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The Gamer Chapter 1619 – Raid and Adventures 15 – The Raid Boss of Heaven and Earth
🕑 Added 2024-02-09 18:49:59 +0000 UTCMetra gripped Rex Magnar with both hands. Her eyes glowed the telling green of her wrath being tapped into. The back spike of the halberd flared, lightning and plasma cascading from it in an extreme burst of heat and force. Swinging the weapon a full 180 degrees overhead, the ancient weapon brought her cheering armament down on her target.
The jubilation of the weapon ended as quickly as its descent.
Lu Zhi’s features were framed by green scales. Claws covered her hands. A wreath of clouds played around her shoulders, arching behind her back. A scaled tail extended from her lower back. She held up the fan. There was a struggle, until the Extreme Plasma Burst abated. Then, she effortlessly knocked the weapon aside.
““You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,”” John and Metra spoke in unison.
Smirking, Lu Zhi swiped outwards with the open, jade fan. A cataclysmic wave of force ripped outwards, peeling the grass of the dirt as it spread. It stopped only after over a dozen metres, leaving barren ground in its wake and falling chunks of plant matter beyond it.
“Told you, dude,” Lu Zhi stated, all too gleeful for what had just happened. “Keep ’em coming.”
“YOU ASKED FOR THIS!” Salamander roared, raising her hands up high. A fireball formed above her head, dark flames condensing at the core into a dark meteorite. Its growth accelerated rapidly when the apocalypse elemental Unleashed. The heat was omnipresent. Despite her flying up high, grass was starting to turn yellow, then black, then collapse into ash altogether. “HERE WE GO, LU!”
“HIT ME, SALLY!” the imperial tomboy shouted back.
The meteor got moving. Fire flared in beautiful blossoms behind it, contrasting sharply with the sounds of roaring heat. At speeds rapid even for them, the burning rock headed towards Lu Zhi, glassing the ground split seconds before it impacted.
Then the fire was gone.
A porous rock the size of a small boulder dropped to the floor.
“BULLSHIT!” John shouted.
The Heavenly Jade Empress smirked again, then extended her arm opposite of the first shockwave. All the fire that had been launched at her spread out as a torching wave, incinerating all in its path with its black heat. Once it was over, Lu Zhi fanned her face with the jade instrument. “Need further demonstrations?” she asked.
The mandatory Innate Ability for all that would claim the Mandate of Heaven was control over jade. John had considered that just a quirk of the nation’s history. The truth of the matter, however, was that Tianlong was exploiting reality’s magic system.
The god of tradition possessed two primary magics. One was the Mandate of Heaven itself, a contract bestowed upon its chosen ruler, boosting their power to match that of the dragon. Second was the ability to bind any and all force as jade. The strike from a weapon, the fire enveloping a meteorite, the swing of a blood whip, a jet of water, anything could have its force sealed away into the form of jade.
On its own, that was purely defensive magic. The force, bound into a different medium, was stable and inert. Tianlong could turn a meteorite into a pristine statue and then they would just have a pristine statue. However, the jade remembered what it once was, what it was used to bind.
A jade mage of sufficient ability could let it loose in a shape of their choosing. A jade mage that needed the talent to do so conceptually and could then be elevated through the Mandate of Heaven to do so, with little issue, from a power perspective.
When Lu Zhi said she could control any kind of force, she was technically telling the truth. All she needed was for someone to throw that force at her, voluntarily or not, and for Tianlong to then bind that force into jade. The only limitation beyond that was that, once the energy was unsealed, it was out of her control. She could control the kind, moment, and direction of the outflow, but it wasn’t actually her magic.
Still, she was exploiting the metaphysics of it all in a manner that even John had to question.
“Seriously, what’s the limitation on that?” John wanted to know. He was circling around the draconic empress, trying to find any sign of toll.
“Same as all other magic, I’ll run out of mana and stamina eventually,” Lu Zhi answered.
John groaned, feeling his chances at actually beating this Quest dropping rapidly. The only weakness he could identify in her magic was related to solid objects. Throwing a lightning strike at her allowed her to take hold over it wholesale, but throwing rocks or jets of water left the medium in motion behind.
Much to John’s disadvantage, all of his arcane spells could be used as weapons by her. Even as a solid, arcane was raw magical energy.
“So, let me get this straight,” Metra weighed in, “the only way to beat you is to disarm you?”
“Uhm… I think you misunderstand something. This isn’t an actual jade fan.” Lu Zhi tossed it away like it was no big deal. One circle of her wrist, and she was holding a new one. “We are creating it out of gravity and atmospheric pressure.” She tossed that one away as well. The third jade fan appeared in her hand mid unfolding motion. “We do not seal energy in jade, we seal energy as jade. You could strike us unarmed and your first strike would be our weapon.”
“Bullshit,” Metra stated.
“Spoke the daughter of chaos, wielder of the Entropy Arena, equalizer of all powers,” Gaia chimed in. “Pot, meet kettle, you’re both black!”
The supreme deity had a point, but the difference between something Lu Zhi could always do and something that Metra had to use an incantation for was quite stark. “Chances are you got a Babel Phrase yourself…?” John’s tone made the statement a question.
Lu Zhi just smiled.
‘Honestly, what did I expect?’ John thought. ‘The number two of the Abyss obviously would have pretty bullshit abilities. She’s only surpassed by the guy who absorbed several dozen gods.’ “Alright then… I suppose this is where you’ll have your fun.”
On one side of the ring stood Lu Zhi. Her dragon features remained in preparation for the storm about to descend on her. On the other side was John, in his true body, together with Gnome and Rave. Also remaining around, aside from the triumvirate of sassy goddess watching it all, were all those combatants not participating in the Raid. Beatrice, Siena, Sylph, Momo, Claire and Ehtra. Eliana and Nathalia stayed near Gaia, being tolerated on the floating dais. Metra and Salamander took their leave, to join up with the rest of the party for the fourth day of grinding through the Skinwalker infested camp.
Logically, they could just throw Eliana and Nathalia at her and be done with it. Even if Lu Zhi’s ability was turbo-busted, the combined impact of those two would (or at least should) get through her stamina. It helped that Eliana and Nathalia fought through very physical means, which were likely best to tire out the Heavenly Jade Empress.
Why, however, rush this? They had six whole days to try and wrestle her down. Gaia was watching, assuring them they could have this bout without physical worries, and Lu Zhi wanted to flex her muscles. What kind of future husband would he be to deny her this rare opportunity to let loose?
To keep a tomboy, one had to keep her physically engaged… was a rule John made up on the spot.
‘If there’s anything weird about this, it’s how ready I am about engaging in a physical altercation with someone I love,’ John thought. ‘Healing magic sure does numb regular responses. Way simpler to hit her when I know nothing long term will come of it.’
“Enough staring!” Rave stated and started walking. “Lu!”
“Oh, you’re approaching me?” the imperial tomboy asked. “Instead of running away, you’re coming right to me? Even though I, Lu Zhi, told you the secret of the Binding of the Heaven and the Earth?”
“I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer.”
“Ho ho? Then come as close as you like!” Lu Zhi slowly began to walk towards Rave as well.
“W-was that a-“ Gnome started.
“Yes,” John groaned before she could finish the question. “Yes, it was.”
Both Lu Zhi and Rave took one final step. It was harsh enough that the combined force of their presence caused a visible shockwave, dramatically blowing dust off the marble. Both held a dynamic pose. Rave leveraged her height, leaning forwards. Lu Zhi leveraged her confidence, smiling up.
“I’m going to cuddle you into submission later,” the feline Lightbearer announced.
“Please do,” Lu Zhi answered.
Aura’s flared. Like translucent fire, it enveloped Rave in honest gold, her hair changing colour in the same instant. Around Lu Zhi, it was like fog rolling down a chilled mountainside in summer’s dawn.
“Ora! Ora! Ora!” Rave shouted.
“Muda! Muda! Muda! Lu Zhi answered in kind.
John pinched the bridge of his nose. Flying fists collided at sonic speed. Knuckles covered in scales met with those covered by Rave’s bodysuit. The speed and intensity ramped up further and further, until the playful screams of the weeaboos were gone. Left behind was the quiet of two master martial artists going at it.
It was Lu Zhi who first broke the standing exchange. Open palm blocked the hook of Rave’s reinforced right hand, then the Heavenly Jade Empress turned her arm and the entirety of Rave was turned along with it. Reacting fluidly, Rave swiped with her left arm while upside down. The lines under the pink sleeve of the asymmetrical bodysuit flared up to life in all of the Fusional prismatic glory.
Five slashes of light rippled over the distance. With expert ease, Lu Zhi plucked them each out of the air, turning them into three jade marbles between her fingers. ‘Wait, can she just keep adding energy to one jade object?’ John asked himself.
Twisting around, Lu Zhi threw Rave opposite of John and Gnome, who became the targets of the marbles. Mid-air, two of them exploded into one slash, while the third exploded into three. That partly answered John’s question, although he did not know if there was a temporal limit to this ability. Considering that she had used a fan made out of already created marble for the test attacks, however, the answer seemed obvious.
Magus Step got him out of the way of Rave’s redirected attack. Gnome blocked it with crossed arms, then stormed forwards. ‘I wish I could still turn into a stone torrent!’ she complained mentally.
‘You used that Unleash like twice before we replaced it,’ John reminded.
‘Y-yeah… but still!’
Gnome leapt and landed short of Lu Zhi, her impact turning the marble of the ring into shattered spikes of brown stone around her. The jagged shards curved or headed directly to Lu Zhi. Raising just one finger, the Heavenly Jade Empress met the first of the impacts. A wall of jade appeared around her, stopping all other attacks on impact. ‘Just how hard is that stuff anyway? Binding energy into a medium is already powerful, why does that medium have to be an incredibly hard stone as well?’ John wondered. ‘Gnome can you…?’
‘I’m trying!’ the season elemental pressed out her answer. The wall of jade trembled and glowed, as the earth spirit and the empress competed for control. Only for a second, the struggle remained, then the wall was undone, the bound force exploding outwards, destroying the very spikes that had created it.
Gnome weathered the shockwave, immediately stepping in to hurl a punch at the Heavenly Jade Empress. She narrowly side-stepped it, simultaneously blocking the Blast Ray John had angled to hit her in the side. Immediately, she whirled around, swinging the unfolded fan now in her hand at Rave. The Blast Ray hit a laser projectile mid-air, causing an explosion of arcane and light.
Charging back in, Rave supported Gnome in the melee. Always a smile on her green lips, the imperial tomboy ducked and weaved through the expert combination of the two experienced combatants. A storm of swift attacks by Rave, supported by the heavy punches by Gnome, kept even the second of the Abyss on her toes.
One, two, three jabs, one kick, Rave flawlessly executed, before going into a roundhouse kick. The attack was ambitious and would have left her open to counter attack, had it not been for the leaping punch Gnome followed it up with. Lu Zhi twisted to the side. The entire ring quaked when Gnome’s tiny fist hammered a crater into it.
Folding her fan into a block of jade, the empress brought it down like a guillotine on Gnome’s neck. An Arc Lance forced her to abort the attack, instead bringing the fan in between her chest and the piercing projectile. Gnome was still struck by the tail of the draconic woman. A much lesser impact, yet enough to send the earth spirit on her side.
Rave filled the gap immediately. Clenching her right tight, she went for a swing. The reinforced knuckles again met with Lu Zhi’s palm. This time, the feline Lightbearer immediately went for the streaks of light. As she was rotated, her prismatic claws swiped diagonally upwards.
Almost, the attack connected. Almost, but not quite. Lu Zhi stepped aside at the last moment, then loosed the absorbed Arc Lance right back at John, just as he threw another one at her.
Rave landed on her feet, after a full cartwheel, Gnome was back on hers as well, and Lu Zhi stood between them. Green eyes, slit pupils narrowed, she kept looking back and forth, keeping tabs on all three of them. Slowly, she walked backwards, doing her best to get them all into her field of view. Her tail wagged with excitement.
They were a threat to her. The three of them, as they were, were a threat to the number two of the Abyss. They weren’t favoured whatsoever, John gave them, at best, a 2% of winning, but they were a threat. They couldn’t be ignored.
“I really chose well to become part of your big club,” Lu Zhi announced. “Our empire will be unstoppable!”
“We’ll have to negotiate whether or not it will be an empire!” John shouted back. His whimsical tone switched. “Jane! Let’s go hard!”
“Roger that, tiger!”
Lu Zhi tilted her head, then smirked, catching Rave’s sudden retreat. Crouching down to give chase, the Heavenly Jade Empress froze mid motion, her eyes dashing to where John had been.
Magus Step, Skitterstep, Magus Step, Skitterstep – the combination let him appear invisible right next to the dark-haired woman. The tiny motions of air was all the warning she got for the Arcana Ray he aimed directly at her temple.
Snapping her neck around, the Heavenly Jade Empress opened her maw wide. The carnivorous nature of her teeth became rapidly more pronounced, her lips pulling back to an inhuman degree, as scales became larger and denser up the side of her neck and face. There was a sound, like a cannonball getting launched, and a terrible impact in John’s abdomen. His mana suddenly dropped by half and he had no idea what exactly had happened. A dragon breath attack of some variety, what kind he could not decipher.
The Arcana Ray connected with Lu Zhi’s forehead, burning a mark into her pale skin. Immediately, he had to teleport away, to escape the devastating kick that would have caught him otherwise.
“A solemn reign, for the few that rise up high.” The Babel Phrase echoed in the background. Gold-haired and gold mantled, the feline Lightbearer crouched down. One hand on the ground, the left raised, she tensed up, ready to launch herself like an Olympic sprinter.
Lu Zhi just grinned. Her mouth had returned to human dimensions, but lines made by scales still hinted at the further outlines. Although she made no motions to intercept Rave, Gnome threw herself back into the fray all the same. The Heavenly Jade Empress could not be allowed to be prepared for the strike.
It was an open question why Lu Zhi bothered to dodge at all. Did she do it for her own entertainment’s sake or because it was just more mana efficient? Whichever it was, she kept her distance from Gnome effortlessly, outpacing the slow elemental.
“And we all fight.” The chant progressed swiftly. Prismatic claws elongated and thickened. Heat turned the surrounding stone incandescent. “Let our worlds collide!”
Several things happened in the span of those final words. Lu Zhi gripped Gnome’s arm and threw her in a flawlessly executed spin. John launched a series of Blast Rays, clashing, fusing, and re-angling as they advanced – ultimately missing Lu Zhi’s chest by a hair’s width. The Heavenly Jade Empress straightened up and Rave snapped forwards at proverbial light speed.
There was an impact.
The shoulder of Lu Zhi’s dress burned.
Then the heat and the light all stopped.
A dagger of jade had appeared in Lu Zhi’s hand. In the shop of every craftsman, it would have been regarded as the creator’s magnum opus. Smooth as a polished diamond, the blade was the very quintessence of the double-edged knife. It smoothly transitioned into a guard shaped like the head of a dragon, as if the blade was a horn of the magnificent creature. The grip was carved with ridges and falls perfect for the hand holding it.
The weapon quivered and trembled in the hands of its maker. Turning around, Lu Zhi swung it in a wide arc, unleashing the energies within before they could be set free on their own. “OY!” Gaia shouted, a protective bubble appearing around her platform. Prismatic light and absolute heat flowed around it. In a flash, the technicolour torrent was gone, leaving behind only a glassed scar on the landscape. “Watch it!”
“Te-hee.” Lu Zhi gave her head a cutesy knock, then turned back to her enemies.
None of them even bothered to attack her again. The moment she had gotten control of Rave’s Babel Phrase, she could have wiped them all out in one swing. “So there is a limit to what you can bind?” John asked, as he approached her.
“There’s a limit to everything in magic.” Lu Zhi inspected her shoulder. “Two hits, though. That’s more than anyone of my station has sustained in… well, actually not that long. About eighty years.”
“World War 2?” John asked and she just nodded. “I’d assume your predecessor suffered more gruesome injuries then.”
“Guts all over the floor.” Lu Zhi gave a matching gesture in front of her stomach. “Tsukuyomi sure put up a fight. I doubt we’re going to go that far.”
“The only parts of your insides I want to see I have already,” John teased. “Although I won’t join further fights against you anyway.”
“Awwww, why not?” Lu Zhi complained.
“Because they need my mana inside the Raid.”
