had the top of its head smashed so hard its face flew into the muddy dirt. Raine landed and proceeded to move in a way that she could only describe as a perfectly choreographed dance.

He twisted and bent, weaving between too many attacks to count. When the demons tried to surround him again, the giant demon kicked them away. The two fought side by side, man and mountain, united in purpose.

Mel realized it then: she was in too deep, utterly ruined. There would never be another man who could compare to this, to him; she, a girl with no background, money, or merits, belonged to him. She stared at Raine with hearts in her eyes, unable to be more hopelessly in love.

Raine KongRu

Unassailable Aegis negated the damage Raine would have taken from being squeezed by the huge fist. The skill drained forty percent of his health in an instant and hurt even worse than he thought it would. Still, it was better than being crushed to death. 

During his five seconds of invulnerability, Raine summoned the ghosts of all those he’d fought and killed with his deadly fists over the years. Millions dead, and he the harbinger of their end. He would be so again. These demons were nothing compared to some that he’d faced in the past. They would die by his fists just as surely as their betters had.

[Negative affliction resisted: Enfearment]

[Negative affliction resisted: Greater Enfearment]

Even with his attributes back, it took extreme willpower not to use Returners Privilege and escape the clutches of the Greater Rahk Glahm. As he was pulled closer to its gaping maw, Raine combined all his Potency and Connection to free an arm. He pointed at its face and swapped his fraction.

[Fraction of Umbra: (Demonic Power +20%) (PTC +20%) Upon command liberate Umbra’s Snare to charm any living entity (Cost: DP equivalent to difference in level and class) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

Raine wasn’t sure his boosted Demonic Power was enough to get the job done, but it was worth a try before wasting the hour-long cooldown of his only teleport. 320 of his 356 Demonic Power was pulled through the ring on his pinky finger and shot into the noble demon. A mental link formed between them, and Raine’s desire not to be struck by the Powered Blasts was understood. His new pet shielded him from the storm of attacks. Its health (displayed in the corner of Raine’s HUD) ticked down by less than a hundredth.

320 DP… Looks like ten per level difference, multiplied by four, once for each tier of life force. Damn, that’s so cheap!

Testing their link, Raine imagined his rahk glahm kicking a particularly thick clump of demons, and it perfectly followed his mental command. Three dozen kill notifications spammed his interface. Before Raine realized what was happening, the rahk glahm interpreted his desire to get back into the fight with all haste as an excuse to throw him with all its might. Grinning like a madman, Raine hurtled toward the ground and Lunged to the side. 

Now that he had a shiny new pet, there was no reason to further reduce the durability of his hardest-hitting weapon. Raine activated his roulette.

[Staff of Four Winds: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 15) (Elemental Power +115) (DEF +20) (PHY +12) (CNC +24) (Durability 150/150) (Innate skill - Four Winds: Conjure strong winds to blind and deafen for 10 seconds in a 20 x 10-meter column AOE (Cooldown: 4 times per day)]

In a move that only an ancient monkey god would find elegant, Raine held his staff like a bat and smashed a demon upside the head. Landing, he focused on the martial prowess he’d gained over a lifetime of fighting at point-blank range to dodge a flurry of Lesser JarGhaap legs. Combining a sidestep and shuffle-step, he closed the distance without taking a single hit. In what felt impossibly awkward compared to his bodily movements, Raine lashed out with the staff multiple times, quickly whittling the demon’s health to zero.

Annoying monsters loomed at his back, and the flicker of a thought had his new friend sending them spinning through the air.

Nice! No wonder golem mages always bragged about picking the best class. This guy’s amazing! I dub thee Rocky: Pounder of Demons!

Rocky announced his appreciation of Raine’s immaculate naming sense by swatting at the air, splattering two flying nemaghaaps in one blow. Splitting his thoughts into two felt surprisingly natural, and Raine quickly found himself in his element. He danced through attacks from all directions, mainly on the defensive while directing Rocky to crush any demon who got close.

Several minutes passed, and the only damage Raine took came from the winged demons who occasionally targeted him before being blasted from the sky like flies. Twice, Rocky was too preoccupied to kick off a mass of demons that tried to overwhelm him. Four Winds came to the rescue, blowing them away and neutering their senses, so they ended up more in the way of other demons than helpful. Then, the raid-wide buff from the giant eye faded, and the pressure on Raine and his unwilling ally lessened significantly.

The Gaze of Malefaction wasn’t about to remain idle and swapped to a new ability. It stared at Raine, redoubling its efforts to intimidate him into inaction with pure killing intent. Used to the pressure, Raine countered by stressing his brain to redouble his own bloodlust. Meanwhile, a massive beam of light from the red sky landed atop him, announcing his precise location to every demon on the battlefield. He sidestepped, but the light unerringly tracked him.

Raine refreshed both his defensive buffs and had Rocky stand directly over him. When the light shone straight through its body, he knew there would be no escape from the hordes’ attention. The demons came like a tidal wave, and another rahk glahm was with them. Not having any other choice, Raine commanded Rocky to meet it, and their fists came together in an epic clash of force that shook the land.

Knowing his puny gust of wind wouldn’t be able to stop the oncoming wave of demons, Raine Leaped into the air. Twenty Discipline worth of Lunges brought him to the nearest flying demon. His staff crushed one of its wings. A burst of Connection allowed him to jump off its falling body. He repeated the maneuver thrice, taking five Powered Blasts for his efforts. Arriving on Rocky’s hip, Raine Leaped again, soaring toward the opposing rahk glahm’s face.

The demon roared. A blistering-hot gust of foul breath laced with killing intent washed over Raine. Once more, the bloodlust trapped against Raine's skin was overwhelmed. A spike of agony lanced through his head. Raine snarled, shrugging off the fear that attempted to wriggle into his heart with the ease of a veteran. Hurtling through the air with staff held high, Raine triggered Debilitating Crush.

The tip of his weapon glowed with a blinding light, and hundreds of flying demons screeched in agony. He flexed his back powerfully, gathering every ounce of his body's Potency into the weapon before slamming it right in the rahk glahm’s eye. [Critical hit! -10k]

[Debilitating Crush: (Novice) With any melee blunt weapon, create a powerful blinding light. The next hit lowers armor by 50% for 10 seconds and deals 500% physical damage (Cost: 20 Discipline) (Cooldown: 20 seconds)]

Raine’s damage was only a prelude to the rahk glahm’s suffering. With its defenses sundered, Rocky’s knee blasting into its groin dealt devastating damage. [-26k] The rahk glahm’s limbs flailed, and Raine saw the throw unfolding in his mind. Following his intent, Rocky hooked its arm beneath the rahk glahm’s armpit. With a hefty palm to the back of its head, Rocky sent his untrained kin to the mat by twisting its hips and tripping a leg with a perfectly executed backkick.

The living mountain slammed into the ground, crashing through the wave of demons and killing too many to count. Before the rahk glahm could regain its footing, Rocky sent punch after punch into the back of its head, each chipping away at its form and health. [-23k] [-25k] Raine fought on Rocky’s back and shoulders, knocking away any demons that attempted to intrude on their fun. After a dozen heavy blows, a shattering crack announced the splitting of the rahk glahm’s skull. Raine dove into the gap, unleashing a Rupture directly into its brain. [Critical hit! -62k]

The ponderous demon crumbled while Raine Lunged to safety, landing atop his half-health noble steed. He glanced at his newest notifications with a wide grin.

[Obtained 168,000 Raid Superiority (1,750% bonus for defeating a raid noble 8 levels above you)]

[Obtained 70% Raid Attunement (1,750% bonus for defeating a raid noble 8 levels above you)]

[Level up! +20 free attributes points]

[Potency: +3]

[Finesse: +3]

[Acuity: +3]

[Physique: +3]

[Connection: +4]

As trumpets blared in Raine’s ear, the eye in the sky trembled. Glancing up, he saw the expected dip in its health, having known all along that the only way to hurt it was to destroy its champions.

[Gaze of Malefaction (Hierarch): Level 30 (HP 8/9) A commander of the forces of Bahael Ghaap]

Without hesitating, Raine sank twelve point four million Superiority into Cassidy’s Comet. The little rush of power he felt from the all-around boost to his attributes was sucked right back out of him.

[Level down! -20 free attributes points]

[Potency: -3]

[Finesse: -3]

[Acuity: -3]

[Physique: -3]

[Connection: -4]

Fondly slapping Rocky’s cheek, Raine swept his gaze across the seven remaining rahk glahms. They could no longer afford to look at him like an insignificant ant. They rumbled to action as one, approaching with lumbering gaits. Under Raine’s command, Rocky assumed a martial stance, more than prepared to mete out a little education on how one should fight with fists of rock.