Chapter 739: Reciprocity (1/2)
Clearly, Zac wasn’t the only one who held animosity toward the other escapee. The Octopus screeched with a mix of fury and fear, and it made its move before Zac had time to figure out a way to deal with the crisis. It was like space twisted as a tentacle shot toward him, extending far beyond what should be possible. It was just a blink of an eye, but the attack was already upon him.
Zac only had time to readjust his shield and empower it with the Fragment of the Coffin before the vicious swipe slammed into him, throwing him back against the mountain range. Simultaneously, a vast haze of black sludge covered the waters, and it was somehow resistant to the incessant pull of the currents as it hovered in the area like a thick haze.
The fury in Zac’s heart turned into a raging conflagration as he glared in the direction of the Beast King. There was no doubt about it; the Octopus wanted to use him as a scapegoat while it escaped. But how could Zac give up without a fight? He activated all the talismans he had left in various spots in the mountain range, hoping that a series of explosions would divert the snake's attention.
Meanwhile, a grey pill flew into Zac's mouth as he set off after the tentacled beast, and the effect was immediate. His muscles swelled and torrential amounts of Miasma started coursing through his body. Just like with all berserking pills he had eaten before, this one came with a surging momentum and battle lust as well, though not to the point of full-on-lunacy like the Rageroot Oak seeds.
Still, the goal of escape grew a bit blurred as Zac’s abyssal scanned the area in search of the Octopus, and [Love's Bond] changed to its offensive form as forced himself through the obstacle it had left behind. However, the Beast King was in its natural habitat, whereas Zac was not. Even a top-quality Berserking pill wasn't enough to allow him to catch up to the frantic escape of the octopus, especially considering how the weird cloud of ink it left behind felt like sticky goo that impeded his progress.
Even worse, the enormous snake seemed completely uninterested in investigating the cascading series of eruptions from the talismans and it was fast catching up. Zac couldn't be certain, but judging by how rapidly the towering aura in the distance grew more and more distinct, he had less than half a minute before the beast had caught up. The snake should have been on the other side of the mountain range, but the speed the snake exhibited was far exceeding anything that should appear in this trial.
The situation wasn’t looking good, and desperate times called for desperate measures.
A black spike appeared in Zac's hand, and a surge of cursed power immediately coursed through his body as the berserking compound he looted from Faceless #9 activated. It felt like he would explode as the two berserking treasures caused havoc on his body, and his body suddenly disappeared in a puff.
Of course, it wasn't Zac actually exploding, but rather him activating [Abyssal Phase]. His mind screamed for speed as he cut through the churning waters, and the additional energy and the battle madness from the berserking pills allowed him to withstand the currents far longer than he would normally.
He didn't care about the damage that was being wrought upon his intangible form, his mind was fast becoming consumed by the hunt, of going ever faster. Suddenly, it was like the already turbid surroundings became even more leaden, almost to the point that time seemed to have stopped altogether. It immediately became easier to navigate around the worst of the currents, and Zac pushed through the restrictive ink and caught up to the fleeing octopus in no time.
It almost looked like it had been frozen in time, but reality quickly caught up when Zac appeared right on top of the octopus' mantle, his eyes burning with madness as [Verun's Bite] ripped through the waters. A massive jagged edge appeared in front of the axe as two streams of mental energy empowered by Dao and madness burrowed into the skill fractal of [Gorehew].
The octopus tried to use a tentacle to swipe Zac off from its body, but two chains dug into flesh as the other two moved to intercept. The jagged edge of Zac's offensive skill slammed into the bulbous mantle, and the defensive measures of the octopus proved utterly incapable of forming any significant defense. A water barrier was ripped apart and the thick sinewy flesh was cut right through by the skill empowered by two Peak Dao Fragments.
Eight tentacles spasmodically flailed about in the air as Zac's axe dug into the innards of the beast, but he still didn't get any surge of energy even after swinging his weapon three times in rapid succession. Zac growled in frustration as he saw flesh rapidly regenerate, the Beast King showing its resilient life force. Zac knew this wasn't the time for a protracted battle, and two new streams of Mental Energy entered his shoulder.
A small sphere appeared between his hands, and Zac unhesitantly pushed it into the bleeding wounds before he activated [Abyssal Phase] with the help of [Force of the Void] once more.He had almost run out of energy after restoring his arm and leg a few weeks back, but he recovered just enough to barely form an extremely weak Mark of Creation by this point.
Zac didn't expect the small outburst of pure creation to actually kill the enormous beast, especially seeing how durable it was. But his eyes lit up when he saw how a series of weird transformations took place inside the mantle. The Beast King's thoughts were no doubt in turmoil with the snake bearing down on them, and wild imagination was like fertilizer for the Mark of Creation.
Between the grievous wounds and the Mark of Creation creating havoc, the Octopus was dead in the water, allowing Zac to activate his movement skill once more to create a commanding lead. However, the energy-dense waters were soon too much for Zac even when filled with energy from the berserking treasures, and he was forced to revert to his normal form. Thankfully, he had managed to create a distance of over two thousand meters by that point, but every hair on his head stood on end as he sensed an extremely powerful consciousness lock onto him.
The thick ink left by the Octopus shuddered and dissipated the next moment as half the horizon was replaced by a maw the size of a mountain. Zac peered into its depths, feeling just as weak as when he had gazed upon the true form of the Collector back then. Thankfully, he only had to gaze at that terrifying scene for an instant before the maw closed around the octopus, turning it into yet another appetizer.
Zac was in no mood to stick around, but his horror only mounted when he realized he was utterly unable to do so. It was like the whole Twilight Chasm had frozen solid. The furious currents were gone, no longer leaving lacerations across his body. It would normally have been a relief, but the terror in Zac's heart only mounted upon finding himself unable to as well. His arms were flailing and he was expelling huge amounts of Miasma to create momentum, but he didn't move an inch from the terrifying head that grew ever closer.
Thankfully, it didn't look like it was intent on ruthlessly gobbling him up like it did the octopus as the snake stopped a few hundred meters away from Zac. His whole vision was blocked out by the huge snout of the beast, and he felt his heart tighten as the sixteen eyes focused on him.
‘DRAUGR’ a booming voice echoed out in Zac's mind with enough power to make him puke out a mouthful of ichor. ‘WHERE ARE THE FORMATION FLAGS? RETURN THEM, AND YOU CAN LIVE’.
If being stared down by a primordial creature wasn't clue enough, Zac knew he was in deep shit the moment he heard it wanted its items back. Most likely, the array flags had been swallowed by the void with the rest of the treasures of the mountain range. His thoughts whirred, and he tried to see if he could lie his way out of this one. It hadn't ever worked so far, but he didn't have a lot of options at the moment.
“I am Arcaz Black from the Abyssal Shores. I don’t know what you’re speaking of. I was dragged down here just minutes ago because of some sort of earthquake. Help me reach the surface and the Empire will reward you. You are connected to the Twilight Lord, I’m sure he would appreciate gaining another friend among the Draugr,” Zac said with a bow, trying to mask his fear.
‘IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THEM, THEN YOU CAN JUST DIE,’ the earthshattering voice echoed out in Zac’s mind as the beast spat out a wave of destruction that rippled toward him.
“SAVE ME, AND I’ll PROVIDE ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PATTERN!” Zac roared at the top of his lungs, seeing no option but to turn to the only one who could save him right now.
The Beast King only snorted in response, but it froze as the whole chasm rumbled.
The world of darkness was suddenly illuminated by a golden hue as the sea turned into one of lightning. An aura of vast power, far eclipsing that of the snake, descended, and Zac knew his gambit had succeeded. He wasn’t trying to elicit help from The Twilight lord. He was looking for someone more reliable.
The System itself.
‘IMPOSSIBLE!’ the snake screeched, its voice filled with shock and dread.