Chapter 679: Titan (2/2)

“I am… the destroyer,” Ilea said with her destroyer voice. “I do not n-” she slipped again. “Help.”

Pierce checked one of the nearby graves. “Not like I could lift you anyway,” she mused. “These are all broken.”

“From the inside,” Verena confirmed as she joined in, her flames showing the true carnage of Ilea’s rampage.

“Are there more coming?” Pierce asked, another loud thonk resounding as Ilea slipped for the third time.

A bed of ash spread below her armor, cleaning both the regenerating metal and the stone floor. Finally, with a bit of a better grip, she slowly moved up her right knee while pushing herself up with both arms. Her movement stopped there however.

“You’re stuck,” Pierce commented.

“No,” the titan replied, pushing her knee further up as she tried to get the foot under herself. She finally just slammed it into the ground to get some leverage and pushed herself forward. Her left hand crashed through four empty graves. She stumbled her way up, managing to dig her right hand into the ceiling. The pull allowed for enough counterweight to let her lift her left leg, landing on both feet. “Beauty. And grace,” the deep voice thundered as pieces of rock fell from above and the walls around her.

Pierce clapped. “What will you do if there aren’t conveniently placed walls all around you?” she asked.

“One step at a time,” the titan replied. “And no, I think if there were any more undead nearby, they’d be here by now.”

“We pretty much just go down from here,” Verena said.

Ilea walked back the way they came, her ashen limbs rushing up and cutting into the ceiling. More of the tunnel collapsed, sealing the entrance once more. “We were never here.”

They continued through the maze of the tomb, not finding any more creatures until they came out into a spacious hall. It was dully lit by ancient magical lights, most of them out with a few still giving off a green hue. There were dozens of graves lined up on the walls. In the back and center of the hall stood a large stone table covered in runes, a dust covered skeleton lying on top with bones on the floor on each side. In front of the table floated a being radiation an aura of death and rot, thin strips of skin still clinging to its frail humanoid body, most of it covered with a tattered black robe. It wielded an obsidian staff and turned when the group entered its domain.

Ilea’s steps made dust fall from the ceiling as she watched the being through her domain.

It raised its staff. A pulse of mana rushed out, entering the graves all around.

[Priest of the Blight Chosen – lvl ???] – [Undead]

“It’s just above six hundred,” Ilea said. “I suggest you two be careful.”

“More dangerous things in the graves,” Verena informed, her body clad in flames as she jumped back, two burning black axes appearing in her hands.

Lightning flashed around Pierce, a large bolt rushing towards the robed figure before it impacted a shield of green energy. “Ah of course. Always with these pure mages,” she murmured and vanished.

Ilea kept a loose eye on them through her dominion. She ran at the priest when a roar resounded from one of the walls.

Two graves that had just opened up revealed a few Skinners crawling out, just before the wall behind them exploded into the hall. A massive humanoid being covered in rotten flesh and sickly skin barreled through the debris. It probably weighed about as much as Ilea with all of that fat. Below however, strained muscle could be seen.

A tank, just like me, Ilea thought with a grin reverse healing the dozens of Skinners coming from the many graves.

Pierce flashed in and out of existence around the Priest, lightning crashing with death magic shields and beams, Verena running through the hordes with her axes and flames cutting through both flesh and stone.

“God you’re disgusting,” Ilea’s deep voice bellowed. She charged the massive being with a grin on her face.

The creature did the same, its eyes milky and unfocused.

[Undead Flesh Titan – lvl ???] - [Heavy]

Yeah, I noticed, Ilea thought, her armored form crashing into the mountain of flesh and muscle.

Both of them were brought to an abrupt halt, their feet looking for leverage to push on. Ilea sent a heavy strike into the monster’s side. Flesh wobbled with the impact but the monster didn’t react at all, instead trying to grab her arm with both hands.

It coughed and retched, a mass of steaming flesh puked up from its mouth to cover Ilea’s armored helmet and chest. A sizzling noise came from the liquid as it ate through the steel at an alarming rate.

She healed against it, using her ash to wipe off what she could, her limbs cutting through the monster’s flesh and muscle without a reaction. She went for the head and managed to rip it off with three quick slashes, but the thing kept moving.

The Flesh Titan held on to her arm before its whole body started to bloat. The cuts on its body were already knitting themselves back together, a part of its head regenerated too.

Ilea could feel the massive amount of mana build within the level eight hundred creature, ripping her hand free with a last effort before she covered her chest and helmet. The sound that followed was downright revolting. A deep squelch.

Blood, guts, and flesh exploded outwards, splattering against everything in a near ten meter radius. The undead nearby were entirely covered, screeching as their bodies dissolved in the steaming piles of disgusting fat. The stone itself dissolved, the red mush turning a darker shade.

Ilea’s arms were gone, her real ones revealed below, two layers of her ash eaten through as well. Her steel chest had been reduced to less than half, her helmet just barely covering her face at this point. She could feel herself retch at the smell coming through. What she perceived with her dominion was more than enough.

Let’s not train Flesh Magic Resistance with this guy, she thought, already questioning her decision before the smell reminded her once more. You could just remove your nose and close your eyes. No. No, let’s just not.

Most of the monster’s body was gone, its skeletal legs barely keeping the fleshy remains aloft as it regenerated at an alarming speed.

“My turn,” the steel titan said, channeling her 80s action energy before a sphere of heat flashed out.

Whatever had remained around them was now entirely gone. And still, Ilea stood before her enemy. Its rib cage was all that remained, bone and flesh quickly appearing as its magic kept it alive.

She formed more heat within herself and extended a few ashen limbs towards the remains. Her armor healed at a slower pace than the undead, but in the end only one of them would remain. Embered Heart flashed out in a cone, stripping away the undying flesh. She raised her armored boot and brought it down on the scorched rib cage. Cracks resounded on the first strike. On the second, it crumbled entirely. Ilea kept on stomping, occasionally sending another blast of heat onto the small crater. Until she finally received the notification.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Undead Flesh Titan – lvl 803]’

A few more messages came up but she ignored them for now. She turned to the others, her steel still repairing itself with the help of her healing.

The two Elders had managed to somewhat reduce the number of Skinners but more were still coming.

Ilea watched the priest, seeing it still send pulses of magic into various nearby graves. Those are empty, she thought and watched as new Skinners formed from mana itself. “We have to kill the source,” she said and walked towards the creature.

It turned and sent a beam of purple death magic her way but the attack failed to stop the monstrous being.

Ilea let the death beam burn into her armaments until her fist came down on the priest. A thick magical shield flared up, sparks lightning up the surroundings.

Let’s get rid of that, shall we. She formed a dozen ashen limbs, all of them slashing into the shield. Tempered seal burning into the magic coupled with spreading white flames and delayed explosions. The shield cracked and she lashed out to grab the undead.

Her massive hand closed around its frail chest. She squished it and used her other hand to rip off its head. Neither managed to kill the being but the summoning of more Skinners ceased.

Pierce’s armor looked battered, a part of her face melted away by acid but her lightning still lit up the room as she flew by and scorched the undead running after her.

Verena looked fine, her body glowing with power in Ilea’s dominion, her wounds constantly regenerating as she slashed and cut into the horde of beasts.

“Can I get a beam!” Pierce shouted. She flew past Ilea’s shoulder with a dozen monsters at her toes. Only ash remained after a cone of flames enveloped them.

The woman landed on Ilea’s shoulder. “That was close. Thanks.”

“Get off my shoulder, mortal,” the titan boomed.