Jason’s current speed was incomparable to a month ago. It wasn’t because his agility rose significantly but because he used Burst to its full potential. Burst was one of Jason’s first Battle Skills, and it consumed Battle Energy to speed up an action. He thought there was nothing left to learn, but when he spent the past month delving into Battle Energy and its mysteries, a question came to him: what qualified as an action?
The answer was shocking: a single muscle fiber was enough to activate the skill. Jason didn’t have enough control over his body to manipulate his muscles by each fiber, yet this newfound understanding of Burst changed everything.
That was why when Aamon’s eyes dulled for a fraction of a second, Jason seemed to have teleported. The lifting of his leg, the bending of his knee, the downward pushing force. Something previously considered one action became twenty.
Funnily, Jason had a habit of shouting the skills he used in his mind, so if someone were to eavesdrop, all they’d hear was: Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst!
By the time Aamon recovered, Jason was already in front of the demon, his Legacy Sword swinging down with oppressive speed. Since Aamon was twice as tall as Jason, Jason used Battle Energy to extend his reach. Otherwise, all he’d hit was Aamon’s legs.
Aamon found Jason’s sudden appearance surprising, yet that was all. The demon reached out as Essence solidified on his hand to form thin scale-like armor. As arrogant as ever, Aamon intended to grab Jason’s sword.
Jason’s eyes narrowed as Aamon’s fingers clamped down. The muscles on Jason’s upper arm, forearm, wrist, and fingers twitched in small groups.
Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst! Burst!
The Legacy Sword defied physics as it zigzagged to avoid Aamon’s hand. In the next moment, pitch-black blood sprayed through the air as a half-inch cut appeared across Aamon’s chest.
Shock flashed across Aamon’s eyes before anger took over. His outstretched hand closed into a fist as he punched down at Jason’s head. In response, Jason lifted his shield, activated one of its skills, and bent his knees. The stance was perfect for absorbing force from above.
The collision between fist and shield created a ring-like shockwave that exploded with such force Jason sank several feet into the ground, or rather, the ground sank with him. Jason’s legs buckled under the blow and nearly shattered. Aamon fared no better. The 50% damage reflection from Jason’s shield's skill made the demon shed even more blood.
Although Jason and Aamon took center stage, there were more actors at play.
When Jason took Aamon’s punch, a hundred dagger-like feathers sprang out from behind Jason like the wings of a peacock. Created from one of Wekkin’s runes, Dubaku manipulated the feathers to slice across Aamon’s body.
At the same time, Eok suddenly appeared at Aamon’s feet. The storm ant bit the demon’s heel and tore out a mouthful of flesh. Not only that, Shenlong’s spear pierced space and burrowed into Aamon’s neck, but not before Olivia flew out of the spear’s shadow and left a mark to increase the damage dealt.
Up in the air, Amara split into four transparent bodies, each made from a different element. With her talent, each clone quadruple cast. In a second, sixteen spells went off without a hitch. The water clone froze Aamon’s limbs, the earth clone sent small meteors into Aamon’s chest, and the last two clones worked together to create a fusion spell: Inferno. A fiery tornado covered Aamon’s body to cut and burn his skin.
Meanwhile, Roy, Carly, and Tank topped off Jason’s Health as soon as Aamon’s fist struck. As for Lavos, he was communing with the spirits to cast a spell that wouldn’t finish anytime soon. Sersa should have attacked, but a quick look over would explain why she didn’t. Fixi appeared to have lost his mind, and since Sersa was the closest, it attacked her without regard for its life.
All of this happened instantly.
Everyone worked together with impeccable coordination to shave off several million of Aamon’s health. From Jason drawing Aamon’s attention to Dubaku, Shenlong, and the others attacking, it was all done without communication. Their trust in each other was worthy of admiration.
Aamon reached this conclusion with a cold and calculating mind. It was not anger that exposed him to their attacks nor rage that left him vulnerable. He was testing their technique, their teamwork, and their threat levels. Now, that time had passed.
Aamon’s body abruptly vibrated for a split moment to shatter the frost magic binding him. Then, he twirled and went for his first target, the storm ant.
Eok suddenly felt death approach and burrowed underground. Unexpectedly, Aamon’s entire arm drilled into the ground and grabbed Eok’s head before it could descend too deep. With a jerk, Aamon pulled the storm ant up. The demon grabbed Eok’s lower body with his free hand then slammed his knee into the storm ant’s torso. The force from the blow pushed the air away on the other side of the ant’s body, so it was easy to imagine the state of the storm ant.
As Dubaku, Shenlong, and Amara attacked from afar, Aamon remained unconcerned and tossed Eok aside as if it were trash. The storm ant hit the ground, motionless. In the next moment, black gas exuded from Aamon’s pores to form thin scale armor.
It was not an item.
Like Battle Energy was to Jason, Essence was to Aamon. With 56% Essence control, Aamon could create armor or weapons with Essence just as powerful as Shenlong’s Divine grade spear. It took Aamon years to learn this skill. To form and maintain Essence in such intricate and complex shapes was a burden, even for him.
Aamon smiled at Jason, who pulled away as Dubaku’s daggers left sparks and Amara’s spells fell harmlessly. However, his smile stiffened when Shenlong’s spear crushed a few scales. The demon looked over to the spear master. “You’re next.”
Chapter 76
Jason’s team kicked things into second gear as soon as the demon declared his intent to target Shenlong, especially Dubaku, Amara, and Olivia.
The scales covering Aamon were incredibly dense and tenacious, so Dubaku wasn’t able to break through the demon’s defenses unless he used stronger skills. However, even if he consumed every point of stamina, it would only shave off a few million of Aamon’s health. Realizing this, Dubaku suddenly had an idea. He’d use a quarter of his daggers to target Aamon’s eyes while the rest obscured his companion's attacks like a screen.
Dubaku’s shift in tactics annoyed Aamon to no end. It was like having a swarm of flies buzzing around you. Utterly harmless, yet irritating nonetheless.
Unlike Dubaku, Amara didn’t have energy problems and possessed a plethora of spells. No one had more versatility than her. To prove it, her earth, fire, and water clones pointed at Aamon’s feet, where a sickly green bubble abruptly expanded and popped. The resulting spray of bile covered a quarter of Aamon’s body, and whatever the corrosive liquid touched began to sizzle. To Aamon’s dismay, no matter how much he tried to wipe off the spell, it was useless. The bile stuck to him like glue.
Amara named this skill Troll Snot. It was one of her few triple-fusion spells that dealt continuous damage and lowered the defense of the affected regions by 50%. Her wind clone didn’t remain idle, either. Amara used a support-type skill for the first time, giving Dubaku’s daggers an increased penetrative effect.
Who Aamon found most annoying wasn’t these two. It was Olivia. She used the shadows from Dubaku’s daggers to teleport around Aamon at such speeds he couldn’t retaliate in the slightest. What frustrated the demon were the small marks she left behind with every slap. Each mark allowed attacks at that location to bypass 70% of his defense.
Jason’s team suppressed Aamon for some time. Their skillset allowed them to handle any situation. No matter if the opponent was fast, tanky, or stealthy, they had methods to deal with it.
Aamon, for the first time, found himself utterly outclassed. Although he was faster, stronger, and sturdier, the synergy between Jason’s team leveled the playing field. Only when Aamon’s
Health dropped below 80% did he reluctantly accept this fact. The demon swallowed his pride, and as much as it shamed him, he stopped trying to avoid every attack thrown his way.
Like an enraged bull, Aamon took on Shenlong’s spear with a grunt as he charged forward, with each step shattering the ground. The demon ran in a straight line towards Shenlong, using his insanely high Health to his advantage.
“Face me!” Jason blocked Aamon’s path and used a taunt skill, yet as a mutant, Aamon was practically immune to such skills.
When the two collided, Aamon knocked Jason aside with a backhanded slap. A few steps later, the demon towered over Shenlong. At the last moment, Shenlong used his first rune and teleported to safety. While Aamon could copy Shenlong’s rune and follow the spear master, the demon instead sped up. Ahead of him was Carly, now exposed after Shenlong fled.
The female healer was his true target!
Aamon was no fool, and during his many years fighting under Vex, he’d come across many creatures with healing abilities. They were the backbone of any group. Only an idiot would target Shenlong first.
Carly’s face paled as the demon appeared before her. A single attack from Aamon would fatally wound her, something she couldn’t allow. During this critical moment, Carly used the rune she’d acquired from Wekkin and warped to safety. With a sneer, Aamon did the same. The situation remained unchanged. Aamon’s claws swiped down, stinging Carly’s face before they even arrived.
Just before Aamon turned her skull into paste, Carly sank into the ground. Aamon turned and locked onto the healer, now some two hundred feet away. Olivia stood behind her before vanishing once more.
“Hmm, that’s a troublesome ability.” Aamon clicked his tongue as he dodged a flame lance from Amara. As the demon considered his options, his instincts suddenly warned him of a fatal attack. Astonished, Aamon glanced up and gaped in amazement at what he saw.
A magical array with over twenty layers rotated about in the sky. Each level of this massive construct grew wider the higher it went. The first layer, which hovered just above the battlefield, was at most five feet wide, while the topmost layer was over a thousand feet wide.
Farther up floated Lavos, behind which hovered a translucent spirit ten thousand feet tall, its presence so mighty and vast the space around it continuously collapsed. For a fraction of a second, the spirit glowed brighter than a star, after which both it and Lavos dissipated into nothing.
At that moment, the topmost layer captured the light exuded by the spirit and funneled it into the array below. The light compressed again and again until finally, it resembled a line. At that point, the light was so bright it seemed to be the only thing in existence.
As soon as Aamon looked up in response to his instincts, the attack struck. A reverberating hum rang out as the laser instantly pierced through Aamon and into the earth below.
Everyone froze in astonishment, too shocked to follow up their attacks. Forget about the laser; Lavos had disappeared from their Domains, much like a monster would upon its death. The elderly minotaur who had guided, taught, eaten, and laughed with them died so suddenly.
Amara was perplexed. What spell was so powerful Lavos needed to consume his life to activate it?
A glance at Aamon told enough.
The demon stood motionless as smoke rose from the giant hole starting at his upper chest down to his lower back. The laser penetrated his defenses without the slightest resistance. Not only were Aamon’s heart and some organs missing, his Health dropped to 45%.
“That wasn’t worth it at all.” Jason clenched his teeth after confirming Lavos was gone. Did the minotaur have such little faith in them?
After a few moments of silence, dense black mist exploded from Aamon’s body. Essence folded and combined to create a complex and savage set of armor covered in spikes. Simultaneously, Aamon’s body cracked and groaned as he grew a size larger while a long scorpion-like tail sprouted from his lower spine.
“Heh, heh, heh.” Aamon’s voice now sounded deep and distorted, as if he was speaking from some distant dimension. Essence burned like fire around him as he swayed from side to side. There was a certain madness around him now, a sort of lust for violence and carnage.
Aamon decided it was time to end this.
Chapter 77
The Essence burning around Aamon grew more intense with every passing second. It collapsed, receded, folded in on itself, exploded, and solidified all at once. It was full of life, rage, and malice, something Jason thought impossible. He thought energy was static, unmoving, dead.
But now wasn’t the time to learn from Aamon’s impressive control.
Although the demon’s Health had fallen to 45%, he was more dangerous than ever. His stats were probably over 7,500 now. If Aamon could slap Jason aside before, it was unlikely Jason could stop him now. The difference in stats wasn’t easy to overcome.
Aamon released a long, deep growl as he locked onto Carly in the distance. Then, he leaned forward. Just when he was about to fall flat on his face, the ground shattered. Rubble flew everywhere as Aamon crossed thirty feet with every step. Only Jason, Shenlong, and Dubaku could barely follow the demon with their eyes. The rest had to rely on other means.
Olivia appeared behind Carly as soon as Aamon moved, but she underestimated the demon’s speed. It took half a second to pull Carly into her shadow. What was once quick became too slow, and Aamon arrived after only a quarter of a second. The demon’s posture was low as his claws swung across after taking into account their descent.
Just then, Shenlong’s spear pierced space and collided with Aamon’s wrist, knocking it slightly off course. The trajectory of Aamon’s attack sank, now threatening to cleave apart Carly’s torso. Alas, the spearmaster’s strength was just too low to affect Aamon significantly. Regardless if it was her neck or torso, death was the only result.
At the last moment, a razor-thin blade a hundred feet long slammed into Aamon from the left, sending him flying like a ragdoll. It was Jason’s strongest attack: Guillotine!
Aamon landed with a tumble not far away, then kicked off, seemingly unharmed. Before Jason and the others could react, Aamon appeared before Carly just as she disappeared into her shadow. Unperturbed, Aamon changed directions and charged, giving the others no time to relax.
A second later, as soon as Carly appeared two hundred feet away, Aamon greeted her with a smile. The healer could only Warp to safety even though she knew it was useless. As expected, Aamon copied Carly’s rune and Warped to her new position, only for Guillotine to cut down from above.
Aamon roared and raised both arms to block. With the property of ignoring 90% of the target’s defense, Guillotine successfully cut through Aamon’s armor and drew blood. But that was it. As soon as Guillotine dissipated, Aamon’s armor repaired itself under his control. Shenlong, Dubaku, and Amara followed up with attacks, yet Aamon ignored them entirely.
Even with two teleports and all sorts of skills, the team couldn’t stop Aamon from slicing through Carly’s chest like a knife through butter. Blood and flesh flew through the air as Carly skipped across the ground.
Instead of pursuing another target, Aamon stood still as he inspected his hand. Carly’s blood only coated a portion of his claws. With a frown, he looked up and watched Carly stand to her feet. Nasty gashes covered her chest, which instantly disappeared after Roy and Tank healed her.
“How?” Aamon voiced his confusion. Truly, he had no idea how Carly survived his attack. Cloth and leather made up her armor, something he ripped apart with ease. Her flesh, on the other hand, felt like an unbreakable wall. Aamon’s instincts gave him an accurate grasp of people’s stats, so he knew Carly couldn’t possibly have survived that attack by herself.
Only one possibility remained: an Ultimate rune!
They were something he couldn’t copy, but sensing them wasn’t impossible. Aamon controlled Essence, and Essence formed all runes. Thus, as his senses stretched to the limit, he vaguely determined the
Ultimate runes' effects around him. Aamon turned around and clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I see. You share your defense with your allies. That’s one of the best Ultimate runes I’ve seen.”
“Thanks,” Jason replied in between deep breaths. He’d used Burst hundreds of times to keep up with Aamon for Unity to remain in range no matter who Aamon targeted. Using Burst a few times wasn’t expensive, but hundreds of times? The skill quickly drained all of Jason’s Battle Energy and forced him to use his Health instead. As a result, just keeping pace with Aamon dropped his Health to 90%. Thankfully, Roy and Tank filled it up right after, so he effectively had infinite Battle Energy.
“Ahh.” Aamon rubbed his helmet in frustration. “Let me guess, if I fight you, you’ll struggle with all you have, using numerous defensive skills and that massive shield of yours to stay alive. Not only that, you have three people to heal you up.”
“Uh, that sounds right.” Even Jason felt embarrassed when Aamon put it like that. But what about it? It was a valid and honest strategy!
Aamon pointed at Carly and the others. “And if I target them, you’ll just follow after me, right?”
“Definitely!”
“Uh-huh.” Aamon touched his chin as his helmet smiled as if it were alive. “I wonder how long you can keep up? I mean, what if you fall behind by a step? Wouldn’t someone die?”
“I won’t let that ha—”
Aamon raised a hand and interrupted Jason. “I get it. I’ve seen your type. No need to go on and on.”
Aamon would always try and provoke his opponents, but people like Jason only used it as fuel to strengthen their resolve. It was annoying, so instead of mental games, it was better to use brute strength. It was a simple strategy, yet Jason’s team couldn’t afford to make a single mistake. Aamon was just too strong.
“Try and keep up, kid.” Aamon suddenly sprinted towards Roy at full speed. Unlike Carly, Roy didn’t have a teleport skill, something Aamon had noticed earlier.
Towers of Heaven: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 3) Page 34