Chapter 581 (2/2)

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Yystrix had prepared extensively for the eventuality of her own demise. In a way, Thea had intuited that Yystrix had expected the incarnation of herself near Randidly Ghosthound would eventually be destroyed. Thea had been surprised to find that several incarnations had gathered together and merged in this Zone on Earth. Although they left behind their own experiments, none were as effective as the one here.

They were here for one reason: to watch the effect of Randidly Ghosthound.

She still wanted to lose against the Calamity, of course. But after spending a lot of time following her orders, Thea began to realize that they didn’t truly know why. Perhaps the main body did, but the incarnations were a profoundly lopsided thing. They possessed incredible problem solving and skill in manipulating Aether, but they clearly had no sense of narrative. The minor threats they threw against humanity would just make them stronger.

Which made Thea believe for the longest time they truly were here to help humanity, and specifically Randidly Ghosthound. But then the orders came down as to how Thea was supposed to engage Randidly Ghosthound.

When he is encountered, avoid him. His greatest weakness is the fact he is one man. Strike where he is not.

Which was, in a way, very true. It led to the attacks on Donnyton’s mines and the different Zone 1 political figures. In the short term, it provided diplomatic turmoil and made both sides less willing to ally with each other. But it completely flummoxed Thea. Did this mean she was wrong? Was Yystrix truly not attempting to help Randidly?

Because there was one thing Thea knew, or at least Chrysanthemum did, and Thea trusted that information implicitly, for all Chrysanthemum had been changed by that spectral fire.

Yystrix was slowly getting weaker.

It wouldn’t happen so quickly that it would likely affect the outcome of the Calamity. But it was… disturbing for Thea. Chrysanthemum’s life was now tied to Yystrix. But what could she do now? She had no other choice.

Which was why Thea was very agitated when Randidly attacked. One moment he was simply standing there, and then the next he produced his strange plant companions that acted as weapon and armor. His body was shrouded in a strange ashy looking carbon that absorbed impact better than anything Thea had ever seen. His weapon looked like a trimmed sapling; there were even leaves poking off of the shaft of the spear. And it could cut through almost anything.

The Obsidian Prince instantly moved to block Randidly’s attack, but he was way too slow. Randidly’s body blurred mid-air and he was abruptly charging towards Father Foster with his spear raised.

Swearing quietly, Thea flashed a hand signal at Father Foster. But the idiot ignored the symbol and rushed to meet him. True, Father Foster was fast and strong. All of the insights and epiphanies they had about the transplantation of Skills was assembled in Father Foster’s body. Although she didn’t have an exosuit like the weaker versions, she possessed just as much power, without the downside of the downtime those suits required.

Her body blurred as she punched towards Randidly. Almost a dozen passive Skills were no doubt activating at full bore, filling her with power. Her fist swam around Randidly’s spear and arrived before his chin. Then he seemed to accelerate, and suddenly Father Foster’s arm was on the ground and his spear was rushing towards her heart.

Chrysanthemum arrived with a wave of water and steam, knocking Randidly away from his very near successful attempt to kill Father Foster. Chrysanthemum’s paw smashed outward, but Randidly was already gone. He was way too fast to be caught by counterattacks from Chrysanthemum; her body was just too large.

But the Obsidian Duke had caught up with Randidly and used his obsidian battleax to attempt to bisect Randidly. Everyone but Thea was caught by surprise when Randidly didn’t dodge at all and simply allowed the blow to crack against his armor. The Obsidian Duke staggered from the reverberations, and the armor cracked and splintered, but didn’t break.

And as everyone watched, the cracks began to heal.

Now, Randidly wasn’t the only one who could weather damage, but the Obsidian Duke’s powers of regeneration were more than outclassed by the other man. And it was only Thea’s arrival that kept the Duke from being completely whittled down in one burst of stabs and slashes. Her hammer smashed into Randidly’s back and sent him a step forward from the impact. He had clearly known the blow was arriving, but how hard she could hit took him by surprise.

He turned and looked at her, and Thea wanted to shiver. The very air around him was twisting and sparking from his strange Skills. His very presence was a weight that pressed them into the ground.

This was why Father Foster couldn’t match him, even though she had all the best Skills they could find in the Zone. This was why Yystrix was fascinated by him. This was why their main plan of engagement was to avoid him.

Because Randidly Ghosthound was more powerful than almost all of the rest of the world combined right now.

As Thea was smashed backward by a brutal thrust with the butt of his spear, she prayed their reinforcements would arrive in time.