Chapter 232: The Minds of Many (1/2)

As I charged forward, I lifted an arm. A singularity formed over the chest of Version 2.2. The Hybrid shot out sideways, evading the entirety of the annihilative explosion before dashing towards me. It slid across the sky with a vapor trail behind it. I shot myself sideways and met the monster's charge.

Except, it dodged my gravitational tackle. I slid past it as the Hybrid charged towards the gialgathens that flew from Polydra. I reached out a hand and released an enormous well of gravity. Chunks of stone from the city below floated into the sky, clouds above curving towards the well's center.

The pull slowed the Hybrid's charge forward before I shot towards my well. It spurred me onwards as I saturated mana in the well. Before impact, I soaked my frame in quintessence. An elemental bomb, I slammed into the side of the Hybrid. Two balls of metal, I ceased its direct charge towards the vulnerable refugees.

The Hybrid turned to me, opening a jagged maw. We whipped around the gravity well I powered before as I slammed my fist into the abomination's teeth. Orbiting the well like planets, we wrestled for some semblance of control over the other.

I matched the monster's strength for the most part, though its ability to jerk outdid me. Both of us struggled with the rotational combat fueled by the gravitational anchor. Using a swell of energy, the Hybrid shot a hard fist into my gut. Silver blood sprayed over its face. I drilled my armor into the creature out of anger.

It resisted my absorption, but for some reason, a glance of shock covered its face. It retaliated in kind, and the cords over its body attempted burrowing beneath my skin. My armor grinned, white light leaking out in a torrent. My metal skin heated until it glowed white. The sound of singing flesh sounded into the air as I opened the maw of my helm and chomped into the neck of the creature.

It grabbed my head and jerked backward. Tendrils of steel fell into the orbiting path we fought in. Other, lesser Hybrids assisted Version 2.2, but the flow of gravity overwhelmed them. Caught into their own orbitals, they whipped around a growing field of debris.

The city bled into this gravity well, collapsed chunks of buildings sucking into the expanding strata. Polydra and Giess's sky swirled behind Version 2.2 in my grasp, neither of us gaining any ground. I placed a hand onto its mouth, spawning raw quintessence into its body.

Before my mana formed, a psionic force crept into my mind. It tussled with the torrent, my mana wisping away into the ether. Extracting memories from my mind, the minds of many permeated my psyche with horrors. My hands shook in response, a volley of thoughts overwhelming my own.

Version 2.2 reached out a hand, a flaming sword of energy manifesting. Noble and blazing brightly, it contrasted the hideous visage that held the blade. Wielding it with experience, the Hybrids swung the edge in a tight arc. It sliced six inches into my chest before snapping. The remains of the sword flung out of the Hybrid's hand. I reached out an arm, spawning another well over the blazing blade. I snapped it back towards us, sinking it through the Hybrid's torso.

The weaker children of this monster grappled onto me from all sides as we fought. Converting Event Horizon over them, I suppressed the psionic onslaught with a vast wave of raw mana. Version 2.2 shuddered in response, the energy overwhelming it.

Its many cold and calculating eyes locked with mine as Version 2.2 shoved itself from my grasp. It flopped away from me while I grabbed and crushed the obnoxious Hybrids over me. They crumbled in my hands like an ant before a giant.

Whipping onto a chunk of broken building, I glanced around at the debris field. As if fighting on the rings of Saturn, I gazed at the awe-inspiring destruction. The moment passed as I gauged my surroundings.

An army of Hybrids swept up into the field. They spiraled along a growing center of compressed stone, metal, and corpses at the center of the gravity well. Along several initial orbits, clusters of debris crashed; tectonic booms radiated at each passing collision. With a grasp of the situation, I discovered Version 2.2's hiding spot.

It hid behind a chunk of rotating stone. It latched its hands into the outer edge of the rock, keeping it facing outward from the well's center. This kept it from exposing itself to me. Seeing through the hiding place, I pushed off the stone beneath me.

It crumbled to powder as I smashed through several floating stones on my path to Version 2.2. It waited for me. Slicing through its concealing cove, I crashed into its chest. I grabbed ahold of the creature, digging my hands into its wiry chest.

But the wires were gone. A set of crystalized mana covered its torso, the same armor Lehesion wore. As the gemstones shattered, psionic ripples echoed out in devastating waves. My eyes bled silver blood, and my teeth cracked in my mouth. The mental assault escalated, surface scans of my mind grating my nerves. It mirrored chewing broken glass, the sensation almost intolerable.

Taking advantage, the Hybrid, sliced at me with two more blazing swords. With the aim of a master, it sliced one blade at my neck and the other between my ribs. After snapping the edges like before, it swung the same weapons twice more. Each slash dug deep into my skin, leaving opened wounds and chunks of the sword behind.

In seconds, my body devoured the foreign steel, indulging in the meal. The wounds healed as quickly as the Hybrid made them. Once I stabilized from the psionic waves, I retaliated against the mental force. The telepathic tether rippled as the raw might of my mind crashed against them.

At the same time, I deflected the swords several times. Whoever piloted this Hybrid swung with the practiced composure of a teacher. They lacked the ferocity of a beast, however. In a way, its strikes were gentle, and its intentions were flawed. The innate hunger and monstrous instincts of its cousin, Version 2.0, weren't within this monster.

Even more so, I gained mass and strength in spades since then. My draining deluged its own abilities, and my regeneration exceeded what it showed thus far. If anything, I out-monstered it, my mettle and vitality unmatched.

It cornered me in its tactics, however. Most of this derived from a lack of expectation. I never imagined a Hybrid would use a mana field over itself that carried psionic explosions within. This lack of preparation on my part put me at a disadvantage.

Wielding my experience in battle, I shifted my tactics accordingly. This sword slinging Hybrid wanted slow, steady combat with periodic lulls. I swarmed the beast instead, giving it no time to plan or respite to relax.

Version 2.2 cleaved burning swords at angles aimed to kill. I deflected them using a shrug of my shoulder or the swing of my palm. Wielding less range, I closed the gap between us but maintained half an arm's length.

With shorter levers of attack, my strikes crossed the distance between us quicker. Each time I deflected a swing, I whipped a wild hook into its chest or face. These blows radiated out with the raw oomph of train wrecks. The impacted released waves of sound that shattered glass and ruptured eardrums.

The monster adjusted, tightening its strikes. The faster pace favored me, however. Both of us pushed our limits, each of us making mistake after mistake. With my regeneration exceeding the monsters, it built up damage over time.

This strategy collapsed as the Hybrid showed its full hand. A golden aura encompassed the creature, soaking all my strikes with ease. Within seconds, the Hybrid recuperated. This cycle continued, my inability to make a lasting dent apparent.

At the same time, the mental assault of this creature stalled my movements. Unlike the other mind mages, the insidious nature of this onslaught aimed at my weaknesses. It found the gaps in my will and the faults in my mentality. Memories of my failures, wells of guilt, the deaths of friends, these mages found the places where I hurt and pulled them to the surface. With each passing second, this mental blitz required more and more of my attention.

My physical control suffered as a result. The Hybrid's attacks, precise as when we started, ripped and tore through the shoddy defense I mustered. The tide of battle turning, I reached out a hand, ending the massive well suspending us. We fell towards the ground, Version 2.2 caught off guard. It fell off balance while I sliced into the dirt.