194: Phantomblade Redux

Watching from the Shadow Realm, Vir let the wolves make the first move. There were several good reasons for doing so. For one, the wolves had far more experience fighting monsters in this realm. They’d know the Phantomblade’s strengths and weaknesses, and would use optimal strategies to defeat it.

At least, they were likely to be better than anything Vir could come up with blind.

With Vir’s arms and legs extending outside the shadows, time passed at half its normal pace. He wondered if the pack leader would wonder where he’d gone, but the wolf simply took up position next to his disembodied limbs, without even the slightest discomfort at the bizarre sight.

Be a little surprised! Neel would’ve run around in shock, Vir thought, missing his dear friend. But this was no time for distracting thoughts. He cleared his mind and refocused on the battle.

Ashani’s Ashfire wolves didn’t attack immediately. They surrounded their prey, but not evenly. One approached from the front. The rest positioned themselves at its flank and its rear.

Of course, Vir thought. It only has eyes up front. Its back must be a blind spot. Still, I bet it has a way of detecting enemies behind it.

It’d be too great a weakness otherwise.

The wolves pounced, Blinking toward the Phantomblade. Had time not been moving so slow, Vir would have lost sight of them. Even as it was, he struggled to monitor all four. Struggled, but still managed.

Despite the slowed time, Vir heard the dozen Phantomblade spikes before he saw them. Only the wolves’ sudden dodges clued him in, and he only spotted the spikes when they impacted the nearby buildings, clanging against invulnerable Imperium creation.

Vir watched as the wolves swiped at the Phantomblade with their claws, darting erratically to avoid its devastating spikes.

So that’s its defense, Vir thought, observing the absolute barrage of spikes being shot in every direction. And that’s their strategy.

The spikes regenerated nearly as quickly as they fired. Nearly, but not quite. The wolves were whittling down its reserve of ammunition.

A dangerous game, with the sheer number of spikes the Phantomblade possessed. The black Ashfire that burned off the wolves grew even more pronounced as they sucked prana into themselves at an astonishing rate. No matter how close the spikes got, they avoided them all.

Vir knew he’d be unable to do the same. Whatever sixth sense the wolves used to keep themselves safe, he didn’t have.

He had to make a decision. Should he wait until the wolves successfully depleted the Phantomblade’s ammunition? Even then, the beast could generate more. It’d just be less of a barrage and more of a rain—hardly better.

The Phantomblade suddenly turned, facing the wolves who’d attacked it with impunity. They reacted, but not fast enough.

Spikes dug through their prana armor, and some—the glancing blows—bounced harmlessly off. Not all were so lucky.

Two wolves took blades to their chest and flank, gouging into their hides.

The beasts whimpered, retreating from battle, and the leader that had been standing next to Vir sprung into action.

The wolf Blinked toward the Phantomblade, taking a swipe at the one place that wasn’t covered in deadly spikes—its head. Th approach was so deadly, few beasts would dare; hundreds of spikes pointed forward, impaling the few fools who tried.

That one’s got some guts, Vir reflected. He’s also going to die.

That was, of course, only if Vir did nothing. The question was—what?

Back in the Human Realm, Vir had fired his Prana Blade at the Phantomblade’s belly, ripping it open. This beast had no such weakness. A single glance through its own shadow showed that its underside was also covered in spikes.

The spikes acted both as a hard natural armor and an offensive weapon. Even if Vir found a way to keep himself safe from the projectiles, he worried Prana Blade might not get through, even with its recent upgrades.

He’d need Blade Launch, and to safely channel the energy for that Talent, Vir would have to put a good portion of his body outside the shadow. His upper half, at least.

There wasn’t nearly enough space. Even if there was, doing so could very well earn him a barrage of spikes to the face.

Vir resurfaced out of a shadow closer to the fight, though not close enough that he couldn’t escape. The tall buildings’ dark shadows afforded many exits to flee from.

As much as he only wanted to surface half his body, he was forced to emerge entirely. His body lacked the prana to sustain multiple Blade Launch activations, which meant he’d be forced to rely on the ground. And right now, the only place he could suck prana in from without destroying his Prana Armor layer was through the soles of his feet.

With the Phantomblade’s attention occupied on the wolf, Vir let loose a Katar Launch, feeling the prana rush into—and out of him.

The black blade ripped through the air. The Phantomblade turned at the last moment, sensing impending danger.

That was a mistake. The wolf leader bit into its head—through its prana armor. The Phantomblade roared.

Vir’s strike landed, blasting hundreds of spikes off of the beast. They weren’t cracked or shattered—merely dislodged. But it was enough to get the beast’s attention.

The wolf leader backed away, dodging a handful of spikes, but the Phantomblade’s attention was on Vir. The wolf Blinked to safety.

Vir followed up with a second Katar Launch, then a third.

Each time, hundreds of spikes were blown away, only for hundreds more to reform in their place.

All this time, the Ash Beast had never stopped firing at the other two Ash Wolves. Now, it fired at Vir.

Lacking time to enter the shadows, he was forced to Blink away.

Vir was fast, but the sheer number of projectiles favored the Phantomblade. Deadly spikes glanced off his Prana Armor, eating away at the layer of energy that protected him.

Better the armor than my skin, Vir thought, taking cover behind an Imperium balcony as the other wolves distracted the enemy. We need a better strategy.

Vir thought about nabbing some rubble while the Phantomblade was distracted, but he couldn’t get close enough without putting himself in danger of the beast, let alone rummage around for something suitable. And, because the building that would normally have cast a long shadow had crumbled, there were no shadow exits on the rubble itself.

The Phantomblade was incredibly defensible. Even the wolf leader’s attack had only annoyed the beast.

Vir peeked around the balcony to see all five wolves running around the Phantomblade to tire it. He couldn’t even tell which wolves had been injured by the earlier attack.

They can heal themselves? Vir thought. Wait…

Vir sunk into the shadow, observing the fight. The wolves weren’t simply distracting the enemy. They were luring it.

Onto the mound of rubble that had once been the Imperium building.

Resembling a small mountain, the rubble sloped steeply, and was filled with dangerous footholds.

It couldn’t be this simple, could it?

The Phantomblade continued firing its endless barrage as it walked. Until now, Vir had never seen an animal that could present such a ranged danger to everything around it without even concentrating on the attack.

Its tiny spikes pinged and ricocheted off every surface imaginable, forcing Vir to linger in the shadows, popping out for only the briefest instant to fire off Chakram Launch or Katar Launch when he could.

The tactic worked just a few more moments. The Phantomblade was soon out of range of the nearest shadow, forcing Vir to Blink around the beast, just like the wolves with Haste active.

It was an odd sight, seeing the wolves appear and disappear continuously. None of the Phantomblade’s attackers lingered for more than a breath in one location. To do so was to die.

Most would take one look at the endless torrent of spikes and shiver in their shoes.

Only the brave would dare attack the thing in that state. The brave, and the foolish. Vir remembered Cirayus’ words from weeks before—that there was a very fine line between ambition and recklessness.

I’ve definitely crossed that line now, Vir thought.

The lumbering beast climbed atop a pile of wreckage. Its rage was palpable—it hadn’t landed a single meaningful hit on them. It clearly wasn’t used to fighting such intelligent opponents.

For good reason. There were no intelligent opponents in the Māhadi Realm. Their minds had all been corrupted by the prana.

And so the beast continued to climb, unaware of the trap it was being lured into.

Once again, Vir admired how seamlessly the wolves functioned as a team. As fast as Vir was, he felt like the clumsy, unwelcome addition, ruining their perfect synchrony.

Still, they worked around him, guiding the Phantomblade up to the mound’s steepest slope.

The leader yipped, and the biggest wolf of the pack darted in.

Vir fired Katar Launch one after another, distracting the beast with the other wolves, who darted in and away, swiping, biting, and howling.

The Phantomblade grew agitated, and once again, missed the wolf that bounded for it.

The wolf’s head collided with the Phantomblade’s, leaving it dazed for a moment.

Another followed right behind it, doing the same.

Then a third, fourth, and finally the leader itself.

The Phantomblade lurched back.

Ordinarily, the action would simply have put more weight on its hind legs. Except, it currently stood on a slope. A steep slope.

The beast lurched back, its forelegs leaving the ground involuntarily. Panic took it, and it flailed wildly.

The wolves were relentless, Blinking at the beast, headbutting it again and again. Only their prana armor kept their skulls from caving under the onslaught.

The Phantomblade’s panic only made it stand higher, putting more weight on its hind legs, bringing its forelegs higher off the ground.

Its spike barrage ceased.

Almost there!

It wasn’t enough. But Vir was ready.

He Blinked up to the top of the mound, then ran, and Blinked again, though he refrained from headbutting the creature. Vir couldn’t say if he’d survive such an impact.

There was a better way.

Somersaulting midair, using Haste to guide his actions.

His legs extended… and hit the beast’s stubby head with all the force of his full momentum.

Vir wasn’t done.

Sucking prana through his heels—through the Phantomblade’s body—Vir Blinked away.

He blasted off with such tremendous force; the Phantomblade didn’t merely fall. Its heavy body whipped back, its scales slamming the debris as it fell, limbs flailing uselessly.

Spikes flew in all directions. Even the big ones, ricocheting off random surfaces, forcing the wolves to Blink to safety. But the force of a few spikes wasn’t nearly enough to turn the turtle-like beast over.

Vir motioned for the wolves to stay back. Even flipped upside down, the Phantomblade still had hundreds of spikes on its belly. Spikes that could impale any one of them.

So instead, Vir stood atop the mound and rained pranic chakrams on the beast, one after another.

The first one gouged into the Phantomblade’s Prana Armor. The second defeated it. The third tore its hide, and the fourth finally ripped it.

The Ashfire wolves took care of the rest, clawing into the wound, gouging into it, eliciting wails in pain.

Vir threw his chakram into the wound and ended its suffering.

The wolves formed up around him, and Vir could swear they regarded him with a new look. One of approval. Of respect.

“Nice work, everyone,” Vir said, meeting their gazes. “Now, let’s reap our rewards.”