After the System, that platitude became a very literal thing. Humans, creatures, and otherwise that had known each other for long periods of time would be familiar with the other’s soul. It would almost be like a beacon to each other, bringing them back together through circumstance like fate. This didn’t only work for beings with positive relationships. Beings tied to each other through their souls would find each other again, be that a positive or negative relationship, unless one or both of them were dead. Mira and Arthur hadn’t known this, but their souls were bonded after their rest in the Secure Sector that happened over 24 hours ago.
That, however, wasn’t the only soul Arthur was bonded to. Becoming an abomination doesn’t fully kill the host, but traps the soul inside a dead body. It was the result of the recycling mentioned by the System for any creature that dies before leveling at least once. What it recycled and for what purpose, however, was a secret as ugly as the abominations they caused. A secret that stared down Arthur as it stomped its skeletal limbs, flesh hanging from its body like macabre party streamers. Its spines were rotten, and it roared at the duo with sharpened teeth that superimposed themselves on the beak-like teeth it’d previously had.
“…Arthur…?” Mira asked. She’d been watching him since he’d spoken the name. “What’s going on?” His eyes were wide and his brows furrowed in despair. His mouth was slightly ajar, gaping at the abomination across the room. To Mira, it was the same as any other abomination they’d faced in this horrible place. They’d fought pufferfish abominations before, and Arthur hadn’t had this reaction then. He’d freeze for a half-moment, but this was much worse, and she had no idea what was going on. The monsters gave her no time to find out, as all but one of the abominations charged, including the boss. The abomination that had previously been Puffy the Pufferfish continued stomping, letting out shrieks of aggression as it stared hungrily at the humans.
“ARTHUR?!” Mira shouted, readying her harpoon and placing Life Boons on them as the entire room approached. The room was rather large, leaving them a bit of space as the clutch of abominations grew closer, the sharktopus abomination at the front. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, disconnecting his sight from the thing he’d feared most. Determination washed away the wetness in his eyes as he opened them again, no trace of hesitation or reluctance remaining. Raising his trash-can lid, he prepared to meet the charging abominations.
The sharktopus reached Arthur before the other monsters did, crashing into his trash-can lid with all the force of its charge. Ever since gaining his Mighty Escutcheon passive, his trash-can lid had transformed into a shield with the toughness of a dozen inch thick steel wall. This was why when the sharktopus abomination crashed into it, sending Arthur sliding back several meters, he was shocked to see it severely dented. He had no time to contemplate that, however, as the other abominations in the room attacked him and Mira both in short order.
Arthur and Mira had been fighting abominations nearly nonstop since they’d met in the Secure Sector. Only being monsters with bone appendages, they had a limited method of attack. They gave a whole new meaning to the saying “there are only so many ways to swing a stick”, as their arsenal of attacks consisted almost entirely of stabs, downward swings, and the occasional bite. By now, Arthur and Mira both memorized their attack patterns like the back of their own hands. With deftness that could only come from adeptness, Arthur not only blocked the incoming catfish abomination’s strike, but parried it. As soon as it struck his shield, he swung it wide, leaving the monster’s roaring mouth open. A clever creature might’ve used their other arm to cover them, but abominations were not so. The Swordfish Fin came in a near horizontal swipe, slicing the grotesquery clean across the face.
While three abominations charged Arthur, the remaining two went after his partner. While Mira didn’t have the vast defensive capabilities of a trash-can lid, she was just as familiar with the monster’s attack patterns. More than that, she had dexterity that eclipsed Arthur’s own. With said dexterity, she was like a ghost between the abominations, landing Lightblades in between weaves. She’d placed Life Banes on the three that had attacked Arthur, and as they died, she reapplied it to the remainders as they continued to attack. By now, using her Conucopia skill every time it came off cooldown was a habit for her. A habit she continued to practice, as heartbeat after heartbeat pulsed through the battlefield, empowering her and Arthur while weakening the monstrosities.
Before long, the sharktopus made its move. A steaming hot jet of pressurized water shot towards Mira, who avoided it with an acrobatic leap backwards. It attempted to follow her trajectory, but when Arthur charged, it moved its water jet to him instead. Arthur had more abominations on him than Mira did, but he found many more openings than she did on account of them all being inflicted with the empowered Life Bane. Therefore, when the sharktopus abomination attacked her, he was able to disengage and charge the half-dead half-fish. As he did, he used a skill that released an aura across the battlefield.
[Challenging Moxie]: Expend a stack of [Audacity] to inflict [Enraged] on all enemies within 10 meters of you. Gain a stack of [Audacity] for every enemy inflicted with [Enraged].
While the skill’s effect didn’t ensnare the boss, the smaller abominations were not as resistant. Every one of them that was attacking the two gained a red taint to their eyes as they screeched and charged Arthur. As the sharktopus changed its target, Mira didn’t let a second waste. She pounced on one of the abominations that was targeting her, destroying it instantly with a merciless slash. Following up quickly, she lunged at the next abomination closest to it, killing that one as well. Within the time that Arthur had lifted his shield, blocked the jetstream of water, and gotten near the sharktopus, Mira had ended over half of the abominations that attacked them. Aiming to wipe that ledger clean, she attacked the other monsters as they chased after him.
Arthur, after blocking the pressurized stream of water, side-stepped out of its trajectory. It’d begun slowing him down, and his trash-can lid was heating up swiftly. As he got closer, the sharktopus prepared to meet him head on, charging forward with a roar as its water stream sputtered out. While Arthur wanted to stop its charge, he’d learned better from the clash earlier and dodged its charge with a horizontal slice. By now, Mira had killed both of the abominations chasing behind him, and broke off to flank the enormous entity. The entity in question used the tentacles from its lower body to attack Arthur, lashing at him while its shark head attempted to bite over and again. While his dexterity was not nearly as potent as his other physical stats, he was at least quick enough to avoid the vile undead maw. The tentacles of the octopus side of it, however, were another story altogether. They were fast and multitudinous, lashing and lunging at Arthur endlessly. He was forced to block or take the hits, with a good third of the lashing attacks landing. The pain wracked his body with each hit, but he was healed quickly after each one. The combination of his high defense, higher vitality, and Mira’s healing capabilities kept him in the fight as he brawled with the front of the sharktopus abomination, with Mira targeting its side and back. Tentacles swung at her too, but not being the monster’s main target, they were slower and easier to dodge or maneuver.
Arthur blocked swings and dodged bites, swinging lashes of his own at the tentacles whenever he could. Cutting them off could prove to be a boon to them and lessen the pressure. He gained a Lifeguard shield on him occasionally, which he supplemented with his own skill, Not Today. The True Heart of Devotion allowed him to use it more liberally than he normally would’ve been able to, and he made full use of it. Even with that, however, his shields were ripped away constantly like used band-aids as he failed to be fast enough again and again. If he had a more normal amount of defense or vitality, he would’ve already been dead. Mira, on the other hand, finally found the chance to truly test the limits of her damage dealing capabilities.
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[Savage Barrage]: Aggressively strike an enemy with many hits. Damage scales off of melee damage, with the last strike inflicting [Fear] on the opponent. Duration of [Fear] scales off of magical damage.
With her strength stat well over two hundred, Savage Barrage had the work efficiency of a honeybee on an energy drink. It tore into the oversized abomination with ease, its skin parting like butter met with a chainsaw. Seeing her in action, Arthur used another stack of Audacity to empower his Intricacies of Exaltation skill.
Expend a stack of [Audacity] to grant allies increased stamina and mana regeneration, as well as offensive skill cooldown. No cooldown.
While Exaltation had many passive effects, One of its only activated effects was to give his allies greater potency in battle. Even without the other boosts she would’ve gained from it, the offensive skill cooldown boost vastly empowered Mira. It allowed her to use Savage Barrage and Lightblade Song with concerning alacrity, which she took full advantage of.
The sharktopus, however, was even more concerningly unaffected by it. It was on the receiving end of Barrage and Lightblade constantly, with a Life Bane at full power on it on top of that. Even with all of that, though, its massive health pool was hardly compromised. It lashed away at Arthur, attempting a bite every so often to catch him slipping. Finally, Arthur made a swing for where he thought the shark would bite next, attempting to make a critical strike.
The shark bit the Swordfish Fin, shattering it instantly.
Arthur stared in disbelief at the broken blade in his hand. It had given almost no resistance, breaking like glass under the immeasurable bite force of the sharktopus. While Arthur was shocked by the turn of events, the abomination made for another bite aimed at his head. Barely ducking it, he failed to block or dodge the following lash from a large tentacle, dealing heavy damage. It’d broken at least several ribs, and as Arthur clutched at his side in pain, another barrage of tentacles made its way to him. Blocking only some of them, more and more made it through. He lost chunks of HP at alarming rates.
Just then, a figure landed on top of the sharktopus’ head. It used its spindled bone legs to stab at the shark’s face, with one of the abomination’s legs meeting the shark’s only good eye. As it roared in pain, the pufferfish abomination continued stabbing at it, screeching and gnashing its misshapen teeth. Overcome with emotions from seeing his friend come to his aid, Arthur fell to his knee, the pain of the previous tentacle barrage ripping through him. As he coughed up a bit too much blood to be normal, Mira took advantage of the opening made by Puffy. After releasing another pulse of Cornucopia, she detonated the Life Boon on Arthur.
[Cornucopia]: Release a pulse to heal all allies in area of influence for a very small amount. Healing scales off of magical damage. Allies with the [Life Boon] buff have their [Life Boon] refreshed and slightly empowered to a maximum of 5 stacks.
[Life Boon]: Grants healing over time. Grants debuff resistance. Can be detonated for a burst of healing, removing the buff and removing 1 debuff from the recipient.
The healing flooded Arthur, easing his pain and knitting his broken skin and bones back together. Finally able to reenter the battle, he looked up.
The sharktopus knocked the pufferfish abomination off of its head with a tentacle and caught it in its teeth. With the pufferfish screeching, it began crunching down on it, tearing it apart with each bite.
With a horrified face, he yelled as he slammed against the abomination. All traces of caution was thrown to the side as he attempted to stab at the shark head over and over with the broken nub of the Swordfish Fin. The blade shattered further, and the pufferfish abominations’ screeches turned to wet gurgles as Arthur threw it aside. His fist slammed into the shark’s head repeatedly, screaming while he rained down blows. His fist tore and became bloody, the sharkskin ripping it asunder as it continued crunching on the pufferfish. Even so, Arthur didn’t even think of stopping as the sharktopus finished its meal. The punches had little to no effect on the tyrannical abomination, and after the last of Puffy’s bones fell to the ground, a tentacle finally addressed Arthur with a spray of ink right in his face. Blinded but not discouraged, he lunged again with his barely recognizable fist, only to be met by the same tentacle as it slammed him and sent him flying away.
Arthur crashed to the ground with a tumble before sliding to a stop. Everything hurt, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The exhibition of his friend being chewed to pieces was seared into his mind like a 3rd degree sunburn. Staggering to his feet, his bleary eyes looked towards the hated shark-octopus monster. It was pressing Mira, its many tentacles swinging for her, but most of them missing. She was dodging, but with the full focus of the abomination, her dominance wouldn’t last. There were simply too many tentacles that were simply too fast.
Arthur’s legs felt like he was standing on pool noodles, bending and waving as he tried to keep his balance. The rapid amounts of both healing and damage he’d taken made him feel woozy. His eyes focused, and he forced his legs to move into a stumbling run. His legs protested, his breath heavy and wheezing. He forced his body to continue. Looking at the battle between the sharktopus and Mira again, he noticed it was beginning to turn. The abomination was using tentacles to shoot jetstreams of boiling water, while other tentacles lashed towards her and attempted to catch her out with ink. The shark head bit towards her as much as it could, with its bone appendages also stabbing at her. Its scales even left its body in strange slashing motions, attempting to cut at her. The sharktopus abomination brought everything out of its arsenal to land as many blows as it could muster against the spectral lance user, yet still only landed hits every so often, and never in vital areas. Mira’s face was twisted in concentration as she danced on the razorblade of death. She dodged and weaved, landing a strike in retaliation against a tentacle or an appendage every second.
Despite Mira’s vast dexterity stat, however, she was just as new to life and death battle as Arthur was. They’d fought many abominations, but never on a level as the sharktopus. She was never trained with a lance and had never fought anything so large yet fast. Hits from the sharktopus began landing more and more often, Mira’s face of concentration gradually turning into one of savage desperation. Arthur willed his legs to move faster, but with dismay, realized he was already moving as fast as his current dexterity would allow. Running with all he had, he knew he would be too late. Mira was taking regular hits now, her health taking huge chunks, only to be replenished almost right away. Lifeguard shields covered her as often as she could muster, with Arthur being out of range of his own shield abilities. Though she was healing through the constant damage, the chunks were taking out more and more of her health bar. It was clear that soon she would be unable to heal through the damage.
Mira fought back viciously, her ice-princess temperament completely gone. A sneer of tenacity, wrath and defiance was painted across her face as much as her own blood, as she gave as good as she got. Tentacles struck, turning porcelain skin black and blue with bruises and broken bones, while a blazing white harpoon tore and pierced rotten flesh. Every hit the abomination landed, got it two in return. Both of them knew it wouldn’t last, and if this continued, Mira would die too. As he ran, Arthur’s eyes grew wide with horror as he saw her taking hit after devastating hit. A familiar fire spread throughout his body.
Title
[Heart of Devotion]
Activated
He rocketed toward the abomination, his sprint gaining far more speed than before. With all the momentum he gathered, he crashed into the abomination’s side with a resounding thud, shield first. The abomination didn’t go flying like Arthur had hoped, but it did move. With a surprised and pained yelp, it staggered to the side, stumbling and limping back in a circle to face the now emerald glowing Arthur. He went to Mira, who’d fallen on her harpoon in exhaustion. Helping her up, he noticed he’d been just in time, but just as quickly, she healed up to her max. Looking at Arthur, she nodded. Her hair was a mess, and she was covered in her own blood. Arthur looked toward the abomination again, who was pacing around them slowly, a low growl emitting from its nonexistent throat. Mira, who’d regained her own footing, stared the monster down with him.
“We aren’t doing enough… I have a plan, but it’s going to be risky…” she said. Arthur looked at her, and she told him what she wanted him to do. Afterwards, Arthur recoiled and looked at Mira as though she grew another head.
“What? Will that even work? How will we even get such an opportunity?” Arthur practically shouted.
“I will handle that! Just do what I told you!” she said back, her eyes not leaving the sharktopus. For the first time in the fight, it wasn’t charging in blindly. For the first time, it looked hesitant as it stared at Arthur’s iridescent form, tentacles lashing at the ground as it growled. Arthur’s face hardened, his glimmering eyes boring into the boss monster.
“Fine. Just don’t do anything too dangerous!” He said, before barreling towards the enormous abomination. It almost seemed to back away as it roared at Arthur, who had Mira directly behind him. It was time for round two.