Unbound

Chapter Six Hundred And Ten – 610

The Fiend.

For the first time, Felix felt something from the enormous woman. It stuck to him, a cloying heat between green summer shadows. Curiosity.

You know me? he asked.

The Pathless does. And through Him, all things are known. Imara brought her greatsword back around, still glowing with an intense amount of Mana. Stand aside, Fiend. I am not here for you.

No, youre here for Archie. Felix let black scales ripple up across his chest and shoulders, stretching up his neck and jaw. But thats not happening.

The Gnome.

The womans words hummed in the night, buzzing uncomfortable against Felixs teeth. There was a weight to them, as if her words were solid andsomething else. A familiar, sharp-toothed growl. A hunger.

Why do you want him? No, Felix corrected himself. Theres something in you thatWhy do you need him?

The eleven foot tall warrior stared down at him impassively. Because I am commanded to.

By who? The Hierophant? You dont have to listen to her

By the Trackless One Himself, she all but shouted. I am the Chosen of the Pathless, Fiend. A Title that holds a far greater authority than the King of Nagast.

Felix grimaced as something beyond her Spirit pressed down on him. The vibrations of the world around himnormally ever-presentstilled for a single, terrifying moment. He ground his teeth so hard he felt one snapbut the silence faded. The world resumed.

You. He took a deep breath as if assuring himself that his lungs still worked. That wasnt you. Youre from Earth, right? Just like me.

I am nothing, she stated. And you are in my way.

The barest shift of her hips was all the warning Felix received before a glowing greatsword slashed down at him. He dodged it, but only justhis jacket sleeve and a fair bit of flesh and blood were severed from his shoulder. All of it burnt up before it ever touched the ground, even his scales.

Dodge is level 84!

Relentless Resolution is level 96!

Felix unsheathed his Inheritors Will, deflecting the upward swing of her next strike, but it was so hard it split open his wounded shoulder. Imara didnt stop however, flowing seamlessly into another swing. He flared Sovereign of Flesh, letting scales climb back over the healing wound, and met her next attack head on. The ground beneath them splintered, cobblestones tossed away from them in a maelstrom of wind.

Back!

Flaring his Relentless Resolution, Felix disengaged with the enormous warrior just as she was bombarded. A claw made of a dozen chitinous legs wrapped around Imaras form as spears of ice and Spears of silver metal slammed into her, both of them exploding into electrical tempests before golden crescents and bronze discs followed.

Imara roared, and a corona of golden light engulfed her for the briefest of instants. All of the attacks vanished, flash fried into nothing. She surged forward, trailing golden vapor, away from Felix and toward the Ironclads and his friends beyond.

Toward the inn.

She can sense Archie, somehow! Keep her off balance!

Were trying! Pit sent back just before a volley of Tempest Fugit spears hit her. She shattered them with a casual backhand, ignoring the lightning that chained across her armor. Help!

Felix rushed the woman, summoning ice and water to match the sizzling light and heat that hovered around her like a cloak.

Rime Shaping is level 91!

Storm Shaping is level 42!

Steam bloomed where his magic met hers. Imara pulled back, her vision obscured. You cannot harm me with this!

Felix kicked the back of her knees.

Imara fell, toppling like a redwood before slamming her enormous gauntlets to the cobbles. Cracks spread in concentric circles from her hands and knees, sending stone chips flying. Felixs next kick caught her in the gut, and it sent her spinning to the side.

Fuck! he cursed. His silver boot and greave was crushed and mangled against his foot and shin, and dark blood oozed from one of the rents. He ripped both boots off, flexing his clawed feet against the cold street. Youre sturdy.

Imara stood up, hand to her gut. When she removed it, there was a sizeable indent in her armorfor all of five seconds. Mana mobilized within the metal, and it popped back into its original shape.

Damn. He looked down at his shoulder, where his Garment had already repaired his torn jacket. Thats unfair.

Our greatest trial approaches. Her eyes blazed gold, and that corona reappeared. A gilded disc behind her head and shoulders. I am the rock upon which the Continent will depend.

Uh-huh. Felix hefted his blade. Kinda full of yourself, too.

Without another word, she charged.

Dodge is level 85!

Wild Threnody is level 89!

He dove over her horizontal slash and brought his hooked blade up to parry her quick reversal. Acid Mana surged through the sword, combating the golden heat of her own before both weapons shrieked. Felix and Imara staggered back, both wincing, but Felix recovered first. He thrust, catching the woman across her inner thigh and drawing a cascade of sparksand blood.

Imara shrieked, but it wasnt in pain. If before her words had weight, then her scream was an avalanche. Her Spirit bashed into him and light coursed outward like a living sun.

Felixs clothes caught fire, his movements slowed, but he struck again. And again. Six times in rapid succession. Imara met him at every one, deflecting his attacks with more technique than he had ever managed. On the seventh, she caught him square in the chest, smashing him down and back. For the first time in a while, Felix was thrown bodily by an opponents blows, and he cratered the ground when he landed.

Armored Skin is level 94!

The Trackless One told me to be wary of you, Fiend. But you cannot even stand before the Light.

A deluge of arrows, ballista bolts, spears, and chitinous conjurings slammed into the Titan, but she moved through them all as if wading through a fierce but impotent storm. She advanced on Felix, her steps shaking the earth. Her eyes shone and it was all Felix could perceive of her face beneath that full helm. They were like hollow tunnels into the heart of the sun.

Ill admit, Felix groaned, spitting out a wad of blood. His chest was torn and broken, and something had cracked in his back. Things were stitching up, but it wasnt fast enough. Youre really strong. But youre not all there, are you?

The woman didnt answer, just stepped slowly forward under the barrage, until she came up to the edge of Felixs dip in the road. He was having trouble making his legs work right.

I can hear it, he grunted. Or rather, I cant. Your Spirit is empty.

Imara lifted her greatsword like an executioners blade, and that golden disc behind her flared. I am filled with His Light. It is all that is needed.

What about situational awareness? he asked, looking behind her.

The Titan hesitated, casting her Perception backward, for no more than a half secondbut that was an eternity in battle. Time enough for Felix to shove his wobbly legs beneath him and lunge.

Sovereign of Flesh!

Wild Threnody!

Shadow Whip!

With Shadow Whip channeled through Wild Threnody, Mana flooded through his palms without shape or form but with an intensity unmatched by the original Skill. The darkness briefly smothered the light as Felix flared his Will and Intent, matching Imaras own, before his entire arm grew three times its normal size. He slammed his fist directly into her wrist. Something crunched, and the Titan lost grip on her greatsword.

His second fist came down, crashing into her shoulders, and almost buckling the womans kneesbut the light burned through the dark.

Imara hissed and golden vapor poured from her mouth and nose.

She charged and Felix met her, blow for blow. A ripple of air tore outward from their impact, crashing into a guardhouse and toppling a tavern that had been weakened by fire. The cobblestones sundered, cratering beneath their feet before exploding into shrapnel little bigger than pebbles.

Stone Shaping!

Rime Shaping!

Green Shaping!

Cardinal Flame!

The floating shrapnel stopped, seized by Felixs Will to flow in a flash around Imaras limbs. His other shaping Skills congealed together, forming a matrix of familiar elements that others called Fiendstone. Blue rock, veined with red-gold, solidified across Imaras legs, hips, and arms, holding her perfectly immobile.

Stop breaking things! he shouted. And stay still.

Felix couldnt make out the womans features beneath her full helmet, but he could see some of her heavy brows and dark eyes.

No. She flexed, her metal armor groaning.

Stop. That stuff is hard as hell. You cant

Imara didnt listen. Didnt stop. The Fiendstone didnt crack.

It shattered.

Light followed, blindingly bright, and Imara was on its heels. She swung for him and he barely dodged away, a dance through scintillating gold that stirred the air into a cyclone peppered with shards of cobblestone. Felix could see nothing, but that didnt stop him.

Blind Fighting is level 79!

Blind Fighting is level 85!

Dodge is level 86!

Dodge is level 91!

Relentless Resolution is level 97!

Fast as he was, however, the Titan carved him up. His scales provided little protection against her might and magic, and his dark blood burned.

Sovereign of Flesh is level 96!

Armored Skin is level 95!

Wounds healed and scales reformed, but Felixs store of Essence was vanishing fastand Imara looked unflagging and indestructible. A lie, he reasoned, but Felix was increasingly certain a fair fight between the two of them could take hoursbut the city wouldnt.

Inheritors Will leaped to hand, deflecting the womans potent haymaker and dragging it down. She pulled forward, her other arm already moving, but Felix didnt waste time. He punched with his left hand, and this time caught her full on in the face.

Imaras head rocked back, but her body was unphased. Her metal-plated arms wrapped around him, turning his attack into a dire grapple. Felix kicked out, clawed feet scoring sparks against her abdomen and thighs, but it did nothing to hamper her incredible Strength.

You are not required, Fiend, she stated, deadpan as a corpse.

She squeezed, pulling Felix so close he could smell breath behind her dented helm. It was honeysuckle. The dents in her helmet swelled and popped, restoring itself. Felix, by contrast, was being broken down. Skin ripped and muscle tore as she squeezed. He fought back, but she was impossibly strong.

L-look out, he groaned around the sound of his bones creaking.

I will not fall for your petty tricks again

Pit hit her like a speeding semi, Blade of the Fang held within his beak. It slammed into her lower back, yet the Titan didnt budge an inch, and the Fang didnt even dent her armoruntil Felix pressed his foot against the bone-white blade. He hurled Essence down his channels and into the Fang, which glowed with sudden, brilliant sigils.

Get fucked.

Pit wrenched the Fang aside, and it cut through armor and flesh like paper.