Chapter 251: Mad Hammer
Chapter 251: Mad Hammer
Chapter 251: Mad Hammer
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The sudden bright light dimmed as a moment passed, and the Zerathar regenerated in a different position.
'So it can move its Aether core wherever it wants...'
'At once then.'
Emir, who gestured for Ragnar to focus, immediately realized that he had to destroy its entire body if he wanted to kill it.
A feat that would require everything they had.
Chuckling, he looked back at where the monster appeared.
What awaited it was a portal, as Ragnar was nearby, ready for the kill.
It easily escaped his attack and jumped back, only to meet Emir's swords hovering right before its head.
BANG!
A multitude of swords materialized between them, and they were used to block Emir's attack but the Zerathar couldn't handle the momentum of Emir's Flash Step, so they flew together as The held it in place.
"Emir."
It took a moment and Emir realized what Ragnar had in mind.
"Alright!"
Using his twin swords and leveraging his entire body strength, he started pushing the Tyrant towards the location where Ragnar had set his trap, his hands shaking as he struggled to overpower the monster.
'I just need to bring a bit more to the right!'
Yet it figured out his plan, eyes at the back of its head, and kept them on a path it knew was safe, showing off its strength.
"Hah."
A moment passed, and they crashed onto the ground, cracking the darkness beneath them. Unfortunately, their plan failed, as Ragnar couldn't spawn a portal where they landed.
After all, the bearded man could only conjure portals in locations where he once was...
For a 'Mark' was needed.
However, that didn't matter in the end, as Emir adapted and created multiple Aetheric spears right beneath them.
"Ughh..."
They punctured the Zerathar from one end to the next, causing its body to weaken considerably.
But it didn't allow Emir the chance to kill it, as it quickly kicked him off and stood up, regenerating its body in an instant.
"Come!"
Snap!
Ragnar heeded its demand and confronted it as the fight continued.
With every strike, they switched positions, alternating between offense and defense, denying the Tyrant any opportunity to regain its footing.
Any chance of it effectively retaliating was stripped from it.
And the chamber echoed with the sound of their blows, a relentless onslaught against the Zerathar.
Emir's movements were fluid, his swordplay lethal, and his constructs even more so. Ragnar's teleportation granted them an unpredictability that kept the Tyrant constantly reeling.
It seemed as if their previous attacks were a warm-up that led to their now-uncanny synergy.
A synchronization that made it seem that they had been together since their first breath in this world.
Ragnar would snap his fingers, causing Emir's appearance and attack.
Then the monster would block, but right after Ragnar would appear and conjure his portal, not giving it a reprieve.
Emir's strikes would then follow Ragnar's exit.
Each shift in position brought a new angle of attack, a new opening to exploit.
The monster struggled to anticipate their movements, its form staggering under their force
of unyielding focus.
Emir's face and eyes wore a serene smile, but it was the opposite for Ragnar.
He showed no emotion on his face except for absolute calm.
Snap!
They exploited every opportunity their constant movement afforded, and the Zerathar was rained down on by a barrage of blows that continuously cut through its body.
Its head was punched, kicked, and squashed.
As their assault continued, Zerathar's form began to stagger and falter, its defenses
crumbling.
Alongside that, the illusion of the dark throne room began to show cracks as the intensity of the battle escalated.
Their alternating strikes took longer and longer for the Zerathar to heal from as its Aether reserves began to dwindle.
The Six-Core Tyrant, once towering and imposing, now became a glorified punching bag under the brothers' might.
Snap!
Emir's twin swords sliced through the creature's shifting skin of worms, leaving deep gashes that oozed darkness.
Ragnar then appeared as he 'pushed' and 'pulled' the monster into his brother's attacks,
allowing them complete control.
Zerathar's figure continued to twist on itself, now no longer a semblance of humanity, as it writhed in agony with every hit.
Its eyes radiated a swirling glow, reflecting its pain.
Snap!
With another rotation, Emir and Ragnar continued their execution.
Their strategy was simple but effective: attack, defend, switch, confuse, attack, attack,
switch, defend, attack, confuse, change order, and they would go again.
The chamber remained reverberating with the clash of swords.
The sound and music of battle echoed in the darkness.
'What have I done to deserve this?'
Another thought left the Zerathar, one that, like the many they heard before, they cared not
for.
Snap!
Emir's attack cut through those sorrowful words, not allowing them the chance to even hang
in the air.
His strikes intensified, each blow aiming to break through the Tyrant's defenses, and yet...
Even in its current form, it managed to put up a fight.
Its limbs and body, once elongated, now struggled to maintain their structure.
'Tell... tell me.'
But Emir and Ragnar weren't much better in comparison.
Emir had almost run out of his Aether reserves due to his overdrive ability, while Ragnar now
rarely switched positions as he too had the same problem.
Those portals of his were no longer conjured as well.
'Am I, am I... Am I your entertainment?'
This battle reached its final phase, and Emir's master stroke was about to show itself.
Snap!
His feet dragged him forward, nearing the creature's pained visage.
The Zerathar attacked, a multitude of worms stretching out of its body.
Emir cut them down as they neared him, resulting in its thoughts echoing with a desperate
plea:
'I didn't deserve any of this.'
He then raised his swords high up in the air with only a flicker of his Aetheric Blades left
showing itself.
The monster braced and raised its skeletal appendages to defend itself.
Snap!
Just as that finger snap resounded, Zerathar looked away from Emir and looked to where
Ragnar was, expecting the usual switch...
But Ragnar remained in place.
And Emir's swords were getting closer to the back of its head.
The Tyrant, caught off-guard failed to dodge his strike.
His blades sliced through it, cutting it from top to bottom.
'No...'
But he didn't stop.
He swung upwards, then down; he pivoted on his right and flowed along, then paused and
slashed to his left.
Emir kept going over and over again.
Its regeneration couldn't match his attack speed, and it succumbed to his never-ending
attack.
'I can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, can't... can't see.'
And now that the setup was over, at Emir's signal, Ragnar conjured a portal directly below the
monster.
'????-??????...'
What remained of its mushy form got sucked up into its void and disintegrated into
nothingness.
'Kruun Furra...'
But a few liquid-like body parts escaped their doom.
"Of course." Emir chuckled while throwing away his blades and then stepped down hard causing his body
to fly up.
With a front flip, he brought his body down, gaining momentum.
While in mid-air, he used the last of his Aether to form another construct.
It was a massive hammer with a long handle and a wide face.
"How does it feel to be looked down on by mere candidates?"
Just as those words left his mouth, he activated his TP ability and waited for the right
moment.
'Rhena...'
Ragnar 'pulled' the mushy remains of Zerathar and held them in place, using the last of his
Aether.
Emir angled himself correctly, and right after he reached a perfect position...
He swung it downwards with all the force he could muster.
His body rotated over and over again until the dark ground was a moment away.
'Woah.'
Emir received a reaction to his attack in phases, as he still experienced the world in slow
motion.
First, his hand spasmed against the force he commanded, his augmented suit barely managing to control it.
Then, like an explosion, a massive crater was formed around them.
Cracks on the ground began to form in all directions, causing lines of white to spread in the
dark room.
BOOM!
What followed was a trembling chamber as a crack louder than any other resounded.
'If I am created to be killed...'
Powerful rumbling came after, alongside Zerathar's thoughts and a piercing shriek.
"Then let death be kinder than man.'
It was a cacophony of agony and defeat.
"Hoooooh...."
Although Emir knew of the monster's death, he didn't let go of the hammer's handle.
He dropped to the ground and raised the hammer once again, his back arching like a stretched
bow. Bang!
The hammer landed as fast as a blink.
This action was repeated several times, and with each strike, his smile widened further.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Only when he noticed Ragnar approaching did he stop his maddened hammer, letting it
disappear.
Emir then looked at the ground, where only six broken Aether cores remained, drowned in
black liquid.
"We won..."
Emir's gamble paid off, and he decimated a phase he wasn't supposed to even challenge.
Exhausted but triumphant, Ragnar exchanged a nod with him, a sign of absolute respect forming between the two.
They stood amidst the fading darkness, their chests heaving with exertion.
The chamber soon fell silent, the echoes of their battle fading into the stillness, marking the
end of their harrowing ordeal.
"We did it, Rag," Emir breathed as he approached Ragnar.
Ragnar clapped Emir's back, a proud grin on his face.
"Heh, yeah... that was some fight, brother."
"It was indeed."
But just as they relaxed, Emir noticed an abnormality.
No message depicting their passing appeared.
Although the darkness receded to show a fully white throne room, the test appeared to have
not yet finished.
'Why?'
Emir got his answer a moment later.
A sudden whine resounded, intensifying in a second and reaching a fever pitch.
Then, a deafening silence fell, a sign of an Aether core explosion.
An 'Anomaly' going nuclear.
Just before the impending catastrophe, the scene froze-a suspended moment as Emir's eyes
scanned the bright light that began to form.
The last line that echoed in his mind before the end was:
'Ah... we're dead.'