74. Winter Overworld (IV)

Zane identified Javier.

𝕁𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕤

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟘

𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟

ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣

𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝕋𝕠𝕞𝕓 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤

𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤:

𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤)

𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕓𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕡𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤

𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝔸𝕟 𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕠𝕟—𝕦𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕜. ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝.

𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨-𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]: 𝔸𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝, 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕤.

ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕞 𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤, 𝕤𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕠𝕟'𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕕, 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖.

Sage Mind showed him Javier's weaknesses. They were oddly few for a human. The throat, a few dots on the skull. That was it. The rest of Javier's body was one blank slate… was it some Skill?

Or could it be that suit of his? Something told Zane it wasn't any normal suit. It had taken some of Vanessa's icicles head-on—and there wasn't a scratch on the thing.

"So," said Javier, "What is your name? Tell me." He spoke with a faint Spanish accent.

Zane stayed quiet.

"Come now," said Javier. He smiled. "Don't be shy. My name is Javier, but you can call me Javi. I am a Marquis of the Tomb Kings Faction. It is a pleasure."

"…"

Javier chuckled. He'd finished wiping off the knives. He carefully pocketed his bloody handkerchief. "My friend, you are going to die. Don't stand on ceremony now. Won't you tell me your name? After you are gone, I will send your mother flowers."

"Are we just going to talk?" breathed Zane, grinning. "Or will you fight me?"

Javier blinked— for a second, he looked taken aback, then he laughed. "A man of few words. Very well!"

His knives materialized in his hands, and he bowed. "Let me bid you good night."

He lunged.

He didn't even deign to use a Skill, just pure speed. He was at Zane's throat like a flash of moonlight. His knives arched up—

Clang!

Sparks flew as Crescent steel met the flat side of a glowing Axe head. It took just a thought for Zane to summon. And even that almost wasn't fast enough.

Zane caught the surprise on the man's face. Then—Rising Sun Slash!

A brutal red line blasted his knives aside; it raced for Javier's throat—

The knives spun right back and caught the strike on their shining edges. An explosion rocked the air. Javier was blasted back; he flipped like a gymnast and landed nimbly on two feet. His wicked knives smoked at the edges.

His face changed. His eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?" he said softly.

Zane would've thought the Chains gave it away. But this Javier was from down South—maybe news of him hadn't spread that far.

The man's eyes turned calculating. "You're a World Ranker."

Zane shrugged.

"Who sent you?" Javier demanded. "The Cartel? The Russians?"

"You talk too much."

Javier laughed. "Fine, then." He smiled, but there was no humor in it. "I will cut the truth out of you!"

He slashed.

And it was like watching the moon fall out of the sky, growing impossibly big, hurtling straight for him.

He'd seen what happened when Vanessa met force with force. He gave a Volt Step, skidded out of the way—

It swerved gently and struck him anyway.

A thin line of pain dug down his ribs. Then splintered inside of him. One slash turning to four, turn to eight, laden with thick Laws of Sharpness. It had to be for how deep it cut. By the time it fizzled out, it'd sunk deep into muscle.

Then Javier was in his face slashing again, shockingly fast.

Zane blasted a Rising Sun Slash right back at the man, but he flowed like moonlight rippling—he wasn't there to be hit. A fresh pain stabbed down Zane's other side. He whirled around. And took a slash down his back for his trouble.

Zane tried getting him back, tried swiping with his Axe, but it just felt like the wrong thing to do. He felt like he was trying to swat a swarm of angry wasps—they stung him up the legs, up the arms, through the belly, whistling like flutes as they passed.

At least with Zane's body, they did little more than wasp stings. And Fiery Renewal was already burning up, healing him fast.

Javier frowned. He looked at his knife, then at the wounds it'd made. He'd butchered Vanessa with ease, opening up huge gashes, but on Zane they were little more than flesh wounds. "Your body," he muttered. "Strange… it is like cutting Spirit Steel."

He couldn't know how accurate his guess was.

Then he shrugged. He was back to smiling. "It does not matter how many cuts it takes. I will put you down, as the hunters do the elephant."

Then he vanished, and the storm fell again. The man was just too fast. By the time Zane threw, he was already gone. Already making his next bloody mark.

Zane had to time him—he watched the man move, lashed out as soon as he came in—

That felt wrong, too, even before he threw it. Somehow he knew it wouldn't work. Sure enough—still too slow. A bloody cross carved up his belly.

So Chains were a bust. What about... Lighting Laws gathered at his feet—Javier saw. The man vanished. He was suddenly a dot fifty paces away. And when Zane Volt Blitzed, he hit nothing but shadow. The man had Shadow-Walked out again.

It wasn't just his dexterity. His reaction time was nuts.

No time to think. A new line of pain tore up Zane's back. Drat.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%!

It was silly. He knew he had the power. He was pretty sure he could mess the man up if he got in a good punch to the face. He just had to land it—and he couldn't. Everything he threw just felt wrong.

Fiery Renewal kept him afloat. It mended the deepest of the wounds, kept him mobile. It replenished his health. But not fast enough. The knives just kept coming, one after another…

The man was a puzzle.

Yet it was the weirdest thing—Zane hadn't gotten a single clean hit on him. But he felt he was making progress? He wasn't sure why. He was kind of getting his ass handed to him so far, admittedly—but…the puzzle felt clearer and clearer.

Javier did it all almost at arm's length. Close enough to swipe, close enough to touch. When Zane reached, he bounced a little farther back—and carved Zane up as he passed by.

He tried tangling Javier in Chains. He tried feinting the man out. He tried setting up a Cyclone. Nothing got within a foot of him.

White fires were burning all over Zane now. They couldn't quite keep up with the damage. He felt kind of like a sinking ship. It might be a while before he went down, but he was slowly, surely going…

"Impressive," said Javier. He whistled, inspecting Zane, and shook his head. "I have put enough damage in you to put down a C-ranked boss… how are you still breathing?"

Zane stood there bleeding, heaving.

"Well," said Javier, shrugging. "I can do this all day."

Zane could probably stay afloat a while longer. Nowhere near all day, though.

Well, that was most of the tricks in Zane's bag. What else could he try?

Hmm.

He licked the blood out of his mouth.

"Oh?" Javier cocked a brow. "You can still smile in a time like this?"

How did Zane win any fight? It wasn't by planning, or even logical thinking—he wasn't like Reina, with all her pre-made strategies. He just… found stuff. Mid-fight. Stuff that came to him. It was intuition...

Javier smiled himself. "Let us see if you are still smiling when I have you on your knees, hmm?" His knives started twirling again, making that eerie flute noise. "When I cut your eyes from their sockets, hmm?"

That was it. It was all about feeling. Really, that was his whole life was about. Chasing feeling.

A thought hit Zane so hard he literally jerked, like he'd been struck by lightning.

"I… have to stop trying," he breathed.

Javier blinked. Then laughed. "You have lost so much blood you have gone mad, my giant friend! Ah. Let me put you out of your misery."

Once more he lunged—and carved a blood gash down Zane's side…

And Zane just stood there. Staring, almost limp. Starting to unfocus a little.

Why was he fighting like this? Throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck? That was blind flailing. He was chasing after shadows. He didn't even know what he was aiming for. It worked for most Monsters, to be fair—because… frankly, Zane's body was better than theirs. He could get away with things. Not against this man.

He gave up trying to land a hit. First he had to learn what he was dealing with. He had to know, to see the shape of the puzzle. The moment he had the thought, it just felt right.

Sage Mind told him Javier's weaknesses. And Skills. But that was like showing Zane the sword and the armor—it told him nothing about the man wielding them.

To hit him, Zane had to know Javier. And while Zane was throwing, and lunging, and spinning, he wasn't focusing.

So he just did what felt right to him. He opened his mind. Almost like he was opening his mind to Laws. And he tried to comprehend.

Javier laughed carefree as he dug into Zane cut after cut; blood poured out of him in rivers… Zane blinked at him. Saw him. The way he moved. The way essence flowed through his body. Even the way he smiled. He was starting to unfocus, weirdly, in Zane's mind.

Even Zane wasn't sure what he was doing anymore. It just felt right. God knew if Zane had one superpower, something that stretched from his life, to his Laws, to his fighting, it wasn't thinking. Or even determination, though he knew he had that too. It was instinct—it was his feeling, married with cold-blooded execution. He went back to what he was best at.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝟘%!

𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕…

The notifications floated past him. He was a little too far gone to even register it. Moonlight flashed before his eyes.

He hardly saw Javier at all—the flesh of him. There was a crack. The skin…peeled away.

Then Zane saw the colors that made him.

He saw Javier's Dark Laws brimming on his knife, like smoldering shadows. But more than that, he saw the colors of the man's soul. The way colors led to action. How that bloody deep red lit up when he slashed, cooled off when he pulled back…

It wasn't telepathy, Zane felt, but it was close to it— it almost felt like they were one, somehow, in that moment. Zane just… got a feel for him. Comprehended him, somehow. He wasn't sure if he was delirious or if he'd really—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕀

"…"

Wait. Sage Mind… the description popped up.

𝔻𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪, 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤.

That made sense, actually…

"Have you truly given up, friend?" cackled Javier. He left a vicious tear down Zane's thigh; Zane sank to a knee.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟝%!

The weirdest thing was, Zane knew he was going to do it. He felt the way intent led to action. It wasn't premonition, just… connection. He saw the puzzle. He saw how to solve it.

"Fight the good fight! Go out like a man!" said Javier, leering. He was relaxed. Expecting nothing. He really did think Zane was done. "What a sad—"

His face exploded.

It happened like this. He leaned in close. And Zane just… put his fist exactly where his face would be.

He knew Javier wanted to mock him; he knew he'd be looking up at him. So he threw an uppercut, just under the man's line of sight. And… it hit him. Right in the chin. He threw it pretty darn hard, too—he felt a lot of stuff breaking.

Zane blinked down at his fist, then at the man's howling writhing body.

…Huh.