Unchosen Champion-Chapter 342: Vanquisher of Demons

The first tentacles lashed out without warning, moving with blinding speed, like whips held together by constellations and space dust. They glowed with cool blue starlight, transparent like the main body of the mutant man of war boss, making it a challenge to decipher where they began and ended. To make matters worse, instead of charging toward him, they entered smaller versions of the gateway that had transported them both to what seemed like a stage floating in space, effectively teleporting across the arena, and closing the gap with unpredictably quick intervals. Hundreds of the blueish purple gateways appeared, burning with off-color fire, each threatening with potential attacks.

Coop narrowly avoided the first strike, not ready for the quick shift in battle as a gate opened up just a dozen feet from his shoulder. The tip of the crystalline blue tentacle gouged a deep furrow in the ashen slate floor. Dust erupted from the contact, obscuring his view of the galactic pool surrounding the circular platform.

Before the debris settled, Coop rolled to the side, instinctively recognizing that a second attack would closely follow the first as another gate expanded into the size of a tunnel to accommodate a tentacle. He sprang back to his feet, his ethereal shortsword manifesting from the mists as he landed.

A third tentacle, tip thicker than his torso, slammed flat against the ground where he had rolled, and the entire platform trembled beneath the impact, hinting at yet another problem. Only Coop actually needed the ground to stand on to fight at his full potential, and it wasn’t nearly as sturdy as the actual mana well had been, almost as if the Enigma had snagged an arena straight from the Coral Forest and sent them both into the cosmos. He was reasonably confident that it was merely a domain effect, not completely dissimilar to the Void Queen’s back when he fought with the Cult of Chakyum, but that didn’t make it less of a problem.

Coop, not willing to fight without momentum, slipped between the following rotation of whipping tentacles, and darted forward toward the mass of glowing manifestations hanging beneath the exposed main body of the boss. His sword was a blur of motion, gouging chunks of transparent flesh out from the celestial tentacles, finding them equally meaty when compared to the gray skinned leathery version he had contended with at first.

When he was blocked by a portal, he simply sliced the offending tentacle in half, and leapt through. Whether or not the gate transported him or not mattered little, because either way he was making progress.

His decisive action, unburdened by fear or logic would bring him into the maw of danger, where all of the tentacles could strike him at once without the need of magical gates. He knew it would have been disorienting if he hadn’t already had the experience of mistjumping millions of times before. Instead, he took a moment to admire the abyssal world as he shifted through the portals, a simple mirror of the world of mists, then proceeded to fight as he reappeared.

His ethereal shield barely manifested in time for him to simply discard it, throwing it ahead to collide with a sweeping tentacle, shifting its trajectory enough for him to slip below, then he resummoned the round shield and threw it again, letting its edge fold an additional fleshy tentacle as he leapt over, slicing through a third that would have caught him across the chest. He splashed through a gout of lavender mana rather than blood or gore, sword already nipping at the next threat.

He didn’t find an opening so much as he forced one to exist. All it took was a fleeting moment where the creature was distracted by surprise, pain, or frustration, diverting its enormous web of mana tentacles toward the tiny but persistent opponent. With a grunt of effort, Coop raised his sword above his head, adjusting his grip to drive it down before quickswapping it for his spear in the middle of the motion, hoping that the extra length would pierce the hide of the main body more thoroughly.

Coop wasn’t sure what he expected; maybe for the man of war to deflate like a balloon pierced by a pin, but the actual creature maintained its structure, continuing to attack as he evaded and repeatedly quickswapped between weapons to continue the skirmish. A bit of deep purple energy leaked from the wound, and Coop decided it was evidence enough of progress. He would press on.

The creature roared once again, the sound more like a shrieking gurgle of gas being forced through a passage than a proper territorial challenge. Coop, in the midst of a storm of tentacles, tossed his short sword up, threw his shield forward, mistjumped into the air, stabbed and released his weapon, then mistjumped to his shield, recalled his sword, and sliced another tentacle in an effort to land a second blow on the main body.

He quickly realized that the damage he dealt to the tentacles was simply repaired. Even the ones that were completely severed fully regenerated in the same manner as his weapons when he resummoned them, but the wound in the main body continued to leak.

It didn’t seem like the boss was actually bleeding, but Coop thought he might have introduced a single instance of mana drain. If its tentacles also had a cost, he thought there might be a pretty obvious way to win a battle of attrition. Of course, the Enigma didn’t seem like it would cooperate with his plan.

Tentacles were raised into the air dramatically while dozens of others tried to smush the evasive Mistwalker. Coop did his best to keep an eye on the lifted limbs as their theatrical motions seemed to scream ‘special attack,’ but the other unpredictable gates and whip-like assaults required his full attention. They were clearly testing him, attacking him less like a wild animal and more like a pack of predators, coordinating in an effort to control his movements. He felt like a single sheep being hounded by a pack of border collies. They wanted to drive him to the perimeter.

Coop ended up sliding away from the center of the circular platform, but made sure to avoid the edges, not knowing what would actually happen if he fell into what seemed like a black hole abyssal domain. No matter the distance, he didn’t actually create much breathing room, since the tentacles ignored space, but the boss permitted him some small alleviation the further he was from the center of the platform as if cooperation was all it wanted.

However, as soon as he felt a bit comfortable with the slightly less intense assaults, one of the raised tentacles, held a hundred yards above the main body like a radio tower, suddenly ignited with purple and blue flames. He couldn’t help but be distracted by the dramatic development. While he prepared to contend with lightning bolts or some sort of spell casted equivalent, the nearby tentacles violently recoiled, spasming in a way that was completely unpredictable when compared to the flowing whip-like motions they had started with.

Coop was struck by a glancing blow, but it was enough to send him further across the arena, even closer to the edge. He slid across the slate platform, feeling every ridge as his shoulder dug into the ground. He hopped back up, a cloud of mists following him, and was already prepared to skirmish with the chasing tentacles as they erupted from nearby gates. It wasn’t until he bent awkwardly during a dodge that he realized he had multiple barbed spikes impaling him where he had been struck.

He yanked one out in a panic between dodges, ripping his own flesh to dislodge the barbed tip. The mists gushed from the wound as Infusion prevented him from bleeding out, but he was forced to continue fighting, leaving at least two more spikes embedded in his lower back. Though he was no stranger to pain, he still gasped for breath, his vision swimming as he could feel venom coursing through his being. It was like his insides were burning, threatening to consume him, but his robust defenses kept him together. He had been stung by a man of war once before, but this time it was clearly different, and not just because of the scale of the nematocysts. The shocking pain was coming from inside out. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the searing pain and instead focusing on his actions.

This was just another grind session. He needed to concentrate on his motions, the way he gripped his sword, the timing of his mistjumps, the split second spent in Vaporform as he shifted across the arena, the way he engaged his muscles, from his hips to his shoulder, as he sliced through another tentacle. Coop was who he was, and that wasn’t someone that would think his way out of a battle. He just had to take action, let his gut identify opportunities, and enable his reflexes to capitalize. The pain was a distraction that he would tune out.

He settled down, finding a rhythm as he contended with the next series of gates, sending jousting tentacles into the whirlwind of attacks he used to counter. Thanks to the mists, he was completely unhindered, despite what would have been devastating injuries to a normal person. The Revenant would have to be scattered to dust to succumb to injury.

Coop rebuilt his momentum, aiming to make another strike at the main body of the creature, but keeping his weapon in hand as he brawled with limbs that ignored rules, passing through space as easily as he manipulated the mists. He knew that the raised tentacles were still in play, but aside from sparking with life as they energized, they remained fixed toward the sky. Between his Vaporform and their gates, the fight became impossible to follow, but Coop started to make slow forward progress back into the center of the arena.

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When he saw the opportunity, he jumped through another gate, only to find himself falling off the edge as the boss had already adapted, sending the tentacles through multiple portals before reaching him. He barely tossed his sword back up to the platform, briefly witnessing the swallowing darkness that awaited him below before he mistjumped back onto the solid ground. It seemed like the boss had snatched up a portion of the mana well in order to confirm it would capture Coop in the domain as well. The only reason he wasn’t falling right away was that last bit of connection to the Coral Forest.

As soon as his feet touched the surface, the fight continued, and he rolled back into a brawling skirmish, more thankful than ever for the harsh slate floor. If he wanted to get back into range of the main body, he would have to do it the more honest way, through pure grit.

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Finally, as his attention appeared to be split in multiple directions, between the whipping tentacles he had to fight, his desire to get back at the main body of the boss and deal some damage, and the wounds he had already taken, something else shifted. One of the antenna-like tentacles further ignited with energy as if doubling down on its power, then teetered, and ultimately started to fall, aiming directly at his current location, right at the edge of the platform thanks to his narrow escape from the fall.

Coop easily adjusted, weaving through stained glass-like tentacles as he prepared to make another pass at the main body. The flaming tentacle, trailed sparks of blue, purple, and pink, then crashed into the platform like a felled tree. To Coop’s surprise, the platform snapped, and the outer portion exploded into violent purple flames before being eaten away, leaving nothing but floating embers. He realized there was a time limit to this battle, and it was fast approaching as the platform lost a quarter portion of its rigid slate structure.

Another of the antenna-like tentacles teetered, sparking with the same energy as it collapsed just a few seconds later. Another portion of the arena was taken away, and Coop battled his way forward, staying on the interior of the collapsing cascade of tentacles. His actions were driven with a bit more ferocity as desperation set in, willing his way back to center.

If there was an obvious weakness to the boss, he couldn’t find it. Draining its mana seemed like a losing strategy as he would lose his footing before he succeeded. Cleaving through the tentacles was a waste of time, since they were simply remade. A battle of attrition was not the answer. Rather than wrack his brain for a winning strategy, he merely focused on his goal, chopping through tentacles that failed to contain him. While the arena shrank, slices melting away from the edges, he forced his way into the exact center. Unfortunately, the Enigma was hovering off to the side, clearly seeing the vision of its strategy.

Coop just needed to win. It was simple really. If he couldn’t brute force his victory with pure stats, all he had to do was get more stats. Why do anything else? It was his entire build strategy condensed into a single battle.

Coop established his position in the center as the platform rapidly shrank, losing entire sections until Coop was on the last square section of slate, countering a rapidfire stream of tentacles, forced to break through rather than evade. Each edge was melted and deformed, still glowing with purple or blue energy. Meanwhile, the boss hovered, floating higher and higher, just out of reach. Or at least it thought so.

As the last raised antenna-like tentacle fell, Coop took the fight to the air, swapping to his spear and draining the last portions of his mana on another surging Fog of War to empower his mistwalking skills. Between Vaporform and his mistjumps he didn’t actually need the ground, but losing his footing made a proper skirmish impossible. He threw his spear, and mistjumped into melee range, just as the boss appeared to believe it had won, retracting its tentacles to avoid giving its opponent any leverage before falling into the abyss.

Finally back within range of the main body of the Enigma, he cast Legacy of the Mist, calling 100 spearman to pierce the bubble that kept it afloat, hoping it would be enough to end the fight. The boss panicked as it was pierced nearly as many times, but it didn’t die. It jetted itself further into the distance with its tentacles trailing behind, fluttering in the wind as the creature revealed a shocking burst of speed and the ridiculous scale of its domain. The distance grew immensely, and though Coop threw his spear to catch up, the domain seemed to manipulate the distance, transforming the boss into a tiny speck that even he couldn’t confidently strike: at least without being able to plant his feet and properly aim. At the same time, the black hole snatched at his legs, calling him into the abyss.

As the boss increased the distance, stretching the domain as it chased the constellations of stars, Coop’s vision started to close in, almost like he was passing out while being swallowed up. Mistjumping was only delaying the final damage event. Whether or not it would be deadly or simply spit him back out with devastating injuries was a question he would prefer not to answer, but judging by the way pressure built on his body, it seemed reasonable to be concerned.

He swapped his spear for a weapon he had only created once before, and had never used, before he had ever really fought with mana. It was an ethereal longbow, tall as he was, with mists drifting from its solidified surface. Without any arrows it was obviously useless, and it didn’t even have a string, but Coop held onto it as he fell. He kept his eyes on the retreating boss and cast Inheritance of the Mist a second time now that the cooldown was up, staying calm despite throwing what was effectively a hail mary.

Coop immediately recognized that he had tapped into an enormous font of power. As if to demonstrate the breadth of humanity, he regularly had no idea who or what had elected to possess him, but he could recognize that there was some subtle categorization that made certain entities yield more tangible power than others. Which beings deigned to support Coop’s efforts depended on his own capacity to sustain their presence. Some were more willing to hold back than others. As his stats rose, the limitations decreased.

At this point, his stats had never been higher. But that didn’t stop his skin from cracking as he struggled to contain the build up of energy.

Even before the possession took place, Coop recognized that the apparition had a golden aura, serene like a tranquil sea, and supremely powerful in a way that had Coop bracing himself, worried that he would be torn apart before landing even a single empowered attack. The Apparition of the Vanquisher of Demons had a generic enough name, and as the possession took place, Coop’s main takeaway was that the archer was blue-skinned, calm, and confident.

“Focus.” The apparition ordered, and Coop did just that.

The Enigma was practically frozen in space, an enormous target that had shrunk to the size of a fingernail in the distance, trapped in slow motion while Coop’s mind raced and his senses stretched. He couldn’t help but feel doubt.

The apparition silently guided Coop through the basics of preparing to fire a bow. A golden string pulled toward the edge of his face as he found a consistent anchor point, keeping stable through his core, drawing strength from his abs, as he drew a shining arrow of pure golden energy. Despite the fall, Coop’s upper back flexed, forcing his body to maintain a consistent, smooth motion.

His shoulders were stable, and the triceps in his bow arm bulged, building so much tension in the ethereal weapon that it begged to be released. Even his legs shifted, providing a stable base with slightly bent knees despite lacking any ground beneath his feet. Everything was perfect, despite the cracks forming in Coop’s muscles, the golden power exploding from his eyes and from between his gritted teeth. Even his hair was whipping as if caught in a golden explosion.

Still, gripped by the possession, time moved slowly, and he started to slowly exhale, completely zeroed in on his target. His fingers automatically shifted, the tips controlling the motion of the string and arrow with delicate strength borne from diligent efforts. He closed one energized eye, shocked at how naturally all the different actions had felt. The solidified mists in the bow creaked under the pressure and he thought he was ready to fire, but frankly, everything burned and his soul seemed to be at its limit.

“Let go of your distractions and fears. A wandering mind will miss the mark.” The apparition stated, drawing Coop’s concentration back onto the target.

“Aim not just for the target, but for the truth within. Let your actions be guided by virtue.” The vanquisher continued, perhaps overestimating Coop’s mind. His truth had always been simple enough.

“Find peace and harmony in your soul, even in the face of challenge.” The apparition instructed. Beads of sweat were forming on Coop’s brow, but he felt the muscles in his face relax, his jaw unclenching as he remembered the joy he embraced in exploration and adventure. No matter what happened, it was worth it.

“Righteousness, Courage, Compassion, and Duty.” The Vanquisher of Demons concluded. “Fire.”

Coop let go of the string, and a golden rocket blasted from his bow. The arrow tore through the abyssal atmosphere, igniting all the mana it encountered with righteous fire. His normal perception of time resumed at the moment the projectile left his fingers, compounding with its already completely incomprehensible velocity, reaching the boss before a single synapse in Coop’s brain could form.

When the golden power reached the massive mana well boss, the energized projectile was a hundred times the size of its main body. Rather than a pinpoint accurate arrow, Coop had fired a napalm of sacred flame. The boss disappeared from existence in less than an instant, never even recognizing that it was still in danger after leaving the Revenant to fall into the abyss.

Coop landed on his butt from just a few feet off the ground, kicking up a small cloud of ash as the domain collapsed and he was ejected. The golden light that had painted his eyes and hair faded, replaced by the spotlights caused by receiving several levels. He let himself fall backwards, just happy that his chest was still rising and falling. If that hadn’t work he was going to throw his spear down and brace himself for whatever damage came, relying on his passive defenses to carry him through. He was definitely glad he hadn’t had to try that, assuming it would have hurt.

He checked his notifications before he shifted back up.

[You defeated The Enigma (Boss Level ??)]

[+4382732 Basic Credits]

[+3 Boundless Destruction Gem (Legendary)]

[+4 Boundless Guardian Crystal (Legendary)]

[+1 Solidified Tentacle Fragment (Trophy)]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Valor XXIV unchanged]