ALL NOVEL 58: Theatre of Stone (2)
Startled cries rang out as the Abyss Demons were betrayed by their own footing.
Well positioned to take advantage of the resultant chaos, Tom committed himself to a frontal charge. The ground beneath him flitted by his feet as he shot forward, his limbs obeying his commands almost effortlessly. He wasn’t just fast, no— in that moment, he was quickness personified, to the point where, even if he managed to trigger his [Haste] card, his reflexes wouldn’t be able to keep up.
A third of the distance separating him from the now shattered Stone Fortress was covered in what felt like a blink of an eye for Tom. And he would have continued his charge, if not for his high Proprioception stat picking up on an Abyss Demon positioned on the far left corner of the fortress’ battlements; ending up mostly unaffected by the sloping footing that had disrupted most of the Abyss Demon’s coordination.
More specifically, it was the skull-sized stone clenched in his clawed hand that had caught Tom’s attention.
‘Here goes nothing,’ Tom thought to himself as every cell in his body thrummed in an exhilarating blend of fear and anticipation.
And then he willed both his legs to kick off the floor at a sideway angle, using the minute of extreme agility [Phantom Walk] allowed him to perfect use.
Gravity seemed to fade away for a moment as Tom found himself hurling towards the cavern’s wall. He knew that he had to lean his upper body weight forward so he could flip and land onto his feet instead of smashing headfirst into the Theatre of Stone and… he did.
The only difference was the massive grin on his visage as he found himself perfectly unscathed, his feet firmly rooted to the Theatre of Stone’s side as he simply stood in the air for one long moment.
And then Tom began to walk, sideways.
He was very sure that the only reason he didn’t feel the pull of both vertigo and dizziness was his Proprioception stat, but that didn’t take away the thrill of pulling off such a move mid-combat.
Though in the midst of all that exhilaration Tom hadn’t made the mistake of losing sight of his enemies. Though he had to painfully crane his neck in order to do so, he both saw and heard the Abyss Demon let out an angry grunt as it hurriedly shuffled over with its stocky build towards the pile of stones placed to his side; a part of them having rolled down the slope Aleph’s actions had created.
Another third of the distance was covered before Tom threw himself upwards to evade the Abyss Demon’s second stone throw.
This time, he definitely felt a little dizzy.
The steps flowed in quick succession as Tom stretched his pace to the maximum he could sustain while he looked down at the world from above.
Thomas Lowe, former Customer Assistance Specialist at Anytime Aisle had never felt more audacious before in his life.
Not as he found himself activating [Rend] on his Nether Blade, before positioning the glowing deep-violet blade above his head.
Not as he kicked off the roof of the Theatre of Stone, like a taut arrow released from a bow at full draw.
The sequence of events that unfolded moments after transpired so quickly that even Tom’s senses struggled to keep up.
One moment he was standing upside down, aiming his sword towards the Abyss Demon that had tried to strike him down twice and was preparing for a third time.
The next moment he was subject to a violent landing as an explosion of blood and viscera, his own wrist hurting as he fell next to the Abyss Demon’s remains.
[Phantom Walk’s] explosive speed combined with [Nether Blade’s] vicious rend had resulted in what was Tom’s most powerful strike yet.
Death had come to the Abyss Demon even before it had time to process it— a silent mercy in wake of the destruction he had rent upon its mortal body.
A single Abyss Demon stood before one of the embrasures.
A single Abyss Demon watched on as the intruders entered its lair.
The Abyss Demon quelled the unease that grew in their ranks with but with a single command as the interlopers in its territory fast approached.
The Abyss Demon stood unmoved as the crystal armored woman punched through the painstakingly built stone fortress with surprising ease. While its comrades had thrown stones endlessly, the Abyss Demon was content to sell the illusion of throwing one by holding it in his left claw, its arm pulled back as if it was on the verge of launching a strike.
The Stone Fortress cracked in half and its comrades began to slide downwards, but gravity seemed to have no hold on this particular Abyss Demon.
It calmly watched as the second interloper made its approach.
Though the stone remained in its hand, it made no attempt to strike at its foe as he jumped from wall to wall with unnerving agility.
Then it saw its companion fall, reduced to blood mist and a gory rain of viscera.
It was not angry, in the same way a general was unmoved by the loss of its soldiers.
It was not angry, but it had chosen that moment to make its presence known.
The reason why Aleph had avoided engaging in combat in the first two Phases. The reason why so many dungeoneers met untimely ends in the grim corners of Sector 6.
Tom had been wary of its presence.
But even that was not enough.
For it was the Abyssal Lurker, A Master of Disguises and this was its domain.
First, it would deal with the weaker interloper.
Then, it would use the sacrifices of its brethren to dull the strong one’s defenses, before it sank its blade arms into her exposed throat.
[Phantom Mist], an upgraded version of the Abyssal Imp’s [Spectral Mists] that allowed it to conjure an illusion that mirrored the appearance of nearby Phantasmal Creatures.
[Bloodied Blades], a blend of the Abyssal Imp’s [Blood Curse] skill and the Bladeswalker’s characteristic Blade Arms that releases a powerful blood toxin into the target’s bloodstream when the blade makes direct contact.
[Stoneform Skin], an upgraded version of the Abyss Demon’s [Stoneform Aura] that made the Abyssal Lurker far more physically resilient and stronger.
Strong. Agile. Resilient.
The Abyssal Lurker was a boss monster that very few enjoyed challenging.
“It’s here!” Aleph screamed out at the top of her lungs moments after vigorous movement caused the Abyssal Lurker’s disguise skill, [Phantom Mist] to fail.