Chapter 230: Hunger
The death empowered scythe bulldozed through the air as it reached for Coop’s neck. Rather than whistling with speed, it drove through the atmosphere like a semi-truck speeding on a snowy highway. A cloud of dark smoke billowed like a gas fire from the edge while a single streak of razor thin blackness traced the scythe’s exact trajectory from behind. The cloud dispersed into tiny curling waves with the rain helping wash it away.
Coop barely deflected the blow with the lip of his shield, sending it up above his head, and stopping the blade before the curling edge extended to his opposite side. His cheek collided with the inside of his shield despite his effort and he grunted as he stumbled two steps to his right before regaining his balance. There was easily enough Strength powering the blow to compare with his own, despite the lack of form, technique, or skill enhancing the potential. The difference in levels was finally catching up to him, exceeding what his passive skills could offer.
His stumble saved him from being struck by the forward most of six bowling ball-sized orbs that erupted with bassy thumps from the Lich as the scythe struck Coop’s shield. The slow moving projectiles floated at chest height, directly away from the Lich in all directions, equidistant from each other. The dark spheres of marble shadows hovered smoothly, glowing as they collected a ring of golden light on their shells before dissipating 20 yards away. They were clearly reminiscent of the Elite Void Queen’s void spheres, though they were constructed of enigmatic shadow rather than her powerful void mana.
Coop automatically counterattacked, letting muscle memory override his desire to continue assessing his opponent’s strengths and abilities. He thrust his spear forward even while he braced with his back foot. His attack whistled through the air, streamlined with efficiency rather than barreling through the atmosphere like the Lich’s scythe. However, for all of his practiced potency, before the tip of the spear connected with the omnipresent energy shield, a bone lance grew from the ground, like one of the Mushroom King’s spikes, and redirected the blow. Stone pebbles were flung in all directions as the lance shaped obstacle obstructed the spear, causing the ethereal tip to clank against its surface before slipping to the side. The Lich demonstrated an investment in Acumen that rivaled Coop’s Agility and more likely exceeded it.
The scythe cleaved straight through the bone as if it was merely a shadow, sending another plume of black smoke across their forms. The edge of the scythe caught Coop’s spear just below the tip, and cleaved his weapon like it was completely unsolidified mists, adding a demonstration of Agility to his repertoire. A bolt of black lightning followed the strike, arcing into Coop’s extended arms and running through his body into his upper chest with a flash of electricity. Coop flew backwards, unprepared for the potent magical strike. He subconsciously added Intelligence to the rapidly expanding list of the Lich’s formidable attributes. His feet struggled to find a grip on the wet stone while he slid away, leaving sparkling blue motes of electricity dancing in his trail as he hydroplaned across the surface.
The Lich followed even before he came to a stop, hovering like a witch, with a blast of black flames erupting from his feet as he revealed individual abilities taken from the Voice of Kukulkan and the Avatar of Huracan, respectively. He slid the scythe to his side, preparing another lunging horizontal swing that would separate Coop’s torso from his legs, but Coop growled as he leapt further backwards, out of range, and counterattacked with an off-balanced resummoned spear.
Coop barely shifted his body in time as another bone spike appeared at his flank. If not for Presence of Mind, he would have been impaled and completely vulnerable to the Lich’s assault, but he maintained his attack regardless.
The scythe wasn’t a practical weapon, and Coop felt that in isolation, it would be easy to overcome, regardless of any perceived stat difference. If it wasn’t for the powerful shield that protected the Lich, Coop believed he would be in control of the fight through technique alone, despite all of the other tricks being presented. The Lich was crudely powerful and unrefined.
The spear slipped beyond the backswing of the scythe, striking the Lich’s shield and sending a gout of miasmic mana from the other side, adding to the billowing smoke clouds that swirled around the two combatants. The Lich spared him an amused smile as he settled down, abandoning his pursuit in order to tap the end of his scythe on the ground. A pair of triangular zones of gray highlighted two quarters of the arena, forward and backward from the Cult leader’s position.
Coop slid to the side, exiting the pie shaped danger area just before hundreds of shadowy hands erupted from the nether within the active zone. The hands desperately clawed at the air, ripping and tearing as they blindly sought a target. As soon as they disappeared, the other two quarters darkened, repeating the effect.