Chapter 1482 (2/2)

”That's the punishment for springing this on me,” the Ghosthound announced as he spun to look at them all. ”But it will help me finish something that I've been working on for a while. When I catch you, I'll be taking a bit of your mental energy. You'll recover, but it will put you out of commission for a few days. Still want to continue?”

He hasn't even used his image yet, not really, Huang Li thought. But as he did so, Alana Donal spoke and reframed the issue. ”The Ghosthound is so exhausted that he cannot even muster his images in his defense. He’s bleeding. This is our chance.”

Tykes roared and heaved his massive iron ball toward the Ghosthound's back.

*****

Randidly had used the opportunity where he had contact with Giuliana's skull to absorb a portion of her memories into the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night. As soon as she had been caught, there was a sudden surrender to her will to fight that was enough of a permission for the Dreamcatcher. He didn't know much about her, but she did possess enough power to make it to the top 8 duos on Earth. They might have made it even farther, too, if they hadn't run into Alana and Wivanya, who would go on to be the champions.

So he figured he would try it. And the experiment turned out to be a success: he earned another Level for his Fatepiece through it.

On the flip side, his 'ambushers' appeared somehow incensed by the fact that he knocked her out so quickly. Which, Randidly thought seemed somewhat unfair, considering that the punishment was a relatively light one, considering the zeal with which they were launching full-strength attacks at him.

Still, Randidly couldn't help but smile; this was an entirely different sort of challenge than the fights against Kaan Swacc. And Alana was right. After his extended training sessions this week, he really was near the end of his endurance. Even if the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera could occasionally be summoned for heavier effectiveness, he was largely just fighting against these people relying on his physical capabilities.

Which meant that the would from Hank’s bullet was a genuinely troublesome one, considering it continued to burn at the surrounding flesh of his shoulder. Once more, he ruthlessly prevented Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix from participating in this duel: this fight was the Grim Chimera's.

Yet Randidly’s only response when Tykes picked up his gratuitously large iron ball and toss it over at his back was joy. Once more, his left arm spasmed painfully and transformed into the taloned claw of the Grim Chimera. But this time when he should have deftly snatched the ball out of the air, Randidly grasped nothing; the ball in front of him shattered into pieces of glass and Donny was there with his shield raised.

Randidly swiped his hand sideways to smash Donny away, but Donny still managed to punch forward with his shield and hit the spot in his shoulder that, even now, burned as the image ate away at his physically condensed images. The physical impact made it worse. Randidly released a hiss of pain that came out as a blast of steam.

Congratulations! Your Skill Abomination’s Grim Vigor (M) has grown to Level 338!

Randidly swayed sideways to avoid Donny’s follow up slash and then stepped sharply forward to avoid the immense saber wielded by Lucifer. Other figures blurred around him, seeking the opportunity to strike; it seemed that Alana’s words had invigorated them. But his eyes found Dinesh’s figure at the back of the group. Heh, as long as I can shatter your Domain… well, maybe that a little unrealistic right now.

The Grim Chimera was a starving camel, unable to bear Randidly’s weight should he try and flex his Willpower. Which just meant he had to beat this the old fashioned way. By eliminating his foes one by one. He would need to ignore the replacement effects for now.

Paolo and Kayle struck at Randidly first, Paolo throwing a full-swinged punch while Kayle approached with his precise strikes. Randidly could feel Paolo’s steadily growing fury, likely as a result of him simply enduring his prior punch to land a strike. Randidly pressed his lips together and wove Acri’s tip in a figure eight while he considered his next move. These two were a problem. Both because their images were strong enough to wound the convalescent Grim Chimera and because they were relatively sturdy. He wouldn’t be able to make any headway without taking some risks.

Kayle’s knife cut into the back of Randidly’s thigh while Paolo’s punch slammed into his wounded shoulder. Randidly swayed and then thrust his spear toward Paolo’s chest. His lips twitched; his right shoulder was getting slightly stiff, slowing his attack somewhat. He would need to monitor that going forward.

Upon impact, Paolo shattered as Randidly had expected. But he hadn’t expected the person who now appeared in front of him: it was Lyra again, cradling a swirling orb of red-violet fire. A viscous, liquid energy raged back and forth, seeking to break from the bounds that Lyra imposed upon it.

Lyra winked at him and then opened her hands. “The Promised Radiance.”

Image and energy swam together and became a battering ram of liquid lightning that struck Randidly’s chest with enough force to send him tumbling backward. Perhaps due to the time she had to charge the attack, the destructive force even took Randidly by surprise. He even wondered, had his body not endured the worst of it, whether the walls of this cavern would have been able to handle it.

But the structure of the Grim Chimera meant that these sorts of attacks could be overcome directly.

He sprung back up to his feet, aching but none the worse for wear, and scowled as he felt himself shattering and reforming somewhere else. His new location was directly in front of a snarling Lucifer. “Lucifer Slash!”

Perhaps because he started with the spot where Hank’s bullet burned in Randidly’s shoulder and slashed downward, he opened up almost the entirety of Randidly’s chest. To endure the blow, Randidly forced down the complaints of his mind and condensed entirely as the Grim Chimera. So instead of blood… fire flickered out of the edges of the wound. The ember of the destroyed world was revealed, releasing waves of crackling energy in the surroundings.

Wounded like this, Randidly had an epiphany about the Grim Chimera. He began to laugh. “Yea… this is fun, isn’t it?”