Redmane’s gaze centered on the blazing horn of the Kirin.
Flicker
Gnosis: 911
He was almost too late. One instant longer and a bolt of scarlet lightning would have cooked through another third of his Corpus, or more.
The Skill ripped him through space, removed him from his position and deposited him closer to the Kirin. But not behind it, and not close enough to strike back with ease. Evidently it had an unstated distance limit.
He knew he should go on the attack. But he hesitated.
The Kirin might fire another one of those bolts. The glow of its horn would be the visual tell.
Instead it pranced away through the air, in a surreal mode of flight which made it look as though it were running and leaping across invisible but solid terrain. Every time its paws ‘set foot’ on something, there was a faint splash of red energy around them, as if it were instinctively creating something to land upon each time it set its feet down.
Redmane found it would be more enjoyable to watch if it weren’t his prey.
He doggedly pursued the Kirin through the air, and even though it seemed to be confined to the arena built to contain it, the beast apparently had no vertical restrictions to abide by. It climbed and climbed, always out of his reach. Even as Redmane’s claws sent forth mazes of cutting force, it navigated them with fluid, unhurried movements, escaping it all without so much as a scratch.
This thing was a vexingly elusive target.
As he gave chase, his mind raced for a solution.
If his accounting was correct, the sum of his Qualities ought to make him the equivalent of a Level 351 creature. A full hundred levels above the Kirin. But just as he had a habit of conquering higher level foes himself, the Kirin was clearly unbothered by the difference in levels between them.
So it wasn’t a question of raw speed.
It was perception.
The Kirin was looking ahead in time, perhaps. Or else it knew by some other sense precisely where and when his attacks would land, since it was never in the place those attacks landed. And it had happened too many times in a row to be mere luck, though Redmane shuddered inwardly at the thought it was manipulating the concept of luck itself.
But there was no sense in dwelling on the potential of an impossible problem.
Better to solve it anyway, with whatever tools he had at his disposal.
How fortunate that his all-devouring nature provided him with ample tools.
[Primordial] marked as Prey
Astral Stalker
Gnosis: 896
He became a specter.
For a moment he hovered, no longer reliant on the action of his wings to hold his position in space. Waiting and watching the Kirin, to see if it could perceive him in this state.
Apparently it could not.
The beast completed its leap and then turned to canter in a half circle around the perimeter of its invisible corral, looking this way and that. Twice its gaze swept right past him.
Splendid.
Redmane glided nearer to the Kirin, the motion direct and unnaturally frictionless. It was still in motion, cantering around the edge of the arena, but it wasn’t attempting to evade him. It would be wise to make this count. To inflict as much damage as he could, just in case there wouldn’t be a second chance.
Claws of the Exalted Hunter would be a good choice.
The Sphinx’s Ray of Petrification was also a compelling option.
As was a dose of the Flame of Redmane, which would not only do great harm but feed him ample Wrath.
He wasted little time deliberating.
Flame of Redmane
Gnosis: 796
The instant he re-appeared the Kirin bounded away from him, and he knew by the length of that leap his claws would have missed their mark.
But the Beast Within and its newfound Flame were faster.
The Kirin’s eyes went wild, and it bleated in alarm as it felt a malevolent force rush into its body. Redmane could feel the exultation of the Beast Within as it rent apart its foe from the inside, ripping through the Kirin’s pristine hide and leaving burning, smoking, bleeding tears across its body.
Its horn flared in its agony.
And Redmane’s eyes went wide too.
Flicker
Gnosis: 746
Again he used the Skill a moment before incineration. This time it was close enough to translocate him properly, positioning him behind the Kirin at the perfect distance to strike.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
But this time there was more than one bolt of red lightning to contend with.
There was a storm.
A sphere of roiling crimson power hovered an inch above the tip of the Kirin’s horn. And that sphere was the nexus of dozens of spears of red lightning. Hundreds, perhaps. They shot out in every direction, branching through the air, leaving no safe places, covering the entire arena in a spherical thicket of doom.
Even if he’d had the presence of mind to use Flicker again, something would have hit him where he landed.
It was enough to land one strike with his claws before the power of the Kirin fried him down to his soul a second time.
It would have to be enough.
Corpus: 9202
Wrath (2)
His claws tore into its flank, carving four deep, bleeding grooves across it. Redmane gazed with grim satisfaction at the single wound he’d inflicted with his hands thus far, despite the price he’d just paid for it.
He found he was falling, like the first time lightning had struck him.
He looked up to see the burning, smoking, bleeding Kirin gazing down at him and he thought he felt scorn in those eyes.
Then he noted with alarm that its horn glowed again.
Astral Stalker
Gnosis: 731
The glow subsided. His falling ceased. And for a few moments he simply hung there suspended in space, glad to be momentarily free of the sensations of his body, specifically the pain of deep burns.
But then he noticed something else.
Corpus: 13,115
Wrath (11)
Corpus: 14,299
Wrath (13)
Corpus: 15,367
Wrath (17)
The Flame of Redmane still burned within the Kirin.
Redmane looked up to confirm this. Indeed, flames of crimson and violet, flecked with tiny motes of gold continued to pour from its wounds. This would surely not last for much longer. But in the short term, it had saved him.
More importantly, it showed him the path to triumph.
He wanted to laugh at how diabolically unfair this was going to be.
Flame of Redmane
Astral Stalker
Gnosis: 616
Flame of Redmane
Astral Stalker
Gnosis: 501
He appeared and the Beast Within flew forth once again, bearing its ravenous flame into the body of the Kirin. And this time he immediately went incorporeal before the beast had the chance to charge up another storm of lighting.
With a cry of pain the Kirin began to convulse, its movements surprisingly ungainly as it leaped about trying to buck off its invisible assailant. But Redmane supposed no creature would move gracefully when it was on fire and being carved up from the inside out.
And then he did it again.
Corpus: 18,185
Wrath (26)
Corpus: 21,277
Wrath (35)
Corpus: 24,568
Wrath (44)
The Kirin, who a moment ago wore its injuries with proud indifference, began to show signs of strain. Its head hung lower. Its walk through the air slowed. The effect of the Manticore’s venom mixed in with his Flame was draining its Might and Grace away slowly, and it would only get worse from here on.
Because Redmane had no intention of stopping.
Flame of Redmane
Astral Stalker
Gnosis: 386
Corpus: 28,561
Wrath (56)
His only lament was that he didn’t have enough Gnosis to continue doing it much longer. But it was working regardless.
If he struck now, he had a feeling the Kirin wouldn’t be able to spring away so effortlessly anymore.
And he had a healthy stack of Wrath to make sure.
It was time for a decisive strike.
Wrath (0)
+100 Might
+100 Grace
Double Might (x1 Action)
Double Grace (x1 Action)
Attack Speed Up (x34)
He floated toward the ailing Kirin, and positioned himself above it.
Claws of the Exalted Hunter
Gnosis: 326
Mortal eyes would have been insufficient to witness what took place in the moment Redmane reappeared.
Even Divinities of a lower grade would have struggled to understand what they had just beheld.
Four claw strikes, each with a different angle, created a rudimentary star-shape. Like a knife cutting a pie into eight equal slices. The force projecting from those cuts traveled straight down toward the Kirin’s back, the center of the star roughly midway down its spine.
The next four followed the same general center point, but came at different angles. Making sixteen pieces of relatively unequal size.
So the mundane eye would have seen Redmane appear above the Kirin in the same instant its body exploded into sixteen pieces, flying apart from each other at terminal velocity from the awesome force of his claws.
Redmane noted its innards were still burning.
Splendid.
Level Up!
Level 120 —> Level 121
Level 121 —> Level 122
Level 122 —> Level 123
Level 123 —> Level 124
Quality Points awaiting allocation: 4
Grace 116 —> 120
Redmane stretched out his wings and coasted down to the peak of the mountain in lazy circles.
The wind blew back his hair and cloak. Soothed his burnt skin.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, and released it in a long sigh of relief.
When his feet touched the earth, he set about locating the various pieces of the Kirin’s body. His Flame had consumed much of its Corpus already, but if he wanted the Skills, he’d have to finish the rest. And so he had to search around and find them, one piece at a time.
A short walk, with snack breaks in between. Redmane found it a pleasant way to unwind.
—
Monster Skills Learned:
Airwalk
Bloodline Skill (Monstrous)
Passive
The Monster requires no earth to tread upon. If they wish, they may traverse the open air as if it were solid ground.
So long as the Monster possesses a positive quantity of Gnosis in reserve, its feet will find purchase on the air as readily as on the ground. It may walk, run or jump through open air indefinitely so long as it does not lose the entirety of its Gnosis pool.
Doom Bolt
Bloodline Skill (Monstrous)
Active - 150 Gnosis
The Monster conjures the wrath of the sky to smite its enemies.
This attack targets a single creature and has the following weapon profile:
Damage +100
Evasion Negation 40 (Fast 20)
A creature struck by Doom Bolt is temporarily stunned, for a duration determined by its Level and Fortitude.
Horn of the Kirin
Bloodline Skill (Monstrous)
Passive
The Kirin’s Horn is a powerful conduit.
Any Skill the Monster possesses which targets a single creature may instead be empowered by the Kirin’s Horn, becoming an area attack which can affect any creature in a spherical area around the creature.
The radius of the sphere is determined by the Monster’s Might.
—
Redmane’s eyes widened as he read the last one again.
He concentrated, and a single curved horn sprouted from his left temple.
There was something different about it. It felt as if the horn were a vessel waiting to be filled. So he conjured a spark of the Flame of Redmane and directed it into his horn.
No sooner did he do so did he feel the power of that small portion of flame grow to substantial proportions.
Redmane’s eyebrow rose.
He was another step nearer to the power he’d need to engage an entire legion.
His eyes turned then to the center of the circle of bones. To the mass of power swelling against its restraints, just as the Seal of the Gryphon had.
Now he knew what he was in for. This time he would be better prepared for the battle of wills to come.
Hopefully.
PATREON
