49 – Test of Destiny
Ren's beam cannon reappeared beside him and fired towards Anak's head.
'This is long past the point where Yuri Zahard should have arrived…it wouldn't be strange if the timing was a bit off though, considering the weeks it took for her group to travel here,' thought Axion. 'I can escape to the Ring of Deterrence in ten seconds, but desertion would mean losing the goodwill I have with Androssi and most of the main characters, or even risk some of their deaths. That would be inconvenient for my future plans in the Tower, but if it gets too dangerous…'
The chanting, swirling Shinsoo, and symbols in the air all abruptly stopped, and Androssi pulled on the hook of the Green April dragging Anak away from the beam.
Ren rushed towards Androssi.
Androssi dropped Anak and barely raised the Green April up in time to block his kick.
'For now, I should fight a little while assuming Yuri is just late. Given the way Ren toyed with Androssi and Anak, he probably won't try to end this efficiently either, so I can keep stalling,' thought Axion. 'And the human body's typical vital points aren't actually fatal for me. Unless he goes for my head, I can probably survive long enough to escape.'
Axion swung down at Ren at the same time and unleashed a blast of Shinsoo.
A small blue panel appeared to block the blast from Derflinger while Ren's kick hit Androssi and sent her crashing through a stalagmite.
Another blast of Shinsoo was fired from the cannon and Axion was forced to jump back to dodge.
Large segments of the Green April swept forth, which Ren danced around.
Anak scrambled away quickly despite her wounds.
Ren jumped towards Anak, only for Androssi to catch his leg in a reel string, and then a blast of Shinsoo from Derflinger hit him.
Androssi got to Anak and grabbed her wrist before running the opposite direction from where Ren was hit and sent flying.
"Can you still fight, Anak?" Axion asked.
"She won't be much help, too heavily wounded," said Androssi, shaking her head.
"Shut up witch, I'm fine!" Anak growled.
"Get Ship and get out of here, I'll hold him back!" Axion shouted.
"Yes, save me!" Ship yelled, waving his arms.
Androssi swept the Green April towards the Bull, but it ducked and dodged, then threw Ship over them all, screaming profanities as he arced through the air.
Ren tore through the air passing by Ship even as the Bull attacked Androssi and Anak.
"I can't let you leave with that fake!" Ren said loudly.
Axion flew up to intercept, but then a huge yellow snake-like creature burst from the ground and closed its mouth over him whole.
"Axion!" Androssi shouted, before the distraction cost her a hit from the Bull's spear, sending her flying away, but instead of being allowed to land, the curved cannon appeared in her path and fired a beam directly into her back. "Uhk!"
The Green April clattered away as Androssi was driven into a newly created ditch on the ground.
Ren kicked Anak down, then kicked her a few more times for good measure, until she was too dizzy to move.
"Anak! Stop that you bastard!" Ship yelled, trying to crawl over. "Weren't you supposed to be the Wave Controller instructor?! Are you the assassin?!"
The undercover RED ignored him, then picked up the Green April from the ground and slurped it into his costume's mouth.
"Well then, since the princess won't kill the fake, looks like I'll just have to do the job myself. But rest assured, Ms. Androssi Zahard, the King will hear of this, and know that you tried to protect her," said Ren.
"Damn you…!" Androssi growled out, pushing her chest off the ground but seemed to have difficulty getting the rest of the way up.
The snake made a pained cry, and then a beam of energy cleaved through its skin, revealing Axion who was covered in viscous liquids but otherwise fine.
"But first, even though I can't kill you as a princess of Zahard, I can definitely kill this retainer of yours for this heinous crime," Ren said.
Whether Axion really was a retainer, hired help, or just a newly acquired teammate did not really matter to the Bia family agent. It was a fact that the princess was benefiting from it, so that was a good enough reason for Ren to act. Killing him was perhaps excessive, since it might incur the wrath of the Guardian. The consequence of interfering with Regulars like this against the rules of the Tower was not insignificant, but it wasn't intolerable either. That was why he'd been sent to eliminate the fake princess after all, even before Yu Hansung told him the Guardian permitted it.
Even for the Zahard Empire, the rules of the Tower were absolute for everyone. But as a member of RED, Ren was familiar with some loopholes that could be exploited. For example a Ranker could sneak into the Inner Tower where Regular tests took place with the help of a Guide or by getting a job as a test administrator. And if they wanted to interfere with Regulars, they could do so by accepting certain Shinsoo restrictions on themselves, either through a temporary contract with the Guardian or voluntarily by using less Shinsoo. If they limited their Shinsoo manipulation so that it was not much higher than the target, it was not considered as grave a violation because the battle was "fair".
The same "fairness" principle applied to abuses of power by stronger beings in the Tower to all other weaker beings even outside of the Inner Tower. In the Middle Area or Outer Tower, the Guardians might still intervene, depending on its mood and personality, if a Ranker or more powerful being started fights or massacres near Regulars and other inhabitants of the Tower. All territory on a Floor was ruled by the Guardian after all, so they had full authority over which fights were allowed to happen. This especially applied if Rankers tried to host events for Regulars in the Middle Area or ambushed Regulars while they were traveling between Floors.
But the most important point was whether or not a Guardian actually warned him or interceded. If they did so directly, then it was an absolute order, and the penalty could be instant death and further punishment to all those involved in his mission were he to try and defy it still.
Otherwise it was an implicit sort of permission…that whatever was happening could be important to the destiny of the Tower.
And that was exactly what was happening here. Ren had been interfering and there had been no direct warning from the Guardian to stop, so he could keep pushing it until a warning came.
"Now, why don't you entertain me properly, Mr. Axion? Show me that mysterious power you used to fight against Quant," said Ren. The more power that Axion used, the more that Ren himself could use in response.
'I was right…he's still playing with us,' thought Axion. 'Well, if he wants entertainment, fine by me. If he's curious to see my power, then I can drag this out and either wait for Yuri to get here or find an opportunity.'
"I think you've got it backwards, Ren, a lowly Ranker like you, killing me? Don't make me laugh," Axion said arrogantly. Axion's golden armor began to vibrate, wiggle, and move while he talked. Black patterns crawled up his face alongside red circuit lines, then his armor began to grow up his face as well.
"I was not stalling in the hopes of anyone coming to help us. I was merely checking to see if anybody was watching, and whether the Guardian permitted this as part of the test," said Axion, as he took off his visor and put it away into his Pocket.
'Nothing happens without the approval of the Guardian, so there's a possibility that it's intentionally making me fight this battle and Yuri might not be able to interfere at all. I can't win a straight fight, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. A princess has more durability than an average Ranker, and I was clearly able to hurt Quant before when he wasn't using Shinsoo. That means, no matter how skilled or powerful Ren's offensive capabilities are, if I can get a single chance to land a killing blow, then I can win.'
A dark red and purple aura began to emit from Axion's body as the Kaleidostick hidden in the back of his armor glowed. 'Time to look like a demon,' he thought to himself.
The surface of Axion's armor smoothed out into a single contiguous piece before growing jagged edges, the color changed to a primarily dark red and black crystalline texture, with some parts of it a highly reflective kaleidoscopic gradient.
"Is that so? And why would that matter?"
"That's right, little RED. Since I have confirmed that the Guardian does consider this part of the test, then the Zahard family cannot object if I use you, a Ranker from one of the Ten Great Families, as the sacrifice!" Axion's voice warped again at the end as the armor covered his entire head, turning his head towards Androssi.
He tore away his capes, throwing them aside to the ground with a thud, revealing that there had been large folded wings underneath. 'These wings are too slow and their extra mass makes the Omniflight spell more difficult and expensive,' he thought to himself. 'I need to go all out and focus on peak performance.'
"I see…" Ren said, then giggled. "Well then, in that case…by all means! Come!"
"By your leave, summoner?" Axion asked, turning his head towards Androssi.
"Take him down!" Androssi shouted back.
"Boost ten!"
Axion's body lit up in a yellow aura, then burst towards Ren.
"Impressive!" Ren said while barely dodging and firing beams of Shinsoo from his cannon that Axion dodged as well. "I can see how you were able to keep up with Quant!"
After a fast exchange of slashes and beams of Shinsoo, the blue shield panel blocked the next slash, and the mouth of the costume opened to reveal a dark shadowy figure charging up a Shinsoo beam in its mouth at point blank range.
Axion was unable to react in time and was blown away into a wall.
"But it's not enough! Can you do any better against an opponent who is free to use Shinsoo?" Ren asked.
When Axion got up a portion of his armor was burned away at the chest underneath the right shoulder, revealing a strange mix of dark red blood and some other brown-green liquid underneath.
"All that boasting for nothing," said Anak with a huff.
"No way…" Ship said.
"Not bad…looks like we can take this up another level, Derflinger," said Axion, flexing his shoulder as if testing it, showing that it was fine despite the apparent injury.
"You got it, Partner!"
"Ignition: Stage Two," Axion said, while holding the blade of his sword with his left hand.
"A second Ignition? I've never heard of such a thing," said Ren, watching curiously and allowing his opponent to finish powering up.
"Yes! I knew we could count on you, Axion!" Ship cheered.
"Tch! Probably just another trick," said Anak.
The whole light teal crystalline blade seemed to come off, revealing a much thinner pure white blade underneath, creating a sharp contrast against Axion's darker color scheme.
Ren sweatdropped. "All you did was pull off the outer layer."
"See?" Anak said to Ship. "Just a trick. We're all going to die."
"Don't let me down, damn it!" Ship shouted.
Androssi slowly got up while nobody was looking her way, and inched away towards a hiding spot behind a stalagmite.
"The outer layer was a seal," said Axion, with a chuckle. "Now we can release the true power. Derflinger, Ignite!"
'It might just be a layer, but it has its own advantages and disadvantages. With the layer on, Derf has to project his power through a secondary medium, which makes the Aura and Beams above level 6 unusable, in exchange for better defense and absorption as attacks are refracted through the outer crystal before they can damage the inside. That doesn't make a difference against a Ranker of Ren's level, though, if I can't react fast enough to block his attacks and even if I did, his attacks are probably intense enough to blow through the crystal anyways,' Axion thought, while his Armoriont slowly began to regenerate and recover the skin that was exposed.
"Awwww yeaaah!" Derflinger shouted as the sword grew much brighter, then Axion's body lit up again.
Axion charged forward again.
The blue panel came up to block as he slashed, while the cannon flipped around and opened fire from behind him.
'Thanks to the Endbringer crystals being alive, Derf has a bit more fine control, so now I can retain control while he Boosts me—I won't have the benefit of his skill, but it does mean I can coordinate my own Burstshift in close combat!'
He disappeared in a sudden burst of speed before the Shinsoo beam hit him, then reappeared behind Ren, who still managed to move his shield panel back in the way as he turned around.
The sword collided with the panel, but this time it cracked.
"…!" Ren jumped away.
Derflinger broke through the panel, before Axion flashed to Ren again.
A large wave of Shinsoo shoved Axion aside before he could reach his target as Ren fired another Shinsoo blast out of his mouth. It barely missed as Axion shifted away.
Both fighters landed back on the ground with a wary look at the other.
"It might be dangerous even for me if I were to be hit by that…" Ren remarked.
"He's really fighting on par with a Ranker!" Ship exclaimed. "I knew we could count on him!"
'Derf's capacity is limited…even though the Endbringer crystal improved it and the efficiency of the higher levels, I'll only be able to use the strongest Slash Beam once, since I'm using Boost as well. The Slash Beam condensed into a Sword Aura can't be powered down without losing twenty percent of the unreleased Slash Beam's energy either…' Axion considered carefully and stayed silent. 'But at least I've confirmed the level 8 intensity should be enough to be a threat to him, which means…'
"Derf, get ready. It looks like we'll have to put everything on the line and go all out just like that time."
"Let's do it. I'm ready."
Then Ren giggled in a mad frenzy. "This excitement…I can barely hold them back anymore!"
Suddenly a huge swarm of giant Shinheuh burst out of his mouth.
"Ahhh!" Ship screamed as the Shinheuh swarm covered everything in sight. But fortunately for him and Anak, they did not seem to be interested in killing them now, instead heading for Axion.
Androssi took from her Arms Inventory the Black March, which Axion had given her before the test started, and joined the fray.
A frenzy of hacking, roaring, biting, and spurting blood followed.
Axion tore through several big fish initially, but they seemed to shrug off the wounds and eventually began to tear off pieces of his armor. Androssi fared a little worse offensively, and her clothes were torn apart easily but her skin did not bleed.
Ship and Anak tried to escape in the confusion but were stopped by Ren who then tied them up and strapped to a stalagmite each, forced to watch.
'These are too strong and there's too many, I have no choice!' Axion thought while pinned down by a few Shinheuh, his body bleeding in many parts now. Androssi was similarly being eaten by two different fish trying to rip her apart and failing even though she yelped in pain.
A much larger dark purple aura burst out of Axion's body, leaking from underneath the armor and mixing with the yellow aura of Derflinger's boost.
Shinsoo surged into a great torrent and blew the Shinheuh around Axion away.
Axion held his free hand up and a swirling ball of Shinsoo gathered in it, which quickly turned into a vortex of violent water.
"This pressure…yes, show me that special power of yours, Axion!" Ren said.
The water spirits' unintelligible whispers became audible across the whole cavern as everything was caught up in its giant vortex.
"Incredible!" Ren felt himself getting pushed by the massive waves, but stood his ground. His Shinhueh however, were dragged into the cyclone and started smashing into each other and the walls and stalagmites.
Androssi was freed but caught in the cyclone as well, and she dug the Black March into a wall as she flew.
"Sovereign of the Deep: Great Vortex!" Axion shouted the name of the technique as the cyclone reached a crescendo and exploded violently, blasting everything away.
Ship screamed again as he and Anak were also blown away together with the rock that had been ripped out of the ground, though they were still tied up.
Ren had created a bright barrier of energetic Shinsoo to shield himself, but many of his Shinheuh were ripped apart and flung away, flopping uselessly in their death throes.
However, not all of them died, some got back up and floated in a formation to surround Axion again, or in front of Ren. These Shinheuh were not fish, but strange creatures that had no clear analog from Earth that Axion could recognize.
Axion stood, looking battered, but his wounds were already healing visibly, although the armor seemed to have difficulty repairing itself as the damage suffered had been too large. It began to instead condense itself over his vital organs around his chest and neck.
"Summoner, leave this area!" Axion shouted to the princess, who picked herself up after the vortex broke apart the rock the Black March was hanging on to.
"Damn it!" She cursed before running and shouting back. "You better come back alive!"
"Bravo! What a show. Now, I believe it's my turn…" Ren said.
Axion did not give him the opportunity to finish, however, as he disappeared again with his sword raised.
Ren reacted immediately and his Shinheuh got in the way, while two Baangs appeared in the air.
Another giant snake with multiple tendrils for limbs ripped out of the ground just as Androssi was getting away and dragged her back. "Arghh!"
"Not so fast, princess! I can't let you leave so soon, especially after you did me the favor of bringing me the Black March…hehehe!" Ren said. "This is perfect, now I can retrieve two of the Thirteen Month Weapons in the same place!"
Axion began to shift quickly all over the place as the Shinheuh attacked alongside Ren's lances of energized Shinsoo beams.
Another Baang appeared in the air around Ren and the lances fired more rapidly. Axion began to leave pulses of water every time he appeared, pushing back the Shinheuh and barely blocking the beams of Shinsoo coming his way.
"Don't get cocky, Instructor, you're not the only one who can use more Baangs!" Axion shouted before he flashed away. Then three Baangs formed around him as well, and they began to fire back at the incoming Shinsoo beams.
"Hahaha! Excellent! Show me more!" Ren shouted happily, before adding one more Baang to outnumber Axion again.
The big snake went to Ship and Anak to pick them up as well, now keeping all three of the Regulars tied up.
"You were really going to just leave us, weren't you, witch?!" Anak said angrily.
"It's not like I could've saved you! Might as well go get reinforcements," said Androssi.
"Please, can you two stop fighting already, at a time like this!" Ship yelled.
"What else is there to do? We're useless in this battle," said Anak.
"We can think of something! Anything!" Ship said.
"He could kill us at any time," Anak said. "That bastard just wants us to watch Axion die."
"Axion is going to win!" Androssi exclaimed.
The trio watched as both combatants increased the number of Baangs as if in competition with each other, to five, then six, then eight, then ten, and beams of light destroyed everything around them.
The cavern shook and seemed like it was starting to collapse, huge broken rock parts and debris began to fall everywhere, but the structure held for the moment.
"You're far more interesting than I'd ever expected, Mr. Axion! But it seems I have another lesson to teach you! Increasing the number of Baangs isn't always better, because the more Baangs you create, the lower the Soo per Baang!" Ren said. "Allow me to demonstrate!"
Suddenly he reduced the number of Baangs and created a much more powerful Baang instead, which unleashed an energy wave that blasted through all of the incoming beams from Axion, then hit him.
A barrier held back the beam and split it around him and upwards, but the beam kept going and pushed him downwards, tilting backwards into the ground, until the barrier failed and he was engulfed.
The beam kept going and a huge hole through the cavern walls behind Axion and causing a major collapse in that section.
"No!" Androssi and Ship both shouted.
When the light died down, Axion was lying on the ground on his back unmoving, Derflinger was no longer lit up and lying a few meters away from him.
Ninety percent of his armor was destroyed, leaving his limbs' skinned completely exposed and scorched.
Ren made his way over slowly, and there was no response from Axion. "Is that it, then, Mr. Axion? I suppose it's time to put an end to this show."
"Get up, Axion!" Androssi yelled. "Come on!"
The Regulars watched with terror as Ren picked up Axion's sword and there was still no movement from its owner.
"Another Ignition Weapon retrieved, although not one of the Thirteen Months, this is quite an interesting find!" Ren said while marveled at the sword for a moment after raising it into the air in front of him. "Your name was Derflinger, wasn't it?"
"Yes sir, you remembered," said Derflinger.
"Of course, you were my most unique student after all," said Ren.
"What are you going to do with me?" Derflinger asked.
"Hmm…well, I don't have any obligation to hand you over to anyone since you're not one of the Thirteen Months series. And I must admit I've wanted an Ignition Weapon of my own for some time…they are quite rare after all. Even a member of one of the Ten Great Families like me couldn't get one after all this time," said Ren.
"Oh, you'd like to wield me?"
"That's correct. What do you say, my student? There is much that I can teach you still, I'm sure, hehehe," said Ren.
"Ohoho, a mighty wielder like you would surely bring out much more potential from me!" Derflinger said cheerfully.
"Then, how about I use you to kill your previous owner? As the proof of our new partnership," said Ren.
"You know exactly how this works, hahaha!" Derflinger said.
"Derflinger, what are you saying? You've decided to betray me?" Axion asked, finally pushing himself up a little.
"This was always the deal, my dear partner. Whoever kills my owner has the right to wield me next and absorb their strength! For six thousand years I have passed from great warriors who each exceeded the last, consuming the blood and soul of each fallen wielder. This is my destiny…to be wielded by the greatest of them all!" Derflinger declared.
"Damn you…!" Axion cursed, sitting up with one hand supporting and pushing himself backwards.
Ren giggled again and stepped forward.
"Go ahead then…my new master, strike him down so that I may drink his blood and soul!" Derflinger said darkly, then glowing with a bright light.
"You were planning to sacrifice me for your ritual, weren't you Mr. Axion? It seems that you shall become my sacrifice instead!" Ren said.
Deep in the caverns, a large shadowy figure stood within a hidden crevice, two glowing yellow eyes narrowed behind a red mask, its body tensing as if preparing to move.
Then Ren stabbed down through Axion's chest and out the other end.
"Urghkk…" Axion's body began to glow together with the sword and then he started to scream. "Ahhh! NOOoooo!"
"Yes, that's it…I can feel my strength growing, hahahhaa!" Derflinger laughed, and Ren laughed with him.
The sword grew increasingly bright, and seemed to enlarge as well. Even the handle where Ren was holding extended.
The huge armored figure in shadow lifted its hand.
"Axion!" Androssi shouted, eyes wide.
Ship and Anak watched with horror at the scene.
Suddenly Derflinger's blade retracted into itself, then grew a new blade edge out the other end from the handle towards Ren.
"Huh?" Ren said as he noticed something was wrong.
He moved backwards to dodge.
Simultaneously, a Shinsoo pulse reached Ren, reversing the flow in Ren's body and causing him to freeze for a fraction of a second, preventing an instant retreat. "Wha—"
Light burst from Derflinger's new blade point into Ren cleaving into his costume before engulfing him completely, and then tore into the cavern ceiling and blasted straight through.
"Sword Beam: Level Ten," Axion declared with a smirk.
O O O
Headon opened his eyes with a smirk revealing his wide row of spiked teeth. "Congratulations, Mr. Axion. Now, you have passed the true test of courage. Just like the boy who let himself be eaten by the eel, and the girl who allowed herself to be stabbed by the traitorous teammate, every Irregular that enters the Tower must bet their lives to face the challenge of their own destiny and walk the path that proves themselves greater!"
He chuckled slowly and opened his arms wide as if speaking to a captive audience. "Yes…the revered all-consuming monster…the ordinary fate-stealing thief…and the covetous many-faced teacher…you are the ones who can change the destiny of the Tower!"
Finally, he laughed, the sound reverberating, echoing, through the whole chamber.
"…and in turn, the Tower shall change you…"
O O O