Chapter 223: Dance of Death
Coop was biding his time, waiting to see how the two unoccupied High Priests would aid the Totemic, while chipping away at the High Priest’s defenses. Both the Deathstalker and the Herald were equally focused on the confrontation between himself and their companion. Coop knew that he had to consider the Priests’ ability to support and work together if he was going to have continued success against the group. So far, they had answers for his phantasms and his unleveraged stats, at least temporarily, but he also had at least one more gear when it came to skirmishing and an extended fight favored his build above most others.
Tzultacaj, Mateo, and Juliana were all engaged with the Colossus near the edge of the pyramid. The Colossus continued to grow larger. At this point the Elite Jaguar Warriors were fighting a golem that had grown over 16 feet tall and threatened to stomp them if they were too slow. Tzultacaj was carving stone chunks off the High Priest’s body, but Juliana and Felix only scoured the surface of his armor with claw marks when they attacked. Mateo hadn’t fired a single laser beam since he first arrived on the top of Chakyum’s temple, ostensibly waiting for an opening.
Coop was in the center of the pyramid, near the settlement’s civilization shard, as he hammered at the empowered Totemic. Both the Deathstalker and the Herald stayed nearby, supporting their comrade against Coop’s assault, with their backs to the staircase that led deeper into the structure.
The sky had transitioned into an overcast gray above the Yucatan Settlement. High above, barely formed clouds mirrored the swirling patterns of mana Coop had seen in the monochromatic world. Coop had the impression that they were standing on an active volcano that had already erupted, and were now reliving the footage of the aftermath in reverse. Instead of belching clouds of smoke into the atmosphere, black plumes of mana were slowly being sucked back into the structure.
After both of the Totemic’s totems were destroyed, two more of the wooden stumps slowly coalesced from drifting green energy, returning to their places criss-crossing on his back. He and Coop exchanged blows with the High Priest blocking Coop’s warhammer with his forearms or taking blows to the limbs without complaint, and Coop blocking meteoric punches with his shield, dodging, or casting Legacy of the Mists to harry the empowered healer. The standoff lasted until the totems fully solidified. As soon as the High Priest opened a window for Coop to take advantage, by moving to retrieve one of the totems, Coop shifted into his second gear, pushing his body with the full extent of his stats, no longer holding back to pace himself like a marathon runner. He altered the tempo so that it became a sprinter’s dash to the next checkpoint.
The sparring ended and Coop revealed the true extent of his stats while taking advantage of the stacking effect of Clarity of Purpose. Every blow that the Totemic received meant that Coop could ignore a fraction of his defenses on subsequent blows. With the way the fight had gone, Coop expected to have reduced the Totemic’s defense by more than 25% already.
Coop could feel the strain from his right shoulder all the way to his hips as he slammed his hammer into the Totemic’s ribs with a devastating forearm swing, finding the gap exposed beneath the man’s upturned arm with sudden precision, and the High Priest hissed as he absorbed the powerful blow. The Priest reflexively brought the upturned limb back down in an effort to catch Coop’s hammer between his arm and his body to prevent it from hitting him a second time.
Coop entered Vaporform for a split second, escaping the trapping arm by passing straight through, then slammed the hammer into the newly presented elbow with equal force. The High Priest grunted in pain, shying away from the blow before he thrust his other fist forward in a powerful cross that could have killed a bull.
Coop shifted his head to the left side, letting the deadly fist barely flick his ear, tearing the tip, then slammed his shield into the outside of the extended arm, turning the Totemic’s body to the side and eliminating any further defense from the pivoted Priest. The force of Coop’s strikes had suddenly escalated beyond what the High Priest had grown comfortable with and the pained responses eroded the seemingly unstoppable bloodlust he had been presenting.
The Deathstalker stepped in before Coop could continue building his advantage, passing through one of her gateways at his side. She forced Coop to abandon an overhand swing with his hammer to account for the additional party. Coop blocked the obsidian dagger as she attempted a rapid but telegraphed attack. The assassin was only present for a split second before she returned to the Herald’s side, not giving Coop an opportunity to counter her brief visit.
The Totemic had no hesitation, already throwing a desperate haymaker before the Deathstalker was gone, subconsciously feeling the inadequacy in his stats, and acknowledging the fact that if he let Coop take the advantage, he’d never get it back. When the Deathstalker disappeared, her scowling visage was replaced by the High Priest’s crushing fist.
The Totemic’s knuckles passed through mists as Coop stepped forward, lowering his shield while shifting into another attack. The High Priest’s recognition of the shifting momentum had come too late. The Totemic was being left behind. Coop rounded on the High Priest before exiting another quick Vaporform to slam the hammer into the back of the Priest’s knee with the full force of his combined attributes. The Priest finally stumbled.