Vale slid off his gauntlets and stored them in [Nexus of Beginnings]. He needed sothing blunt.
Sadly, he possessed no such weapon, so he opted to turn his right arm into a cudgel and blanket it in Aether.
’This is gonna hurt...’
But waiting any longer wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
It was ti for Salo and Vale to bash this cretin’s skull in!
Well, bash his armor in... at the joints.
Vale, at the far end of the octagon where the man was, stood and faced him.
Salo, who’d led him there, had just flipped and shot herself next to him.
Vale began walking directly at the man.
"We can take turns distracting him."
"Vale, let —"
"We take turns."
Salo sighed.
"Understood..."
Then, she walked off to the left, crystal arm mallet in her left, only hand.
’Well, well...’
Vale didn’t think today he and the Blood Pri would be nacingly walking toward each other from either side of a prismatic octagon in a pocket dinsion, but here he was!
As Vale and the man got closer to eting in the middle, Vale asked:
"What’s his na?"
"Lorkel Manifold, but he went by Lor."
’Is that so?’
Vale smiled, then looked at the man and spoke in Kaldoran Common.
"Lor, can you understand ?"
The man’s even steps broke for a mont — a slight hesitation, and nothing more.
"Lor, why can’t we talk this out? We’re not enemies. Should our collective blades not be pointed toward the Scourge, not one another?"
Lor stopped, causing Vale to stop as well. The two stood just out of range of one another. A strange look, one that mirrored realization, reflected in his hollow eyes. Like the man was seeing a long-lost friend.
’No.’
’A long-lost enemy? Friend turned enemy?’
It was hard to read the look of an irrational man.
The man spoke in a slow, deep tallic voice. It held echoes of lost humanity.
"For you to say that, Ixion... It... It... It is the height of hypocrisy! Unforgivable!"
’Woah! How did I anger him so badly?!’
Vale had been trying to lull him with [Charm], but it had the opposite effect.
’Damn!’
The man stepped forward and slung his sword down. Vale, not foolish enough to think he could parry the blow — especially with his flesh — dodged to the side as Salo hit him with a drive-by mallet slam to his calf.
The effect on the armor was minimal, but there was an ever-so-slight dent. But...
’Why did he call Ixion?!’
Vale knew who that man was from Mias’ tales of the enigmatic King of Catatran. The man who defied fate, or perhaps succumbed to it, from another perspective. But...
’Considering what that man did...’
Lor, a supposed general, had every right to hate Ixion.
’But is he seeing as Ixion?’
The man scread as he sent another strike at Vale.
"You did this to ! You broke ! You dared shatter ! Deny rest!"
Vale barely managed to duck the blow, then rolled away.
Salo, standing next to the man, yelled,
"I’ll take over!"
"Right!"
Vale scampered away and let out a few haggard breaths as he leaned against the translucent wall.
’Phew, that guy is scary up close.’
Vale looked back at Lor...
’Huh?’
The man looked over at Salo, then back at Vale.
"Hey, hey! Lor, buddy... uh... what did I do to you?"
The man, despite Salo being closer, moved after Vale.
The man scread at Vale,
"Don’t you dare run, Ixion!"
Vale shouted back,
"I’m Valentin. Valentin! Not this Ixion!"
"Don’t lie, heathen. I’d recognize that foul stench of your soul anywhere."
’Huh? My... soul?’
Vale let out a feigned chuckle.
"Lor, my friend, you seem very confused."
As the man drew closer, he bellowed:
"Your existence fills with unbridled rage!"
’Welp.’
It didn’t seem like they were going to snap him out of the Ixion delusion at this rate.
Vale spoke to Salo in his own language.
"I guess I’ll continue my role as a decoy."
Salo, annoyed, reluctantly agreed:
"Just stay safe."
Vale walked toward Lor, a smile on his face. If he couldn’t confuse him with charm...
’I can at least piss him off.’
"Lor, you caught ! I’m Ixion. Yup, definitely. Now, let’s settle this."
The knight scread, then ’charged,’ speed-walked, toward Vale.
’It appears it worked.’
The man had already lost his sense and rationality. Now he’d lost his composure.
Salo landed a few clean blows on the man’s armor, adding more dents. The man wasn’t even paying attention to her.
While that seed like a good thing...
’Her quills are chipping.’
From the five hits she’d landed, the mallet was breaking.
Vale dashed to the opposite side of the room, causing Lor’s next strike to whiff.
Salo smacked the back of his elbow as she ran by.
"How many more?"
"Twenty if full power!"
’I love how perceptive she is!’
Vale slid to a stop, then turned.
"That’s not enough, is it?"
"No, it isn’t."
’Tch...’
That ant they’d need another way to damage this guy, or Vale would have to mount the damage while also drawing attention.
’I’m crazy, I know that... but not crazy enough to take a Blood Pri head-on.’
Especially when his weapon would be a flesh mallet.
aning, they could either use the shield to bash the guy over the head... or sothing.
’Or hope we did enough damage to slow him down for Salo to use her quills unimpeded.’
Neither seed desirable.
’Wait...’
Vale looked down at his naked torso — specifically, at the [Nexus of Beginnings].
There were a few odd items and tools in there. Maybe he had a suitable weapon.
Vale waited for Lor to reach him, then dashed as quickly as he could to the far side of the octagon. Then, he used [Unload].
Everything Vale had in the crystal fell onto the floor: his new bike, helm, whip, various swords and daggers, a dozen [Dawn’s Eye]s, [Reshaper], the cube, glasses, among other items.
Vale looked over the vast assortnt.
’No suitable weapon... damn.’
But at least they had a larger arsenal to work with. Plus, the swords were expendable. There were a few in good condition that he’d like to keep, but it would be worth sacrificing them for victory.
Vale picked up [Midnight’s Mountain Bike].
’I might as well use it to conserve energy.’
Instead of hesitating, Vale mounted the bike and began circling Lor. A bike having been his main transportation for most of his life, he was quite a good cyclist.
Along with the bike, Vale picked up the [Wipe of Beginnings] and [Helm of Disregard].
Vale didn’t waste ti hopping on and pedaling to Alpha.
’Smooth ride!’
"Wear this and use the whip to try and trip him."
’As long as she holds onto the handle, it’s not a projectile.’
Vale pedaled away from Alpha and over to Salo, who’d been watching his actions with a thoroughly befuddled expression.
Vale called out to her:
"Keep using the swords until they break!"
They weren’t ideal against heavy armor, but they were better than her claws or damaging her quills, which would be needed for the kill shot.
Lor’s rage seed to only grow as Vale sped around in a circle.
Vale called out to him:
"Lor, my friend! Is there a problem? Fight , you coward!"
Vale laughed.
Despite this being the most threatening situation in his life, he looked like an absolute fool. He was gleefully riding around on a bike as a Blood Pri who could only walk chased him.
But it was working.
Salo landed blow after blow, forming more dents in the armor.
Still, Lor paid her no mind, focusing only on Vale, thinking him to be Ixion.
"Lor, my friend. Hurry up! Fight like a man."
"Coward!"
"Coward?! ? You’re the one walking, too scared to charge at ."
Riding in circles, Vale looked down at the bike. He decided to test what [Nitro] did. At a safe distance from Lor, he angled the bike and activated it.
"Woah! Shit, fuck!"
The mont he fed it Aether, the bike shot forward with blazing speed and slamd into a translucent wall of the octagon.
’Shit! That was scary! I hope the bike’s okay—’
Vale’s eyes widened as he stared at the perfectly intact bike.
’Oh, right. I forgot. [Unbreakable].’
A realization struck Vale’s mind — wild and untad.
Alongside that realization ca a brazen, horrendous, amazingly dumb idea; an idea that made a mockery of all the training he’d done thus far — all of the technical and philosophical quandaries he’d undergone to build his power.
He possessed no blunt weapon, yes...
But he did possess blunt items. One of those items being an indestructible bike.
A bike that could accelerate at terrifying speed — speed so great that if its carbon fiber fra smashed into tal...
’That damage wouldn’t be inconsequential.’
A manic smile split Vale’s face as he bent over and picked up the bike, gripping it by the handlebars.
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