Chapter 36 - Faragore (Patreon)

It’s smaller than I thought it would be.

Normally, as the monsters got stronger, they got bigger. That was especially true going from Feral Tier to Blighted Tier. Yet this creature, while double Nigel’s height, was still only Nigel’s height. The Orrukyn from the prior day was higher than the treeline, standing upright. 

And yet, there was no doubt in my mind with the monster standing before me that Faragore could kill that Orrukyn as easily as I did. 

My eyes flickered to my companions, who were still reeling. It was similar to the few times I’d seen fire mana internalized, at least in how it affected people. At the same time, it was different. Less lethal. More like a pressure than a pain. Otherwise, just getting near higher-tier monsters of certain mana levels meant instant death. It just made the effects of internalizing fire mana stand out that much more.

With each step the Faragore took towards us, the more the miasma coming from it rippled off in waves.

Christopher and Tart sank deeper into the ground. They were holding their throats, choking on the influx of pressure. The rest of the Trailblazers kept stumbling, trying to stand, then stumbling again before firming their stances, sweating profusely. Even Lex, usually calm and collected, was huffing and spiraling. 

Gai seemed normal, only wincing slightly and sweating like he had a headache. 

All the while, Faragore slowly moved towards us.

I couldn’t tell what it used to be. Its head was a bleached and hollow deer skull, save for the tongue sloshing outside, the slobber, and the teeth. And it had fuzzy, long, deer-like ears popping out of the sides.

But its body was very human, just covered in very dark fur. It looked like it lifted weight every second it got, with abnormally muscular arms, pecks, biceps, and shoulders. If it weren’t for its hands, which had elongated fingers and sharp, claw-like nails. Its legs were normal to the knee. Lower, where one might expect an ankle, then a foot, the leg bent forward, elongated, and had a hoof at the end.

Definitely more deer traits than not. I assessed. Likely came from a Hecervus. Parts of it are still recognizable, even as a Dread Tier, which means it’s on the weaker end of the Tier. That might be our only saving grace.

Faragore stopped moving once it was clearly before us, uncorrected by trees, leaves, and brush. It just stared at us, waiting, watching.

“We need to run,” Lex managed to utter. “As soon as possible.”

“I know,” I said. “Are you sure I can’t kill it?”

“Even if you wanted to, I don’t know if you could, regardless of the consequences,” she admitted, wiping sweat from her forehead. “Being a Master in some techniques is the bare minimum to take on a Dread Tier, assuming you're in a party all at the same high level. You alone just isn’t enough. And even though you have white eyes, you only have single bands in each element. You create the elements, but you don’t control them. It’s an advantage you desperately need against a threat like this.” She looked at Faragore, wincing. “We need an opening to make a break for it.”

Gai snapped his fingers. “Done!”

“No!” Lex shouted. “Stop! That only helps it!”

Gai’s brows cinched together, but it was too late.

The feeling of mana leaving my body made me feel cold. At the same time, the sensation of dense miasma lifted. The others realized the same. No one was under the pressure of Faragore’s miasma anymore. It had disappeared.

Faragore noticed this too. Its head twitched and bobbled like it was confused and angry. Yet it still didn’t move. It looked like it had shifted his focus to Gai.

Gai seemed to notice this and chuckled nervously.

“Idiot! No one has their weapons! They can’t open their codexes like this!” complained Lex. “And now we’re just eight random people fighting a beast with probably enough physical power without mana to rip open a bear! We can’t kill it!”

“Still might be better this way,” said Gai as he took some steps back into the group's center. “I’m going to snap back our mana real quick. Open your codexes and get your weapons. I’m shutting it off again as soon as you do.” He looked between everyone. They had all regained their footing and readied themselves. “Is that good? Are we ready?”

Tense, the group nodded.

“Good luck,” said Gai. He snapped his fingers again, allowing the mana to flow again.

Everyone opened their codex and reached inside the pages for weapons.

The Faragore twitched, feeling the mana come back into it. 

The miasma around the monster thickened until it was visible—a thick, foggy sludge of grays, whites, and blacks. It looked like the inverse of when a codex was opened. 

I sensed something was going to happen. Lex seemed to, as well. I’d already begun forcing five rock walls out of the ground while Lex dispersed everyone outward with a concentrated blast of wind.

The miasma sucked into Faragore’s eyes like they were drinking it in from the air. Its mouth opened, and its tongue drooped down the side, long enough to touch its chest. The miasma fogged its mouth, getting thicker and thicker, until—

PWAAAAAH!

A concentrated stream of miasma blasted in our direction.

It broke through my walls and would have evaporated all of us had Lex not acted with her wind.

We watched from the ground, scattered, as the miasma blasted the trees behind us for miles. There was a clear path of destruction that didn’t seem to end. 

I can’t do that. I thought as I stared at the destruction. A bead of sweat dripped from my forehead to my chest. Why is it so strong? My eyes darted to the creature, stunned. How can it use mana like that? That wasn’t an element. I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation. It’s only a Dread Tier, and a weak one. What is a Cataclysmic monster like? An Abyssal one?

“Get your weapons!” shouted Gai through the fog of doubt. “Now!”

I shook my head. My codex reappeared in my hand, and I pulled out a sword without thinking much. When my mind caught up to reality, I thought about the fight without mana. A second later, I removed my bow and some arrows, then strapped them to my body.

Everyone else was suddenly armed.

Faragore roared at us, clearly annoyed that it missed. It sounded like a cat, coyote, and wolf were groaning, with the low octave of a grumbling boar deepening the noise. It made me wince—made all of us wince.

Snap!

Suddenly, our mana was sapped away again. The feeling of absence made me feel light and weak, but it also threw off Faragore. It stopped roaring instantly. It gazes snapped to Gai.

Gai flinched. “Oh shit, it’s smart, huh?”

Faragore shook its head and snorted. It began walking in Gai’s direction. Its footsteps didn’t make a sound, even as the lumbering, heavy-looking beast crossed the ground. 

“Form a circle!” Barcus shouted. He, Nigel, Bydon, and Tart formed a circle around Gai. Tart was in the back, Bydon was in the front, and Nigel and Barcus were on his side. “Keep him safe!”

Lex ran past me, tapping my shoulder. “Let’s pick away at it.”

Christopher was standing with his Arcwork spear in his hands, an utterly useless item now that it could no longer be duplicated with mana. But he wasn’t. Without mana dividing us, Christopher was as competent as everyone else. 

“Let’s go!” I ran past him, following Lex. 

“Right.” Christopher’s expression hardened. He kept up with me.

At full speed, I was able to catch up to Lex without expending much effort.

Right. Still have the advantage as an archdevil. Stronger, faster, and better built by default. I noted. Just hasn’t mattered yet with how much mana plays a role in fighting.

By the grace of whatever Gods oversaw this world, the creature was abnormally fast, at least. All its movements were predictable yet strong. At the very least, it hadn’t tried to move fast at any point.

Faragore was still reeling on Gai. It was prepared to kill him, however possible. The Trailblazers kept walking back with him. The monster was kept at bay. Swords and arrows sank in its direction, though they effortlessly bounced off its body. 

The sun cut through the trees, illuminating the grass in cuts of radiance. Faragore was shrouded in darkness while tufts of light danced over our team.

I ran at full speed at Faragore. My long sword was cocked against my left side at an angle.

Faragore noticed me when I was in range.

Anticipating an attack, I jabbed my right foot into the dirt and dipped left.

A mass, clawed hand slipped where I was going to be. Visions of my head being cut into five fine chunks flashed in my mind as I moved into the gap created by the monster’s action. 

I swung my sword up on its arm. The blade made contact with its tricep near its elbow.

The blade sank in.

Barely.

In the next second, I felt impending doom overhead.

Faragore stretched and reached down its face, unhinging its jaw to bite me. The tip of its tongue interlocked with my hair.

I immediately killed the tension in my legs and fell. My body ragdolled. Faragore hit the air. 

Instantly, I snapped my body back up, slid out my sword, and slammed it into Faragore’s face.

Faragore’s head recoiled right as my blade hit its left cheek, but the feeling rocketed up my arm. It was solid bone, seemingly more dense than that, even. There were no cracks, blood, or any visible damage. The snap of its head was all I could muster without mana.

My feet were suddenly kicked out from under me.

The arm I’d cut had swung back at me.

Christopher had knocked me down just in time.

With his hands in the collar of my dress, he boosted me back up as soon as the arm passed over my head.

This time, I swung down on the top of Faragore’s arm—the same one I’d cut earlier, near the same position, just on top. Again, the blade only went in slightly, barely causing damage with minimal blood.

But it was enough.

We just needed to keep picking at it at full strength. Eventually, it would fall.

Assuming none of us got hurt in the meantime.

Christopher threw me back and ducked as Faragore tried to snatch us with both arms. I fell to the ground a good distance away while Christopher was forced to duck between its legs.

Underneath, he stabbed the lower part of its back with his spear.

The tip barely entered, drawing the same amount of blood as a paper cut would.

Christopher scrambled away immediately as the monster tried to stomp him with its hooves. It screamed when each attempt missed, and Christopher managed to escape and create some space.

Tink!

A dagger hit Faragore in the back of its head. It bounced off and fell to the ground, accomplishing nothing.

“I knew that would happen, but, you know, why not?” said Lex. “This is going to take forever.”

“I can keep this up for a few hours,” grunted Gai. 

“How many?”

“Ten or twelve.”

“Got it.” Lex frowned. “Might not be enough time, even if we stay lucky. The only way to kill it is by using mana.”

“Can’t he focus only on Faragore?” suggested Tart.

“Doesn’t work that way, unfortunately. I can shorten the radius, but it comes out from my body in a circle,” said Gai. “Even if we got me close to Faragore and shortened the distance I affected, any mana that gets close to me would immediately be stopped.”

For some reason, the inkling of an idea reached my mind, but I couldn’t quite connect it to something tangible. But it sent me racing for an answer. 

“For now, we chip at it, get it as weak as possible, and overwhelm it with numbers,” said Barcus. “Let us handle this,” he yelled at me, Lex, and Christopher. “Alternate. Keep it guessing. Preserve our energy. Always have someone on Gai, keeping him safe.”

The three of us nodded. We backed up as the Trailblazers ran forward. I took the rear with Christopher and Lex taking the front with their weapons.

Bydon led the frontal charge toward Faragore. Even without the Chaos style, he was muscular and sturdy. I wasn't sure how he’d pair up against the monster without mana, but he was at least stronger than me. 

Bydon swung his two-handed long sword at Faragore as it swung its left hand at him.

They connected.

The blade, sliced forward at all the strength Bydon could muster, slipped between Faragore’s middle and ring fingers. It sank into the skin, slipped past the knuckle, then stopped. 

That was with the force of both of them opposing each other. Even Faragore couldn’t pierce its skin.

Nigel and Barcus sprint to the sides with their swords. In unison, like a pair of separate scissors, they crossed in front of Faragore in the gap between Bydon and the monster. Their blades caught its stomach and slid across it sideways and upward until Barcus and Nigel switched sides and grazed fully across its body.

Two long, angry red lines etched Faragore’s body from its belly button to its breast on each side like a curved ‘X’. The wound didn’t drip, nor did it look very deep. 

Faragore’s head shifted to look at Nigel, then Barcus, then Bydon before screaming.

Tart shot three arrows. One hit its neck, one its elbow joint, and the last its knee cap.

They bounced off, landing harmlessly on the ground with no discernible damage.

Bydon kicked it in the stomach before creating space between him and the monster.

Nothing is working. I thought, grimacing. Even the damage we’re doing is just pissing it off.

“Tart’s on the right track. We need to keep targeting its joints,” Gai told the group. “If we can disable just one, it’ll give us a chance.”

“One more run, and we switch!” Barcus ordered us all. “Keep it guessing!”

Bydon surged forward again. He lowered his sword at a downward angle, aiming to cleave the creature's shoulder.

Faragore met the blade with its hand again. Once again, the blade sank between a different part of its fingers and got stuck between the skin of its knuckles. Its gaze had long since gone to Gai again.

“Legs!” Nigel said.

“Right!” Barcus confirmed.

In unison, the rounded Bydon again while he held Faragore in place, struggling, sweating, grunting, and cursing. Both went for Faragore’s right knee. Nigel scooped around the creature’s back while Barcus hit the front. Their blades glided around the knee, again drawing angry red lines in its flesh.

Tink! Tink! Thunk!

Tart followed up with arrows in the same spot. She’s rounded behind Faragore for a better shot at its back. Two bounced off like the rest, but the final third one sank into its flesh deeper than any other attack had so far.

Faragore snapped around to look at Tart.

The momentum in the field shifted.

We all tensed.

It turned back to face Gai and roared, walking forward again.

“Switch!” Barcus shouted.

We all moved.

Faragore was still facing Gai and headed our way.

We were ready for the next round.

Suddenly, it snapped around at Tart and charged her way with the speed of an angry boar. 

None of us had time to react. It was initially so focused on Gai that we barely considered the possibility of it targeting someone else. Or faking its intent with that level of intelligence.

Tart tried to bolt away, but Faragore grabbed her left arm. 

We watched in horror as it chomped down on her shoulder and pulled it out of its socket.

“Ahhhhhh!” Tart screamed. She fell to the ground with blood streaming out of the wound. Tears had swelled in her eyes and fear in her face. Even though she was in immense pain, adrenaline surged through her. She kicked against the ground, struggling to get away. 

I gritted my teeth. “We can attach it with my potion if–”

Faragore opened its mouth wide. Its jaw unhinged like a snake. Faragore stuffed the hand down its throat until it saw comfortably in its mouth. Its jaw snapped shut and chewed.

Tart stared in shock, tears still streaming down her face. 

Bydon rushed forward and picked her up. He sprinted away from the Faragore while Barcus and Nigel provided cover. Their agitated faces were trained on the monster.

“Grit your teeth!” shouted Bydon. His right palm was on fire. He slapped it against Tart’s open wound at her shoulder. 

“GAAAAh!” She cried. “Ahaaa hnngh…”

“She passed out!”

As soon as he said those words, Nigel flew fast over Bydon’s head into a nearby tree. The Faragore had thrown him. 

“Ah! Fuck!” Barcus shouted. I watched as the Faragore jabbed a lone finger at his face. He dodged it, but it hooked his right ear and ripped it.

I was already charging forward with my sword when I saw that. 

“I’m giving back our mana!” shouted Gai.

The empty feeling in me left.

My blade turned white with power as I swung it down.

PWAAAAAH!

Miasma blew out of Faragore’s hand in my direction.

I was sent flying back. Darkness surrounded me. Pain flooded every one of my nerves, and it was suddenly impossible to breathe. I felt weightless. I couldn’t tell where I was.

But then the darkness disappeared. 

And I was in the sky. 

If the trees were to suddenly quadruple in height, they’d touch me, if that. I could see where I was before, only the massive hole Faragore had ripped through the forest with its previous miasma blast. It spanned acres upon acres of forest, walkable from end to end in probably an hour.

Little cuts were all over my body like the fog had been filled with tiny blades. It also felt like a dozen massive hammers had slammed into me all at once. It was only one blast, but I knew one thing for certain. I couldn’t take it more than one more time, if that, or I’d die. 

“Shit, shit, shit!” I screamed as I began to fall back down. “SHIIIIIT!”

I needed to kill my momentum, and fast. 

Lex could fly! How the shit does she do that?!

All I knew was that it took wind. With my palm open and mana running through my veins, I forced it out of my palms at high volume downward. My descent slowed—barely.

“Not enough!” My breath was filling with panic. “What do I do?! She said I need to make the elements mine or some shit! Not just use them!”

I had no idea what that meant. I was pushing out wind from my body. I saw what Lex was able to do. It didn’t seem much different from what I was already doing. She made the wind move around her body and lighten her. She tightened it into a visible ball and had it snake into wiggly spears. I get how it was different, but it didn’t seem different enough. 

What was I doing with the wind?

I’ve created it. I’ve blasted it out. I’ve turned it into balls and fired them. 

But I could tell that was different, deep down. 

What exactly was different? 

I was just using the element, not controlling it.

It felt like I was controlling it when I turned it into balls. Just using it requires me channeling wind in my body, giving it power, and containing it–if I weren’t pulling it from the natural environment with a connection. It felt like I was controlling it, but clearly I wasn’t. Not in the way Lex was. Otherwise, I’d have a second band on my pinkie finger.

I needed to manipulate it somehow. Go beyond just creating and containing it. That’s not what Lex did when she flew or made those balls. It bent to her will. She didn’t have to control it. It unleashed how she–

I stared forward, the fear leaving me. “Oh.”

Wordlessly, I let the wind leech out of my body. My wind, formless, surrounded me.

I was thinking too much. It needed to be unconscious. I know this element—it's mind. Making it isn’t a process—it just is. And because it just is, it is mine to use.

Wind wrapped around my body, stopping me in the air. 

“That’s why no one could really explain it to me,” I muttered, astonished. I couldn’t help but look at the world around me. “How would you even explain that in a way that makes sense?”

I felt a slight surge of mana on my fingers. Looking at my pinkies, each had a second band on it. 

Fascination blinded me for a second. Then I blinked. The reason why I was in the sky flashed into my mind. I looked around. “Shit, where are they?!” My eyes landed on the destroyed part of the forest. I followed it to its starting point. “There!” I darted in that direction through the sky. 

It would have been amazing to bask in my accomplishment. I’d tried for countless years to get a second ring on any of my fingers. I thought it’d be water, first, but it turned out to be wind, the element I struggled with the most when it came to internalizing.

Crisis tended to sharpen the mind. Plus, Lex’s existence and hints helped out a great deal. Without her, I’d have probably fallen to my death. 

The ground came closer.

Suddenly, my mana was sapped from me.

I braced for impact as it hit the ground, flipped, crashed into some brush, and then slammed into a tree.

Gai…must have turned back on…his fifth band. I thought as I struggled to my feet. Where?

It didn’t take long for me to spot them.

Bydon was in front of Faragore, blocking blows as he could. The ones he couldn’t shredded his torso and arms. He had large gashes taken out of his body, but he still had all his arms and was standing upright, fighting. 

Tart was passed out nearby. Lex and Gai were with her. Barcus was leaning over them with a sword, and Christopher was beside him with his spear. Both were pointed toward Fargore, tense and ready to provide backup while Bydon fought. 

Nigel was on the ground beside Tart. His right leg was detached and sitting beside him.

I froze. My heart started to thump. Time slowed.

I scrambled across the ground until I was eventually beside him. “Nigel!” I looked at him for a moment, then jerked up and grabbed Gai by the collar of his shirt. “Turn back on our mana!”

“But–”

“I have my potions! They’re in my codex!”

“I’m turning back on the mana!” shouted Gai. “Be ready!”

The feeling of power flooded back into my body. I didn’t hesitate. My codex was in my hand before I thought of it, and I was tearing out my limb reattachment potion within seconds.

Christopher’s arcwork morphed into multiple spears sent flying in Faragore’s direction. The creature battered them away. It gave Bydon the opening to trigger his Chaos aura. The pain he felt from his wounds flowed into it until it shone, shifting into pure, raw power. 

Bydon swung.

Faragore was sent reeling back several paces. Its feet dug into the ground. It didn’t lift or flinch. It was only moved. There were still no discernible marks on its body. The ones from before had already healed now that Faragore had its mana back. And while the attack wasn’t quite as strong as what Barcus used on the Orrukyn, it wasn’t much weaker, either. And Faragore tanked it. Easily. 

I moved Nigel’s leg close to the stump and poured my potion. The flesh started to connect instantly. I poured more into his mouth then glanced at Tart. There was nothing I could do for her. The arm she’d lost was beyond recovery, and I still had no way of regrowing limbs. 

A dark fog suddenly enveloped the ground. It lapped over so quickly and thickly that Nigel and Tart disappeared from view.

Gritting my teeth, I turned on Faragore. Miasma was steaming out of its mouth like plumes from a smokestack. 

I leaped up, opened my hands, and forced the end to bend to my will. It connected with the particle around the miasma and lifted it off the ground. I willed them into a tornado that twisted and curled with the movements of my hands until I’d pointed at Faragore.

The thick wind-enveloped miasma smashed into the monster. It didn’t move it, but it did blind it, evoking screams from the agitated creature.

“We need to run!” I shouted.

Bydon reeled back and picked up Nigel while Barcus did so for Tart. 

Lex grabbed Tart from Barcus, and Gai did the same for Nigel from Bydon.

“You guys can barely stand as it is!” shouted Gai.

It was true. Both were punctured with wounds. Though they had all their limbs, there were enough holes and cuts in them that it was amazing they were still stand–

Both men fell to the ground.

“Shit!” I cut off my miasma-infused tornado and ran at Bydon. “You grab Barcus!” I ordered Christopher. 

Wordlessly, we scooped up the unconscious men and headed into the forest with Lex and Gai carrying passed-out people of their own. 

It didn’t matter where we were going. We just needed to get away.

The forest swallowed us whole.

Faragore was long behind us. 

But we heard it roar. 

We heard its anger. 

Yet we kept running further and further in, hoping for some relief.