"He ran all the way here?" Belladoll lazily reclined in the passenger seat of a car. "I don't get why we're coming here now. He knows we exist; he'll be ready for our appearance any time. Haven't we learned our lesson about all of this by now? It's either we got him the first time, or we wait until we're just a figment at the corner of his mind. This is practically suicide."
Though she was saying such words, Belladoll didn't seem to be very worried. She continuously yawned, her eyes blinking slowly. There was almost a dull look in her gaze, as though she was saying the words perfunctorily.
Crux was in the driver's seat by her side. He, too, looked like he was falling asleep, but the car somehow remained steady. Well, as steady as it could be weaving in and out of the congestion of cars parked on the road, long abandoned by their previous drivers.
Several times, it looked as though he would inevitably crash, only to slip out of the way just in time. Belladoll, seemingly used to this, didn't even bother to react.
"For the millionth time, we aren't going to confront him."
A toll booth appeared in the distance, and Crux rolled down the window. Sticking a hand out, he formed a fireball.
"Fuck off."
He tossed the fireball forward, and a line of flames erupted, sparking with crimson, and then blue as it raged.
Crux continuously snapped his fingers, and every snap was like another clap of thunder, causing the flames to explode further. Sparks flew and more of the toll booth caught fire until the engine of a car nearby suddenly exploded.
BOOM!
A huge chunk of the toll booth line was wiped out.
Crux accelerated and they shot through the flames, their tires skidding with fire as they rolled into the distance.
"If you weren't so ugly, you might be kind of cool," Belladoll mumbled, still half asleep.
"And if you weren't such a whore, maybe I'd try to bang you."
"As if you'd ever have a chance, virgin."
The bickering of the two was incessant until they rolled into the city, finding the location of their target.
Sakks and Dalton.
**
Zarek stood with his arms crossed. Priya was only two or so meters in front of him, but given his demeanor, one would have thought that he was spectating a battlefield from on high. It was even more ridiculous considering how intense the battle was.
Gnomes of energy were popping from a beautiful forest, each one wielding crossbows laced with a deathly sort of poison. They rained down their arrows from on high and from down below, sometimes burrowing out of holes in the ground, and sometimes popping up from the canopies of trees.
Beads of sweat fell down Priya's brow as she held her hands out, maintaining a thin shield of Godsfall with one hand, while sending out bullets of energy with the other.
Thanks to [Fallen Cradle], she could increase the density of her Godsfall enough that she didn't need a weapon or treasure as a conduit to do real damage anymore.
But that didn't mean that it was easy. Right now, she was trying to do three things at the same time. First, maintain the shield; second, attack; and third, keep sending her passively absorbed Godsfall into her Fallen Cradle.
In reality, it was four. She had realized all on her own that her Fallen Cradle didn't have to be just one lump — she could separate them.
She could have one lump of energy for lighter, faster attacks, while she stored up a heavier, denser lump for finishing moves she was more sure would land.
The longer she let the denser lump accumulate, the more powerful the attack would be. Which meant, if it reached a certain threshold…
Priya's eyes flashed and she suddenly pulled on the denser lump just as a gnome with a dense pattern of runes covering its body appeared high in an emerald tree's canopy.
Spiraling crimson energy formed a javelin that cut right through the air, ripping forward so fast the gnome's head had only just popped up when it appeared.
The gnome's eyes opened wide and it quickly raised up its crossbow to block. It seemed like a foolish move until the crossbow suddenly expanded into a bronze shield.
BANG!
Chi.
The arm of the gnome shattered on impact, the edge of its shield smashing into its skull and embedding itself.
Did it manage to block? Yes.
Did it matter? Not in the slightest bit.
The gnome didn't even have time to shudder as it was sent flying.
The others lost their minds as their leader fell to the ground below, but Zarek's reaction was much different as a bright smile came to his face.
'Not bad.'
Zarek might love Priya, but he never praised her combat skill out of proportion. It took quite a lot to move him when he saw combat because he had seen too much.
Of course, Priya's threshold was still lower than it would have been with someone else, but this brought a smile to his face nonetheless.
The more powerful she became, the less he would have to worry about her.
Was that just an outright lie? Would he always worry nonetheless?
Of course.
But at the very least, he could lie to himself for the time being.
Zarek slipped out of his proud boyfriend state and moved.
"Rest for a bit."
His figure flashed and he moved with a new pair of weapons in his hands. Both were replicas of his destroyed shields.
Right now, he was restricting himself to only using treasures he created himself, and as he did so, he was beginning to find a fascinating forward path here.
Because his path was likely cut off, he had no choice but to try and think of other methods of accomplishing his goals, and this might be one such path.
He cut down one gnome after another, not even waiting for them to appear. His C-Class Scouting Skill saw through their locations with a single sweep of his gaze, slicing and dicing them apart with the menace of a man indifferent to life and death.
'That should be it,' Zarek thought.
He had a feeling that the reward for this Godsfall Tear would be interesting.
'Indeed, it is.'
Priya walked to Zarek's side and they looked at the reward together. The Crimson Tear hovered there, reflecting a book.
-
[Profession Scroll {E-Class Gnome Craftsman}]