As the fighting had intensified outside of the box, Nathan had rushed to Mariah’s side and used his Rejuvenation Circle to address the head trauma that she had clearly suffered in whatever altercation knocked her out. Luckily, the wound was minor; It only took three seconds underneath the careful flow of his Mana for Mariah’s eyes to flutter and open.

She has such pretty eyes, Nathan thought as he suddenly became too aware of how close he was to her side.

For a second she was shocked and sat straight up to peer around. Then she winced and brought a hand to touch the rapidly healing wound along her scalp. Her eyes quickly scanned the figures of Nathan, the head of the Order Valorem, the two remaining men from the Order Valorem, and then the chaotic mess of bodies and food that littered the ground in the suite.

“I… are you healing me?” Mariah asked surprised. She smiled at Nathan and his body jolted like someone had pressed a taser against his spine. “Thank you, Nathan! Ha, it really was lucky that you happened to be here, huh? I had no idea you were a healer...”

“I… err, I’m just-”

Nathan was saved from having to reply further by the door being once more kicked down. Two individuals rushed into the room, the first one wearing a robe with the sigil of the Order Valorem and the second one Nathan recognized as the Quarterback for the Stallions that had gotten summarily crushed in the first half of the game.

The first figure carefully scanned the bodies and then his gaze alighted on Nathan. His eyes narrowed. The quarterback seemed to freeze up as he saw all the bleeding bodies on the ground. Nathan’s own attention focused as he looked at the vaguely familiar first figure who had entered the room.

I’m not sure who he is, but… This man is strong.

But again, another distraction kept the interaction from continuing just as Nathan was hesitating. Mariah jumped backward and pointed to the two bodies that Nathan had earlier subdued with Psychic Surgery. “Shit… How are they still alive…!?”

And honestly, Nathan also believed their continued movement was quite bizarre. The two figures who now had severed spines but still managed to struggle back to their feet. Blood dripped from their hands and formed long, crimson daggers. Their eyes were dull and covered with a thin film of rotting blood.

The head of the Order Valorem acted decisively. He stepped back and offered Mariah a hand, quickly causing Nathan to dislike the man, even if he agreed with him in principle. “Quick, there is a secret exit to this suite. If we cannot incapacitate them, it’s best-”

Nathan’s fists clenched as he activated Psychic Surgery for the second time. Once more, he easily bypassed their nonexistent spiritual defenses and entered into the bodies of the two. He could immediately feel how the bodies weren’t relying on human anatomy to move but rather were being propped up by their very blood to keep themselves standing.

Nathan found the source of the blood manipulation and blasted the mental connection to smithereens. Once more, the two figures twitched and slumped to the ground. With an officious sneer, Nathan glanced sideways at the leader of the Order Valorem. “No need to panic, they should be finished for good now.”

“Oh wow,” Mariah said as she looked at Nathan with round and admiring eyes.

The leader of the Order Valorem looked nervously around as the stadium shook once again due to the combat happening out on the field. “...even if the immediate threat is dealt with, we should still leave via the passage. As long as the fighting continues, we will be in danger.”

The powerful man wearing the Order Valorem symbol walked up to the leader and whispered in his ear. Suddenly, the man’s focus completely switched from escape to the point that he started glaring at the man. “What? How can you-”

The two stepped off to the side and entered into a quiet conversation that they pitched low enough that not even Nathan could hear what they were saying. The quarterback of the Stallions who had entered the room slowly walked to the window and looked down toward the field with a solemn expression. There was a strange cracking noise outside, but Nathan turned to check on Mariah’s condition once again.

When she really seemed none the worse for wear, Nathan released a sigh of relief. He was about to strike up a conversation with her when the man looking out the window spoke in a low voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Is that… Randidly Ghosthound?”

*****

The Grim Chimera scanned the chaotic field below, measuring the strength of the different sides. The Nemesai were strong, but the people of Earth were no slouch either. He paused for a brief instant as he noticed drops of blood drifting through the air, gradually gathering in front of the giant stone wheel that the Winged Serpent produced with its image.

It was curious, but the Grim Chimera didn’t pursue the matter further. Because he remembered the orders of the main body: just kill the duplicate.

The Grim Chimera’s frown deepened as he considered the relatively mediocre images of the Nemesai. His eyes landed on Straud. Better go wild while I have the chance though.

“You dare….” Straud’s face was slowly being suffused with an embarrassed flush. Even his image trembled with rage as he stared upward at the Grim Chimera.“You… you know not who you offend-”

Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe. Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes.

Congratulations! Your Skill Reaper’s Mantle of Catastrophe (L) has grown to Level 105!

An aura that was a thick mixture of ash, desperation, and small flecks of Nether spiraled in the area around the Grim Chimera’s body. He became the center of a destructive nebula that had a powerful suppression effect on images around him. Then he exploded into motion directly down at the field, piercing toward Straud.

At the same time, the Grim Chimera felt the Nether gathering formation that the main body had empowered after finishing the most recent Path was suddenly whirring at a higher intensity than previously. To the main body, and therefore to his images, Earth mattered. It seemed that it responded to the significance of the moment, quickly feeding on the expectations and emotions of the people who watched him shatter the barrier.

The Grim Chimera held the reigns to this moment that would matter, and it did feel good. His Nether density climbed slowly, but more importantly, the Grim Chimera sensed that a change was coming. His Nether Gatekeeper core was close to being saturated. But the rising significance of the current moment seemed to make that limit seem… fragile.

The Grim Chimera’s excitement increased as he ripped through the air. Just like the old days… time to fight until my mind goes blank…!

With a self-righteous scowl, Straud grabbed his robe and ripped it off of him. He threw the long crimson cloak to the ground, revealing the sculpted physique of a bodybuilder. Then he raised his bare fist and met the Grim Chimera’s rapid descent head-on with a vicious haymaker of a punch.

Which was definitely a brave decision, but a foolish one. The Grim Chimera’s bone spear hit the fist of Straud and ripped a large gash in Straud’s knuckles. In addition, the momentum that the Grim Chimera had built up smashed Straud backward. The ash and Nether swirling around the Grim Chimera scoured Straud’s body in the brief instant their blows crossed.

Still, Straud was indeed a powerful individual. He transformed the momentum into a backflip and landed lightly on the turf. But the clash didn’t slow the Grim Chimera and he impacted the ground only a split second later. Straud scrambled backward and avoided the shattered area of ground. Shaking himself off, the Grim Chimera stepped out of the crater and walked calmly toward his target. The rest of the fights were transfixed, staring at the confrontation between the two most powerful individuals present.

“You piece of shit!” Straud roared. A mixture of black, maroon, and crimson blood was gushing out of the wound on his hand at a speed and volume that seemed physically impossible for a normal human. There was something at work here, and it made the Grim Chimera frown. From that first strike… he could tell that Straud was weaker than he should be, considering the weight of his image.

As more and more blood left his body, the Grim Chimera’s lip curled in derision as he understood the reason for the weakness; this Straud was artificially boosting the strength of his body with his image. Very quickly the muscular Straud began to appear withered and frail without the blood image pumping through him. It was like a water balloon that had sprung a leak.

Pretty soon he would be all rubber and flab.

Worst of all, the clash had been such a let down after he had just finished getting excited to run wild. The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and commented spitefully. “What a waste of a powerful image. You truly just wanted to appear strong?”

“Hemoglobin Blitz!” Straud raised his hands and crossed them with his fingers twisting into rigid shapes. The veritable gallons of blood that he had already splattered across the turf in the few seconds of him being wounded rose up to form strange, miniature specters that rushed forward at the Grim Chimera.

Activating Chimeric Avoidance, the Grim Chimera didn’t slow in the least as he walked forward.

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level 236!

His movements were mostly small sidesteps and sharp dips of the head. But with the extra 14 or so percent that the Grim Chimera could avoid the limits of the world, the blood specters didn’t have a chance to lay a finger on him. As though he were the true ghost, he flitted forward amongst them without ever being hit with the attack.

After he passed unscathed through the swarm of specters, the Grim Chimera glanced behind him in contempt. I’d love to feed you to the Implacable Price of Exodus, but since Yggdrasil isn’t here… don’t mind if I do. Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 275

The Grim Chimera opened his mouth and breathed deeply of the images and energies of Earth. In his chest, the significance of this moment steadily grew as small slivers of everything became a part of him. There was a shuddering tremor through his Nether Gatekeeper core, but the Grim Chimera ignored it for now.

The surrounding images shivered and then slowly waned as the Grim Chimera’s reach seized a little bit of strength from each of them. But as the nearest source of energy, the blood specters screeched and died almost instantly when the pull of the Grim Chimera’s breath hit them, becoming small wisps of energy that were dragged into his mouth.

Such was the power of the pull that even the crimson flows of blood that were being dragged through the air stilled as the Grim Chimera breathed in. The flush on Straud’s face slowly faded to paleness as some of his potency was pulled away too. All that energy flooded through the Grim Chimera’s veins, solidifying this moment even further. And yet…

The Grim Chimera’s mouth twisted. He had taken from enemies and allies of Earth alike, and while there were some potent energies, the result was disappointing. Is this all these people have? I suppose this is why the main body is willing to risk their lives to force them to grow stronger...